[centre][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjAwMDAwMC5WR2hsSUVOdmJHeGhjSE5sLjA,/necrotype.regular.png[/img] [img]https://admitonefilmaddict.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/28weeks.jpg[/img][/centre] On January 11th 2017 a genetically engineered virus escaped from the CDC in Texas when the facility became the victim of a terrorism attack. By time the US could send a response team, what was left of the CDC was covered in blood and most of the virus' victims had already left. Soon after 911 calls started coming in, with terrified callers reporting that there were crazy people running about attacking and killing people in the middle of the street. From here things only got worse. Much, much worse. Within three days, the whole city was infected. Police forces weren't equipped to deal with the infected, and when the army was finally called in they weren't told what they were up against as the government was trying to prevent mass panic. They weren't ready, and they were slaughtered. Three weeks later, every major population centre in the state had fallen to the infected. Panic set in within citizens, and with everyone trying to leave at the same time highways became gridlocked. These gridlocked highways became heaven for the infected, they stormed through the parked cars and fleeing crowds and killed everyone. They carried on up the highways until they got to the next major city, and so the cycle repeated. Within two months, most of the US had fallen to the infected. Mexico had been infected, and the infection had started making appearances in Europe. Washington DC was the last place to fall, and after that, the United States of America was no more. This cataclysmic event would be forever known to the world as The Collapse. By July 24th 2017, the world was a completely different place. All infrastructure had completely shut down. The lights have turned off. Running water is a thing of the past. Money is only worth burning. The infected roam the streets, joined by survivors who will do [i]anything [/i]to survive. When you live in a world like this, how are you going to get through the days? [centre][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjAwMDAwMC5TVzVtYjNKdFlYUnBiMjQsLjA,/necrotype.regular.png[/img][/centre] Hello! Welcome to [i]The Collapse.[/i] This is a zombie apocalypse role play set six months and thirteen days after the initial outbreak, in New York City. The aim of this role play is for us to tell a story, an interesting tale of survival and Human nature with well developed characters and relationships that we hopefully come to really care about. Things will get dark and gritty, and we won't be skipping over the eventual deaths of some of our characters. I'm looking for a diverse set of characters, so that things wont get boring and everyone can bring something different to the table. Not everyone is going to know how to survive already, some people might have been lucky and have remained hidden for the last six months, not really having to get their hands dirty. And lastly, your not going to have unlimited ammo and amazing weapons. Your going to have to use other things apart from guns, and your going to have to think about when you do. If this sounds like something your interested in, I'd love to have you join. [centre][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjAwMDAwMC5VblZzWlhNLC4w/necrotype.regular.png[/img][/centre] We all hate rules, but we have to have them. -No poweplaying/godmoding. -No controlling anybody elses characters. Ever. -Always get permission before injuring or hurting another character. -Swearing, Violence and gore are allowed. -One paragraph per post as a minimum. -If your writing smut, skip over it or take it too a pirate/etherpad. -All standard RPG rules apply. [centre][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjAwMDAwMC5WR2hsSUdsdVptVmpkR1ZrLjA,/necrotype.regular.png[/img][/centre] The infected: mindless, bloodthirsty monsters stuck in a state of constant anger and rage fuelled adrenaline. They can run faster than us. They can climb. They are attracted by sound. Luckily for you they are only thinking about one thing, which is killing. This means they are stupid, and can be outsmarted if your not too busy running for your life. The infected constantly bleed out of their nose, eyes and mouths due to internal haemorrhaging, and have blood red eyes. They spread the infection through bodily fluids, so if any infected blood or saliva manages to get into your body, even a small amount, and your gone for. The incuation period for becoming an infected after being infected is also incredibly short. After the infected fluids get into your system, you have 20-30 seconds before the infection has completely taken over your body. During this short time, you will begin to vomit blood, bleed from every orifice. Your head will burn, as will your muscles. You will start to spasm, and you will never stop. When the constant adrenaline kicks in, there's nothing left. [centre][img]http://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjcyLjAwMDAwMC5RMmhoY21GamRHVnljdywsLjA,/necrotype.regular.png[/img][/centre] [hider=Character sheets] Name: Age: Gender: Nationality: Sexuality: Appearance: (Needs to be a real picture, and no anime or drawn pictures. Sorry.) Family: Past occupation: Personality: (What are they like? Atleast a paragraph) Background: (Where are they from, what was their past life like, how did they end up in new york city when it was infected? Atleast a paragraph) What's in their bag: (If they have a bag, what supplies are in it?) Weapons: (No ridiculousness, please. Other: [/hider] [b]Accepted Characters:[/b] [hider= Nina] Name: Nina Ann Tucker Age: 27 Gender: Female Nationality: American Sexuality: Straight [hider=Appearance][IMG]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b9/09/8c/b9098c66802d09e973803797b483cf38.jpg[/IMG] Nina stands and a whopping 5 feet 10 inches and weighs about 145 pounds.[/hider] Family: Mother- Deceased/infected Younger Brother and sister (twins)- Deceased/infected Father- Unknown Fiance- Unknown Past occupation: Botanist Personality: Nina is a pacifist, she hates the though of violence however she is not stupid, she knows not all things can be solved with words, especially in the face of the walking dead where the only goal is to kill and eat. She will avoid harming another being if at all possible. She is an intelligent person, often being able to problem solve in a matter of minutes. She is also a kind person, giving people her trust until they prove they do not deserve it. This however can make her a little naive when it comes to the intentions of other people. Background: Nina grew up in New York, she knows the city like the back of her hand. Her mother owned a bakery and her father was a mechanic. Her twin siblings were four years younger. She was an intelligent child, skipping two grades in her early years and graduating on the top 10 percent of her class. She always had a fascination for plant life, often being seen in the library, reading books about various plants, in her small garden at home, or in Central Park drawing or examining the plants there. It was only natural for her to go to college to get herself a botany degree. She was a full time student with a weekend job, and she lived with her parents while she was going to school. It was while she was schooling that she met her boyfriend and later fiancé. When she graduated she managed to get herself a small job working at a local green house. It wasn’t much but it was enough to start her off, she wanted to move up to become a researcher, coming up with natural medicines to help people. It was while she was at work that the infection spread out of control. In an attempt to make sure her family was safe she rushed home, only to fine blood covering many of the surfaces. Her mother and siblings had somehow been infected. Her father was nowhere to be found and he hadn’t answered her calls. The same was true for her fiancé. Not knowing where do go she somehow made her way downtown after gathering some supplies and holed herself up in an office building that had luckily been abandoned. It was her that she has managed to survive. Living off of potatoes, mushrooms and beans, some of the faster growing and more protein rich plants. However she is running out of supplies and drinkable water. She will have to venture out eventually. What's in their bag: Currently just some spare clothes and a pocket knife. Weapons: A pocket knife and a gun she found in one of the desks in the office (no ammo) Other: [/hider] [hider=Natalie] [b]Name:[/b] Natalie Mansfield [b]Age:[/b] 20 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Nationality:[/b] British [b]Sexuality:[/b] Bi-sexual [b]Appearance:[/b] [hider=My Hider][img]http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Victoria-Justice-Smile.gif[/img][img]http://66.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m651st1kXm1r6p041o1_500.gif[/img][/hider] [b]Family: [/b] Mother - Unknown Father - Unknown Brother - Unknown Sister - Unknown [b]Past occupation:[/b] Drama Student [b]Personality:[/b] Natalie is rather laid back. She tries to keep from most conflicts and hates to see splinters start to form between people she knows, but would rather sit back and relax than get involved in the petty fights and arguments. Although if she feels somebody has done something really wrong, then she will get involved. She doesn't hold much of a sharp posture. Natalie secretly feels very lonely. Sure, she had friends, but they weren't people she could really get on with or connect with. They were people for her to go out and cause trouble with, as she did for much of her life. Sure, she cared for them, and they cared for her, but they all knew that it wasn't going to last. She grew up lonely, causing trouble and searching for connections to fill the gaps. This sometimes causes her to get too involved into new friendships, and why she hates being alone, which ties in with her old party girl lifestyle. In the apocalypse, however, she would surely go insane if left on her own for too long. Natalie is sensitive. She cares what people think, much more than you would guess if you had been around her for ten minutes. She hates being judged for who she is, where she's from or how she acts which is why she may seem either more reserved around new people (but this wont last too long), or try too seem more intimidating. However, the latter rarely works. Natalie is a victim of having an addictive personality. Once she tries something once and enjoys it, she will usually go out of her way too keep that thing in her life. Not even she knows if this is just her natural shitty personality, or if its a way too keep her happy and hide what lies deep below, buried below the nights out, drugs and cigarettes. She can be very dependent, and will use whatever she has to keep people around. [b] Background:[/b] Natalie grew up in East London on a council estate nicknamed 'Concrete city' because there wasn't a single brick house, just lots of tall concrete flats piled on top of each other. She moved here at the age of three, because her dad lost his job and both of her mothers part time jobs weren't paying enough to keep up with the bills of her much desired old suburban home. Concrete city was a mess, full of gangs, violence, drugs and alcohol and all of the things that you don't want your kids to be brought up around. Her parents were well aware, and tried as hard as they could too keep her away from all of it, and for her first eight years in the estate it worked. She finished Primary school at Eleven, and started Secondary school after summer. This is when things seemed to quickly change for her. Natalie got involved with the 'popular' crowd. The troublemakers. First off it was nothing bad. She was just going out a little more. Then her grades started falling. She started staying out later, despite her parents wishes. Phone calls home from school became commonplace, because she was either there and misbehaving, or she wasn't there at all. Things carried on like this for the next couple of years, not getting worse, but not getting better. Her and her friends started hanging out with the older girls on the estate by the time they were thirteen. She discovered alcohol and parties and wondered how on earth this had been missing from her life before. She saw the older girls smoking, and she wanted to be like them, so at the age of thirteen she picked up her first cigarette. At the age of fourteen she smoked weed for the first time. At fifteen she got an older boyfriend, and started going to even better, wilder parties. She barely passed her GCSE's at sixteen, graduating secondary school with a pass in maths, english, music and drama. Everything else was failed. A month after she got her results, her father got a job offer from a company in America. Her parents saw this as a new start for their troubled daughter, and took the job straight away. But this was a new start that she didn't want. She moved too this new place, and instead of starting again, quitting the drugs, alcohol and fags, she just made new friends and did it with them. Five months before her Eighteenth, Natalie passed out at a party. She got Alcohol poisoning (among other things), went to hospital, had her stomach pumped and was horribly ill for a week after. After this, she decided that enough was enough, and tried her hardest to stop her self-destructive lifestyle. Although she still went too parties now and then, she tried her hardest too keep her alcohol usage low. She still smoked, cigarettes and marijuana, but had effectively managed to cut out all other drugs from her life. A natural talent in acting an a newfound interest in doing well managed to get her a place in an drama college in New York, where she would attend for the next two years until the outbreak. When the outbreak happened, she and her best friend managed to hold up in a small abandoned apartment above an old pizza shop. A month ago they went out for supplies, and were attacked by infected. Her friend was killed but she managed to escape and has been hiding on her own in the apartment ever since. [b]What's in their bag:[/b] A spare change of clothes and underwear, a machete, a flip knife, three boxes of cigarettes, one full two litre bottle of water and one nearly empty, a few snack bars and cans of food, matches, some marijuana and seven spare bullets (she does not know what kind or what gun they go with) [b]Weapons:[/b] Machete, flip knife. [b]Other:[/b] Excellent actor. [/hider] [hider=Samira 'Sam'] [center][b]Name:[/b] Samira 'Sam' Darzi [img]http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/38900000/Shaw-root-and-shaw-38904876-500-500.gif[/img][/center] [b]Age:[/b] 31 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Nationality:[/b] Iranian [b]Sexuality:[/b] Gay af [b]Family:[/b] deceased [b]Past occupation:[/b] Firefighter [b]Personality:[/b] Sam is a charismatic, outspoken extrovert. She loves making people laugh and is comfortable in a crowd, though, sometimes she has trouble being serious when a situation calls for it. She loves helping others and would gladly give her life for another (she climbed a tree without a ladder and no safety equipment to save a cat once - true story). She especially loves animals and probably holds them on a higher pedestal than humans themselves. She's straightforward and transparent with others and expects everyone to be with her as well. [b]Background:[/b] Sam was born to a Pakistan mother and an Iranian father and grew up in Fars' capital city, the beautifully rustic Chiraz. At 7, Samira already knew she wanted to join the Iranian forces, being a very energetic child; physical activity was like second nature to her. Though, that dream quickly slipped between her fingers once her parents announced their departure to the united states. Her father was a recognized and respected business man who landed a big deal in the automotive industry. They moved to the streets of New York city when Sam was 11 years old. Her father had thought her English at a young age, so adapting to using it on a daily basis wasn't much of hassle. What the young girl had trouble with was the change of scenery and the culture: the loud and busy streets, the buildings that almost seemed to reach the sky. She felt trapped in a cage. Sam eventually settled in, but much preferred nature this concrete jungle. At 18, Sam received her American citizenship and applied not a day later in the U.S military. Her request was denied, however, as strict laws barred american dual-citizens from entering their ranks. Discouraged, the woman dropped out of school and worked as delivery-woman for a Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. She barely scraped by, living with the bare essentials and drowning her hate of the American government with various illicit substances. By the age of 21, Sam was at the bottom of the barrel fighting a cocaine addiction in her musty one room appartment. Her father, ashamed of what she had become and ashamed he hadn't done something sooner made her a deal she couldn't quite refuse: he would sent her to rehab for three months and then send her to the college of her choice, in the program of her choice. One failing grade, however, and he would pull his funds. By God's grace, Sam came out of rehab a changed person - in reality, she became the person she was meant to be. She chose to enroll in the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and successfully obtained her Fire Science Degree after four long years of hard, non-stop work. She built close relationships with her co-workers of Ladder 25 situated in Manhattan and worked at this fire station for six years. One the outbreak hit, she and her fellow firefighters held up in the station for quite a while. When food had become scarce enough that they had to ration one meal a day, they decided they needed to plan supply runs around the city. But because they haven't gone out in such a long time, all the noise they had made attracted a horde of undead around the firehouse. The group quickly got overwhelmed on their first adventure outside and Sam was the only one fortunate enough to survive. She's now roaming the desolate streets alone, relying only on herself and her trusty fire axe. [b]What's in their bag:[/b] Sam possesses a sling backpack. She has a lighter, a water bottle, a few cans of food, paracord and a simple medi-kit. [b]Weapons:[/b] Fire axe [b]Other:[/b] Hates bugs [/hider] [hider=Jason] Name: Jason Age: 26 Gender: Male Nationality: American Appearance: [hider][img]http://a5.files.biography.com/image/upload/c_fill,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,g_face,h_300,q_80,w_300/MTE5NTU2MzE2MTE1MjczMjI3.jpg[/img][/hider] Family: Unknown, likely deceased/infected Father Mother Sister Past occupation: EMT - Basic (certified), Forensic Science Student Personality: Jason is pretty laid back and casual in most situations, he is also generally very quiet taking some time before he gets comfortable enough to talk freely. He will still however make crude or dark jokes at inappropriate situations, but it is simply how he has been handling the end of the world. He would seem somewhat distant and cold on the surface, especially after the world ended, but he is actually quite caring about those he trusts. His studies in forensic science and emergency medicine has made him more psychologically prepared for the end of the world and seeing death and destruction has left less of a wound on his mentality than it otherwise would have. However he was still effected by the end of the world, in a survival situation he puts his own and his group's survival above the well being of others. he certainly tries to help the rest of humanity, but if he is starving and some other group wont share... well, he will take what he needs at gun point. Background: Jason is actually a Colorado native having moved to NY not long before the collapse for an internship program at an NY lab. he had only been working for a few months when the first cases where moving out of Texas. Jason followed the story somewhat closely becoming increasingly worried as the problem moved north. He was already a little paranoid about the world ending due to war or some kind of disaster, Zombie apocalypse was just an amusing thought experiment from his high school days. So before the mass panic struck NY proper Jason went out and bought food, water, and a little bit of ammunition for his gun. It wasn't much and his supplies didn't last him very long, but he decided if he were to survive he would get creative. A few weeks into the apocalypse, having spent most of the days inside trying to ride out the most chaotic part of the collapse, Jason left and tried to accumulate supplies that would make him more capable against the rage zombies. This was a dark time for all of humanity, and Jason was no better. He managed to get some gear together and a modest stash of food before deciding to move away from the city. The population density would make it a death trap once the horde of Zombies where done feeding on the survivors trapped within. During the first few months of the outbreak Jason had met up with a few other survivors, they where weak willed and obviously couldn't handle their new reality but the day came where their luck had ran out and Jason was stuck in a situation where they could not survive... but he could so he abandoned them. It weighs heavily on him, and he regrets their deaths but it also steeled his resolve to live. It is the world they live in now, survival of the fittest. What's in their bag: 4 days of food Steel canteen (nearly empty) Life Straw (water filter) extra clothes, mostly winter gear looted body armor (police officer) Paintball mask (to protect eyes and mouth from zombie blood) two decks of paying cards sun tzu's art of war compass (no map) Empty shotgun shell bandolier Thick leather motorcycle jacket (damaged from zombies) Thick leather gloves simple surgical kit: scalpels surgical forceps (several different kinds) suture needles (improvised with fishing line, miles left) suture thread tourniquet bandages small flask of rubbing alcohol (very little left) nitrite and latex gloves Weapons: Machete strapped to left hip and leg large buck knife with knuckle guard strapped to right hip 12Ga shotgun (4 shells left) Other: Im using this and an OOC note, I personally own 90% of this gear except for the bit of body armor, but i justify that because it would be somewhat easy to find especially in a large city like NY. [/hider] [hider=Meghan] [b]Name:[/b] Meghan Johnson [b]Age:[/b] 24 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Nationality:[/b] American [b]Sexuality:[/b] Bi-sexual [b]Appearance: [/b] [hider=My Hider] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/16/eb/a7/16eba77db6aff29e1419835b2aefa68a.jpg[/img] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/bd/9c/fe/bd9cfe4b38564e20117c558ddebe4087.jpg[/img] [/hider] [b]Family:[/b] Mother - Dead Father - Unknown [b]Past occupation:[/b] Receptionist at a hotel. [b]Personality:[/b] Meghan, to put it simply, is a sadistic bitch. She enjoys watching people squirm or listen to them scream in terror, just as much as she likes causing it herself. She looks out for number one, and if somebody is getting in they way of her reaching her goals then they aren't going to be around if she can help it. Despite this, get on her good side and you've got yourself a fiercely loyal ally until you piss her off. She'll often crack a joke at the wrong time and doesn't really find herself concerned with the emotions of those she doesn't care about. [b]Background:[/b] Meghan grew up in Charleston, South Carolina with an alcoholic father and a mother who was so scared of being alone she would rather see her child abused than leave her marriage. Despite this, she loved her mother very much and often tried to step in when her father went on one of his usual alcohol induced rages, staying loyal to her mother even though she had every opportunity to leave and make Meghan's life so much better. Around the age of 13, Meghan found an injured squirrel in her back garden. She toyed around with it, throwing it against things and breaking its limbs before finally killing it. She felt guilty, and decided she would never do anything like that ever again. A year later, after a particularly bad day, she took the family dog on a walk into a woods near her home and broke its legs, before torturing it for three days. The dog was deemed missing by her parents after she told them it had run away when she let it off the leash, and they didn't bother looking for it. This incident sparked a deadly curiosity within Meghan, which would see her finding and hurting animals constantly for years. At the age of 18, Meghan's father accidentally killed her mother in a fit of drunken rage. He was arrested and sentenced for murder, and so with nothing keeping her at home, she moved to New York and took a job as a receptionist at a hotel. She lived here for the next six years, living out her sick fantasies on poor, unlucky animals she caught. She longed to hurt a person though, a real, living, breathing person. And then the apocalypse happened. It was like a miracle for her. The world was her playground. For the first couple of months she would befriend and betray everyone she met, living out her sick fantasies on real people for the first time. But, after these initial couple of months, she realised she did need some help if she was going to survive, so she would only hurt people who deserved it, and there is no shortage of that in the apocalypse. [b]What's in their bag:[/b] Rope, matches, 2 one litre bottles of water, some cans of food, a change of clothes, a scalpel, a torch, two sets of batteries, two old newspapers, a blanket. [b]Weapons:[/b] Hunting rifle (7 rounds), 9 inch hunting knife. [b]Other:[/b] [/hider] [hider=Nikolai] [center][IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/148klef.jpg[/IMG] [u][b]Name:[/b][/u] Nikolai, full name (николай маршал) [u][b]Age:[/b][/u] 21 [u][b]Gender:[/b][/u] Male [u][b]Nationality:[/b][/u] Ukrainian [u][b]Sexuality:[/b][/u] Irrelevant[/center] [u][b]Appearance:[/b][/u] Although young, signs of stress can clearly be seen on his face and scars from countless encounters with both humans and infected have left their marks on him. Wearing surplus military BDU and some assorted combat equipment has made him a target in the past but its saved him every time so far. [u][b]Family:[/b][/u] Deceased (Pre-Infection) [u][b]Past occupation:[/b][/u] Nikolai has never held a serious job before but has done plenty of oddjobs over the years. [u][b]Personality:[/b][/u] Before the outbreak, Nikolai was always seen as kind and at least somewhat outgoing. He always managed to have something to say about anything and was never afraid of being wrong. The outbreak did little to change his personality but has put a damper on his seemingly endless happiness. [u][b]Background:[/b][/u] When Nikolai was 17 years old, his parents were killed in a carjacking in Moscow. His parents were fairly rich and when they passed they left their fortunes to Nikolai. In their will, his parents told him to spend the money on experiences, on traveling the world and being the best person he could be. A year or so later most people would consider him to be an "extreme tourist". His first stop on the path was to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in his home country. After the start of hostilities in Ukraine, Nikolai left to explore the world. He never stayed anywhere long and even with a fortune to pull from he still tried to get by with the minimum. Traveling alone left its mark on Nikolai having experienced crime in practically every city he visited. He spent a year in the United States before the outbreak began. After the outbreak, Nikolai first managed to join a group of National Guardsmen that had abandoned their posts rather than be overrun. That group changed and dwindled until at the end of it all, Nikolai was standing alone on the outskirts of New York just hoping that there was someone still alive. [u][b]What's in their bag:[/b][/u] Nikolai wears a tactical vest and besides the empty magazines and various cleaning tools, he has a small pouch he stores the miniscule amount of food he has and he has a half full canteen in another pouch. [u][b]Weapons:[/b][/u] Although menacing at first glance, the Auto Kalashnikov he carries is barely functional. He has 6 "dirty" rounds for it that probably won't even fire in the best situation. He usually has to rely on the Kukri he bought when he first reached the States. Other: By miniscule I mean he has a small bag of assorted nuts and seeds. By dirty rounds I mean that they were made post outbreak and are unstable and unreliable. If they go off at all they might not have the power needed to penetrate the skull even as a 7.62x39 round. [/hider] [hider=Alex Pearce]Name: Alexander "Alex" Pearce Age: 31 Gender: Male Nationality: American Sexuality: Straight Appearance: [hider][img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8c/9e/82/8c9e82201659981666819afa721a2d77.jpg[/img] I couldn't help but use Negan for a zombie apocalypse RP.[/hider] Family: Mother-Deceased (Pre-infection) Father-Deceased (Pre-infection) Uncle-Unknown Aunt-Unknown Younger Brother-Unknown Past occupation: Forest Ranger Personality: Alex is a friendly person, often going out of his way to try and help others. The beginning of the infection's spread did little to sway him from his usual self, but over the last few months he has become more distant, often spending much of his time by himself. He has developed a slight tendency to talk to himself after spending a great deal of time alone, although he doesn't seem to notice it himself. Background: Alex was born in the southeastern part of Texas to a pair of farmers that lived in a small town in the woods. With larger town being miles away Alex spent a good deal of his youth with his friends exploring the woods that surrounded his hometown, often spending hours at a time with his friends just exploring and playing in the woods. As he got older he would spend more time with his father in the woods, learning to hunt and track animals. The two of them often spending entire weekends together exploring. Wake up. Go to school. Come home. The woods. That was his life for years, so much so that he felt the woods had practically became his home. He spent any chance he had there, and anytime something upset him the woods would become his escape. At 14, both of his parents were killed in a terrible car accident and he and his younger brother were sent to live with their uncle, a rancher in Montana. The only problem with that was that he lost his escape. Over the next few months Alex was constantly depressed, but he continued to put on a brave face for his younger brother. A brave face had little effect on his uncle, however. His uncle had finally had enough and he and Alex took a trip one weekend to the Flathead National Forest. It was the first time in a long time that Alex had been happy, feeling that he was finally able to escape all the things that he had been running from out there in the woods. After that those excursions with his uncle became regular trips and over time he became his old self again. At 18, Alex decided that he would become a forest ranger and began volunteering as often as he could, and attending school the rest of the time. After four years of hard work he had officially became a forest ranger and he continued to spend his time in the woods, the only difference now he was being paid to do something he had done for years. At 26, Alex moved to Phoenicia, NY to oversee the Sundown Wild Forest near there. Over the next 5 years he oversaw the construction of new ranger stations throughout the forest, and when rumors and news of what was happening in Texas he did what he knew best how to. Retreat into the woods. Over the coming months as the infection spread throughout the country Alex stayed within the confines of his woods along with many of the other forest rangers and hunters of the area that had the same idea. Early on things were fine. They used the ranger stations and hunting cabins around the forest as outposts, keeping in touch with the radios in the stations. The infected were few and far between and the survivors were able to dispatch them easily enough, as time went on more and more were attracted to the sound of the hunter's gunfire and that's when they began losing people. The outposts near the edge fell first, pushing the survivors further in, but it wasn't long before the infected were on them as well. The other's didn't seem to notice the pattern that the infected were always drawn to the sound of gunfire first, but once Alex realized he told the others. Many thought him foolish for believing it, but the next attack proved that he was correct as the infected were drawn once more to the sound. While the others panicked he took the chance to escape, for the first time leaving the interior of the woods and heading to the exterior to escape, stopping at the old, overrun ranger stations and hunting cabins to gather supplies. The infected were few and far between once again as they were drawn away to whatever sounds they could follow giving him little resistance on the way out. What's in their bag: Alex carries a sling style hunting bag he found in one of the first hunting cabins he searched. In it he has two sets of spare clothes and a second jacket, 3 MREs and a full canteen of water, and a pair of long range radios he kept from the ranger stations, leaving much of the rest of the pack empty in case he finds anything of use while scavenging. On his right thigh he has a tactical thigh rig that he keeps a pistol he found holstered and any extra ammunition he finds. Weapons: During his scavenging Alex has found a Mossberg Patriot rifle, with only 3 .308 caliber rounds available. A 6 inch hunting knife that he attached to the end of the rifle to form a makeshift bayonet. A Glock 20 that uses 10mm ammunition with only 6 rounds left in the only magazine he could find for it. A bolo style machete that has become his main way of dealing with any infected that he comes across. Other: His younger brother was a member of the National Guard that was called in during the infection's beginning. He has not had any word from him and does not know if he is alive or not.[/hider] [b]Groups:[/b] (This will be filled out when our characters start to form groups, so don't worry about it for now)