[center][img]https://static.3drealms.com/media/game_logos/logo_maxpayne.png[/img][/center]

[hr]

Handsome Jack's announcement caught me sleeping in a quiet corner underground. Not the worst place I've slept, and cooler than the surface. After walking for the better part of a day, anything vaguely soft was a welcome bed. My back cracked as I got off the pile of broken down cardboard boxes. The residents had been surprisingly generous given the situation. I took a moment to collect my belongings, as well as anything that might be useful for the town. It didn't seem like every nook and cranny had been searched, and I took a moment to collect what I could before heading out. I didn't really look closely at what I grabbed, just threw it into a box. [ROLL FOR LOOT]

My headache drummed out a marching beat as I made my way over to the RED side of town. The mirrored nature of all the major features made navigation surreal, like crossing over to an alternate reality. I slouched into the office of the Mayor, only to bump into the others that had answered the call. Clearly I was late, an excellent first impression. Thankfully it seemed that the group was introducing itself.

[quote=@Crosswire]
"I'm Cedar Birch, M-Mr. Marston! North sounds like a g-good direction. I personally like south but that's only because south is more interesting to say."
[/quote]

I quietly listened to Cedar go on, reflecting on the others before something she said caught my attention.

[quote=@Crosswire]
"Um, uh..." Cedar hesitated but slowly rose her hand. "I died once. At least I think I did. There was a big flash, a loud noise, lots of heat, and then everything went dark. The fact everyone was turning into zombies and dying probably meant we got bombed."

The teen tried to speak clearly and simply, but her voice had a not so subtle shake to it as she recalled what she had gone through and the things she had seem crawling and shambling through the streets of Raccoon city.

"L-last year I can remember was 1998, can't remember the month though. I wasn't very good at keeping track of dates."
[/quote]

Now, it takes a lot to surprise me, especially after waking up in this patchwork world, but that did it. [color=red] "Excuse me? You [i]died[/i] in 1998? It was 2004 for me."[/color] I then noticed that I'd interrupted the cowboy, and the silent woman waving her hands around. [color=red] "Sorry, I'm Max Payne, NYPD Detective."[/color] I waved my hand towards the others. [color=red] "Go on."[/color]

[@agentnumalol]