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Hermes tried hard not to become frustrated with his cousin. Catching the bit of attitude that coated her movements as she signed to him. He knew it was stupid, pointless to ask given that nobody knew what was going on because the government was keeping so much from them. But that didn't help stop him from asking, the panic of the unknown. His uncle suggested a military encampment as an option, but Hermes didn't trust that one bit. The government was already hiding from them, lying to them, who was to say they wouldn't just round everyone up and quarantine them by firing squad. His stomach churned like tumultuous waves as he pressed his legs to his chest trying to calm himself.

”Can we do the rural areas? I don't trust going to those encampments.” Hermes voted as they finally turned into his place. The front door cracked as others left their places around them. He called out to one of his neighbors as they made their way out. ”Did anyone catch my mom and Nonna? See why their doors open?” Hermes asked, signing with one hand to keep his family in the loop of the conversation taking place as he stood before the open doorway. The kitten left behind in the car, now placed within its carrier so that he'd have both hands free to pack and go.

---

Mandy flicked her middle finger out at the mention of the government and encampments. "Agree. Let's go somewhere rural."

She parked the car and pulled the kitten and its carrier into her lap, giving the kitten pets through the open flap as her cousin ran into his home. With her other hand, she opened her phone and sent a text to her friend, Kristian. She had done a couple of projects with him the previous semester and he seemed alright. They had been texting when things started getting weird. She hoped he was following the news still.



She then sent a message to a group chat she had with several Deaf locals. He friends. It was a quick message that surmised everything that she knew. It was normal in Deaf culture to share information when one had it. During COVID a lot of information was passed around that way. It had gotten more complicated in the years since paper newspapers went out of style to keep up to date of what was going on in the news cycle. And not every president made sure they had a certified interpreter for press conferences. One of the main ways Mandy got news was through YouTube where she followed Daily Moth news.

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"That should get us by for a few days. Or at least until we get to wherever they plan for us to evacuate to. They haven't mentioned anything about shelters on the news, right?" Kali replied to Isaac, listening as she walked over to the refrigerator. She reached inside the door and grabbed a small glass jar filled with a reddish berry sauce before returning back to the living room.

"Didn't want to leave without it." Kali explained as she slipped it into her bag. "I know it's refrigerated, but if we're evacuating, one small comfort away from home won't hurt. Lingonberry isn't cheap, you know."

Once they were finally ready to leave town, Kali followed Isaac to the front door. However, her boss suddenly stopped in his tracks, and offered Kali the keys to his car. "I haven't driven in awhile," She stated, hesitant to take the keys at first. Liana was usually the one who drove the two of them around, owing to the fact that it was her car to begin with. "But I can get us there, sure."

Eventually taking the keys from Isaac, Kali followed him out the door and to his car. Placing their supplies in the back, she climbed into the driver's seat and began to drive away once the two of them were buckled and ready to go.

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Verity sat in silence again. Then she decided not to.

"Ok how are we not talking about how incredibly fucked up this all is? I mean just yesterday we were all doing our own thing like nothing and now we have the dead coming back to life and attacking people like some fucking dystopian movie. I mean Christ I get we need to move forward but can we take a minute?"

Verity put her head in her hands and took some deep breaths. "Life as we knew it is over. I mean there's no positive spin on this. The military might step in, great. But nothing will be the same. And it isn't like what happened with Covid where people will get back to some semblance of normal. This is apocalyptic. This is End Times bullshit."

"Sorry. I needed to get that out. I've been holding it in ever since the warning was sent up. The cabin sounds nice. At least it will be away from a large city with tons of people. I can only imagine what's happening everywhere else."

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Location: Beyond the Veil
Skills: N/A

Juniper felt a weird relief when he heard Waverly declare that the beings were zombies. Then he felt a little weird at the fact it brought him comfort. Probably it was just that having a label for something makes it easier. Plus, Juniper knew about zombies, though his thoughts felt a little scrambled right now, he was having difficulty recalling everything he'd spent all that time studying about zombies. Faintly he could hear Stacy talking about how the bar had some supplies that could be useful.

Juniper tuned back in more as he was told that it would be safe to stay in the bar, even if for only an hour or two. He didn't want to cause commotion while everyone was trying to rest, but his anxious thoughts were building. Eventually he did say something,

"What about after that? We have to like, figure out where else is safe....if anywhere? Or is the whole world zombie'd?"

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@Trainerblue192@Kirah Giuliano looked over at his daughter and nodded slightly, the government really wasn't trustworthy at times really. "Alright we won't go there then." He signed as he looked at Mandy and Hermes as he got out of the car, signing to Alma. "Stay here and lock the doors." He signed to her as she nodded she made sure that the doors were locked once Hermes and Mandy got out.

Mandy would get a text from Kristain. "Already getting out of the city now, the military is quarantining the entire island sometime tonight, so get out as soon as possible." Some of Mandy's other friends in the group chat texted the same thing as well to, with a news article sourcing the information.

One of the neighbors around Mandy's age looked over at Hermes and shook his head. "I got no clue." He said before going back to loading up his car and getting ready to leave. When Hermes entered his house the place seemed to be eerily quiet for some reason and it looked like the kitchen and living room were ransacked maybe it was some hoodlums that broke in?

@Carlyle "It's okay I trust you to not crash." Isaac said as he got into the car's front seat and strapped himself in, he pulled out his phone to see if there was any new. "Uh looks like they are locking down the island sometime this evening, and that Newark Liberty International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airports are going to be designated safe zones." Isaac said to Kali as she started to drive out of her place and towards Liana's place. Isaac stared at the jar of berry sauce and shook his head slightly, he was pretty sure it would end up going bad in a few days if it didn't get refrigerated. Kali would get a text from Liana. "How far are you out?" Was what the text asked.

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"It really is fucked up people biting each other, and who knows how well the government and military are going to handle the rest of it." Flynn said as he looked around, seeing a number of buses as well driving past them which made him wonder if the buses were bringing people away or if they were just single drivers getting out of the city. Everything was going to shit very quickly in a matter of hours it felt like. "Just yesterday I was riding my bike and going up here." Flynn said to Verity.

"The military is gonna do a pretty shitty job with them safety zones it'll take a few pissed off people to ruin everything." Gus said as he continued to drive they were nearing the George Washington Bridge. Gus started to notice that the traffic was getting congested as he looked at the others. "Well shit." Gus said as he rolled down the window sticking his head out of the window and started to beep the horn he really didn't like the idea of being trapped near or on the bridge. "Hey can you ask your friend if there is another route or something?" Flynn asked looking at Verity.

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Ameer turned to look at Waverly. "Mind turning on that old tin can of yours and see if theres any news or whatever?" He asked as he went over towards the window, he started to notice Joe on the outside being chased by a group of zombies. "Theres a guy out there." Ameer said looking at Juniper, Waverly, Stacy and Kaitlyn. "We should help him." Stacy said as she went under the bar table pulling out a handgun she kept for protection in case some druggie or hoodlum would try and rob the bar which has happened more than a few times as well to.

Kaitlyn turned to Juniper, from what her knowledge on zombie stuff. "The city itself is a deathtrap which we need to get out as soon as possible. Rural areas would be the best." Kaitlyn said as she started to look uncomfortable as Stacy grabbed a handgun from under the bar and started to make her way towards the back door of the bar.

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As their group discussed supplies, Waverley felt a buzzing in her pocket. She quickly slipped her phone out, her attention immediately shifting to it. It was Riley. She quickly opened it, firing a text back, fingers practically blurring as she typed on the keyboard. 'At Beyond the Veil. Can you get here within an hour? Or do you need me to come get you?' Waverley kept the phone in hand, anxiously eyeing the screen, waiting for it to light up with another text. Absentmindedly - and with a practiced hand - she reached behind her to turn on her radio at Ameer's request. She kept her phone in hand even as she stepped out of the back area and over to the bar, placing her backpack between Stacy and Kaitlyn.

"We should start packing up - and arm ourselves too. As a group, I think we've got two guns, but these things seem to respond to sound, so...we might want to be careful. NYC has enough noise pollution for now that we might be safe, but we don't want to risk it. I've got this-" Waverley pulled the bench arm rest from her bag, something she was now looking at as a slightly stubby improvised weapon rather than a piece of evidence of her own vandalizing. "If zombie movies are to be believed, blunt weapons with relatively long range should work best for close quarters combat."

As Stacy began gearing up to head outside, Waverley straightened up. She glanced once more down at her phone, chewing the inside of her lip. On one hand, she needed to make sure Riley was okay. But on the other, someone needed to help save the guy outside. With a sigh, she slipped her phone into her pocket, following behind Stacy with her arm rest in one hand and the gun in the other. Passing Juniper, she nodded towards Kaitlyn.

"Kait said she knew somewhere we might be able to hunker down - the fewer the people, the better."

Joe Yamakami

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He was never going to forget hearing the screech of sirens in tandem with the panicked barking of orders that careened upward from the sidewalk through the slightly cracked windows of his fifth story studio apartment. Joe had lived in New York for over twenty years and had heard a variety of sounds assault his senses, but what he heard earlier that day was different; it had panic laced with desperation that was confirmed by his flipping through various local news sites that proclaimed very, very strange things: cannibalistic behavior, sudden accidents and parts of the city being prompted to evacuate. He had checked his phone for notifications several times in-between the news scrolling, texting a few friends only to be greeted with affirmations that the news reports were indeed real, that something was enveloping the city that he called home.

There was an option to stay behind, of course; after all, as someone who came from a country that experienced disasters quite often, he was leery of becoming someone that gave into mass panic, but then again…the behavior that was being reported and exhibited from the brief conversations he had with friends across the city were indicative of a genuine fear response to a dangerous piece of stimuli; in other words, he felt the urge to take action, to which he did. A packed backpack later, he found himself on street level, where denizens zoomed by, traffic gridlocked, some cars abandoned in the helter skelter. His brow had furrowed, eyes narrowing; it would be difficult to utilize any of the normal modes of transportation to get off the island, but he did know of a way he could take on foot, past a bar that he had frequented several times due to a friend that insisted one of the regulars knew what good sakes was (she did not, but she knew about many other things, including how to hold a great conversation and…well, many other things).

Joe had managed to weave through the majority of trouble without a single spotting of what some were calling “zombies” (the behavioral analyst snorting a derisive chuckle at the idea of Resident Evil come to life), getting to within a hundred yards or so of Beyond the Veil. He thought he could spy forms inside the bar from windows positioned in the facade of the building, giving him some hope that he could talk to people abou-

A trash can behind him rattled, then slowly rolled towards him.

Joe turned his head, brow rising, nostrils flaring at the sight of a man (or what was once a man), tattered clothing exposing oozing sores and dried blood, a guttural moan passing through his (or it’s, now) lips. He turned back towards the bar, breaking into a trot as other figures emerged from behind him, converging on his location. Joe was about fifty yards away, but the former humans had gone from shambling to speedily pursuing.

He could only hope there were individuals in the bar who had some form of defense. Otherwise, he would be leading these creatures to more prey.

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Well, it seemed Isaac had more faith in her ability to drive than she personally did. Following him out to the car, Kali helped place their supplies inside before she climbed in herself. "Hopefully we'll make it in time," Kali explained as she buckled her seat belt. "It shouldn't take us long to reach Liana, so we should be able to get there before things get any worse."

Shifting the car into gear, Kali began to drive down the street. She drove with caution in mind, taking care not to wreck her boss' car, but also in consideration for any possible traffic or pedestrians that might be in their way to Liana. People were reckless today, they both well knew by now. Her neighbor had already been plowed by a vehicle, and Kali didn't want to add to that total because someone darted into the road.

BUZZ!

Stopping at a stop sign, Kali pulled out her phone. Noticing the messenger had been Liana, Kali handed her device to Isaac.

"Could you answer that for me?" She asked. "We're not far out from where her work is. It should only take us a couple more minutes."

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Useless. His neighbors always were. Segaiolo might as well have been their last name for as far as his family was concerned. Hermès huffed, blowing a tuft of hair out of his face as he turned to make his way into his own home. Saying a silent prayer before crossing the threshold to see what awaited him. It was strange, he knew this place better than the back of his hand, and yet, seeing it ransacked so, made it feel almost foreign to him. A sense of dread filled in him as to what might have happened. He got about one step in when he heard the car door open and shut. It felt so loud to him, like TV volume in the early morning when you'd just woken up. Hermes turned to see Mandy standing there, his uncle signing to lock the doors behind. ”Che Palle, Cosa fai.” He muttered under his breath before signing to his cousin. ”What're you doing? I thought you- nevermind. Just stay quiet and move slow, there may be intruders.”

He returned back to where he was going, his own room. Walking down the halls, as quiet as can be, something he'd practiced a lot since a young age in this household. How else was he supposed to sneak in midnight snacks in an Italian house? He crossed past the opening into the kitchen, spotting someone that he hadn't recognized. Hermes didn't dare remove his eyes from the person, but if Mandy was nearby then she would see him sign once more. At first it wasn't much of a sign, Hermès simply put his hand out to tell her to stop and look. ”Intruder. Stay quiet.” He signed before slipping past the kitchen and into his room. There he would find three cases all packed and ready to go. They'd need to revisit the kitchen on the way out, but not until he got two things. His family, and their gun. If he had to guess his mother must've grabbed it when she was told to hide away. They had two stowed away at home, which she grabbed (if any) he didn't know. Hermès grabbed a nearby duffle bag, places the cases inside along with some books and clothing and a couple pairs of shoes.

”Hey Percival, I'm sure how well you'd fare in this adventure. But once we deal with the intruder and get everyone out to safety, I'm coming back to get you ok? Just hang tight for a moment.”

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Mandy didn't want to get out of the car. But her dad did. She wanted to pet the cat and try to figure out a name for it. But her dad got out of the car. Hermes was going inside his house, if something happened there wouldn't be anyone who could hear him and help. Sure there was the hearing neighbor on the street. So she had to go in. Had to back him up.

She handed the cat to her mom and got out of the car. Her heart was pounding as she followed Hermes into the house. He spoke with a neighbor—a brief exchange, probably not important. The door was open, which wasn't a good sign. Mandy didn't watch horror movies; she didn't find that interesting. At the moment she felt like she was in a horror movie.

She tried to follow Hermes' steps. Knowing he knew where the floorboards creaked. This was his home. He signed for her to stop and be quiet. Something anyone who has spent any time around a Deaf person knows is basically impossible. You don't know how loud your steps are when you can't hear them. You don't know what makes noise and what doesn't. She went for stopping instead of trying to continue to follow in what was probably a frustratingly clumsy way.

Mandy hated feeling like a failure. And she felt that way right now. She was a brilliant vet. Her professors were impressed with her. She could tell from an animal's body language, more than any of her hearing peers, what an animal felt. But she didn't know how loud her breathing was. So she waited and tried to be quiet. She waited for her cousin to come back and tell her everything was okay.

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Verity didn't want to think about how the military would handle this. There would surely be people, as Gus said, who would throw a fit over being told what to do. Just look at how people handled Covid. Told to wear a mask indoors and grown adults threw temper tantrums at the Wal-Mart. Verity was sure things would get worse before they ever got better.

Verity smiled at the thought of Flynn riding his bike, remembering that was how they met and now look at them. Simple times before.

The traffic piled on. Verity pulled out her phone when asked and sent a quick text to Trudy.



"I doubt it will be any better anywhere else, but let's see. People are going to be flocking to leave, just like us."

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Location: Beyond the Veil
Skills: N/A

Juniper was more than fine with getting out of the city, which surprised him. He should be at least a little sad about getting out of the place he'd lived almost his whole life, with no idea of when he was going back, but at this point he was just his will to survive. If it's dangerous out here, he'd get out for as long as needed.

He really, really didn't want to die, but he also really, really didn't want whoever that was outside the bar to die either. He nodded at Waverly's advice about not using the guns yet. That was smart and maybe also something he, the zombie expert, should have already thought of, but whatever. As long as someone thought of it. He had no good weapon, but if he needed to defend himself surely he'd find something. He stepped towards Waverly, standing behind her, eyes darting around looking for something he could use if he needed to, growing increasingly worried he would need to.

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@Trainerblue192@Kirah Alma nodded as she held the little kitten in her arms and made sure that the doors were locked like what her husband had said. Giuliano followed shortly behind his daughter and into the house, he watched Hermes for a moment making sure that he didn't disturb to much of anything in the house. Mandy and her father would see that there were several things that were knocked onto the floor. It looked like there was a struggle or something, as Hermes made his way to his room he would noticed that there was a little bit of blood on the door nob to his mother's room.

Giuliano accidentally took a step causing the floorboards to creak, which wasn't that quiet at all, which ended up catching the attention of the intruder of the house. It was one of the zombies slowly shambling its way into the living room, Mandy would notice it but it hadn't noticed her or Giuliano just yet.

@Carlyle "Yeah sure thing." Isaac said as he took Kali's phone seeing that it was a text from Liana. "Hey it's Kali's boss we are on our way, whats up is everything okay?" Was what he texted to her. As Kali drove by she would see a few people trying to break into stores and trying to loot things, some officers were doing their best to try and help anyone that they can. She would be able to see Liana's building in the distance now there was a police presence there now.

@ChronicleMan@Boston Bridge@Carlyle Liana was in the lobby waiting for her roommate to come over, there were a few police officers as well as the security guard there. "Mason make sure that the door is secured until the transport gets here." His partner would say, as the same officer turned to look at Alexis she was hired recently as the building's security guard. "Make sure that the others are safe." He told her, Billie for whatever reason would be here in the buildings lobby as well probably for the police protection. "Are you okay?" Liana asked looking over at Billie. "I'm Liana by the way." She said extending her hand to the other woman.

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Flynn looked over at the road seeing that the traffic in front of them was getting really bad as he turned to look at Verity she would get a text from Trudy. "The only other ways out of the city are the Lincoln Tunnel into West New York, and the Holland Tunnel leading into Jersey City, or the ferries." Flynn was starting to get a little bit worried that they might get boxed in as he turned to look at his friend Gus. "Try and turn around until we can find another route out." He told him as Gus nodded, as he turned the massive vehicle around. Luckily traffic behind them wasn't that bad yet, as he turned and started to drive in the opposite direction they would get a few pissed off New Yorkers and beeping horns could be heard.

"So what would the military do if they loose control or if you were a military leader?" Flynn couldn't help but ask him since he knew his friend would have the information. Gus turned to look at Flynn for a moment, he wasn't sure if either of them would like the answer really. "Well obviously lock down Manhattan first, then blow the bridges and tunnels leading into the city to prevent the infection from leaving the island." He told them as he turned and drove down the main road.

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Waverly would get a text from her sister Riley. "Can you come and get me I can meet you at Central Park where we usually hangout?" Was the text she got, Stacy turned to look at Juniper and Ameer. "You two make sure that the door is closed when we get out." She said as she headed outside to meet Joe as Kaitlyn looked at Waverly for a moment when she mentioned her place, it wasn't something she really didn't want to mention in front of complete strangers but she didn't really say anything.

Stacy made it in front of the Into the Viel waving over at Joe as she recognized his face. "Hurry your ass up and make it to the back exit!" She yelled out, as Stacy saw there were at least three of the infected shambling after their prey, which was something Stacy didn't like at all really. Stacy didn't open fire just yet in case it drew anymore unwanted attention and she didn't want to hurt one of her regulars either.