Futuristic The Corrupted

[Satanic Nightjar]

THE CORRUPTED - Main Roleplay Thread

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Jet Ravenpaw L LadyLuckTakeTheWheel Anaxileah feverdream Yatasal
Seven Years Ago . . . .

It had been seven days, now an entire week since the virus invaded the town. Overnight, distrust spread like a separate epidemic; doors were locked and in cases barricaded from the inside; people starved themselves and wore masks to escape contracting the unknown virus. Yet the vicious killer was completely random, and its victims were not the strongest nor the weakest. The odds that anyone would survive in this hellish environment were virtually nonexistent.

And then the walls went up. The representative of the city fought hard, but his efforts were futile, and ultimately resulted in his inevitable death coming even sooner than anticipated. Safe houses were constructed to defend against the new threat--the crazed, inhuman killers driven to madness by the disease. The government in its infrequent messages attempted to reassure them that this was only a temporary, a result of heightened fear and anger, beyond control. More and more people were becoming victims of the disease and it's side effects--the Exanimum, or the the Corrupted, as they were now called--and in the span of a few months, the original population of over three thousand had diminished as few as half of that. In as little as a year, that number will have fallen to just over a thousand.

In their desperation, people began burning infected areas and bodies. Family members to those infected were forced to watch as their beloved children, parents, and siblings were killed before they could become a danger to the community. Houses and stores were destroyed, weapons were salvaged from old police stations and guard stations. Knives, guns, grenades, distributed across the dwindling population. With the odds stacked against them, they'd done everything in their power to ensure the survival of as many as possible. With that accomplished, there was nothing to do but split up and await a miracle.

A thousand people, scattered across the town, some of them forging friendships in the desperate situation, others fending for themselves. The virus was still contagious but not to the extent as it was before. The government had abandoned them, assuming the worst.

Now, seven years later, the population has been reduced to less than a hundred, though the exact number is unknown. People have been killed by each other or the Corrupted, fallen victim to the virus, or committed suicide when hope had all but vanished. The suffering endured by the survivors, emotional and physical, has been unimaginable. The town has fallen to ruins. Is all hope lost?

Present Day . . . .
Carlos Nakimura
The sun seemed to be disappearing behind the horizon at a far faster rate than it typically did. Nightfall was rapidly approaching, the ideal time for an ambush--if the Corrupted struck now, in the dim twilight, Carlos had no chance. Painfully aware of this, his heart pounded harder in his chest, as if it was trying to escape. Maintaining his quick pace, he banished these thoughts from his mind, hoping they couldn't sense his anxiety.

A gunshot resounded from an undetermined distance, and Carlos felt pure panic rise up within him, every fiber of his being demanding that he run. In any direction, but quickly. No destination, as long as he got somewhere. A scream followed, a desperate, sobbing wail, and he hesitates, heart thumping loudly, breath speeding in and out uncontrollably.

Someone out there was in trouble and needed assistance. Would it be reasonable to help them, if they were likely already beyond help? Is it right to leave them there? A face flashes before Carlos's eyes, a compassionate smile, wise eyes. Blaze Watson. After a brief moment of indecision, he pivoted and jogged towards the sound.

 

[Ravenpaw]

Blaze looked through the burnt grass at a deer bending down to take a drink from a puddle that was full of raindrops of the recently fallen rain. He seized the moment and pounced out of the bushes, pulling his knife out and stabbing the innocent creature. A yelp escaped from it's open mouth. Then it closed it's eyes. Blaze looked down on it, sorrow in his eyes. He knew he had to do it in order to have food. But he still felt sorry for it. His eyes darted around, making sure the sound hadn't alerted one of the corrupted. Seeing nothing, he grabbed the deer by the legs, pulling it the direction of his shelter. When he reached his destination, he pulled open the trapdoor that led to his shelter and shoved the deer in. He climbed halfway down the ladder then pulled the trapdoor shut. Dragging the deer in front of the fire. He had only ever had one friend. And he wondered where that friend was right now.

 

[Yatasal]

As soon as she screamed, Tyra knew her fate was sealed.

It had been deadly quiet. Tyra had heard of a machine shop on the other side of Jaydens, one that hadn't been plundered in the years following the Wall's creation. It was too good to be true, everyone said so--but even the slight flicker of hope was enough to make Tyra crawl into the light of day and find it. She found the shop, and it was indeed a gold mine--engine oil, barrels of water, enough fuel to last for weeks--and Tyra had let herself enjoy a few hours in solitude, figuring out the best way to haul her spoils back to the Matherians.

Eventually, knowing there was too much to carry, she headed back with a sword she had made years ago that she had improved using the machine shop's metal scraps. She had gotten carried away, and the sun had began to sink below the wall. Nightfall, the most dangerous time of all, and yet Tyra was still feeling the lingering echoes of victory. She hadn't been paying attention, and turned a corner without scouting out the area. Foolish idiot, stupid child, her mind chided. You should just kill yourself and be done with it.

Like normal, Tyra ignored the voice in her head, but she couldn't ignore the stumbling man in front of her. Even in the dying light, she could see his bloodshot eyes, the crazed expression, and the glint of the silver gun in his hands. Her sword was in her hands, and she adjusted her grip as the old adage taunted her mind: "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight". "I don't mean you any harm, so just leave me alone, alright?"

The man appeared drunk, and the bottle in his other hand proved this theory. He threw the bottle away, spilling dark liquid all over the wall. The bottle didn't shatter though, and Tyra dared to hope it was made out of plastic. He pointed at her and shouted, "You gonna kill me! I'll show you!"

Tyra had seconds to make her move, and her move was to turn and run.

Unfortunately, despite his drunken and infected state, the man was still a good aim. Tyra felt the bullet dig into her shoulder before she even heard the shot, and when she did hear the shot it almost seemed to be out of a movie, like she was on some Hollywood set. The scream was involuntary, and Tyra bit her lip as soon as she could. But she couldn't stop her tears and sobbing as she stumbled to the ground. Her shoulder burned and felt like it had been torn open. Tyra's breath came in short gasps, and she flipped over to see the man advancing on her. Tyra quickly pulled a knife from her boot and threw it with her good arm. It lodged in the man's sterum, a miraculous hit. The man wailed, and tried to pull the knife out. He was ten feet away when he fell to his knees, and then to his side. His breaths were haggard, but he still wailed as loud as a siren. Tyra clenched her jaw against the pain, and squeezed her eyes shut. This can't be happening, this can't be happening...

She looked around, and saw a makeshift shelter, a blanket over a pile of leather and blankets. Good enough, Tyra decided as she crawled over to it, curling into a ball. She noticed the blood drops leading to the blankets, but she couldn't do anything about them now. She tried to control her breathing as she wondered if she'd make it till morning. Hope you die, the voice said.

Hope I don't, Tyra snapped in response. Hope I don't...

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix's paranoia was getting her in trouble, shw was quickly running out of food but had this feeling in her gut that told her not to go out today. It had been like that for almost a week now though and she couldn't afford to stay in this god forsaken house any longer. She still had a couple of hours of daylight left, so, Grabbing her knife, a flashlight, and walked out the door, making sure all her defences were properly in place before leaving. She set off, walking down the empty and barren streets.
Her stomach flipped.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to this quiet." She mumbled to herself, awkwardly scratching at her shoulder.
Aylix stopped walking, standing perfectly still.

The cause?

Poop! Deer poop to be specific. It was extremely fresh too, hadn't even cooled off.

Aylix continued down the road spotting a ledge she could perch herself up on and did so. She waited for a long while, at least an hour before the deer came into her sights. It walked closer and closer, not suspecting a thing. As soon as the small doe was directly under her she leapt from her hiding spot, landing hard on its back, wrapping an arm around its neck roughly. The animal had only just started to react and buck when Aylix whipped out her knife and stuck it in the perfect spot to take the animal down almost instantly.
Placing a hand on the newly killed doe, she looked up and thanked whatever God was above for this kill. Every kill was so precious to her, she always made sure to say some sort of thanks. Along with the fact that it didn't take her long to find the kill either, it was a blessing to her, and her stomach.

She managed to drag the animal back to the house and stash it in the cool basement before heading out once more, just a quick run to the nearby supply store to try and find materials to start trapping. She'd been meaning to do it for a while now and it seems she was going to start needing it. She jogged her way over to the store entering slowly and quietly before turning on her flashlight and beginning to explore. She had been here many times before, so the isles were familiar to her.

Rope, string, wire, sharp things, garden tools, she filled up her backpack with as much as she could before heading out. As soon as she left the abandoned establishment though, she realized she's taken much too long as darkness started to set in. And then she heard a commotion which must've been only a couple blocks down, a gunshot rang out across the town and Aylix startled, as any normal person would. She realized they may be heading her way and decided not to stay around to investigate any further, cautiously, carefully making her way back through the streets to her home.

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Yatasal
The quiet was deafening.

The pounding of Carlos's chest was the only sound to break the silence. The sound that had resounded through the forest had been abruptly cut off, and he feared the worst for the victim of whatever attack was nearly certain to have happened. His sprinting had become a futile race against the encroaching darkness, but he would not allow himself to question his choice. This was what he had to do--it was morally wrong to just abandon a fellow survivor, and out here in the living hell Jaydens had become, basic kindness was all they had to hang onto their humanity. He avoided thinking of the deeper reasoning behind the decision . . . the irrational determination to repay a dept to a possibly dead stranger.

The sun was rapidly receding behind the distant horizon, far too quickly. Not now, not yet... Carlos whispered inwardly, momentarily closing his eyes in silent prayer. It wasn't something he was fully aware of, an old habit from his Christian upbringing. Though he had mainly departed from faith after the nightmarish things he'd endured as a child, he still found himself occasionally seeking the reassurance of a God, someone watching over him.

A building was emerging in the distance, becoming visible through the haze of darkness that had been concealing it from view. Instinctively, Carlos became more alert, tightening his body, prepared for an attack. This was the place, he was positive. Slowing to a cautious walk, he withdrew a long, silver blade and examined it's glow in the dim light. He approached the entrance slowly, straining his ears to pick something up in the dead silence. Easing open the door, he quickly scanned the room. At first glance, it appeared to be empty, and he was momentarily discouraged and panicked that he'd came all this way for nothing.

Then, Carlos saw her. Crouched down under some blankets, she was in what appeared to be a small shelter. Blood was draining from a wound in her shoulder, and her eyes were distant and unfocused.

"Hey . . . Hey!" He rushed to her side, took her pulse and was relieved to discover she was still alive and breathing. Carlos placed a hand on his shoulder, his fingers coming back stained with blood. Quickly, he removed his bag from his shoulder, yanking free a small roll of bandages and medicine that he'd harvested from a store in the beginning months of the infection. With shaking hands, he pulled a pale blue pill from its container. Panting, he swallowed back his anxiety and managed to speak in a somewhat steady voice. "Okay . . . I need you to swallow this, 'kay? My name's Carlos, I'm here to help you . . . ."

 

[Yatasal]

"Hey . . . Hey! Okay . . . I need you to swallow this, 'kay? My name's Carlos, I'm here to help you . . ."

By the time Carlos arrived, Tyra's vision had grown cloudy, and her throat felt like she had swallowed razor blades. She was sweating pretty bad, and she was having trouble concentrating. All of her mental effort was being used solely to stay quiet and to stay alert. A young man crouched in front of her, and vaguely Tyra understood that he was getting medical supplies out of his pack. Tears mixed with sweat, making her eyes sting and her vision even worse. She didn't move or resist when he gave her the medicine, and tried to swallow the pill as best as she could. She slowly blinked, then whispered. "Not... not infected..." she coughed. "My name's Tyra..."

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix managed to sneak her way back to the house without much problem (surprisingly) and made sure to lock the house safe and sound, not noticing she missed an entrance point on the first floor, a window big enough for a person to easily sneak through. She dropped her backpack hard on the ground and went down to the deer, taking her skinning and portioning knives with her. All her knives had labels as paranoia about cross-contamination (even when using it for the same animal) drove her to make sure to keep them all separate.
She hoisted the does legs up to some chains in the roof, hanging it just high enough to keep it from touching the ground. She began to get to work, skinning the deer and taking it part, keeping all the edible meat and organs in bags she made sure to wash 5 times between uses, just to be safe. Once the meat was in its bags, she put them in the coolest spot in her house and covered them, just incase of rodents. She then took the skin to the drying rack and hoisted it onto there. She hated to waste things. Next, she set out the skull to dry and a couple other bones that for some reason caught her eye.
Oh all the while, she is in a basement that smells horribly of rot and decay, but doesn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

She gets back upstairs and pushes closed the door, locking that one too. She makes her way to the living room where she dropped her backpack and brings along a couple flashlights to give her some light while she works. Every window blocked so as not to bring attention by the light. That is, except that one damn window she forgot. She grabs out the supplies and gets to work. Cutting and trimming wire and rope, putting little sharp objects on the snares she was creating and twisting wire into make-shift cages. As she got to work she realized this would take all night and got ready to settle in to make all of these traps.

"It's gonna be a long night.." She huffed to herself.

 

[feverdream]

Panda_Roleplays​

Teru was getting ready for the night. The last couple of weeks she had been traveling. Resources had been sparse, and despite the danger traveling presented she preferred it to starvation. She would move during the day by rooftop (if she could), where she would have the ability of being able to see the enemies and the enemies being unable to see her. Most of the time. This advantage proved useful in avoiding unwanted skirmishes. Teru had just scouted out a small two story house, checking it for lurking Corrupted. Once clear, she arranged a small bed with the sleeping bag she carried on her pack and secured her room. She was just settling down for the night when she had the thought to do a quick final scan of her surroundings. Now that the sky was beginning to darken Corrupted would start to emerge, and she hadn't had the time nor effort to scan the surrounding houses previously. Begrudging Teru rose from her bed. ​

​

She climbed up to the flat roof and stayed low. Her eyes danced over the surrounding buildings, adjusting to the growing dark. She was just about to return to her bed when a sudden glow alighted in her peripheral vision. She looked over towards a building with one of its lower windows faintly lit by moving light. This sparked her curiosity. Most infected started emerging at dusk and would thus stalk by dark, and consequently non-infected hid. And most sane wouldn't set a light, as it were a clear beacon for unwanted strangers. Yet this looked like it could be an accident. A dangerous one yes, but Teru was hopeful. It could equally be something staged as such. A trap. But the chances that she could meet another sane person were too promising to ignore. ​

​

It had been a long while since Teru had met another normal human being. She usually liked to operate in groups, but as the population thinned and thinned this was getting less achievable. Once the last person she had been with offed themselves, (resolute that this was the life they'd live until they were killed anyway and not seeing the point in simply surviving until their inevitable death) she'd been alone. Humans were social creatures by nature and Teru had always been an extrovert, so it wasn't easy. Plus she benefitted from loaning on other people's skills, as they did hers. It was smarter to work with others.​

​

Teru wasn't ready to lose the only opportunity of meeting someone normal she would likely have in months. But she had to be careful, just in case this person was Corrupted or hostile. After long deliberation she took her time to pack her things, not wanting to lose any of if she needed a quick get-away. She slipped out into the street, keeping close to the walls and sticking to the shadows. Once at the house she skirted its exterior until she arrived at the lit window. As quietly as she could, she climbed through the window and crouched on the floor. Her body was taut and still as she surveyed the room. With a light breath, Teru rose and walked towards the source of the light.​

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix was funishing up her second trap when severe anxiety set in, sending her emotions and senses into overdrive and she was extremely focused on every noise, sight, and smell around her. Her heart pumped hard and she breathed only shallow breaths now. She decided to go grab her recurve bow and a few arrows just in case something should happen and sat back on the ground with her tools and materials sprawled out around her. She groaned in frustration as a wire tangled and pulled at it angrily to try to get rid of that annoying knot that annoyed her so much.
Finally the knot came loose and Aylix let out a quiet huff of satisfaction getting back to work making the snare she was attempting to make.

In that next moment something in her body and brain told her something was wrong and she stiffened. It was like there was a presence behind her.
She stood up, clasping the closest knifepoint her in her hand and turning around, surveying the room and all its enterances.

Something was most definitely off about the energy in her house.

feverdream

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Carlos forced a reassuring smile to his face. He was inexperienced with this sort of thing, and he hadn't come into contact with another human for . . . had it been years? "Tyra, nice to meet you," he murmured distantly, keeping his attention on bandaging her wound. It was bleeding heavily, but didn't appear to have damaged anything major.

"I bet the other guy came out a whole lot worse than you, am I right?" Carlos momentarily met Tyra's eyes, a halfhearted attempt to distract her from the injury. As he did so, his panicked senses finally quieted down, and he became aware of the painful cold. He shivered and adjusted his leather jacket more tightly around him, quickly tying off the bandages and organizing them into his bag. He eased himself down next to her, hugging his knees up into his chest, and exhaled slowly, a white cloud bursting from his lips.

This was certain to be a long night, but he was determined it wouldn't be the last one, for him or for Tyra.

 

[Ravenpaw]

Blaze sat himself down, waiting for his supper to be done. If he hadn't been so desperately hungry, he might have taken the time to clean and groom the creature more thoroughly. But that would have been very time consuming. It felt like it was taking ages for the deer to cook, so he went to check on it. Nope. He decided to see if he could find any berries outside. He knew it was a stupid plan. A very stupid plan. But he was starving, so he climbed up out of his shelter and started to jog forward.

 

[feverdream]

Panda_Roleplays​

Teru walked through the many rooms, her eyes always set on the light she carefully traced and her ears alert for the slightest sound. She moved along the walls and next to furniture, where the floorboards were settled and less likely to creak. She carefully tested each one with a lightness she had perfected since her early teens. Her breathing was deep but quiet. ​

​

The room Teru was now approaching was the one, the host of the light. Her back pressed against the wall she peered past the doorway, as slowly as possible, and her eyes set on the figure standing in the room. A collection of what she perceived as metal cages and wires and tools were at their feet. They were braced, aware of her presence. The silver of a blade flickered in the light, grasped in their fist. There was a slight smell that seemed to come from them. It was rancid and coppery and made Teru's stomach turn. Many corrupted had that smell; the smell of death; the smell of freshly butchering somebody. Teru cursed her previous optimism in her mind. But she was already here, and she didn't want to set her back on a potential threat. With an internal breath, Teru's unsheathed her own knife, and her body stiffened slightly, ready to fight. Then, she emerged into the light. ​

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix calmed her breathing staying quiet as she could to take in every noise around her. When the figure appeared from the doorway she mentally slapped herself, just realizing the exact window she must’ve missed. She sneered at the sight of the human, she hadn’t had a positive interaction since the outbreak and her heart pounded even faster. How that was possible, she didn’t know, but her hearts pounding became more violent.
She got into a better fighting stance, knife out in front of her, the sharp edge faced towards her enemy. Her stance was wide, almost like a boxing stance, the one she’d gotten so used to from years of practice. She stared her appoment in the eye, barely moving or wavering at all.
“You’re intruding in my house. I mean you no harm or ill will, I’m just trying to live my life in peace.” She said calmly and steadily, making sure every word was excruciatingly clear. She stepped forwards a tiny bit, stepping away from the mess of traps and sharp objects, and towards the intruder. Please god let them be sane.

feverdream

 

[Yatasal]

"I bet the other guy came out a whole lot worse than you, am I right?"

Tyra snorted. "Not really. He's the lucky one," she shifted, grimacing at her shoulder. "He died."
The pain had begun to die a bit, but she could already tell that the bandage had been soaked through. The bullet had lodged in her shoulder blade, making any movement painful. She glanced at Carlos, and he appeared to be a scared kid who had grown up with the Wall. Still, they wouldn't survive here--being found by a Corrupted was exponentially increased at night. They needed to get indoors, try to get underground, something. They were way too exposed here. "We gotta move. There's a machine shop I found. It's... safe, I guess. For now."

She bit down and steeled herself. With a smaller blanket she tied a makeshift sling, and managed to slide it on without too much pain. It was still too big, but it would do. She looked at Carlos, and shuffled out of the blanket house. "Come on. Daylight's fading fast... We don't want to be out here in the dark."

 

[feverdream]

Panda_Roleplays​

Teru could feel the blood drumming at her temple. Her hands were clammy, and as the figure in front of her presented their blade she exposed her own knife in return, holding it out as a warning. No one wanted to fight. The risk of a even single wound was too high, since there was no medical help and scarce supplies. It could easily end you. ​

​

She met the girl's gaze with equal calm as she digested her words. Her heart fluttered slightly. The girl was eloquent and clear, not something you'd expect from the Corrupted. But still, madness presented differently from individual to individual, as she'd witnessed countless times before. This could easily be a trick, and the smell of death still haunted the air and possessed Teru's mind. This girl had killed recently. ​

​

Teru's eyes sparked as the girl stepped forwards slightly, and she flipped her own knife in her grasp, to remind her of its presence and Teru's willingness to do harm. Should things come to it. But she wanted to return the girl's words as articulately as she'd spoken. There was still a faint hope in her mind that she could be something other than an opponent. "As am I. I don't want to fight if I don't have to," she licked her lips and paused for a moment, thinking. It seemed like years since she had last spoken. "You left a window open downstairs. If you didn't want an intruder you should have secured it properly. There are some who would truly wish to hurt you."​

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix watched the movements the other did very carefully taking in her words as well. Her words and sentences seemed normal and sane enough to be believable so she switched to a more relaxed pose, weapon still in hand just in case. Her thoughts racing with worries, if they didn’t settle this soon, another person could enter, and they may be more vile and less hesitant than this onZ She smirked a little at the comment about how she left a window available to the corrupted open.
“Well no shit Sherlock. Otherwise this conversation wouldn’t be happening. Why’d You come here anyways? Usually everyone is all ‘every man for himself’ sort of thing.” she made a mocking motions with her hands. She waited patiently for a response, either by action or words. And she desperately hoped for the latter. She’d rather not get into a fight today.

feverdream

 

[feverdream]

Teru felt a wave of relief as the girl's posture relaxed, and she mirrored her actions, showing that she too didn't want to pose as a threat. She questioned the girl's sarcasm in her mind a little. Her intention was only to tell her of the exact place she had left exposed (as she clearly wouldn't be aware if she'd left it exposed in the first place), but regardless Teru wasn't a confrontational person and she let it slide. "I came here because I've learnt from experience that there's safety in numbers. If you're ambushed it's easier to defend yourself when you're not alone. Besides, the Corrupted are aware of this too." She mentioned the last part only because she had become more conscious of Corrupted seemingly grouping together lately. Often they would just stab each other to death before they had the chance, but it seemed some with slightly more retained cognitive abilities had figured out that they could kill more people together. She'd witnessed enough bloodbaths watching from the safety of the roofs to know she didn't want to chance being caught in one herself. To be honest she'd been alone for so long, she had wondered if she was the only sane one left. It was beginning to look like she was wrong. At least she hoped.​

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix smiled at the girl, nodding her head in a way to say 'I suppose that's true.' She looked around her again and motioned to the traps with the hand that held the knife. "Sorry 'bout the mess.. It's getting harder and harder to find food so I decided I might as well make some traps to see if I can't get a little more lucky. I did just manage to kill a deer today though. You hungry?" She asked and then realized she still hadn't introduced herself. Dummy you're probably scaring the girl with all your babbling! She mentally scolded herself. "I'm Aylix." She offered, holding out a hand with a smile.

feverdream

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

Tyra snorted. "Not really. He's the lucky one," she shifted, grimacing at her shoulder. "He died."
The pain had begun to die a bit, but she could already tell that the bandage had been soaked through. The bullet had lodged in her shoulder blade, making any movement painful. She glanced at Carlos, and he appeared to be a scared kid who had grown up with the Wall. Still, they wouldn't survive here--being found by a Corrupted was exponentially increased at night. They needed to get indoors, try to get underground, something. They were way too exposed here. "We gotta move. There's a machine shop I found. It's... safe, I guess. For now."

She bit down and steeled herself. With a smaller blanket she tied a makeshift sling, and managed to slide it on without too much pain. It was still too big, but it would do. She looked at Carlos, and shuffled out of the blanket house. "Come on. Daylight's fading fast... We don't want to be out here in the dark."

Carlos turned to face her, his wearing a look of concern on his face. "Hey," he said, putting a hand on Tyra's uninjured shoulder. "Don't say that. It's gonna turn out alright." He understood how shallow his words sound, sensed the skepticism radiating from her pained expression. It was obvious how bad the wound actually was, but he tried to conceal it, not wanting her to see.

The only survivor Carlos had seen in years, fading right before his eyes. Her own were clouded and unfocused, her breathing coming in short, painful gasps. Tyra inhaled deeply, then said, "Come on. Daylight's fading fast... We don't want to be out here in the dark." He hesitated, then nodded slowly, silently praying they would make it. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." His freezing body protested as he unfolded his knees and stood, momentarily becoming lightheaded before regaining his balance. He extended his hand to help her up, and ended up using both to pull her to her feet.

Carlos took a deep breath before surveying the room one final time. Tyra was right; it would never hold up against an attack from the Corrupted. He quickly grabbed the blanket from the shelter and draped it around her shoulders, being particularly careful with her left one that was still leaking crimson drops. Gathering all of his courage, he heaved the heavy doors open.

 

[feverdream]

Panda_Roleplays​

Teru smiled back. Her mouth gaped slightly at the mention of a deer. Most animals past birds and vermin couldn't make it past the wall, and the city, being a city, didn't have a huge deer population to begin with. Since she'd seen a few deer, but they were mostly carcasses pocked with stab wounds. Or in some cases, with their throats ripped out, depending on the level of crazy. Not knowing how the infection spread Teru was reluctant to eat something touched by Corrupted. So since she'd mostly lived on a diet of rats and pigeons, amongst can food. Across the years she had a handful of deer meat to herself, but that had stopped a few years ago. She was surprised this girl could find one. "That'd be great." she replied. She took the girl's hand without hesitation, probably not a wise move in retrospect since she still wasn't clear on her intentions. Grinning, she said, "I'm Teru. Nice to meet you." It was odd how old formalities still persisted in times like this. ​

 

[Yatasal]

Gathering all of his courage, he heaved the heavy doors open.

Tyra smiled bleakly at the blanket now draped across her shoulders. She adjusted it, and made her way out of the building and into the open streets. It was twilight now, and a cold wind swept through the streets. Her vision was tunneling, but Tyra still made an effort to focus and look out for possible Corrupted. A few rats scurried across her vision, and each time they made her jump. Her head felt dizzy and light, and she tightened the blanket around her shoulders.

The machine shop was dead ahead, although from the outside it didn't look any different from the buildings around it. In fact, it was tucked in between two larger buildings (office buildings, maybe? It was hard to tell), and Tyra had to duck to get under a fallen support beam to get into the shop. Once inside, her vision swam and she stumbled against a wall. Her shot shoulder hit the wall, and Tyra barely bit back a scream. She groaned, and pointed to the back of the shop.

The shop itself had a front of house with a desk, a cash register, and some benches along the walls. Behind it were a set of doors, and through them was the actual machinery and even a broken down car. Various tools were scattered back there, and Tyra had intended to come back for them tomorrow. If she lived to tomorrow, anyway.

Tyra sank down onto the benches, which were hard plastic and the opposite of comfortable. Still, they'd work. "There might... might be a med kit back in the machine shop... I don't know though..." I'm so tired...

 

[Satanic Nightjar]

"There might... might be a med kit back in the machine shop... I don't know though..." I'm so tired...

Carlos hesitated, then nodded slowly and reluctantly left her side to search for the med kit. On his way, he examined his surroundings, finding it to be a fairly secure location. It appeared to have only one entrance that they'd entered through, and no windows that he could see. Aside from the fact that it was incredibly cold, it wasn't a bad place to spend the night. Assuming they made it through; it was equally likely they'd die. They'd have nowhere to run in the event of a Corrupted attack.

Glancing around the room he'd just entered, Carlos saw what appeared to be the med kit Tyra had mentioned. It was full of useful supplies - the whole place was, really - and he quickly retraced his steps to put it to use. Pulling out a bottle of medicine and some clean white bandages, he knelt by her side, offering a halfhearted smile.

"This will help . . . it does sting a bit though." Carlos took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, reaching up to apply the medicine.

 

[Panda_Roleplays]

Aylix smiled widely as the girl responded to her outheld hand and shook it softly before turning away and running down into the basement quickly to grab a portion of the meat and started heading upstairs. The smell of the rot had most definitely wafted out to Aylix’s guest by now.
She came back up the stairs, closing and locking the door, and heading towards the kitchen. She looked over to Teru with a soft grin. “Which window did I leave unblocked? I should probably lock that up.” However, Aylix knew that her locking that window would most likely keep her guest in the house too whether she likes it or not.

feverdream

 

[feverdream]

Teru linked the dead deer to the smell of decay she had caught on Aylix, and cursed herself silently. She was so wrapped up in the violence of the Corrupted, she had automatically assumed it was a human Aylix had killed. Rather than a simple deer, as it had been. She laughed a little, in light relief.​

​

As Aylix returned her eyes locked on the meat and she felt her stomach twist. It would be a luxury to have good food for once, not something she had to choke down in bitter disgust. "I appreciate you sharing your food with me," she said, smiling gently. ​

​

"Ah-" Teru pointed in the direction of the exposed window. She licked her lips in hesitation, a nervous tick of hers. "Would you mind if I get my things? I know it's a difficult position to put you in, but I'd rather not lose them." She reconsidered. "I mean, they're in a fairly safe place, so I guess it's your choice really. I could always retrieve them later."​