Cynthia Geiss

Milieu[]

Cynthia Geiss is Key 3: The Teacher.

Story[]

I loved my class and every child in it, Mr. Riley. Truly I did. And it was for just that reason that I begged them to shut down the school. There was no way to protect them, you see.

Every morning I was told to make them line up, so that I could check them for "spots". I had to know right away if one of them had been bitten or scratched, you see. They told us the infection could spread very rapidly, and we couldn't let one sick child hurt all the others. The district policy was that a child showing signs of the Plague should be sent home right away, and the parents and the authorities would be notified. But I felt sick and ashamed asking my students to roll up their sleeves or show me their fingernails every morning. I could see how scared they were as they stood in the line waiting for me to tell them that they were going to be ok.

There were already infected people roaming the streets at night — I had even seen a few in daylight. I was more terrified with every passing day that one of my kids would be attacked, either on their way to school or even when they went out to play at recess. Every stomach–churning moment of dread I had ever felt when I looked up and saw a strange man standing too close to the playground — well, multiply that by a thousand.

In the end I stopped fighting to have them shut down the school when I realized that some of the children had no other place to go. Jimmy Callahan came to school three days in a row wearing the same shirt and jeans, and by the third day I could see that he hadn't taken a bath. I found him hiding in the cloak room, eating a sandwich that he'd stolen from another child's lunchbox — he couldn't help it, poor thing. He was starving. when I was able to draw him out, he told me that his mother had "gone black" — she was a zombie. He couldn't go home.

The same day, I found marks on Amber Sullivan and Heather Burkenfeld. It's a terrible thing to see wounds like that on a child, to know that someone lashed out with such force. I'll never forget those ragged lines across poor Heather's back, and the bite on Amber Sullivan's arm — I'll never forget the way they cried when the paramedics came to take them away. I was crying myself by the end of it.

The school was attacked later that day. The students ran — I still like to believe that most of them got away. But some of them couldn't run home, Mr. Riley, and even now it haunts me to think that they might be out there alone, with no one to look out for them.

If you find them, please try to bring them back.

Gameplay[]

Character Sheet[]

Attributes
	Cynthia Geiss
Previous Occupation	ex–Teacher
Gender	Female	Age	48
Smarts	50
Power	40
Speed	36
Finesse	42
Toughness	29
Skills
Combat Skills
Assault Weapons	0	Blades	0
Clubs	0	Hand to Hand	0
Pistol	0	Rifle	0
Other Skills
Carpentry	0	Electrical	0
First Aid	23	Interaction	50
Lock Pick	0	Mechanical	0
Medicine	14	Metal-Working	0
Scout	16	Sneak	0
Spot	38

Powers[]

The Teacher has devoted her life to the care and nurturence of children. Once recruited, she is immune to all morale penalties, including zombie infection, while you command any survivors under the age of 18. Ms. Geiss knows that the children need her, and she will never let them down.

All survivors under the age of 18 will receive maximum skill point increases per day while she is under your command. Her power works, and she's a very good doctor/nurse.