Board Up The House

[Gelatinous Cube]

It was 9:08 am, and he had just come in from chopping wood. On his stove was a pot of water boiling away for him to make himself a hot drink.
He listened to the radio calmly as he read the newspaper, the news differed greatly between each.
...authorities are advising all residents of the affected areas to board up their house or retreat into their bomb shelters if they have them until the incident has been resolved. Chief of Police Gerard Watkins and National Guard Captain Willard Mames are confident that clean up should take no more than twelve to twenty four hours. That statement was issued an hour ago and we have had no more correspondence with those two men at this present time.
This reporter would like to assure everybody listening that the national guard and police have the situation under control and urges citizens not to take matters into their own hands.

He stopped listening for a few minutes as he came across an interesting article in the newspaper about a food contamination of beef and pork from China. Whoever was left to say that the incidents were connected was very likely dead now, or ushered into some dank hidey hold to wait it out.
The sound of screeching tyres had come to him quietly on the morning breeze, but he had otherwise heard little to be worried about.
He began listening again to the radio.

Once again, we are unable to reach either Police Chief Watkins of Captain Mames of the National Guard, however we still would like to assure you that there is nothing to worry about.
*Bang crash!*
What the hell is that? Somebody get those people out of here, you can't stay here!
Ladies and Gentlemen, nothing to be worried about, just some wayward citizens seeking asylum in our studio. I repeat, there is nothing to worry a...oh god!
The radio crackled and squeaked while muffled screams filtered through.
Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that my studio is being overrun by the citizens of our fair town...they appear to be swept up in mania and they...oh dear lord...they're...jesus christ no...I can't believe...

He switched the radio off.
He knew what was happening, he had seen its beginnings. When he had been out hunting, a bottle of jack fast dwindling down to dregs in his pocket, he had come across the pit of writhing corpses.
Behind a military fence, with bio-hazard warnings all over it. The outpost a few miles west had to be behind it, but what could old Jeb do? He was in good shape for forty-eight, but he was otherwise powerless.
A strange old hermit who lived on an old farm with a lot of rust.
He looked over at the framed photograph of his late wife.
"Maybe I'll be coming to visit you real soon, Sherry," he said as he stroked the glass affectionately with one finger, "What else can bitter old Jeb do, hmm?"

Far off in the distance, he heard the sound cars colliding.
He sipped his tea forlornly.

[reneelizabeth]

The face of her roommate flashed in her mind as she hastily sped down the eerily empty road, passing houses and businesses that were as equally empty. Where had the blood smeared across her face come from? Why had she lunged at her? The whole ordeal happened so fast, but she would always distinctly remember using the "ROOM FOR RENT" wooden post on their front lawn to take down the girl she used to share an apartment with. Her mind then switched to her sister and her niece and nephews as she continued down the road going as fast as she could in an attempt to make it there before they became what her roommate had.

"Calm down Amelia," she said to herself, her foot still forcing the gas pedal to the floor, and she closed her eyes for a brief moment to take a deep breath. It was the last thought that coursed through her mind before she opened her eyes and swerved to avoid the car wreck just a few feet in front of her. "Shit!" She yelled out, slamming the breaks and making a bumpy crash stop on the side of the road before everything went black.

She woke to banging to her right and lazily opened her eyes and squinted to make out the figure. A man in the same condition as her roommate was hungrily pounding on the driver's side window and looking at Amelia as thick, dark blood poured from its mouth. She scrambled out of the driver's seat and into the passengers and forced the door open. Her bare feet and knees collided against the ground and she winced in pain before pushing herself up and began running; running anywhere that would get her away from that monster.

Amelia could feel the loose ponytail that held back her dark brown hair bouncing against her neck as she ran, her mind focusing on her breathing. She didn't know how fast these things could go, but she wasn't going to risk them catching her. The sun was blaring against her pale skin and she squinted her gray eyes as she ran. Her feet began to ache and she slowed down, looking behind her to see if that thing had followed her. There was no one in sight and her mind rested a bit knowing she could stop running. She turned back around and just off in the distance she could see a farmhouse peacefully resting under the sun. Amelia let out a sigh of relief, perhaps there was someone who could help her. She started jogging toward the house.

As she approached the house she became aware of the fact that she hadn't changed out of her pajamas. Nor had she showered, managed her hair, or eaten anything. She looked down at the dark blue, loose tank top and gray just-above-the-knee shorts and hoped her appearance wouldn't hinder the way she would be greeted, if greeted at all. Fortunately, she spied an older man through one of the windows with whom she made eye contact with. He made no attempt to greet her at the front door, but didn't protest when she hesitantly entered the house. He silently offered coffee, a luxury Amelia accepted immediately and she basked in the hot beverage that gave her a small sense of calm. The man in front of her was reading the newspaper as she sipped the coffee and she looked around and noted the furniture and decor of the house, which was comforting for her. When he began speaking, she almost dropped the mug she was holding, but gave a small smile as she sipped more coffee.

He explained what was happening and all Amelia could think of was her sister and her family. Had they fallen victim to this? Was there still time to save them? Amelia listened with great curiosity, but the man's calm demeanor was slightly unsettling. Panic or worry would have been more acceptable, but calm? Calm was the last thing she would have expected. He finished talking as Amelia took the last sip of her coffee and held the mug between her hands as if it would save her life. After a brief moment of silence, she looked at the man.

Her raspy voice escaped her lips. "I'm Amelia," she said.

[Kacey Scott]

Strange thoughts ran through Officer Miranda Starr's head as her battered police cruiser sped through the dark and empty city, her night had been seemingly normal, but her morning had been anything but. It was 8am when Miranda woke up to an unusual sound to find her husband eating a piece of her sons throat, she barely had time to lift her head before he pounced on her as well. After a brief fight, she was able to throw him off and get the .38 from her nightstand, trying three times to get him to stand down, she had no choice but to put two rounds through his brain. Emotions took awhile to catch up to her, she had gotten dressed, grabbed several guns from the safe and a bag of non parishable food from the kitchen, before it even fully kicked in what she had just been forced to do, or what she may have to. She clipped her badge and phone onto her belt, hoping they would do some good.

As Miranda loaded the two bags into her car, she could already see the state of her neighborhood, she new there was no reason to go to work, thank god she'd seen so many zombie movies, who knew she'd ever be in one. She was halfway across town before her mind let her cry over her husband and son, but she did her best to fight off the feelings, she knew that if there were any other survivors, she needed to find em. She headed west hoping to get to her parents before anyone else. As Miranda left town she could see several more people, clearly effected by something, a few groups were feeding on something that had possibly been a dog, others seemed to be completely lost, and hungry.

As Miranda was leaving town, she noticed a wreck ahead and a young woman running, from a blood covered man, who appeared to have been a mail man. She floored the accelerator ramming the car in front of her, pinning the man between her car and a dark green Buick, it wasn't until he began crawling up the hood that she put three 9mm rounds into his head. she got out of the car and yelled to the girl, but she was too far away to hear already. After grabbing her bags from the car, she walked off looking for the girl, hoping she was ok, and hadn't been attacked. Miranda saw a house in the distance, with the lights on and smoke coming from the chimney, and took a guess that its where the girl would go.

Miranda ran her hand through her short red hair as she walked up to the house, and seeing a man and the girl inside, knocked on the front door, after a few knocks, and not seeing either of them move, she tucked her 9mm into her bag with the others and walked inside, opening the door slowly, she noticed the man look up at her and point to the coffee pot. " oh, thank god" She said as she poured herself a cup. She took a sip then looked at the girl, who she'd just heard introduce herself, as Amelia. " I saw the accident, and I saw you running from Mail Man Bob, back there, you ok?" she asked, with a smile, trying to sound like she really did care, even though her emotions were a train wreck at the moment.

[Gelatinous Cube]

"Amelia," Jeb said aloud, "That's a very pretty name."
He smiled a genuine sort of smile, the kind of smile that came from a warm place deep inside yet made people uneasy. Unease must have been the least of what she was feeling right now.
He ran a hand through his medium length curls of salt-and-pepper hair and then the same hand through his thick stubble. Some may have considered him a handsome man, if only in a rugged, lumberjack sense of things.
He opened his mouth to speak again, to offer more coffee when another woman entered his home.
She looked haggard, with rims around her eyes as red as her short hair. He noted the badge and police issue 9mm in her hand.
"Officer," he nodded.

Jeb stood up, taking his plate of crumbs over to the sink where he brushed them away and briefly rinsed the plate.
"Names Jebediah, though nobody calls me that. You can call me Jeb, that'll do just fine." He spoke evenly, rationally, but something was dragging his words down, bowing them in the middle. His dreams had turned out to be so frighteningly accurate. Frightening to the point that, like a coward, he had just waited to see if it would happen. Though what preventative measures could he take?
He was just a strange middle-aged man prone to migraines and fits of mania in his youth, undiagnosable of course.
Instead, he had prepared himself.
Planks of wood rested in neat stacks by each window and door, and a box nails beside a hammer were kept with them.
"Might I ask for your name, Officer? Please, help yourself to as much coffee as you like."

[SilverRain]

Annie tried to calm herself down as she sped down the motorway on her dirt bike. She just came back and didn't know what was happening. There were zombie attacks everywhere - it was like she was in a Hollywood movie except that she was not the hero. She would be just another bystander, doomed to die. Annie had returned to her flat in the hopes of grabbing money and food, but it was already overrun. At one point she stood still, waiting for the zombies to come and attack her. She thought that it would be futile to resist - sooner later she would become one of them anyway. What was the use in running? So she gave up and was about to close her eyes when she saw another pedestrian being eaten alive.

"Eww!!! They chew off the hands first?!" she shouted to herself. That was when her instincts took over and she ran to her dirt bike and started the engine. They... they would eventually sniff her out. She had to get to the ocean docks and grab a boat out of here. Surely the other islands or nations wouldn't be overrun yet right? But wait... if she got lost at sea (which was very likely), would it be more painful to die out there alone and be pecked at alive by birds? That would be kinda pointless. But if she could hail down a cruise ship, then she would be safe. Annie made her way towards the docks, only for the motorway to be blocked by a semi-trailer and bus that were overrun by zombies. This made her swerve off the road and onto rocky terrain. But Annie grinned at this. She knew it! One day riding a dirt bike would have it's advantage! And to think her mother objected to this in the first place!

Annie continued down the rocky path, but along the way the front wheel got caught in a hole and this made her fall off her bike. She tumbled down a hill along with her bike and eventually crashed into a wooden house. Groaning to herself from the shock and adrenaline she picked herself up and pushed her bike towards a clear path again. That was when she saw people inside. Were they normal people or zombies?

Annie hesitated and almost thought about leaving them be. After all, if they knew zombies were coming, they could very well overpower her and steal her bike. But Annie felt bad for doing that, so she peeked in through the door.

"Hey guys, you'd better run - there's zombies everywhere outside. Better run whilst you still can"

- - - Updated - - -

And this is Annie's profile btw:
http://roleplayerguild.com/showthrea...=1#post7798034

[reneelizabeth]

Amelia hesitated to answer the question the cop had asked her. Honestly, her mind was still in a state of shock by what the man in front of her had just said. He had introduced himself as Jeb, a name quite fitting for him. Finally, she forced a small smile and glanced at the officer, "I'm okay," she said, "I think." She took a deep breath and let the small feeling of relief fill her as the site of the cop. While some of her friends, including her late roommate, found the police a nuisance, Amelia took comfort in their presence and right now was no different.

A silence fell about the room for a moment before Jeb asked the officer for her name, but before she could answer another female voice came from somewhere behind her. Amelia jumped at the suddenness of it and clutched her chest, her breathing quickening slightly. She turned toward the voice to see a young girl, not a few years younger than herself, peeking her head through the front door, her wild red hair glowing under the sun.

"Hey guys, you'd better run. There's zombies everywhere outside." she said. "Better run whilst you still can."

Zombies? Was this really happening. The thought had crossed her mind from the countless movies and TV shows she had seen, but she never thought it would actually ever happen. She thought back to this morning at her apartment, and the man, who the officer identified as the mailman, who had attacked her and it all made sense.

Amelia looked at each person in the room, one by one, before her eyes led her to planks of wood and a box of nails positioned near a window. She kept her eyes trained on the window, half expecting one of those monsters to break through the glass. "What do we do now?" She asked slowly, her voice quiet and scared.

[SilverRain]

Annie scanned the house, seeing a number of people trapped inside. She also looked around for weapons and wondered if she could buy some. Nails... and board... were they really useful against the undead. Actually, the best weapon would be a flamethrower right now. The boards weren't exactly good for hitting either. But she'll have to take whatever she could get.

"What do we do now?" She asked slowly, her voice quiet and scared.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm heading to the wharf" said Annie as she thumbed towards the east. "Soon even this house would be overrun. If I can get to the wharf, I can get a boat outta here. Probably head to another island or state where the infection hasn't spread yet" Annie looked towards the traffic and chaos in the distance. "I can only carry another person on my bike, but if any of you are looking for additonal transport, just steal one from the traffic jam over there. Though there is a risk of getting bitten"

"By the way, are there any weapons I can buy? How about a weapon in exchange for a ride to the wharf?"

[Kacey Scott]

Miranda slumped onto the couch next to her bags, and checked her 9mm, then switched clips from one in her bag. " I'm Miranda" she said pausing to sip her coffee " I don't know about any of you, but I think our best choice is to stick together, who knows how many there are left out there, that havn't been effected." Miranda reached into her bag and pulled out a .38 special, a Sig-Sauer p250, 2 9mms, and a 12 guage shotgun, laying them on the table. " and we should be prepared for anything."


Miranda picked up the .38 and handed it to Annie. " if you wanna run go ahead, youll be lucky if you make the wharf, let alone another island, especially once it gets dark, but I won't stop you." She put both 9mms into her belt, and grabbed 2 extra clips, leaving the shotgun and p250 on the table. " I think our best bet is to fortify this place as best we can" she said looking at the man. " and we need to make a run for more supplies before it gets worse, do you have a car?"

[Gelatinous Cube]

"Miranda is right," Jeb stated above their conversation, "We're a little more isolated here, and there's a better chance we can stay hidden."
He looked at each of them in turn, then continued to speak, "Most people around these parts say I'm crazy, that I lost my mind when my wife died. It's true that I wasn't the same after that but I feel too strongly about this to accept it as delirium. I've been having terrible dreams of late, of graveyards and devil-men and...and blood," he hesitated, as if shaken by recounting the dreams, and truth be told he was.
"Somehow I saw this coming, and I was shown that people would come to my door to seek their refuge and that's the best I can offer to you. I can't give you salvation for I threw my faith out the window when the lord gave my wife the disease that took her, and now I see the denizens of hell spilling over onto our great green earth. If you have your spiritual charms or religious whims, I won't take them away from you, but the best I can give is a basement full of guns and enough nails and planks to board this house up against a nuclear bomb."

He ran another hand through his hair, surprisingly thick and colorful for his age.
"You all have to decide now what you're going to do. I won't stop you from trying to leave, it wouldn't be right, but I can implore you to stay."

[reneelizabeth]

Amelia didn't have to think when Jeb suggested the ultimatum of staying or leaving, even if she didn't ever think of leaving as an option. She once again scanned the room, studying the expressions of the people around her and her stare lingered on Jeb. Maybe it was a longing for the father she never knew, but there was an immediate comfort Amelia felt as he spoke, regardless of the subject. Her sister had a husband and teenaged son to take care of her, and they were miles away. Amelia had close to no one and this house offered refuge.

She waited a moment longer before hesitantly speaking out. "I'm staying here," she said, still clutching the coffee mug for dear life. Those three simple words could have just sealed her fate-whichever path it may take.