Etymology

Sara Laiford

Sara had been hiding out in her kitchen for days now, fear making it impossible to leave. Her and some of the other employees and costumers had hidden inside the walk in cooler, locking it from the inside, when the store was swept by the troops and cleared. Guns terrified Sara, and the sight of so many had caused her to freak out. They stayed hidden for hours, trying to be silent and huddling together for warmth. After a while though, they opened the door and peeked outside. No one could see anything nor any damage beyond some broken glasses. Creeping out slowly, Sara peered around, her dark brown wide eyes searching for any movement but she seen none. Gesturing the other out, they all quickly left for their own homes and families. Sara was left alone to fend for herself and she had no idea what to do. Leaving, she locked the doors up and started walking towards home when a duo of soldiers came up to her, demanding why she wasn't inside.
Startled, she jumped and gave a small scream. "S..sssorry, sir. I..I..I'm trying to get h..h.home" her fear twisted her tongue up, making her stutter and cringe away. The taller of the two stepped closer and spoke in a firm, reassuring tone of voice. "We want to keep you safe, everyone is required to stay inside and off the streets. We will escort you to your home." He said, gesturing she should lead the way. It only took a few mins, and she was inside, behind a closed and locked door, trembling and nearly in tears now. Sliding to the floor, she wept, confusion on her mind. Could that Void person be right, she though to herself, could there be something horribly wrong… The days passed slowly and Sara become more and more scared as she couldn't get ahold of her mother or her brother. The phone lines are down and there's no cell service anymore.
Her building rocked hard, throwing her to the floor as plaster from the roof rained down everywhere, covering her in the white powder. Windows began shattering as the explosions grew stronger, thuds echoing harshly as buildings fell or took damage. The roof her bedroom crashed in, making her scream, curling up into a ball on the floor, protecting her head. Finally the explosions stopped and the world went still and eerily silent. Sitting up slowly, she looked around, dazed and deaf for the moment and looked around at the damage done to her home. Tears tracked down her cheek, leaving clean lines in the white and brown dust that had been flung around. She didn't know what to do but she knew she couldn't stay here. Having been camping before, she packed some clothes, some food, her kitchen knives, her short swords and left.
Walking down the street of Clarey, she could see the massive damage caused and she was horrified by it. Half her building was gone, where she had once cooked was caved in over the front entrance. Shaking her head, she headed towards her brothers dog training school, knowing she had to find him before anything else. The morning like bared all to the eye, and she could see body parts, puddles and pools of blood lay everywhere. People shot, riddled with bullet holes. She say one stumbling towards her, groaning with his arm held up reaching for her. Stunned, stepping back fear and disgust reigning on her face as she pushed him away, "get away from me! God what's wrong with you!!" She screamed, but he kept coming. That's when she heard the radio from a left car. "ZOMBIE! THEY ARE ZOMBIES!" Is what she thought she heard and freaked totally out. Screaming bloody murder, she pushed, shoving the man away and took off running in the direction of her brother, with no intention of stopped anywhere.

Making it past most of the buildings, she entered the woods, hoping to find a safe spot to catch her break. She walked through trees for a few minutes and found one with a small niche in it, and hide herself there. She knew she needed to catch her breath before crossing over to the campus and heading towards her brother.





Chris John

It had been months since CJ had started his journey away from home. He'd been on various hiking, camping and backpacking trips but this experience was like nothing he had ever witnessed before. He was convinced some kind of terrorist group had finally attacked America and they were in war. He'd avoided most towns and roads along the way. Only sneaking into small towns off the beaten path and eating small rations of beans and rice using a bunsen burner he had bought for one of his many camping trips. He had a decent sized backpack and wore multiple layers of loose clothes. He only wore the highest quality clothes. Water wicking underwear, survival boots, and his usual boring black t-shirt and grey denim jeans with a camouflage hoodie. It had been days since he had seen a town and he was filthy. Yet the chaotic dissonance of what he could only imagine was mortar bombings and IEDs echoed nearby and he couldn't contain his anxiety. "Everything's gone to shit. I'm done, everything's over." He spoke aloud to himself, sweaty and covered with tiny bit of bark and dust. He pushed away branches, his eyes widened with fear as he looked through the myriad of tiny branches. Then he heard something loud, perhaps a building collapsing? He paused for a moment then fumbled for his backpack. He unzips his weather proofed backpack brandishing a black glock 25. Holding his gun down he slips his hoodie over his head then leans down, pointing the gun in front of him shakily as he heads through the woods, trying to make the least amount of noise possible. He was hungry, thirsty, sweaty and prepared to shoot if he needed to. (c)
He continues carefully treading through the woods, making sure to take moments to stop and observe his surroundings. The sounds of horror grew and as he made his way to a clearing in the woods he could make out thick plumes of black smoke billowing in the air, followed by horrid sounds of panic and terror. "Oh hell no." He thought to himself then stopped in fear. "There's no way I'm going into that town." He looked down to his gun, then to the black plumes of smoke. He stomach growled as he licked his dry, cracked lips. He sighs then clutched his gun, heading slightly out of the direction of what he assumed was burning buildings and a possible war scene.





Sara Laiford

Sara stayed in the woods, scared until she heard the sounds of a truck rumble through the streets not far from her. Zombies can't drive, right? She thought to herself, as she swayed through the trees, trying to see the truck. But by the time she made it back to the road, Sasha's truck had already passed. Her shoulders slumped with defeat, as she tried to remember how to get over to her brother's place, having no idea if it was any better there or not but she knew she couldn't just stay hanging out in the woods forever. Scared, in denial of what had happened, and timid on top of it, Sara had no real clue what to do, or how to do it. Maybe I should stay in the woods a day or two, fuck idk she kept thinking. Shaking her head, she moved back a bit deeper into the woods. She knew how to camp, thankfully, and went about making a camp, decideding she would stay put for a day or two until she was more sure of what was going on.





Chris John


Chris continued walking through the woods, uncertain of what he might stumble onto. He wasn't sure if there were any wild animals he had to watch out for and paranoia had gripped his mind. Sweat beaded down his forehead profusely. He wiped the sticky sweat from his face, his gun pointed forward shakily. That is until he heard some crunching noises in the distance. He froze in silence, clutching his gun with both hands after wiping his sweat off onto his hoodie. He wasn't really sure of his ability to use the gun and he really didn't want to but that didn't stop him from from openly carrying it right now. He was convinced that the world was going to shit and he wasn't going to go out without a fight. He tucks his hood over his head, ducking down he hides behind a tree peeping out into the trees from behind it waiting for whatever was coming.





Sara Laiford

Sara walked a bit further, her tiredness was clearly evident on her face as she dropped her bag and leaned against a tree slouching down. She didn't have much energy left, but had enough to release her sleeping bag and to clear a spot for it. It wasn't the best she's ever had, but it would work for now, until she could figure out what to do next. After she had spread the sleeping bag out, she pulled out some jerky she had in her backpack and leaned against the tree again.





Chris John

He saw a figure lumber in the distance but couldn't fully register what he was seeing. He figured it was a girl from how she walked but the day had been long and he couldn't trust his eyes. Clutching his glock, he aimed at the figure. Thinking about the situation in his head he contemplated whether or not he should shoot the person or hide. He couldn't fully see whether she was a military agent or not and he was stricken with fear, still shakily clutching the gun. The figure slowly slumped and he let out a sigh of relief as he repositioned himself behind a tree. He dropped the gun to his waist as he slowly regains his composure.






Sara Laiford

Sara just sat on the ground, her head laying on her knees. One thing that needed to be done, and no clue on how to do it, she thought. Tears tracked over her face, even as she stuffed the jerky back into her bag and didn't really move. She just wanted her brother, but didn't even know if he was alive anymore. Later, I will head that way, and see if he's still alive. I have to know. She thought to herself.





Chris John

He could barely hear any noise coming from the person. He took this moment of brief silence to take a breather. He snuck a straw from his water bag connected to his survival backpack and took a long draw, sucking stagnant, warm water from the rubber tubing. He grimaced as he forced the murky water through the tube, nearly choking as the water hit his dried mouth. He muffles the sounds with his mouth, casually dropping the tube. He let out a few soft breaths then looked around the tree once again.





Sara Laiford

Sara sat there in the group, scared and not knowing if her brother was alive. She kept sending texts and tried to call, but she hadn't heard from him yet. "I really don't want to stay in the woods tonight," she said to herself. Shaking her head, kind of seeming to agree with herself, she stood up and rehooked the sleeping bag to her gear bag. She remembered the college grounds couldn't be all that far away, and so set off to find them. "Maybe I can find an office or something to sleep in" she said to herself




Chris John

Holstering the gun at his waist he sees the girl start to leave and notices that she's likely just another civilian himself. Waiting for her to leave the wooded area he starts to follow her, making sure she doesn't realize he's following her. It gave him a sorta of rush doing these kinds of risky things and he wanted to know what was going on in town.

Robert Freelen

Robert was shirtless and working up a sweat as he swung his axe, cutting firewood out close to his little house. He worked quietly, slamming the axe through the wood with relative ease, due to his momentum and large frame. As he split the wood, he would toss it into the rack that held his wood stockpile for the colder months, whenever they would hit. He'd been working since shortly after noon, setting up the stacks and putting them on the side of the house. Before that had been the usual chores, checking his still, checking his smoke shack, checking traps for a few small creatures to throw in the stewpot. A bit of weeding in his garden to the side and some lunch, then cutting firewood til the sun started to set. This was simply a daily routine for him, something he'd grown accustomed to out in the woods, away from society and all their BS. Taking a moment as he got through with the latest log, he looked up at the horizon and nodded, seeing the sun setting. He then set the axe aside, checked to make sure the cords of wood were properly organized, then headed over and picked up his shirt. He slid it on, before strapping on his weapons again, more out of habit than a need for protection. Just another part of his routine these days. Before heading out, he went to the two graves behind his house, kneeling on one knee. "Honey, I'm heading out to the creek. I'll be back soon." With that, he kissed two fingers, before placing them on the grave, then stood and walked away, grabbing a large kettle on his way off into the trees.





Elizabeth Johnson

-Dusk, Elizabeth had always liked this time of day as it provided the clearest picture of her targets at almost any angle. There was a certain beauty to the fiery sky that did not go unappreciated by her. She sat on the edge of the temporary base camp her and her squad mates had created a couple of weeks ago. Things had been crazy since everything went sideways and Elizabeth still hadn't fully come to grips with everything she'd seen and heard up till now. But of everything that she'd experienced, the thing that really stuck out in her mind was "them", those things that looked human but clearly were not. She'd heard of Zombies as a kid, even seen some movies when she was a teenager but she always dismissed it as a flight of fantasy. And after everything she'd seen, all the death, destruction and carnage in her many tours of duty, and still the image of a group of those freaks bent over a body, devouring it, wouldn't leave her mind.
To her right a shadow seemed to separate from the rest and within seconds Staff Sergeant Collins stood before her. He quickly snapped off a crisp salute and waited at attention to be addressed. Elizabeth stowed the nascent logic threads in her mind and focused on the man in front of her. He was of medium build, lightly muscled and athletic but utterly average looking in every way. Elizabeth straightened her posture slightly and returned the salute before addressing him. "Collins, report", Elijah nodded and began his report, "Ma'am, after scouting our perimeter it appears that we're secure for the time being. Prescott found a game trail half a click South, South West with a fresh water stream four hundred meters beyond that. As of right now DeJesus has managed to tap into the comms of what remaining military forces are in the area and it seems like we're pretty deep in the shit." A smile quickly flitted across his face before it returned to its normal, passive state. "Just like Mogadishu eh Colonel?" Elizabeth chuckled and looked at him with her icey blue eyes as she spoke, "No this is nothing like Mogadishu Staff Sergeant, at least there we knew who the enemies were."
The sun had finally set and the chill of the night fell upon the camp quickly, Elizabeth and her team busied themselves checking their gear. Their desertion from the main force had been easy enough but it had left them woefully under equipped, as it stood they each had their survival knives, a couple of E-Tools, a sidearm each and about a hundred rounds between them. If they were going to survive they'd need to find food and shelter before their meager supply of MRE's dried up. Elizabeth finished her pre op checks and looked over her team, they'd been through a lot together and their faith in her leadership was unshakeable though she sometimes wondered if she deserved it. Elizabeth absentmindedly touched a jagged scar that stretched from the base of her neck down to her navel as she thought back to her first command. She had been stationed in Afghanistan and was operating out of a small FOB with her first team, there had been three of them back then, Guitierez and Hastings were veteran Green Berets and had dozens of successful ops between them, why a brand new officer like her had been given command over them she didn't know but she was eager to produce results. Their mission was simple, infiltrate a Taliban stronghold in the mountains and sweep it clear of any hostiles. They hit the encampment at night, NVG's and suppressed weapons allowing them to make quick work of the sentries as they made their way through the camp quietly killing anyone they found.
The op was going off without a hitch though Elizabeth couldn't help but notice how tense Guitierez and Hastings were, like they knew something she didn't. It was while she was embroiled in this thought that she entered the next chamber of the cave, taking point reflexively when she heard the sudden twang of a snapped tripline. She knew what was coming and knew she didn't have enough time to react to the bouquet of fragmentation grenades that now laid at her feet missing their spoons. From behind her Guitierez stepped up and quickly shoved her back while throwing himself on top of the grenades. Had it been a single explosive things might have turned out differently, instead when they went off she was thrown bodily from the chamber where she impacted with the opposite wall with an audible thud, she couldn't feel the entirety of her torso and from the warm liquid she felt on her neck she knew her wounds had to be severe. As she swayed in and out of consciousness she caught bits and pieces of what was happening in the world around her, Doctors rushing every which way, beeping machines that monitored her vitals but what stuck out the most was Hastings. He had come to visit her and though she didn't remember much of what he said when she finally came to, she found Guitierez's dog tag laying on her bedside table.
After her recovery Elizabeth debriefed her superiors on the op and though she was cleared to return to duty she was never the same afterwards. In OCS her instructor had told her that a good leader knows when to spend the lives of his men to complete the mission while a bad leader wastes the lives of those under them with foolish pursuits. She would be forever haunted by the life she'd wasted. Elizabeth suddenly snapped back to the present situation to find her squad staring at her, awaiting orders, she clenched her fist and looked at them as she spoke. "Men I'm not gonna lie, we're in deep here. We're running low on supplies and our current Base of Operations won't last more than a month before it's over run by those things. So to that end we need to prioritize securing a permanent base of operations that we can fortify. We'll split into two teams, Collins you're with me taking the east side of town, Dejesus and Prescott you'll take downtown, remember, avoid any unnecessary contact with hostiles, we're strictly reconing the area for now and we don't want to get caught with our pants down. We'll rendezvous at camp at 2200, until then I want constant radio silence unless there's an emergency. The three nodded and quickly saluted before splitting up and heading towards the town.-





Mavis/Grayson

Everything had happened so fast, they were zipping in between empty and destroyed buildings and locked cars avoiding the stumblers as much as they could. They had no clue where they all came from that they were just there all of a sudden. The pair's goal was to make it to the woods, where they could have some cover and possibly climb a tree for safety for the night. All Mavis could do was stare at the back of Grayson's head while they ran. His hand tightly grasping on to her small hand that seemed to fit perfectly in his but it was shaking. Suddenly, Grayson had abruptly stopped causing Mavis to run right into his back, luckily with her small size compared to his, he did not move and she bounced off his back gaining her legs quickly. She had not understood why he stopped till she gazed around his large muscular body. Her bright blue orbs went wide when they fell upon a horde of stumblers blocking their path to the woods. The sound of shuffling, groans, and growls coming from behind them and in front of them. She glanced over her half-bare shoulder, another horde of stumblers blocked their way. And the ones at the front of the hoard behind them were the stumblers with the faces of the team. (C)
The Native Alaskan female glanced down at her weapon that happened to be the bat she had made from the backbone of a deer and then to Grayson who was tightly gripping the semi-automatic sniper rifle with one hand while her hand was still in his other. "How many rounds you got?" Grayson glanced down at his gun and sighed. "Five." He replied simply, they had left the extra ammo and other weapons at the gym since they had never made it back inside. Even the box of food they had collected had been dropped with all the chaos. Mavis squatted down and pulled a pair of hunters knifes from under her pants where they had been strapped to the side of her calves the entire time. "Gray, save the ammo." She told him, standing up swiftly handing him her hand made bat as he slung the sniper rifle over his shoulder and back. He nodded to her, "Cover my back and I'll cover yours. There's more behind us than in front so I'll try to work quickly." Mavis could tell that Grayson was trying very hard to hold it together, at the beginning of this whole outbreak he had his team to support him. They had given him something to live for and now. Now they were gone, they were only memories and the torn-up bloody faces of the stumblers that blocked the way they had come from. (C)
"Gray, once you see an opening. Run. Run and don't look back." She told him and before he could respond to her words. Mavis had ran forward and into the horde of stumblers, knocking them down one by one, stabbing them between the eyes one after the other. Not even bothering to look back at how Grayson was doing. Not once did she let a stumbler past her and she had so far had successfully not been bitten. She was quicker than them, dodging around them. If someone had been watching her, it would look as if she were dancing with them before killing them. Many bodies piled behind her as she pressed forward. Mavis glanced up once to see that Grayson had made it to the edge of the woods, he had turned to stare at her even though some of the stumblers he had not killed were after him. "I SAID RUN!" She shouted and that was what he did. He ran and disappeared into the woods, covered in blood from the stumblers he had killed to get to the woods. Mavis kept fighting and ran down the road, her cross country training came in handy and she could outrun them if she kept running and never looked back. So, she did the same thing she had told Grayson to do. She ran. (C)





Grayson Dean

Grayson was breathing heavily as he ran, dodged stumblers and low tree branches, and hurdled some down trees. He had no clue what direction he had been running nor how long he had either. His mind was solely focused on Mavis, amazed by how many of those stumblers she had taken out, and never once did she falter. Grayson did not even know if she was safe or if she had been bitten while she fought off that hoard. Grayson glanced over his shoulder, he had somehow lost the stumblers and was now completely lost in the woods. Not to mention, the sun had started to set. He had only slowed down and stopped when he felt what was left of his stomach contents coming up. Bracing himself on the trunk of a tree, he puked it all up before he wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. A few minutes later Grayson found a tree that was easy to climb that also had large branches that he could lay on for the night. He climbed it easily, Mavis's bat in hand. He knew she had grown up in the Alaskan wilderness but he had no clue that she was so strong for such a small build nor did he know that she had such advanced fighting abilities that she made it not only look easy to fight and kill those stumblers but made it look good while she did. It was as if she was dancing with them before she had killed them, she even had the bright idea to knock them down by breaking their knees so she could fight off a few at a time. Sighing softly, Grayson rested his back on the trunk of the tree had climbed. Only to fall into a light slumber while thinking and worrying about Mavis. Waking up to the smallest of movements. (E)





Robert Freelen

As the sunset gave way to darkness, Bob took a moment to survey his surroundings, listening carefully. He didn't like what he was hearing, as when full night had settled on the forest, it was entirely too quiet. Easing his bow from his back, he went into Recon mode almost out of reflex, as he crouched to the ground and listened closely. No night sounds, no creatures moving around, just dead silence. Something dangerous was in the area. The fact the forest went silent was a clear sign of it. He took a few moments longer, before slowly standing to a half-crouch, taking an arrow from his hip quiver, then nocking it quietly. He then crept along the bank of the creek, listening for the slightest sound. After a few minutes, that's when he heard the sound. A slight shuffling, like feet that weren't being picked up very well, a little further up the creek. He slowed his creeping stance, staying dead silent, not even the sound of breathing issuing forth as he kept his breath low and slow. At that moment, he saw what looked to be a person from this angle. He was about to stand, when it turned in his general direction, and Bob's eyebrows hit his hairline, about the closest visible sign he gave of surprise. (c)
Half the person's face was gone, torn muscles hanging off in ragged array. His clothes seemed to be dishevelled and torn, with chunks of flesh missing. But the eyes are what caused his surprise. Once was hanging halfway down his ragged cheek. But the other was dead, completely lifeless. Remembering some of the movies he watched as a kid, he wanted to shake it off as not being possible, and as such, he slid his arrow back into the quiver and slid his bow back into place. He then limbered his knife a bit in the belt sheathe, before approaching the being. Speaking softly, he hoped not to startle the person. "Sir, do you need help?" This seemed to throw a switch in the person's brain, because it zoned in on Bob and it was at this moment Bob knew his dismissal of his gut instinct had been a mistake. As the creature came at him, as Bob's brain switched a gear and regarded it as no longer a person, he slipped his knife out, and as the thing got within a few feat of him, Bob tried a nonlethal takedown, with a quick kick to the knee and a hit to the chest, normally enough to knock someone unconscious or at least on their ass. But this thing kept coming on, and reacting on instinct, Bob slipped around his grasp and came in with a quick stab to the back of the neck, severing the brain stem cleanly as the creature went past him in the forward momentum. (c)
Quick and clean, no blood spilled, and the thing went down without another sound. He waited for a moment, before hearing more shuffling. This thing must have had friends. Crouching down, he wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. Sneaking through the forest silent as death itself, he slipped his large frame from darkened shadow to shadow. They seemed to work more on sound than sight, from what he observed from the first. He then came across a pair, and tossed a rock at a tree close by as a test. Both of them immediately turned towards it and came walking right for it, which Bob ticked off a mental note for. As they came near, he eased his position a little to their flank, before slipping behind them quickly and doing one full slice, severing their brain stems and killing them instantly. (c)
Taking a moment, he could only hear one more. He then snuck over to where it was. It seemed to be stuck on a root, with its back to a tree. He could almost chuckle as an idea came into his head. He removed his bow, before quickly firing a shot at full draw, slamming the arrow through the creature's sternum and embedding them to the tree. It would take some serious strength to get that thing off the tree. He then stood and fired two more arrows, one directly into each pelvis, anchoring the torso to the tree. Satisfied it wasn't going anywhere, he slid his tomahawk from its sheathe after putting his bow back into place. He then walked over to it, staying clear of the flailing arms and legs, before using the axe to chop the arms and legs off the body, leaving a torso nailed to the tree, and leaving the thing alive as a sort of living warning. He doubted it would scare off any of these creatures, but if this was going on, there's bound to be people in the woods as well. Picking up the legs and arms, he then carried them with him, heading back to the three other bodies, before grabbing a leg in each arm and dragging them through the woods, heading towards his home. (e)

Robert Freelen

Hearing all the echoes of gunfire, he stopped for a moment, turning his head a little to listen in closely. At first, he wasn't too concerned. This was a hunting and farming area alongside the college, so gunfire was normal. But this was too rapid, and some of the echoes spoke of gunfire entirely too powerful to be hunting anything less than a bear. He didn't like this, not one bit. A bad feeling came over him, as he dropped the zombie bodies and body parts and sprinted through the woods, heading back towards his house quickly. As he came upon it, he slid to a stop and walked around the corner, taking a camo net off a dirt back hidden beside a bush and made to look like it was just another part of the shrubbery. He checked the tank, looked it over, before pulling it out and moving to get on it, grumbling a bit. He was already full armed, though he was missing three arrows from his quiver, having 'nailed' the torso to the tree. Grumbling a bit, he gunned the engine, taking his well rehearsed route through the trees, the one he tended to take when he needed to head to town for supplies. He barely slowed down around curves and such, heading towards the city about 3 miles away, though at this ground-eating pace, he'd easily arrive within a few minutes tops. As he reached the open ground between the city and the trees, he gunned it, speeding up rather dramatically as he sped towards the city and the noise of gunfire.




Enzo Adams

ziip Enzo zipped his fly shut as he finished is leak in the woods. The distant calming sounds of birds chirping. The man turned back around to try and relocate with the group he was walking with...barren. He looked from left to right with no sign of his crew. He looked down to see his rifle was still there, and his pistol on his hip.


“Well shit...” The words escaped his mouth as the rest of the world continued in silence. Enzo reaches down for his rifle, a m4, and tried to retrace his steps through the foliage. A buzzing sound erupted from his side, Enzo turned, the sight of a man on a dirt bike passed by him. Where he was going there must have been purpose, maybe that was one of the soldiers that had used a civilians bike.


Enzo turned and went in the direction, hopefully to find some sort of life




Grayson Dean

Grayson groaned as he opened his eyes, he had not really slept the entire night. Every little thing that moved he had woken up too but none of it was any more stumblers. Just the critters who came out at night that lived in the woods. Sighing softly he surveyed his surroundings making sure there were not any stumblers around once it was clear he got down from the tree. Stretched and then glanced around again. "Damn, where the hell am I?" He questioned himself out loud, he had not paid attention to his directions last night so he forgot what way he had come from. Instead of trying to figure out where he was he decided on a direction and began walking. He walked all the way to a road and then began walking down that road already knowing he was going toward the campus at this point.




DM Post

The forest was rather quiet during the night except for a few birds that were singing their songs up high in the tree. Morning hadn't quite arrived yet and this night would probably be seen by people as longer than most nights before had been. Many civilians hadn't found their bed at all yet and a pretty decent number was out of the streets, outrunning those that tried to eat them while trying to make sense of the horrors that were hunting them down.

It was because of that that a small group of the living made it's way over the road towards the forest edge. The small group, who chose to split up on reaching the forest, was getting hunted down by another small group of undead. Sadly enough, there appeared to be 3 times more zombies than there were living amongst the two groups.

As the group split up, each of them except for one appeared to get followed by another group of zombies, the zombies splitting up and dividing their number, which had been 15, over their targets. It wasn't typical zombie behavior as they usually flocked together, but with food running in all directions they just chose to follow where the food went, functioning on nothing but hunger and instinct.

The only one that wasn't followed was a track student from the college, and he ran as fast as he could until he noticed another man walking on the road, this one towards him.

"Not today, boy! Not today!" He yelled, preparing his rifle to shoot what he thought was a zombie ahead.
---

Meanwhile, deeper down the forest and closer to the creek things were even calmer. Over there, even the screams of the town's center seemed to fade into thin air and make place for the peace of nature. The water in the creek ran through the green grass as if nothing was going on and nothing could disturb it, and the leaves in the trees danced up and down in the wind like they were celebrating. Not that there was anything to celebrate though, unless they meant to celebrate those that were slowly arriving.

A miniature horde of five zombies made it's way through the trees, having the same sole focus on their mind. Food, a source of food. That was all they aimed to find and as neither of them had noticed any living near them yet, they seemed to mostly wander aimlessly. So aimlessly that they got closer to the man that had just started to retrace his steps throughout the forest without knowing. Soon enough, the horde found itself wandering behind him, following him from a distance of less than half a mile and picking up his scent.

The first of the horde, which seemed to be the leader that the others were following, threw his head up in the air and paused mid walk, head tilting from side to side as it aimed to figure out where the scent was leading them. Within a minute, he'd picked up the trail and continued to walk, their grunting getting worse now that food was finally within reach.




Enzo Adams

Closer and closer, Enzo made his way to the tree line, the screams from town getting louder and louder. As instinct, Enzo raised his weapons and continued in a crouch walk, skeptical of danger nearby. Enzo turned the laser on at the end of the barrel, swaying it back and forth along trees and bushes.

Enzo was blissfully unaware of the zombies at the current moment, but if they got closer he would surely hear something. He slowed his pace but kept moving in the same direction.




DM Post

As he walked on and got closer to the tree line, the zombies behind him shuffled on with him. They were so slow that at first, it didn't seem like they were actually catching up to him at all. No, the man could've made it into town easily if he had continued walking the same way he had at first. Alas he didn't, and as he crouch walked and moved slower they finally managed to slowly but surely close in on him.

While the man in front of them swayed his weapon back and forth and scanned the area in front of them, he appeared to be rather oblivious to what was going on behind him and the zombies became more impatient as they got closer to their target. Shuffling feet could be heard to one that was paying close attention to the sounds that surrounded him, and if it wasn't then surely the sound of one zombie tripping the other in it's excitement surely was. The one that got tripped managed to catch itself, although the snapping of a brittle bone could be heard which was followed by a groan as the zombie now dragged one of his legs along with every step.

The zombie at the front of the group was within arm's reach of the man as it happened and snapped his head back to look at the others in the miniature horde, as if it were annoyed by the way his companions behaved. It wasn't that as much as the sound that had attracted him of course, and he found himself momentarily distracted as he stared at the stumbling group.




Enzo Adams

Enzo glanced his head back, his eyes first ignoring the fact there was a zombie behind him. Adrenaline kicking in as his mind came to realization. He pulled a combat knife from his belt and cut the zombie at the neck, allowing it to bleed as the few chunks of meat left kept its head attached, but dangling off its body.

The laser pointed back to the zombies that were now informs of him, straying from head to head as he picked them off one by one. Watching the bodies fall. The gunshots echoed in his ears as he forgot to put in his hearing protection. “Damn this gas mask” he pulled it off his face and put in his protection, the ringing still present.

Enzo strayed his laser over the bodies once again, waiting for a movement that would make him shoot again.




DM Post

The zombie didn't see the knife coming and soon, it saw nothing at all. The neck that was cut made it's head dangle dangerously off it's body. The following seconds, the zombie's jaw moved in clear air as it attempted to bite it's attacker with the last of it's strenght. There was no use to it as soon, because of it's desperate attempts, the neck started ripping further until both body and head fell lifelessly onto the floor.

The others that had been tripping over each other while making their way closer had decided to try and speed up when their leader had turned to look at them and stumbled further as fast as they could, reaching something between a walk and a half-jog as they moved along. They seemed to be freshly turned, or at least fresher than their leader had be and their movements weren't as rusty as the others had been. Still, they weren't quite capable of running, nor were they capable of realizing that the lazer would harm them. The last to get shot stopped in it's tracks and stared at the lazer as it pointed at it's companions head before it's companion dropped to the floor, and as the laser was then pointed at itself, it stared at the man with a growling sound escaping it's throat.

The last gunshot rang through the air and the body collapsed with the others, now no longer being anything more than slowly rotting flesh. It seemed like for now, the threat was gone but that didn't mean that the bodies were useless.

One of them seemed to be wearing a fanny pack and based on the looks of it, the item seemed to be stocked with whatever it's content was. If someone looked closely, it would even seem to have been a struggle to get the zipper to close.




Enzo Adams

As Enzo secured the mask back on his face, he walked around the bodies checking them. He checked his magazine and gun for ammo and if there was any damage done to the weapons itself. With much more ammo and a clean gun, he continued to check the bodies. Until he cam across the one with the fanny pack, he unzipped the pouch to see what’s inside.




DM Post

As he unzipped the fanny pack to see what was inside, he'd find what seemed to be a collection of medication that was picked up from the pharmacy that very morning. Most of it was prescribed but some of them were over the counter bottles. It appeared that the man this zombie used to be simply hadn't made it home with this bag and met an early ending on this day of darkness.

With the bottles, there was a receipt with the date and time of that morning as well as a wallet with an ID.

Items acquired:
Asthma inhaler with 2 fillings, 2 bottles of 30 paracetamol, bottle of 200ml codeine, bottle of antiseptic spray.
50$ from the wallet




Owen

The singular gun shot echoed through the night air. Within fifteen meters silence fell upon nature seconds after. The barrel of the man’s Glock 17 pistol emitted a smoke that hissed a short amount of time before subsiding. At the end of the barrel an individual one could categorize as human from the unkempt haircut to the ripped and tarnished clothing lay immobile on the ground. The main factor that dismissed the concept of said creature being human aside from the portions of flesh and muscle tissue missing from the segments of exposed body had to be the visible bite mark on the back part of its right shoulder. Analyzing the body from a distance with the weapon still pointed downward, the individual in all black SAS combat attire watched this corpse carefully. The same smoke that emitted from gun rose from the fresh bullet-sized hole in the creature’s cranium. He squints his eyes under gas mask lenses until finally lowering his aim. Exhaling, muffled slightly in sound by the gas mask’s respirator, Owen closed his eyes. The sound of feet shuffling through broken branch and leaves began to grow closer under the blanket of silence. “Closer.” He whispers. Silently he puts the safety back on his pistol and holsters it. The sound of shuffling through woods had now been followed but inhuman noises. Growls and hisses. “Closer.” His voice no longer a whisper but a low toned command to this approaching threat. The hint of his English accent mixed with the raps of his deep voice. The little light that could be provided in the night revealed the three remaining infected within his vicinity. Their sights fixed on him, the slayer of their lifeless fellow denizen of the dead. Fresh meat in their eyes. The closest one, male in tattered clothing lunges forth with arms stretched out straight at Owen.

Owen’s eyes open. The lunge is met with resistance in movement as Owen’s right hand closes into a fist and side jabs the zombie high in the cranium and off its walking course. This jab is followed by a front kick with less power to throw off the creature’s already skewed balance. Owen removes his combat knife and sweeps the right foot of the creature up. Before it can fully fall down on its back, Owen rams his shoulder into the torso for a proper take down and causing the creature’s head to hit the ground. Rising up he slashed the front of the neck out of habit and drives the blade downward into the eye socket of the bastard. A second downward stab as a means of ensuring the kill was secured before he rolls off to the right into a crouching position.

Slowly rising to stand face to face with the second of the shambling zombies, the speed of his right kick had enough velocity and force to spin the the head of the creature into a fixed ninety-degree angle with a loud snap the vertebrae. Relaxing his stance he walks up to the creature and shoved the blade of his knife into its vulnerable temple. After silencing it for good with his lethal strike, his eyes move towards the final target. He exhales once again, before inhaling and waiting for the shambling zombie to get closer. The front kick that he applies good force and power behind sends the creature almost flying back into a tree with enough impact to visibly damage the wooden fibers of the tree. With the final now slumped over on its ass, Owen approaches it and plunges his blade into the top part of the skull. He exhales again and removes his blade. With the threats taken out, Owen cleans his blade with the shirt of the final kill, and slips it back in its holster. Looking around and embracing the silence once again, he goes over the skirmish in his head. Recalling how each hit felt, what parts of the body gave a sense of resistance or lack there of. He removes his MP5 SMG from its compartment on his person, and walks back against a tree with a mass of shrubs at the base of its trunk. He simply waits now for his next move, or next prey, now shrouded by nature itself. A true predator of predators.




DM Post

While the one that had brought down the zombies was now waiting against a tree, the silence around him remained. The only sounds in the distance were the chirping of crickets and the sound of a single woodpecker a few trees over that would soon stop to sleep. It was calm in the woods, as if the dead weren't roaming around and the zombies hadn't appeared at all. The only signs of their presence were scattered bodies, found in piles or alone here and there where the blood of both zombies and victims had drained the ground and colored it deep red.

The only other movement in his nearby surroundings was that of small wildlife that made it's way across the paths here and there now that the peace had returned for a moment. While it was night and most would normally be asleep, it had been hard to sleep for them these past few days. They too had known stress and worries and it had affected them.

On the opposite side of the woodpecker, an owl sat in the darkness and looked around, it's head turning from side to side while it quietly observed. Minutes ticked by and soon, the owl spotted movement in a tree much further away, where the shape of a person that appeared to be sleeping on a branch started moving slowly.

Arms and legs swaying side to side in their nightmare, the person soon fell off of the branch and was captured mid-air by the ropes they'd used to tie themselves to the tree. They hadn't done a good job at that and the scream that filled the air proved that, but at least they hadn't ended up on the floor, right?




Enzo Adams

As Enzo packed the stuff in a small backpack he had, throwing it all over his back and continuing on the path he was going through. Running to the tree line in hopes of finding his crew once again.




Owen

Owen began his move. Steps as silent as the night’s nature could provide as each calculated step forward meant a full scan of his visual proximity. Anything that peaked the curiosity, whatever stood out. Whether they were alive or not he kept his eyes peeled for any humanoid presence. His SMG gripped tight in hand for quick dispatch. His breathing steady under his gas mask. That’s when a loud thud caught his attention. Unsure exactly where of the direction, but at whatever distance he could figure he had been from said noise, it sounded as heavy as a body. Another noise breaks the silence of the night. Footsteps, running. He ceased in movement and continued waiting.



DM Post

The one that had fallen off of the branch was still hanging high up in the air, caught by his rope. After his initial scream, he still hadn't calmed down and now he was struggling with the ropes. Part of him was trying his best to free himself while the other part of him was tryin to prevent that, knowing deep down that if he were to free himself he'd fall down onto the ground for real. Who knows how much attention his scream had gotten him? For all he knew, hordes of zombies could be heading his way by now.

Trying his best to turn in the rope as he heard the steps of someone that was running, he eventually managed to spot them before shaking his head. Fools, all fools, he thought. As if he was the sharpest crayon in the box and others were just dumber than him. That statement couldn't have been more false, of course, and as he attempted to get up in the ropes so that he could climb back on his branch, he fell down once more, only to be caught by a single piece of the rope that his foot got trapped in.

There he was, hanging upside down, foot trapped in the rope while his head dangerously swung right above the ground, threatening to break open his skull if his foot were to slip out.




Enzo Adams

As Enzo ran he came to the stop of someone hanging from a tree. The odd site perplexed him and he wanted to see what had happened. “Who did you like that” he asked, keeping his gun close in case it was a trap.




Owen

Owen’s footsteps were anything but without sound at this point, though they were light enough to keep even a baby deer from prancing away out of fright. He closed in on the location of what appeared to be an individual stuck in a tree due to a rope mishap, and a second man who had already approached. He cleared his throat loud enough for them both to hear, and lowered his weapon to aim downward and to the side. His finger notably off the trigger. His arm positioning not hiding his now visible United Kingdom flag patch sewn into his vest. With his demeanor now calm, having confirmed that neither of them were one of the walking corpses, he looked to the one who stood up right. His ‘British-bulldog’ voice coming out with deep tones and rasp. “Probably cut ‘em down? Our inner perimeter is clear and we would’ve heard those undead freaks approaching. I’ll keep watch.” His gaze, which was honed in and centered because of his gas mask’s vision, not leaving the gentleman that stood. He waited for his response, hands still holding his own weapon.



DM Post

He didn't think he'd ever been more embarassed before as two people approached him. There was a bit of relief as the two weren't zombies but somewhere deep down, he'd have chosen zombies over survivors as the zombies wouldn't make fun of him. They'd help him out of the situation too, if only out of the situation of existence rather than just the one of him being trapped in his own rope.

"Eh.. I did..." He said, cheeks flushing bright red as he was asked who did him like that. It was hard to tell what the person would think of him after that answer, he'd probably be considered an utter fool and they likely weren't wrong but he'd meant well. "By accident though..." He added as clarification, although he doubted that'd make it any better.

As the second got closer, he squinted a little at the sight of the flag patch on his vest. That wasn't a flag he recognized, or was it? He wasn't exactly sure but from what he could tell, it had to be the Australian one.

"Well well well, down under eh? What brings you this far away from home? Weren't the amount of deadly snakes and spiders they have back there dangerous enough for you?" He teased, which was probably a bold and downright stupid move. The man had put up a plan that would get him cut down after all, so it was likely that it'd be better to not get on his bad side.




Enzo Adams

Enzo glanced at the new person walking up, quickly looking them up and down. Turning back to the hanging man in front of him, “He’s British idiot, now tuck your head in so I can cut the rope down.” Enzo grabbed the combat knife off of his belt and chopped the rope in two. Letting the man fall to the ground with a thump. “What we you doing in the tree?”




Owen

“Aside from looking ridiculous.” Owen added, still scanning the area. There was a creek, some body of water nearby. Probably worth investigating once the hanging individual was freed. Owen felt a need for a smoke. Nothing about this added up from his mission report. Reanimated hostiles. Potentially hazardous environment. Increasing number of casualties. He knows he was sent for recon and potential clean-up duty but this was hectic even for an operator of his experience. “Is there a place nearby that surviving civilians might be held up? Any places with military presence? I’m trying to stay selective with where I’m spotted out in the open.” He turns around to look at the two, now with the careless individual freed.




DM Post

Being called ridiculous and an idiot didn't improve his mood, but he waited until he was cut down before he dared to grumble and protest. Instead of getting to protest though, he hit the ground with a thump and hissed in pain.

"Ow!" He brought out, his frustration growing while he rubbed the shoulder he'd fallen on. He looked between the two of them, head moving side to side as he registered what they were doing and saying. Most importantly, he registered what they were asking him, but for a moment it was casted aside.

"Australian, British... It's both from across the pond, isn't it? Tell me, what did you do? Did you swim here? Asia no longer interesting enough?" He scoffed, being utterly oblivious to the fact that neither Australia nor Britain were in Asia. No, geography wasn't his strong suit and in all honesty, he wasn't the smartest pea in the pod either.

"Hiding, from zombies. Duh." He finally said in reply to the question regarding his former situation. He then stared at them, as if that explained everything and made it obvious. It only took him a moment longer to decide to clarify. "They apparently don't climb trees. I figured that it'd be safe to sleep up there but to prevent myself from falling off, I'd tied myself to the branch...." He explained, rolling his eyes while he dusted off his clothes. Those clothes were a red flannel shirt and a skinny jeans, a pair of timberlands and a beanie that covered his half long brown hair completing the look.

"No wonder the boy's scouts weren't a success..." He concluded as he looked at the piece of rope that had fallen on the floor. Yeah, his knots looked absolutely horrible. Taking his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, he pulled one out and lit it up before offering one to the other men.

"Surviving civillians? In town probably. I don't know though, I skipped town a few hours ago. The screams were too much to deal with." He said. To the other questions he simply shook his head.

Enzo Adams

“There’s a college here, they may be pent up in there seeing as there is plenty of space.” Enzo took a wild guess, “but who knows, they could all just be hunkering down in their own homes”. He looked back in the direction he was going, pointing his arm out, “I was heading in that direction before, saw someone on a dirt bike or something, I advise we go that way.”




Owen Hunnam

“You lead.” As much as he wanted a smoke, he declined silently and shook his head to the individual. He withdrew his SMG by moving it to his back, safety on. He draws his glock and removes the safety, finger over the trigger safely rather than on it. He chose to stick to the middle of this makeshift formation. His head moves constantly, scanning their surroundings at all times. “Name’s Hunnam. I don’t necessarily trust neither of you with my life. I do however trust you not to miss your shots when they need to count.” He was getting tired, and even a brief nap would help his mental. Hopefully they could find somewhere to bunker down.




DM Post

He shrugged a bit as the suggestion to go in the direction of the college came. Personally, he didn't quite like the idea of heading to an area where there'd be even more people. He'd ran away from that after all, so the thought of going back there was just silly. Still, he hadn't really done that well on his own had he? So maybe it'd be better for him to stick with the others just in case.

"Alright... back to the town it is." He said in a half-snarl, ready to follow the one that had advised them on a direction. For a moment, he wanted to start a battle on why that one got to lead instead of him but he'd always been more of a follower anyways so who was he kidding?

He looked up for a moment to see his backpack still in the tree, trying to remember how much resources he'd left in there. Two sandwishes and a bottle of water as well as some bandaids and a hunting knife. That wasn't enough for him to wish to climb back into the tree, but if either of the others wanted it he wouldn't stop them.

"Shots? Ha! Where do you think you are, the carnival? That's the only place where I ever shot a gun, mate." He said while laughing as he shook his head. "Name's Brandon, and I don't particularly trust anyone right now but hey, if we die then we might as well die doing something and I have no better alternative."




Enzo Adams

“Adams, likewise” Enzo said as he started walking in the direction of town. “Hunnam, do your comms work or are they down?” He turned his head and asked, “Mine haven’t worked as soon as I got into town but that could just be faulty wiring or something.”




Owen Hunnam

“Negative. It might depend on the area. The feed type seemed to only be receiving on their end back home. I sent my last update, and then all channels went dark. Haven’t tried since.” He looks back to Adams and sighs, shaking his head and getting a firm grip on his gun as they continued. “Looks like I’ve found myself some unofficial guides. Just what I need for my first time in the States. Some vacation.”




DM Post

He frowned again as the two others spoke about whether or not the communication systems they carried were still working. Being the exact opposite of someone with military experience, he truly didn't understand the need for them.

"What kind of updates would you even want to get? How many have died? That we all go to hell and that we're doomed?" He laughed, before switching to his best radio voice.

"Good morning Clarey, it is sunny in Philadelphia and there's rainbows in the sky. A cool breeze will make sure the day doesn't become too hot for you. Meanwhile Clarey is turning into a graveyard, have fun being a zombie's lunch." He joked, keeping a straight face for all of those sentences before starting to laugh again and rolling his eyes.

"A vacation indeed..." He added, on a lighter tone than in which the other had said it. If either of them would look at him in confusion or annoyance, he'd simply shrug. "I, for one, believe that I make good company"




Enzo Adams

“If we had comms I could ask my squad to come pick us up, and it would be safer to split up because we could communicate.” He told Brandon, “but that ain’t exactly an option now.” As they got closer to the the edge of the forest, more sounds of the town started coming into perspective. Zombies and some other carnage.




Robert Freelen

Having come out of the campus area, he stopped for a moment. He wasn't in any underbrush currently, though to the untrained eye, the furs and such that he wore would make him look like a creature dozing off in the forest, and as big as he was, he'd likely be taken for a bear, which usually meant people would steer clear. At least in a small town like this. He waited for about 10 minutes, holding off once he remembered she'd given him a nod, which told him she'd be coming along as well. After about 10 minutes, however, he'd be moving on, skirting the town towards his shack. So for now, he waited.




Owen Hunnam

“Before I landed I was worried about a mountain lion or two before reaching some civilization.” He makes sure his gun’s chamber has its bullet. He adjusts his gas mask with a hand and inhaled loudly before exhaling just as loudly. “Then I dropped more than a few bodies. Now I’m worried about hordes of whatever the hell these things. The thing that worries me in particular?” He takes out his knife in his freehand, now holding his glock in his right hand. “How many can I drop before my knife gets dull.” The sound of approaching zombies putting him more on guard than on edge.




DM Post

The reasons behind the need for communication devices did make sense now that it was explained to him, and he let out a sigh as he continued to walk with them. They were almost on the edge of the forest now, and the closer they came to it the more he tensed up.

"Are you two sure about this? I still feel like it's safer in the forest than out there." He stated, taking steps back instead of continuing to move forward, letting his worries get to him. He looked at the others and how they prepared for the zombies, one having both hands filled with weapons.

Brandon himself didn't have any weapons on him, and his concerns grew while they heard the sound of the approaching zombies.

"Oh no..." He claimed, knowing they were getting close. A branch that was covering the path behind him tripped him as it caught his ankle, which caused for him to fall backwards and land on his ass, covering the rest of his clothes in dirt too.

"Great, just great. If you have another idea like this, feel free to share that too. See what happened? It's all yo-" He claimed, getting cut off by the movement he saw in the corner of his eye. A group of zombies that was coming from the forest rather than the town, and they were heading straight towards him.

As he started freaking out, a high pitched and rather girly scream left his throat and he pushed himself up to the best of his ability before stumbling forward. He headed back into the direction they came from and turned his head once to look over his shoulder and say his goodbyes.

"Yeah, good luck out there, it isn't for me..." He started, trying to play it off as if he wasn't just an extreme scaredy cat. Then he took of running, only getting half a mile further before stepping right into a bear trap, which closed around his leg and punctured it with it's teeth. Naturally, that caused for him to scream more in pure agony.

Enzo Adams

“Hunnam, go pick him up I’ll cover you.” Enzo turned on his laser and scanned the laser over the heads of the zombies. Picking his shots and dropping them one by one. “And tell him to shut up when you do”




Owen Hunnam

“You daft? A suicide mission? Ugh, fine!” He dispatched no more than two zombies with 4 shots from his glock. Each shot made contact with the face first before and adjusted aim to the cranium red zone for targeting made contact. “Go and save the coward that was originally stuck in a tree.” He muttered to himself keeping count of the bullets in his gun’s round currently. He makes his way swiftly but without rushing towards the direction of Brandon’s blood curdling scream.




Sasha Kingsley

Sasha's approach was fairly silent as she moved up on Bob, his furs making it easy for her to spot since she was looking for them. A soft whistle to draw his attention towards her, before she shrugged her shoulders and hunkered down on the ground beside him. "I sent the others to the third floor, figured higher would be safer." Her voice was extremely soft, meant only for him to hear. "All I've got is my pistol. I didn't take time to grab my knives. Ideas?" She turned her head to look directly at him, her intense green eyes focusing in as she watched.




Robert Freelen

Hearing the slight whistle, he looked over and saw her approaching. He then listened to what she said, nodding a bit. "In a way, it's sound advice. However, if those things do enter the building, they'll be trapped up there. Are you sure they can handle doing that for a while? This may take multiple hours, possibly a day, to do." He looked back towards the building, attempting to see movement from the upper floor, but couldn't really see anything. "Not to mention they seemed reluctant to do anything. But that's on them." He then looked to her. "I have a decent stash of knives and throwing knives at my place. Should take about an hour to get there from here. I also need to grab more arrows, running a little low since I didn't stock up before going out hunting." He then waited to see if she would acknowledge the idea or not.




DM Post

The screams continued in true agony as the pain that ran through his body was horrifying. In a way, it was almost numbing and he could see his vision fading as he zoned in and out of reality. His gaze focusing on the claw and how it tore into his flesh, blood dripping out of it made him feel sick to his stomach and he felt close to passing out.

As Owen was making it's way towards him, so were other things that were attracted by the loudness of his screams. They walked and wandered slowly, forming a small group that came up from behind him. 6 of them approached him, seeing their target trapped in this claw. It was almost too easy for them to get to him, and because of that they weren't all that focused on the rest of their surroundings.

Stumbling towards their victim, it took them a moment before they noticed the others, two of them turning away from the initial target and deciding to go after the others as they were getting pushed aside by the rest of the group. The snarling walkers caught up to Brandon soon enough, and even if they didn't manage to make it to him before getting shot it didn't mean the threat was gone.

More zombies were gathering from the sides, called by the noise as about 17 more appeared from all sides. Most of them were focused on the trapped target, leaving the others with a choice. They could either risk it all to save him or leave him as bait and get away without drawing the attention of most zombies.

Brandon however, didn't seem to notice the zombies at all. His screaming didn't stop even as his head hit the ground and he seemed to turn into a toddler that was throwing a tantrum, smashing the ground with his fists and closing his eyes as tears ran over his cheeks.




Enzo Adams

“Fuck!” Enzo reacted to the swarm of zombies, quickly but carefully retreating back to Owen and Brandon. “We gotta get the hell out of here, pull your leg out when I open up the trap” Enzo told Brandon, “And shut up would you!” Enzo clenched the metal teeth of the trap and pulled out, trying to free his leg from its mechanical jaws.




Owen Hunnam

It started again. The ringing. It’s all his ears could process. Over Brandon’s screaming, Enzo’s aggressive tone, and the sound of zombies. It was too much. Adrenaline began to course throughout his body and he gripped his gun tight in one hand with the sound of his glove gripping his knife in the other hand quickly followed. Visually he began to process what was occurring while the ringing kept going in his head; how many he could count, and which ones were closer than others. What followed was a casual but brisk walk to the pair of zombies that shambled from behind him. A single shot in the first one’s right eye from his glock. He grabs the second by its clothing’s collar at the neck and holds the gun up close and under the jaw’s center. The trigger is pulled three times in an excessive yet aggressive manner. “Eight.” He says aloud. Owen holster’s the gun and sheathes his knife. Reaching for the MP5 SMG he carried on its strap and he turns the safety off. “Adams, while our meeting was brief, I appreciate running into another noble soldier in this new world of the undying.” He aims his gun in the direction of Enzo and Brandon, aiming down his iron sights and dropping three of the closest zombies around them now. “However you’re going to have to make a real choice.” His voice cold and unhindered by the chaos of the situation. “The man you are trying to save ran without a moment’s hesitation. This was his fate. If he can’t come to terms with that, then you must. Try saving him and meet your demise or push forward and take advantage of his failure in correspondence, mate. I’ve got my mission, and a soldier puts the mission first.” He turns away from them and kills the three in the distance with direct headshots and careful ammunition consumption as to reserve what was left in his clip. “But you knew that already.” He doesn’t look back as he says this last statement, walking towards the direction of the town.

Timeskip of a few hours until the evening. — DM Post.


Enzo was given little option to stay behind and help Brandon. From the already prominent blood loss to the growing number of zombies getting closer, he was forced to face Owen’s reasoning. He did his best not to look back as he stood and followed after Owen. Brandon’s desperate cries felt as though they stayed at the same volume no matter how far they had gotten. Only muffled by his gruesome demise did the screaming seem to cease.

After getting a call on the walkie talkies, the colonel's band met back up at the base. The group that went to the store came back with some decent supplies, while the group that went to the police station found the supplies they needed as well. These were all stored in the supply tent, while the group gathered around to give their reports. Taking a few moments to relax, they went to their respective areas to get a few hours of shuteye, though staying aware of their surroundings for potential threats.

Tonya entered the woods, being careful and paying close attention to her surroundings. After only a few steps in, she could already see another man (Gator) walking nearby. It seemed that he too had just entered the woods. After seeing him, she decided to follow him at a distance and keep as close an eye on him as she did on the rest of her surroundings. So far, she didn't try to interact yet. Meanwhile, Gator was mainly looking for a tree to climb in so that he could rest.

After getting an acknowledgement, Bob and Sasha stayed low and quiet, but skirted the town and made their way to Bob's place in the southwest area of the surrounding woods, a good distance from the town. Taking about half an hour to prep, Bob got them some of the jerky he'd been making from his shack, as well as restocked his arrows and everything. He took a moment to update the graves behind his house while Sasha watched for a moment, before the both of them headed out. They would keep to the woods, skirting the hospital, before heading down the road to check on this horde mentioned by the Void.





Bjarke

He had been traveling and living off the scraps he’d picked up in the last town, for days. The truck was running on its last few drops of fuel, as he approached the western edge of the woods. He put the truck in park, and pulled out a map, checking it briefly, and looking down at the compass. Quickly folding and placing it back into his breast pocket, Bjarke opened the door and pulled the keys from the ignition. As his left foot hit the ground, he let out a small “hup,” releasing Hill from her watch on the passenger seat. Pulling the axe from the center console, he slid it into his sheath on his hip, and gave his beard a soft tug. The dark brown hair shed a bit into his hand and he brushed it on his pant leg. Taking in the tree line, he listened close, and paid close attention to Hill’s body language against his leg. “Close” was his next command as he softly closed the door, and opened the rear door, grabbing his pack. As he threw his pack over his left shoulder, he felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck as she pointed. With a soft sigh, he closed the back door silently and instinctively locked the truck. Fuck. The horn. Moving silently towards the south, he traveled quickly, keeping alert.





Nathan

a strong wind passes through trees as a helicopter is seen hovering in the air, as ropes are thrown down from the helicopter as a man in black and green tactical suit slides down them and lands on the ground gently, He stands straight as some having a badge spelling his name Nathan B. Blaze, He have black hairs and hazel eyes and cold serious look on his face as his bag is sent down by another rope, he grabs his bag and hangs up on his shoulder as his radio starts buzzing "Officer Nathan Benjamin Blaize do you copy" he gently presses the button and replies "I am at here although i see nothing more than dried blood on trees and dead bodies of animals" "Right now all your concern is to find a military base as soon as possible" man from the radio replies and cuts the connection, Nathan sends a signal to the helicopter hovering above him and the guards on board tosses him a long briefcase containing an assault rifle, a pistol and a machete with Blaize family's initials on them which he catches as the helicoptor flies away, he then takes all the weapons and loads them on his back and ditches the case, and starts moving deeper in the woods cautiously





DM Post

This particular part of the woods was quiet, almost too quiet and there didn't appear to be anyone around the one that had just arrived. All the sounds were those of wildlife that went about it's life and the wind that brushed through the trees, ruffling the leafs. On his right, there appeared to be a path that would lead him deeper into the woods while on his left, there seemed to be an open space in the distance that included some street lights. It looked like that direction could lead him into town.

As he seemed to choose the path that would lead him further into the forest, there was an irregularity a few trees ahead of him. Tied to a branch was a red balloon that seemed to have a string and an item attached to it.





Lexi Leighton

The only being that was near Bjarke was very much alive, even though she didn't immediately look the part. Her face resembled that of a panda, her blue eyes being surrounded by dark, near black circles that were fading onto her cheeks. It wasn't due to exhaustion. No, it was her eye shadow and eyeliner that was covering half of her face. It reached the area above her eyebrows, underneath her dark brown bangs and ended in lines across her cheeks that reached her jaw.

Aside from the make up, there was a dark red and vertical line across her left eye. It was a rather fresh looking wound that consisted of a brutal cut through her tan skin. It wasn't enough to leave a gaping wound, but it seemed to have accomplished a mission if the mission had been to give her a permanent scar on her pretty face.

Sat in one of the trees near the edge of the forest, she looked down upon the man and the dog that had just left a truck. Her curious gaze wandered over them and she tried to see if she recognized either of them. Figuring out she hadn't seen them before, she let out a sigh of relief that traveled over her dark painted lips and the piercing amidst them, before taking the end of one of her ponytails between her manicured fingers and twisting it around them.

"Shall we... Shall we see? No we shall not, we shall stay here. We must." She spoke to nobody in particular, her voice hushed and just above a whisper. In the silence of the night, it had the chance of carrying rather far given that it was so quiet. Then again, amidst nothing but a gush of wind here and the sound of ruffled leafs there, there was still a chance that it was missed.





Gator

Finally waking up with a yawn, he looked around sleepily. Having lived most of his life in the wilderness, he was quite adept at staying balanced on a limb, even though at this point it was subconscious rather than him consciously staying there. Taking a moment to let his eyes adjust, he saw the shadow lounging close at hand, at the base of the tree. Grumbling, he made a soft hsst to get its attention. "Hey, you could have at least kept an eye out." The shadow seemed to look up at him with the noise, at which Gator just shook his head. "No, I have to sleep. You don't. You're just copying me." He grumbled a bit more, before looking down at himself. He didn't care a lick about the clothes, he only wore them to keep his dangly bits from getting caught on anything while he was hunting. Scratching a bit, he whipped himself out and started pissing on the spot that the shadow suddenly faded from, grumbling to himself that he still hadn't caught the thing by surprise. After finishing up, he shook twice and rest his pants, before hopping down out of the tree. "We better get a bit of distance from here. The smell is bound to attract something. Though depending on what it attracts, I may just kill it for breakfast." He looked over at the shadow, now hanging from a tree lazily. "Hey, stop playing around and help me look for a good ambush point."





Bjarke

The slight south eastern wind had carried the scent of something to Hill’s attention as they moved into the trees. Bjarke knew from past experience that anything living, typically took refuge away from the ground at night, to find some rest. He felt like someone was watching, as he continued to put distance between himself and the truck. The horn was sure to have attracted any undead in the area, and he didn’t feel like being around when they showed.





Lexi Leighton

A soft giggle escaped the lips of the one high up in the tree when the man that walked the ground didn't look up.

"We don't see, he don't see. Is a good one." She spoke as she allowed for her legs to dangle underneath the branch. They didn't stay still and instead kept moving, up and down, from left to right as if they were dancing in the sky.

Her hand reached for the knife in her pocket and pulled it out before she used it to make a small mark on the tree and put the knife back where it came from. She then stood up and walked to the end of the branch, trying to see if she could reach for the branch of the tree next to it.

"Maybe we can, maybe not. Time will tell." She added before jumping, which had her almost falling down and grabbing onto a lower branch of the other tree just in time. There, she dangled, hands keeping a steady grip on the branch while she tried to find her footing on a different branch in front of her in hopes of pulling herself onto it with her legs.





Angel

as he finished tying the rope around the deers hind legs, he threw the rope over a branch of a nearby tree, pulling the rope to lift the deer off the ground. As soon as the deer was about 8' or so off the ground his work was done for the time being. Slitting it's throat and letting it bleed dry as he climbed the tree, his pack made slight jostling sounds as he jumped off the base of the tree to reach a higher branch, settling for the one the deer was hanging from. Pulling a small book and a pack of cigarettes from his pack, he resigned himself to the solitude of nature. In the quiet, nothing can sneak up on you. In the dark, nothing could see you. And in the trees, nothing can reach you. Continuing his mantra of survival, his eyes slowly shut and his words became more slurred as his breathing steadied, slumber taking him quietly to a world not unlike this, within his own mind





DM Post

The smell of fresh blood reached his nose and it didn't take him long to track down the source. It was a deer that was hanging there, bleeding dry, seemingly unattended. With the overwhelming scent of the blood, it was hard for him to really filter out anything else that would catch his attention. He didn't smell deodorant, he didn't smell perfume or cologne... He didn't smell other people, just the blood and the deer.

He stepped forward and placed a gentle, bare hand against the side of the animal that had just been sacrificed, most likely for the sake of food. Hopefully, for the sake of food he added, and he made a soft bow to it. He remained there, relaxed for a few moments before he realized that whoever would leave something they killed for it's meat unattended was a fool, and that in reality he was the fool for realizing this so late.

His gaze travelled through the darkness, searching for answers to the questions he didn't know. Eventually, a figure was spotted up in the tree, but as the figure didn't seem to have spotted him just yet, he stood still underneath them and listened to the breath of the figure, which was more clear now that his focus was no longer on the blood. They seemed to be falling asleep, and if they were then he'd be wise in waiting until the deep sleep took them before making any further moves.





Angel

as his eyes slowly closed and his breath steadied, the silence enveloped him in a quiet world of his own... The rustle of leaves jolted him out of this quiet world, his eyes still closed and his breathing still steady, he listened. His hopes were high that it wasn't a human, he'd rather kill the dead. More silence followed and it became clear to him it was too quiet to have just been imagining it. Barely opening a sliver of his eye he began to survey, though it didn't take him long to see someone with their hand on his deer. He kept his breathing steady and thought for a moment.... No better ideas played in his head so he went with his first: Be blunt. Without a second thought he swung his legs over the side, placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it, staring the man down. His voice tired, yet still holding conviction. "Who are you and why are you touching my food?"





Tonya

Tonya kept back from the men she seen, her eyes sharper than most people's. She kept her rifle in front of her, but not pulled up. With how she lived her life, she was easily able to move without being heard or seen, but kept a fairly good click from between herself and the others. She could hear something in the trees and knew monkeys weren't around, so kept herself closer to tree trucks to avoid being jumped on. The man she had first seen kept talking to himself, or almost like he was talking to someone else but she hadn't been able to see or hear another answer him. Just one more reason to keep him in her sights, she thought. The horn made no difference to her, since she had already seen what she seen in town, but she didn't want to take on anyone. Or help anyone.. she didn't like people being in her woods, pretending they belonged here. As silent as the shadows that splayed across the ground, Tonya stalked those who sought refuge in the trees, while keeping a weary eye towards the branches above her.

DM Post

Where the man was walking as he talked to the shadow that kept him company, wildlife was walking with him, running through the leaves and climbing up the trees. Most of the animals that were running around were nocturnal, and as the first rays of sunlight were still waiting to make their appearance, the sky was quiet except for an owl here and there.

The smell that was spreading in the area they were leaving was attracting some of these creatures, and a few of them made their way closer to it. For the most part it was small rodents of which a few ran over and against the man's boots, but there were also slightly larger animals. One of them was a fox, who attempted to sneak and weave it's way through the trees to be able to track down the source of that smell.





Gator

As he waited for a moment, he felt something brush past his foot. The moment it did, he moved faster than the eye could see, striking like a snake, and slammed his knife through the spine of a squirrel as it tried to run past. Lifting his knife, he nodded softly. "This should suffice for a snack before I have a look around." He then unceremoniously bit the head clean off, his jaw strength causing the bones in the skull to crunch as he chewed it for a bit. He then looked around for the shadow, noticing it standing close at hand. The thing seemed to be pointing in a direction, before Gator looked towards where he was pointing. Nodding a bit, he spoke up. "You can come out now. I promise not to let your insides become your outsides, for now." He continued to chew the head of the squirrel, bits of bone and fur dropping from his mouth as he spoke, turning back towards the shadow. "About time you made yourself useful." He swallowed, before biting off the upper torso of the squirrel this time, the bones crunching noisily as he ate, seemingly without a care in the world for cooking or cleaning it.





Bjarke

He could feel their eyes on him, as he continued moving towards Clarey. Although he seemed unbothered by them, he took mental note of the living things moving around him, and changed course. The treetops were dismissive to him, as he felt the most watched from another direction. His hands stayed by his sides as he walked tall, and with intent. There was no reason to truly hide his footsteps as he moved., knowing that whatever was watching would either kill him, or confront him soon. “Back.” The command to Hill was almost hissed, more concerned for her safety than his. If anyone was to drop from the trees, it would be a welcomed meeting. Hill dropped off into the shadows of the dawning light, keeping watch on him, but out of sight. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the slight movement of a large creature. He turned and walked towards it, sure that it had been trying to keep unseen.





Tonya

Tonya gave a hand signal to stay low and come closer to the male as he and his dog moved towards her, since she assumed he could see her. Her eyes quickly shifted from him back to the stranger who was eating and holding his own conversation with himself. As the male approached her close enough, she tapped her lips and shook her head. An indication that she couldn't talk, but not knowing if he would understand, she pulled a piece of paper out and wrote "I'm Tonya. I am also mute. Why are you out here?" The quickly scrawled words gave way to her unease with what has been happening. Assuming again that the new man and his dog would follow her, she slowly backed away from the one she had been watching and turned, leading her new buddy back towards a small clearing with a tiny tent and packs sitting around. Gesturing for him to sit, she handed him another note "maybe you should stay with me, until we can figure something out. Strength in numbers," her words stated bluntly, the unease on her face easy enough to see but for the shocking emptiness that could be viewed in her eyes. Resting for a few minutes, she hefted her normal pack and another, before handing an extra one to him and jerking her head back towards where the campus would be.. she thinks. Turning, she started walking that way.





DM Post

As things started to quiet down, a bit of shuffling could be picked up through the trees. Drawn by the scent of blood in the air, three shambling zombies appeared, almost running into one another in the process. Letting out a little growl, they turned towards the scent again, now picking up the scent of multiple living beings in the vicinity. A bit torn, one of them went the seemingly easy route, going for the scent of blood, while the other two started roaming around, following the different scents as they meandered, growling and gurgling a bit.

DM Post

The man looked up with an arched brow, the crease intensifying at the blunt and rather bold greeting. No, overall the greeting was rude, you were supposed to start with hello, yet of course he had been standing there touching the man's kill so he couldn't really blame him.

"Name's Vincent. I am thanking your food for it's sacrifice. We should honor the animals that keep us fed. That said, you do know that not all of the stores have been completely raided right?" He asked, his voice consistent and calm as he took a few steps back to allow for the other to see him better.

"No need to take innocent lives just yet," He continued, gesturing vaguely towards the fresh kill before shaking his head. "although some would believe that desperate times call for desperate measures."





Angel

his eyes watched the man closely, the deer swinging back and forth in the wind, as the man backed into the lighting. Angel's eyes never left his frame as he sat forward slightly, his backpack making a slight rustling sound as he placed his belongings back inside of it. In a moment he stood on the branch and walked out above the deer, crouching like a gargoyle over his kill "The stores may not be raised, however the raiders may not be gone. The safest bet is to claim what nature offers and stay away from conflict. Night is their domain as much as it is the dead..." Taking a step back Angel hopped off the branch, extending his arm and using his climbing axe to catch the branch and swing between the deer and the mysterious man named Vincent. "You may call me Odd. If you stick around long enough that is. Are you hungry, or soliciting?"





DM Post

The man watched as the other swung down, shifting his stance slightly to prevent them from knocking into each other. A quick glare of light flashed from his eyes at the last question, a lightening smile before the man inclined his head in introduction. "I'm just here.. Odd. And should you be willing, I'll share your meal."

However, as the two men were speaking other creatures lumbered through the trees. Branches snapping carelessly beneath their feet, and the deep throated growls drifted through the air as the two faced each other.

"It seems we are not alone, friend," Vincent stated, a bleak emptiness coming into his eyes as he turned his head a bit to watch the direction in which the noises came from. "Perhaps your meal and us, should make haste from here for now. It seems unwise to attempt to dress the kill here."





Angel

his eyes never left the stranger before him, even when he spoke of the creatures that came for them, he couldn't help but distrust. His eyes shut for a moment after he spoke, listening closely to their surroundings as he pulled his bag tight against his back, his climbing axes never leaving his hands until shut one and placed it in the bag. If you plan to survive get off the ground. Before explaining Angel had stomped lightly and brought a small sled made from sticks, grass and leaves out of the foliage, cutting the rope that held the deer, dropping it onto the sled as he grabbed a rope attached to the sled and began pulling away from the noises. They can't climb and I'm assuming you can. I'm hungry so hurry and don't doddle.





DM Post

Hurry, hurry... it is all that folks know these days..." Vincent muttered in hushed complaint. Even though he didn't seem to be eager about being told what to do, he followed the directions that were given to him and walked in near silence, only the leaves underneath his boots crumbling with his heavy steps.

There was a weird sense of joy that ran through him at the mention of climbing, and his eyes lit up in childlike innocence.

"Oh, I can climb..." He grinned, a soft chuckle following his words while he made sure to keep moving along. The growling of the creatures moving in the distance made him feel more secure about his next move.

Pressing his lips together gently, he let out a soft whistled tune that seemed almost song like before letting it fall into the silence that surrounded them. That silence only lasted seconds though, as that whistling was soon answered by another tune, further along the path.

Sissy

Sis had wandered in. Being careful after things she had heard from the homeless community she had been living with on and off. She decided to travel away. With the thought of inpending issues, a larger town may be better to stay near, at least the woods offered enough food wise and shelter. But I meds or other items she needed that couldn't be made, she would need to find. She sat comfortably in the South Eastern woods of Clarey. A small shelter made from some fallen trees. It was quite cozy as she had posted up here now for a few weeks. Hunting and fishing for food. Gathering rain water. Bathing in a near by creek. She was comfy. And today as she sat next to her small fire as the small shreds of morning light danced over the canopy. She softly hummed an old Apache turn to herself, as she weaved a small basket from some evergreen inner wood she had carved from a tree. The sounds of the woods softly danced about her. As she sat happily in her made home. Her long bow beside her and a beautiful buck knive. Shafts ready for her to make heads for so she would have a set of arrows ready for her next hunt. A rabbit sat smoking over the small fire. Preparing it for later. Her icy eyes danced over the trees, always looking for the shadow people that haunted the edges of her vision.





DM Post

Drawn by the smell of the rabbit, the snap of a twig was the only real warning, as three things stepped through the woods. A gurgling growl came from the throat of the one furthest away, answered by the other two. They shambled slowly, now picking up the scent of the female as they got closer, now actively searching. The closest one came from the South, while the other two shambled in from the South West.





Sissy

Sissy froze. Her ears burning with strain to hear the sounds that was happening around her. Without hesitation. She snuffed the fire and tossed the rabbit as far from her as she could and gathered her bag. Now on her feet and her bow now racked and pulled readybto fire. Her eyes glared and she backed up, slowly towards North East Ish. The growl sent shivers down her spine. As the things started to come into sight she shot one in the neck, seeing it didn't go down. She gasped. Taking everything she had grabbed and she ran. She started off in the North East direction. Her Bow racked with another shot. Her feet softly touching the ground as she deftly made her way through the bush.