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May 16th, 2013 - Channel 10 News

"Jacob Richard here with the Channel ten news! The planes have arrived! Looks like the US is saving more animals than ever, let's applaud the efforts! ..."

 

May 18th, 2013 - Channel 10 News

"Jacob Richard here with the Channel ten news! The animals are attacking the humans. They killed two of the animal handler's, and the animals had to be put down. My prayers to Jillian Catherine Hart, twenty two, and Michael Joesph Carter, thirty. ..."

 

May 21st, 2013 - Channel 10 News

"Jacob Richard here with the Channel ten news... There has been an outbreak. There is no explanation, and everyone in the hospital is being attacked, and it is suggested that you evacuate Georgetown immediately. ..."

 

May 30th, 2013 - Channel 10 News

"My name is Jacob Richard... here is the latest news on the outbreak... It's true. What everyone said was false? Unreal? Fantasy? Zombies, we have been attacked by zombies. We will have more news for you here in a few days, we hope. ..."

 

June 6th, 2013 - Channel 10 News

"Hello everyone, this is Brittany Louis... Our first anchor, Mr. Jacob Richard has passed... my prayers to you and your family, Jacob. The latest outbreak news... the zombie disease is spreading, most of the crew here at Channel ten has been taken, the disease is spreading throughout the country, a few reports even in other countries. If you believe someone is infected - leave. Don't stay, it's hopeless. Just go. I'm sorry. ..."

 

June 20th, 2013 - Channel 10 News

"Brittany here. I don't have much time, I barely made it into the studio. I wanted to give everyone an update. I'm still in Georgetown, bite me. That wasn't funny, at all. They are surrounding the door... this is a live broadcast. Anyone watching, get hiding. I hear underground is safe, but I don't know. I can't leave, it isn't safe. Save yourselves. News for the outbreak... more and more reports out of the country, the disease has taken all of our country, I think maybe only a few states have no reports. It's only been fourteen days! Fourteen days! TWO WEEKS. But they are slowly crawling in... the zombies. The zombies! Oh, oh god! Anyone, tell... tell my family, please, someone! I love them! Stay safe! Aah!"

The camera falls, and the viewers can see the blood seeping past and the groans of the zombies as they attack the female reporter. The Channel ten news is officially off the air. Where are you? It doesn't matter anymore, all location is known as nowadays is safe or infected. There are still town names, but people rarely use them. The give a direction, and they hope it isn't infected. There are no goals to be rich and wealthy, to be famous and world known. The only goal now, is to survive.

Want to join to apocalypse?

Apply here.

Rules: (they're not all fancy like, my bad.)

01. Literacy is a must. At least three-five sentences per post, a well formed mini-paragraph in the least. One liners aren't allowed, try for at least two lines if you've hit a block. People are always thinking about something. If you go under three sentences more than three times you'll be asked to leave, no matter how far we are in the roleplay.

02. Follow the general TT rules.

03. Follow these rules.

04. Follow the Seriously RP Rules.

05. Be creative. Don't copy other people's characters, etc. This is all fun.

06. Be willing to let your character turn into a zombie, etc. Doesn't have to be right away, in fact I don't really want it right away, but in the end I want the cliche ending where everything is destroyed, etc. It'll be wonderful.

07. Zombies are everywhere, pretty much. If you find a place that isn't infected, you're amazing. Be prepared to fight. If your character doesn't have a weapon at the time... get ready to get turned, bro.

08. Have fun. :3

09. Oh & break the rules and you'll be asked to leave.

Somebody has a radio station up, it's a secret, but they leave emergency broadcasts now and then, giving out the newest safe spots. Who runs the station? No one knows.

Good luck living.

Anyone else would have felt like a queen, being so high up above everyone else. However, Estee felt more like a prisoner than anything, trapped in a cell. A very dilapidated, well stocked cell. She'd taken what she could from the mansion and stored it in the tree house, which was fairly large, seeing as it was made when the park was still flooded with children every day.

BANG!

"Another one bites the dust," she muttered under her breath, the rifle she'd set up in the base still aiming down below. The zombies had almost moved on from the park, seeing as they'd completely changed it so practically no living creature would dwell there. Everyone except for her. Now, she wasn't Bear Grylls, to be sure, but she'd grown up fending for herself and doing her own thing. Her parents were never there for her, and the maids and butlers had a wide variety of activities. When she was little, her grandfather had taught her how to shoot a rifle, and also bow and arrow. But then he passed away, and she spent time at the shooting range by herself. She had run from the people at the mansion, and while running was never her forte, she was an excellent climber.

Pushing back her red hair from her face, she gave a sigh and rested, not seeing any more zombies nearby. She could hear them all right, but she definitely couldn't see them. The screaming got worse every day; she tried to push it out of her head, but sometimes she would just sit and cry. The world was falling apart around her, and she had no idea what to do. Growing up spoiled had not helped her in this situation.

"Stay still."

"But it hurts!"

"Stay still!"

"B-but-"

"It'll hurt more if you don't let me do this." The tone of Devan's voice wasn't impatient - far from it. No, his voice was calm and gentle as he cleaned the blood off his sister's hand. Thankfully, the wound wasn't from any sort of encounter with zombies. "Maybe I should find you something to cover that knife up with, huh?" Diana laughed at that, and while the comment hadn't intended to be funny, the sound still sent a feeling of accomplishment rushing through Devan. With a smile he wrapped the bandage - the only thing he had managed to find to cover up a wound - tightly around his sister's hand, before grabbing his t-shirt and using it to dab the tears off the young girl's face. "There we go. All done."

"T-thanks, Devan." With a small sniffle Diana shuffled forwards, allowing herself to be picked up by Devan and swept into a hug. Throughout the whole action the two stayed as still as a stone, not because there was no emotion involved, but because one wrong movement could send either or both of them tumbling down to the shop's floor. It had taken a lot of time and effort for Devan to push a few of the shelves together to make a high platform for the two to stay on, and it was probably not the safest structure in this zombie-infested world, but he'd done his best. Besides, being off the ground was better anyway, in both Devan and Diana's opinions. At least they were safe. After looking down at the floor for a few moments, Diana tossed her head so a strand of hair that had escaped her Alice band moved off her face before looking up at her brother. "Devan?"

"Mm?"

"Can I get something to eat?" After a quick glance at their supplies and mentally balancing all of the possibilities in his head, Devan nodded. "Sure." As Diana smiled in appreciation and carefully scrambled away, Devan picked his gun up again and swung his legs over the edge of the shelf, watching and waiting. Just in case.

Adrian ran. Ran faster than she had ever ran before on the cross-country team. Her body was in full survival mode now; she could hardly see through the haze of panic that blurred her vision. However, she could clearly hear the horrible moaning and groaning of the zombie horde that was in full pursuit of her.

"Aah!" She cried out, her leg scraping painfully against a sharp metal edge to one of the various crashed cars that littered the road. She stumbled precariously, but was able to steady herself and resume her sprinting. She took a right at the next intersection, only glancing backwards once to check on the zombies. The distance separating her from those decrepit creatures was starting to increase; a zombie could only run for as long as the rotting muscles and bones in their legs could hold out.

The panting coming from her side caused Adrian to sharply look down to her left, and for a second she was surprised to find a canine there. Immediately after, she mentally facepalmed. How could she forget about Charlotte, who was her best friend, for even a second?

Charlotte was her Bouvier Des Flandres, a large black dog with long shaggy hair. That is, she USED to have beautiful fur, but Adrian had shaved most of it off to prevent Charlotte from overheating in the case of a zombie chase such as this one. Charlotte's long pink tongue was hanging out the side of her mouth, a small black dot in the center of it.

Looking ahead, Adrian spotted the harbor at the end of the road. She brushed strands of black hair out of her face, and quickened her pace for the final dash. Charlotte kept up with her relatively easily.

Reaching the harbor, Adrian jumped into a small yacht she had stolen. Well, not exactly stolen; it used to belong to one of her closest family friends, and his family let Adrian's family use the boat whenever they wanted to. Adrian was able to grab the extra pair of keys her family was given from her house about a week or so ago. Adrian couldn't remember exactly when anymore; the days have begun to run into each other lately.

Adrian spun around, releasing the boat from the dock. She whistled. "Charlotte, in the boat!" Charlotte leapt into the boat obediently. The two of them made their way inside the small cabin area, where the steering wheel and operations were found. Starting up the boat, Adrian pulled out of the harbor and made her way onto the lake. She slowed the boat down once she had driven it far enough from the dock so no one—or thing—could get aboard. Once it came to a stop, Adrian ran out to the deck and threw the anchor overboard.

Exhaling, Adrian drug herself into the cabin area again. She plopped down on the small bed inside, then wiped her sweaty forehead. "Success."

Charlotte pranced over to Adrain, drooling from exhaustion. Adrian smiled grimly, taking a dirty rag off of the floor and wiping Charlotte's mouth. "Good girl. Here, I got this for you." Adrian reached into the bag she had, pulling out a large dog bone she nabbed from a pet store when running errands earlier. She offered it to Charlotte, but the poor dog was panting too hard to take the present. Instead, the Bouvier made its way over to the dilapidated dog bed she slept in, and laid down to pant and slobber away. Adrian placed the bone near to her beloved pet understandingly, then walked over to her own bed again. She collapsed in a heap of exhaustion, then looked out the window at the city. It truly looked lifeless.

Adrian, her vision adjusting, made out her own reflection in the window. She was actually quite a pretty Asian girl, of average height, with a hime cut of jet-black hair. However, her large dark-brown eyes were faded with weariness, and the large bags under her eyes indicated her lack of sleep. Her lips were cracked from dehydration, and her skin practically glowed with sweat. "Ugh!..." She exclaimed, giving up. There was little trace of her normal happy self left in those dead eyes of hers.

Adrian was not an only child. She once had a little brother, one who's laughter sounded like twinkling bells. But he had been lost to the zombies a while ago, consumed as prey in front of her. She had been utterly helpless to save him, and could do nothing but run away with streams of tears running down her face. Adrian has a reoccurring nightmare of her toddler brother screaming as he was torn limb from limb before her very eyes.

Adrian and her brother were adopted, originally orphans that had stuck together ever since their first parents were murdered back in China. They were adopted by two men, a happy gay couple that lived in this city. They became such a happy family; what Adrian wouldn't give to get that life back.

In fact, that's exactly what she was doing now. Adrian was convinced that her parents were still out there, surviving just like she was. With only the family dog left to remind her of them, she was determined to risk anything to find her dads. She was NOT about to lose anyone else. She WASN'T going to lose anyone else.

At least, that's what she has been telling herself.

{{ Sakuranboy, hi! Wonderful post. Could you post your application here? Thanks! Doesn't have to be long, unless you want it to, but from your post I can tell you'll come up with something good. }}

{{ Also, my posts won't usually be this long, I just apparently had a flash of inspiration. Not for good writing though, obviously! Ha ha! Ha... yeah? No? okay... }}

Cinder wandered slowly around the small store, looking for any items that might help her. As thought, all the food and any potential weapons were gone. No tools, nothing. Medicine was cleared out, and so were the clothes - not like there were many clothes to begin with, just one shelf full of folded shirts and some pants that were either too small or too large to fit the small girl. Cinder continued to creep about, picking up things she thought she could use, and turning around in circles, continuously checking behind her for any signs of danger. The area that she was in was pretty safe, so she didn't have anything to worry about, a zombie here and there, maybe a group of four - but that was the worse.

Cinder found a backpack tucked in the shelf under the register, along with some food and such hidden in it near the back of the small shelf-cabinet. She looked around, someone was squatting here? But who? She'd never seen anyone go through the doors here. Without thinking, she snatched up the backpack, threw it over her shoulder and ran out of the store. Cinder had no idea what she stole, but was glad she left the food. If someone really was staying there, she didn't want to leave them to die completely. That would break her, being the cause of another human's death? But thinking, she remembered the cashier often tucking his backpack down there, but she remembered his backpack being a much darker color, this one was lighter in shades.

When she got to where she was staying, she grabbed the seven bricks next to the ladder on the side of the building. Setting them on a higher shelf next to the ladder, she climbed up a bit and dropped the bricks down, maybe a foot, onto the dirt ground, having them pile up and blocking the first three steps of the ladder. Cinder climbed the rest of the ladder, and quickly jogged over to her tent. After day's of searching and hopping from one building to trees to more buildings, she finally found a building that didn't have a door on the roof. The only access was the ladder on the one side, and besides that, nothing. Sure, it was a terrible build, but in a zombie attack, it was good because they couldn't climb up the stairs in the building to get to the roof. By her camp, she had a medium sized black tent, a small flower pot with a flower growing in it, a stack of three books in her tent, her pocket knife, the two snack packs of food she had, and whatever was in the backpack on her back.

Sitting inside her tent, she pulled the backpack in front of her and opened it up. Pulling out the few contents, she examined them. A small locket, a journal it seemed, flashlight, and some batteries. Digging through the rest of the pockets for anything else, she found a pen and that was all. Cinder gave a sigh and laid back, her eyes shut. Tears began rolling down her eyes and soon enough she was sobbing.

When she woke up, it was dark and all that was heard was the sound of the wind outside rushing through the trees. Sitting up, Cinder wiped her face and cleaned off the dried tears. She grabbed the flashlight and batteries and put them together. Grabbing the journal she opened it up and went through the pages. Nothing was written except for on the last page, where the phrase "ZOMBIES LOVE YOU STAY SAFE THE LOCKET IS YOURS" was messily written, a speck of blood was on the writing. Saddened, Cinder tore out the page and tucked it in the backpack. If she ever found the intended owner, the page and the locket would be theirs. Cinder grabbed the locket and opened it, inside was not a picture of a person, in fact there were no pictures. However, written on one half were the letters "MI" and on the other "NE". Cinder stared at the letters, "Mine..." she said softly, shutting the locket and tucking it in the backpack. Looking back at the journal, she picked it up, and then picked up the pen. Using the flashlight to see, she began to write, carefully, and slowly.

Estee wiped some sweat from her brow, then pulled her long red hair into a high ponytail. She needed to think, so she could figure out what exactly she needed to do next. There were few options at this point, and she knew that the small amount of food she had acquired would probably not be enough to last her very long. Carefully, she knelt down and counted out the small amount of food in her backpack. Two packets of freeze dried ice cream, a bag of beef jerky, some crackers, and two bottles of water. That was it. That was all she had to sustain herself for however long she was going to be fighting for her life. It wasn't going to do.

At that moment, she started pacing, trying to come up with a plan of action. This spot was good, to be sure, but she also needed to go get food. She figured that her belongings wouldn't be disturbed. If they were, she'd probably be okay anyway, as long as she didn't get into any zombie trouble. The zombies weren't very good at climbing the planks that had been nailed to the tree, anyways. However, she knew she couldn't leave her food. So if she were to leave, she would have to try and take everything she could with her. But the rifle... well, she would just have to leave it. That being said, she would take the ammunition with her. Who knew, if the zombies figured out how to use weaponry, they could be in grave danger. She would have to try to make her way back here, and if she couldn't... well, she would have to hunt for a new spot.

With that being decided, she took the bullets from the rifle and shoved them into her backpack, and then she pulled out a small pencil. On a napkin that had conveniently been left in the tree house, she wrote a small message:

I will be back shortly. Took the bullets with me. ~Estee

Having settled that, she picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulders before making the long climb down to the ground. The tree house was in a very tall, very sturdy tree, which was perfect for Estee. She had never minded heights, having grown up climbing trees, jungle gyms, and anything else she possibly could. It was one of the only ways she'd been able to entertain herself as a child.As she slowly made her descent, she reminisced on memories from when she was just a little girl...

"Estee, get down from there!" Her mother shrieked, dressed in an ebony ball gown, full length gloves, her golden hair piled high upon her head. "You're giving me a fright!"

The little girl simply giggled, swinging her legs from the branch she was sitting on. "Not tonight!" She squealed, her wild red hair matching her feisty attitude. After a few moments, she climbed higher, causing her mother to scream with terror.

"Get down here at once!" She practically wailed. "Your father and I have to go to a dinner party, and we were supposed to leave five minutes ago! Stop being impossible!"

And then her father stepped onto the back porch, his shadow falling across the lawn like a menacing giant. He simply looked up and gave the girl a wave, from all the way across the yard.

The wild child knew when she was fighting a losing battle, and with a dramatic sigh, she made her way back to the safety of the soft green grass...

She reached the ground right as she was coming back from her reflection on the past, and looked around cautiously. This was where the real danger was-- on the ground, waiting for her. She looked in the distance and saw the tall tops of the buildings of the ruined city. Heaving one more sigh, she began her perilous trek to gather more supplies, grabbing her pistol and holding to it as if she was drowning, and her gun was her lifeline. In times such as the ones they were facing, one bullet could be the difference between life and death.

Estee knew this all too well.

Adrian awoke with a start, rolling over and groaning from the throbbing dehydration headache she now had. "Sweet Jesus..." She crawled over to her shopping bag sluggishly, pulling out a water bottle. She took a couple of large swigs, then poured an equal amount into a dog dish she was able to get at the pet store along with the bone. Charlotte, having cooled down, happily pranced over to the dish and started to lap away thirstily. Adrian stroked the dog's fur gently, her mind distant.

Once her headache had lessened enough for her to think clearly, Adrian waked over to check on the yacht's gas level. "Almost empty, huh? Wonderful..." Just what she felt like doing was going back into Zombietown to get gas for the boat. Adrian stuck her head out of the cabin door, checking to make sure nothing was on the dock waiting for her, and then started up the yacht. The boat chugged around and made its way over to the harbor, pulling into its usual docking spot. Adrian tied up the restraints, tested their tightness, then sat down on the deck with a thud and a huff. Charlotte walked over to Adrian, licked her face, then whimpered. "I know, girl, I don't want to go back either. But we have to or we'll be out of gas." Adrian hugged the big oaf to her body, appreciating the companionship. Patting Charlotte on the back once more, she headed back into the cabin and shut off the gas.

Adrian sighed, took a deep breath, then kneeled on the floor. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head in prayer. "Dear Lord, please have Charlotte and I return together alive and healthy. Keep Dad and Papa safe..." She thought for a second, and then spoke up again, "And while you're up there, tell David I love him. So much. Amen." Adrian opened her eyes solemnly, then stood up. She grabbed her pistol from next to her bed, hooked Charlotte onto her leash, and headed out from the boat and onto the dock. She grabbed an empty gas container on her way out. Adrian chuckled darkly. "I'm not exactly fit to be running right now, am I?" Her arms full, Adrian headed out toward the city with nothing but a dog, her pistol, and a prayer to back her up.

**A little while later...**

Adrian scooted quietly down the street, keeping low and ducking behind cars. She didn't want to take any chances, considering her current mobility status. Of course, she'd be able to drop it all in the case of an emergency, but that was cutting it a little too close for comfort.

"Grrrrrr...." Charlotte started growling, her lips curling back and her ears laying against her head. Adrian's eyes grew wide, and she crouched low to the ground, low enough to put the gas container down and unhook Charlotte's leash. She cocked her pistol, leaning fully against the abandoned minivan behind her. She attempted to look around it, but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, Adrian knew better.

"What is it, girl?" Adrian questioned in a whisper. Charlotte remained frozen in that stance, her face truly menacing. Adrian followed the dog's gaze, but saw no zombies anywhere. She figured Charlotte must be smelling something. Adrian dug her fingers into Charlotte's fur for comfort; what the heck was out there?

Journal,

I don't know what the day is anymore. I stopped keeping track. Is it bad that I stopped keeping track so early on? I just haven't been able to think clearly. It seems like it's been forever, I can't sleep. I don't know what's happening to my family. Have they already all died? Are they gone. Zombies! Isn't it crazy? Of all things, a zombie apocalypse. I just... it's crazy. I don't know what to do anymore. You honestly can trust no one, because everyone is out to get you. It's late, but right now would be the best time to stalk - because the zombies couldn't see you. Sure they can smell, but without the aid of some sight, it's easier to get away from them. Oh well, I'm wasting the night.

Cinder

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Jai wore his backpack on his back, tightly strapped to him, so when he ran it wouldn't slide down. It was dark, but there was still light - it wasn't pitch black. Back at where he was staying, he had two flashlights hanging from the ceiling in the attic to act as his light sources so he could see. There were no windows, so he ended up having to carve one out himself (he made it so it faced outwards near the entrance of the store and could be closed), and the roof was just tall enough to where he could stand straight on his knees. He was too tall, or the roof was too short, for his to stand completely without having to bend over. Now however, as the night grew on, he was out, running stealthily as he searched for equipment. On his way back, he stopped at his own general store he was staying at (in the attic) and rummaged through. Grabbing a small pack of a few batteries, he ran up and emptied his pack. He had taken a small cardboard box, some twigs off of trees, and a picture frame. He grabbed the cardboard box and put a few of his other supplies in there, put the twigs in the corner, and then scooped up the picture frame. Reaching in his pocket he grabbed a picture of his family and gently put it in the frame and hugged it to his chest. Turning off the hanging flashlights, he slowly cried himself to sleep, the picture frame against his chest.

After her hand had been bandaged, it hadn't taken long for Diana to fall asleep on her brother, snuggled into his side as she clutched his arm. Devan, meanwhile, kept a lookout. His eyes drooped now and then, beckoning sleep, but he forced his muscles to stay tense, resorting to the last foul-tasting energy drink that the two had stored away. With any luck, Diana would stay asleep until morning and he could fool her into thinking he'd been asleep. It was rather touching that Diana cared more about her brother's well being than the zombies, but honestly, Devan wished she would just let him keep her safe.

Goodness knows how long Devan sat there, tapping out a nameless tune on the side of his weapon as it remained pointed over the edge of the shelf, threatening anyone - well, anything. After what seemed like years, however, the boy was startled out of his focus by a series of noises coming from the roof. They were only small thuds, and as a result Devan didn't notice them until Diana stirred next to him, rubbing her eyes sleepily and asking "Devan? What are those noises?"

"I don't know." Devan admitted, his eyes flicking up towards the roof as he wished he had X-ray vision so he could see what was going on up there. Instantly his developing sense of paranoia started flicking through hundreds of possibilities, the main one sticking at the front of his mind being - of course - zombies. Had they somehow learnt how to climb now? Then again, it wasn't like he knew much about the roof. For all he knew there was a ramp leading up to the top of the building and the zombies were now making there way down... Devan scrambled to his feet. "Stay here. I'm going to find out. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

With a small noise Devan lowered himself over the side of the shelf that he has repurposed as a ladder when he had created this structure, carefully stepped down the shelves and landed on the floor. Making sure he had both his weapons, the gun poised, Devan made his way outside, wincing as the cool night air smacked into his face. Resisting a shiver, he began prowling the edge of the building. It didn't take him long to find something he'd missed - a ladder, scaling the side of the building. Interestgly, there were some bricks blocking the bottom of the ladder... Without a second thought, Devan grabbed it and pulled his legs up and over the small pile, allowing him to scale the side of the store. It didn't take the strong male long to pull himself up, rolling onto the roof... To see a very interesting sight. Namely, a tent. Deciding to ponder how stupid he had been not to realise later, Devan slowly got up. Who knows, the occupant might be insane. "Hello?"

(I felt some characters should meet. Feel free to find Diana in the store. x3)

Of course, that should have been the least of her worries, but whatever. Focusing on the pain in her feet made the fear of being attacked seem a bit less significant. And that was exactly what Estee needed. She needed things to stay as calm as possible, or else she would drive herself insane. And people do crazy things when they're scared, as we all know. She continued walking, occasionally pausing to wriggle her toes and try to make her feet more comfortable. She knew that wearing a pair of ballet flats probably wasn't the best idea, but she didn't have enough time to put on socks and sneakers during the process of fleeing.

After a while, she felt like every building began to look the same. Dilapidated, abandoned, gross. She wondered if anyone had managed to survive, or if they'd just given in to the threat that pressed in upon them. Pressing in... yes, that's what it felt like. As if there was a wall, and they were all being squeezed, smothered between it and another wall. No chance of escape, no hope for survival. And everyone was going to meet the same fate. Some could hold out for longer than others, but it was only a matter of time before the two walls met, and only silence remained. Silence... silence and the lingering smell of death, that couldn't be washed out. And soon they would all be forgotten, and only legends would remain of the sad race that tried to flee from their doom.

She shook her head, disgusted by her own thoughts. She had to keep faith that she could survive. It was the only way. She couldn't allow herself to give in to the zombies-- even though it seemed like one of the only options that was left. In the darkness of the city, it was hard to embrace such an optimistic idea, but she was going to try. That being said, she was very lonely, and while she wouldn't normally mind, the whole 'end of the world' thing made a huge difference.

And that's when she saw it: the lights of a store. She took a quick look around, then began to run as fast as she could, hoping that she wouldn't be followed. She couldn't hear anything... so she assumed she would be safe. She threw the door to the store open, then slammed it behind her before collapsing against it. Panting, she took a good look around. There was pretty much nothing left... but that was okay, there were lights and... sounds? After tensing up, she climbed to her feet, listening as closely as she could. Breathing... She stepped forward, listening to the sound of soft breathing. That's when she jumped around the shelf and saw--

A girl. Praise the lord it was just a girl. "Oh... phew... I thought you were one of them, kid," she said, her posture relaxing immediately. "Sorry for barging in on your hiding spot, but there's pretty much nowhere left to go that's as remotely safe as this." She then looked around. "You're not here alone are you?" She asked with concern in her voice. Normally, she probably wouldn't have cared but... well, the thought of being alone in this zombie apocalypse was very daunting.

As Devan scrambled over the edge of their small tower, Diana clung to the edge and looked over, watching him jump down and run off. He'd probably shout at her if he looked up and saw what she was doing, but she wanted to make sure he didn't fall and break anything. What would she do then? It was clear from both Diana's body and their first encounter with the zombies that she was not made for fighting. And she wasn't a healer, either! Once she was sure her brother had made it safely out of the door, Diana slowly retreated back into the centre, grabbing the tatty blanket they had picked up once again to try and warm her up a little bit. Hugging it to her chest and doing her best to ignore the musty smell wafting from it, Diana glanced around the abandoned store. There was practically nothing on the shelves any more, partly from her and Devan ransacking the place when they had first arrived, partly due to... zombies? Diana didn't have a clue. A far happier thought was that other survivors had picked useful items off the shelves and were thriving.

Despite this thought, the small smile on Diana's face dropped like a stone when loud sounds began to ring out. Slams, thuds. Her grip tightening on the blanket, Diana buried her face in it to prevent herself from yelling out and attracting the attention of whatever was down there. It didn't SOUND like the generic zombie noises she'd heard. A quick peek and shuffle along the shelf told her that the front door had been slammed shut. Well, zombies weren't likely to close the door behind them! Only a little reassured, Diana's movements were sluggish. She picked up the baseball bat that had been left in her care and, ever so slowly, turned around and lowered herself down the ladder-shelf. It was a shaky and rather scary journey - Devan hadn't allowed her feet to touch the ground ever since she'd gotten up here. But not any more! She was going to cast away her fears! Well, this could go horribly wrong... swallowing and trying to steel her grip on the bat as her small body started to shake, Diana edged around the shelf, pinning herself to it as she heard soft footsteps. At least they didn't sound like a zombies... lost in thoughts of where to go next, Diana was awfully shocked by the suddenness of the other person appearing, prompting her to scream and jump backwards. She tried to raise the bat in defence, but dropped it almost instantly in favour of pressing herself against the shelf. Devan had warned her some of the survivors might not be totally sane...

"H-huh?" It took a short while to process the girl's words. Human! She was a human! Ignoring the relief for now as she tried to keep her suspicions high - Devan wouldn't let his guard down - Diana continued to try and stop herself shaking. "Alone?" Another pause. "No... I'm with my brother... he just went outside..." Surely there couldn't be any harm in having a conversation?

Adrian tilted her head as an echo of something slamming bounced of the building walls from somewhere down the street. She frowned. "What the..."

Just then, Adrian felt Charlotte's muscles tense beneath her hand. Adrian, listening intently, could now pick up an audible sniffling noise. Just like a dog's...

A dog? That couldn't be; there wasn't a single large animal left in the city. Confused, Adrian decided to lay flat on the ground and look under the car in order to get some sort of a visual.

Adrian had to bite her lip to stifle a gasp at what she found. Two completely hairless canines, with rotting flesh that smelled of old pus, were sniffing around the cars in which she was hiding. Adrian's heart was pounding out of her chest; zombie dogs? But that's impossible...right?

Wrong.

One of the two zombie dogs, about two cars away, growled. The sound of it's growl, wet and crackling, made Adrian's hair stand on end. Charlottle, upon hearing the noise as well, broke her intimidating pose and whimpered lightly. The two zombie dogs stopped their sniffling and looked up from the ground. And stared directly at Adrian. Their ripped lips started to curl back into an evil grin of a snarl, revealing their blackened gums and yellowed teeth.

"S**t!" Adrian cursed, giving up her hiding tactic. Now, they just needed to run. "Charlotte, zombie!" Adrian commanded, using the newest term that Charlotte had learned over the past few weeks. She didn't have to say it twice before Charlotte was off racing down the street. Adrian sprinted after her; a few moments later, the zombie dogs began to bark and follow in pursuit.

Adrian changed her mind. NOW she was running faster than she had ever before in her life. She hoped and prayed that she could outrun the undead dogs, or at least long enough for their legs to give out. She was heading toward where she heard the slamming echo from; Adrian could see Charlotte running up ahead. Charlotte was getting farther away from Adrian, which also meant the zombie canines were gaining on her. Adrian, unable to do much else, did what she could only think of doing in the midst of full sprint.

She screamed.

Estee sighed with relief, putting her pistol in her backpack and making sure the safety was on. "That's a relief." She then knelt down and picked up the baseball bat, handing it to the girl almost cheerfully. "Well, it's good to see that there are other people who've managed to make it this far. Again... sorry for randomly barging in. I was by myself out there, and let's just say it is not a pretty picture. I saw the lights, and i figured I might be safer if I were here... Not that my original spot wasn't good, but man, it really was lonely out there... Sorry, I'm rambling. I tend to do that when I get really emotional about something." She chuckled slightly before placing her backpack on the floor and sitting down. She removed her shoes and winced at the sight of her feet-- completely blistered, almost raw from walking so far from the park to the city. "Flats... ugh. Cute but not very functional." She rummaged through her backpack, hoping that she had packed another pair of shoes. With a sigh of relief she took out a pair of socks and sneakers and changed into them.

"I'm Estee Lalonde. Daughter of the owner of Lalonde Industries. It's good to meet you, although... well, I wish the circumstances were better." She extended her hand for a handshake, but, thinking better of it, she retracted her hand and messed with her hair. She quickly took out a mirror and checked her appearance. Yup, everything was good. Appearances were always an essential part of a first impression, after all, and if she looked terrifying, it would make people avoid her. But, seeing as she looked fine, she figured she wasn't repulsive. She stashed the mirror away and then looked at Diana once more. "How long have you and your brother been here?" She had to wonder if they'd been hiding as long as she had-- or longer. Some people had gotten a head start. Others, like Estee, had barely had time to get dressed, let alone find a good hiding spot.

Her parents hadn't escaped. They had been attacked while at a big dinner party at a downtown hotel. They were probably turned, and they were probably roaming the city, looking for sustenance on human flesh. The thought repulsed her more than it saddened her. her parents had barely been in her life, anyway. She missed them, and grieved over them, that was certain. But she knew she would be able to make it through, and she had to fight for herself, just like she always had. She looked over at Diana again, somewhat envious that the girl had a sibling to look out for her, and vice versa.

The night was quiet, and there wasn't much happening. Cinder was doubtful about her tent, after all - it was a tent. An interesting place to say, seeing as how everyone was in the middle of one of the most made fun of apocalypses. People expected bombing and attacks, leaving their country in disarray and decline, but instead, they were attacked by what once seemed to just be, well, a fictional creature. Even through Cinder's insecurities about her shelter, she shrugged it off, whatever kept her covered at night. She continued to write, but stopped suddenly to read what was written. However, she also stopped to listen. Looking around she heard footsteps and put her hand by her pocket knife. Footsteps, really? Cinder was previously under the impression that there was no one besides her and the area. People were quiet, and it scared her. Suddenly, and unexpected - Cinder assumed she was just hearing sounds - a voice called out for her.

Hello?

Cinder looked up from her messy scribbling on her paper, instantly grabbing for her pocket knife, flipping it out and aiming it at the offender. She probably looked crazed, with her hair done up in a terribly messy side braid, using the only rubber band she had. Her face lined with dry tears and her nails bitten down to jagged and unattractive edges. She noticed it was a boy, about her age, and loosened her grip, however still keeping the knife poised at him. She licked her lips, out of habit, and bit the bottom lip as she tried to find words.

"Hello.. what do you want?" She asked, her voice attempting to be strong and superior, but instead fell flat and weak. She was honestly incredibly scared, and could start crying at any moment. She didn't trust the boy, no matter what he said, no one could be trusted in this world. Not even family. The thought hurt her, because she desperately wanted to find her family, but she knew they would send her away if they were alive. 'We don't have enough food' or 'It's not safe', something to get her to leave.

Her eyes flickered up back at the boy, she took a hand and wiped her cheek, even though it was dry and all that was on it were the dried tear stains that wouldn't come off.

Adrian thought she was hallucinating. We're those lights up ahead? She honestly couldn't care at the moment, what with her life in mortal danger and all. She forced her aching leg muscles to run even faster down the street.

Finding her path obstructed by cars, Adrian jumped over a crashed car, running across its roof and then onto the ground from the other side. When she landed, her ankle twisted unnaturally, sending the 17-year-old crashing to the ground. Hitting the pavement, she screamed again, mostly from fear rather than pain.

Adrian rolled over onto her back, her pistol clutched tightly in her right hand. She couldn't see the zombie dogs, but she knew they were somewhere close.

The first of them came flying over one of the cars, it's dead eyes fixated on Adrian as it soared through the air. The dog was sure to land directly on Adrian.

"Nngh!" She moaned, pulling the trigger. A loud bang ricocheted off the buildings, leaving a high pitched ringing noise in Adrian's ear. She became temporarily disoriented, and was barely able to push the dead zombie canine corpse off of her body.

And then the second one came over the cars. Adrian was completely taken by surprise, still recovering from the first bullet shot. So the creature successfully pounced on her, pinning her entire body to the ground. It snarled in her face, exhaling it's noxious rotten breath on her. The canine zombie prepared to bury its fangs into Adrian's neck and end the tension for good.

Just as she had given up all hope of survival, Adrian felt the zombie dog being lifted off of her body and drug to the side. She was still reeling, but was able to make out the figure of Charlotte attacking the other canine, swiftly snapping the creatures neck with a viscous shaking. Adrian sighed shakily, her exhaustion and stress finally catching up to her. The world around her slowly grew dark as she lost consciousness, but not before Charlotte walked over and laid across Adrian's midriff protectively.

Warily, Diana held out a hand and took her baseball bat back, putting it on the floor and leaning against it as the girl cheerfully rambled on. She was genuinely listening, and not just waiting her out in the hope that she would shut up soon. However, she didn't look like she was particularly paying attention - the young girl's eyes kept flicking around the room, and occasionally she shifted to get a better angle. It wasn't just zombies she was looking out for, though. She'd broken one of her brother's rules; she'd come down from their hiding place! What if he came back and scolded her? Best not to think about that now, but she should get back to the structure soon... When her companion started changing her shoes, Diana finally spoke. "It's okay. I don't mind." The tone was neutral, but there was a small smile on her face to show she was friendly.

"I'm Diana." Diana didn't have time to take the handshake, so she just nodded in acknowledgement instead. If Estee Lalonde had been boasting about her parentage, it fell upon deaf ears - Diana didn't have a clue who or what she was talking about. Playing with a strand of her hair and tapping her fingers off the wooden handle in her grasp, Diana thought about the question she had just been asked. Let's see... they'd fled on the first day, hidden in a storage cupboard in a different store for a while... or had they been in this store? They certainly hadn't been up in the air since the start... oh, Diana was getting all confused. "From the start. I think." Was the answer she eventually offered.

Talking about fleeing only made the nagging voice in the back of the girl's head telling her to return to safety grow louder, hence why she quickly turned around and started walking. "I need to get back off the ground! What if my brother or zombies come here?" Knawing on her lip, Diana weaved her way through the shelves and general debris, occasionally looking back to see if Estee was following. Sure, they had met only a minute ago, and the older girl could still turn out to be a rabid psychopath, but Diana didn't have the heart to leave another human behind. When she reached their structure, Diana tossed the baseball bat into the air so it landed on top before beginning to carefully scale the shelves. For a brief moment, she looked back. "Come on! Get off the ground! It's safe, my brother made it."

---------

While his sister was happily making friends, Devan's hand was poised on his gun as he attempted to try and stare this girl down. See what she was made of. She didn't look incredibly tough - messy hair, eyes looking like she'd been crying, nervous expression. Typical. Devan's wasn't emotionless, but he figured that this far into the zombie apocalypse, everyone would have dried their tears and pulled themselves together now. The only exception was Diana. He would always be there to comfort the fragile girl. Still, maybe he shouldn't write his current companion off completely. It seemed that she was smart enough to find a good place to shelter, away from the zombies. The trick with the bricks had been neat too. However, clever meant she could try and outsmart him at any time.

"Nothing in particular." Devan commented calmly, taking a small step forwards. His muscles were kept tense; his hand poised and ready. For all he knew, she had been crying because she had just been bitten and had tried to isolate herself. In a situation like this, you had to try and prepare for every possibility. "I just heard noises on the roof, and I came to see what they were. I'm allowed to be suspicious, right?" He really shouldn't be staying up here chatting, not when he'd left Diana alone. But he needed to make sure that this person wasn't a threat to Diana or him. And hey, if she really was just another survivor, they could end up banding together. Strength in numbers. "How long have you been up here?"

Cinder watched the boy carefully, one hand gripped around the knife, and the other combing through her hair. Even though they were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, Cinder still cared about her appearance - because if people thought she looked crazy on the outside, they pretty much would assume she acted crazy too. And while Cinder didn't normally care about what people thought about her before, getting people on your side nowadays was an important trick to surviving. She stopped combing through her hair with her fingers and relaxed her muscles, still keeping her hand poised and ready. Watching him walk around calmly was intimidating and Cinder was confused, why was so calm? Maybe it was Cinder, being an emotional person every now and then, for not understanding his collected attitude, or maybe he was crazy. She figured it was the first conclusion.

Even though Cinder was weak and probably couldn't help you in a fight, she was fast and she was smart. However right now she hated herself, how had she noticed no one walking in and out of the building that she stayed on? It saddened her, mostly because she relied heavily on her ability to scout things out and notice things before people even noticed. That's what helped her stay alive thus far. If the people below her knew of her at all, they easily could have killed or attacked her, taken her things, and ran. It would've been a simple procedure. However, it seems that they didn't notice her either, until now that is. Biting her lip, Cinder silently scolded herself in her head for being so loud. She had gotten careless and because of that, that's why she was discovered.

Looking at the boy, she finally gave him a response, "Of course, being suspicious is a good thing - sometimes. Other times, however, it isn't." She said, giving him a light smirk. She moved around a bit, shifting her weight. "Maybe two weeks." She said, making a guess. She assumed it may have been more, but she wasn't positive. "How long have you been here?" She questioned in return.

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Jai woke up with a start, he didn't sleep really, but instead closed his eyes, breathing slowly. Crawling up to his knees, he cleaned his face with his shirt, clearing the tears. Suddenly, a gun shot. Jai looked up and crawled over to his window. He noticed a dog pushing off what seemed to be... a zombie dog? Confused he looked around and noticed a girl fainted on the ground. Jai grabbed his knife, put in his pocket and ran out to the girl. What was she doing? And she was fighting zombie dogs? He hadn't suspected the disease to spread to them, but then again, humans are animals and so are dogs.

He approached, pulling out his knife and carefully and lightly stepping over to the girl. His hand was poised at the seemingly dead bodies. He noticed a dog protectively covering the chest of the girl, he kneeled down a few feet away, and whistled. When he finally got the dog to look at him, he moved slowly. Attempting to get closer to the seemingly unconscious girl. He tried to reassure the dog, so he - or she - would let him get closer to its master.

"Hey.. it's okay.. I want to help.." he said, he didn't really want to help. But what was he supposed to say? 'Hey, I saw her getting attacked and was curious so I decided to come down here and see if anything really bad happened!' then turn around and leave? No, that would be rude. And Jai wasn't the rude type, he was the semi-honest, emotional type.

Charlotte's cropped ears shot up as she heard a nearby whistle. Snapping her head around to determine the source of the sound, she found a very large man not too far away. Immediately, her ears lied flat against her head and she started to growl deeply.

"Grrrrrr..." She warned threateningly. No one was going to hurt her master for as long as Charlotte still had breath in her body.

Charlotte's growling stopped abruptly as the strange man started calling out to her. Her ears slowly rose, and she tilted her head to the right curiously; her collar jingled with this motion of her head. With hesitation, Charlottle rose from laying across Adrian and walked slowly over to the man.

Charlotte looked up at the man dead in the eyes with her own expressive and intellgent eyes. After determining that he had no ill intentions, she then headbutted him in the leg lightly. She left the crown of her head leaning against his leg, moreso demanding to be petted than asking. The large black dog whimpered lightly.

Jai was crouched low to the ground, a knife in hand and the other pressed against the ground as support. He watched with curiosity as the dog approached him, slowly and cautiously. Surprisingly, after being examined, the dog was quick to trust. In fact, after pressing its head to his leg, it almost seemed to be demanding being pet.

He put the knife down and stood on his knees, carefully putting a hand on the top of the dogs head. He ran it through the animals fur, rubbing her back and scratching her head. He gave her head another pet before pulling his hand away and turning to look at the girl.

Standing, he grabbed the knife from the ground and went to the girl, she was unconscious, and her breathing seemed steady. He looked her over, trying to find any scratches. She seemed clean, and carefully, he crouched back down. He looked up from the girl to the dog and put his hands near the girl. Asking if it was okay if he picked her up, she seemed small and looked light. He planned to pick her up and try and get her and the dog into his small attic area. Without having to deal with any zombies along the way.

Charlotte liked this man; she determined that after getting a good scrub-down of a pet from him. She appreciated the human contact; after all, she hadn't seen another human besides Adrian in a long time.

Seeing the man put his hand near her master, Charlotte at first uttered a soft warning growl, but seemed to think against it and stopped quickly. Instead, she opened her mouth wide to pant loudly in what could be interpreted by some as a goofy smile. She sat her rump down on the ground to supervise what the man was about to do.