NationStates Jolt Archive

Diary of Lt. Buck

Excerpt February 18, 2022 (two weeks after invasion ends)

It would begin on this very day 8 years ago in the small town of Chapelean in central Colorado. Right before my unit was ordered to evacuate the nearby town of Colorado Springs, I was of no fear of what could happen to my country. Everyone was confident that we could destroy any threat. We had artillery, airsupport, even tanks, but we had no idea what would charge out of the brushes on that faithful day and peirce the skull of my first officer. We were young, brave, and a little cocky. After that hellish ordeal we would never again underestimate whatever we fought.

The town was already in some panic. Hundreds of people who once had winter wonder land homes were now refugees running past the clueless national guardsmen walking down the streets and the confused homeowners. It was two weeks after Christmas and the mood was warm and cheery and it abrutly ended. National television already called it the zombie invasion of 2014. My first officer Lt. Brown ordered us to put up defensive positions along the river which would be our first line of defence in the Zombie invasion. We had plentiful ammunition, tons of sandbags, and too much confidence. School busses, cars, ambulances streaked across the bridge just miles ahead of the advancing hords.After that hellish ordeal we would never again underestimate whatever we fought.

The town was already in some panic. Hundreds of people who once had winter wonder land homes were now refugees running past the clueless national guardsmen walking down the streets and the confused homeowners. It was two weeks after Christmas and the mood was warm and cheery and it abrutly ended. National television already called it the zombie invasion of 2014. My first officer Lt. Brown ordered us to put up defensive positions along the river which would be our first line of defence in the Zombie invasion. We had plentiful ammunition, tons of sandbags, and too much confidence. School busses, cars, ambulances streaked across the bridge just miles ahead of the advancing hords.

____________________________________

Current Zombies: 3,546

THis is the zombie RPG. You are only characters in Divided America but maybe your nation will be under seige to in the near future. Untill now, you are Divided American citizens either soldeirs, homeless people, police officers, etc.

No supermen/ No termanator guys with super guns/ everyone is easily at risk/ the best you can be is a squad leader or police cheif but no generals or presidents. Maybe govonors......

Follow the story a little bit and have a little interaction but I dont want to have this strict game where you have to design this character sheet. Post more than one reply utherwise I might delete it. GOOD LUCK and dont screw up the story.

sry, didnt know i was posting multiple threads but only post your story hear and DONT delete this one

OOC: So....this is the actual thread? None of the others count?
And what are the zombies like? Can they only be kileld with brain trauma? Can they run? Do they need to feed on humans to survive? How smart are they? Etc. Have the zombies come before?

IC:

Captain James Leiho of the DA special forces stood in the churches steeple, beside his gunner, Sgt. Donald Hemsfield. He looked at the panicked city below, smiled a little grim smile, and raised the binoculars again.
"They aren't even a mile away and the fools on the bridge aren't anywhere near ready. Look at them; too confident, you can tell. They're in that hot body armor and too eager to blast someone with those shiny new guns. At least they've got their barricades set up right."

The seargent looked up and nodded. "Best lock and load, Captain. They'll be here soon."

"And there's a hell of a lot of them," Leiho agreed. He climbed out the window and hauled himself onto the roof of the church, where he set up his rifle, checked the scope, and waited.

Below, the city started to fall apart.

Officer Benteen sat in the lobby of the heavily barricaded precinct, his shotgun loaded and clenched between his fingers. the station was made up of about 150 officers however only 64 officers had remained at the station.
SWAT and other heavy response units had been deployed towards the beginning of the outbreak supported by average patrol officers out of the 76 officers deployed 8 had survived and returned to the station only 3 of them were SWAT meaning that most of the stations heavy weapons were lost in the city.

Benteen new that if or more like when the zombies attacked, the station would not stand a chance. an attempt to hold the zombies on the mane street had failed costing many lives and now the precincts 72 remaining officers may be the only police presence left. The gunfire had subsided now only the odd shot was heard every so many hours most likely from a vigilante. the shots were too scattered to come from an organized force.

they had no choice but to sit and wait

((OCC. I would love to join in. Can we make the Zombies a cross between World War Z Zombies and 28 Days later Zombies? Also may I please join as a UK resident as I have only visited the US once.))

Brian Stell sat in his apartment looking out at the carnage below. The zombie hordes had laid ruin to the streets below and continued on with their slaughter. Brian Stell had locked his door and had collected objects that could be used as weapons like his pistol, a knife and a baseball bat. The rest he would have to acquire if he ever dared venture out of his safeoe. He didn't know about the situation of the other inhabitants of the building. Who knew which ones had been affected and who was holed up like him. Attempts to call other flats had let to no one picking up but he tried again.

ring...ring...click

Someone had answered.

"Hello! Hello! Are you there?"

"grr...

Brian slammed the phone down. It seemed he would have to fight to survive.

The small 100 man Army UCENF(UnConventional Enemy Neutralization Force) team thought they knew what they were against. All given durable D5 semiautomatic rifles, and a host of other stuff, they felt that this was to be just one of those minor skirmishes.

So they went to Colorado in a T-1331 cargo aircraft

But there were much too many. When they landed, they caught the bulk of the zombie horde, about 100,000 coming from Denver. They retreated, but lost all but 10 men, which was the 3rd Platoon.

The 10 men were well off, taking the firearms and the ammunition from their fallen comrades, and taking M1 Garands, M1903 Springfield rifles, U.S. Enfields, and M14's from the nearby Air Force Academy.

Soon, they had established a redoubt, but they were effectively out of action....

OOC: Colorado Springs has the USAF school.

((OCC. I would love to join in. Can we make the Zombies a cross between World War Z Zombies and 28 Days later Zombies? Also may I please join as a UK resident as I have only visited the US once.))

ooc:I'm thinking it's WWZ zeds, because from what I remember, Rage Virus Zombies don't attack en masse, they're too fast to mob up.

This sucks then, because only shutting the brain down via severe head trauma or headshots work. In 28 Days/Weeks/Months(coming up) Later, They had MG's, which meant the brain wasn't like WWZ where it was completely self-sufficient.

OOC:
I say we make the zombies WWZ-type Zed heads. Which means they are infected with Solanum, have a 'lifespan' of about 3 years, and can live completely dependant of oxygen. Only intense brain trauma kills them. However, to make it interesting, why don't we give the zombies enhanced capabilities, like a fully-functioning brain or ability to reason?

By the way, Londim and Krapickstan--where are you, exactly?

IC:
The zombies hit the bridge. People too slow were ripped apart.
The soldiers entrenched on Leiho's side of the river opened fire with tanks, artillery, machine guns, grenade launchers--everything they had.
"Stop it," said Leiho to himself, watching through his scope. "save your ammo." Even with his scope, he couldn't see the end of the horde. It seemed to stretch all the way past the mountains in the distance.
The bridge gave a warning creak and seemed to shudder.
Through the smoke, the zombies advanced. Intestines hanging loose, skin burned off, bones broken--if its brain was intact, it didn't stop. Leiho knew the men on his side of the river wee panicking. They weren't trained for this. They were unleashing everything they had...to no effect.

Leiho watched as the first zombies swarmed the barricades. The men opened up with their rifles, handguns, or grenades, some commiting suicide rather than become zombies themselves. Soon the entire horde was stumbling, climbing or falling over the barricades while panicked men retreated. Those who stayed and fought were shredded.
Those who ran found themselves caught in a mess of panicked cars and people, unable to move while the zombies apporached.

Leiho took deep breaths and waited.

From the National News On-Scene.

Last interview of Pvt. William Anderson.

January 8th, 2014.

When we were ordered into Colorado, we had no idea what we were destined for. We had heard some strange horror stories, of zombies and such. We assumed that it was just some sort of story, but since we had lost contact with several police and National Guard forces in the area, it was sufficiently serious. On the flight in we were light hearted, laughing. But there was a dark humor, something big was coming and we knew it.

Chapelean-

We began setting up road blocks on the bridge out of town, ahead of us were miles of refugees, cars, ambulances, trucks, everything. We believed that we could handle anything. With our new weapons, and armor support, it would be easy, right?

Last Recording (Helmet Cam)-

"Well, it looks like that's the end of the refugees. So where are these big bad zombies?"

10 minutes elapse.

"Hey guys! Over there Holy Sh** look at all of them!"

*Various Shouting*

"They're getting closer!"

"Open fire!"

*Sounds of gunfire and tank fire*

"It's not working! They're still coming! They're reaching the barricade!"

*Various screams mixed with gunfire*

"Get the F*** off of me! Aaaah! Help me! Oh god! Help me!"

"Retreat! Everyone retreat!"

*Gunfire fades away*

"Oh god... it hurts... I don't- no! They're coming back! Get away from me you Bastards! Aaah!"

*Screaming fades away. Sounds of chewing*

"Haaaaa, grr..."

-Camera malnfunction-


(OOC: Before I go any farther, is it alright to have maybe a zombie character, since we're making them pretty smart could it work?)

OOC: My character is in Denver, Colorado.

IC:

Brian opened the door and took a step out. The corridor was deserted and very quiet. He moved slowly towards the nearest door and went to knock. As his hand touched the door it creaked open. Brian looked in. The remains of a dinner were on the dining table.

"Hello?"

Silence. Another step into the apartment ad he saw what he dreaded. On the floor lay two bodies. Two women, middle aged, possibly sisters. As he looked one twitched and moved. Brian fired, the body stopped moving.

((OCC. So can I be a British Resident?))

Benteen was asleep after just finishing his guard duty sleeping in the homicide office above the lobby, he had gotten used to the moan of the zombies however a louder more ferocious sound awoke him and before benteen and the other officers could respond a large articulated lorry smashed through the lobby the momentum carrying the truck through to the to the back of the precinct.
Benteen grabbed his shotgun and descened the stairs joined by 30 other officers that had risen from there sleep however nothing could prepare them for what they were about to encounter.
the lobby was a mess a large gaping hole sat were there was once a large barricade, about 10 zombies had already wondered in and begun to munch on the wounded officers Benteen realized the situation was dire and decided to turn and run for the vehicle depo.

OOC: Its not my thread, but I dont see why you cant be a UK resident.
IN case I didnt make it clear, Im in Chapelean, colorado.

IC:
Hemsfield's machine gun opened up first, followed by the blister and crack of the rest of the squad's rifles.
They were trained in unorthodox warfare and were at home with zombie threats. Each of them knew to shoot for the head. One shot, one kill. From the rooftops, they caught the zombies in a crossfire and bodies started to pile on the streets.

The traffic jam in the city suddenly solidifed as people to leave the relative safety of their cars and dash toward the nearest building. Suddenly faced with a moving smorgasbord, the zombies grew even more frantic. Usually, about now, they would be seeking shelter from the gunfire, but these stumbled on ahead, intent on their prey.

Leiho was reloading when he happened to look up at the sky. He heard the scream of jets overhead and saw them an instant later. "Dammit."

Missiles rained from the sky and demolished the bridge, scattering the zombies charging across. The zombies on the other side were stuck, that was true.

But that meant that there would be no reinforcements for the little town of Chapelean.

Officer Will Edwardson sat in the darkness of his basement, and looked up. The door was shaking again, damn zombies trying to get in. Will had been born in Britain, but had been taken to America when he was three. There was only one window in the basement, and it looked out on the world at ground level. When the zombies came, Will had taken off, with nothing but a shotgun, his police badge, a pair of jeans, boots, a shirt, and a trenchcoat. It was dark now but the undead never rest. He had been down in the basement for days, but he was kept alive through salt and vinegar Walkers brand crisps, and.....and... Will peered at the can he was holding. Beer, thats right, beer. But now he was hungry, he threw the beer over his shoulder, and picked up a box from his feet. Ah excellent, crisps. He opened the box and looked inside, nothing. Will shrugged and threw it back to the floor, and looked inside another box, again it was empty.
"No no no!" He muttered, as he gathered that he had eaten all the boxes of crisps in three days, oh well, they didn't really satisfy Will's hunger anyway. He sat back on the crate, wondering what to do. Will then realised he was sitting on a crisp crate. He got on his knees and glanced inside. No..wait. He felt around inside the box, and withdrew triumphantly with a green packet of crisps.
"Hehe, take that, damn luck." He said, opening the packet and munching on what was inside. Looks like Will would have to take a visit to the kitchen. He shrugged, dismissing it as being a easy job. He ascended the stairs, and stopped in front of the doorway, it was shaking, pieces of the door were falling off.... Will descended the stairs and grabbed his shotgun that was leaning against a wall, and walked back up the stairs again. Thinking it would be a better idea to climb through the window, but also could not be bothered to go back down, he opened the door. It burst open, a dozen zombies piled out.
"Uhhhhhhhh" One of them groaned, trying to grab a part of Will's coat, but he casualy stepped over them, letting them sort themselves out on their own. He felt as if he should say something witty, but instead passed the crisp packet into one of the many hands trying to grab him. Then he quickly ran up the stairs.

It felt different... he could see, who was he? Or I? Who am I? I am... William. That is I. But what am I seeing? This must be me. Where am I going? I... am... hungry... That must be where I'm going. To where I can end this hunger.

What are these things? Why are they all around me? Where are they going? To the same place.
When can I end this hunger? It... pains me... I... must... feed...
Then feed.
Where can I feed? Where do I find food?
Anywhere where the others go.

William kept walking, and sometimes being jostled by all of the others. There were sounds coming from farther away.

Is that where the food is?
There is food at the noise.
I must find the food.

William walked with all the others. Some were going into buildings. William heard a sound.

Food.

Walking to the sound, William moved into a building and up some stairs. As he walked he heard a loud sound and a sharp sensation. But it meant food. He kept walking, and saw something, smaller, and different from the others. He heard several more noises and felt some things. But he got even closer.

He reached out his hand and grabbed the thing... the food. He moved his head towards it and bit down. The taste... was sweet. He kept biting. The food made some noise, but William kept eating. Eating made the pain go away. He was feeling better... William kept eating.

Dearborn MI,

The infection had been spreading across the country, it had been given many names...but to Daniel Mcelroy they looked like fucking Zombies.

He was at his shitty job, didnt matter if the world was coming to an end the workers would still have to work...no time for buying water and heading north into the UP(Upper Peninsula) to get away from the crowds and from the infection.

No, he would slave away at this shitty Little Caesars Pizza joint and he would keep his job and feed his family...his family.

They were three short blocks away, thats why he took this shitty job...cheap on gas.

Daniel was in back rolling dough balls and hoping the mp3 player would please not spit out another of his daughter's Avril songs...or he would vomit.

Engrossed in his task he almost didnt realize the sound he heard was the large plate glass window coming in...he almost didnt realize. The screams of his manager Kelly, and the other girl up front made that clear however.

He took one step back away from his tabel and could see around the long black pizza oven...

They looked like they were rushing to place an order, Zombies.
Kelly pushed back against the racks behind her that held the delicous buffalo ranch and cheesy cheese dipping sauces for our eight piece to an order crazy Bread.
She was a large woman and the rack yielded to her will ...

Daniel stepped back.

Kelly reached between the rack spacing and produced the only weapon available to her...a long stout spatula which she drove with her considerable bulk into the face of the first to lean across the counter.

Daniel froze stock still.

The other girl, Ashley just stood there and screamed.

Kelly grabbed one of the trays used to bake our delicious and hot Crazy Bread..just a $ 1.99 with sauce... and swung it like blade, it drove the massing fiends back as she jammed the flat edge of the tray at eye level into the front line of the persistent patrons.

"Help me." She did not speak loudly and Daniel was fairly certain she wasnt talking to Ashley.

He sprang back to life and grabbed a long knife from the dish rack used for chopping lettuce...he also grabbed a meter long whisk used for making sauce.


He reached Kelly's side and struck straight into the eye socket of the closest pushy pizza buyer...lunge with the knife and parry with the whisk. He would hold one at bay while stabbing at another...the radio had said kill the brain and the body dies...and that seemed to be true...a strange melee ensued across the counter for what seemed like days...but in reality it was perhaps only a minute...a minute until Daniel realized the bodies on the other side piling up and making it more easy for them to claw their way over the counter...through their failure they would over coming an obstacle.

Behind him Kelly shouted "Move!"

He had not realized she had left his side.

She pushed the rack over and its steel fell upon the counter area blocking it from being traversable.

Daniel and Kelly then shoved the over turned bread station in front of the security door so it might better withstand the pushing.

"Come on, we go out the back door and over the wall we can be at my house in seconds." Daniel said as he moved towards the back of the store.

Kelly did not follow.

"What? Come on!"

"I cant make it over the back wall Daniel."

Daniel looked at her...she was well over 250 lbs and she was right...she would never make it over the wall.

He looked around.

"The cooler, get in the cooler there is no way in hell they will get in there. i will come back for you."

They looked at each other. She didnt believe he was coming back...even if he made it where he was going.

He wasnt too sure either.

He crashed through the back steel door at a dead run, he knew the wall was about 100ft from the back door, on the other side was a steep hill that lead down into a creek...well a piss stream more like the water was never better then three feet deep and perhaps ten feet across at its widest.

The door flung wide as he made his strides and there was nothign to great him but grey concrete .

He didnt pause...he carried himself straight to the wall as if he would simply pass through it...he leaped and hit the wall with his midsection, the top half bending over the wall feet coming over as he tumbled he landed half on hands and half on feet but he was only slowed a bit, and as he began to tumble down the hill he gained what ever time he had lost by the wall.

He the cold water with a mild splash and was coming out the other side before he even felt the wet soak his socks.

He ran and as he did he could see the clunky motion of the walking dead through windows...front doors were smashed in and there was smoke and screaming...though the great exodus of the middle class had left the suburbs still eerily empty.

He had four children, a wife, and damn it...he should have went up north...why the fuck did he stay just to keep that shitty job.

He reached his house...

Will looked into the Kitchen, no zombies here, he thought. He slowly opened one of the cabinets.
"What the hell?" He exclaimed, seeing it as empty. He never emptied this, he just took a couple of boxes of crisps and beer. He opened another one, seeing it empty. Suddenly realising what must of happened, he went to the window and shouted; "Curse you, you damn looters, this is a damn apocalypse and you are taking food? There was only a damn jar of mustard in this one!" But then he realised that was a bad idea, as zombies in the garden were turning to look at him. He cursed and withdrew from the window, and made his way to the door to the hall. Suddenly, he saw shaddows against the wall of the hall, shaddows of people, just normal people.
"Thank god, survivors.." He muttered walking to the door, but then seeing another shadow against the wall, it looked like a normal guy, but it had some huge knife imbedded in its skull. "Err....right." He said, turning back to the window. There was already of them climbing through, and it was very fast. "Jesus, Resident evil really put you in the wrong light." Will muttered, and aimed his shotgun at the undead monster, but then heard a moan from behind him. He swirled around, and looked right into the face of Knife-head. Then, it attacked, and pushed Will to the floor. "Gerrof' me minion of of Satan!" He jokingly said, before it gnashed its teeth, and started to try and take a bite out of him. The annoyed Officer kicked the creature off and jumped through the widow, knocking into several zombies as he went past. They were recovering quickly, and Will had to get away, to a damn supermarket before he died of freaking starvation. He walked through a man-shaped hole in his fence, and ran off into the light-lit street.

Brian Stell had got out of the apartment building finding no one alive. He looked down the street. Bodies littered the street but none of them moved. Just the way he liked them. He looked about and saw the body of a soldier and next to him a two way radio . He moved forward slowly keeping his gun pointed at the body the whole time and snatched the radio. The body stayed still. Brian spoke into the radio.

"This is Brian, a survivor of the invasion. I am in downtown Denver, Colorado. If there are any survivors in the city or if anyone picks this up, please reply. I have encountered some dead already but have found no survivors. It's beginning to get lonely out here."

As he stopped speaking he heard a groan. He turned around. The body of the officer was now standing, staring at Brian. A sort of intelligence seemed to appear in his eye. Brian didn't hesitate.

"Sorry Officer. I'm taking you off duty."

He fired and the zombie fell, no longer moving.

Will walked up the street, wary of any zombies, they were to busy munching on flesh, and Will wanted to keep it that way. The Supermarket was on the horizon, and soon, Will would be eating a hot dog with large soft drink. The prospect of this quickened his pace and soon he was there. Most of it was looted, but still, there was still some stuff lying around. He entered the automatic doors, and looked around for the "food court" as the Americans called it. He smiled as he walked up to a large McDonalds.
"I don't like to fund you.....heck, I'm not even funding you, I'm just taking your stuff." He muttered, climbing over the counter and looking for something to eat. Suddenly a jingle started to play from the microphones, and a mans voice came to Will's ears;
"Greetings loyal shoppers, we just phoned to say, we love you and wish you to be safe this night for- Oh dear god, what is that? Oh god, its trying to get in, ahhhhhhh!"
Will shook his head, annoying prerecorded messages, and walked into the back room.

OOC: Sorry, just trying to get my bearings--half of us are in denver and half are in Chapelean? Could everybody just tell me where they are? Thanks...
Scaveutland, I like your idea to have a zombie as a character.

IC:
Leiho sprinted from rooftop to rooftop, cursing all the way. Half his squad followed him. Half had stayed to guard that building. They would use it as a base of operations later, always assuming they survived that long.

No goddamn reinforcements. A single glance at the city streets and the horror contained thereupon told him that the regualr military had failed. Miserably. By tonight, half the zombies would be wearing army uniforms.

The team raced ahead of the oncoming horde and planted home-made satchel charges in the main street. Leiho waited till the zombies were almost on top of the explosives before he ordered them detonated. The blast shook the streets, turned cars and trucks on thier sides, ripped concrete from the surrounding buildings.

And it formed a makeshift barricade for the undead.

From the collapsed bridge to the barricade of rubble, zombies were piled thickly on top of one another. They had the intelligence to comprehend what had happened to them, but lacked the physical coordination to do much about it.

We've been granted a little time, Leiho thought. But how much?

Some of the zeds were already breaking down doors and going into buildings.

"Find me gasoline," Leiho ordered his squad. "Lots of it."

OOC: Thanks, I like it too.


IC: The food was nearly gone. But William kept eating. It stopped the pain.

Soon there were only some bones left. Yet William was still hungry. Very hungry. And the pain came back.
It had hurt the least when he was eating inside of the head. He could barely feel the pain, and then it came back. The pain. William had to find more food. From anywhere.

William got up again, and started walking back out of the house. Others were still walking around looking for food too.

Where should I look now? I am so hungry. Where is there food? I don't hear any noise. Where is the food?
Keep searching.
It hurts... Where is the food?
Keep looking.

William heard crashing from another building and Others were already going towards the sound. William followed. They had found some more food. And they were already eating. William joined in.

It feels good. Why do I have to share?
Because others want the food too.
Let's eat.

William and the others began eating. It felt good.

"No way" Will said, and grabbed the chicken leg. It was horribly cold, but still, it was nice. With the leg, he walked back out, and glanced around at the sound of moaning. He entered a phone shop and looked around the counter. Then was almost sick. There was a man with his neck ripped open and half his lung visible, yet the poor guy was still alive.
"Jesus, what the fu-" Will began, before the man started gurgle, blood spurting from the huge hole in his neck, he kept raising his hand, then let it fall to the ground. Will looked deep in the mans dieing eyes, and saw something reflected in it, he twirled around and blasted the undead monster over the counter. Thats when he realised that more zombies were entering the shop. "Leave me alone!" He shouted, and loaded another shell into the shotgun. he glanced around, thinking of what to do, then realising there was a back door, he grunted in satisfaction, and made his way through. Damnit it was just a small back room, swearing and realising he couldn't go bacik, Will shut the door and bolted it. He turnd around, seeing one guy in the corner, a table and a radio on it. He ran over to the radio and pressed the button on the side. "Hello hello Jesus I don't have much time, is anyobdy-" But then he realised someone ese was speaking;
"This is Brian, a survivor of the invasion. I am in downtown Denver, Colorado. If there are any survivors in the city or if anyone picks this up, please reply. I have encountered some dead already but have found no survivors. It's beginning to get lonely out here."
"I'm a survivor, I'm in the mall, in Denver, hello?" Will shouted into it.

As soon as Brian sent the message he got a reply:

"I'm a survivor, I'm in the mall, in Denver, hello?"

Brian looked at the radio almost not believing he had got a reply. He had been beginning to think he was the only one left. He replied:

"Where in the mall? Have you found any other survivors? I'm on my way. Just keep in contact."

Brian broke into a run, almost excited that he wasn't the only one still alive. He turned the corner and stopped. Doens of dead were standing there. They all looked up at Brian and a silence ensued for a split secondbefore Brian turned back the other way and ran. A huge groaning broke out and thezombies followed Brian. He had to lose them.

"I was never a big fan of follow the leader.", he muttered.

The creak and jingle of leather and metal was all that heralded his approach, he was an odd sight. It was cold, so the heavy leather jacket wasn't strange, but the thick jeans, leather chaps, heavy gloves, and tool belt seemed slightly out of place. As did the multitude of knives, the hammer riding in a sling on his jeans, and the 4 hatchets on his tool belt. The .270 wouldn't have been out of place, except he was in downtown Denver, and there probably weren't any deer nearby. But the pair of zombies gnawing on the dead body ahead of him would do nicely. They didn't even hear him
coming until the last possible moment, when first one, then a second masons hatchet split their skulls and left the lifeless husks butchered by the roadside.

"Right, two more. Next stop, food, and probably water." The man takes a knife and notches the handle of one hatchet, as he heads off towards a nearby convenience store. The heavy ersatz armor he wears leaves him little fear of the undead, but he still has to be careful. His face isn't fully protected, and a bad moment could be it. He steps into the ruined 7-11 to the sound of more moans, another zombie is feasting on the flesh of the clerk, blood pooling in a scattered pile of lottery tickets.

"Guess it wasn't a winner." The hatchet crunches home as the monstrosity turns to look at its slayer too late, and slumps to the floor, extinguished.

"Alrighty then Berg, let's see... Dairy is all ruined, sodas are still good, grab two cokes, bottled water, perfect..." The man continues to mutter his shopping list as he sifts through the ruins of the store, acquiring everything he needs. And, an unexpected bounty. In back, it appears someone had been repairing the A/C when the end came, a fully stocked van, with not one, but three full tanks of acetylene gas. That's a find worth keeping. One broken window and a pair of wire strippers later, and the big van is running hot, loaded down with everything he could steal, and on its way the hell out of there.

"Ooh, CB... Wonder what's on."

The receiver clicks on, and is immediately followed by a wash of static, he flips through the channels. "...own Denver, Colorado. If there are any survivors in the city or if anyone picks this up, please reply. I have encountered some dead already but have found no survivors. It's beginning to get lonely out here." The transmission is faint, but clear, as is the reply. Local mall it is then. Tactically a bad choice, but it has plenty of supplies.

"This is Eric Bergstresser, anyone reading this, I have a van full of supplies, a backpack full of bullets, and more bizarre melee weapons than you can shake a stick at. I am en route to the mall now. See y'all when I see y'all."

Another survivor! Things were beginning to look up. Brian had lost the horde for now but he was sure they'd find him again. Brian was nearing the mall, roads that should have been full of motorists empty apart from the abandoned cars. Any other day people would be happy shopping and relaxing but this wasn't any other day. Brian replied to the messages he had received:

"Eric. It's good to hear another living soul out there. I'm on the main road heading towards the mall. I'm coming into view of the carpark...oh my god. There is no way to get through there. There are crowds of them. It doesn't matter how many weapons you have, unless you're the army you haven't got a chance..."

Brian stared at the undead from his viewing point. They hadn't seen him and he wanted to keep it like that. The only other way he could think of would be at the delivery depot. That may be the best way to enter.

"Eric. Avoid this way. Try and get to the delivery depot behind the mall. If we're both lucky I'll meet you there."

Brian started to move around before he drew attention.

"Even during the Apocalypse, the sales still draw the crowds.", he joked.

Another survivor! Things were beginning to look up. Brian had lost the horde for now but he was sure they'd find him again. Brian was nearing the mall, roads that should have been full of motorists empty apart from the abandoned cars. Any other day people would be happy shopping and relaxing but this wasn't any other day. Brian replied to the messages he had received:

"Eric. It's good to hear another living soul out there. I'm on the main road heading towards the mall. I'm coming into view of the carpark...oh my god. There is no way to get through there. There are crowds of them. It doesn't matter how many weapons you have, unless you're the army you haven't got a chance..."

Brian stared at the undead from his viewing point. They hadn't seen him and he wanted to keep it like that. The only other way he could think of would be at the delivery depot. That may be the best way to enter.

"Eric. Avoid this way. Try and get to the delivery depot behind the mall. If we're both lucky I'll meet you there."

Brian started to move around before he drew attention.

"Even during the Apocalypse, the sales still draw the crowds.", he joked.

"I've got a Chevy 3500 utility van, and three tanks of acetylene. Worlds biggest redneck hand grenade. I'll meet you at the loading docks, and figure a way to rig us up a few neat tricks from this big bitch. Nothing else I can use some of the stuff out of here for some MEAN weapons. I don't guess anyone's tried to use gas weapons yet, have they? And it'll be handy when we need to bust out of here later."

The van plows through a small pack of zombies, arms, legs, and other, less identifiable bits of flesh getting caught in the undercarriage as 3 tons of automobile hits meat at nearly 60 miles per hour. "Yeah, I'll meet you around back." The van flies past the parking garage, and whings a pair of zombies standing too far away from the crowd. "Check that. Find me a garage door that opens so I can park this thing inside. See if any of these places have an auto-center. And make sure you're ready to close the door fast, I think I got somebodies attention." The van proceeds to circle the parking lot, crunching through zombies at random intervals, playing a macabre game of tag until there was as placefor the van to actually park itself.

Brian was already running towards the depot when he received the message. He saw the depot ahead lined with garages. He also saw some zombies. He didn't have time for this. Pulling out his pistol he shot at the first then another. 5 others were present now aware of Brian and his intentions. Luckily they were slow moving.

Brian now whipped out his knife and stabbed the next zombie through the skull.

4 left.

He shot the next one but only got it in the leg. It was down temporarily, crawling towards Brian but he couldn't worry about it just yet. The other 3 were closing in. He stabbed another through the neck severing the brain stem.

3 left.

He shot another, this time on target. It fell inches away from him.

2 left.

The next one grabbed Brian, trying to bite him. A woman dressed in civilian clothing.

"Sorry babe, not my type." He pushed her away and stabbed her through the eye.

1 left.

Brian now stared at the one crawling towards him. A guy, teenager. Brian felt some pity for it but quickly snapped out of it. He walked towards it and stamped on its head again and again, letting out his frustration. 0 left.

He entered the depot through a side door and opened a garage door for Eric. He sent the message through:

"The door is now open. Sorry for the delay. Ran into a bit of trouble. Come round the back, it's clear of Zeds."

Will couldn't believe his luck, not only were there two survivors, they were coming to take him away from the room of death that was the Techno shop.
"I'm in the mobile shop, Orange I think it was. In the back room, I don't have much time!" Will shouted into the microphone glancing over to the dead body in the corner. But it wasn't dead, it was standing there looking at him. "There is one of em here with me I-" The zombie smacked away the radio and grabbed Will. The Officer was pushed to the floor, and the zombies were slowly getting in.

The van screeched to a halt. The man in the drivers seat hopped out, and reached back inside, pulling out his hammer, and the 4 hatchets he'd been wearing. "My gun's in back, grab it, grab the backpack, shut this door, and catch up to me. I'm heading for the mobile store, wherever it is. Here's hoping there's not more than..." He pauses and counts... A hammer, 4 hatchets, 2 machetes, a few tactical knives, and a massive bowie adorn his belt, as well as several smallish knives, and one weapon that isn't readily identifiable at first glance. "Maybe 15? Somethin like that. Whatever. I'll take care of this, secure the van and the supplies and follow me afterwards, copy?"

He doesn't even wait for a reply, he's already running for the main part of the mall. He sees a zombie in his path, and the hammer comes down, the straight claws crushing through the skull and penetrating its brain, dropping the hammer, he kept running, and pulled out a pair of his hatchets, breaking two more skulls, and abandoning the weapons to the malls floor. He could only see 3 zombies through the door to the mobile store, and the last two hatchets came out, shattering first one skull with a strike from the hammer on the reverse side of one, before he embedded the last two in the heads of the remaining undead. "Jesus, this is freaking ridiculous. Hey man! If you're, yaknow, not dead yet, make some noise. I'm on my way through!" He pulls out his machetes, and begins to advance into the back of the store, not sure what awaits within.

The food had been finished, andthe pain was returning. There had to be food somewhere.

William was walking along with several Others and they were looking for food. William looked up and saw something, it had writing on it, and was some shape.
A square.
What did it say? There was an arrow on it, and it said... Denver.
The beginning.
Will there be food there?
Yes.
Will it stop the pain? Is there much food?
Yes.
How do I know these things?

William and the others were already walking out of the town, back along the road and over ther rubble of the bridge, it was just enough to climb over.

How did I know about the food?
We told you.
Who are you?
Us.
Who is us?
We are what makes you what you are.
Are you the infection?
That is what we have been called.
Can all the others talk to you?
Some can.

William and the Others had been walking for much time. Soon they would be in Denver. It was getting dark, but William had no care. There was no sleep, not anymore, only pain. They would have to find food soon. It hurt so much.

Why does it hurt so badly?
Because your host is dying.
So what does the food do?
We use it to repair your host.
So the food keeps me alive?
Yes.

William and the others were now among many Others. But with so many others, there would have to be much food. William started searching

Brian saw Eric head off and looked at the van and its supplies. Enough to put up a major fight. He shut the doors of the van and looked out towards the yard. Empty but it wouldn't be long before more turned up. He pulled down the garage door and looked it, then check every other garage door making sure they were locked and then checked the side entrances. All locked.

He then headed for the Orange store, seeing dead bodies around him. Eric had been busy...

Will tried to call out, but the zombie was too busy trying to rip him limb from limb. The Officer, pushed it off, and shouted "I'm in here, one of them is in here with me!" The zombie grabbed the shouting Policeman,smacked him against the wall, and started to lift him up. Will dropped the shotgun, and it clattered to the floor, he cursed and kicked the zombies head in. It roared in pain and anger, and dropped Will. The man dropped to the floor,grabbed his shotgun, and blasted the zombie against the wall. It fell down, blood pouring out of the gaping hole in his chest. "Did not know who he was messing with." Will muttered.

Eric walks in, machetes in hand, to see the officer standing over the undead beast. "Nice shotgun. How many shells do you have?" The danger is passed with the beast down, and Berg is more worried about seeing what all they have to work with than anything else. "Actually, more importantly, are there any moree left in here, and can we secure the doors against any more that want in?" He steps back into the main area, expecting the officer to follow, and begins collecting his weapons from the skulls of the dead zombies, grasping the hilts of his axes, and cracking them to the sides to break the hold the skulls have on his primary tools.

Will sighed if relief, and shrugged.
"Quite alot of shells. I keep them in my ammo belt." He patted his waist and pushed another shell in. "Hey, hey theres a vent there!" Will pointed at the grille and sighed. "I could have got out all along.." He murmered. "Thanks for coming to help, I ddin't see any other zombies around, but there will be more coming no doubt, now, can we get out of this tomb?"

Will sighed if relief, and shrugged.
"Quite alot of shells. I keep them in my ammo belt." He patted his waist and pushed another shell in. "Hey, hey theres a vent there!" Will pointed at the grille and sighed. "I could have got out all along.." He murmered. "Thanks for coming to help, I ddin't see any other zombies around, but there will be more coming no doubt, now, can we get out of this tomb?"

"I've only got one van, but, we can clear off the parking garage and secure a few more vehicles. More space for supplies too. I'll need a few things though. I'm sure I can get most of them from here though. Do you know anywhere that has road flares, propane tanks, acetylene tanks, a/c refrigerant, or other pressurized canisters, as well as anywhere that sells large knives?" He walks out into the main area of the mall, and waves at the other survivor. "That has 5 bullets in it, it is loaded, don't point it at anyone you don't want dead." He then cracks the head of the zomie hard, and removes his hatchet, before walking on and retrieving his other two weapons.

Will shrugged.
"Well flares, the police station maybe.But the last time I saw the station was when there were like two dozen zombies at its door. For the rest of the stuff, I have no idea. But listen, when we get to the van where the hell are we going to go, its the apocalypse, its not like we can take a bus, or a train, or a plane!"

Will shrugged.
"Well flares, the police station maybe.But the last time I saw the station was when there were like two dozen zombies at its door. For the rest of the stuff, I have no idea. But listen, when we get to the van where the hell are we going to go, its the apocalypse, its not like we can take a bus, or a train, or a plane!"

"No auto centers around here? Most auto shops sell flares, or sears auto-centers. Gas stations usually have propane. Welding equipment usually has acetylene, same for supply shops for the skilled trades. Oxygen tanks can usually be found in the same places. Duct tape and nails should be available at any hardware store. Ammunition and guns... Gunshops nearby, wal-marts, the police station? Gasoline, and five gallon cans to store it in. Electrical generators... Most of this stuff we can probably get here. Oh, and car batteries. I have a few ideas for car batteries too." He starts looking around for a dire`ctory of all the stores in the mall, to see what kind of a selection he has to work with.

Brian made his way towards the Eric and Will when he heard a loud graoning sound. He looked to the left to see a horde of zombies just outside the entrance trying to get in. Not a good sight. He ran and found the others.

"Bit of a problem. More Zeds at the entrance. The doors aren't going to hold much longer. We need to get supplies now and get the hell out of here.", he said.

"Find me an autocenter, and somewhere with metal racks. Preferably somewhere that sells gym equipment. Then find every first floor entrance that opens inward or has large glass panels. I'll cut and weld some metal bars to block the doors. It'll let us fortify this place as a sort of base of operations. We can get in and out of here, and use it like almost a fortress. First step is to get a whole bunch of gasoline, and a whole bunch of generators. Hard liquor will work too. Once we have this place set up, we have the entirety of Denver to milk, for quite some time. Some of these places have freezers, so once we get power, reliable power, we can get perishable food in here." He finally finds the directory, and starts scanning it for the stores he needs.

OOC: I've gone to the trouble of actually finding a suitable mall in Denver. Aurora Mall is what I've come up with. http://www.simon.com/mall/images/floorplans/232Town_Center_at_AuroraMall.gif There's the layout.

Will nodded, "Sounds good, theres a gas station outside. But if you want to go outside with the zombies thats good with me. I'll look for the Liquor." He started to walk away, but then ran back. "What about the doors that open outward though?"

Will nodded, "Sounds good, theres a gas station outside. But if you want to go outside with the zombies thats good with me. I'll look for the Liquor." He started to walk away, but then ran back. "What about the doors that open outward though?"

"They can't open them, because they have no brains. Watch what they're doing." He points to the zombies, pushing frantically against the doors. "The door says pull. They're not very good at the whole thinking game. I'm just gonna bar the ones that open inward immediately, because they're the bigger risk. The glass ones the same way. I can worry about welding bars onto the outward opening solid metal doors later."

Will nodded again "Right". He glanced at the map, and made his way towards the bar.

When he got there, he took a few bottles and read them. Liquor, excellent. He started to look for other bottles, but then heard something. Scratching.
He walked over to a backdoor and opened it. There was just a small hallway with another door at the end. He walked over to it, curious at where it went. Then he realised the scratching was coming from behind the door.
"Uh oh" He muttered, and started to slowly walk backwards, still looking at the door. Suddenly, it broke open, and zombies started to pour in. "Oh my god! Oh god!" Will shouted, dropping the bottle, and turning around to run down the hall. He bolted outside the door, and slammed it shut. "If you can bloody hear me we have a serious damn problem!" He shouted, pushing against the door as they tried to get in.

"Damnit..." Eric once again pulls out his hammer, and heads towards where the door is being held by Will. "The hell is going on there boy!" He walks forward fairly slowly, getting rather tired of crushing skulls, but also getting rather used to it. "Remind me to invest in a damn pistol next time I find one..." He steps up to the door, pulls out one of his machetes, and applies it liberally to an arm trying to make its way around the door, until his blade shatters the bone, and severs the limb. The then comes at an angle to the door, slips his blade through, and begins hacking madly, in an attempt to force the beasts back, so they can get the door closed.

Will thanked Eric, and started entering his shotgun into the equation of death.(Will+shotgun+zombie= One dead bugger) He only shot two shells, then decided to save the shells, and pushed the last of them out. They slammed the door shut.
"Bar it shut mate" he panted

"I'll watch the door. Leave the shotgun, go get my rifle from the other guy, go to the auto center, find me some welding equipment, or, alternatively, 2 part epoxy, or spray on adhesive. Then get me a hack saw, and a weight bench, or a curl bar. I'll cut it down, and either weld or epoxy it to the door, which will hold against just about anything, I, much less a pack of zombies, can put out."

"Jesus dude thats alot of stuff to remember. Just, just try not to damn die while I'm away." Will muttered, and ran off to get the equipment.

After a few minutes, Will had found the the spray on adhesive, the hack saw, the weight bench and the rifle over his shoulder. He nervously eyes the doors that were bulging due to zombies outside, and made his way towards. "This guy better be damn right about this he muttered, and entered the bar where Eric was impressively holding the zombie horde back. "I got the stuff you wanted, now where the hell are you going to do this?"

"Jesus dude thats alot of stuff to remember. Just, just try not to damn die while I'm away." Will muttered, and ran off to get the equipment.

After a few minutes, Will had found the the spray on adhesive, the hack saw, the weight bench and the rifle over his shoulder. He nervously eyes the doors that were bulging due to zombies outside, and made his way towards. "This guy better be damn right about this he muttered, and entered the bar where Eric was impressively holding the zombie horde back. "I got the stuff you wanted, now where the hell are you going to do this?"

"Ok, cut about two feet out of the weight benches frame with the hacksaw. Once you've done that, take the shotgun, and I'll secure the door. I'll apply the adhesive, and let it set hard. I love this stuff, cause it doesn't take more than ten minutes to set hard, and it holds like nothing else. Once we've got the first brace set, I'll get a second one put up, and the door will be solid. Then we can get some bars and other metal objects, and start on the rest of the doors around here."

(May i have a character set of four? 1 family trying to escape the zombie hordes)

There is much food here.
Really? How can you tell?
Because we are all connected.
So you can talk to Others?
Yes.
Why don't you start organizing then?
We have no context for the meaning of this word.
Why not start getting everyone to work together?
We had not considered this.
Really?
Yes.

William was with a large group of Others now, and the pain was gnawing at him constantly. When William sighted a corpse with meat still on the bones he pounced and began to satisfy his hunger.

Why not let me help you organize?
We will consider this.
It will greatly help us to get food.
Then we will see what can come of this.
Will you help me communicate with the Others?
Yes.
Then I will communicate to you, and you will tell the Others?
Yes.

William was still eating and trying to keep the pain away, but it kept gnawing... It always hurt... But now William was getting a plan...

OOC: I don't see why a group wouldn't work. What do you guys think?

"Ok" Will nodded, and started to saw through the frame of the work bench. "ok, done it." he shouted over to Eric and handed him the pieces. Will then quickly grabbed gis shotgun and held the door while Eric did his stuff.

"Ok" Will nodded, and started to saw through the frame of the work bench. "ok, done it." he shouted over to Eric and handed him the pieces. Will then quickly grabbed his shotgun and held the door while Eric did his stuff.

Eric grabbed up the can of adhesive, shook it up, liberally sprayed a thick layer on the doorjamb, set the piece of metal down, liberally coated it in adhesive, carefully picked it up(the adhesive tended to bond instantly to skin), and held it against the door, stopping for a second, swapping hands, and liberally coating the hinges in a thick layer, adding a second layer of security for when he had to release the door and add the second bar. It only took it a minute to start setting up, and after about 3 minutes, he let it loose, and set about getting the second one up. It would only be a few more minutes, and they could head off to check out a few more doors, to see what needed shoring up, and what could be left till later.


OOC: Do you have MSN, or AIM?

Brian watched the door and the zombie hordes behind it staring at him, hungering for him. He was keeping watch after he had got used to the cold dead eyes watching him. He wanted to just smash all those faces in but knew he couldn't take them. Instead he started thinking about his past.

Brian was once a soldier, served all over the place. The Gulf, Chechnya and Kosovo were all part of his resume. However he had grown tired of the lifestyle and instead had moved back to Denver where he worked as a chef.His life was going alright until this happened. Now he would have to try and survive the Apocalypse.

I have an idea.
So tell us.
Firstly, how much control do you have over the Others?
Nearly complete.
Except for those who can speak with you?
Yes.
And how many are those?
In numbers, 1000.
That few?
Yes.

The food was gone again... And as William finished eating, the hunger and pain started again. It made it hard to talk to his companion as he called them when the pain started.

Food... there must be more food somewhere... And then he saw it. A near perfect corpse, save for a missing head, hanging out of a window. It was a low house and the door was busted inwards. Food... William walked up the stairs of the house and grabbed the feet of his new meal. The meat was only a few hours old. Such a waste... But his hunger could be satisfied.

Why not get the Others to work together better?
We had not needed to so far.
But wouldn't it be easier to get food that way?
Possibly.
Will you listen to my plan?
Yes.
Firstly, is it possible for us to be as dexterous as humans?
Yes.
Then why aren't we?
Because if full we gave back full control of your bodies then you would die from the pain.
So you're actually dampening the pain?
Yes.
Could you give me free movement but with the pain still dampened?
Partially, it will hurt more.
May I try?
Yes.

William felt his body as if it was coming out of a daze, he kept eating but tested out his hands, feet, and limbs. Almost like new. But the pain was sharper. So he kept eating...

May I have some time to test this?
Yes.

OOC: Bump for the win!