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Deadly Darkness

All things lost in the shadows
There's nothing quite like the end of the world- the panic and mass hysteria. We all love watching the true monsters jump out of the friends we once had, zombie or not. No one knows how it started, but I suppose it doesn't really matter. We've got more important things to focus on. We can point fingers all we want later, but for now I have a question for you:
ready to run?

The story will start a few weeks into the apocalypse to avoid trying to explain how everyone got where they are, though back story is welcome if you're that kind of writer. I love a good character arc. Anyone is welcome, just fill out the character sheet, I'll send you a sweet chocolate chip cookie and we'll start the fun. You can be a novel writer or write a few lines, as long as you enjoy what you write. That's the whole point, right? Be respectful to each other out of character and respect RPNation's rules (we may be the last of humanity, but we have standards). I hope people are up for this relatively chill RP, and we can develop a plot beyond basic survival later if necessary.
 
There was nothing left.
Nathan dangled the empty chip bag over his gaping mouth, hoping that whatever crumbs might have been caught in the corners would fall out. It had been hard to come by any salvageable food recently, and these Doritos were the last thing he had. With no such luck, he let his arm drop back down to his side, mouth slamming shut. What a bummer. He wadded up the plastic bag before pushing up onto his toes and throwing it at nothing in particular. "Kobe," Nathan watched the trash as it rolled across the asphalt before glancing up to the muddy sky. "Sorry," He mumbled, pausing for a moment. Did apologizing even matter anymore? Who was around to care? Maybe it was the fact that everyone kept apologizing that kept them sane- kept them from really thinking too hard on what the hell happened. Nathan shook away the thoughts. Thinking about it did him no good, and it certainly didn't keep him fed. He kicked his worn sneaker against the curb and turned back towards the direction he had come. The corner store was empty. That's all that matter. It was time to find somewhere new.
 
Ash sat on the rooftop of a small, one floor building, fiddling with a mostly empty plastic water bottle in her hands. They were bruised and covered in filth. Ash opened the bottle and took a small sip, swallowing. She let out a quiet sigh, her legs leaning off of the edge of the building as she looked up into the sky, then around her. ‘I wonder if anyone’s left..’ she thought to herself. ‘There has to be other people.. right?’
 
Each step seemed to echo within the empty streets. It almost made it feel like someone was walking with him. He took a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure no one was following him, but all he was met with was his faint shadow. "My dear friend," he mumbled. Nathan continued on, allowing his mind to entertain the thought of his shadow being another individual. "You hungry?" He paused, giving his fake friend time to answer. "Well there used to be this great Chinese place down the street. They sold the best crab ragoons and chicken fried rice." The man's mouth watered at the thought of the delicious, warm food. "How bout this, we'll get some, but only if we split the bill fifty-fifty. Deal?"
His words lingered hollowly in the air. If only the store still stood; if only he had food; if only he had someone else.
 
The dusty ground grumbled a little as she dropped from the small buildings low roof. It was at a slant as well, so the building was practically rubble at this point. The lid of the bottle screwed back on, a little too loud as her eyes turned to the surrounding place. “Guess I am alone.” she shrugged a small bit, reaching for her knife and beginning to sharpen it on one of the bricks. ‘What would it be like with someone else.. I wonder..?’ she thought to herself.
 
Nathan's steps continued to ring out rhythmically, laying out a calm sort of beat. Step. Step. Ste- Thud. The man quickly found himself halting at the new found sound, dark eyes darting around. Not only had the thud seem to come from nothing, but it also had been completely out of sync with his walking. But now wasn't the time for jokes. Something had hit the ground, that much was certain, but with nothing rolling or settling in the nearby area it suggested that what ever fell or jumped, landed in one position. A person? The thought forced its way into Nathan's head, but it wasn't a ridiculous idea. Zombies typically stumbled or groaned, so whoever jumped had a greater sense of coordination than the undead.
All these thoughts were silenced by the sudden sound of metal scraping. The dark haired man flinched, looking around wildly. What on earth was that sound? A blade being sharpened? Nathan gripped his pipe tightly, it felt more like an extension of himself rather than a weapon. Besides, he had never attacked anyone with it- living or dead. With silent steps and a strained ear, he carefully tried to make his way towards the sound.
It didn't take to long to reach the source of the scraping, but each second felt drawn out. He hated this kind of tension, his heart beating against his ribs. With one hand placed against the nearest brick wall, Nathan peered around the corner to spot a hooded figure, their back to him. Nathan rested his back against the wall, remaining out of sight. Alright, they clearly have some kind of knife. I don't want to sneak up on them and I definitely don't want to just stand in the open. An image flashed through his mind, the hooded figure turning and throwing their knife. Of course he knew he wouldn't be fast enough to block or dodge anything like that. So what was he supposed to do? With a deep, but somewhat ragged, breath and a dry mouth Nathan began. "You know, noises like that really echo in a place like this." His voice came out nonchalant- a complete contrast to how he actually felt.
 
She raised an eyebrow, pausing as she was just about to scrape once more. “So? What’s it to you?” she lowered her knife slightly, her eyes looking around the area as she faced the same direction. Her heart beat a little faster in her chest, a small jump every now and again. Her voice came out calm, almost like she expected someone, but in reality - she had no clue he was coming. The pale-skinned girl turned around after a second, scanning the crumbly ground. She dropped the bottle and watched it get carried away slowly by the wind.
 
Seeing as the figure, now identifiably a woman, hadn't lashed out the moment he spoke Nathan decided it would be safe to step into view. His leg swung out almost carelessly as he stepped around the building. The woman in front of him was thin and pale, though most of her was hidden by the two-toned hoodie she wore. Her face angled sharply and her gaze was piercing. She certainly looked like an intimidating person, though Nathan imagined in a strictly fist-to-cuff fight he could over power her. He had no intention of finding out of course, just simply making observations. His reddish brown eyes trailed over her, taking in the details lazily. After a moment his gaze made its way up to hers. "Nothing, I suppose," He began. "I just figured I'd respond to your invitation. Besides, you never know who will hear it." With that he took one last gaze around the area, making sure no one else was on there way to investigate the sound. "Nathan," He stated out of the blue, stretching out his hand.
 
Her eyes flicked quickly from the ground to him, scanning him and sighed a little. She stretched out her arms a small bit before briefly saying. “Ash.” She put her knife away and began to look around. “Doubt theres many left to hear.” she mumbled to herself, continuing to inspect the surroundings cautiously. What if someone were to hear? What if it wasn’t just those two.
 
the gust of wind blew slightly making surgess cloak sway and sending a chill down her spine. She was out savaging for items to take back to her hide out. A lot of the time she gathered junk she didn't need. Hay a kid is still a kid right?. Her murumasa sword was mounted on her back for now. She had a duffle bag around her shoulder. Today was her mission for food and supplies. Silently she walked without making a single sound. She felt like a assassin or a Samaria. Even when she runs she doesn't make a sound. She learned ways to do the same with shoes but she preferred bare foot. She didn't feel affected by rocks or sharp things she may step on. Unless it went into the bone. Otherwise she was fine. Suddenly she tripped and made a massive loud bang sound having landed on a sheet a metal... Great just what she needed. A freaken dinner bell.. She got up and went to higher grounds to avoid anything trying to find their meal and look at her as a tastey appetizer. But now that she was leaping from roof top to roof top she was more noticeable.
 
Her slender hand felt warm and fragile in his. He thought about making a number of jokes- about how it had been so long , but he decided against it. "It's a pleasure," Nathan's eyes followed hers, casually scanning the dilapidated area. It was crazy to think that a few weeks ago things had been normal; people were walking down the streets, talking, and worrying about trivial things. Did it really only take a few weeks for things to reach this state? "I suppose," he commented half-mindedly. A loud crash mitigated all thoughts. The man's head whipped around as if on a swivel, eyes darting around nervously. "Well if that's not a response to your scraping, someone would have definitely heard that." Nathan looked back towards Ash, a sly smirk playing on his lips. "You wanna' move towards the sound or away from it?" He paused before adding. "I just want to check since you seem to have an affinity for scraping metal and loud sounds."
 
She rolled her eyes a little bit and kept her hood up, brushing her finger along her pockets then putting one hand in. “Might as well check it out, I suppose. Lead the way.” her eyes looked at the floor, then around at the old buildings. Its weird to imagine that everyone had a normal life before all this.. she’d think to herself. It wasnt easy, having to watch her aunt get mauled by a zombie, and carrying that weight on her shoulders, but nonetheless she began to walk towards the area of the sound, expecting some zombies to be lurking around sooner or later.
 
Locking on to the first source of sound he's heard since a long time, Greg moved slowly, agonizingly slow, where each second means half an inch where he could afford to. He was already slightly sweating with the meticulous slow movement, despite that he should have gotten used to it by now, there was the cost of moving so quietly for being a big figure that simply drained him, costed time from scavenging food as others got to it before him

"Hell, who is going to hear this... or see at this point" he muttered silently, giving up from being the hunter as he moved along the streets, never liking high places despite the safety it provided, though still being careful where he stepped to minimize the noise, rifle raised just under the lightly dyed poncho as he approaches the source of noise
 
The trunk of the car creaked open a crack and idled for a long moment. A pair of round blue eyes scoped the street from inside the small space, checking for movement before hesitantly opening up all the way. A head of blonde hair popped out, followed by a hand of chipped pink polish and a graceless exit of the vehicle. Cindy had departed her humble abode, the trunk of a red SUV.

It was quiet, nothing seemed to be around and Cindy was grateful. While others might be hunters that shot game and built a fortified base in the forest, Cindy’s version of living off the land was scrounging for supplies and living inside the trunk of a car. She looked and felt like a kidnap victim. She shouldered her bag and headed off on her familiar ‘supply run’. Because of the long pencil skirt she was wearing, Cindy took tiny fast steps as a comical excuse of a run. Like a little blonde tennis ball bobbing down the street, her small leather shoes tapped as she zipped towards her objective. Oh how she craved an egg sandwich and a hot lemon and lime tea, but her choices were limited to a nearby vending machine. Someone had smashed in the glass weeks ago, leaving the goods scattered and up for grabs for anyone. This was good since she would’ve been the type to find money to pay, but now her only food supply was greatly diminished. It was a lot emptier than the last time she had been there, only days beforehand.

‘They must’ve needed it more than me..’ Her brows furrowed, concerned over how other people were handling this situation. She certainly wasn’t doing great. She felt around the bare machine, being careful of the shards of glass as she searched for something to eat or drink. Anything.

A chocolate bar! She clutched the snack to her chest with a smile and could feel how squishy it’s contents were from being baked in the sun but Cindy didn’t care. She was so hungry she could be tempted to eat the wrapping paper with it. It was a disappointing meal but it was all she had, Cindy couldn’t remember the last time she was full and content since this whole thing started. The blonde had tried to sneak into a nearby market to get groceries several times, but fled upon seeing them roaming around. She was too scared to go near areas like that.

A bang of metal sliced into her thoughts.

Cindy froze, heart rate climbing and pit forming in her stomach. She clutched her snack bar as if it would be stolen from her. The sound was loud and very close, coming from the nearby alleyway.

“H-hello?” Her voice was barely audible, just above a whisper as she crept forward. She was scared, expecting to see a figure shamble out and towards her. But maybe it was an animal, maybe it was the wind. “Spspspspsps,” She made a noise, as if trying to coax a cat out of hiding. The dead was scary, but Cindy sometimes treated them as if she could change their mind about eating her. “Ch-Chocolate? Do you want chocolate?” She bribed in a pathetic whimper before mustering the courage to peer into the alleyway.

It was empty.

The sheet of metal was still there, but nobody was around it.
 
His smirk stretched into a grin as he caught the subtle eye roll. That's what we do it for. He thought to himself before taking long strides towards the noise. It had only been a few streets away, but the noise had been sufficiently loud enough to draw attention. "Keep your knife on hand," Nathan's voice was quiet now, void of any humor. He clutched the battered PVC pipe like a baseball bat. The pipe had been among a number of other construction supplies in one of the back rooms in the Aquarium. He remembered grabbing it for the first time, fumbling with it in his cold, sweaty hands. People were screaming so loud- these shrill, terrified shrieks.
Nathan mentally shook away the memories. They were about to round the corner, but he stopped harshly, throwing a hand up to stop and silence Ash. He wasn't certain, but he could've sworn he heard what sounded like someone coaxing out a cat. He strained his ear, waiting for a follow up sound to either confirm or discredit the ridiculous idea of someone out here looking for their lost cat.
"Ch-Chocolate? Do you want chocolate?" A soft, incredibly pitiful voice inquired.
"Chocolate?" Nathan echoed. He peered around into the street with clear confusion on your face. Standing in the middle of the street beside a large metal sheet was a curvaceous blonde. She looked like she stepped out of a magazine, or rather fell out of. He paused, looking her over with brows tightly furrowed. "Does your cat like chocolate or something?"
Gao Gao dew. dew.
 
"Does your cat like chocolate or something?"

Greg paused at the question he was able to hear up to now, having followed the strange concentration of what seemed to be a conversation in this part of town and wandering into view from the other end of the alley behind the man and girl, he pauses for now, waiting to see what they were doing while standing as still as a statue, quite intrigued that he could still run into more than groups lesser than fives
 
She murmured. "Who would try to give a cat chocolate." she fiddled with the knife's handle. "Cats can't have chocolate." she said calmly. "Not sure what they were doing.." she looked at him for a second, actually a little surprised from his seriousness in the situation, having thought that he wasn't a very serious person.
 
A lone US Marine walked alongside the street, He was looking for nothing, but also looking for something or someone In a way. He walked past a burned-out car and could see a walker up ahead. A walker was one of those slower zombies, But If it got close enough you have a problem with your hands. The Marine pulls out his Bayonet and sneaks up behind the walker. The Marine put a gloved hand over the zombie's mouth and shoved the Bayonet into its head, killing it.
After walking a few minutes, The Marine heard what sounded like the mumbled voices of other people, Possibly bandits. The Marine wipes the bloody bayonet on the ground and walks ahead slowly now with his Bayonet in one hand and his Berreta in the other.
An Age-Old instinct kicked in, Stealth, The Marine crouched down low and slowly moved forward whilst keeping tabs on his surroundings.
 
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The blonde remained quiet for a moment which was a surprising feat for Cindy, silently examining the one that had spoken, a male. This was followed by impulsively blurting out the next and only thought that came to mind.

“You’re tall. You play basketball?”

Despite their scary appearances and the fact she had never met or seen either of them before, she smiled and bobbed on up to them. Cindy completely disregarded any stranger danger warnings.

“Cat?” She inquired, lips forming into a small ‘o’ as she glanced towards the metal sheet. Cindy now felt sheepish, being caught trying to lure out whatever with her chocolate bar. She was still holding the wrapped snack in her hands, squishing it occasionally like a stress ball.

“I thought it could’ve been a raccoon,” She admitted in a shy quiet tone, dancing around the fact she was also trying to lure out any dead or anyone alive with the chocolate bar. ‘How embarrassing...’ She thought, touching a little pebble on the pavement with her shoe.

If Cindy was anyone else maybe she would’ve been a little wary of these strangers, especially the other female who seemed intimidating and was fiddling with the hilt of her knife. But instead, Cindy‘s shy hand gingerly reached out to try and touch the fabric of the girls hoodie. She wondered what fabric blend it was. It looked cozy. Before she could introduce herself properly, her gaze landed on a figure watching from nearby. Her stomach did a twist, unable to decipher if they were alive or dead since they were not moving. Instinctively she grabbed both of her new friends by the arm, clearly skittish on the whole dead people roaming around thing.

“Who’s that? Is that your buddy?” She asked in a hushed panicked voice, motioning with her eyes where she was looking, maybe they knew the figure and it wasn’t just a zombie idling about with great taste in clothes. Cindy had noticed the poncho. She liked ponchos.

“Is it alive? Or we could make a kill circle?” The blonde now whispered, as if worried the figure in the poncho would hear her and become upset that Cindy proposed such an idea.
 
"No" Greg answered when addressed, unsure yet if they were referring to him or not, at the very least, his voice might reassure them that he was at least not a zombie under the poncho, blinking as he shifted his face up slightly, suddenly thinking he needed to add something else "... not yet, anyways"

For now the man kept his weapon hidden under the poncho, no need to look suspicious or raise alarms while they're first meeting one another
 

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