We Were Children | Survival RP | IC |

[Relikai]

[b]Cadence Tallow

Hillary looked at Sakura at that. The Japanese was shaking slightly, looking down at the floor as she considered her words. There was no logical reason for Sakura to grant her sanctuary, nor even provide her with a cup of tea. Memories of Megumi, the girl who was raped, lingered in Sakura's mind. Megumi was the closest to a sister, taking Sakura's tantrums and comforting Hillary while the American adapted to Japan. Sakura knew that Cadence would never be a replacement for Megumi, no one would. If only the one who was jumped on by the two boys was Sakura, if only she had kept a closer watch on her junior...

"I don't know." Sakura replied, blinking as she regained control of her thoughts. "You..." Sakura pointed at Cadence's denim shorts, lacking buttons of any kind. "You do not deserve such a fate. The boys... They will eat you, cause you to go mad... All they want is to have fun, shoot... They... they are all crazy... we are all crazy..." Falling back, Sakura brought an arm to her eyes, trying to hide the hot tears flowing down her cheek. Hillary just sat there, saying nothing, letting Sakura have a moment of melting down into who she really is - A Japanese girl who lost her childhood due to circumstances.

"It's alright, Sakura has been through a lot." Hillary said, placing a hand on her senior who did not reject the gesture. "One day we were a simple band of musicians, the next Sakura had to lead us for survival."

Pulling a pair of shorts from a cupboard, belonging to a son or daughter of the family who used to own this place, Hillary handed it over to Cadence. "As she said, no girl deserves to be alone out there. There is strength in numbers. As for what we want, we want security. If you can provide that, instead of letting boys in, we'll provide you food, shelter, companionship. If you agree, I can brief you on our situation, which could be said to be pretty good."

[Terintania]

Drake rode down the street, standing up on the stirrups, looking around. "Chase!" He called, not caring if he drew too much attention from the Adults,"Savannah! Brooke! Piper!" He looked around desperately, before lowering himself down on to the saddle. "Where are you..." He muttered, just hoping that they were still alive. They had all lost enough already. Sighing, he rode on, not even realizing he was riding past Buckingham, his horse' hooves clopping against the ground. The horse's ears darted around, clearly alert for any signs of a threat, but it trusted it's rider enough not to run off and try to find a place to hide.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Palace of Westminster
Toby MacMillan

Toby hefted his cricket bat high above his head, and with a roar brought it smashing down onto the head of an older woman, leaning over a set of benches while snapping at him. The bat landed flat on the back of her head, spraying blood over Toby's already stained Cadet fatigues and sending a shock wave up his arms. He groaned as the woman slid off the bench, leaking blood from her ears, all while old adds played in his head promoting awareness for violence against women. He gave a quiet grin to himself as he rolled his shoulder to recover from the strike, looking around the room for his next target.

They had done well, standing in a circle for the most part and beating down all the adults as they stumbled down to meet them. Now, only one remained far off, standing alone in the back of the chamber. He appeared to have been a middle aged man, dressed in a business suit covered in puss and blood, and blue tie. The man spasmed and hissed as he got closer, barley able to walk on twisted legs. Toby took a step or two nearer, before he actually laughed.

"Hey! Hey guys, check it out!"

"What?" Jack asked, wiping blood from his own bat onto the back of a dispatched adults jacket.

"Yo, you seem him?" Toby pointed to the last adult, "Recognize him?" The was a murmur of 'nos' from around the room, as the other Cadets and Students watched the lame adult. "Fucking David Cameron."

"It can't be." A girl cadet said from atop one of the benches, "It doesn't even look like him. And they wouldn't just leave the Prime Minister here, would they?"

Toby shrugged, "If he was sick, maybe there wasn't a point. Where would they go? Who would even take him there?" Toby hefted his bat back up, holding it like a baseball bat over his shoulder, "Die you fascist fucker!" With a loud crack, the man fell over, and dent in the side of his head. The teen turned around grinning, taking a bow before the others. "Now..." He said panting, "The not so fun part."

Streaks of blood lead down the corridors of Westminster Palace as the House of Commons Chamber was emptied of bodies. There was not enough kids to do it all in one trip, so it would possibly take some time, especially as Jack had taken a group to do some scavenging, hoping to find guns, food, water, or anything useful. But the important thing was, the palace was safe. Or safer then it had been.

"This is disgusting..." one of the Westminster students muttered as he dragged the body of an old woman across the once clean floor.

"Meh, what are you gonna do?" Toby asked. While he'd never been particularly squeamish, but even he was having a hard time holding onto Mr. Cameron's body, "We can't just leave rotting bodies inside. They'll get disease, or more than they already do. You want that shit near your food? Near where you sleep? Breathing in that fresh Cholera smell every morning?" He paused, waiting for a response, "Didn't think so. We'll just burn these guys and be done with them, once and for all. Problem though is we'll need..."

"Hey! Who are you?" The kids dropped the bodies and pulled out their weapons, blunt objects and such, as the uniformed Cadets rushed forward to line up next to Toby, who pulled out his SIG Sauer Pistol. 2 Magazines left, he thought, swinging around to face a young boy who had caught them by surprise.

"Evening, mate." Toby said casually.

Jesse's sense of wonder and curious, admiring gazes on the walls of the former home of British parliament didn't last long without interruption. His ogling of the architectural feats left him distracted and out of touch with his surroundings, and this grave mistake suddenly left him face to face with a group of...well, teens, interestingly mixed between what looked to be average kids wielding their very own makeshift weaponry and a few uniformed ones, some also brandishing primitive bludgeoning tools while two, seemingly the ringleaders, aimed handguns towards him. All of a sudden the architectural qualities of the building around him mattered far less.

"Good evening." Jesse answered the one that spoke, glancing back at him over the barrel of the weapon he kept trained at Jesse. His tone didn't betray the uneasiness that crept into his bones faced with this armed group of possibly hostile boys and girls. His grip around the long bladed 'spear' in his hands tightened as he kept it pointed in the direction of his new possible foes, though it wouldn't do him a bit of good when he was taking fire from the handgun wielding lads. Not to mention, he was significantly outnumbered, and saw no viable avenue of escape should they decide to attack.

"I came here looking to get away from some trouble, yet...here you stand." he explained, deciding it wasn't best to recall to them that he'd actually gone toward the sound of gunfire. They'd think he was looking for a fight or just simply foolish. "Let's not do anything terribly rash."

"Can't be to careful, now a days." Toby said, relaxing a little bit, but still holding his gun level, "We don't want to hurt you, but we weren't expect guests so soon. We're still..." He paused, looking at the bodies of adults at their feet, and the trail of blood leading down the corridor, "We're just doing a bit of spring cleaning."

He looked the boy up and down, taking note of his heavy looking backpack and the spear he gripped tightly in his hands. To give the kid credit, he was good at hiding his emotions, as he had to know that should anything happen he would be outnumbered, and having a firearm was one hell of a force multiplier. Still, the boy seemed collected, and he was nothing more then a kid. They all were, and would kids just go bat shit insane at the end of the world. Toby lowered his gun, making it apparent he didn't mean to be threatening.

"Names Toby, some people call me Mac, but I really don't care. That there," He nodded over his shoulder at Jack who was beginning to relax his own pistol, "That's Jack. He's my second in command." The Cadets in the group chuckled.

"Oh fuck off, I out rank you!" Jack stepped forward, giving a two fingered salute, "Like he said, Colour Sergeant Jack Wallcroft, and that's Corporal MacMillan." Jack nodded to Toby, "What about you? And you wouldn't happen to have anything else on you, besides that spear. Guns? Knives? Anything like that?"

[Anowa]

Drake rode down the street, standing up on the stirrups, looking around. "Chase!" He called, not caring if he drew too much attention from the Adults,"Savannah! Brooke! Piper!" He looked around desperately, before lowering himself down on to the saddle. "Where are you..." He muttered, just hoping that they were still alive. They had all lost enough already. Sighing, he rode on, not even realizing he was riding past Buckingham, his horse' hooves clopping against the ground. The horse's ears darted around, clearly alert for any signs of a threat, but it trusted it's rider enough not to run off and try to find a place to hide.

Alexander Carter
Alex wasn't exactly fond of starting a scavenging trip so late in the evening, but their destination wasn't too far away, and really should've been their first destination upon arrival. Looking out the front window of the Bentley State car he saw an odd sight. A rider upon a horse, the main gate opened as the horse continued on.

"Uhh, should we follow him?" Came the voice of Marcus, the only one present to actually knew how to drive.

Alex replied, "Yes, try not to spook the horse though. It seemed frantic."

Marcus nodded and continued after the horse and rider, Alex leaned out the window and started calling to the rider, "Excuse me! is there a problem?!"

[Beiarusia]

Hillary & Sakura

Cadence Tallow
Somewhere in London

---

The one girl, Sakura, broke down as some horrid memory returned to haunt her all the while her friend, Hillary, tried in vain to comfort her. It was understandable. The world was broken and near everyone still living in it could list off some hardship that had befallen them. It wasn’t that Cadence was ignorant to the plight of others, far from it, but quite simply she was apathetic to it all due to her own circumstances. So Cadence said nothing as the girl cried and was content to simply stare into her tea. The denim shorts were an unexpected gift, one that, while thoughtful, served only to remind them all that things would never again be as they once were.

“I guess you’re right,” Cadence said after a long moment in response to Hillary. Being alone was easier than having to deal with others, but given the state of the world such a thought was tantamount to suicide, and while Cadence was numb to it all the idea of a horrible death at the hands of rabid strangers was enough to make her tread carefully for once in her short life. Truth be told today was the first time in a long while that she actually cared for what happened to her. After the accident years before… after her father, Cadence had seen little point in pressing onwards, but given the choice she would gladly choose life over what the gang of boys had in mind. It was a terrible thought that nearly moved the girl to tears if there had been any left to shed. Cadence looked away from her tea once more and caught the gaze of Hillary. “Not like I really have a choice then. I don’t… don’t want to die like that. I’m probably useless, but thank you for letting me stay.”

She rubbed at her eyes. They were still itchy from her contacts. It probably didn’t help that she had slept with them in the night before. Cadence would take care of it later, same for the pants, but for now she only wanted to sit in the little flat. The tea was still warm.

[Terintania]

Drake rode down the street, standing up on the stirrups, looking around. "Chase!" He called, not caring if he drew too much attention from the Adults,"Savannah! Brooke! Piper!" He looked around desperately, before lowering himself down on to the saddle. "Where are you..." He muttered, just hoping that they were still alive. They had all lost enough already. Sighing, he rode on, not even realizing he was riding past Buckingham, his horse' hooves clopping against the ground. The horse's ears darted around, clearly alert for any signs of a threat, but it trusted it's rider enough not to run off and try to find a place to hide.

Alexander Carter
Alex wasn't exactly fond of starting a scavenging trip so late in the evening, but their destination wasn't too far away, and really should've been their first destination upon arrival. Looking out the front window of the Bentley State car he saw an odd sight. A rider upon a horse, the main gate opened as the horse continued on.

"Uhh, should we follow him?" Came the voice of Marcus, the only one present to actually knew how to drive.

Alex replied, "Yes, try not to spook the horse though. It seemed frantic."

Marcus nodded and continued after the horse and rider, Alex leaned out the window and started calling to the rider, "Excuse me! is there a problem?!"

Drake was rather aware of Marcus and Alex even before they called out to him, because they were in a car, and cars made noise. His horse seemed perfectly comfortable with the car, but flattened it's ears when they yelled out of the window, trying to move away from them, but Drake was well in control, holding the horse back, and petting it's neck to calm it. "What, you mean like every adult in the world being dead or a zombie?" He asked sarcastically to the question of whether or not there was a problem. He wasn't sure whether or not to trust these people enough to reveal his problems to them, so he was just playing it close to his chest.

[Kazarogkai]

Simon Blanche

I ran and I ran as fast as my little legs would take me. I ran for if I did not my story would surely end today for behind me came the monsters who had made my life in the past days a living nightmare. Inside a building I ran and hid under a counter in what appeared to be a kitchen. I took this as a time to catch my breath and hopefully if luck smiled down on me this would prove to be a sanctuary where I could rest my weary head. In there I waited doing my best to stay quiet hoping, begging that I would remain unseen. Outside I could hear them gargling sniffing like sadistic animals hunting for their prey. They drew closer and closer until eventually I heard a knock on the thin piece of wood that separated here from the rest of the world. All I could do was cry and in response a guttural roar emanated and a point of an axe pierced through the thin door. Luck was not on my side today most certainly. I began to hyperventilate trying to think up a solution to my predicament all the while I could hear the screams for blood of the feral pack and the axe chopping away at my only defense. I knew It would be a long shot but I had little choice. I calmed myself down as best that I could and with my dagger in hand I readied for the rumble to come. At the count of three:

"One"
"Two"
"Three"

I rushed out of counter into the rumble tackling one of my assailants to the ground. With my dagger in hand I stabbed into the heart of the axe wielding pack leader killing him almost instantly. Just as I had dispatched one In a flash my opponents came down upon me like a tidal wave ripping and tearing at my body but luckily for me I still had my armour which kept me safe from such threats mostly. Still the monsters got a few lucky blows with one biting into a weaker part of my armour causing me to suffer puncture wounds. I didn't go down though and via kicking and slashing I was able to more or less wiggle my way out and bring myself to my feet. I made a run for it spying a small open window on the far side I jumped and tried my best to climb through. The pack though refused to have their hardwork end in failure and so rushed forward attempting to stop me. Just when I thought I was almost out I felt my leg grabbed and me being pulled right back in. I heaved with all my might and despite it's best efforts was able to make it through but just before I did it chomped right on down on my leg giving me a particularly nasty wound. I screamed in agony from the pain that riveted through my body but knew I had to overcome and as such shrugged it off more or less and hobbled my sorry ass away.I huffed and puffed thinking about my terrible day all the way back home.

"Stupid Simon all this for a damn candy bar. Just my luck eh?"

[Anowa]

Alexander Carter
Alex wasn't exactly fond of starting a scavenging trip so late in the evening, but their destination wasn't too far away, and really should've been their first destination upon arrival. Looking out the front window of the Bentley State car he saw an odd sight. A rider upon a horse, the main gate opened as the horse continued on.

"Uhh, should we follow him?" Came the voice of Marcus, the only one present to actually knew how to drive.

Alex replied, "Yes, try not to spook the horse though. It seemed frantic."

Marcus nodded and continued after the horse and rider, Alex leaned out the window and started calling to the rider, "Excuse me! is there a problem?!"

Drake was rather aware of Marcus and Alex even before they called out to him, because they were in a car, and cars made noise. His horse seemed perfectly comfortable with the car, but flattened it's ears when they yelled out of the window, trying to move away from them, but Drake was well in control, holding the horse back, and petting it's neck to calm it. "What, you mean like every adult in the world being dead or a zombie?" He asked sarcastically to the question of whether or not there was a problem. He wasn't sure whether or not to trust these people enough to reveal his problems to them, so he was just playing it close to his chest.

Alex rose an eyebrow, "Most people don't go around frantically calling out names. If we wanted you hurt we'd have run you over. Besides with the way you were panicking, it seems like you'd need help. All I ask in return is you continued stay at Buckingham after this is all over. We're short on hands, we could use your help with things."

[Grande Republic of Arcadia]

[align=center]
London, England

Present day

James Munche
He ran across the street and he barley got past them. He needed to distract them so veronica could get to the building across from the parliament building. He raised his m4 and fired a round off and started yelling. The infected soon followed him and he ran like hell. He ran faster than he ever has before. He panted so loud that anyone can hear. His feet slammed against the ground. He busted open a car window that started an alarm and he ran even faster. He opened a car door that was luckily unlocked and he locked the doors. He s\was surrounded. He picked up his cell phone and called veronica.

Veronica Wright
After james ran yeling to get the zombie's attention she ran to the target building. She was in the alley and looked across, looks ike james' distraction worked. She started to run to the parliament building as he phone rang, she pulled it out of her pocket and saw it was james. When she made it into the parliament building she was met by suvivors and told them what happened to james. She played the message jmes had send it said: "I surrounded on...5th street, they are everywhere, im in a blue car can you get someone to help me."

[Terintania]

Drake was rather aware of Marcus and Alex even before they called out to him, because they were in a car, and cars made noise. His horse seemed perfectly comfortable with the car, but flattened it's ears when they yelled out of the window, trying to move away from them, but Drake was well in control, holding the horse back, and petting it's neck to calm it. "What, you mean like every adult in the world being dead or a zombie?" He asked sarcastically to the question of whether or not there was a problem. He wasn't sure whether or not to trust these people enough to reveal his problems to them, so he was just playing it close to his chest.

Alex rose an eyebrow, "Most people don't go around frantically calling out names. If we wanted you hurt we'd have run you over. Besides with the way you were panicking, it seems like you'd need help. All I ask in return is you continued stay at Buckingham after this is all over. We're short on hands, we could use your help with things."

Drake looked like he thought Alex was weird with their thinking that it'd be that easy to just 'run over' a guy on a relatively tall horse. The horse certainly wouldn't stand for that, and it wasn't like they wouldn't have heard it coming and gotten out of the way. "I was looking for my siblings," He sighed, rubbing his horse's ears. The horse was watching the car carefully, but seemed more interested in listening for any Adults wandering around. "What kind of things?" He asked, tilting his head at them.

[Anowa]

Alex rose an eyebrow, "Most people don't go around frantically calling out names. If we wanted you hurt we'd have run you over. Besides with the way you were panicking, it seems like you'd need help. All I ask in return is you continued stay at Buckingham after this is all over. We're short on hands, we could use your help with things."

Drake looked like he thought Alex was weird with their thinking that it'd be that easy to just 'run over' a guy on a relatively tall horse. The horse certainly wouldn't stand for that, and it wasn't like they wouldn't have heard it coming and gotten out of the way. "I was looking for my siblings," He sighed, rubbing his horse's ears. The horse was watching the car carefully, but seemed more interested in listening for any Adults wandering around. "What kind of things?" He asked, tilting his head at them.

Alex shrugged, "Planting crops outback mostly, potatoes, corn, squash, beans, basic stuff. We could also use help scavenging for food, water, and raw materials. We can do the searching fine as is, but as it stands we don't have anyone with a green thumb, and food will run out eventually." Alex sighed, "But that can all wait until we find your family. Regardless of whether or not you join us, it would be immoral of me not to offer our help."

[Russian people of america]

Isaac had been jogging for quite some time, his goal was to find somewhere unlocked to stay in at this point. The sun was going down, and he'd seen what sort of shenanigans the Walkers got up to in the dark. With the odd angled shadows and the slight haze in the air, he didn't notice the rubble he was strutting through, so he pretty much kicked a brick across the street and paid little mind to it. What he paid most mind to was the sudden voice, male, 15-18 possibly armed, certainyl a fan of Ren-Faire. His L85 was up and pointed square at the kid's chest in a flash, the click of a safety going off came a moment later. This was instinct, and really came before Isaac realized what was said.

"Corporal Isaac MacDougall, Royal Marine Commandos. I don't suppose you're in the know of who that was on the loudspeaker earlier?" Despite the calm tone of voice, Isaac had yet to aim away from the younger teen's chest. A single step would be all it would take for a warning shot.

Somewhere in London

Peter gave the man an odd look as he pulled a gun on him, and in turn glared but didn't act hostile otherwise. "You can drop the weapon, if you shoot us then your no better than the savages raping girls on the street. Besides our gang would avenge us. I don't know what you mean by loudspeaker, i haven't heard any of them recently. If you mean the megaphone i have here, then your talking to him" he said holding up the yellow object. "I'm a member of the only civilized gang in this city, the West London Gang. We make our home in the historic Tower of London, we have warm beds, fresh meals and clean water. And best of all, we don't have to worry about the adults tearing us to shreds in our sleep. Everything is shared, everyone is equal. We have rule and law, and we have a strong leader, a fair leader. Now, explain this Corporal thing. All the adults are dead, how are you a corporal"? Peter allowed a look of interest to light up on his face, watching the mans reactions carefully.

[Terintania]

Drake looked like he thought Alex was weird with their thinking that it'd be that easy to just 'run over' a guy on a relatively tall horse. The horse certainly wouldn't stand for that, and it wasn't like they wouldn't have heard it coming and gotten out of the way. "I was looking for my siblings," He sighed, rubbing his horse's ears. The horse was watching the car carefully, but seemed more interested in listening for any Adults wandering around. "What kind of things?" He asked, tilting his head at them.

Alex shrugged, "Planting crops outback mostly, potatoes, corn, squash, beans, basic stuff. We could also use help scavenging for food, water, and raw materials. We can do the searching fine as is, but as it stands we don't have anyone with a green thumb, and food will run out eventually." Alex sighed, "But that can all wait until we find your family. Regardless of whether or not you join us, it would be immoral of me not to offer our help."

"I'm afraid I'm not very good with plants," Drake replied,"Scavenging I can do. Brooke is probably the best bet for farming if we can find my family," He said, staring down at the ground. He gave Alex a appreciative look, and gave a nod,"I'll do what I can to help you guys out, too. You seem trustworthy enough. Can never be too careful, you know?"
Suddenly, his horse jumped to the side, nearly dumping him, when an adult showed up nearby. It wasn't particularly threatening, since it was just one, but the horse didn't really have that kind of logic. It just knew that this thing was a threat.

[The Federation of Democratic Regions]

London, United Kingdom
Gray's Inn Road

Breanne took a bite out of the granola bar as she crossed yet another street. She had never really realized the scale of the city compared to Trondheim, and had never been far from home without someone to drive her or money for a bus. Now, there were no bus drivers nor a happy smiling father to pick her up from boxing lessons and better yet she was likely the only survivor from her family. The site of someone she had trusted as friend and a family member chewing on her younger sister was one she would not soon get out of her mind. Regardless, she still had to pay attention she reminded herself as she tossed the wrapper from the granola bar into a trashcan. The streets were not cobbled as she had always thought they were closer to central London, and most of the businesses she had passed were of no use in a survival situation.

Who would need to go to a sit down fine dining Italian restaurant when the waiters and chefs were dead? The thought of a restaurant run by zombies for people made her giggle a bit, a light sound that barely carried down the street. She was keeping sound to a minimum after witnessing several violent gangs raping girls they had caught and decided she would rather that not happen to her; she could take on two or three but the mobs had dozens of teenagers with weapons, not odds she was willing to chance. One business caught her eye, a small pharmacy named Starr Chemists. Deciding it was worth a look, she stepped onto the sidewalk and tried to peer in a window only to discover that all the lights were off. Everything seemed to be perfectly intact, except for a knocked over stool by the counter and an open door leading to an employee area.

Pushing the door open, she winced when it made a small tone which resounded throughout the store. After nothing emerged for several seconds, she shrugged off her backpack and opened up the top pouch before looking at the closest shelf. Several boxes of allergy medicines were of mild importance, although she grabbed one just in case she ran into a mob of unruly flowers releasing pollen to attack young girls such as herself. A roll of toilet paper along with two bottles of Advil and a small pack of morphine were tossed in. A stick of deodorant caught her eye along with a box of sleep aids; both went into a side pocket. A small fridge by the counter was chilly to the touch and contained several bottles of water which she grabbed immediately.

As she was sweeping several bags off of a chip display into her bag, something fell to the ground with a loud crash in the backroom. Cautiously, she dropped her backpack and pushed open the door a bit more. Suddenly, an overweight adult dressed in a pharmacist's garb slammed her into the door, it's mouth opening and closing rapidly as it tried to bite her. Stunned, she kicked the thing in the chest to get it off her before springing to her feet and assuming a fighting stance. The thing stumbled back, clutching at its chest, before looking back up and charging her again. This time she struck with a blow to it's neck timed with a kick to the leg which brought it down to the floor. Filled with the sudden rush of adrenaline, she stomped its head several more times until it lay completely still.

Panting, she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath before walking back into the main area and grabbing her backpack. Sliding the straps back onto her shoulders, she pushed the door back open and ignored the chime it made, deciding the commotion of that thing would've attracted anything in the area by now. Continuing her trek down the road, she saw a cycling store called Condor's Cycles. Through the window she could see several advanced looking bicycles and accessories, with some of the price tags over three thousand pounds. No adult was going to arrest her for theft now, she figured, she could take anything she wanted and be on her way with more storage and a method of transportation.

There were several bikes on display in the store, along with several small stands of energy bars and protein drinks. Racks of accessories lined the back wall, and included water bottles and what looked like bags for the bikes. A touring bike sounded like something that would be comfy, and a quick comparison from the back showed that one of the bikes could hold a full frame bag and a bag behind the seat. Wheeling it off the display, she first made sure the tires were fully pumped before grabbing a full frame bag rated for fourteen liter capacity which attached quite nicely. She also grabbed a nine liter saddle pack and a water bottle holder, as well as a handful of protein bars and a water bottle. Slipping the bottle into the holder, she unzipped her backpack and began transferring the contents into the bags on the bike. When that was done, she grabbed her now much lighter backpack and wheeled the bike out the door.

Breanne snorted lightly as she did, considering the whole thing would've cost over fifteen hundred pounds regularly and now she could take whatever she wanted. She thought of all the things in life she had always wanted but had never been able to buy, and how easily she could just take them now. As the bike bounced off the curb and onto the street, she began to wonder if things would ever be the same again. Where there used to be cops, there were now gangs of racist teenagers raping every girl they could find. Where there was the comfort of home, there was a bloody flat filled with mindless infected. She hopped onto the bike and began pedalling down the street towards Chancery Lane. That was something she had heard of, considering it was a part of the A40. A quick glance at her tourist's map revealed that the A40 ran straight to Hyde Park and then to Kensington Palace.

A palace...sounded like a nice shelter for a while, she told herself. As she neared the intersection, she passed a burning Argos Supermarket with several bodies strown about on the sidewalk and inside. Several of them were police, and a brief stop allowed her to grab a torch and a baton, which would be a much better weapon than her hands. On her ride down the A40, she passed dozens of infected adults, many of whom attempted to shamble after her only to be left far behind as she simply pedalled quicker. Hyde Park came into view, with the pristine and beautiful grounds marred by corpses and dozens of infected. The tops of Kensington Palace could be seen over the trees, and filled her with hope that this could work.

As the Palace came into plain view, she noticed the pronounced lack of shambling adults or dead bodies, which made it clear that the palace had closed to the public before the outbreak. The tourist's map noted that some of the favorite rooms were the apartments of the King and Queen, which she decided was where she would hope to set up her safe house. All of the entrances she tried were locked, including the tourist's entrance which was chained off and had a sign which read 'Sorry, we're currently closed to the public.' A quick search of a tour guide's booth revealed a set of keys labeled 'Master set', with each of the keys having a printer out label with a number code on it. She grabbed a tour guide's map while she was there as well.

Deciding to avoid the tourist's entrance, she found a nearby side door and unlocked it before stepping inside with the bike. The grandiosity and beauty of the palace were almost overwhelming, and it was even better that nobody else was here clearly. The stench of death or blood was completely absent, which meant there was either none or very few infected. A quick look at the guide's map allowed her to locate the Queen's Apartments, which it said was a large series of rooms which included a dining area and several bedrooms. Perfect, she thought, there was more than enough room for any frivolous supplies she wanted and other people if she ever found any. Setting the backpack down by the wall and leaning the bike up beside it, she locked the door she had entered through before walking through the rooms and removing any ropes that had been placed to separate the public from any of the exhibits.

After that was done, she sat down on the bed where Queen Mary the Second had once slept and analyzed the map she had in her hands. A series of embassies were right across the street from the castle, and included the Russian Embassy, while across Hyde Park was the Imperial College where could undoubtedly find a large amount of supplies. Several grand and massive department stores were also labeled, and would no doubt have a lack of shoppers and dozens of untouched shelves. Making sure all the doors were securely locked, she kicked off her shoes and curled up on the bed to sleep as she realized just how tired her legs were after cycling several miles.

[Anowa]

Isaac had been jogging for quite some time, his goal was to find somewhere unlocked to stay in at this point. The sun was going down, and he'd seen what sort of shenanigans the Walkers got up to in the dark. With the odd angled shadows and the slight haze in the air, he didn't notice the rubble he was strutting through, so he pretty much kicked a brick across the street and paid little mind to it. What he paid most mind to was the sudden voice, male, 15-18 possibly armed, certainyl a fan of Ren-Faire. His L85 was up and pointed square at the kid's chest in a flash, the click of a safety going off came a moment later. This was instinct, and really came before Isaac realized what was said.

"Corporal Isaac MacDougall, Royal Marine Commandos. I don't suppose you're in the know of who that was on the loudspeaker earlier?" Despite the calm tone of voice, Isaac had yet to aim away from the younger teen's chest. A single step would be all it would take for a warning shot.

Somewhere in London

Peter gave the man an odd look as he pulled a gun on him, and in turn glared but didn't act hostile otherwise. "You can drop the weapon, if you shoot us then your no better than the savages raping girls on the street. Besides our gang would avenge us. I don't know what you mean by loudspeaker, i haven't heard any of them recently. If you mean the megaphone i have here, then your talking to him" he said holding up the yellow object. "I'm a member of the only civilized gang in this city, the West London Gang. We make our home in the historic Tower of London, we have warm beds, fresh meals and clean water. And best of all, we don't have to worry about the adults tearing us to shreds in our sleep. Everything is shared, everyone is equal. We have rule and law, and we have a strong leader, a fair leader. Now, explain this Corporal thing. All the adults are dead, how are you a corporal"? Peter allowed a look of interest to light up on his face, watching the mans reactions carefully.

Isaac's finger twitched upon the trigger guard, what the teen said sounded a bit too good to be true. Except the rapists and killers part, that was more than believable, "I'm a Corporal because me and my parents signed me on with the Royal Marines when I was sixteen, age of enlistment got dropped some time ago. Fast forward two years and a tour in Afghanistan and here we are." Having gotten that off his chest, he began to inch towards an empty and wheelless car on the side of the street, not moving his crosshair from the teen's sturnum. "So seeing as I have a heaping more life experience than you, I'll let you know that a purely communist society isn't the best way to go. But props to you for actually trying, if you manage to pull it off I'll applaud you."

[Gvozdevsk]

Tahmineh Ahmadzadeh

Tahmineh had finally started to regain her composure, if only because her stomach had been growling for the past... she didn't even know how long, and by this point the hunger was starting to hurt. She took her backpack off of her back and started to look through it for food, anything she could eat. By this point, she was starting to run low. She dug through her backpack looking for something, eventually digging out a protein bar, which she ate with all the grace and dignity of a carnivorous animal devouring its prey. But it still didn't completely satisfy her hunger. And she knew that before the disaster she was already underweight, by now it would have to be to an unhealthy extent. She had to find more food soon, or else it would be starvation, not zombies or another person, that would kill her. The only problem was, she had no idea where to go. Most of the stores would have been looted for food right now. She didn't really have a group of fellow survivors to return to either. All of her friends refused to leave their home. They'd all probably been killed by this point. Upper class neighbourhood full of Muslims, a target for looters in general and racist chavs alike.

She grabbed the military radio that had been sitting in a pouch on her plate carrier. She had no idea how to use it, or if it even worked. She hadn't heard anyone speaking on it, but she assumed it would work if she tried to say something. She knew it was against her better judgement to try to contact someone with it. Someone could probably find her. But she tried anyway.

"Can anyone hear me?" She said into the radio. She waited a few seconds. Nothing.

"Is this thing working?" Nothing. She continued trying to get a response three more times, before shouting a long stream of Farsi curses into the radio and putting it back into its pouch. Maybe she'd find someone who knows how to use it and she could trade it for something more beneficial to her, like food.

She wanted to go get more food, but at the same time, she didn't want to leave her relative safety, hiding behind a Starbucks counter. She didn't want to go back to the mosque she was at earlier today, the chavs would probably come shoot it up again tonight and maybe this time she wouldn't be lucky.

Eventually the need for food took over, and she decided it was time to leave to look for something to eat. She walked down the street, tightly gripping her rifle, until she came across a convenience store. The place was a mess and looked like it had already been looted, but there still appeared to be some food. She grabbed whatever she could fit into her backpack, without weighing herself down. She tried to grab as much canned food as possible, but eventually had to settle for more lightweight things. She hoped maybe soon she could find a restraunt or someone's house that had some food that wasn't spoiled. Then she could cook an actual meal, not have to rely on this junk she was shoveling into her mouth.

After leaving the store, she still wasn't exactly sure where to go. For whatever reason, she felt heading towards the center of London was the best option. It would either be the closest thing to civilization, or it would be a complete warzone. But she wouldn't know until she got there. She didn't know how long it would take either, and she was doubtful that she would even survive.

[Altito Asmoro]

Sherry Harker
Somewhere in London

Despite the lack of threats on the first floor, it was apparent that the lack of food, running water, and soon the electricity, ran upon her as a newfound threat. Sure, food still ample and not all teenagers in London are trained with survival, even she has few. But water and electricity will be an expensive commodity in the long-run.

Running outside, alone, scavenging things, is not a safe thing to do. But if she moves to the nearest clinic (she already saw one earlier, not knowing whether it's abandoned or not), she can makes it safe and perhaps able to finds some supplies left. Taking whatever supplies she can takes, which consists of few cans, and a bottle of water, she waited until the night came to make her way to that clinic.

Or maybe hoping that she can finds an access to cross the roads safely and into the apartment in front of the current apartment she lived in. She boiled a water and made a cup of tea to soothed herself first, while tried to not be reminded of the first kill she had...

[Russian people of america]

Somewhere in London

Peter gave the man an odd look as he pulled a gun on him, and in turn glared but didn't act hostile otherwise. "You can drop the weapon, if you shoot us then your no better than the savages raping girls on the street. Besides our gang would avenge us. I don't know what you mean by loudspeaker, i haven't heard any of them recently. If you mean the megaphone i have here, then your talking to him" he said holding up the yellow object. "I'm a member of the only civilized gang in this city, the West London Gang. We make our home in the historic Tower of London, we have warm beds, fresh meals and clean water. And best of all, we don't have to worry about the adults tearing us to shreds in our sleep. Everything is shared, everyone is equal. We have rule and law, and we have a strong leader, a fair leader. Now, explain this Corporal thing. All the adults are dead, how are you a corporal"? Peter allowed a look of interest to light up on his face, watching the mans reactions carefully.

Isaac's finger twitched upon the trigger guard, what the teen said sounded a bit too good to be true. Except the rapists and killers part, that was more than believable, "I'm a Corporal because me and my parents signed me on with the Royal Marines when I was sixteen, age of enlistment got dropped some time ago. Fast forward two years and a tour in Afghanistan and here we are." Having gotten that off his chest, he began to inch towards an empty and wheelless car on the side of the street, not moving his crosshair from the teen's sturnum. "So seeing as I have a heaping more life experience than you, I'll let you know that a purely communist society isn't the best way to go. But props to you for actually trying, if you manage to pull it off I'll applaud you."

Peter rolled his eyes, a smile crossing his face. He was an arrogant boy, though he didn't like to admit it. He knew that Communism had it's problems, and he was aware that it was painted red by the allies after WW2. But if they worked hard enough, and they kept themselves true to the cause then they would be fine. At least thats what James told them, and he had no reason not to believe it. Life had only improved since they had adopted the Communist society they lived in. Of course they didn't have many personal possessions, but it was a sacrifice they needed to make, right? "You know, if you want you can come back to the Tower with us, it's getting late and you smell like a pig. Come get a bath, stay the night and experience a bit of socialism for yourself. If you don't like what you see then you can leave without another word". He offered, he didn't see any reason not to. As Peter finished he felt a tug at his coat. Turning he noticed the younger guard that had been brought along. They were closer to the tower, and so James had thought it would be a good idea to let the kid tag along. He must have been thirteen, fourteen maybe. He'd completely forgotten about the kid.
"Its getting dark, won't the monsters try and hurt us again"? Peter shook his head and turned back to the man who had gotten close to one of the cars. "Well? It has to beat being out here in the cold". He gestured to the driver, who allowed the jeep to purr to life once again.

[Anowa]

-snip-

Şirin Gursultur
The past few hours for Şirin has been nerve wracking, she had yet to find any unlocked houses she could take shelter in, and depite her best efforts in knocking doors down she had yet to gain entry into any of them. The most she did was attract the adults and a gang of firebugs. AT least the heat was a comfort. She shivered as she rubbed her arms in a vain attempt to heat herself up, it was ironic -that being a Red Cross volunteer- she'd only grabbed a reflective vest rather than a coat.

She shook her head as she shivered, flaking, dried up blood was being chipped from her as she moved, bits remained stuck to her clothing and hair. A few splotches remained on her face and neck, still clinging on in vain. Şirin hadn't wiped herself off yet, because she didn't want to waste any of the sterile cloths in her bag, nor did she feel safe enough to do so.

As she continued into a crossroad in the street, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. It was another person, feminine frame, but the light level made it hard to tell for sure. Şirin raised her hand and waved cautiously, afraid of what any amount of sound would do.

---

Peter shook his head and turned back to the man who had gotten close to one of the cars. "Well? It has to beat being out here in the cold". He gestured to the driver, who allowed the jeep to purr to life once again.

Isaac MacDougall
Isaac concluded that the teen was right, being out in the dark wasn't a smart move. He lowered his rifle, and began walking forward towards the team of Tower gang members. "I'll stay the night, see if it's worth staying come morning."

---

"I'm afraid I'm not very good with plants," Drake replied,"Scavenging I can do. Brooke is probably the best bet for farming if we can find my family," He said, staring down at the ground. He gave Alex a appreciative look, and gave a nod,"I'll do what I can to help you guys out, too. You seem trustworthy enough. Can never be too careful, you know?"
Suddenly, his horse jumped to the side, nearly dumping him, when an adult showed up nearby. It wasn't particularly threatening, since it was just one, but the horse didn't really have that kind of logic. It just knew that this thing was a threat.

Alexander Carter
Running into the departed out here was always an issue, they tended not to make any noise until they were damn near on you. Fortunately for Alex, they couldn't bite through steel and leather. The car door opened and out he stepped, clad from neck to toe in his armor, reaching inside he grabbed his broadsword and helmet, donning both. He obtained his sighting of the encroaching Undead and strode up to it, it turned and made a lunge, but not before Alex's sword cut in a downward stroke. Cleaving a larg gash from the former man's right trapezoid to the center of his sternum. It promptly stopped moving and slumped forward onto it's knees. Placing his boot on it's chest near the wound, Alex pulled the sword free with a stomach turning slurp.

He turned towards Drake and continued, "You still have skills though, but let's get to finding your family shall we? Tell me, what are their names, what do they look like?"

Marcus began getting flashlights out of the Bentley's trunk and handed them to the three others in the car. as well as a flare gun of his own.

[Russian people of america]

-snip-

Peter shook his head and turned back to the man who had gotten close to one of the cars. "Well? It has to beat being out here in the cold". He gestured to the driver, who allowed the jeep to purr to life once again.

Isaac MacDougall
Isaac concluded that the teen was right, being out in the dark wasn't a smart move. He lowered his rifle, and began walking forward towards the team of Tower gang members. "I'll stay the night, see if it's worth staying come morning."

Peter smiled triumphantly, he'd managed to convince someone with military experience to visit the Tower. If he decided to stay it would a huge bonus for the group. James would probably be pleased with him, maybe he'd even get a precious stone as a reward. The precious stones, from the Crown Jewels collection, they weren't a currency, no they served more the purpose of a medal. It had been decided to use them as a way to distinguish brave or beneficial acts among the group. Then again, he probably wouldn't, James seemed like he wanted to save them for when something truly heroic happened. If too many of the stones were passed out they could become a currency, and if they became a currency people would get greedy. He abandoned the thought, patting the seat next to the driver, "Hop in, it's not too far away". He fell into the back seat with the other kid, who looked around quietly for the 'monsters'.

[Gvozdevsk]

Şirin Gursultur
The past few hours for Şirin has been nerve wracking, she had yet to find any unlocked houses she could take shelter in, and depite her best efforts in knocking doors down she had yet to gain entry into any of them. The most she did was attract the adults and a gang of firebugs. AT least the heat was a comfort. She shivered as she rubbed her arms in a vain attempt to heat herself up, it was ironic -that being a Red Cross volunteer- she'd only grabbed a reflective vest rather than a coat.

She shook her head as she shivered, flaking, dried up blood was being chipped from her as she moved, bits remained stuck to her clothing and hair. A few splotches remained on her face and neck, still clinging on in vain. Şirin hadn't wiped herself off yet, because she didn't want to waste any of the sterile cloths in her bag, nor did she feel safe enough to do so.

As she continued into a crossroad in the street, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. It was another person, feminine frame, but the light level made it hard to tell for sure. Şirin raised her hand and waved cautiously, afraid of what any amount of sound would do.

Tahmineh Ahmadzadeh

As Tahmineh continued down the street, she soon spotted another human figure. She quickly tried to look for cover, somewhere to hide, until she could see the other human wave. Tahmineh couldn't make very many details in the dark, but the other person appeared to be a girl, not carrying a visible weapon. She started to raise her rifle so she could use the mounted flashlight to be sure what she was getting into, but she knew how terrified she would be if someone pointed a rifle at her and blinded her with a flashlight, so she decided it was a bad idea. She instead reached for her iPhone, using the flashlight function. The other person was definitely a girl, unarmed, Middle Eastern. Probably someone Tahmineh could trust.

"Salam aleikom," Tahmineh called to the other girl, she wasn't sure if she spoke Farsi, but the greeting was the same in most Middle Eastern languages. "I'm not going to shoot you, you can trust me."

Tahmineh turned off the flashlight on her phone and pocketed it, walking over to the other girl with her weapon down. She almost felt like she was walking into an ambush, but seeing someone who appeared to come from her part of the world made her feel a little more safe. At least it wasn't some chav gone wild looking for his next victim.

"I honestly have no idea where I'm going or what I'm doing, do you?" Tahmineh asked the other girl.

[Terintania]

-snip-

"I'm afraid I'm not very good with plants," Drake replied,"Scavenging I can do. Brooke is probably the best bet for farming if we can find my family," He said, staring down at the ground. He gave Alex a appreciative look, and gave a nod,"I'll do what I can to help you guys out, too. You seem trustworthy enough. Can never be too careful, you know?"
Suddenly, his horse jumped to the side, nearly dumping him, when an adult showed up nearby. It wasn't particularly threatening, since it was just one, but the horse didn't really have that kind of logic. It just knew that this thing was a threat.

Alexander Carter
Running into the departed out here was always an issue, they tended not to make any noise until they were damn near on you. Fortunately for Alex, they couldn't bite through steel and leather. The car door opened and out he stepped, clad from neck to toe in his armor, reaching inside he grabbed his broadsword and helmet, donning both. He obtained his sighting of the encroaching Undead and strode up to it, it turned and made a lunge, but not before Alex's sword cut in a downward stroke. Cleaving a larg gash from the former man's right trapezoid to the center of his sternum. It promptly stopped moving and slumped forward onto it's knees. Placing his boot on it's chest near the wound, Alex pulled the sword free with a stomach turning slurp.

He turned towards Drake and continued, "You still have skills though, but let's get to finding your family shall we? Tell me, what are their names, what do they look like?"

Marcus began getting flashlights out of the Bentley's trunk and handed them to the three others in the car. as well as a flare gun of his own.

Drake frowned when Alex just murdered the Adult without any problem, and his horse seemed rather alarmed by the sword and murder as well. "Was that necessary?" He asked, frowning at them, and at the dead body. They weren't technically undead, they were just really sick, which meant there was possibility of a cure. Of course, he understood killing in self-defense, but none of them had been in any particular danger at that moment, with two in the car and him on a horse, which could obviously outrun a human, especially a sick one.
"Brooke, Chase, Piper and Savannah," He said,"Brooke has brown hair that goes about midlength down her back, but she usually keeps it up, and she wears glasses over her brown eyes. She's 14. Chase is 13, with short black hair and brown eyes. He usually wears black. Piper.....She's 10. She has a little shorter than shoulder length light brown hair, and brown eyes. She usually has a flower or something in her hair. Savannah is 17, and she has sort of dark blue-green hair, and wears sort of tomboyish clothes. Her eyes are a bright blue." He frowned as he recalled his family, hoping they were OK.

[Enara]

@Gvozdevsk & Anowa

Sophie was ducked down low, her knuckles white from her tight grip on the wooden leg. Were there better weapons in the world? Certainly. But at the time she hadn’t had the opportunity to be very picky, she had needed something to defend herself and her grandparents didn’t have much in the way of weaponry. Oh sure, they had knives and such in the kitchen- but those could kill somebody- Sophia Greywood may have been many things, but she was no killer. Hell, less than a year ago she had been considering becoming a pacifist vegan. The girl sighed deeply, cloaked in the shadow of a car stopped for petrol. There were tons of vehicles in line- seemed people didn’t realize that petrol stations weren’t going to be operating during the apocalypse. They were all abandoned, some of them had corpses sitting in them- some were fallen half out of the vehicles, like they had tried to make a break for it, others were shut off behind closed doors with broken windows, like they thought glass would be enough to stop those… whatever they were calling them.

Lifting her head up, she peered through the driver’s side window, observing the small convenience store just a few meters from the pumps. Her bag was almost out of food. “But the body can survive without food for a while,” she whispered to herself. Her water supplies were fine for now which meant there was no reason to take chances. At the first sign of trouble, she’d slink stealthily away, careful to avoid any attention. She’d been camped behind this car, watching that station for the better part of an hour. It was easy in theory; get up, run inside, grab some food, get out. But in reality it was more complicated- what if there were people in there? What if there were adults in there? What if there was someone else watching the station? Though she wouldn’t have confessed it aloud, even to herself, the girl was terrified of others. She had been hiding as far from other human beings as possible since the sickness exploded, only venturing inside buildings after she was certain they were abandoned. Abandoned buildings. They were becoming easier and easier to come by these days as the city cannibalized itself, often times literally.

“Alright Sophie,” she muttered, re-tightening her grip on the piano bench leg, “no boys, no adults, no problem,” she said quietly. It had become her mantra, something she repeated to psych herself up and remind her to be cautious. “No boys, no adults, no problem.” She had been fortunate enough to avoid the roving band of young men, but she had been nearby when other girls were less lucky. Lurking in the shadows she had watched more than once in the past week alone, girls around her age be held down and violated by feral men. It was the damned boys she hated the most, at least the adults didn’t have a choice in their actions. They were infected, but the boys that roamed London’s desolate streets now, they were the real monsters.

“No boys, no adults, no problem,” she repeated one last time before moving ever so slowly from behind the car. She was quiet and nimble, able to move without attracting a whole lot of attention, which was good. It had saved her life more times than she cared to think about since the apocalypse. Though she wasn’t sure why she had started calling the rapid spread of the sickness and the general breakdown of society ‘the apocalypse’, sure it seemed apocalyptic but… you weren’t supposed to survive an apocalypse, were you? It seemed to Sophie that if there were still people around to talk about the post-apocalypse, there hadn’t really been an apocalypse at all. But then what would you call what had happened? Maybe London’s very bad, no good, terrible day? It was trivial thoughts like this which kept her nerves at ease enough for her to push herself forward a few more meters- slow and steady won the race after all. “No boys, no adults, no problem.”

She finally made it to the store and pushed the door open ever so slowly. As she did so, the door chimed automatically to alert the non-existent cashier of her arrival, and nearly caused her to jump out of her skin. She froze, listening for even the faintest sound, anything that might indicate the store was populated. No evidence appearing, she eased herself through the door and locked it behind her- just in case. Even though she was condiment she was alone, she didn’t stand up- the front wall of the station was mostly just glass and she didn’t want to risk being seen outside by a lone passerby looking for a screw, or an adult looking for a snack. She stayed low and hidden, making her way along the shelves and grabbed a few things; trail mix, peanuts and cashews, beef jerky- things that would keep her healthy and energized. Protein would soon be a luxury, best to stock up now.

With her food supplies mostly replenished- she hadn’t been the first person to come through it seemed, judging by the empty shelves and the general disarray of the store. She made her way cautious towards the counter before hoping over it, she saw the cash register was opened and depleted- apparently old habits die hard for some folks. She reached out and grabbed the telephone towards the back of the counter and, hoping against hope, placed it to her ear. There was no ringtone. She entered the number anyways, her sister’s cell number. She kept the phone pressed against her ear for a few minutes even after it was clear it wasn’t going to ring. She supposed she was probably one of the last few idiots still holding out hope- surely not everywhere in the world had faired as bad as London.

She had seen the movies- this was just the second act, building up to the crescendo where mankind fights back and retakes the planet. She’d even seen that old movie, Independence Day, any time now the Americans should be showing up in planes and tanks to rescue them. And being an American citizen Sophie would, naturally, be taken back home to the States which would have somehow been untouched by the sickness- reunited with her father and sister, Kim. But in her imagination, she had to tell the Americans what bad shape they were in before any of that could happen, and so, Sophie had tried every phone she’d come across since her grandparents died. None of them had worked. But it was better this way, she figured, it gave her a reason to keep hoping and keep living.

“Time to hit the road,” she said after a few minutes of listening silently into the dead telephone. She opened her pack and checked her supplies, water was alright, food was manageable, she even had some hand sanitizer and a brush. But one thing she would need more of she realized, was tampons. Nature didn’t stop, not even for the apocalypse, it would only be a matter of time before she needed them, best to stock up now. She wandered the store a little more, looking for the feminine products, not all petrol stations carried them, but maybe she would get lucky. It quickly became apparent that there weren’t any on the shelves, but, she thought, maybe in the store room. It must be something they’d keep on hand if they stocked them, wouldn’t it?

She pushed open the door which was clearly marked “employees only,” it was down in the sketchy little hallway it seemed all petrol stations had which led back to the bathroom. She’d never actually been beyond the forbidden point in a store like this, and so she stopped to examine the stocking door for all the refrigerated display sections. Some still had Coke in them, but soda dehydrates you, so it was best for her to stick to water. She walked a little further and found a door that was marked “storage” and pushed it open. There were tall shelves with boxes stacked, each of them bearing a label, she was reading them off- it seemed people hadn’t thought to come back here. Maybe she’d grab some more food as long as she was back here. Then she heard it.

An adult. He was sitting on the floor over in the corner behind the shelf against the left wall. He was wearing what may have once been the uniform of that station, but the red and black polo was now tattered and dyed the deep red of dried blood. He was covered in small scratches, like he’d been running into things, and puss that seemed to come freely from who-knows-where-all. He stumbled to his feet, it may have been in his early twenties, and hissed at her. As he did so, Sophie’s heart practically stopped and she stepped back, gripping her weapon with all her strength.

“Okay, okay,” she whispered, she could feel her stomach was tied in knots at the sight of the figure who was limping towards her menacingly. The one small mercy extended by the universe was that the man seemed to have something wrong with his leg, causing him to come more slowly and not at a full run. Not that it mattered how fast he came, given that in her terror she couldn’t get her legs to work. “Nice… zombie, good zombie,” she cooed nervously as one might to a rabid dog approaching them. “I didn’t know you were back here,” she said sweetly, “I see now that this is your room, so if it’s alright with you,” she flexed her arms, prepared to swing the little makeshift club for all she was worth if she had to, “I’ll just be going… okay?” And then he ran at her.

Sophia was shocked. The suddenness, from slump to sprint, caused her to let out a small scream, he was still limping a little- but he was obviously devoted to the idea of dinner. As he came at her she kept screaming in her mind- wait until he gets close enough and swing with all your might. Clock him in the temple. Bash in his brains. Kill him. Or he’s going to kill you. But when he finally came close enough to hit, she found herself frozen. His eyes were brown. A light brown. He had a nose, a mouth- the teeth were really straight, he’d probably had braces when he was younger. He wasn’t the most handsome man in the world- but he wasn’t hideous either. She imagined him picking up some girl and having a nice dinner. Infected or not, he was just a little too… human. And she froze. For about two seconds.

The man reached out and grabbed her arm, digging his fingernails into her skin, causing her to yelp in pain, he had grabbed her right arm, eliminating the possibility of swinging her weapon at him. Instinctively she jerked back, attempting to liberate her arm and hit the man, but he was stronger than she was and in the ensuing struggle, she dropped the club. He was hissing at her, spitting on her, and worst of all, biting at her. She attempted to put as much space between them as she could, keeping her neck away from his chomping teeth, but the man was persistent and stronger than she. Finally, she remembered that he had been limping, he had a bad leg. With what strength wasn’t already devoted to keeping him from turning her neck into his next meal, she kicked him hard in the knee, causing him to stumble. Without thought drove forward, leading with her shoulder and hit him hard in the chest, causing him to stumble back and fall. As his arms flailed to catch himself, he pulled the storage shelf from the wall, sending the metal frame down on top of him. Before she could react to the falling debris she was hit in the head by a box falling form the top shelf, knocking her down. Fortunately, the force wasn’t enough to knock her out, allowing her to scramble backwards on the floor and grab her club. With urgency she rushed forward again, ready to continue the fight. But she saw that the man was only barely conscious- it seemed the shelf had hit him in the head on the way down and he was sporting a fresh wound on his forehead. Still, he was awake enough to reach and hiss at her, and she brought the club up high, ready to finish the man. She lifted it in both hands above her head to deliver maximum force and then… couldn’t. She simply stood there for a few seconds, club raised high, attempting to will herself to bring it down on him, but she couldn’t move. Her arms began to shake, and she eventually abandoned the offensive posturing.

“Fuck me,” she said, realizing that she couldn’t stop shaking. But the man proved he was still a threat, growling and reaching for her as he attempted to stand despite his injury. This time she didn’t freeze, she ran. Sprinted at full speed out of the back area, out of the petrol station itself, letting the door swing behind her, and out of the parking lot. She ran and ran and ran, eventually running herself tired. She stopped in an effort to catch her breath. Looking around, she realized that she had no idea where she was. She didn’t know this city, had hardly been here a week before the world had gone crazy, and hadn’t left her grandparents’ home much in that week. All of London was a maze to her. She lurked towards a wrecked vehicle- in the past few days she had slept in car trunks several times. It was warmer than sleeping outside, and in a trunk there was no need to have shifts on lookout- no one would find you, and if they did, you were fucked either way. Better to go out sleeping.

She was checking to see if the door was unlocked when she saw what appeared to be a lone girl walking down the street- she had a firearm. Sophia was on the verge of saying something when suddenly it seemed like the girl was going to raise her rifle for a moment, but it turned out she was just reaching for her phone. The girl turned on a flashlight app and shined it at another girl, they didn’t seem to know each other necessarily… Two girls. “No boys, no adults, no problem,” she said to herself. She had traded with a few other girls thus far- they were always tense, brief conversations, but they had proven profitable in the past. And she had taken some extra food from the petrol station, and there were certain items she could stand to have more of… and who knew when she’d have the chance to talk again to someone she was reasonable sure wouldn’t try to rape or eat her. Taking another breath to steady herself, she moved out of the shadows, very slow, and with her hands away from her sides- trying to make it abundantly clear she meant them no harm.

She had already moved too far when she realized that the girl had spoken a language other than English- if they couldn’t speak English, the likelihood of Sophia getting shot skyrocketed- a phrase lost in translation could lead to very violent miscommunication in times like these she imagined. Still, it was too late to duck back into the shadows now. “Now boys, no adults, no problem,” she mumbled again before lifting her voice to something just above a whisper, “hey, um…” she was never very good at introductions, “I was wondering if yall might have anything you’d consider trading? You know, girls have to stick together and all that.”

[The Boras]

Cody Breckenridge

"Well, aren't you just the saddest being on the planet." Cody smiled creepily as he looked down at his victim. A legless adult, trying its hardest to wrap its cold dead hands around his leg, attempting to get a bite of his sweet, succulent flesh. Its groan echoed through the tube tunnels, possibly attracting its brethren to Cody. But it didn't matter to him. He couldn't care less about dying at this moment. Right now, the only thing on his mind was how he was going to torture his captive.

"Groan all you want; scream if have to. By the time your friends come along all they'll see is a lifeless sack of flesh." Cody thought of ways he was going to agonise the adult. Without a conscience, there wasn't much in the way of mental abuse. 'How sad,' Cody thought 'Maybe I should start with the arms. Or maybe cut him open ... yes. Pull out his intestines and wave it in front of him. The little doggie.' As he was deep in psychopathic thought however, the adult managed to get his rough hands around Cody's ankle, shocking the teenager.

"GET YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF OF ME!" Cody yelled as he kicked forward. The adult still had its hands around Cody's leg though, and as an act of self-defence, he stomped on the adult's head, causing blood and brain bits to splatter everywhere, including Cody's hoodie jacket.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? ARE YOU HAPPY?!" he shouted at the lifeless body, which was already starting to attract flies around it. Regaining his composure, he soon realised that his subject was dead. "DAMMIT!" he exclaimed, the word reverberating off the walls of the abandoned tunnels. Tying the bloodied hoodie around his waist, he thought, 'Maybe I should find someone else. Someone with ... thought. Ahhh yes. Someone easy to manipulate, someone whom I could mentally destroy. A human being. That'll be fun, wouldn't it ...'

Exiting the tunnels, Cody shielded his eyes as the bright rays of the sun shined on him. With a fair complexion and the sun's brilliant rays shining on him, one could say he looked like an angel. Inside however, he was the spawn of Satan.

[Anowa]

Şirin Gursultur
The past few hours for Şirin has been nerve wracking, she had yet to find any unlocked houses she could take shelter in, and depite her best efforts in knocking doors down she had yet to gain entry into any of them. The most she did was attract the adults and a gang of firebugs. AT least the heat was a comfort. She shivered as she rubbed her arms in a vain attempt to heat herself up, it was ironic -that being a Red Cross volunteer- she'd only grabbed a reflective vest rather than a coat.

She shook her head as she shivered, flaking, dried up blood was being chipped from her as she moved, bits remained stuck to her clothing and hair. A few splotches remained on her face and neck, still clinging on in vain. Şirin hadn't wiped herself off yet, because she didn't want to waste any of the sterile cloths in her bag, nor did she feel safe enough to do so.

As she continued into a crossroad in the street, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. It was another person, feminine frame, but the light level made it hard to tell for sure. Şirin raised her hand and waved cautiously, afraid of what any amount of sound would do.

Tahmineh Ahmadzadeh

As Tahmineh continued down the street, she soon spotted another human figure. She quickly tried to look for cover, somewhere to hide, until she could see the other human wave. Tahmineh couldn't make very many details in the dark, but the other person appeared to be a girl, not carrying a visible weapon. She started to raise her rifle so she could use the mounted flashlight to be sure what she was getting into, but she knew how terrified she would be if someone pointed a rifle at her and blinded her with a flashlight, so she decided it was a bad idea. She instead reached for her iPhone, using the flashlight function. The other person was definitely a girl, unarmed, Middle Eastern. Probably someone Tahmineh could trust.

"Salam aleikom," Tahmineh called to the other girl, she wasn't sure if she spoke Farsi, but the greeting was the same in most Middle Eastern languages. "I'm not going to shoot you, you can trust me."

Tahmineh turned off the flashlight on her phone and pocketed it, walking over to the other girl with her weapon down. She almost felt like she was walking into an ambush, but seeing someone who appeared to come from her part of the world made her feel a little more safe. At least it wasn't some chav gone wild looking for his next victim.

"I honestly have no idea where I'm going or what I'm doing, do you?" Tahmineh asked the other girl.

Şirin Gursultur
Şirin had initially thought she was going to be shot, but then the gun was lowered, and the other person seemed to fish a flashlight out of her pocket, probably a smartphone. The bright light made Şirin slam her eyes closed in discomfort, she brought up an arm to shield her eyes. The other's response didn't need eyes to comprehend.

"Salam aleikom"

The odds of finding another Arab, especially in the current condition, were astronomical. Şirin truly thought it was a blessing, and for the first time in a little over two weeks, she smiled, and gave out a nervous laugh, "Salam ealaykum. You may be the first person in three days who hasn't tried to attack me." Sighing Şirin thought about the fellow middle eastern's question, "I honestly have no clue where's safe and where isn't nowadays. There are gangs all over the damn place, I ran into a few with bloody flamethrowers a few hours ago. Granted they were burning bodies as well but... They didn't seem to be burning them so much as cooking them." Şirin shuddered, "It seems the closer one gets to the center of the city the safer -that being a relative term- it gets." Şirin remained silent on the rumors of a literal knight in shining armor watching over Buckingham. No need to get hopes up after all.

“I was wondering if yall might have anything you’d consider trading? You know, girls have to stick together and all that.”

Şirin jumped quite a bit at the new voice, the box cutter in her hand extending on instinct with a ratcheting click. With a shaky hand she hel it, until she picked out another female shape in the darkness, "Umm, well..." Her stomach growled, letting itself remind Şirin that she hadn't eaten in nearly two days. "I-I don't suppose you have any food?"

---

-snip-

Alex Carter
Alex sighed, "To kill now, is to save later. Better to end his pain now rather than wait for someone else to fall victim to his hunger. I just hope he's with God now... No one deserves a fate like this."

"Anyway... We should get to looking, the longer we wait the less time your siblings have. Once the sun sets they're as good as gone."

Marcus got back in the car and drove it back into Buckingham, as the others started to spread out.

---

"Hop in, it's not too far away"

Isaac MacDougall
Isaac shook his head, the front seat was smart of the other man, in an accident Isaac would be the one wounded, and a pistol would more than likely be pressed against the back of the upholstery. He probably didn't anticipate a back plate if that was his intent though.

Shuffling in Isaac propped his rifle between his feet, "I hop you don't mind me asking, but how many people do you have?"