![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
[Intro Log #01] Enjoy your new vacation home
| INTRO LOG #01 |
The Crash  You're buckled into a sturdy seat bolted to the wall behind you. Around you, there are dozens of others like you, some awake and others still unconscious, but it seems most of the seats lining the walls are occupied. The lights are dim, likely auxiliary lighting, leaving you mostly in the dark. You smell smoke and hear the sizzling crackle of electrical systems popping and shorting out. Some of the seats were jarred off the wall, leaving the occupants either wounded or dead. Count yourself lucky all you have is a headache and various aches accounted to whiplash. You appear to be in a drop ship or an escape vessel of some form but the pilot is dead and the hull bears a massive gash where it buckled under the impact and sheered off. Through the door-sized opening, you can see vegetation. The air that wafts in is heavy with a humid heat, but it's obviously breathable. Once you make your way outside, you'll see greenery: Trees, grass, and shrubs tangled with vines that grow wildly and suffocate the trees they climb. In the distance, behind the ship, you can make out a sandy desert that seems to stretch on endlessly. Forward through the trees, however, you may see a crumbling wall, but more importantly, you'll see signs of civilisation. Buildings and other structures seem contained within those decrepit walls. Maybe the natives can fill you in on what's going on, because the last thing you remember isn't being in an escape shuttle. As a matter of fact, you don't remember much about your arrival or where you are. But it's going to be a bit of a hike, better get moving. Though you might want to grab the backpack of supplies under your seat before you go. With that, the power dies, leaving the drop ship in the dark, crackling and groaning as the hull cools from its catastrophic re-entry. [Mod Note: In case you missed the testdrive, this is your chance to play out your arrival or any other intro CR] Traversing the Forest  Hopefully you took the time to set up your small ear piece. Once inserted into the ear, the device will prompt you for your name. Once spoken, the device in your ear will be given its own address and all someone has to do is tap the button on their ear piece, speak "private to" then their friend's name, and it will open a private channel to the comm device coded with that name. Open radio signals can be sent by simply tapping the button and speaking. Once you reach the city gates, you will find a mass of corpses piled against the closed gates. These corpses will stir when they catch the scent of the survivors or hear their approach. You may want to take care of the dormant infected before they fully regain awareness. Or, you know, trip the closest person to you and run like hell. Maybe they'll be too distracted chewing on your former friend to follow... Once inside the city, you'll meet its only surviving occupant. He's a bit unique and a bit... well... he's unique. ⨷ TK Baha's Warm Welcome  ⨷[TALK] "Smells like livin' folk. Yer just lucky I got no munitions left." "Naw, ain't seen nothin' worth shootin' in a long time. Heehee! Ohhh-hoo boy, you lot've seen better days. Well, come on over here and git that gate shut before somethin' with an appetite thinks we're open for business." TK smiled and laughed again, beckoning the shipwrecked survivors to come closer. "Let's see. First things first, you lot gotta have somewhere to stay. Hotel's open an' prices 're cheaper than ever! Forgive the staff, they ain't too lively, though if you know what I mean. Heeheehee! You get it, right? 'cause they're all dead. Make yerselves at home. You're gonna be here a while." TK pulls out an old, worn, folded pamphlet and holds it out. There are plenty to go around. "This here's a tourist's guide ta everythin' ya need to know. Or, well, kinda some of it. Anyway, it's useful. Take it. The name's TK Baha and I been around these parts a while. Anything you need, you let me know, okay?" "You got a good set a' legs, right? See, I gotta ask you a favour. I ain't been keeping up with things. Gonna need you to find me a power cell for this here transceiver. Think I stashed the last one at the hotel reception desk. Or was it the minimart? The fuel station? Anyway, you get me that and I'll get this here piece of scrap workin' again." |
Network | Logs | OOC Taken Characters | Reserves | Applications | Activity Check Rules | Setting | Locations | FAQs | Deaths | Wanted | Hiatus | Drop Item Request | Plot Suggestions | Navigation |
City Wall
Everything had seemed like a fun adventure up until that point. Now the reality of things was sinking in.
She stood as tall as she could despite wanting to go and hide. Her eyes were wide and quickly filling with tears as she tried to figure out the logic in what had happened. She needed to know what had happened in order to try and understand. Once she understood the feelings she was having for the first time everything would be easier.
"What do you think -"
She tried to speak to someone that was nearby but the sound of stirring among the pile of bodies got her to stop talking and start backing away instead. Her hand went to her backpack, where she fought to try and get the knife she had been given out. They needed to get through the gates or find another way in.
no subject
It was an impassive answer, Gamora showing neither fear nor any particular curiosity in the phenomenon of dead bodies that yet moved. Following that were the quiet thuds of her setting her own packs down on the dusty ground, freeing up her own arms for what may come. A fight, she assumed. She was usually right.
"Get behind me," she tore her gaze away from the pile of bodies to look at Athena only as she said that. Her tone was stern, implying it wasn't just a suggestion. Then, she jerked her head back towards the gates, where one of the first twitches corpses was trying to crawl its way out from under the rest.
"Do you remember what I told you about where to cut, if you're attacked?"
no subject
"I remember. But is there any point in going for vital areas on things that already look dead?" She saw Bucky stab through someone's head and knew that was what likely needed to be done. She just didn't want to have to do that. It all seemed so gory.
no subject
"I know," she said, finally making a move to draw her own knife. "Forget what I taught you earlier for now. I get the feeling the only vital area is going to be their skull."
Which, as considered previously, was not favoring the girl.
"I'm going to go over there and deal with this one. If you don't want to watch, do not close your eyes. Turn and watch the forest instead."
As Gamora wouldn't want anything else to get the drop on them, not while she was occupied. All that said, she remained where she was, waiting to hear a confirmation before making any further move.
no subject
Her eyes were intensely focused on the pile of bodies, and she saw it jostle. There were more movements, like something was trying to get out from beneath the mess. She wanted to run over and stand with Gamora but knew that would make them both vulnerable.
So she kept her eyes on the others that were beginning to stir, her mind quickly working to figure out the best angle to run and tackle one down so she could stab it in the head.
no subject
"Fine," she said out loud, an acknowledgement of Athena's choice, and then went on, stepping away from in front of her and closing the distance between herself and the zombie in fast, distance-eating strides.
On reaching it, it made a weak grab for her ankle, one which was only met with her shaking it off and immediately stepping down, hard, on the offending hand. The crunch of bones in that case was too delicate to hear, but when Gamora knelt down and, knife pulled, drove the blade through a weaker point in the creature's head, there was a loud crunch. Not much of one, but more audible.
It was with that quick motion that she put it out of its misery. It gave one final twitch, then nothing, and she was free to focus on what else was beginning to stumble out of the rest of the pile.
"So that does work..."
no subject
She rushed forward toward one of the smaller ones that was pulling itself up and out of the pile. She waited until it was free and standing before moving into a crouching motion that enabled her to sweep her legs and knock the zombie down. She leaped forward to strike, her first attempt missing entirely. The second only grazed the side of the head and it took a third try before she finally got it right.
As the zombie stopped moving she stared and tried to remove her knife with shaky hands. The sound it made was repulsive and she nearly gagged. She couldn't believe she had just done that. It wasn't the same as killing, she knew. These people had been dead for a long time.
"Daryl said it would work." She was clearly fond of Daryl and spoke as if he were the authority on handling the dead come back to life.
no subject
Rather than saying anything, she acted, freeing her own knife as she launched herself from her own target towards Athena. A hand shot out to grab her by the back of her shirt, to yank her back, as yet another of the zombies lurched up and forward, moving faster than the last two.
no subject
This faster moving one needed to be brought down. Athena turned to swiftly move in close, crouching down in order to gather enough momentum to launch herself upward. Even with the added effort her knife gets nowhere near the zombie's head. She hasn't vocally shown her fear but now she screamed as it moved even faster toward her. The look, smell, and sound of one of the undead up close and attacking frightened her in a way that made her want to run. Grabbing hold of Gamora's hand, she tried to do just that.
"We should go."
no subject
"No, we need to--" Looking down at Athena was a mistake. The zombie that had already been after the girl slammed straight into Gamora instead, both of them going down in a pile. Athena, too, if she wasn't quick to let go.
Though now that the speedy one had a new target, the girl was forgotten as it instead fought with Gamora on the ground. She managed to keep the head and teeth pushed away, but her knife had been lost in the tumble.
"...damn it... Go, just go!"
She suspected she would be fine, but Athena had wanted to run. It might be easier that way.
no subject
She hurried to her feet and found her knife on the ground. She picked it up and ran over to help Gamora, making a few strikes before hitting the zombie in the head.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, feeling tears in her eyes as she watched the thing slump downward toward Gamora. That had to be disgusting.
"But I can't stay here." She retracted her knife with some effort and gave Gamora a sad look before turning and running away. This all was too much for her to process.
no subject
No knife needed when she could punch it in the face, driving what bones of its nose were left up into the brain. That done, she spared one last look in the direction that Athena had run off, then pushed herself back to her feet.
She turned, now to face the other corpses that were rising, drawing the second knife she had as she did.
If they wanted to be difficult, then, by all means, let them...
no subject
But when they come up to the city wall, and the pile of bodies, even he has to pause a moment. But it’s less shock, more just… deep sorrow. He’s seen things like this before. Seen the dead lying in the streets like stray litter, ignored and left out like meaningless husks. Turning his head, he looks for the girl again, and sees about what he’d expected. Horror, sadness, shock. Shuffling over a couple steps, Thomas carefully raises a hand to touch her shoulder.
“Hey. Just… try not to look, okay? Don’t think about it.” That’s all he can really tell her, because there’s nothing that makes this better. Nothing that excuses it or explains it or diminishes the horror of it. It just is, and you have to try your best to purge it from you.
Not that there’s much time to talk that over, because something’s stirring under there already. Hahahahha maybe… not… just bodies…
“Shit, we gotta go. We gotta go now.”
no subject
"If I don't see this now, I'll have to later. It will be worse then."
She glances down at his hand on her shoulder and smiles. He's kind. Trying to make her feel better. She's in the middle of bringing her hand up to touch his when he tells them that they have to run. Instead of touching his hand, she grabs hold of it and starts quickly moving. She's small but fast, and good at dragging boys along after her.
"Where do you suggest we run to? It's dangerous to go too far, we'll have to stand and fight eventually!"
no subject
well. for that single moment, they weren't.
gripping her hand, he moves with her, towards the treeline they'd just emerged from, trying to form up some kind of plan in the few seconds they have before the infected get to them.
"You ever fought a crazy person before?" Serious question - they come from all kinds of places. But she's right in that they can't get too far from the group, and going back the way they came isn't going to get them anything, and might send them right into more of these. "If you have, we'll fight. If you haven't, I'll give you a boost and you can get up in that tree."
Pointing at the one with a low enough branch Athena could get to it with Thomas' help. However, he didn't say he's coming with into the tree. Because yeah, they have to fight, and he has fought things like this before, at least.
no subject
She didn't mind learning how to fight but was feeling frightened and overwhelmed. That meant no arguing from her as she headed over to the tree and jumped so she could grab hold of the nearest branch and work to pull herself up. She climbed up high enough that she had a good view of him and the undead around them.
"Look to your left, there's two approaching!"
no subject
But a kid was here. A goddamn kid, and Dean couldn't help but want to impart some kind of comfort. Wisdom, maybe. Not that he was any good at it, but no kid should have to live through this, let alone live through it alone.
Even if now wasn't really the time, especially with the stirring undead, leaving Dean to freeze and immediately try to navigate the girl out of the way.
"How 'bout you finish that sentence once we find a way inside."
Dean, sadly, did not have a knife in his pack. He was underwhelmingly equipped for this at the moment which was only proving to be that much more annoying (on top of everything else.) But there had to be a way in that didn't involve going through the horde of zombies, and he was going to get this kid through it pronto, as climbing over the pile would undoubtedly not work the way he imagined it.
no subject
"We need to find another way inside. If there's a hole in the wall somewhere, I could fit through it."
That wouldn't exactly help anyone else to have her be inside the city alone, but maybe if she was let in she could figure out a way to open the gates and get the bodies out of the way at the same time. It was optimistic she knew but everyone needed some blind optimism right about now. More than that, they needed to have a child around that wasn't going to be a burden. So she had to try and keep a calm head and figure out a way to be useful.
no subject
Didn't change the fact that the plan? Still sucked. And yet he couldn't dwindle on it any longer, grumbling under his breath before he finally finalized the idea with a nod, starting to move along the wall.
"Best plan we're gonna come up with on the spot. You look, i'll watch them." Which was really just a fancy way of saying that he'd kick up a fuss if they decided they could start moving faster. Which was a very possible threat, all things considered.
no subject
"You'll need this. Aim for their heads, it's the only way to put them down permanently."
She gave him a parting glance and a timid smile before setting off to look for a hole large enough to fit through. She was hoping to find one everyone could be able to climb through so that she didn't have to go in alone. The sound of rustling movement from the bodies around made her move slower than normal, like she'd be able to sneak around them if she walked on her tiptoes.
no subject
"I got it, kid. You get yourself outta here."
Dean doesn't even stop to watch her go, instead focusing the brunt of his attention on the oncoming zombies. There's no reason to hurry the situation or encourage the undead to rush him and so he takes slow steps backwards, hoping that maybe they won't catch on. Like if they keep it all up at the same pace, they'll never even reach him. Which is... entirely unlikely but hey, a guy can dream. Especially since they're already dragging their feet that much faster and Dean can't deny the urge to start something, slowing to purposefully hold his ground.
no subject
Abandoning that idea she took to trying to find a tall enough tree that she could reach the top of the wall and just jump over. The issue with this idea was that when she climbed up high enough, she could see the man who had her knife and was holding his ground against the oncoming undead.
"Be careful!" She shouted out to him. "Don't lose my knife, I need it back as soon as you've disposed of them!" This attracted the attention of some of the nearby zombies who gathered at the bottom of the tree. It looked like she was stuck up here for the time being.
no subject
The girl's voice however broke through the shuffling of feet and Dean glanced around until he found her... waiting in a tree. Okay. That's unexpected, and potentially a hideous idea. What if she fell out? What was she doing anyway, trying to jump across? Did she have any experience with this - was Dean going to have to climb up there and get her out like a kitten?
This just got better and better.
"No you be careful!" Dean realized how shoddy of a response that was almost immediately and he groaned to himself, trying to remember how to sound like an actual adult. "Your knife's gonna be fine, you just watch yourself up there. Don't need you falling out and cracking your skull open."