Fandom Bone Reapers

[scorpiodragon]

This is only for people who have been accepted into Bone Reapers. Please do not post if you not a member but feel free to read along. Posts by people who have not created a character will be removed.​

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Setting: New York City
Timeline: 5 months after outbreak
Season: Late Autumn (November)

"The CDC reported the first case of Ventus Sar 3 today at Mercy Hospital in Miami, Florida today. The source was traced back to a flight originating in Singapore. This on top of what has been termed Cordyceps Brain Infection or CBI for short which is a variant of the same virus that attacks ants. From initial reports, it is estimated that the disease causes aggression in patients as well as a sensitivity to light. Information into the outbreak is ongoing as is how these viruses will interact with each other."

"Panic spread across the world today as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the latest vaccination efforts have failed. Quarantine zones are spreading up across the country and citizens in surrounding areas are being moved to these quarantine zones for their safety. Citizens are required to have their ids ready for checking at checkpoints and pets are not allowed within the quarantine zones."

"Protests rose throughout Atlanta, GA today as the small town of Rutledge, GA was bombed today by the military with people still inside, those that had refused to move when the evacuation orders were given. The military says that the town was being overridden by infected and it had to be destroyed for the safety of the general populace."

"A convoy of military trucks was attacked today by armed citizens transferring supplies and soldiers to an outpost on the outskirts of Western Nebraska. The soldiers themselves were all slaughtered while the trucks were destroyed and the perpetrators got away with as much food and weapons as they could carry..."

"The United Kingdom has shut down all immigration and is the latest country to initiate martial law..."

"In month three of the crisis, Australia is the latest in a series of..."
​

There was an unnatural chill in the air, though maybe it was due to the world being a different place or maybe it was because winter was nearly upon them. Maybe it was both those reasons combined. Who could say? Was there anybody or anything left alive? Everything about the world had changed in the past five months, it was hard to believe things had come to such a state so quickly.

It hadn't been long enough for the buildings to collapse or the energy to run out so electricity, water and such still worked. Nature had not yet taken over the earth, reclaiming the cities and suburbs, other settlements within the world. No, that would be many years before such a thing happened and so there was shelter to be had within the buildings but also dangers lurking within the city from zombies, not only those who were human but those whom were supernatural as well. Zombies were dangerous, in and of themselves, but the supernatural kind were the worse as they still had their powers. It was something that they'd come to realize when their sister had been bitten by a zombie when his older siblings had been hunting for blood.

Originally, they hadn't thought the bite was bad, however that changed when their sister began to complain of pain and attempted to attack Samara, forcing her and Festus to fight their sister and ultimately destroy her before she got too far into the turning. They'd left home after that, setting the shack they were in on fire and removing their sister's head and wings from her body. Becoming refuges, they had to skirt any potential areas where there was activity of zombies. At first, it hadn't been so bad and food had been easy to find. Others in their predicament helped out but it seemed gradually that zombies began to spread and this was no good for Samara who needed blood and meat to survive, particularly organs.

As more humans turned into zombies, it also made it difficult to survive on their own. They seemed to be everywhere one looked, buildings and allies, the countryside, lurking in the shadows and waiting to attack. Two of Festus's powers didn't work on the undead creatures, leaving him to rely on his sister for protection or his photo-umbrakinesis. They also alternated sleeping schedules with Festus watching over his sleeping sister during the day and then come sundown, his sister watching over him as he slept. Granted, Samara could come out in the daytime, but daylight made her weak and her eyes were sensitive to bright flashes of light and to the sun during a certain period of the day so it was just easier to adapt to an evening schedule. Maybe that was where the legends of vampires being nocturnal creatures came from.

When hunting got bad for Samara, they'd attempted to raid a hospital for blood bags to quell his sister's thirst and fulfill part of her dietary requirements. That blood wasn't all that good after months of wasting away in refrigerators and it soon became pointless to continue with heading to the hospital when his sister got ill on drinking spoiled blood. With zombies lurking around, the remaining two of the triplets tried to skirt any areas that looked sketchy and raided homes and stores for food and medical supplies. Medical supplies, however, were running low in some areas as well but the city of New York had a lot of good hiding places, which was a blessing and a curse. One didn't know what they would run into here in this concrete jungle...zombies or supernaturals or even humans but it had been some time since they'd interacted with others. And with him being human, Samara said it was dangerous for Festus to be out on his own since he couldn't fight.

The siblings were searching for two things this day as autumn littered the trees of Central Park and a cold wind blew through the area. Winter was on the horizon and that would make things more difficult, at least that was Samara's thoughts on the matter. "What about animal blood?" Festus observed a squirrel in a tree that chittered down at them.

"Animal blood isn't as sustaining as human blood," said Samara. "It would sustain me for a bit but animal blood makes me weak and about as powerless as the sun does. As it did to our sister."

"Well, where do we go now?"

"We need to move to where there are a lot of buildings," said Samara. "We haven't checked Little Italy yet so we can try there. It's one hour and thirty-seven minutes walking but stay on guard as we'll be going through Central Park for a bit, then turning right onto 5th avenue and continuing from there according to this map." In response, she pulled out a map she'd nicked when gathering supplies half a month ago. Unfolding it, they looked it over, Samra tracing the path with her eyes where there were various 'x' marks on the map in red and black, places they'd already looted and/or safe or found to be unsafe with red being 'looting/safe' and black being 'unsafe' respectively.

Samara, once she got the layout of the map's route they were to take, folded the map up and slipped it into the pocket of her jeans before the siblings began their trip towards Little Italy. "What's in Little Italy?"

"Restaurants I think," mused Samara thoughtfully. "You'll be fine Festus, it's only 4.8 miles there." Her brother couldn't run very fast with his gimpy leg, much less climb well. It made things difficult when traveling but he was determined to help her out where he could so she didn't need to do everything. Her brother didn't reply as they made their way along the route Samara had outlined, Samara more cautious than her brother as they hadn't ventured that far south before.

AlphaBlueWolf shadowz1995 LostPrimarch

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Andy had lived a short while in North Dakota. She'd been born in Canada and had lived there for a good while. Her Canadian side of the family was of Chinese descent, given the second part of her last name Ling. The first part, Ahoka, derived from her native American heritage in the U.S. Canadian/American and Native American/Chinese. Her heritage was single handedly a pain to understand. Why was it so complicated? Even so, she loved her parents and family even if they could be overbearing at times. Life in Canadian was pretty good even without having people who understood her. She knew plenty of Chinese Canadians, but never any Native American, nor anyone who could really understand how it felt to be of mixed origin. Specifically, her origins. And especially when she looked more Native American. The one thing she missed about Canada, the poutine. She'd become a heavy poutine addict having grown up on it in Canada. American poutine was not the same. It was like Italian versus U.S pizza, there was a clear winner in that, and it wasn't the latter country. Same with the U.S, Canada, and poutine. Canadian poutine was the absolute best. The only person who could make it good in America was her mother who had grown up in Canada her whole life.

Her father had grown up on a reservation in America. He hadn't described it as the best place to grow up. He much preferred Canada, like her. But things had started getting bad in Canada with the virus spreading, so her parents figured it might be better to move down with her father's family. Spend some time at the reservation while things cooled down. It didn't.

Things didn't seem as bad as everywhere else on the reservation. The one in North Dakota that her dad had grown up in wasn't as big as others, so sickness hadn't gotten too bad. She'd describe the weeks there as ok. She got to learn a lot about her Native American side. Spiritual beliefs and cool stories. Though, she thought maybe her dad was going overboard with that just to teach her. Those things seemed to be beliefs of the people there, but it wasn't like in old times. Her father taught her how to hunt. She'd picked up learning how to use a shot gun quickly, as well as a dagger to cut open the meat. She wasn't a squeamish girl, so that stuff didn't faze her. She'd also learned to use a crossbow, but guns were much more affective. Andy's dad taught her to give thanks to the animals for the meal, to honor their spirits. All the while, she wondered if he really did this as a kid, or if he was just trying to get in all the lessons of their culture before they were back off to Canada and forgetting, as her dad like to do, about the reservation. They wouldn't be going off to Canada again...

Sickness was getting worse in the reservation, and she could see why her father didn't like it here. There were deep problems. Crime, poverty, bad housing situations. Even if she hadn't grown up here, she was still angry things had turned out this way. There was this weird little cat that kept popping up too. She'd once stopped to feed it, noticing its weird features, but it kept coming back to her. Her family liked to joke that it was some kind of animal spirit who had imprinted on her. She just thought it was some stray coming back to a person who knew it would give it food. She didn't really think anything of it, even with the cat hissing towards the sick as if they were monsters. Andy couldn't have understood the warnings or the red flags of the sick.

One of the residents had turned rabid and bit her father while he was trying to help out. They had to keep the guy restrained and unfortunately it was happening to a lot of the patients. Her father had been getting a little bit aggressive with her. He'd sent her out to get supplies from a store in town, wanting her to get away from him because he knew he was dangerous. The cat had distracted her. It was being pelted with rocks by local kids in town. They were using terms like runt and stray, hurling the insults at the weird cat. The weird thing was, they talked to the cat like it was a person. "She's nothing more than a stray dog! Little runt's family probably abandoned her on the side of the road for being so weak and small." The kids laughed and eventually started kicking at the cat. She didn't understand why they took it so personal towards the cat but that didn't stop her from intervening. They ran away when they saw her, but she could've sworn the main kid had something furry attached to his back.

The next thing she knew, she was buying cat food for the strange little kitten following her. She'd gotten the groceries and checked everything off the list. Now, she was back to the reservation with the cat at her heels. When they got to her door, the cat was hissing wildly, its fur bristling till it was nothing more than a ball of fluff. She tried to reassure it, but it bit at her hand. It was a stray after all so she could see why it happened. She'd still been frustrated as the cat grabbed at her clothes with its teeth. She ripped away from the cat, it flying off the steps with its sides heaving. It was strange, but it looked like it was about to cry. Andy just shook her head and went inside.

The inside smelled rancid and horrible. She called out for her father and mother and only heard a strange gurgling sound and something snapping. She went into the kitchen, the source of the sound. She immediately dropped the bags of groceries, tears streaming down her face. Her mother laid in a pool of blood, her dead corpse unmoving. What was worse, it was half eaten. A deformed body sat on top, nibbling hungrily at a severed arm. Her mother's severed arm. She realized in horror as the form shifted its attention towards her. It looked different, but that was definitely Andy's father, deranged and tearing up her mother. The only thing she could do was scream and run as her father bounded towards her like an animal on all four legs.

She'd been shoved into the coffee table, letting out a shriek as her leg hit it hard. She removed one of the legs of the coffee table with nothing but brute force and smashed it into her father's eye. He hovered there for a second while coughing and shrieking, giving her a chance to get away. She ran for the shed. It was a cold day with snow sticking in clumps to the ground. North Dakota was a cold place like Canada, so snow was common. Even in the summertime it was possible. Her bad leg slid on a snow clump and she went flying into cold, muddied dirt. It stuck to her but she couldn't focus on that. Her father had come, bounding once again towards her. She couldn't stand on the leg, it hurt way too much and she was dazed. She crawled towards the shed and opened up the door. Another two feet and she'd have the gun in her hands, having to make a horrible decision to save her life. Her father jumped on her at the last second. Crap! She thought in that moment, I'm going to die. My own rabid father is going to kill me! Tears stung in her eyes as blood dripped from his mouth to her check. He was really close to biting her head off. She wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Then, a flash of fur ran by. The cat rushed into the shed and made the gun clatter to the ground. It seemed hard for it, but the cat managed to push the gun all the way to where Andy could grab it. "I'm sorry.." She murmured as she grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger. Her father was down. The reason she managed to kill him was that this was the starting stages of his turning, feasting on his first human before fully turning into a zombie. A cold spray of new snow drifted lightly down from the sky with her eyes filled to the brim with tears. She had to stay like that for a good twenty minutes, realizing what she had done as well as the fact that she'd just lost both of her parents, one of them by her own hands. The decision had been to save her own life, but she didn't feel any better about what she had just done.

When she'd looked back, the strange cat was gone. The only thing that was there had been lightly strewn paw prints covering a distance of the freshly fallen snow. A tuft of fur laid between the snow, it and the pawprints being the only remnants of the strange little helper. Now, she was without parents, and she didn't even know what to do. She dismissed the strange kitty and tried to find some shelter and help. But people were becoming rabid just like her father and soon enough the reservation was pretty much a death zone. North Dakota no longer seemed like the safe place her parents had thought it was, and she was debating on traveling back to Canada. She spent the next few days running in the streets of the reservation while narrowly escaping zombiism and death. All the while, having to kill the people she had come to know. It was torturous. She'd found a T.V in the days that followed, and the zombie outbreak had officially been announced. She tried to look for the cat but...


"Andy? Andy? Andy!" She heard the familiar shout of her little kid companion. The shapeshifter was in her human form, though she wasn't looking too human anymore. Fur covered her feet and legs, and some had sprouted on her arms as well. Her animal ears and tail were fixed in their respective spots and her eyes looked slitted and wild like an animal's. Sharp teeth protruded from her mouth and sharp claws extended from her fingers. It didn't look long before she'd shift uncontrollably back into her original form.

"Uh, yeah?" She said nonchalantly to the younger child. She didn't want to let out that she'd been trapped in that stupid memory once more. The one where she'd seen her mother's dead corpse being eaten by her father, and the way she'd had to kill him. It had been so traumatizing that Andy couldn't seem to erase it from her thoughts. It was just constant. It didn't help that she was now taking care of a kid. She basically acted as the shifter's big sister.

"You were just staring and..." She trailed off as her stomach growled. She was hanging onto Andy's sleeve. "You weren't moving. And I'm hungry!" She moaned. "Really hungry. Really, really, really..."

"I get it Juniper!" She said with an exasperated sigh. The kid, Juniper, looked hurt but she was tired. Though, she did know what was at stake. The girl would turn into a little weird looking cat-like animal if she didn't get food in her. It wasn't when she was hungry, despite Juniper presenting it that way, it was that her energy was low. Juniper just didn't really know how to explain it, but Andy had figured out that it was her energy. Food helped her gain energy once more. "Sorry, Junie. I'll try to find you something to eat. Maybe a restaurant will have something. Maybe..."

Andy knew it was a long shot considering things hadn't been the same in five months. Restaurants weren't making fresh food. Though maybe they could scrounge around for something. Andy had learned to be resourceful in the last few months, especially while taking care of a child. She'd figure out something or else she'd have to carry a tiny runt of a cat. Though, Juniper seemed quite happy about that. "Yay, we're gonna eat at a restaurant!" She shouted out.

"June, quiet." She hissed out in a whisper, but it didn't dampen the little girl's spirit. Her long tail swayed happily as she bounded forward with Andy rushing after her. Once she caught up, they were now taking things slowly and by Andy's rules. She was cautious of the new city. After all, zombies could be lurking around every corner. She made Juniper tuck her ears away in her hood and tried to hide her shifter appearance. Supernaturals had pretty much come out to the world since this all started. She wouldn't have known about them if Juniper hadn't come into her life, though she suspected she would've met some sooner or later anyways. Even so, she knew how dangerous things could be for the supernaturals. Humans without abilities sometimes used them. She had heard from someone that trafficking was a big thing with them. Supernaturals were sometimes treated poorly, maybe even kidnapped and forced to work. Even if that didn't happen, the girl could still be slain by humans. That was not a risk she wanted to take. Especially not in the concrete jungle that had become the big apple.

This all felt like a bad dream to the teen. It'd took them a little over a month to get here. To New York. They'd walked and hopped trains that were still operational. North Dakota had basically become a white desert as the colder months started rolling in. Winter would be too harsh in North Dakota, so she'd figured it'd be best to move someplace else. So, she'd left basically everything she knew to give her and Juniper a fighting chance. She thought New York might be warmer considering it was bordered by water near the coast. Surely it had to be warmer than the snowy regions of North Dakota. But, in reality, she didn't know anything about New York City. She was pretty much a scared kid making it up as she went to protect the younger scared kid with her. She didn't know how to operate around New York City with its tall skyscrapers and compacted buildings. She was more used to open spaces and smaller housing, nothing like this city. She kept her rifle clutched in her hands because of how scared she was in the new surroundings. They had barely been here a day and she was already super paranoid and nervous. Juniper, on the other hand, seemed used to roaming the streets. She never really talked about her family, but she did talk about someone called Papa. If she could guess, most likely her dad. Another guess, Juniper was either an orphan or a runaway. No normal kid would have to dig through the trash for food or rely on a stranger to keep them alive. She just had to be, which meant they were in the same boat. One of the reasons the two of them had grown so attached in the few months of knowing each other.

They continued along on their way to raid a restaurant, Andy making sure they were safe every second of the way. All the while, she could feel the aching in her bad leg from the journey. She had never been able to get proper medical attention for it, but she acted as if she were fine for Juniper's sake and kept them moving in spite of the pain. Though, she really needed the treatment because the wound was still producing new blood. A dirty bandage was wrapped around it with dry blood crusted to the leg and new blood sprouted up recently. The pain was still horible too.

 

[shadowz1995]

It was an abandoned apartment building. The scars of the recent outbreak decorating its walls with graffiti, broken furniture, old blood stains and rotting cadavers. It was silent for the most part, no infected in plain sight. The inside was equally muted and silent. Not even the humming sound of electricity graced the inner walls of the complex.

The only sounds that could be heard once one ventured in some was low, rhythmic breaths. As if someone had been exerting themselves and were now catching their breath. A strange cracking, grinding noise accompanied it. As if someone was gnawing on bone or a rock.

Moments later, one of the undead were launched out of an open apartment room as if it was shot from a cannon in a circus. It's back slammed into the wall, causing the back of its skull to impact grotesquely into the old plaster. Fresh rivers of crimson now painted their colors onto the wall, carving a path downwards and eventually pooling on the floor underneath the origin of the spring.

Out walked Strell from the same room. His wings were folded neatly behind his back and there was a dim red glow around his forearm. If one looked carefully, they could tell there was some sort of bone like material embedded in the crimson barrier around the half-demon's limb.

The field flickered for a moment before fading out of existence. The embedded material clattered on the hard wood and revealed itself to be teeth. The vile creature had attempted to take a bite out of him and Strell made sure that he paid the price for trying to attack him, dearly.

The old half-breed's head turned to look down the hallway. It was littered with old corpses but upon further inspection, fresh bodies and blood were mixed in with the old. Strell's handiwork had left this building mostly cleared out and entirely ransacked. There wasn't much to begin with but the little that remained now belonged to Strell.

With a sigh, the large man kicked aside an old corpse and made his way out of the building. The rewards for his trouble was a, relatively, clean woolen blanket, a can of spam, and some half-empty hand soap. It was totally fruitless... but...

"This wasn't worth the fucking effort..." He muttered aloud to himself. He despised wasting energy on menial tasks that weren't worth the pay off.

The demon made his way outside of the building and gave his leathery wings a large stretch now that he was finally outside. There was only one other thing the man hadn't checked yet and it was a rundown, dilated restaurant that seemed devoid of all life.

Perhaps, there was some Non-perishables that some mortals had missed like the spam he picked up earlier?

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Sebastian flew into an open window of a cathedral tower, his hiding place after he'd been on his own. His whole band, his friends. They were gone, just like that. He went past a collection of half broken instruments. A pile of broken dreams. The sight was depressing, but it's not like he was going to leave them back at ground zero of their final and bloodiest performance.

A vampire sitting in a cathedral. Yeah, that was pretty weird. But no one worshipped here anymore. Abandoned just like the rest of New York City. It was a good place to hide out and he made sure none of the undead got in. He unhooked his hooded cloak. He was lucky he'd had it from tour or else going out in the daytime would be an absolute pain. He loved being a vampire, but that particular part of it always sucked. He draped it haphazardly over a table in the tower's room. The place looked like a complete mess with the broken instruments scattered around as if it were a performance, furniture was spread around the room, and he had installed a nook in the back corner for his bat sleeping habits. It was successfully the coziest, darkest room he could make in the wake of the apocalypse. If things had been normal, he may have been still on tour. Maybe he'd be back in London. Who knows where their adventures would've taken them. But now, none of that would've been happening. The world had been sent into turmoil and he had been the only one out of the group to survive this long.

He passed their drummer's set. On the bass drum read two words with a bat logo, Crypt Colony. The name of his pretty famous band. The supernatural group had made it big with both humans and supernaturals. They were a young group who had struck gold in the rock genre of music and, after about a year or two of their band being around, they'd gone on their first tour. Starting in London and ending up in New York City for their latest show. Their last show. Humans without any knowledge perceived them as angsty older teens and young adults putting on a persona. While supernaturals could tell they were of their heritage and thought their band name was a funny play on words. Vampires, bat colony. Get it? He certainly thought the name was good when he'd come up with it all those years ago with his sister. He was sort of glad she wasn't here right now, so she didn't have to go through the apocalypse while being bedridden. Still, he missed his sister dearly.

He patted the drum, and it made a faint noise. The instruments were pretty broken, but that wasn't stopping him from taking in his old equipment and trying to repair it the best he could. That was his goal in this apocalypse. Maybe his friends' spirits could live on in their instruments. It was the only thing he could do for them after he had failed them so much. He should've realized the signs sooner. Realized his friend was becoming rabid and agitated. Maybe then he could've stopped him from going crazy during that performance. He wouldn't have known his friend was turning into a zombie, but still. He could've at least tried. It was one of his biggest hang ups. He wasn't one to cast doubt or shame on himself, but he had always believed it was his fault all of his band had been either killed or turned. He was their leader. He should've been able to keep them safe.

He took his hands and banged them against his head. There was no use in getting worked up over the recent past. Berating himself wouldn't bring his friends back. He had to work on honoring them first. He was one tired vampire from not getting to sleep at sunrise, but he couldn't help himself. His nocturnal urges were going crazy, willing him to get some rest, but he had to keep going. Sebastian squeezed out sun block and applied it to his skin. He wasn't really sure if it would help, but it was a running joke in his band. A soft smile crept onto his face as he remembered when it first became a thing. Then it became bittersweet, and he dropped it. He put on the old school cloak once more, covering up his head with the hood. Being in the costume felt absolutely ridiculous. You could blame Ronnie for this and not him. Hadn't been his idea to go out like this for the PR. Ronnie had thought it was a good way to get their faces out there. It worked all too well. He sighed to himself. Another bittersweet memory. His charismatic charm was going in his deep sea of depression.

He finally leapt out of the cathedral once more, flying to land on a rooftop. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop on foot with him being weakened from the rays of sunlight. Plus, he was kind of scared his wingspan would burn if he extended it out to actually fly.



Dasiker had about twenty different bounties he had memorized from that board. He kept a collection of confidential sheets in his old laptop bag of suspects. His clients ranged from government officials to those who just wanted to fuck over people they hated and get some joy in this apocalypse. He thought they were all scumbags, even the people who had hired him, but money was money. If the job paid, he was here to reap out the bounty. And, hey, who ever said he wasn't a scum bag as well. He was hardly innocent, not enough to get into god's good graces that is. But he considered himself better than the people who paid him for his services.

He shot at a couple zombies with infused bullets from his specialized pistol. He should really go see the Kinney kid. Pay him a visit, check up on him, restock for months of supplies. All that stuff. The boy was... odd, but at least he could count on him for supplies. Still, who knows where the kid sourced his stuff. All he did was pay and not ask questions, that's how he got through most of his bounty hunting. In the earlier days, he had even been commissioned by scientists to capture zombies for testing. Yup, The Dragonsbane Marksman didn't get his nickname for nothing.

He continued on, trailing some kind of demon. Half demon, was it? Or full? His brain was getting as old as his body. He reloaded bullets meant specifically for taking down demons. Demons were pretty powerful, but dragons were a mighty race as well. He could always just squash the little fucker with his claws in dragon form. That should do the trick, even with his brittle bones.

Dasiker raced along streets of New York City, following some leads. This bounty was just another job to him. There were plenty of people with bounties on their heads in New York City. For some reason, the riff raff had chosen this place to hide out over everywhere else. Still, it wouldn't be too hard for him to find at least one bounty in this city. He was an excellent tracker after all. He continued street after street until he could hear some rustling footsteps. He didn't know what it was, but he was determined to follow it. The sound could lead him to one of his bounties. The old man grinned in his anthropomorphic dragon form. Don't ask. It was all he had ever managed of a human form, which limited his interactions in the day to day lives of humans who didn't know about the supernatural. It's not like he cared about it at all. No, sir! In reality, it made him grumpy when anyone brought it up.

 

[liostwolf]

Zxci had always been a loner, even before the outbreak. For most of their childhood they were on their own, not seeing friends as an important thing, instead focousing on studies. After they graduated high school, their mother wasnt financially stable enough to support them through collage, and their father had died a few years prior, so they were on their own in their endeavor for school. Zxci started working at a factory, having to move to Pennsylvania from his home in Virginia, able to use their power to sometimes help the machines along. They had just entered collage right before the first cases were reported, they attempted to continue school, begged to, but the school was already shutting down.

They tried their best to wait out what they hoped would be a short thing, but as it progressed, they knew that wouldn't be the case. A month in and they heard scratching at their dorm door, they had hunkered down, stocking up on food and such, so there hadn't been much reason for them to go out. They couldn't assume anything, so they looked though the peep hole, not about to simply open the door. It went quiet, and they just about moved back away when a face smashed against the glass of the peep. They startled back, that face wasnt human, and they could tell. Their breath heaved, it was a zombie, now, it was also their landlord, or it was, that wasn't their landlord anymore. They ran and grabbed a tote bag, stuffing it with food, clothes, and other knick-knacks. They knew this place was no longer safe. They looked around one last time, this might be the last time here... But just at that moment they heard the sounds of clattering, the wood splintering, and they darted to the balcony, ripping open the sliding door and taking flight, clenching the bag tightly.

From there, and from that day, they knew this wasn't going away soon, and knew they wouldn't be safe in a lot of places. The streets... were mostly silent, it was only 3 months in, and they were in a quarantine zone, somehow finding shelter. But that quickly grew unreliable, so they stocked up on rations, no matter how small and weak their body was getting, and one night, when they were certain the guards would be minimal, they took off into the night. They flew until they were exhausted and touched down on top of what seemed to be an abandoned building. They settled for a few days, sleeping enough to ger their energy back, before flying in-between places, knowing they could be caught at any moment.

4 months in and Zxci had started to get the hang of things. Knew what to look for and what to stay away from. They could find open stores that had yet to be rampaged so they could get food easily. Their life... wasn't even a life anymore. They had sometimes dropped in on groups, so they were able to get some interaction in, but they still felt ever alone, and it was... becoming normal. Sure, Zxci had always held themselves better alone, no reason to have friends... but they were getting quite lonely. They could get used to it though, thats what they kept telling themself. They had found mountains to be a great place to stop, the zombies seemed to go to places with higher inhabitation, from what Zxci had found, so if they should find a valley with running water? It was a safe haven for... a little while, perhaps not long, but it was long enough to stop, get water, move on. At this point they had no idea where they were, and stook to roofs and nature, anything to stay away from the zombies. It wasn't just luck that had kept them safe, but they were exhausted, flying for such long amounts of time... but that was what had to happen, it was how it was going, and how they thought it was going to go for a long while.

Zxci eventually, and accidently, made their way to New York. They had no idea where they were, had no idea how much time had passed, had no idea the state of the world. But they were alive, and that was all that mattered, right? Right. They flew above the city, able to see the infected. They eventually dropped down in a store, they looked around, the store seemed to be in surprisingly good condition. They went around and collected a few things, checking each. A backpack. Matches. Food. A knife. Once they collected their stuff, they saw a zombie. They tried to move back as silently as possible, not sure if electricity affected these things. They slowly backed up into, luckily, a ladder. They scaled it quickly and just sat on the roof, huffing, and looked over the city. They spotted a large building and sighed, before taking flight, working their way over.

 

[scorpiodragon]

As they headed down silent streets, it was still hard to believe that four months ago the city had been bustling with activity. It was eerily quiet as the siblings walked along 5th avenue and then took a slight right onto Broadway. The siblings made a detour to check for clothes, finding some when they broke into Kith and rooted around for new clothes and shoes. Mostly they needed clothing for winter that was coming soon and this was why they made the supply run into the clothing store. Thankfully they didn't encounter any zombies. His sister even stole some jewelry that was resting in a broken glass case for herself, her brother not saying anything as she tried on a few pieces before they would finally leave. Though he couldn't deny he stole a tote bag and some cologne, the latter at his sister's insistence.

This put their journey at 6.2 miles with their unintended stop but they took a brief respite to let Festus rest and Samara to examine the map to check their route. Occasionally peeking in cars and finding some empty while others were with skeletons, Samara kept a close eye out for any movement towards them or within the shadows of buildings. "The weather is nice."

"Mmm," said Samara as she stopped to look down their map. "It's fine until it becomes colder but then we'll have to either move on or find somewhere else to spend the winter. We may not be able to do much traveling."

When they finally did reach Little Italy, Samara stopped and put her arm out for Festus to halt in his tracks. Samara looked up at the sky, tsking as she saw they seemed to have some hours of daylight left and it wasn't a full moon which meant she wouldn't be at her strongest capabilities. "Samara?" She shook her head as they observed the restaurants before making their way into the area. "Maybe we can fix a car up?"

"You don't know anything about cars," chided Samara, "and I'm not the greatest mechanic. At least it isn't bright out. Come on and be vigilant. We don't know what's residing here in this place." Samara fell silent as they walked, the vaewolf always the cautious type, even before when she'd been a normal werewolf. But now she had to deal with being the one in charge and protecting her mortal brother.

"Can you see anything on the roofs?"

Samara turned her head. "Some of these buildings are too high. The best I can glimpse is the windows but they're naturally dusty from being abandoned for the past four months," she said. "I don't think there's any food here but it might be a good place to crash if it's safe enough from the undead walking around," explained Samara. His twin yawned as they walked. Normally she'd be asleep but they needed this supply run which was why she was up, despite the daylight making her weaker. "We'll check out a few of these restaurants on either side and see how big this area is. Cash is pointless so no use raiding cash registers but there might be canned foods we can stock up on."

When his sister stopped for the second time since entering the Little Italy area of New York, the human looked towards her. "S..."

A growl answered him and he fell silent, his sister turning and looking around them. "Rotten meat." In the time since the...well Festus wasn't sure what to refer to the whole zombie rise as...his sister had started referring to the undead as either zombies or 'rotten meat' signaling she couldn't eat it. Though they walked like normal humans and supernaturals, albeit a bit slower than humans which was good for Festus, they stank to high heaven. "Rotten meat and something else." Festus gave his sister a confused look as he clutched the tote bag he'd nicked from Kith that had some of his new clothing it as they looked around them.

Breathing in sharply Samara tapped her fingers against her other arm in thought before pointing at a random restaurant. Festus seemed to get the message that she was going to check it out for she handed him her bag and headed towards the nearby restaurant to check the place out. "Keep an eye out. If it's safe, I'll let ya know." Nodding, he went over to sit at one of the tables, dropping the bags on the ground as his sister went inside.

It was a bit difficult to get into the restaurant for the door appeared to have been locked or perhaps boarded for pushing on the door didn't yield as easy an entrance as she had expected. Could there be people alive within this place? It seemed a good location and one would have food for a bit until it spoiled but, if they had freezers, then meat should be good for a while. Alright, not getting in that way. Guess it's time to break the window. Releasing the doorknob, she turned and looked around, finding a stone that she picked up and then threw through the glass.

Entering through the broken window and brushing the glass off her, she looked around the interior. For all respects and purposes, one might think that it was just a regular restaurant. It might have been in the past but the silence of the place was rather unsettling and yet something she'd grown used to. "Don't see anything useful here so let's try the kitchen. Should be...somewhere in the back." As she walked through the aisles, she passed a few tables and chairs as well as a few booths scattered about.

Inspecting underneath some of the booths and tables to make sure there wasn't anything hiding there that could pose a threat to her or Festus, she made her way slowly, peering over the counter to the bar but not seeing anything. The stench of rotten meat didn't appear to be emitting from here and she backtracked to find the restrooms and check those. Outside, Festus kept an eye out in case there were zombies walking around or even just humans that his sister could turn into a meal, given getting her nutrition was difficult. It was the least he could do, even if it might put him into trouble, as he wasn't sure if...assuming there were survivors out there...that they would come willingly. Festus hoped there would be some food found, given their supplies were nonexistent at the moment but knew it was worse for Samara. Festus was bored, sitting outside and waiting for his sister to alert him that all was well or come outside with potential food. He wasn't sure how well that would fare, given they'd no idea about the place and hadn't checked it out yet in the time they had been within the Big Apple. Meanwhile, his sister was venturing into the restrooms, first checking out the women's restroom and taking some relief from the sun outside. In the restroom, Samara leaned against the door, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. It was nice to be out of the sunlight. A sigh escaped her as she took in the scents and the dim lighting which was also a relief upon her eyes, allowing them to adjust easily. "The world's really gone to shit hasn't it," she questioned the silence around her. Just a little rest...then continue.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Andy led the little girl as she stayed clear of any potential zombies. The place seemed like a desert except for the odd creaks and groans of old metal and buildings against the bitter wind. She swore she could hear zombies groaning as she picked her way towards a place with the potential for restaurants. As a born and raised Canadian, as well as a temporary North Dakotan, she had absolutely no clue where to go in this city. It was a whole other country than she was used to. She'd ripped a tattered map right from the rotting corpse almost skeleton of a deceased tourist. She didn't mind it considering she had seen her mother's half eaten dead corpse, plus having to kill her father and countless others back on the rez. After that much torture, you get used to it. Desensitized. It had pretty much become a normal thing, shooting the rotten brains out of the undead with her trusty rifle. She'd seen so many dead corpses that the ones in New York City just didn't compare to those of her deceased and turned family and friends. Juniper didn't really seem bothered either, despite the slight bristle of her fur and hissing. She always seemed to know zombies from humans and supernaturals. Even the ones that were in the very beginning stages. She owed the little one her life and she intended to keep her safe.

She looked through the map but the missing chunks of paper as well as the intersecting lines and words made it confusing. She assumed they were on Broadway given the pole with the name on it. Was this place like where the Broadway was? Like all the musicals and such? She shook the thought from her head. 'C'mon, Andy!' She thought, 'Focus! Juniper is counting on you! Yeah, no pressure or anything...'

She considered herself to have all the weight on her shoulders. She was the oldest, the responsible one. She had to make sure Juniper was safe even if that meant putting herself at risk. And this damn injury was going to kill her! June seemed to focus on the prospect of food and energy replenishment to notice. But the girl had a keen sense of smell, and she wouldn't be able to fake being fine for long. She was actually limping and anyone with a keen smell would be able to take in the smell of blood and infection. Her leg was in pretty rough shape. The right injured one was literally going to be the death of her in this apocalypse.

When they finally reached the area, June looked to be in rough shape herself. She was slowing down, and even more fur had popped up onto her form, making her arms thoroughly coated in it. It wouldn't be long before she shifted to her original form, unable to hold the humanoid one she could manifest. She felt bad as the girl shuffled along, but it's not like she was able to carry her in this state. She was too big as a humanoid, despite being thinner and smaller than she should've been. She didn't weigh a lot, but she would feel like a ton of bricks with her leg not giving her stable support. She was tired too. Physically and mentally, more tired than she had ever been in her whole life.

Andy looked towards the sign that hung at the official starting point of Little Italy. "Huh. Little Italy. Is there a Little Canada as well?" She halfheartedly joked. "Or are us Canadians and our poutine still underrated. Throw in some maple syrup and you'd have a successful Canadian sector of restaurants." It was more for herself, since June just looked up towards her with a weak tilt of her head. Sadly, Juniper didn't know how to read. She didn't know if it was because she had never been given the opportunity to learn or if the girl just had some severe problems with Dyslexia. Either way, the sign was lost with her, as was the humor. She had no idea about Canada or poutine either. She'd really love to give the girl some authentic Canadian poutine. She'd realize with the first bite why Andy was always going crazy for the stuff. Well, the real kind. Not the crappy Americanized version. She was very particular about her poutine.

They continued walking, sticking towards the inner parts as she didn't like being in the open as much. She could hear movement. From what? She didn't know. But the gurgling, clicking sounds of zombies weren't far off. "Shit." She mumbled.

"Andy?" Juniper looked back towards her, worried.

"Oh, uh, nothing." She confirmed and they went on. She stopped them as she spotted the undead wandering. Juniper let out a very animal-like whimper. "Don't make any loud sounds or movements." She whispered in an urgent voice to Juniper. "Follow my lead, don't run." The girl nodded, though she could tell her fight or flight response was kicking in and it was telling her to soar high. She looked ready to bolt, but Andy put a hand on her shoulder and they made there way in short steps over to an alley. They continued at a fast pace once she knew they were at a safe distance. Still, she was now on high alert. Her gun was clutched nervously in her hand, ready to shoot anything that just about moved.

They wandered around the alleyways of Little Italy. She could see back entrances to buildings but couldn't tell from here which were restaurants. She sighed. Now they were running the risk of getting attacked plus Juniper reverting back to her original form. This was just great.

Suddenly, Juniper's ears shot up and she stopped. She turned towards the back entrance of a building and bounded towards it. "Hey, wait!" She called for the girl. It was too late as she had already made it inside. "Crap! Why does she do this?" She mumbled to herself as she ran after the shifter.

They'd entered in the kitchen, and it looked like she'd gone back in time five months prior. Everything looked normal for an abandoned building. Everything still functional despite clear signs of having no use in a while. It was pretty amazing, even if she was more of an eat in diner person. She saw dirty pawprints leading up to the fridge that was dispensing chilled air from its open door. Juniper's prints, she could tell. She limped her way over, her leg feeling worse as she had just sprinted into the building. The cloth tied around had gotten a little bit redder from the newly dispensed blood, creating that scent for whoever was inside. She saw Juniper crouched down and hungrily gobbling up at a watermelon. She looked up towards Andy with a grin and juice dripping down from her stained face. "Look!" She shouted in excitement. "Watermelon!" The older teen gave a soft giggle as June continued to munch on it. The fridge had still been operational and the whole watermelon looked just about ready to start rotting. It had probably been left by someone who had visited this place and found the fridge. Left it there so it would last longer and never returned. Maybe because of infection or maybe because of death. Still, nothing mattered more to the young one than the whole watermelon that she was currently carving huge chunks out of with her claws and teeth, making them wet and stained as well. Sticky too. They'd have to find out if that sink was still operational after she was finished with her meal.

While Juniper ate, Andy multitasked while both keeping watch over the door, her gun pointed at it, and rummaging around for any canned goods. Any supplies they could scavenge for the winter. She was basically like a bear trying to horde fat to survive. She was also looking for any signs of poutine or things she could make it out of. It was an Italian place, so she doubted it, but still. She was pretty much craving her comfort food, especially with her leg. She swore she could hear a door close to them open and close. Maybe it was just the sound of Juniper's paws clattering around in the fridge for more food. That girl could be like a coyote rather than a cat. Still, she was vigilant and kept her attention focused in on the door. The younger companion with her was more intent on becoming an energized pain once more, plus she just horded and scarfed down food from her life as a street rat, so she was more concerned with the food and was basically blocking out everything else. She had a one-track mind like that. Out of the two of them, the one with good senses didn't even realize the potential threat lurking in the restrooms as she chowed down.