The zombie apocalypse was actually happening. Like, for real. No Florida hoax thing, not out of a video game or a movie. The real god damn deal. Austin always thought about it, just in theory. Talking to his dad about survival plans about the apocalypse. All in fun though, just making for interesting conversation. But now it was real. 

Austin looked at his phone and read the alert notification that popped up. The united states was in a state of emergency. He opened the notification, and a list of cities popped up, saying that these were "danger zones" and for any and all people to lock yourselves in your home or seek shelter. Emergency forces were gone, for the most part, they went to help protect their own family and friends. It was total chaos. This was all while he sat at the local Dunkin' Donuts, sipping on his coffee. Everybody had panicked, screamed and ran out the door. To where, nobody knows. The place was empty besides Austin, as having nowhere to go at the moment. His car maybe, but that was back at the hotel, and he was NOT walking all the way back there at a time like this. It seemed like he was in no immediate danger, but with a completely glass entrance and big windows, it wasn't more than window shopping for zombies if they wanted to come in. He needed to move, he knew that much. All that zombie survival book reading was coming into use.

[color=aquamarine]"They didn't even let me finish me coffee..."[/color] he groaned to himself, getting up from his seat and adjusting his leather jacket. He pulled out his pocket knife that he kept with him and flipped it open, clutching it in his hand and making a fist, with the blade sticking out the right side of his right hand, facing away from him. It was a few inches, substantial, but pretty close range. And he didn't know how close he wanted to get to these things. Probably not very close. Austin scanned his surroundings for anything useful, but besides donuts, nothing really caught his eye. He would have to fine some weaponry another time, maybe at an army depot or a gun store, army navy. Or Walmart. You never know what you'll find in Walmart. He pushed past the door of the Dunkin Donuts, walking out into the crisp Chicago air.

Well, it was pretty much a shit storm outside. Abandoned cars, debris, broken things lying around. A dead body or two. Things on fire. It looked pretty skippy outside. He could even see figures in the distance, although none seemed to be around his immediate area. Yet. So he thought. But hopefully that trend would continue. Austin walked directly on the street, walking at a fast pace but to be careful of his surroundings. Yes it might be bad to walk out in the open, but better than getting ambushed and bit by one of those things. He'll take his chances with trying to outrun one. He looked around at the wreckage, again, nothing really caught his eye. Just, destruction, abandoned items. Nothing of use, as anything of use was probably taken with the individual. But there could still be a few hidden gems. 

After a few minutes of walking, he noticed a few zombies standing in front of what looked to be a bar. Or, so the sign said. It was one of those that it's like a basement, heavy double doors, maybe a small window. Be perfect to hide out in. The only problem was the zombies out in front. It seemed as though there were people inside, and thus, the zombies wanted to go inside. Out of the corner of his eye, Austin noticed a figure slipping through a side window. It seemed a zombie noticed this, and slowly walked over to the window. Austin ducked behind the car, trying to think. What to do, what to do. Then he found a rock lying on the ground, and an idea formed. He had seen this in a videogame once, but he hoped it worked. 

He took the rock in his hand and saw that there was a car several feet in the opposite direction of the bar. If he could just hit that windshield... He pulled his arm back like he was throwing a baseball, looked over at the zombies briefly, then looked back as he hurled the rock at the car. It was about the size of his hand, so it carried nicely through the air as it banked off the windshield, causing a loud "clank" sound. All the zombies turned to the car, and slowly started to shuffle towards the sound, apparently hoping that there was some juicy flesh to be had over there. Austin breathed out a sigh of relief. That actually worked. He waited a minute or two to watch the zombies congregate around the car. As soon as the coast was clear, he silently (but as fast as silent permitted) made his way across the street and into the alleyway. He slid into the open window, landing on his feet. He leaned out the window, looking around and finding a trash bag. He pulled the trashbag in front of the window, effectively hiding it as he closed and locked the window. Austin also found a somewhat heavy box and pressed it against the window, just in case. Could never be too careful. 

The adrenaline was starting to subside slightly, but he was still anxious, nervous, and alert as he made his way into the bar area. It seemed to teens already were in the bar area, and some younger woman was going behind the bar. They seemed to be making some kind of small talk, and they didn't seem to be with each other. Like they all just got there. [color=aquamarine]"I know, hell broke loose outside, we can get to formalities later. I'm sure we all want to live at this point..."[/color] he went up to the doors and tugged on them, making sure they were locked. He looked out the reinforced, grated windows, and saw no sign of zombies immediately outside. [color=aquamarine]"Alright, we'll leave the door like that in case some more people come... Is there any other way in here? Any weapons? Talk to me here."[/color] a million things went through his mind as he rambled off things, going off to explore the rest of the bar. At this point he was scared and all, but didn't want to panic. he didn't let himself panic. His first priority was not dying. Get a safe place to stay. First priority. Then maybe take a breather and find out what the hell he was gonna do next. Chicago was a big city, and one he didn't know very well. And he sure as hell wasn't dying like this. He needed a plan.