The world has ended, or as the remaining human would consider it. The year is 2066, 50 years after the incident. Now, there is the traditional 'Patient Zero' but he was not the true cause. During the 2015-2016 period, humanity came under attack by two different virulent sources. The Zika and the Ebola virus spread through different parts of the world. Through collective efforts, the spread was largely contained. 'Patient Zero' was an unfortunate soul. He managed to contract both, though at different times. Through the transfer of bodily fluids, the viruses contracted by Patient Zero mixed. It became the now-dubbed M-Virus. The M-Virus attacked the brain and the central nervous system, essentially destroying the main functions of both. Mortality rate is near 100%. The world's brightest minds came together to try to counter the M-Virus. They did not, however, truly understand the aggressive and virulent nature of the M-Virus. It can, in fact, infect the host body through not only the transfer of bodily fluids, but by air as well. Though, airborne transmission is much less common as the virus needs to attach itself to a host body within 30 seconds of being exposed to oxygen..

Needless to say, the scientists and doctors were all infected and soon 'died'...

Their final recordings are the only thing humanity has left of the research being done on the M-Virus, with the last tape being nearly incomprehensible, filled with odd groans and screams..

Name: Elle (Elleanor)
Age: 18
Description: Brown-red hair, usually kept in a braid. Hazel eyes. Medium height/weight. Normally wears hoodie and jeans w/ combat boots (or ya know whatever she can find).
Skills: Hunting, archery skills, some basic survival skills that she learned on the fly and from camping before.
Inventory: Crossbows (25 crossbolts), combat knife, medium backpack w/ some supplies in it (keeps a .357 IMI Desert Eagle Magnum in it, it only has a few ammo in it)

Name:Daniel
Age:19
Description:Black hair, kept semi-long and usually in a small ponytail. Athletic build, medium height.
Skills:Hunting, basic survival skills learned as an Eagle Scout. Lock picking, good sense of direction, simple medical skills learned through necessity
Inventory:9mm pistol with approx. 100 rounds of ammunition, first aid kit, combat knife, machete, warm clothing, a lock picking kit all contained in a waterproof camping backpack

Its daybreak. Daniel looked to his left and saw Elle sound asleep. He picked his head up and scanned around him and made sure there was no infected near them. Taking a deep breath of the brisk morning air, he let his arm stretch out as much as he could, considering they slept in a car, parked atop an otherwise empty parking garage.

Shifting as subtly as possible, he moved to the back of their SUV and checked on his gear. As he did so, he noted down things that he, or the two of them, may need. He created a small list of things that consisted of essentials like ammo, and medical supplies that they stockpile whenever possible. They had planned some sort of route for the day, but that always changes...

Moving back to the second row, he tapped Elle on the shoulder softly and said "Hey, sleepy head, time to get going..."

Sprawled out in the seat of the SUV, she felt a finger tap on her shoulder. She grunted and rolled over to face the window, curling up a bit more on the seat. Though, as she began to wake up she felt her body ache from being cramped inside of the car even if it was rather spacious. She let out a yawn as she looked over at Daniel. "Can't I sleep a lil longer?" she questioned, rolling over to face the seat.

Though, her eyes would remain open. "Where are we headed today?..." she would question, attempting to stretch her legs a bit but found it hard to. Maybe, she could sleep a bit more to wherever they were headed. Sometimes it was hard to sleep, but last night she had been finally able to fall asleep rather quick and stay asleep.

She figured that they needed more supplies, most likely food and ammo. "..Don't suppose we have any eggs?" Elle asked, more so as a joke, but she really was craving eggs and bacon. She smiled over at the young male.

He was marking a few things down a worn down map when Elle replied to him. He chuckled and made a small noise, indicating that she shouldn't sleep any longer. Being on the road, all that noise, it attracts the infected. They are attracted to movement, noise and the like. However, as they have found out, sudden bright lights will stun them for a moment, giving time for escape or the like.

"Well, I can use a extra set of eyes to watch the road. There is a super-mart nearby. I don't think its been raided yet. We've had pretty good luck in this area. There are a few more stores like that around here. My plan is for us to hit them all, stockpile all the supplies then keep moving north. Supposedly there are camps of survivors like us up there..." He said in a hopeful tone. However, he knows as well as her that they might be the last two left...

"Eh. No. No eggs. However, at the Super-Mart, I think they still have eggs...and a kitchen to cook with for once... " He shifted a small ways from her, allowing her a little more room to move about. "I'm going to move to the back of the truck to change quick, its getting cold out there. No peeking~" He said the last bit as a joke, in truth, he couldn't care less...

Elle looked at the map that was in Daniel's hands as he marked things on it. In all reality, she wasn't that great with maps. He had tried to explain maps a bit to her, but she was bad at judging distances. Stretching she looked away from the map, wiggling her toes having taken her boots off before she went to sleep. Even though they were in an enclosed space, she could feel the coldness nipping at her.

As Daniel explained their plan for the day, she sat up straight in the seat shrugging her boots on. Whilst Daniel was optimistic about their supply options, Elle didn't hold out much for a good 'raid'. The best they could maybe get was some canned food. She was, however, tired of canned peaches. "At least something warm.." she said, half in passing.

As he said he was going to change, Elle finished putting her boots on. "Can't promise for sure." she teased back. "Grab me another jacket while you're back there." she was already wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt. A somewhat worn, but still warm blanket to the side of her on the seat. She picked it up and tossed it into the back, hoping to hit him with it.

She slightly wished that going to the supermarket would be a piece of cake, but none of their one's before had been.. Either they came up empty handed or there were more infected than they thought.

Folding the map up and putting it on the dash board, he noted to himself that they needed a new map as well. He learned most of the skills he now uses daily during his time being an Eagle Scout. Map reading, tracking, navigation, and the like. He wiped away some of the frost from the inside of his car, and saw that the sun has fully risen. Doing another quick scan of their surroundings, he noted that in the distance there were some infected shambling about.

One thing about these infected. They are slow, yet, but somehow, they travel in packs. Usually anywhere from 3, to 15 which was the biggest pack they had to deal with. That was an scary event that he, at least, would not want to ever encounter again. Coincidentally, that was the day he met Elle....

"Well. I ain't telling you to not stare either..." As the blanket whizzed past him, he grabbed the jacket she had asked for and turned around. He was topless, showing some minor scarring from their endeavors. Waiting, he assumed that she would turn around and see him. In truth, he wanted to see her reaction...

After throwing the blanket, Elle looked towards the window of the back seat that she was in. She had drawn something on it the night before when frost had covered it and she had been unable to sleep. It faintly remained there and she simply smeared it with her hand as she wiped the frost away. Turning away from the window, she cast a glance into the back where they kept most of their stuff. Though, her crossbow was in the front seat.

She caught a glance of him. She tried to be sly but used it just as a chance to take the jacket and then look away. Though, she had managed to see some of the minor scars he had. And she'd seen his bare chest. A slight warmness emanated from her cheeks as she slid her arms into the jacket, her back now turned towards Daniel.

Once the jacket was on, she flipped her hair from out of it. Her wavy hair landing against the back of the jacket. She leaned against the seat, waiting for Daniel to change.

"So, where is the supermarket from here?" she asked, slightly trying to change the topic. She glanced out the window again, looking down at the street. There was a group of infected, and she briefly thought about when the two of them had met. She had been surviving on her own; mainly hiding, but when she saw him against the horde of infected she couldn't just stand there and not do anything. There was finally someone else and she wasn't the only one anymore. She'd saved him, or had they saved each other?

With a small grin, he slipped on a plain t-shirt, a sweater and grabbed a jacket. Moving towards the driver seat, he draped the jacket over his seat. His pistol was in the cupholder and his machete was next to his left leg. The group of infect was just mindlessly shambling about. They haven't made enough noise to attract them, it seems.

While he moved towards the seat, he saw the hair flip from Elle. Somehow, in the smallest of ways, even that action from her tugged at his heartstrings. Sure, there were times. Times where he just wants to hold her close, tell her everything is going to be alright. Those times, however, are often followed by the harsh reality that they are surrounded by.

"Um, according to this traveler's guide, its a good...20 minute drive from here. So, if you really wanted to sleep more, I can give you 20 minutes. " Offering a small chuckle, he pressed the lock button for their doors a few times, making sure it was secured.

Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he turned the key and the car roared to life. Peering over at the group of infected, he saw that they haven't made a move on them yet. "Phew..." He looked to Elle. "On the road again..." He hummed and shifted the car into gear.

And thus, they were on the road again...

Living in a car, even if it was an SUV, required a lot of maneuvering. Once Daniel had gotten into the front seat, Elle moved between the two seats and into the passenger seat. Moving her crossbow to the floor, she sat down. "Naw... I think I'm awake now," she said, hoping that her cheeks didn't appear pink from her glancing at him. She wondered which fight he had gotten the scar in, and it had been awhile since she had seen a man's bare chest.

She faintly thought about her boyfriend. He was now dead. Barely able to survive living with the infected. If anything, she felt safer with Daniel. It'd been awhile since her boyfriend had been gone, that she couldn't recall how long it had been. Ever since then she had been alone till she found Daniel. She half-kept him at a distance. Half afraid to loose him. She put up the tough girl act, half the time.

Lost in thought, she only heard him humming something vaguely familiar to "On the Road Again". He had started the car, as it had roared to life the infected nearby didn't seem vaguely interested in them. That was good at least. She looked over at Daniel as he drove the SUV out of the garage, which was only one floor up from the ground floor but had offered them safety from the infected for the most part.

"Let me know if you ever want me to drive...I can't promise to drive safe, and that I won't hit any of the infected. I have a quota to keep up." she sent him a half wink, before buckling up. They drove out of the garage, the wooden arm of the entrance having previously been knocked when they had drove in. Elle had been surprised that there were no infected inside.

He chuckled. "Well, thats good. I'm glad you're somewhat a morning person...Me, not so much, if I can avoid it." He kept his eyes on the road, not noticing the small flash of pink on Elle's cheeks. The road they were taking seemed essentially clear, devoid of life, or the infected for that matter. That made the early parts of his driving rather simple.

"Eh, the roads seem pretty clear for the time being. I think we should keep it that way by running over any infected that we see..." He laughed. As his laughter faded, memories of his life before he met Elle appeared to him. His parents, now assumed dead, raised him as carefully as they could, considering their circumstances. In truth, he never was fully, or legally for that matter, inducted as an Eagle Scout. His father was, and he taught him everything he knew. His mother taught him some basic medical skills. Then, in one raid, they were separated. All Daniel was left with was his machete. He had some leftover food, sure, but nothing else. He had forgotten how many days he spent looking for his parents. Days turned into nights, nights into day. After a while, he sort of gave up. For all he knows, his parents, and his past life, are dead. Everyone he knew, his friends, family, loved ones, even the girl he was ready to marry, are all gone from him now. The pain, at first, was unbearable. The thought of losing people that he cared about so much, seemingly in droves, was killing him. However, as they say, time washes away everything. He just made a simply pact with himself. He would never get too attached to something, lest he lose it again. He turned and glanced at Elle, and had to remind himself to not get attached...

"I mean, running over the infected helps with the paint job I think... So, I think I'll take you up on that offer, eventually. But, for now, I'll drive." He said, chuckling at Elle's comment as his memories faded to black. In truth, he had become used to seeing packs of infected and just driving over them for the sake of eliminating threats. The infected seem to lose the will to chase them after a small distance, returning to their shambling walk thereafter.

"Hah...me a morning person?" Elle laughed, looking over at Daniel as he turned out of the garage and they found the street pretty clear, aside from a few cars that were left on the side of the street. Or in the middle. Her laugh was genuine, but it felt odd to laugh. Like she wasn't supposed to.

Elle wasn't much of waking up person, at any part of the day. However, nowadays if she woke up she couldn't go back to sleep. Sometimes she slept for only a few hours. To say the least, she sometimes watched Daniel sleep simply because she couldn't sleep or fall back to sleep. It was something she hoped he never found out.

She listened to him speak about the road conditions, lulling a bit to his voice. Though when he spoke about running over the infected, it peaked her interest. "We need that kind of rough around the edges look, this thing is much too shiny." though, she did like it from their last means of transport: a beat up old Cadillac that she was surprised, still ran. To this day she still wondered how they had stumbled upon this black beauty. Her eyes wandered out the window, watching the town pass by. A few broken windows. Small groups of infected down alleyways, but they drove by too fast for them to actually follow.

They continued down the street. However, as they passed an intersection an infected came out of nowhere and hit the side front side of the car, but was just sort of knocked out of the way. The right tires rolling over the things legs. Elle looked in the side mirror as it attempted to get up but its legs were broken and pinned to the ground. She felt half sorry but had become numb to the infected once being humans.

"One more for you," she said, adding to Daniel's numbers.

"Well, I kind of thought you were, as soon as you're fully awake that it..." He said, nonchalantly. To be honest, he has had his fair shares of sleepless nights. He has nightmares, lots of them. The sight of the infected feasting on what once was a living thing haunts even his darkest memories. Laughter, genuine laughter, was a cure. The one Elle just had was soothing to him. Remedies like that are in short supply these days..

During nights where they would have to rotate guard, he tries to make sure Elle would get some sleep. He knows she has her fair share of troubles sleeping. He would repeatedly try to comfort her through his words. Whether or not it helps, he doesn't know. During those times, he just knows that he needs to try to help calm her...

When she spoke about needing a more edgy look to their vehicle, he chuckled. "Shiny is good though, I'd prefer to keep this car clean, for appearances sake. I mean, we don't want people to think we're some sort of barbarians, now, do we?" He said in a jest. As he drove down the road, he would notice pockets of infected here and there. He kept moving, and the infected paid them no mind as soon as they drove past them.

They hit an intersection. An infected ran out. "Oop. Another one bites the...tire?" He said, not even flinching as the infeced thumped against the car as it got run over and basically crippled. One interesting fact is that the infected will, regularly, cannibalize their own kind. This one, is going to be eaten by its brethren.

"Eh, we're not going to start keeping track now, are we?" He said, chuckling slightly. "If so, how do we count the next pack?" He said, looking ahead and seeing a small pack of about 5 infected. "I plan on driving over them, yes?"

Elle kept her eyes on the road, aimlessly looking out at the world. Up ahead further there was a small pack of infected limping along across the street. She kept her right eye on the side mirror, watching the one they'd run over. It grew further and further away, as it almost became unviewable in the side mirror she saw three infected came upon it to finish it off. As they did, she looked back as Daniel asked if they were keeping track now, mentioning the next pack.

"Only if you want to keep track, it could be a bit of fun though." she chimed in. It could be something fun for them to do, a challenge of sorts between them. She gave him a slight smile, even if it was a bit forced. Some of the time she needed feel the need to smile. Who smiled when the world went to shit and you were one of the only people left?

Daniel was driving so she didn't expect him to see the smile, or to even notice that it wasn't a genuine smile. Sometimes her thoughts got the better of her but it was better with Daniel here.

"How about whatever side the infected get hit on one of us gets a point?" she suggested as they grew closer to them. There was still time however for him to avoid them. It was easier to run them over with the SUV, with the Cadillac they most often times ended up on the hood, whilst they went under the SUV. "Add some speed." she said dully.

Over time she had become numb to the infected but she sometimes imagined what they were like before the virus. Were they a mother? A sister? Did they have anyone that was still uninfected?

As he drove, he essentially forgot about the infected they had just run over. To him, it no longer exists. It is as good as dead before he hit it anyways, and why would a dead thing mean anything to him now? Occasionally, he would peek over at Elle, to see her expression or emotions. Usually, she kept a straight face. Sometimes she smiles, a tough smile. He often wondered what she was thinking about. Maybe her life before they met, before everything went to shits. Maybe its her family, her friends, her lover...

"Eh, I don't know. I'd rather not. I don't want a competition. This shouldn't be fun. We're doing this to survive. For all I know, that could have been someone's grandmama I just ran over...Even though its already as good as dead. Do you sometimes think about who they were before? Ya know, before all of this?" He asked. Now, this shambling creatures are nothing more than ravenous beasts. No humanity left in them, no conscience. They needed killing, and Daniel is not opposed to doing so, if that means survival.

They were approaching a pack of infected now. Some were hunched over, seemingly eating something. While others looked on, at nothing at all with their dead eyes. He sighs. "I don't really care. I'm just going straight through them..." He reached over to check her seat belt and gave it a quick, hard tug. "Sit back, relax and enjoy the blood..." He said in a jest. Putting more pressure on the gas pedal, he sped towards the pack of Infected.

With a loud thud, and a few bumps, the pack was behind them. He hit most of them, while the ones he didn't hit moved back in to clean off their fallen kin. Suddenly, there was a grotesque groan, coming from the slightly cracked open roof of their car. "Ugh. I hate these kinds of fuckers. Don't know when to quit..." He gestured towards the shotgun, wedged between his seat and hers. "Would you mind?"

Could they turn them back? But, would they be the same? She thought as Daniel suggested that it wasn't a good idea to have a competition between them, saying that this shouldn't be fun. She half-groaned, folding her arms across her chest. He said that they were killing them to survive, mentioning that it could've been someone's grandmama that they had just run over. He asked if she had ever thought about who they were before all of this?

She looked over at him, glancing over at him but kept her eyes mainly on the road and the pack in front of them. She was silent for a moment. Half-upset that he didn't want to participate in her competition. "I don't know. Sometimes." she said. She tried not to give away much about how she felt towards the infected and the world going to shit. Elle kept her emotions and thoughts inside; half because she'd been alone before. Actually, she'd taken out her emotions once on an infected, but she wasn't going to tell Daniel that. He might think her darker, more sadistic. But all of that was a side effect of the world falling apart. "I try not to."

It didn't seem like that long since they'd found each other, Elle still felt much like a stranger to him. She didn't ask what had happened to him, or his family, because she didn't want him to ask the same. They approached the pack, Daniel tugging onto her seatbelt, telling her to sit back. She half laughed at his comment. They sped towards them.

The next thing, there was a loud thud as they hit the first one. It was bumpy as their tires rolled over them. There wasn't much for Elle to hold on but she just braced herself. They left the pack behind but there was a groan coming from the top of the car. Daniel gestured towards his shotgun. Half-grunting she pulled the shotgun out, aiming for the roof just past the open roof of the car. She then pulled the trigger without much of another thought. They'd both hear the loud shot of the gunshot, it rung in her ears. The sting would go away soon.

A few seconds later the infected rolled off the top of the SVU and to the ground. Elle put the shotgun back between the seats. Turning to sit frontwards in her seat again, without any words as she just faced towards the front window. She somewhat hated doing this.

Hearing her groan, he understood that the way he sounded was perhaps a bit too rigid. A bit too rough, as well. He peered over as the infected clutched on to the roof of the car, groaning and gnashing. He was already thinking about an apology, however, he wasn't going to say it just yet.

As Elle rid them of their unwelcome visitor, he let out a small sigh. Killing, as it seems, has become so normal to them that it comes without a second thought. Why? Why has it become like this? Whatever the answer to that question is, it is not meant for Daniel to know it now. As he drove on, he pondered on the thought that Elle is essentially a stranger to him. He knows that she was alone. She is a survivor, and that she seems to mean him no harm. How did they end up in this car, at this precise moment, remains a mystery to him...

Without saying much or making more noise, he reached out, and held Elle's hand. This would be the first time, if one does not count the times where Elle needed helping get up or vice versa. He reached out, held her hand and remained still. He feels the warmth of his body through his hands, and he was sure she felt his too. It is rather nice... Human warmth...

Killing the...dead? had become a thing. Even if she hated doing it, she had to do it. Or else she would become one. What if she did become one though? T-then she'd be like everyone else. Essentially she wouldn't be alone then. The idea rolled around in her mind as they continued down the street. Had she really become this numb that she thought of the idea of actually being an infected. But, she couldn't imagine the idea of feasting off of someone else's flesh and blood. At the thought, she almost threw up.

Eyes on the road in front of her she didn't see Daniel reach over towards her hand that was pressed onto the side of the seat. The seat was pretty wide considering the car they had. She had a more narrow frame that allowed her more room on the seat. Half of her size was due to living off the little food they found.

She felt the warmth of flesh against hers as Daniel had moved to hold her hand. In instinct, she drew her hand away. She had momentarily forgotten that he was there. That they were in this car together, going down the road to survive. She looked over at him, tribulation in her eyes. She wasn't used to human touch. The last human touch she'd had was her boyfriends and she'd been holding his hand when they had been attacked... his life literally slipping through her hands. There was a few times when Daniel had helped her up or something, but that felt different than the touch he had offered. She looked down; wondering how long she could put up the tough girl act, and without telling him what had happened to her during the first days, weeks of the infection.

Elle recoiled, turning towards the passenger side window. She wondered when they would get to this supermarket. She felt somewhat trapped in this car.