Chaotic Okay: Crow

Born in Stockton, CA and raised in Walla Walla, WA. Paul Mata was texting with his fiancé, Vera, who was in Portland visiting her mother, when he got the message from the Emergency Alert System. "Outbreak of deadly virus in various major US cities. Stay indoors, social distance, and wear masks as a precaution," the alert said.

Paul: Woah. Did you just get this alert?
Vera: I did. Checking Google.

Paul did the same. He got on his computer and checked the news sites. Not much information yet, except for some week-old articles about an outbreak in Russia.

Paul: Not seeing much. Checking YT.

He got on YouTube and found a stream from one of the major news networks. He shared the link with Vera. A reporter in Chicago with an N95 mask on was reporting in front of Northwestern Memorial Hospital. In the background were lots of flashing emergency lights, people in hazmat suits, and a few police officers.

...The hospital is on lockdown and is not accepting anymore patients. A line of cars stretching out around Erie and Ontario have formed with people presumably affected by the virus...

Paul picked up his phone and called Vera.

"Did you see that?"
"Yeah, mom and I are watching the local news. It's happening here, too," Vera answered.
"What do you mean, 'it's happening here, too'? Like, it's happening at one of the Portland hospitals?"
"Yeah, it looks like it."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know--follow what that emergency alert says, probably, and watch the news. Look, let me call you back. I got to talk to my mom."

They hung up. Paul texted other friends in other cities and family in California while mining the news sites. Friends and family had received the alert as well. As far as he could tell it was happening in the bigger cities, and hadn't hit cities like his yet. He checked social media. Not much about it on there, but that would gradually change in the next 24 hours.

Vera called back. "Okay, we're just going to stay put. I'm going out to buy groceries and some masks. I'll call you when I'm back."

Paul thought of protesting, but he bit his tongue. Instead, he thought, I should probably do the same. He pulled up to the grocery store parking lot and it was packed. He saw people with carts full and others struggling with too many bags in their arms. He also noticed that people had bandanas or some other piece of fabric over their mouth and noses.

He decided to turn around and try his luck somewhere else. Somehow his local corner store wasn't too busy, and he caught the owner right as he was about to close up. He bought a pile of food, whatever looked appealing, a few jugs of water, and a couple of bandanas. It was the beginning of the Collapse.

Back at home, he waited for Vera's call, forcing himself to be patient. After an hour she called.

"It's crazy out here," she said. "There was like a mad rush at all the stores and now I think everyone is just hunkering down. How's it over there?"

"Similar," Paul answered. They talked for a few more hours, sharing bits and pieces about what they learned, theories they had. They were freaking each other out, but before they hung up, they concluded that it would probably blow over soon.

It didn't. The news kept getting worse and worse. City after city was put under quarantine. Portland eventually made the list. Paul and Vera argued over Vera leaving Portland despite the quarantine. Even if she wanted to, there were National Guard troops blocking every major road and highway. Finally, Paul decided to head to Portland. Vera didn't argue.

"Be careful," she said.

What should have been a four-hour drive took him six. First, it took him a while to find a gas station that still had any fuel left. Some parts of the highway were clogged, although most traffic was heading east, away from the direction of Portland and other bigger cities. At some point he ran into a police checkpoint with a few National Guard troops supporting them. Mostly they were trying to stop people coming from the west.

He waited patiently until the shooting started. Some cars tried to break through past the police but the army guys weren't screwing around. First they started shooting warning shots but when that didn't work, they started shooting at the vehicles. Some cars still got past but most either crashed or just limply rolled to a stop, their windshields and windows full of bullet holes.

Then somebody started shooting at the police and soldiers. That's when Paul gunned it. Since he was going west they ignored him. The rest of the drive was mostly uneventful, and he finally made it just outside of Portland before the roads become too jammed with abandoned cars and unattended National Guard barriers. He started walking.

Some of the cars had dead or dying people in them. He gave them a wide berth. At some point he got off the highway and found a moped with its keys in the ignition. He rode through seemingly empty neighborhoods, although sometimes he'd see someone peeking out of a window.

He kept going and as he got further in, the street names became more familiar, a benefit from when he was a student at the local university. He wound his way down to Vera's mother's neighborhood, her street, and finally her block. As he approached, he started to see heavy black smoke rising from the direction of the house.

An apartment and three houses were burning all in a row, one house standing between that and Vera's mom's house. The smoke was stinging his eyes, getting in his lungs. He barged in and called Vera's name. No answer. He searched every room. No one was there. He searched for a clue. Not one to be found.

He sat there numb for two hours, hoping they would suddenly appear. Two hours became four then six then eight until he finally fell asleep from exhaustion. He woke up unsure of what to do. He prayed to a God he didn't believe in anymore. After scrounging up a breakfast, he headed to the only place he could think of: the place he met Vera, the University he attended for his Masters program.

At the University, Paul checked their old haunts: The library, the quad, the coffee shop. No luck. He screamed her name in desperation. No answer. He was numb again. Finally, he broke down. Tears of frustration and anger streaming down his face. An hour later, someone found him.

A broad shouldered, tattooed, older man with a shotgun was strolling towards him. Paul was surprised that he wasn't scared or that he wasn't moving away from this bear of a figure. What did it matter? he thought. But instead of hurting him or threating him, the man kneeled down and looked him in the eyes.

"Son, it's going to be alright," he said softly. "We got you."

Age: 32
*Nationality:** Filipino-American
*Branch:** Civilian
*Appearance:** Average height, always wears a hoodie, always looking over his shoulder.
*Military Rank:**
*Moral Code:** Civil society needs to be preserved; pragmatic
*Buddy: **
*Big Dream:**
Trauma: Fiancé most likely died from virus;
*How did they meet the group:** After a detour, traveled from Walla Walla to Vancouver but kept going instead and found the community

Significant events:

ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

STR	C	AGL	B	INT	B	EMP	B
Heavy Wpns		Driving		Recon	D	Command
Close Cmbt		Mobility	C	Survival	D	Persuasion
Stamina	B	Ranged	C	Tech		Medical Aid	D

Specialties:
Navigator: Gives a +1 modifier when using SURVIVAL rolls for navigation.

Damage: 0/5
Stress: 1/5
CUF: D
Unit Morale: -

Health

Critical Injuries:
Diseases:
Starving:
Dehydrated:
Sleep Deprived:
Hypothermic:
Radiation
- Temporary: 0/10
- Permanent: 0/10

WEAPONS

Wpn	REL	ROF	DMG	CRIT	RNG	MAG	ARMOR	WEIGHT
Bolt Action Rifle	5	1	3	4	10	5	0	1
Combat Pistol	5	2	1	2	2	15	+1	.50
Knife	5		2	3			+1	0.25

GEAR

Carrying Capacity: 8/8

Combat Gear	Back Pack
1. Bolt Action Rifle	1. Sleeping bag
2. Combat Pistol	2. Blanket
3. Knife	3. Fist Aid
4. Binoculars	4. Scissors
5. Flashlight	5. Book
6. Rifle ammo x15	6. Flask, water
7. Pistol ammo x5	7.
8.	8.
9.	9.
10.	10.
11.	11.
12.	12.

VEHICLE

Vehicle One:
Type:
Reliability:
Travel Speed:
Combat Speed:
Damage:

Chaotic Okay

Nav

Crow