( OPEN ) GAME START.

[monstermasher]

▶ WHO: Everyone.
▶ DATE: July 9th, 2015 (Day 1)
▶ WARNINGS: Blood, violence, general zombie horror.
▶ SUMMARY: You've met with a bad... however that line goes. Welcome to Earth.

GOOD MORNING!

---

Please try and ignore whatever it is that you just heard. It should only last for up to a minute... maybe.

It... it is morning, right?

There are no windows.

There's a light, but it's barely considered one. The compound runs on a solar generator, but that doesn't mean it has a lot of power. The light seems to be hanging from the ceiling, swinging precariously. That's when you might actually start to wake up, sit up, find the things that are familiar to you... and then some of the things that aren't. It'd be wise to explore the small room you're in before leaving through the steel door, but there's nobody around to tell you that.

Outside is a tightly knit compound, just as dark and metallic as the room. The hallway you're in houses dozens more doors identical to yours, and if you're unlucky there may be more people poking their heads out through them, just like you. There's a dull glowing sign that reads MEDICAL BAY but not all of you remember being hurt. Some of you may be just fine, apart from the memory of the sound you heard when waking up.

The Medical Bay is stocked with enough medicine to last a couple of months. There's almost everything that can be found in a hospital. Somebody was thinking ahead.

Outside of the Medical Bay are more doors, some are even locked—many aren't. There are living quarters, a food storage, a kitchen, some laboratories; even a room full of computers and nothing else, all with a screen asking for a password. There's only two doors out of the compound, a vehicle bay with what appear to be a few military jeeps and trucks, and the front doors. It's on the inside of the front doors that something is painted in bright red, flecked with what smell like blood:

DO NOT GO OUTSIDE WITHOUT A GUN AND WATER.
GUNSHOTS ATTRACT THEM.
HOLLOWS IS 1.3 MILES NORTH OF HERE.
GOOD LUCK.

And on the outside of the doors, if you choose to open them:

THE WORLD ENDED JULY 3RD, 2015.

Now... how long ago was that? And where is this place? Luckily for you, Hollows is a small town that can be raided. It hasn't been too long since the apocalypse—surely you'll be able to find something there. Batteries, food, weapons, maybe some people—and what you're guaranteed to find. Them, whatever that means.

Outside of the compound there's a fence with a single gate. Nothing can get past this unless you let them in for tea, so be careful. There's a shooting range and a large shed full of weapons and ammo, enough to last two months if you're careful. Guns, knives, anything that would be used by the military and police is hidden away in the shed. There are even a few hunting bows with arrows.

If you climb up the ladder to the top of the wall, there's enough room to walk along the top. There's definitely something moving in the distance, something you should definitely be worrying about. Maybe it's time to get a good look with a sniper rifle...?

Oh.

It's gone.

Maybe it was just a trick of the light. Regardless, it's impossible for everyone to stay in the compound forever. There are nefarious things at work! The choices are to go to Hollows, stick around, or go somewhere else. Really, the world is almost a blank slate. Maybe more of a used slate, but still yours to explore.

When the night comes, you should be hiding. The screamers, the ragers, whatever the hell they are, are running full tilt through the streets and across the landscape, running through anything in their way, ripping apart anything alive. If you don't make any noise, they won't notice you. Especially since they're stuck listening to each other. But if you get noticed by one, it won't be long until a horde forms... you might be able to outrun one for awhile, but they don't seem to let up on their breakneck pace. Maybe someone should have told you how to kill them.

OOC NOTES.

---

There will be zombies in Hollows. Whether you meet them on the way there is up to you. Apart from the undead and the animals (maybe somebody should let those poor creatures out of their houses) the town is completely deserted. In fact, the closest thing you can find to a human are the bodies of those who died without being bitten, and there's even few of those. You can find anything you'd find in a normal town here, and are free to loot and raid the houses and stores—the cops won't be coming, after all. The power is OFF apart from what you can find that is solar powered or still has a charge. If you're lucky and find another town while exploring the first few weeks, you might find an area that still has power—thank hydroelectricity.

Just keep in mind travel time... and travel expenses.

You have creative freedom over everything else. The world is open. The only stationary places are landmarks and cities—if you want to go to Texas and talk to the poor astronauts stranded up in space, it's there. (Might be a long trip, though...)

If your character can figure it out by geography before getting to Hollows, the compound is located a few hours from the west coast, in California.

The way to kill a zombie is blunt force to the head. The head doesn't need to be removed, but significant damage needs to be done to it. This does not include the throat—it needs to be a headshot.

There's also a glaring hint. The computers in the compound, asking for a password. It is impossible to hack at this time. There will be more on this later!

Finally, if your character is exploring outside of the compound (or extensively inside of it) there's a comment here for linking me the thread. You can also PM me! I'll be ducking in with what your character may or may not have found, via a response to the actual RP thread.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS please direct them here!

Comments

[debts]

[ Her shoulders draw together and then apart. A minute shift, a bodily sort of tell born out of fear and adrenaline and instinct. Natasha doesn't bother to look over her shoulder — her peripheral tells her plenty. She chose this monitor for a reason. ]

Anything. Details, a wifi connection, news about July 3rd.

[ A couple more keystrokes. Natasha looks at the girl in red and lets her expression settle, but only a little. ]

You're not hurt?

[allages]

[ for a moment, there is fear in natasha's mind, and then it disappears as though it had never been there, and wanda wonders whether this means that natasha is not scared of her despite the things that wanda made her see, or if she is just very good at hiding some truths from the world.

she could find out, if she tried; she isn't going to. ]

No. Are you?

[ hurt, that is.

a moment later, she adds - ] Have you found anything?

[debts]

[ It's not fear that lingers. For Natasha, the facility's been built, Thor is gone, and there's a new team. Sure, she's yet to know how to fight with them, not nearly enough training or time out on the field.

But there's no fear. (The Red Room is her own demon. It's not given to Wanda's for the sake of convenience alone.) ]

Not yet.

[ It's an answer for both questions. Natasha takes Wanda's answer meaning that her powers are still intact. That'll be useful. ]

There's supplies, a fully-stocked medical bay. I checked out some of the other rooms before I came back. It might pay to check if any of the jeeps are running, if you want. I call shotgun.

[ Her brow quirks. ]

[allages]

[ wanda can lead, but she is not a natural-born leader in the way that steve rogers is. there is a certain element of relief to being told what to do, even if it comes in the form of a suggestion. she wouldn't accept it from anyone, but natasha — natasha has proved that she is trustworthy, hasn't she? that, and wanda knows what it is in her mind.

it is easy, knowing whether to trust people, when you can look inside their heads, when you can identify the kind of person that they are. ]

I will go check.

[ but despite her words, she lingers. ] Will you be here if I come back?

[debts]

No.

[ But that's not how it sounds. She ticks a shoulder and gives the computer another few (futile) keystrokes before turning away from it. Her left hand picks the gun back up, flicking the safety off, index finger resting alongside the trigger. ]

I'll be in the compound. Can you track me down?

[ She doesn't mean in-person. Natasha's asking about the red coronas, if her energies can sense or track her down. They never did have time to figure that one out. ]

[allages]

[ wanda's eyes flicker to the gun and then back again to focus on natasha. she doesn't answer immediately. instead, she seems to think about it, or try. used to be, wanda was always aware of her brother's position, of where he was and what state he was in. used to be, she was always in his head.

she is not nearly as close to natasha as she was to her brother, but after a moment, she nods nevertheless. ]

I will find you.

[debts]

[ There's a conversation there, between the gaps in words. Natasha doesn't ask are you sure or stay away from my head. She just goes.

Medical bag strap slung over her shoulder, one hand on her gun, she moves quickly and quietly throughout the compound. Maybe there's something useful in the lab. ]

[monstermasher]

[ What she can find is a long box, hidden along the edges of a table.

Inside is a powerful dart gun, 20 darts and an instruction booklet. The booklet mentions that the darts can knock out any intruder long enough for them to be restrained for study. ]

[allages]

[ not all conversations need to be out loud. even before the experiments gave them these powers, wanda and pietro could have entire conversations in nothing but glances and aborted gestures, in body language and small touches.

she doesn't know natasha the way she knew her brother, but she has her abilities now. natasha leaves and wanda does not confirm that she is sure and does not promise that she will stay out of natasha's head. instead, she stays where she is a moment longer and then leaves, finding her way outside to walk the perimeter, trying any car she finds. ]

[monstermasher]

[ There isn't much in the cars, but one of them has a small flashlight hidden beneath a seat. The flashlight is powerful enough to burn human (and zombie) skin after a couple seconds of exposure, showing that it's a weapon instead of a tool. ]

[debts]

[ Natasha shoulders the rifle. Yeah, fuck the box. She checks it, loads it with one dart, and pockets the rest.

'For study'. She's not surprised.

By the time Wanda's senses find her, she's in the hallway, rubbing her thumb in the middle of her brows.

She just ran into a fucking dinosaur, man. ]

[allages]

[ wanda finds natasha in the hallway. she does not look pleased, and almost more rattled than she had before, in as far as wanda can imagine natasha looking rattled at all. ( she can, of course - she's been the cause of it once, but this is different. ) ]

There are cars that run. And I found this. [ she lifts the flashlight. ] It burnt the grass outside.

[debts]

I saw a dinosaur.

[ Natasha says bluntly, because it's hilarious but, right now, she's sort of torn between two emotions she can't give enough of a fuck about to filter. Her jaw tenses, just once, and then her eyes clock the flashlight. ]

Like a laser? [ Frowning. ]

[allages]

Ah. [ there is no disbelief in the noise, though it contains some surprise. wanda can tell that natasha is not lying or joking, but - a dinosaur?

after a moment: ] What kind?

[ looking down at the flashlight in her hand, wanda lifts her shoulders. ] I think so.

[debts]

[ What kind. Right. Her brow ticks, dryly, and she makes a little motion with her hands. ]

The fast ones. Small. [ She leaves the nerdery to Bruce.

Natasha jerks her head to the outside, though she stays stationary for the moment. ]

Have you met Steve? [ That question seems pertinent. ]

[allages]

Ah. [ wanda nods in acknowledgement. the fast and small kind. she doesn't know what kind that is, but the name doesn't matter. what matters is that natasha is still alive, and so wanda could probably survive a meeting with a dinosaur as well.

that's good to know, is it not?

and then natasha mentions steve, and wanda's lips tighten. she doesn't like the idea of not being remembered. she doesn't like that steve doesn't remember. that doesn't change anything. ] Yes.