Forums » General Roleplay » The Beginning of the End (Open)

There were plenty of predictions for the date of the Apocalypse. Some thought it would be in December of 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar. Some thought it would be before then. This is not about those predictions.

The truth was, nobody could say they knew when life as people knew it would come to an end. Not without it being a lie.

In August of 2016, 90% of the population vanished. They just disappeared without explanation. Well... Rational people didn't have an explanation. Those paranoid tin-foil hat people had plenty of theories, ranging from 'aliens' or 'government conspiracy' to 'rapture'. None of them had any proof... until Passion found remnants of a man named Micheal Steward.

He actually seemed sane when he was around. His nine videotapes showed all the proof Passion needed to show he knew what he was talking about.

According to him, this was the beginning of the end. He did not say when, but his tapes mentioned 'a large amount' of the world's population disappearing, and it was filmed all the way back in July of 2011.

Whoever was out there... Passion needed to get this message out to them. She made a broadcast over the radio, stating her location and the fact that she had information, food, and shelter.

William had been living on his own for the most part. Cities were tearing themselves apart, so he kept to the forest. Then one day with his wind-up survival radio he heard the call. He was nervous at first, but he couldn't live by himself forever. Although his survival training helped. "I'm gonna regret this aren't I?" He said to himself, he packed up his things and headed towards the location. Once he got there, he knocked hard on the door, "Is any one here? I heard the radio broadcast!"

The brunette, college student had been flipping through the radio channels for anything of interest when she caught the broadcast stating location and food. Unlike the rest of her peers, Sarah had remained at the dorms--deciding that the dining hall would have had enough food to keep her and the few others who had stayed, alive for a little while longer.

But the food and resources were disappearing far too quickly, and they needed to find more. The broadcast was hope enough. The information part even more so.

"Do you think it might be worth checking out?" Sarah asked her Guardian Angel. It shimmered behind her in a full suit of armor, lacking only a sword. The Guardian shrugged, its six feathered wings lifting awkwardly.

"It is up to you." He replied.

Sarah frowned and then sighed. She grabbed her backpack and slung it on. "Well, I'm still alive, aren't I? May as well." With the rapid disappearances of people, it was not hard to find transportation--she nabbed her missing roommate's car to reach the location.

(Oh my. That was fast!)

Passion opened the door for the man outside. "Come on in. I've got the basement stocked up with that freeze-dried astronaut crap that lasts a lifetime. Fully functional 2013 Avalanche in the garage in case we need to pick up something in big quantities." If William noticed, he would be able to see solar panels all over the light orange roof. Likely an investment made so that she wouldn't have to rely on the now-nonexistent electric company.

"There should be an armory down there, too," she continued. "Switchblades, stun guns, rifles... I think there's an old Japanese katana down there, too, but I never see any reason to use it."

"Guess you'll know my name from the broadcast; Passion Jones. Before you ask: I don't know what the hell my ma was smoking when she named me."

"William, thanks, but I prefer my bow for now." He said showing it. He had a duffel bag, a bow and arrow quiver, a tomahawk and knife in his belt. "But I cause rifles if need be...Why you letting me in so easy? How you know I'm not just gonna push you out and lock the door?"

An old VW Bug coasted casually down the highway, unlike the other various cars piled up along the sides and occasionally poking out halfway into the road. The woman driving had one hand on the wheel while the other rested in the open window, idly tapping the car door in time with the music. Ever since whatever happened... happened, Athina hadn't the foggiest idea of what to do with herself. All her contacts were gone, all her normal methods of gathering information were useless and there was only one real story to research; Where the hell did everyone go? Of course, even if she found the answer, what good would it do? There was practically nobody left to tell. The handful of people she had stumbled upon in her travels across this now-barren land cared more about living than finding answers.

Swearing loudly out of frustration, she switched hands on the wheel and ejected the CD that had been playing, putting it back in its case before lobbing it into the basket on the passenger side floor that was overflowing with the things. A vast music collection being only one of the few things she'd gathered up since the world turned into what it did. In her bag on the other seat, aside from holding her usual things, now contained a pair of pistols, one semi-auto and a six-shot revolver that wouldn't look out of place in an old western movie.

A few seconds of silence later, Athina raised an eyebrow, slowing the car and looking around. It sounded like there was a voice coming from somewhere. After a couple moments she realized it was her bag. Flipping it open and fishing out the radio she'd had perpetually scanning for signals, she stared at it. A repeating message, but not one she'd heard before, so either it was new or had a limited range and she'd just gotten into it. The mention of having information caught her ear more than anything. Listening to the location twice to be sure, she realized she was already heading in the right direction and stopping for a minute to consult the map showed she was only half an hour away at most.

Taking the time to dig a CD out of the pile that she thought matched her new level of excitement, she shoved it into the player and took off down the highway as fast as she dared go, singing along as so-called "power metal" blared out of the car speakers.

Sarah pulled up in front of the location given on the radio and killed the engine promptly. Gas would be scarce soon and she wanted to preserve as much as she could. She wasn't sure why, but in an emergency, it might help to have a car.

She fell out of the car and brushed herself off. Then, hesitantly, she approached the front door of the house and knocked. The Guardian Angel was nowhere to be seen; perhaps he was off investigating for Fallen Angels.

"Hello? Is Passion Jones here?"

Passion chuckled. "In that case, I'll hafta kick the door down and shoot ya in the face, but I don't want to do that because there's so few people left to begin with. But mostly? I know just 'cuz ya asked me that question. Means you got a heart in ya that ain't willin' to do that."

She waved a hand past William to Sarah. "The one and only," she chirped. "You look like you're fresh outta some boarding school. Could never do that kinda thing. C'mon in, make yourself at home. Freeze-dried astronaut crap in the basement, armory if ya need it, good car in the garage, yadda yadda."

She opened the door wide.

"You shouldn't just tell people we have weapons Jones. So maybe you see if they're trust worthy or not..." William said crossing his arms and leaning against the wall

(William is just like Artair. He thinks he knows better than the people in charge. Thank goodness this character isn't batshit crazy or he would have a bullet in his brain right now.)

"You got a problem with the way I run my house?" Passion asked the man. "If I'm giving people things they want and need, why the hell do they need to steal it from me?" She held back a 'dipshit' at the end of that last sentence. She really shouldn't have; he kind of was what she wanted to call him.

She scoffed. What a bleedin' idiot.

(not exactly, you'll see some of the differences soon enough)

"Alright, alright." He said putting his hands in front of him. Better watch this spitfire...

Whoever was at the location probably heard her coming a mile away, as the music continued to pound until she stopped by another car that was parked in front of the place and killed the engine. The door to the building was open and she spotted two people right away. Snatching her bag from the passenger seat, she hopped out of her car and sprinted up to them, hand automatically going to a pocket on the side of her bag and pulling a slip of paper from it.

"Excuse me, my name is Farah Hart-" She cut herself off, coming to a stop by them and realizing what she had been about to do. Give them her pen name, as well as her card. Glancing at the card and wondering why she even still had the things anymore, she rolled her eyes before flicking it over her shoulder. "Okay, forget that. Sorry. Old habits die hard."

Clearing her throat, she tried again. "My name is Athina Rothbel, I heard the radio broadcast and got here as quickly as I could. Which of you is Miss Passion Jones?"

Sarah's grin was fleeting as she realized she was interrupting an argument. Not one to get involved in the middle of one, she nodded and then, waiting for a pause, gestured at the car parked outside.

"I brought a few supplies as well; a couple gallons of water and some almost fresh food--if you like jerky and chips and stuff." She paused then added, "It wasn't a boarding school, exactly, just a private college; but supplies were running low."

"Jerky!" William stuck his head around Jones to look at the new person. "I like jerky." He then heard the music playing. "Is everyone trying to attract people here?" he heard the newest woman show up, she didn't see him inside.(I think those two people were Jones and Sarah) Better not say anything more. So far Jones didn't seem to like him too much...

Sarah turned as Athina walked up behind her. "Ah, I'm Sarah, Passion Jones is just inside." She turned again back to William. "I'm Sarah--if you want, you can help me bring in the supplies. Figured I shouldn't go unprepared."

Her glance wavered to the side as her Guardian Angel reappeared. It seemed calm, which made her relax a little. "So...uh, what brings you here?" she asked.

"Heard the signal while hiding in the forest, I'm guessing the same of you right?" William asked while walking to her car, and picking up a few things, and carrying them inside

Sarah shrugged. "I was holed up in a college dormitory with a few others. My, er, roommate was one of the many who went missing--including some of my professors. I used her car to get this far. I was hoping someone might know something of their whereabouts...or at least what happened."

She paused to open the trunk to reveal four gallons of water, six boxes of jerky, and two cases of mixed chips. "This is what I managed to bring with me. The fresh stuff required refrigeration and I couldn't bring it with me."

"You're in college? So am I, taking D.S.W. myself. How about you?" William asked, bringing the food and other things inside the building inside.

Sarah frowned as she hauled in the items behind William. "I'm only in my second year, but I thought I'd pursue something along the lines of Homeland Security. I just didn't think that anything quite like this would happen. What's DSW?"

"Developmental Services Worker, I wanted to work with kids with mental and physical handicaps."