Apocalyptia

[Chadwyck]

OoC: Approved people thus far: Chadwyck, Sem, Aura and Rain. I'm limiting it to one more open spot, as that would make five and that's a good number. So yea, want to join? PM me, kthx ^^

BiC:

Nuclear Holocaust.

It was the year 2037, and Armageddon came and went in the form of falling bombs, but humanity remained. The prophecies that stated that it would be the end of the world were wrong, it didn't end. As for the human race, it lingers on, but barely. Now it is the year 2199, about to begin a new century, and mankind lives in scattered ruins that were once great cities that held thousands of people, now they house a few hundred weak and hungry people.

Many people try to make the best of this existence, but when days are spent scavenging for food and nights are filled with an even more unspeakable horror, how could anything good come out of it?

The bodies that were lost in the explosions, the ones who weren't lucky enough to make it into a shelter, they didn't stay dead. The corpses that were exposed to radiation were reanimated, in the form of cannibalistic mutants: zombies. When the warning bells toll, the only way to survive is to run, run as fast as you can. Do anything to survive. Because in Apocalyptia, the name given to the world that remained after the bombs fell, survival is the only law.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Tragedy sat outside of the saloon, the sun high above in the sky beating down upon him. Tragedy, the name that had been given to him by the people who had taken him in, the only people who had kindness enough in their hearts to save the poor crying infant and raise him after his parents were murdered in a mutant attack, he had lived with the couple who had saved him for many years.

What happened to his parents was a true tragedy which is why they had given him the name in the first place. When he turned 19, he took his hunting rifle on his back and the beaten, dirty leather jacket that had been worn in to the point of falling apart, his only two possessions, with him and began wandering the wasteland that was the Former United States. Not that countries mattered any more, the remaining humanity had no use for borders or governments.

There were only cities, or rather towns, more like campsites when compared to the cities of centuries past. Outside of the cities was the wasteland that stretched across continents and the dangerous creatures roaming it. Creatures that had a craving for flesh.

Tragedy looked around the small, barricaded town 208, named after the number of people who lived there at the time of its founding. Terrified faces appeared at all the doors as the caravan moved toward the gate to the town, another trip to scavenge for supplies. The leader approached Tragedy, "Hey there, new kid!" He called as he tossed a bag of ammunition to Tragedy, "Pack up, it's time to earn your keep!"

Tragedy looked at the man from behind his long black hair that covered his mint green eyes that seemed to glow. He was wearing his leather jacket, beat up leather boots, torn blue jeans that were more black and brown from the dirt, fingerless gloves, and a faded black fedora hat. He stood and slung the pack over his shoulder and loaded a few rounds into his rifle. "Very well," He said very calmly and evenly, his voice didn't match his rugged appearance, it sounded velvety but intimidating at the same time.

"You ain't even gonna put up a fight?" The man asked, slightly confused.

"No, should I?"

"Well, no, but most fella's do anyway." The man said as Tragedy walked past him.

Tragedy approached the caravan and looked around at the other men and women who had been selected to join the scavenging party today, most of them looked like they had never before faced the terrors of the wasteland, then again looks could be deceiving...


OoC: Okies, here's the newest idea that I came up with, hopefully it is more successful than Clockwork Tragedy xP. Anyway, if you would like to join all you have to do is ask and if there isn't already an ungodly amount of people who have joined then you pretty much have a spot. It's a survival RP. Oh, and the first few posts should be introductory posts and then we can get the scavenging party started.
NOTE: science is still pretty advanced, technology is just made out of parts that weren't destroyed by the bombs. Just because Armageddon came and went doesn't mean it took intelligence with it xP

 

[Aura]

(Oh good, Science is still there)

A young girl, 'bout 17, was sitting on an old wooden chair in the caravan. If you looked closely, you could see the chains binding her. It was a safety measure for the town, seeing she'd tryed to blow the place up when they had brought her here. She, Shadow, belonged to no one, and I was going to stay that way.

***

The sun beat down, hard, killing the girl who was dieing on the ground in one of the Wastelands. She weakly brushed her long blond hair out of her blue eyes. Ahead, she could see a lake, but she didn't have the strength to stand, let alone run.Then she heard it. A dull moan, slow moving feet. Summoning the little strength left in her body, she looked up, towards the lake. A figure was walking towards her, half of it's face torn off, missing an arm, clothes tattered and torn, dried blood all over it's body, but with teeth that solely belonged to Dragons and beasts of legend. A Zombie. The girl didn't scream. She just lay there, waiting for the end. A piece of metal caught her attention. It was like an armband, silver, with strange patterns on it. It intreged her. With difficulty, she slid it on. So weak was she, that she didn't notice the change in her arm. It was now fueled to the brim with a pulsing energy. The zombie came closer and closer, wanting her blood. The Zombie was right above her, and bent down on it's victim to feast. The girl raised her hand, and the energy exploded out of it. The energy was black, with streaks of dark blue and purple. After a few moments, the energy disappeared. The Zombie stood for a moment, the collasped. The same energy came filtering out of it's body and disappeared in the armband. The Zombie lost it's Zombiefied look, and died, like a normal human. The girl lay there, for a moment, wondering what had happend. She tried to take off the armband, but it remained rooted to the spot. To take it off, you would have to rip her arm off.

"It's like the essence of Darkness..." The girl whispered to no one in particular. "Darkness..."

She then stood up, fueled by the Darkness. What she didn't notice was the fact that her long hair was gone. It was short, and midnight black. Her eyes had changed too, they were deep purple. Her skin had paled too. Gone where her torn, battered clothes. She now had a short purple skirt on, black combat boots and a black vest thing with streaks of purple.

"Shadow..." she whispered again, "I am the Shadow..."

***

It turns out that the Darkness energy can only be recovered from Zombies, but it's unpridicable. It bursts out when you don't want it, and when you do, it refuses to come. However, it can restore Zombie's back to corspes when it does work. But that's really rarely. It's only happened 4 times in the 3 years since Shadow found it. Still, it's a useful weapon...

***

Shadow had walked towards a town, when a man stepped out.

"You! Girl! Come over here! Your gonna help us!"

Shadow remained rooted to the spot, because she could feel the Darkness creeping up her spine. It was coming out. It exploded from around her, whipping around like a hurricane. Some of the buildings were torn apart. When the Darkness subsided, the man was on his knees and others had raced out. The surrounded her. Shadow looked at them all, annoyed. Who says she's gonna help them? Its every man/woman for him/herself these days. She didn't notice the young guy creep up from behind, and bind her hands with chains (but she did notice that). She spun around, and kicked the man's ass. He howled in agony. Then the others attacked. Shadow was a rather good fighter, even with her hands bound, but men overwhelmed her with numbers. They bound her more, and put her in a caravan with the others who had been forced/selected to come.

"This is not going well..." Shadow muttered to herself

***

A new boy was brought into the caravan. He had long black hair that covered his mint green eyes that seemed to glow. He was wearing his leather jacket, beat up leather boots, torn blue jeans that were more black and brown from the dirt, fingerless gloves, and a faded black fedora hat. He seemed completly calm about this. He noticed Shadow, seeing everyone else kept away from her, and she was the only one who was bound. She rolled her eyes in a "Whatever" kinda way, and went back to thinking up escape plans in silence.

 

[Sem]

"Gem, mind helping me out?" echoed a voice through the ancient lab. It used to be the one of the most advanced and hi-tech facilities in the world, but that was before the bombs.

"S-sure, dad," echoed a young girl's voice in response. Her footsteps sounded across broken tiles and rusted walls. She was young, only eleven or so. She walked very timidly as she approached the work area her father was hunched over. She had raven colored hair that reflected different shades of brown as she passed under the flickering lights in the ceiling. She had a strong tan tone to her skin that betrayed her nature, as did her powerful facial features, sharp aqua eyes and high cheekbones.

Her father straightened himself, wiping his hands across a battered lab coat. He removed his goggles from his eyes and set them atop his forehead, partially covering his messy brown hair. "I just need your helping with holding this piece just right…" he said as he bent over once more and focused ever so carefully on his project.

"W-what piece?" Gem asked in almost a whisper as she set her hands on the counter.

"This one," he grunted, pointing at the piece with a scarred finger. Gem tenderly placed her hand on the chunk of metal it seemed to be, holding it as steady as she could. Her father took a second pieced and screwed it into place, after a few mere moments he sighed. "Finally, it's done," he murmured as he picked up the device and examined it.

"R-Really?" Gem asked as she too gazed at the device. It seemed like a strange flash light of sorts, or oversized screw that was a faded steel-color. A cylindrical base with what seemed like a comfortable rubber grip, with a prism-like shape stacked on top. She watched as he pressed a button on the side, gasping as she witnessed the contraption morphing. Pieces were revealed and others were hidden away, while others turned and rotated, almost like some insane Rubik's cube.

The man pointed the device away from them and pulled a trigger that had appeared. The device made a strange noise as it produced a blue bolt of energy from the end that shot across the room and hit the wall, dispersing and fizzling out of existence, leaving a steaming charred spot on the wall that matched many others.

Just as she was about to say something he pressed another button. Again the weapon whirred and transformed, this time looking more like its original form, only it was slightly curved. Pressing a button set apart from the others he pointed the end away from himself and held it at arm's length as a blue beam emerged again, though it was not a projectile. It resembled a sword, an energy sword, like the ones in those old movies that people watched, before the bombs.

He pressed the button again, and the beam died away, and then he pressed a third and final button, returning the weapon to its original state and placed it on a table with another that was the same, only the metal was browner than the faded silver of the other.

"The first two are done," he said with a smile, yellowed teeth flashed behind pale skin and an unkempt face. "After a I make a few more I can offer them to that military camp, that's not too far from here, in exchange we could get a safer place to stay…" he said as he brought his daughter in close and caressed her shoulders.

She said nothing as her head was pressed against her father's starved stomach. She simply gazed through half-lidded eyes at the floor. Still won't bring her back, she thought to herself.

He was about to walk her away from the lab to another part of the facility, but the sirens began to sound. The grip on her shoulders turned hard as stone.

"We have to go." He father said, rushing to the table and scooping his projects into his arms. He grabbed his daughter's hand and they began to run through the building. Down halls, into rooms, and around corners, over desks and through doors; it happened so very quickly. She could hear the screams of other people as they ran. She could hear fighting, she could hear yelling, she could hear death.

She heard the silent march of mutants approaching; their lifeless eyes stared at them but at the same time also stared at nothing. Their decayed feet dragged across the broken floors, arms dangled at their sides. The stench of their rotted flesh filled the air, nauseating all unfortunate enough to be near.

Gem flinched when she heard the first shot ring out. Her father had activated one of the weapons and was firing at the incoming horde as they ran.

"Here!" shouted another voice. "Professor, give her to me!"

Before her father even had time to utter a response she was wrenched free of her father's hand.

"Dad!" she found herself screaming. There were far too many of them, even as they ran outside in the blaring heat of day, illuminated by rusted light.

Her father looked around them as if knowing what would happen. The mutants were nearing. "Stay safe, my gem," he almost cried as he embraced her, placing the two weapons into her hands.

Whatever response she had was strangled with a gasp as she was literally thrown into the back of an already moving vehicle. She watched as her father smiled at her, eyes glistening, and then turned to face the zombies, arms outstretched. She screamed as he was consumed.

Bump!

Gem was jolted awake, letting a small gasp escape her parched mouth. She brushed her dark hair out of her toned faced and looked around with her bright blue eyes. The caravan had begun to move, carrying the battered souls within away from the relative safety of the town and to the harsh wastelands. She was gripping the weapon so tight her in her lap that her knuckles were white and shook with anxiety. It was the weapon her father had finished constructing, that day seven years ago. She was eighteen now, and matured into a beautiful and striking young woman, one that would excrete command and power if she did not hide herself with a timid expression.

Her sharp eyes shifted to and fro, examining the party members. She looked to her own clothes. She wore a pair of beige cargo pants, which covered the majority of her black boots; their metal toes gleamed dully in the bleak sunlight. On her torso she wore a dark blue shirt, that was plain, and a size too big for her, the bottom of it was ripped so that on half fell farther down her side than the other half. Lift of the shirt just a bit and you would find a belt with holsters for her weapons. She had on a lab coat of sorts, though it was black, a remnant of her life with the researchers. Who were no longer part of the world of the living. The sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, black fingerless gloves covered her hands.

"Stay safe, my gem," the words still echoed in her head. Gem, her name, was a sign of how much her father cared, and sign of hope for him in a dying world.

Her body shook with grief as she leaned her head back. It had been years since the incident, and though she was stronger, better, smarter, she still felt so helpless, especially when she was around, but at least she kept her safe…

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

The light of day flowed unforgivably into Angel's odd golden eyes, but she simply blinked, keeping quiet as she observed a couple of blind zombies stumble along a dingy brick wall. She shook her head lightly, her choppy, chin length blond hair caressing her pale cheeks. She too, was slightly blind. Her eyes, formerly a vivid blue, had slowly become gold as she grew from a child. It was a deformity to her, but a beautiful thing to others. The only thing good that came from her cursed eyes was Angel's new way of seeing things. With her mind. Every sense had been sharpened, and even the loss of her sight no longer bothered her. She was strong in her own ways.

Angel's thoughts were interrupted as she heard a sharp whistle in the distance. She turned to head to face the sound and focused, a vision forming in her mind. She sighed, realizing that someone was coming for her. A caravan of survivors drew closer, and the sounds of people, somewhat normal people, filled her ears. Angel braced herself and stepped out into the street, her heavy black boots causing an echo across the pavement. She subconsciously straightened her unusually clean white dress and waited for what was to come next. A strong, dirty hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to the group. Angel did not fight back, she simply stared ahead with her blind eyes and waited for the man's comment.

"Are you hungry or what?" The man asked gruffly.

Angel nodded calmly. "Yes, sir."

"You're going to help us." He demanded, and Angel didn't say another word.

 

[Chadwyck]

OoC: Okay, I'm moving ahead with the story. If a fifth person does want to join then you can PM me and figure it out.

BiC:

Tragedy stood in the midst of the caravan, people were being dragged in forcefully and others realized that resisting was futile and joined willingly. Tragedy shoved both hands into the pockets of his jeans and hung his head, focusing on the crowd of mismatched survivors about him. He glanced at a girl dressed darkly in a dark purple dress, with deep purple eyes and short black hair. The reason he noticed her though was that she was bound with chains and very much isolated from the rest of the caravan. Tragedy shook his head in disgust, he knew what the caravan leader was only bringing her as live bait in case things turned bad. For the most part, the minds of survivors were easy enough to figure out, do anything to survive: trust no one.

Tragedy noticed another girl wearing a timid expression, she had bright blue eyes and ragged clothes. He thought nothing much of her aside from the obvious thought that she wouldn't survive for long, even if the weapon she was grasping did look sophisticated and efficient. Weaponry did little for someone who didn't have the will to fight, but maybe she would prove him wrong, and in the event of an attack, he hoped he would be proven wrong. He knew all-to-well the kind of horrid things waiting in the wastes, and all-to-well the horrible death awaiting those ill-prepared for facing them.

The leader dragged the final person into the caravan, a girl with golden eyes and a white dress. Tragedy saw her vacant expression and realized at once that she was blind. That was the final straw. He walked up to the man who led the caravan, that god-awful self appointed sheriff of the town. The dirty brown trench coat that he wore with the damaged cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Painting a portrait of a stereotypical old west sheriff from the movies people used to watch in the pre-war times. Not that anyone alive now would realize that.

"I have to talk to you," Tragedy said coldly as he pulled the man aside, "I realize that to survive, one needs food, but these people," He said as he indicated the crowd surrounding him, "Will do no one any good out there." He pointed out the town gate, toward the wasteland.

"Very charmin', boy," The man said as he shoved Tragedy aside, "But if all else fails, these people are going to cover our escape better than you think." He said with a smile, he was clearly referring to the fact that they would prove more than enough of a meal to the zombies outside the walls. He started to walk away before Tragedy caught his arm and turned him around again.

"I'm telling you, do not bring these people outside, you have more than enough men and women already."

"Let's get one thing straight," He said drawing the sword at his side, and twisted a trigger on the side as the sword ignited in flames, holding it up to Tragedy's throat, "You do not tell me what to do." Tragedy glared at the man before stepping aside and walking back into the midst of the crowd. "Alright, we're moving out." He said as he fastened a gauntlet onto his left arm, the fingers of it pointed into claws. The gates to the wastes opened and the caravan began moving forward.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The caravan traveled many miles out into the unforgiving wasteland under the cover of the sunlight, there had been relatively little incident on the way to where they were now. A few wandering zombies that were easily picked off by people carrying longer ranged weapons like Tragedy.

Camp was set up and a fire was started in the middle of the caravan. Night began to fall over the wasteland. Night. The terrible creatures seemed to become fearless under the cover of darkness, and Tragedy sat at the edge of the caravan keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding area. He sat on the fringe of the ring of light from the campfire, where the shadows began their reign, grasping his rifle in his hands, determined to protect the caravan at all costs in the event of something happening.

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

Angel had listened to all of the soft chatter amongst those of the caravan, but she mostly heard the complaint of a particular male with a rifle. She knew very well that she was blind, and to any normal person it would be an obstacle. She shook her head slowly, thinking. Angel was sure that she was capable of many things, and fighting was easily one of them. She relied on sharpening her skills, and she was definitely not useless.

Angel listened to the sounds around her, the ones farther from the caravan. She heard a far away scream, and cringed lightly. If only she could save those who were unlike her, with no way to protect themselves. "I'm sorry." She whispered so that no one else could hear. She felt helpless, unlike when she was fighting to protect herself. She felt strong then. But when she couldn't protect someone so far away, so helpless, she felt guilty. No one deserved to die in such a world.

Later on, once she got her mind clear of the guilt, Angel finally gathered the nerve to approach the stranger and set things straight. She stepped over to Tragedy, doing her best to look focused on him instead of appearing blind. "Excuse me, sir. I would like a word with you if you can spare it." She tilted her head only slightly, her hair falling in several directions upon her shoulders. "It seems as if you think of me as a sort of obstacle." She slowly crouched down, pulling her dress over her knees. "I am interested in convincing you otherwise."

 

[Chadwyck]

OoC: Short post, but interaction and all that.

Tragedy's watch over the caravan had only lasted a few minutes before someone approached him, "Excuse me, sir," She said, causing Tragedy to raise his rifle toward her out of instinct, lowering it when he realized who it was, "I would like a word with you if you can spare it." She said as she tilted her head, she was focusing on him, and she actually found him, causing him to wonder: was this girl really blind? Well, she had to be, he'd seen her earlier after all. What was her story?

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt. If it appears I'm not listening, I am, I'm just watch--" Tragedy stopped mid-sentence, appear. She was doing a pretty good job of making him believe she wasn't blind. "Sorry, but I'm watching for trouble. Continue." He said shortly, surveying the area again.

"It seems as if you think of me as a sort of obstacle." She said slowly crouching down. "I am interested in convincing you otherwise."

Tragedy scrutinized her, casting a hesitant glance back out toward the wasteland before turning back to her, "Look, it's not that I think of you as an obstacle." He said with a slight shake of his head, "However, I would like to avoid watching more people die than is necessary." He looked her in the eyes for a moment, "But your condition doesn't generally make for strong survivors, how do you plan to convince me that isn't true?" He asked in his usual cold way, maybe he would get some answers.

 

[Aura]

Shadow streched her back. It was good to have the chains off. Even if you were being followed by a guy with a gun, to make sure you caused no 'trouble'. And when you didn't have a weapon that you could reliy on to fight with, having someone with a gun following you, was a very bad thing. Shadow looked at the man behind her. He seemed nerveus about how she seemed to be able to melt into the shadows.

"Time to get rid of him." Shadow muttered to herself as she began to walk faster.

Around and around, left and right, up and down, Shadow walked, making sure the man was following her every move. A single turn around the corner of a caravan, and Shadow lept quietly onto its roof. The man came around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks.

"Where the hell has that girl gone..." He wondered out loud.

Shadow, from her hiding place, so wanted to yell, "here you idiot!" but she remained silent.

"She must have gone this way..." The man muttered, studying the ground and footprints that it held.

He walked away, and Shadow remained where she was for a few minutes before jumping down from the roof gracefully. She didn't make her way back to the fire, but walked leisurly around the perimetre of the camp. She spotted the guy who had gone in the people who had no chance or had been forced to fight's defence. It warmed her to know that at least some people in the world still had a little humanity left inside them. Beside him was a girl, with gold, blank eyes. She was blind. She was saying something about not being useless. Wordlessly, Shadow went and sat on a log beside the two. They both noticed her, although Shadow had no idea how the girl noticed her. There must be something about her.

"Don't worry about me." Shadow said smoothly to both of them, "You can forget I'm here. It might not be the best thing to get to know me." Shadow looked straight at the guy, "Athough, It was nice of you to aruge with the 'captain'." She spat the word out, "You have my thanks."

And Shadow then fell silent, watching the darkness.

 

[Power Metal Maiden~]

Angel sighed softly, and despite the tense environment, she allowed herself to smile in a friendly way. "You see, puns will not harm me as you seem to assume. I can see perfectly fine." She said smoothly, gently eyeing the girl who joined them. "When you're physically blind in a world such as this, you must hone your sight with everything you are left with. My sense of hearing, taste, smell, touch... They are sharp." She sat down slowly, smiling still. "I can see you as well as I do, even while my eyes are in this state, because I see with my mind." She reached out to Shadow, as if she wanted to touch her cheek. "You are beautiful. It's a shame you're living in such a hideous world."

She turned, picking up on a couple of men commenting on Shadow. She glared, and the two men gasped in horror, obviously afraid that she could seem to hear what no one else could. Angel shook her head, tucking a piece of her golden hair behind an ear, then looked back to Tragedy. "Are you convinced, sir?" She smiled again, risking a glance to Shadow again. She felt something unusual about her, but it wasn't neccessarily threatening to her. "Hmm.."

 

[Chadwyck]

OoC: Seeing as Sem is waiting until the scene shifts away from the campfire to post, I'll reply now ^^;

Tragedy eyed the young woman who came and sat on the log beside him and the blind girl. She was unchained, although, it didn't appear that she was supposed to be there. At least not by the way she was sneaking around.

"Might not be the best thing to get to know me." What did she mean by that? Before he had time to decipher her meaning, she thanked him for standing up to the "captain" of the caravan, "Don't mention it," He said shortly, "It didn't exactly do any good." He tried to resume his usual indifference that he had learned to live with on the wastes, he had been caring too much lately. Caring was weakness, it caused you to do things that put yourself in danger, all for the sake of someone else. What was the point?

The blind girl started to explain her "situation" commenting on the fact that puns wouldn't upset her, causing Tragedy to simply laugh quietly to himself. She explained her unusual ability to use her other senses and even demonstrated how precise they were when she commented on the dark girl sitting beside them. "Hideous world." That was an understatement, to say the least. This world wasn't just hideous, it was monstrous, dangerous, deadly, in fact Tragedy thought it nothing short of Hell.

"Very well," He said and then after a pause he added, "Perhaps you aren't as helpless as I originally thought, but have you ever actually faced the horrors of the wasteland?" He added coldly, "How many people have you been forced to watch die?!" He didn't know why, but all the horrors that he had seen, the death of his parents, the people he had seen murdered before him, all of them were beginning to resurface from the depths of his mind. He stood quickly and turned away from the two. His eyes were glowing brightly, even in the darkness.

"There you are, little wench!" The gruff voice could only belong to the "brave leader" of the caravan, he had his flaming sword drawn and was approaching briskly with his eyes focused on the dark dressed girl on the log.

Tragedy stepped in front of him, and glared at him with palpable hostility. "What do you want?" He practically growled.

"She escaped and she is supposed to be under constant surveillance." The caravan leader attempted to step around Tragedy, who grabbed him and threw him back onto the ground.

"And so she is," Tragedy said glaring at the man. He walked back over and sat back at his place beside the blind girl and the dark girl, "Leave now." He said in a way that definitely meant "the end." The leader tightened his grip on his sword and looked at Tragedy like he was going to attack, but then turned away abruptly mumbling to himself. Tragedy's eyes returned to their normal, slightly glowing state and he turned to stare out at the wasteland again, "By the way, you can call me Tragedy." He said not looking at either of them, keeping his gaze out at the darkness of the wastes.

OoC: Just a heads up, I'm going to be moving the scene ahead in my next post, mostly to get the plot moving and also because the actual action has to show up.

 

[Aura]

Shadow glowered at the 'captain' of this journey. Stupid moronic *******. This WAS a free world. Tragedy seemed to think the same thing. He pushed the 'captain' onto the ground, seeming to snarl. It reminded Shadow of a Wolf. His eyes were glowing. That was wierd. They returned to normal when he sat down again.

"Thanks... again..." Shadow mumbled.

This was starting to get a little annoying. She could take care of herself. But still, it was nice.

"Since we're all getting to know each other, I'm Angel." Came the voice of the blind girl.

Shadow smiled, "I didn't introduce myself either... Shadow."

Then they fell to silence. A sound cut though the silence. A wailing siren. There were figures moving in the darkness ahead.

"We have company..."

OCC - So we can keep moving.

 

[Chadwyck]

OoC: Okay, sorry it took me so long to reply. But here I am and I'm finally replying! So onward into the abyss? ^^;

"Very well, Angel, Shadow, I--" Sirens, Tragedy knew that sound too well, here they come. Tragedy stood and loaded his rifle taking a shot at the shuffling silhouettes coming toward the caravan. One of the shadow's fell to the ground, headless. Tragedy loaded another round into his rifle. "Fall back, closer to the fire! Make a tighter perimeter!" He yelled so that the whole of the caravan should have heard him, he glanced at the two he had been talking to and nodded as to say "time to see if you can handle yourselves" and fell back, taking shots at the approaching figures.

He looked over and saw a gob of flaming fuel splash onto an approaching group, he looked over and saw that the 'captain's' sword had some long range capabilities. Even though Tragedy couldn't stand him, he had to admit he handled himself quite well. The majority of the caravan drew closer to the fire, "Here they come! Get ready!" Tragedy yelled as the ominous figures stepped into the faint glint of the fire and the rotting flesh was fully visible, no longer hidden by the near perfect darkness of the wasteland night.

 

[Aura]

OOC- Finally! ONWARD!!!

Shadow instantly obeyed, moving closer towards the fire. Shadow, dispite herself, felt rather nevous. She was a rather good hand-to-hand fighter, but was it enough? Time to see. Shadow crouched, cat-like, and waited for one to take the bait of her seemingly harmless appearance. One did, and Shadow pounced, grabbing it's head, and shoving it in the line of Tragity's fire. It was dead in seconds. More zombie's were amerging from the darkness, making Shadow wonder if they could cope without losing most of the group. She prayed they could, before throwing herself against her next target, and holding it still, while someone ran it though with a sword. She then retreated back towards the safety of the fire, having seen a small black dagger laying harmlessly on the ground. Shadow shrugged. It was better than nothing. Holding the dagger in a way that was sure to inflict damage on anything that she grabbed, Shadow sprung forwards to fight for survival.

 

[Sem]

Gem was sitting close to the fire, allowing it to warm her and give her a chance at sleep, though she doubted she would get any during the night. Nonetheless she was on her side with her coat over her like a blanket and with her head on her arm.

She paid no mind to anyone around her and ignored the conversations around her. A few times a person would say something to her, but she would simply nod or shake her head, or say nothing at all. She focused only on the flames before her, shutting out the ring of darkness around that threatened to consume them.

Gem sighed quietly and closed her eyes in an attempt to find sleep, or to at least allow her thoughts to make the time move faster. The sooner dawn came the better. As soon as she thought sleep was not that implausible, the sirens sounded.

The girl's eyes burst open with a scream as a brief image flashed before her eyes. She stood up quickly, though clumsily and put her coat on. Chaos ensued the sirens as people ran about getting ready to defend against the monsters that approached.

Gem shook as she looked around. She fumbled with the leather strap on her belt that kept her gun holstered. She drew it steadily, even so, she almost dropped it. Her stance was awkward and she looked like she wouldn't be able to shoot an elephant five feet in front of her.

The raven-haired teen yelped as she saw a mutant slither out of the shadow of night. It dragged along, sending out a foul stench before it.

"What are you doing?" she heard someone say.

"No, leave me alone," Gem answered as she held the gun with two hands towards the zombie.

"My god, c'mon! Shoot it!" the voice said more eagerly. It was definitely a female voice.

"Stop!" Gem was gasping and her eyes watered. Her hands shook so violently it was a wonder how she pulled the trigger, and a miracle that she didn't miss. The mutant didn't even seem to register that it was shot, it simply crumpled to the ground, and not a moment too soon.

"I swear, you are something quite pitiful," she heard the voice say again.

"I said leave me alone, go do something else!" Gem pleaded as she waved the gun around with one hand.

"You know what daddy said," the voice teased. "'Stay safe.'" she laughed. Just then Gem pulled her second weapon in one smooth and quick motion and held it in her left hand. She twirled it around her finger and shot a monster that was getting too close for comfort, hitting it square in the head with exact precision, blowing it apart.

"Where would you be without me? Huh?" the voice asked as once again Gem trembled, awkwardly waving the guns around. "You'd be dead."

Gem's left arm stopped shaking and fired another shot into another mutant.

"I said stop!" Gem cried, chinned quivering in fear.

"Move over, it's my turn."

And just like that, the tears stopped and the shaking ceased. Gem had a look of utmost confidence and a powerful stance and stride that made her seem indestructible. She walked calmly, firing shots at whatever creature dared go near hear. Her reflexes were like lightning as she twirled and spinning kicked a zombie away.

With a snap of her wrists the guns transformed, turning into energy-blades. Her movements were so fluid and quick it was as if she were dancing. swords lashed, cut, severed, and twirled in the blink of an eye as Gem spun and flipped. Her movements became so intricate and complex that the weapons themselves were now constantly changing. One second it would be firing an energy blast into the chest of a mutant while the next it would be decapitating another.

She was indomitable.

 

[Chadwyck]

Tragedy stood in the middle of the group, firing at any of the walking corpses that were foolish enough to wander into the range of his rifle. The lack of light didn't bother him, his eyes were accustomed to the wastelands sinister darkness. Any zombies not within his range were being tossed into it by Shadow, who was using no weapon other than her bare hands. That was either a very foolish move, or she was more skilled in hand-to-hand combat than she was with a weapon, Tragedy didn't have time to dwell on it now.

There was another girl, she wandered into the pack of mutants and began killing them off, not only very effectively, but with style. Her demeanor seemed to have changed suddenly, she was like a whole new person. During their travel during the daylight hours, she had been quiet, even timid. Now she was a killing machine.

Tragedy heard a cry from his left, he turned and saw the "captain" being overrun by the zombie horde. Tragedy did his best to save the man, but it was too late, they were already tearing him to shreds. He was still alive and in massive agony, and as an act of mercy, Tragedy put a bullet into his head, at least he got a quick and less painful death. Tragedy turned and saw he was facing his own problem, a mutant had gotten up uncomfortably close, and as Tragedy tried to take his shot, his gun jammed. "Damn it! You piece of junk." He yelled as he smashed the zombie over the head with the other end of his gun.

Already more were coming upon him and he had no time to react, he fell to the ground as a zombie descended upon him. He looked around frantically and saw the "captain's" disembodied arm with the claw still attached to it, he reached out and grabbed it as he took a swipe and cleaved the zombies head from it's shoulders. He detached the claw and attached it to his own arm quickly, pushing his way to the sword that the man had also wielded. He slashed his way through two more mutants and picked up the blade, he found the switch and the sword was engulfed in flame. "Right then, now things get interesting." He said as he moved into the center of the fight with his new arsenal.