Where the world starts ending.

[Kiro Akira]

So it's 2013, and of course the myans were right, I didn't believe it when it started, nobody did. We all assumed it was a huge joke but as the end of december passed it became to see from a joke to a living action. These walking things. These monsters, they're all out to get us and we're all alone. Theres just us and nobody else. Maybe beyond the way of our sight we shall encounter more people to provide for us. But you know as well as I do that it won't happen. We all know that it won't happen. It's just me, you, the others then them...Those things are probably going to over power us, some of you will die and if your bit I'll personally shoot you right between the eyes no questions asked. No matter how much I love you. So heres how it is ok?


Your not the prodigy, I'm not the prodigy and nobody here we know shall see the end of this world. Of course the dead will rise and your mission is the same as mine, survive. The world has gone to hell and you have nothing but a couple of small things you've gathered up to save yourself. Right outside, behind the place you call home. Thereis nothing but explosions, wreckage, those things....The things that were once human. Whether you see it or not this world will begin to end sooner then we all think, now lets see how we progress through out this world and let our books of the attack open to see. This here is where our story begins.

Sign up thread:


http://rpnation.com/index.php?threads/where-the-world-starts-ending-sign-up.14463/#post-534291

​

Spoiler

Name:


Kiro Akira


Age:


19


Appearance (Human only):

Without the glasses


Starting area:


the outskirts in a small house






Bowie Knife

44. Handgun

History:


Before the apocalypse Kiro worked at a small store not to far where he stayed, made minimum wage money and lived in a small apartment complex with Emi Akira. Other then working everyday Kiro spent his free time learning how to use one handed swords as well as going for jogs trying to keep in shape. He had no real big life or any good skills. He was average at his sword use tho.


When the world went to hell, Kiro and his girlfriend Emi left the apartment complex leading off to a smaller section of the city, he was just on the outskirts and stayed in a small house using a gas generator to keep the electricity running through the house.


Other:

"I have no home. We have no home. Things will never be the same."


Name:


Harley Galloway


Age:


23


Starting area:


Alley way, right after she got her weapons.


Starting Weapons (Only 3):


Crossbow and a hunting knife


"Run. GO! I got this. Dont let them die. Keep them safe."


History:


Harley is a traveler. She never stays in one place for too long. She was given up at 3 years old to a orphanage. She grew up there with no one wanting her. The nights there were sad and lonely. She had no one as family, as friends. She had NO ONE. She left the orphanage at 17 years old and begin to hitch hike across the U.S., seeing things that others would only dream about seeing.


She lived and amazing life for someone with no home and no job. That all ended when December 21, 2012 happened. She was woken up by someone trying to chew through the leather jacket she stole. She pushed the man away and spotted his deformed, pained face. He had blood all over him. She screamed and jumped away, her scream attracting more. She got up and ran for her life, making it up onto a latter before they could get her.


Through everything Harley hit up a weapon store, getting a crossbow and a knife. She was lucky, for someone who was wanted by no one. Still in this god forsaken world she still longs for the hole in her chest to be filled, by a family and a man that loves her but she knows that would never happen. She is the only one left on earth. She is the only breathing human left. So, why dont she just opt out?


Other:


She finds a dog later on named Jaws. He has on a military badge.

Name: Emi Akira


Age: 17


Appearance: brown hair (dark brown in the winter; light brown in the summer), her eyes partake the color of green tea, and her hair reaches down past her thighs. She wears only skirts (along with a graphic tee) and dresses. They are easy to move around in, and are incredibly comfy. A pair of worn, black leather gloves cover her hands. For her weapons (and whatever else is needed), she sports a belt with multiple pouches and holders. Her height is 5'4. She is short :T


Starting area: Where ever Kiro Akira subsides (a rural area within a small house)


Starting Weapons (Only 4):


A Bow and arrow, a spear, a pistol, and one small pillow. (She can adapt to any weapon, as long as you teach her how to perform with it. But these are the main ones she favors.)


History: {unknown}


Other:


"In a world that occupies these horrid monsters, I live for stealth."






Name: Terri Jo


Age: 20


Appearance (Human only):

Starting Area: A small wreckage of a town that was once known as Flint to the people who lived there, located on the outskirts of the main city.


Starting Weapons (Only 3): 9mm handgun. Black bowie knife [holstered around her thigh.], and 7.62×51 mm polish bolt-action sniper rifle.


History: Terri grew up on a farm on the outskirts of the city. That is where she learned to hunt, fish, grow crops, and her favorite, ride horses. She was a typical southern girl, with a little twang to her voice, who dreamed big. She wanted her own pet store, to be a singer/songwriter, to be a sniper in the military and to have her own family. She grew up under the care of her grandpa, who passed a few months after she turned 18. He taught her everything she knew [including how to handle herself around others much stronger then her, and how to always find her way back to civilization if ever lost] and for that, she was grateful. Her weapons of choice all came from her grandpa. The bowie knife at the age of 12, the 9mm at age 16. The sniper rifle, found after he'd passed and the world went to hell, along with a few more of her grandpas military things she never knew he had. ~More to come later~


Other: All thats left of her home is the farmhouse, built by her great grandfather, an old pickup truck, occasionally used to get to town, and an old friend [more of a sister] she never thought she'd see again.

Name


William Henry


Age


17


Starting area


Inside his home.


Starting Weapons


None


History


Growing up with no knowledge of his parents, William lived his entire life depending on his older sister Alina. Though he had many questions, he was shown love and affection. Being very overprotected by his sister he never sought out to be rough or adventurous. William focused mostly on his intelligence, quickly surpassing others at his age in school. Being socially awkward, William did not make many friends and was often picked on for his delicate features. Most days he would stay in his room and contemplated life, not having many long term goals despite his intelligence and capability to become anything he put his mind to.


The only person he adored was his sister who gave him anything and everything. Living in a small house in the outskirts of the major city, it was peaceful and quiet, and having already finished high school William was taking it easy. The season was changing and encouragement was given to him to begin college courses. That's when the havoc began. Summer was ending and there was a strange chill in the air. William woke on a Saturday morning putting his glasses on, and after using the restroom he noticed it was unusually quiet which was strange since his sister was usually tending to the house.


He walked towards her room and slowly pushed open the door which was slightly opened. With a soft tone he called her name and quickly realized he was stepping bare in a puddle of blood. His eyes opened wide in shock and he gasped stepping back into the hallway slamming his back against the wall. At that moment he heard a moaning sound coming from down the hall from the kitchen heading towards his direction. Fixing his eyes down the hall slowly he saw a figure which appeared to be his sister, only she was mauled slightly, and covered in blood. Calling her name in a frantic tone, frozen in fear, she continued to step towards him only with more aggression.


William began to take in deep breathes as he slowly backed away from what was now his sister. Begging her to stop he began to tear not being able to bare what was happening to the only person he cared for. Once he backed up to the end of the hallway he turned towards his room and quickly slammed the door locking it. He struggled to find closure as he heard banging sounds on his door... Why was this happening...? What could I have possibly done to deserve this...? This must be all some dream... He thought to himself. Grabbing his hair and shutting his eyes he begged for himself to wake up, but after a short moment he realized what hell he was in. He's read all the books on the undead and seen all of the ridiculous movies. Could this really be happening...? Removing his glasses he wiped his eyes, sniffled and placed them back on.


All emotion that was left inside of him went away, and at first he contemplated killing himself. After coming to his senses he realized that dying was not what his sister would have wanted for him. She wanted him to use his gift of intelligence to better the world, to create something special. The bashing on his door continued and he realized it wouldn't hold for much longer. Being a mysophobe he despised the blood on his feet and searched for something to clean it off quickly. Putting on jeans and his boots he left the dark red sweater that was already on him.


Within a few minutes he could hear more moaning and banging on his door. William broke into a sweat realizing he had no time to pack any essentials, running towards his window he struggled to push it open and at that moment his door had smashed down and a horde of zombies were struggling over each other to devour him. Making it halfway out his window, his right leg was grabbed by one of the horrid beings, he screamed and used his left foot to kick the zombie in it's face forcing it to release him and also sending him flying out of the window and onto the grass. Falling on his left arm he felt a sharp pain and gritted his teeth. Rolling on his back he luckily was able to grab his glasses with his other hand, put them on and quickly got up. Holding his wounded arm he began to run towards the woods in a panic. What am I going to do...? He thought as he felt hopeless and without food, water, or any weapons he thought surely that his life was going to end.


Other


A great problem solver when content. Lacks in physical strength but makes up for it with intellect. Able to get out of rough situations.






Name: Ethan Vaughn Carter


Age: 17


Appearance (Human only):

Starting area: Corner diner, place of employment


Starting Weapons :


-Firefighter Axe


-Bucket


History: All his life, he was convinced the subsequent rating on the life and times of Ethan Vaughn Carter would be a resounded zero. Ethan lived a normal existence; the occasional fist fight with neighboring kids, high grades and horrendous grades. Girlfriend's meant nothing, as Ethan figured out early on that they meant nothing at such a young age. He lived with his mother and little brother, though Ethan's father abandoned the family when Ethan was naught but a squabbling babe. Even Ethan's little brother, Joshua, was boring. The kid seldom cried or caused trouble, and was practically adult-like in nature at an outrageously young age. Ethan loathed to admit it, but Josh learned how to cook before he could, and nothing wounded a man's pride more than asking your 8 year old brother to please make lunch. Living in the shadow of his little brother, Ethan cursed this blase life of his, one that he would soon come to yearn for once again as the world decayed around him.


(I apologize for the short history, I'm saving all zombie-related stuff for my intro post, if that's okay ^-^)


Other: Ethan is a very emotional person, especially now that his life is practically thrown away, and is slowly becoming accustomed to the zombie world he finds himself in. He is more confident than anything, both in his own abilities and the abilities of his friends. Ethan is too stubborn to let people become depressed, and often livens the moods of his comrades with sarcasm and oblivious-inquires, rather he means to or not.









Name:


Rho


Age:


20


Starting area:


In the middle of the city, inside her place of work, the Lotus Art Studio.


Starting Weapons:


Metal Pipe from one of the art pieces.


History:


Rho is a part-time college student who works in an art studio on the weekends. Her job is to sell other artist's work for them. She is or now, was a blossoming artist herself but, she had a little problem. She was pretty shy when showing her art to people, fear of being judged. What if she really didn't have any talent? None of that seems to matter now, I mean, unless the infected are interested in a canvas painting of a spring tree with buttons as the leaves.


When Rho wasn't attending school or work she usually could be found walking around the mall or in her back yard, stuck behind an easel and covered in paint. It's not that she didn't have friend's it's just that they were often busy and she was content being left with her hobbies, most of the time anyway.


Rho's parents were often gone and/or busy also. They both had very classified government jobs that had them traveling and working late hours often. Whenever they were home though, as seldom as it was, they let know Rho know that they loved her and tried to spend as much time as they could with her. The only problem with that was, they didn't know her. All they saw was a day dreaming girl who was always covered in paint. They didn't exactly approve of her major in art or how much time she spent consumed in it. They felt she would succeed in something more "practical" and for that, they never had the kind of connection she craved from her loved ones.


Other:


I seem to be having a really hard time writing out a bio for my character so this is mostly a place holder and I'll thicken the character up later

 

[shy massacre]

Home. What do you call home? A town that was once known as Flint to the people who lived there, thats what. A small farm town on the other side of a large hilltop, just on the outskirts of the city. Everyone knew each others name, never locked their doors, and would do the best they could to help each other out. No one was considered a stranger, even if they were from the city. That little town on the other side of the hill, was gone. Destruction left in its path as the undead wondered about.


A farm house with a wraparound porch was left, the place she use to call home. Even with the old squeaky floorboards, it was the place her heart belonged. There were a few other buildings, but none close by. The closest building was an old barn that use to keep a horse, few chickens, two pigs, and the occasional barn cat that would wonder in. Yep, that was her home. Or what it use to be. The barn was about caved in, baring no live animals, except the occasional rat that somehow managed to survive this hell.


Life wasn't what it use to be, but it was still her life. She'd fight till the end, doing her best to stay alive, just as her grandpa had taught her. Having grown up on a farm had its advantages too. She knew how to survive. She'd been taught well. Whether it be growing crops, fishing, hunting.. She knew it all. She wasn't an expert at hunting, she hated to fish, and crops didn't grow well in an apocolyptic world, but she did it to the best of her abilities. It was a needed thing in this world now. She'd go out every few days, hunting deer or fishin in the river down a broken path. When it came to crops tho, she went into the market in town, a few miles down the road, and carried home a couple seeds and potted soil. That was about a month ago and only now where her crops growing in a big pot on the porch, once used to water her horse. Not much, but it'd have to do.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The nights here were seemingly longer as she sat on the porch, listening to the sound of nothing. There where no crickets in the tall grass, singing their nightly song. Perhaps it was too cold.. Perhaps they where long gone. It was a kinda sad soundless nights, old memories flooding in her mind making it that way. She could remember the adventures she use to have, running about a mile down the road to an old friends farmhouse. The friends that lived there were long gone by now, all except one, Brielle, or at least she hoped. That was her closest friend and sister. She grew up running after her when she'd come to visit, some of the happiest of summer days. That was before all this craziness happened.


She had no idea where Brielle was, or if she was even alive. The last she saw of her was December, at her aunt's house, a few nights after they'd spent time together drinking and reliving old memories... Weeks ago, maybe even a month. It was when the outbreak was starting. She wished she could have gone back to that time, kept her friend here with her instead of taking her elsewhere to head back to a city. She was needed in the city more then she was needed here, that was her home after all. Couldn't Terri have gone back to look for her friend? She did once. The farmhouse she returned to was empty. There was a fear there. A fear of those things, her friend being one of them. She didn't have the heart to see her friend eating the flesh of someone she originally helped save as an RN. That wasn't the Brielle she loved like a sister, that wasn't her at all. So instead of searching for the girl she practically grew up with, she stayed in her little area, keeping a lookout on things around, taking care of her crops and hoping someday soon her friend or even someone would venture in.


Blinking a few times, she went out of her daydream. Or was it more of a nightdream, considering it was the middle of the night. A shiver ran down her spine, a small gust of wind blowing in her direction. Still no crickets. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she stood, moving to the screen door. It opened with a creak in it, springs old and rusting together. Some WD40 would do it some good but it was hard to find these days. She shut the screen door behind her, another creak screaming in the silent night air. Next, she would shut the door, left in complete darkness. Where had she placed that candle? Right.. Upstairs by her bed. She locked the door and moved to the stairs, taking one at a time before she finally reached the top. She moved silently to her bedroom, uncaring of the unlit candle by her bed on the bedside table. It'd been a long, uneventful day. She prayed it'd be an uneventful night.


Terri collapsed on the bed, closing her eyes as she snuggled into her pillow, another sigh escaping parted lips. Hopefully her dreams would take her to a happier place, one filled with a time before these hellish events happened. Thats exactly what happened. She dreamed of the week Brielle came from the city. The time spent hanging out, acting as crazy as they always had together. How they'd sit on the porch swing, drinking a couple drinks and thinking of the family they'd once hung around. It was the last night they'd spend together before Brielle went back to her aunt's farmhouse to take a little time to herself. Terri's eyes fluttered opened, the memory of her friend painful yet happy. She sighed into the darkness, one last time before she closed her eyes. This was the life she was living. A silent, lonely life on an empty farm. This was her home. Not much.. but it was hers. After all, home is where the heart is, right? The last thought in her head before she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

 

[Kiro Akira]

The morning broke the shades as it peekd through the window. It was morning already, Kiro had dealt with the night quite horribly and laid there in the bed staring to the ceiling. He would sigh softly placing his left arm over his eyes closing them wanting to go back to sleep escaping the hell by the wishes of his dreams. A happy dream, not the nightmare that haunted him last night. Awaking to his love hovering over him ripping at his skin. The thought was horrid and played over and over in his mind. Kiro inhaled deeply only to sit up and look towards Emi who slept next to him. Good, she was sleeping like an angel, her breathes weren't raspy and she wasn't trying to attack him.


Sighing softly in relief he shifted his figure to the side of the bed letting his feet touch the soft carpet. Kiro would then stand up and stretch out yawning letting his bones pop through his body. Hopefully today would be a good day, maybe they could obtain some supplies today. Go out for a quick run and get back before the zombies even knew they left. Kiro slipped clothes on for the day and left Emi to sleep as he headed out into the hall heading for the kitchen. The generator hummed just outside the hallway window. It was covered by a chain link fence so the undead couldn't get to it and turn it off while clawing at the noise. Sighing softly he peeked out the window seeing three of them already attacking the fence wanting it. Good thing was it was just three and not a horde of them.


Kiro made his way to the kitchen opening up one of the small cabinets taking what was left of a small loaf of bread as well as peanut butter and a small jar of jelly in the fridge. It was an empty fridge really and only had a few items left in it but it worked for the time being. He made himself the sandwich and replaced the stuff only to sit down on the edge of the counter eating his sandwich. The morning was starting off good. Or so it was so far.

 

[Ember Spark]

"No!" Taking a step she ripped her arm away from the undead man in front of her. She wiped away her tears as she backs away, pressing her back against the wall. She looked for an escape but there was none. She had no way of getting out of this alive and she knew it. Moving to the side the large man lunged at her, pinning her against the wall. He snapped at her with his teeth as she held him back with her weak arms. She cried out again as her arms gave out and he lunged again, sinking his teeth into her soft pale skin. A scream echoed through the alley as the undead ripped her skin away from her neck. She slipped sown to the ground as blood poured from her neck. She whimpered and blinked her eyes, watching as the large man pulled her intestines out of her stomach and begin to eat them.


A scream pulsed through the small metal shed as she grabbed her ears. This was an everyday thing. Wake up screaming and having to find a different place to stay because that scream would attract some of the undead. Standing from the spot she was sleeping, she moved over to the corner and picked up her crossbow. She made sure it was loaded, as always and removed the shovel handle from the door. She pushed open the door and looked around the alley between the houses. One dead guy from last night when she killed him. With a huff she moved into the alley and pointed the crossbow around. Nothing was around as she lowered her weapon to her hip and took off running. Firsts things first. She needed to find a new place to stay.


Stopping at a corner store she had already raided, knowing there was food in there, she stepped inside and pointed her weapon around. None. Not a undead soul. She frowned and moved to the shelf picking up a poptart and a water bottle. Moving back outside she hopped into the bed of a pick up truck and sat down, placing her crossbow beside her. She opened the pop tarts and begin to eat, not touching her water. She would need that for later.

 

[Delta]

The day started off like any other, and Ethan carried about his morning routine; the brushing of teeth, the eating of food, an arbitrary inspirational quote from his mother, and it was off to work with him. One of the neighbors was standing idly in front of his mailbox, adorned in a rather soft-looking bathrobe. "Goodmorning, sir!" said Ethan as he strolled down the sidewalk jubilantly. As both mailbox and neighbor alike loomed closer, the man slowly turned, and trudged towards Ethan like a repair-needed automaton. Ethan swore he could hear sickly moans and groans from his neighbor, but he didn't take the time to stay and listen. Awkwardly staring at his watch, Ethan fake-proclaimed that he was going to be late for work, and dashed away with speed that would make Lewis Carroll's White Rabbit's furry chest swell with pride.


As Ethan shouldered open the door of the dingy diner, he noted there was a noticeable difference in the amount of customers this morning. And what few people that WERE present slumped into their booths, weakly grumbling into their respective cups of liquid, though Ethan didn't find the cup-grumbling all that suspicious, possibly Papa Joe, Ethan's employer, made the coffee wrong again. Joe greeted Ethan bluntly and insincerely, immediately chaining off a long-winded chain of commands for the teenager to do. Ethan strolled into the kitchen and began to mop the dirt-crusted tiled floor when a chain of curses were set off like dynamite from Papa Joe, loud enough to make the poor employee nearly jump out of his skin.





When Ethan rushed into the main room, he saw Joe clutching his own neck, a steady stream of blood seeping through his fingers, and an equally bloody person, presumably a customer, sprawled over the counter unconscious. Papa Joe explained the bastard bit his neck, and that Ethan would be in charge of the diner as he rushed out the door to speed off to the hospital. Ethan stood awkwardly in place, devoid of any rational ideas of how to handle the current situation. The sprawled body expelled a large moan, and started crawling over the rest of counter, slumping heavily on the floor a yard or two from Ethan, who's eyes widened with growing fear. The person dragged itself slowly across the floor towards Ethan, and the Carter boy let loose a cry of shock, which made the presumably-sleeping customers slowly raise their heads, and eventually they too were making their slow way towards him. With no phone to call for help, Ethan rushed into the kitchen for a firefighter's ax that Joe kept in case of Lord-knows-what, and a bucket. Having played a plethora of video games, he knew exactly what situation he was in, and slowly gripped the idea that he was to kill these people. Slinging the bucket over the walking corpses' heads and clubbing the backside of the ax head into the bucket, which surprised Ethan, as both the... things hit the floor with a heavy deadweight thump and sickeninng fleshy plop, ceasing to get up, and the bucket remained in durable condition. With an exhausted and depressed sigh, Ethan slumped against the counter, flickering the outside diner lights with a signal for help -courtesy of Josh again- all the while feeling the weight of the current situation sink into his core.

 

[XEmptiness]

Struggling to gasp for air and breaking out into a sweat, the young man continued to pursue into nowhere. His running became slower yet he refused to stop, the trauma had faded and the pain in his let arm became more intense with each passing moment. William suddenly heard a sound coming from within about fifty feet in front of him, quickly reacting he turned and hid behind a tree. Sitting down, he rested the back of his head against the tree desperately trying to catch his breath as quietly as he could. He thought of his sister, she would have taken care of him in this situation, why did she have to die. Biting his lip he restrained his tears and swallowed the lump in his throat.


Hearing dragged footsteps draw closer to where he was resting with a cracked moan he knew what was coming and had to react quickly. Fixing his eyes to the ground and with his right hand shaking a bit he hesitantly grabbed a dirty stone just a bit bigger than his hand while watching a centipede squirm quickly off of it. As soon as the monster revealed itself to investigate what was behind the tree, William bounced up quickly, moving his right arm backwards and swinging with all the force he had bashing the rock into the zombies skull which sent it falling down into the dirt. Feeling the adrenaline rush kick in and still holding onto the stone, he saddled the zombie and continued to bash it's face and skull in as the zombie made it's last moan. Though the zombie was now dead, he continued to pummel the stone through it's skull and brain matter and after a few minutes he snapped out of the rush he felt. Blood covered his face and it was now silent, after wincing a bit from the pain in his left arm, he fixed his glasses and stood up dropping the stone and continued in the direction he was initially going only he was walking at a slow and tiring pace.


A gentle breeze surrounded the area picking up leaves and blowing Williams hair and clothing with it's current, this calmed him and refreshed his mind. Walking down a slightly steep hill he reached a small stream. Squatting down he pulled up his sleeve on his left arm slowly to reduce the pain and settled it in the water, he stayed this way for a few minutes with a calm expression. Something then caught his attention, he stared forward and noticed a deer drinking the water from the other side of the stream. Surprised to see any form of life he smiled and stared while the deer drank. This of course made his throat feel even dryer, he studied the deer for a moment too see if there were any side effects from drinking the water knowing that it could be quite possible that the water was contaminated.


The deer then noticed him, lifting her head up with her ears perked, she went for another drink then began to head towards an area which appeared to be some sort of crop field. Realizing it was safe he made sure his hand was cleaned then cupped his right hand and scooped handfuls of water drinking it as if he had been without water for a week. Wetting his face he sat back and sighed, having only water since last night which made him feel a bit light headed. Starring forward he figured that there may be some sort of vegetables in the crop field, maybe even people. Realizing the chance of walking into a death trap, and having much doubt in his new plan, William had to take a chance. He needed food, and something to help his sprained arm, honestly being surprised that he wasn't one of those things meals yet.


Standing up he caught his balance and found a tree laying in the stream that acted as a bridge to the other side. Stepping onto the wet bark he walked across and made his way for the crop field, smelling the aroma of dead carcasses and manure he entered the field and walked aimlessly towards the strong scent. The sun was setting, and he began to worry, he had never spent a night out in this hell yet and did not want too. Reaching a worn out barn, he slowly creaked open the door and peeked inside, covering his nose with his sleeve to avoid the distinct smell as much as he could. Night was coming and he this not might be the ideal place for him to be but it was his only option at the moment. Before he settled in though he decided to take a look around what appeared to be an abandoned farm.


Walking around he noticed fresh vegetables growing on the porch of a house, his eyes widened and he quickly made his way towards the porch limping slightly, walking up the steps he sat down and smiled as he picked a tomato off of it's plant and bit into it. How lucky he thought, this was the only moment he felt somewhat at ease. This place seemed to be abandoned so it wasn't like he was stealing... right? He felt a little bad about the idea and gave another look around with a slight frown. Walking towards the door it appeared to be locked, he sighed and winced being reminded of the pain in his left arm. He figured there wouldn't be any better place to stay, and he didn't want to go back to that dirty barn so he just sat on the porch with his back against the wall and his knees to his chest. Pulling his left arm slowly into his sweater he stared down attempting to keep warm from the cold breeze, too afraid to close his eyes he just remained in a tired state waiting for morning to come.

​

 

[Haley]

"The number you have dialed has been disconnected. Please hang up and try-..."


Redial.


"I'm sorry, the number you are calling cannot be comple-"


"Come on, shit..." Rho cursed as she hit redial for the millionth time on the Lotus Art Studio's land line. It had been a few days since she saw her nightmares come to life on the streets of the inner city. She swallowed back tears and hit redial again. "Mom... please... Dad.." She muttered as the same error message repeated itself, letting her know just how screwed she was.


"OH F*** YOU!" She screamed and threw the phone across the studio, where is slammed against a painting that was once worth 1,000. The sound it made felt louder than anything in her life within the cramped nervously quiet space, making her jump. The young woman felt to the floor and scooted herself under the front desk, the spot she'd made her bed for the past few nights. Rho pulled her knees up to her chin and huffed and terrified and frustrated tears streamed down her cheeks as the memories from only a few days prior haunted her.


The red stains were still there too, smeared and dried on the outside of the large glass windows. It had been a day just like any other, quiet, boring. Rho was doing her usual, doodling all over a sketch pad while she happily allowed her phone's battery to be drained by all her favorite music. She almost didn't notice the small group of teens running past the studio. It wasn't until a few of them screamed and the sound of a loud smack caused her to jump and look up to see a teenage female screaming and banging on the studio's window. Rho dropped her pencil and stood up but for some reason just couldn't make herself move. What she saw froze her too the bone.


There was a man in a business suit and, he was mercilessly ripping apart the flesh and muscles from this poor girl's calf and thigh. The noises he made were sickly, the screams she made were even worse. She saw her, she even called out to her for help but-...


"What was I supposed to do...?" She muttered to herself, as if it would answer itself and make her feel better. Instead, she got angry and stood up to look at the red bloody smears outside the window. "HUH? WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" She yelled, more angry at herself for not helping and being the hero she always told herself she would be in that situation. Of coarse, the smears didn't give her any answers. She fell back against the wall and slid down, defeated.


Eventually, after standing and watching the young girl get ripped apart, Rho forced herself to grab a weapon and by the time she found one, a metal pipe she'd ripped off of a very ugly and very expensive sculpture, all that was left was the body of the attacker, his head had already been caved in and someone had drug the female away. Ever since then Rho had stayed in, hidden behind the desk or back room whenever she saw those... things roaming around outside.


She knew she couldn't stay in here forever though. She's have to go out and find food quickly, she had enough water for now but, she hadn't eaten since her lunch break at the little diner a few blocks down from the studio on the first day. Rho grabbed her metal pipe and gripped it as she looked towards the locked door. She'd have to make herself leave soon, she just had to grow the nerve.

 

[Ember Spark]

Taking a moment to sit and look at the rising sun she smiled lightly. The quiet moans from the dead begin to grow closer as she grabbed her water and her crossbow, hopping up and climbing out of the bed of the pick-up truck. She landed on the ground with grace as she moved forward, stealthily, holding her crossbow up at eye lever, searching for any dead that would try and attack. She lowered her weapon as she being jogging, looking for a place to stay. There were not many choices as she looked around. Most of them were over run by dead and the windows were broken out. She sighed and closed her eyes shaking her head. She then opened her eyes.


Up ahead there was a small diner that looked untouched. Odd for what was going on. She moved forward, holding her crossbow high as she moved toward the front of the diner. The only thing going through her mind was food. She needed to stock up and get things to take with her when she leaves the city. The door was cracked and she raised an eyebrow, hearing a cry from a human. A young adult is what it sounded like. She slammed the door open and aimed her cross bow around, pointing it at a undead bastard. She pulled the trigger and watched as an arrow sunk into the eye of a dead.


Moving toward the back of the counter she pulled out her knife and plunged it in the skull of another one as she moved forward. Her eyes then laid on him. A human. A living person. He had blood on him. Was he bit? She cringed at the thought of finding someone alive then having to kill them because they were bit. She shook that thought away and moved toward him, gripping on to her knife. "Hey..." She spoke softly, not wanting to startle him. "Hey are you okay?" She asked as she moved closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She knew he was not one of them. His eyes were normal. "Are you bit?" She mumbled.

 

[ica]

Backstory: Brielle was never a shy child; in fact she was considered quite the opposite. She was tall, not particularly strong or pretty but what she lacked in strength and beauty she made up for with intelligence and wit. She was always on the move, ready to explore, never wanting to stay still for even a moment. So every summer since she could remember, she would stay with her Aunt and Uncle on their farm where she’d play with her cousins and the neighbor girl, Terri Jo. They would camp, fish, shoot rusted out cans off the fence with a rifle, even practice with a genuine bow and arrow as well as throwing knives, axes, and tomahawks. It was endless amounts of fun but that was it to her. It was not her idea of a way of life. As she grew older and her parents became ill and she grew into a recluse, burying herself in advanced credit classes in high school, ignoring her parents sickness just as they did. When they did pass on just a few months before her graduation she seemed indifferent to those around her when the truth was she was not ready to let them go, she was never taught how. The only thing she did know how to do at that moment was run. So she went off to the closest community college with all her accumulated credit hours and graduated as a registered nurse by 20 years old. From there she found herself working in the city Emergency Room and living in an apartment only walking distance away. She remained there to stay close to the only family she had left which was her Aunt and Uncle, which she found a certain amount of comfort in the closeness they shared. Even revisiting her childhood escapades with her cousins one week out of each summer. But soon sickness struck their family as well and her Uncle died. Her Aunt, unable to continue on financially and emotionally at the farm, moved to be near her sons who were states away, leaving the farm and its contents to a family in an neighboring town, whom have yet to do more than retrieve the livestock. So Brielle was left alone. And that is how it has been for the last year, till she decided she would take one last trip out into the country, to find a reason to stay, before she packed up her life and started a new one elsewhere.


Presently: Though she does unknowingly see the first signs of the virus in the ER it is near the end of her shift, and at that time not seen as the threat it truly is. As childhood friend, Terri, comes to pick her up from work, she puts her stuffed duffle bag in the backseat with a sigh, thankful to be on the start of a well earned vacation. It felt great talking with an old friend, even if she was 3 years younger than herself. Their friendship had been, to her, like the little sister she never had. While the day was still bright and the sun shined warmly on the drive to their destination they saw what appeared to be a disheveled drunk in the middle of a field on his way back toward the city. When they called to him, he slowly turned, and even though he was too far off to see little more than a silhouette, his stance was clumsy and menacing. With an eerie feeling overhead, they both decided best to leave him to sleep off his hangover in the field and continue on their way. Little did they know…


Ultimately, after spending sometime with Terri, she returns to her Aunt’s farm with the permission of the new owners but before she can begin settling in she receives a frantic call from work. She takes her Uncle’s motorcycle back, which had been given to her in his will, and arrives at the entrance of the city in the midst of sheer panic and wrecks on her bike. Suffering a considerable injury, the last thing she sees before passing out is man eating another man.


When she wakes, its in an apartment of one of the ER doctors she worked with. It has been weeks since she passed out and she stays another couple to finish healing, the whole time thinking of Terri and hoping to God that she is ok. By the time she is ready to leave she tries to convince her colleague to leave with her.


“I am too old to be on the run. I will stay and do what I can here. Maybe there are other survivors.”


The city is derelict, a ghost town , a shade of what it once was. Streets that looked war ravaged were devoid of life but riddled with crashed cars, trash, and other sorts of horrific debris. After going over her plans carefully, she decides that it is time.


With her motorcycle not being more than cosmetically damaged, and apparently looked over in the cities crisis, she manages to get to it with little difficulty, given most of the infected seemed to be in the inner parts of the city according to the Doc. Weaving easily between various wrecks and obstacles, she does her best to ignore what is around her, not wanting the shock and realization to set in just yet. The only thing of importance now was to get back to her Aunt’s farm, arm herself, gather supplies, and go in search of Terri. Their houses were far out enough in the country they may still remain untainted by the infection, and hopefully by any looters. The whole ride her brain worked overtime, going over steps, lists, and strategies pertaining to her immediate survival and the eventual choice of stay and dig in or long term travel in search of others, specifically her Aunt and cousins. But first she had to find Terri first. She had to.

 

[shy massacre]

Terri's eyes fluttered opened, the sound of a creak being heard outside her window. She was up and at the window within seconds, looking out into the darkening field. She stayed there for what seemed like hours, her eyes searching every inch of the farmland. Well, as far as she could see. Her eyes moved to the barn once more, seeing the door opened slightly. Was there something in there? She didn't want to face another of those hellish beings again. The last she saw of one was Mr. Thomas Anderson from Anderson Hardware. He was such a sweet old man and she shot him in the head with her 9 mm, tears running down her face as she did. She shook the thought from her head, staring at the opened barn door once more. Turning quietly, Terri went to the bedside table, opening the top drawer. There, on top of her grandpa's favorite book, was her 9 mm. She reached down, took it in hand and checked to make sure it was ready to go. It was.


The sun had already set when Terri reached the front door. She'd made her way down the stairs, a creak here and there as she walked. With every creak there was a cringe. Why? She didn't know who or what opened that barn door. Maybe a zombie? Who knew if it could have supersonic hearing? Could zombies hear at all? How could she be sure? How could anyone be sure. And even if it wasn't a zombie, it could have been a drifter, ready to take anything they could from her farm. She silently unlocked the door, trying to be as silent as she could. She hated how when you wanted to be silent, you always seemed the loudest. Slowly, she opened the door, her 9 mm in hand. Her breathing seemed quicker as her heart started to race. Adrenaline? Definitely not. There was fear running through her. She didn't know what she'd find outside at the barn, if she'd even find anything at all. She opened the door the rest of the way, her grip tightening as she took one barefoot step out onto the porch.

 

[Delta]

A fast-paced myriad of thoughts, fears, and inquires of the current situation coursed through Ethan's confused head like a swirling vortex. What was he going to do now? Can he survive? Everyone wished for the zombie apocalypse that was often depicted in video games and comic books, but Ethan always doubted it would be even remotely easy and fun as it was portrayed to be. The realization that he would never experience life as an adult sank in, and all he could do was bite his lip and hold back the tears that threatened to pour out at any given second. It was almost ironic, and Ethan suddenly had to restrain doomed laughter. All his life, Ethan looked forward to the day when he could be an adult, an age where he could move out of this boring life of his and seek adventure by his own terms, and although his eighteen birthday was only a week and a half away, he doubted anything would be different. Ethan thought he heard the diner door open, but he did nothing about it. Let whatever entered come and feast upon him, there was no point in living. Oblivious to the firing of a stranger's crossbow and the distinguishable plunging of a knife, Ethan continued to let his mental health deteriorate as he found more and more evidence to go with his claim that death was the best way to handle things. As his thoughts drifted to the regret that he didn't realize this morning was his last, Ethan's mind suddenly snapped to a thought that resonated clearly above the other, less appealing thoughts.


Josh and Mom are in danger, you idiot.





All contemplation on the subject of why he wasted his life away were dispelled, and was instead filled with a fuel so unique that it momentarily overcame his being. The feeling of ridding the world of all the fleshy evil ran through his blood, and Ethan was sure this was what going Super Saiyan felt like. As he came back to the dying reality, he opened his eyes to see that he was face to face with a girl, and felt her hand on his shoulder. His face immediately flushed with a warm red, and he flung himself to his feet. Ethan turned his head away, gazing at the floor to hide his blushing and rubbing the back of his neck. "Y-you just s-startled me is all!" He turned to face this woman with a warm smile. "And quite frankly, I wasn't expecting anyone living to show up soon." Ethan introduced himself and made it very clear he was impressed that she wielded a crossbow, never having seen one in real life. Was this the real life? The question hit him suddenly, but he shook it off and bent down to pick up his own inventory, resting the ax on his shoulder and holding the bucket in his left hand. "I don't know what you plan on doing now, ma'am, but I was getting ready to leave to look for my family," he shifted his eyes towards the floor again "and if you don't have anywhere in particular to be, I sure would appreciate your compa- your help, I meant your help." Ethan hid his face once again as he started filling up the bucket with various canned goods.

 

[Haley]

This was it. Rho sighed and took a few steps towards the door and stopped. "What am I doing? I'm just going to leave with nothing but the clothes on my back and a metal pipe?" She scoffed at her own stupidity and furrowed her eyebrows as she turned from the door and went into the back room to grab anything she could find that would help her. All she seemed to find was a lighter, some gum and, a few cans of coke from a recent showing of some more area-popular artist. On her way out, she grabbed her messenger bag-purse and emptied all the useless crap from it and placed her new items inside. With one more nervous sigh and a quick count down, she walked toward the door and flung it open, forcing herself to take a few steps onto the sidewalk.


"It's not too late to turn back and try again tomorrow!" Her head screamed but, her stomach grumbled in angry protest. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the metal pipe even tighter. Just when she felt that perhaps her journey for food and a better place to sleep wasn't going to be as hard as she feared, a low growl sounded to her left. She whipped her head over in time to see a woman. Well, kind of, she was hunched over and staring maliciously at Rho, her mouth dripped with blood and mucus and her eyes were glazed over.


Rho immediately took a step back and smacked into the glass where, ironically the blood hand prints were. "This is it. I deserve to die this way.." She thought as she stared at the infected being. The front of the ladies shirt was ripped open, revealing her bare chest that was ripped up and still bleeding shallowly. She growled again and began to shuffle towards her.


Rho's eyes widened and she took a deep shakey breath, suddenly angry at herself for being such a little wuss. "Dangit, I will not die today, not by your ugly ass!" She yelled and readied a defensive blow to the woman's skull. When the woman reached out the grab her, instead of landing a sweet killer blow to the infected's brain, she managed an okay land to the woman's shoulder, knocking her to the side. Rho leaped out of the way before she could reel around and swipe at her again and smacked her as hard as she could on the woman's outstretched arm, breaking it.


The zombie howled and vomited blood and flesh all over herself before swiping out at Rho with her other hand. Rho's eyes widened and she quick-stepped backwards, her foot landing in something squishy. She looked down to see a puddle of blood and something that resembled the remnants of an infant. Rho gasped and gagged as tears threatened to blind her. "I need to get out of here." She gasped and smacked the woman again, this time landing the heavy blow across her face, sending her reeling into the side of a mailbox.


This time Rho didn't wait for her to get back up. She turned and fled down the street, passing a few infected that were fighting over a corpse of a teenage boy. They looked up as she passed and all growled and gurgled, making Rho's stomach tighten and curl as she fled away. She didn't look back to see if they were pursuing, she just needed to get out of there, but where would she go? She didn't have a destination in mind and surely if she had to run for too long more would notice and follow, then she'd definitely be done for. It seemed that whatever infected these people gave them a much crazier amount of stamina then what she had.


She considered turning down a few alleys but out of fear that she'd end up in a dead end, she just kept running straight. Her sides burned and her lungs felt like they were on fire. Then, just as she felt she may collapse she saw it! The Diner from a few days ago, it seemed like a good place to stay at least for a few hours to rest and maybe find some food. Quickly, she ran up to the entrance and swung it open and threw herself inside. Without a moment's hesitation she turned and slammed the door shut and quickly, with all the strength she had left she pushed the jukebox that was a few feet from the door over in front of the entrance. She took a deep breath and wiped a few tears from her face before turning around completely freezing. In front of her, near the counter was a female and a male, who was putting supplies in a bucket.


Rho lifted her weapon as her eyes widened in fear. "Uh... hey." She stammered awkwardly. She had no idea of their intentions but the female had a pretty gnarly looking crossbow and she was well aware that there were no police officers that kept people from just killing other people anymore.

 

[Ember Spark]

She let a smile pull at her lips as she looked down at the younger male. His face flushed and that made Harley laugh. She took a second to watch him place things in the bucket that seemed like it seen better days. She shook her head lightly, watching him closely. "Yea. I'll help you. You look to young to be doing this shit on your own." She nodded her head. Her face turned cold when the door of the diner slammed shut. She let out and grumble and loaded her weapon, pointing it at Rho before the two could blink. She stepped in front of the kid she barely knew and blocked him from the girls sight. She knew that the guy didnt have any scratches or bites, she was searching him. Now the girl. She didnt know. She couldnt see from here but the girls eyes were clear and fine.


Stepping forward she let out a grumble, keeping her crossbow pointed at the girl. "Are you bit? Scratched? Did any of their blood get in your eyes or mouth!" She raised her voice at the girl, backing up, pushing the kid back some more. She just found someone that was alive. Hell if she was going to let something happen to him. "Who in the hell are you?" She asked the girl then looked at the kid out of the corner of her eye. "My name is Harley."She lowered her crossbow and stepped forward, holding her hand out to the girl. "You dont look like you are injured." She mumbled as she dropped her hand and turned to the bot of them. She then turned to the male. "As I said. My name is Harley and I would like to help y-"


She was cut off when the front door slammed open and undead begin to pile in. "Shit!" Harley screamed as she grabbed the girls arm and pulled her away from the dead. She pushed the bot of them through the kitchen door then looked at the guy. "Alright I need names and a way to escape in 2 seconds. If not we are going to be their lunch today." She growled and looked around. "COME ON KID!" She shouted as she moved toward the kitchen door and begin to move a stove in front of it. She yelped as one of the dead reached their hand through and grabbed on to her long pony tail. She winced and grabbed her knife, cutting the hair away, leaving her hair a bit longer than her shoulders. "Damn bastards. How are we doing on a way to get out!" She shouted back at the two

 

[Kiro Akira]

He hated these days, it meant leaving the house. Kiro couldn't stand leaving the house and leaving Emi by herself, but if it meant that she was safe and not out there then it would be best for her to stay. Kiro sighed softly as he headed into his bedroom leaving the sleeping girl upon the bed. He would then smile softly and give her a kiss upon the forehead before putting a belt on slipping his bowie knife into it before tightening up the belt. Kiro would then move over to the top left drawer opening it to reveal a small hand gun with two clips sitting beside it. Kiro glanced back to the girl sleeping and looked to the gun grabbing it as well as the ammo heading to the front door.


Hearing the moans of the undead just outside the door he inhaled deeply unlocking it wincing as he heard the 'clunk' of the lock. Although to anyone else it would sound like a soft clicking noise but to him it was loud like a shelf of things falling over. Kiro sighed softly and pulled the knife out of it's sheath in a combat position slowly opening it peeking out slowly glancing across the porch only seeing one of those things. He figured it would be best to leave it alone seeing it was in the corner just staring in a single spot. The thing looked like it was sleeping which was kind of funny to him. Kiro had seen these things for a good two weeks now and it was just another day now. Kiro shut the door quietly and slipped away heading around the side of the house grabbing the bike he had there and pushed off heading towards the city.

 

[XEmptiness]

Dozing off every few minutes from lack of sleep, William would quickly wake himself up, terrified that he would be attacked while he was out. Still sitting on the cold wooden flooring of the porch, and in excruciating pain, he felt all hope would soon be lost. There weren't any people to help him like he was so used too. Feeling weak and helpless made him miserable but what bothered him the most was that all his studying, all his hard work was for nothing. In this new world he was in none of that mattered to anyone. He was completely alone. Suddenly hearing the door unlock startled him, his eyes widened and as he turned his head towards the entrance he felt his heart race and mind began to wonder.


Could their have been one of those things in there this whole time, just waiting for the right moment to kill him? Frozen in fear he remained in his seated position trying to remain as quiet as possible not to be heard or seen. Within a few seconds he noticed what appeared to be a females foot and leg stepping outwards onto the porch, followed with the rest of her figure. She was quite beautiful and this reminded him of his sister who he had lost. For a moment he stared in awe but what threw him off was the handgun held firmly in her hands. His mouth opened slightly wanting to speak, but nothing came out. He swallowed, feeling his heart sink and was too afraid to do anything. William was never comfortable around people, and what if she wanted to hurt him for invading her property or eating a few of her vegetables. From his experiences people were cruel and destructive, only wanting what was best for themselves.


A hundred and one reasons went through his mind to not say or do anything. Disregarding the most important reasons why he should, food, water, medical attention, and most of all someone to help him through the world he was now struggling to survive in. Frustrated with himself he lowered his head, cringed and closed his eyes hoping she would put a bullet in his head to free him of his physical and mental stress.

​

 

[Haley]

Rho blinked as the young woman started questioning her. All she could really focus on for the first few milliseconds was the damn crossbow. Would she shoot her? Rho gulped and raised her hands in surrender. It took her a few more milliseconds to process that she was asking her very important questions but before she could answer, the girl just decided to lower her weapon and introduce herself as if they were friendly freaking strangers and not in the middle of some sort of dangerous world wide pandemic. Rho made a face and tilted her head to the side. "Uh, kay...Rho." She introduced herself cautiously. Obviously this female was a little all over the place, or maybe desperate wither way, Rho wasn't sure if she should wholly trust her just yet.


She was about to ask the girl all the important questions about being bitten, scratched and/or bled on back when suddenly, the wave of undead that was chasing her to the Diner crashed through the door. Rho screamed and backed her jumpy ass almost into the girl she now new to be, Harley. "Well, a whole lot of good the big jukebox I pushed in front of the door did!" Rho yelled as she followed the two towards the kitchen. She figured the heavy machine could have at least held them off for a few minutes, given how much energy she had expelled pushing the darn thing in front of the door but, whatever, perhaps the infection also gave the host enhanced strength too, along with the endless stamina.


Rho was right behind the guy with the bucket and right in front of Harley as they attempted to sprint through the kitchen but, out of her peripherals, Rho saw Harley get jerked back. Rho's eyes widened and she yelled something between "no!" and the F-word. Then, a wave of relief washed over her as Harley took a knife and cut her hair free from the infected's death grip. Rho shook her head frantically when Harley yelled about a way out.


"Uhh, uh THERE!" She yelled, pointing at one of those emergency exits with the push handle that gave off an alarm when triggered. "We'll need to get the hell out of her really fast though!" She gulped and gripped her pipe tightly, ready to do anything to get out of the Diner, it was needless to say that she kind of regretted this decision, maybe she could have made a little further running. Not to say that she wasn't a little pleased to see some people that weren't salivating at the sight of her.

 

[shy massacre]

Breathing out into the cold night air, her breath visible, a shiver ran down her spine. Her eyes stayed glued to the barn across the small field. Using her free hand, she pulled the door closed behind her, taking a few more steps toward the stairs leading to her yard. Terri paused by the potted crops, blinking as she looked down at a few broken stems. "Darn thangs.." She shook her head, thinking an animal of some sort must have taken them, probably a racoon. Where they even still in existance? Birds still flew overhead so why couldn't a racoon still exist. Forgetting the plant temporarily , she took the three steps down, her bare feet touching the wet grass. No, it hadn't rained in days, but dew still covered the night, especially on one as cold as this one.


Thirty feet, ten yards away, she stood in front of the barn, pushing the door open. Another cringe, another creak. It was about time to redo all these doors and steps. The creak was gonna get her killed one day, she just knew it. She slowly slipped inside, reaching down by the side of the door, grabbing a flashlight. She clicked the button. Nothing. A low growl escaped her throat as she shook it, only realizing then that she was making too much noise. Finally, the light flickered before cutting on. She quickly but efficiently scanned the barn, watching as a rat ran across the other side. She shivered, the critter creeping her out momentarily. Finding nothing but the rat, she turned the light off and placed it back in its rightful place for later use. Turning around, she walked back out of the barn, shutting the door behind her. Placing the gun in the back of her shorts, she headed back to the house, yawning silently as she moved at a slow pace.


Taking the three steps onto her porch, Terri paused. A glimmer had caught her eye. Had she left something outside? She didn't think so. Besides, not much here that glimmered in the moonlight. Her hand automatically went to her back, taking hold of her gun but keeping it behind her. "Hello..?" Her voice was quiet as she turned in the direction of the glimmer. Something didn't feel right to her. She felt another presence. It made her nervous. She spoke up this time, her accent picking up as she took a step closer. "Anyone here?" Her eyes adjusted a little better when she squinted. There it was, the glimmer once more. Glasses?

 

[ica]

Thankfully, the ride back to her Aunt’s farmhouse was uneventful, there had been not one of the monsters in sight, though she quickly reminded herself that that didn’t mean they were not out there. Pulling into the shed parallel to the house she found herself not wanting to advertise her presence in the case of less than friendly survivors. Closing the shed, she inspected the house silently, looking for any signs of intruders, living or dead, and she laughed quietly to herself.


The astonishment was still thickly subduing her emotions, for which she was certainly thankful, yet she found it humorous that she plainly accepted this outrageous situation she had found herself in. The dead were alive, consuming the living, life was turned upside down and who knew how far it had spread, the whole US could be like this…or worse. And here she was, deadpan, near emotionless. She simply chalked it up to shock and the fact that this is the reaction she had become accustomed to working in an emergency room. The only thing that stirred her inside was Terri, and that thought brought her back to her task at hand.


The house seemed untouched, so she entered through the front door and crept in, making her way room to room, finding no one and nothing out of place. Satisfied, Brielle checked the duffle bag she had left, finding an appropriate change of clothing, choosing snug grey-green cargo pants and a grey form fitting tank top. She knew she needed to stay away from baggy clothing; less for anything to grab or become snagged on something. After a quick shower, she arranged her long hair in a tight bun, dressed and put on an old worn pair of combat boots she used to wear on her summer outings. Going through her mental checklist, she grabbed a bag of jerky out of her duffle and ate a scant amount before packing it nicely into one of her cargo pockets. The refrigerator was baron but the pantry was pleasantly filled, but not over flowing, with canned goods and jarred foods, her Aunt hadn’t packed a thing other than her clothes and some personal items so all the utensils and such were left at her disposal.


Done in the kitchen, she wandered to coat closet, sliding her hand over the upper frame on the inside, finding the basement key. The basement was going to be her saving grace; it was the storage area for all the hunting and camping paraphernalia. Finding a sort of utility belt she wrapped it around her waist and after going over a few throwing knives she grabbed the tomahawk she always seemed to favor. It was very multipurpose, making itself more desirable, though she did grab a switchblade as well, placing it in another pocket and hanging the tomahawk off the belt. Quickly weighing out pros and cons of every other possible weapon in front of her she finally decided on a bolt-action rifle with a scope and a composite bow. The rifle felt natural in her hands, like it used to, and it allowed her not just the ability to keep distance between her and her objective but also doubled as binoculars in a way. The bow was lightweight, silent, and she knew how to recycle its ammunition and even make replacement arrows if she had the right materials.


Packaging some extra ammo in the utility belt, Brielle eyed the rest of the basements contents, taking a sort of inventory of what she had. Wearing the holster for the bow and quiver on her back and slinging the rifle over her shoulder, she locked up the basement, safely placing the key back where she had found it. Peering out the kitchen window in the direction of Terri’s land, she took in an unsteady breath.


She may have been ready for the hour and a half trek to her friend’s home, but she wasn’t ready for what she feared she would find. Everyone else she had cared about in her life ended up leaving her in one way or another and she still hadn’t truly dealt with any of it. It had been rather easy to ignore it all as she busied herself with school and then work; living life with an emotional tunnel vision where her body was merely transport. With all that she had buried herself in now gone, she was uncovered and vulnerable to all these neglected feelings. It was only a matter of time till it all would be forced into her view.


But that all changed nothing, ready or not, she had to know.

 

[Delta]

As he put in the last can of unopened peaches into what he deemed a sufficient amount of rations to hold off their hunger while they hold off the hunger of all those unliving, atleast until they made it to the Carter residence, a sudden swinging and slamming of the door made his neck snap up violently. A girl quickly entered the Diner, rushing for the jukebox to blockade the door before Ethan had the chance to explain to the newcomer that A) The jukebox wasn't intended to be moved and B) The doors had reinforcing locks that would probably serve as better barricading than the ridiculously heavy music box. Ethan kept his mouth shut, as he didn't want to spoil the fruits of the stranger's clearly-demanding labor. Before he could say anything in general, Mystery Female Visitor Number One aimed her crossbow at Mystery Female Visitor Number Two, and Ethan swore she moved in between him and the newcomer. As the woman, whose name turned out to be Harley (Ethan noted this was a pretty name, to himself, of course) began to interrogate the new girl, a fleshy thump slapped against the door, and was soon followed by more aggravated assaults, as if a whole flock of birds decided the Diner was the best place to nest- which it was turning out not to be by any stretch of the imagination. The sheer number of undead began to overwhelm the door, and soon the door burst open, slamming the jukebox against the wall as they began to pile in the rather small entrance, tripping over one another as they did so. Ethan only spared a split second to admire how effortlessly the jukebox was tossed aside, before grabbing Harley's hand and rushing towards the kitchen, hollering for the Jukebox Hero to follow. Ethan let go of Harley's hand apprehensively, which he tried convincing himself was because he didn't want her to trip and fall and run the risk of getting left behind. Jukebox Hero managed to catch up, and just in time to yell something that sounded like "fnuck!" as Harley was grabbed by a zombie. Ethan threw his bucket to the ground, placing his left on the new gal's shoulder to get past her, arching his ax-wielding hand into the air. She managed to think fast enough, and swiftly cut her hair, giving the corpse nothing to grab onto and escaping what would have easily been her cannibalistic death. Ethan smiled and complimented Harley on her quick thinking, and turned to realize his left hand had never left the gal's shoulder. "Erm...sorry 'bout that. I'm Ethan, by the way. But here isn't the best place to start the introductions, now is it?" he smiled again and swooped his left hand down to grab his trusty bucket.


With a swift kick to the bright red emergency door bar, the exit flung itself open, leading the party into a trash-littered alley that was now filled with the blaring cacophony of the emergency exit alarm. Despite narrowly escaping a large wave of flesh-eaters, Ethan cursed under his breath, thinking about how everything within a mile radius or so would come walking, crawling, and everything in between to the source of the noise; which meant it was time to get out of Dodge. Ethan propped his ax over his shoulder again and turned to his group. "Well, I accidentally set off the alarm, so we should probably get out as soon as we can. My house is in a suburbs, on the outskirts of the city, we should get there before night." Ethan extended his left hand forward, palm down, like in the cheesy sports movies that in no way portrayed anything even remotely related to the real world. He couldn't help but keep back a warm,confident grin. "Well team, whaddya say? I have snacks when we get there!"

 

[Ember Spark]

Harley backed away from the door and gracefully picked up her crossbow. She watched as the dead begin to growl louder and claw at the door more. She then looked back at the two and strapped her crossbow across her back. She took off and pulled at Ethan and Rho's arms. "Come on!" She shouted as she picked up the pace. She moved down the alley way looking for a place to escape. She turned down a different alley and was met by a gate covered by the dead. She let out a yelp and backed away back into the main alley way. She looked around and spotted a latter. She smiled and looked at Ethan and Rho. "Lets go."


She sighed as she begin to quickly climb the latter, moving to the top of what looked like a supermarket, she looked aroung the roof. No dead but that didnt mean they couldnt get through the door up there. Huffing and thinking about a way down from here she moved to the edge of the building and looked down at the street below. There was a large garbage with bags in it. There were no dead. It was the safest escape. She looked back at Rho and Ethan, smiling a feared smile. "I hope you guys are not afraid of heights like I am." She mumbled. "Follow me!" With that she umped off the side of the building and landed in the garbage.


Sadly she didnt pick a good spot to land. Glass sliced through her shirt and left a large thin cut along her ribs, trailing from under her breast to around and down her torso some. She cried out lightly, wincing from the pain. She quickly pushed herself out of the garbage and clutched her side with one hand as it bled and held herself up with her other hand, looking up at the edge of the building. The faint sounds of moans echoed through the alley. She cursed and shook her head. "Dont land here! Everywhere else looks fine." She shouted up at them as she started to become light headed.

 

[XEmptiness]

Listening to the sound of wings flapping and foot steps become faint he looked upwards watching as the young woman made her way to the barn to investigate. Breathing in the cold air he thought for a moment of what he should do, should he try and break for it with no energy or ask for assistance. He figured with nothing to lose why not? If he had died from trusting at least one person, it couldn't be worse than getting ripped apart and eaten by the undead. Feeling his glasses slide off the bridge of his nose slightly he adjusted it, with a clear view now he was staring directly at the woman who was staring at him with a confused and nervous expression. Feeling his face flush a bit he slowly got up on his feet and scratched the back of his head fixing his hair. With a kind smile and slight stutter he softly spoke to her.


"H-Hello Ma'am... My name is William... Uh, I-I'm sorry for intruding..." He felt embarrassed and uncomfortable with blood on his clothing and how filthy he looked, this wasn't like him at all. Wincing a bit he fell back down on his rear with his back hitting the wall of the house, his right hand holding onto his left arm firmly. Sweating slightly he felt weak, the front of his hair covered most of his face and he realized he needed to speak up before she thought he was one of those things. Having read up enough information about how things work with undead, he was well aware that this would be the obvious concern for anyone who saw what he looked like at the current moment. "I-I'm not infected...! I'm just injured really badly..." Hesitating at first he took in a deep breath followed by a sigh and pleaded trying his best to hold back tears and not seem so cowardly. "Please help me... Those things... T-They killed my sister..."


Biting his lip he stared down at the wooden floor closing his eyes. ...What an idiot I am... He thought to himself. What would happen now? This was surely the end. The feeling of blood rushing to his head came upon him and he slowly lost consciousness, becoming pale white William fell on his side onto the porch.

​

 

[Kiro Akira]

Kiro moved down the streets pushing past the zombies on his bike, of course he had a few of them chasing after him now but they weren't too fast so he could easily outrun them but Kiro still didn't enjoy the fact that the things were rushing after him. They freaked him out and Kiro didn't really enjoy fighting them. He could take a few on but a horde like the five behind him would probably slaughter him within an instant. The male peddled faster until he was a good distance away only to slam on breaks coming to a halt only to hop off his bike and head for the nearest house. He was only about twenty minutes away from his own house and hopefully one of these ones would have gas in a car or even a garage. Maybe they would even have supplies he could obtain from the buildings.


Turning the handle on the first door he came to, Kiro pushed it open and stepped in only to crunch his face up and cover his nose. The smell of rotting flesh was horrible and the sight of a dead couple sitting together holding hands was even worse. The woman who sat in the middle had a pistol in the opposite hand, it was obvious they had both killed themselves together. It was quite the love story, quite a bit better then twilight to him. Sighing softly, Kiro shook his head a small headache coming to the horrid smell that filled his lungs. He would then move through the house until reaching the kitchen, his knife drawn being held in a combat style stance. Kiro scanned the halls and everywhere he possibly could to make sure nothing would jump at him while he was looking for food.

 

[shy massacre]

Seeing him stand, Terri clinched her gun tighter. She took a small step backwards, her eyes adjusting to the light better, enough so she could see his face clearly.. Better then before when he'd been sitting. A boy, not much younger then her. The sound of his voice, as soft as it was, could be heard loud and clear in this silent night. She sound of his stutter made her lip twitch a little, making her think of herself when she was a little girl, about 8 or so. As far as she could tell, he was no threat to her so, she released her hold on her gun and sighed.


"William, huh?" She waved him off, a smile lighting her face. "Why do-" Before she could finish, he fell back, a frown replacing her smile. Oblivious to the blood on his shirt, she immediately went to his side, kneeling down by him. "You alright sugar?" Finally noticing the blood and sweat, she pulled her hand back, the concerned look on her face disappearing to slight distrust. She opened her mouth to speak but he beat her to it. A sigh could be heard faintly as she relaxed beside him, no longer concerned he'd been bitten. Why lie? Most took their own life after being bitten anyways. That or they'd have changed by now she'd guessed. If he'd been lying, she didn't think he'd still be sitting here talking to her.


"You been dealin with a lot, huh? Well..Le-" Blinking, she watched as he lost consciousness. She reached out, catching his head as he fell, making sure he didn't hit it. "Oh Lord.." She knew not to panick but that didn't stop her heart from aching for the boy.. Besides, panick only made things worse.. Or so Brielle had always told her. She took a deep breath, carefully reaching around William to lift him up. He wasn't a heavy person but he sure wasn't lite either. After all, he was only a few years younger then her and she wasn't that strong a girl. She lifted him the best she could, careful not to hurt his already hurt arm, and partially dragged him inside.


Terri turned on a strobe light she saved for emergancies, lighting the whole room. She didn't know how she exactly did it but she managed to get William on the couch without moving his arm. It didn't look the greatest but it would heal. Using methods Brielle had taught her, she managed to wrap up his arm after putting some rubbing medication on it. It had a strong smell to it, almost like peppermint and clove, but it worked amazing. She'd bought it a couple months ago from an Indian festival she'd gone to. Good times before all this happened. She only hoped Brielle would have approved but she hoped even more that she'd done it right and it'd heal with ease.


Cleaning the cloth out in the sink, Terri yawned again. This wasn't the uneventful night she'd hoped for. This was a tiring one. The sun would be up soon, seeing black turn to grey told her so. She guessed it was around 5am now. She rung out the cloth and walked back over to the couch, plopping down on the floor beside him. Dabbing the cloth lightly over the boys cheek and forehead, Terri spoke quietly, mostly to herself. "If the swelling don't go down, I might have ta run out and get ya some better meds." She yawned, laying the damp cloth over his forehead completely. She was exhausted, not being able to sleep did that to you. As she placed her hand on his cheek to feel if he was still hot or just a little warm, her eyes began to close. Warm, not hot. Good no fever, now sleep. Thats what her brain was telling her. She tried fighting it but she'd fought long enough. Her head slowly drooped down against his arm as sleep finally took her, content that he was gonna be alright.

 

[Haley]

Rho followed Ethan as he kicked his way out of the Diner. It didn't take but only a few seconds though, before Harley had latched onto them and was dragging them behind her speed. Rho swallowed and tried her best to not trip over her feet as Harley's firm grip clasped the sleeve of her khaki jacket.


When they finally stopped after the alley by the supermarket, Rho thought her lungs would burst. "I-I uh, yeah. I'm good." She huffed when Harley asked about heights. With a deep breath the followed Harley up to the roof. When the young woman leaped from the roof and onto the garbage bags, Rho winced. "Be caref-" She started but it was too late, the damage was done. Without another moment of hesitation, Rho leaped from the roof, landing on the other side of where Harley did and immediately looked toward her.


"Let me look at it." She asked, more like demanded from the woman. "I'm not much of a nurse of anything but I can patch it and even do stitches without freaking or gagging if it needs it." She said, standing up and brushing garbage from her jeans.

 

[XEmptiness]

Drifting away his mind felt clouded, everything seemed like a blur. Standing up in his room he looked around and a sudden feeling of happiness overwhelmed him. Opening his door he ran down a dark hallway heading towards his back door which led outside. As he opened the door the scent of freshly picked flowers filled his nostrils. His eyes began to water as he saw his sister tending to the garden. Startled at first, she turned her head. Her delicate face bearing a soft and welcoming smile. At a lost for words he began to run towards her. In an instance the sky around him turned dark red, the land around him was rotten and she suddenly disappeared.


Falling on his knees, he heard hungering, terrifying moans as undead surrounded him. N-No... This... Can't... Frozen in fear the horde began to draw closer to him, their arms reaching out for him. As a few of them latched onto him and began to bite his neck and arms he struggled to break free with his eyes shut tight... Suddenly opening his eyes again he sat up quickly swinging his arms around, breathing heavy and sweating a bit. What... Where am I... He thought to himself as he looked around the room only to see a young woman resting her head down by his side. Still in slight shock he thought really hard, and remembered that was the same woman he saw on the porch. Moving his left arm his eyes widened not feeling much pain anymore, only a slight tingle. Paused for a few seconds he smiled a bit and looked back down at her with a calm expression, resting his head back down on the couch, his crimson eyes fixed on her face as she slept.


He felt a sense of security, strangely also feeling that everything was going to be okay with this person who he didn't even know. What was important was that he was warm, unharmed and no longer in pain. This wasn't the life he was expecting or what he had thought of, but it wasn't really that bad as long as he was with her. Placing his right arm under the back of his head he continued to stare, being afraid of going back to sleep. He didn't want this to suddenly go away, the only good thing in his life. His mouth felt dry and his stomach was empty but he didn't mind waiting for her to wake. Small glimmers of light illuminated the room slightly, indicating it was sometime during the morning hours.

​