[IC] Zambambo - A Zombie RolePlay

[SvenO100]

Summer City, Comcast Center, Sixth Avenue, 06:21 AM.

The sun had begun to rise, illuminating the sky in a mix of vibrant yellow and crimson red. The first orange hued rays of sunrise kissed the still dust laden rubble spread throughout the once so lively city, these soft rays that should have brought warmth to a new day only acted to solidify the reality of what the world had become. The city had grown quiet, its streets abandoned but littered with the wrecks of cars and trucks. No birds to greet the arrival of a new morning, no people left to battle their way through the morning rush to get to work. Summer City had been deserted and ravaged, the only thing remaining to roam its streets and occupy its houses being the painful reminder of what humanity had become, the undead.

Michael had been awake before the sun had risen, he had been starting at the setting moon and then watched how the sun slowly began to take its place in the center of the sky. Sometimes he wondered if life was really worth living, if this was what life had been transformed into. The constant struggle for food and water, for shelter and safety. All that to get up the next morning to do it all over again. Looking down at the street below he sighed, placing one of his legs over the other before finally spinning the office chair he had been sitting in around to properly sit behind the blood covered desk. ''You have an exquisite taste, is this mahogany?'' A small smile forming in the corner of his mouth as he glanced over at the infected executive laying on the ground before him. A struggle had taken place in the office, maybe weeks or months before Michael had gotten there. The executive had half a coat rack implented in its chest, leaving it unable to move. Michael stood up and walked closer to the executive, standing far enough away to be safe. The man on the floor groaned, his right arm raising to reach the dinner that had presented its self on a silver platter, unfortunately for him he wasn't going to get fed any time soon. Michael casually walked over to the fridge in the room, taking out two bottles of whiskey before turning around to face the man again. ''How much do you pay one of these? I'm sure they're pretty expensive. Exquisite taste in furniture and in alcohol.'' he paused briefly, tilting his head as a small smile formed in the corner of his mouth. ''No, I don't drink. But maybe someone else does, i'm sure they'll appreciate this. If I happen to find an alcoholic then I can get a good trade for this.'' He walked closer to the man, stepping on his arm and crouching down. ''I'm no thief though.'' He took out his wallet and withdrew a couple hunderd dollars bills, which he folded needly before placing it in the inside pocket of the man's suit jacket. ''That should cover it.'' He stood up again now, only to briefly bend over again to remove a small ball of dust from the man's suit. ''There, perfect.'' He took a few steps back and picked up his backpack, placing the bottles of whiskey inside. He swung it around his shoulders and opened the door leading out into the hall. ''Have a nice day further.'' On that note he departed the man's office and exited the building. Michael had found that talking and interacting with the infected made him more at ease and comfortable around them, slowly removing his fear in a way. Besides, he had nobody else to talk with.

Summer City, BP Gas Station, Sixth Avenue, 06:34 AM.

At the start of the outbreak many people attempted to either buy or steal supplies, whether they had looted or laid down their life savings to prepare for the coming infection didn't matter, what did matter was where all these people went after loading up their vehicles. Small or big, every vehicle needed fuel. During their rush and panic cars began to block eachother, larger vehicles blockading the way completely to try and get their way. Eventually things had gone wrong and the infected had shown up one way or the other, some people chose to leave their vehicles and others made it their final resting place. Those unfortunate souls were all gone now, but their supplies were not. All of it was still needly located in or on top of their cars, having been left mostly untouched. The swarm of infected that once made the gas station its home had moved away, a few stragglers remaining to patrol the path between the abandoned vehicles.

Michael had been watching this location from the office building, the infected on the street did not pose a significant threat. There were plenty of cars that he could stand up on or ultimately hide in if things went wrong. The thing that really worried him were the corpses laying in the street and occupying the vehicles, they were laying motionless in the same position for days on end. Waiting, pretending to be dead only to spring to life when the oppertunity pretended its self. But then again he also knew that some of the corpses were really dead and wouldn't be a problem anymore. It was a matter of luck and being carefull, he was prepared to be carefull but he could only hope that luck was on his side as well. He slowly moved through the street, clutching his melee weapon in his right hand and staying low to the ground to attract the least attention to himself. He had to strike now, waiting or distracting the infected was not an option. Any noices could potentially make all the infected rise, including those that were pretending to be dead. He kept his guard up, keeping a small distance from corpses as he maneuvered around them, getting closer and closer to his goal.

The distance to the gas station was small but he had to be safe. To Michael it felt like forever before he had finally reached the first couple of cars at the back of the line, the first contained bodies, forcing him to abandon the car and move to the next one in line. Fortune was on his side, or so he tought. The car was empty, allowing him to check the trunk for any canned goods. But he had barely opened the trunk before the smell overwhelmed him, the rotting stench of food filling his nostrils. He quickly pinched his nose and quietly closed the trunk again. One of the vehicles here had to contain what he was looking for, but which one was the qeustion. All he could do now was pick and choose, guessing at what car may or may not contained the food and water he needed. He had no choice but to continue to move from vehicle to vehicle, staying low to the ground and being as quiet as he could. Hoping that the next car he checked contained what he was looking for, yet time and time again he was disappointed at the results within. An hour later he had grown tired and he had begun giving up hope, his searches weren't entirely futile and earned him a sleeping bag, a flash light, three bottles of water and couple magazines, some dirty and some proper reading material. As he moved to the other side of the pile of cars, going over or under some of the vehicles, he saw what he had hoped for. One of the cars had two cases of canned foods, some cans being soup and others being beans or carrots, all of which were needly tucked between two corpses in the back of the car. Unfortunately two more filled the front seats, this was going to be difficult. He was going to need to extract the canned food and he could only hope that the corpses inside wouldn't start moving, he desperately needed food and these cases could feed him for a while. He had to act quickly, if one of the roaming infected saw him he might never get another chance to get close to this car again. He had to take the risk. Michael took a deep breath, clutching his weapon tightly as he slowly opened the door. His arm raising, ready to strike down on what would possibly awaken inside.

[Whirlwind]

”Follow the power lines, follows the power lines,” Daily whispered to herself, her bright green eyes darting about. She was on the outskirts of Summer City, and made a small noise as she adjusted her leather jacket, which caused the items she had packed on her back to move a bit. She didn’t see any infected at the moment, but she knew once she entered the city limits, it was game over. She looked over her back at the line of poles leading back towards the woods, the ones she’d come from, and wondered if she shouldn’t just turn around and go back. But no. Moving was key to survival wasn’t it? Staying hauled up in one location was like putting all your money in one bank, like sitting in a corner and expecting not to be found when every other corner had been checked. She shook her short blonde locks and had renewed determination. Well, sort of. She moved her bag to her side and unzipped it, pulling out a bottle of clear liquid. She unscrewed the top and took a swig, only her second of the day, and put it back. She had to ration after all.

The girl’s boots made surprisingly little noise on the concrete, though of course they made less on grass and earth. She was particularly interested in finding a pharmacy in this city. Drugs, even as simple as aspirin or ibuprofen, were something she could always use.

Her thumb spun the thick band on her thumb, the only finger the ring fit on. It was her father’s wedding band, that she’d managed to take off him before leaving him to rot in the woods so many years ago. He had few mementos she could look at and think of him, so the ring was special to her. She would spin it around her digit when thinking, often times trying to recall things he’d spoken about or said. Like the power lines. They were like creeks. They led you to clear spots and civilization. And the set she’d followed had led her to a residential area. That was fine though. Plenty of undeveloped lots and bushy backyards to go through or lose and infected in rather than walk down the street, looking as tasty as a turkey on Thanksgiving. For the moment though, she simply mumbled to herself, trying to think of more tips while walking carefully amongst the various abodes.

[MST3K 4ever]

Edwin Kincaid managed to get back into the condemned building that he had been calling home for the last week and a half. He was pretty sure he lost the thugs who were chasing him. Edwin spotted them trying to steal food from a mother and two children. Edwin wasn't going to let than happen, and decided to give the thugs something else to keep their minds on; him. He managed to hold his own, but then they got two others to help out. Edwin decided then it was to make a retreat, but he made sure that the mother and the two children escaped with their food.

Edwin opened the door, set his bows and arrows down, put a couple of items in front of the door, and sat down in his hammock. The room to be kind was a dump, and of course there were roaches but thankfully no rats. The only light was the daylight that came through the slits in the boards, but that was all right with Edwin staying in this place at night didn't feel safe. The zombies weren't the only things to be afraid at night In this part of the city. Though this building had it's "issues" it was a palace compared to some of the other places had stayed at. It had four walls, a ceiling over his head, and a door that could at least be barricaded if necessary.

The whole night is day day is night thing was still a bit of adjustment for Edwin, but being a former Pittsburgh Homicide Detective didn't always lend itself to a 9 to 5 schedule either so Edwin was handling it pretty good. He leaned back in his hammock and picked a couple of sticks. Edwin studied them for a moment as though they were rare butterflies, and then nodded slightly as he said, "Yeah these should work." He set the sticks on the ground next to him, picked up a bottle of water took two gulps, and then ate a couple of slivers of jerky. When he was done he said, "Breakfast of champions."

Edwin reached over picked up his pocket knife, the two sticks, and began whittling the sticks down. Edwin was starting to make the sticks into arrows for his bow. From time to time Edwin would raid what once was the local sporting goods store or the sports department at a store for arrows. He could usually find anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen arrows laying around, but Edwin knew sooner or later his luck was gonna run out in that area. He always prided himself on being ready for eventualities and didn't want to get caught without having enough arrows.

As Edwin whittled away his adrenaline rush was wearing off which meant he would soon be getting very sleepy, so he stopped for a moment and looked at one of the arrows. He studied the homemade arrow, made sure it was sturdy and said, "Not bad. That should work." Edwin set the arrow on the floor and looked at the other stick and said, "Later." Edwin put the stick down, adjusted his black fedora so that it would block out the light, put his arms behind his head and said, "Ah peace and quiet."

[czechmate46]

Joseph Reed - approaching Summer City - 6:40 am

The sun began to peek over the horizon as recently widowed and lonesome Joseph Reed slowly trudged along the dusty roads leading to Summer City, in his weathered truck. He had been traveling for months like this - since he lost his wife and son to the infection, he drove from town to town, in search of whatever he could get his hands on. Safety, survivors, supplies, weapons. But what Joseph mostly yearned for was an explanation. What were these creatures that took his family from him and twisted his life inside out?

While Joseph had little luck in the small farm towns that he would pass through, he was still reluctant to go into the city. If things were bad out in the rural parts of the state, what would the cities be like? Joseph didn't want to find out, although after two months of searching the towns, he had little left to go through and he was growing somewhat desperate. He had a fair amount of food and his weaponry would do him proud for another few weeks, but his water supply was running dangerously low and his truck wouldn't run much longer on the little gas he had left.

And so, timid but strong, Joseph decided now was the time to enter the city. His truck neared the outskirts of the city as he saw the badly weathered sign that read "Welcome to Summer City". He slowed his truck down to a stop at the sign and he could already catch the faint stench of the city. If not the rotting flesh of the undead, then it was the waste and ruin of the city. Joseph knew his truck would only attract undead should he drive it into the city. He would need to do this by foot. He pulled his truck over to a small wooded area and gathered all the supplies he could fit into his large backpack. He was able to fit everything but a half crate of canned goods. He had no idea in what shape he would find his truck when he returned to it - if it were to be broken into and searched, all he would lose is some food. For good measure, he threw his green tarp over the truck before he left. It wasn't as if the tarp would totally camouflage the truck, but it would make it less appealing at best.

And so, with the rising sun and growing nerves, Joseph approached the borders of Summer City by foot.