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[fury]

A plume of smoke dragged itself lazily across the sky above the gathering of houses. Mist hung heavily in the air, managing to damp down the stench of rotting garbage where it lay on the pavements awaiting refuse collection that never came.

Near a corner shop a man crouches feeding sausages to a mangy mutt and a woman is walking down the street, backpack on her back.

Edited by fury, 13 January 2008 - 03:20 PM.

[currymaniac]

Adam couldn't believe his eyes, had the smoke damaged them in some way? Another person in this god-forsaken place! He wasn't usually a people person, but the fact of not seeing anyone at all had made him value human company.

"Hey," he shouted to the woman with the backpack, "Hold up!" He jogged over to the woman, hoping that she wouldn't try and attack him or run away from him. "Finally, another person!"

Edited by currymaniac, 13 January 2008 - 03:26 PM.

[Early Bird]

Fully recovered now after her early brush with the virus, Janet had made good time on her drive to Leeds from Portsmouth although it frightened her seeing in reality the aftermath of the pandemic. Confronted with an impassable pile up on the outskirts of the city she had been forced to finally leave her car and walk past. With no emergency services left to attend, the vehicles involved had burned unchecked and the memory of the blackened dead faces appearing to look at her in silent appeal from their steel coffins which she had almost, but not quite failed to see still turned her stomach.

Having spent the night in a garden shed, Janet was attempting to make her way to the city center but with all that she had seen the day before too much on her mind and not having been to this city before she had become lost. The map she had was no help and she wandered aimlessly through a run down council estate trying to ignore the rank and pervasive odor of the rotting garbage mingled with something else that she would rather not think about. As she walked along the street she had a vague idea of checking the corner shop just ahead to see if there was anything edible and unspoiled left, dimly registering the figure of a man bent down and feeding sausages to a scrawny looking mongrel dog. The silence weighing heavily on her, the shout, when it came jarred her nerves. Giving a small scream, Janet jumped and tried to drag her disordered thoughts together. In her confusion, seeing the man running towards her, Janet's first impression was to run, but he looked fast and was probably a local whereas she didn't know the area at all. She took a nervous step back. He looked alright but how was she to tell and she remembered with rising panic that if he meant to hurt her not only were there no police any more, but no doctors or hospitals either. His approach didn't appear threatening however, and when he reached her she felt a friendly overture would be best for now. "H.. hello, who are you? Where did you come from?" she said, still a little nervous. "I haven't seen anyone else in ages. Not .. alive .. anyway. Look, please could you tell me how to get to the city center, please, I seem to have got a bit lost..." Janet trailed off and looked at the young man helplessly.

Edited by Early Bird, 14 January 2008 - 02:26 AM.

[currymaniac]

"I'm Adam, I live nearby," he pointed down the estate, "I've had quite an eventful - horrible day." At this he went quite for a moment, his eyes closing and his mind opening to that scene earlier in the day, the brief pop coming from that little chest, "I can't believe it, another person!"He thought of embracing this new person, but decided against it, he wasn't really the sort that would usually hug even his own mother, and along with this it might scare her off.

"I'm afraid I don't really know the city too well myself," Adam said sighing, "Do you have a map though? I might be able to help you if you did have one, um...., what did you say your name was again?"

[Cole Caecus]

A man in a leather riding jacket walks down the road, a german shepard keeping pace beside him. He carries a rifle on his back, and has a worn down, tired look about him. His eyes skip from shadow to shadow, as if seeing something that isnt there. he spots the people down the road, speaking to one another, and heads over, wary of any quick movements on there part.

[Early Bird]

"I didn't say" replied Janet curtly. She was still wary although the man had posed no immediate threat to her and had offered help. "But it's Janet" she continued. "I do have a map but unfortunately it's just a road map which is no help. Is there anywhere around here where I could get a street map? I really need to get to the center as soon as I can." Seeing his reaction on mentioning something that had happened, recently it would appear, Janet relaxed slightly. "I would think that anyone left alive after this would be having a pretty horrible day" *quietly aside* yesterday I... "But it looks like something's really got to you. What happened .. Adam, do you want to talk about it?"

As she said this last, Janet caught sight of another man coming up the street who on seeing them changed direction, coming towards them. Seeing the rifle Janet felt her fear begin to rise again, however, it was slung across his back not pointing at them so she watched cautiously as he approached. "Adam do you know him? Is he local as well?" she asked quietly.

[currymaniac]

"Nice to me you Janet," Adam said, "A street map you say? I'm not exactly sure, I doubt that that corner shop would have any." He then looked down, "No..I rather wouldn't."

He turned towards the newcomer, and said quietly back to Janet, "No, I do not know him." He walked forwards a step, his hand inclining to go towards his waste and the holster than hung there secretly, but he stopped his hand from moving that way, he wasn't sure how this newcomer would react to that slightest of actions.

"Ho there newcomer! Another survivor I see, this is good!"

Edited by currymaniac, 14 January 2008 - 04:32 PM.

[Early Bird]

Janet's gaze flicked warily between Adam and the stranger. There were two men now, one of them obviously armed and accompanied by a large and apparently well trained dog. She hadn't considered the possibility that Adam might be carrying a weapon of any kind, this was England for heaven's sake, but she certainly hadn't missed the sight of his hand inching towards his waist and she realised he must have something concealed there. Her own weapon was broken down and stored in her backpack. She didn't really know why she had brought it with her in the first place, only thinking that it might come in useful. "No use whatsoever right now" she thought. "By the time I get it out of the pack and assemble it they'll have had time to rape and kill me. I should've realised that someone living in a place like this would be sure to have a knife or a gun or something". Her own thoughts shocked her. That seemed such a horribly snobby attitude and she really wasn't like that. Why was she thinking like this? Adam had been friendly so far, there had been no threat from the stranger and she was essentially thankful to see living people, of any kind. However, as Adam hailed the man she instinctively edged behind him. "Hello" she said weakly.

[Cole Caecus]

The man walks up to the 2 slowly, keeping an eye out for any hostile movements. As he arrives to them, he stops about 15 feet from them.

"More people have survived the hell brought upon us by our government? My name is Jericho Altair, and you are?"

[currymaniac]

Adam turns his head to make sure that the dog he had managed to save - unlike his other attempts at saviour today - was still there. He then looked towards the newcomer, "Yes, we have managed to survive, I'm not sure how, perhaps we're immune?" Adam seemed to drift for a brief moment, perhaps contemplating the reason why they were still alive, perhaps it was for a greater purpose? Perhaps he just drifted because the smoke from earlier had made him a bit floozy-feeling. Regardless, he soon came back down to Earth.

"Jericho you said your name was. Unusual, especially round these parts, but I like it all the same. I'm Adam, and this is Janet, and that over there," he pointed to his dog, "Is a dog I've managed to find, I'm just hoping it doesn't die on me like my other finds today have...." He trailed off there, seeming to drift again, and this time not coming back without some form of stimulus.

[Early Bird]

"I'm pleased to meet you Jericho, but why do you say the government did this? The virus was a natural thing surely." "A conspiracy theorist" thought Janet. The kind of person who always seemed to choose her to sit next to on public transport. She found him a little intimidating, but reasoned that no one was likely to be presenting their best aspect in the current situation.

Janet turned as Adam spoke about dying. She thought it strange that he referred merely to 'finds'. Suddenly concerned as he seemed to drift into his own private world, she gave his shoulder a gentle shake. "Adam are you alright? What was it you found? Please talk to us you're scaring me".

[currymaniac]

Adam snapped out of his little daydream. "Nothing, nothing at all," he said swiftly, perhaps a little too swiftly, but what was done was done. "Anyways, it seems that Janet wants to make her way to the city centre," he said to Jericho, "I've only been here a short while," he said this even though his accent was clearly from the area, "So I'm still not too sure on directions, though I doubt that that matters much any more...."

[Early Bird]

Oh well, if he didn't want to talk there was no sense in pushing him. Janet was too relieved that Adam had snapped out of whatever kind of episode that had been to worry overmuch. Maybe he would tell them about it in his own time.

"Yes I do want to get to the center, at least I think that's where I should go" said Janet, suddenly uncertain. "I've come here to look for someone but all I know is the name of the company he was working for, I don't know where it is or where he was staying, I just think it was in the middle of the city somewhere". She thought about what Adam had said; it didn't add up. "You said you've only been here a short while, yet you just told me you live here and you certainly sound like you do. I should have thought you would know your way around your home town, although have you been away for a while? Traveling, or something?"

[fury]

In the pause there was silence and then both dogs started barking, teeth bared at someone or something outside the party. Adam heard the slithering noise once again and the air was filled with a putrescent smell. Then all settled to silence once more.

[currymaniac]

Adam moved towards his dog, put his arm around its middle and started to guide it towards the small possé he was now a member of.

"Perhaps we should move on?" Adam suggested, "I don't like the sound of that noise.....it unsettles me....."