Realistic or Modern Dead Alive - Zombie Apocalypse RP

[Permanent Exhaustion]

This is how the world ends. No biblical plagues or world-ending floods. A virus, transmitted through transmission of fluids. Those infected die within a day, most sooner. That's not the worst part, though. Shortly after they die, they come back. They come back looking to eradicate every trace of what they once were, killing everyone they find. It had only been two weeks since the first outbreak, but in that time, most of the world's population had died, either from the virus or from the ensuing chaos. We're what's left.

Harding Malin

Harding's eyes were peeled, glued on the treeline. He'd volunteered for night watch, he always made sure someone was awake and keeping an eye out. The dead, they were easy to detect, they made so much noise crashing through the woods that one had to be deaf to not hear them. But in just two weeks, people had become as big a threat as the walkers. Those that were still alive had a tendency to rob, attack, or even kill other survivors they found. People's morals got shot to hell as soon as things got rough. He wasn't that surprised.

He'd had a normal life, before. He'd joined the military at 17, dropped out of high school to do it. Saved every penny he got while enlisted, gave ten years of his life to the Army. He'd gotten honorably discharged after a bad injury permanently screwed up his left arm, he couldn't carry more than a few pounds with it without extreme pain. As soon as he was back home, he'd opened a small gun store with his best friend. He figured now that that decision had saved his life. When things went down, the first sign of bad news, he was ready. He'd never liked civilian life much anyways, he'd taken about an hour to clear out everything he could carry from the store and took off in his truck. He had more supplies than the average survivor, even walked around with a bulletproof vest when he was away from camp. That wasn't from the store, though, that was from a dead cop that had almost killed him a few days before. It had been a rough couple of weeks like that.

Things were improving, though. It made sense, that after the initial aftershock of getting attacked by dead people, people adapted. It was almost funny how quickly even the most stubborn person adapted when their life was on the line. Harding figured he'd seen some screwed up stuff already, though this definitely topped the list. He'd learned some tips quickly, some from bad TV shows, some from basic knowledge of the walkers. They weren't smart, and most of them were slow. Occasionally you ran across one that could out-sprint an Olympian. In those situations, running wasn't an option, they didn't get tired, they could run forever. They didn't seem to see too well, though they detected movement fairly well. They mostly seemed to rely on hearing and smell. Like sharks, the slightest scent of blood put them in a frenzy looking for the source. They usually didn't get distracted from their prey unless they found something more tempted or there was no sign of movement after a while.

It wasn't much. But it was enough. It meant he knew to keep any fires low, to stay quiet as much as possible, to cover wounds immediately. Harding had his own fair share of injuries he'd amassed in the past couple weeks, there wasn't a limb on his body without some kind of bandage or gauze. A scrape on his jaw, cuts all over his arms, he'd hurt his leg badly when running from a group of walkers in the beginning. It was hard, surviving, staying constantly on the move. But then something changed. He met other survivors, ones that weren't trying to kill every person they encountered. They stuck together, worked together to stay alive. Andrea, Andy, was the first, a former scientist. He never remembered what kind, he was a high school drop-out. A real smart type, he'd found her hiding out in a hospital trying to grab supplies. Medicine but also lab equipment. She'd told him that she wanted to try to learn more about the virus at a molecular level, whatever that meant. He took it as hopefully finding a cure, he did whatever he could to get her what she needed. Including a couple live samples, which had been a weird day. Others slowly trickled in, a couple left, a couple weren't made for that type of life and didn't make it, but the rest were there, working with him to live. He wanted to do more than roam and struggle to survive. He was no architect, but if they could find a farm or something, they could fortify it, survive for real without needing to be scared to fall asleep.

With his eyes on the horizon, watching the rising sun, that was all he could think of. Their sanctuary, when they found it. He had plans to go out that day, to look for more people and supplies, to take whoever with him wanted to go. They couldn't stay idle for a moment. As soon as it was fairly light out, he got to his feet, limbs aching from sitting still for so long, and looked around. A couple sleeping figures. "Time to go." He said, as loud as he dared to speak. Loud enough to wake up most of the people in the area. "Anyone coming with me?" He asked, grabbing his bag and waiting for an answer.

Andrea Stevenson

Andrea was going to kill the next person to wake her up at dawn. She had to stifle a groan as Harding's loud voice penetrated the heavenly silence that had once filled the little campsite. She had always been a person who was a little too attached to her eight hours of sleep, though that had gone out the window when the world effectively ended. She was only conscious for about four seconds before her thoughts returned to the disaster-zone that was the world around them. She'd received more news than most people, she'd been on the front lines for the CDC briefly when they thought there was still a chance at figuring out what was happening and finding a solution. A cure. They'd only had a day or two to work before things devolved into chaos, she'd barely made it out alive. Colorado was an odd destination for most people in the face of death, but her brother lived there, and she wanted to find him.

His house had been empty when she got there. Pictures of him, his wife, his kids, they still lined the walls. Bags were half-packed, the living room a mess. She didn't know if it was looters or the Specs that got to them. Specs. When she'd worked with the CDC, they'd only been able to refer to those that... came back as specimens, it kind of stuck for her. It felt better than thinking of them as monsters or people, they really weren't either. Just specimens. Things to be studied, analyzed. Things to be cured. Perhaps it was her ambition or her hubris, but part of her was firm in that she would be the one, the one to fix things, the hero. A cure would be ideal, but even some kind of antivenom, some kind of solution to prevent someone from turning after getting bit other than chopping off the affected limb. It was a crude solution at best, they needed to do better.

"I'll go." She grunted, still barely awake. She hated going out into the city, but she needed more supplies, and she took any opportunity she could get to observe the Specs. She pushed herself into an upright position and rubbed her eyes for a moment, finding her glasses and putting them on blearily. She missed contacts. She missed hot showers. She missed Instagram. Harding handed her a pistol once she was up and moving, and she eyed it distastefully before taking it, holding it like one might pick up a dead animal. She missed not having to bring a gun with her wherever she went. She missed that most of all. Harding kept track of most of the guns, which made sense since most of them were his. He usually only let people carry when they were out and about, he kept them with him otherwise. She remembered him explaining it as anyone was welcome to leave whenever they wanted, but they weren't taking his guns with them.

She gave herself a minute to wake up completely before slinging her backpack over her shoulder, packed with two water bottles, a few granola bars, some super basic first-aid supplies, mostly to stop active bleeding, and a hunting knife. Almost like she was going for a hike, which was a lot better than the reality. Nonetheless, she was ready to go wherever Harding decided they were going.

Spoiler: Tags

BoomersAndMash Crono Moomba Lurker MsIvory Krill aivy Nymphadora Socio

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[BoomersAndMash]

I'm not annoying, you just gotta get use to me....

Harper Tuck

An annoyed grunt could be heard as a figure rolled from her spot shooting a hand slowly in the air. She was barely awake when the order was given to move out and that their fearless leader would be on the move to find a new place. Sitting herself up and shaking off the daze Harper turned her head grunting out a "Yeah I'm coming." before lifting herself up to join the rag-tag team. Rolling her shoulders and cracking the neck Harper flashed some of the other members a toothy grin, knowing that they too were struggling with waking up this early. But she would rather be grumpy waking up early with a group than wake up with no one next to her. It was by luck that she managed to bump into Harding and his survivors.

Before the outbreak had happened Harper had everything planned out in her head. She had a steady job working security at a private business, doing whatever it was that business did. She didn't ask the questions about the practice. All she knew was that the money was coming in and she could afford her apartment and live a happy life. She worried about the usual stuff, traffic, running late, when her next date would be with that cute waitress at the café and maybe the occasional car trouble. But nothing of undead freaks coming in, breaking down the door and ripping people apart. That was far down Harpers list of "Things I need to give two craps about."

But something happened, something changed that made the world decide it had enough of playing by normal rules and change the game entirely. No one knows how it started or where it came from. What everyone knew and agreed on was that it was a threat and had to be stopped or at least contained. Contained, that was a laughable word. They tried to contain the undead but it was like putting a band-aid on a sinking ship. It wasn't going to work. There were too many undead to try to contain in one area that they overwhelmed the task force that was stationed to keep the area clear. That was the beginning of the end.

Shaking her head to return her attention back to the present Harper cursed at herself for dwelling on the past. It was one of the things she told herself never to do. Never dwell on the past or else you'll get lost and it might cost you. Grabbing her belt that had the sheath of her machete attached to it she buckled it up and grabbed her boots, tying them up tight and placing the laces inside the boots, so that way she wouldn't trip on them or have them get caught on anything.

"Alright, boss man. I'm down for some exploring and maybe getting lucky with some hunting. Oh, and seems I'll be joined in good company too." Turning to Andrea Harper smiled and winked to the other woman. She liked to tease a little and sometimes push others buttons for fun. It was a bit of a bad habit of hers.​

 

[Krill]

Seth rubbed his eyes. There was a deeply uncomfortable bruise on his hip, where he'd rolled onto his holster while he slept. Someone beside him was already wide awake, back straight as a board, eyes wide and vacant. He imagined they couldn't have slept well, if they were this alert so quickly.

Rolling over, he looked to the treeline. This early in the morning, and with eyes so fresh from sleep, it was a chore to pick out one shadow from another. He could remember many early mornings like this. Straight to the job.

Life wasn't so different now. Up-and-at-her. Don't miss a beat. Make a bad choice and you won't have to worry about when you'll get to sleep that night or where you'll wake up after.

Someone poked him in the shoulder. He turned over, a fist raising to rub the sleep out of his eye, and found a young girl's face looking back at him.

"Hey, Chiara. Good morning."

"Are you going out?"

He looked over to Harding. Right. The de-facto leader of their little group was gathering a patrol. Heading for supplies.

Seth was uneasy about the ease with which things were settling into a new normal. This was no place to make camp. He had a destination he needed to reach.

"Uh, yeah, I probably should," he said, looking back to the girl.

Chiara couldn't hide her pout.

"Actually, I think maybe I'll stay with the camp today." He felt a little guilt at changing his mind so quickly. "I think I slept on the wrong part of my hip. Hurts right to the bone."

"Oh. Okay. Just wondering." Chiara replied, and with a furtive glance she edged away. Seth smiled for himself and finished opening his eyes.

Carefully - he knew that standing up too quickly would get his blood rushing - he made his way over to Harding.

"How long are you planning to stay out today?" he asked, putting a hand on the other man's shoulder as they waited for the rest of the group to rise.

 

[Lurker]

Shit. SHIT. Double shit. Not good.

His heart pounding in his ears was all the male could hear as he ran. It was amazing how run down a place could be after only two weeks from the outbreak. There were tables and boxes and all sorts of things crowded in the hallway of the apartment building. Every door he passed it seemed like another one of those freaks would lurch out and try to grab him. He would just keep turning and running. Just keep running. Think later. It had gotten him this far so he kept trusting it. Finally he rounded a corner and saw some stairs up. "Oh thank god!" He sprinted up the stairs, taking them two at a time, running all the way to the top. He shouldered the door open and exploded out onto the roof of the building.

Adam forced himself to make sure the roof was safe and slammed the door behind him before he allowed himself to double over and gasp for air. "Fuck. This. Shit." He shouted in between gasping breaths as his mind recalled the start of his shitty morning.

Adam had been in one of the apartment rooms on the second floor. He'd made it his own little home base that he thought was safe enough. Barricaded the door with a dresser and locked it. He'd been using the fire escape and window to get in and out. He should have been fine. If he didn't forget to close the curtains to the window. A monster had made it's way onto the fire escape and managed to see Adam through the window. The male woke up to banging on the window shortly before it shattered and all hell broke loose. Thankfully Adam had started sleeping in his clothes for just such an occasion but the other monsters had heard the commotion. Now there was beating at the door and it wasn't going to hold much longer. All he had time to grab was his bat before dodging past the freak lurching towards him and jumping out the window. He only made it up the fire escape a few floors before more monsters started making their way down the fire escape towards him. He had to bust out the window of another room and from there it was just a mad dash to try and get to safety.

His breathing finally slowed and he stood up, looking around. "Well what the fuck now?" As if to answer his question the door to the stairs began rattling making noise. The freaks had caught up to him and were trying to open the door. He knew from first hand experience that the door wasn't long for this world. He sprinted over to the fire escape to see the same assholes from earlier blocking his way and making their way back up. "For the love of..." That ruled out most of his options. Adam ran over to peer over the edge of the building and knew it was too far a drop to survive. That just left... "Fuck."

There was another building across an alleyway near the apartment building. The only problem was he was going to have to jump to it. "Well I guess I'd rather die from a fall than getting munched on." He ran over to the edge and tried to visualize himself jumping. "I am going to bust my whole ass doing this." Fear seemed to be stopping him but the door slamming open and a half dozen monsters pouring out of the door got his adrenaline flowing again. He backed up to give himself a running start and ran at the edge of the building. As soon as he jumped he squeezed his eyes shut and offered a prayer to anyone that was listening to him.

The former athlete landed ungracefully on the other building. He scraped his knees and elbows on the harsh concrete as he collapsed to the ground from the effort but was otherwise unscathed. "Oh fuck I'm alive." He let his baseball bat rest on the ground beside him as he went spread eagle and stared up at the sky. He found himself asking the same question for a second time that day. "Well now what?"

 

[Socio]

Alexis had been staring at the same beige wall for what felt like ages, the room had been engulfed in darkness mere hours earlier but now the sun cracked through small gaps in the curtains signaling another start to what was sure to be a treacherous day. She heard the footsteps approaching but before she had time to brace herself the curtains were yanked open letting in a flood of light that burned her sleep deprived eyes. "Carter..." Lex groaned sitting up and tossing a pillow rather ungracefully at the older boy. Carter caught the pillow easily a smile dancing at his lips only to sour as his gaze fell upon her.

"You know the whole reason we stopped here was so that you could get some rest." The dark haired boy threw the pillow back towards her crossing his arms over his chest. The two were no strangers to sleepless nights, both had their own nightmares they were fighting, even before the world went to shit, but he knew better than to push it. "You look like one of the undead."

Alexis rolled her eyes narrowly dodging the pillow that came flying back her way. "Thanks." she retorted sarcastically, stretching out her arms as she rolled out of the bed. She found it ironic that she was living more luxuriously after the apocalypse than before, well minus the hordes of crazed undead freaks trying to tear a chunk out of her of course. Lex pulled open the closet doors in the foreign room, she had seen a couple knocked over photographs of who had once lived here but from the empty house she assumed the worst for them. The closet was mostly empty aside from a shirt or two strewn across the floor, the house had already been ransacked when they decided to stop for the night so she wasn't overly surprised. As she went to shut the door something caught her eye and she raised an eyebrow letting out a laugh and grabbing a top hat out of the corner. "Who the hell lived here, a fucking magician?" She pulled the hat over her head and spun towards Carter a big grin plastered over her face.

"Alright Houdini, get a move on I wanna get as far from the city as possible." He left the room but popped his head back around the corner for just a moment to add "oh and Lex, leave the hat." Alexis chuckled tossing the hat onto the bed as she gathered her things. Considering it was the end of the world she was fairly proud of the items she had gathered, her backpack was filled with a half full water bottle, a change of clothes, a bag of chips, some granola bars, a couple different knives, some matches, a sewing kit, and a pistol that Carter had given her for 'emergencies', though it wasn't loaded so she wasn't sure what good that was supposed to do. Slinging her bag over her shoulder Lex tucked the empty pistol in the back of her jeans, wiped the sleepless night from her eyes, and headed out the door towards the street where Carter was waiting.​

 

[Nymphadora]

Margaret Janie and Sam Friedman​

Maggie stared at the rising sun with her tired eyes as she adjusted her perch up in the tree branches she nestled into at nights. She had hardly slept for more than a few minutes at a time since this whole mess had begun. Her life had never been easy, but it was just starting to become a bit more comfortable before all of this. She had settled into her job fairly well finding that working away from people in a laboratory suited her personality much better than previous employment. A comfortable apartment was just starting to feel a bit like what she thought a home ought to be, and she had even begun putting up a few decorations which was unheard of for her. Nothing too scandalous, but she had found a painting of some mountains that she liked and a small, wooden carving of a stag that she fancied. She had never been one to buy anything frivolous since she moved around so much and tried to live a relatively minimalist lifestyle so she could up and leave at a moments notice, but she had begun feeling a little too comfortable it had seemed.

When things started to go south, she had packed a bag with whatever supplies she thought would be helpful and worth carrying. She raided her own workplace for some supplies which included a variety of medical supplies like gauze, bandages, and disinfectants which had already proved useful. In her apartment, she kept a box of things from her childhood home tucked away in her closet that had been nothing but a harsh reminder of her foul upbringing until now when it suddenly proved to be life saving. Her family were farmers and hunters who had their own small homestead so she knew a thing or two about survival. She and her siblings would often craft their own weapons, and she was particularly well practiced with making and using bows. Inside of the box, she had an old bow that she had crafted from a sapling along with a leather quiver of homemade arrows. She had hastily taken these along with a few of her old hunting knives with her. The bow was easier to spot, but she hid the knives on various parts of her person including inside the shaft of her boots, on her belt, and even one that had it's sheath clipped to her bra as a last resort.

Even at the beginning of it all, Maggie knew that her greatest threat would be other people just like it always had been. The dead were just like any other animal solely driven off of instinct. Their actions were much easier to understand than the livings. Society devolved quickly and proved what Maggie already knew about people's true selves. She had planned to stay on her own and far away from any other living souls, but that plan got derailed when an annoying pain in the ass named Sam found his way to her.

She found Sam alone and lost trying to run from a horde of the undead while she was leaving town. After wrestling with herself she decided that she couldn't just leave him to die and helped him escape, bringing him to the edge of town with her. Things got even more complicated when she couldn't get rid of him, and he became her shadow, trailing her everywhere while she just tried to stay alive. While she was not one for company, she had to admit that he was growing on her just a bit. He was eager to learn and help, and he, for some reason that she couldn't figure out, simply adored her.

Things were tough looking after another human, but he did his best to keep up and she tried to accommodate him. Maggie was a fairly adept hunter so getting enough small game to feed herself and one other small stomach wasn't too harsh, but she worried about the changing seasons and the rising number of predators in the area, both the dead and the now organizing groups of living. She glanced over at Sam who still slept soundly in a little hammock that she set up high in the trees for him. She had originally planned to use the hammock for herself seeing as it was lightweight and collapsed into a small, palm sized pouch for traveling, but she was much sturdier on bare branches than he was and wasn't doing much sleeping either. She tried to find good spots at night that kept them not only out of reach from the dead but also out of sight from the living.

"Sam." She whispered at him, tossing a few twigs at him.

"Mmm." He mumbled, slowly peaking open an eye. "What is it?"

"We need to get going. I want to check my traps to see if we've got breakfast before something else finds them plus we've been here too long. Pack up and let's go." She said to him, already adjusting her own gear and climbing down the tree.

Rubbing sleep out of his eyes, Sam carefully sat up and put his backpack on. He was still tired, but he could tell that he got a lot more sleep than Maggie judging by the dark circles under her eyes, although that was nothing new. He scrambled to get ready and packed up the hammock, slowly making his way down the tree. He hadn't been much of a climber until Maggie had begun teaching him and made him practice so he could get up quickly in case of an emergency. She acted like she didn't like him, but he knew that she was at the very least fond of him and wanted him to be safe. He did his best to keep that in mind when she was being snippy with him and barking orders.

"Alright, I'm all ready!" He declared, smiling, secretly proud of how much faster he'd gotten with their morning routine.

Maggie could see he was getting a bit cocky and shook her head, scowling, "It won't matter if you're ready to go if you keep making all that racket. You're getting careless. It doesn't matter if you're fast if by the time you're done you're surrounded by enemies." She could visibly see Sam deflate as she chastised him and did her best to shrug off the guilt she felt. "Come on, let's go." She said, resting her hand on top of his head and leading him away gently.

Sam couldn't help but feel hurt about being scolded, but he tried his best not to blame her. He knew that she wanted them both to be safe, but he just wished that she could relax a bit or at least get some sleep. On the rare occasion that she got more than twenty minutes of sleep at a time, she was actually pretty fun to be around and talk to. She'd even make more of an effort to point out and identify edible plants and different animals along with showing him what signs she was looking for to try to track something.

Their walk was mostly uneventful as Sam began recognizing the area where they had set up their traps the morning before. Maggie had been able to find a lot of frequently used paths the rabbits used in the area and had set up some simple hanging snares with some of the wire that she had stockpiled in her bag along packets of seeds she had taken from a local gardening shop and a miscellaneous assortment of medical supplies, prescriptions she pillaged, fishing wire and a little box of hooks, and some snacks and water bottles. They hadn't needed to rely on the snacks too much since she was pretty good at getting meat or picking plants, but Sam had started to crave something other than fresh game and often found himself fantasizing about chocolate or other snack foods.

While they walked, Sam fiddled with the wooden spear Maggie had made him. It was nothing more than a walking stick was a carefully sharpened edge for emergencies, but he felt safer holding it and often daydreamed about using it to take down the dead and save Maggie. Every now and again, he'd stab at the air or practice twirling around with it while Maggie watched him with her peripheral vision and kept an eye out for threats. In the distance, Sam spotted one of the snares with a rabbit successfully hung in it. He had just begun to pick up his pace when Maggie's hand shot out and grabbed him, yanking him back hard into her. She had her largest hunting knife out and was scanning the area. Sam opened his mouth to ask her what was going on, but her hand shot up to cover his mouth before he could get a sound out. Quietly, she pulled him back into the shrubbery and crouched down low, pulling him to the ground with her. He held his breath and tried to follow the path of her eyes but couldn't see anything. He held his breath anxiously as they watched and waited, unsure of what danger Maggie had detected.

 

[MsIvory]

Tessa Auclair​

Pain. Sharp, throbbing, stabbing pain.

It spread like fire, racing up her leg and causing her muscles to clench – enough for the the girl to falter mid run. She staggered and braced herself on a garbage dumpster, one of the many that littered the tight alleyway. God, out of all the ways to get injured. Tessa didn’t have time to let the astonishment sink in. She wasn’t safe. Fight overruled flight. She jerked her arm up and back, hand clutching worn sink-drain before she brought it down as hard as she could. The resulting sound of metal hitting decayed flesh had Tess almost heaving. Immediately her assailant lunged at her again, and she reared back to let the sole of her boot force it to the ground. Slime slicked up to her ankle as her foot sank into the cavity of its chest, splintering softened bones and caving in decayed organs. She almost lost her balance, almost felt herself tipping; at the last second she caught herself against the same dumpster.

The sound her boot made was sickly wet and wholly familiar, the scent no longer burned her nostrils as she cursed at a snapping, oozing, disfigured face. The creature would not be deterred so easily. it pushed off the ground on splintered arms. Her weapon still firmly in her grasp, she brought it down hard again, and again, and again, until nothing was left but a puddle of …undead.

Her left arm, afflicted by nothing but small scrapes and dirt, was swiped across her forehead where beads of sweat trickled down and ran across the bridge of her nose, and with a grimace she extracted her boot from what was left of the monster she stood over. She backpedaled, she tripped, and fell to the ground, her vision blurring with tears. Her metal weapon fell at her side, rolled a bit, and fell as still as she sat, staring at her jean covered leg that split open over her calf, sporting a nasty looking cut. She stared at her own leg as though it had betrayed her. She should have been paying more attention – she was too busy looking over her shoulder, eyeing the distance between her and a trio of undead she managed to quietly slip past, that she didn’t see the crawler lurking in the alley that she was planning on hiding in. She had too much momentum and not enough space to come to a stop without colliding with the creature, so she jumped out of the way and sideswiped into a disintegrating dumpster that had metal protruding.


Tessa let out a shaky breath, tilting her head back to rest on the dumpster, faint snarls echoing in the distance. She would have to move – her “altercation” has risked the possibility of attracting more creatures and she was in no position to continue defending herself. She sniffed, wiping her cheeks before making a move to get up. An unfamiliar set of sounds had her halting mid movements, her head whipping up the top of the buildings.

“What...?”

Tessa narrowed her gaze to the sky, peering through the space that occupied between the two buildings - not certain she believed what she thought she saw.; because she thought she saw a person performing a leap of faith between the two buildings. Hope suddenly swelled deep in her chest, causing her breath to quicken in short huffs. She hadn’t seen another person, a living person, in a week. Not since she was separated from her family, God, she didn’t think there would be anyone else. A week alone is a long time in a world that turned to hell. Tessa moved quickly then, adjusting the straps of her worn leather pack over her shoulders (her leg was throbbing, but she tried to ignore it) , scooping up her metal drain pipe heading towards the fire escape stairs that decorated multiple buildings in the city. It took a few attempts for her to jump and grab the collapsible ladder, but she finally managed. She made her ascent, trying not to let her anxiety put extra weight on her footsteps. These damn metal fire escapes were loud enough. She peeked through any window she passed, trying tod art through to not catch the attention of any walker than could possibly have found their way inside apartments. By the time she reached the final landing, she slowed her pace, creeping up the final steps of the ladder that made its way to the flattened roof top. Blue-green irises peeked over the edge of the roof, gaze locked on a living human being indeed.


“Hello?”


Lurker

 

[Krill]

When she was 20, and only a year into her degree, Mae had gotten up to run at about this time each morning. Her friends had all called her crazy. Looking back, she'd been dumb as a bag of rocks. It was no wonder she'd stopped going to class halfway through the semester. Up until three or four in the morning, then waking while it was still dark? She'd been destroying her body in a misguided crusade for her own well-being. After a few months, when she'd crashed, she had crashed hard. She could probably count on four or five hands the number of times she'd gotten out of bed before seven in the three years since.

Until, to everyone's surprise, the world had fallen apart before she managed to drive herself back into the ground. Now, she woke when she needed to. She couldn't remember sleep worth having.

Her rifle was where she'd left it, tucked beside her as she slept. Her knife was nestled just under her pack. She pocketed the latter, held the former, and slid her pack over her shoulder as she rose. Others were slower.

She positioned herself at the side of the camp, and let her mind wander as she waited for Harding to signal for the scavenging group to move.

 

[Crono]

Scott heard the voices nearby, eyes cracking open to see that the sun was starting to rise. The man gave a mild groan as he pressed the palm of his hands against his shut eyelid's to rub them. Sleep wasn't something he'd been getting much of as of late, he found himself waking up in fits of sweat and panic. This whole dead people eating the living thing? Scott wasn't dealing with it very well, though he imagined most people weren't. The man glanced towards the few who were readying to go out and gather what they could find, these people were dealing with it a bit better or at the very least they acted as though they were. Sitting up was uncomfortable, he was sore from sleeping on the ground and his body was making sure he knew that it wasn't a fan.

Now that he was at a better angle, Scott glanced around at the few bodies around him stirring to life with the morning sun. He'd heard Harding's call to see who'd be joining him on the expedition but hadn't really even given it a second thought. Scott was well aware he wasn't of much use currently, wouldn't even be here had the former soldier not stumbled across him and talked him into leaving Colorado Springs. Scott had been living with an elderly man to care for him for the last several months. Fred Matthews was a former cop that had no family to speak of, he was ninety-three years old and was nearing the end of his life. Scott had seen people who accepted this and those who would fight it, but Fred seemed at peace with it. So Scott did his job, helping with whatever was needed around the home as well as helping Fred get around without falling. They enjoyed each others company, and like many of the people he took care of did, Fred shared much of his life both triumph's as well as regrets. So when everything went to hell Scott had stayed in an attempt to keep Fred safe until things went back to normal. He'd been forced to board up several windows and the two of them planned to live off of what was in the kitchen rather than leave. But things slowly got worse and it was becoming clear this might not be clearing up anytime soon.

After a week Fred had told Scott to leave him there and get himself to safety, wherever that was. Of course Scott had denied. Eventually however Fred more or less took Scott's decision away from him. Scott woke one morning to find Fred had locked himself in the bathroom but wasn't responding, after breaking down the door Scott found the older man had taken his own life, swallowing whatever he could get his hands on in the medicine cabinet. Still Scott found difficult in leaving, even after burying Fred in the backyard. It wasn't until his first trip to the nearby gas station that he found himself face to face with Harding, who held him at gunpoint mind you, that he was convinced leaving was the right call. He'd only gone to the gas station as a last resort after running out of food.

Eventually he'd stood up, moving closer to where the small group had gathered. "If you need me." Was his honest answer to the question. An offer to go if they were short on people. It wasn't like he was going to be doing much around camp anyhow, and while he wasn't comfortable heading back into town he wanted to be helpful. Another person carrying a bag, another pair of eyes, he could at the very least do those things.

Permanent Exhaustion BoomersAndMash Krill ​

 

[BoomersAndMash]

I'm not annoying, you just gotta get use to me....

Harper Tuck

A mans voice caught Harpers attention. She glanced over her shoulder looking at Scott, a member of the camp she didn't know him that well. But to honest she didn't know a lot of the members that well yet. However she did know he had an injury from his past life before the undead hit the fan and that in itself didn't sit well with her. Her fingers tapped the side of her pants as she walked towards the taller man with her head tilted to the left side, staring up at him. Starting beefs was no stranger to Harper and she wasn't afraid to be the one to say things others might be thinking. Even if it wasn't the nicest of ways to put it.

"Ya sure there? I mean I think we can handle it big guy. Besides I know you got a past injury and not for nothing but that might slow us down." She flicked her hand, pointing at his chest, still staring up into Scotts eyes. Never once backing away or retracting what was just said. "Ya might be better here, making sure everyone is comfy and happy. I'm sure they got more uses for your......'skill' as you wanna call it. Hey I bet ya can help with berry picking today. That seems up your alley." A few of the people around camp began to whisper hearing Harpers words to Scott. It was obvious they were stunned at how brash and cocky she was acting and just so damn sure of herself in this situation of putting down another member. Some turned towards Scott to see how he was going to react.

As for Harper, she didn't budge. She stood still in her spot, smirking at the larger guy waiting for him to respond. She wasn't afraid of him having his feeling hurt. The truth was Harper felt that Scott was going to slow them down and be a danger to the group if they go into the city and she was making it very clear to everyone what her thought was. Now it was up to the rest of the group as to what they thought of her opinion.


Crono Krill Permanent Exhaustion ​

 

[Permanent Exhaustion]

Harding Malin and Andrea Stevenson

Harding smiled to himself slightly when he saw the amount of people that volunteered to go with him. Not that long ago, he was on his own, sleeping wherever felt safe, eating whatever he could get his hands on. It was strange, how quickly supplies dwindled. Only two weeks after the start of everything, most smaller stores were wiped clean of food and bottled water, most superstores were either infested with walkers or picked clean. He watched carefully as people got to their feet, most looking groggy and exhausted. He couldn't risk losing any daylight, scavenging at night was a death sentence. As Seth approached, he nodded in greeting.

"A few hours, at least. We have to get enough food to keep going." He said, scratching his jaw absently. If they could get a week's supply of food, they'd be set to go out, find a better place to stay. That was what was on his mind most days, where they could go. There were abandoned farms outside of town, places with plenty of land, often fenced in so it could be fortified easily, some livestock might even still be alive. It could be a gold mine. He planned on sending a scout out to look when they had more supplies, he couldn't risk sending a whole group. A plan for another day. "Keep an eye on everyone here. Make sure to have someone on watch until we get back." He said quietly, looking around their little camp. It was small, rough living for the moment. Not for long. As for Seth, he didn't want to go so far as to say trust, but he did like the guy, he could expect to return to camp that night and not see corpses and shambles at least. That was as far as trust went those days.

He opened his mouth to answer Scott, but Harper beat him to it. Her words didn't sit well with him, for a fairly obvious reason. Nobody in camp knew about his own past injury, he covered it well, but his left arm was shot to hell. He could barely lift any weight with it without extreme pain, couldn't move it certain ways without damn near crying. That didn't change the fact that he'd saved several lives in the past two weeks. Scott was tough, strong, kept himself together. Harding had full faith that he wouldn't volunteer for something he couldn't handle. "That's enough. Scott, we can always use another hand, but if you'd rather stay here and keep watch, do that." As he spoke, he kept his gaze on Harper, eyes slightly narrowed.

Andrea watched both exchanges silently, simply paying attention to the vibes. She personally liked Harper, she liked having some attitude around, but having someone around that picked fights? Not good. They only survived because they got along, and she had no doubt that Harding would send her packing if she caused more trouble than she was worth. Andrea didn't particularly want to see that happen. "So where are we heading?" She cut in, hoping that would be the end of it.

"Into the city, keeping to the outskirts. Maybe some of the corner stores and pharmacies got left behind in the initial looting, we'll get lucky. If not, we'll go further in, try to take on a place that other people might've avoided. We have more manpower than the average looting group." Harding responded, shooting her a slight nod of appreciation for changing the subject. The last thing anyone needed was a fight breaking out.

( Krill Crono BoomersAndMash )​

 

[Krill]

Seth nodded, and held back as the others gathered, gauging each of them as they gathered around the circle. He was used to looking out for the wellness of those he was working with and surrounding himself by. It wasn't compassion: it was self-preservation. You had to be careful for your own sake. Surround yourself with people on the edge of breaking down, and you'd find yourself getting scraped up by the debris.

His standards had to be lower, lately. Of the five who'd gathered, Seth figured there were maybe two - Harding included - who were awake enough to be effective. Harper seemed half-together, but he'd known his fair share of Harpers in the force. Those sorts usually drifted on before they became a problem permanently. That wouldn't happen now, he knew. If she had the potential to become a problem - and he was as certain that she did as he had been certain of anything lately - then the stress, the pressure, the unescapable malaise, all of it would ensure that she became that problem. Sooner, rather than later.

But this morning, it was better to let her be. There was no choice but to sacrifice next month's peace for tomorrow's meal.

/

"Why not the suburbs?" Mae felt like the question had been lingering. "It's been two weeks, any of those obvious places are picked clean. Whatever's left going to be stocked up wherever people were staying before they -"

She cut off. The sentence finished itself.

 

[Crono]

Scott had seen Harper coming before she'd started speaking, the woman's eyes boring holes through into him. His tongue clicked in reaction when she started, the man at first unwilling to meet her eyes both at the discomfort at being called out as much as the frustration that came with it. Eventually however he had little other choice but to lock eyes with her. The problem with his knee was one he was very aware of, and he'd even been transparent about it not long after it'd locked up while they were camped out a few days back. Not that he'd expected to have the injury thrown back in his face, though it hadn't ended there, rather than simply calling him out and leaving it at that she seemed intent on berating Scott. Her words weren't entirely wrong but not right either, still though his skin wasn't thick enough to have it all just bounce off harmlessly. "Not sure what's got you so riled up, but taking it out on me isn't doing any good." He shot back, unwilling to back down so easily though not rising to her challenge at the same time. Even with the frustration he was managing to keep his cool, "Sure, I can't guarantee my knee won't be a problem out there, doesn't mean I'm useless."

Harding attempted to shut down the conflict, essentially handing Scott the choice of coming along. Scott glanced at the retinue that planned on going, hesitating momentarily before shaking his head. "I think you've got enough hands today, I'll just hang back." He flashed them a quick smile before turning to walk away, eyes lingering in a momentary glare on Harper before he was fully facing away and moving. There weren't too many among their group that could handle things if anything happened, not that he could talk really, but with most of them going it seemed a good idea that he stay behind. Helping keep an eye out on those left here wasn't something he took lightly. Frankly it was something all too familiar to what he was used to, stepping up to help those who couldn't do it themselves or their loved ones.

Permanent Exhaustion Krill BoomersAndMash ​

 

[Lurker]

The wind whistling across the otherwise empty rooftop felt amazing on his hot skin. If it wasn't for the constant shuffling and groaning that you could always hear in major cities now it would have almost been pleasant. The former athlete currently was laying on his back with an arm over his eyes to block out the rising sun. His chest was rising and falling in deep gasps for air as he was trying to get his breathing under control. Put him on a football field he could run all day. Run for your life against a bunch of monsters and it takes everything out of you even if it was only for a few minutes. At least, that's how he felt. Adam was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even hear the fire escape near him creaking. Honestly it seemed to just be blind luck that he wasn't some monster's dinner by now with how little he paid attention.

When the voice called out the male shot up, all sense of exhaustion vanishing in that moment. His hands instinctively grabbed his baseball bat and his eyes were wildly searching around him. He soon noticed the eyes staring back at him and froze in shock. Shit. Another person? I haven't seen one of those in over a week. Without breaking eye contact the male began planning his escape route if things went south. People had become almost as dangerous as the monsters when it all started. The worst of it was the looting. People forgot about basic human decency and just attacked anyone that had something they needed. Now he just tried to avoid everyone after witnessing that shit show. It proved easy since it seemed like most people had abandoned the city. There were more monsters here than out in the rural areas.

Adam suddenly became aware that he hadn't said anything he'd just been staring at the girl. 3 weeks ago he would have been flirting with her and begging for her number. She was pretty. None of that mattered anymore. All that mattered was survival. "...Hey." He was still frozen in place, completely on edge. If he saw her whip out a gun he was gonna take his chances jumping into the dumpsters below. "I don't have anything if that's what you're after. Asshole monsters just raided my apartment." He motioned with his head to the building he had just jumped from where the undead were now walking around on the roof. One seemed to notice the two of them and wandered over to the edge of the roof. It promptly fell off and down into the alley he had jumped over and a sickening splat could be heard.

The potential danger of the situation kept him rooted in place even though he managed to act casual. "I'm Adam. Nice to meetcha."

MsIvory

 

[BoomersAndMash]

I'm not annoying, you just gotta get use to me....

Harper Tuck

A low snort came as Harper flared her nostrils a tad to Harding words. He was the leader, the big boss of the group and whatever he said went. So it was best not to mess with him unless there was something that seemed to really be out of question. Pulling back away from Scott the feeling of being watched continued as she got two glares, one from her leader and one from Scott, whom she had already thrown under the bus about his leg. The woman listened closely knowing now as not the time to continue her beef or else she would be tossed out like a used rag in a mechanics shop. Her eyes flicked over to Andera and a smile came over her face as she moved closer to the other woman and moved closer. While the rest agreed where to go scavenge for food, water and anything that was useful Harper decided it was time to get to know Andrea a little bit better.

Clicking the roof of her mouth and cracking her neck to the side, she tried to act as natural as possible around Andrea before clearing her throat a little. "Well that got a little tense there didn't it? I mean, I was just looking out for the group. Nothing against the big guy but if ya got a injury that could slow ya down might not be a good idea to go tromping about." Holding out her left hand Harper wanted to show off her full sleeve tattoo to have a conversation starter. To say she was a bit of a show off was a tad of an understatement when it came to befriending others. She had a smile on her face and said in an upbeat tone "Sure ya know my name by now but it's Harper Tuck. I mean yeah, we've been running around together for a bit but I don't think we actually had the pleasure to chit-chat. And seeing that we're going on a little walk why not kill some time with small talk?"

If she was to stay long in this group Harper knew she needed to play nice. And that meant get to know the locals, find out what makes them tick, what they like and what they're good at. Already she has a strike against her, but she couldn't help that her mouth opens before her brain stops her from speaking. It was just a bad habit to have and one of her weaknesses that tends to show up. But with a weakness there also comes a strength to balance it out and she hopes that maybe this trip will prove that she is needed in this group.

Permanent Exhaustion Crono Krill



​

 

[MsIvory]

Tessa Auclair ​

She didn’t think this through.

The silence that followed her meek greeting was deafening. Tessa’s own breath sounded loud in her ears, and she couldn’t get her heartrate to slow down. She had instinctively stiffened up the moment he sat up; startled. She should have waited, should have seen where he went – made sure he wasn’t a part of a group of ravagers. She had yet to learn that there were worse things out there then the Walkers. The longer he stared at her, the more nervous she became. One hand was still clutching the metal railing that connected to the fires escape steps and her free arm dangled haphazardly to her side. Her fingers twitched around the pipe, and she contemplated dropping the thing and going for her Glock that was tucked nice and tight in her concealment holster. It was a person… an actual person. She was sure everyone had left the city, and the only reason she stuck around was because she had absolutely no idea where to go and what to do. A part of her was convinced she would find her brother here – but with each passing day, she felt less sure about that. She didn’t even know how she managed to stay alive this past week on her own.

“…Hey”

Tessa blinked, waited a few heartbeats before adjusting her weight on her good leg so she can eventually lift herself onto the roof. She released her death grip on the railing, and held up her hands, trying to defuse the tension by appearing the least threatening as possible. The thought almost made her giggle – the hysterical kind. He looked to be a good foot taller than her. If it came down to it - she didn’t think she was going to win that fight.

“Not after anything. I saw you jump, or rather- I thought I saw you jump, so I came up to check...” She was babbling, she knew that but she couldn’t stop. She shook her head, trying to unjumble her thoughts. She allowed her arms to fall back to her sides and stepped onto the flat surface of the roof. She shifted he head so she could stare in the direction he pointed to. They kept coming – the undead. They found flesh, and they were mindless to it. She watched for a few moments as one after another fell into the alley way she inhabited only moments ago. The noise was going to become a problem – it echoed through the narrow passage way, and pretty soon, more undead were going to surround the buildings. “It was an impressive jump...” She murmured aloud, almost as an after thought.

Tess turned back to face Adam, steeling her gaze against his as though she decided what she thought about him and the threat he possessed. She switched her pipe to her left hand, taking a few steps forward until she stood directly in front of him and lifted her right hand, palm outstretched.

“Tessa.. er, Tess." She responded quietly; head tilted back so she can maintain his gaze. One misstep from him and she would react accordingly. She didn’t know how…but she’d figure it out. "I don't know about you, but I 'd rather leave this building through a door if possible." She started, tilting her head to the roof door. " And I'd rather not do it alone.. You can hopefully find materials to replenish what you've lost, and I am in need of any antiseptic and bandages.."




Lurker

 

[Socio]

ALEXIS VERDE


Unrealized by the pair, Alexis and Carter had fallen into a sort of routine on their daily travels. The first couple hours they would spend chattering on about some irrelevant topic, their spirits unnaturally high for a pair living in the post apocalyptic world. By the fourth or fifth hour they found themselves bickering over an equally extraneous subject, the exhaustion presenting itself as short-fused irritability. This was without fail followed by unbroken silence as the two, either too tired or too stubborn to speak, spent the rest of the trek residing in their own thoughts. That’s where Lex was presently, contemplating how much quieter the world was now. She found it strange how there could be so much more, yet simultaneously less chaos surrounding them. Carter’s voice drew her from her thoughts and she glanced over at the boy. “Where is everyone?” Carter sounded about as rough as he looked, his voice barely above a whisper. She could tell he was speaking more to himself but chimed in anyway her lips twisting into the smallest of grins.

“Dead?” The joke fell flat as they both knew how much truth it held. It earned a sigh and a head shake from the boy, marching his way ahead towards an abandoned gas station. “Are we checking this place out?” Lex asked trying to lighten the grim mood that followed their last exchange.

“Probably one of the last places we’ll have to loot for a while, mostly back roads from here.” Carter affirmed nodding as he spoke. Lex jogged a few steps to catch up with him pulling the knife from her waist band to have at the ready. They hadn’t managed to get their hands on any long ranged weapons yet, unless an empty pistol counted for something. Lex had learned pretty quick that the undead didn’t falter when staring down the barrel of a gun, loaded or not. As they approached the small shop that sat behind the gas pumps, a wheezing groan echoed across the lot. Lex and Carter shared a knowing glance the sound easily recognizable as the call of the undead. Carter adjusted his grip on the metal bat they had picked up a couple days back, under most circumstances the two chose to avoid the groaning freaks but with the empty roads ahead this was a stop they had to make. The pair pressed their backs against the side wall of the store, Carter placing a finger to his mouth in a sign to remain silent drawing an eye roll from Lex as the boy peeked his head around the corner.

Alexis appreciated the older boy more than she let on, he was one of the only constants in her life and the closest thing to family she had ever known. That didn't stop her from wanting to whack him over the head most days though, she understood he was just doing his best to protect her but he had a habit of treating her like a child, something that drove her nuts. Carter's head popped back around the corner and he turned to Lex holding up three fingers earning yet another eye roll from the girl. She pushed him out of the way glancing around the wall for herself. The closest of the undead was shuffling clumsily outside the front entrance to the shop, the second, a few meters back pawed intently at the front door to a haphazardly parked car where strapped into the drivers seat sat a third, particularly exasperated looking zombie. Lex had to stifle a laugh at the strangely comedic scene shooting an amused look towards Carter who didn't seem to share the same humorous sentiment based on his determined frown.

"Ready?" Lex mouthed to the boy who answered with a nod adding a second hand to his bat. Alexis tapped her blade lightly against the wall creating just enough sound to attract the closest living dead, it rounded the corner gracelessly barely releasing a snarl before it was greeted with the warm welcome of an aluminum bat. Carter's swing was strong enough that the bat sunk through the decayed skull like butter, rotting brain painting the wall as its body fell limp to the ground. The putrid stench stung Lex's nostrils but she paid it no mind the commotion sure to have attracted the attention of the other undead. She stepped out from behind the corner as Carter pulled his weapon from the now twice dead skull. The second of the freaks had abandoned its interest in the vehicle and was now stumbling towards them its jaw snapping open and shut releasing a throaty growl. Carter took a few steps towards it, closing the distance between them and swung once more, the monster lurched to the right the bat catching its side and knocking it off balance sending it stumbling to the ground face first. Lex who was just steps behind took the opportunity to strike, stomping down onto the back of its skull with a sickening thump, the skull cracking like an egg under her boot.

"Ughhh...gross. My boot!" Lex whined trying to shake the mushed brain off her foot in disgust. Carter finally let out a chuckle clearly satisfied that they were no longer in any immediate danger. He gave a tug on the car door the undead inside struggling against the seatbelt that held it in place. "We leaving him?" Alexis asked as the door didn't budge Carter already having turned his back to it.

"Yeah, we're far enough out from the city that I don't think it'll attract any others from in there." A muffled groan came from the car as if to contest his claim but he kept walking. "Plus I wanna get in there and see what we can scavenge so we can get some time on the road before dark." Carter pointed his bat towards the store as he spoke, approaching the large window and cupping his face to the glass searching for any signs of danger. The door had been barricaded from the inside with one of the racks but a couple good pushes between the two of them and they were able to squeeze their way inside. The small shop was certainly not untouched but whoever had holed up inside seemed to have done a good enough job of keeping people out. There was a good amount of water bottles still sitting in the now warm fridge and the shelves held some bagged snacks and other useful supplies. "Hey, Lex." At Carter's words Alexis turned to face the boy, he sat on the front counter facing her with a mischievous grin, his hand hidden behind his back. Before she could ask Carter revealed what he had been hiding, he held out a chocolate bar beaming behind it like a giddy child.

"No fucking way!" Lex nearly shouted the words, excitement overtaking her, it had been a long while since she had chocolate, even before the apocalypses she spent her scarcely earned coin on necessities. Lex started towards the boy the elation still present on her face when she froze dead in her tracks. Dread flowed through her like ice in her veins as she now cast her gaze behind Carter and met the lifeless stare of an undead who had risen from behind the counter, provoked by the racket. She only had a moment to react, she was faster but not closer, they both lunged forward a race between the living and undead with Carter being the destination. A tie, was not good enough. As Lex sunk her blade into the creature's temple it sunk its teeth into the back of Carters shoulder drawing a pained scream from both Carter and Lex as Carter's bat clattered noisily to the floor. She shoved the assailant off of him drawing her knife from it as it toppled back over the counter, urgently turning her attention towards the boy who now slumped to the side still clutching the chocolate.

"Carter!? Hey you're fine I got it...it's dead. You're fine. You're fine." Alexis stumbled over the words repeating them over and over as if she could speak them into reality. Her heartbeat was deafening as adrenaline shot through her. She lowered Carter to the floor her shaking hands pressing against the bite in his shoulder blood beginning to seep through his torn shirt. "It-It's not too deep....I can fix it, I just need to sew it up." Alexis nodded to herself and got up running from the boy to the other side of the store and throwing stuff off shelves until she found some gauze. She ran back to his side and pressed it against the wound refusing to notice how pale the boy had gotten. Keeping the pressure with one hand she used the other to rummage through her backpack grabbing her sewing kit.

"Alexis..." Carter's use of her full name paused her efforts for just a moment, the two of them sharing a look that told her what she already knew.

"No." Alexis replied simply her jaw tightening as she grabbed Carters hand placing it on the gauze. "Hold that there." She instructed, her voice now unwavering and determined. She did her best to loop the thread into the needle with her unsteady hands, denial the only thing remotely holding her together and Carter knew it. If he had a bit more strength he may have tried to stop her as she pushed the needle through his skin pulling the broken flesh together, but Lex needed this, even if it was just for now he would play along with the diluted hope that he could somehow make it out of this. With the wound sewn up the two sat side by side backs against the store counter and with his good hand Carter reached over and grabbed the chocolate bar handing it to Lex with a sad smile.

"Will you do the honors?" he asked as she took the bar with a small nod unwrapping it with blood stained hands. She bit off half handing the remainder back to him, and as he bit into it he thought to himself, not bad for a last meal.​