Riverside Iowa "No-one really knows how the outbreak started, and certainly no-one expected it to go this far. Indeed there were little signs that this was going to be the world ending apocalypse that the media always made it out to be. In the initial hours of contamination there was little fear of it getting out of hand and the U.S. government was able to contain most infections. This changed quickly as the sun set on day one. The entire demeanor of the undead changed at nightfall, changing from the relatively harmless shamblers to violent and agile killing machines. In one night the U.S. government completely lost control of the situation. Entire towns were wiped off the map and the surviving population flooded out of cities to less populated rural areas. Its been a week since the undead gained the upper hand. Survivors have found that the only safe course of action was to move during the day and stay completely silent during the night. Any mistake could cost you not only your own life but the lives of all those around you in this black hell of nightfall." - From the journal of Devika Jones

Sounds cool when does it start?

We're going to try and start as soon as we can. Hopefully by tonight.

Keep OOC posts in the OOC tab guys. thanks^^

Adrain gripped the doorknob of the closet tightly. This was the last place he had not cleared, and he was sure now that there was one inside. He could hear it moving. He reached out to pick up a table leg from a broken end-table a few feet away, careful not to let go of the handle. This caused him to have to squat awkwardly and reach out for the item, but he knew if the monster inside busted out while he was unarmed then he was as good as dead. His fingers touched it! He tries to scoot the Leg closer but the movement inside the closet was becoming more frantic. Sweat poured down his brow. Slowly his fingers brought the club into his grasp until his hand closed around it and he stood back to his full height. "That was close" he thought to himself. Taking a deep breath and turning the knob he prepared to face whatever was inside. He swung the door open he raised his improvised club ready to strike! As soon as the door opened a small furry creature sprung from the closet and darted for the front door. Adrain was taken aback, falling onto his butt out of surprise. He was expecting a person! He turned to watch the raccoon scurrying away and began to laugh. "How very manly of you, Adrain" he joked to himself.. He really needed to stop talking to himself all the time. Grabbing his bag he walked back out of The apartment into the midday sun. Nothing here either. This was half of the Oakwood apartments looked through already and he had found next to nothing.

The cool air clung to Dima and then washed him away into a distant area of relaxation. A place he had become quite intimate with over the years spent in the woods. America felt different though. There just wasn't that mysterious, wild feel he had become accustomed to in Russia. Nevertheless, weeks spent alone in peaceful serenity was exactly what Dima wanted. And that's exactly what he got. Everything had been quiet, sans a few hunters and hikers. But he stopped seeing them about a week or so ago. "Now that I think of it, I haven't seen anything. No birds, not a single creature." Dima thought to himself. Dima climbed a nearby treestand that seemed abandoned. Crack!! "Prukrati...." Dima muttered. His leg slipped through the newly formed hole. Dima pulled his leg free and wearily stood atop the rickety structure. He took out his binoculars and peered out over the beautiful Iowaian forest. "Strange." He thought. "Nothing, nothing there is." Dima practiced saying. His poor English had been obvious, and ridiculed, since he came to America 6 months ago. But everything was serene. Or so he thought.

Everest stepped out of his house, his dark brown boots crunching the leaves as he shut the large mahoghany door behind him. He thought to himself, I wonder if my family got out of this alive? And why didn't they wait for me? He checked his families two door garage and they had taken both vehicles. At least "someone" had taken them. He was more worried about his sister than anyone else and he needed to find shelter quick. He knew at night these things got faster and much more aggressive. I won't last the night without help. He debated whether or not he should just stay at his house and wait for his family or just really anyone to try to come in. But he didn't have the tools to board the doors or windows. So he decided to head into town to find anyone he possibly could. Armed with his survival blade he hoped he'd be able to replicate what he did in the zombie video games he so frequently played. So he slung his backpack over his shoulder and cautiously began his walk down the long driveway into the sunlit afternoon. Hoping he could find someone. Anyone. Thoughts of his sister still in the back of his mind.

Lily had found the Gamestop where her brother Everest worked, but the place was seemingly deserted. In fact, most of the Riverside Center was deserted, with a few people lurking about. She approached the store in the mall and looked through the glass windows to see if she could see anything. The lights were off, seemingly nobody in the store. Damn, must've missed him on the way here she thought to herself, wishing for the best. She turned from the store to head out, and decided to take a cursory glance around the mall. Luckily for her, most of the mall was unpopulated sans a few looters. No sign of the infection, The plague, she thought to herself, but most people had fled, and the looters had come to take what they could. I hope you're okay, she thought, thinking of Everest, a cold shudder running through her. No, can't think like that. She swallowed hard. Most of the stores in the mall had closed, only one or two with their lights still on, and many already had their windows broken, and their things looted. She decided to leave the mall, he wouldn't be here anymore. Problem is, she had no idea where he would be, and night time wasn't safe.

Ben had been wandering the streets for hours before he finally came across the police station. He had been looking for somewhere to rest for the night. He sighed with relief at the thought of a good nights sleep being guarded by armed officers. However as he approached the building his feelings turned to dread. The large front doors of the station had been smashed open with considerable force. One door lay flat on the marble floor of the lobby and the other was still hanging on to the frame by a few splinters of wood. Ben ran his hand up the edge of the, barely, standing door; it had to be about 6 or 7 inches thick. He started to imagine how many undead it would take to do such damage. He didn't want to know the answer. Ben clutched his spade tightly as he stepped over the shattered wood fragments. The lobby was chaos: desks had been flipped over; shell casings were scattered everywhere and fragments of ceramic wall tiles littered the ground. As he stood in the centre of the room to survey the extent of the damage he heard a creak. He instantly regretted touching the door as it broke free of its hinges and hit the ground with a loud CRACK. The sound echoed throughout the building. Ben really hoped that nothing else heard that.

The town homes down the road from the bar had been home for Iris since she was a little girl. Ironic when you thought about it. It was also the location she had been fighting to get back to from her community service, hopefully to find her family. Dialing her cellphone had been no use, all the towers had been either knocked down or shut off completely. She huffed under her breath as she shoved the cellphone back into her bag. It might come in handy later after all. Reaching the front door of the town home she shared with her family, she reached for the door knob to find it already ajar. It creaked open slowly under her sweaty palms as her heart throbbed inside her throat. She slunk inside and closed the door quietly behind her. She didn't want to cause any attention to herself if someone or something had been inside. Peering around the corner she saw her living room over turned in a mess. Looters or her family, it couldn't truly be determined. She walked into the living room, a cracked frame of her two brothers and her laying in the pile of rubble. Squatting down, she picked up the frame, and began picking out the broken pieces of glasses from the wooden frame so she could try to salvage the photo. It was then the back bedroom door began to open. Grabbing a piece of glass, Iris stood up defensively, "Don't you move or I will mess you up man! I mean it!" she growled, and the door slammed closed with a loud thud. Iris didn't want to wait to find out what was lurking in the next room. She took the photo and folded it into her purse. Before ducking out of the house, Iris checked the kitchen for any food that could be left. Most of the obvious places had been cleared out completely, but not many would have known to check the back of the silverware draw for what Iris and her mother had called 'the secret stash' A place where the only women in the house would hide the roll of thin mint girl scout cookies. Opening the drawer, she reached in and pulled out the roll, smiling. "Thanks Mom." she whispered, putting the roll into her small black cross body bag and slipping it back over her shoulder. Looking down the hallway she noticed the back bedroom door was wide open. Whatever or whoever it had been was now gone, as the gaping front door also revealed. Iris wished them well, even if they had been looting her home, everyone deserved a chance. Even if they were complete assholes. Walking out the door, she looked up into the quickly dropping sun, hoping she could find somewhere safe to sleep tonight and maybe someone who could be of some help find her family, or at least survive.

Damien jumped at the sound of a loud crack followed by a thump. What was that? He was lucky enough to have found a handgun in one of the desks he had looted only minutes. Raising it, he peered around the corner into the police station lobby. It's not a biter. He thought, relieved. The Gun had no ammo in it. This was unlikely to bluff a Biter, but a kid... Stepping into full view he raised his weapon pointing it at the mans face. "Drop your stuff, punk" He growled, looking as intimidating as possible. I hope he has food. Damien had already hit a few houses but when this all went to hell most families headed towards the refugee centers. That had turned out to be a bad idea. The army had been able to round up the biters at first, even putting them in the camps separately to be quarantined and possibly treated. This meant that on the first night hundreds of people were awakened to the now veracious undead, a violent whirlwind of blood and bullets and gnashing teeth. "I swear I'll put a bullet in you and take it from your corpse if I have too" He added.

Its so surreal, the first time you kill someone. For better wording, one of them. The young women couldn't help but wonder if this was all a dream. The walkers, people dropping like flies, all hell breaking loose..It seemed like a dream, a nightmare she was waiting to wake up from any moment now. No matter how harsh or terrifying it was though, or how much she prayed and cried for this to be over, Dolor had to come to terms that this wasn't something she could wake up from. Every morning felt the same; a clinging feeling in her chest, trying to keep her to whatever hard surface she slept on. A sore throat, like she was screaming through the night without realizing it, and nails, digging tightly and leaving blood, scars along her body. Every single morning. Like clockwork. Today however...Something felt off...Dolor practically gasped, her lungs filling with air in one breath. Her body lunged forward, curved, as she grabbed at her chest. Holy shit that hurt, that fucking hurt like hell, and she didn't know how to fix it...How do you fix something that was broken far before things turned to shit? Moving off the floor in the small theater, small steps led her towards a counter, turning before looking out towards the glass doors, cracked and shattered in multiple places. For now, this was a small salvation, a home...a place to rest for those who needed it. It was big enough to hold plenty of people, food was...around...Plus, with a little fix here and there, it could really turn into a shelter! As far as the culinary student was concerned, this place was large enough to become some sort of headquarters...Maybe get something goi-- Dolor froze, hearing someone, or something crackling outside, moving closer... "Fuck.." She muttered to herself, dropping to her knees and hiding as the theater doors were pushed open. God dammit.

Adrain was sweating despite the cool fall breeze. It had been years since he had been athletic, his age and comfortable lifestyle betraying him. Scavenging was hard work, doing it quietly was even harder. The soft whine of his stomach, however, was reminder of why he was out here. After Shannon had left him he had decided to get an apartment and let her have their small townhouse. She had went to stay with her mother while he moved, and hadn't made it back before things went to hell. This had left him with an apartment barely stocked with groceries, and his plan of waiting things out had left him hungry by day four. He began walking towards the shopping center. Sure, there was a better chance of it being populated but, there was also a better chance that someone left something behind in their rush. He weaved between two rotters, who halfheartedly gave chase. Those two would be deadly by nightfall. Something about being out in the sun didn't agree with them. Some people had speculated that it was some kind of parasite, maybe it didn't react well to UV rays. Didn't matter really, didn't help him at night. Another rotter up ahead. He altered course to give himself some distance and continued on. He hadn't killed one yet, and didn't see the sense in risking it unnecessarily. The doors to the center were up ahead and with a glance around to make sure his friends from before weren't catching up he- What was that? He was sure he saw someone, just for an instant. Rotters don't move like that during the day. It was a long shot but, gripping his improvised club, Adrain abandoned his quest for food and started toward the theater. His boots crunched more noisily than he would have liked over the broken glass outside but it was unavoidable, strewn everywhere. I wonder how many people were at the matinee? A sickening thought. In such an enclosed space the undead would have ripped them to shreds. His hand touched the door, opening it slowly. His club raised, he spoke softly "If you don't have a pulse then just stay back there"

@TheYouthPastor's Damian Post Ben lay the spade on the ground before slowly raising his hands above his head. He cursed at himself for touching the door and getting into this mess. His trainers crunched against the debris as he swivelled around, the only sound cutting through the still air. At first Ben was taken aback by his assailant's appearance. The guy could've been about the same age as Ben or maybe a bit older. However his rough appearance made Ben worry that his mugger could be an escaped criminal from the cells below the station. Ben was becoming more convinced as his eyes lingered on the handgun: this guy looked comfortable, like he'd done this a thousand times. "Dude I'm unarmed." Ben spoke as softly as he could, for fear of attracting any rotters, but his voice trembled slightly. "I've got no stuff either, just the shirt on my back." He hoped his pleas would not fall on deaf ears. Ben didn't want shot over a rusty spade. Ben was not above begging for his life but before he could drop to his knees he swore he could hear footsteps upstairs. "Hey man have you got friends upstairs?" Ben knew which answer he would prefer to hear right now.

After walking for about an hour through the suburbs outside of town Everest hadn't seen much. A walker here and there but no people yet. Where is everyone?? He was starting to get frustrated. He kept thinking of his family and how they'd just abandoned him out here. They didn't even bother to call him. And there was time to call. He snapped the thoughts from his mind. Can't think about that right now. He knew he had to find people. Some people he could trust. It was a long shot but he thought that more people would be at the mall. Maybe there are still some looters there. Lily might even- Bang! Bang! His thoughts were rushed away by a shot of adrenaline. He heard gunshots in a house somewhere down the road from him. He had to continue down this road. It was the shortest route to the mall. So he checked his surroundings before moving up further down the road towards to source of the gunshots. He took cover behind a dented and dirty blue Ford Mustang that was sitting outside of the house. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three more gunshots. He cringed each time he heard the weapon go off. He stayed low so no one inside the house would see him. There was some inaudible yelling between two individuals inside. He couldn't make out what they were saying though. Just then the front window shattered and someone screamed as the the glass broke. Everest peeked through the drivers side window into the front yard to see what happened. There was an older man laying in the grass on his back trying to get on his feet. He had on jeans and a jean jacket and was using some kind of axe to help lift himself to his feet. He couldn't see anyone through the broken window. He only had a moment to debate offering help as the front door burst open revealing a much younger looking man who was holding a rifle of some type. He ignored the old man in the grass and methodically moved down the small steps of the house turning around and pointing the rifle back at the open door when he got to bottom of the steps. Walkers began pouring out of the door towards them. The man began firing at them. First, taking out the one nearest to him. The biters head snapped back from the force of the blow. The bullet exited the back of it's skull and struck another behind it in the chest. They both fell, like dominoes, one bumping into another, and then they struck a couple more. In seconds, half a dozen biters were on the ground. He fired again. The dead fell like matchsticks, forming a barrier of dead and broken bodies that the others couldn't quite get over without falling atop each other. He pointed the muzzle at the ones trying to crawl their way over the dead stack and pulled his trigger again. He must've been out of ammo because he cursed and dropped his magazine quickly replacing it with another from his back pants pocket. He fired and killed a few more before finally turning his attention back to the old man. Who just so happened to be back on his feet again.......

Dima awoke from his elevated position. He was up at the crack of dawn as usual. The fresh smell of early mornings were Dima's favorite part of the day. He climbed down from the treestand and stretched. raaaaaaa Dima's stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten in what felt like an eternity. Ever since the animals disappeared. Dima's food ran out a few days ago and it was having a profound effect on him. He didn't want to leave the serenity of the forest but he has to. "Victor will be furious, he thought." Dima grabbed his gear and began the trek north. He emerged from the forest to the bank of the lake. He could see the docks with his binoculars. "Strange, he thought" "Everyone should be working now. First shift started an hour ago." Dima hadn't seen a single living thing in weeks. He looked at his reflection in the murky water. Suddenly, without warning, he heard what sounded like gunfire in the distance. Help me!!!!! Oh God.... Please help. Rahggggg!!!!!!! Screams and more gunfire. All the blood drained from Dima's face. He started running. But to where? No time to think. Just run. His heart was beating fast. Pounding into his chest like a fist. Dima never ran so fast in his life. Finally, he made it to the road. The sign read, "Highway 70 S" "What?" Abandoned cars where everywhere. Broken glass littered the roadway. A-aand blood. Dima felt a knot in his throat and swallowed hard. "Is this a wreck?" "No bodies though, or police." Dima thought. "What the Aap is going here!?!" He yelled.

.

Lily found her bicycle in the shopping mall parking lot - she could've sworn she'd seen someone head into the theater across the road, but now was not the time to dwell on that - the only thing on her mind was Everest, and day wouldn't last forever. She got on the bike and started peddling, deciding to go back the way she came. The thought of night scared her more than anything else had - she couldn't be outside when night came, night is when the walkers woke up. Night was when they feasted. Lily cycled to the gas station close by and saw it had already been looted. There were a few walkers in the area, and even more in the convenience store inside. She decided not to go in, and kept peddling toward the general store to the south. In the distance she heard a gunshot, in the general direction of her house. Oh God, Everest she thought, tears beginning to form in her eyes, fearing the worst had happened. She pedaled hard, heading north to the residential district - hoping Everest was safe. She heard another gunshot, closer this time, but she still couldn't determine where it was coming from. Whoever it was, it was attracting the attention of the walkers on either side of the street. Finally as she continued she saw him - Everest, and her heart sank with relief, but there were two more people on a lawn nearby, the one with a rifle and another without, staring each other down. Lily wouldn't be able to get to Everest without drawing attention to herself, so she got off her bike and dropped behind an abandoned pickup about 100 yards from them, and slowly crawled underneath, leaving her bike propped against it. She had to try get Everest's attention without alerting the others. She took out her cell, but there was no reception. She'd have to wait until the conflict was resolved. She took a glance behind her and saw a few walkers heading toward the shooter. Luckily during the day the walkers are slow, but she'd hate to see what they could do in number. Large numbers during the day would be bad - she shuddered to think about night.

They were definitely not the only ones in here. The fumbling upstairs gave away the position of atleast one other living thing. It occurred to him that anything moving on the tile of the ground floor would move considerably quieter than things overhead. How many were in here? There was no way to be sure without clearing it. Damien turned his back on the man in front of him looking behind to make sure that he wasn't being snuck up on. Crossing the room he picked up the spade, careful to keep the barrel trained on his captive. The station was bound to have something left, but if it wasn't clear then he'd have to risk himself unnecessarily. He motioned down the hall with his head "Walk" He said plainly. If there was something in here, he planned on this new guy being the one to fight it.

Devika was holed up in one of the interrogation rooms, trying to remember to breathe. She could hear movement in the building, but was too afraid to go and see what it was. All she'd been able to do so far was to get here, where she figured there would be order in the chaos. All her life, she'd been taught that the police were guardians, protectors, the ones to go to when trouble was happening. Of course, her parents were both in the legal business, and worked closely with police to maintain order and justice. Right now, there seemed to be neither order nor justice. There was just her, a chubby girl from Florida, clutching a metal bar that she'd found earlier. It had been ripped off the bottom of a table, and had a nasty edge to it. She didn't know what good it would do against one of those... things... but if someone human tried to hurt her, well, they'd be surprised. Hopefully. To think, a month ago she had begged her parents to help her finance this trip, so she could enjoy the writer's retreat. A new environment, new people, new ideas, and connections. Well, she'd certainly gotten some of those. The environment was hell on earth, and some of the people were no longer people. The few ideas she had were all geared toward getting her out of the police station in one piece. The only connection she was hoping for now was the one that kept her head attached to her shoulders. Inhaling slowly, she stood on shaking legs. Maybe she could get around the confrontation, and out of the station.