The Web
By Eliot Howard
Use your favourite apocalypse world for backdrop, if you like! I had The Last of Us in mind, with all its warmth and sorrow.
Characters:
You, the player, the sole custodian of a watchpost along the highway in the mountains. The first warning sign, recently roused by an intimidating encounter with a few other survivors.
Rosalie: The camp's recently-appointed Sergeant-At-Arms. Weathered faith, cautious optimism, righteous fury.
Gungor: Leader isn't quite the right term. He is the final word in camp disputes by virtue of his respected opinion, not by title. Open-minded realism.
Abraham: Tender of the garden by the gate. Soft-spoken, lilting. Tauya's father.
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EXT. Dawn.
[The overpass is surrounded by brush and trees - good cover, even with surrounding mountain sightlines. If you were driving the highway, you might not even notice the camp beneath - then again, not many can get a hold of gas these days.
A chain-link fence has been sloppily attached to the mouth of the overpass. There is an opening between two stretches of the fence where the gate - no more than a couple of scavenged car doors - is hung.
Human heads - three of them - have been tied to the fence by their hair.
Rosalie screams when she sees them. You follow her out of the brush as she holds one head - that of a young black man - in her hands.]
Rosalie: (weeping) "Tau... Tauya..."
You: (cautious) "Jesus. They got here before us."
[You pull your handcrafted bow and bring it to the ready. The surrounding hills are silent save for the rustle of wind.]
[Abraham emerges from the gate holding his spade. He drops it as soon as his eyes fall on the grisly scene. Rosalie has slowly fallen silent.]
Rosalie: (quietly) "They killed Tauya."
[Abraham doesn't respond. He is staring blankly - with a sense of inevitibility - at the slack-jawed faces strung to the fence.]
You: "Abraham, did you see anything? Hear anything overnight? Even just the rustle of metal would help."
Abraham: (shaking his head) "I'll find Gungor."
[Abraham gathers his spade and goes back through the gate.]
Rosalie: "If they wanted to hurt us, they could have waited until we were milling by the gate. Killed the hunting party while they were out and then kill us when we went to search for them."
You: (following) "They didn't have to warn us."
Rosalie: "Which means they're expecting us to be afraid. To back down."
You: "They were trying to scare me back at my post, too."
Rosalie: (with a small, cruel smirk) "Those poor sons of bitches."
[Rosalie picks herself up and checks her shotgun just as Gungor emerges from the gate with Abraham in tow.]
Rosalie: "You're here, good. I'll get a team together, we'll find them and lie low for a couple days. Let them get cocky, set them on fire and take their shit for a feast on Sunday."
Gungor: (with familiarity) "Rose."
Rosalie: "Don't fucking start, Gungor. We didn't do anything to these people, but we're going to."
Gungor: "You've been thinking for two minutes, I've been thinking for fifteen seconds. Allow me to catch up."
Rosalie: "Seems clear to me."
[Abraham goes to cut the heads from the wall with a pair of garden shears.]
Rosalie: "Don't you think that's a little disrespectful?"
Abraham: "My own counsel will I keep on what my child would want. They would not want to be a symbol of fear."
[Abraham lays down a garden sack for the heads to fall upon and begins to cut them down one by one. He saves Tauya for last, and hesitates when the moment comes.]
[["Here, allow me."]]
[["It's what they would want."]]
[["Rose is right. We can untie them later."]][You gently take the shears from Abraham's hand. He lets you. You set to the grisly task of cutting the man's child down by his hair, but it's over in an instant.]
Rosalie: "Jesus."
[Abraham kneels next to the severed head, coagulated blood clumping at its bloody stump of a neck.]
Abraham: "My sweet child. I thought myself lucky - I made it out of the old world without having to mourn you. I thought I had gotten used to the possibility that...
[Abraham trails off as he finds something in Tauya's mouth. It is a small roll of paper - Abraham unfolds it gingerly and reads from it.]
Abraham: "You are cordially invited to parley with the Bureaucracy. Dawn, tomorrow, on the plateau to the east."
Rosalie: "You're fucking kidding me."
Gungor: (considering) "Indeed."
You: "I know the place."
Rosalie: "We're not going to meet with these people. Are you fucking insane?"
Abraham: "Beasts with the skills of men."
Rosalie: (mocking) "Parley."
Gungor: "Whoever did this could have attacked us more directly if they wanted us dead. They shouldn't have alerted us to their presence."
Rosalie: "They shouldn't have killed three of our people, Gungor!"
Gungor: "This could be a misunderstanding. Perhaps our people attacked first."
Rosalie: "Tauya wouldn't have. Right, Abraham?"
Abraham: (considering) "But Johns may have. He never trusted outsiders."
Gungor: "Perhaps they are attempting to show us mercy for the isolated actions of a few."
Rosalie: "By tying their heads to our fence? Gungor..."
Gungor: "Others have had it worse than our little group - perhaps their sense of culture and courtesy have been warped. Either way, we need to meet and listen."
Rosalie: "They could be luring more of us away to kill us!"
Gungor: "Enough." (turning to you) "What do you think?"
[["The monsters should burn."]]
[["We should see what they want."]]
[["This was a warning - we should take it and leave them alone."]]You: "No father should have to deal with this."
[Abraham stands and looks at the severed head of his child, coagulated blood clumping at its bloody stump of a neck.]
Abraham: "My sweet child. I thought myself lucky - I made it out of the old world without having to mourn you. I thought I had gotten used to the possibility..."
[Abraham trails off as he finds something in Tauya's mouth. It is a small roll of paper - Abraham unfolds it gingerly and reads from it.]
Abraham: "You are cordially invited to parley with the Bureaucracy. Dawn, tomorrow, on the plateau to the east."
Rosalie: "You're fucking kidding me."
Gungor: (considering) "Indeed."
You: "I know the place."
Rosalie: "We're not going to meet with these people! Are you fucking insane?"
Abraham: "Beasts with the skills of men."
Rosalie: (mocking) "Parley."
Gungor: "Whoever did this could have attacked us more directly if they wanted us dead. They shouldn't have alerted us to their presence."
Rosalie: "We went over that. They shouldn't have killed three of our people, Gungor!"
Gungor: "This could be a misunderstanding. Perhaps our people attacked first."
Rosalie: "Tauya wouldn't have! Right, Abraham?"
Abraham: (considering) "But Johns could. He never trusted outsiders."
Gungor: "Perhaps they are attempting to show us mercy for the isolated actions of a few."
Rosalie: "By tying their heads to a fence? Gungor..."
Gungor: "Others have had it worse than our little group - perhaps their sense of culture and courtesy have been warped. Either way, we need to meet and listen."
Rosalie: (outraged) "Courtesy? They could be luring more of us away to slit our fucking throats!"
Gungor: "Enough." (turning to you) "What do you think?"
[["The monsters should burn."]]
[["We should see what they want."]]
[["This was a warning - we should take it and leave them alone."]]You: "Abraham. Do it."
[Abraham reluctantly pulls the shears shut, and Tauya's head drops to the ground. Abraham kneels next to it, coagulated blood clumping at its bloody stump of a neck.]
Abraham: "My sweet child. I thought myself lucky - I made it out of the old world without having to mourn you. I thought I had gotten used to the possibility..."
[Abraham trails off as he finds something in Tauya's mouth. It is a small roll of paper - Abraham unfolds it gingerly and reads from it.]
Abraham: "You are cordially invited to parley with the Bureaucracy. Dawn, tomorrow, on the plateau to the east."
Rosalie: "You're fucking kidding me."
Gungor: (considering) "Indeed."
You: "I know the place."
Rosalie: "We're not going to meet with these people. Are you fucking insane?"
Abraham: "Beasts with the skills of men."
Rosalie: (mocking) "Parley."
Gungor: "Whoever did this could have attacked us more directly if they wanted us dead. They shouldn't have alerted us to their presence."
Rosalie: "They shouldn't have killed three of our people, Gungor!"
Gungor: "This could be a misunderstanding. Perhaps our people attacked first."
Rosalie: "Tauya wouldn't have. Right, Abraham?"
Abraham: (considering) "But Johns may have. He never trusted outsiders."
Gungor: "Perhaps they are attempting to show us mercy for the isolated actions of a few."
Rosalie: "By tying their heads to our fence? Gungor..."
Gungor: "Others have had it worse than our little group - perhaps their sense of culture and courtesy have been warped. Either way, we need to meet and listen."
Rosalie: "They could be luring more of us away to kill us!"
Gungor: (turning to you) "What do you think?"
[["The monsters should burn."]]
[["We should see what they want."]]
[["This was a warning - we should take it and leave them alone."]]You: "We know where they'll be; we set an ambush. They won't get away with killing our people."
Rosalie: (relieved) "Thank you, Jesus."
Gungor: "I don't know about that. We haven't gotten this far with reckless aggression."
Rosalie: "You're right, Gungor. We've gotten this far by eliminating threats with swift and decisive force. It's not my fault you don't see this as a clear threat."
Abraham: (interrupting before Gungor can reply) "I can accompany you."
Gungor: (considering) "Hmm. The temperance of years and the righteous rage of a father in mourning. Are you sure you're ready, Abraham?"
Abraham: (quietly resolved) "I have lost before. Chances are I'll lose again. If those people have souls, I don't want them to lose their children."
Rosalie: "For all we know, they keep children as sex-slaves."
Abraham: "You do not know that. Regardless - the best ambush involves meeting them, yes? Playing along at first?"
Rosalie: "Yeah, I guess. We can discuss the specifics on the way."
Abraham: "Perfect. That will allow us time to judge their character."
Rosalie: (sighing) "If you have to." (turning to you) "You ready?"
You: "Ready."
Rosalie: (checking her gun) "Good. Let's grab something to eat - we leave at eighteen-hundred. And if you get me killed, you better get an exorcist, because your ass is haunted."
You: "Thanks, Rosalie."
Rosalie: "Yeah. We'll make those fuckers pay."
[Rose pushes her way through the front gate. The scene cuts to black on it swinging closed with an audible metallic slam.]You: "You're right. We'll bring weapons, but we don't know these people yet. I'll go and meet with them - we should gather a few other volunteers."
Abraham: "I can accompany you."
Gungor: (considering) "The temperance of years and the righteous rage of a father in mourning. Are you sure you're ready, Abraham?"
Abraham: (quietly resolved) "I have lost before. Chances are I'll lose again."
Rosalie: "Well, okay. If you're going, you'll need someone like me at your back. If it goes south, I'll be ready."
You: "We're going east, Rose."
Rosalie: (suppressing a chuckle) "Shush, you."
Gungor: "Can we trust you, Rose?"
Rosalie: (matter-of-fact, short) "That's up to you, isn't it? You put me in this position - do you trust me?"
[They share a prolonged look, reading each other's eyes.]
Rosalie: (checking her gun) "Good. Let's grab something to eat - we leave at eighteen-hundred. And if you get me killed, you better get an exorcist, because your ass is haunted."
You: "Thanks, Rosalie."
Rosalie: "Yeah. We'll see."
[Rose pushes her way through the front gate. The scene cuts to black on it swinging closed with an audible metallic slam.]You: "They're clearly dangerous, whoever they are. We've got enough food for a month or two, right? We can stay put until this other group passes."
Gungor: (considering) "Possible. If they come to our gates, we can decide what to do with them then."
Rosalie: "We can't let them get away with this!"
Gungor: "I don't know about that. We haven't gotten this far with reckless aggression."
Rosalie: "You're right, Gungor. We've gotten this far by eliminating threats with swift and decisive force. It's not my fault you don't see this as a clear threat."
Abraham: (interrupting before Gungor can reply) "I will meet with them."
Gungor: (considering) "The temperance of years and the righteous rage of a father in mourning. Are you sure you're ready, Abraham?"
Abraham: (quietly resolved) "I have lost before. Chances are I'll lose again. If those people have souls, I don't want them to lose their children."
Rosalie: "For all we know, they keep children as sex-slaves!"
Abraham: "You do not know that."
You: "You can't go alone."
Abraham: "Someone has to go. If you would prefer to hide, I respect that."
You: "No. I'll go with you."
Rosalie: "Well, okay then. If you're going, you'll need someone like me at your back. If it goes south, I'll be ready."
You: (dryly) "We're going east, Rose."
Rosalie: (suppressing a chuckle, despite herself) "Shush, you."
Gungor: "Can we trust you, Rose?"
Rosalie: (matter-of-fact) "That's up to you, isn't it? You put me in this position - do you trust me?"
[They share a prolonged look, reading each other's eyes.]
Rosalie: (checking her gun) "Good. Let's grab something to eat - we leave at eighteen-hundred. And if you get me killed, you better get an exorcist, because your ass is haunted."
You: "Thanks, Rosalie."
Rosalie: "Yeah. We'll see."
[Rose pushes her way through the front gate. The scene cuts to black on it swinging closed with an audible metallic slam.]