[centre][h1]The Clearing[/h1][/centre] [hr][hr] Patient zero had been identified early on and was quickly contained. Doctors said it was a new genetic mutation of some sort, and the people were easily appeased by that. There was no reason to panic over it. The growing tumor on the woman's temple, while unsettlingly big, didn't seem to affect her much. According to her family, she was just as intelligent and charismatic as before the tumor. Eventually, she was released, and life seemed to carry on as usual. However, more mutations started cropping up as time went on: people's skin changing color, body parts growing out of nowhere, and complete personality shifts. Yet life carried on. None of it seemed especially dangerous. Personality shifts were managed with therapy, and the more physical mutations didn't pose any health problems. There were still people who wanted to know what caused these 'alterations' to occur. Researchers spent years analyzing the mutated volunteers' DNA, skin, and blood samples, but nothing seemed out of place. If anything was causing this, it was impossible to detect with existing medicine. Fifteen years later, the Creatures began crawling out of the sea. And out of forests. And from deep within the soil. Repulsive and unsettling, their appearance injected fear into the population. The creature's strength and unnatural abilities didn't help the situation either. Their first kill was the beginning of the end. The attacks multiplied, and people raced to prepare themselves for the end times. Individuals abandoned their families to not be slowed down by them, crime rates increased pretty much overnight, and governments slowly began shutting down. However, the mutants were affected the worst of all – the mutations were making them slowly resemble the creatures. [hr] Ten years later, while on a search for supplies, you found yourself in a forest clearing. It's peaceful and silent- the kind of silence that you never got to experience- or perhaps experienced decades ago. You ventured deeper into the clearing and waited. You knew something was coming. You don't know what, but it seemed significant. You heard the leaves rustle, and one by one, more people entered the clearing. The civilization now: [hider=Cities] It isn't surprising that the civilization pretty much collapsed under the horrors of the so-called New World. However, smaller groups have persevered through the hardship and managed to form new lives for themselves. Big cities now relied on electricity to survive. The apocalypse gave them a reason to develop new technologies to ensure their survival. City dwellers have access to advanced technology and weaponry not found anywhere else. However, being surrounded by flashing lights and the humming machinery makes them less concerned about the horrors outside the city walls. The cities are a utopia that shelters their citizens. Yet, the willful ignorance might lead to oversights with dangerous consequences. [/hider] [hider=Smaller Groups] Smaller groups have the strength of community on their side. Everyone knows each other, and they have forged bonds that will be hard to break. While not as advanced as the city-dwellers, these factions have learned how to defend against and attack the creatures. They are also less reliant on technology, preferring to stick to the older ways by survival (and by that, they mean anything made before the New World). [/hider] [Hider=Nomads] Some groups prefer not to settle down, and instead, they wander the ruined world. These range from large groups of friends to lone wolves, who don't want anyone to rely on them. They can survive in harsh conditions and have learned to get by using whatever they find on their travels. [/hider] [hider=Mutants] It is uncommon but not impossible to find mutants settled down with the rest of the population. They can most commonly be found in small nomadic groups of fellow mutants or wandering the wastelands alone. Their deaths are often caused by being forced out of their homes by fearful non-mutants or their mutation spreading too far, effectively turning them into creatures. [/hider] [hr] That's the basic premise of this RP. The main focus will be on the characters and how they deal with survival, although some mystery and horror elements will be thrown in. The characters can be both mutants and non-mutants from any of the groups listed above.