Chapter One: Under Pressure

I roll my eyes and follow Momma to the hatch. Trying to be wary of any changes down on the floor. 

Momma leads the way up the clearly unsafe ladder, leaving Christopher behind to watch her back.

Momma: you climb the ladder without any problems. When you get to the platform, however, the only hand rail is rusted and wobbly. You almost lose your balance and drop the vodka bottle you were carrying. You watch it fall through the air, almost in slow motion. As it smashes and shatters on the stage, you realize you were holding your breath. From the angle you are at, you don't see anyone rush over to investigate. The water is still cascading down from the extinguisher system.

Chris: You grab the ladder to climb up after Momma, and watch the bottle drop. You are at a better angle, so you can still see the majority of the Hussy's main room. Most of the men are bunched up by the door, trying to get out. The crazed man that was on the stage is still floundering in the water and trying to grab his knife. The bottle lands almost on his hand and smashes, spraying his face with glass shards. He howls in pain and looks up. He clearly sees you. He gets to his feet and starts to jump in the air swiping his arms, as if he could attack you from there. You can see his mouth working and guess he's still screaming, but you can't hear him over the water. A few of the men by the door hear him and start to move over, with pistols drawn. You see this going badly, so you hurry up the ladder as fast as you can.

Unfortunately, you don't really have a good grip and you and are still holding your shot gun. When you get about half way up, your hand slips and you fall back down a few feet. Your feet kick and bang against the rungs, making a loud clanging noise. You manage to grab back on and hold tight. Your blood is pounding in your ears and you are panting heavily. Somehow, luckily, you are still holding your shot gun. You look up. Momma is clinging to the platform. She almost fell with your weight slamming into the ladder. You look down, and see 3 men standing on the stage. With the crazy man pointing at you and screaming and the noise you made falling half way down the ladder, they have spotted you. One moves towards the ladder that leads up to the catwalk. Two draw pistols and aim up at you.

AC: 13

It feels like bullet time kicks in as I watch the two men open fire on my sorry dangling ass.  I watch the bullet from Suit 1's gun go screaming by my face and lodge harmlessly in the wall behind me....unfortunately Suit 2's shot is heading in the direction of my person....and I can't dodge bullets.....The majestic rifling is almost too beautiful for words...it dawns on me the subtle brilliance and pure comprehension of physics and geometry the mind that invented these martial marvels must have had....as the bullet approaches I am overcome with emotion at the achievements of human kind to this point in our history...a tear runs down my cheek, or down my forehead depending on if I'm upside down or not....I am honored to be afforded the opportunity to experience the effects of the impact from this small metallic precisely calibrated and manufactured piece of art....O' sweet pain, I embrace thee!

Chris: your inner monologue is broken by impact of a bullet into your leg. You feel the dull pain radiate up through your body, then a burning fire erupts at the site of the wound. You cannot repress a scream as the pain overwhelms you. You can barely move you leg and the dead weight pulls you back way from the ladder.



Make a Reflex Save and a Will Save.

Momma: You see Shaw start to fall back and clutch at the ladder. His left leg is hanging limply off the ladder and you see his pants leg is slick with scarlet blood. The two suits on the floor don't seem to have seen you, and they are not shooting at Shaw again. But they are yelling at their friends. The crazy one has picked up his knife and is jumping into the air, swinging the blade wildly. You also notice that one of the men has started up the ladder that you recently climbed to get to the catwalk.

Chris: after the initial shock, the pain focuses your mind. You push the pain aside and see your situation in cold, hard fact. You feel yourself falling and quickly grab the ladder, throwing your arm through the rung and shifting your weight to balance properly. You look down and see blood pouring from your leg. You know you need to stop the bleeding, maybe with a turnicate. But you need somewhere to sit to take care of yourself. With some effort, you start to pull yourself up the ladder. Glancing down, you see the men still on the stage below you, but they are not shooting. Instead, they are shouting instructions to the other man who is now climbing the ladder leading up to the catwalk.