Brian Stacey

After the coast was clear and Brains Guitar case friend came back out, he walked up to the door way to hear what he had to say. Essentially, he was talking about whatever those beings were downstairs and the robots fending them off. Brain listened intently, giving the man his full attention. He'd earned it after all, saving Brian's ass back at ground level. When he was done, he mentioned taking a rest, which Brian took heed to. He gave very slight smile to no one in particular, trying to rekindle his old charm, It was hard through, things being as they were. It was like the world as they knew it had ended, which made a second time in two centuries that humanity [censored] itself over.

He figured he 'd get some sleep before he took a nap. Unfortunately, nap didn't come to him though. He just sat on the bed and thought about everything that had happened in the past couple hours. All those people, dead. He'd probably killed off half of his friends without even knowing it. It was depressing to think about, and then there was Whitney. He didn't even allow himself to get into that situation, only deciding that he'd find her tomorrow first thing, but nothing else.

His mind drifted for long time, until about a half minute later, when he began to get cold, and then started to shiver. Usually, he was able to keep his composure whenever he got cold, but this was different. This, he understood only too well. His stomach began to burn and his head began to reel. The hairs on his arms and legs stood up ad his skin began to prickle. He was suffering from withdrawal. He was a recovering addict of a multitude of drugs. He'd been clean for so long, but occasionally he caught the 'shivers' as he called them. It was almost like a panic attack due to what felt like a mixture of heatstroke and hypothermia at the same time. Where internally his organs began to produce acids and chemicals that burned his innards, while outside, his skin began to prickle and fester, as if freezing cold. There was nothing to do but keep quiet and hope nobody heard him until it was over. It eventually subsided after a good minute, maybe 1:30, and from the exhaustion, he fell asleep.

He heard some voice outside later that awoke him. It was muffled, so he opened the bedroom door. The man in that heavy plating was talking now, with his creepy helmet removed. Brian caught the last bits of what he was saying.

. . .land Merchandise, but long ago I was apart of the Brotherhood" admitted the fellow. At the word Brotherhood his mind went spinning. Form the back it seemed like the person he thought it was, what with the bark fuzzy hair. He already knew who he was before Colt had even said his name.

"Colt Harris, I remember you!" He extended his arms smiling. He remembered Colt from town. Colt was one of the first who came in from outside of Rust City, and of course Brian had repaired his store. He'd had a problem with the whole bathroom of the place, which was a big project that he paid Brian to take care of. Brian had given him a discount since he it was his first service since arrival. He walked it to him, and offered his hand. Since then they talked occasionally and also Brian was a regular customer of repair tools.

"How's it going? Good to see you alive and well." He looked at the crowd, and thought it good to introduce himself. "Oh. Most of you likely know me. For those who don't my name is Brian Stacey. I'm a repairman." He said looking down at his belt and gesturing. "What were you guys talking about in here?"

Eric Highland

"What were you guys talking about in here?"

Eric looked at Brain.

"Where discussing night watch. I volunteered to watch for a couple of hours" said Eric.

As the shutters slammed the creature from my view I reeled back, after the others had said a few things, trying to introduce each other I quietly said; "Sorry about that... It just got to me." Turning slowly I looked at our small group, realising an easy fact that everyoone had somehow missed I brought my index finger to my chin and stroked it slowly. Looking at everyone I quietly said to everyone, "Y'know... We need a leader, someone who's capable of handling well under stress and who can get along with everyone." Smiling brightly I added, "which obviously puts me out of the picture. I haven't heard much of this Brotherhood, but I know they're military, you could cut it. A few of you look pretty rough around the edges, but as long as you don't cut my throat in my sleep we'll get along well."

Stretching slowly I continued, "My name's Andrew by the way, doctor in training, had an amazing lecture from this ex-merc turned doctor once, great guy. Can't remember him for [censored] though, funny, I also like guitar and took a side-study in psychology. Basically, if you wanna talk I'm here, apart from that I svck at everything, I guess it was just luck I survived that [censored] downstairs too." Looking over at Brian I smiled, "So, Brian and Eric. Repairman and ex-Brotherhood, we got a good group so far. Who else have we got here? To be honest most of you look like mercs to me, but then again most people who shoot stuff do these days."

Suddenly I felt a tight knot in my chest, my family, I wonder what happened to Mum and Dad? I hope they-no, of course they got out, Dad was always ready in case of stuff like this. Crazy bastard... Looking down to the floor on the left side of me I just stood silently and waited for someone else to talk, I didn't know these people well enough to judge them yet. But I might have to spend a lot of time with them, so if we didn't get along... We'd be kind of screwed.

Colt Harris

"Me and Miguel can do some scavenging..." said Colt. Scavenging was no fun task, but somebody had to do it. The two men were seated in chairs adjacent to each other; they had been discussing the military. After Colt said this he got up with his rifle in hand. "We also need to secure the other apartments, and I can help with that."

Charlie Moore

The one man began talking about how he had training as a doctor, this was good news for everyone, but then he started talking about how he could do nothing else. To recap he proceeded to name the jobs of everyone in the room, so far we had one repairman, and ex-Brotherhood and a doctor. Two other chimed in saying they could scavenge, as well as help clear the complex.

[censored], these idiots are going about it all wrong.

“Look, I’m Charlie Moore, I grew up in the wastes, I settled here a few years back but what the [censored] are you all talking about. “

I paused hoping anyone engaged in conversation would quiet down for a few seconds and just listen. “We don’t have time to give people designated jobs right now, everyone needs to always be working. There a few things that need to get done immediately. Once morning hits, we have to go, all of us, and scavenge for food, weapons, ammunition, medicine, and tools.”

I swallowed hard, hoping they would let me finish and not take me as a [censored] for being so assertive. Then I continued.

“Once we get back here, we retreat to the top floor, and clear the rooftop; we get some people building barricades around the stairs, in the front of the elevators, and on the fire escapes. A few other people clear the entire floor. From there we just try to survive, building up our base, scavenging, recruiting, and living our lives until this nightmare ends. So what do you all think?”

Corynthias looked towards the horizon from his view atop a multi-level housing complex. Throughout the city, tendrils of black smoke reached towards the darkening sky. Screams of the dieing carried with the wind, and a faint green haze clung to the ground, swallowing every alley and streetway. All the while, the last hopeful rays of sun died away as the sun sank further and further below the horizon. Even the time seemed against Rust City, as the buildings were cast in night's disdainful shadow. In his mind, Corynthias told himself that he was somehow making a difference in this dire situation. Yet, as the wind carried another gust of pained cries, his efforts seemed hopeless. How could he, being one mortal man, possibly take on the endless tide of shambling dead? Corynthias' eyes wandered to his person, which was now stained with a mixture of blood and a runny green liquid. In his hand, the fire axe he had taken was drenched in the stuff, and blood dripped freely of the end, as if the axe itself was bleeding.

A gurgling hiss cut through the air, and Corynthias spun around to find the hunched figure of another one of the infected. It's skin had either fallen off or dried into peeling flakes. It's eyes glowed green with the virus, and it's teeth dripped with fresh red blood. The creature charged Corynthias, who had barely enough time to raise a defense against the oncoming brute. The infected creature's body collided with Corynthias, who had barely enough time to wedge the handle of his axe between himself and the chest of the creature.

He swore as the creature opened its jaw wide and roared, spewing green fluid on his mask. He could see right down the abomination's throat, the creature was so close. With a grunt of strain, Corynthias managed to force the emaciated body off of him. Both combatants staggered to their feet, and faced each other for another assault. The creature attacked first, sprinting at full speed with outstretched arms towards Corynthias. This time, however, Corynthias had time to ready himself for the attack.

As the infected creature threw itself towards its meal, Corynthias side-stepped the charge and brought the pick of the fire axe swinging at the body. Unfortunately, the swing was off target, and the pick gouged a deep wound into the thigh of the beast. The creature hissed in frustration, and immediately charged again to Corynthias. There was no time to prepare for the attack, and the creature rammed Corynthias, knocking him clear into the air and sending him sprawling onto the edge of the roof. The beast didn't hesitate with the next charge, and Corynthias barely had time to try and refill his lungs with air when the beast was upon him again. In a futile defense, Corynthias threw his right arm over his face to shield himself for the teeth of the beast.

With a sickening crunch, the teeth bit down on Corynthias' arm, right into the plate protecting the mechanical forearm. The crunching sound was the sound of the creature's teeth shattering on the titanium alloy plate. The creature recoiled in confusion, giving Corynthias just enough time to grasp the creature by the throat with his mechanized hand. With a mighty shove, Corynthias flung the creature over the edge of the roof, down towards the street below.

He looked down to see that the infected creature had landed amonst a group of other infected, who had apperantly gathered at the sound of the struggle to see if any scraps would be flung off the roof. As the creature slammed into the street below, the infected became confused and began to attack their fallen kind. In a matter of seconds, the infected creature was ripped to pieces by the confused mob. Slowly, Corynthias backed away from the edge of the roof, trying not to draw attention to himself.

OOC: I'm assuming the apartment complex is three story's high.

Colt Harris

The man had a point, thought Colt. Barricades would be extremely useful, and having a decent number of the survivors would be helpful when scavenging also. Picking up his rifle, Colt spoke up. "Me and Miguel will clear the third floor, wish us luck." Miguel picked up his uzi, letting Colt know he was on his last magazine. The two men slowly opened the door, peering into the hallway. The protectrons had stopped clanking around. At least for now.

They cautiously crept through the hallway, noticing that many of the doors were opened. People had fled without even caring to close their doors. What madness. They reached the end of the hall, were two fancy looking elevators stood. In the middle was the doorway to the stairs, the less commonly used route. Colt opened the door with his left hand, his right hand was clutching his rifle. The stairwell was clear like before, except the slow beating of the zed could now be heard. They would never stop pounding against the door, hoping to get in. They took the steps up, guns at the ready, expecting anything. When they reached the peak of the steps, the door leading to the third floor was jammed, ensuring they would have to break it down.

Colt lunged against the door. Its frame cracked but it still stood. He commenced the assault several more times, each attempt increasing in energy. Finally, after about 10 lunges, Colt busted the door down. With Uzi in hand, Miguel walked in first. The long hall's lights were fluttering, casting an eery mood throughout the hall. Miguel slowly walked forward, taking peaks into each of the room, making sure they were empty. They were quite close to finishing, until they saw her.

It was a girl. Young, probably around seven years of age. She was hunched in a corner, motionless. She wore a little pink dress, with a bow tie happily positioned in her hair. She was shaking. Her body twitching almost. Miguel was about to approach her, until Colt motioned him back. From the back she was a pretty young girl, but they had not seen the front. Colt was shaking. His hands were gripping the fine oak of his M14, hoping the girl was not infected. He was wrong. She stood up, slowly, and turned around. Her face was scared beyond belief. Her chest was wripped open, exposing her little heart.

Colt stumbled back. Miguel now had his Uzi pointed at her. The young boys hands were shaking... he couldn't do it. Tears were now on the cheeks of both men. "Miguel...." The young boy shook his head and looked away. He was now sobbing. This little girl was gone. She only wanted to kill now. These were the thoughts running throught Colt's mind as he pulled the trigger of his rifle, sending a bullet straight through the little girls head.He turned away. Miguel was already gone.

Had he really killed her? Colt couldn't believe what had happened as he entered the old room. "It's done." he said, to no one in particular.

Brain Stacey

Brian simply listened as the men tried to gather a plan, formulating his own interjection. As of now, Andrew was the one talking, in an attempt to organize the group. He touched on who was who and what was what. Then men from the room began to speak up as to what jobs needed to get done. It was all in good spirit but . . . Brian just didn't feel right about it. Even though these guys were all probably bright minds they weren't bringing up the most essential points of survival here.

We don't so much need to garrison positions as acquire resources, Brian thought, shifting his wight on the doorway. He had a mind to speak up, but he wanted to see if there was anyone else thinking like him, so he kept a closed mouth and a watchful eye. Right then, a man indeed spoke up, albeit harshly for Brian's taste.

“Look, I’m Charlie Moore,"

Ahh, so that was his name then, Charlie Moore. Brian remembered him from the shop where it started. Back when the window was blotted out by gas, when he'd killed the first one . . .

"I grew up in the wastes, I settled here a few years back but what the [censored] are you all talking about. Once we get back here, we retreat to the top floor, and clear the rooftop; we get some people building barricades around the stairs, in the front of the elevators, and on the fire escapes. A few other people clear the entire floor. From there we just try to survive, building up our base, scavenging, recruiting, and living our lives until this nightmare ends. So what do you all think?”

"I think he's right." Brian spoke up now, lifting off the doorway and walking into the room, making his presence more noticeable. He spoke in his usual chipper tone. "We need to salvage what we can first, cause who knows how long we're gonna end up here. The best bet is to head for the supply room in the lobby, then begin to barricade the entry points. From there, I suggest the night watch take the rooftops so that they have the least chance of getting hurt. I'll work on some security systems to alert us if any area has been breached."

He stopped at this point, preparing himself for the next hurtle. He was about to reveal his own dilema, and hoped they would receive it, cause unfortunately he couldn't rescue Whitney alone. "And tomorrow . . . in the morning . . . I'll be heading for the bank. My sister, thats where she works and I need to uhh, find her. I need to get her, at least know if she . . . if she made it." He looked down at his boots before adding the next bit. "And I need help. I don't know if they got in, but I won't last too long alone. I'm not waiting until tonight to get her, the quicker the better. I need to do it soon, when morning arrives."

As he said this he noticed through a nearby window that the horizon above the rusted buildings was beginning to glow with the tinge of sunlight. Dawn was advancing.

Eric Highland
"Look if there is a way to get to the Market we'll be able to get food, weapons, ammo whatever we need" said Eric.

At least someone jumped in and gave them some sort of leadership, I thought to myself. Sighing softly I leaned back and listened to them continue to argue about matters of importance while I just tried to pick up on anything I could. Suddenly a wave of anguish hit me and I got up, moving into the now empty bedroom; sitting on the edge of the bed I stared into the dark frame of the shutter that blocked the window. Putting my arms behind me I leant back agaist the bed and tried to think about what I was thinking about. Chuckling lightly I realised I didn't really know, but then the wave of anguish hit me again.

Starting to think about the others left a pit in my stomach, the infected were spreading all over the city, how many people could we hope to save? There were just so many of them, the census of people in the town was 1,000 odd people sure... But they never counted the poorer districts, that's what worried me. They knew how to fight, but did they have the weapons? They outnumbered the richer part of town too, so there were a lot more people in town than anyone could hope to think of. Then there were the sewers...

My mind started to make connections, if any of those things had any sort of intelligence they would use the sewers and rise up at us from below... But I quickly dismissed it, they weren't that smart, I'd seen that with my own eyes more than once. Continuing my pathetic anolysis of them in my own head I thought of something else, what if they were vulnerable to light? We hadn't had any chance to test that, the sun hadn't come out; hopefully that would affect them in a bad way. After that I wondered about their strengths and weaknesses, I wanted to have some sort of use to the group.

After a few minutes of anolytical thought I came to one certain conclusion, I knew what I'd be calling them from now on. They resembled something from horror stories, zombies, but they weren't zombies... So I decided to call them Zed, that's what they were to me at least. I'd tell everyone later, but for now I had to see if I could draw more conclusions.

Charlie Moore

Everyone seemed to stay silent, as if they had nothing to say for themselves, they had no plans, no ideas, not even the willingness to say, darn, that is a great idea Charlie. So it was up to me to take initiative, and all I was, was a drifter with a little bit of experience out in the wastes.

“Alright then, Miguel and Colt, you introduced yourselves and obviously you two know how to handle yourselves, so when tomorrow comes you two can go out and find things like food, water and medical supplies. You know the general stuff.”

My eyes scanned the room, my head throbbed, my lips were quivering, I had no idea how to make such important decisions, and these people, some here were obviously more experienced than me but had nothing to say, that part was getting me worried.

I looked at Highland, he was ex-Brotherhood, and he definitely knew how to handle himself in a fight, then there was the Brian fellow, no fighting experience but he definitely knew a lot about tools and such, as he was a repairman. It clicked in my mind, they could go to a hardware store or something to get tools to help us reinforce barricades, Eric would be the muscle, and Brian knew what tools would be needed.

“Alright, uhmm, Brian and Eric, you guys go to hardware stores and such, to get the tools and equipment that will help us get strong reliable barricades built.”

All that was left was me and guitarman, I knew a bunch about guns, and was going to need a partner to watch my back while we were scavenging so it was me and him.

“Alright Guitarman, you’re with me, we are going to go to weapons stores to get ammo and other weapons to help defend your compound. SO unless any one has any objections or knows where to get some Sentrybots to hotwire to help us out we can all roll out in a couple of hours.”

I sat down on the white couch, I was starting to break out in a sweat, I was nervous that the people here would think I was being an idiot with what I said, I thought it seemed reasonable since no one else was willing to put their two cents in.

Brian Stacey

Brian was done talking, and his friend Highlander had a thing to say, but then the room went silent once again. At this rate they wouldn't get anything done, and technically it was already tomorrow. Then, Charlie stood up and began to take the reigns.

“Alright then, Miguel and Colt, you introduced yourselves and obviously you two know how to handle yourselves, so when tomorrow comes you two can go out and find things like food, water and medical supplies. You know the general stuff.”

He then searched the room and fell upon Brian and Highlander.

“Alright, uhmm, Brian and Eric, you guys go to hardware stores and such, to get the tools and equipment that will help us get strong reliable barricades built.”

Lastly, he finished it off with a glance to Andrew, whom he called Guitarman.

“Alright Guitarman, you’re with me, we are going to go to weapons stores to get ammo and other weapons to help defend your compound. SO unless any one has any objections or knows where to get some Sentrybots to hotwire to help us out we can all roll out in a couple of hours.”

Brian pretty much liked the idea, except one thing. They left his sister out.

"But what about my sister. I need someone to go with me to get her. Anyone elect to help. If not, then . . . then I don't know what I'd do next. If anything at least someone let me know they'll help me after we gather the resources."

Since Corynthias had encountered the infected on the roof, he had attempted to try and settle down and catch some sleep in various places he thought would be safe from the infected wandering the streets on the outskirts of the marketplace. Howver, every time he settled into his new home to perhaps catch some much needed sleep, the gurgling hiss of an infected creature would stir him into action. Throughout the course of the night, the process had happened numerous times, which lead Corynthias to the conclusion that the infected were somehow finding him with an acute sense for finding a living human being. Whether it be a heightened sense of smell, or even some sixth sense stimulated by the FEV, Corynthias was unsure.

However, now that dawn was only a few short hours away, Corynthias had run himself ragged attempting to find a safe hiding spot for himself. His muscles ached for being on the moved almost all night, and his mind was muddled with the events of the previous day and severe fatigue. As he plodded along his way to find some survivors, his limbs felt heavy and sluggish. If he encountered another infected creature now, he felt he wouldn't even have the strength to flee from the persistant beasts. In his mind, he thought it ironic that he was originally the one searching city for survivors so he could perhaps rescue a few isolated people. But now, the tables have turned, and he needed the assistance of the survivors.

Finally, he felt that he could travel no longer, and after cautiously emerging from the dark alleyway he had been traveling through, Corynthias sprinted across the street into a two-story shop called "Reggi's Tavern". With heavy feet, Corynthias opened the door to the deserted tavern and quickly closed it behind him before checking to make sure the first floor was clear of any infected. After he had checked every corner and room, Corynthias was sure that there was absolutely no sign of any infected. In fact, there wasn't even a sign that the infected had even entered the bar. Had Corynthias been in his right mind, he would have thought it was strange that here was even one place in the city that didn't seem to be affected by the infected.

But Corynthias was not in his right mind, and in his careless haste to get some sleep, he marched right up to the second floor and simply flopped onto a bed in one of the bar's bedrooms, presumably owned by the owners. In less than a minute, Corynthias' limp body had sunken into a deep slumber, and his chest rose and fell steadily with sleep. So it was, that Corynthias did not stir when the bedroom door creaked open slowly, and the shadow of a human figure fell upon Corynthias' sleeping form. The floorboards creaked as the being approached the sleeping man. Even as the mysterious form loomed directly overhead of Corynthias, he still did not stir, and he had no chance to prevent what was to happen next.

Charlie Moore

"But what about my sister. I need someone to go with me to get her. Anyone elect to help. If not, then . . . then I don't know what I'd do next. If anything at least someone let me know they'll help me after we gather the resources," Brain said.

This was a problem, I originally had no plans to try and get his siter, it had completely skipped my mind.

"Uhh, yah well once we get the resources, you and I can head over there to get your sister. But it has got to be quick, after all, you are the repairman adn knwo the most about construction, so you are needed most to help us build barricades. Sound fair."

Brain Stacey

"This is my sister's life as stake. It doesn't sound very fair."

That's what Brian pictured himself saying out loud. But the only thing he did visibly was nod.

Colt Harris

Hearing that he and Miguel would be scouting was a good thing. They both were skilled in moving quietly and efficiently throughout the city, an ability they had gained over the years. Before they could leave, they had to figure out how to get out. "Well, scavenging won't be to difficult. The hard part will be getting out." Colt said, pounting downwards towards the zombies still banging on the door.

As I continued to make my theories I heard the others come in and start to converse some issues, after a small lapse I came out of the bedroom and looked at everyone. They seemed to look towards Charlie like he had the right idea, shrugging I let it be and stood away for a few moments, but when everyone continued to remain silent I stepped forward. Clearing my throat I quickly said, "Alright, for all this planning I think everyone should rest up, I might not be a certified doctor but you all look tired and could use it. Take shifts for all I care, but after I slept I felt a lot better. As well as that, I doubt you'd understand my theories when you're awake; let alone tired."

Scratching my chin I looked out at them and quietly added, "I don't think they're gonna get through the door tonight, they're not strong enough to break through it... Yet."

Brian Stacey

The morning brought with it more than just welcome sunshine, but it also brought a new sense of purpose. For Brian Stacey, two things were happening: they were fixing up the apartment complex, to ensure their survival, and more importantly, they were getting his sister. This was enough to get Brian out of bed and ready to go as the last rays of light were fighting past the skyline. With that, he figured he should awake the rest of the crew.

He was familiar with the apartment suites, and knew that they were quite high-tech. One of the nifty features was a alarm system that blared in certain parts of each room. It was all universal, and ran through the whole suite. Since it hadn't been tampered with, its default setting was to ring through the house. So, he hit the alarm button on the clock next to his bedroom and it blared through the speaker systems throughout the rooms.

"Good morning." A female voiced spoke this out."The time is 6:32 AM. The date is Thursday, March 23, 21, 2250. This is alarm one of three. Another alarm will be issued in the next five minutes unless de-activated."

Pretty darn efficient, Brian thought to himself.