Day 2, November 6th, 2020, Approx. 1:00 AM (7:00 GMT)
While Michael and Francisco go to work on rebuilding the electrical system in the truck (a hefty project indeed), Elway and Brian head out to scavenge for spare parts and anything else useful. Janice and Duke decide to come along as well since it seems Michael and Francisco have everything in hand. Officer Beeman bids your group adieu, wishing you all well. He says he wants to try to locate his partner, but hopes you find someplace safe to hole up for a while.
Despite your best efforts, you have a very bad string of luck while scavenging. You look high and low, inside and out, but find absolutely nothing of value. The best you can come up with are a few empty soda and water bottles. You couldn't even find a spare tire. You return back to the truck at the end of several hours of tedious searching to find Francisco and Michael have done a bit better. The electrical system is almost rebuilt, the necessary parts anyway. It looks like you'll be cruising down the road in no time.
Night falls before you have completed the repairs. You make a meal of your canned goods and other various sundries, taking care to preserve as much as you can since you don't know when you'll find more food and water. The water is very carefully rationed since you need it more than food. Meanwhile Francisco and Michael are forced to work by flashlight to get the engine running, which uses up a battery in the process. But their hard work pays off. A short while after midnight, they give the engine another crank and it starts up beautifully. It may be late, but once again you are on the road.
Where will you go now? You have transportation, but limited food. None of you have working cellular phones. You do have a working CB radio that can also pick up local stations (which Francisco and Michael hooked up to the truck battery), but you are unsure whether that actually does you any good since last time you attempted to use the radio you got mostly static. But the broadcast you did receive hinted that, at least somewhere, there is a working radio tower and therefore possibly electricity as well. (OOC hint: You know Chicago and Gary were nuked. Heading southward seems practical. Examine Google maps for a heading. There is a US Highway map in the glove compartment of the truck.)
[sblock=OOC]First the bad news (well for you guys). After a year and a half of unemployment, I have finally found a job. On the plus side, me and my wife now have additional income. On the downside, I have a lot less free time. For the time being I won't be able to post more than once or twice a week. This may reduce the number of play-by-post games I can handle. The good news is that this game, being my favorite, is nowhere near the chopping block. So worry not about that.
Regarding scavenging, the rules are fairly simple. Make a Search check for each 1000 square feet (~93 square meters) you are scavenging. Each check takes 10 minutes. If you don't know the dimensions of the area you are Searching, make three checks as a rule of thumb. The person with the highest Search check in the group is the primary (I'll break any ties). Everyone else who searches is a secondary (they roll checks to aid). I will give you the results. Since you don't have a lot to scavenge, I have assumed you take 20 and have time to search 2000 square feet. Note there is a random element to scavenging. As above, sometimes you can have incredibly bad luck and get nothing. It also doesn't help that you have only one rank in Search amongst all four of you.
As for equipment losses, everyone consumes one day's worth of food and one battery is used up. The deluxe electrical kit is now missing a bunch of parts, but should be good for several more minor repairs or one major repair.[/sblock]
