Realistic or Modern Survival

[travelbypages]

Here is the official role play thread!

Please follow all the rules stated from the interest check thread. If you do not I will give you a warning, and if the warning doesn’t follow through I will ask you to leave the role play.

please have your character placed in or around the QZ (quarantine zone) that takes place in Salt Lake City. That way everyone is involved!

I will make my first post tomorrow morning because I have limited wifi. But feel free to begin your posts! If you want your character to have any relation (romantic, friendship, companionship) let me know

 

[travelbypages]

The sounds of the sirens in the quarantine zone blared in the early morning, waking up all those who took refuge inside, including Lottie. The girl had only began to live there within the last few days, as her journey on foot from Los Angeles had been a long and tiring one so the early morning wake up call was new to her. Sleeping in general was new to her. Being on the road, watching people die continuously, was all she had known for the past few months since the outbreak. The quarantine zone is the safest she’s felt since she was just living it up with her semi luxurious lifestyle.
Rolling over, the girl sat up, looking out the window of the rundown apartment building they housed all the citizens in, and watched as all the men in uniform trotted back and forth, guns held, chins held high, keeping watch for any bandits and zombies that come upon the wall. With a yawn, Lottie swung her legs over the edge of the bed and made her way over to the en-suite bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair before getting dressed in her black skinny jeans, white tank top, and wind breaker. Today was her first day training in the QZ, and she was a little nervous.
On the road, Lottie learned some things, like how to shoot a gun, how to be stealthy, etc. But fighting and holding her own was still her biggest weakness because of her small frame. But one of the female soldiers was convinced she could whip Lottie into shape. Lottie wasn’t so convinced.
Once outside of her apartment, the girl shoved her hands in her pockets and made her way down the street, nodding, waving, and smiling at those who say hi to her. Though she has only been there a few days, she made lots of friends. She didn’t mind, it made her feel more welcome and at home in the QZ. Not too far from the apartment, there was a stand with a little old woman inside handing plates of scrambled eggs and toast to people who lined up for it, so Lottie, feeling somewhat exhausted and hungry, made her way over to happily stand in line for food. Her day was off to a good start.

 

[DreamlandDenizen]

Salt Lake City - 10 miles

With each passing mile marker James's demeanor grew more and more grim. He sat slouched in the passenger's seat, arms crossed firmly against his chest. Danny guided the steering wheel back and forth, absent-mindedly weaving through the stalled, broken down, blood streaked cars that littered the streets. He casted the occasional glance at his brother, watching the little guy's mood steadily sour.

"Cheer up," Danny said. "It's not gonna be that bad."

"The last one was bad," James grumbled. "And the one before that. And the one before that."

It was true. They had had a bad streak of luck with the last few safe zones they went to. One was overrun by the infected within hours of them getting there, another was a glorified slave camp.

"I don't see why we can't just find some secluded place," James continued, "a rich person's old summer home or something and stay there, just you and me."

"Because zombies will find it sooner or later."

"I can handle zombies," James said, reaching forward to tap the katana he kept wedged between the dashboard and the windshied. It was just one of the many weapons James had strategically stashed in the car and on his person.

"Remind me how many zombies have you killed so far?"

James cut him a sharp look. The answer was zero, because Danny would never allow it.

Danny had done a very good job so far of keeping zombies well away from his little brother, and no matter how badly the kid wanted to re-inact some ridiculous action movie scene, Danny had made it his missions to see to it that he never got the chance. As the towering outer walls of the Salt Lake City Quarantine Zone came into view, he dredged up hope from the depths of his heart -- from beneath the layers of dread and fear and doubt that he kept buried and hidden. Hope that this would be the place they finally found real safety, and that his mission would be complete.

 

[P u f f]

A cool morning breeze and the sound of the alarms from the quarantine zone had woken both Mavis and Amelia from their light slumber. The alarm was much closer than the nights before, a sound both girls had been following since yesterday. It had scared them at first, but Mavis had figured the sirens had to have been sounded by someone, and whether it was a distress call or a sign to safety was their place to figure out. Of course Amelia had been hesitant, her big doe-like eyes pleading with her sister to just stay put. Let’s not go any further, please. We don’t know what’s making that sound. But Mavis has promised they wouldn’t come close until they had finally gotten a better understanding of... whatever it was.

As the sisters got up wordlessly, they packed the blankets they had taken from a small CVS not only a week ago and tucked them under their arms protectively before Mavis grabbed Amelia’s hand and set off once more. It was only about half an hour later when the first sights of a large cement structure had come into view. It was at least 15 ft. tall and seemed to wrap around further into the wooded area.

“It’s a wall.” Mavis whispered in awe, shielding her eyes from the rising sun as she looked up at the protective outer layer of whatever it was harboring inside. She squeezed Amelia’s hand just a bit tighter as she lead her sister around the structure, inspecting it more closely. It had to have been just built a little after the outbreak began. This was a big project. Only a minute later did the pair stumble upon what looked like the enterance. A gate was the final connection to both ends of the wall. It was large and metal, nothing they could sneak into without being caught. Mavis felt Amelia’s sudden tug at her hand and she turned.

Again Amelia’s doe-like eyes pleaded with her to not go any further, her eyebrows knit together in worry and a bit of fear if Mavis didn’t know any better. She sighed and knelt down to eye level with her sister. She grabbed Amelia’s forearms gently and gazed at her.

“Honey listen to me. I know you don’t want to go in there. I get it.” Mavis tried to give her a convincing smile, but even she herself knew it was a terrible idea. If this place turned out to be bad... they didn’t know anything about the inside. But didn’t that give them a chance of something good inside? Protection. Food. Shelter.

“I...” Mavis sighed and tried again, “I know it’s scary. But if we don’t take this risk we might not end up making it. Someone had to have built those walls. Which means they must be protecting something of value inside, right,” Mavis waited until Amelia gave a hesitant nod, then continued, “which means there might be people who can help us.” Another pause. A longer one, then,

“Colton might be in there.” It wasn’t meant to trick her sister into saying yes, but rather a very hopeful wish that even she began to have trouble being optimistic about. They had been given so many opportunities to find their missing brother, and each time turned out to be a failure. But maybe this one...

Finally Amelia nodded her approval, still with a look of fear in her eyes, and Mavis carefully took her sister’s hand again and lead her to the gate.

“Hello..?” She called carefully, unsure how to proceed except to announce their arrival at the gate to unseen people. They both waited, tensed, hoping they didn’t just make the biggest mistake of their lives.

 

[eudximoniia]

Edith was awake before the sirens. To be honest, she had barely slept. She had arrived at the quarantine zone in Salt Lake City nearly a week ago, and she had been struggling to get used to it ever since. There was something about such a large group of people contained in a single space that didn’t sit right with her. Something bad was going to happen; she could feel it.

Edith had already gotten dressed, hours before the rest of the city woke up, putting on her usual flannel and work boots. Her dark jeans were accessorized with her father’s old belt buckle; golden block letters spelled out KEY and were embellished with rhinestones. Edith thought the thing was terrible and gaudy, but it was really the only thing she still had from home.

When Edith arrived to the QZ, she was expecting people to recognize her as the estate politician that she was before the outbreak. She wasn’t so lucky, though. People either didn’t know her or didn’t care. The government was gone, so she had no more power. Instead, she was asked if she would like to work as a farmer – growing food and raising animals to provide for the people in the QZ. She reluctantly accepted, knowing that she would need something to keep her busy while she was there. Plus, with her knowledge and experience, she managed to become the supervisor of the farming district in the short amount of time she had been there. Her job was essentially to tell the others what to do, and that’s just how she liked it. So, just like every other morning, Edith left her apartment and began her fifteen minute walk to the fields.​

 

[tallonisfarout]

Saoli groaned and lifted herself up to a seated position slowly, her body aching with every small movement. Cujo stirred underneath her, alarmed by the sudden movement. Something (or more likely someone) had passed the massive lifted truck that she and her companion had taken shelter in, causing the entire vehicle to shift as the stranger made their attempt to pass the wreckage without losing a tire to the debris scattered across the blacktop.



She had secured a camouflage tarp tightly around the open cargo hold of an abandoned truck just a few hours before nightfall, allowing for herself and the brindle mastiff she had recently befriended to lay their heads in a dry spot for the night. Of course, it would have been more comfortable if they could have managed to get inside the truck, but the risk of setting off an alarm and bringing a hoard of infected upon them far outweighed the reward of cramped quarters lined with leather seats and the scent of stale cigarettes. It was just as well, though, as the pair never stayed in one spot for long enough to appreciate the amenities.



Saoli lifted the edge of the tarp cautiously and watched as two young men passed by in their own vehicle – a running one. That was something she hadn’t seen in a long time, probably two to three months, at least since the gas stations stopped service. She thought about calling out to them – about waving her arms or letting her presence be known, but thought better of it. Just like cracked leather cushions and expired menthols, allies were not worth the risk.



Saoli lowered the edge of the tarp down slowly, allowing the two other survivors to pass without interruption as she rested her back against the metal frame. She sighed, dragging her backpack over with one arm as she used her free hand to scratch behind Cujo’s ears. She dug through its meager contents in search of anything edible that might have been stashed away. Her fingers brushed over a handful of personal effects – a change of clothes, a sweatshirt from her high school track team that had seen better days, a flashlight, an assortment of batteries both dead and fresh, an empty water bottle, a hello kitty wallet, a dead cellphone, a charger cord with no plug, and… an energy shot drink. She huffed, wrapping her fingers around the small bottle and bringing it up to her lips. There was about half of the original contents remaining as Saoli couldn’t bring herself to swallow all of the foul, bitter liquid in one go. Cujo lifted his head lazily and groaned, pitching his deep voice into a whine as he watched his companion drink her meager breakfast.



“Shh. Don’t beg. You don’t even like these, remember?” Saoli whispered in a soothing voice as she tilted the open bottle under Cujo’s nose for him to smell. “It’s not even real food anyway. Just caffeine. Empty calories….lots and lots of sugar….” she allowed her voice to trail off as she turned the small plastic bottle over and over in her hands. She had read the label more than a hundred times in the early hours before daylight allowed her to continue her travels. That was it. The last of their food supplies. It had been days since she had eaten anything with any real sustenance as prior to the energy shot she had been reduced down to only the bare bones of remaining supplies at a looted gas station. She knew that she didn’t have long now until she ultimately crashed from food and sleep deprivation. She would have to make a run for supplies as soon as possible if she had any hope of remaining present tense. Not that she was sure anymore if she really wanted to.



“Come on, let’s go find something better” she hummed, prompting the dog to follow her as she dropped the tailgate and crawled out of the back of the truck before stepping into the pre-dawn light.

 

[travelbypages]

((Y’all can keep replying, I’m at the lake with only 5 gigs of wifi between 6 people so I can’t be on here much until Saturday haha))