"Lullaby" is the eleventh mission of Season 4.
You're charged with escorting Sam on a shopping trip for a very specific type of supply.
Cast[]
Plot[]
Home Before Sunset[]
You're taking Sam on a trip to pick up a CD of Chinese lullabies for the baby. Seeing as things are a bit quiet at the moment this is fine by Janine.
They're On Your Tail[]
Sam is getting pre-fatherhood jitters. Janine is more worried about the zombies ahead of you, and asks you to distract them while Sam sneaks into the Cultural Centre.
Back To The Cultural Centre[]
While you take a small detour to pick up some Swiss Army knives Janine and Sam have a heart-to-heart about their families and childhoods. Unfortunately Sam's attracted some zoms.
Here Goes Nothing...[]
Janine suggests setting a fire to cut the zombies off. Sam can't bear the thought of destroying the only part of China he still has left, so he makes a run for the front doors.
Not Quite As Planned[]
You reach Sam just in time for him to save you from a close encounter with a zombie. He and Janine talk about the unfairness of loss.
Time To Get It Right[]
You've attracted a small pack of zoms now, but Janine has snipers ready and waiting. Just before you get back to Abel, Sam confides in Janine about the days just after the outbreak, and how he lost his parents. He decides to give the CD a listen once you're back home.
Transcript []
JANINE DE LUCA: Runners ready?
SAM YAO: Ready.
JANINE DE LUCA: Gates up, please.
[gate siren, gates raising]
SAM YAO: Hey, both of you. Thanks for agreeing to this. I know taking me shopping isn’t really top priority…
JANINE DE LUCA: Miss McShell is making progress in her research from that Viking zombie arm. She has all the support she needs. The Ministry have sent in a team of scientists to help her. Things are quiet. I’m willing to give some furlough at this juncture. And the Chinese Cultural Centre isn’t far. What did you end up deciding to bring back for the child?
SAM YAO: Ah, it’s really cool. I managed to track down one of the guys who used to curate the little museum at the Centre on Rofflenet. And he told me there’s a whole library of CDs. We didn’t really speak Chinese at home, but when my grandma would come to visit, she used to sing me this lullaby. Uh, sort of like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. Um, “Yi shan yi shan liang jing jing.” Sorry. That’s not very good. I guess you see why I want the CD.
JANINE DE LUCA: That’s...very nice.
SAM YAO: Oh. You think so?
JANINE DE LUCA: I - yes. I understand. Though if you’re intending to reach your destination in time, you’ll need to go quickly. We have less than two hours before sunset. Let’s have you and Runner Five home before that.
JANINE DE LUCA: You’ll come to the Cultural Centre shortly on your left. Look for the white building on the corner.
SAM YAO: Aw man. This is so weird.
JANINE DE LUCA: You mean the baby?
SAM YAO: Oh, I was actually going to say being outside Abel again, but well, yeah, now that you mention it…
JANINE DE LUCA: If you’re having second thoughts about fatherhood, Mister Yao, you’re many months too late!
SAM YAO: No, no, it’s good! It’s amazing! It’s brilliant! I am so excited. I’m going to teach that child to like, whistle, and tell the time, and play the ukulele, after I’ve learned to play the ukulele. I mean, like, it’s the best thing that’s ever happened. But also like, my dad, well, he was always saying I behaved too irresponsibly.
JANINE DE LUCA: Mm…
SAM YAO: Oh, right, thanks for the support!
JANINE DE LUCA: I’m focusing on the zombies, Mister Yao. There seem to be quite a lot of them in the vicinity of the Cultural Centre.
SAM YAO: Oh, yeah. We can see what you mean. Looks like five or six right by the front doors. Oh…
JANINE DE LUCA: What?
SAM YAO: Looks like most of them are Chinese. Were Chinese. Ah, I don’t know. I just didn’t know many Chinese people growing up that I wasn’t related to, and… ah, I don’t know. It’s just memories. Sorry.
JANINE DE LUCA: Well, let’s clear them out the way, shall we? Runner Five, take the lead. We’ll have these zoms follow you up the road and then let Mister Yao slip inside. There appears to be a clear path on the ground floor.
SAM YAO: Thanks, Five. I’ll see you in a few.
JANINE DE LUCA: Get as close to those zoms as you can, Runner Five. Yes, good. They’re looking your way. They’re starting to follow… they’re on your tail. Now run.
SAM YAO: [rummages] How’s Five doing?
JANINE DE LUCA: We’re running a few more blocks to ensure we shake the zoms. And Five, while you’re there, could you swing past the camping goods store? Runner Thirteen saw some Swiss Army knives there that we could use. Mister Yao, have you found your disc yet?
SAM YAO: Nearly. I think it might be in this drawer. Aha! There we go. Aw man, there’s loads here. Might take a few more. Not that I know what half of them say.
JANINE DE LUCA: We can probably find a translator for you. People have surprising skills. Did I ever tell you that I grew up speaking Urdu?
SAM YAO: Janine, you haven’t ever told me anything about yourself.
JANINE DE LUCA: That’s not true. You know I dislike marmite.
SAM YAO: [laughs] Every single thing I’ve ever got out of you has been at gunpoint. I mean at literal gunpoint. I didn’t even know you had a brother until he turned up trying to murder you.
JANINE DE LUCA: Yes, well, there are reasons for that.
SAM YAO: Oh, yeah. I know. Sorry. But just – hang on, wait. Backtrack. Urdu?
JANINE DE LUCA: Yes. My parents were diplomats posted to Pakistan for most of my childhood.
SAM YAO: This is literally the first time you’ve ever mentioned you even had parents!
JANINE DE LUCA: They died when I was twelve.
SAM YAO: Oh. I’m sorry.
JANINE DE LUCA: They’d given me a great deal before that. I treasure their memory, as I’m certain you treasure the memory of your parents. Well, evidently.
SAM YAO: Yeah. My dad was… well, we didn’t have the easiest relationship. It’s just, he always seemed so sure about everything. There was always a plan. And me, well, I couldn’t do his plan. Not like he wanted.
Back in uni, all I ever used to hear from him was, “You don’t understand responsibility!” and, “You’re not ready for the real world!” and, “Stop bringing all your laundry home for your mum to do in the holidays.” [laughs]
And I guess I still hear him in my head when I think about being a dad. I don’t – [sighs] I don’t want to be a dad like that, you know? I want my kid to know that I’ll just always support them -
JANINE DE LUCA: Mister Yao?
SAM YAO: What was that?
JANINE DE LUCA: The zombies on the other floors of the Cultural Centre are converging on your position. You’ll need to leave now.
SAM YAO: Oh damn. Alright, I’ll go. Which way do I go?
JANINE DE LUCA: Left along your nearest corridor. Runner Five, you still have time. Camping goods store, then back to the Cultural Centre fast as you can.
SAM YAO: Haven’t seen any zoms yet, but I can hear them. I think they’ve caught my scent.
JANINE DE LUCA: Where are you now?
SAM YAO: I got turned around. I’m in the gift shop now. Don’t suppose I might be able to scare the zoms off with paper fans and postcards?
JANINE DE LUCA: In fact, yes, maybe. In your pack there should be a box of matches. If you start a fire from your position, you could trap most of them behind you and use the smoke as cover to escape the rest quite comfortably.
SAM YAO: What, you want me to burn this place down?
JANINE DE LUCA: You’ll be perfectly safe! Runner Five should intercept you just outside the main doors.
SAM YAO: No, it’s not me! It would destroy the Centre!
JANINE DE LUCA: It’s just a building.
SAM YAO: No! No, it isn’t. It’s China. It’s just, I mean, my kid is never going to get to go to China. I mean, probably. No one’s bringing back international flights any time soon, and it’s a long walk. All China will ever be is like, whatever movies I can find and what I can remember and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. At least if the Centre’s standing, the kid can see pictures of people like us having families and owning shops, and – [sighs] Oh, I don’t know. It’s just all there is, now.
JANINE DE LUCA: Yes. I see. I think that about Pakistan sometimes. It’s not home, but the smells are the smells of my childhood. I always thought I’d visit again, but of course I never shall now. Do you have an alternative plan for making an escape? One that doesn’t involve burning the Centre to the ground?
SAM YAO: Uh, well, I figured I’d sprint for the main doors and hope for luck.
JANINE DE LUCA: Right. In that case, Runner Five, grab what you can from the camping goods store and come back to escort Mister Yao home. No dramatics today. When he comes through those doors, you’re both heading back here immediately.
SAM YAO: See you in a few, Five. Here’s goes nothing!
[zombies growl]
JANINE DE LUCA: Nearly there, Five. Keep the pace. Mister Yao, you have five zombies on your tail.
SAM YAO: Door! Door! I can see the exit!
JANINE DE LUCA: Five, get the front door open now.
[door opens]
SAM YAO: Five, watch out! Zom!
JANINE DE LUCA: It’s going for your neck. Hit it with the door.
[zombie flesh squishes]
SAM YAO: Oh man! That was too close. Come on, Five. They’re angry, and they’re heading this way. Let’s get going. Oh man. Imagine if I’d been killed here, trying to get a CD. That would have been – [laughs] Well, that would have been exactly as stupid as my dad always said I was.
JANINE DE LUCA: I doubt he would have thought you stupid, Mister Yao. And if he did, he was wrong. You have proved yourself at Abel over and over again.
SAM YAO: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it’s a weird time.
JANINE DE LUCA: I know that Doctor Cohen’s plasmapheresis has had to be increased again. Three hours every morning. It must be a strain.
SAM YAO: Yeah. Man, it’s horrible for her, and painful. And I know Maxine worries about her, and I do, too. But I don’t know. I just have this feeling. I couldn’t say it to Max, she’d tell me about science and stuff, but I’ve just got this feeling it’s going to be alright. Veronica’s so close with the cure. We’ve found out so much. Paula just can’t – I mean, you know.
JANINE DE LUCA: Even with all we’ve seen, it can be hard to believe that tragic things really do happen to the best people. It took Tom months to believe the truth about our parents and their car crash. We were sent home to England to live with General Bakari, who’d been a great friend of my father’s. We went to English schools, and Tom still didn’t believe it. He said we were all lying to him, that he was the only one who knew the truth. And when he finally accepted it… well, he refused to speak Urdu ever again. It had been our secret language in England, and he just wouldn’t anymore. The first of many losses between us.
SAM YAO: It’s not easy to lose someone once you get them back.
JANINE DE LUCA: [laughs] Not if they turn out to be a serial killer, no. The slamming of that door has drawn more zoms at your six.
SAM YAO: So, yeah, this isn’t the nice quiet evening run I promised, is it?
JANINE DE LUCA: The one thing I’ve learned throughout my life, Mister Yao, is that nothing ever works out precisely as one hoped. We’ll have snipers waiting for you on your return.
JANINE DE LUCA: Snipers ready. They’ll take out the zombies currently chasing you when you’re in range.
SAM YAO: Thanks.
JANINE DE LUCA: I’ll file an operations report on the Chinese Cultural Centre asking for it to be cleared of zombies but not destroyed -
SAM YAO: Janine? Five? Can I tell you something I’ve never told anyone?
JANINE DE LUCA: Certainly. It’s possible we possess the two most sealed sets of lips in the post-apocalyptic world.
SAM YAO: Right. Okay. Right. I wanted to tell someone, and uh, Paula and Max just aren’t… I can’t put another burden on them. Now, I just want to say it, okay? And like, don’t say anything until I’m finished, okay? Right.
Uh… I was home for the holidays when the outbreak hit. Our street was jammed with cars. Everyone at home was trying to get out, and everyone out was trying to get in. I think it was just luck that Mum made it back before everything went crazy. By the time my dad got out of work, he couldn’t have driven back to us if he tried. I never did find out if he got bitten trying to get to us, or if he got it at the office, and the walk home just gave the virus time to spread through his system.
Mum got me to make him a cup of tea right after he got in. I remember thinking he looked so small, slumped over in his chair. She was uh, stroking his hair. Then he opened his eyes. Mum was closer. He went for her first, got her arm. If I hadn’t have been the one to get the tea…
I don’t even remember what I used to kill him. I… think it might have been a lamp, to be honest. Amazing it even worked. And then it was just me and her. And she looked at me, blood all down her arm. And it took a while for us to talk it through. We watched the news for a bit. You remember how it was. And there was her arm, bitten. She asked me to do it before she ended up the same as Dad. At least I didn’t have to use the lamp that time, right? I mean, that’s not a trait I’d want to pass on to my child: skills with lamp-based matricide and patricide.
JANINE DE LUCA: Mister Yao, if you are in any way trying to suggest an act of compassion would make you an unfit father -
SAM YAO: Janine, I know.
JANINE DE LUCA: To be able to give a loved one the dignity of a human death -
SAM YAO: Janine.
JANINE DE LUCA: I won’t have you beating yourself up over it!
SAM YAO: I’m not! I used to, but I’m not now.
JANINE DE LUCA: Then what?
SAM YAO: I’m saying maybe my dad did a better job than he thought. I never felt like I was good enough for him, but when I had to, really like, had to do something like that, I mean, I did it. I think that’s what he was always trying to tell me. Not that I couldn’t handle responsibility – the opposite. That I could. That I was more than I thought I was. I miss him.
[gunshot]
JANINE DE LUCA: You’re almost home. One last push and you’ll be through the gates. Come on, give the snipers some room to do their work.
SAM YAO: When I get back, I think I’m going to listen to that CD. I’ve got a couple of weeks. That should be enough time to get the pronunciation right, don’t you think, Five?
Codex[]
Letter[]
Hi Five,
I've tried writing this a couple of times now, and I don't want to waste too much paper so... I guess I just wanted to say, thank you for listening. I feel like I'm always saying that, especially to you, but I can't tell you how much I appreciate being able to talk to you like this. I hope you and Janine know you can always rely on me too - you both do so much for the township, and I know I'm not the only person with... you know, with baggage about family.
If you fancied some company later, you should feel free to stop by. I'll just be listening to that CD, and it'd be nice to have someone to practice my pronunciation with if you were around.
Love,
Sam
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Axe
Box of Lightbulbs
Deodorant
Dress
Hearing Aid
Overcoat
Radio
Sewing Kit
Shirt
Shorts
Sleeping bag
Sports Bra
Tennis racket
Tinned Food
Tool Box
Toothbrush
Trainers
Trousers
Whisky
Base Unlocks[]
The following objects unlock for your Base upon completing this mission.
Cultural Centre
- Description: Most cultural centres are now overrun by zombies, so Janine has approved the construction of this building at Abel. Anyone can add keepsakes or stories to preserve their cultural background for the next generation.
- Cost: 80 supplies, 1 material (level 1); 200 supplies, 2 materials (level 2); 300 supplies, 3 materials (level 3)
- Effect: Increases morale (level 1); increases defence (level 2); increases morale (level 3).
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