( 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

[metaspeed]

[ Honestly, Barry is a little surprised that Iris moved in for a hug, that her arms are wrapped tight around him and she hasn't let go immediately after.

Things between them are so complicated now and he gets that, they're probably even worse now with Eddie back in the picture, but it's not exactly something he should be mulling over when they've got way more important things to think about.

But if he moves to put his arms around her too, it's in joy and relief and gratitude and he isn't going to take this moment for granted. No, he's going to treasure it; maybe maybe it's a sign of hope that they can get past all this.

(Maybe he can start to see some of that future becoming a reality. Except -- )

What if the world really did end?

He pulls back a moment later, glancing at the sign again and gives a small solemn nod. ]

Yeah, I did. A few times. I don't know what any of it means.

[ He frowns. ]

What's the last thing you remember, Iris?

[bloggings]

[Eddie's not in the picture, but that doesn't mean she's about to run into Barry's arms either. Even if she kind of just literally did that. That was purely platonic. That is a platonic hug because she's really fucking relieved that she's not alone.]

I was going to my dad's after Eddie--

[Iris stops and it should be so easy to say ended our relationship but it's not, especially not to Barry. She doesn't think that he'd rub it in or be a jerk about it. He's too... Barry to do anything like that. But she kind of needs to make sense of it herself. There's no more Eddie but she still doesn't know what she wants exactly from Barry and it's too much to think about right now. So she swallows hard and just abandons the train of thought.]

I barely got out of my car and then I woke up here. Is this Wells? Did Doctor Wells do this to us?

[metaspeed]

[ Barry is about to blurt, 'after Eddie what?' but he isn't sure he wants to hear the answer right now, especially not on top of everything going on right now, so he'll shelve that thought. He'll set it aside, or ignore it, or think about something else, and hell, there's a lot of other stuff to think about, so. ]

I don't know; it doesn't really feel like a Dr Wells kind of thing. It's too big. And what's the point? What would it accomplish?

We know who he is now, we know what he's trying to do. What he's tried to do.

[ Barry had considered that too, he really wanted to believe that Dr Wells, AKA The Man in the Yellow Suit AKA Eobard Thawne was responsible for all of this, but a lot of things don't add up. ]

I guess you haven't seen Cisco around? Or Caitlin? Your dad?

[bloggings]

[Iris wants to ask what the point of Wells killing Barry's mom was. Or why he had to take Eddie and fill his head full of things from the future and help bring an end to her relationship with him. Or why he would go through all of that trouble to help Barry and protect him and keep him safe if he was just planning on killing him all along.

It's sick, is what it is.

She shakes her head and finally drops her arms from around his middle. She doesn't move too far, keeps close to his side where she plans on being for the foreseeable future. It's the best chance either of them have, to stick together.]

That means they're fine, right? At home and safe and okay.

[There's a little bit of pleading there. Reassure her that her dad isn't dead, that their friends are alright. Whatever the end of the world looks like, it doesn't mean they're the only ones left standing, right?]

[metaspeed]

I don't know what anything means right now, Iris. I don't know.

[ His voice gets a little quiet near the end.

If Iris is expecting to hear optimistic platitudes and empty hopeful promises, Barry's fresh out of those right now. Waking up to the sound of someone running towards you, finding a child's bloody fingerprints dragging itself along a wall, finding things you really wish you didn't have to question and draw terrifying conclusions to ... yeah, Barry isn't feeling too hopeful right now.

He's silent for a moment before he glances down at her face, recognizing fear and confusion in her expression and remembering that sometimes, empty or not, you just need to hear something good to keep the bad at bay. And that's what a best friend and superhero does no matter how bleak the circumstances.

Barry nods. ]

But if they're here, we're going to find them. We're going to find them and make sure they're okay.

[bloggings]

[At least he's honest with her and Iris cringes a little at the thought. It's true that she does want to hear his silly optimism and earnest promises that no news is good news but in that moment, she's so glad that he didn't immediately jump to lying to her that it actually surprises her. To be happy for something she used to take for granted.

There's hope after all.

Iris nods grimly, licks her lips and then her shoulders are squaring up. Whatever's happening, they're going to handle it. Together.]

I'm glad you're here.

[metaspeed]

Really?

[ Barry's eyebrows go up, but he shakes his head, schools his expression into one of solemnity even if a part of him wants to ... what? Smile? Laugh?

Who knew that he'd be so desperate for a sign or a word that Iris isn't going to hate him forever because of all the secrets he'd kept from her. Good intentions or no, he knows how wrong it'd been to keep her in the dark. He knows that now. ]

I mean, if you're going to be here, I'm glad I am too.

[ There's that earnestness and a quiet promise that no matter where Iris goes, Barry will be sure to follow. He might not keep her in the dark in order to protect her any longer, but that need to protect her at all isn't going anywhere, sorry Iris. ]

[bloggings]

[She laughs for him then, high pitched and brief but enough to break this weird vibe between them. Iris even adds in an elbow to his side, just like old times. To make sure he knows who is still the boss around here and that he's a dork that's lucky to have her in his life.]

Yes, nerd. Really.

[Her smile lingers when he adds that he's glad to be here too. Keep on the little moments like this, Barry and their friendship should right itself sooner or later.]

Okay. We need to make a plan. Have you already looked around this place? Do we stay here or find out what's up north?

[metaspeed]

There's nothing, really, here. Just old rooms and a lot of really freaky stuff. Some computers, too. And some old lab equipment and medicine I don't recognize.

Oh.

And this.

[ Barry fully pulls away from Iris now in order to retrieve the bag of shoes he'd found at the foot of his bed when he'd awoken. Prying it apart, he lets her look into it if she wants to. ]

I took some medicine and whatever else I thought might be useful and added it to the bag. Who knows when we might need it?

[bloggings]

What do you mean, 'freaky stuff'?

[There's quotes around that in her voice even. Because that needs further explanation. Their definition of freaky has been wildly expanded since the particle accelerator blew up. Freaky used to be metahumans and now her best friend can run faster than the speed of sound, a friend's fiance is on fire, there's a mind controlling gorilla in the sewers, and a time traveling speedster hellbent on killing Barry.

Did you find that kind of stuff here, Barry or did you find like a moldy sandwich.

A bag of shoes she can totally work with and Iris is already prying her heels off so when she reaches for the bag, and starts shifting around in it to find a pair about a thousand times more comfortable. Keep talking, Bear, she'll just be trying on shoes like Cinderella over here.]

I did the same. There's a box of cookies, an uncharged tablet, and a gun in my purse.

[metaspeed]

Freaky stuff like ... bloody fingerprints. I mean, I only found the one but it was small and smeared across the wall near the door like it was dragging itself there.

And that's not to say there aren't others. But no bodies.

[ Barry shudders, shaking his head before he refocuses his attention on Princess Iris trying shoes on. ]

Hey, at least you got something a little more useful. We could always use cookies.

[ But the gun ... the gun gives him pause. He isn't going to say anything about it, but there's definitely a noticeable silence there as if he wants to bring it up but can't find the words to. ]

[bloggings]

Bloody fingerprints? Where? [Iris looks up at him for a moment, that glint in her eye that says she wants him to take her there and show it to her. Because she's a reporter and she likes to see things for herself. Investigate too. Maybe she'll see something he didn't.

And then she's back to trying on shoes, and let's just say it isn't going well and Iris may have to run around the end of the world in either too big of sneakers or high heels.]

I know what you're thinking, Bear. But I know how to shoot and you saw what's written on the wall and we can't all run as fast as you.

[metaspeed]

I know, Iris. I know, I know, it's just.

[ Guns? And Iris?

Apparently Barry can't help but feel that protective streak again, even when they'd just been through a whole ordeal concerning exactly that.

He glances down at the ground, at his feet, arms crossed over his chest, obscuring the lightning bolt symbol on his costume. ]

Just ... Joe would be so pissed if he found out you were carrying a gun around and using it.

[ We'll get back to the bloody fingerprints thing in a sec. ]

[bloggings]

Well my dad isn't here and if he is, then he's going to have to get used to the idea that I can protect myself. That he raised me to be able to do that.

[It's not Barry or the shoes fault that a nerve has been touched but they're going to get the brunt of it for the moment. In that her reply is a little snippy and she all but throws yet another shoe that doesn't fit halfway across the room.]

The two of you have used that excuse for way too long now. It's stopping here. Right now.

[metaspeed]

[ Ugh. Barry resists the urge to rub his face.

She's right, and yeah, this is the makings of a rehashed argument that Barry does not want to get back into, especially since they'd just started to make amends following the destruction of part one.

He nods, slowly but surely. ]

Okay.

Just. Be careful. And I know you will, but I still have to say it.

[ And he still needs to get used to it. ]

[bloggings]

[Iris is so ready for the fight to explode that she doesn't trust that he actually listens to her at first. Not for a few seconds, not until there's no second 'but' that he's going to tack on.

He does need to get used to it. Just like she needs to get used to who he is now. It's a learning curve.]

Safety's on. Won't come off unless it absolutely has to.

[She doesn't want to linger on the near fight very much either so have a hasty subject change.]

Barry this is the most useless bag of shoes ever. Not a single one fits me.

[Because it's all about you, Iris.]

[metaspeed]

[ Thank you, Iris West. A conversation change is exactly what they both need. If they've got no one else but each other, they can't fight. They've got to be a team.

And Barry is determined to see things through her eyes this time around. ]

Seriously?

[ And now, Barry will dig into the bag too, pushing aside mens shoes and kids ones, scanning each pair for a number. Size 9, size 10, size 6 ... ]

Huh.

Oh - wait.

I think I've found -

[ What Barry pulls out makes him scrunch his nose in some manner of disgust.

They're black, they're shiny, they're patent-leather, and they're ... awful. Like your stereotypical grandmotherly comfort-over-looks loafers. ]

At least it looks like they've got orthotics?

[bloggings]

[If looks could kill, that would be one dead Barry Allen right now. And those loafers would be on fire. Like they deserve to be.

Seriously, the height on her eyebrow is truly impressive.]

I'm not wearing those.

[metaspeed]

[ Well, now it's just kind of funny.

Barry suppresses a laugh but it ends up coming out anyway. ]

Are you sure? I mean, you could bring back granny chique in a whole new way.

[bloggings]

Watch it.

[Iris is waving the horrible shoe at him like it's a weapon and she won't even hesitate to clock him with it if he says one more stupid thing.]

At least I'm not all decked out in red running leather.

[metaspeed]

Hey, don't knock the leather.

[ Besides the red looking pretty cool, it was 100% made and designed by his good pal Cisco Ramon.

Barry takes the shoe back and tosses it into the bag, probably where it belongs, never again to see the light of day.

Well. Unless he comes across a senior citizen who could use a new pair of shoes, maybe. ]

It's a Cisco Original.

[bloggings]

[Barry, the zombies will spot you in 0.2 seconds in that bright red outfit. Not that she knows there's zombies here yet. But you are the opposite of subtle.]

I didn't know Cisco made it.

[That's actually pretty cool and impressive. It's another thing she was kept in the dark about, the nasty voice in the back of her mind reminds her, but that's not Cisco's fault. She's not going to shit on his work just to get back on Barry, she'd just keep on crapping on said tall, lanky moron.]

But speaking of running-- you could get us to Hollows pretty quick, yeah?

[metaspeed]

[ Do zombies even care about colour? Or seeing through those milky, half-decayed orbs that were once human eyes? Doubtful. They probably go off something like heat signatures or scent or echo-location - like bats.

He's not giving up the red, Iris. Never gonna happen. ]

Yep.

[ And yeah, there's pride in his voice there before he sobers, looking a little worried now. ]

And yeah, I could. Why?

[ He's not sure where would be safer at this point. Here or there. ]

[bloggings]

We should see what's there.

[It's on the sign for a reason. She believes that much. Don't look so worried, Bear. You wanted to be a hero, so be a hero and run really fast.]

Not going to find anything else here that you haven't seen already.

[metaspeed]

Hm. You have a point.

I just ... don't know if I want to find out what happened to the kid who left that fingerprint.

[ Because that's mildly terrifying. And yet -- ]

Buuut if someone needs our help in Hollows, we should probably make ourselves known too.

[ And yes, he did say 'our' and 'we'. ]