Futuristic Tʜᴇ Pᴇᴄᴜʟɪᴀʀs (ᴅʏsᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ғᴜᴛᴜʀᴇ)

[Unintended]

Creatures of the supernatural have been around for a while. A family would report their supernatural child to officials who handled such things, and they would keep quiet the fact that their child was...strange. Odd. Peculiar.

There is a record kept in every city and state of these children and adults. They're known simply as Supernatural humans, or Homo Supermundanae. They're more commonly called Peculiars, though. Not many know of their existence, other than head political figures and the immediate families of Peculiars.

But now they're being hunted down and killed.


A hate organization has formed that is tracking and murdering Peculiars for unknown reasons. Who is it? No one is quite sure. Yet. Peculiars and those who know of and support them are being called together to form a defense against this group.

Malum, the district in which our story begins (Year 2032)


The twist is that this is a society that has endured catastrophic war only 1 year ago. EMPs were dropped in 4 locations around the U.S. by China 5 1/2 years ago, and war ensued until May 5, 2031. The U.S. is still repairing, and ration cards are an essential part of life. The former government is in shambles, and each district has their own makeshift council of officials, with some being more effective than others. Military forces from Canada, the U.K., and Australia as well as the remaining U.S. forces have brought in supplies and are helping out with rations.

The Apocalypse, as many have begun to call it, stopped the organization from killing for a while. But now they're back, and they aren't just murdering Peculiars. They're murdering everyone who opposes their views.

The small community of Niagra Minor will have to band together against this organization that has now turned into a sort of gang. They set fires, steal ration cards, and torture Peculiars. Whoever they are, they're coming for Niagra Minor. A group of Peculiars and Peculiar supporters have joined together in defense, and as they search to find the truth, they realize that their existence isn't the only thing their country has been hiding...​

 

[Unintended]

◢◤ ℕʏx Ḻɪʟʟɪᴀɴ Ѧʟᴅᴀɪɴ ◥◣

"Trust me. I'm not okay."




Good morning, dilapidated house. Nyx yawned and stood up from the couch she slept on, and grabbed her clunky black combat boots. She quickly slipped them on, then picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Last but certainly not least, she picked up her machete, along with her ration card for the week and headed out into the world. She stopped once she walked out the door of her home, which wasn't really hers. She was pretty sure the family that lived there before had died, because when she found it there had been blood smeared on the walls and it'd smelled like something had rotted there. But it was hers now, and at one point it looked like it would've been nice. It used to be one of those row houses, where there were two floors and each was a separate home. She lived on the bottom half and no one lived on the top; mainly because there were multiple holes in its floor.

It was kind of depressing, but it was hers. And nobody had bothered her so far, so that was good. Probably because she lived on the outskirts of the community. As she walked through her street, she realized that there was more noise than usual. Something was happening around the corner. She gripped her machete and entered the shell of a burnt building on her street. It was her main passageway to the rooftops because someone had made a makeshift stairway to a large hole in the roof out of bookcases and other salvaged furniture. She jumped to the top and made her way across the roofs, looking for whatever was causing the noise. It sounded a like a fight, and fights were no good. Finally, she found it. Two teenagers were fighting over a backpack. "Hey, you two! Knock it off.We're all on the same side here." They looked up at her, then shot a glance at her machete. One quickly threw the backpack to the other, and they ran off together. She laughed bitterly at the fact hey must be allies.





Now she was back to her main goal, which was getting her rations for the week. At the start of every month, each person was given 4 ration cards. Each one was about the size of a dollar bill, but they were waterproof and much more sturdy. You could cash them in any time you liked, but you could only get more at the beginning of the month. Each card got you 3 cans of assorted non-perishable food (you get to choose what you get, based on what's left), an assorted amount of starch depending on what's available (sometimes two cups of rice, sometimes a couple potatoes, sometimes a half a loaf of bread, etc.) and 1/2 pound of meat (the type depends of what's brought in). Also a gallon of clean water. She made her way to reserve, which was located at what used to be city hall. Two soldiers stood at the entrance.


"Card?" One asked. They were both young, and were probably around her age. She'd seen them before.





"Right here." She handed it to one, and he nodded. "How are repairs going? Is there any word about when cleanup will start?" She asked, hesitating to go inside. She was bored, and lonely. The only thing she ever did was survive.




"No tellin', sister. I do know for a fact that we're getting a missionary coming to help get better shelters around here. They're coming from...Germany, I think? France, maybe. I don't know. But they'll be here in a month or so." She nodded, and then walked into the reserve with them watching from the entrance, making sure she didn't steal anything. She picked out some canned kidney beans, canned English peas and tomato soup. She also got a pound of brown rice and half a pound of dehydrated deer meat, which was the only meat they had except for some disgusting looking chicken. She threw everything into her bag and walked out, putting her machete in a makeshift sheath she made from an old belt.
​

Now to go on her mission for today: scavenge around for something interesting. Maybe a couple people had died and their corpses hadn't been looted yet. Maybe somebody left a food stash unattended. She jumped onto the railing of a front staircase, then a terrace right above it, then the rooftops. She began her small adventure.

​

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Basil Castor





Basil jolted awake. Oh, shoot. She had fallen asleep on the desk. Again. Screw driver in hand, that broken watch still on the desk. Basil didn't have to go into Work Mode just to doodle on a watch, but it was harder when she wasn't in actual Work Mode. Upside was at least she got to work with thinking. Downside was she fell asleep before the job was done.


Yawning, she stood up from the desk chair and stretched, then slipped into her brown leather boots. She searched the shelves for food; they were empty. Basil groaned. She was going to have to cash in another ration card. At least in Work Mode she didn't need to eat.


Basil lived in a bunker. Or a basement. Inside of a shabby old house, there was an iron trapdoor that lead to a medium-sized room with provisions and clothing. The clothing was too large and the food was stale, but she didn't care. There were no windows, and it was dark and quiet. It was perfect.


Basil couldn't have any distractions while she worked. Let it be in Work Mode or just plain doodling, distractions were the worst. A gleam of sun. The whistle of the wind. It got her on edge. In the bunker, there was nothing. No sounds. No distractions. There was even a desk. It was heaven.


Fumbling around in one of the desk drawers, she pulled out a ration card and grabbed her backpack. She slipped the watch she had been working on in her pocket and took her small dagger as well, slipping it into her boot. Then she climbed up the ladder and out the trapdoor, and then left the house.


Basil's house wasn't incredibly far from the city hall, just a 10 minute walk. It wasn't through the nicest parts of the town though, and Basil sometimes had to walk with her eyes closed. Too much blood. She could handle a few carcasses but one street still stunk of rotten flesh so strongly it made her want to forget rations.


When she reached city hall, she pulled out her ration card before one of the soldiers could even ask. Quickly and nimbly, she grabbed a can of corn, a can of bean soup, and a can of sardines hidden behind most of the other cans. Then she got a pound of brown rice and decided to go for the chicken, although it looked disgusting. Chicken sounded better than deer. The deer looked stringy.


Basil put the food in her bag and walked out. She pulled the pocket watch from her pocket and stared at it as she walked. The dang thing just didn't work, no matter how hard she had tried. Without even noticing, she walked into someone, and it sent the watch flying out of her hand and onto the ground, and Basil knew it was even more broken.


"I'm so sorry!" Basil said as she tried not to look at the watch that had ended up past the girl, hoping she wouldn't notice and pick it up and run away with it.

​

@Unintended

 

[Gitmuny]

Terrance Clemens




Terrence arose from his mattress. Drool covered almost the entire left side of his face and his hair struggled to keep out of his eyes. He used the worn shirt that draped over the side of his bed as a towel, and wiped off his face, rushed his hair to one side with his fingers and stood up. He must have had an "Interesting" experience the night prior because he had no knowledge to what had happened and his head felt like it was being slammed on by a metal pan. The open and mostly empty bottle of alcohol that rolled round on the floor once he had accidentally kicked it further proved the fact that he was hungover.

He walked over to his old, but sturdy desk that positioned itself in the corner of his room, next to the window. Papers, wrappers, old cigarette butts, these items and many more claimed the surface of it. He started pushing them around, clearing off the desk in attempts to find any ration cards he may have had left over. If there were any, finding them would be a daunting task. A needle in a haystack. After around 25 minutes of searching, he finally found it stuck to a sock on his floor. He peeled it off and tried removing whatever it was that stuck it to the sock. He walked in to his bathroom and placed the card on the edge of the sink. He examined himself in the cracked mirror, "Must've been one hell of a night," he joked to himself. He applied some toothpaste to his tooth brushed and brushed his teeth, spitting the thick spit into the sink. There was no water. The apartment complex in which he lived in had it's water temporarily shut off. He swashed some mouth wash around in his mouth and spat that down the sink, rinsing away the spit with it.


He got dressed, grabbed his ration card and shoved it in his pocket and grabbed his bag. He headed out of the door and down the stairs. He lived on the third of five floors the complex had. In the lobby he was confronted by the owner of the building, which he hadn't bothered remembering his name. He looked mad,"Terrence, more noise complaints about you last night.. It happens again and you won't be allowed guests over anymore, you're making everyone mad." Terrence must have had a girl over last night. He smiled and looked at the man, the man's expression went from angry to calm, "You know what, I'll let it slide this time," the man told him.


He stepped out of the building without saying a word. City hall wasn't too far from his building. A 5 minute walk at most. Once he had arrived he presented himself to the guards posted at reserve. He flashed his ration card to them and began picking his desired foods of choice. He grabbed a can of corn, beans and two cans of some sort of soup. He chose to take the deer, he never had it before and was willing to experiment. He exited city hall.


Since there was no real fun to be had in this city, he took up a hobby in parkour. The rooftops of these run down and decaying buildings were the perfect terrain for such a sport. He fastened his bag to his back and made sure it was shut. He made it tot he top of an old what looked to be apartment building similar to his. The fire escape was creaky, and rusted like no other. Each step he took up the escape had to be made carefully, he didn't want to fall. Once ascending to the roof, he looked around, for a place he could run to. Somewhere where he could cure his hangover, and just relax.


He spotted a roof which had a makeshift hut on the top, along with a garden of some sorts. Even if the garden didn't have any loot-able resources, he could hang around in the hut for the day. The sun magnified the effects of his headache, he wanted somewhere shady. Hopping along the roofs, ever so gracefully he finally reached his destination. He pulled out the can of beans he had received from he reserve. He had a small spoon he kept in his backpack and used that to eat. The shade was relaxing, and this hut made for a nice spot to stay for the time being. He heard some shuffling happening down in the street below the building. He wasn't quite sure which area of town he was in , so he leaned over the edge to see what was going on. Maybe someone was being mugged, entertainment would be nice right about now. "Just some girls," he murmured to himself, spoon in mouth. The shiny piece of silverware fell from his mouth and landed by the the two. "Whoops!" He called down to them. He didn't bother running away, he didn't care if they knew where he was because there was no way he was in any danger. "Mind not taking that spoon ? I gotta finish my beans!" He shouted to them in a sarcastic and cocky tone.
​

 

[Unintended]

◢◤ ℕʏx Ḻɪʟʟɪᴀɴ Ѧʟᴅᴀɪɴ ◥◣


"Trust me. I'm not okay."




Nyx stopped to wonder just where she was going. She knew a guy on the other side of town; maybe he was doing something interesting today. But before she decided anything, someone ran into her! "I'm so sorry!" It was a girl. She had been holding something before she ran into Nyx, and it had fallen out of her hand.





"Watch where you're going!" She said, eyeing whatever had been dropped. It was a watch. She walked over and picked it up, holding it by its chain. "I believe this is yours." She handed it back to the girl, her anger quickly diminished. "This is interesting. Where'd you find it? Does it work?" She asked. It was odd to carry a trinket around, in Nyx's opinion. It could get stolen easily. She could have stolen it just then, if she'd wanted to. But she didn't, so she hadn't; even if the thought had crossed her mind as she'd picked it up. It was a nice watch, after all.





Suddenly, something dropped from overhead. It was...a spoon? "Mind not taking that spoon?" asked the boy overhead, a cocky tone in his voice. She hated cockiness, as it was a weakness in her view. If you were cocky, you weren't cautious. And in this world, you die if you aren't cautious. The boy looked a bit younger than her, as if he'd only just become an adult when the war started. Nyx had to admit she wasn't very old herself, only 21, but she was still more mature than him. He looked like he should still be in high school.





"Trust me, I don't want it." She scoffed, raising an eyebrow at him. "I'm sure you can make better use of it than I can." She had set off to find and adventure, and she sure hoped these two could help her find one. Or maybe, just maybe, they were the adventure. She wasn't sure what to say to either of them. It'd been so long since she'd introduced herself to someone. The only person she ever really talked to was her neighbor, which was a boy a little older than her. And he was almost always gone, hunting animals or whatever he does.





She rolled up her sleeves, exposing a multitude of scars on her hands. "I'm Nyx, by the way. You two are?" She asked, unsheathing her machete and pointing it at the boy. "How about you get off that roof and come down here. I don't necessarily trust people who're on higher ground than me." Her statement was true. She had a distrust for most people, actually. Hopefully she was wrong about these two, though.
​

 

[Gitmuny]

Terrance Clemens

Terrance disappeared from the edge of the building, and slid down the fire escape down into the street where the two girl stood, and to his spoon. He picked u the spoon and wiped it off of his pant leg. He then continued eating the canned food, shoveling spoonfuls into his mouth, disregarding the possibility that the spoon was probably highly contaminated by now.


"I'm Nyx, by the way... and you two are?" He extended his thin arm out to Nyx, hoping for a handshake in return, but it wasn't uncommon for someone to be turned down nowadays, pickpockets and muggers were always trying to deceive people. He gave her a half-devilish grin and said "I'm Terrance... and she must be clumsy." Maybe these pathetic jokes would ease Nyx up a bit, he didn't usually like machetes being pointed at him, especially when he was only equipped with a spoon. As she shook his hand back, he eyed her up. She was certainly an attractive girl, but the scars that tainted her skin were sort of a turn-off. The other girl seemed concentrated on her watch, or whatever it was that she was holding in her hands. Whatever it was it looked like garbage to him.


His can was finished, he tossed it to the ground and slipped his spoon into his backpack. It was awfully unusual for him to be unknown to a girl, but that was because he familiarized himself to the girls at his school. These two looked older, so he figured that was why. He definitely didn't recognize them either. He was all about first impressions, not that he wanted strangers thinking highly of him, he just wanted strangers to remember him. He considered his ability a God-given gift, because it suited him so well, as it was perfect for this.

When Terrance looked back on the situation, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to confront two strangers all over a spoon. However, he had a good feeling about these two, and he usually trusted himself to make the right judgement. They seemed friendly... enough. Nyx lowered her machete, but still kept it unsheathed, he didn't blame her. He thought to himself for a moment, I really need to find myself a weapon..

​

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Basil Castor


Basil breathed a sigh of relief as the girl she had bumped into gave her back her pocket watch. Thank god. Maybe she shouldn't be carrying it around, but Basil felt.. better with it with her at all times. It made her feel sort of.. safe. As weird as that was, she felt attached to the watch. The two had both had a long history. But that didn't mean she was going to reveal it. As the girl she had bumped into asked her a few questions about the watch, Basil looked at the floor, holding the watch tightly. "It's just a watch." She mumbled. "Nothing special." Lies. Lots of lies.


Basil flinched as something landed next to the two girls. It was shiny. A spoon? The heck? Spoons don't come flying out of nowhere. Basil looked up and saw a boy on the roof of a nearby building, staring down at them both, yelling about not taking his spoon. "Ew." Basil frowned. She wasn't about to pick up a spoon that had just been in someone else's mouth, flung from a roof, and now on the floor. Apparently, the girl agreed. When the girl flashed a machete at the boy on the roof, Basil softly yelped and jumped away, thankful that the boy was coming down. He seemed to be younger than the two girls, maybe in his late teens.


"I'm Basil." Basil said softly, taking the boy's hand and shaking it firmly even though it was meant for the girl. Terrance and Nyx. Nice names. She liked them.


Basil shoved her watch back in her pocket and tried to pretend like it had never even fallen out. "So.. are you.. doing anything?" She asked softly.



​

 

[RDK]

Simon





A pale, clear sun shot streaks of light pink and gold into the restless sky and glowed red through Simon's shut eyelids. Mornings were always the hardest time. Mornings meant waking up and that was hard, not that sleeping was much better. Dreams were always filled with memories and Simon wasn't very fond of those. His eyelids fluttered, then opened. The room in which he lay was small and quiet and filled with stuff that was not Simon's. There was a lamp next to him that had been cut off from any electricity (Simon had checked) and there were a few old boxes by the door. He had made sure to lock it last night before going to curl up in the lonely bed in the corner. Simon always slept curled in the fetal position because it made him feel safer and not so alone. It was funny, the person who had slept in the bed before him was probably dead now. No, that wasn't funny. It was scary. Maybe the next person to sleep in that bed would think the same thing except Simon would be the dead person. A little shudder ran through his limbs; yes, he was officially awake.


Simon sat up slowly, cringing at his aching muscles. He ran his fingers through his rumpled hair and rubbed the dark bruises under his eyes. It was long since he had become accustomed to a constant feeling of griminess. Swinging his legs over the bed, he stood up, brushed off his legs, and walked out of the room. Simon didn't like sleeping in the same place for too long. His mother had always told him that staying in the same place for too long was dangerous and that the way to stay safe was to just keep moving.


Simon always felt strange sleeping in other people's houses. Even though there were probably useful things in the houses, he never took any of it. It didn't feel right, kind of like he would be disrespecting the people who had lived there if he were to rifle through their stuff. All of the things he owned were stashed in the gray backpack that he kept on his person at all times. Inside were some useful things he had found such as the knife he used in emergencies, some rope, and some cans of food as well as assorted knicknacks that he figured would be useful at some point. He had collected rations yesterday and it gave a sort of peace of mind to know that he had his next meal pressed to his back.


The streets were filled with that sort of stillness that you can't find at any other time of the day. Simon looked left and right to make sure there weren't any people, even though he knew it was probably unnecessary. He was just stepping out into the open when he heard voices from right around the corner and, being startled, jumped back into safety of the building. After a moment of deliberating, he decided to see who was there. He crept to the corner of the block and squatted where he could just make out bits of their conversation. Something about a watch? And a spoon? He shifted a little, trying to hear better, and accidentally stepped on an old soda can which emitted an echoing and much-too-loud CRUNCH!

 

[mochi bun]

- Florence Holmes -


The sound of voices awoke Florence. She felt her eyes slide open and she blinked up, her gaze sliding across the loose floorboards above her. Bringing her hands up to rub at her eyes, shaking her head in order to wake herself up more. She raised her wrist above her to glance at her watch, her brows coming together as she inspected it. She cursed for a moment, quickly lurching upright.Throwing herself out of bed, she crossed the room, bending down to grasp her cargo pants. Slipping them on, she quickly looped her belt through the holes, adjusting it to fit her small frame. Reaching underneath a plank of woods, she withdrew her socks and combat boots. She quickly pulled her socks and shoes over her feet. For a moment, she began to struggle with the laces, before she gave up and tucked them into the inside of the boots.


Standing, she moved closer to her makeshift bed, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder. She had taken residence in an old, worn-down home that had been in vicinity of the blast site. It was still missing half its side, but the cold had never truly bothered Florence. Biting her lip, she ducked underneath the boards of woods she used to keep people away from her 'home'. Now that she had left her own personal sanctuary, she could hear the voices a lot more clearly than she could mere moments ago. Turning her head, she searched for the party and spotted them a couple houses down. Her eyebrows rose and she leaned back against the threshold for a moment, listening to their conversation.


Two girls and one boy; all around my age, she thought and glanced about for a moment. Listening, she could hear other residents stirring and gave a rather annoyed sigh. "Guys, if you wanted to wake everyone, you should have started off by yelling about a bomb. Works every time." She said, stepping out of the shadows and walking towards them. A moment after she stopped, she heard a crunch and inclined her head, spotting a boy hiding behind a building. "Oi!" She called. "No need to hide. Come and join the party." She said and turned back towards the trio, smiling coyly. "Alright, time to introduce ourselves. The name's Florence Holmes. Like Sherlock Holmes, except without the deduction skills." She spoke, her lip quirking up towards the side. "And all of you would be?" She inquired, her gaze moving from each individual.
​

 

[Unintended]

◢◤ ℕʏx Ḻɪʟʟɪᴀɴ Ѧʟᴅᴀɪɴ ◥◣

"Trust me. I'm not okay."

Nyx laughed as she shook Terrance's hand. She saw him glance at his machete, and she suddenly noticed his lack of weaponry. "What are you gonna do with that spoon, hit someone to death with it?" She joked. It wasn't safe to walk around without some sort of defense. That was setting yourself up for disaster. Then the abnormally shy Basil finally spoke up, and she had to think about the question for the moment. "I'm surviving right now. But perhaps we can survive together, eh? It gets a little lonely around here."





Then a girl walked out of a house that was close by and introduced herself. She smiled a little as she did. Florence had a certain attitude about her that she couldn't help but like ."I'll have to try that sometime, thanks." She spun around on her heels at the sound of something behind them, gripping her machete a little bit tighter. It was just some kid, though, probably participating in some eavesdropping. "I don't like surprises, kid." She said, walking over to where he was. When she was standing beside him, she laid her right arm on his shoulders. "My name is Nyx. Nyx Aldain." She addressed Florence before looking over the small group that had assembled. This could be interesting.
​

"I say," she began, striding over to the group again casually, "That we become a team. More food, more protection. I believe a machete is a little better than a spoon." She said, grinning at Terrance. "So! What supplies does everyone have on hand? I've got some food, my weapon, some matches and one of those single-serve pan things." She took off her backpack and held it in the air. "I also have shelter on the outskirts. It's a long walk, but it's safe." She really hoped these guys were all okay. She had looting to do, and she needed to get this going along so they could raid a few houses before The Gang began to appear. They kill or kidnap everyone in their wake, and those who survive come out bloody and bruised. That reason specifically is why she didn't choose to live around here. They usually didn't bother people in their houses, but it wasn't a risk worth taking.

​

"Let's move this around, and then I think some looting would be necessary." She said, grinning slightly.

​

 

[Gitmuny]

Terrance Clemens



Nyx mocked Terrance for not having a weapon, but it was all in good fun. "That machete is cute and all, no really, you must scare everyone off with it... Buuuut, I'd rather be running away and alive, than fighting and potentially dying. I don't see it as cowardice, I see it as logical." He joked back with her. He wasn't calling her dumb necessarily, he just needed to create a false reason for not wanting to find a weapon, he would hardly be finding one useful, and he didn't think he could actually end someones life. He disregarded what Nyx had said about surviving together. He didn't want to leave the mess he called his apartment, and besides, the temptation he would get around all these women would be his demise.


Basil introduced herself prior to this, the names these girls had were quite unique, he was stuck with Terrance. To answer her question, "Well, I was up on that roof, not planning on doing anything today because my head is pounding, but my spoon fell, and now I'm here with you guys."


When Florence stepped out and introduced herself, Terrance examined the group. There sure was quite a bit of them coming together, normally people kept to themselves these days, so it sure was an odd sight for him to see, especially because he found himself in its midst. He looked at her and smiled "Terrance, Terrance Clemens to be exact." The sound of the soda can crunching underneath the boy's boot triggered a reaction within Terrance, he was always aware. When he seen the boy peering from around the corner of the building, he laughed. "Not exactly the best hiding spot, bud."


Nyx continued on to speak about looting, and what supplies she had to offer. He listed all that he had, but it wasn't much, and he may have purposely left out the fact that he had some condoms stowed away in his bag as well. Surprisingly, Terrance had never looted before, he was fine with scraping by. His apartment confined him to safety, for the gang would never step into somewhere like that. Peculiars weren't allowed into that complex, but thanks to his abilities, exceptions were made. However, this made him think, maybe it would be fun. Maybe going out to Nyx's shelter would be okay after all. He didn't make up his mind, but he did decide to think about it for the remainder of the day, things could get interesting.
​

 

[RDK]

Simon


A girl called out to him. A tall boy said something to him. They were all looking at him. He whipped his head around but as soon as he had located the first girl he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I don't like suprises, kid." It was another girl and she started going on about teamwork. Simon instinctually whipped his knife from the side pocket of his backpack and pushed away the girl's arm. No. People were bad. People hurt you and abandoned you and left you with an all-consuming emptiness inside and stabbed you in the back when you needed them most. Heat rushed to his head. People were bad and alone was good and all he knew was that these people were no exception. He had to escape.


When the second girl had walked back towards the other people he tried to inconspicuously back into a darkened doorway but snagged his backpack on a loose nail in the frame. He tugged on it urgently and all of the sudden it gave, sending him tumbling to the floor. His head hit the ground with a crack. Head's weren't supposed to make that sort of sound, were they? No, no they weren't. That's funny, everything was so fuzzy. Was it supposed to be like that? No, it really wasn't. As if through water the second girl's voice reached his ears, "....protection....". Protection? That's right, protection against them.


Feet pounding and kicking up rubble and dust, loud voices and shouts, fire like a million suns, piercing gunshots that shook your head, she wasn't fast enought, she wasn't fast enough, she was't fast enough. She was gone. They took her. And he was alone. And they were coming, they were always coming and you are never fast enough because sooner or later your legs will tire and they will still be coming.





Simon's vision faded to black.

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Basil Castor





As the figure of another boy was seen hiding behind a building, Basil could sense he was scared. Unlike her, Basil wasn't afraid of people. She wasn't afraid of herself and was confident, always prepared to speak when her voice needed to be heard. This boy was the exact opposite. He was pale, and quiet, and he didn't even talk. Even though the others noticed him, spoke to him, laughed at him, he didn't even walk away. Intriguing.


Another girl appeared, complaining about the noise they were making. Hmmn.. In Basil's eyes, they weren't really loud at all. "Basil Castor." She repeated her name again to the newcomer. She also liked the name Florence. Such nice names!


Basil tilted her head as Nyx suggested they become a team. That quickly? She was always trusting them already? As gullible and easily trusting Basil might've been, this girl looked smarter than that. Than to trust so easily. But the company of others sounded nice. She.. missed it, almost. Almost.. her machines were company enough.


"I.. guess.. sure." Basil mumbled, not giving a straight answer but going along with the idea for now. She looked back at Silent Boy, who seemed to finally be fed up with the conversation and try to sneak away, only his backpack seemed to get snagged on a nail. "Be care-" Basil warned, but it was too late. Before she could do anything, Silent Boy fell to the floor as the backpack gave way with a sickening thud.


"Ohmygod. Does anyone have bandages?" Basil jumped into action, kneeling down beside the boy and cradling his bleeding head in her hands. She fought against going into Work Mode - that would not be the best thing to do right now. She could not risk exposing herself as a Peculiar and if she went into Work Mode, she might not be able to get out for a long time.


Basil bit her lip as she scanned the people surrounding her and Silent Boy. "We can go to my place. It's close. I'm sure I have something there."
​

 

[Unintended]

◢◤ ℕʏx Ḻɪʟʟɪᴀɴ Ѧʟᴅᴀɪɴ ◥◣

"Trust me. I'm not okay."




Nyx's lips curled into a half-smile when Terrance called her machete 'cute and all'. "Have you ever heard of a little thing called 'defense'? I don't particularly like slashing away with this cute machete here, but I keep it around to scare people. Mainly punks like you, who try and ambush people with utensils." She said sarcastically, putting her backpack back on. Suddenly, she heard something, and her smile quickly faded when she saw Basil rushing over to the kid, her hands covered in his blood. She groaned in annoyance. He would be in a lot of trouble if Basil wasn't as nice as she was, because Nyx had no intentions of helping him. He was nothing but a burden to her, and she didn't trust people who sulked around in shadows anyway.





"Just leave him there. He'll be just another casualty of our mini-apocalypse. Not the first, and definitely not the last." She said coldly. She got lonely and enjoyed company, sure, but she didn't enjoy the company of burdens. He would provide her no advantages, she could already tell that very, very easily. She doubted her opinion would be listened to, as some people had seemed to salvage their humanity in the wreckage of the city, but she had not. Her pity for others died exactly 5 and 3 quarters of a month ago. Her scars told a story of bitter revenge, and because of that revenge she could not say that she'd never killed a person. In her defense, though, that person was more like an animal that had caught rabies and was on a rampage. But it didn't matter anymore. It was over, and she'd moved on. "He is a burden and it's his own fault for what happened."





Nyx was a bit cold, a bit calculating, yes. But it was only because she was absolutely determined to survive until help came. She refused to go down, especially since she was the lone surviving member of her family. Some kid who fell down and hurt his head was not going to get any sort of pity or compassion from her as long as she still had at least a sliver of sense left. Obviously, though, some people didn't think the same as she did. Anyway, she still needed to accomplish her main mission today, which was finding a couple good houses to loot. "Now, if anyone would like to come along and steal a couple things, I would be more than happy to accompany them." She looked around, hoping someone would come with her.
​

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Basil Castor


A look of horror spread across Basil's face as she stared up at Nyx. "Are you.. serious?" At first, Basil thought it was a cruel joke. But Basil soon realized that it was not. "Are you kidding me? What kind of sick person are you! You're just going to leave a wounded man on the floor? How can you live with yourself!" She cried angrily. Basil would never do such a thing. In the cruel world they were living in, Basil took pride in trying to help the one's that couldn't help themselves. Looking from Nyx, to the rest of the group, to the boy on the floor..


And that was that. Work Mode took over.


Her pupils became wide as she lifted the boy from the floor and in her arms with obscene strength. She brushed past the others and started to run back to her house, where she could fix him up. Forget those cruel people.. she would care for this boy, without their help or not. If they realized she was peculiar, so be it. She would smack them in the face with a wrench.


Basil entered her house and laid the boy down on the old, worn out couch. She grabbed a rag and began to dab it on his forehead, quickly and perfectly, cleaning up the wound. Slowly but surely, she came out of Work Mode, and was left standing over the boy with a bloody rag in hand, wondering what happened.



​

 

[Czeshire]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_12/i2702911622.jpg.53428fe22b931a37821888f578aacb02.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="35860" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_12/i2702911622.jpg.53428fe22b931a37821888f578aacb02.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

Markus Fromm



​

Static. Static from a radio. That's what he heard as he slowly awoke, before even opening his eyes. It's what he always fell asleep to, and what he always woke up to. The absent-sounding white noise was almost therapeutic to the Enforcer. Heh. That's what all the men in his sector called him. The Enforcer.​

Markus slowly arose from his bed, pushing his silver hair out of his eyes and letting it fall to its natural 'windswept' style as he began to get dressed; purple and red hooded sleeveless shirt tucked into black form-fitting jeans with numerous tears along the legs. He'd need to replace those soon.. He then proceeded to slip on a pair of black gloves and matching steel-toed boots over his feet after strapping on padded knee-guards over his jeans.







After getting dressed, now came the important part; gearing up for the day. Markus's room could have easily been mistaken for an armory with all the guns, grenade belts and bullets the German had laying throughout the spacey apartment room. But the young man already knew what he'd need. First he had grabbed a communicator which he holstered to his thigh that had a wire attached to an earphone which he placed in his left ear. Though most of the time he is responding to his automaton companions rather than his Delphi colleagues. Proceeding with his equipment, Markus grabbed two USP .45 Expert handguns which were already loaded with hollow-point bullets in an extended magazine. With those held in the German's rear holsters, he was sure to pack four extra magazines which were held on his right side on his belt's magazine compartment. Now for the fun stuff; a blacked-out G36 Assault rifle with both a red-dot laser and a reflex scope attachment, also equipped with an extended magazine. Markus made sure to pack at least three or four extra magazines for that..







After cocking back his assault rifle and making sure the safety was still on, the German went over to his dining room table to grab a grenade belt to sling over his shoulder. They weren't explosive; just debilitating flashbangs. He figured it would be a slow day, he didn't need to get crazy with the explosives. But nonetheless. Time to start the day. Stepping out of his room, he made his way down the two flights of stairs down the ritzy apartment complex that Delphi had used as one of their location headquarters in the city. Most of the rooms in the building were nicer than most houses around the area. But hey, the people staying here has worked for it..







"Hey, Mark. Off to sniff the rats out?"

The rather chipper guard at the door chimed just before Markus stepped out the door. The German turned his head, his emerald hues almost gazing through the male as he responded.

"The only thing I smell is your unbearable odor, Fredrick. Do the whole building a favor. Take a shower."

With that, Markus stepped out onto the streets to begin his patrol route. This was when he had his rifle readied in his hands, safety clicked off and eyes as hard as stone as they scanned left and right. Not many people drove cars anymore, so the German was free to walk in the center of the road, his boots crunching some of the loose gravel and broken glass underneath them as he walked.







Clicking on his radio, Markus spoke although his eyes were still scanning, staring at the passersby and the civilians that walked along the sidewalks.

"C-40. C-39. System command, I.D. Markus Fromm. Surveillance of the perimeter authorized. Any peculiar actions performed by civilians is to be reported immediately."

With the given command, on the rooftop of the building he resides in, two surveillance sentinels had whirred to life. They were jet-propelled orb-like figures with multiple types of location tools; radar, sonar, night and thermal sight. They also carry the database of all registered Peculiars Delphi has on record. If one is found, Markus will be the first to be contacted to the scene.

 

[Gitmuny]

Terrance Clemens

​

Terrance looked at Basil, who was chastising Nyx for not wanting to help the boy out. "You know, Nyx has a point, he could have been spying on us for all you know..." He couldn't get his whole point off before she ran (quite fast) away with the injured kid in her arms. It was unlike something he had seen before. no, not the ridiculous stupidity she was displaying by helping a stranger, but the determination and strength she seemed to all of a sudden pull out of herself. He then turned to Nyx, who might have been growing impatient, she looked like she was on a schedule that didn't bend for odd meetings like this. "Sure.. count me in," he said kicking some pebbles from underneath him. He wanted to know what it was like, and she seemed to be someone who knew what she was doing. Hopefully he could trust her.


He stood closer to Nyx, he was to become her new lackey for the rest of this trip - however long it was going to be. He turned and faced The other girl, who he had already forgotten her name. He wasn't really sorry that he did, she just didn't leave an impression on him. "You comin' ?" He flicked his head backwards, motioning her over. whether or not she followed along wasn't really of interest to Terrance, but the idea of someone else taking a bullet for him did, and that was something. "So what's the plan ? I know my way around this city pretty damn well and I know a lot of.... shortcuts." He said with a grin. He was obviously hinting towards the fact that he knew routes that "just so happened" to go through restricted parts of town, but Nyx was set on looting a house, he knew she wouldn't cower from that.

His bag was almost full, so if he were to take something, he needed to make sure it was worth it, everything in addition would just end up slowing him down. He assumed this was a particularly good thing because if he did end up enjoying stealing, then this would prevent him from stealing too much, if that was still a thing nowadays. Anyways, this made sure he couldn't just take for the sake of taking.
​

 

[Unintended]

◢◤ ℕʏx Ḻɪʟʟɪᴀɴ Ѧʟᴅᴀɪɴ ◥◣

"Trust me. I'm not okay."




Nyx's eyes narrowed as Basil called her a 'sick person', asking how she could live with herself. "Morality doesn't keep you alive." She muttered, shaking her head slightly as the girl somehow mustered up quite a bit of strength to lift the boy up and run away with him, leaving the group behind. She was a gullible, sympathy-filled person. She absolutely despised such people. They were weak, and are easily taken advantage of. She would remember that, though, in case Nyx ever needed some kind of favor.





At least Terrance seemed to agree with her. Maybe he had some sense after all; and he was coming with her. "Shortcuts, eh? I guess you're not useless then." She teased. "I think we should head North, since that's were the most intact houses are. Intact houses mean people are more likely to live or have lived there, and that means there's probably supplies just sitting around." She added, answering his question as an afterthought. She hadn't been there in a while, as it was a usually avoided section of the city due to the fact that many citizens were stocked with weaponry there. But as long as no one was aware of the fact that she was a Peculiar, it would be relatively safe. Most people didn't bother to help out when another was being looted; most didn't help others out at all, really. That Basil girl was different, and apparently hadn't learned yet that people like her are very easily used and manipulated.





"Maybe we can find you a whisk to defend yourself with." She said as she looked around for a way to gain access to the rooftops. She saw a house with stairs leading up to it, and climbed onto the banister, before she jumped to a balcony above her, and then stood on top of its rail before jumping finally to the roof. She hoped to find some type of first aid equipment in their robbing. The scene that kid caused reminded Nyx of the fact that she had nothing in case she was injured herself. Food or weapons would be good as always, too.





"I guess you can lead the way, since you're the one with all the shortcuts." She called to Terrance, looking down at him from the roof. She couldn't help but notice that faded graffiti was on the building across from her, announcing that 'The End Is Near' in purple bubble letters. How ironic.
​

 

[RDK]

Simon


All that existed was an encompassing hazy darkness that stretched a collection of infinities. That is, that was all that existed for Simon until all of the sudden it happened: A warm glow like a baby's breath suddenly pulsed against, beat against, pounded and broke through the infinite darkness.





A girl appeared, suspended in the inky black, with fiery hair floating surrealy and pupils swelled in their hazel irises. Then Simon was falling, falling, falling deep into those swelled pupils and there in front of him were two hands. In a hidden corner he watched the two hands work and work with precise movements and abnormal strength until every last thing was finished and they dropped, showing not even a hint of exhaustion. The hands and work vanished. Now appeared vivid glowing blueprints swirling against the dark backdrop. A light humming reverbrated all around. The humming disappeared and a different girl was saying that Simon would be a burden but the fiery-haired girl was rushing him away and bandaging and washing Simon anyways. Basil Castor.





Simon jerked awake like someone had chucked ice at his face. His breaths came in shallow rasps and his heartbeat was in his head. It took a moment before the world around him replaced the buzzing images that had so suddenly sprung from the darkness. The girl from his vision, Basil Castor, was standing over him holding a bloodied rag. Simon spoke, "You're Peculiar, and that's my blood, isn't it?"

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Basil Castor


Basil stared at the bloodied rag in her hands as she realized she must've gone into Work Mode.. Oh no.. hopefully none of the others had realized, and she'd been quite lucky to get out so quickly, or at least it seemed it had been quick. She dumped the rag on a nearby table and ran to wash her hands and get bandages, when the young boy's eyes fluttered open. Basil froze, shoving her red stained hands behind her back and trying to look as innocent as possible.


Basil's eyes widened as the boy spoke. "Wha..wha? No! Of course not! Where did you get that idea! You must be hallucinating. J-just, go back to sleep.. crazy kids.." Basil stuttered, in total shock and awe how the boy had just called her out as a peculiar and instantly known that it was his blood. But the way he stared at her, Basil knew he knew more than she did.


Basil refused to give herself up that easily. Maybe the others were right.. he was probably a spy. She should've listened. She was such an idiot.. now she'd be killed and she couldn't do anything. Wait. The dagger in her boot! But she'd have to reveal her bloodied hands to do that.. maybe she could just keep up the act a little bit longer.
​

 

[Czeshire]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_12/i2702911622.jpg.5cf570562b603ce0aa405a7a6dbb0b83.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="35900" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_12/i2702911622.jpg.5cf570562b603ce0aa405a7a6dbb0b83.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>​

Markus Fromm







All seemed silent. For now. But he supposed it wasn't too out of the ordinary. The past few days have been like this. Maybe the Peculiars were getting smarter? Heh. No, that couldn't be. They too much wish to blend in with everyone else, to be out and socialize with the rest of society. Trying to stay hidden and behind closed windows...that would be too easy. When they're out and walking with other civilians, blending in.. that's why the hunt is always interesting.







But perhaps, it was the opposite of what Markus had originally thought. Maybe they weren't getting smarter. The surveillance sentinels patrol this part of the city at the same time every day. You'd think they would try and blend in more. Not stand on a building rooftop..







The spherical automaton propelled itself with the two small jets attached to its sides to reach the top of a rather tall building a few blocks from where Markus was patrolling. The small machine advanced closer, before a bright blue laser emanated from its underside and spread outward. This light had traveled from the top of the head down to the boots of the blond-haired girl that stood on the roof before retracting and going dark. That was when it spoke, out loud but in means to relay the information to Markus over the man's communicator.







"Incoming report. Civilian spotted on building roof on South Main Street. Civilian appears to be communicating with associates down on ground level. System scanned Civilian I.D.

Nyx Aldain,

registered Peculiar in Delphi's civilian database. Suspicion levels elevated. Requesting appearance effective immediately."







The robotic voice of the surveillance sentinel ended, before quickly leaving the scene to continue its programmed duties. Markus on the other hand, was given his objective. A faint smirk crept across his fair-skinned face. Time for the fun. The German's casual walk quickly became a dashing sprint, his rifle slung on his back and replaced with his pistols for easier mobility. Considering the firepower Markus carried, he was fast. On top of knowing the city practically inside and out, reaching the destination wouldn't take long.







Already finding himself on South Main Street, The German male knew he needed to gain some altitude before pursuing the Peculiar known as Nyx Aldain. He hopped on the roof of a run-down truck to propel himself to grab the ledge of a metal stairway on an old brick building that led to the roof. The young man was quick to scale the said stairs, never breaking his stride until he reached the roof. And then he saw her. She was on the roof of the next two buildings in front of him. Target acquired. Time to advance to assess the situation before commencing in action. He had performed this sequence countless times. This would be no different...right?

 

[Gitmuny]

Terrance Clemens

Terrance looked up at Nyx, after she had suggested he take point. He wasn't exactly which houses seemed "suitable" to be looted, so he was expecting her expertise with that. North eh? He thought to himself. She was definitely right about the houses being intact, and that there were more than likely some supplies inside said houses. That also meant that they were heading into a more wealthy district of the city, (if you could consider any section of this city wealthy) which meant tighter security and that meant he would have to use some of his skills. Not just his rat-like sneaking skills but his peculiar abilities, hopefully he could trust Nyx with that if it came down to it.


"It's funny how you say you don't trust others on roofs," He called back up to her, it was more ironic than hypocritical. He added in a "try and keep up," as he began down the road. He noticed her shadow projecting onto the brick walls of the buildings next to him as he hurried along the route. Going to the northern arts of town would take an average person maybe 30-45 minutes to get there from where they were, he could shorten that trip by a good 20 minutes. The only real reason it took so long is because it took going through a military checkpoint, and because an old junkyard, which was restricted to public access had run its course through the middle of town, causing you to have to go around it.


Avoiding the mandatory military checkpoint and setting foot on the junkyard were considerable offences. Adding insult to injury, Terrance was a peculiar, but he made trips like this so often he was confident he wouldn't get caught. Eventually Nyx would have to get down from the roofs, and meet him in the junkyard. It was surrounded by various defenses, including barbed wire fences, guard towers, and other make-shift barriers, like sheet metal walls.


He had passed through the junkyard once in the past month, so the layout was pretty fresh in his mind, he doubted the security detail's capabilities in terms of switching up guard rotations, and patrol paths, as they were in the same predictable pattern he had taken note of earlier in the month. He was looking at this all from a hole in the sheet metal wall along the left-most corner of the compound. He liked this spot because it was situated near no houses, and no one was ever in the area. The wall stretched on for a couple hundred meters, and this spot seemed to be disregarded by the guards. No cameras, no patrols, not even sensors, or some sort of trip wire trap.


He literally pulled back the metal and slipped in, undetected. He kept it open waiting for Nyx. He wasn't exactly sure how this would go seeing as he had brought along a plus-one, but he was fairly confident in his abilities. There was no way Nyx was dumb enough to jeopardize this either, she could carry her own weight. He looked up at a catwalk that lay overhead of them, leading to a sentries post. He pointed to the door of it, hand signals were their best friends here. Looking at his watch, he raised 5 fingers, and dropped one each second, counting down, once he had reached the last finger he lifted his feet a little, and then he was off, the guard got up from his post and headed for the door, facing away from the two. he stopped at the next blind spot, Nyx was still with him. "Good job," he said."Next one ain't gonna be so easy."
​

 

[RDK]

Simon


"But wasn't it you who brought me here and bandaged me? With your hair floating and stuff?" Simon replied. Wait a moment, he was unconscious for that. That didn't make any sense. If he was unconscious, how did he know that it was she that had carried him? He tried to remember but everything from when he was unconscious was a blur. Simon decided it didn't matter. What mattered was that Simon was lying helpless and vunerable on a couch and another, fully functioning, human being was right there. The habit of paranoia forced down the instinctual feeling that Basil was not here to harm him. He wrenched his head around, trying locate his backpack, but the world started spinning. Wearily sinking back into the couch, Simon noticed that Basil looked a bit uncomfortable, and...nervous? That set him at ease. He relinquished the wired tension in his limbs. Somehow he knew that after so long with no one but himself to rely on, he could trust her. An audible breath that he felt he had been holding for years passed through his lips. "Where is everyone else?" A rare wry smile twitched in his mouth. "You look nervous, don't worry. I'm not exactly in any condition to harm you." Suddenly he grew serious. His voice quieted, "And...I don't mind Peculiars." Simon took a deep breath, "My...mom was one. A Peculiar, I mean. Yeah." Casting his eyes down, he rubbed at a dirt spot on his hand.

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Basil Castor


Basil stared at Silent Boy, who was turning out to not be very silent anymore. She blinked. How did he know that her hair had gone up in Work Mode when he had been unconscious? Maybe he was in that sort of state where you weren't totally unconscious but unconscious. Basil wanted to scratch her head but refrained from doing so.


"I.. yeah.. that was me.." Basil mumbled softly, as if it had been a bad thing. She sighed. "I.. left them. They wanted to leave you. But I wouldn't, so I took you to my place." She spread her arms out to gesture that this was her house, and then squeaked and shoved her hands behind her back again. They were still covered in blood. Idiot Basil!


Basil tilted her head as he admitted that his mom was a Peculiar. Would that mean he was Peculiar as well? "Ah.. I see.." She said quietly, still not completely admitting that she was Peculiar. Not yet. Not directly, even if he already knew.


"I'm Basil. Basil Castor." The third time she'd introduced herself today. "I would shake your hand, but.." She sucked in a breath.



​

 

[Unintended]

◢◤ ℕʏx Ḻɪʟʟɪᴀɴ Ѧʟᴅᴀɪɴ ◥◣


"Trust me. I'm not okay."
​

She sprinted behind Terrance as they made their way through the junkyard, and she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder every few minutes. She had the strange feeling that someone was watching her, although she had no evidence to prove it other than the fact that the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up. Nyx nodded, grinning a little. "I see what you mean now by 'shortcuts'." She said, looking around at their environment. It was littered with guards, but none seemed to be around them at the moment. She felt a little anxious, as she always did around most people, particularly members of their broken political force. Except now there weren't many politics to debate about. It was simply surviving. She liked such a thought of unity; if only the reason such a thing existed without such a horrifying event to cause it.





She knew that if anything happened, she had more than one defense, but it still didn't seem to be enough. She wasn't truly safe. She hasn't been for quite a long while. She had her machete and her vocal chords, sure. But that still didn't defeat the lingering thought in her mind that others fate would become her own. By others, she mainly meant her brother. He had been 17, only a kid. And he had been murdered by some punks who thought they could do anything they wished. She had screamed at the top of her lungs, and when one touched his ear, his fingers came back with blood on them. That was also the day she learned just how extensive her abilities were. She had cried and cried, but her voice had almost disappeared completely due to her shrieks, and her wails were barely a high-pitched whimper. It had been like that for at least a few days. She didn't really remember.


But that was in the past, and she had moved on. Right now she just had to go through this junkyard without being seen. "So, what do we do now?" She whispered, afraid that someone would hear her, even though they were the only ones around at the moment. She just hoped they weren't caught by any guards. A Peculiar found on restricted grounds was basically a death sentence. Not to mention the fact they skipped a security checkpoint, which would be suspicious all on its own. Everything made her nervous, especially due to the fact that she still had the feeling someone was watching her.
​