Group 5 intro: Persephone and Gabrielle

This group will be starting in Burthoud, CO -- South of Fort Collins along 287 (north of Longmont).

Places of Interest:
- Berthoud High School
- Turner Middle School
- Loveland Reservoir
- Berthoud Reservoir
- Lonetree Reservoir
- Welch Reservoir
- Berthoud Drug
- Numerous Medical Clinics (Milestone Family Medicine, Dr. Ross W. Armour, Gateway Natural Medicine, Berthoud Family Physicians)
- Kwik Korner Inc (grocer)
- Hays Market

Environment:
The approximate population of Berthoud is 4,839.
The city of Berthoud is set up similarly to other areas in Colorado, with the center of the area highly populated and suburban while the outskirts remain sparsely populated.

The water sloshed as Persephone soaked her hands and feet, her jeans rolled up as high as they’d go to avoid drenching them. As she smoothed the liquid onto her arms, she rubbed her taut hands over a specific spot on her forearm, a small splatter of blood. There were numerous ways it could’ve gotten there. Most likely, it wasn’t even her blood. A sigh escaped her cracked lips as she pushed away the dreadful thoughts, going back to the task at hand. Her eyes roamed over the peeling skin that surrounded her palm, resisting the urge to pull at it. The water was slightly warmer than she’d suspected, the rays of the sun burning down on the water. Her eyes squinted as she looked up, silently thanking it for the help. The piece of hair that had been gently placed behind her ear fell forward, brushing against her cheek. Her hair needed a good wash, too. Hearing a gunshot in the distance, she could tell she was out of time.

Usually, at the sound of a gun, Persephone tried to find the nearest escape route. She’d made the mistake of approaching a fellow human before, and nearly got robbed. The only way to get the thief to back off, was to plunge her knife in his chest. Those dreams still haunted her. Along with many others. Pulling her feet from the water, she quickly dried them off and pulled her sneakers back on, rolling down her pants to reach her ankles. After slinging her bag over her shoulder, she could tell it was time to get moving. Eyes glancing up at the sun once more, she noticed its position. It would be dark soon. That was one of many things she’d adjusted to. Being able to tell when the sun will rise and set by its position. Extremely helpful. Only that one gunshot had sounded. Usually it was accompanied by several more. Unless the person wielding the weapon had been too late, of course. Her hair fell in her face again, and she let out a gruff sigh. Another thing she wished she had right now, a hair tie. Already having stopped at three pharmacies, apparently people felt the need to loot hair tie’s as well...

She took one last look at Loveland Reservoir, before walking away, butcher knife held firmly in her dominant hand. Where to now? It was a question she had every time she left another lot. The elementary school was only down the block, and that would mean tons of mini-zombies. The only types she absolutely couldn’t handle. Children. It broke her heart, and she had yet to have to kill one of them. She probably wouldn’t be able to. It was where she’d worked. One of the two school nurses, her close friend Kay, working alongside her. Taking the long way to avoid passing the school, Persephone passed the bank. Another thing the world would no longer need. Money. How pointless it seemed now.. Then again, it was never of major importance to her or her boyfriend, Max. In fact, he despised it. He influenced her greatly, causing her to have the same opinion when it came to cash. It caused so many problems, but then again, without it the world would be lost. The world is lost. God, she missed him. Everyone. Her best friend Kay, her brother, even her delusional parents. Persephone would give anything to have one last day with them. All the materialistic things, the games, the objects, the possessions. What were they worth? Absolutely nothing. Where had the world gone? The evacuation centers? That was a joke. It was probably void of humans within hours of it being opened up. She hadn't even bothered traveling there. A waste of energy and time she didn't have.

This past week, walking seemed to take so much longer. In the beginning she had a car, but after only a few short hours someone pointed a gun to her head, made her get out, and stole it. Now only god knows where it is. Probably trashed in some alley, broken and unusable. Nearing Mountain Avenue, she was aware that Hays Market and the middle school were on this street. Hoping for a burst of good luck, she closed her eyes for a brief moment, trying to collect some courage. Then, she made her way down the street.

His feet pounding on the road, he glanced behind him. Nothing, it seemed like he had lost them. Slowing from a full run he turned into an alleyway, pulling the short sword from the pack slung over his shoulder. Gabe took a moment then, breathing hard, pressing his back against the brick wall. The coldness of the material felt good against his over-worked body. For a quick moment he contemplated laying out and sleeping. That's the dumbest idea I've had in a long time, he thought to himself. The world around him seemed about as dead as the people running it. Garbage littered the streets, stores of all kinds had their windows and doors broken in, most of everything gone. All the cars he had passed were either totaled or had been looted for their parts. His car was one that lay at the side of the road, it's front end crumpled inward, wrapped around a pole. A horde of the dead had forced him off the road, though it wasn't like he was going to get any money from his insurance company. Just as useless as they always were. He smiled at his own joke, brushing some strands of hair from his face. No matter how many times he bound and re-bound his hair there were always stray's that found their way into his face.

With a deep sigh Gabe stood, readying his sword. Creeping down the alleyway he stepped over what he thought was a body, stopping only to make sure it wouldn't rise again to try and eat him. It's skull was so far demolished Gabe couldn't tell the gender, or discern facial features. Crinkling his nose at the smell of a rotted body he continued onwards. At the end of the street was a school, Berthoud High School. It was a one story building, made out of a plain red brick. It sat at the end of the road, which was clearly marked as a dead end. Rather than turning, and possibly dealing with zombies, if they were still trailing him, he made his way to the front entrance.

The doors were ripped off of their hinges, with other pieces of a half-assed barricade scattered around. Blood was splattered on the floors and walls, which were riddled with hole made from gunshots, at least he assumed so. Gabe wondered what happened here; probably a last ditch attempt to survive, to make a stand. Even just standing at the front of the building brought back memories of a life long lost. He stared at the white halls filled with mostly closed lockers. The ones he could see still had backpacks, text books, and papers stored within.

((This interruption brought to you by your awesome GM who has some awesome GM-ing responsibilities to do!
Considering the posts, it looks like you guys are quite separated -- with one of you between Hays Market and the Middle School while the other is at the High School. I'll be following your characters, mostly, and will not be forcing you to go one way or another.))

Gabrielle
Once your feet cease moving and the sound of your breathing becomes less evident in the new silence of the school, you begin to hear movement from further in the building. Not only movement, no, but... breathing as well. It is labored, more like wheezing than a full breath. All power has been cut, so the light you have to work with is pouring in from the doors you stand in, casting a long and twisted shadow across the ground before you. There are a few more sections of light further down the hallway, dimmed by their distance from the windows that allow the beams of sun entrance, and they are few and far between, due to the structure itself.
You can see slowly swaying shadows interrupting these lights every once in a while [perception], and the sounds you hear seem to coincide with this strange swaying. Your experience so far would lead you to believe that these awkward sounds seem to be originating from something of the undead variety. Further concentration on the sounds within the building would indicate that there are many similar sounds emanating from rooms around the building. You are unsure how many there are and where they are specifically, but they haven't seemed to notice you yet.

Persephone
Traveling down the street begins easily enough, there are few things of interest to see. Of course, corpses (or the bloody pulp left from them) litter the street, but this has become commonplace scenery. Your footsteps are relatively quiet [agility], making a muted sound as you travel down the road. Your eyes are alert [perception], keyed in to any danger -- it is this fact that brings your attention rather quickly to a stumbling figure making their way out of a nearby door way.
It appears to be male, standing at around six feet tall. His clothing is torn, covered in blood -- probably its own, you deduce, from the chucks of flesh torn from his face, throat, and arms. He appears groggy at first, tripping over his own feet as he attempts to move further from the building he came from.
There is an alley way to your left, across the street in the opposite direction of this newly introduced foe. You doubt you can make it there without him noticing [intelligence], but you know that you have speed as an advantage and you also know that this particular alleyway, though it takes much longer, leads you around to the next block and then back again [city slicker], there are numerous exits (though much smaller than the alley itself) to the street, in case you run into any more of the walkers, along with numerous fire escapes, if the worst should happen.
Of course, you can always choose to travel past or kill the zombie before you -- this may, however, lead to more locking onto your location [intelligence], as the sounds a single deadhead makes when finding prey tends to draw in others.

Her breathing became more rugged as she watched the limping “man” exit the doorway. This was unfortunate for her, having moments ago decided that right next door, Hays Market would be her next stop, needing more food for her travels. Thinking quickly, Persephone decided she’d double back later. What was important right now, was to get the hell out of dodge. There was a chance she could kill him, but being that up close and personal with a walker was never a good idea. Especially when it might alert further undead to engage her. It was time to get running. Letting her breathing become more controlled first, she then positioned herself to sprint.

“Okay, you can do this.” She told herself, needing somebody to convince her, even if it was just her own head. Her feet lifted off the ground before she could talk herself out of it, and she sprinted forward towards 9th street, connected to Massachusetts Avenue, knowing it’d grab the walkers attention. She heard some kind of screech escape his lips, but she didn’t bother looking back. She nearly tripped attempting to turn a corner, continuing down the avenue. Quickly, she glanced back, her hair whipping around in the wind, her lips parting as she saw him round the corner, dragging one injured foot behind him. Persephone cussed, once again breaking into a run, ending up on Mountain Avenue once again.

Thankfully, this walker was slower than most due to its injury. She’d easily outrun him. Unfortunately, she was starting to run out of juice from the stress of running. Her left foot extremely ached. Did she sprain it? There was no time to think. Squinting her eyes, her eyes wondered from side to side. She looked down the street from where she’d originally been, and saw Hays Market nearby.

“Bingo,” Her lips lifted and curved into a small smile. She threw herself in the direction of the market, jogging towards the front doors. The double doors were barricaded with most likely wood, but the window had been broken by a previous traveler. Climbing through the broken window, she avoided the jagged glass as much as she could, but let out a groan of pain when a small piece cut against her arm. Jumping onto the ground, she swiped her hands at her jeans, wiping off any spare pieces of glass. Observing the inside of the store, she saw a sign on the wall that cheerily had font stating, “We’re open 6:00 am to 9:00 pm every single day!” Persephone scoffed at the sign. It was mid-day now.

“Every single day my ass.” Every now and then she was able to find humor at even the darkest things. The building seemed like a normal super market, only slightly smaller. One thing she’d been certain about looting were pain pills from the pharmacy. Many things seemed to be looted from the shelf, empty, or just plain gone. It was time to go shopping.

Shit, he swore inwardly. With his mind working furiously, he began to weigh his options. He KNEW their were undead in the school; the problem was figuring out how many, and where. Behind him, outside, there were thousands. Were some still following him? Unlikely, but still possible. Gabe hadn't had a good nights sleep in a while, and if he was able to find an empty room and lock himself into it, he might finally get one. Again, too risky. He suppressed a groan, instead turning and scanning the parking lot. More smashed cars, a few mutilated bodies.

A glint caught his eye, from the far right. A bike! It was leaning against a fence, partially hidden behind a row of bushes. A dull red, it was made for someone smaller than him, but he was growing desperate. Again he began to think, a million ideas flying through his head in record time. With a bike he'd be able to move much, MUCH faster. But at the same time he would be sacrificing stealth for speed. Aww c'mon, I know everything there is to know about cities; I got this. Gripping his sword tightly he crouched closer to the ground, moving swiftly towards the bike. Never before had he felt so excited to have found something so mundane. He had a bike once; colored gold with a cheap bottle of spray paint. The handlebars were lower than most, meaning he had to lean farther down. Gabe preferred it like that, it meant he had an excuse to look like some sort of athlete preparing for a marathon.

No way! The bike had a chain wrapped around it, tied onto the fence itself. There was no lock, but their was no way he could remove it without making at least a little bit of noise. Laying his sword on the ground he got to work, glancing over his shoulder every ten seconds or so to ensure he wasn't going to become someones dinner. Gabe took his time, reasoning once he had the bike he would be home free. Messing up now would ruin one of the few options he had left to him, not to mention this was probably the best.

xx This was an error ignore this post =P. Don't know how to delete it so just pretend it's not here...

Gabrielle
As Gabe begins to unchain the bike, he is sure to keep his mind and senses focused on the door where the zombie children are mulling about. He is correct in keeping his senses about him, unfortunately a threat draws from someplace other than the school.
A loud shriek draws his attention to a few paces beyond the fence he is currently crouched at. A female zombie has spotted his form and makes her way towards him. Considering the lack of intelligence, the zed reaches the opposite side of the fence that Gabe is working on and begins to shake and grasp the links that impede her progress. She shrieks again, attempting to reach and hand through the chain fence to grab at Gabrielle, but the space is simply too small.
Frustrated, she lets out another call. Gabrielle is nearly finished with the chain, but the resounding calls from the children within the school inform him that it may be in his best interest to cease his stealthy attempt and remove the chain as fast as possible. He estimates he has about thirty to forty-five seconds before the children begin to emerge from the school and his position leaves him with little room to maneuver.
Numerous options are available -- he can attempt to remove the chain or leave without the bike. He does realize that one of the fastest ways to remove the chain involve on of his blades. If he leverages it correctly between the links, he can apply force and pop the links apart, allowing him to remove the chain. He does not doubt, however, that this may damage his blade by either chipping or bending the steel at it works against the opposing force.
((Note that just because I only give you a few options, doesn't mean there aren't more. Get creative! :D))

Persephone
((You can leave the post for now, but consider this occurring before she finds the items you indicated.))
Upon entering the store, Persephone notices immediately the signs of deadheads. A demolished corpse lies at her feet and she can assume that they had tried to escape from the store the same way she had entered, and failed. This begs caution and Persephone abides.
A quick inventory of the immediate surrounding shows numerous supplies -- there is definitely a reason to remain in the store, but it may come at considerable risk. Taking a moment to listen to her surroundings, she can hear shuffling and labored breathing. There is definitely a few individuals within the store and they are, as far as she can tell, definitely turned.
She'll have to defeat these foes if she is to fully gather her supplies or distract them long enough to get what she needs and get out. The amount of items available to her, from what she can see, indicates that few people wandered into the store or few people ever left. From her position, she can see numerous areas carrying canned goods, bottled water and sports drinks, as well as a pharmacy to the right, about fifteen to twenty feet back from the front of the store.
She can see a zombie standing just inside the confines of the pharmacy counter -- he dons a white lab coat, leading Persephone to believe he was at work when he was infected and turned. He is standing entirely still, staring at a wall before him. If it wasn't for the blood splattered across his outfit and the obvious injury to his arm, where the clothing had been torn, she would have been able to assume he was still among the living.
Moving silently, Persephone is able to see another three zombies from her position at the entrance without drawing attention to herself. They hadn't seemed to hear her enter the store, a blessing considering her lack of luck at the window and the statement she had made about the hours. They seemed sufficiently distracted by absolutely nothing, granting her time to make a plan.
She had numerous obvious options:
1) Turn and leave
2) Attempt to fight each zed, but this carries the possibility of drawing all four in on one location.
3) Attempt to create a distraction that would lead them away from her and allow her to gather her supplies

((Again, this doesn't mean these are your only options, simply suggestions. If you come up with a better idea or a more creative idea, go ahead and include it in your post.))

If she had some sort of support to help her fight back these zombies, it would be much easier, but even then close to impossible. So far she could see three zombies in total, but there was likely to be so much more scattered around the supermarket. One aisle at a time... They still hadn't noticed her as she creeped closer, trying to come up with a reasonable plan. Persephone refused to just run. That's what her whole life had become now. It was time to grow up, stop being such a wimp. She needed these supplies. The closest to her was a female zombie. It almost made Persephone laugh when she noticed just how alive the undead woman looked. She seemed to be browsing the shelf. Her greying eyes shot up suddenly. Praying for a miracle, Persephone kept as still as she could, wincing at every sudden movement the walker made. A small growl seemed on the edge of her voice. Obviously, she smelled something, but was uncertain about where this deluctable smell came from. Clearly, she might be a bit more new than a few other zombies there. Perhaps Persephone could lure this woman out of the store and kill her. If luck was on her side.

It was worth a shot. Persephone stood straight, and slowly began back up towards the window. Hopefully the walker would follow this scent. Before Persephone could reach the window, the walkers head shot up and let out a screech, alerting nearby zombies, and probably more. "No!" Persephone shrieked in fear, tripping as she tried to climb out of the store. She wouldn't get out in time. She turned back around to face the audience just as the first walker reached her. Relying on pure fear and instinct, she shoved the knife right through the middle of her chest, gasping as she did so. It always urked her to do these actions. To kill. Whether they were already dead or not.. She almost felt like apoligizing. The other nearby zombie was now advancing, the not-so bright pharmacist zombie still trying to figure out how to get out from behind the counter. Wouldn't be long before it was overwhelmed wth her scent and managed to get to her. Right now, she needed to focus on the "man" in front of her, whose mouth had blood drooling from the bottom.

Persephone jumped to the ground, narrowly missing its grabbing arms. It continued to follow her as she crawled along the tile, her heart pounding out of her chest. Then she saw it. On the back wall, a fire extinguisher beneath glass, right next to a firefighters emergency axe. "God bless fires.." She mumbled to herself, jumping to her feet and sprinting to the glass case, the walker on her tail. Swiftly, she elbowed the glass 3 times before it finally broke, ignoring the shard of glass sticking out of her arm, and the blood surrounding the area. First, she grabbed the fire extinguisher and pulled down the activation, along with the handle. A burst of white air blew out of the extinguisher, hitting the zombie square in the face. It reeled back, falling down. Throwing it down, she grabbed the axe next, shoving the butcher knife in her pocket. A grin now on her face, she felt much more confident with the sharp weapon in her hands. Coming out of aisle six in the distance, she saw two zombies. A slow moving elder and... a child. "No.." She breathed. Not a kid. Anything but a kid. Her bottom lip wobbled and she felt all of her strength fly out the window. Persephone felt hopeless. This was where she'd die. There was no way in hell she could do this.

Persephone:
Unfortunately, the woman she faces in the beginning does not die with the blow to the chest. Any sort of science fiction experience would secure the idea that the brain needs to be destroyed before a zombie dies -- any other type of wound does little to cease the onslaught of the undead. With the knife protruding from the woman's chest, Persephone manages to pivot the woman around behind her and push her to the ground, though she looses her blade in the process, with little time to retrieve the weapon between the oncoming male zombie and the grasping hands of the zed she had just knocked down. Brown, congealed blood has oozed from the chest wound and come precariously close to the wound in Persephone's hand, caused by the glass at the entrance of the store. Quickly wiping her hand against her clothing may protect her from infection, but it needed to be disinfected immediately, lest the risk of infection rise dramatically.
She manages to nearly escape the grasping hand of the new zed. Uncoordinated and slow, the zombie doesn't seem to be able to pursue much faster than a shuffle as she crawls along the ground. As Persephone straightens herself, the zed follows at an invigorated pace. The wounds stung as she breaks open the glass and she knows that, had the power been active, breaking the glass would have initiated the fire alarm and drawn in zeds from all over town. Luckily, no power was operating at the moment -- this also meant that any fresh foods would be spoiled.
As two zombies round from aisle six, she has to admit the fact that this may be her toughest battle to date. She quickly assess the situation. The male zombie that had been following her is quickly righting itself, only momentarily delayed by the blast from the extinguisher. The child will be the next quickest approaching opponent, followed by the elderly woman and finally by the female zombie that she had stabbed in the chest earlier. The zombie behind the counter of the pharmacy was still struggling to find an exit, so he was the last of her concerns.

Shit! he swore to himself. Abandoning any chance of getting out of the area silently, he began to work the chain much quicker. He glanced down at the sword at his side, considering whether it would be worth it to use it as a sort of lever, to rip the chain free of the bike. Hoping he wouldn't have to ruin one of his weapons, a shriek from behind him drew his attention. Walkers...children, no less. He swallowed hard, disdaining even the thought of a child zombie; let alone killing one. If it came to that, Gabe wasn't sure he could do it. Seeing innocence ruined, perverted.....

His thoughts immediately went to his smaller brother. He was only six when Gabe was forced to leave. He never payed any attention to his parents, or to anyone else for that matter. He was always somewhere far off, his imagination that of any other child. Beautiful blue eyes, soft brown hair. Despite his attempts to stay calm, the memories brought tears to his eyes. Gabe blinked rapidly, clearing his vision as best he could. The chain was coming undone, it was only a matter of time before he could ride out. But time was something of a commodity; one he needed, but couldn't quite afford.