┌ ＢＲＡＶＥ ＮＥＷ ＷＯＲＬＤ ┙ ▍na/o

Could you survive this zombie apocalypse?!

Hell yes! I'm so prepared for this! Bring on the killin'!	59.4%	[ 19 ]
No. I'll pass through this world and go to another one instead.	21.9%	[ 7 ]
Grab the gold and goooooo!	18.8%	[ 6 ]
Total Votes:			[ 32 ]

[xiuminati]

You could have been one of the lucky ones to have either heard the national emergency alert on the radio or had it interrupt your regular television show (cable or not). Who even watches television or listens to the radio any more in this day and age?

Currently, it is 5:49pm. October 16, 2014, Thursday. The freeways in and out of Los Angeles (the 5, 10, 101, 110) are jammed, cars bumper to bumper with each other as usual at that time. Those infected are starting to spill out into the roads, and at certain parts of the traffic jam, people are being pulled out of their cars while others are desperately trying to swerve around other cars only to crash into them and create even more of a mess. Several cars combust as they crash into each other, mingling in with the indignant honks of the horns and screeching of wheels.

In the residential and more crowded areas of the immediate city of Los Angeles, panic is also starting to spread there as well. Those with firearms use them mostly haphazardly, doing more harm than good as they try to shoot at those attacking others - but are they the infected or simply desperate people? The few police officers still around are about helpless, barely keeping any peace as the first ominous rumbles of the military tanks roll through the streets, mercilessly crushing anything caught under their treads. Stores are being looted, buildings set on fire, blood spilled and screams ring through the air mixed in with foul groans and moans.

At the moment, you have two choices for your characters as to where and how to write their introduction:

ON THE ROAD ▍Help is more accidental here than purposely, as the armored vehicles moving through the freeways do not mean to pick up people on the way. But if your character is smart enough and stuck on the road, they would get away from their vehicles and try to get to the armored vehicles before the wave of infected and even more desperate drivers come to them.

For those in the vehicle, your introduction post should end with them IN the vehicle as once everyone on the road has posted their introduction, they will be moved to where the rest of the characters are in the streets.

IN THE STREETS ▍The city and suburban areas are more of areas that people are more likely to be rescued. But everyone wants to be saved, don't they? in that case, no one is going to be able to seek help with the armored vehicles as the ones that have arrived are either full or have been sabotaged by the criminals and gangs proliferated throughout the city of Los Angeles. Help is not coming. Fight and survive your way on the streets and in the city against the infected stumbling and crawling their way into the inner cities and other humans until the party on the road (in the armored vehicle) have arrived.

Those in the streets have more flexibilities to be able to post multiple times, but once I post the main post moving the characters on the road into the streets, then your character MUST react to what is happening then.

I trust all of you as roleplayers to roleplay weapons and such appropriately for your character. If your character is in a gang or has a concealed arms license, then I would not doubt that they have some sort of firearm, but if someone suddenly whips out a submachine gun (unless you PM me first and why/how your character has one makes logical sense with me), then prepare to be pistol whipped by me out of this roleplay.
Throughout the roleplay, I will be putting down NPC posts, aka "Director" posts which indicate important notices, information and items such as weapons and situations happening, which then you can have your character react accordingly to. But for now, there SHOULD NOT be any extreme high-powered firearms until the Director posts start to pop up.
This is not Left 4 Dead where you go rambo on the infected and other humans. This is the Last of Us survival tactics, which means you as the roleplayer should prioritize your characters to survive with awareness that the roleplay will operate with OUR real world physics and environment.

[jackal bones]

tab
i✖ ❛LOCATION ⇢ Streets tab ✖ ❛MOOD ⇢ Irked
tab
tab ✖ ❛COMPANY ⇢ Stein tab ✖ ❛HEALTH ⇢ 100%


He had zoned out. Boring day or otherwise, Sora often did—just blanked out on the far wall, sometimes while a customer was mid-order. Did you get that? Yes—what—cheeseburgers? Got it. But today was different. Different. The regulars came in for their morning routine, all en-route to their jobs, then everything went quiet until the lunch rush. And then—this. The manager flicked on the radio, usually spilled out tunes that the group in the back dealing with orders could jam to. Instead of music, there was an automated message. It had everybody on edge, questions tossed, uncertainty smeared about. What the ******** is going on out there?

The following message is transmitted through the Center of Disease Control in Los Angeles, California. Government authorities have issued a warning for the following counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern, Riverside, Orange County. At 2:30 PM, reports from these counties have issued a highly contagious virus. Some reports claim that the outbreak started in the Orange County Hospital. Symptoms of this virus include: Nausea and vomiting, confusion, seizures, high fever, and certain death—

Snapping back onto a bleary-eyed face lingering before him, Sora blinked several times. "Uhhh—yeah, that'll be twelve dollars an' sixty-two cents." The customer was as out of it as he was, grayish complexion and sickly as shaky fingers fumbled through a worn leather wallet. He dug out a crinkled five, smoothed it out alongside a crisp ten dollar bill. Making change was easy because the register told him exactly what to hand back. Two, thirty-eight. Handing over the two bills, a quarter, a dime, and three pennies, Sora turned away to bag up the food already wrapped up and set out for the order. Bagged that up, tossed that s**t on the counter and shuffled off towards the back to pretend to be busy—cleaning or something.

The virus has rapidly spread to adjacent counties within a few hours. It is believed to spread through the whole state of California in the next 24 hours. Doctors from Los Angeles Medical Center have said that the infected persons act extremely violent, destructive, and are uncontainable. Authorities say that all citizens stay inside your homes and avoid people with these symptoms. Keep a battery powered radio nearby with enough food and water to last your family for a few days. At this time, these counties have been quarantined until further notice. No one may leave their county and no one may enter. Most importantly, stay safe and do not panic in this situation. Stay tuned for more information as they follow."

A recurring message on the radio since earlier, the drone of a robotic male voice almost jarring each time it played through the back office. For whatever the reason, a few stragglers still kept coming in—kept ordering cheeseburgers, like there wasn't some big sickness spreading through the entire state at an alarming rate. It took the real beginnings of panic, the car alarms and sirens in the echoing distance, the crowds of runners, shouts, for his manager to finally usher everyone out. Locked up the door and despite the organized madness through the streets, Sora felt weirdly alone. Sure, some woman just tripped past him on her desperate way up the block, followed shortly thereafter with a handful more of passer-bys. But he felt eerily on his own.

Now what?

A swipe of his thumb across his phone unlocked seven messages, the majority being hastily composed thoughts by his mother. Something about dinner at the beginning. She and his dad were going out to eat. The rest were summaries of the latest news reports as they came out by the half-hour. Infection. Virus. Deadly. Pandemic? Epidemic? Couldn't remember, but this all sounded bad. Get home now -Mom Pinching the collar of his shirt, Sora yanked the fabric up over his nose, dropped his skateboard to the sidewalk and stepped on. Several kicks off the cement had him rolling at a nice speed, he straightened, leaned this way and that to weave himself through the panicked pedestrians. The word jarring came back to mind, floated to the surface of his thoughts as he peered through the reflective lenses of his aviator shades at the faces—horror-struck, in shock?, urgent. Couldn't fathom a reason why.

Spaced out again, this time on a group only several streets down, hunched over and making gestures over one another. The ********] Muttered beneath his teeth, Sora swerved hard to take a sharp right, slammed right into a brick wall—a guy wearing a leather jacket and with the constitution of cement. The male, platinum-bleached hair and with a killer iron jaw, seemed to barely recoil from the momentum, meanwhile Sora went careening wildly off to one side before he ate the sidewalk. His shades skittered across the ground. "Huaghhh! What ******** man! Watch it!" Dragging himself back up to his knees, scathed palms and elbows, Sora clawed for his board before forcing himself upright. He hissed through his teeth, peering down at the mess of his hands, scraped up flesh mixed with dark crimson bubbling up. "s**t."

tiffizzle✖ ❛OOC ⇢ ♫ first! lets get the ball rollin.

[Light at Worlds End]

♞ ❘❙❚ looĸѕ lιĸe тнιngѕ нave ғιnally goттen ιnтereѕтιng...

Stein watched the bumbling morons through narrowed eyes. How had he managed to get such idiots under his command? He knew he could handle more competent subordinates, ones who didn't almost shoot themselves because they left the safeties of their guns off. And was it always so damn humid here in LA? Stein scowled as he plucked his shirt in order to let what little wind the open window of the tiny apartment allowed in to cool him off. He didn't take off his leather jacket though, he couldn't risk getting a sunburn.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with you idiots?" he asked in a low voice, and the two in front of him trembled. They really weren't suited to be thugs, and had most likely been blackmailed into joining a gang.
Stein, on the other hand, had joined all too willingly.
"L-lo siento, boss, w-we've just never really dealt with guns before." The one on the left managed to get out and his partner nodded. Stein scowled and the man gulped and looked away.
"Just get out of my sight." he snarled, fed up at the incompetent duo. This hadn't been the first time they had screwed up, and today was the last straw. Stein had to drive almost half a day to get to LA from his hometown of Sacramento, and he was regretting having ever accepted this delivery job. Sure, it supposedly paid well, but all of these annoyances were really adding up.

Stein barely noticed the duo shuffling outside sheepishly. He was too busy staring at the TV, streaming signs that screamed 'URGENT' and had calm reporters break the news of a especially savage virus spreading. Everything is under control but it would be in your best interest to stay inside to avoid the possibly violent infected and try to ration what food you have, the broadcast advised calmly. Every channel had this broadcast on as a beacon of assured safety.
So what did Stein decide to do? Go out for a nice stroll. He was still pissed and the sun was hidden for now, so he wanted to get out now, now, now. Things got broken if he was angry and stood still and he reasoned that it was for the best to head out, warnings be damned. News reporters were always squawking about something stupid or the other.

The weather outside was bearable, so at least there was that. Stein shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled slightly when he felt the handle of his switchblade. He had his handgun on too (hidden under his long cotton shirt), for the sake of reassuring himself of his safety. Not like anyone would come after me, he snorted quietly. There are bigger fish to fry after all.
A body slammed into Stein at that moment, but he barely moved. The other guy practically flew off of him though, cursing and flailing all the while. Stein glared down at him with his one eye as he watched this stranger pick himself up and stare down at his shredded hands. Before he could interrogate tall and scrawny, Stein noticed movement with his peripheral vision and automatically shifted into a fighting stance.
It was a woman shuffling towards them, her eyes fixated on scrawny. She groaned and Stein frowned as he noticed her shambling and grey tinted skin. Was she one of the infected the broadcast mentioned?
"Time to go." With nothing else said to prepare the stranger, Stein yanked the (boy? man?) upright and backward, just as the woman lunged at him, teeth bared. Without a second thought, Stein pulled out his handgun, depressed the lever to take off the safety, and shot the woman's arm. She snarled and swiped at Stein with that very arm, who quickly jumped back. How could she still move that arm? The pain should've been too much and the sight of blood should've fazed her at least a little.

The glazed look on her face and the fact that the shot had attracted her creepy friends made Stein decide to change his tactics.
"Run." he grunted, and the stranger shot off. Stein couldn't keep up, but he managed a steady pace. Something about the stranger's face seemed all too familiar, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. Focus. Getting caught by those people would be the stupidest thing possible, even worse than almost shooting yourself with your own gun.
They finally lost the group of creeps when they ducked into a small street with rows of neat little stores. Stein could only hear his and the stranger's raspy breathing as he put on the safety and put his gun back, until he realized where exactly he had seen that face. The face that now quite honestly pissed Stein off enough to make him grab the guy by his collar and slam him against the wall.
"It's you, you sonuva-!" Their would be reunion was cut short by the strange groans of the creeps they had seen before. Stein grimaced before letting the guy down and trying a few shop doors. Most were locked, but one was somehow still unlocked. Stein yanked open the door and dragged the guy inside before slamming him against the wall again.


ιт woυld вe a ѕнaмe ιғ ιт all ended тoo ғaѕт. ❘❙❚ ♞

Stats ⊀ ☠ Health: 100%
Stats: ☠ Company: A not-so-unfamiliar stranger (Sora)
Stats: ☠ Mood: Pissed/Annoyed
Stats: ☠ Supplies: Switchblade, Colt O7810D (three magazines (at home) and a nearly full magazine), and a forgotten granola bar ⊁


OOC: All right, all right, all riiiiight, it's the beginning of the end of the world. Let's go out with a bang.

owlsoulpumkin

[ArterialCaucus]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E D G A R . A . . T C H A O


Safe and sound at home again, let the waters roar, Jack!
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack -




Normally, Edgar kept the radio on in his office - it was soothing enough to give him ease of mind after several hard, long lectures - but today, it wasn’t enough. He was never a man for complaining, surely, but after two nearly-sleepless nights, the two-hour-long lectures were like a walking nightmare. The temptation to go home two hours early was overpowering. His office hours had proven barren, anyway, and Funanya had left him a number of concerned texts, asking him to call. When he had tried, however, the conversation had been panicked and brief.


”Funa?”

“Yeah, Ed, what’s up?”

“Thinking about leaving work early. Are you busy? I thought we could try dinner.”

“I’d love to, but I’ve got the boys in the backseat and this traffic is hideous - I’ve been stuck on the freeway for almost an hour now. Rasputin, get your teeth off your brother! I don’t know. It’d be nice. Maybe you could swing by Pari’s? See if she’ll come - she needs the company.”

“I was planning on it, anyway. Long day. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, ‘course I do. I’m on the…” a long, long pause. “…What’s that?”

“Funa?”

“Ed, I can’t talk, there’s something - “ a gasp. Then, with terror thick in her voice, a rushed “Ed, I have to call you back,” and the line went dead.


Edgar was rarely one to jump to conclusions, especially when his sister was involved. Her panic could have been caused by anything from a bad accident on the side of the road to the sight of a deer getting too close to her window. Still, he collected his computer and medical bag carefully, and found himself slinking out the rarely-used southeast exit of the building. The streets downtown were…almost quiet. But it was a discomforted quiet, like the pull of the ocean seconds before a typhoon. It crept along his skin and pulled instincts almost ten years past up like sweat. There had been streets like this before, in his life. This quiet was familiar - painfully so.

He had a bad feeling.

Instinctively, he slid to the far side of the sidewalk, pressed against a building, and rummaged in his medical bag. Face mask for his nose and mouth. It was simple - one of the quickly disposable ones for demonstrations, came in a package - hooked it over his ears. There were maybe three spare. He could only hope there weren’t too many people at Pari’s store - to be honest, he could only hope she’d had the foresight to get out today, anyway.

He was halfway between the university when the noise began. It started slowly, honking horns and people yelling, but building quickly, a rising crescendo of a crowded city in a heretofore unexperienced terror. Police sirens. Panicking dogs. And screaming - high, far away.

Fingers wrapped around his wrist, and he jerked away in shock. A woman, shaking, pale, eyes glassy and distant. Her lips moved, but her voice only came out as a low groan. “I’m sorry,” he said flatly, and swung his bag directly into the side of her head, watched her sprawl onto the sidewalk, turned, ran. The screaming from far away pitched, sailed above him. The cry of a banshee, he remembered vaguely, was heard by those who were doomed to die. Turned on an ankle, slid down a suburban alleyway.

Before him, Pari’s shop, and the silhouette of a small child beating its fists on the window. Edgar swept past it, swung around in a well-practiced avoidance maneuver, shoved his way through the door and closed it hard on the other side. Leaned against it, caught his breath, tried to see through the filtering dark. The power appeared to have blown out in most of the shops along the alley, Pari’s shop included. With calculated steps, he crept towards the front counter, listening intently. He thought he could hear - alright, he could definitely hear some kind of scuffle. “Pari,” he hissed as quietly as he could, “Pari! You are here? We must go. Now."

((OOC: Eughghghgh, whatever. I am apparently incapable of stopping myself from writing about apocalypse creeps. They make me happy.))

Don't forget your old shipmate,
Falee-rallee-rye-eye-do!

[Tipsy tea]

i'm out on the edge and i'm x S C R E A M I N G x my name
xxxx i'm out on the edge and i'm x S C R E A M I N G x my name
xxxxxxxx i'm out on the edge and i'm x S C R E A M I N G x my name
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxLIKE A FOOL AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS


LOCATION : UNKNOWN (PERI'S SHOP)|| COMPANY : NO ONE (SHE KNOWS OF) || MOOD : SHAKY || HEALTH : ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
– —– — – —– —– — – — – —– — – —– — – —– —– — – —– —– —– — – — – — – — – — – —

Inside Dixon motor's rock music blasted on the radio, drowned out by the sound of power tools and metal banging together. Business was slow today, and Cat only had one car to work on. She was up late last night working on a painting, she was tired but nothing a black cup of coffee couldn't fix. She stood straight, avoiding the car hood on her way up. Using her bandanna she wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned towards the work bench next to her. She picked up her mug and leaned on the counter to look over the garage. She was the only one on shift today sense business was so slow. Riley, her friend and boss had to an emergency with his daughter being sick. Cat felt sorry for the guy and assured him she would close up shop once the car was done, ushering him to go take his daughter to a doctor. Now it was just her and the radio.

The following message is transmitted through the Center of Disease Control in Los Angeles, California. Government authorities have issued a warning for the following counties: Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, Kern, Riverside, Orange County. At 2:30 PM, reports from these counties have issued a highly contagious virus. Some reports claim that the outbreak started in the Orange County Hospital. Symptoms of this virus include: Nausea and vomiting, confusion, seizures, high fever, and certain death—

Cat sat the coffee back on the table and walked towards the radio, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What th-" Cat was cut off by the ringing of the works phone. She cursed under her breath and walking over to the old land line, glancing back at the radio as she went." Hi, this is Dixon Motor's. one of the hottest car shop's around, this is Cat how can i help you?" she spoke in a monotone, robotic voice. She wasn't in the mood to talk to a customer, she wanted to figure what the hell the radio was talking about. "Hello? Hello? Cat, that you? Thank god, look you should close up shop. Some s**t is going down." on the other end was her boss, whom sounded a bit spooked. "Close early? If you say so~" Cat smiled "and what do you mean 's**t is going down'?" Cat looked over at the radio and thought about the broadcast she had heard. "Look, I took Zoe to the hospital a-" Cat interrupted "Is she okay? " " No- yes, listen Cat i'm at the hospital and its getting nut's. People are keep coming in with the same symptoms, some are dropping dead! The staff here are going nut's, it's like some sort of movie..."

Cat heard a banging at the garage door and looked over to it curiously, the banging was loud and cat clicked her tongue angrily. "One minute please! Hey, hold on a sec their is someone banging on the door-" "Don't answer it! Look Cat, the people, the ones coming in sick.. somethings isn't right about them. The- Ahhhhh!!" A scream was heard over the phone, it was so loud Cat cringed. Cat took another look towards the door, the banging had went quite. She tried to angle herself better by leaning over to see the small glass panel in the door. "Cat!! Cat!!! Listen, get out of their! Go home and lock your door's, don't let anyone in and avoid people on the street! I-I don't know whats going on bu-" Riley sounded alot firmer and their was more fear in his voice. However mid sentence the line went dead. "H-Hello? Riley?? ********]" Cat slammed the phone back in place and ran her finger's through her hair. She had no clue what was going on or what to do. She bit her lip hard and looked at the radio curiously.

The virus has rapidly spread to adjacent counties within a few hours. It is believed to spread through the whole state of California in the next 24 hours. Doctors from Los Angeles Medical Center have said that the infected persons act extremely violent, destructive, and are uncontainable. Authorities say that all citizens stay inside your homes and avoid people with these symptoms. Keep a battery powered radio nearby with enough food and water to last your family for a few days. At this time, these counties have been quarantined until further notice. No one may leave their county and no one may enter. Most importantly, stay safe and do not panic in this situation. Stay tuned for more information as they follow.

Cat shut her eyes as she listened to the broadcast carefully. It was on a repeated loop on each station the radio could pick up. Her focus was on the large garage door's that entered onto the street. She could hear car alarms and sirens blaring, people running in groups past the place, then she heard what sounded like faint gun shot's. The sound got Cat a bit more frantic then usual. She paced the garage unknowingly as she thought about what to do. Should she stay? Go home? Leave town? Were they even letting people out of town or on the streets for that matter? So caught up in her thoughts, she jumped when the phone rang again. She rushed over to it, almost jogging, she quickly answered, "Cat? Catherine?!? Listen it's Riley, you need to get some were safe now!" Riley was in full panic mode, even with his low and masculine voice he couldn't hide his fear."Riley, wh-what do you mean, what the ******** is going on!" "Listen Cat, Peop- guh, people are going nuts! People are going nut's, and I have to get Mary and Zoe home. Th-the people, they...guh it's like they have rabies or something. They aren't like, human anymore or something...s**t Cat I don't know how to explain it!! Just, You know the gun, in my office in the desk? Take it with you, and if you see anyone...different, shot them in the head." Cat almost gasped, but caught herself before hand. She furrowed her eyebrows and bit her lip once more "Wh-what do you mean different?" "Catherine you know what I mean!! Look I have to go...I-Ill try to call you when my s**t's together." Riley never usually snapped at Cat like he just had. This made sure Cat knew it was important she listened. She swallowed and looked over at the ray of light barley shinning through the window. "O-okay Riley...and Riley?" "Yeah Cat?" Cat held the phone tightly "Be safe you dumb s**t." Cat then quickly hung up.

The humid air blew gently into Cat's face. She was staring down at the gun in her hand, walking slowly down the empty street's. The moment she left work and the streets were empty she knew something wrong. Usually the street's were packed with people, seeing it dead reminded Cat of her home town, empty. She hoped her brothers were alright, she took a mental note to call them once she had the opportunity. For now though, her prime priority is to get to her apartment and figure what the ******** was going on. She put the gun inside her jeans behind her, counseling it with her jacket. Sighing, Cat looked around and kept moving.

She made it about two blocks before turning a corner and she saw a group of people. They were standing spread out in the street. She slowed her pace and went in a half crouch. As she got closer, the peoples appearance came into view. They were pale and had a yellow tint to their skin and eye's. Instead of speaking they groaned, Cat slowly reached behind her and put her hand on the gun. She needed to get by, but wanted to avoid those people. Luckily between those things and her she saw a alley that would make a great alternate route. As she walked forward she drew the gun and contemplated turning off the safety. But, before she could decide she felt something hit her foot, then their was a thunk. Cat gasped and looked down at her foot, she had kicked a soda can accidentally. "[********]" she looked up to the group and saw they all looked her way and started moving towards her. "s**t, s**t,s**t, s**t!!" Cat ran for the alley and didn't look back. She turned into a connecting alley and looked behind her, she heard the moans behind her and looked for somewhere to hide.

Cat spotted an open window and before she could think about it she backed up and leaped for the window. The years jumping fences with her brothers had come in handy for once.She barley reached the windowsill and only grabbed onto it. She scurried up the building and pulled herself up and into the window. She used her foot as she fell to shut the window as she made her way falling through. Her fall was cushioned by a pile of empty boxes. She just laid there in the boxes, breathing heavily and holding her gun to her chest as she caught her breath.

– —– — – —– —– — – — – —– — – —– — – —– —– — – —– —– —– — – — – — – — – — – —

sometimes when I close my ( e y e s ) I pretend I'm alright
XXXXXXXXBUT IT'S NEVER ENOUGH

XXXXXcause my echo┏E C H O┛
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXoh my ▂SHADOW▂ shadow

XXXXXXXhello HELLO
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXANYONE OUT THERE ??

[Chaotic Buttons]

A low whine broke through Pari’s subconscious, Cherry’s wet nose rested against her sweaty forearm. The woman’s breathing was heavy, her mind clouded by images of dreams that brought up anxieties and panic that coursed through her body like electricity. Days like this happened often, her mind scattered and blurry, leaving heaviness on her soul; her sleep was littered with horrid memories or nightmares causing her to feel as if everything was out of her control. Even though her cousin Myra had explained to her that they were the way people’s minds try to work out problems, Pari just shook her head every time, even if it were true it never comforted her. It took fifteen minutes until she was able to sit up, hand still buried deep in fur – dark blue eyes moved to her open window looking out at the tall buildings of L.A and as she stretched, adjusted her hair out of her armpit - she stood, her pajamas soaked and clinging to her body. Noises could be heard somewhere in her apartment, Cherry didn’t seem worried so she knew that it was most likely Myra.

As Pari made her way out of the bedroom she grabbed an elastic and put her hair up, Cherry followed close behind and as soon as the door opened she could smell coffee and pancakes. A half-smirk was managed; sizzling oil could be heard while she walked through the living room, Myra’s head peeked around the corner with her voluminous frizzy hair flopping around, her face was kind but had a little too much make-up. Pari adored her cousin; they grew close very quickly when she moved onto the farm and their bond has been unbreakable since.

”Woah, did you have another nightmare?” Myra asked in her usual squeaky voice, red lips distracting Pari for a few moments.

”Yes. Let’s not talk about it Myra. I’m glad you were here to open the store…I don’t know if I’ll be able to sit there all day” Pari sighed heavily, a hand reaching up so her fingertips could rest against the bottom of her throat to try and calm her fast beating heart.

”Hun, its three-thirty in the afternoon” Myra left the stove to stand next to her, arm reaching out to hold a dizzy looking Pari upright. ”I had a few things to do but I can cancel them, I’ll take care of the store for today”

”Wha..oh..no no” Pari spoke softly, eyes closing as she was lead to a tall stool at her kitchen counter. ”I probably just need a little bit to wake up fully, I’ll be alright and Cherry will be there with me. If anything I can just close early, you said we are ahead this month already so one day is fine” she gave Myra a reassuring smile before working hard to control her breathing with slow easy breaths.

After breakfast, Myra helped her into the bath and went on to manage the store – Pari was startled awake fourty minutes later from a knock on the bathroom door. ”Sorry Myra, I will be down in a few minutes – you can just leave" they never had any problems with people breaking in so she felt comfortable leaving it unattended while she got dressed, even if they did she had cameras set up all around the store just in case.

After she got the response she was waiting for, Pari got out of the bath and wrapped a towel around her, hands shaking as she opened the door and walked back into the bedroom. Before she got dressed she walked to the window, looking down to see if anyone was entering the store but there was nothing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone walking oddly, her head cocked to the side as she leaned her head out the window so she could see better. An eyebrow rose as she came to the conclusion that the person was just drunk and dirty. After that it didn’t take long for her to get dressed, a long bohemian dress was slid over her silhouette and she slipped on a pair of flat, green fabric shoes.

Just as she was going to leave her apartment and head down the stairs she heard the little bell above the entrance of the store jingling, for a moment she moved quickly, not wanting anyone to think she was being neglectful. The sound of a body slamming into one of her walls startled her enough for her to trip and tumble down the stairs though, Cherry came running after her, growling at the two men in her store. Pari’s chest felt cramped, her throat closing as panic immediately began to set in. The tall, blond haired man – even though his back was towards her – scared the hell out of Pari. She wanted to help, pull that guy off of the smaller one but she couldn’t move. Her breathing became loud and raspy as she felt the start of a panic attack slither through her. Any deep breath she took came out quivering and her body was shaking so intensely that she couldn’t push herself to stand up.

”P-please d-don’t” she spoke slow, stuttering the whole way through her sentence ”h-hurt h-im” her voice was quiet, she figured neither of them could have heard her so she repeated her words over and over again while she placed her sweaty hands over her ears, rocking back and forth desperately. Cherry’s head rested on Pari’s shoulder, muzzle pressed against her neck in an attempt to comfort her. Her body twitched as she couldn’t shake the flashes of past violent experiences, her mind jumbling all of her fears and worries together causing confusion that could not be broken no matter how hard she tried. Tears streamed down her face as she continued repeating her words – that was until the power went out, then, Pari screamed as loud as she could. Everything got worse after that. 'Where did the lights go, I need the lights. Please turn on the lights' ran through her mind fast. Pari held her breath automatically, unable to allow herself to breath until she heard car alarms and gunshots from outside. Hyperventilation kicked in; breathing raspy, hard and abnormally loud, her eyes wide – as if they were going to pop out of her head, the pressure causing a headache that made her dizzy, terrified down to her bones. Right after the lights went out, the door opened and she heard a familiar voice but by now she wasn’t able to speak anymore and Cherry’s company wasn’t helping like it usually did. The dog left Pari’s side cautiously, unsure of the other two – her ears down against her head as she had her teeth bared until she reached Edgar, head nudging against the back of his leg to try and lead him to where Pari was.

Despite all of the commotion going on around her, noises could be heard faintly from the storage room – we’ll just say that it didn’t help Pari’s panic-attack and it caused her body to sway, the lack of oxygen to her brain leaving her so confused she became unaware of everything – lost inside herself.

[jackal bones]

tab
i✖ ❛LOCATION ⇢ Pari's store tab ✖ ❛MOOD ⇢ ohdeargodwhyme?
tab
tab ✖ ❛COMPANY ⇢ Stein, Pari, Pari's dog, somewhere close is Edgar! tab ✖ ❛HEALTH ⇢ 100%


It wouldn't be the first time some lady came shambling up to Sora for a good time, though given the itchy feel of rocks shoved up beneath oozing skin, he couldn't fathom her sudden attraction for him. Okay, she weren't the most healthiest looking of dames, kind of dark-circled under the eyes, had this ten mile gaze and only managed a low uhhhh in greeting—but Sora had done worse. "Well, hey there." But this brick wall—this oaf of muscle and a box of cardboard for brains, seemed to have different ideas. The blond lowered himself, ready to strike, and Sora gaped at him with a sudden loss for words. He was gonna hit her? He was gonna hit her. "What the ******** dude!" About to halt what would have been assault, and a sue so fast it woulda made anybody's head spin, Sora stopped short when the female made an awkward noise, lurching forward like a deranged and starving cat that had just seen its opportunity to strike.

Jerked up and into a sprint, Sora had no qualms about running—hey! he was a great runner, he was flying just a bit ago on his board, and he wanted to get home. Like all of five years ago. But as he spun on the balls of his feet, he went wide-eyed as the stranger—just affirmed crazy as ******** out a gun and fired at the missus. A split second to clap his hands over his ears, the noise from the gun reverberated right down to his spine, left him gawking for way too many reasons. That guy! Fired a gun! At a lady! "Jesus holy spitfire! What are you—did you really just—!?" Unable to really finish up his question, Sora spat out several more colorful curses, far too horrified to look at--- Okay, he looked. She was bleeding from a massive hole in her arm, flesh twisted up into a terrible crimson that instantly made his stomach churn.

All those news reports? The virus? Going home? Gone. Because suddenly all Sora could think about was how quickly he could race off to one of those storefronts, where he could tear inside one and hide from this maniac that just shot a poor, innocent woman—nevermind the fact that she was still groaning and shambling towards them. Screw that. But before Sora could manage to get too far, he felt a rough grip snatch him at the collar and power-drive him into the wall. "Oh ********! Oh! Don't shoot me! I don't got money!" But the guy was.. he recognized him? Familiar somehow, some way.. Because Sora had—ohhhh ********]

There was a crowd drawing in towards them, attracted by the loud gun shot, no doubt. The pair dove into the only unlocked shop, some grocery store, and once again Sora was tossed up onto another wall. Hello there, my new friend. The difference in height made this a bit awkward, the brunet had several inches on the blond, but all that muscle and sheer power negated Sora's ability to tower this guy. And instead of glowering, acting like a badass that might've helped him out in this scenario, Sora found himself flinching and clutching vaguely at the arms that had him ruthlessly pinned back. "Hey, hey, hey! Easy man, eeeaaasy." Because surely telling a raging bull to calm it down would help the situation. What Sora needed here was some diversion: and it came shortly thereafter.

It was a crash, a very familiar (to Sora, anyway) thump of a body hitting a floor, followed hastily by the scurry of someone righting themselves back up. The barks of an excited, frightened dog, and they all came at a rush down into the store front. He couldn't see them, not with this blond guy's ugly mug taking up all of his view, but Sora could aptly hear the sound of a freaked out lady—she sounded cute actually! and if not for the situation, maybe would've asked for a number. No, now's not the time for that. Croaking out hoarsely in response to her pleas, "Hey! Don't! Go call 911! He—this guy shot somebody!" Not that the police force already didn't have their hands full with—what was it going on again? Sora couldn't quite recall, not while staring down what he would call his own demise.

Except the lights went out. The lights went out? How weird. Whatever! I'll take it! Flailing wildly, Sora was certain he probably punched what felt like a jaw, maybe a nose? He was damn sure he kicked towards a rock-hard stomach, screw that guy, and scurried his way to freedom. But freedom was black, pitch black and scary while listening to the panicked wheezes of the lady nearby.

tiffizzle✖ ❛OOC ⇢ ♫ lol.

[ArterialCaucus]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E D G A R . A . . T C H A O


Safe and sound at home again, let the waters roar, Jack!
Long we've tossed on the rolling main, now we're safe ashore, Jack -




Edgar had been standing in the dark, fingers wrapped tightly around the handle of his medical bag, poised like a deer ready to bolt. Creeping towards the scuffling noise, once the voices presented themselves as both distinctly male (and therefore, distinctly not who he was looking for), seemed like a pointless endeavor. He perked his ears up and strained to hear the sound of a familiar voice.

He didn’t have to wait long.

The dog reached him first, snuffling against his legs as he tried to sidestep towards the low wailing of a terrified woman, and he had to resist the urge to stroke its head gently. It was a service dog, he knew - currently on duty - and it was trying to guide him to her. Silently, he damned his eyes. Even adjusted to the dark, they were useless, but now he really was blind, feeling his way through the store, trying not to bump into familiar shelves until he reached Pari’s crumpled figure. Panic attack, surely - he encountered them often enough, working at a college hospital, and he knew Pari suffered from them. Disassociation stage, from the way she failed to respond to Cherry as the dog prodded her with a wet, worried nose. He settled down onto his knees next to her, settled his bags on the floor, transplanted his own jacket over her shoulders. “Pari, I know talking is hard, but you must listen,” he murmured quietly, and took her hand. “Bad things, they are happening outside now. They will be here soon. You come with me. I will not let you be hurt, but we must go now. Ja?” With a spare hand, he reached for his medical bag, pulled out another spare surgical mask. “Hands off your ears,” he said flatly. The coddling voice was gone.

And lo, one of the two unwelcome guests made a louder scuffling than before and called out in the darkness for help. The police. Edgar was almost angry. Americans, he thought vaguely, always think their problem matters to everyone else. “And what do you expect the police will do?” He called back in response. “Have you not looked outside? The rest of the city is enough trouble. They have no reason to care about one man with one gun.” He breathed hard through his nose, squeezed Pari’s hand reassuringly. It was a rough start. He had a feeling it was going to get a lot worse.

((OOC: Shrug. Not much to say / write. Edgar’s here to shut everyone down like they’re a door-to-door salesman selling titty-deflators.))

Don't forget your old shipmate,
Falee-rallee-rye-eye-do!

[Light at Worlds End]

♞ ❘❙❚ looĸѕ lιĸe тнιngѕ нave ғιnally goттen ιnтereѕтιng...

Pushing the unfortunately familiar guy harder against the wall had managed to take up almost all of Stein's attention. He believed they were safe enough in the store, and as such, he could take his time dealing with this guy.
"You remember me, don't you." Stein stated, with no small sense of satisfaction when he saw the other guy's eyes widen in recognition. Anyone could tell that they had quite obviously not met on the best of terms.
The sound of someone falling down a flight of stairs managed to distract Stein momentarily, and he looked around to find the source. A moment's quiet made him turn back to the guy he was holding up in order to make sure he didn't escape. The sound of an animal's claws pattering across the floor confused Stein, but he made sure to maintain eye contact with the guy he was holding down.

The sound of a woman's mumbled plea for him to stop made Stein freeze. That tone, this situation-it was all too familiar. Against his will, Stein relaxed his death grip and looked back to see who had spoken. The woman, who had unusually long hair, was holding her hands over her ears and mumbling at Stein to not hurt the one he was holding up. Her dog (so that was what the animal was) was resting on the woman's shoulder, most likely to calm her down-but it didn't seem to be working.
The idiot Stein was holding up took this as a chance to bleat for help. Stein turned back to him and more than happily shook the guy a little. It was a strange sight, seeing the shorter, blond man shake the taller brunet so easily.
"You're not helping." he snarled and then the lights went out and a solid thump could be heard from some other room. Dammit all! Stein relaxed his grip and was about to release his prisoner so he could check out the noise, when he was suddenly punched in the jaw, had a stray finger scratch his nose, and received a kick in the stomach. Stein reflexively crumpled slightly and raised a knee to fend off any other pending attacks. But it seemed as if the brunet was done attacking and decided to hide in the darkness.
"I'll deal with you later." Stein growled and let out a huff of laughter when he heard another man's voice basically telling the brunet to suck it up, since no official would be able to help him. Due to the amusing first comment the man had made, Stein knew that he wouldn't have to deal with some wannabe vigilante. He could see that the man was kneeling next to the woman and trying to get her to her feet.

"Someone needs to check out that noise." And with that, Stein made his way carefully out of the room, but not before aiming a kick in the annoying guy's general direction. There were boxes and all sorts of little things that crunched or gave under Stein's shoes, and he grimaced as he finally reached the other room. It was some sort of storage area, with an open window that was a glaringly unsafe thing what with violent infected just casually strolling around. Isn't there some health organization that's supposed to help take care of this sort of thing? Stein wondered vaguely as he took out his gun, before he barked out,
"Who's there?" Hopefully the sight of the gun would be enough to frighten the intruder into compliance, since Stein could barely see.


ιт woυld вe a ѕнaмe ιғ ιт all ended тoo ғaѕт. ❘❙❚ ♞

Stats ⊀ ☠ Health: 99%
Stats: ☠ Company: A not-so-unfamiliar stranger (Sora), some actual strangers (Pari and Edgar) and a dog, then an intruder (Cat)
Stats: ☠ Mood: Pissed/Annoyed ↠ slightly Spooked ↠ Pissed
Stats: ☠ Supplies: Switchblade, Colt O7810D (three magazines (at home) and a nearly full magazine), and a forgotten granola bar ⊁


OOC: What can I say, Stein can help shut down a party like no one's business.

owlsoulpumkin

ArterialCaucus

Chaotic Buttons

Tipsy tea

[Chaotic Buttons]

It felt like hours had passed before Edgar was beside her, when his jacket was placed around her she jumped and grabbed onto his shoulders tightly – so tight that her fingers began to ache immediately. ”Did anyone get hurt?” she managed to whisper just after he spoke, breath hoarse as she leaned in. When he wanted her to remove her hands from her ears, she shook her head while loosening her fingers, eyes staying shut tight. She felt like a little girl when he spoke to her in that tone and when the mask was placed onto her face she looked up, straight at him with a tear soaked face. ”W-why do I need this?” she asked, panic evident in her voice. ’is one of them sick? I don’t understand what if I already have what they have? What if Edgar is sick’ her chin quivered as her thoughts raced around in her mind,

She didn’t hear what the skinnier, taller guy said but the response her friend had given to him didn’t make the situation easier for her to handle. Outside there was so much noise, everything over-whelmed her and it wasn’t long until the white haired one went past them into the back room. Why was he doing it? ’wait, I don’t want you to break anything else…’ Why was Edgar telling her they had to go? Eyes closed and she took in a long, deep breath, trying to make sense of everything around her. If the car alarms would just get taken care of, she would be okay, maybe.

Pari put her hands over her ears again, unable to handle the commotion. Her head rested against Edgar though, eyes watching the dark streets outside. The tears caused her vision to become blurry but, if she wasn’t mistaken, there was something moving out there. Her face rubbed against Edgar’s shirt to dry her eyes and when she was able to get a better look, the thing that was moving almost made it to the door. It was a person, maybe? Its flesh was different, bruised? All over? That much? Pari squinted, underneath the body’s arms were dark stains; was it blood? Eyes grew wide. Her arms wrapped around Edgar’s neck. ”W-w-what is that?” she whispered, fear causing her to shake uncontrollably. What the hell did that white haired man do?! ”Is that man going to kill us?” she whispered, vibrating harder. Soon after, another body came forward, though it was upright and limping towards the door. When it reached its destination, arms flailed against the glass and with each strike the door shook. Pari whimpered when the glass started to crack, it was too dark to see its face though.

[kafka at the store]

William was pretty sure something was amiss.
First of all, it was nearly half-past-five and his annoying ex hadn't yet called him to pester him about silly things like second chances and "But you cheated on me"'s that seemed to color the old fling's entire vocabulary an annoying shade of blamey for the past several weeks. It wasn't his fault he grew bored so quickly--didn't he warn that boy of something like this occurring? Oh yeah, when he specifically said I will more than likely grow bored of you in a few months. He knew something had to be wrong when that stalker wasn't actively sending him text messages that landed somewhere between whiny and desperately creepy.

Now that he was looking, he didn't even have a bar of signal. He had been sitting around at home all day, having promised his boss that he would 'work at home' (yeah right) for the day since he needed some time to decompress after his most recent break up. Was he upset over it? Goodness gracious, not at all. Was he upset that his ex hadn't paid his routine call yet? Certainly-- he was so incredibly vain, sometimes, it didn't feel right! He huffed, "Well, that's boring. The least he could do is visit."Naturally, because fate works in strange ways, William's doorbell rang nearly the moment he finished that sentence.

And rang.

And rang.

Over and over again, driving William mad with how incessant the person at the door was being. "I'm coming! Christ," he cursed, jogging toward the door and swinging it open without bothering to look through the peephole. After all, he knew exactly who it was. "Hey, you're late for your daily stalking session, I was actually a little worried about- hey whoa, what-" Will had started pretty casually, but by the end he was nearly yanking his ex into the house with him, his face contorted in worry. "Is that a freaking bite on your arm? What are you doing here?" He grabbed his former lover, who appeared to be tremendously dazed, and sat him down on one of the bar stools in his kitchen as he went to grab the first aid kit.

The man sitting in his kitchen jumped a bit when William returned, "Will, listen to me," his eyes were glazed over in the strangest of ways, Will noticed as he cocked his head and tried to humor the crazy man sitting in his kitchen covered in maul and gore that William was only just starting to notice. For instance the suspicious gooey substance on the man's shirt, and the thick dark stains in his jeans. Will's stomach dropped.

"Is that- Oh god, it that blood? Andy, that's a lot of blood, that would-" Kill a person, William thought, stepping away from the man cautiously, seeing he was dazed and obviously not quite in his right state of mind. William had a handgun hidden in the cabinet in his bathroom--not that he was planning on using it, but better safe than sorry. He heard Andy stumble to his feet behind him.

"Will, wait- Will! I have to tell you something, don't go out-" he shouted, but it was too late. Will tucked his handgun into the waist of his pants and grabbed his car keys, slipping outside before Andy had a chance to catch up. Instead of turning around from his door to see his car and a quick trip to the police station, Will turned around to see a corpse. And William, mind you, knew exactly what a corpse looked like. He worked with them all day, every day. He knew that this festering, hideous, rotting creature that moved like it was in advanced stage rigor mortis was a walking corpse and he also knew it was stumbling toward him with sheer determination in it's creaking bones. William quickly ducked around it, noticing that there was absolute chaos on the streets and realistically no chance to drive off (cars littered the road in a disturbingly silent, abandoned way, like something truly wicked was at play and William managed to nap right through it). He decided his best bet was to get running and hope he found someone with some answers. Andy burst through the door behind him, shouting in a panic things that Will could hardly hear over the pumping of his own feet and heart as he took off at a sprint, headed straight into the city where he hoped he might find some answers.

[Tipsy tea]

i'm out on the edge and i'm x S C R E A M I N G x my name
xxxx i'm out on the edge and i'm x S C R E A M I N G x my name
xxxxxxxx i'm out on the edge and i'm x S C R E A M I N G x my name
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxLIKE A FOOL AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS


LOCATION : UNKNOWN || COMPANY : STRANGERS || MOOD : CAUTIOUS || HEALTH : ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
– —– — – —– —– — – — – —– — – —– — – —– —– — – —– —– —– — – — – — – — – — – —

Lying alone in a pile of boxes in the dark; not the best thing to be doing in this situation. However Cat needed a breather, not that she was exhausted, she just needed to let her mind wrap around the situation that just occurred. She was chased by a group of sickly, bloody people, her boss/friend warned her about 'crazy' sick people running around, and she had no clue what was going on and if this 'illness' if that's what you should call it is in her home town. With the gun lying on her chest, Cat covered her eyes with her hands and let out a irritated grumble. She always hated being in the dark on a situation, it reminded her of when she was little, how she didn't know her time with her mother was limited. With the painful memory in her head, she shook it in hopes to think of something else. If she needed a gun she would feel better if she could go home and get her hunting rifle. It would be more affective then the semiautomatic pistols she had. Thinking about the gun she lifted it and detached the magazine clip, checking ammo. She was lucky to know it was fully loaded, as well the two and a half boxes of ammo on her. "Hopefully I won't have to use it." she gently whispered to herself.

She hadn't even heard the voices from the other room, but once the door on the other side of the room opened Cat's guard rose and she laid in the boxes, her body stiffening up. "Who's there?". When she heard the male voice, on one point she was relieved it wasn't one of the sick, but then again it was a person. She cleared her dry throat and spoke up "I-I didn't mean to break in, those sick people were chasing me. I'm getting up now." Catherine slowly rose and as she rose, she held the gun to her side. She stood up and got out of the pile of the boxes, now standing face to face with the man who demanded her out of hiding, but the boxes were so comfortable. The man had white hair, he was tan with an eye patch over one eye. The lighting was pretty dim, but she could still see those few features. Her eyes glanced down at the gun he held, she griped hers and cleared her throat reassuringly. "I see i'm not the only one who has a gun on hand. " This guy looked sketchy, he didn't look friendly even in this sort of situation she can tell just by his appearance and tone of voice. Cat knew she might be wrong, but she wouldn't take the chance, not in this sort of situation. "You probably don't care but im Cat."

Her weight shifted onto her right side, causing her hip to push out. She glanced pass the man and into the doorway, she could tell their were more people out their, but she didn't know how many. Cat looked back to the guy and didn't even attempt to move. She didn't want to over step her boundary in this situation. " If your going to try and take my gun, I won't be cooperative. Just putting it out their by the way." Catherine didn't feel like being the type to do what ever people told her to. She would do what she felt was reasonable, but otherwise she wouldn't do it.
– —– — – —– —– — – — – —– — – —– — – —– —– — – —– —– —– — – — – — – — – — – —

sometimes when I close my ( e y e s ) I pretend I'm alright
XXXXXXXXBUT IT'S NEVER ENOUGH

XXXXXcause my echo┏E C H O┛
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXoh my ▂SHADOW▂ shadow

XXXXXXXhello HELLO
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXANYONE OUT THERE ??

[Just JasKA]

"I can’t believe this," Ikumi Utagawa huffed in disbelief, "it’s my money!"

Just outside the City Hall, a young Japanese woman walked with a somewhat older gentlemen in a fine suit. They headed down the concrete stairs and towards a parked Rolls-Royce Phantom. Ikumi’s driver was standing outside the car, ready to open the door at Ikumi’s arrival. Her lawyer had just been informed of the obstacle in her mother’s will.

"Get in," Ikumi ordered without looking at her lawyer. They pulled away from the curb and into the street. As they discussed the issue, her driver drove onto freeway 101.

"Yes, technically it is. But your mother’s inheritance will be transferred to your older brother in the case of your death or... You break off your name from the family registry. Because of this, your father is eager to strip your name from the family registry and take the money from your hands, which leaves you with, not only nothing, but debt to repay. It is unfair, but that is what your mother had written in her will," Lawyer Cedric Castillo explained.

"... What?" The words of her lawyer stunned her. Everything he was saying didn't make sense. Her mother understood Ikumi’s desire to get away from her father and her step-mother. "He’s a murderer! The b*****d killed my mother, what the ******** are you talking about? My mum wouldn't write that in her will..." And then Ikumi realized. "Oh my god, he changed her will... It all makes sense. He probably bribed the executor and the judge."

"You don’t have any evidence of that," Cedric interrupted.

"Knowing my father is plenty of evidence," she responded, glancing out the window. Traffic was building up on the freeway. She needed to head back to her apartment to pack for Japan. The last thing she would allow to happen was her father gaining anything from her mother’s death. There wasn't a day that she didn't wish her father to die, along with his new wife and their children. She hated them all. Even her brother for staying with the murderer. Her lawyer was rummaging through his suitcase, perhaps looking for some documents to show her. Ikumi turned to glance down at the papers and noticed a letter in his hand with her name handwritten on it. She recognized it immediately and felt a surge of anger fill her. Before he could give it to her, she snatched it out of his hand and tore the letter to pieces. Her lawyer objected in shock, but she simply glared at him. "I told you I will never read a letter from that man... Never," she stated.

All of a sudden, the car came to an abrupt stop. If not for the seat-belt, she would have flown forward and hit her head on the passenger seat in front of her. "What the hell!" she shouted at her driver. The man was strangely silent. "Hey! I’m talking to you," she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him roughly. When there was no response, she unfastened her seat-belt and leaned over to see him properly. "Why are you ignor-," she was shocked into silence at the man’s face. He looked shitless scared; a very unexpected expression. Ikumi didn't say another word and simply turned to the chaos in front of her. Men, women and children were fighting each other while cars ran over people, only to get stuck in the clustered traffic. The radio was on low volume but Ikumi caught some words: "-counties have issued a highly contagious virus. Some reports claim that the outbreak started in the Orange County Hospital. Symptoms of this virus include loss of coordination, confusion and eventually, certain death. Several reports-" She reached over and turned it up. "- also claimed that there is in fact that the victims have acted out in an extremely violent behavior. Citizens are extremely advised to avoid anyone with these symptoms. At this time, these counties are under evacuation. As a safety precaution, citizens are advised to stay in their homes until the situation is dealt with. Stay tuned for further details as they follow."

"We need to get off the freeway!" she exclaimed, now in a fit of panic.

Her driver didn't seem to understand what she meant. Instead of getting out of the car that was obviously stuck in traffic, he accelerated and bumped into several cars until their exit was blocked. Ikumi had flown backwards and against the cushioned seat. "What the ********, you moron! I meant let’s get out of the car," She screamed, watching her driver slide down the driver’s window and attempt to climb through. Instead, someone latched onto him from somewhere unseen to her and all she could hear was the man’s screams. Ikumi’s panic grew at the sound. Her lawyer sat silently beside her, his seat-belt still on. She tried to open her door and then her lawyer’s door, watching in horror as her driver was dragged out of the car while screaming in agony. "W-what do we do?" She stuttered, turning to look at Cedric. He continued to stay in his statue-like state. Ikumi knew it was all up to her to get the hell out of the damn car. ‘Exit, exit, exit,’ she chanted in her thoughts, until she noticed the skylight. She jumped forwards to press the button and held it until a hand reached in from the open window, clawing at her. She flinched backwards before it could touch her and glanced up to see the gap was large enough to fit through. "Are you coming?" She asked her lawyer, but didn't receive any response. Anger started to boil inside her. ‘This idiot is going to get me killed!’ Grabbing his tie, she shook and slapped him across the face. "Snap out of it!"

"H-huh?" He mumbled.

Ikumi didn't have time for this. She unfastened his seat-belt and pulled him up. "I’ll climb through first, you follow, okay?" She didn't wait for a response and eased herself through the skylight. The sight outside was thousand times worse than in the car; she could see a 360 angle of the freeway. There was so much chaos... People were eating other people. Some were injured to the point of dying and yet they were still moving with no sign of pain. Ikumi assumed adrenaline made them forget their injuries. How much time had passed since she got out of the car? She could see so much horror and it was beginning to head her direction. A group of blood-soaked people noticed her; their mouths dripping with fresh blood. Ikumi stared, feeling herself freeze up. They didn't look okay... Something was off. Almost like her sub-conscience slapped her, she reached down to help Cedric out of the car. "Hurry!" She shouted at him, feeling his hand wrap around hers. She pulled with all her might, while watching the group shuffle towards them. Cedric was almost out of the car when she could see the group properly. One of them had their jaw hanging off their mouth; another had gunshots through the neck and body; another had only one leg with a flood of blood oozing out... Basically, they were monsters. Something in a horror movie come to life. Cedric had only glanced at them shortly before he was sprinting off over cars. "Hey! Wait!" She shouted at him. This guy sure was work. Ikumi chased after him, noticing her surroundings as she went. The honks of cars and constant screams overwhelmed her, and didn't help her current fear. As they moved further back, there was less chaos. They couldn't outrun it though. Ikumi searched for a quick escape route and noticed a white van with a clearing to an exit ramp.

"Cedric, stop!" She called out; a car distance away. He was standing on top of a red BMW, while she stood on a taxi. She pointed towards the white van. Cedric didn't pause in his hurry to reach the new escape plan, jumping forwards but tripping in the process. It was reckless behavior, but then again, Ikumi had no idea what she was doing. She followed in suit and also began to make her way towards the van. Too suddenly, a pained shout came from Cedric’s direction. She glanced over quickly and saw someone biting into his leg. ‘s**t’. She sprinted towards him and kicked at the person’s head. There was no reaction. The man had a firm grip on Cedric. "Kick him!" she yelled instructively . They both kicked at the guy and after five hard kicks, the guy fell back with some meat in his mouth. Cedric screamed in agony and Ikumi winced at the sight of his leg. "Come on, we have to get out of here," she helped him up and lent her shoulder. Although more slow, they made it to the van without any more encounters. Ikumi helped Cedric into the passenger seat and then climbed into the driver’s seat just before another group of monsters was heading in their direction. Ikumi switched the ignition on and accelerated right towards the exit ramp. Cedric was moaning in pain beside her, but Ikumi was too distracted by what she had just seen to comfort him.

As the noise from freeway became distant, Ikumi was surprised to see the mayhem wasn't as bad on the streets. A helicopter flew by overhead, heading towards freeway 101... Or perhaps, pass the freeway. "Cedric, do you know which direction the hospital is in?" She asked, glancing over to him as he pointed.

"Make a right over there and follow that street," He instructed and Ikumi followed his directions until they reached a blockage of more crazy people. Ikumi slowed into a stop and cursed, looking over at Cedric’s leg. He had tied his tie around the wound. While coughing, he continued to instruct her. "We have to pass them. Go into that alley. Maybe it leads to the next street," He pointed over to a tight looking gap between two buildings.

Ikumi knew he was in pain; it was clear in his voice. The alley could be a dead end, but they didn't have time to turn around. Ikumi turned into the alley and drove down until they were met with an opening behind the building and a very unfortunate dead-end. "Damn, I can't reverse!" She said in a panic; the street was blocked by a group of people shuffling on the street. They will have to wait them out. Hopefully they’ll pass and the street will be clear. She looked at Cedric’s leg again and sighed. "We need to clean that wound," she thought out loud. Cedric was looking more and more pale and sickly. He was probably losing blood because that crazy guy bit him. "s**t, wait here," she told him and climbed out of the van. Ikumi quickly ran to the back door of the building and tried to open it. It was locked. She banged on it with frustration and backed up slowly. Another way in... Her eyes raised up to the second floor. There was an emergency exit outside the building. If she somehow could get to the second floor, she could open the door from the inside. But how would she reach the staircase? Her attention slowly turned to the van and an idea began to materialize. Running back to the van, she drove forwards and reverse against the building, colliding with a little too much force. There was a crash sound and then she turned off the ignition. Cedric’s eyes were closed when she checked on him. "I’ll be back, don’t fall asleep," she reassured him, although she wasn't sure he heard her.

As fast as she could, she mounted onto the hood of the car and then lifted herself up onto the trailer. She ran to climb the ladder and onto the metal stairs. There was a window into an apartment from what she could tell. Ikumi didn't have time to pause and observe; Cedric was dying in the van. She was a little surprised that the window opened, and slid inside with a thud when her feet met the carpet of the apartment. Now, she was more cautious. For all she knows, someone could jump out and attack her like Cedric. She moved through the room to the front door. It was locked, so she unlocked it and swung it open. It was all dark... She walked out and noticed a stairway heading down to god-knows-what. With a nervous gulp, she headed down the stairs, holding onto the railing. She wasn't sure where the hell she ended up, but it appeared to be a ... Shop? The backdoor was nowhere to be found in the darkness. Ikumi stopped dead in her tracks at the sudden sound of talking. She needed to get away. Falling backwards in her hurry, she slid down the rest of the stairs and bumped into something soft... Into someone. "P-please, d-don’t... Don’t eat me," she winced backwards, tears suddenly filling her eyes as she remembered the people on the freeway being torn apart.



tab tab xIT'S THE SOUL THAT NEEDS SURGERY
▒ tab tab x███████xxxx███████xxxx███████xxxx███████x
▒x███████xxx███████xxx██████████████xIT'S THE SOUL THAT NEEDS SURGERY
▒ tab tab tab tab ◆ ◆ ◆ tab L O C A T I O N tab ↷ tab A SHOP
▒ tab tab tab tab tab tab ◆ ◆ ◆ tab C O M P A N Y tab ↷ tab BLACK FIGURES - EDGAR, PARI & SORA
▒ tab tab tab tab ◆ ◆ ◆ tab M O O D tab ↷ tab TERRIFIED
▒ tab tab tab tab tab tab ◆ ◆ ◆ tab O U T F I T tab ↷ tab BAG MISSING & BLOOD STAINS ON CLOTHES
xxxxx




ArterialCaucus




Chaotic Buttons




owlsoulpumkin

[xiuminati]

ＴＨＯＵＧＨＴＳ ↺ marcus, is marcus safe- tab ✦ tab ＷＨＥＲＥ ↺ freeway 5 tab ✦ tab ＷＨＯ ↺ nobody of importance yet

It wasn't every day that the Chief Operations Officer got a break from actually working, and managed to plan an evening - just all for himself, no work, nothing but simply chilling back and maybe watching some mundane shows to cool his brain for a bit. It wasn't too much to ask, was it? Jean certainly thought not, and especially as he sighed and glanced out the side window to the other cars which were stuck in the same freaking traffic jam that always managed to sprout up about in this time. He supposed he had been so used to coming home so late when the highways were only lit with the red backlights of cars like specks here and there that literally crawling along about five miles per hour, bumper-to-bumper, was about the most infuriating thing possible. The muggy atmosphere of smog was not helping in the least when he rolled down his window, only to catch the last of screamed obscenities being thrown towards one car to another.

Well then.

Rolling his car window back up and switching on the radio, anything was better than just sitting there in his car; perhaps some classical music might relax his nerves before he too got into a road rage fit, undignified as it was. "-issued a warning for the following counties: Los Angeles, San Bernadino, Ventura, Kern, Riverside, Orange County.

At 2:30pm, reports from these counties have issued an outbreak of a highly contagious virus. Some reports claim that the outbreak started in the Los Angeles county hospitals-"

Almost instantly, his eyes widened at the report and the monotonous robotic voice, something that Jean was actually quite well-acquainted with; it had been some of his seniors who proposed this idea of a national warning service, but never did they assume that it would be used, not now and not ever-

"Symptoms of this virus include loss of coordination, confusion and eventually, certain death. Several reports have also claimed that there is in fact that the victims have acted out in an extremely violent behavior.

Citizens are extremely advised to avoid anyone with these symptoms. At this time, these counties are under evacuation. As a safety precaution, citizens are advised to stay in their homes until the situation is dealt with."

Unfortunately, Jean was nowhere home and didn't look like he was going to get home any time soon, or in the worst case, ever. With a quick glance around, it looked like other drivers had also gotten the memo, and the emotions on their faces ranged from panic, disgust, anger, fear- They were not prepared for something like this, an event this catastrophic and immense to happen any time to anyone. Not Jean, not when he had been in New York at the time of 9/11, and almost immediately, his survival instincts kicked in as he quickly pulled the car into park and reached over to the glove box to rifle through the documents there and- aha, the handgun, something that practically all of the higher ranking officials in his corporation carried with them for safety reasons.

In the few moments that Jean looked away from the scene on the freeway to grab and flip off the safety on the gun, it had been transformed into a gruesome canvas of violence and death all around him. Before his eyes, he saw someone, a woman perhaps, in a blood-stained hospital gown sprint down between the cars only to stop suddenly and then with a force of a beast, yank a man straight out of his window and onto the ground. She ate him, right before Jean's eyes, tearing into his chest and clawing into his face as he screamed - the worst type of scream that sent a spine of pure terror down Jean's spine and which instantly got him scrambling out of the car. If anything were to happen to him, he wasn't going to go down that way, trapped helpless in his car that was only a guaranteed death trap among so many others.

"Need to get off the freeway, into the streets. I need to find Marcus," he murmured fervently to himself, eyes darting around wildly as he saw another one of those people streaking down another lane and take another unfortunate victim. The longer he stayed here, the worst the situation was only going to get, and with that, Jean took off sprinting as fast as he could back towards the sides and hopefully towards the apartments as several military helicopters flew overhead towards the smog-filled downtown of Los Angeles. It seemed like Jean wasn't the only one who had decided to abandon his vehicle, and there was a steadily growing stream of people who was going, anywhere but here-

Safety for a few had arrived, but only for a few. With an unceremonious roar and rumble of its engine, an armored car came streaking down the other side of the freeway against the flow of traffic - not like there was many cars coming down that way, but it was enough to slow the military vehicle down the slightest. That was just enough, just barely enough for Jean as he glanced towards it to run towards the vehicle instead; there was safety promised inside its armored belly, and the more they were with those who could actually adequately protect them, the better. He hardly a glance at the panicked screams of those behind him - Jean was certain that if he was any slower, he would only end up like them. Thus as he reached the open back of the vehicles where some of the officers were screaming something and pulling whoever they could in with them, it was obvious that they were only going to take a few.

Jean was one of the lucky ones, thrown to the back and with his blood pounding in his ears as the cries and pleads of those being pushed out of the vehicles seemed far away to him; even the doors slamming shut as the truck pulled out to continue towards the city was merely an echo. All that mattered to him then was his phone, frantically pressing his ex-wife's number and feeling the seconds drag by with every monotonous ring... "Savannah, pick up, please pick up... Marcus, where's Marcus..."

[xiuminati]

The military vehicle continued on with its trip, journeying into the heart of Los Angeles where the infected seem to not have quite penetrated too far into the population- not just yet. But the chaos and the general sense of panic was doing its work, and people were causing enough mayhem by themselves to send everyone else running or hiding.

The rest were fighting back. Fighting against anything they could find, anyone they could target.

So when the military vehicle rolled into the streets and barely turned the corner, something big smashed into it, making the van teeter on two wheels for a moment before crashing over - straight into the wall of a brick building.

The sound was enough to attract any infected from at least a mile's radius, and the huge cargo truck that had been the aggressor sputtered for a moment before going dead.

At the moment, some of the information available about the crash:

LOCATION ▍The military vehicle has crashed into the side of Pari's store where most of the characters are located. The street they are on is about a few block's way to the police station, but to get there on foot is impossible. There is only one exit not blocked to get out of downtown Los Angeles, and that is the 10th street into the Freeway 10 (Santa Monica Freeway), which is also a few blocks away from Pari's shop.

Where the characters shall go will depend on themselves, but staying in the shop for much longer will be suicide, especially with how the military vehicle has practically bashed a hole into the side of the shop.

INSIDE THE MILITARY VEHICLE ▍About everyone who was in the vehicle has been thrown around and shocked by the crash. Besides from Jean and several other civilians, there are also two armored and armed police officers in with the rest of them. In the driver's seat is another armored and armed police officer and in the shotgun seat is also another one. For the moment, they are all stunned and the one in the driver's seat is unconscious. The back door of the military vehicle is dented in, and can be opened with some force applied to it.

Your character has free reign over what they wish to do with the military vehicle, barring one of the police officers in the back of the van and Jean. But take note that the noise did attract the infected, and it won't be long before a whole swarm of them arrives.