Halvorsen Farm is a small walled farm in western Kansas, two miles off the old interstate. Two travelers are staying in the barn loft and working for their keep.
The girl is Nell Avery, 14. She cannot be infected by the Z-Virus. She was bitten in Camp Seven in 2063 and never got sick, and her blood tests stay clean. She has a round bite scar on her left forearm.
The man is Cal Rourke, 52, a former Lifeline guard. He was sent to take Nell to the Lifeline Campus in Atlanta. He learned that Dr. Amara Osei wants tissue from Nell's brain and spine for a vaccine, which would kill her. He ran with Nell that night. He is taking her west to Continuity Command at Cheyenne Mountain, who say they can make a vaccine from her blood alone. That is half true. General Carla Nash also wants to control who gets it.
Ruth Keller, the Lifeline Retrieval captain, is at Topeka Grain Depot to the east with a Retriever named Owen Pratt. She asks every wagon driver from the west about a man and a girl traveling together. She pays well for news.
Greta has not asked many questions yet. Nell does not know everything Cal knows, and she is starting to ask.
Greta Halvorsen, the farmer. She wants the corn in, the fence up and her son safe. She lets the travelers stay because they work.
Peder Halvorsen, her son. He hunts, sets snares and fixes the fence. He wants to see a real city one day, even a dead one. He asks every stranger about the road.
Cal Rourke, the man in the loft. He wants to get Nell west without being found. He trusts nobody, and Lifeline least of all.
Nell, the girl. She wants to see the world and to be treated as someone who can look after herself. She is scared of doctors and needles.
Ruth Keller wants Nell brought to Atlanta. Her son and daughter turned in 2055. She believes a vaccine would save every other mother's children.
Dr. Amara Osei at the Lifeline Campus wants Nell in her lab. She is not cruel. She thinks one life for billions is the right trade.
General Carla Nash at Cheyenne Mountain Base wants Nell so she can decide who gets a vaccine. Her base doctor, Victor Hale, first said a blood-only vaccine might work. He is not sure it is true.
Let the players choose. None of these is the main plot.
West to the mountain. The players travel with Cal and Nell toward Cheyenne Mountain Gate. The road is long, and every town on it has heard the rumor of the immune child.
The reward. The players learn who Ruth Keller is looking for. They can sell the news, or hand Nell over at Topeka Grain Depot. Lifeline pays well.
The truth comes out. A zombie bites Nell in front of the players, or they see her scar and a clean test strip. Then they must decide what to do with what they know.
Another way. The players look for a vaccine that does not kill her. Victor Hale, Dr. Hana Ito at Camp Seven or the Marked at Black Canyon Camp could each help, for their own reasons.
Hide her. The players help Nell disappear with the Marked, or keep the secret at the farm for good.
Single zombies wander in from the interstate, mostly at night. Kansas is Wild Land, so Loud noise is half as likely to bring more.
Burners camp to the east and test everyone they meet. Nell and Cal pass a blood test, but Burners ask a lot of questions.
Hutchinson Salt Vault, to the east, holds families who turned underground.
Raiders, bounty hunters and Tollmen want the reward that the road rumor talks about.
Ruth Keller and Owen Pratt ride west as soon as someone gives them a good lead. Use the Lifeline Retriever stat block for them.
Topeka Grain Depot, where Ruth Keller waits.
Cheyenne Mountain Gate and Cheyenne Mountain Base, where Cal wants to go.
Camp Seven, where Nell was born.
Lifeline Campus in Atlanta, where Dr. Osei waits.
Hutchinson Salt Vault, a salvage site to the east.
Miller Grange in Iowa, another Grange farm on the same wagon routes.