(For all that is holy, please follow this topic so that you don't miss any action!

(Music for effect, I guess.

)

 

 

 

     Have you ever wondered what it felt like to live during the apocalypse, or at least something close to it? Probably. All those movies, books, whatever you fancy. Well, let's just say that you will not and cannot fancy seeing Insanity everywhere you step. The outbreak happened not to long ago here in Niphad.

About 4 hours ago, it was a quiet and peaceful town. Now, it's just infected with madness, chaos, and literal Insanity. Despite the cleanliness the sky beheld on this one summer day, all of us seek means of survival in hopes of avoiding Insanity coming into us, both human and not. Infected humans and androids were a massive threat, and the panic seemed infinite.

Survive.

Survive at all costs.

Find sanctuary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

~Ellen~

 

     "Meh. You call this panic? I've seen worse back in my hometown", the blue-haired girl thought as she ran across the campus of the community college. Panic was on a rise everywhere. Ellen wanted to make her way to the library and steal books about what type of sickness this is. It wasn't too far off, thank God. She scrambled he way into the empty library searching for books relating to this matter before she was in any real danger.

     "Come on, come on... Where is it!? Ugh!!", she yelled under her breath. 

It wasn't long until she heard a loud crash in the room. She froze and just listened for more sounds. "Christ. Not this again." She just kept waiting for wait seemed like the longest time, just before she heard another crash from the windowed areas. "What is going on?...", she thought as she peeked towards the source of the sound. All she saw was a blur of motion. 

 

     "Whatever it is, it cannot be good... Meh. Gives me something to do..."

Edited May 16, 20169 yr by Hargleblargleboo

[Program: Booting]

 

A monotone sound could be heard from the chamber of Android Yue X.

Yue was able to live in the city, away from those who made her. However, she was always being watched by her creators...Yue knew this for a fact, as there were video cameras in her room.

 

[booting Complete. Program Start.]

 

The monotone voice called again as an androids eyes blinked open, slowly rising out of a made-up bed in a robotic motion.

 

Out of the corner of her mechanical eyes, she was able to see a "News Alert". However, she already knew what the news alert was. The alert was programmed into her as soon as the event occurred, signaling her to help out with the madness.

 

Her programs failed to boot at the desired time four hours ago, and Yue had just awoken.

"Project Yue X to headquarters." She said intoned, only hearing static in her ear.

 

"Yue X to headquarters." She called once again through her little built in microphone.

 

There was no response. Yue must have been too late. They probably had evacuated.

 

Should she evaluate? Should she run? Should she be scared? Yue had little to no direction, and usually chose action determined by people around her.

 

Yue crawled out of the bed, stretching her robotic limbs.

"Read latest news article." She called to her inner programming.

 

A news article about the recent explosion played in her ears as she began to move outside, surprisingly rather quietly.

She just opened the door to her room, and knew that this was going to be hell.

 

Yue shut the door, instead heading to the window to gaze out it.

Where were all these people going?

 

So many questions filled the androids mind as she watched the chaos outside unfold.

"...All citizens showing signs of infection must be reported to the authorities, and quarantined until they can be taken to the hospital for proper assessment. Symptoms include mild headaches, mild twitching of the eyes, mild bodily aches, mild fits of rage. Severe symptoms include memory loss, rabid nature, blackened eyes and hallucinations. This is not a sickness that can be left to heal on its own devices! If you suffer any of these symptoms, or know someone who is, we urge you to contact the local authorities and hurry to the nearest hospital! If you have any questions please contact us through the number, 847..."

 

The recorded message put on repeat continued to broadcast near police stations and hospitals. All until the machinery itself couldn't handle it anymore and simply died down until silence. Other than that being an echo of the past, of when the sickness wasn't the threat that it was currently. Hanna walked around the empty police station. It had been abandoned in a hurry. Once the sickness had begun getting out of control, doctors and nurses fled from their duties, following the owners and workers of businesses all over. The police, who were meant to stay and bring order, were the last to leave. Seeing no other choice, they ran off to their homes and families. Some tried to hide away. Others planned to run away from the town to look for sanctuary. Eventually the chief of police left as well, simply telling to Hanna to wait for further orders from other towns or cities. None of them came. So now she was alone, and for all she knew, the last source of authority within the town. What now? She stepped into the armory. Most of the members had taken their own weapons home. Hanna took whatever was left. A few handguns, and a megaphone in case she needed to scream at someone? Who knew. "Updating for orders...no updates available." Hanna sighed, taking a look out the glass doors of the police station...this would be a long day.

 

"I don't want to leave." Ezekiel insisted as he looked out his balcony. His parents were dead. Icarus had made sure of it. The town had done down into panic and chaos as infected began to kill everyone, and infect those who would survive the initial attack. As much as Ezekiel knew that, he didn't want to leave his home. For one, he felt safe in here. It was his house after all. Besides, if anyone tried to come in, Icarus could simply protect him, right? "I understand that you do not wish to leave. However this place is not a safe sanctum, Ezekiel. The infected will look for signs of living. Any lights, any noise, anything relevant of someone alive. If they see fit they might turn on this place and attack it in large numbers, corner us to where we cannot run away. Another scenario is the fact that any survivors might come by and try to loot the place for resources. If they are violent, they might kill for them." Icarus explained. "But this is my home! Going outside only makes it dangerous, doesn't it?!" Ezekiel complained. "Yes, you are correct. But...we must also consider looking for asylum anywhere with the proper authorities and people. If this has gotten that bad...someone must be looking for survivors. We must make sure that they find us if they are." Icarus suggested. Ezekiel pouted. "...ok...but I'm going to pack my favorite stuff." Ezekiel insisted as he went ahead and began to stuff items into his backpack. To which Icarus would not hesitate to help him with.

Dev sat back and took a bite out of his muffin. The words in his textbook were starting to blur. He needed to take a break, let his eyes readjust. As he took a sip of his tea, he glanced at the tv visible from his table at the cafe he was studying in. There was a news alert playing on the station that was running sitcom reruns last time he looked. From what he could gather, there was an explosion at laboratory nearby and an outbreak of a disease called "Insanity" was spreading. People were being advised to evacuate the immediate area and seek someplace called "sanctuary", but Devin couldn't find any information on this place from the news alert. He tossed his book into his pack and started making his way back to his apartment. He didn't know where to go, but away from here was a good start. His parents lived far enough away that he should have at least a few days to scrounge up some information on what move to make next. Once he was back in his apartment he tossed the essentials in a duffle bag, grabbed his Bo staff, and headed to the bus stop to see if they were still running. He didnt like the idea of being so close to others with an infectious disease on the loose, but he needed to get out. Once he got there though, the routes were closed. Shoot. He needed a new plan. He pulled out his phone and dialed his dad.  No answer. "Uh, hey dad, im sure you've heard about the explosion thing, umm, christ, uhh.... i guess ill be heading north from school towards home on foot to get out of here. Call me back when you get this and ill tell you how far ive gotten, id appreciate a ride. Love you. Stay safe." He put his phone in his pocket started off. It would be a long walk. He stopped at a corner store to buy some food and water, and got moving. 

Edited May 16, 20169 yr by TheGuide

"This was supposed to be an easy job. Get in, get paid and get out. But no~ someone had to blow something up and now there are zombified civilians everywhere."

Nero unloaded a clip from his signature Black Desert Eagle and slid another magazine of ammo into the gun. Dressed in his black cloak with his mask hiding his face, Nero peered around a corner to check if there were any signs of life before leaving his currently safe position. Being heavily trained in infiltration as a part of his occupation, he was now highly dependant on remaining undetected under these circumstances. Nero was sure that if he became heavily outnumbered, then he would surely be caught and infected or killed. The young man ran out from his current position, making his way across a shopping mall while on his way to the exit.

"Good thing I still had my gear, if I was shopping while still in my civilian gear, this would be much harder. What on Earth happened?"

 

~Earlier that day~

 

"$5,000 for the head of a high priority target? Don't try to cheapskate me or I won't do it."

Nero was in the alleyway near the shopping mall and was negotiating with one of his private contractors for the price of a hit.

"Alright Nero, name your price."

"I want ten times the amount."

"$50,000?!! Do you think I'm made of money you asshole?!"

Nero's expression was without emotion as he slowly crossed his arms.

"Well, if you think one of the others can take care of it, then feel free to offer them the job. But, judging from the security the target has, they'll either be captured, killed or simply fail to carry out the kill. So, if you really want this target dead, you'll get me my money."

The contractor gritted their teeth at Nero's answer and overall lack of emotion, but everything he had said was true which annoyed him even more.

"Fine. If you can carry out this hit, I'll get you the money. But if you can't deliver, I'll make sure you never work in this profession again."

Nero and the contractor shook hands, announcing to each other that they had an arrangement. In response to the contractor's words, the sides of Nero's mouth curled up into a devilish smile.

"Don't worry, I have never failed at anything in my life. If I can't kill them, no one can."

Nero leant down and picked up a duffel bag that was on the floor next to him and took a file that the contractor had on his target, walking away.

"Hey, Nero!"

Nero turned back, his expression blank once again, the contractor smiling and chuckling to himself.

"Good luck."

Nero sighed, turning away and walking into the shopping mall, looking over the file he'd just been given.

"As if I need it..."

Strolling through the mall nonchalantly, Nero read through the file quite quickly, soaking up and storing all the information the document had to offer.

"So, from the looks of things, I'll be looking to take the head of the young master from the Hamilton family, Ezekiel Hamilton. If it was just the kid then I'm sure I'd be fine, but this android of a bodyguard that he's got guarding him is really something else. State of the art and military grade too. A literal tool of destruction that I'll have to destroy first if I even want to get within a mile of little Ezekiel."

Nero dared to grin in public at the slightest hint of a real challenge, knowing that this kill order would be one of his most difficult jobs, knowing that he could be killed if he were to make a mistake. However, things didn't quite go as he had planned as a particular bomb went off in the city.

 

~Back to the Present~

 

Nero approached a window, peering out into the streets to see if there were any infected people lurking around. Remaining calm despite the chaos of the situation, the dark haired assassin let out a sigh as he was completely alone at that time. Walking out into the open nonchalantly, Nero took off his mask and held it at his side, keeping his gun held tightly in his other hand. The young man then walked towards the entrance to the mall with mostly no regard to his own safety.

"Since they're just monsters now, no one will care if I just kill them. But, if I find out that sniveling piece of garbage that hired me is still alive, I might just go ahead and collect my money early."

Nero put his mask back on and left the building, walking through the streets to see if there was anyone around.

"I wonder if there's a safe zone yet?"

"I packed my tablet, my knitting supplies, a flashlight, all my piggy bank money and cards and stuff, your favorite book, a first aid kit..." Ezekiel went on, listing what he had gotten inside his backpack. Icarus boarded up the only door to the room from the inside, burning the steel together and pushing the largest bookcase within the room in front of it, leaving the only way in and out of the room being the balcony, which would be difficult for anyone, considering the room resided on the third floor of the home. Yes, by a certain percentage, remaining within the household was one of the best ways to remain safe. Yet it also brought risks. If they ran out of supplies with a hoard of infected outside, Ezekiel could starve. For the sake of Ezekiel the best technique was to move, and keep moving. Change their location over and over. If they kept moving, they wouldn't be an idle target. No one would go to a specific spot just to wait for them. While moving they could also scavenge for any supplies, routes, places, anything that they might need or want. If they happened to encounter someone who could get them off the island...even better. Then at night, he could bring Ezekiel back to the room. A safe haven for him. In the morning, they would do it all over again. "What are you thinking?" Ezekiel asked as he walked up to Icarus. "That we must count that the government has sent a distress signal for the other countries to help us. If it appears that they have given up on the possibility that there are any survivors in the island, and do not send help, we will have to get out of this island on our own. I will be connected to the internet, and read world wide news in hopes of finding anything involving what is happening here...hopefully the world hasn't decided to abandon us just yet." Icarus explained. "Get out? So like with a helicopter or a boat?" Ezekiel asked. "We could go on the family yatch that we have at Mirror Town! It has beds and everything!" Ezekiel said happily. Icarus blinked and rubbed his head. "That is a brilliant idea. Do keep that in mind where we to need to have use of it." Icarus said, adding that note to his memory data. Ezekiel's family was...rather wealthy by different sides. The father was a scientist, who personally worked in the lab when the explosion occurred. His mother was a real estate agent, his grandparents from the mother side were big shots at the stock market while from his father side were business owners...if it took money to get them out of this place, that wouldn't be a problem. However in the current state of the world, money was less worthy than water. Yet it also meant that for some people, it could be useful, some day. "Are you ready to leave?" Icarus asked. "I am now. I still don't want to leave, though. In the movies people who leave usually get bitten first!" Ezekiel insisted. "They are usually also the ones who get overwhelmed and killed. Come along. I will not allow anything bring you any harm. We will return by sundown for you to sleep. We must build up your stamina, as well." Icarus insisted. "Fine...do you think I'll get to kill one like in the movies?" Ezekiel asked as Icarus picked him up in his arms. "Let's hope not." With that, Icarus jumped down, landing softly. The journey begins.

As her programming could observe, Yue concluded that it would probably be best for her to run and escape.

Should she really run?

Yue nodded her head softly, as the town was in a state of panic, and if she did not run, she would end up like one of the insane.

Yue moved her bed out of the way, a small keypad coming up and requiring Yue to enter a code.

Yue entered the code correctly, and proceeded to pull put an emergency backpack.

It did not have a lot of things, mostly Android parts, a weapon, a small shelter, and human food.

 

Yue approached her window.

"Shut down facilities." Yue called out, anything that was electronically wired to her control being shut down.

Yue kicked her window open, as the shut down would also control her door.

She didn't look back, and began running.

Where was she going? Any place but here. She needed to get somewhere safe and help anyone she possibly could.

 

(Lame shorter post because I don't feel like typing so much.)

Edited May 17, 20169 yr by Madam Ciel Nekohive

Making his way through the streets, Nero began to encounter those who had contracted the infection all around him. The assassin walked casually through the street until a few of the infected took notice of him and Behan chasing him. Nero took out his phone and started typing on it as he raised his gun, shooting his enemies in the head with pinpoint accuracy. Hitting one last button, Nero put the phone next to his ear as he continued shooting as more and more of the infected were turning up around him. The call went through and on the other end of the call was the man who had hired Nero for the job to kill Ezekiel Hamilton.

"Nero! So glad to know that you're not dead! I assume that you are safe."

"Yeah, something like that. I need an explanation here. What's going on?"

"Well according to some reports, there was a chemical explosion that caused the people caught in the blast to be infected by what others are calling insanity."

Nero continued shooting, moving his phone into his pocket as he switched on his Bluetooth device in his ear.

"If you are bitten by these things, then you will also contract the infection."

"Lovely~... Now about that job you sent me on."

"Right~... I don't think you'd want to continue given the circumstances, so you can feel free to..."

But before the man had any attempt of finishing that sentence, Nero interrupted with a grin forming on his face.

"Ridiculous, I never leave a job unfinished. I want double of what I asked for earlier though."

"You're really running me dry, you know that? Fine, if you do it, we'll pay you and make sure you have somewhere to lay low. But, until you've carried out your job, you're on your own."

Nero then pressed a button on the earpiece, hanging up the call as he took out another gun to shoot more often as the infected would not stop coming.

"Of course, I always work alone. Now then..."

Nero began to pay more attention to his surroundings. From all the shooting and killing he'd been doing, the sound of his gunshots were drawing the attention of a grand amount of infected. He also came to the conclusion that while he was on his trigger happy frenzy, other survivors would overhear him and either come to his aid or to kill him. Either way, Nero had every intention of letting any other humans listening that he was there. He wanted to be found this time.

"That should be enough noise. Now to secure the location."

Finding a brief moment to sheathe his gun and take out a pair of hunting knives, holding them both backhanded and out in front of him. Despite being in food condition, it was starting to become tiring to use his senses at their maximum capacity all of the time. But, if he didn't go all out, there's no way Nero could guarantee that he wouldn't get bitten. Taking a deep breath, the dark assassin started to slash his way through infected, blood staining his clothes and mask until he was dyed red. Despite the insanity driven ghouls surrounding him, Nero sounded like the craziest one there. The 19 year old began laughing, finally feeling as if his life was in danger enough for him to feel like staying alive was challenging. This was his opportunity to prove just how truly alive he was.

"Kill me if you can!!"

As Dev crept through the wilderness, he kept a tight grip on his staff. He didnt know what he was expecting, but from what he saw on the news, those affected by the disease would be very violent. He periodically switched between jogging and tip-toeing, when he was running he was worried he was making too much noise, and when he was walking he was worried he wouldn't make it to his house before the disease did. At one point he got in his own head a bit, and started to worry about his parents. He didnt know why his dad wouldnt pick up, or why he hadnt called him back yet. Had he gotten infected? No. He didnt want to think about that. He pushed the thought out of his head just in time to hear some brush rustle. He whipped around to face the sound and held his staff with both hands. He started scanning the wilderness, but he didnt know what he was looking for. and then all of a sudden, something lunged out from the fauna almost faster that he could react. With his palms down in staff stance he was able to hook strike fast enough to knock the thing off its path to his face, and sent it hurdling behind him. He spun around to see the creature rolling on its sides, twisting its body. Once it could contort its feet under it, it popped up and Dev could see what it was. It was a person, or android, he couldnt tell yet. Its eyes were just black. it looked into devs eyes, arms hanging at its sides. It started to charge, but dev was ready this time. When the creature lunged this time, dev crouched and thrust the point of his staff into the persons torso. It propelled the person over his head, and dev stopped and looked at it. This time the monster stayed down, and so Dev cautiously approached it. when he got close he could see the point of his staff had stabbed into the things chest and revealed the circutry of an android. He didnt know what to do, should he run? he didnt know what the thing would do next. what if the disease only inspired fits of violence and the ting would be docile enough that dev could ask it some questions? he hadnt even been thinking twenty seconds when the black eyes shot open again and the android donkey kicked him in the gut. It knocked dev onto his back and the android was on top of him in moments. He got his bo in its way, and as the android pulled his arm back to grab at devs throat, he could use the side of the staff the monster let go of, and toss it off of him. he got up and the image of the monster, its black eyes full of death, grabbing at him was still fresh as he went on the offensive. The monster stood up to fight him, but Dev thrust his Bo right in the creature's gut, knocked it back down and reeled back with his bo above his head. He looked the android in the eyes once more as he swung down with all his strength and severed the creatures head from its body. He staggered back and sat against a tree to catch his breath. As the adrenaline left his body, he looked at the monster as sparks flew from the severed connections in its neck. He just killed someone. Jesus christ. he thought is this what its going to be like? He tried to come to grips with this while he sat and caught his breath. 

Silence. Besides the wind, the sounds of animals and nature, and the low growls and groans from any infected around, the amount of death and infection in such little time had turned the usually bustling down into an eerie and somewhat abandoned place where a single sound made would let everyone in the radius of the sound know that you were there. A single mistake, a single sound made could be the difference between life, and death. Hanna couldn't simply get used to it. She was used to directing traffic in busy afternoons. Not seeing empty streets with merely a few cars here and there, long abandoned. Hearing the sound of growls coming from around the corner, Hanna quickly looked for a place to hide. She hid underneath the nearest abandoned car, retracting her legs and arms to make sure none stood out as she watched the source of the growling walking around the corner. They were humans and androids...or at least they were once, and now they were simply a shell that was filled with the virus that was taking this island to sh*t. Their eyes were blackened, blood dripping from the human's openings in the form of a mucus. The android's eyes were glowing red, the virus corrupting its programing, from the very heart of its drive, altering its programming completely into madness. "(If it can affect Androids...Oh no.)" Hanna thought in horror. If any of that blood reached into her, reached into her brain, her heart, her programming card, she would also be infected. No one was safe. Let it be android or man. She watched them walk down the street, sniffing the air and looking for anything in plain sight. Hanna gripped onto the gun on her holster, when suddenly gunshots echoed. They were ever so faint, but still heardable in a town where there wasn't a single other noise. The creatures looked up and ran away, following the noise. Hanna sighed. "(Gunshots?...survivors! Of course!)" Hanna thought, gently crawling out. She couldn't be the last one. There were survivors. Survivors she definitely had to find.

 

"What was that?" Ezekiel asked, looking up as the noise disappeared as quickly as it came up. Gunshots. "It could be from other survivors. They must have encountered some infected." Icarus figured, looking back at the quickly abandoned corner store. He scanned the area carefully as he walked in, searching for any signs of life. It was intact, despite a few things fallen over here and there from the panic. "Clear. Watch your step." Icarus said as he walked inside. Ezekiel followed, looking around at the place. "So why are we here again?" Ezekiel asked. "We must pile up supplies. Such as water, and food. If everyone is hiding, or infected, food and water will not be delivered, so we must make sure we have some before it runs out from other survivors." Icarus explained. "Like in the movies, then." Ezekiel said happily. "Yes, much like in the movies. We must make sure we pick up items that will not expire for a while. Such as cans and water bottles. We must also make small first aid packages for us to hide to look for in case of an emergency." Icarus went on. "You're so well planned out, Icarus. How long have you been planning your zombie plan?" "Honestly I am just making it up as I go."

Yue's shoes clicked on the ground as she walked. It wasn't necessarily the best thing. She felt empty, why was all of this happening to her and everyone? She needed to get some type of food or batteries or some sort of energy source, and had came upon the perfect place.

Yue walked cautiously to a convenience store she managed to come upon, her pulling a small gun from a pocket in her bag, Yue wondering into the convenience store.

She rustled around some things, picking up some batteries, and some unnecessary things. She was doing okay until she looked down on aisle, and when she looked, her eyes lay upon two people. An android and a human.

 

"Excuse me." She said intoned, Yue causally walking down the aisle and grabbing something on the shelf.

"Thank you." Yue bowed to Ezekiel and Icarus, already leaving the store anyways.

 

Hopefully the two wouldn't come after her, as she was not infected.

 

(I seriously don't really know what to post till this roleplay starts rolling.)

"SMASH!" A rouge android is slammed against a wall, dropping his gun. As the android gasped, ayoung man, Jake, walks up to him with a sword drawn. The android continues to gasp. "You're.... you're definitely...... powerful." The bot looks up to the human. "But you will never save EVERYONE from the virus!" Jake stops within feet of the android. He sheaths his weapon. "Maybe so. However, I will definitley TRY to do so." He lifts the android by its shirt. "Where is the charity money, thief? Surrender it now, and I will let you go. But if you don't, you will be destroyed." The android cackles. "You cannot destroy me. You may be strong, but I was built to withstand hard impacts." Jake lifts an eyebrow. "Very true, but I have a friend that can change that." He whistles towards the end of the street. At first everything is silent. But then a grey horse emerges and bolts towards the two. The equine faces the android and folds his ears back in anger. "This is your last chance. Give me back that money!" The android continues to laugh. It was almost as if he didn't hear Jake. "All I can say is, good luck with being a pathetic hero." Frustrated, the young man releases the android, while the stallion turns his rear to the bot and delivers a powerful kick to its head. The android's head is caved in and flattened, and it's body falls to the floor. It has been destroyed. He then faces the stallion. "We should stay here so we can explain the situation to the local police, Celtic. Our little mono-a-mono with a gunshot most likely attracted attention."

Edited May 21, 20169 yr by Endless Thundaga

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. How on earth did this all start? One minute, Artemis was on her way to work and the next, an apocalypse brews out. So, naturally, she was on her way back to the house to make sure her dad was still well and alive. Granted, it probably wasn't the safest move considering all the chaos going around but she needed to start somewhere and her heart was being squeezed with worry. It was mighty difficult to breathe and making it a tad bit harder to concentrate on where she was going. Screams and shuffling fights were echoing all around her, making her more desperate to get to her father. On impulse, she began taking alleyways and rooftops, the places she hung out most to avoid bumping into anyone and so far, she was having better luck than she could have hoped for. 

 

Almost there...

After several minutes of fighting for what felt like hours, Nero had finally reduced the infected number around him until there were only enough to be counted on one hand. The young man was almost out of breath, unable to remember exactly how many he'd torn through just to get to this point. No other infected were arriving at his location as he'd ceased shooting them with his guns, but that just made fighting with his knives so much more physically taxing. With his arms hanging low and his body slouching forward, anyone would be able to tell that Nero was exhausted even with that mask covering his face. One of the remaining infected to Nero's right suddenly jumped at him, aiming to knock him to the ground with a shove. Seeing the attack, Nero pulled his body back up right, stepping back out of the way before moving his blades into the infected's chest and dragging the blades up through their body. That was one down, three to go. Another attempted to bite Nero's arm while he was attacking the other, catching the assassin by surprise slightly. Dropping his knives, Nero abandoned his jacket to make sure that he didn't end up getting bitten. That trick won't work a second time. Outnumbered and now weaponless, Nero narrowed his eyes in order to come up with some kind of strategy.

"This looks pretty bad... But I should be fine if I put in everything I have left."

Nero took a deep breath to get his breathing under control before moving in towards his knives. The infected that attacked him was joined by his two buddies, surrounding Nero from all sides. Ducking suddenly, Nero dived towards his knives, rolling forwards and plunged the blades into the infected in front of him. He then immediately took the blades back and stabbed at the two remaining infected on each side of himself, presumably winning the "Battle Royale". However, Nero miscalculated. He overlooked one simple fact. The infected consisted of androids as well, and that's precisely what one of the last two was. With the knife unable to penetrate his skin, the infected android picked Nero up by his throat before tossing him through the air with its phenomenal strength. Nero flew into the wall of a building, causing him to scream out in pain. The killer's mask fell off of his face, revealing Nero's facial expression contorting into all kinds of shapes of agony.

"You'll regret that, you rust bucket!"

Nero squirmed as he got back to his feet, stumbling as he couldn't walk properly. The infected android ran at the wounded human, looking to either kill or infect the young man. Nero himself twirled the knives in his hands, his breathing increasing from the overbearing exhaustion that consumed him. The android then jumped at where Nero was, before the latter dodged to the right, threading his movements quickly in between the android's flailing arms, slashing them with what strength he could muster. Waiting for an opportunity to strike them down with one blow, Nero remained still as the android held up both of his arms and brought them down to where he was standing. Nero jumped up and out of the way, putting his arms on the androids shoulders and flipping over until he was behind. With his remaining strength, Nero wrapped his arms around the android's neck and bent it to the point that its neck snapped. With the android now defeated, the two fell to the ground with Nero entering a sitting position. The assassin was completely worn out from all this fighting. He was surrounded by countless bodies and his clothes were stained by not only the blood of his enemies, but his own as well.

"If the next person that shows up is infected, I think I might just be done for..."

Nero slowed his breathing, but his body still ached. It was difficult for him to move, but he had to try. Getting to his feet slowly, Nero found his duffel bag and began changing clothes. The smell of blood on himself was so fowl it was making him sick. Wearing some dark jeans, a white T-shirt and his red jacket, Nero now appeared as any other citizen who'd survived this apocalypse. He was still bleeding from some of the cuts and bruises he'd received from the infected and was beginning to stain his clean clothes just a little.

"I seriously hope someone sane turns up next..."

(I'm gonna post to that cause I'm bored lol)

After finally arriving, Artemis searched the whole house only to come out empty. A feeling of dread overwhelmed her until she spotted the note on the kitchen counter. A sliver of relief coursed its way into her as she walked over to read the note. Her dad wasn't home but there was still hope that he was..uninfected. "Okay, Apa. Te voy encontrar." With that, the tattoo covered girl walked up the stairs to her room, grabbing everything that she deemed would be necessary. She changed out of her work clothes as quickly as possible and into something easier to maneuver in. Before leaving her room, she reached under her bed to grab the rod that extended into two blades with a click of a button. 

What else, what else...Once setting the weapon at her hip, she went back downstairs to grab any food and drink she could fit in her backpack that could keep her going. "No lo puedo creer..." A loud crash interrupted her thoughts, making her look up in the direction of dust setting. "What the..?" Without another word, she exited her house, climbing on top another rooftop and another and another until she reached her destination only to find carnage with the smell of blood and disease. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she assessed the damage, finding the source of the crash on the opposite building of where she stood. The wall was caved in as if someone crashed through it and no later did she realize that did she see a man standing...more like swaying. Artemis narrowed her eyes, unable to tell if he were infected or not. "Mmm..." 

Even so, he looked pretty beat up but she didn't want to take any chances. 

Edited May 29, 20169 yr by Xenok Shoushin

After a few minutes of catching his breath, Dev stood back up and dusted himself off. he checked his phone. Nothing. Fantsatic. He thought. he checked to see if he even had service. No reception either. Dev shoved the phone back in his pocket disgruntled. "Great. guess im walking all the way back on my own." he said out loud, to no one in particular. It didnt occur to him to keep his voice down to avoid attracting attention.He trudged on for what felt like days, until he finally came on the other end of the forest. He started down the street towards his house. A car passed every now and then, but for the most part he didnt see any other life, not even infected. As he got close to his house, his phone picked up some service. He could tell because it started to vibrate in his pocket.  He pulled it out and looked at it. There was a message from his father! He listened to the message. "Hey buddy, uhhh, sorry about this, but the police evacuated the city about 7 hours before you called. your mother and i are about four counties north of town by now. we tried turning around when we got your call but the police wont let us. sorry bud. Be safe. give us a call when you get somewhere safe. Love you." He sighed and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Once he got home, he layed down on his couch. it had been about a month since he had been home. He put his hands on his face. It seemed like nothing was going his way today. 

"Stop right there!"

 

Behind Nero, Hanna stood with a gun in her hand, aiming at Nero's head from behind. "Kyle Oliver. Age nineteen years old. Alias Nero Angelo. Hitman for hire and held accountable for multiple counts of murder. There is a current warrant for your arrest pending, and you are to be taken in and held captive until you can be tried in the eyes of the court." Hanna said as she walked closer. "The situation that surrounds us has not changed such fact that you have done serious crimes. You must be upheld and restrained in the eyes of the law until order can be restored." Hanna insisted. "You have two options; you may stay by me so I can watch over you and make sure that you do not try to escape the island, or two, try to fight back and be dragged to an isolated cell where you will be fed rations if these...infected don't get you first."

 

Ezekiel looked around and jumped in surprise as he saw the android. Just like that, she picked something and...walked out. "What the..." Ezekiel said. Icarus watched, not seeing much of a threat. It was a standard droid. Though she did not seem to take in the severity of the situation...or she had a great way to keep calm during such situations and not show it. "Is she alright?" Ezekiel asked. "Yes. Androids simply all have different ways of reacting according to their programming much like humans. I just happen to be learning human emotions from you, so I might appear more vividly." Icarus explained as he filled the bag. "Don't get distracted." "Ok."

A couple of hours passed with no signs of anybody anywhere. Jake then hears a noise from the destroyed android. There was a card next to its pocket. Jake walks over and picks it it up cautiously. "Perhaps he deposited all of the charity into his account." He pauses. "We need someone who is able to look into this card's data." He stares ahead, thinking hard. Celtic turns turns his head in curiosity. "I think I know just the android who can help." Jake then walks towards Celtic and then climbs on the gelding's back. "Come on Celtic, we need to go find Hanna, prehaps she is able to see the activity in the card." They both then trot away from the broken android.

~Ellen~

 

  Ellen took whatever books were near her and snatched them, all without loosing her main focus on the noises. As she did, she could hear a similar sound at a longer distance away, she wasted no time to sprint out of the library, actually somewhat caring about the decision she just made. She 

     "Okay wow.. That was close!", she thought. And it was at that moment when the whole library burst into flames. Did Ellen pay attention to that? Not one bit. The one thing she did pay attention to were the sirens. Those damn sirens actually frightened her a bit. They were ear-shattering, but for good reason, as they warned everyone to evacuate the place. To where, Ellen wasn't sure, because that sound just made things 100 times worse.

 

     The infected where all going toward the sound of the blaring alarm, that's probably where one of the many few safe spots were, so Ellen wouldn't waste a second in that direction.

     "Okay. Hell just froze over. There is no hope. Gotta find a safe place of my own.", and with that, she risked herself to headed towards the plaza.

 

     "Ran on for what seemed like hours, pulling up her hood, stupidly thinking it would help repel the sick. However, the area she just so happened to be in was strangely empty. There were a ton of dead bodies. She scrunched her nose in disgust. 

     "Uuhhh, if any jackass out there can explain what just happened around this area, that'd be great! I can make an exchange!! I have this book here that might tell what exactly this sickness is!!", she shouted amoungst the noise. "Could help with a cure or some sh*t, I dunno! But, it never hurts to try!! HEY!", she kept shouting, trying to get some kind of coherent attention, staying oddly calm on the outside, but undoubtedly angry on the inside. "Are you all DEAD??"

Celtic quickly raises his head and ears to a loud echo. Jake looks around as well. He hears something about a book with information about a "sickness". Was it about the dreaded Insanity? Curious, he guides Celtic to the plaza from the alleyway he caught the rouge android. Once he reaches the plaza, he sees a young woman amongs the many dead bodies scattered around the area. "Who are you, and why are you walking around in a place like this?". As he and Celtic carefully approach her, Jake still has the "sickness" in mind. "Are you talking about......... Insanity?"

Nero rested his arms on his knees, gasping for breath, when he was suddenly ordered to put his hands up. Looking over his shoulder, Nero's eyed narrowed as a police officer was essentially reading him his rights. Nero just stared at the girl, unable to tell whether she was an android or a human, and wondered what on Earth was going through her head.

"Seriously? ... You have actually got to be joking, right? The whole world is falling apart and you want to arrest me?! This is too funny."

Nero was legitimately laughing as he couldn't believe that someone would still try to do their job even in this situation. Although, despite finding the whole situation funny, Nero was positive that he didn't have the strength to either fight back or run away. So, with a sigh, he stood up straight and faced Hanna directly.

"Look, even I admit that I won't be able to stay in this world on my own anymore. I'm going to need others to help me otherwise I'll end up dead, and nothing is more boring than dying. So, how about for now we call a truce. I'll work with you to survive this situation and you don't have to arrest me. How does that sound?"

Nero crossed his arms and smiled to himself looking away from Hanna, twisted thoughts of what he could now do in this new world came flying into his mind.

"They're not people anymore, they're monsters. So, won't you need someone who knows how to kill like me? You don't need to worry about getting your hands dirty officer, I can do all the killing for you. After all, this a truly fascinating situation. I don't think I've had this much fun in a long time!"

If this virus was based on insanity, then it was going to be hard to tell if Nero was infected or not. After all, he wasn't like anyone else. In his own eyes, he was the greatest that humanity had to offer and now a situation had arrived where he could truly test his limits. This was the solution to the boredom that he'd been looking for.

"So, what'll it be little police officer? Are you going to accept my help and cooperate with me, or are you going to take your chances with me tied up? It's your choice."

Hanna thought for a moment. The criminal made a point. She couldn't possibly arrest him and incarcerate him without the risk of him getting infected or starving to death were she to not be able to reach him and distribute food. But she couldn't possibly let him out of her custody. He could take the chance to escape capture and maybe even leave to a whole other country just to avoid judging. She couldn't let any of this happen...so there has to be a compromise of the two, to which Hanna was quick to come up with. "I understand your reasoning. Do you not worry. I will not hinder your abilities of fighting. However, I cannot allow you to escape my watch, that way the moment everything does return to normal, you must face justice. I cannot risk of you to escape judging because of the situation at hand. Therefor, I have a compromise." Hanna said. Before Nero could even acknowledge it, Hanna clicked a pair of handcuffs on his left wrists, handcuffing the other part of it on her right wrists, handcuffing them together. They were state of the art handcuffs, more modern than the standard metal ones. These had an electric string that was virtually unbreakable, allowing the handcuffs to spread as far as Hanna would allow it, which wouldn't be more than a few feet with Nero at tow. Best part would be the key, which was Hanna herself. All she had to do was connect to the handcuffs and she could click them on and off. Right now, they would be clicked on tightly. "Now you will have freedom to defend yourself while being under my custody." Hanna said rather matter of factually. This was their life now.

Celtic quickly raises his head and ears to a loud echo. Jake looks around as well. He hears something about a book with information about a "sickness". Was it about the dreaded Insanity? Curious, he guides Celtic to the plaza from the alleyway he caught the rouge android. Once he reaches the plaza, he sees a young woman amongs the many dead bodies scattered around the area. "Who are you, and why are you walking around in a place like this?". As he and Celtic carefully approach her, Jake still has the "sickness" in mind. "Are you talking about......... Insanity?"

~Ellen~

 

  Ellen turned to the sound of a voice and was surprised.

   "Huh! Lookit that!! A mentally stable person! How rare!" She was quick to walk up to them in her grouchy demeanor. "Yes, I'm talking about the sickness. Whadda ya' think I am, awesome?", she asked rudely. "Well, you shouldn't. I have this book here that might explain what the hell this might be exactly is all. You know, something substantial. Great, huh, sweetheart?", she boasted, yelling at the top of her lungs over the alarm. "Say chump, you look prepared! Know of a place we can talk about this gross epidemic? This book may hold an answer, like I said."

The siren was becoming extremely annoying to Jake. He jumps off of Celtic and tries to speak over the sound. "Yes, I do know of a place, but it is a couple blocks away." Frustrated by the sound, Jake reaches for his gun, attaches a silencer, and aims it towards the horn making the loudest noise and fires. The horn falls silent. As Jake withdraws his pistol, he quickly glances around the area. "There is a shelter a few blocks away. We can discuss things there. I'm pretty sure the local authorities also want to have a look at that book as well. But we must make haste, surely some infected noticed this horn stopped making noise." Jake then climbs back on Celtic. He then reaches his hand out towards the young woman in an attempt to lift her on. "What is your name?"

This was not cool in the slightest. Nero grit his teeth as Hanna suddenly clamped a handcuff onto his left arm. This isn't what he deserved. He shouldn't have to be lumped together with all other criminals as if they were the same as him. Nero demanded respect even if it wasn't for the right reasons.

"You imbecile! Do you understand what you've done?! This only going to slow us down!"

Nero's rage flooded through to the surface, overpowering his usual stoic and unemotional expression. The fact that he had Hanna talk down to him as if she were in control of this situation is what angered Nero the most. She did not control the situation and she certainly wasn't going to control him either. Nero was about to raise his voice again, but then realised something. Wasn't this a totally average thing for a police officer to do? It seemed illogical to get mad after looking at the bigger picture. The assassin's expression suddenly became bland, his face no longer revealing what was going on through his head.

"Oh yeah... This is what anyone else would do as well if they came into contact with me if they were aware of my true identity... How boring..."

Nero's eyes drooped a little as he stared at Hanna, almost as if he were looking directly into her soul, if she had one.

"... Now that I look at you properly, you're actually pretty well made, aren't you?"

Nero approached Hanna, poking and prodding at her arms and face.

"Not a lot of people would be able to tell, but I can tell. After all, I'm not most people. I'm not even "some" people either, I'm simply me. One of a kind. But this about you, not me."

Nero pinched Hanna's cheek to see if she had pain receptors.

"The skin textures are very convincing. You look, sound and feel like a young woman in her early twenties. However... Your eyes gave you away. That's always been one thing that those idiots can never get right. You may look human in almost every way, but you are clearly an android, aren't you?"

Hanna blinked a few times as she watched the subject. She grabbed his hand and lowered it. "Of course I am an android. Model ISA F. Serial code 4585-8452-793. Standard security programing in order to assist with the law and justice within the police department. No updates available at the moment." Hanna said as she recited it much like someone would by reading it off from a book. "For the sake of making it easier for humans to remember to identify me, I am known as Hanna. You may call me that if my serial code is too difficult to remember." Hana said as she turned, looking around as she pulled on him by the handcuffs. "Now we must advance and find other survivors. It is logical that if we all band together as a group the possibility of survival is increased by at least 75%." Hanna said as she pulled on Nero. "We must find shelter before night falls. I suggest for us to also find Celtic. I hope he has yet to die off from this." Hanna murmured as she pulled Nero over, not really minding or realizing she might be being a bit too rough."Don't move. I'll go get us some water." Icarus asked as he walked away to the back of the store, looking for packages of bottled water for Ezekiel. Dehydration was a great risk of death, as well it was to get sick or infected by an unreliable water source. Ezekiel sighed. When he thought about the zombie apocalypse, this definitely wasn't how he had expected it to go through. He suddenly heard growling. Ezekiel looked up, hearing the low growling sound. "Icarus, is that you?" Ezekiel asked, standing up. He heard the growling becoming stronger, louder, and in through one of the broken windows, came in a group of dogs. However, they weren't normal feral dogs. Their drool was black, their eyes were red and bulging out of their sockets. Goo and mucus escaped from their eyes and ears. They were bigger, their hairs sharpened like spikes. "Oh..!" Ezekiel gasped as he backed away. The dogs creeped closer...and Ezekiel couldn't help but to scream. "ICARUS!"The dogs didn't last very long, a few seconds later one of them being thrown out one of the windows in two pieces.