Jinxer

☠ The Edge Of Extinction ☣

Henry Charlton

"It's always nice to have some company that's not looking to immediately eat and/or kill me." Henry said with a rueful smile, trying not to think of whatever bloodbath he had left behind in the library. Selfishly he found himself irritated that he would not be able to go back there for a few days; the infected tended to hang about successful hunting spots for a while before dispersing just in case more prey showed up. He was hoping he could find a book store to find some new reading material but after taking anything from one he felt like he was stealing, even though no one was exactly losing out if he took one or two tomes.

They walked in silence for a little bit, Henry occasionally pointing out a direction or signalling that they should be even more alert in certain areas. This part of the city was where he tended to return to most often and so he had come to notice certain patterns: where the hotspot areas were and bandit patrolling routes. A few weeks back one of the bandit groups had disappeared from here. Henry assumed the worst for them but one could never underestimate the actions of desperate looters and the lengths they'd go to in order to find new victims.

"So... Zoe, do you have any ideas where your brother might be hiding out? We've probably explored different parts of the city so I might have come across something useful. The same for Viktor, I suppose. There are so few of us Independents about now we might as well share what little knowledge we have." He could see the slight confusion on their faces at his term and he laughed sheepishly, realising suddenly it had been a long time since he had spoken to anyone beyond warning them not to try and rob or kill him. "Sorry, it's a little phrase I coined; just for those of us who haven't joined up to one of the bandit groups yet. Too much politics and struggling for control for me there."

☠ The Edge Of Extinction ☣

@GingerBoi123

Daaaaaamn that was quick!

☠ The Edge Of Extinction ☣

Henry Charlton

The three stood in a sort of triangle, eyeing each other with hands never far from weapons. Finally the other man, whom Henry had assumed could not speak English (largely as he had not unto this point), lowered his rifle and spoke to them in heavily accented, but nevertheless fluent, English. To help continue the diffusion of the stand-off, Henry sheathed his own sabre slowly and deliberately. These days it never paid to make quick movements; everyone was understandably quite jumpy when weapons were being waved about.

"Why don't we make up for it by making some introductions?" He asked, in response to the Russian man's question. Henry had found that, in stressful situations like these, his teacher-mannerisms helped diffuse difficult situations; calm and transparent always helped foster what little trust there was to spare.

"My name's Henry. Henry Charlton. I'm... I was a primary school teacher, from England. I've been looking for a trainee I had with me when, y'know, it all happened." He interrupted any comments about the potential success rate of such a venture. "I know, it's a long shot but there isn't much else to keep me going. I'm sure you guys have something similar, or else you wouldn't still be here. Or if you were, you'd be like them." He did not need to elaborate on to who/what he was referring to.

"In any case, I've got a little water, some fuel and a portable stove but not much else worthwhile. I was going to make a trip to the corner shop a bit further up there," he was pointing up the path behind the Russian, "and see if they have any dried meats or heatable meals left. The signs on it are pretty vague so most people leave it alone, I think."

☠ The Edge Of Extinction ☣

I'm posting now - I don't have any excuse, just an unbelievably derp moment: I genuinely thought I had already posted <.<

Sorry!

☠ The Edge Of Extinction ☣

I think I lost them.

Leaning against the wall, his muscles all screaming for him to rest, Henry gasped as he tried to force air into his exhausted lungs. There had been no signs he was being chased, by human or infected, but he had been in this city too long now to be careless. Few had survived the initial outbreak and the survivors had been whittled down in number by themselves and the infected. Those remaining were either cautious or ruthless and, of course, incredibly lucky.

Finally getting his breath back, the former teacher opened his small rucksack and took out his small canteen and a pack of cereal bars he'd plundered in the early days of the outbreak. Henry tried to travel as light as possible but there was no telling how long he might have to stay low in one place, the infected often hanging around before moving on and so preventing him from finding new resources. The first time that happened he had nearly starved to death and so had taken precautions for the future, just in case.

"Hello Army man!"

He was on his feet straight away, looking desperately for the source of the voice. English, with a British accent! He began to run towards the source before slowing for a moment, caution taking over. The voice didn't have a Welsh lilt to it so it can't have been hers. Now on higher alert, and suspicious, Henry drew his sabre and approached more cautiously. There was another voice now, speaking in a different language; sounded like Russian but he wasn't sure. His understanding of most languages beyond English was rudimentary at best; there hadn't been many people to converse with lately.

The owners of the two voices were mere feet away from him around a corner and he had to decide how to approach them. People understandably reacted badly if they realised someone was trying to hide from them while on the other hand walking out in plain sight would put himself at risk. Deciding on a half way approach, Henry drew his sabre and walked slowly around the corner into full view, making himself plainly visible but remaining at a safe distance.

"Nice to hear someone from back home for a change."

Happiness

Yeah, twenty days is quite a while for a GM to be out. Hopefully we can carry on when they get back though!

The Fantasy Isles

Great, they sensed me.

"Why hello there! My name is Julius, I was just looking for enchanting materials and didn't want to get caught up in... whatever this is."

He had come around from his hiding place and a little bit into the open, his satchel in easy reach but not in a threatening manner. Julius had little interest in getting involved in this fight, whether diffusing or igniting it, and would have rather just gone on his way.

"Like I said, I was looking for some natural materials and plants here for some enchanting experiments and I was told there'd be plenty around here. Although I've yet to come across them... I'm not well suited to this kind of searching..."

The Fantasy Isles

And suddenly a dragon appeared and began to burn the jungle down!

The Fantasy Isles

Voices from the undergrowth had Julius stopping in his tracks and reaching for his satchel, the collapsed scythe inside a comforting weight in the presence of potential danger. Despite himself, the apprentice snuck towards the source of the sounds as he wondered what on earth others might be doing in the jungle. He found it unlikely they would be there for a similar reason as he, the plants that grew here were not exactly rare for the most part and those that were had very few uses.

Soon the three came into sight for him and he ducked behind a tree trunk, watching the awkward meeting play out. All three looked fairly formidable so he was reluctant to get involved, just in case they ganged up on him for whatever reason. As he watched he realised that was unlikely, especially as they were a bit stand-offish with each other he assumed they were as much strangers to one another as he was.

Maybe I'll just stay back here for a bit and see what happens, I'm only here for some plants anyway.

☠ The Edge Of Extinction ☣

I was thinking Dawn of the Dead for the zombies (fast and smart and absolutely terrifying).