[IC] The Walking Dead: To Greener Pastures

[Shoe Thief]

Hunter Monroe

Hunter lost his train of thought when he heard the motorcycle stop, the he soon picked up the shuffle of the dead. He knew the sound all too well, every step he heard as they wondered inside reminded him of the past two weeks fighting his way through the city. "Shit, holy shit!" Hunter grabbed his rifle and reloaded the mag, took him a solid moment to find one that was loaded, he had many empty ones in his jacket. In fact, when he left the modified refugee center, he was carrying about 12 mags? plus what he had picked up form his partner after he died, he was nowhere near that now.

Hunter held Sarah back. "I'm the one with the combat training and the rifle, let me go first, and you cover my ass if things get bad got it?" He really didn't wait for a response, he just didn't want to risk the life of the first friendly person he had seen since the refugee center.

Hunter forced open the door and as soon as he opened it a man fell in @Desire, Hunter wasn't sure much on him so he pushed him to the ground as he fell from the door. At first Hunter held the rifle pointed to him, the he heard the dead behind him. "Sarah! Watch him!" Hunter turned and started firing the assault rifle into the dead. He knew he should have been quieter, though there was too many dead, and in a tight space like this he would be dead trying to use his axe. As he left the door way he saw more coming up the stairs, at that same moment he started seeing flashbacks.

At first the flashbacks were just of the early days, the national guard converting the base into a refugee center, using about a third of the original population, as the rest were dead or AWOL. More images soon flashed, then more, many of his brothers in arms, many of the starving people trying to get food, his friends all scared of the world outside and inside the fences. Then the same word started repeating in his head. "FIRE! FIRE FIRE!"

Hunter switched the rifle to fully automatic, he had the marksmanship skill to take out the dead on the stairs with a few well placed shots, but he was panicking now. Hunter held down the trigger unloading what ammo he had left of the magazine into the few walkers on his flight of stairs, and into the wall behind them. He had killed 4 walkers with about 21 bullets before the gun stopped shooting. It was at that moment when he had realized the position he was in, out of bullets, more dead coming, and more people then he wanted to deal with. "Shit..." he said frozen in fear.

@CandiBarr

[Wade Wilson]

Gunshots. The boy woke up with a start, mere inches away from a drooling torso intent on eating his 12-year-old flesh. He got up with a start, looking around. Damnit, I must've fallen asleep. He traced the source of the noise to an apartment building just up the street. On instinct, he grabbed his bag, securing his knife in its holster, and ran towards it. Towards it. He had no idea why, but his gut led him there. If there were survivors with guns, then they might help him. Then again, they might put a bullet in him, but it was worth the try. After all, he'd ran out of food. The boy kept his legs going, running and running for what seemed like forever, dogdging shuffling corpses as they tried to grab his yellowish skin.

He made it to the apartment block, and saw zombies slowly shuffling their way in. Ugh, what now? With a sigh, the boy cupped his hands around the grey balaclava on his mouth.

"Hey! You gotta help me! I'm down here! Are you survivors too?" He shouted through the thick gray material. Would they even be able to hear him over the sound of the gunshots? He saw a parked up motorcycle, so that meant someone must be there, right? All he could do was dodge zomb- nah, not zombies. That's too basic. What did they remind him of? Oh, yeah - druggies. So all he could do was dodge druggies and hope to god there were some friendlies inside of that building.

[Neo Anderson]

Anthony "Leo" Strayker

Disembodied voice
I've learned the lesson that when you're in the middle of something that seems overwhelming, or you're in a bad situation and it seems like it's the end of the world or whatever, then you learn that it's not. Everything I was afraid of when I was growing up, I've become. I've taken on my nightmares, like the devil and the end of the world, and I've become those things. When you think about it, the end of the world is a little bit like death: We all know it's going to come eventually, and as we get older, we feel we see the signs more and more distinctly. When death finally comes for you, will you fight the icy embrace or will you finally see that the end of our life is not impossible... but inevitable.

Leo sat silently on that old tarnished bar stool, his eye's were set like stones, his elbows resting on that chipped wooden bar top. Around him the entire place was in a complete and utter shamble, tables were broken in half, chairs were strewn piece by piece, blood lined the walls like a bad paint job. One could imagine that once upon a time this bar was a nice little joint to come get a drink with friends, if you listened perhaps you could still hear laughing from drunken cheerful men as they drank away a long work day. It wasn't hard to imagine at all really, very much like those same men could have never guessed the next day their entire world could be turned completely upside down. Who could have guessed that the only remnants of this small tavern would be a broken glass sign that once upon a time must have light up vibrantly the words "Jerrys bar and grill". Leo lifted the shot glass from the bar in front of him, a bottle of scotch sat still next to his still arm. Raising the glass to his lips he took a sip from the cup before slowly placing it back down on the counter. Raising his eye's up from the counter he lay them on a young boy who was probably about the age of twelve, a handsome young man with short cut blonde hair now matted over with blood, bright blue eye's now hazy, teeth that were once as white as a crescent beach gleaming with traces of blood.

Leo reached into his pocket removing a pack of crumpled cigarettes, looted from the floor of the bar when he first arrived, with a silver plated lighter which read "Semper Fi" he lite the cigarette and took a drag off of it with a sudden cough. Normally the man on that old bar stool did not drink or smoke, considering the circumstances however, it seem sort of frivolous now. Taking another long drag from the cigarette he blew the smoke out of his mouth and nose looking at the young boy pinned between the toppled cabinet and the counter in front of him. The young man who once must have been vibrant now made sick scratchy noises as he clomped his teeth and reached his hand towards Leo who was just out of reach from the poor dead soul. His eye's trained on the young mans Leo spoke to him, his voice was deep and scratchy, lightly accented with Italian, a product of his upbringing:

"You know as I sit here and look at you now, I can almost imagine you as the young man you were before all this began. I can imagine that you went to school, that you had a... nice family to go home too. You got fairly good grades perhaps even you were and overachiever with straight A's. I even wager that perhaps you could have had yourself a young love, a girl that you held hands with as you got red in the face when she kissed you on the cheek. Life in all its wonder was just beginning for you even if you didn't know it, and a glorious life I could have imagined it becoming. I guess I reflect upon what your life could have become because my life as a child wasn't exactly perfect or ideal."

Leo took another sip from the glass of scotch in front of him, he looked at the brown liquid swishing it around in the glass some before eventually setting it back down. Leo looked up at the wall of drinks that were actually still in tact as he could still hear the voices even today of his drunken old man.

"Life has always been kind of a now you see it now you don't preposition, just like I see that I am going to have to kill you sooner or later. When I look at life I always saw the same thing, saw that their were two kinds of people, there were the people that were too scared to do what need to be done and the kind of people who did what no one else could do. Growing up under the fear that one day your own father would kill you in a drunken rage, you tend to see life differently then a person who grew up in a good home."

Leo diverted his eye's away from the wall of alcohol and sighed slightly as he finished what remained in the shot glass in front of him, moving his hand sideways he knocked the bottle of scotch off the counter and let it shatter onto the floor. Looking back at the young blonde haired boy his eye's just for the slightest second showed a rather deep sadness as the young man still tried weakly to reach him but ultimately could not.

"It was because of my father that I became what I did, that I chose to help the people in this world instead of destroy them. It was people like him that made me see that there are bad people in the world, and only those who do what needs to be done can help those who can't do it themselves. To be sitting here now... seeing you the way you are is almost... surreal to me. I have never had a problem accepting things for what they were, denial only hastens your death if your unable to adjust to the situations you find yourself in. I was trained to deal with any situation on any kind of field, but this... isn't some field somewhere far away in a hostile country but is the home I protected with my life time and time again."

Leo felt the heat on his lips, the smoke in his mouth burning straight down to the filter that sat between his lips, removing the spent smoke he took it and smashed it on the counter and let it sizzle out. Watching the embers of burning paper and remaining tobacco simmer out into nothing for the briefest of seconds he could see memories from his past like pictures in a book. Leo slowly reached back and grabbed the Kukri from its sheath on his upper back, it zinged as metal edge meant metal before laying the sharpened blade on the counter in front of him.

"If anyone saw me now sitting here in front of you.. they would no doubt think I have lost my mind. As much as I would like to, no matter what I do, I could never deny the situation I find myself in, the situation our way of life finds itself in. In here is just a slight moment of peace, maybe even the last that I may ever see, for I can not avoid the hellish world out there much longer. Then again I have always lived in a world like this, because like I said before there are people who do what others can not so they can live an innocent and care free life. Kids like you who deserved to live a care free life of innocent and happiness, deserved to grow up and change the world frivolous old people like me have formed for you. To prove that there is a way beyond war and deception and death and the spilling of blood. But now... I feel the sun is finally setting on that dream... yep life is a now you see it now you don't sort of preposition.

Leo removed himself from the bar stool as he let his black scuffed boots hit the littered ground of broken wood, glass and spilled blood. Picking up the kukri he looked at the young boy who still even now tried desperately to reach him, to take a bite out of him if he could. Looking at the kukri the edge almost seemed to reflect the man who held it, always taking life so that others may give it. But that time was over, and reality was never kind. Looking at the young boy one last time, there was a quick slash of empty air before the blade found the young boys head, the boys eye's widened at the last second before his small hands fell limply to the counter and his body became still.

"Possa la vostra anima yound trovare la pace in qualunque ci attende quando la vita finisce ... il mio giovane amico."
(May your young soul find peace in whatever awaits us all when life ends... my young friend.)

Leo pulled the blade from the boys head, wiping the small traces of blood from the blade with a piece of scattered cloth he replaced the blade in it sheath and walked towards the door to the bar that was still blocked by the heavy shelf he had heaved in front of it. Reachig the door the same thought ran through his head one last time before he removed the shelf and left:

~Now you see it, now you don't...~

[Exit]

C H A S E
Corner of E. 8th St. and Church
Wilmington, Delaware
@FortunesFaded
---x---

It was an hour long hike from the park to where he stood now. He'd crossed miles of black pavement cracked in the heat of the sun and long stretches of road dotted with abandoned cars and trucks. Twisted metal shells left behind by those who had sought shelter elsewhere. Besides the occasional lone straggler stumbling about on it's own, those lost or left behind, very little happened. For the most part, his run in with the two scavengers from before was the highlight of his day.

Chase had already forgotten about them. The only thing on his mind were the empty buildings around him and the slight pain in his legs. He was tired... or his limbs were. He strode over to one of the cars parked haphazardly on the side of the road and slung his pack over his shoulder and onto it's hood. Fabric met with dirty faded metal and threw bits of dust into the air. He coughed.

"Shit." A hand waved awkwardly in the air in front of him in an attempt to bat away the invading bodies. It wasn't helping. If anything, judging by the reflection of himself in the window, he looked pretty ridiculous.

His short matted hair was damp with the sweat he'd worked up in the evening sun. The skin of his face was caked in a bit of dirt and a lot of blood. A lot. Human blood from the pair of men who'd tried to take advantage of his lapse in judgement. His dark brown eyes were shrouded in pools of a darker red and would have been invisible if not for them being surrounded by white. His lips, after being quenched for a time, were once again dried and tasted of metal. A potent flavor that stung the tip of his tongue every time it touched. The smell burned into his nostrils and filled his lungs. It left him with a odd sensation, as if he'd been drinking and breathing blood for the past hour. It was a wonder he hadn't noticed before. It was a wonder he wasn't already trying to clean the stuff off.

He pressed a thumb to his lips and tried to rub the red away.

...Water...

"Yeah... water."

Chase opened the pack, pulling on the end of a half broken zipper, and let some of the contents fall out. Most of his usual inventory was there save for the one missing water bottle. However he'd come away with more than what he'd started with. Between the two of "them" there were a couple protein bars, an extra can of food, two pairs of socks he'd have to eventually clean, and two handguns. Two... empty handguns. At the time he didn't know what to be more upset about: The fact that they didn't have any bullets to give or the fact that he'd essentially let two unarmed idiots restrain him. He ended up keeping both firearms in hopes that they'd be worth something in a trade.

Chase reached for one of his remaining bottles of water and held it up to the sun. Harsh light filtered through the transparent plastic and hit him in the eye. He blinked a few times as he watched the water dance around inside, beckoning him on. It taunted him, begging him to open the cap and take a small sip... maybe two... maybe drink the whole thing. He was thirsty.

"Yeah I'm fucking thirst-"

...No...

It was also hot.

...

Before he knew it, he could feel the tips of his fingers against the ridged edge of the cap. They twisted and with a little less effort than he'd expected, it fell away defeated exposing the precious fluid inside. He watched himself tip the bottle up to his mouth and after throwing his head back, felt ice engulf his lips. A lapse in judgement. His second for the day. He was on a roll. What followed was a river. Clean, clear and crystal but only for a moment for as he continued to drink so too did the water mix with the blood in his mouth. When he finally pulled back, what water was left had a red tinge to it.

"I'm going to need more."

His resolved suddenly changed. He fished his pack for a piece of white fabric he'd cut from the dead which he intended to use as a signal. Wetting one end of it, he went to work on his face, clearing what blood he could. It wasn't the best job but it would do for now. He simply didn't want to look like the killer he had to become to survive. People were usually more agreeable when you weren't covered in blood.

When he was satisfied, he stuffed the cloth in his pocket and picked up the radio. His plan was to find this "safe" place and with the guns and extra food he'd procured, try and trade for supplies, most importantly... more water. He wasn't going to stay long. The fact that they were broadcasting their location was a dangerous thing, a red flag that was hard for him to ignore. He didn't want to be around if something went down but he also didn't want that something to go down until he had what he wanted. So, just like the others before him, his window of opportunity was closing fast.

He pressed his thumb into the side of the radio and let the static play for a few seconds.

"Eighth street safe zone in Wilmington. Safe zone on Eighth street... Are you still broadcasting on this channel?"

Radio button released.

It'd been a while since he'd heard them say anything over the air and he'd hoped they were still operational, at least for now.

[Komo]

Laura Johnson

It had been a long drive, and this was the end of the line. She had spent hours on the road, and the car would go no further. The dirt-scarred Volkswagen Golf sputtered to a stop, tires slowly coming to a standstill as its fuel tanks finally ran out of fuel. Laura punched the steering wheel in frustration, uttering a swear word, but was silently impressed and grateful at how the car had brought her as far as it did. Travelling from Manhattan, driving south all the way towards Philadelphia. She had no place in mind, but all she knew was she had to leave New York, for it had become the city of dead.

An incredibly dense and populous city, Laura was glad she left the city when she did. If she had left any later, she might have been cut off by the packs of roving dead that now roamed the streets and roads of the United States of America. She stared blankly at what lied before her for several minutes, before snapping out of it. A car had crashed into a road sign, one prominently placed at the side of a main road. If she was right, the sign should inform her of where she was currently at.

Grabbing her khaki backpack from the front passenger seat, she opened the driver's side of the door, and exited the vehicle, slinging on her bag. Dressed in a brown plaid shirt and a matching pair of brown pants, her head was adorned with a equally brown baseball cap, her long blonde hair drawn into a ponytail, sheltering her head from the unrelenting sun. Clad from top-to-toe in brown, she was a total match.

Still gotta look good at the end of the world.

There was always still looking worth living for, the optimistic side of her clearly showing. Walking towards the front of the car, she managed to lift up the sign slightly, just enough for her to read the words printed on it. It was covered in dirt, but the name of the place was still visible. Wilmington. If she was right, that should put her current location somewhere in Delaware. She recoiled in shock as she saw a figure in the car's driver seat, but recovered when she realised that it was but a corpse. Someone had placed a bullet in her head, ending what remained of her miserable existence.

Laura had heard about the signal that was broadcasting from the car radio earlier on. She had totally forgotten that the thing was still even on, most of the radio stations now silent from the lack of power and inactivity. The person broadcasting from it had mentioned something about a safe location, and that was something she had to look forward to. That became a new goal, apart from meeting someone who won't want to kill her. Gun shots then echoed throughout the air, one after another.

Guns meant people.

While she may not be good at using guns, she had one and knew how to use one when she needed to. Quickly making her way on foot towards the source of the shots, she guessed that they were coming from the cluster of apartment complexes ahead.

[McHaggis]

.

[DELETED08734]

"I'll love you forever, even after you're dead"

Sarah wasn't in any rush to deal with all the commotion and was grateful for Hunter@Remipa Awesome, especially for his valiant display of actions. Her light blue eyes relaxed slightly, yet she remained in her position by the window as he moved to open the door. Her grip tightened on the pistol as a man fell through, although she was unable to get a decent look at him until Hunter commanded her to "Watch Him." Her gaze lightened with familiarization as she studied the intruder. She recognized him to be the infamous Cole Anderson@Desire, a quarterback for the Eagles. Yes, she and her husband enjoyed watching football and playing Madden on PS3 together. Although her favorite team was the Texans, she could recognize an abundance of players for the NFL. A soft smile played at her lips, doubting that he mean't any harm. Then again, she was pretty naive and sheltered.

A pause in gunshots forced her attention to the situation outside the apartment door, which was wide open. Hunter stood in the doorway, facing what she only assumed was the onslaught of walkers. Why had he stopped? Assuming he was out of ammo, she quickly moved from the window and peeked at the doorway to get a better view. She counted, four maybe five of the hungry beasts, three were on the landing and two were making their way up the stairs. Stepping out of the doorway while raising her handgun, she quickly aimed and fired five shots. Her first two missed their mark completely, and only seemed to anger the zombies as they closed the distance. Her third shot was a remarkable head shot to the closest walker, which fell clumsily to the concrete landing of the floor. Her fourth shot grazed the cheek of the second walker, but the fifth found it's way home to it's head soon after. He...or actually a she fell to the floor, which tripped the third walker who landed, then ferociously clawed towards her. He was only about eight feet away. Her blue eyes focused down the barrel, aiming for a head shot...but then...

He was fresh, and probably had turned earlier in the day. It was easy to recognize him. His once beautiful brown eyes were now a cloudy grey full of ghostly rage. His clothes were tattered and torn, but she recognized the Raiders jersey that she had purchased for him just last year. Lastly to confirm, her eyes slowly fell upon the white gold wedding ring which glinted slightly beneath the sunlight as he clawed towards her, quickly closing what remained of the distance between them. She saw nothing but her husband as she dropped her pistol in defeat to her side. Steven...

OCC: Went ahead and reduced the number of zombies like the GM requested. Plus I figured I would get this over with. Pain and total loss to come. Be ready for the weeping widow.

[FortunesFaded]

Desmond Williams

Assessing the situation ahead of them, Desmond afforded his partner a quick smirk, before moving to straighten his tie and forgetting that he stopped wearing one back when the dead started to walk and any hanging fashion could have meant a death sentence. He shook off his professional instinct, and raised his Beretta at eye level with the small horde to cover her approach with the combat knife. Breathing steadily, he lined up a shot with one of the tattered corpses and pulled the trigger, but he aimed too low at first and merely obliterated the walker's jaw. Adjusting his aim, the ex-lawyer took another shot, and watched as the bullet burrowed deep between the eyes. The corpse fell to the floor, causing the one behind it to trip. Not the brightest things, Desmond noted, before turning his attention back to his companion.

She had taken down one of her own, but a second had caught her off guard and nearly got to her. Without a second thought, and with the line of sight between himself and the walker clear, Desmond spun on his heel, leveled his gun and took the shot. A spray of blood shot out of the side of its deformed head, and the body crumpled to the ground. They had one left on the ground floor --the one that had tripped over Desmond's first kill and was just now getting on it's feet -- as well as a few more making its way through the open door. Upstairs, Desmond could hear the groans of the dead and the sound of more gunshots, as the disjointed survivors continued to fend off the small horde.
"No rest for the wicked, eh?" He raised a brow at his partner and cracked a smile, before turning his attention back on the fight.

Douglas Knowles

As yet another survivor made contact with their group, Doug's excitement grew, and he was quick to respond.
"We read you; Eighth Street is operational. I repeat, our safe house is operational and the area is relatively clear, over."
He put down the mic and turned to Ron.
"At this rate, we may have to expand into the next building," he said, smiling. Ron just shook his head.
"At this rate, we may all just starve before the dead even get to us."

[Desire]

Cole Anderson

Right as he was about to start shooting, the door unexpectedly open behind him and Cole was suddenly off balanced. Then he was thrown to the ground by a man @Remipa Awesome who had seemingly opened the door. Cole dropped his Beretta, still clutching his knife as he heard the man say something before a stream of bullets whizzed past him. What the hell was happening? Was he shooting him, the zombies?

Getting off his back once the hail of bullets ended, Cole looked up to see that the man seemed like he ran out of bullets for the moment. Seeing this as an opportunity to try to disarm the man before he started shooting Cole, he stood up, led with his shoulder and threw his whole weight into body checking him into the door.

He wasn't aware of the situation of the man, and didn't quite care now as he saw a woman next to him. @CandiBarrShe smiled a little when she saw him, or at least, didn't seem hostile. He remembered that he hasn't closed the visor for his helmet, so most of his face was still showing. Sometimes he forgot that he was deemed "famous". Sort of. Although he didn't have much time to reflect as he followed where her pistol was pointing, and it was at a walker who seemed newly turned.

She must be in shock he thought to himself, as Cole took a step forward to save the two of them from getting eaten as he drove the knife straight into it's temple. The movement stopped from the walker, growing limp as he tried to pull the knife out. There was a zombie directly behind the walker he just stabbed, so Cole decided to pick the walker he had just killed by the collar and ram it into the one behind it. Pushing the pile of two walkers, he pulled out his knife as the two tumbled down the several stairs leading to the bottom. It seemed more people were down there, but they seemed to be doing fine. He'd deal with them soon enough he thought.

Coke reached down and picked up his pistol, pointing it at the doorway as his other hand held the knife, pointing toward the stairwell. He would try to take care of the zombie issue, but first he wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get shot in the back on his way. "Can we agree that those things are the problem and not each other? I'd care not to get shot, if that isn't asking much. I just want to stay alive at this point."

[Komo]

Laura Johnson

A series of pops echoed throughout the air, the distinct tell-tale gunshots reverberating throughout the air. As she got closer, these pops turned into bangs, and they didn't just stop at one or two. They kept going on at irregular intervals, and there were a few times, Laura could hear the staccato of automatic weapon fire. Her gun was still tucked into the waistband of her pants, the safety off.

She didn't want to use it unless she had to, partly for conserving ammunition. Laura eventually arrived at the source of the shots, an apartment complex that was seemingly under siege by a group of walkers. There was a child shouting at the supposed occupants of the building, but they were obviously too occupied with the invasion to even bother about the yelling kid.

She saw two other people in the immediate vicinity, another blonde woman with aviators @McHaggis and a dark-haired man @Fortunesfaded dressed in a suit. He reminded her of a hit-man. They were busy enough dispatching the zombies around them, and so Laura turned her attention back to the child.

Judging from the tone of his voice, she guessed the child@Wade Wilson to be a boy. As she was observing the boy, her attention was demanded elsewhere. Crawling out of the pile of supposedly-dead zombies(if they could die again), was a crawler making his way to the kid, its arms out stretched, yearning for the child's flesh.

He was too busy shouting, trying to get the attention of the apartment's occupants to notice it, and the other pair were busy with walkers of their own.

Unsheathing her kitchen knife, Laura charged forth, thrusting the blade into the back of the crawler's skull. The cadaver lay where it stood, its body now devoid of any life at all. "Watch your back, kiddo."

[Wade Wilson]

Holy shit... A druggie just dropped, mere inches away, now lifeless. He looked around for the source of its death, before his eyes stopped at a blonde-haired woman, who proceeded to speak with an Australian accent.

"Watch your back, kiddo."

The hooded boy acknowledged it with a nod.

"Yeah, got it. Hey, do you know anything about this place? It's just that I'm from Philadelphia, and even then I'm British by birth."

He spoke with much intellect for a 12-year-old boy.

[Shoe Thief]

Hunter Monroe

Hunter was in shock, he was attempting to get the flashbacks out of his head. Here's what he did know though. 1) his rifle had stopped shooting. 2) He was on the ground. 3) The dead were not all dead yet. And 4), what just accorded to him, he's not in the camp. 5) The man that had brought him tot he ground was bigger then Hunter, he could tell that too. 6) Hunter felt if he had to he could take him. Though that wasn't what he was worried about, what he did notice is that Sarah was almost killed, the new man (@Desire) had just saved her. He mentioned something about killing walkers, not each other. Hunter wanted to reply, but his words were still not working. He had to try and snap himself out of this. "FUCK!" He screamed out loud as he stood up.

That was the only thing that he seemed to be able to run through his head at this moment. He stood up and attempted to run past the man, then before passing he stopped and looked at him to speak. "First off, never tackle me again, second..." He looked at Sarah (@CandiBarr), then back to him. "Thank you..." Hunter drew his hatchet. He saw two dead still left, he should be able to take them if he did it right. "Keep ready, I'm going to take these two out, be ready in case something goes wrong." Hunter was trying to take charge, he wasn't at his full ability at the moment, but he knew enough that this had to end soon.

Hunter swung the hatchet right down onto the first infected's head, it dropping on contact. Though he soon realized too much force, even though he had killed it the hatchet was stuck. he had his shotgun still, right? Hunter wasn't sure if he reloaded it or not. The second walker was on him faster then he was ready for it, so he left the hatchet and kicked the walker down the stairs then drawing his shotgun. "Click." the shotgun went as he pulled the trigger. He didn't know if the gun had jammed or if it wasn't loaded, but either way it wasn't shooting. So he did what any semi-sane person would do in his situation. He kicked the walker down again, then landed himself on top of it, beating it to death with the sawed-off. He did this long after he had actually killed it, he only stopped when one of the hits had forced the gun to discharge a shell into the ceiling. The sound of the shotgun had snapped him out of it, when he had realized he had beaten the walker to death, and now was soaked in its brain matter.

[Foster]

@Love Me Dead@LPFan

Will Taggart was a bit flabbergasted at Gabel's behavior, it was as though she was still expecting someone, some sort of authority she could recognize, and until then in her mind she was in charge of the house. Still, the girl was hungry, so was he. Her terms seemed reasonable as he volunteered to operate the stove and make sure not to waste a single precious drop of water boiling-over.

Since she was in the room he decided it was a good time to get to know their hostess:

"So, you waiting for anyone to come pick you up? I heard over the radio there was an aid-station in Wilmington being run on 8th street. They claim to have food and barricades. Doesn't sound like the safest place, but maybe they got sidetracked over to there and lost hope?"

@Foster

*fist-bumped from 2 weeks ago*

[Exit]

C H A S E
8th Street Safe Zone
Wilmington, Delaware
@FortunesFaded
---x---

"We read you; Eighth Street is operational. I repeat, our safe house is operational and the area is relatively clear, over."

Chase nodded for no one in particular. A solid and straight response had been given after only a relatively short time and they were speaking directly to him. No recorded message BS. All good signs pointing to life broadcasting from safety. He needed to make contact.

"It's good to finally hear another voice." Chase began, speaking into the radio and looking to the East down 8th street where he figured the aid station would be. "My names Chase. I'm approaching alone from the East. A white 'flag' will be in my left hand. I'm only looking to trade some supplies. Don't shoot. Over."

---x---

Chase wove himself through dilapidated vehicles as he made his way toward the station. Where he stood now, he could clearly make out the sign affixed to the side of one of the unmarked buildings. Whatever the place was in it's past life was now a forgotten memory. There was nothing there to hint at what that could have been. No labels, no markings, no deteriorating mascot advertising the latest sales... nothing. Just the one sign letting him now that he was nearing safety.

...Let's hope...

Chase fished the bloodied white rag from his back pocket, wrapped it around an enclosed fist and held it up in the air for somebody to see. From here on out, he'd move slowly toward the building until he got some sort of signal that they'd seen him and he was safe to approach.

[DELETED08734]

"I'll love you forever, even after you're dead"

Everything else around her disappeared. All she saw was him. Dropping to her knees, Sarah's' beautiful face fell into a cascade of horror, realization, and total despair, then loss. Her whole body contorted with complete heartache. He reached out for her and she responded by lifting her left hand to his. Their hands connected, and for a moment she was able to ignore his decaying appearance. No. It can't be him. It can't be my husband. He crawled closer and he was almost close enough too....That was when @Desirethe stupid fucking football player brutally drove a knife into her husband's head. "NOOOOOOO!" She screamed, a loud earth shattering cry to the world displaying her fury and disability to fathom the true events that were unfolding before her. Her ice blue eyes teared up while her face changed from fury to utter shock. His body fell limp, his head falling to rest just before her lap. Moving closer, she gripped his body and let the waterfall of tears flow as she mourned the loss of her one and only.

Nothing else mattered. She became completely ignorant of everything that was happening around her. She didn't care if she got eaten. She didn't care about the other men. @Remipa Awesome All that mattered was that he was dead, and she wasn't ready to accept that. She gently held him and ran her fingers through his soft hair. He looked at peace...as long as she ignored the blood and the gory bite mark on his arm. She sobbed softly, lamenting into his ear over and over again how much she loved him. Judging from his appearance. He had almost made it back to her. But almost wasn't good enough. You'd think being a nurse and seeing so many people die before should have prepared for this....but nothing did. Hell, nothing could have ever prepared her for the loss and defeat that overwhelmed her. Now....she had absolutely nothing to look forward too.

[Neo Anderson]

Anthony "Leo" Strayker

Leo's Quote

I've learned the lesson that when you're in the middle of something that seems overwhelming, or you're in a bad situation and it seems like it's the end of the world or whatever, then you learn that it's not. Everything I was afraid of when I was growing up, I've become. I've taken on my nightmares, like the devil and the end of the world, and I've become those things. When you think about it, the end of the world is a little bit like death: We all know it's going to come eventually, and as we get older, we feel we see the signs more and more distinctly. When death finally comes for you, will you fight the icy embrace or will you finally see that the end of our life is not impossible... but inevitable.

Theme Song

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Corner of N.Lombard Street
and
E.7th Street

Bancroft Elementary School
Wilmington, Delaware

Leo felt the cold metal of a wrought iron fence as he stood upon the corner that overlooked an Elementary school named Bancroft, the air was quiet and still where he stood, there were no birds chirping and no animals of any kind making their presence known which was in a lot of cases a bad sign. He on the other hand did not hear anything else such as feet dragging, moaning or otherwise which was a good sign. Drawing his attention back to the large elementary school Leo crossed the car littered street as he looked upon the shattered windows of the school. He spotted no movement, but that in itself did not mean much, at least not in the windows he was looking into. Truth be told schools were not hot spots for scavenging mostly because they are not known for keeping supplies of food that didn't expire, which meant to him that he could possibly find some supplies. However tactically given the large size of the building and the unknown inside he could very well be walking into a virtual death trap. Not to mention his supply of bullets had been dwindled down to practically nothing, Leo walked the perimeter of the school slowly sure to keep his guard up just in case, he counted the entrances into the school there were seven including the main entrance, but there was no telling if he could use them or not in case of emergency. Leo sighed as he put his fingers to his chin and scratched a notable thinking gesture for him as he thought of different scenarios that he could find himself in.

Given he did enter the school he might possibly find students inflicted by the disease whom were still wondering the halls not to mention possible teachers and security whom didn't make it. Then again with everything that had gone on it was very plausible that no one was in the school when the town fell in the first place, no one goes to school when the world is going into chaos. Perhaps of he remained on the first floor only he would reduce his chances of injury or worse, there was after all many broken windows to go through if he did meet a lot of infected inside. At this point Leo had not much to lose and all to gain, there was no victory without risk or sacrifice, Leo made his decision as he approached the main entrance of the school, he would remain on the ground floor just in case and locate materials if any in the school. Pulling one of his Beretta's from its holster Leo silently came up the stone cracked stairs, looking in through the window on the door he saw the main hallway of the school. There didn't appear to be any sign of movement from within, Leo gently held out his hand and made a fist as he pounded on the door and looked through the glass. The noise seemed to echo the empty corridor but he received no immediate response, with a click he pulled on the handle to the door as it clicked and he entered the school. Leo clicked on the flashlight attached to his Beretta an shined it around the front entrance, besides the scatter paper, books, bags, and opened lockers he was completely alone.

The place looked like a war zone, but that was to be expected, after all why exactly would it be any different with a school? Just more naive thoughts that maybe the children could have been spared this hell. Age however didn't matter no more now, everyone was now in the same boat if they wanted to be or not. Leo shined his light up to a sign over a broken door door which read main office, it was as good of a place as any to start. Making his way forward he crossed through the broken door and took a look around, he was careful to check his corners before he proceeded in, old habits never truly died. Looking around the medium sized room it was in shambles like the rest of the school was, even so he did not see any blood on the floors which meant perhaps he had been wrong about looting, and perhaps even more so right about not countering much resistance here. Pipe dreams however were not one of the things he cared for which is why he has stayed alive so long, five steps ahead. The room was clear and besides the countless children's drawing littering the floor there did not seem to be anything of use. Turning from the room Leo went back into the main hallways and made his way down the door lined hall. He preformed the same procedure as before when securing each room he went into, all the doors seemed to be ripped off the hinges which only supported his thought of looters hitting this place already, and it also gave him the thought that perhaps he was not alone right now. Leo eventually came to the end of the hallway where he located one door that was still in tact from a distance, it seemed to be the only door not busted down, in fact he saw an old wooden chair pressed underneath the knob, probably to keep it from being opened.

Walking closer Leo heard noise coming from the room, his immediate thought was that given the evidence there was infected trapped in there so he approached with caution. Getting in front of the door he looked through the glass still in center of the door, it was spider webbed but still visible. He didn't see anything at first, but when a gray colored hand hit the glass his heart jumped slightly as he put his gun up and shined the flashlight. He heard the moans from inside, the moan of a child, approaching the glass again he cautiously looked in and soon wished he hadn't. The room has several bodies in it, most of them looked dead, he could see the puddles of blood on the floor. The hand that had smacked the window belong to a young boy who had shambled back into the room not fully aware that Leo was even there. The child seemed to be the only movement he could see, however he tapped the door a couple times and kept looking through, the only movement was the child the bodies on the floor remained motionless. Leo couldn't leave the kid like this, looking down he slowly put his hand on the chair and removed it from under the knob as the door slowly clicked up. Leo put his free hand back as he grabbed the kukri from his back and took some steps from from the door. Moments later the young brown haired kid stumbled through the door and instantly caught sight of Leo and started to move towards him his hands stretched out. From looking at him he wasn't any older then eight or nine, probably the reason why the looters couldn't kill him. Leo on the other hand... well this wouldn't be the first time he had to take the life of a young child he was ashamed to admit, which is why it came easier for him.

Leo waited patiently as the boy limped his way up to him, Leo prepared the kukri when the boy was close enough Leo slammed the blade down and struck the young man in the head, blood sprayed sideways as Leo removed the blade, the young man fell to the floor with a soft thump and did not move again.

"Riposa in pace piccolo"
(Rest in peace little one)

Leo wiped the blood on a near by torn banister and replaced the blade walking past the young man and back to the classroom, he entered the room shining his flashlight around securing his corners, however thankfully the young boy was the only one in there. Just in case thought Leo kicked each body with his feet an backed away but they were motionless as before. Leo made his way over to the desk on the fall wall and took a look underneath it just in case before he sat down on the edge of it, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a rather tarnished photograph and looked at it.

Turning the picture over there was a child's handwriting on the back on bright blue pen that had faded much by now but he could still read it in his mind word for word:

Dear daddy
I took this picture for you
in hopes that while your away
That you will never forget me
An always come home

Love
Katie

If Leo had but one regret in life it was that he allowed his work to consume so much of his time where he could have been spending it with her. So many wasted years protecting this country, putting his life on the line, sacrificing for his family so that they could be safe at night. To be alive now and know what the world was becoming it all seemed damn pointless, the very country he protected was now devouring itself from the inside out. An there was not a thing he could do about it. Now he had nothing to hold on to, nothing to kill the pain, just his thoughts, memories he could not escape, regrets that eat at him every second of every day. If there was a hell for him, this would be it and he couldn't deny he deserved to be here now. The only reason he would not kill himself was because he deserved to be here to suffer like they suffered and to live with that fact that he would probably never see his little girl ever again. Leo stood up abruptly and flipped the desk he was sitting on over to the ground in frustration as he closed his eye's and took a deep breath. What the hell was he even doing here? Why the hell was he trying so hard to survive when it was nothing but a fruitless gesture, when he knew that there was not a damn shred of hope?

"Promise me you will always come back to me Daddy."

Leo opened his eye's as the last words his daughter spoke to him flashed through his head as he slowly looked down at the photograph sighing deeply as he slowly returned it to his pocket. She was alive, she had to be somehow someway she was out there somewhere and he had to find her no matter the cost. Leo turned from the desk as he walked towards the door when he suddenly heard static come from behind him. He could heave swore he heard voices through the static. Turning around he pointed his flashlight at the floor, moving it around the edge of the room he saw a black device near the far edge of the wall. Walking over he picked it up realizing it was a short range walkie talkie, the fact it was still working was surprising enough as he turned it over in his hand looking at it. He heard more static, walking towards the broken window he slowly pressed in the button and spoke:

"Is there anybody there that is still alive? Over."

He listened for a couple seconds not really expecting any kind of response but maybe just maybe there was still some kind of hope out there, and as long as Katie was out there he would look for it.

[FallenTrinity]

John

It didn't take long for the two of them to arrive at the building the radio was buzzing about, a few people had seemed to show up and John could only imagine what horrors these individuals saw...as far as this outbreak went. He still had much more horrific stories about his military escapades but they were for another time, maybe never. However, at this moment he needed to get inside so as they pulled up he got on the radio.

"Captain Krueger to 8th street. Captain Krueger to 8th street. We have arrived and need immediate entrance over..." After making the response he would hold his rifle in a way that would allow quick movement for aiming if necessary but not enough to immediately escalate a possibly simple situation into something more serious. However as he sat there waiting for a response he noticed a figure approaching the building. He couldn't get a great visual on him, assuming it was a him, so he raised his rifle up to look through the scope, ignoring the chick next to him declaring "don't shoot him" and what not. He peered into the scope to take a good look.

"Ok..." He mumbled to himself as he opened the door to the car, placed his bag on his back and got out. His rifle was in a cautious position in case the man was to try something rather stupid. He bagan to approach him but stopped 15ft to his side. "You get a call from this place to?" He asked, more in the form of a comment rather than a question. His 1,000 yard gaze never left the man's figure, watching for even the slightest movement for a gun. The last thing he wanted was to have to kill someone he would have otherwise protected. @Exit

[Exit]

C H A S E
8th Street Safe Zone
Wilmington, Delaware
@FallenTrinity
---x---

He hadn't been paying attention. So focused was he on his destination, so loud the noises in his head that when John finally spoke up, he'd already gotten out of the car and strode to within twenty paces of one another. The comment that followed, although meant as nothing more than a simple prod, was the violent jolt that brought Chase back into the now.

"You get a call from this place too?"

He'd frozen mid step with his hand still in the air and his eyes having snapped to the source of the invasive unfamiliar voice. There before him stood a bearded bald man with rifle in hand dressed in military attire. Resting behind him was a car and inside the car was a woman who was noticeably easy on the eyes. Blonde. Blue eyes. He guessed they were blue. It was usually blue and he couldn't really see from where he was standing so he colored them in himself. She been trying to say something to the man or had tried but he'd been ignoring her, so intent was he to keep his focus on the stranger before them both. An understandable gesture but quite the unexpected situation. Although it varied, Chase had been in similar situations before and more than once: Held at gun point. Not standing in front of an aid station with what could have been his dick rag as far as the other guy was concerned.

Chase looked again to note that although the rifle was up and probably loaded... possibly, it wasn't necessarily pointing at him. The barrel was simply staring in his general direction, ready to speak if need be; bark if it's owner felt so inclined. And the owner? Dressed as if he'd just stepped off Battleship New Jersey itself... or perhaps he'd simply slipped off and gotten lost. The point was that he was military and most military men had a code. Most.

The women in the car however was the defining factor in what would eventually culminate in his response. She was simply there. There and alive. And not sitting silent either. She had a voice and she was using it. Most of the men Chase had come across abandoned civil rights the moment shit hit the fan. They didn't even need the living dead as a reason. If no one else cared, neither did they. Women had become objects to own. They were bartered and traded with, used, made to be resources or even less. Such was not the case here as she was clearly being protected.

The two strangers he'd just happened upon? They could have been his best friends as far as he was concerned.

"Yeah." Chase nodded. "Radio broadcast lead me here. And you?" Chase returned the question, his hand still in the air and his eyes on John. Despite liking the two of them, he knew looks could be deceiving and things could go south real quick.

"You uh get the same messages?"

Chase secretly hoped John would say no.

[Shoe Thief]

Hunter Monroe

@CandiBarr@Desire

Hunter stood up, soaked in the brains of the walker he just beat to death. He still had the shotgun in his right hand, he didn't know what to do with it, so he just held it. He soon walked over to the walker with his ax in its skull, and eventually pried it out of its head. He then proceeded to walk up the stairs again with the ax in one hand, and the sawed off shotgun in the other. Until he was face to face with Cole. He looked at him dead in the eyes, then he looked at Sarah crying over the dead walker. Hunter recognized who it was from the pictures. He then looked back at Cole. "Thank you... for saving her." He knew that situation had three outcome. One: She died. Two: He killed the walker, and she hated him for the rest his life. Three: Anderson killed him, and Hunter didn't have too.

Hunter walked over to Sarah, and put down his weapons. Not necessarily away, just down and out of the way. He then sat down next to her as she cried over the dead man. Hunter was never good at these situations, so he did the only thing he could think of to do. He pulled her close and hugged her. "I'm so sorry. Losing those closest to you is the hardest thing that a person can go through."

[Desire]

Cole Anderson

@Remipa Awesome@CandiBarr

A lot of things happened very quickly, and Cole just stood there, a little on edge, but just taking the scene in. As soon as he had saved the woman's life, as she was about to get eaten alive, she started to ball her eyes out, screaming and crying. No, not because he saved her. He seemed very pissed off at that. She started crying into the walker, stroking it's hair and crying. He didn't really understand why, maybe she knew whoever that man was. But he was just glad she was alive.

He didn't have much time to reflect as soon there after, the military guy burst from the doorway and started to flip out on him. Telling about not pushing him, then suddenly looked at the crying girl, then thanked Cole. The football player just nodded his head, kind of raising an eyebrow as the guy went absolutely ballistic on the two surviving zombies. One got an axe to the head, and the other got beat with a shotgun until it discharged and almost killed Hunter. "Did I walk in on the crazy farm?" he whispered to himself.

Cole slid the pistol into the back of his jeans, tucking the knife away before lifting off his biking helmet and holding it to his hip. Now that he wasn't in any immediate danger, it was getting hot. Putting a hand through his soft brown hair, Cole nodded as Hunter thanked him yet again before running up to the girl, putting down his guns, and hugging her. It was just getting weirder and weirder, and that was besides the wild cannibals.

"So, uh... If you can point me out to some gasoline, I'll be on my way. You guys look like you... Need a moment. Or five."