jumpscares | ( OPEN ) GAME START.

Entry tags:

( OPEN ) GAME START.

▶ 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He gives her a quick grin that's only a little cocky, then heads straight up without hesitating any longer than it takes to make sure he won't dislodge his little passenger on the way up.

Well, in his world, Tim Drake has a little bit of a checkered past. Not that he really thinks it matters much in this one.]

[Steph follows Tim up with ease, then promptly sits down on the edge of the building with a sigh.

And pulls her cowl off.]

Hey, Tim.

[...And he still has no idea who she is.]

Hey... not Barbara.

[He sits down opposite her, frowning a little.]

I feel like I'm missing something.

Wh--

[How could he be Robin when Babs was Batgirl?

Steph pinches the bridge of her nose.]

I think this is alternate universe crap. My name's Steph. At home we were--

[ugh]

We're friends.

[Okay, see, when you say it like that, it's kind of obvious that 'friends' is a bit of an understatement. Or was. Something like that. No wonder things are so awkward.]

Well, then I guess it's nice to meet you. I don't know any Stephs in my universe. Definitely not who are Batgirl.

[Is it rude to ask why she's Batgirl?

Screw it.]

Uh--how are you Batgirl? I mean... Is it like a legacy thing? Like Robin? Or are you the one and only?

Its nice to meet you too, Tim.

[A Tim who doesn't know her, who's very young, and who thinks Babs should be Batgirl.]

She retired, passed it on to her... sort of daughter. Then that girl passed it on to me.

[That isn't entirely correct, but it's the easiest way to explain it all.]

[Well, that is about as clear as mud. But at least the fact that Barbara isn't dead is coming through loud and clear, and Tim relaxes slightly.]

Oh. Okay. Good. [Aaaaaaand he sounds like an asshole.] I mean, I was worried maybe she died, or something.

No, she's doing something even better now.

[Babs is here; Steph will warn her about this Tim and let her decide how to handle it, because none of it is Steph's place.]

I started off as the Spoiler, then I was Robin for a little while.

[There is so much there that Tim doesn't even know what to do with. He's still processing 'sort of daughter.' And before he decides to think too much on the how of that, Steph has given him a bunch of new things to think about, which is honestly a relief because the less he thinks on the other thing the better. Not that it's any of his business how she and Bruce and Dick manage their weird relationships, but he's happiest when he's staying out of it.]

That's all pretty new to me. Except for the Robin part... Hopefully obviously. [He motions with his head toward the wall they'd climbed.] Otherwise we probably wouldn't have done that.

Yeah, I figured you were still doing the robin thing.

[If he wants to know more details, she'll give them, but only if he asks.

The last thing she wants to do is overwhelm him with information.]

The bird kinda clued me in, too. Have you named it?

[That's probably a really good idea, even if it's leading to some fairly questionable assumptions right now.

He shrugs a little.]

Not really. We just met. I was kinda hoping it would show some kind of personality, beyond 'bird,' to give me a better idea of what to call it.

[He rocks a little in place and gives her a wry grin.]

I'm trying to figure out what questions to ask you, but there are kind of a lot. I'm not really sure where to start. What's a Spoiler?

I'm sure you'll find something that fits.

[Steph would probably end up just calling it Robin because she is an adult.]

Does the Cluemaster exist in your world?

[If he does, it'll make the Spoiler explanation easier.]

[To be honest? That's probably going to be the name. Tim is also super grown up.]

[Haha, Steph, sorry. Not that easy.]

...Sorry, no. Does he--or she--hang out with Riddler?

[Because come on. Cluemaster? Really?]

Yeah, he's my dad.

[Her smile is a little rueful, because that's not - easy, and she doesn't quite expect Tim to understand.]

I wanted to spoil his plans, you know? So I became the Spoiler.

[Tim grimaces. He knows a thing or two about having a dad you're not too proud of.]

I like it. Not that you need my okay or anything, but it's cool. I might have done the same thing if Dad was, you know. More than just muscle.

[Steph looks very confused.]

Your dad's what?

[...And now Tim looks confused.]

...Was. Uh. Hired help? Puke Face? ...You said we were old friends. It didn't come up?

Jack Drake owned his own company. The Tim I knew was very upper middle class.

[And this Tim... isn't, which is strange.]

Uh.

Dad's name was Steven. Shifty to his friends. And he definitely never owned his own company. Unless you call getting in touch with a couple of guys about a job a company, but I'm pretty sure nothing like that ever hit the Fortune 500.

...So I'll call that a big glaring difference between our universes.

[That really is a big difference, she has to wonder just how much like Tim this kid is, because so much of who her Tim was, had to do with how his parents raised him.

She knows how much of an effect that can have. She knows she wouldn't be the same person if Arthur wasn't Arthur.

But she doesn't focus on that, instead, gently:]

You're using past tense.

Yeah, well. Working for Two Face doesn't typically have a great retirement plan. Especially when you steal from him.

[He shrugs a little, affecting an unconcerned expression. It was a while ago, and he's had plenty of time to get over... that whole situation, but that doesn't mean he loves thinking about it.]

I'm sorry.

[He can act as unaffected as he wants, but Steph remembers how she felt when she thought Arthur was dead, and it was still... hard.]

Is that how you ended up with Batman?

Thanks.

[He gives her a little grin.]

Yeah, basically. But I'm guessing that's not how things went down in your universe. And you were Robin, too?

Tim back home took a bit of a break, for family stuff, and I stepped into the roll while he was gone.

[It's a simplification of the whole situation, but she doesn't want to delve into her Tim's past.

Her smile grows a little crooked.]

I got fired, but ended up as Batgirl a couple years later.

[Family stuff. Weird. For a while now, his family has been Bruce, Barbara, Alfred, and Dick. Weird still having other family. And also way less interesting than the rest of what Steph said.]

Well, I hear Bruce is an idiot sometimes. Good to know Barbara and her... Daughter? Have their heads on straight.

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