Alison watched as the late buss rolled away. She only was sorry that she wasn’t going home on it right now. Letting out a sigh she turned and made her way back inside of the school. The halls were empty and only one janitor was left working. She made her way slowly to the track in the basement of the school. The reason she was staying late was because her time had slipped again and she needed to bring it down. She needed to run faster.

She got down there and turned the lights on over head. The room lit up and Alison sat on a bench to tie her shoes tighter. As she did so she thought of the petition she started last week. The school was in the middle of a city, Nashville actually. And the city was growing and not much room was left for out door fields and such at the school. Witch was why they had the one in the basement. But she was trying to change that, if it worked with the school then she would have to take it to the state. Because even if the school agreed the land was owned and paid for by the state.

She finished with her shoes and did a few warm ups. As She finished stretching her calves The room all around her began to shake and rattle. She thought that maybe it was only a small earthquake and it would pass soon enough. That thought, however ended quickly as large chunks of the cement ceiling began to crack and pieces began to smash into the floor.

Alison ducked under the bleachers and covered her head. She heard the crashing and then the lights began to flicker then finally go out. She lay still as the earth stopped moving and the roof stopped falling. She tried to get up but there was something on her ankle. Her whole body was shaking with fear and confusion. She tugged at her leg and felt a sharp pain go through her foot. She felt around with her hands in the dark and, felt the cement slab on top of her foot. She pushed at it and kept doing so even when she burst into tears from the pain. When the thing finally slid off of her she was sobbing. But she had to have done it, because otherwise she would have been stuck there. And no one knew where she was. She used the wall to pull her self up and then to support herself as she tried to calm down. What in the world had happened out there?

The summer sun was harsh this lazy saturday afternoon.Robert had jut stepped out of St.alexanders military hospital.He had been there visiting his good friend Johnathan who had suffered a mild case of heat exhaustion."dammit" he muttered to himself "i wish the sun would just go down already.im really getting tired of it" he sighs sofly to himself and walks torward the barracks.

Robert enters the barracks and looks around the small room,he notices a half eatin bowl of cereal "dammit carl!" he yelled to himself "learn to clean up your messes!" He locates his bunk and throws himself on it "ahhhh,time for a nice long cat nap" he smiles softly as the thought of his last goodnight sleep,and how long ago it was. he closes his eyes and begins to doze off when suddenly a violent,earth shattering shockwave shakes the barracks.

"what the fu-" his sentence is cut short as an ear piercing alarm sounds throughout the entire base.he didnt know what was going on,but he did know that alarm ment to drop what he was doing and run to the nearest bombshelter,regardless of the threat.

Robert immediatly jumps off the bed and runs at full sprint to the bombshelter which was only a 50 yards away.while we ran,Robert looked around and didnt see anyone else heading to the shelter,he thought maybe it was a drill,but still an regardless."damn damn damn damn" he said to himself as he rounded the corner into the shelter.

Robert waited 5 minutes,and we nobody showed up he quickly shut the door. "where the hell is everyone?" he thought.
he looked out a window to look for anyone he knew when suddenly an extremely brigt dome of light erupted maybe not even 10 miles away from his current location,the light was followed by another eart shattering shockwave and an equally loud explosion.these were the last things he saw and heard before the violent shaking threw him to the ground,knocking him unconcious...

Daniel sat quietly at his desk reading, an open window with an oscillating fan making the only sound, than grading his student’s seven to ten page long history essays on varying subjects. For the most part all his students were great kids, but there were the few that seemed more interested in having fun and being popular than their grades. Already those few essays hadn’t surprised him, but one was different. As he continued to read the essay, written by Matthew in his first class, he was surprised at the amount the detail and the care taken for accuracy. Normally Matthew only half-assed, at best, his assignments and his essay was cause for suspicion.

Suddenly the town’s tornado sirens began to roar, odd since it wasn’t the first day of the month and the sky was perfectly clear. For some reason, though not sure why, he still got up from his seat and made his way to the basement. As he reached the stairs the ground began to shake and rattle, and the lights went out as the floor started cracking. Holding tight to the rail as he descended, the steps buckling under him as they shook.

“Hurry Daniel, this way!” Shout the eleventh grade teacher, an elder gentleman who walked around with a staff and was loved by everyone. “Hurry!” He shouted as he went on down the dark hallway.

“Wait for me!” He cried after him, than suddenly the shaking intensified and he was forced to his knees. “John where are you!” He shouted, the sound of his voice drowned out as the building around him began to give way and collapse inwards.

When the shaking finally stopped Daniel found it hard to breath and off in the darkness, somewhere, he could swear he heard moaning. “John, is that you?” He asked as he crawled across the floor, using his hands to feel his way around. “John, where are you?” He called out in a worried voice, the moans having stopped. “Answer me John…” Looking down and pulling his hand to his face he could feel some kind of warm, wet substance rolling down his arm. “What the?” He asked. Suddenly a large portion of the basement ceiling collapsed in and flooded the dusty air with a faint light, but enough for him to see that it was blood on his hand, and not more then five feet in-front of him John was dead, half crushed by a large slab of cement. “Aw!” he screamed, shocked and panicked. Crawling back from John and sitting down on some rubble he sat their and began to cry lightly for his friend.

Raya had skipped out on school for the day. She had gotten a bruise on the side of her face that even the best makeup artists wouldn’t be able to cover. So she decided that sleeping all day, as she been doing, She would go get her sister and go shopping to get minds of the past night. Her little sister and Raya rode out to the mall in a subway rather then their normal car. For once they wanted to act like their life was normal and not having their driver open the doors for them.

The subway slowed to halt and the two girls stood up from their seats. The doors swung open giving full view of the graffiti covered walls and one old homeless lady that sat in the corner rocking back and fourth muttering something inaudible under her breath. Raya reached into her purse and grabbed a 20 to hand over to the old lady. She struck Raya’s hand with snake like speed, “Stop, it’s unsafe here. Run get as far as you can and never stop or look back!”

Raya tried to pull her hand free of the woman, but she was too strong. “Stop it! Let go!” The woman’s hand drew back from Raya. Then she started rocking back and forth, rocking to the same rhythm before just as nothing ever happen. Raya dropped the money on the lady and grabbed her sisters hand, “Lets get out of here.”

Her sister stopped and looked up at Raya, “I need to pee.” Raya shook her head and lead her sister to the bathroom that was on the opposite wall of the old lady. “Okay but be fast I don’t want to be here any longer then I have to.” Ray stopped in the front of the bathroom to let her sister go in then she followed behind. Raya turned around to give her sister privacy. Her sister was only five years younger the her, but she had always had the feeling of keeping her safe.

That’s when the ground started to shake and sirens sounded. “Rozalia do you hear that?” Her sister nodded her head, then stood and pulled her pants up. Right as part of the roof fell on top of Raya’s sister, Rozalia. Raya screamed and rand toward her sister. Missed just by a few inches laid her sister. Raya started to pull her hand as a blinding light flushed through the open hole in the roof then within second it was gone. Raya knew two things as a fact one that Rozalia was unconscious, second her legs were under the rock . Raya assessed the rock, it was the size of coffee table. Raya knew that even if she tried she couldn’t lift it.

Raya then lifted her self out of the hole and started yelling for help but all she saw was a world of flatten buildings all over. “HELP!” she walked around yelling nervous to get to far from her sister.

It was a slightly windy day in New York City. Various smells filled the air around a tall and slim girl as she stepped out of a taxi cab. Taking in a sniff of the air, she made a small "Mmnn" sound as she handed the taxi driver the money she owed him.

After she watched the taxi ease its way into the crowded streets, she turns and heads for the collage behind her. She reaches for the door nob with her pale hand, sighing as her long slim fingers gripped and turned. With a shove, the door swings open, causing a gush of wint to meet her, knocking her off balance a bit as her long black hair whipped around her face.

Nikita groans and steps into the building, slamming the door behind her as she reached up and fixed her hair. The first thing that she noticed is that the air was slightly chilly, most likely from an air conditioner filling the airvents through-out the building. Then, the smell hit her.But, it wasnt the chocking sensation that you get when you inhale straight bleech that caught her main attention.

Somewhere, outside, a big bang was heard, and a flash of light was seen. The building began to shake and crumble around her as some random person grabbed her and rushed her through a door. Whoever it was, led her down a few flights of stairs.

"What the he--" She had started to yell out, but the one that had her, had snapped at her, causing her to stop talking.

She glances back at the stairs and saw them collapsing behind them, leaving it nearly impossible for anyone to follow them. Finally, whe was shoved into a bomb shelter, the person locking it behind him or her. Not knowing what was going on, Nikita curls up in a corner, waiting it out as big crashes were being heard outside of the shelter, making her cringe.

Alison Looked around here but couldn’t see anything. The lights were out and there was no light coming in from outside. She caught her breath and tried to move her ankle, pain shot through it and up her leg. It was bad but she would have to deal with it until she got out of here and found help. Slowly she made her way through the rubble, there were a few times where she almost tripped over wires or slabs of cement but she managed to make it to the door.

They were closed and she couldn’t push them open. The glass was broke out of them so she pulled herself up and through the window. As she slid down the other side of the door, her arm was sliced open. She held back a cry of pain as she set both feet on the ground. She could feel the warm blood on her skin. She reached where the stairs were supposed to be and noticed that there was some light now, but only a little. The stairs were cracked and some parts had completely crumbled. Slowly Alison made her way up the stairs. She reached the next floor and didn’t have to move around much to see what made her heart stop.

The walls were gone and as she looked over where the city had been she could see for miles and there was nothing. Smoke and dust filled the air and the wind was wiping harshly. She covered her face but managed to look up at the sky. There were thick clouds that seemed to be bubbling all over the place and not to far away a funnel cloud was forming. Whatever had happened had completely devastated the city.

“Is any one there?” her voice was swallowed by the wind and she felt like she was the only person in the world.

Robert open his left eye,except for a few shadows he could barely see anything in the dim red light.He slowly got to his feet and looked around.The bombshelter had almost completely crumbled under the might of whatever it was that happened.

The roof had collasped and through the gigantic hole he saw the sky,it had turned from a bright sunny blue to a dull,lifeless grey color. "what the hell?" he said to himself he was confused,he looked around the room for the exit,but it was blocked. An overhead beam had crashed down and was now preventing him from opening the door.Robert looked around for something to help him move the beam,but to no avail

"dammit" he thought,he sat on a crate sitting in the corner to collect his thoughts.He noticed a large diagonal crack running from the roof of the building to the ground "hmmm if i hit that with something hard enough i might be able to get out of here" he stood up and walked over to the wall,and with all his might he kicked the crack and was rewarded with the it crumbling enouh to crouch through.

Robert crouched under the new opening and made his way to the outside world.he stood up and looked around,he was not prepared for what he saw,buildings crumbled and in flames.Jeeps,trucks,planes all now just twisted metal.The buidling he was in was the one that faired the best;

"Hey!" he called out, "anybody here?" he was answered only by the echo of his own voice,he felt a drizzle and looked to the sky.It started raining.He looked at his watched,Robert had been unconcious for 12 hours and night was about to fall.He crawled back into his broken bombshelter,he didnt know what happened but he knew this was his home for a while...

Daniel didn’t weep long for John, just long enough for the dust to settle. The dim red light was bright enough for John’s body to be easily seen and the sight of him was unnerving. Forcing himself to stand up he placed a hand against the crumbling wall for balance and began to walk towards the hole in the ceiling. As he was about to pass John’s body he stood their, giving the man a moment of silence, but the cracking ceiling above cut the moment short. However, before he got on his way he noticed the staff the John always carried around, not that he ever needed it. “I’ll take good care of it, I promise.” He said as he snatched it up and headed towards the hole.

Using the staff as leverage he eventually managed to climb out, and just in time as the floor collapsed into the basement. “Close one.” He thought as he turned his head to see the wreckage before him. All around him piles of rubble littered what was once the hallways and classrooms of the school. Behind him it seemed that the school had received most of the damage, the walls and floors on that side caved in. “What the hell happened here?” He muttered under his breath. “Hello, is anyone there?” He said, his voice confused and alarmed.

“Hello, anyone…” Suddenly awestruck he stood there, frozen. In the sky he could see the infamous mushroom cloud. “A nuclear bomb! How, who why.” He thought as his mind raced in circles. “Linda, James!” He shouted as the realization of his family hit him, and that he didn’t know if they were safe or not. “I’ve got to get home!” He exclaimed as he climbed down from the rubble and into the school’s parking lot. His car and the few others in the lot had exploded. “Well it looks like I’m walking.”

Reaching the highway, which wasn’t more than a short walk away; he had seen enough to gather a picture of the damage. It seemed that his hometown, Columbia, Mo was bombed on the southern side, leaving the little of the town that was on the east side of I63 relatively undamaged. He couldn’t believe it, but this wasn’t the time to be standing about. He didn’t know much on the subject but over his years learned some things, what he called the four basic rules. 1 – get out of the immediate area, and quickly; 2 – remove the outer later of your clothing and discard them, to remove any contaminates; 3 – keep all cuts and abrasions cover to avoid internal contamination; 4 – wash all exposed parts of the body with lots of soap and lukewarm water. Taking off his dress shirt he used it to brush off the dust he could, but for now he would just have to continue on until he made it home.

Raya finally gave up trying to find help. She had been walking for about 5 hours and her sister would not last any longer unless she did something now. She walked back from the path she had formed in the rumble it was easy to spot and took her hours to build. As she was walking she had to hold a handkerchief to her mouth because the smoke became almost deadly. It was starting to get dark outside. The sky was gray and the rain that was falling around her was even a grayish color. The only way she could see was by her cell phone. Which only gave her a minor field of vision. Not enough to find the hole if she didn’t make this trail.

Raya yelled futilely into the darkness with only specks of hope. Nothing. Again. Just like it has been. She neared the hole in the ground and heard her sister weeping. Last time Raya came back this way her sister was still unconscious. Raya ran to the hole and jumped in over the boulder that was still pining Rozalia to the ground.

“Rozalia! Baby how are you felling?” Which was a stupid question to ask seeing on how her legs were crushed. She answered with a slight cry. “Okay Rozalia we need to get this off of you. Don’t do anything okay. Just stay awake and don’t let your self fall back asleep okay?” Her sister nodded.

Raya straddled her sister lap and got a type of footing. She dug her hands under the rock and started to pull up. The rock may be the size of a small table or a coffee table. But when it all is concrete it weighs a lot. Raya pulled it up off her sister by half a foot then saw the condition of Rozalia’s legs and gasped almost dropping the rock back on top of her. Her legs had practically been flatten to the thickness of a inches. “Sorry,” Raya said. Raya got a better grip on the rock and had it almost all the way flipped over when her muscles started to lose strength. She trying for one more push and got it completely off her sister.

If she was in gym class and tried to do that she would had fail but the adrenaline running through her at that moment had done it.

She picked up her sister making sure she was still awake and half carried and half dragged her out of the hole. She cradle Rozalia in her arms like a baby. When they got to the top Raya knew they couldn’t stay here. And couldn’t think of any where to go. So she just headed east in hope of someone finding the two.

In Somers Connecticut, Steven sat in the bolted down edgeless chair that faced the door in his isolation cell, waiting on his death.

You see, Steven was sentenced to death after killing over 100 students in a sick experiment at the University of Connecticut. Today was his day to die, and many people had come to see him die. This was to be the first public execution in the states recent history (in over 100 years being recent). The room was very dark, it had no window. You could smell the feces and urine mixing together in the toilet, making the whole room smell of it. The smell just wafted over the room, and added to the dead smell that was in it. With all of this, Steven sat with a stone face, looking at the door. The door was 3 feet of solid steel with a 6 inch lead center to it. All the walls were cinder block, with that lead center inside of them. The smell continued to remain there, the bed was stained green because of the bacteria in the air. Then, something very loud...

Steven saw no light flash, because the room was lite by only one small light-bulb that got extremely bright and then exploded. Steven did not move. Then the whole entire prison began to shake, the door swung open and a guard was seen standing there, but then he was gone. The cinder block walls were falling apart, there were bodies flying across the hallway, ones head was taken off by the open door of Steven's cell. The whole building was collapsing, yet Steven remained still. Then, a very odd smell came across the prison, one of death.

The shaking stopped, a couple of cinder blocks fell in Steven's cell, but it was pretty much still standing. Feces had spilled out of the toilet, which added to the smell. Again, Steven refused to move. There were screams of people outside, and one crawled into Steven's cell. He skin was peeling away, then a random cinder block fell from above Steven's cell and hit the man in the head. There were no more screams, no more noise. Just the sound of electric wires that were sparking, the occasional drip of a water pipe, and the occasional block falling.

Steven stood up, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stepped out of his cell, to see nothing but the outside world with fallen tree's and fire. He began to walk into the unknown.

Alison Wrapped her arms around her and looked both ways down the street. There was no sign of anyone and you could hardly tell where the street had been because of the debris that covered it. Things like broken glass, furniture, books, and other things littered the ground. Rubbing her arms and terrified, she made her way down the street towards her house.

The temperature had dropped since she had gone into the school building. It was the middle of summer but it felt like fall. She walked slowly stumbling over things sometimes, but for the most part managing to stay on her feet. Her ankle throbbed with pain and tears ran down her cheeks. Not only from the pain, but from fear and confusion.

She made it to the corner and turned down the next street. This was where her house should be, but the whole street had been leveled by whatever had happened. She dropped onto her knees and cried. She huddled close to the ground and sobbed for her lost family. She fell asleep like that, in the middle of the street curled around her self.

~

Hours later, Alison woke up. She was shivering and had know idea how much time had passed all she knew was that it was dark and she was covered in a layer of dust. She stood and made her way to where her house had been. With every step the wind tore at her like it was trying to knock her over.

She made it to her house and spent some time going through the rubble. She found a bag and loaded it up with cans that once were in the pantry. There were green beans, corn, beets and one can of raviolis. She also found one of her fathers coats witch was torn in a few places but would keep her warm. She put that on instead of in her bag. Once she was finished she left the house and walked to the highway. She would head to her Aunts house in Louisville, Kentucky. It would be a long walk. She would look for other people, and check cars as she went.

She reached one part of the highway were there were a lot of cars. The metal looked like it had been melted. She looked in the first car she came to and held back a scream. There was a body in the seat and the skin was burned to a crisp. From that point on she stayed clear of the cars and just kept walking.


(OOC- after a few more post for everyone we will need to start discussing how we will meet up and where, and if all of us are going to meet up at once or start in smaller groups. Let me know if any of you have preferences, either after your next post or under OOC)

Wiping some dirt from his shirt and pants, he walked forward. There were bodies thrown around the prison. There were a few cells that remained standing, but nothing moved. The air was still, cold, and eerie.

Steven chuckled and walked into a cell that remained standing. He found a man, melted to his toilet seat. He searched around, and found a ball point pen. Leaving the cell, he saw that the kitchen remained standing. He walked in, and found the prison food (things such as canned meat, canned beans, and lettuce). He grabbed the little he could and walked out.

Steven went to the north, trying to find any sort of vehicle he could. As he walked around, there were tree's that were splintered and fallen, fires were everywhere, it was almost as dark as night, and the smell of burning flesh was horrendous. Even thorough all of this, Steven marched forward, not letting any of it even phase him for a second. He found a charred guard at a toppled tower, who had a tranquilizing rifle with 5 darts. Just up the road was a semi-intact prison transport vehicle. He walked toward it, and found it to be in working condition. For some reason, there were no bodies to be found in it, but the keys were in the ignition.

He started the vehicle, and noted the gas gauge; full. He would not need to stop for a long time, as this ran on diesel and it had a very large tank. With this, he began to drive towards the Midwest, believing that it would be safer that way. He was a convicted felon, a death row inmate, and he was driving away in an armored prison transport vehicle.

***
Several Hours later
***

Steven had been driving for a couple hours now, and stopped on the side of the road to go to the bathroom. Suddenly, a man squirmed from the forest on the side of the road, his skin was starting to peel away already.

"Help me sir, please help me!" the man said, moaning and trying to scream out his wishes.

"You know what Darwin said? Only the strongest survive." said Steven, hoping to get a response from him.

"Well you know what man, your skin isn't [explicit] burning so go [explicit] yourself!" the man said, coughing up blood with each word.

"I see you don't have a very strong mind do you" Steven said, as he kicked the man full force on the side, making more blood come up.

"[explicit]. Why did you do that?!" the man screamed and coughed, his blood was a very dark red, almost a black.

Steven kneeled down close to the mans face, "Do you know how much time and effort I have put into researching the minds of humans? Do you know why I am in the prison clothes? Well, it's because I killed a large group of students to see the effects that the prescense of death would have on them. Most of them failed, but some remained completely still. These are the strongest minds we have in this country" said Steven. He then continued "Sir, it seems like your mind is very weak. You are driven by emotion, something that can't happen in this world we live in now. You must live to survive."

"Man, what is your deal?!" the man screamed, hoping for it to all end.

Steven then pulled out the rifle and put a dart in it "Time to go to sleep" he said, and then fired next to his head. The man screamed.

"That was the final test. Your mind is not strong enough." Steven pulls out the ball point pen from his pocket and loads it into the front of the barell (possible in an air powered gun such as this). The man lays there, not knowing what going on. Steven raises the gun up to eye level, aims it at the side of the mans neck and fires. The man does not scream, nor make any attempt to stop the bleeding. Blood gushes from his neck, then Steven pulls the pen out of his neck, and blood actually spurts up for a second then just oozes out. The man makes one final gurgling sound, and passes away. Steven writes with the ball point pen on his back "I was weak" then walks off.

Steven gets back into the truck, and starts to drive off. The skies are darkening, so he figures it must be close to night. He feels tired, so he pulls into a nearby ditch and locks the back doors. He lays down, and slowly drifts off to to sleep, the day's happenings not bothering him at all.

(OOC: I think we should meet up soon. Steven is obviously driving to the Midwest. When I think of a nuclear attack, I think the Midwest would be the least hit because of it's location. Also, if you want to meet me, make sure you keep your "mind" strong. Just a warning :P. I think us meeting one at a time (or something different possibly, like 3 or 4 at a time) would work fine.)

Throwing his shirt away, he continued onward. The high way was littered with wreckage and rubble and the air was thick with the scent of burning bodies, a scent so unique that it wasn’t hard to guess what it was. Over the hill on the other side things had faired bettered, while the R.V. park less then one hundred meters away was still set ablaze and toppled across a field. “Sam, Martha, Tim, Joe, and Ruth.” He couldn’t help but think and began to wondered if anyone had survived or if this was just a bad dream, a bad, bad dream gone perfectly wrong. “Linda… James...”

Heading northwards up the back roads he made quick time getting home, six miles in an hour. At least his house and the surrounding neighborhoods had survived the blast. Even with the surprising condition of the area the place seemed deserted. “Hello!” He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Anyone!” But no one answered back. He made his way to his front door step. Trying to open the door he found it was locked; searching his pockets it dawned on his that his key was in his backpack, back in the school. “Linda! James!” He shouted as he pounded on the door with all his might, but again he was meet with silence. Trying his luck with the garage opener, he was disappointed again as he realized that the electricity was out. “Oh come on!” He exclaimed, giving the garage door a good kick.

Going around to the back yard, jumping the six-foot privacy fence he stared at himself in the glass panel in the back sliding door, and wouldn’t you know it was locked. Figuring that it wouldn’t matter anyways he picked up a rock from the yard and tossed it through the door, the sound ringing out in the silence. Entering the kitchen he looked over the area and everything looked all right, but where were Linda and James? Searching the rest of the house he found them nowhere and found that the second car was gone. “Oh no…” He mumbled under his breath, his throat dry and scratchy and his eyes beginning to tear. Making it to his and his wife’s room he fell onto the bed and began to silently weep before passing out.

Robert took shelter in his half-destroyed bombshelter as the rain continued to to pour down.Thunder sounded and made what was left of his meger shelter shake slightly,but noticably.He looked at his watch it read "1:34am", he pulled the raincoat that he had scavenged over his face to shield himself from the stinging water the wind was blowing through the hole in the ceiling.

Robert had little supplies at his diposal,on his person he had a backpack,and in the backpack was a few cans of meat,4 standard issue MRE's,a can opener,a flash light with spare batteries,flares,a flare gun and ammo for it. as for weapons he had his M4 carbine and USP.45 with spare ammo for each respectively.He attained most of his gear from what he found in the destroyed bomb shelter.He had alot on his mind,so much to take in,it was too overwhelming.Robert made sure he was wrapped up tight and forced himself to sleep through the storm.

---Five Hours Later---

Robert was always a deep sleeper if left on his own...however if he heard something or someone he'd wake with a fright.
He was sleeping,he heard the voices.For a second he didnt know if they were real or not but noticed them getting closer.His eyes flew open and he pulled the rain soaked coat off himself and peered out of his 'home'.Two men were arguing as they poked around twisted wreckage of vehicles and charred corpses,their voices rose to the point were Robert knew what they were saying,
"well goddamn it what the hell do you expect me to do?" one man yelled
"i dont know...we could have saved them...could have gone to see if the rumors were true..." the other man answered,but his voice drifted off
"you know what i cant F****NG take this anymore!" The man produced a pistol from his coat pocket and raised it eye level to the other man
"please John no! you cant be serious..." even from a distance Robert to see the fear in the mans face
"Louis..im sorry for everything...im sorry for mom,and dad....and cindy.." John began to sob "and im sorry for this"
"John n-" Louis' sentence was cut short,John had pulled the trigger and sent a 9mm slug through his brothers forehead,Robert stood watching the entire scene from his viewpoint
John was sobbing uncontrollably now "no...how could i do that...i killed my own brother" he yelled,and pointed the gun at his own head "im sorry John...im sorry im sorry im sorry im so-" he shot himself....

Robert felt a pang of sorrow for the two brothers,but it passed quickly.He emerged from his hideout and approached the bodies of the two men.He knelt down and foraged through their pockets and found nothing useful apart from some ammo.
"hmmm" he muttered as he saw a backpack on John's back 'might be something useful in there,but i suppose i should bury them..." He took the backpack and quickly buried the two brothers with an improvised shovel,and headed back to his shelter.

The weather was a little better,it wasnt raining but it looked like it might start up again,so he covered himself and the backpack as he pepared to go through it.The first thing that caught Roberts attention was a small radio tansmitter
"no way!" it was an awesome find,but useless to him without any power. "i suppose i could try out that generator in the corner...heres to hoping it has some gas in it..."

He dragged the generator to a ventilated area of the room and attempted to start it up.He was rewarded with the tell tail sound of a running engine.He connected the radio to the generator,and powered it up.The radio belched static and was suddenly clear.Robert breathed a sigh of relief.He set the broadcasted message to play on a loop,and to play on all available frequencies

"This is Sargent Major Robert Parson of the United states Military,are there any survivors out there?Please respond...Im a survivor in San Antonio Texas.Can anyone hear me?"

He set the microphone down.The broadcast would automatically resend every 2 hours.Robert sat back and waited for a response...


[[OOC:My character is setting up a potential meeting point where he is.If you guys are interested head down here,or respond to the broadcast and let them figure it out.]]

Steven had been driving forever, and he pulls up to a gas station in Owensville Missouri. He tries the pump, knowing it probably wouldn't work. The power was out, and nobody was around, so he went into the oil storage area. He grabbed the 2 gas tanks that were in the truck, and dumped them in, filing them up. Then, he managed to grab a couple barrels and put them in the back of the truck.

He decided that would be enough, and tried heading south, possibly going to Mexico. There was something in the distance though, something that wasn't right. It looked like a man standing, but he didn't move. As he got closer and closer, it didn't move. When he got to the distance in which he could see what it was, he saw what it was. There was a man that was hanging from an overpass, slowly swinging in the wind.

Steven pulled over to the side of the road, got out, and went up to the man. He checked for a pulse, but there was not one. He pulled out his pen and wrote on his forehead "Not strong enough". He casually got back into his truck and began driving again.

* A few days later *

Steven had gotten to Texas. An hour and 3 minutes in, he heard some static noise on his radio. He tuned it the best he could, and then he heard the message. He slammed on the brakes, surprised that there was another person in the world. He drove closer to where the man said he was, waiting to contact him until he got close enough to make sure there was no problem with the signal.

He was flying down the interstate, going almost 90 in the truck. He grabbed the speaker and asked "This is Steven. I need food and gas. If you don't have this, I do need a place to stay at least." Stevens ultimate plan, however, was to discover if this man's mind was strong. He obviously had proven his physical strength, but strength of the mind is what will get people through this time.

He awaited a response.

(( OOC: I'm ready to start rping IC with ya'll. Seems like it's gonna be fun.)

Raya was still walking with her sister in her arms even though her sister had died just a few hours ago. For some reason Raya couldn’t let go of the only thing she had left in this messed up world. Raya wasn’t a doctor but she could tell Rozalia had died from bleeding to death. Rozalia’s legs were now covered in a blanket that Raya found. Raya didn’t want to see the damage anymore.

Raya thought that maybe her family were still home and this was all a bad dream. But all hope was extinguished when a girls mother that Raya used to go to school with, ran up to he rand started yelling for help. But Raya knew she couldn’t do anything for anyone if she couldn’t even save her sister. She just kept walking ignoring the woman. The lady was yelling, screaming and grabbing and pulling Raya’s hair and clothes. Raya was doing a pretty go job of ignoring the lady until she touched Rozalia.

“Don’t you dare touch her or I will kill you too!” Raya yelled. But the lady still insisted on pulling at Rozalia. Raya set Rozalia down on a slab metal that came off of a building and walked up to the lady and kicked the in the gut. Raya’s not much of a violent person, but when she was younger her mom had insisted on having her take karate classes.

The woman looked at Raya in shock and clutch her stomach while running away towards the city. Raya had been outside of New York City for a few hours now and hadn’t discovered her hunger until now. She looked over at her sister and knew that she could no longer keep carrying her. Raya covered her sisters face with the blanket before kissing her forehead. Then headed to Colorado, she used to watch on TV. how there was a mountain the could out last the blast and had food and water in it. It was her only hope now.

Several days had passed and Alison was tired she had heard a broadcast and started to make her way to that area. It had taken her a few days before she had found a car she could drive. She had to get over the fact that there were corpses al over the place. The truck she settled on had a full tank of gall. All she had to do was pull the drivers body out of it.

She had to do it, although she gagged the hole time she tried to pull his body out of the truck. She had no choice because she was out of food and had no water to start with. She was hungry and tired. She got in the truck and started it. She Was headed to Texas, where the man on the radio was at. She had no way to answer him but she would head in that direction anyway.

She gripped the steering wheel tightly and had to pinch herself every now and then to stay awake. There was so much death and disaster around her she still could not think of what had happened but if even Texas was like Tennessee was then it had hit every where and from the looks of it, it was a hard hit.

At one point she drove off the road, she woke up in time to keep from crashing but she was to startled to get onto the road again. She look out the window and noticed that the rain that was falling was black. She sighed and lay down across the seats. She fell asleep with tears in her eyes and pain shooting through her leg.

~

She woke up not to long later, the rain had stopped but because the trucks windows had been blown out she was soaked. She sat up and started the truck up again. She was in a crowded spot on the highway, of non moving vehicles and so she drove on the grass. It wasn’t too much longer before she crossed the Texas state border.

(OOC- I like the Midwest idea, there probably aren't as many spots that were completely devastated.)(

A sudden clap of thunder, followed by the whirling winds, awaked Daniel; outside a storm was brewing. As a flash of lightning engulfed the night sky he stood to his feet, taking a moment to stare at the cloak - 2:47am. He figured he must have slept for at least twelve hours. Again, another clap of thunder, along with even greater winds came, followed by several brilliant flashes of lightning. Using the lightning he quickly made his way back towards the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets and pulling out a flashlight. “Ah-ha!” He exclaimed in victory as he slide the switch.

About an hour later he had gathered several boxes containing supplies, mostly canned foods like vegetables, fruits, soups, sauces, anything in a can or glass jar that didn’t need to be refrigerated, or at least not until opened; meaning he would have to conserve those for important occasions. Some other things were pastas, rice, bread, water, a few cooking utensils, a bottle of whiskey, and a few pairs of cloths and some other shoes. He also raided the bathroom, taking some toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrush, and the painkillers and vitamins in the medicine cabinet. Gathering the boxes in the living room, he left them their and went outside to brave the storm in search of a vehicle.

The rain started pouring down not more than two seconds after he walked out into the open, it came down in thick sheets, cutting his visibility drastically. His own relief was in the form of the lightning, its occasional lighting of the sky allowing him to navigate. Finally he managed to find a 2004 jeep wrangler, though he had to use a skill he wasn’t proud of, but now wasn’t the time to be picky, soaked to the bone and shivering uncontrollably. Shutting the door behind him, he sat there for a little while, letting himself warm up before driving back to his house. Jumping back out into the rain he quickly opened the passenger door before running inside and grabbing a few boxes, having to make a second trip inside to get the last of them.

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

Several days later, driving southwards, he had managed to come across an old CB radio hooked to a high frequency transmitter. After turning the thing on and messing with the channels for a while he finally heard a voice, a Sergeant Major Robert Parson reaching out from San Antonio, Texas. Up until this time he wasn’t sure as to where he was going, just south, but now he had a direction. Taking the CB radio he planned on using it when he was close to San Antonio, hoping that the broadcast would still be going out.

About a day and a half later he was in Redwood, Tx, a small town some fifty miles away from San Antonio. Rather then being blow up by a bomb it seemed this town was razed to the ground, probably by house fire that spread and engulfed the whole place. “Hello, is anyone out there? I’m looking for a Sergeant Major Robert Parson. Anyone…” He spoke over his CB, switching through the channels hoping that someone would hear his voice.

“Chill out Luce. Give me two seconds.” A muffled voice snapped from beneath a row of plush, cushioned benches, “I don’t even see why they want these things bolted to the wall,” he grunted, pushing himself out from under the bench and onto his feet, “its not like anyone’s gonna steal ‘em.”

“My name is Lucy, not Luce.” She scowled throwing her arms in the air, exasperated. “Can you just get me the music I wanted?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get your panties in a twist” He chuckled, prying the door to the basement open.

“Why don’t you just take the elevator?” Lucy asked setting the clipboard she had been carrying on one of the few wooden benches that had yet to be replaced by the newer ones in the hallway with a loud clack, her light blue eyes lifting quizzically up, he towered over her by at least a foot.

“I like taking the stairs,” He frowned running a rough hand through his long dark locks before lowering his soft green eyes to meet hers, “it gives me something to do instead of just standing there twiddling my thumbs.”

Her eyes shot down to the floor and a pale pink blush crept across her freckled, sun-kissed cheeks, a few strands of glossy red hair, shining in the evening sun falling into her face, “Just get that music okay?”

“Stop being so damn cute and maybe I’ll stop stalling.” He said playfully with a smile and a wink at Lucy’s shocked expression through the square window in the center of the door after letting it click shut behind him.

Hopping from stair to stair and humming to himself, he descended deeper and deeper into the building his faded brown boots the only sound, pounding against the concrete stairs. He passed by many doors that he’d never been in, simply because he was never in the building when school was actually in. Around and around in circles he went before finally coming to a stop in front of the door he was looking for. He wrinkled his nose at the damp smell that seemed to pour out of the bottom floor when he opened the door. Turning around the corner he gasped in surprise as he nearly sent a tiny figure sprawling across the floor.

“Good gravy son watch where you’re going” the little man squeaked, obviously shaken.

“Sorry Professor, I didn’t expect there to be anyone down here.”

“Quite frankly, neither did I. You gave me quite a scare there.” The professor said dryly letting out a breath he must have been holding in. “But duty calls. Lots of things to do before school starts.”

His eyes followed the little man as he scuttled away, footsteps fading, then he heard the ding of the elevator button and continued on his way to his destination. Padding down the hall he dipped his fingers into the pocket of his jeans and plucked out a single key, inserting it into the lock he twisted it and turned the knob. Thankfully that damp smell that seemed to have invaded the entire basement had not yet penetrated this room, it smelled only of metal and old paper. The only light in the room came from a single dim ceiling light that seeming in danger or flickering out.

“They really outta replace those.” He mumbled to himself while tugging gently on one of the many file cabinets drawers. Finally coming to the right cabinet he lifted out a single copy of Kyrie Eleison, which he proceeded to jam into his pocket, before sliding the drawer closed. Lucy wouldn’t be happy about that. Turning off the flickering light and locking the door he headed back towards the surface when he felt the floor twitch. He froze. Emerald eyes peering from beneath a fringe of dark lashes as he scanned the room, searching for the source of the movement. Finding none, he shrugged and continued down the hallway opening the door to the stairwell. He heard it click shut, but not before he heard the screams.

The floor twitched again, this time violent enough to throw him into the wall, but he paid no attention. He was still listening to the screams; there was no way he should be able to hear people screaming this far below ground. His confusion turned to horror, as it dawned on him, the screams were getting louder. The elevator.

Everything began to erupt into chaos after that.

The screaming had been bad enough, the crunching of metal as the elevator had smashed against the concrete floor was worse but the silence after the crash was maddening. He was shaken and unstable when the final quake of the ground came, and wasn’t ready when it threw him down the stairs and into the door, knocking him unconscious.

When he awoke there was nothing but darkness, he’d have thought he was dead but the thudding pain behind his temple and the dried blood caked in his hair told him otherwise. After sitting for a few minutes and wondering how long he’d been out he pushed himself to his feet and felt around in the darkness for the handrail, feeling sorry for himself wasn’t going to get him anywhere. Other than his head, and a few scrapes and bruises he seemed mostly unscathed as he began the long trek back up the stairs. He climbed stairs for what seemed like hours, for all he knew it had been hours, days even.

He could’ve jumped for joy when he finally saw a flicker of light behind the window of the last door, but he sobered immediately when he gazed out the little window, his mouth hanging open in shock. The entire back wall of the building was gone, fires glowed eerily where shrubbery had probably once been, chunks of the ceiling had fallen to the floor, that’s when he saw Lucy. A hushed cry escaped from his throat as he twisted the handle and pushed against the door, which to his dismay only opened about three inches before it refused to move.

He yelled, loud and angry, as he leaned his shoulder into the door and used every ounce of strength he had to push against it. The door only moved about a foot, but it was enough for him to squeeze through. He fell to his knees and crawled over to where Lucy lay, most of her body crushed beneath a piece of fallen ceiling. Light blue eyes stared up at him in shock, her short silky hair had escaped from her loose pony tail and fanned out beneath her like a red halo, her lips were parted in a silent scream and a trail of dried blood snaked down her pale colorless cheek.

Closing her eyes he sat there for a while, petting her hair and talking to her dead body. Shakily he rose to his feet, trudged out of the gutted building, using one of the few walls left for balance, and vomited on the charred grass outside.

Several hours later after he had regained his composure and his stomach alerted him to a few urgent needs, he relieved himself and then began to walk towards the parking lot. He scowled seeing his Chevy Blazer crushed beneath the missing wall of the building he’d just exited, that car had been through hell with him. Sighing he settled on taking the Mazda at the end of the lot, picking up a large chunk of cement he smashed it through the window and unlocked the door. He got into the car and almost screamed again when he realized the stupid thing was a stick shift.

The one time in my life when I will ever need to know how to drive a [explicit]ing stick shift.

He made a mental note not the smash the drivers side window next time and started walking into the ruins of what used to be Richmond.

He walked for hours, only stopping once to take a nap in the ruins of what appeared to be a library, until he found an intact Lincoln Navigator, this time he checked to made sure it wasn’t a stick shift; luckily enough for him the keys were still in the ignition, what puzzled him upon further inspection of the vehicle was that the doors were unlocked.

What kind of idiot leaves their big expensive SUV unlocked with the keys still in the ignition and groceries in the trunk?

Turning the key the car rumbled to life, only static fizzled through the radio, he noted that the tank was a little more than three-quarters full.

At least I don’t have to worry about how to get gas for a while.

His brow furrowed as his eyes scanned the glowing green digital numbers above the radio station number again and again, waiting for them to change.

No way. His head dropped against the steering wheel. That can’t be right. It can’t be.

The little numbers clearly read 8:56 AM. He lifted his head and paused long enough to look out the window at the dark sky. Mentally kicking himself he backed away from most of the wreckage and headed towards the city, he’d driven for at least a day, searching for any sign of life in the empty city and finding none. On the second day he found a small sagging convenience store with the windows shattered, but for the most part still intact and gathered a few cases of Pepsi and almost an entire display of Doritos, Pringles, and Cheetos, along with all the sub sandwiches and cases of water he could find. Stopping for a few minutes he shuffled into the restroom and almost vomited the small meal he’d just eaten when he saw the man in the corner.

Christ.

Short blonde hair hung just above the mans eyes, shielding them from sight, his skin was shriveled and black in some places and red oozing in others. His scarred arms were wrapped tightly around his knees; his clothes were in tatters and his feet, bare. A little metal nametag still clung to the fabric that was left hanging around the man’s mangled frame that read: Joey.

“Help me.” Joey rasped, his breath coming in short heaves, one of those charred hands reached out towards him. “There’s…there’s a gun in the store…underneath the…the register…Please. I...I can’t see.”

Joey lifted his head towards the door, one cloudy gray eye shifting crazily up, down, left, right, and then back again in a spastic jerking rhythm.

This time he did vomit in the sink he was using to brace himself. The entire right side of Joey’s face was blackened, blood dribbled down his chin from a rip around the burnt skin around his mouth that he had most likely caused trying to speak.

Wiping the vomit off of his face with a paper towel he nodded and stumbled out of the room to retrieve the smooth black smith & Wesson .40 cal handgun that fit perfectly in the palm of his hand.

“Hello? Are you…still there?” Joeys panicked voice called before dissolving into hushed sobs. “Please.”

“I’m here.” He murmured walking unsteadily into the room and placing the pistol into Joys trembling hand.

“Thank you.” Joey whispered, tears now running freely down his face, as he put the gun to his temple. “Thank you…oh god thank you.”

And then he was gone.

He’d left in a hurry after getting over the initial shock of seeing Joey slump against the ground, a little half smile gracing his destroyed face. The kid couldn’t have been much older than eighteen. A shiver ran up his spine as he remembered wrenching the gun from Joey’s fingers. He couldn’t tell how many shots he had but he didn’t know how to reload a gun, although he had plenty of ammo for the stupid thing, so whatever was left in the gun was all he had. He almost jumped out of his seat when a voice came through the radio.

“This is Sergeant Major Robert Parson of the United States Military, are there any survivors out there? Please respond…I’m a survivor in San Antonio Texas. Can anyone hear me?”

“Guess that means I’m goin to Texas.” He mumbled drearily, waiting for his heartbeat to slow before guiding the car away from the city and putting San Antonio into the fancy GPS system in the car before, adding half-heartedly, “Yeehaw.”

Robert had been sleeping when he heard the voices,there were two one after the other

"yes yes im Robert Parson can you hear me? i have very little food but i do have a shelter please can you hear me?

He practically lunged at the microphone when he heard the people on it....he wondered if they heard him respond.

"if you can hear me im in St.joseph's military base.if anyone gets to my area,radio me if possible and i will send up a flare...anyone there?"

He began to lose hope, "maybe they are out of range now..dammit!" Robert peered out of his bombshelter at the remains of the base. He looked up "Fuck...it looks like its gonna rain again" he muttered to himself.
He pulled the raincoat over his huddled up body and prepared for another storm

"eventually im gonna have to find another shelter..." he opened up an MRE (meal ready to eat) and gulped down its contents.He didnt know what it was or what it tasted like,and he didnt care he was hungry enough to actually eat a horse...that is if there were any left in the area..

"ill wait to see if anyone else shows up first..."

and with that he huddled under his soaked raincoat and waited for a response from the people on the radio as the rain picked up just as fierce as before.


((OOC: sorry for not posting in a while its been a busy,rough couple days))

Kiya sighed heavily as she let herself sink deep into the hottube next to her lover (the third one this month, to which her wealthy husband of course knows nothing of). The large underground cave beneath her home had been converted into a full party room for her twenty first birthday by her husband (Mark). As far as Kiya was concerned... It was the perfect place to bring the men she desired. She was not a woman to be deprived of any of her desires.

The bubles tickled and laped around the twos wet skin as they began to kiss vigourously under cover of steaming water. This one, ironically this one was indeed the pool boy. The thought made her giggle in her thoughts. Her husband was not cruel, nor a "bad man". She did not consider herself either of these things either. She simply would always get what she wanted, be means of her outragous good looks. Sudenly, as the pool boy made his move for the tie on her bikini, the roof began to shake. Little pieces began to fall from the celling and things began to fall all around. The pool boy began to say something when a giant hunk of the celling falls into the hot tube crushing him and pinning Kiya's waist uncomfortably to the side of the tube.

Kiya began screaming and struggleing with all her will. Thrashing about she heard voices and alarms. The once fun loveing califonia beach masion she had come to call her home was turned into a nightmare. In deep panic Kiya fainted, red bubles laping at her skin.

When she awoke she noticed a long pole near her which had fallen during the caos. She snached it and used it to pull the rock up enough to barely let herself out. She did not let herself look at what had happened and ran for the stair running out the door, hopeing for freash air and her home back. She was sorely disapointed. The whole place was in ruble. Everywhere. Nouthingness. She could not look any longer. Her life style, gone. She ran to the only standing thing it seemed, a miraculously unburned Truckers truck filled with shipments of twinkies. She pushed the man in the truck out without second glance or thought. Turned the keys and drove as fast as she could. She could not handel this.

After driveing and driveing and stopping for gas a few diffrent times over a few days she finally began to think of other people than herself. Was her husband okay? Should she have cheaked to see if the pool boy, her lover was okay? Was anyone but herself okay?!? The thought sent her hyperventalating. Instictively she turned on the radio as she normally would have. There was a mesage from someone... asking if anyone was alive! In texas! Though Kiya thought only of herself, she needed other people to get what she wanted, she manipulated them easily with wit, charm and looks. She needed this man. "Texas" She said as she hit the gas of her twinkie truck.

Alison passed the sign that said welcome to San Antonio. She was running out of gas in her truck and had no food left to speak of. An hour passed and she heard the voice on the radio once again. Her truck began to crawl as the needle hit empty. She was hugely frustrated , and yet that voice gave her hope. The truck died and she got out with her bag and slammed the door behind her. She looked around and began to walk.

After some time she found a drug store. She hobbled into it, surprised that it was still standing. She filled her bag with water and food then sat down to rest. She couldn’t really feel her ankle anymore. It was completely numb except for a few shooting pains every now and then.

Just as Alison was about to fall asleep she noticed a big map that had probably once been on the wall. She crawled over to it and looked at it closely. There was a red dot that said you are here. She thought back to the second time she heard the voice. Where had he said he was at? St. something. She tried to remember and when it came to her she began looking for it on the map, almost franticly. St.Joseph's Military Base. There it was, not too far from where she was. She stood in her excitement, ready to get going but her ankle gave out and she fell to the floor.

Letting out a half crazed cry she collapsed against a wall and let her eyes close. She would have to rest before she could go anywhere. She fell asleep sitting up against the wall.

~

Waking up latter that night she grabbed her bag and the map and left the drug store. She walked for what seemed like hours but really wasn’t. She found the base and went into it. She looked around her and called out for anyone who might be there. “Hello?” She waited for a moment. “I heard you voice on the radio.” her voice seemed to be swallowed by the buildings around her. What would she do if no one answered.

By now the rain was bad again and Robert noticed that water was starting to puddle in different places in the destroyed remains of the bombshelter,
"god damn...looks like im gonna have to find another shelter sooner than i thought"

Robert stood up and covered up the generator,radio,and his other supplies with his raincoat. He grabbed his rifle and looked at his watch,it read "11:45pm" and the rain was pouring down again.
He stepped out of the shelter and began to search the ruins of the shattered buildings around him.The rain was making scouting extra difficult due to the low visibilty.

He climbed up the wreckage of a toppled over watch tower and squinted out over the base,looking for a suitable building he could take shelter in. He saw a nice sort of intact building off in the distance that looked promising.

Robert glanced over at the entance to the base and noticed something,a figure,he thought his eyes were decieving himHe hadnt seen anyone in a week since John and Louis,the two brothers. He wondered if maybe this was one of the people he heard over the radio. Hopeful,he jumped off the watch tower,but as he got closer he grew suspicious. The people he heard on the radio were deep voices,obiviously men.The closer he got the more he noticed the person had a feminine build,he aprroached slowly and yelled,but the thunder drowned him out.He got closer and heard her voice
"Hello? I heard your voice on the radio" she yelled

Robert raised his rifle a bit and got closer "hey you,are you looking for Robert Parson?" His gun was aimed at her,non threateningly "I was the one on the radio!" He got in close enough to see her face "hey are you ok?"
He noticed her ankle,even in the darkness of night he could see the severity of her injury and that it was bleeding pretty badly.