Dead World

Alright so we all know about the whole zombies taking over the world thing and ending all humanity blah blah blah. So I don't think we need a real big opener here. So here we go!

So, it happened. The zombies took over. Half the world is one now and all it would take is a bite and you become one too. Not immedaitely for sure, but after awhile you start coughing, then comes the fever. After about twelve hours, you're gone. Nothing left but a starving, flesh eating monster.

The ones that are left keep fighting, we know that there's a small chance of any of us surviving, but we try. After all, when you're the only ones left... you're fighting not just for yourself, but the rest of humanity.


____

Basically the setting is a small town in the middle of all of this, and a band of survivers. Here's the thing, expect death. Not everyone should live, if your character dies you can always just make a new one. But of course its up to you if they do.

Otherwise, you know the rules.

Name:
Age:
Appearence:
Other:

You can just put their appearence in the first post if you want. I don't really like forms myself.

Name: Ace
Age: 16
Appearence: Brown hair green eyes tall skinny
Other: likes smashing zombies with a hammer sword anything

Name: Justine
Age: 19
Appearence: Blonde hair to her shoulders, pulled back into a frizzy pony tail. Brown eyes and tan skin with few freckles. Tallish, about average for a girl.
Other: Traveling with her younger brother.

Name: Mark
Age: 9
Appearence: Dirty blonde hair thats kinda shaggy, brown eyes and also tan. Freckled skin and kinda lanky, like he hasn't grown into his body just yet. tall for his age.
Other: Traveling with his sister.

Name: Casper
Age:18
Appearance:
Other: He's been on his own since /it/ happened. He found a husky puppy in the ruins of a train wreck and has been traveling with her ever since.

Name: Claudia
Age: 17
Appearance:
Other: Her older sister was just bitten. She shot her herself.

Justine

"Come on, Mark..." I muttered, picking my way through a crumbling building.

I made sure that I was a few steps ahead of my younger brother, but that he was close enough I could reach out to grab him. It was an effort to sheild his eyes from things they shouldn't have to see, but also an effort to protect him from things that could happen if he fell too far behind.

Pulling a rock to the side, I scowled as the bag of chips I thought I found turned out to be empty. Sure something thy had been sitting there in the middle of all this dirt and grim wouldn't have been my preference, but it would have been something. We can't afford to be picky anymore.

"Just..."

"Lets keep going, there's nothing here."

I could see the hesitation cross Mark's face, his eyes dropping to the bag I'd discarded. His stomach was growling as if to remind me of what I already knew. I needed to find him something o eat. He wouldn't be able to keep up much longer if I didn't.

My mind couldn't help but reflect on all that had happened.. all that had changed. Just about three months ago...maybe longer or shorter, everything had been normal. Mark and I didnt see each other that often, I cared for just me and it was all alright. Then the news started deleting people getting sick, dying quickly. At first it seemed like just some huge prank when the people started coming back, I mean...who would believe it? Then... Ann got sick. My roommate didn't last long, dying and coming back, forgetting everything and attacking all of us.

... I thinking she was the first in the college to be infected. Definitely not the last though...

"Just I see a store!" Marks excited voice cut into my thoughts as he eagerly pointed ahead. "Maybe there's something in there."

Taking a deep breath I nodded, starting towards the store and drawing the gun I'd picked up a few weeks back. Mark took the idea and also drew the one I'd entrusted him with. He may be nine...but this is a new world. Stores were killer, but...we needed food.

"Alright... get my back Mark... shoot anything that moves."

Claudia was making her way through a large crash in the middle of the highway. Her shot gun was slung over her shoulder, the nose thumping against her thigh with every step that she took. The cars were blackened from the flames that had once been here, bodies of their owners lying in only a few of them. Lidia turned her head, not wanting to see the remains of what was once the human race.

Casper was holding onto his puppy, Jamie, giving her a break from the long walk. He held part of the cooked rabbit under her nose, smiling slightly as she took it gingerly from his fingertips. "That a girl," he murmured, kissing her fur. He wrapped up the rest of the meat and put it back in his backpack before starting to walk again.
He stopped cold in his tracks when he heard voices. Spinning around, he caught sight of two forms in the distance, picking their way through a crumbling building. Jamie whimpered when they ducked behind a dead bush and Casper shushed her, trying to get her to be quiet. She merely barked at him, making him close his eyes in horror. "Oh, Jamie," he whispered, looking toward the two shadows once more.

Justine

I was about to step inside when Mark got my attention. There was a bell on the outside windowsill, obviously someone had been here before and left it for travelers. Picking it up I stepped away from the doorway, keeping an eye on Mark.

"Ready?" I asked, and he gave a small, scared nod.

"Ready."

Slowly I rang the bell, then dropped it to the ground as I leveled my gun at the door of the store. One moment of silence passed, followed by another. Eventually I started to lower it, just as a figure ran with a stumbling gait through the door.

Mark fired before I could. My heart threatening to break from my chest.

"...thanks bro..."

"No problem."

I could see his hands trembling as he lowered the gun.

Casper gave a sigh of relief when he heard the gun shot. Humans. Thank God. He set Jamie on the ground and started his way over to where they were. Jamie followed him, sticking close to his side. "Hey," he called out to them. As he got closer he could see that there was a little boy, and a girl that was probably around his age. He didn't want to frighten them by just going up to them, especially since there was a dead, twitching zombie lying at their feet. He raised his hands to show that he meant no harm. "Stay," he whispered to Jamie, giving a small smile when she sat down and looked up at him.

Justine

I froze before entering, instead giving Mark a quick order to watch the door as I spun around to face the voice. My eyes caught sight of a boy, seemingly around my age it would appear. Next to him I also managed to note there seemed to be an animal, a dog perhaps?

Scowling I leveled my gun at him, not willing to take any chances.

Zombies weren't the only monsters in this world. There happened to be living ones too. Some people would do anything to keep moving, despite who they left behind for the dead.

"What do you want?" I demanded, not moving my eyes from him for a moment, even to look at Mark.

Casper kept his hands above his head and his foot out to keep Jamie in place. She listens well enough to him, but he only found her a few weeks back. She still needed training. The last thing he wanted was for her to take off running and get shot.

"A zombie free world would be good," he called, cocking his head to the side as if he were thinking. "Or at least a zombie free village. I'd settle for one of those I think." He looked at the girl before taking a few slow steps toward her. "I don't mean any harm. I just saw you and figured I'd stop." His eyes moved behind her to the little boy in the doorway of the store.

Both of them were skinny. As if they hadn't eaten in days. Don't get him wrong, Casper lost quite a few pounds too, but at least he wasn't starving.

"You guys hungry?" His hands were still above his head, but his foot wasn't holding Jamie back any longer. She was crouched down low to the ground, her eyes pinned on the people in front of them.

Justine --

Hungry.

As if to answer the the man's question Mark's stomach contineued to rumble behind me. Perhaps it was just reminding me that I had a responsibility to be tending to instead of wasting time with someone that she didn't have to be helping.

"Maybe." I growled after a moment, not moving the gun. "Doesn't mean nothin', I could still take you."

"Jus..." Mark tugged on my sleeve, keeping his eyes flicking between me and the doorway. "Jus I see stuff on the shelves in there."

I hesitated, glancing at the man before us again. I wasn't moving until I was sure we were safe. Lowering my gun meant giving him an opening.

Cass heard the little boy, the plead in his voice. His heart twinged as he thought of his little nephew. He had only been five.... He mentally shook himself, bring his mind back to the present.

"I didn't ask to see if I'd be able to take you," he said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. It was sad that a zombie apocolypse actually happened, and humans still had to worry about their own species. Maybe this was God's way of getting rid of the sin like he did with Noah's Ark?

Casper slowly lowered his hands. "I'm going to take my backpack off of my back. And then I'm going to open the top zipper. You'll see me take a package out. But please, don't shoot. It's rabbit meat. I killed it this morning. I had my share and Jamie here had hers. You and the little boy are welcome to the rest." He kept his eyes on the girl without making another move, waiting for her answer.

Justine

If it had been just me I wouldn't have thought twice about rejecting the meat. You couldn't be too careful. But I had Mark too, he needed something. Fresh would be a lot better for him than whatever we found in that store.

Gritting my teeth I watched him silently, waiting till he had the rabbit to edge just a bit closer. Perhaps... it would be okay...

No. I had to watch out for Mark. I kept my gun leveled with two hands on it.

"Give it to him." I ordered, hearing Mark pass me when I gave it.

Even he was careful, pausing about two feet away from the guy.

Casper smiled softly at the boy. He slowly put the meat on the ground before taking a few steps back to give him some room.

"I just cooked it this morning," he murmured. "It'll be cold, but it's good." Casper bent down to pick up Jamie before she could run over to the little boy. She squirmed in his grasp, but he really didn't want to spook the kid by having a puppy he didn't know jump all over him.

He put his backpack back over his shoulders with the hand not holding Jamie and took a few more steps back.

Justine --

I watched closely as Mark stepped the little distance to pick up the meat, my eyes more on the man than anything else. I couldn't help but feel a bit less wary now, the idea that he was helping us pushing my guard down just slightly. I almost lowered my gun before I shook my head, pulling it up the tiny amount that I had allowed it to drop.

"... thanks." I muttered as Mark retreated back to my side.

He'd already started to tear apart the meat to slip some into his mouth. I winced slightly, wishing I'd told him to let me taste it first, just in case. Instead I had to watch for a moment before being sure that it was alright. Giving him a nod to continue I turned my attention back to the man.

"... who are you?"

Casper smiled softly as the little boy ate. The poor kid looked as if he were starving. Giving his body some meat was bound to help him out.
"My name's Casper."
He set his husky puppy on the ground. She looked up at him, her light blue eyes wide and her tongue rolling out of her mouth.
"I was just walking by when I saw you guys. I'll be on my way now though if you'd like."
He looked back down at Jamie and made a clicking noise with his tongue before turning around to walk away. He knew that the gun was still trained on his back, but he was going to give the girl the bennifit of the doubt. If she was going to shoot him, she would have already done so. At least he hopped that was the case.

Justine

I watched him for a long moment, chewing on my lip thoughtfully. It took guts to just turn his back to me like that, when he knew I was holding the gun. Slowly, cautiously I lowered it, eyes flickering to Mark then back to Casper.

"Wait," I said hesitantly, cursing myself for it. "I'm... Justine."

Casper smiled softly as he stopped, Jamie running into his leg. He slowly turned around, his eyes searching the girl's in front of him.
"Nice to meet you, Justine," he said in that southern way he had. He didn'tt move any closer toward toward them, letting Justine decide what she wanted to do.
"Where were you guys headed?"

Justine --

I hesitated, mind fluttering over all Mark and I had discussed doing. After a moment I shrugged, deciding there was no use in lying about it.

"Out west, I heard there was a shelter there. We have nothing keeping us here, so there's no reason not to go on the wild goose chase."

The thing about now, with all the dead living and walking among us. There was always a safe place somewhere other than where you were. I couldn't help but follow the rumors though. Maybe one of these times the safe house will be... real.

Casper nodded, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "I'm actually headed to Arizona. Mind if I tag along until then?"
Having company would be great, especially in a world like this one. The only problem with "company" though was the trust issue. If you had someone watch your back, how could you be sure that they wouldn't just rather stab you instead?
Jamie began whimpering all of a sudden, her ears pinned back to her head. Her eyes were pinned on the building behind Justine and her little brother, the one that they were plannig on going into. Three zombies were making their way outside, their limp doing nothing to slow down their pace. What people said about zombies being slow was utter BS. Zombies were as quick as they used to be when they were more alive than they were dead.
"Shit," Casper cursed, swinging his bag around and grabbing his pistol out of the side pocket. He aimed it at the living dead and pulled the trigger, killing two out of the three before he was out of bullets. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Justine --

I didn't hesitate, spinning around and taking aim. Mark didn't have time to pull his gun out and Casper seemed to be out of bullets. Locking on the third I shot, not just once. I hated when the things looked dead but then got back up when you turned your back.

"...thanks." I muttered, glancing back at him.

Perhaps the guy would be of use. I mean, having another hand on board to shoot the dead would be useful. That also meant two more mouths to feed though, with that dog he had with him. He had shown he knew how to hunt though, which was more than I could do before forced to learn. Even still, I'm a better scavenger than hunter.

"... I think you coming with us could be a good idea."

Casper nodded, throwing his gun into his backpack carelessly now that it was empty. He was going to need to find a new gun, or at least new bullets. He bent down and picked Jamie up. She licked his cheek and curled up in his arms, her tiny body shaking.
"I really suggest we find someplace to camp out for the night then," he said, looking up at the sky. The sun was setting and there was nothing worse than being out in the open when it was dark out. Talk about being a free meal.

Justine --

I nodded, glancing at Mark and waiting for his agreement before speaking. He'd finished the rabbit and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Giving me a short nod he continued to flicker his gaze between Casper, his dog, and I.

"We have a camp," I told him. "We've been around here a few days, trying to find food. I knew we weren't going to get much further without it."

Casper nodded, walking up to them. "Lead the way."
He wasn't going to lie to himself. It was good to have company again. Not just Jamie's company, but actual people he could talk to. After the zombies decided to take over, he's been on his own, picking his way back to Arizona where he hoped his family still was.
His eyes scanned the sad scene around him. Crumpling buildings, overgrown plants, destroyed vehicles... If his hometown was anything like this place, his sisters and father were either long gone, or a meal. All he could do was hope that for some reason, they decided to stay put.

Justine --

I nodded with a small smile, gesturing for Casper as Mark and I fell into the same position that we'd been traveling since this all started. He to my right and trailing by maybe a foot or so, unless he was unable to keep up with me then the gap grew just slightly. Leading through the rubble and grass she showed the way back to their little campsite. it wasn't much, basically just a few sleeping bags they'd found set out beneath a wall that had started to fall before being stopped by a steal beam. It kept the wall from falling the rest of the way and enabled them to stay under their... moderately safe. The open area kept them from being sneaked up on by the dead.

"Well," I said, gesturing towards it. "This is home for now."