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Jed Carter

[ The Big Brother ]

0 · 506 views · located in Post Apocalyptic Earth

a character in “Uninfected”, originally authored by mjolnir, as played by RolePlayGateway

Description

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NAME
Jedediah Miles Carter

NICKNAMES
Jed | by everyone | all the time | likes

AGE
Thirty - Five

GENDER
Male

SEXUAL ORIENTATION
Heterosexual

ABILITIES
Intangibility | The ability to pass through objects and ignore most physical effects in his way.

X-ray Vision | The ability to visually penetrate solid objects or see within objects.


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"What's right isn't always what's easy."

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HEIGHT
5' 11"

WEIGHT
175 lbs

HAIR
Jed's hair over the past couple of years has grown to an unruly mess. The dark, nearly black hair extends down to his shoulders. More often then not it lays in his face and is full of engine grease.

EYES
He shares the same eyes as his sister that are a grey blue that border on hazel. They sometimes come off as brown or dark green depending on his attire and how much of his hair masks his eyes.

APPEARANCE
A grease monkey by nature, he is clean about as often as he shaves. When he's not in his mechanic jumpsuit he's usually dressed in mostly black clothing, a leather jacket or vest and steel toed boots. If it is possible for someone to be more rugged them him then it hasn't been seen yet. He's the resident tall dark and handsome man of Mullen, but his dark and mysteriousness also keeps others at bay.

Markings
Unlike his sister who is relatively unscathed, Jed is covered in scars that he aims to keep hidden more often than not. What his sister does now know is how abusive their step father truly was to him behind closed walls. His back is covered in scars and marks from the beatings he'd get. He tries his best to keep them hidden from everyone, especially Jolene.



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"I see more than others."

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Quiet | Stubborn | Protective | Brave

Jed has never been one to make himself known to others or stand out in the crowd. He is more comfortable in silence just observing from a distance. This makes him a better judge of character compared to most. He stands true to his convictions so when someone tries to make him change his mind or go against what he thinks is right, he rarely budges. When he does let people past his thick shell he would do anything for them and protects them like his own sister without fear.

LIKES
Cars | Considering he's a mechanic, he finds peace in working on cars.
Alcohol | He isn't an alcoholic, but does like to have a drink every so often to drown his worries.
Reading | Although he doesn't seem like an intellectual, he does like to read at night.

DISLIKES
Dishonesty | He never lies so that trait in others is a turn off.
His past | Jed won't talk about it so don't ask.
Disloyalty | This is worse in his eyes than lying because to him being loyal to whom you care about is most important.

FEARS
Love | He wants to know love but is scared to let others in for the fear of losing them.
Losing Anyone | He will fight with all that he can to keep his friends and family safe.



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HISTORY
Jed was the first born child to his parents, born 5 years before his sister Jolene. He was just old enough to grow a bond with his father when he died in a motorcycle accident. Their mother quickly turned to the bottle to drown her sorrows and loss of her lover. When Jed was a young man, their mother had remarried. When he was 17 he came home one day to finding his step father trying to force himself upon Jolene. Without a seconds hesitation he began beating the daylights out of that man, and when the man had enough he continued. If it wasn't for the arrival of the police, Jed would have beat that man until his brain was a puddle on the ground.

The police took Jed away, shoving him into juvy. He remained there until he was old enough to be transferred to a prison. He was held there for long past what the sentencing should have been. Although he was never told why, rumor was his step father paid the right people to keep him there longer. It wasn't until he was 27, 10 years after he was taken in that he was released. By that point Jolene was already in the army so he was left with nothing at home beyond a drunken mother.

He had gotten a job as the local mechanic in town when the old man who used to run it grew ill. It didn't pay much, but there was plenty of business due to most residents in Mullen driving cars and trucks older than them. He was able to support their mother at the ill will of their step father. Eventually his mother died from her consumption just before Jolene returned after getting wounded over seas.

They both wanted to leave the town of Mullen but with little to no means, and both of them having long standing criminal records, they didn't have much of a choice. With as much money as they could muster, they moved out of their trailer where their dead beat, abusive step dad still lived, and moved to a crappy apartment above the town's general store. Jed and his sister working to keep food on the table until they get an opportunity to leave.



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WEAPONS
Crossbow | It happened to be in the bed of his truck from hunting. It's efficient, quiet and doesn't take bullets.

Shotgun | Although it isn't a rapid fire gun, it does a lot of damage, especially when facing down multiple infected at once.

Hunting Knife | 6 inches of steel will stop anything in its tracks, especially with how swift and agile Jed can be. Plus the added quietness of the weapon adds stealth when needed.



HEXCODE0 #837A23 00|00 FACECLAIM0 Norman Reedus 00|00 CREATOR0 Scar.-

So begins...

Jed Carter's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Mika Blackfoot Character Portrait: Beatrice Folley Character Portrait: Jolene Carter Character Portrait: Matthew Vernon Character Portrait: Thane Rutherford Character Portrait: Marianne Colleen
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by mjolnir
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JED CARTER
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Intangibility & X-ray Vision
#837A23 | Outfit
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SALVATORE DE LUCA
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Superhuman Agility, Endurance & Strength
#678773 | Outfit
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JOLENE CARTER
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Ergokinesis & Telepathy
#72B0B4 | Outfit




PRE-INFECTION
The sound of the alarm blared in Jolene’s ear. She groaned as she slammed her hand all over her nightstand, missing the damned noise maker each time. After the seventh try she grabbed her spare pillow and pressed it around her head as she cocooned back under the blankets. She knew she had work soon or else the alarm wouldn’t be shouting its blood curdling wail right in her ear. But did she care about going to work? No.

Jed was already awake, dressed and nearly on his way out of the apartment when he heard the struggle with the clock going on down in his sister’s room. He sighed, setting his crossbow down on the couch before trudging down the hallway towards the bathroom. Before going straight to Jo, he bee lined for the medicine cabinet. He grabbed two pills from her prescribed pill bottle and a glass of water.

He then headed towards her bedroom, throwing the bedroom door open with a single good bump of his hip. “Get up you lazy ass.”

Jo groaned. “I can’t hear you… There’s an odd buzzing in my ear,” she said with dry sarcasm.

Jed rolled his eyes, before walking over to her nightstand, switching off the clock. “Get up before I get you up.”

She sighed, rolling over in her bed before sitting up. Her short dark hair standing up in every which way except for the right way. “Why do I have to?”

He took her hand, setting the pills into the palm before holding out the glass of water towards her. “Because you need to go make money.”

She blew air out her lips before taking her medicine. “I don’t see you going to work.”

“It’s Saturday. Shop’s closed.”

“I knew that.” Jo said while rubbing her eyes.

“Go to work Axe.” Jed walked towards her door, stopping just before he passed the threshold. “Shower first though. You smell worse than Ms. Bernice on litter box day.”

“Please. I don’t smell–” She turned her nose towards her armpit and took a big whiff. “Yeah, yeah, fine.”

Jed smirked before heading back towards the living room. He snatched up his crossbow and duffel bag full of all his hunting gear. “I’ll be with Wyatt. I should be back before you’re home from work but if I’m not I’ll be down by the crick.” He gave Jo a quick two finger salute before exiting their apartment and heading out to his old Ford pickup.

It took Jolene longer than it should to shuffle her butt into the shower, clean herself decently enough and then climb back out. She truly detested her job, and in a town like Mullen there wasn’t much in the offering of jobs. Getting ready and going to work was like pulling teeth. She wasn’t as lucky as Jed who had a good set of skills to get him a fairly decent job. No one in town wanted her working for them because of her “instability.”

Mr. Johnson knew her father and were really good friends long before Jed or Jolene were a sparkle in their parents’ eyes. It was probably only because of that that Jo was able to get a job at his hardware store. It wasn’t glamorous and didn’t pay very well. But it got her out of the house. Since she’s been there her conditions gotten better. Only on a couple occasions of customers knocking over the shovels has she had a serious melt down.

Maybe it wasn’t so much her job she hated but the looks she got from the people who came in there to shop. Her and Jed were definitely some of the more talked about it town. Probably why they both worked so hard to save money and get out of there. This is at least what she told herself everyday as she dragged herself through the ritual of getting ready.

Once she was groomed and decently enough dressed, Jolene headed out of her place and down the street towards the hardware store. It only took her a whopping two minutes to get to work and assume her post. Saturdays were particularly slow, so when no one was in the store Jo tended to read to pass the time. The poison of the day was The Iliad.

***

A few hours had passed since Jed and Wyatt got themselves deep in the woods around the outskirts of town. So far as the day had gone neither one of them had got anything. They spent most of their time bullshitting and smoking up half of their cigarettes.

Jed was about to suggest wrapping it up and calling it a day when they heard a rustle in the woods several feet away. Wyatt grinned, tapping his nose with his index finger. A silent gesture the pair made up years ago to call dibs on prey. Jed sighed, deciding to light another cigarette and lean back against an adjacent tree as his friend disappeared into the brush after the noise.

He quickly lost track of time at how long his friend had been gone… ten, fifteen minutes? At least enough time to make Jed start to worry. He didn’t want to make a bunch of noise and potentially scare off their only prey all day, so instead of calling out he held his crossbow at the ready and headed in the direction his friend disappeared in.

Jed quietly followed his friends trail. He wasn’t particularly worried until he saw Wyatt’s hunting knife laying on the ground, the blade covered in blood. Not wasting anymore time, Jed called out, “Wyatt!?”

His pace quickened as he continued to follow the trail of not one but two sets of foot prints now and blood. Jed cursed at himself for waiting too long before chasing after Wyatt. “Dammit man where are you?” he mumbled to himself before calling out once again, “Wyatt?!”

By the time Jed reached the creek the trail had disappeared and he was left just staring in all directions without a sign or clue. “Man if you’re pulling a prank on me I swear to God I’ll kick your mother fucking ass when I find you!” He shouted out towards the forest.

Not trying to let himself get too worried, he placed the strap of his crossbow over his head before deciding to head back to his truck. Although he was becoming more and more certain that this was just some shitty trick, he couldn’t help still look around, hoping to see Wyatt tucked behind a tree or something.

Jed’s pace slowed as his truck came into view along with a person seeming to be hidden behind the truck bed. “I see you ya fucking prick! Have fun walking your ass home!” He tossed his crossbow into the passenger seat of the truck. He sighed before walking around towards the back of the truck, “Dude stop with the damn games I’m tired of your sh—”

Jed nearly fell as he stumbled backwards at the sight of Wyatt on the ground soaked in his own blood. His throat looked like it had been torn open by some sort of wild animal, the wound too rigid to be created by a weapon. His hands were trembling as quickly fell to his knees beside his friend, pressing his hands to the gash in his throat. He tried with everything he had to stop the bleeding but deep down he knew it was too late.

Before he had a chance to even shed a tear a strange and inhuman snarl caught his attention. Just as he looked over his shoulder a blood covered man with flesh falling from his face sprinted out from the forest towards him. “Shit! Shit!” Jed didn’t have a chance to stand up before they reached him. He put up his hands to barely catch the person by their chest as they growled and reached for him vigorously. With a swift shove he threw them from him and scrambled to his feet.

“Hey man… You’re not in your right mind. Just… Just calm down. I can take you to the hospital, get you some help.” Jed said as he backed away, holding his hands up in a surrendering manner. But the person didn’t hesitate to get back up and dash towards him.

“Fuck.” Jed ran around his truck and hurdled over the truck. He quickly pivoted on his heels, reaching in through the open passenger side window to grab his crossbow. Just as he grasped the stock he felt a sharp pain flare in his right shoulder.

“Ahhh!” He glanced over to see the thing hungrily chomping at his deltoid. Jed threw his elbow back into its head before spinning around with weapon in hand. Without hesitation he pulled the trigger, lodging an arrow right through its eye. The… thing fell to the ground with a thud.

Jed leaned back against the passenger side door, his hands shaking more furiously than before as he tried to catch his breath. As he pealed back his torn shirt to look at the bite another snarl came from the woods. He tried to pull back the bow string to nock another arrow but the pain in his shoulder quickly flared up making it harder for him to exert any strength with his right arm.

Just he pulled out his hunting knife and turned towards the rustling branches, he saw Gunner Jackson sprint out of the woods towards him. “Jed! Run! They’re coming!”

His brows furrowed and just as he was about to ask what was coming, another crazed person busted out of the tree line behind Gunner, getting it clutches on him and digging its teeth deep into his neck. His blood curdling screams echoed through the forest. Jed prepared to take on another one of… Well whatever it was but it looked up and saw him standing there another five came barreling out after it, the growling sending the hair on the back of his neck straight up.

“Fuck this.” Jed quickly opened the passenger side door, climbing in and closing it as quickly as possible. Although it killed the bite in his shoulder he rolled up his window as fast as he could manage, getting it closed just as the first one slammed into the door. He slid down the bench seat while his hand trembled as it searched his pocket for the keys. Jed nearly dropped them on the floor when he found them and tried to stick them in the ignition. Without wasting a second he put the truck into drive and floored it, not giving two minds to the things he ran over as he sped out of there.

***

Jolene was nearly finished with her book by midday without a single customer stepping into the store. No surprise there but Mr. Johnson always wanted the store open in case anyone needed something. Not like they couldn’t call him up and ask him to open up. But Jo didn’t mind getting paid to sit around and do nothing.

So it was safe to say she was a bit surprised when she heard the bell ring indicating that someone had entered the store. The smell reached her nose before she had the chance to glance up. “Hello Ms. Bernice what is it this week?” Jo turned the page in her book, not caring to look up. “You know if you’d just call Mr. Johnson either him, his son or I could come over and take care of whatever is wrong. Then you wouldn’t have to keep coming in here every day.”

Ms. Bernice didn’t say anything, just snarled in a deep and quite frankly, disgusting way. “There is no need to get sassy with me ma’am. It is you who keeps spending all your money on the wrong things. I’m just trying to—” Jolene glanced up from her book, stopping mid-sentence as her jaw dropped. Whoever it was, it wasn’t Ms. Bernice. They stood there in the entrance just staring at her as blood and whatever else kind of excrement dripped from its mouth.

“Uh… Excuse me? Do you need help?” Jo set down her book and walked around the counter, heading towards the young woman. “I can call the Sheriff if you—” Then in the blink of an eye the estranged woman sprinted towards her. She didn’t have a clue what the woman was doing but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

Jolene ran down the aisle, grabbing on a shelf, using it to whip herself around and run down another. She kept swerve and zig zagging through the aisles but the strange woman wasn’t far behind. She turned down another aisle coming to the tool section. Jo grabbed the first thing her eyes locked out, a crowbar hanging on a peg hook. She gripped it in her hand like a baseball bat as she turned to face the woman.

“Don’t you come any closer!” Her hands shook so much she could barely grip the iron. Her breathing grew uneasy as she felt an attack creeping up her body and scratching at her brain. She had to keep it together. She can’t melt down now. “Leave now… And I won’t call the cops. Ok?” She pointed the hook of the crowbar at the woman.

But almost as if taking it as an invitation the oozing woman ran for her. When she got within round house range, Jolene slammed the crowbar into the stranger’s gut, sending her back into a shelf and knocking it over. She quickly backed up until she bumped into a shelf, her eyes fixed on the woman.

“Stay down.” Her hand fumbled around for her phone, but before she could get it out the woman was back on her feet and coming for her. Jo sprinted down the aisle, turning left at the first opening but then waited just out of site with the heavy iron still in hand. When she heard the woman nearly about to turn the corner, she swung the crowbar at her, this time slamming her right in the temple.

The woman stumbled over into another shelf, nearly knocking it over but then regained its footing and came at Jo. “What are you? The Terminator?” This time Jolene had no choice but to make her swing count, aiming the hooked end right at the side of her head. She lodged it in her brain which made the woman’s body go limp and fall to the ground, nearly taking Jo over with her.

Jolene’s began to hyperventilate as her shaking hands dislodged the crowbar from the lifeless skull. With jello knees, she made her way towards the entrance of the store, gripping the crowbar like she was in the major leagues. She looked out the window of the door seeing people running down the street screaming as more crazed people oozing and indestructible chased after them. She gasped quickly spinning around so her back was pressed to the wall beside the door, gripping tight to the shaft of the crowbar.

The bell to the entrance dinged and instincts kicked in. Jolene swung the crowbar at head level hoping to catch one as they entered. Jed’s hand barely was fast enough to catch the hook before it made a home in his face, “Jesus Jolene… Check before you try killin’ people.”

Her eyes widened when she saw her brother, “Jed… Oh my god this wo—”

Jed cut her off, grabbing her by the arm. “No time. We gotta go.” He let her take back the crowbar so he could hold his bow at the ready, wincing slightly as the butt pressed against his wounded shoulder.

“What happened?” Jo grabbed his good shoulder, turning him towards her.

“One of them bit me. I’ll be fine. Come on.” He motioned for her to followed as he ducked out of the store. He ran towards his truck looking down the sights, ready to shoot anything that came close to them.

They were nearly to the truck when Jolene saw at least a dozen of them running at them from an alleyway behind the truck. “Jed…”

“Run!” He called over his shoulder to her. She slid the crowbar through her belt loop before running as hard and fast as she could to the truck. Jed was in the driver’s seat and starting the engine as Jo reached the truck. She couldn’t risk running around to the passenger side and getting in, so instead she stepped up on the bumper of the truck and climbed into the bed.

Just as she was nearly in, one reached the back of the truck grabbing hold of her leg and sinking its teeth into her thigh. “Jed! Go!” She fell back into the bed, using her unharmed leg to kick it in the head so hard that their neck snapped and they collapsed to the ground as Jed sped away.

Jed quickly opened the window that lead to the bed of the truck. “Hey! Are you alright!?”

“That bitch bit me!” Jolene put pressure on the bite, wincing at how tender it already was.

“Jolene Axel are you ok?!” He asked again looking back at her.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” She looked towards him. “Jed look out!” Jo pointed forward where numerous cars sat unoccupied, half smoking in the middle of the road. Jed didn’t have time to react before the truck crashed into one of the idle cars. The airbag deployed against his face while Jolene was sent forward, slamming into the back window of the truck with a loud thud.

It took a few moments for Jed to shake off the effects of the airbag, the taste of iron spilling into his mouth from a bloody nose and split lip. He raised his hand to wipe away some of the blood before stumbling out of the truck. “Axe?... Jolene!?”

Jo was dazed, a gash in her forehead dripped blood down across her brow. “I’m ok…” She coughed.

“Come on.” He nearly pulled her from the back of the truck. Jed went to put her arm over his shoulders but winced when she touched his bite.

“I can walk.”

He didn’t have to look behind him to know they were coming. He could hear their growls and snarls. “We gotta go…” He looked around trying to find answers but was coming up short.

“This way, come on.” Jolene grabbed her crowbar and ran, slower than before, towards the police department on the corner.

“Jo?”

“Trust me.” Just as she nearly reached the door, a former cop came running out. Jo barely had enough time to slam the crowbar into its head, sending it to the ground. Once down, she continued to beat its skull until it was a pile of mush. She pushed her way into the police station. It didn’t look anyone had been in there since probably everyone in town started calling 911 about the lunatics running around.

Jed hurried her in, glancing back over his shoulder to see them closing in. “What now?”

Jo rubbed her temple, her brain was becoming fuzzy. She couldn’t tell if it was because an attack was creeping up on her or what. “I…”

“Jo…”

“Let me think.”

“Jolene!?”

They busted through the door, charging towards them. Jed, making a quick decision, pushed Jo towards and into the prison cell, quickly following after her. Once inside, he slammed in shut and stumbled back to be out of reach of the hands that reached through the bars towards them.

“Now what?” Jo looked towards her brother who doubled over and fell to his knees. “Jed!”

Jolene tried to move quickly to his side but ended up falling to her knees beside. She blinked her eyes as her vision started going black. “Jed…? J…ed…” Her eyes rolled back and she fell unconscious beside her brother.


POST-INFECTION
Jed eyes slowly blinked as he became conscious. He rose a hand to rub his eyes, wincing when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He glanced over at it seeing it gnarled and torn but his brain started to hurt when he tried to remember how he got it. He looked around as he tried to get his bearings.

It didn’t take long for him to notice he was in a jail cell with the iron bars prominently keeping him locked where ever he is. He went to curse under his breath until he saw a woman unconscious on the ground beside him. His brows furrowed as he tried to recall if he knew her or not.

Just as he reached out his hand to try and wake her, she coughed before sitting up quickly, smacking away his hand. “Watch your paws buddy.”

“Sorry… I was just seeing if you were… Alive.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t I be?” Jo asked, shifting so that she was sitting up. The bite on her leg dragged on the ground causing her to curse, “Damn… What the hell?” She looked over the wound confused. “What happened to me?”

“I don’t know.” Jed shook his head. “…Who are you?”

“I’m…” Jolene’s face scrunched up as she tried to remember her name. “I don’t know. Who are you?”

Jed parted his lips to speak but found no words to say. He just sat there frozen for a long moment. Then an idea struck him. He searched his pockets until he found his wallet. He opened it and read over his I.D. “Jedidiah Carter.”

Jo’s hands patted all over her clothing finding no wallet and she definitely didn’t see a purse. Although something in her gut told her she never carried one of those stupid things anyways. She scratched at her neck when she felt a chain. Her fingers followed it to a pair of dog tags that rested against her chest. Her lips pursed as she read the name, “Jolene Carter.”

They both sat there staring at their single forms of identification and each other. Somehow they were related or something but yet their faces were new to one another.

Jo was the first to break the eye contact to look around. There were obvious signs of a struggle that went down outside the cell. There was blood dried on the iron bars and she thought she could see feet of a corpse over by the entrance but no sign of anyone else in there. She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth as she stood up. “How d’ya think we’ll get out of here?” Her hand reached out to touch the iron bars, but when her skin met the metal a spark shot from her fingers causing her to jump slightly, rubbing her hands together. Hoping the static electricity was gone, she grabbed the bars, looking around outside the cell to see if there was anything of use.

Jed didn’t say anything as he moved to his feet but thought of how a key would be an obvious way out.

“Well do you have one on you?” Jolene asked.

“Have one what?”

“A key?” She looked over her shoulder at him like he was stupid. “You said it’d be the obvious way out so I assume you have one on you right?”

“I didn’t say that…”

“Yeah you did…”

Jed shook his head, waving off the weird situation as he walked towards the bars to look around. After a moment or two his eyes settled on a set of keys on top of a desk. “There.”

“Great. Now just shimmy through the bars and go get it.”

“You’re smaller than I am.”

Jolene sighed. She was able to get a leg through but once she got to her hips she couldn’t squeeze no matter how hard she tried. “Dammit.” She slammed her hands on the bars causing another spark which made her squeal slightly. “What the—”

Jed’s eyes widened slightly at the sparks that flew from her hands. But he pretended not to notice as he tried to think of a way to get the keys. He sighed and went to rest his forehead on the bar. But instead of being stopped by the cold metal, his head passed right through it causing him to stumble forward until his hands reached out to catch himself against the desk.

“What the— How’d you just do that?” Jolene pressed her forehead against the bars trying to follow after him, even giving a little less than gentle knocks of her head against them.

“I–I don’t know.” He held up his hands staring at them confused. He reached over and grabbed the keys, his hand tangibly grasping them. Maybe they were on some seriously good drug trip? He had no clue, but he didn’t stand around thinking on it and instead went to the cell and unlocked it.

Jolene grabbed the crossbow that was on the ground and held it out towards him, “Don’t forget your weapon Casper.”

Jed took the bow and headed towards the door, his pace slowing as he got sight of dead bodies scattered throughout the street. “…What happened?”

“Ummm…” Jolene looked between Jed and the wall he was staring at. On the wall was a cork board with bulletins. “Mrs. Nebraska is coming to Mullen for the county fair? Or Deputy Peterson got employee of the month?”

“What?... No. Out on the street?”

“I don’t know… I’d need to see it.” Jo watched Jed curiously because he was acting like he was a few French fries short of a happy meal. She didn’t hesitate to walk right out the entrance onto the sidewalk. She stopped dead in her tracks as her jaw dropped in complete shock.

Too surprised at her surroundings, Jolene didn’t see the estranged person that emerged from around the corner and sprinted towards her. Jed was just fast enough to pull out his hunting knife and slam it into the forehead of the person.

Jo turned around to make eye contact with them as they growled at her before collapsing to the ground. She gasped, stumbling backwards. “What the fuck was that?!”

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Beatrice Folley Character Portrait: Jolene Carter Character Portrait: Jed Carter Character Portrait: Sadie Rosette Character Portrait: Adam Lauren
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

#, as written by mjolnir
Image

JED CARTER
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Intangibility & X-ray Vision
#837A23 | Outfit
Image

SALVATORE DE LUCA
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Superhuman Agility, Endurance & Strength
#678773 | Outfit
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JOLENE CARTER
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Ergokinesis & Telepathy
#72B0B4 | Outfit




Jolene pushed Jed's offered hand away as she moved to her feet. She dusted her pants off before glancing around at the wreckage that plagued the streets of Mullen. "I'm starting to think we were in that jail cell by choice." Jed said as his gaze followed hers.

"Damn... I was kinda hoping I broke some laws." There were dozens of cars stopped or crashed up the main street of Mullen. Engines smoked, fire hydrants exploded and stores were left wide open. But everything was still, silent... Dead. Her hand rested on the curve of the crowbar that was hooked in the loop of her jeans. Although the town looked nothing above a ghost town, something in her gut told her that she shouldn't feel safe or calm... Maybe never again.

Jed got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he started walking down the middle of the street. Could they be the last ones left alive? Why can't he remember who he is or who she is? Obviously they were related on some level... In a town like this you don't have the same last name out of coincidence. But deep down he hoped that someone else had survived anyone.

"Do you think there could be?" Jolene asked keeping in pace with him a couple steps back.

Jed shook his head slightly in confusion, "There could be what?"

Jolene sighs rolling her eyes before quickening her steps to run up beside him. "Do you have short term memory loss or something? What you just said about hoping there are other people alive."

"This again?" He stops, turning to face her. "I didn't say anything... Sure I was thinking it but I didn't say it."

"Funny. Last time I checked I wasn't Professor X."

Jed pursed his lips, unamused at her accusing him of well whatever. It was odd that she seemed to know what he was thinking. But then again it wasn't like any sort of trivial thought. Something anyone would be thinking of in this situation. Maybe she is just crazy.

"I am not crazy!"

"Dude I didn't—" He froze mid sentence. "Hey look at me." He motioned for her gaze to lock on his mouth. This time he didn't say anything but just thought, I told you I didn't say anything.

Jolene gasped, "Stop. I don't know what you're doing but just stop."

"I'm not doing—"

Jolene threw up her hand shushing him, "Did you hear that?"

Jed ruffled his long hair truly considering that maybe she was crazy.

"God dammit, I'm not crazy! Now shut up!" She cocked her head to the side listening like an owl, slowly closing her eyes. She sifted through the silence and ambient noises to pick up on a feint voice.

"Someone please help me... Mommy... Daddy?"

"Oh my god..." Jo's jaw dropped as she looked over towards Jed hoping her heard what she did.

"What?" Before she answered Jo broke off in a mad sprint in the direction of the voice she heard. He called out after her, "Jo stop! Where are you going!?"

"Doing X-men things... Just stay here! I'll be back!" She ran straight towards a white picket fence, placing her hands on it as she seamlessly hurdled it. Jolene weaved through yards as she listened for the young voice. God she had to be crazy to hear a voice from this far away. He gave her a head ache just trying to comprehend it. Her mind began to wonder in its own vastness as it tried to wrap around the idea that she could hear thoughts or something. With the wondering of her own thoughts she nearly missed the house.

Jolene skidded to a halt before redirecting herself up the driveway and towards the porch. Once she reached the front door she stopped seeing as it was wide open. She had to fight the urge to call out and instead pulled the crowbar from her belt loop and held it ready like she was about to hit a homerun. With a deep breath she crossed the threshold. The voice seemed to come from the second floor so without hesitation she tip toed up the steps. The voice as a guide lead her through the hallways until she was outside the room that she heard the young girl's voice coming from. But that wasn't the only thing she heard...

Taking a moment to gather her courage, Jo's grip on the crowbar tightened until her knuckles were white. With one final breath she stepped into the doorway, "Hey!"

What used to be a woman turned around, growling and gargling up blood as it saw Jolene standing there in the doorway. A fresh meal. It threw its head back before letting out some distorted wail before charging towards her. With a swift move she swung the iron bar, slamming it into the temple or the thing with a long smack and then crack as it twisted the head beyond its breaking point. She had to move quickly to catch it before it fell to the ground. Something in her gut told her to try to keep the child from seeing it.

Jo dragged the body out of the girl's room and tossed it into a hall closet before running back to the room. She slowly and carefully moved to her knees, then rested her hands on the ground so she could lean over to look under the bed. "Hey there. Are you ok?" She kept her voice soft and calming as she extended a hand under the bed towards the girl. "It's ok, you can come out now." She waited a moment before adding, "Your parents probably told you not to speak to strangers. I'm Jolene... So now I'm not a stranger." Jo smiled towards the girl.

Jed sighed as he grew anxious and impatient waiting around. His gaze kept searching the streets, but he found himself constantly blinking and rubbing his eyes as he tried to focus. He didn't know what was going on with his vision but either he was hallucinating things or he could see through cars and walls. At one point he focused on a building, his gaze fading in and out of the walls. What was going on.

He tried rubbing his eyes, even slapping his face to try and get himself to focus. When he opened his eyes he saw another one of them, growling and running towards a street corner. Jed stood upright, moving towards it slowly. He couldn't help but wonder what could have drawn its attention. With the fluctuation in his vision his focus went through the building to see a woman near his age with darker skin and a young kid that could barely be considered a man walking right towards the corner that that thing was running towards.

Jed ran after it as he pulled his crossbow from over his shoulder. There was no way he'd be able to reach the thing if he went around the building. Although he was running in that direction he thought back to how he somehow went right through the jail cell bars. He wasn't sure how it happened or even how it worked... Maybe it was like Jolene somehow knowing what he was thinking. He gritted his teeth as he changed course right towards a brick wall. "I'm going to regret this?"

He turned his head slightly, raising his hands as he braced for impact, even closing his eyes. But when he was still running without coming into contact with any barriers, he opened his eyes to see himself running straight threw cubicles and desks. "Holy shit..." He mumbled to himself but kept running.

He got his crossbow ready and aimed as he emerged from the wall just before the woman and teenager. Jed came to a halt, resting his cheek against the stock to look down the sights just as the creature rounded the corner, sprinting towards them. He pulled the trigger sending and arrow flying, landing it right between its eyes. It seemed like thing fell backwards in slow motion, landing with a thud on the concrete.

Jed rested the bow against his shoulder as he tried to catch his breath. He slowly glanced over his shoulder towards the two with a nervous smile. Witchcraft! He could just imagine hearing that shouted at him. "Uh... Nice to see... Others." He never was very good as socializing with new people which made him wonder why he was so comfortable around Jolene. But something inside him like a feeling of deja vu told him she wasn't new... Not even close.



Characters Present

Character Portrait: Matthew Vernon Character Portrait: Thane Rutherford Character Portrait: Jed Carter Character Portrait: Sadie Rosette Character Portrait: Adam Lauren
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MATTHEW VERNON
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Telekinesis & Binding
#d48848 | Outfit
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ADAM LAUREN
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Pain Suppression & Empathy
#967575 | Outfit
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SADIE ROSETTE
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Mimicry & Camouflage
#319345 | Outfit






They hadn’t been walking long, most of their time had been spent keeping out of sight and for the most part bickering back and forth. Sadie couldn’t stop herself when it came down to it. For some reason, she felt strangely inclined to mother him. Hovering when he started to drift too far to the side of her. She lagged at times, her physical limits exerted. There were various odd pains that kept flaring up, internal things as well that kept her from moving fast.

“Where is everyone?” Adam asks, scratching his inner arm for the hundredth time. He notes that Sadie pointedly avoids looking at him for too long. He tries to do the same, the feeling of knowing and yet not knowing her too painfully confusing to handle. He simply wanted to know why he couldn’t remember, where his memories had gone. He could almost swear she felt the same, like a prickling of a feeling that radiated from her in waves. He couldn’t quite pin down how, or why he knew this. More mysteries that simply made him feel like hell.

They were drawing nearby a cross section now, the corner ahead of them looming on. When they turned, it would civilization return? Sadie knew for sure that they needed to get to a hospital but the way things looked, the state of sudden, startling disrepair and utter lack of people led her to believe that wouldn’t be so easy. She is the first to hear, before seeing the person that happened to be heading right for them. She did not examine them too closely, blinded by the sudden suffocating need to get some answers. But she had just barely opened her mouth when Adam stopped her, looking ill faced and ready to bolt.

“Get behind me.” He told her, though he looked more afraid than she could even begin to feel. She didn’t take kindly to him assuming she needed protection, especially protection that came from a kid half her height. “I’m good, kid.” She resumed to her former plan of getting the persons attention but now she can see that something is most certainly wrong with them. Rushing towards them in a way that suggested they were five seconds from being attacked rather than having a chat – and the blood, oh god. She has no idea what to say or do – or whether they should be turning tail and bolting until suddenly, and quite startlingly there is a man coming out of a building.

Not through a door, nor window, nor hole. But out of the wall, as if it were an illusion all its own. He proceeded to take aim at the person – creature – whatever it is, and take it down without a second thought. Sadie stood stock still for a long, drawn out moment without even breathing. Adam, unsurprisingly was the first to speak in reply to the man. He couldn’t even begin to think about the sudden, waves of new emotion that washed over him. It felt oddly unlike himself, outside of his own body when the tidal wave of nerves came rushing over him. He pushed past it, determined to get a handle of himself.

“Ho-oly shit. That was fucking awesome!” It really was, no matter how odd the situation he couldn’t believe what had suddenly happened. Even as it had happened right before his eyes. It reminded him, in a way of something a superhero would do, only, the guy didn’t look much like a hero. Maybe a vigilante. “How did you do that?” He felt his own surprise and excitement, magnified for whatever reason.

“Adam.” Sadie spoke, quiet but authoritative. “Shut up.” She didn’t mean it so harshly, but the kid shut up instantly. She didn’t share in his enthusiasm, instantly suspicious.

“Thank you,” she didn’t know if she should be thanking him, but it felt right given the situation. Besides, the man could easily turn his weapon on them and she didn’t think they’d be able to outrun him. “My name's Sadie, he’s Adam.” Adam threw up his hand, waving an awkward greeting.

“Do you happen to know what’s going on?” She asks, feeling self-conscious out in the open. They probably shouldn’t be standing out in the open, but Sadie didn’t feel inclined to voicing her fears aloud.




Matthew clicks the unlock button on the FOB, trying to discern which car is his in the parking lot. The subsequent flickering headlights from a jet-black SUV catch his attention. However, there’s a car parked directly in front of it and a sideways Mazda crashed into the back of it – lovely. Blocked in on all sides. He decided to check it anyways, hoping for some sort of weapon. From the state of the store and the streets outside there’s no telling what sort of trouble he’ll find himself in. He peered into the Mazda as he walked by, wincing at the sight within. A woman lay face down on the wheel, blood spreading out around where her forehead rested against it. She didn’t move, not even when he tapped his knuckles on the window. The passenger side door hung wide open, maybe someone had escaped the crash and gone to get help.

He turned away, disgusted, and got into his SUV. Shuffling through the glove box and visors, checking out random scraps of paper and noting that whoever he is, he’s prone to speeding tickets. He sets those aside and digs around behind the seats, in the pockets on the backs of them. In the one behind his seat, he hits gold, finding a knife that doesn’t look like something anyone would legally be carrying on them. He fit it to his belt, glad to have some form of protection. There wasn’t much else to be found, though he did come across a handwritten letter, that he simply skimmed to catch the gist of.

Looked like he was on bad terms with some girl named Hana, although he can’t remember her, he can tell by the emotion of the letter that they had been together. Perhaps recently. He checks the address, wondering if he should go there. If he can even figure out how to get there. He kept the letter just in case, climbing over the back seat to get to the trunk. Half of it smashed in by the Mazda’s hood. The rest packed with junk, odds, and ends, and luckily a backpack that only looks a little beat up. It looks well used but he gets the feeling that it’s been in the trunk for a while now.

Matt takes it too, putting the letter in the front pocket for safe keeping. He leaves his car, stopping by the Mazda once more.
”What the hell?” He looks in through the window again, the woman is gone but he hadn’t heard a single thing while digging through the car. She couldn’t have gone far, not with those injuries. He stood, and turned, feeling before hearing the creature behind him. ”Fuck!

The woman had her hands fisted in his shirt before he could do much of anything. He wrestled away from her, stronger despite his own exhaustion. She didn’t look right, her face bloody and busted up. A chunk of her arm gone, that arm hanging down further than the other. He doesn’t have time to notice much else before she’s swinging on him again, gargling out these awful noises that no living person should make.

Matthew grabs the knife at his belt, fumbling with its casing as she continues to catch him off guard. Thick saliva sliding from her mouth, jaw just slightly crooked. He smacks her away, moving further from the cars so as to not get trapped on them. He should just run – he turns to do so when he see’s more of them. The sound of their scuffle having brought people out of the silence. They looked to be in similar states of disarray, bodies mangled but some perfectly together. He can tell they’re all the same, by the rage in their eyes.

He knows when to pick his battles. He turns back towards the cars, past the women, and slides over the Mazdas busted hood. Hoping they won’t catch up to him as he took off down the street. His lungs burn from the exertion, legs already tired by the time he’s put some distance between himself and the creatures. He stops to take stock of his unfamiliar surroundings, still quite a few store fronts. He doesn’t want to stand still for too long, knowing that there could easily be more of those people lying in wait.

For a few seconds, he keeps up an even paced jog, pushing past the ache in his side. He hasn’t run like this in forever – he’s, not sure how he knows that. About half up the road he stops, noticing another person. Albeit, someone who doesn’t look quite as busted up as the ones that were after him. He pauses, unsure of approaching them even if he looks normal. Matt purses his lips, quiet as he watched the man for a few moments. Steeling himself to run again, Hey! he calls out, hand going to his side where the knife is still sheathed.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Beatrice Folley Character Portrait: Jolene Carter Character Portrait: Thane Rutherford Character Portrait: Jed Carter Character Portrait: Sadie Rosette Character Portrait: Adam Lauren
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#, as written by mjolnir
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JED CARTER
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Intangibility & X-ray Vision
#837A23 | Outfit
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SALVATORE DE LUCA
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Superhuman Agility, Endurance & Strength
#678773 | Outfit
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JOLENE CARTER
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Ergokinesis & Telepathy
#72B0B4 | Outfit




"Okay..." The little one whispered towards her from under the bed. Jolene gave a reassuring smile when the girl grasped her hand and helped her out from under the bed. Her smile couldn't help but grow when she heard the thoughts of the young girl about how pretty she was. Not something Jolene was used to hearing. "I'm... I'm Beatrice. Beatrice Folley."

Beatrice started to look around the room taking in the mess that Jolene had created when she arrived. She swallowed hard wishing she could have prevented the girl from seeing all of the blood. But from what she could tell this was only the first of bad things the unfortunate child would see. "Who are you? Do you know my mommy and daddy? Where are they?" The question took Jo by surprised causing her to meet Beatrice's gaze, tears noticeably fighting to break through. "M-Miss Jolene... Can you help me find my mommy and daddy? Please?”

Jo squatted down so that she was at eye level of the girl, placing a hand on Bee's shoulder. "I... I don't know where your mommy and daddy are. But I promise you that I will keep you safe until we find them." With that she stood up and looked around the small bedroom. She snatched up a backpack on the ground, grabbing some clothes from Bee's dresser and shoving it inside with the books and crayons that were already inside. Just before she zipped it up she saw a lone teddy bear on the bed. Jo placed it in the pack, its head sticking out when she zipped it up.

She helped get the backpack onto Beatrice then held her hand out towards her. "We're going to go meet up with my friend. He'll help keep us safe and find your parents." With Bee's hand held in her left, Jo grasped the crowbar in her right and headed downstairs. When they reached the bottom floor a noise came from the back end of the house. She motioned her index finger in front of her lips telling the girl to be quiet and wait there.

Jolene slowly made her way to the kitchen where she saw two of them on the other side of glass sliding doors that lead to the backyard. She contemplated opening the door until she saw out of the corner of eye a portrait that showed those two along with Beatrice. A sinking feeling grew in her stomach while her hands began to shake. She couldn't move, frozen in place. There was no way she'd be able to bring herself to kill that girl's parents, regardless of what they are.

With a deep breath, she moved towards the door, carefully closing the curtains before returning to the girl. Jolene knelt down before Beatrice, "I found your mommy and daddy. They... They are sick." She cleared her throat trying to stay calm for her. "They are going to a better place though. They wanted to say bye but don't want to get you sick... And asked me to look after you now." She didn't like telling the white lie, but it was better than giving a child the harsh truth. "I promise to take good care of you, ok?" Jo stood up and lead Beatrice out of the house. She didn't want to be there when those glass doors broke... Killing a child's parents before their eyes is not a way to keep them safe or have them trust you.

When they stepped out onto the porch, Jo froze in her tracks. There was at three of them in the street no more than thirty feet from them. She was scared to breath thinking it might attract them. Jo squatted in front of Bee, glancing over her shoulder at her and whispers, "I need you to hold onto me really tight and don't let go." Jolene helped the girl so that she was riding piggy back.

With crowbar in hand she began to carefully tip toe across the front yard trying to keep as quiet and as far away from those things as she could. But with her sights set on the crazed people, she didn't see the branch beneath her foot. The snap caused all of their heads to snap in her direction. "Shit." Without hesitation she bolted back towards the main street where she left Jed. She swerved around abandoned cars and shrubbery but she could hear one of them closing in. After hurdling a fence she turned around to meet the first one, "Close your eyes Bee!" Jo raised the crowbar and slammed the shaft through the eye socket of the approaching thing. She yanked the weapon free and started running again, nearly at the main street again.

“Ho-oly shit. That was fucking awesome!” Jed scoffed with a slight smirk, taken by surprise at the reaction. “How did you do that?”

Jed cleared his throat, adjusting his cross bow on his shoulder, "I... don't really know."

“Adam,” The woman said, “Shut up.” She then looked towards him, “Thank you. My name's Sadie, he’s Adam.”

The kid waved his hand awkwardly at the introduction causing Jed to chuckled and nod his head in his direction. "Jed."

“Do you happen to know what’s going on?”

Jed started walking backwards so that he could look at the pair while he spoke but he needed to return to the main street to keep an eye out for Jolene. "Me and this woman, Jolene... We woke up in a cell in the PD together. I can't remember anything before but... I don't think I was a prisoner or anything." He glanced around every few steps to keep an eye out for any others. "There were bodies everywhere when we woke up. I can't explain how... but I was able to kinda just walk through the bars. And when we got outside one of those charged us."

When they reached the main street he turned around, looking up and down the street, thankfully not seeing anything else. Jed looked over his shoulder towards the two, "I don't know what's wrong with them. It's like they're-"

"JED!" Jolene shouted as she came running down a side street with two of them at her heels. She ran as fast as she could with a child on her back but not fast enough. If she didn't get help soon she'd surely be over ran by the mad sprinting maniacs.

Something inside of Jed pinged with an instant protective urge. He turned his attention from the pair he was with and immediately ran towards where she called from before he could even see her. He got his bow ready as he ran. First Jo came into view from around the building and then the two after. Without a flinch Jed pulled the trigger taking down the first one. He had no time to reload so instead took a hunting knife strapped to his belt and ran straight at the second, sinking the blade into its temple.

Jo finally stopped to catch her breath letting Beatrice slip from her back. She spun around and knelt before the girl, "Are you ok? You weren't hurt were you?!"

"...Jo." Jed didn't want to say it but a child in something like this wasn't good. What were the chances that this child could even survive until night fall? He didn't like it. Not because he didn't like children but because he knew what it inevitably meant.

Jolene stood up, shaking her head towards him. "I'm all she has now Jed," she whispered. She lightly rested her hand on Bee's shoulder, "Beatrice, this is Jed." Before she could say anything else another voice started to plague her mind pulling her attention down the street. "Bee stay with him. I'll be right back."

She headed down the street, closing her eyes and tilting her head to try and hear the voice better. Jo's grip on the crowbar tightened when she neared the drug store hearing a groan from the alley past it. A man near her age stepped out from the store right before her startling her. But before she could say anything one of the things ran from around a corner towards the back of the man. She swung the bar like a baseball bat. To the man it probably looked like she was going to slam him in the head but instead lodged it into the head of the thing just as it was about to sink its teeth into the male's neck.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Mika Blackfoot Character Portrait: Beatrice Folley Character Portrait: Jolene Carter Character Portrait: Jed Carter Character Portrait: Marianne Colleen Character Portrait: Aru Fuujinn
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ARU FUUJINN
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Erebokinesis & Advanced Hearing
#8E388E | Outfit
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MARIANNE COLLEEN

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Hydrokinesis & Hind Sight
#FF1493 | Outfit




Aru gave a sigh of relief when the girl he was trying to help turned and finished downing the crazed people running towards her. He didn't exactly know what was going on around here, but he didn't want something bad to happen to people. The crazed ones were sad enough as it was. And he did feel bad for hurting them but it came down to the fact that it was either them or his little group here. He wasn't about to let his sympathies end up with him gurgling in the grass. He put his arrow back in its place and settled the bow on his shoulder again as he slowed his approach. His eyes shifted to look down at the machete she did not put away. That was a clear warning if he ever saw one. Aru stopped walking forward to make sure they had some distance. If things turned ugly, he didn't want to be in range of her swing. He did give her a cautious nod when she thanked him for helping her but otherwise didn't offer much else in the way of conversation.

Marianne panted a bit when she finally reached Aru's side. She reached out and used his good shoulder to lean on him so she didn't have to put pressure on her ankle and catch her breath. Damn she needed to get in better shape. She pushed her hair away from her face and rested some of her weight on the fire poker as well. She too eyed the machete the stranger was wielding. With her poker she could hopefully counter her swing if she tried anything. She didn't know who was friend or foe around her and just because only some people were crazed and running around didn't mean that those who weren't were automatically safe. And the stranger didn't look injured. At least they didn't have to worry about that to.

"Hello," she called back to the stranger. Now to see if she had any information about what the hell was going on around here. "My name is Marianne and this is Aru. I am glad we got to you before... those.... they did. Do you happen to know what is going on around here? The town is pretty much deserted. It looks like it was part of a war zone or something." She wasn't sure how much information she should give but there really wasn't much else to say. They didn't know anything else. "You aren't injured right? I don't see anything on your person. Since we haven't seen many people, I am assuming the hospital is pretty crowded. It probably isn't the safest place to go. What is your name? Are you a local to?"

"JED!"

Aru stiffened when he heard the shout. He quickly turned back towards the town, forcing Marianne to lose her grip on his shoulder and she stumbled till she got her footing back. She frowned and looked over at him. What was up with him? He was like a jumpy little ferret. Aru was even tilting his head to the side, his eyes scanning the houses and streets that he could see from here. "What? What is it now? she asked. Damn she felt like she was asking a dog if he had sniffed something out.

"Didn't you hear that?"

"No. Hear what?"

"Someone's in trouble." Aru took off running towards the shout then.

Marianne's eyes widened in surprise. What the fuck was up with this kid!? They couldn't go running around when they had no idea what was going on! He was going to get himself killed! "Aru!" she hissed. But just like before, Aru wasn't listening. He just kept running. "Damn it..." Marianne looked at the stranger behind her. She should have never turned her back to her considering she had her weapon out. Too late now. "I don't know about you but I guess if there is someone else out there, we should help and stick together." Safety in numbers until they got their bearings. And next time, she was going to put a leash on that kid. Marianne started to run after Aru as best she could. She didn't know what it was, but she didn't want anything bad to happen to Aru. The thought of him dying or getting injured tightened something in her stomach and heart. She couldn't lose him. Maybe she knew the kids parents before or something and she owed them. She made sure not to call after Aru. Whoever was in trouble was running for something and she didn't want whoever was doing the attacking to hear them and attract more people.

Aru himself wove through the alleys without a second thought, his bow out and ready. He knew that what he was doing was dangerous. But if he could help someone, why shouldn't he? The more people he saved, the better they'd be in the long run. As he got closer, he slowed himself down and moved quietly, hoping to catch the attacker unawares. He followed the voices he heard then. There was more than one person that was for sure and he could hear them breathing. It was strange how clearly he could hear everything. Aru pressed up against the side of a house and peaked out then. He saw two women and two men and a child together then. Had whoever screamed been saved? Should he make his presence known? He wasn't sure what to do. He was alone and he was outnumbered this time. He knew Marianne was coming but she was slow right now with her injury. He couldn't pretend that she would get to him in time. Maybe he'd just watch them, get feel for who and what they were doing. Maybe they could find out more information about this situation by tailing them.

When the woman with the child began to move in the other direction, he watched if the group followed suit and when they moved, he began to stalk them. He briefly wondered how he knew how to be so quiet and how to stalk people. It was a bit unnerving. Had he done this before? Maybe he hunted animals or something. Aru pressed further against the wall, hiding in the shadows created and considering his clothing, Aru seemed to vanish in the darkness. Marianne arrived shortly, eyes scanning around quickly. Where was Aru? She was about to walk past him and into the line of sight of the other group when Aru's hand reached out from the darkness and pulled her back. Marianne gasped, barely keeping a shout locked in her throat. She raised her poker and nearly slammed it into Aru until she realized it was him. How had she not seen him right next to her?

"Don't do that! You scared the shit out of me," she hissed.

Aru raised a finger to his lips and nodded for her to look out from behind the house and she took a peek at the group walking away. She frowned, her eyes lingering on the child before the woman disappeared behind another house. "Why are we hiding?" she whispered to Aru.

"We can watch them. See if they know what is going on," Aru answered her.

"Good point," she mused. Aru was a little sneak, wasn't he? That could prove useful later. "Don't run off like that anymore. I don't want us separated and then end up in trouble." she warned.

Aru just gave a nod, slowly moving to the next house as they began to follow after the group, Marianne looking back to see if the girl from earlier was following and listened to her advise of sticking together.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Mika Blackfoot Character Portrait: Beatrice Folley Character Portrait: Jolene Carter Character Portrait: Thane Rutherford Character Portrait: Jed Carter Character Portrait: Marianne Colleen
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#, as written by Arrow-
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MIKA BLACKFOOT
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Regeneration & Healing
#771100 | [url]Outfit[/url]
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BEATRICE FOLLEY
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Sonic Scream & Push
#87758F | [url]Outfit[/url]
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THANE RUTHERFORD
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Metal Manipulation & Sharp Shooting
#003366 | [url]Outfit[/url]




Mika looked at her new acquaintances and watched the blonde woman seize her up. At least she had the right idea. Survival was what they should be looking out for and even though this new woman threatened Mika, Mika could at least respect the fact that she had her head in the right place.

"My name is Marianne and this is Aru. I am glad we got to you before... those.... they did. Do you happen to know what is going on around here? The town is pretty much deserted. It looks like it was part of a war zone or something.” The lady, now known as Marianne, said to her. Mika nodded, placing names on their faces. “You aren't injured right? I don't see anything on your person. Since we haven't seen many people, I am assuming the hospital is pretty crowded. It probably isn't the safest place to go. What is your name? Are you a local too?”

Mika sighed. She sure was a talkative lady. Then again, she couldn’t blame her. When the world was going to shit and there was no explanations, it was only natural to ask as many questions as possible. Mika really wished she could have explained but she couldn’t. “I’m unaware of what is going on as well. I’m not hurt… I just woke up like this, covered in blood.” She sighed. It didn’t make much sense to her either and it was starting to get uncomfortable. The blood was drying and flaking on her skin and the smell stung her nose with the scent of iron.

“As for my name…” That was a good question. How had it not occurred to her until now to identify herself? Oddly enough, she really couldn’t remember who she was. She caught a glimpse of dog tags around the woman's throat and reached up to see if she had her own. Luckily she did. “Mika Blackfoot.” She read out loud. “I suppose thats me.”

The smaller boy who had been quiet up until now, jerked wildly and looked around, asking them if they had heard anything. Mika hadn't and the woman hadn't either. Mika briefly wondered if the kid had already lost his marbles from the pressure. "Someone's in trouble.” The boy pressed and then turned and ran. Did he not realize the woman he was with was also in trouble of bleeding out from her wounds and causing more problems because of her hurt foot? Marianne turned her back to Mika and for a moment she considered making a move, but something about the two of them screamed innocence. Besides, innocent until proven guilty, as the old saying went.

"I don't know about you but I guess if there is someone else out there, we should help and stick together.” Marianne told her and with thats she began limping away after the kid. Mika knew she was right. Power in numbers was a valid tactic. Mika still wasn’t sure about them but she followed anyways. She kept her distance behind Marianne and watched out for anything that could pop out and harm them.

Mika watched as Marianne caught up to the boy, Aru, and seemed to have a bit of a talk with him. Not wanting to intrude, she hung back and kept watch. When things seemed resolved, she walked closer and got the gist that they were following the group in the distance. Mika paused when she saw the child and winced. That girl could be barely older than ten. At least Aru was old enough to take care of himself… A small child like that had no chances of protecting herself. Mika got a bad feeling in her stomach. She would have to worry about that later though.

“Look, if we are going to follow them, we have to make sure we don’t get caught. It will only look more suspicious if they realize we have been tailing them. Not many people I know would want to have strangers tag along, much less people who have been stalking them.” Mika stated and then looked at Marianne’s bitten leg; bite wounds she assumed only came from the crazy lunatics around them. Slowly, so to show the lady that she meant no harm, Mika leaned down to look at the wound. “We will have to get this covered as soon as possible. We don't need you bleeding out.” She looked around before grabbing her own shirt and ripping the bottom off and leaning forward to wrap it around the woman's leg. The moment Mika’s hand touched the bite mark though, a painful burning sensation dug into her own leg, making Mika want to scream. She instantly pulled her hand away and froze at what she saw. Somehow the bite wound, within the seconds Mika’s hands had covered it, looked half healed. The bruising had gone from a purple to a yellow, the blood had stopped oozing and was beginning to clot and lead to a scar. Mika looked at her own hands in shock. What the hell had happened?

Before she or the other two could question her, she quickly tied the cloth around her leg and stood up, backing away. Had Mika just done that? That was impossible. She looked at her hands and then at Marianne and Aru. “Right… lets keep moving.” She ushered and tried to keep her mind off of what just happened.

-x-x-x-


Beatrice sniffled nervously as Jolene squatted down next to her. "I... I don't know where your mommy and daddy are. But I promise you that I will keep you safe until we find them.” She told her. Bee nodded. The lady was being very nice. We're going to go meet up with my friend. He'll help keep us safe and find your parents.” Bee nodded again. Any friend of hers was sure to be nice. She stuck next to Jolene and clung to her nervously, trying to stay quiet as Jo had indicated.

In the kitchen Beatrice felt Jolene pause before going to close the curtains before Bee had time to look outside of them. She came back to her and bent down again. "I found your mommy and daddy. They... They are sick.” Beatrice felt her stomach drop and she wanted to cry. Would they be okay? Did they just have a cold or something worse? The way Jolene looked at her made her realize it was probably worse then the common cold."They are going to a better place though. They wanted to say bye but don't want to get you sick... And asked me to look after you now. I promise to take good care of you, ok?” Bee nodded and sniffled. A better place would be good. Her parents always complained that they didn’t get enough vacation days. Maybe this would be a vacation for them? Besides, Jolene seemed like a good person to hang around.

Bee followed Jolene out onto the porch and ambled onto the woman's back when she dropped down. "I need you to hold onto me really tight and don't let go.” Bee wrapped her arms around her shoulders and carefully pressed her face into the woman's back. She felt Jolene creeping slowly before taking off at a sprint. "Close your eyes Bee!” Jolene yelled and Bee did as she was told, shutting her eyes as tight as she could and pressing her face into the woman's back.

They were running for a while before Jolene yelled, “JED!" Soon enough Jolene came to a halt and let Bee slide down from her back. Even though Jo looked tired she instantly leaned down to Bee and asked if she was okay. Bee nodded again and looked around nervously. What had her so shaken up?

"Beatrice, this is Jed.” Bee looked over at the man and gave him a shy wave. She would have stuck close to Jolene the whole time but within the next few moments Jolene was turning, telling her to stay with this new man and then she was running off.

Beatrice watched as Jolene ran away, probably off to go save someone else like she had saved Bee. Bee was kind of amazed. The woman was just like a super hero, defeating all the bad guys. Bee decided that if the woman was a super hero, she would like to stay around her a lot longer.

Bee looked over at the man who Jolene had left her with. Mister Jed. He looked kind of scary, and dirty, but she could see in his eyes that he was soft. She was an innocent girl, but she could read people very well. His whole appearance screamed stranger; someone who she should run away from. But Bee knew better than that. The way he held his bow, as if he was ready to protect them from anything that came, and the way his eyes grew softer when he saw Jolene made her know for sure that he was a nice guy on the inside. She briefly wondered if this man was Miss Jolene's super hero side kick. If that was true, she would be safe with him too.

The other two people that were with him looked nice as well. A kind looking lady with rich skin and another boy who looked younger than the others. Bee shyly waved at them and adjusted her backpack straps nervously. "My name is Beatrice Folley. It's nice to meet you." She introduced herself, just like her parents had always told her to do when meeting new people. She didn't have much time to say anything else because a loud noise from nearby made her jump. Her automatic reaction was to scramble beside the older man who was Jo's sidekick.

Bee nervously pressed beside him and grabbed onto the bottom of his shirt nervously. "Mister... you won't let anything hurt me right? Please and thank you." She whispered and looked up at the man with her big, scared eyes. "Will Miss Jolene be coming back soon? She will be ok, right?" As much as she believed that this man could protect her, she felt very comfortable around Jolene. The woman was so sweet. Beatrice only hoped she would be ok.

-x-x-x-


Thane winced as the afternoon sun pierced into his eyes upon his entrance into the open world. He supposed he had been in that dark drug store for a while if the sun was doing such a number on his eyes. Said eyes barely had enough time to adjust to the light before his whole world was thrown upside down again.

He heard her coming before he saw her and just as he turned his head to figure out who was running closer, she had already arrived and was thrusting her crow bar at his face. Thane flinched and dodged out of the way before the metal rod could find its way into his brain.

“Woah, woah!” He yelled as he backed up. He looked over to see the person pulling her iron crowbar out of another persons head. “Wait a damn minute!” He yelled as he tried to understand the situation. He pointed his bat at the now deceased person on the ground. “Who the hell is that!?” He then pointed his bat at the living person. “Who the hell are you!?” He hissed.

The person in from of him was… questionable, to say the least. Was it a boy? Was it a girl? Somehow Thane hoped it wasn't a boy because somehow he found this person roguishly attractive. Usually short cropped hair, tattoos and dirty hick outfits didn’t really turn his gears but something about the way it had just killed a person unflinchingly was kind of… hot? Did that make him messed up? Probably. Did he care? Nah. He looked over the person again as they stood up and his eyes landed on their, or should he say her chest. Not the biggest he had ever seen, but tits were still tits. Turns out it was a woman after all. Unfortunately from the looks of it Miss Tattoo’s and Attitude didn’t look like she played the field of men. Rather, she looked like she batted for the same team as him.

Of course, considering she had just saved his life, he should have been thankful and compassionate towards this woman, but being the standoffish, entitled asshole he was, he began to run his mouth.

“Listen here Pixie Cut, I don’t know who the hell you are or why you just downed that man… My theory being that he forgot to pay you child support for your bastard kid, or that he didn’t have enough of your favourite drug, but you need to start talking. What the fuck is going on here?” He rested his bat on his shoulder, ready to swing at any time if the he-lady decided to make a move at him next.

Somehow the distant memory of the area rang in his mind and he snorted to himself. “I get it. A whore from hooker county. How very classy?” He snorted and looked at her. She looked tough, then again it could be the whole butch persona, but she was smaller than him. Even if she was strong, his weight alone could pin her down if need be. Not that he would be opposed to having her under him. She was hot in a I-Could-Turn-Your-Girlfriend-Gay kind of way.