( 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

[sigillum]

[If she knew what Christmas was, she'd say that it just came.]

Watch.

[Ollie stops walking, drawing her knife again with slow movements so that Black Bolt knows she isn't planning to hurt him. Instead, she holds up her hand, the symbols written all over it, and gently pierces the skin over one with the tip of the knife.

And then she punches the wall, cracking the concrete with no damage to her hand.

Magic!]

[blackagar]

[ He stops when she does, openly curious, and... hm. That's very impressive, considering he'd thought of her as an ordinary human until just now. He quickly readjusts his mental evaluation. He considers it with a hand to his chin, watching her thoughtfully.

Eventually: ] Are you human?

[ He thinks so, and there are plenty of humans that can do amazing things, but he has to make sure. ]

[sigillum]

[The knife is wiped free of blood and tucked away again.]

Witch.

[She signs it automatically, and then frowns as she realizes that he likely won't know that sign.]

W-i-t-c-h.

[That means she isn't human.]

[blackagar]

[ She's definitely right that he doesn't know the word, even after she's spelled it out. But it means something other than human, he understands that much. He nods. ]

I'm I-n-h-u-m-a-n.

[sigillum]

Is that why they called you a terrorist?

[She doesn't know the word "inhuman", aside from the obvious assumptions that go with it, but she can empathize with, well, not being human.]

[blackagar]

[ He shakes his head. ]

Humans called me a terrorist when I took back what had been stolen from us. The Inhuman [ it's spelled out again — he should really make up a sign for that ] Genetic Council, when I broke their laws.

[sigillum]

[Ollie has literally zero respect for authority, so neither of those answers get anything other than a nod of understanding.]

All witches are terrorists. We're all meant to die.

[blackagar]

[ His stern face grows a little more stern. ]

Not here.

[ Just that, like he's making up for the verbosity of his last explanation. He hasn't known her more than ten minutes, but it's enough to know he would protect her, if necessary. ]

[sigillum]

[It's a familiar sort of protectiveness, and Ollie thinks of May and her fierceness in the face of everything that wants them dead.]

Nowhere is safe. If the government don't get us, the hunters will.

[blackagar]

[ It doesn't need an answer of words. He just glances over at her, and all the cold threat of his bearing is back again. His face is hard, his jaw his set; it's the face of a man with perfect confidence in his will and his strength to back it up. He shakes his head once, then looks forward again. ]

[sigillum]

[Ollie knows anger well enough to know that the threat isn't directed at her, but rather in at anyone who might hurt her, and it makes her feel safe.]

Thank you.

[blackagar]

[ He glances to catch the thanks, but doesn't bother with a reply. She might not be one of his subjects, but she'll be protected nonetheless. It's the least he can do for someone in danger.

He slows when a set of double doors of the kitchen come into sight, and pushes them in to hold one open for her. After you. ]

[sigillum]

[Ollie just nods her thanks, this time, before heading eagerly through the doors and to the kitchen cabinets.

And just ends up frowning at all the canned and packaged food.]

What is this?

[blackagar]

[ Black Bolt steps in after her, and... honestly, he's not certain either. There's that it's human food, of course, but more importantly, has he ever cooked for himself? It's debatable. His brow furrows as he watches her go through the cans and packages, and he just shakes his head to her question. Food, obviously, but he's not sure what it takes to make it edible.

He plucks up something with a picture of soup on it, because that at least makes a little bit of sense. There should be soup within the can, right? It takes him a second or two to learn to use the tab on the top, and then when he opens it, it's... just broth, apparently. He feels a little lied to. ]

[sigillum]

[Ollie perks up when Black Bolt opens the can, leaning in close to sniff at the... broth. What's the point of putting broth in a can?

She goes for another can, this one with a picture of corn on the side, and having watched Black Bolt she opens it easily. It probably isn't exactly polite to just stick a finger into the creamed corn and eat it like that, but Ollie isn't good at manners.

She is good at making disgusted faces, though.

This is some bullshit.]

[blackagar]

[ This is a little embarrassing. The two of them are obviously missing something here, aren't they? He sets the can of broth down on the counter and moves onward, further into the kitchen. There has to be... ah. That, he recognizes.

Black Bolt plucks an apple out of a bowl of them, found tucked away on some further counter, inspects it just long enough to be sure it really is an apple, then glances back toward Ollie with a short, sharp tone of a whistle. And once he has her attention, he tosses over the apple.

It's a start, right? ]

[sigillum]

[An apple!

Ollie catches it with a grin, giving it a cursory sniff before taking a bite out of it.]

It's real!

[In case that was a concern.

(It was.)]

[blackagar]

[ Oh, good, it's real. Feeling a little encouraged that maybe this whole kitchen isn't just a set up after all, he ducks into another cupboard. This one has a number of dry food — crackers and cookies and the like. He might not recognize them individually, but he knows what they are on the whole. He begins pulling out boxes and setting them at the counter to his left, building a whole stack of things he's pretty sure are edible and probably taste decently. ]

[sigillum]

[Munching on her apple, Ollie wanders up to Black Bolt to peer over his shoulder at what he's doing, eying all the packets he pulls out. She still doesn't recognize a lot of this, because they grow their own food, hunt their own meat, even bake their own bread.

Things in packets are strange.]

Do you know this food?

[blackagar]

[ He glances over to catch her words, then shakes his head as he gets back to the digging. That probably requires a little more answer, though, and she's proven to be one of the few here he actually can answer, so...

He pulls back again with a box of graham crackers, sets it down, and adds: ]

It's human food. Try it, if you like. [ Since he's totally not getting it out for himself, no thank you. ]

[sigillum]

You aren't eating?

[There's concern in her expression, like she's a little worried that he's not eating because he's leaving it for her, despite the fact it seems like there's plenty of (weird) food.]

[blackagar]

[ He shakes his head again, this time without explanation. He's not sure yet what he'll be doing for food, but that's a question he'll answer when it becomes necessary. In the meantime, he's not hungry.

He steps aside once he's got a few more things set out on the counter, and gestures a go ahead toward them. ]

[sigillum]

[Ollie's expression is a little unsure, still mostly out of concern, but she still approaches the food and makes a start on the crackers.

They're bland, but edible.]

There are other people here, they might take all the food.

[So they should take it for themselves, first.]