The Virus
ooc: click here
For the small town of Ashwood the day of January 3rd, 2010 was a normal day. Children went to school, people went to work. Nothing was different in their secluded little world.
Except for one little thing.
A terrible Virus has been unleashed into the town turning people into what can only be described as 'Zombies'. Most people who come in contact with the virus die and then after a few hours, wake up again as a zombie. They walk around, moaning, as if without a purpose. But they do have a purpose. That purpose is to fufill their most basic of instincts: The need to feed. They began trying to eat the flesh of people and animals, and it didn't take long before there was a near army of them walking the streets.
For a small group of survivors the night is going to get much worse. The Virus affects different life forms and people differently, creating all kinds of horrors in it's wake.
To look outside to the streets of Ashwood would be to look at hell. On every street there are dozens of Zombies and there are many, many more hidden in buildings and in the sewers.
A man by the name of Robert Croft, is on a quest to find his daughter before she becomes food for the walking dead. Can he find her before it's too late? Will the survivors discover the truth behind the virus? Or will they all die at the hands of the monsters in their town...
"Keith. Where do you think she is?" Asked Robert. The man clearly had worry in his face but he was pushing through it with determination.
"honestly? She could be anywhere. She might even be dead. We have to be ready to accept that possibility. You knew the risks, and now it's just the same risks but on a larger scale."
"Yeah, but..."
"But what? She's smart. She'd go somewhere that's quiet, maybe somewhere with a lot of places to hide."
"Yeah. First place we should go is the police station. She figures there might be a few more cops holed up there waiting for help. She knows how the cops here like their guns." Replied Robert as he calmed down a little.
The two men were standing inside a house with it's contents destroyed. The windows were all smashed with the glass laying on the floor like a shattered mosaic. The furniture was torn and lay either upside down or on it's side. The carpet, wall paper, and anything that wasn't securely stuck to the ground, was broken, smashed, and torn. It looked like a riot or even a war had stumbled through the living room of the once-tidy home.
There was a strong smell around the room. It held a metallic tinge to it, and reminded one of the taste that sits in your mouth after a nosebleed. The smell was the stench of blood. This wouldn't have been the only house to have the smell. Every house had it, and the streets were worse for it.
"I think we should look for a few survivors." Said Keith,
"Yeah. We'll hold up better against the virus that way." Robert moved to the rectangular hole in the wall where a window used to be and examined the street. To the left was a wall of trees and cut an abrupt end to the road that followed the line of houses that continued down to the right and into the darkness of the night. The sounds of cars being broken into, people screaming, and guns firing were still occasionally heard in the distance towards the centre of town. It was quieter now, as you maybe only heard the sounds every half hour - if even that - whereas during the day when it all started it was the only thing you could hear. It must have been like Hell.
The two men moved through the room and into the hall as Robert withdrew a pistol and cocked it. He had gotten pretty good with the gun, especially in the last 12 hours. He found it amazing how fast a person can adapt and learn when they are in that much danger.
As they left Keith nodded towards the turn-off that lead into the heart of town as he noticed a silhouette of a person. It was walking with a horrid limp and sway drunkenly from side to side while weakly lifting it's arms every so often in a confused attempt to grab something.
"What do you think? Normal or?"
"I can't tell from this distance. No, look," Keith pointed to the silhouette, "it's leg's busted. Gotta be broken, I'd say it's normal. We can run past." With that they began running towards the turn off and as they passed the silhouette it became clear. It was a man, covered in blood. His skin was covered in huge tears and lacerations that showed the bone beneath. His left leg was completely broken, with little trace of a foot left, all that could be seen were the mangled remains of a bloody stump. It must have been run over at some point, Robert figured.
The road ahead lead to a the maze of stores and shops that were brightly lit by orange lights coming from the street lamps.
"Keep to the corners, and remember, watch out for the fucked up ones. If you see someone who's surrounded, don't try to help. Only help those who we can
guarantee we'll be able to help. Anyone with cuts or bruises, you shoot. One shot. To the head." Keith said as he ruled off the standard procedure for dealing with this situation. It wasn't official guidelines and they had practically written the rules themselves in that house, but they were damn effective at keeping a person alive. You follow the rules, you live. It was as good as that.
