Post-Apocalypse

[Cal]

(Everyone can join, no need to sign up or anything. Just remember to make decent posts, be active and describe your character in your first post. Try to avoid OOC as much as possible and I'll gladly reply any PM with question, but I won't be mad if you post OOC in brackets.)


When he hopefully opened his eyes that morning, he quickly realised it hadn't been a nightmare after all. Things hadn't changed since yesterday and the second day of his new life had begun. Kjolmar could hardly find the energy to get up on his feet but deep inside he knew he had no other option. He took a good look at the damage once more and wondered if he would ever find the motivation to restore the house. His family was gone and Kjolmar himself was barely eighteen. When he thought about his family, he could punch himself. The last thing he had said to them was how much he hated them for not understanding him, something most teenagers did. Yet, had he known he would never see them again, he'd chosen his words more carefully. He'd have told them how much he loved them, if only to get rid of the guilt he felt inside. But it was too late now, they were dead. Just like the biggest part of the population.

At first he hadn't taken the virus outbreak very serious. People were getting infected and became ill, nothing unusual. But when it spread at a godspeed and made deadly victims, reality sunk in. A few random people, including Kjolmar, seemed to be immune to the virus due to an unknown reason. Life had changed dramatically and chaos dominated the world. There was a lack of resources and a lack of workers, so the survival instinct didn't take long to take over the survivor's personalities. It was every man for himself now.

The streets looked abandoned and destroyed. Trees and flower were a rare sight nowadays and you'd have to settle for dust and sand. Empty houses and empty stores were being used as hideouts by the survivors. Kjolmar's house was in a pretty bad condition. The door could fall down any day, the roof was leaking and the broken windows were replaced with pieces of wood. There was no electricity in the entire city, as far as Kjolmar knew. He heated up his meat over a handmade fire that he created with sticks and stones, rather primitive. Not only had he never done this before, he wasn't used to preparing his own food at all. The only water he could find was that which he had saved from the rain yesterday, in a bucket outside the house.

Kjolmar was a rather slim boy with brown hair and green eyes. Al tho you could mainly see dust covering him, making him look as if he had lived in a jungle for ages. His clothes were ripped at various places and bruises overwhelmed his skin. It gave him an exhausted look, but then again, that's how he felt. It was hard to keep himself motivated in such harsh times, but he had to. He forced himself to.

The food was gone and he would have to find some new. Yesterday he'd hoped that everything would sort itself, but by now he knew he had to deal with the situation. So he ventured out to the baker, a few streets from his home. He hadn't spotted a single person along the way, tho he knew there were lurkers everywhere. When he came to the baker, he wasn't surprised to see the closed sign. Even if there had been electricity, there'd probably be no light inside anyway. The window was broken, a hole big enough for one person to crawl through. The counter that was usually filled with pastry, was now robbed empty. After crawling through the hole, Kjolmar searched the entire store for something eatable and had almost given up hope when he found one last bread. Luckily there was a bag to put it in as well, because it had started to rain outside. The weather seemed to reflect his mood today.

[MarkD]

It was the day before it all went wrong. Mark had decided to take the train and visit his friend from another country. He had said goodbye to his family, his girlfriend and a few of his friends, but ever since that day he regretted that he did not say it propperly.
While on the train, after 8 hours of traveling he dozed off. He woke up to the sound of screeching metal and people screaming. In a hectic minute which seemed like seconds, everything changed. People started dropping to the ground or sliding of their seats with no warning, dead. The train accelerated and then. All black.

The next day Mark woke up alone surrounded by corpses. Some spiked by glass, on broken metal bars or loose objects, others just looked like they were asleep, though they would never wake up.

He stood up slowly, mental-checking his body for anything that would hurt; broken bones, bruises, cuts, but nothing seemed to be wrong. He straightened up and looked around. The windows where shattered, and the train was apparently tipped on the side.

Is there anyone alive in here? Hello?
Noone answered and he had to move on. He looked through the baggage that was scattered all around and found his own trunk. He pulled out some clothes which he thought would be necessary. He also found his Che Guevera cap, his sunglasses and his scarf. He rumbled through his backpack, tossing away a few things, among these his trainticket, and repacked the food and drinks he had with him along with his clothes. He found his hardcase with the guitar in and opened it.

I won't leave you behind, not unless I have to
a weak smile spread as he stood up.

After he had scavenge what food and water he could find, he climbed out of the train. As he stood up on top of it, he gasped.
They had collided with another train, which had been knocked off the track and torpedoed a nearby house. After a moment of recovering he looked up at the sky and the beating sun. He took off his shirt and threw on his sunglasses, his scarf and his cap. He lowered himself down to the ground with the guitar and the backpack on his back and started walking to the nearest town. The sight there did not ease his mind; It was like noone had ever lived there. All the streets were empty and no stores were open.

He found a hunting-shop where he acquired a map and a compas. He also took an edged knife, just to be sure. He replaced his backpack with a shouldersack which was easier to carry. After a couple of minutes he knew where he had to go. He was far away from home, and the closest person he knew was the one he wanted to visit. He drew a track through the map and went to the southern exit of the town.

Only one way to go then. Bye bye Mark, hello Arunak

He had walked for hours when he found a military base near a deserted highway. An idea came to his mind, and he hurried over there, leaving his things behind a bush.
If no one was around, then they wouldn't mind if he took some supplies. He found the storage room, packed with clothes, bags and boots. He kicked off his All-Stars and took a pair of size 11 army boots. He knew they would be hotter to walk in, but also more comfortable. He found a large backpack and a belt with pockets and holsters. He threw a pair of size 8 into the backpack, thinking that his friend could use them.

It took him a little while to locate the ammo storage, but as he did, he found something else; a big black dog. He quickly drew the knife behind his back, and was ready for anything, but the dog didn't move. It just cowered and wimped. He felt sorry for the creature and went back to find two helmets. When he returned, he poured water in one of them, and broke a sandwich in pieces in the other one. The dog slowly came closer as it sensed the food.
Arunak let the dog eat as he found his own supplies; another knife, a small packable shovel. He found the weapon case and slammed on the paddlelock until it broke off. here he took an M16 rifle, a handgun and a bunch of ammo clips. He also took some flares, not knowing what he would really need later on.

As he went out, the dog followed him. Arunak patted the dog on the head, and set out to find the food storage, which he found rather swiftly. With his new furry companion, he took a large supply for the long trip;
dehydrated food that could last for months if not years, sugar packs and 4 canteens.
He filled the canteens with water and went back to repack his things once again, and from then on it was just straight to his friend.

Arunak and Mike (which he named the dog after a couple of minutes) rested under the stars close to the border. Mike proved useful as a wild dog attacked them while they were asleep. Mike broke the neck of the other dog, but was so badly injured that he died seconds later.
With a bowed head, Arunak went to find the shovel, to bury his lost friend, he was all alone yet again.

The next day, day two after the accident, around noon he finally found the town he was looking for. Walking slowly into it with the rifle at his shoulder, and the finger next to the trigger, he yelled
Hello? Are there any survivors?

He stopped, took off his sunglasses which he threw in a side-pocket in his belt, and looked around. Again, the town seemed abandoned. He took a sip of water and went on, scouting the town

[Cal]

Kjolmar ran through the rain and protected the bag of bread as much as possible. Along the way back home, a creepy man had tried to steal the bag but he was so old and confused that he had little succes. Kjolmar noticed how the man was desperate to get his hands on some food and realised it wasn't easy for such an old person to get some. With a deep sigh, Kjolmar opened the bag and took out two slices of bread. He pushed them in the man's arms, closed his bag and continued running home. It had not been an easy decision, as he could really use those two extra slices. Who knows how long he'd have to search for new food. But then again, he couldn't let that poor man starve.

When he arrived home, there were some underaged kids trying to break in to his house. He had probably made it just in time, as it wasn't exactly hard to enter that dump. Luckily it only took some yelling and an angry look to scare them off. If survivors were going to use houses as a hideout, they should at least take the abandonned ones. It wasn't much, but it was still home. Once inside, Kjolmar ate exactly two slices of the bread and decided to save the rest for when he got really hungry again. Each bite he took made him wonder what his next move would be. The world was destroyed so what should he do now? By the time he had eaten his last bite, he had decided to make himself some sort of weapon to defend himself should it be needed. That old man and those children weren't much of a challenge, but without doubt there were stronger survivors out there, most likely just as hungry. Kjolmar gathered all materials he could find in the house, everything that could possible be a weapon of some sorts. It took him several hours but eventually he had created something out of wood and metal. It was a weapon that fitted on his hand and could shoot sharp objects. As he aimed the weapon at a random spot on the wall, he felt a bit like an archer that was ready to send his arrows. For being such a slim boy, he was rather fast on his feet and in his reflexes. His speed would surely be an excellent combination with this selfmade weapon. Other than that, he had a few other natural born skills. He didn't give up easily, something that proved very extremely useful in his current situation, and he often recovered quickly after being injured or ill. But most of all, his senses were sharper than ever, making him well prepared for incoming foes.

His cellphone had no connection whatsoever and the only communication with the rest of the world depended on a little television that worked on batteries. As he tried to find a signal, he eventually got a very weak one. All shows were cancelled except for the news, which was now on 24/7, or so it seemed. Kjolmar knew it wouldn't last long because even reporters had far more pressing issues right now than informing others. With the weak signal, he could barely understand what the man on the screen said. Flashes of his explanation came through and it was just enough to get confirmed in what everyone already knew.

"..Ksh.. Krr... cities in ruins ... survivors getting hostile ... krrhs.. riots everywhere..."

And then everything on the screen went black. The batteries were all used out and Kjolmar didn't have any spare ones. He now had no idea on possible progression and wondered if things could actually get any worse. Outside the rain had stopped and Kjolmar remembered how he used to hate rain. It was one of the worst things in the world. Right now he could hurt himself for caring about stupid rain back then. At least he was alive and healthy, something not many people could say. Even among the survivors there were infected ones that got very ill. Kjolmar hoped the infection wasn't too contagious, or the amount of sick people would double at a daily base.

He couldn't just sit back and gather some food every now and then. He had to do something, he had to find people. Where were his friends, or his distant relatives, or even that cute girl down the street? Had they all died in the outbreak or where they desperately trying to find him? If only he had some way of contacting them, it'd be much easier. Clueless on what he should do, Kjolmar went to the center of the city, hoping inspiration would come to him there. He had eaten another two slices of the bread before he left and had stored the bag behind some jars. The only thing he carried with him was his selfmade weapon. When he arrived at the center, he didn't see any sign of life at all. He could have sworn he saw movement behind him every few minutes but decided it'd be better to ignore that. Just in case, he stayed alert. In the far distance he heard someone shouting something, but it was unclear what those words were. Kjolmar shrugged and walked on towards the city hall, his best bet at that time.

[Kris]

Cheryl Blakely, Eighteen years old, had been in her two room studio apartment, where she lived alone, dying her hair black. She saw blondeness as a delicate weakness and there was no place for that in this world. She paused to eat a strawberry yoghurt, savoring it's fruity taste, knowing it would be a while before she tasted something this good. If she ever would.

She put on her army mask, good thing she found it on that dead soldier earlier, It's not like she could take any risks with the virus around and spreading... And went out for a leisurely stroll, wondering what she'll find.

She wandered through countless alleys and finally came upon a dead biker, Fantastic! She took his helmet, pants and leather gloves and pulled the visor down. Except for the very revealing jacket which showed her bra, And her curves, she would've been easily mistaken for male anytime. She chuckled dryly to herself and helped herself to the biker's aluminium baseball bat which she strapped to her back. He won't be needing this now...

She felt something heavy in her, or rather the biker's pants, reached in and took out a keyring, overloaded with keys of all sizes and decorated with a keyring depicting a skull. She smirked disgustedly and was about to throw the bunch of keys away, when she spotted a vintage Harley Davidson nearby. She climbed on top of it and started trying key after key...

With a huge roar the bike sprung into life, Cheryl revved it up and smirked to herself. Whoo! Everybody on your toes! There's a new sherrif in town! And she sped off, trying to hit the top speed. Heading towards the city hall, hoping to finally establish some means of social communication with any survivors.

My Char's Appearance:
(posted this to make things a bit more visual and vivid.)

[MarkD]

Arunak heard the bike roaring and turned around on his heels, aiming at the place where the road bended, but no bike were in vision.

He turned around again and started to walk, faster this time, towards the center of the city. He knew where it was from his last visit, without being too sure where to go. This whole trip had been so unreal. How could a city like this, once so filled with life be deserted? He thought about his family, how they would be and if his brother would survive the disease. He made a mental list in his head for things to find out, once he found some answers here. All windows were broken in besides the ones in a hardware store. He thought this to be silly, since many tools in there could prove useful in these times. He checked off its position in his head and kept on going

He came across a couple of wannabe-tough guy kids who stood around a corner, pushing each other and boasting about what they had hit with their bats. As they noticed Arunak they gathered and went towards him with their bats. Arunak noticed that there was no blood on the bats, nor the kids clothes. He grinned and a crooked smile spread on his face as he turned the M16 behind his back.
I suggest you kids turn around before you get hurt

The one who looked like the oldest and tallest, about 14 years of age and 160 cm tall, stepped in front of the others and spat on the ground, swinging his bat wildly and stared at Arunak with pure hate.

What makes you think that we're the once to get hurt huh?

Arunak swung the rifle to his lap and laughed when they froze in fear. He bet they had never seen a real gun before

A little advice for you. Take measure of your enemies before confronting them. And if you don't stop acting like this is just your world and your playground, it will have serious consequences. I could have been a madman with no troubles shooting a couple of kids.
The kids just stood there, mouths open. One of their stomachs rumbled and Arunak sighed. Of course they were hungry.
He opened the side pocket of his belt and threw them a small package
I suggest you make good use of that food, now go on

He slowly walked past the kids as they stood there, paralyzed in disbelief, and focused on finding the center. Maybe someone would have gathered there. He took of his hat and scarf and put it in his bag to seem more approachable, and unzipped his black jacket. As he straightened up he noticed someone.
Without raising his weapon he walked towards the person and yelled
Excuse me, can I talk with you for a second?
Panting and aching from the long trip, he nearly stumbled and fell, but managed to keep on his feet. It was hard seeing if it was a friend or foe, but all he knew that the dusty figure seemed familiar.

[Cal]

The city hall looked just as deserted as the rest of the town. From the looks of it, most damage to the building had been caused by vandalism. At various places, there were tiny fires with a heavy, black smoke. Kjolmar cared little for whatever was burning and had bigger priorities than putting them out. Hopefully, more answers could be found inside. As he was about to enter through a broken window, something that seemed to become a habbit, he heard someone yell to him from a small distance. The person looked just as exhausted as Kjolmar did and despite the loud tone of his voice, his words were friendly. The stranger asked if he could talk to Kjolmar. Kjolmar was unsure on what to do next. Did he really want to trust a stranger in a dangerous time like this? Was he being set up by a hungry psycho killer? Kjolmar slowly walked closer to the man while loading his homemade weapon. When it was fully loaded, he increased the speed of his step and aimed the weapon in a rather aggressive way to the stranger. 'What do you want?' he asked while trying to convince himself he would shoot if needed. Kjolmar knew he wasn't a killer, but the only thing his sharp objects would do is give the target a nasty cut. As the unidentified man was in clear eye sight, Kjolmar's eyes widened in disbelief. 'Arunak?' he asked while lowering his weapon. There was no doubt, this was his foreign friend. But what was he doing here? Kjolmar didn't even know he was in the Country.

But there was little time for answers, as some sort of device got thrown at their feet from an unknown location. It started ticking like a bomb and Kjolmar's instincts made him grab Arunak and run for cover. They made a giant jump while the device exploded behind them, leaving little left for the imagination. The duo hid behind a van that was blown on it's side by the explosion and Kjolmar made a hushing movement with his hand. They could see a pair of feet scanning the area of the explosion and leaving the scene a few minutes afterwards. Someone had just made an assault on their lives but neither of them seemed to know who or why. Kjolmar felt terrified. Before the duo could exchange words and thoughts, another sound came their direction. It appeared to be a motorcycle. Kjolmar looked at Arunak as if he was hoping that he'd suddenly get inspired on an all-solving solution. There was a possibility that the person on the motorcycle worked together with whoever had just thrown a bomb at them.

[Kris]

Cheryl pulled up her bike next to the two survivors and called at them, having heard the explosion earlier. "Quick, on the bike! Both of you, squeeze up and hold on tight. Those guys weren't joking back there." Nodding her head back at the explosion. She leaned as far forward as she could, Harley Davidsons were naturally made spacious and large as bikes, but for three people to climb on board, it was going to be a tight fit to say the least.

[MarkD]

Arunak laughed at Kjolmar

Is that how you greet an old friend who took a long trip to visit you by suprise? Now get that thing away before you poke someones eye out

His grin faded as he saw the thing rolling between them ticking. This was the second time since what he called the Eclipse began where things seemed to slow down in order for him to get every detail correct in a horrifying moment. He saw Kjolmars face and felt him grasp Arunak by the arm, Arunaks legs began to run all they could despite them being completely drained for strength, the next second he landed flat on his face with gravel in his mouth, feeling the heat of the explosion.
As they got behind the turned over and slightly hot car, he readied his rifle as his eyes swept the ground.
As they were left alone, Arunak looked at Kjolmar seeing hope in his eyes.

What was that all about? Has everyone gone mental?!
He took of his backpack and looked scanned Kjolmar as he took out a package of bandages
Are you hurt? Here you better take this He gave Kjolmar the handgun from his belt, nodding encouraging as he did.
He got up on his knees as he heard the engine of the bike, aiming at where the sound came from.
A girl came driving on a Harley and waved at them
He turned his head to Kjolmar as she told them to get on
Do you know her?

Arunak leaned down to pick up his backpack, not daring to move his eyes from the girl as he did. As he straightened up he took a look at Kjolmar before deciding what to do

Take my bag and lead her back to your place, don't hesitate to use the gun if you see anyone following you. We probably won't stay there, so pack anything you'd like to keep, I know this is a quick call, but we have to move. I know a place where we can get some supplies.
as he handed the bag to Kjolmar he leaned in to whisper
And keep the gun ready in case that girl is out for something. Extra clips in the right side-pocket. Take care
He gave him a quick squezze before turning around with the gun at his shoulder, sweeping it from side to side.
He was not a soldier, but he had been in the military for a week. Back then he thought it was great fun, and he felt cool when he had the rifle in his hand, doing as the instructor told him and shooting at targets. Now, however, he did not feel cool or humoristic. He tossed off his singed cap, pulled the scarf above his nose and took a quick glance back at the bike.

This'll be a long day. I just hope that nothing will happen to him

[caitibug95]

16 year old Akiza wandered around her abandoned neighborhood casually. She had no last name, she decided she didn't need it. She didn't want to have that connection with her past life. When she still kept the name, she thought too often of her brother, whom she had lost to that disease. She missed his smile, and it often caused her sadness and loneliness. She hated him for this reason. It held her back and reduced her chance of survival. She pulled herself from her thoughts. If she didn't hurry she wouldn't make it back to her shelter before nightfall, and that was a risk she couldn't afford to take. When she arrived she began to cook some meat she had stolen from what remained of a butcher's shop downtown. The place she had taken as her new 'home' wasn't exactly comfortable but it met her needs well enough. It was there she had food, warmth, and somewhere she could feel safe. Usually. Right now was not one of those times. She heard a noise outside of her door. She opened the unbroken window at the front of the house that she used to look out of. She didn't like what she saw. She readied her bow and aimed out the window at another robber who intended to make away with her food and weapons. She would not let this happen and let her arrow fly.

[MarkD]

Arunak turned away from the bike and started walking. He only now noticed how badly the city had been hit. Several buildings were so damaged that the threatened with collapsing, nearly all windows had been smashed and heaps of burning rubble, textures and planks laid splashed around wherever he looked.
Animals ran wild and some had been slain, by humans or other animals he did not know.

He moved slow, the journey had taken its toll on him, and it took him twice the time to get half the way back to Kjolmars house. He sat down in the cover of a house which had collapsed and took some food and water.

He barely got to stand up before he was assulted by a man with a broken shovel. Arunak ducked just in time, and the shovel swooshed just an inch above his head. He grabbed his rifle and hit the man on the side of his head with the cobble of it. The man staggered and fell back as Arunak aimed at the man. Without saying a word, the man ran for his life, probably maddened by the apocalypse-feeling that was spread after a few days of the sickness.

Arunak walked on, more aware than he was before, although he did not meet any more resistance than at rat, and he heard the children from before laughing at each others stunts