Zombies Delta Green Style

Background

Dr. Wilson is desperate. Wilson’s long-time partner and only love is dying of cancer. Wilson believes the answer to this is in grandpa’s old notebooks, which contain some strange rituals. Wilson has been trying to make one of the rituals work, and all his failed attempts are at the family’s old farm, imprisoned in the barn.

But who is Dr. Wilson? It might be one of three siblings: Justin Wilson, veterinarian, or Karen Wilson, Ph.D., dental surgeon, or Molly Wilson, Ph.D., biology teacher. In this scenario, all three are suspects, and all three are to be investigated. The first two approached by the team will supply information that will allow the agents to conclude that the third is the culprit. The adventure is designed this way to guarantee that the agents won’t find the one responsible for all the mess until the end.

Background

Robert Wilson was a bad man. And he also knew things man was not meant to know. When his son and daughter-in-law died in a car accident, Robert was tasked with raising Justin, Karen and Molly, his grandchildren, on his own at the farm he lived in. He did his best to keep his “research” hidden from the children and managed to keep his temper in check long enough for the siblings to grow up and go to the university. All three Wilson siblings eventually returned to live close to Robert, but not at the farm.

About six months ago, Robert died. The siblings, now adults with their own families, started sorting through what Robert left behind. One of them found grandpa’s notebooks, which contain a ritual promising to preserve “life” for an indeterminate amount of time. What the notes didn’t mention is that this is achieved by making the body host to an inter-dimensional entity. Dr. Wilson tried the ritual on a few animals first and on some homeless people later. All are still “alive”, but possessed by something. And all are the barn.

The Wilson Siblings

• Justin Wilson, 46, veterinarian, married to Helena Wilson, has a clinical practice in town (SECRET: is addicted to painkillers he has access to as a veterinarian).
• Karen Wilson, 44, dental surgeon, married to Zed Styles, bank teller, has a clinical practice in town (SECRET: had an affair with Joe, a dental hygienist that works at her clinic).
• Molly Wilson, 41, biologist, married to Jane Smith, librarian, works as a teacher at one of the local high schools (SECRET: was involved in a vehicular accident a month before when out of town that resulted in the death of a young girl; is remorseful about it and the fact of having ran away).

Entry Point

The player’s Agents are called by Agent Schaeffer, with whom they worked before, to investigate the case. Schaeffer summarizes the facts for the group.

• Two weeks ago, Jane Smith, a teenager from [CITY, STATE] was accidentally killed with a shotgun while camping with friends south of town.
• Her friend, Chad Hoskins, told the police he was trying to shoot a badger with glowing green eyes and hit Jane.
• He also told the badger “spoke”, asking if Chad was “Dr. Wilson”.
• Chad, after talking with the police, killed himself. He left a note saying he felt guilty about killing Jane even though it had been an accident.
• The other three teenagers present at the scene, Alice, Trent and Zoe, confirm the presence of a glowing green-eyed badger and that the animal clearly said “Dr. Wilson”.
• The police found drugs when examining the camping site, specifically cannabis and some mushrooms.
• The police dismissed Alice, Trent and Zoe’s report as being drug-influenced.
• The case was closed after Chad committed suicide.
• A local FBI agent found the news in the “weird stories” section of [STATE]’s largest newspaper. He noticed there were three Dr. Wilsons at [CITY]. The player’s Agents were assembled to investigate.

Investigation

Interviewing the teenagers is a deadend, but they confirm they saw the badger and that it spoke “Dr. Wilson”.

Dr. [SIBLING #1] Wilson
The first sibling to be interviewed mentions that SIBLING #2 seems guilty about something (it is because of the SECRET mentioned above) and that SIBLING #3 seems very sad (because his/her partner is dying), but SIBLING #1 does not know why.

Dr. [SIBLING #2] Wilson
The second sibling to be interviewed, if pressured, confesses his/her [SECRET]. The guilt about not telling anyone is too big, and he/she breaks downs when questioned by law enforcement. The second sibling also mentions SIBLING #3 is sad because his/her partner is dying at the local hospital. He/she might be at home, but also at their grandpa’s farm, where he/she has been recently staying at.

At the farm

Ideally, the agents will go to the farm at night.

The family’s small farm has a house, a barn and a toolshed. Dr. Wilson is in the house and completely drunk. If questioned, he/she will speak incoherently, but will tell the agents not to look in the barn.

The barn is all dark. The doors and windows are locked. Tying to look inside will show some movement. If someone talks close to the barn, voices are heard inside. Pleas for release are made.

Opening the door will allow the agents to see a cow, two dogs and two people with glowing green eyes. The cow will say: “Are you Dr. Wilson? Did you call us? I can tell you a secret, but you have to get closer”. If the agents move away, the possessed creatures will try to attack. Being “kissed” by one of them will lead to the agent being possessed.

The “zombies” are not supernaturally fast, but the cow can easily outrun and trample a person. After that, it is not hard to “kiss” to spread the possession. The one advantage humans have is nimbleness.

To enhance the tension, the GM can keep the creatures speaking and making promises about knowledge if they get closer. Also, the GM can highlight the “glowing green eyes in the dark” effect.

Shooting the possessed in the head will release the possessing entities from this dimension, so it is the simplest solution. The agents will also have to decide how to deal with Dr. Wilson. He is guilty of illegal experimentation with at least two homeless people, but the evidence of the crime is something Delta Green has to suppress.

Credits

This was an entry to the 2020 shotgun scenario contest. Written by Lucas Furstenau.