Sol Grim

Kings & Killers: A Classic Fantasy Adventure (Chapter: 0) (COMPLETED)

@Spiritzer I changed it and made it cleaner looking. Let me know if I forgot anything.

Kings & Killers: A Classic Fantasy Adventure (Chapter: 0) (COMPLETED)

Sounds good ill change soon. The weapons and shit are meaningless to me so yea I just added a dream list haha. Technically I'd be starting with nothing, since I will start out a prisoner of some kind. I'm not too experienced in arena roleplay and as for the black powder items I have no problem discarding all that. My character is more developed with the non fighting areas I just didn't add all that cause it wasn't in the sheet. @ Spiritzer

Kings & Killers: A Classic Fantasy Adventure (Chapter: 0) (COMPLETED)

Name: Dalious Durendail
Age: 33
Height:5'11"
Weight:145 lbs.
Class: Rogue/thief/pirate
Race: Human
Weapons & Equipment:
*Cutlass; worn on left hip.
*Crossbow; worn on back.
-Quiver (12 bolts); hung low under right rear.
*Boarding axe; worn over back right shoulder.
*Throwing knives; attached to chest strap. (10)
*Lockpicks (3)
-Pouch with 200 silver, mystic healing potion(1), mystic blinding potion(1), flask, firestarter, waterskin; all attached to various pouches on bandolier belt.

Skills and Abilities:
Stealth. Usually works in the shadows. Has a quick slight of hand.

Navigation. Is never truly lost, but is lost all the time.

Endurance/Stamina/Agility. Spent years climbing and balancing from his ship, uses parkour over structures when in haste.

Fighter. Has been fighting his whole life, mainly wrestling and bare-knuckle boxing, with a mix of submissions and ground game in his arsenal. Has a mean left hook that has knocked out many small time crooks and bandits.

Magic. Not the kind everyone else has, he knows magic with a deck of cards and other small tricks.

Strengths: Sailing, thieving/pickpocketing, smuggling, sneaking, running/hiding, dirty close combat (cheating if necessary), haggling...

Flaws: Ranged combat, magic, honorable close combat(fair duel), woman, whiskey, gold.

Personality: Narcissistic, egotistical, smooth, funny, can be charming around the brothel, arrogant and hot headed.

Bio: Dalious is from the Knight Isles. His father was a gambling man and his mother was a whore. They were assassinated when he was real young, for business his father should have never gotten involved with. From there he grew up stealing and hiding, always coming back home to sell what he had taken. He had joined many different bandit groups throughout his early life, though the life of a pirate was never long so he adjusted as necessary to stay alive.

Many fights and deaths later, he found himself becoming captain to his own bunch of maniacs. They spent years looting and robbing up and down the many coasts and seas of the world. It was how he thought things would be forever, as he etched his legacy with everywhere they went. He was becoming famous and feared. However the more notorious Dalious became, the higher the bounty for his capture. So high in fact, his own crew sold him out.

oh yea as for brief outlining concept: Loner pirate looking to reclaim his former glory.

Kings & Killers: A Classic Fantasy Adventure (Chapter: 0) (COMPLETED)

I'm interested in joining as a pirate/thief type human if you're still accepting? If so ill post character sheet prob tomorrow after I get caught up.

Question...can black powder exist in this world maybe as something of new invent? Just wondering if I can have mini bombs or not lol

The Dead and the Dying

"Yeah man, we have to watch each others back!" Johnny said from the passenger seat of the vehicle. "Just keep going."

As Johnny and Aeres were amongst the first to leave the area, there was a dispute amongst the remaining hunters on whether to stay or go. One man claimed they had enough ammo to wipe them all out, while others were saying how this place could hold out on an attack. Many stayed, while a few remained hesitate. Cody Sandusky was one of those few, a red neck southerner wearing a white tank top and a trucker hat.

"Fuck it lets wipe these fuckers out!" Cody yelled, he was in the back of the group and watched as Wes drove away on his motorcycle. Second thoughts rang through his mind, so he stayed at the back.

When the horde came around the Parson's house, they came fast and aggressively. The first few were shot down but the hunters didn't expect them to be moving so quickly and all together. One by one they were taken down and devoured by the dead, as Cody dropped his rifle to run as fast as he could. He managed to jump into the back of a pickup truck with a few other hunters and they drove off. "Drive!! Fucking drive!!"

"Pull over here," Johnny told Aeres. They were on the long highway, no vehicles or sign of life anywhere to be seen for miles. The horde back at the Parson's was still heading for them, but they were far enough away.

Johnny got out the vehicle and lit up a cigarette while they waited for the others. The first to come was the RV, it held two families within. The Miltons, a southern family of four, Mark and Bobby Milton and their two teenage boys Adam and Drew. The other family was Tavien and Iris Grimes, a young attractive couple that were locals here and went to school with the rest. They had an infant baby boy with them they named Bruce.

After the RV came the van with various hunters and a few concert goers. After that Johnny saw Wes heading toward them alone. The last to come was a pickup truck, Cody in the back and another two hunters inside. They all piled out and gathered around, noting who made it and who was left behind.

"They thought they could fend them off," Cody spoke. "They didn't stand a chance!"

"Did you see Sarah?" Johnny asked Wes, he hadn't noticed her during the attack. He remembered they all scattered, he had no idea what happened to her.

"There's got to be something, anything out there!" Cody continued.

"There's a church, about 18 miles out, it's the nearest thing to a goodnight's rest," Mark spoke up, he had his arm over his wife Bobby's shoulder while his two young boys hid behind their parents. "It's run by Pastor Leroy Book, if it's still standing he'll help us out. It's got a few townhouses with beds, also has a brick wall surrounding it could be useful. We go every other Sunday."

As the sky drew darker a single bright light shone out in the darkness. It was a cross with jesus on it, a lighted sign that could be seen for miles in all directions. Dallen kept his foot on the brake as he looked at it. There was a small village of houses in the valley before them, all vacant of life and completely dark, save for the church sign.

"This is where I need your help," Dallen told the newcomer. It was the first thing spoken almost the entire ride. Dallen could feel the tension that this lady was in it for herself, but he was in it for himself as well. The little girl who just had her father massacred in front of her was the problem. The conscious within him told him he had to make sure she was safe before he could leave her.

As they pulled into the lot under the flickering church sign, they could see the large two storied structure of the church itself. There were a few town houses next to it with the lights on inside their windows, to the other side of the church was a crop plane parked on a long dirt landing area. All around the houses were crops and farming lands, wheat fields and a watering tank. The land was flat with the mountains towering over it from behind, and after awhile the land dropped and curved towards the city.

"Keep her safe," was all Dallen said as he exited the jeep, making his way toward the church with his gun drawn. He didn't know what to expect.

Suddenly lights shined on them before Dallen could get away from the jeep. A few spotlights aimed at them, shadows lurking behind them.

"Drop the mother fucking gun!" shouted a demanding, deep voice.

Dallen nodded and placed his weapon on the ground. When he looked back up he saw a man with an afro, wearing a pastor outfit. The man briefly aimed a shotgun at him, then lowered it as a group of stangers emerged from behind the lights.

"Just had to make sure you didn't accidentally shoot at us before we could speak," the pastor said and changed his angered expression to a smile. "You followed the light, you found sanctuary. Please, follow me."

Dallen looked back at Elizabeth and shrugged, then followed him toward the church. "We are in the business of helping," the man continued. "Sorry, I'm Pastor Leroy Book, this is my church. Everyone is welcome here."

"Dallen, the little girl's Erin, and she's..." he just realized they hadn't told each other their names yet.

"Well we have food and shelter to last a few months, just had a food drive just before everything went to shit," Leroy added. "It's only been days and the city's been wiped out, last we heard it stretches from coast to coast. Might take years to fix, but we're willing to wait it out here. You and your company are more than welcome, so long as you help out. There's a lot of work to be done, end of the world and all. In the morning though, you can rest up in the house there. Showers work but be curtious, we got a few families in here."

Dallen simply nodded, then turned toward Erin. This might be the best place for her, he figured. The little girl looked away from him, so he turned back to the pastor. "Thank you."

The Dead and the Dying

Johnny grabbed a kitchen knife from inside the house while the chaos continued. He paused in disbelief as he saw through the kitchen windows into the back fields. Coming down the large grassy hill were hundreds of the dead, those that came out here to attend the rockshow. They were all parked and camping in the rv lots, close enough to hear the gunfire which swayed them in this direction. Squinting to see them, he noticed a few of them were even wearing his band shirts.

"Oh, no, no, no, no..." Johnny rushed back out front, where the rest of the hunters were lined up and taking shots at the incoming undead. Johnny joined in next to Wes and together they took down the rest around the BMW. While Wes batted them down, Johnny stuck a few in their temples using distance and accuracy. They went down much easier than the previous ones he had encountered. He realized they were like wild animals, and so long as you knew how to put them down it came easy. Just as long as there isn't a massive horde of them, which would be on them in any minute.

"We have another problem," "Johnny shouted for all to hear, once the surrounding dead were down and the gunfire ceased. "Hundreds are coming down the hill, they're coming from the RV park. They'll be here in fifteen minutes. I think we should go, there are hundreds of them and they're moving fast. Before Ethan left he told me the outpost was taken down by the dead, it's everywhere. The city is on fire and there is no help coming. We are on our own."

Johnny quickly picked up a bolt action rifle and slung it over his shoulder, then jumped into Aeres passenger side seat of his vehicle. Rolling down the window, he yelled "Meet up on the highway!"

Moments later and Ethan was sweating all over, the fever was starting to show its symptoms and he had no idea how long he had. Looking at the bite wound one last time, he knew what he had to do in order to protect his little girl. He could see Dallen from on top of the gas station store, off in the distance. The man was shining a flashlight into a small mirror, showing them where he was.

The windows of the vehicle they were in were tinted, and after a long while of not seeing or smelling them, the undead started to scatter once again. They formed an uneasy circle around the truck blaring rock music loudly. While they were distracted, he gave an affirmed nod to his daughter. Grabbing a large blanket from the backseat, he covered Erin up in it so that she wouldn't get bitten and they exited.

Ethan guided her down the road, taking it step by step as they went along. It was working, until the music cut out entirely and the dead started to turn away. They were well hidden behind the vehicles though, and they still continued on toward the gas station.

"Whatever happens to me, I want you to keep running to that gas station, understand?" he told her while they were staying still for the moment. He knew it wouldn't be long before he turned into one of them, so they had to do this now.

"No, I can't."

"You have to. Now, come on!"Ethan pulled her with him. They were crossing through the cars perfectly, just twenty or so yards away from the gas station when more gunshots rang out into the air. This turned the walkers immediately and they spotted Ethan and his daughter, who ran as soon as they were spotted. The blanket fell away, and the dead were chasing after the father and daughter all at once. Ethan fired the rest of his rounds into the incoming horde, taking down those nearest them, but there were far too many.

The walkers cut them off, coming in at angles and with awkward movements. Erin was grabbed, but Ethan shoved the infected away and pushed his daughter foward to the building. "I will always love you."

Ethan tackled the infected before they could reach her again, and so she ran. She ran as her father was overtaken, the horde covering over him entirely from sight. Erin ran screaming in tears as Ethan was being torn apart, she ran dirctely into Dallen's arms.

Dallen was watching them from atop the gas station, using binoculars from the store to pinpoint their exact location. When he found them, he used a flashlight and a mirror to send them signals of where he was, though he wasn't sure if they could see it.

On the other end of the highway he saw a red-headed woman. She was scavenging through the slew of vehicles. She seemed to be the only survivor left from this place, whatever happened here. He opened up a pack of marlboro red's and lit up a cigarette in thought. He had done his part in his mind, helping Ethan get to his daughter by distracting the undead with noise. He felt his conscience was clean now, and having seen them trapped he didn't think there was a way out, especially when the music stopped. He decided to leave them, but just before he could act on it the gunfire rang out and he began looking through the binoculars again.

Ethan had his daughter and they were on the move heading toward him. Ignoring the red headed woman and whatever her intentions were, he decided to help if he could but he wouldn't hesitate to jump into the jeep and leave in a moment's notice. Reaching ground floor, he ran out to witness Ethan going down. There were no words said, but when she ran up to him he just grabbed her and took her into the jeep. Then the former lawyer drove off and down the highway toward the red head.

They were a safe enough distance away from the horde when he spotted the woman walking away from them, still no words coming from the girl's mouth or his own. They were both in shock, but he still knew the woman had the better chance at keeping the kid alive so he honked and quickly pulled up to her.

"M'am, excuse me! M'am!"he said through the passenger open window. Erin sat motionless, her eyes wide and her face covered in blood. "I have this...girl here." He didn't really know what to say or do, he was never good with kids. "Her father just...can I give you a ride?" Looking back, the horde was inching closer to them. "Please, I need your help."

The Dead and the Dying

Johnny wanted to speak with Sarah, but before he could she immediately hauled him along with her following Wes. Without refusal he went, and when he saw the guy from the BMW standing on the porch it made him realize he, too, needed a shower and some new clothes.

"Come on, there's a creek nearby we can use," Johnny told the guy. "You never told me your name by the way." He paused the conversation when they reached their destination, he too noticed something was wrong as the door was open and the walkers within came pouring out. Not having any weapon on him, Johnny grabbed Wes by the shirt collar and yanked him back enough to not get toppled over. "Run!"

"Get back!!" one of the hunters yelled, the man ran in and aimed his gun. The weapon clicked, but nothing happened as it was jammed. The closest walker pounced on the hunter and sunk its teeth into his neck. Johnny fell off toward the side of the structure and then ran off back toward the house to fetch a knife.

Dallen found a working truck, however it was encompassed with vehicles. He opened the doors and cranked up the speakers as loud as they would go, then began playing the music that was in the CD player. Metallica-Enter Sandman. The music blared loudly and the horde in the area took notice, all of them slowly moving toward the sounds and vibration of the truck.

When he realized it was working, Dallen began backing far off. The sounds coming from the dead was loud enough to still be heard over the music. There was a single corner store out here, seemingly empty of the dead. Dallen ran to it and checked the vehicles parked outside of it, there was a jeep that still ran. The owner was half eaten and mutilated inside the back seat, but Dallen ignored that as best he could as he prepared the jeep for travel.

The walkers were surrounding the truck playing the music outside, some of them branching away when they noticed there was no flesh to eat. They were heading in his direction, but he had plenty of time. Dallen started looting the store, taking as much whiskey and cigarette cartons as he could find and fit into a small bag.

When the music started, the surrounding walkers left the area and Ethan was able to reach the dumpster. Just before he opened it, he saw his wife walking away from him. She was dead, one of the infected. He paused and took a deep breath, then opened the dumpster and there she was.

Erin flinched as the door lifted, but when she saw her father she jumped and hugged him with eyes filled with tears. "You came!"

"I told you I would," he said and smiled. "We have to go now, follow me and be silent."

She simply nodded and they were off, moving from vehicle to vehicle as stealthily as they could. The way behind them was already filled with new walkers that had come from the trees, so they kept pressing forward at an angle. They were making their way to the gas station at the end, going parallel with the truck playing music.

Erin dropped her radio phone, it was a slight noise yet just enough for the herd around them to turn toward them. "Daddy!?" she said as two walkers came charging her from the side.

Ethan pulled his gun and fired, taking them both out immediately, but now they were spotted by the rest. Ethan grabbed his daughter's hand and pulled her forward, but one of the walkers got him and took a deep bite into his arm. Ethan screamed, pushing the walker away. He grabbed Erin and pulled her into a nearby cab. The walkers banged against the glass but they couldn't get in at the moment. They were trapped.

The Dead and the Dying

"Daddy?"

Ethan opened his eyes from rest. He had fallen asleep in the front seat of his police vehicle, Dallen was sound asleep in the back.

"Daddy, are you there?"

At first the sheriff thought it was part of the dream he had just forgotten, but when he heard the voice again he noticed it was coming from his sattellite phone lying next to him. The last he heard from his family was that they were at the military refugee camp, safe. He told them to use the phone if anything happened.

"I'm here sweety," Ethan replied into the phone, the static was starting to pick up. He was half awake but the severity of what was happening in the world quickly sunk in. Dallen woke up but stayed motionless.

"Daddy I'm scared! They're everywhere!!"

His heart sunk as a million things started piling through his mind. "What's happened sweety? Are you hurt? Where's your mom?? Erin? ERIN!?"

"I'm hiding,"she said after awhile. "They can't find me. Not yet."

"Stay put honey, I'm coming now," he had already started the car and began moving down the gravel path. He rolled down his window to quickly tell Johnny Blackburn that the military camp was being attacked.

Johnny Woke up at first light. He just layed there for awhile, watching the darkness around them lifted off and away from the earth. He thought about everything that happened last night, the image of his bandmates coming after him reanimated still gave him a chill up his spine.

He got up to see that some of the hunters were still on watch, while people rested in their cars or in tents. Dew covered the orchard and the field, and it was slightly cold. After taking a piss on a nearby tree, Johnny decided to make a small camp fire to stay warm.

While he was gathering wood, the police car suddenly fired up and Ethan was making his exit before anyone else was ready. "We're leaving now?" he asked.

"The outpost is under attack, keep everyone here and calm," he said. "My family is there. I'll return if I can."

"Goodluck," Johnny said with a nod. "Thanks for everything. I hope you find them."

The vehicle sped off after that, leaving Johnny covered in an unintentional cloud of exhaust. The rockstar covered his mouth and walked back to the Parsons, his head hung low. If the military was gone from Fort Benning, they really would all be on their own. Who knew how long they'd be able to stay at this orchard until things turned south. He didn't want to fall victim to it, so he decided to greet with the Parsons so that they would keep him around. At least long enough until he figured out what to do with himself.

Johnny knocked lightly on the Parson's door, opening it and letting himself in. The Parson's loved him, they were dear friends to his parents. When he saw them though, he felt like just another person here. Smiles were exchanged, but before they were able to speak Johnny let everyone in the room know the situation. He told them about the outpost being under attack from the undead, and of how all these people on their land weren't planning to go anywhere else.

Ethan drove down the highway as if he were in a police chase. It wasn't until Dallen sat up that he remembered he was back there, seeing him in the rearview mirror. They were already too far ahead for him to stop.

"Have you forgotten about me?" Dallen asked, fixing the tie to his suit.

Ethan ignored him and tried to reach his daughter on the radio again, but all he was recieving now was silence. After a few more attempts, he looked at Dallen in the rearview. "I'll drop you off somewhere on the way," he finally told him. "I've got bigger problems than to babysit a murderer."

"I heard," Dallen said. There was a long silence again. "I'm a lawyer. Was, I guess. I was good. Real good. There was this other lawyer, I beat him in court on a number of occasions. Embarrassed him, ruined his life and career according to him."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ethan cut in. "You're not on trial, I said I'll let you go. It's your lucky day, while everyone else's worst nightmare. I just want my family back."

"Then the guy disapeared," Dallen continued as if the sheriff had never spoken. "Ten years later, he's after revenge. He stalked my wife and I, took pictures. He studied us. Eventually...." He paused again, frustration being held back from his face. "He murdered my wife, then killed himself. He wanted to ruin my life like I ruined his, and he did. I wasn't running from the law, I was heading back to my old office to find what I could on the guy to prove my innocence. Then I got caught and brought to your little shithole of a town until they transported me back."

"Again, why are you telling me this?"

"I want you to know that I'm not a murderer, I will help you find your daughter and your wife," Dallen replied.

"Thanks," Ethan gave him the benefit of the doubt. "We're forty-five minutes away."

Forty minutes later they came up to a traffic jam, heading toward the camp. There were too many cars in the way, all seemingly empty and quiet. It appeared as if everyone ditched their rides, maybe walking to the outpost from there. It was what they had to do.

"We head through the trees, it's faster and quiet," Ethan told the suited man. Ethan handed Dallen over a handgun, staring him direct in his eyes when he did. "My family is on the line. If you betray me or they get hurt from your doing in any way, I'll kill you. Or I'll die and come back to kill you."

"Lead the way."

The sattellite phone crackled back to life as they headed out. "Daddy? Hurry!!? I think they heard me!"[/color]

"Hang in there, sweety!" he replied, then started running. "I'm close!"

Dallen huffed and sighed, he was a smoker and didn't like the fast approach. He moved quicker, but Ethan gained a speed advantage as they pressed through the wilderness.

When they came out from the outher side, they were exhausted and took a few moments to catch their breath. Over the next hill was the military outpost called Fort Benning, the city was on fire in the skyline distance. The closer they got the more undead there appeared to be. Hundreds of them it seemed, both inside and outside the base. It was completely overrun by the dead.

Ethan scouted the area with the sight on his bolt action rifle. He zoomed in and saw that there was little hope for any life, but he knew his daughter was somewhere in there hiding. He waited for her to use the phone once more.

From their vantage point, they were atop the highest hill overlooking the valley leading into the city. They could see in all directions for many miles. The undead surrounded the fort but they were scarcely separated around the highway, parallel to it.

"Where are you baby?" Ethan called into the phone. "Come on, where are you?"

Silence.

"Going in there is suicide, you know that right?" Dallen asked.

"She's alive and in there somewhere, I have to go," he replied and started moving forward, set on his decision.

"Wait, we need a plan. We can't just..." Dallen started, Ethan had already moved further downhill. He wasn't turning back again. "Meet back at the highway!!" If they were chased, they would be able to at least hide under the vacant vehicles for protection.

Dallen changed direction from following the sheriff to heading to the traffic jam. He figured he might be able to find a new, working ride out of here. More importantly he needed to make noise, the infected seemed to be drawn to it. He snuck his way down the hill slope until he was close enough to start moving from vehicle to vehicle. Ethan used stealth all the same to get close to the compound, though he was clear on the other end.

"Daddy! I'm in the dumpster!" Erin shouted into the satellite phone, then it immediately went to static again.

Ethan scoped the area one last time before he spotted a few dumpsters, just inside the outpost secluded from the rest. There were still far too many to go running in, so he moved quietly and quickly from cover to cover. The closer he got, the harder it bcame to pass. He slid under a pickup truck while the walkers passed around him. Shutting off his phone, he waited for the right time to move.

The Dead and the Dying

Johnny couldn't help but to tap the dash of the bmw as they followed the police car into the Parson's land. He did it without realization, as he watched all of the people making camps in the field. About half were leaving as they arrived, and after everything Johnny had just witnessed he couldn't blame them. When the driver asked him if it was safe here, he didn't want to bullshit the kid.

"It's not safe," he said bluntly. "There's enough guns here to protect us for the night at least." He noticed many of the local hunters were here, all of them knew these lands very well. "Come on, I might be able to get us in the house. Everyone knows me here." The thought of even sleeping on the house floor was comforting at this point.

As he walked out through the field toward the house, he could see and hear that they were boarding it all up. Making it only halfway, his attention drifted as Ethan and some of the hunters formed a barricade with vehicles around the property. Everyone was helping out in one way or another, with a few of the undead coming out from the tall grass in the distance.

They would spend the entire night out on watch, many in lawn chairs and holding beer and rifles. Every time one of the undead came out from the shrubs and trees, someone would call it out and a marksman would take the shot. Babies were crying in tents and a radio was broadcasting from atop a truck.

"Report unusual behavior. Barricade your homes. Avoid all contact with infected individuals. Wait for official instruction." The message went on longer but repeated, as it seemed live streaming was not possible anymore. The power grid in the city went out and FEMA broadcasted a loop.

Ethan tried to reach his wife again with no luck. All he got now was static and it worried him, though he still had a lot to deal with here. A fight nearly broke out as a man with a bite was revealed by another holding a shotgun to his face.
The sheriff managed to cool down the confrontation, but the bitten man was forced to leave the property immediately, so was anyone else that had been infected. Already these people were becoming aggressive, though the wounded left without much resistance.

"We're all tired and aggrevated, I know," Ethan spoke to everyone that was gathered around him. "Get some sleep, we've set up shifts for everyone. In the morning, we can discuss our options. I think we should all gather together and head to Fort Benning, it's the nearest military outpost. I've lost contact with them, but last I heard they were evacuating citizens by helicopter. As far as I know that's still the case. Rest up, we head out early in the morning."

There was a firepit made in the field, a circle of people surrounding it. Food was being served out, though many weren't hungry. Johnny saw Sarah from within the windows of the house, but instead of going to speak with her, he just stayed by the fire. They were safe for now, so he rested his head on the soft grass and drifted to sleep from his weariness.

Ethan released Dallen's handcuffs from him, though still kept him locked in the backseat of the cop car. There were too many things going on for him to have to babysit the man. Joining the Parsons in their home, Ethan explained to them the situation and how these people wouldn't be here for long. Though even as he spoke to them, he felt unsure of what he was saying.

_____

Aeres felt as if he should’ve expected his passenger’s response. Perhaps asking whether or not they were safe was only a stab into an already open wound—he knew nothing was right in the least and it felt stupid to believe they would be safe anywhere, in a barricade or in a house or in a car. He didn’t respond to Johnny, though the lack of words wasn’t personal—he was internalizing his concern for the time being, believing it would help him push through until everything went back to normal. For now, he was choosing to think that things would go back to normal rather than the all-too-possible theory lingering in the back of his mind that it wouldn’t.

Choosing to trust Johnny, Aeres locked up and left his BMW, stuffing the keys into his pocket, keeping his hand there as he followed him out onto the grass and up to the house. He barely made it a few minutes before he was instructed again to move his car to help the barricade, to which he agreed and did, moving it along the edge next to others to help create a barrier. Although there was a call to round up all arms, he chose not to say anything about the gun in his car—he wanted it to himself just in case something went wrong. He knew no one around him, he’d never seen a single one of their faces before, save for Johnny, who looked familiar because of his career, and he wasn’t about to give away his belongings to strangers from a tiny, poor-looking small town. His parents had taught him that people like them often hated his kind and tried to take advantage of them at any opportunity.

Fueled by adrenaline, he found himself wide awake though dazed during the conflicts that broke out over a bitten man discovered among them but chose to distance himself. Through listening and watching, he began to piece together what was going on—some disease, he gathered, was infecting and spreading rapidly, causing its victims to become bloodthirsty and insane. It explained Soren, who popped into his head every few minutes regardless of how much effort he put into thinking of anything else. A bite must’ve been what he thought the hospital could address after the party; it seemed he had been wrong.

By the time he found Johnny again, the man had not found a way into the house as he’d said he would—he was passed out in the grass, a pathetic and disgusting site by the young man’s standards. Grimacing and groaning, he stepped back from the sight, thinking of how many bugs would crawl on Johnny as he slept where he was, and retreated back to the comfort of his BMW. He crawled into the front seat, reclined it, and from pure exhaustion, eventually fell asleep there.

The Dead and the Dying

"It's not safe out here," Johnny told the sisters in the car. "Come with me and...Sarah?" Johnny turned around and saw that she was gone. Looking in the direction of the Parsons' house, he could see someone running off away from him. "Sarah! Sarah wait for..."

The undead from the party burst out from the tall wheats in the field, coming out in droves. They were moving together in one big group, heading directly toward Johnny. "Let me in!" he shouted to the girls, grabbing the backseat door and attempting to enter. It was locked and the undead weren't slowing down.

Johnny ran backwards but tripped over his own feet, his body nearly in shock from the terror he was feeling. He busted his head against the pavement and almost knocked himself out, but he was still aware. He began to crawl as they came right up on him. He saw his bandmates coming for him, they were dead but he could still make them out. Eyes wide, he completely froze in place as the horde moved in.

Suddenly a police siren sounded out nearby, the colors of red and blue filled the area. The cop car crashed into the nearest of the undead, flattening the corpses to the pavement as it gave Johnny time enough to move again. Pulling to a stop, the young sheriff came out and raised his weapon.

"You need me!" Dallen yelled at him, still handcuffed in the backseat. "I can help! Give me a gun!" He motioned his head toward the shotgun that was placed in the front seat. Ethan seemed to oblidge as he reached in and took the weapon, but instead turned and handed it to Johnny.

"Aim for the head!" Ethan instructed.

Without hesitation the two of them began firing, blowing off heads and splattering brains all over the road. Body after body fell, the two of them taking turns to reload with ammunition from inside the vehicle. The walkers were slow, each of them an easy target. They could hear more coming from the distance, but the horde around them was down, all of their bodies lying in one big pile of flesh and blood.

"We're heading to the Parsons," Johnny told the sheriff, who nodded. "Their car is down." He pointed to the sisters who were still in their vehicle.
"Can we all ride with you?"

"There's a convict in the back..." Ethan told him, as he paused to think. The sounds of the undead still wandering through the field was becoming louder.

"Great."

There was another vehicle coming down the road, a blue BMW, which would have plenty of space for everyone and Ethan could follow them in the police car. It wasn't in his right to do such a thing, but chaos was spreading fast and things were starting to change drastically. The city was on fire.

Ethan held out his badge and stood in the middle of the road as the BMW approached, the undead pile of bodies made it difficult if the driver wanted to speed through. Ethan walked up to the driver side and noticed the blood on the vehicle, but only on this day would he let such a thing pass.

"Sheriff Ethan Hall, we need to use your vehicle, sir," he told the driver, keeping his hand close to his holstered firearm. "I need you to follow my police cruiser to a resident house not far from here. It's an emergency. You're not going to find anything heading the way you're going except the longest line of traffic jams the world has ever seen. I'll see about compensating you when it's all over." He walked by the sisters car and told them to get into the SUV with Johnny, then slowly led the way toward the Parsons orchard.

Johnny entered the front seat, still covered in other people's blood and some vomit. They waited for the sisters and then followed the cop. "Hi, thanks," Johnny said to the driver. There were more undead slowly coming out from the field, few and far between now. "I'm Johnny," he said and then extended his hand to shake, but when he saw the blood all over his fingers he pulled it back.

Not much longer and they would drive up on the Parsons lot. The fields here were filled with people that were alive, seemingly camping in their vehicles for the night. Ethan drove up to the front and got out, he was immediately bombarded by people with questions and concerns of which he had no answers to. All he wanted to do was get back to his family.