( 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

it was too late.... he had nickelback syndrome... we should have saved him...

[debts]

[ This is worse than dinosaurs. ]

Yes.

[ Her hand, at some point, has moved to rest on the grip of her glock. Still holstered, but he'd said Natasha not Black Widow, and names have power. ]

Who are you?

witness him

[conversed]

[ This is so much worse than dinosaurs. Clint doesn't have to look at her hands to know how close the threat is; it'd be there if she was putting on lipstick. Although the glock helps, admittedly.

He lifts his hands, steady and not too fast, holding them up in a gesture that's meant to look harmless. Peace offering. ]

Clint Barton?

[ Wait, that isn't a question. ] Not— I'm Clint Barton.

ljNCHLJHSGljashd

[debts]

[ There's a pause. It's a long one. Natasha's eyes flick up and down — definitely not appreciative, more assessing, and it lingers for half a heartbeat on the raised hands. Right.

Not something she's seen Clint do, other than around scared kids. Apart from the obvious fact that he looks nothing like Clint, and he has maybe half the years. ]

Are you.

[ Her tone suggests that he should be really sure about that. ]

WITNESS

[conversed]

[ Shit. ]

Clinton Francis Barton. Parents— [ Dead. ] Harold and Edith Barton, brother Barney— [ Does she even know all of this? Natasha knows everything, right. ] I'm Hawkeye. I'm an Avenger.

[ If he still sounds unsure, it's only because it's suddenly occurred to him that maybe he's assumed wrong. Maybe this isn't as complicated (simple?) as alternate universes. Maybe this is just a trick, and he's... a complete idiot. ]

Your turn.

[debts]

[ Details like a middle name, a codename and the status of an Avenger aren't hard to find out. Information in the digital age. That sort of shit. The family, well— He doesn't mention Laura or Lila or Cooper. And why should he, looking like that?

Her hand still rests at her side, curled around the glock's grip. Her thumb doesn't flick the safety off but lies on top of it instead, a steady and calculating weight.

At length: ]

Natasha Romanoff. The Black Widow. I was raised by scientists and have six sisters.

[ No she doesn't. But she wonders if he knows that. ]

i was going to put a link to transformers porn here but i'm afraid someone will see

[conversed]

[ A test. That's more predictable, though he does seem to mull his answer over before responding. Nerves and nonchalance give way to tension, though it's not the sort that implies he's ready to pull a weapon.

It's caution, control. Trying to edge out the knee-jerk apology in his voice, keep it steady. ]

No. You were raised in the Red Room. That's— twenty-six? Twenty-eight sisters?

[ It feels mean. Nat would cast it off, the Nat he knows, but it's a pressure point. ]

LOOK AT THIS NSFW PHOTOGRAPH.

[debts]

[ Shit.

Natasha's trying to put pieces together, but she hates this feeling, like she doesn't know enough. What does she know? That the Soldier is from a different point. Steve is from before the ice. Wanda is here, and she thinks maybe it might be a symptom of her magic, chaotic and wild and she knows what it can do. Fear is a constant since she woke up.

She takes it back. She wants the dinosaur again. ]

I didn't have any sisters.

[ But the Red Room thing is a secret only a few people know. It shows, by the way she doesn't address it. ]

Did I tell you that?

http://i.imgur.com/zdPA8rX.jpg

[conversed]

[ Complicated question. Not her, exactly, different face and different hair and different everything, but her reaction seals it. The way she's closed off. The way that tells him more than anything else could, and it's kind of —

It's been a while since Natasha felt this cold. This isn't the same thing, not the same Natasha, but it still feels off. ]

We— yeah. You told me that.

[ If this weren't incredibly tense, it'd be incredibly awkward. He's not sure it isn't both. ] Look, Natasha, I know this is weird, but— we're both Avengers. We're on the same side.

[ Everything's fine. Alternate universes, complETELY FINE. ]

[debts]

[ She doesn't believe him. It's obvious in a way that has nothing to do with the readability of that caution being intentional. Natasha thinks, a little wryly, about Steve. If this is how it feels. ]

But not me.

[ It's missing air-quotes, but she's drawing lines in the sand now. Hawkeye can think what he likes. It's not Clint with the house and his kids, Laura and her warm smile, how viciously and furiously she protects that for him when she needs to.

A gesture, to redirect the conversation back to the folder. ]

What is it?

[conversed]

[ Surprise registers, more at that change in subject than her inherent understanding. But he offers the folder over without complaint, letting her look for herself. Labeled Gate Locations, one sheet of paper, sparse details on a Maine compound. ]

That's it? No questions?

[ She isn't rolling with it. If she was, he'd be less concerned. This is... deliberately sidelining it, tagging it as something she'd rather not deal with. Not been there, done that.

He knows what been there, done that looks like. Intimately. ]

[debts]

[ He offers the folder without complaint. Natasha takes it, scans it over and her brows furrow immediately, frustrated.

At the lack of details, sure, but also because he's asking her the right questions. About herself, no less. Natasha gives herself the luxury of not looking at Not-Clint for a heartbeat, maybe two, and finds herself unsure of what to do. She loathes that feeling. ]

You don't know me. I don't know you.

[ The words aren't meant to cut. And she definitely doesn't know enough about physics or theoretical sciences to figure out the logistics of time travel. She looks up at him, pointedly, and hands the folder back. ]

I don't know what you want me to say to you.

[conversed]

[ Charged, stilted conversations with Nat. Talk about deja vu, if in a very, very different context.

He can't argue with the statement, because yeah, they're both clearly not the same people. But if this is it, history rewritten again, waking up in the wrong reality and being stuck with a Nat who treats him like a problem (well, threat; she always treats him like a problem), the idea of just settling with— whatever this is? Not great.

Clint takes the folder back in silence, dodging her gaze as he folds it in half and stuffs it back into his pocket. ]

Yeah. Me neither, I guess.

[ He doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve, exactly, but he isn't really trying to hide the fact that he sounds disappointed. Another beat, then he moves on — still sounding distinctly bummed, but whatever. Business. ] So. Government compound? Probably not Maine. [ Seen enough of the trees outside to guess that much. ] Computers in lockdown.

[debts]

[ He moves on even if his tone drags. Not-Clint doesn't look at her, but Natasha does. She looks and looks, like maybe with enough time things will somehow click together, and she hates the idea that something like that has some natural quality to it. But she also doesn't know the first thing about quantum physics.

Pressing her lips together, Natasha exhales quietly. ]

Not SHIELD. Not HYDRA.

[ She doesn't bother to hide the names. ]

Can you meet me later? [ The question is more than a little abrupt. ]

[conversed]

No. [ That's to her first observation, though it's a little quiet, still pensive. They're capable of a lot of things, though his first thought whenever shit gets this weird is definitely mutants. Maybe aliens.

The question startles him, earning a quick look, openly curious. ]

Um— yeah. Yeah, whatever you need. Just say when. [ Uh. ] And where.

takes forever to send a wrap-up tag gj aida.

[debts]

[ Whatever you need. So sure, it's not Clint, but she's heard those words in that tone of voice before, and her frustration spikes in a way she doesn't want to look at too close. ]

Okay.

[ Apparently, that's the end of the conversation. She glances at him, her hair tossing a little with the motion. ]

I'll send you a postcard. [ A wry joke, then a nod. ] Hawkeye.