Overrun | IC Thread

[Mousia]

In retrospect, I guess I was prepared when the world ended. Well, the world as we knew it...

 

Introduction

 

I used to skip school sometimes. I mean, there was no harm in it. But sometimes, I'd be excited for school. On the day the world ended, I wanted to get to school because there was supposed to be a party in English. It was advertised to have a movie and snacks and dimmed lights. Everyone was pumped. Needless to say, that party never happened.

When I saw Them, I was confused and scared, but part of me knew exactly what to do. Everyone was perfectly fine, naive. It was the calm before the storm, because I was the first person to see it arise and spread around our school. I'd seen it in movies, but never let the thought cross my mind that it could happen in real life. Nevertheless, I knew that weapons were in order. So I grabbed a broom that the janitor had abandoned and broke off the hairy part so it was just the broomstick. It had a sharp end, too. I had, for all intents and purposes, a spear. The only thing left to do was escape, which would prove to be easier said than done...

 

Setting

 

The City of Deepridge

 

It's present day in a suburb near L.A. It's a safe neighborhood with little crime and beautiful homes. The real estate market is shifted towards the seller, but people are snapping up houses quickly anyhow. The area is mostly taken up by families with children that go to Oceanside Private School, which is a private school for children in kindergarten to the twelfth grade with a superb preschool program. They even have scholarships!

 

Oceanside Private School - General

 

Oceanside Private School (OPS) is very large and takes up a pretty good chunk of the city - Deepridge. The facilities are clean, orderly, and organized by grade and class. They do have school uniforms, which look like this (only number one).

 

Disclaimer: I do not own the art shown above. All rights go to the artist.

 

Oceanside Private School - Layout

 

The basement of the building is dedicated to the acclaimed preschool program. Most students don't go there. Nevertheless, the area is decorated with bright colors and playthings. It's full of furniture with rounded corners and little tables for the children. In addition, it's full of toys and other children's things. It's always clean and organized when the children aren't playing. This area has two single-person bathrooms and a kitchen.

The first and second floors are for children in what would be the equivalent to elementary school (kindergarten through fifth grade). The north and west wings of the first floor are dedicated to kindergartners. The south wing is overrun by first graders. The east wing is the universal staff area, where the staff lounge, kitchen, and meeting rooms are, as well as the main office. The second floor has one wing dedicated to each of the remaining grades.

From then on up, each floor is dedicated to one grade and each wing is dedicated to once class. Classes are determined by age level and skill level. For example, someone in the ninth grade who is a B-grade student would be in class 9B, whereas another student who is in the eleventh grade and is an A-grade student would be in class 11A. Each letter (skill level) is associated with a wing. A always takes up the north wing, B takes up the east wing, C takes up the south wing, and D gets the west wing.

 

Plot

 

It was just a normal day at school. Classes were going on and everyone was sitting in front of a teacher, taking notes, sleeping, talking, or whatever else. A few students were probably not in school, but a lot of classes were coming to a close because it was near the end of the year, so missing out on them wasn't necessarily a good thing, especially with finals coming up. And then They came. There was no other good name for them but that.

At first, no one really noticed. But when the bell rang for students to proceed onto their next classes, a few students lingered. And one noticed Them. Ugly things, alright, but they didn't seem to be a threat. Until one ate someone. It looked like a kid running really late to school, so he was running. And then...it ate him. Nothing was left but the lingering sound of him screaming. Screaming...

And then a pencil dropped, a clock ticked. All was silent except for that. And after that...? Chaos. It appeared that They had already gotten inside the main building. Everyone was running and screaming. But a select few were smart. They formed an alliance with one another to survive. It's up to them how they escape and where they go after that, but one goal is certain, and that's staying alive.

 

Them

 

The creatures simply known as "Them" are ugly. Yep. They're ugly and They smell gross. They are an odd color, from a sick shade of red (like dried blood) to a dark, disgusting brown. They are short, only standing about one and a half feet tall. These creatures resemble a Tasmanian devil crossed with a wolverine, but seem to be covered in disgusting little boils. They can dislocate their jaws (like snakes) to eat large things without a problem. It appears that their claws and teeth are poisonous to humans, because they cause seizures and hives (and death, eventually) if not treated immediately. The only known way to prevent death by Their bite (or scratch) is to amputate the part that was bitten or scratched within about ten minutes. They seem to reproduce (strangely) by budding, because a boil will fall off and slowly grow into one of Them once the parent has eaten a human. No one really understands how, why, or when these creatures came to be, but the main priority is to get away.

 

Rules

 

Obey Forum and Section Rules

This pretty much goes without saying, but people who are seen breaking the rules will be warned (by myself or another mod). If you need to include OCC in your posts, use brackets (single parentheses, double parentheses, and brackets are all acceptable). By the same token, if you see someone breaking the rules, just report it. Leave it alone after that. Someone will take care of it. I promise.

 

No Mary Sues or Gary Stues

Perfect characters are boring and are likely not to be accepted. If your form includes weaknesses but you don't follow through on them, people won't want to RP with your character and I may have to have a chat with you, because stories don't really move along with one character being flawless. This rule also goes for god-modding and powerplaying. It's no fun with one character constantly stealing the spotlight.

 

Be Active, Please

This goes for checking in on the RP and keeping all your characters up-to-date. I'm not going to set a character cap as far as amount goes, but it's your responsibility to RP all of them kind of equally. If you want a character deleted, just let me know. It's not a big deal. Also, if you want one of your characters' forms updated, let me know. I'm not going to judge you (no one is).

 

Use Proper Grammar

A missing comma here and there isn't a big deal. A typo is natural. But everyone should be able to read and understand your post. Capitalization should be solid (again, save for typos) and punctuation should be good as well, though you shouldn't feel as if missing a semicolon or comma will be a big deal. It's fine. We don't judge here.

 

Please Be Detailed

If you're running late for an appointment or have very little time for a post, you may just use the section's rule of four sentences (minimum). However, in normal circumstances, your posts should be at least nine sentences long. They should include description and details so we all know what you're talking about. Again, the world won't explode if you've got limited time for a post or two, but this rule should generally be followed.

 

File Character Sheets Correctly

I ask that all character sheets either be PMed to me or posted in the OCC thread. Any character sheets posted here will be ignored by me. If you quote your character sheet and continue to bump it and disrupt the IC thread with it, the posts will be considered spam. If you make a genuine mistake, your post will not be considered spam. Please remember that I am reasonable and am always willing to talk with you via PM about mistakes concerning this. I just want to keep this thread clean.

 

Character Sheet

 

Username: (Your username goes here.)

Character Name: (Please include last names.)

Age: (You should also include perceived age.)

Class: (Re-read the above if you're confused.)

Sex: (The person's sex goes here.)

Appearance: (You may include a picture, but a written description is also required.)

Personality: (What does this person act like?)

History: (This doesn't need to be super detailed. Try to write at least five sentences.)

Weapons: (Weapons are not required, but this person will need them to survive.)

Strengths: (What can this person do really well? Keep in mind the rule about Mary Sues and Gary Stus.)

Weaknesses: (What is this person not so good at?)

Motto: (This should reflect the character's personality to a degree.)

Other: (A miscellaneous field for whatever else you wish to include.)

 

[B]Username:[/B]
[B]Character Name:[/B]
[B]Age:[/B]
[B]Grade:[/B]
[B]Class:[/B]
[B]Sex:[/B]
[B]Appearance:[/B]
[B]Personality:[/B]
[B]History:[/B]
[B]Weapons:[/B]
[B]Strengths:[/B]
[B]Weaknesses:[/B]
[B]Motto:[/B]
[B]Other:[/B]

Edited July 28, 2013 by Mousia

[Mousia]

Accepted Characters

 

Username: Mousia

Character Name: Ashley "Ash" Baker

Age: Ash is eighteen years old and appears around that age.

Class: She belongs to class 12B.

Sex: Female

Appearance: Ash is of average height and weight. She has chestnut brown hair that's pretty straight and green eyes. Her skin is a medium tan and she has average complexion for someone her age. The young woman usually wears her school uniform or her pajamas, but can also be seen wearing a T-shirt and jeans with some sneakers and maybe a jacket.

Personality: Ash is pretty easygoing. She is accepting of a lot of people and doesn't really judge. However, she's pretty intense when people make her angry. She's loyal to friends and ruthless to enemies. In the outbreak of Them, she will sacrifice other humans to better the chances of her own group's survival. She'd be likely to try and save her friends in school and her mom (who is her only family) before taking shelter with the group.

History: Ash remembers little of her childhood with her father. Apparently he died of a drug overdose, but she doesn't miss him because the memories are so faint. She and her mom moved to Deepridge to pave a new way for themselves and the teenager has been going to OPS since preschool. She trained in kendo and karate at the school instead of taking a regular gym class, so she didn't make a ton of friends, but has a few good ones.

Weapons: Ash was able to find/fashion a makeshift spear, a rusty crowbar, and a wooden kendo sword.

Strengths: Ash is good at self-defense because of her training in it. She also knows a fair amount about people and what motivates them, though she usually is an observer type of person as opposed to a leader. She also isn't afraid to manipulate people using...physical means...

Weaknesses: The young woman is a little bit sadistic and, when times come for her to sacrifice other people to Them, she enjoys watching them being slowly eaten, which is a weakness in and of itself, but it also alienates people from her at times. She can't stand inefficiency and will get very annoyed at people who work meticulously and slowly, itching to get to the end result. Ash is also a little bit competitive, so she is sometimes and sore loser and other times a bad sport.

Motto: "Hurry it up, already!"

Other: None!

 

Username: Mousia

Character Name: Liam Rendi

Age: 6

Grade: Kindergarten

Class: K1 (Kindergarten is divided into classes one and two, skill level notwithstanding)

Sex: Male

Appearance: Liam has curly blonde hair and brown eyes. His skin is pale and soft, which shows his young age. He is of average height for his age, but that's pretty short anyways. His motions are often awkward and uncoordinated due to his age, making him reliant on others to protect him.

Personality: Liam is kind of an average child. He cries when he's hurt and he says when he's scared. All he wants is safety and his only ticket to it is the group of older people who are protecting him. But he misses his parents and his doggy and he's got no way to protect himself, which makes him feel very small and upset at times.

History: Liam was born and raised in a town near Deepridge and he attended the preschool program there. He's in kindergarten now and was actually really excited to be moving on to first grade. But the the outbreak happened and everything was put on hold. A teacher stepped on his left hand while trying to escape, rendering it practically useless. However, he was found by Ash and is being protected by the group.

Weapons: N/A

Strengths: The only thing that Liam can use to his advantage is sympathy that people have for children. Other than that, he's just a child with no particular strong points.

Weaknesses: Liam's hand was seriously damaged when he was trampled and he can't use it anymore. Also, he's got no weapons and is too weak to use them anyways, making him an essential liability.

Motto: "I'm scared!"

Other:

 

Username: TotallyDrow

Character Name: Kasper Diaz

Age: 18

Class: 12D

Sex: Male

Appearance: What are you lookin at? - Generally speaking, when not in school uniform this is the type of clothes he will wear. He does wear a beanie even when attending school. As for his school uniform, the blue shirt is never buttoned and his neck tie hangs loose. He also wears a hoodie underneath it, sort of like this

Personality:Reckless, difficult, rebel. They would be the best words to describe Kasper, he shows no concern about the consequences of his actions or any signs of learning from his mistakes. He is the type of person who will do what he wants, when he wants.

He is not afraid to push the boundaries in a situation, for example if he is in 'trouble' he won't show remorse and may even try to escalate the situation just to see how much he can get away with before he is in serious trouble. However he wasn't always like this, Kasper's behavior began to change soon after his father got promoted. This new role his father had in the company meant that every so often they would have to move to a new town or city, which meant that any relationships Kasper made were eventually lost. Now rather then attempting to make friends, he will do what he can to be unapproachable and aloof, not wanting to have to go through the hassle of losing contact with them some where down the line when his fathers job forces them to relocate again.

History: Within the last four years, Kasper and his family have had to move house seven times, the reason for this was his father and his new role within the company he worked for. Whenever the company decided to expand and open up a new branch in a new city, his father would be sent over to manage the place. His duty was to train the new staff and ensure that the new branch was successful.

All this 'moving' placed a great strain on Kasper, as it meant that any relationships he had forged were short-lived and that within several months that relationship would cease to exist as he lost contact with them. Due to this, his personality did a whole 360 and he became more of a loner and aloof.

They only just moved to Deepridge within the last month and already Kasper has gotten into his usual habit. He has missed several days of class and when he has attended has for one reason or another gotten into trouble, not even the principals car window was spared from his usual antics.

Weapons:

Metal baseball bat

A lighter

Long metal chain

Strengths: Has a truckload of pent up rage against his father... I guess he can find a way to release that anger.... but aside from that nothing in particular

Weaknesses: Can get easily annoyed at someone, i.e. when someone is crying too much

Motto: "It's better to not have or want anything... that way you don't get hurt when you lose it..."

Other:

 

Username: Psycho Cat

Character Name: Marley Cypher

Age: 35

Grade: over 9000!

Class: N/A

Sex: Female

Appearance: She's 6'3", and has long, red (dyed) hair. She wears a grey lab-coat just about everywhere, mostly to prevent sunburns (did I mention she's albino?) She walks around with a very straight posture and a serious look on her face.

Personality: She's pretty much the meanest person on planet Earth. She always manages to find a way to break someone no matter how long it takes. She's also very smart, though, and is a succesful neurologist.

History: Not really much, not because she's bland, but because nobody really knows her history (except for me). All I will say is that she's slightly unstable mentally.

Weapons: The only permanent weapon Marley really has are the strong needles of anesthesia she carries around. Other then that she's very adaptable, able to turn a tough situation into an advantage.

Strengths: She's not what one would call "dainty", and her appearance can prove intimidating enough. She scarcely holds back for others well-being and if she has to, she will manipulate and con others for her own benefit.

Weaknesses: She isn't very loyal, and if she feels like it, will change sides in a heartbeat. She doesn't do well under pressure, and can become a wreck if something that feels too big to handle happens.

Motto: Any variation of "It's not my problem"

Other:

 

Username: WolfLover8

Character Name: Roy Stevens

Age: 19

Class: 12C

Sex: male

Appearance: Roy has pale, reddish brown hair and golden-brown eyes. When in school uniform, he leaves the top few buttons of his blue shirt undone. Always carries a gray backpack.

Personality: Roy is quite distant compared to most students, for he simply doesn’t see a point to school or most of life. He only cares about his younger sister Marie. Around her, he can be brave and kind, though he feels like this side of him doesn’t really exist. He only has a handful of friends in school.

History: Roy has never felt much love from his family. His father is an antisocial, rough man with no exceptions for his children, and Roy’s mother has been sickly since he was born. One day when taking a break from working in his father’s bakery, Roy began to question the point of an education and life itself. He grew more distant than before and his grades dropped, forcing him to repeat the 10th grade. The only source of kindness in his life has been Marie, and he tries to protect her as best he can. Since he and his sister were jumped in his 9th grade year, he carries a switchblade in his backpack.

Weapons: A switchblade and an 1” thick metal pole found in a classroom.

Strengths: Because he is distant, Roy can push his emotions aside from a situation, making him quick to react without danger of overthinking it. He is generally a loyal person, and can lift things that are rather heavy due to working in a bakery.

Weaknesses: Roy’s emotions and thoughts eventually come crashing down on him after blocking them out for a while, and he tends to start questioning his actions. His blunt detachment can sometimes cast aside the feelings of other people as well as his own. His upbringing and attachment to his sister are also weaknesses in their own ways.

Motto: “What’s the point?”

Other:

 

Username: Drakeofbones (Call me Austin pwease?)

Character Name: Daniel Kuchar

Age: 20, though he looks maybe a little older.

Grade: Sophmore in College

Class: 14B

Sex: Male

Appearance: This is him dressed up. However, because of his predicament, he is wearing a chef's jacket and black slacks, with non slip black shoes. He stands at about six foot two, and weighs around two hundred and six pounds, so he's far from a small man.

Personality: Dan's personality is a little... brash. He's sarcastic and sometimes a little rude. However anything mean and cruel he says is usually a joke, and when it's not it's usually made quite clear. He loves to eat, especially with groups, sharing stories over a campfire or candle light. But more than anything he loves the feel of the heat of the kitchen, his knife slicing cleanly through his product. Somewhat shy at first but out going once he's comfortable. If you can get him in close with you, he's fiercely protective of those he care about, to a nearly self-sacrificial degree.

History: He grew up in Deepridge, spending most of his years going to Oceanside. After he graduated, he decided to go to culinary school, finding a place he loved to be doing a thing he loved to do, cooking. The kitchens calmed him down and gave him time to think, relax. He was stuck in the school during the invasion because one of his favorite teachers asked him to come in and do a presentation for the home ed classes about culinary school.

He has a little background in farm work, including butchering, hunting, and tracking. Took some MMA classes in high school, though he's gotten a little out of shape and and practice. He was a bit of a handy man when he was little, making little inventions to cause destruction on his toys, and now mught just be the time for that to resurface.

Weapons: He's got his knife kit from school, which doesn't hold much of anything weapon wise except a chefs knife and a butchers cleaver. Rest is too small to be entirely effective.

Strengths: He isn't afraid to kill. He's already felt the Buck Fever, or the thrill of the kill, or the fear of it, in his life. Gone and past when it comes to animals, and with Them threatening his life he won't hesitate to end them. At all.

Weaknesses: His two big weaknesses are food and women. He freezes up pretty hard around women he finds to be attractive mentally and physically, to the point of it slowing him down. Asfor food... he gets very distracted by food. Either constantly eating or trying to find something TO eat, it could catch him off guard or set him up for a pretty nasty trap.

Motto:"Can I cook it?"

 

Username: XiaoChibi

Character Name: Sonia "Sunny" de Lacie. However, some students at Oceanside call her Habanero.

Age: 16

Grade: Junior in HS

Class: 11A

Sex: Female

Appearance: Sunny has amber eyes and reddish brown hair that's tied into low pigtails. However, because of Them, Sunny only has one pigtail on her right side due to the fact that one of Them tried to eat her hair. Her pigtails are tied with crimson red ribbons. She usually wears her uniform to school, or a red hoodie and jean shorts if she is in a sour mood. When out of school, Sunny usually wears the latter or pajamas at home. Sunny also wears black rimmed glasses.

Personality: Sunny is the least mellow person one would meet, but if one caught her in a bad mood, she tends to be pretty volcanic. Despite this, she acts calm and collected when it comes to children. She's has an intense loyalty to her friends and is tolerant of most people, giving that they don't piss her off too much. However, Sunny is like a super volcano when it comes to fighting Them or when her enemies are nearby.

History: Sunny was born and raised in Deepridge. She is an only child, and since she has no siblings, one can often see Sunny babysitting Anny, her neighbor's kid. When she was a baby and during her preschooler years, Sunny received the nickname "Cherry" because of her plump cheeks and auburn hair. However, ever since she enrolled into kindergarten, Sunny began to develop a fiery disposition and often came home with suspicious bruises and scratches (these were usually caused by playground scuffles). Because of her spitfire-like personality, Sunny's fellow kindergarteners called her "the Habanero" and the nickname stuck onto Sunny for the rest of her school year. Most students refer to Sunny as Habanero, save for her friends, who refer to her as Sunny. However, the only people that call Sunny by her real name, Sonia, are her parents.

Weapons:

Bow and 5 arrows (still figuring out how to use it)

Metal baseball bat

Switchblade (Anny gave this to her)

Strengths: Sunny has had self defense classes in the past and therefore has a background in capoeira and taekwondo. She is loyal to those she trusts, and has a way of talking with people to get them motivated.

Weaknesses: Sunny has a low tolerance for whining, pessimistic attitude, and Them. Her attachment to children also blinds her from realizing what's right and what's wrong to do.

Motto: "Don't make me mad, okay? There's a reason why people call me 'The Habanero.'"

Other: Sunny is Anny's neighbor.

 

 

Username: XiaoChibi

Character Name: Antoinette "Anny" Zheng

Age: 9

Grade: Anny is a third grader.

Class: 3B

Sex: Female

Appearance: Anny has dark hair and blue eyes. Her hair is in down in a hime cut and wears a white hat. She also has bangs that frame her face. When Anny is at home, she often wears a grey sailor dress. Anny carries a black cat backpack every day to school.

Personality: Anny is a quiet girl, and she rarely speaks unless someone talks to her. However, she begins to be more talkative if she's familiar to the person.

History: Anny is Sunny's neighbor and was born in Moraga before moving to Deepridge when she was four. Ever since she was five, Anny has been babysitted by Sunny. At first, they had a rocky relationship, but Anny has grown to like Sunny and respect her. The two have a sisterly relationship. She was excited to graduate and be a fourth grader, but isn't too happy that They have ruined her hopes of being one.

Weapons: Anny has found a switchblade, but due to the fact that she can't use it, the blade is in Sunny's care.

Strengths: Anny can sweet talk people into doing what she wants them to and has a way of finding items that most people can't find. Other than that, she can be vulnerable to anything due to her small size and age.

Weaknesses: Anny is a slow runner, and is vulnerable when it comes to speed.

Motto: "Please?"

Other: Anny is a quarter French and three quarters Chinese.

Edited August 27, 2013 by Mousia

[Mousia]

Reserved

[Mousia]

Reserved because I'm paranoid...

[Mousia]

(Thanks so much, soup!)

(In response to your question, Psycho Cat, yes. Within reason, though. Characters shouldn't just appear out of nowhere. As long as they have a reason to come into contact with the students (i.e., a teacher who decided to help, a parent who is looking for a lost child, someone who sees the group and is compelled to join, etc.) Of course, they'd have to wait until the students were out of school to join the group if they're not a teacher or something. So yeah. Within reason, you can have a character of any age. )

 

(In other news, this is open now! I'll start this off.)

 

"Love is something often fought for once it's already lost. In the outbreak of Them, I fell into that cliché. I only truly cared about my mom after I figured out that she could already be gone. I'm an awful person for it." - The Journal of Ashley Baker

 

When humans come face-to-face with the prospect that death is very possible, they become ruthless and lose most of their morality. See, morals are fickle things that change with the civilization. It's something people are raised to have. If one observes a small child doing a "bad" thing, they seem to have no knowledge that it is frowned upon. Thus, we can conclude that people aren't born inherently "good" or "evil", but are raised to be so.

However, some people are just rebels. As such, they enjoy things that sicken others. This doesn't necessarily mean that they were taught poorly, but just refused the teachings. This is generally referred to as sadism. Even more commonly, evil. Because of this we must add to the above closing statement. People are raised to have morals, but teachings do not always reflect the person. It all depends on how the person reacted to the lesson, conforming or rebelling. In essence, this means that people can be raised to be "evil" and end up reflecting rebellion and being "good". The reverse is also possible. However, many people would venture to say that the greater majority of people do not rebel and end up conforming, either through necessity, choice, or a mix of both.

 

There was a young woman in high school when They first turned Their ugly, stinking faces toward it. She was eighteen years old and a B-grade student who was almost done with school. A lot of things were normal about her. She had normal skin. Normal hair and normal eyes. She had a normal body with a very average height and weight. Not many people would have necessarily picked her out of crowd for being particularly spectacular. However, she was unique in two ways. One: She was the first to see Them in school. Two: She was a sadist, proving the above statements about humans and morality. She was raised by a good mother and there was nothing inherently unstable in her life that would necessarily affect her. Some would say that the death of her father was a factor and that her apparent indifference toward the event was just a front to hide her sadness, but a closer look at her psyche would disprove that notion. The point of all that was simply to prove a point: Ashley Baker was a sadistic child and the outbreak only served as a way for her to unleash that hidden quality. That was what made her both exponentially valuable and exponentially dangerous.

 

However, at the point in time at which this story begins, no one, not even the girl herself, knew of this. It was just a normal day when They came, but her first move was to get some weapons. Had They not invaded, the detour would have made her very late, but that was the least of her concerns. She fashioned her spear from the broom and tucked it in her belt. Next was the janitor's closet. She looked around, not seeing much of use but a rusty crowbar under an old trashcan and a set of master keys. Grabbing them both, she ran to the kendo studio, where she found a locked door. Since she had the keys, she simply unlocked the door and grabbed her sword, also tucking that into her belt. Then she sprinted to the top floor and went to the closest wing, which just happened to be the west wing. Pounding on the door furiously, a teacher (who appeared quite anger with her) opened the door and began his lecture. "Hey! I don't care what the hell you were in the middle of, we need to get out! There are...these things invading... I saw them eat some kid who came late. We need to go! Whoever wants to live should come with me!" Her voice was loud and booming, though strangely calm. An instant of silence followed, which was ended by crazed laughter. They didn't believe her. As if on cue, one of Them scampered down the hall and into the classroom with the open door, right past several students, apparently blind, but not deaf. Some girl screamed and the thing burst forth into action. Soon enough, it was devouring her, not sparing a single disgusting noise or ugly vein to pop, which caused blood and guts to spill. This, needless to say, was quite disturbing, which caused another brief instant of silence and inactivity. However, that one was cut short by a parade of screaming high-schoolers. Ash simply stepped out of the way of the chaos with a slight urge to laugh, though she suppressed it. Some people were still left in the classroom. "Care to come with me now? I've got weapons and training to go with them. I don't think making alliances with weaklings will be helpful right now. You follow? So I'm going to go toward the main floor to grab medical supplies. If anyone else has more plans to add, I think now would be the time to bring them to light, because it won't be long before They come and eat us all if we stay." She looked around the room for a little while. "Let's go!"

 

(People can form smaller groups that can meet up and merge afterwards if you want.)

[TotallyDrow]

Kasper was one of the few, if not the only one in the classroom that did not burst into a fit of laughter as the crazed girl entered the room spouting tales of monsters or 'them' as she preferred to call them. This however was not because he believed her, he simply did not care about her senseless ramblings and chose to ignore her just like he would any other imbecile that attended the school.

 

As the rest of the class proceeded to laugh and ridicule her, Kasper rested his head against his arms and stared out the window towards the school courtyard where a class was mid-way through a P.E lesson in Tennis. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary out there, which only served to make the girl look like an even bigger nut case. His expression of indifference soon changed as he noticed several unusual figures; too small to be a student approach the tennis court; the class unaware of their presence.

 

Kaspers eyes opened wide in shock as he watched half a dozen small silhouettes enter the courtyard, the students there now trapped by four walls of green mesh that surrounded the tennis court, their only exit the door in which the creatures had entered from. They had nowhere to go... the area that had once served as a recreational space was now their death bed. He could only watch as the massacre in the tennis court took place, the teacher the first victim as she tried to shield one of the terrified students from an oncoming attack by the creature.

 

Kasper was about to shout to the rest of the class, to tell them that the crazed chick was right but as he turned towards the rest of them, he was greeted by an eerily cold silence, the whole classes attention drawn towards one of them. One of those things had made its way into their room, but why was it just standing there? As if on cue, the student sat three rows across from him let loose a scream, alerting 'it' to her presence. Within seconds her lifeless frame was sprawled across the floor as 'it' began to devour her.

 

As the rest of the class pushed their way out of the door, Kasper ran towards the corner where one of the class room 'jocks' had left his sports bag. Sticking out at one end was the hilt of a baseball bat which he quickly grabbed, yanking it out of its confines and swinging it across towards the cranium of the creature, the impact sending it flying towards the wall. Kasper looked down at the unfortunate girl, the life drained out of her eyes and her neck torn to shreds.

 

Kasper held his hand over his mouth as he did his best to stifle the urge to throw up.

[Mousia]

"Maybe I'll willingly succumb to Them on day. I don't know what decisions I'll make in the future, only those of here and now. And sometimes, when I'm covered in blood and have been slicing and dicing all day, even I sometimes want to sit down and cry. But then I remember why I'm still alive. It's because I like seeing things in pain. I like their cries of agony. So then I smile and chuckle a little as I wipe the blood away. My life couldn't be better." - The Journal of Ashley Baker

 

Ash saw Kasper's actions and smiled dully. "Kid! C'mon. Don't have time to mourn over a girl you never liked anyways. I'll be going to get some more people. You can either come with me, wait at the nurse's office, or die." With that, she took a small step and looked down at her feet. No way she could outrun all of them. She'd have to start fighting. Taking out her spear, the girl began to run, pushing aside other students in the hallways. Once she passed a room, she knocked on the door, but kept running, not waiting to see the result. Once the teacher opened the door, he or she would find a panic and soon figure out the horror of the matter. But Ash didn't care to relive the experience from Kasper's classroom. As she ran through the west wing and tapped on the door, she found that she'd attracted the attention of some three creatures.

" ," she muttered softly. Skewering one, she used its carcass as the end of a mop to swipe the other two away. They were someone else's problem. Shaking the remaining critter off her spear, she sighed and she looked down. Her socks had some red blood spatter on them. Her first thought was that her mother would be angry... And then she thought about how her mom could already be dead. Already be eaten by Them. A tear rolled down her face, but she forcefully wiped it away, angry with herself for being distracted by stupid thoughts. Of course her mother was alive! Stupid woman was stubborn and tough as a bull. But that was just wishful thinking... Ash knew that her mother had a low chance of survival. Since she worked from home most of the time, there was no one else to help her or protect her if she let her guard down and they didn't have many weapons in the house, aside from a sword they'd bought to celebrate the girl winning a kendo championship. But her mother didn't know how to use a sword properly. It could fall right out of her hands if she didn't hold it right. And she could hurt herself with it!

Ash made a resolution right then and there. She would go and find her mother. After gathering people from the school and maybe some from outside, she'd go and find her mother and protect her. She would make sure they stayed alive and that they were together until They all died. She'd kill every last one and make sure that her mother stayed alive. That woman was her only family and Ash loved her. With all her heart and soul, Ashley Baker loved her mother and would do anything to save her. Anything.

[TotallyDrow]

Kasper did not follow after the girl, instead he had run in the other direction; towards the stairs that would lead to the quickest route out of the school. She was right when she mentioned that he did not like the girl that had died; he did not like anyone in this school. Thus it should not be that much of a surprise that his only priority right now was to save his own skin.

 

 

"Oi no running in the halls!" shouted one of the teacher's, who poked his head out of one of the rooms Kasper had run past; this act proving to be a mistake. The sound of Kasper's footsteps echoing through the halls had attracted a pair of 'them', but their attention was soon drawn to the man that had yelled out. A symphony of screams could be heard from the room as the students watched their teacher die before their eyes. Kasper glanced back and watched in horror as more of 'them' gathered around that room; drawn to the sound.

 

By now the other classrooms had begun to take notice, students and teachers filtering out of their respective rooms to investigate the noise and upon discovery of the source succumbing to the fear and hysteria.

 

[Mousia]

"I sometimes hear little children ask their parents why people are dying. People usually don't know what to say. It makes my heart cry, but I know that I wouldn't think twice about killing anyone if it was my only way out. That's what scares me the most about myself..." - The Journal of Ashley Baker

 

The teachers and students filled the halls, frantic and screaming, which only attracted more of Them. Finding a stairwell, the girl nearly flew down the steps, taking long strides to get down to the main floor. She slid past others struggling to find friends or teachers, clinging onto the hope that they could be saved if they found someone suitable to fight for them. It was naive. No one would fight for anyone else if not for some reason that was also at least slightly selfish.

 

When Ash reached the nurse's office, she found the nurse there with some children, all cowering in the corner as a group of Them approached slowly, attracted to the sounds of clattering teeth and the smells of fear. The brown-haired girl sighed and slammed the end of her spear on the group, then quickly stuck it back in her belt in favor of the crowbar. With it, she smashed their spines or skulls so they were broken and dead, bloody and oozing with disgusting fluids. "There. You guys can live. But I need medical supplies. You got bandages and disinfectant?" The mousy lady nodded shakily as she pointed to a closet in the corner. Taking a supply of bandages and rubbing alcohol, she took a black backpack from the corner of the room and emptied it of all the school supplies. Dropping the medical supplies in the backpack, she slung it over her shoulder. "Thanks for the support, guys. I'll be going now. You should get some weapons, because I won't be around to save you again."

 

Scurrying toward the nearest exit, she saw hoards of small children and teachers stampeding and trampling each other to get out. One little boy had his hand stepped on by a teacher as she struggled to escape, obviously not giving a damn about the small children in her path. The boy was obviously in great pain as he burst out crying. Ash couldn't deal with seeing that idiot do that to a child, so she approached and helped him up. "Come on, kid. I'll protect you if you stay close. And maybe we can fix up that hand, hm?" He nodded through his tear as she picked him up with one arm and hauled him and herself out of the school, seeing a flash of the kid from before. Kasper. Ha! But she turned to the little boy in her arm instead. "Do you know where you live? And what's your name?"

"I live in another town... My name is Liam Rendi. I'm scared, Miss. I'm really scared..."

"I know, Liam. I'm scared too. But we have to make it through this and keep going. Okay?"

[TotallyDrow]

Kasper was forced into the music room, a group of 'them' had gathered around the staircase he was running towards; the bodies of half a dozen students scattered across the floor in various stages of mutilation.

 

"Why... why are there so many of them?!" he thought to himself, tightening his grip around the baseball bat. With the doors securely locked, he walked over to the window to look for an alternative way down. His eyes fell upon a room 1 floor down in the building opposite of the one he was in. Several students including two teachers were busy barricading the room; shoving tables, chairs and anything else they could in front of the door. Below them on the ground floor were three more; two students both of them holding what looked to be gardening equipment and the 3rd a pregnant teacher that was suppose to be on maternity leave.

 

The two at first were protecting the teacher from 'them', swinging wildly with their weapons as the things tried to approach; however as soon as their weapons were rendered useless they abandoned her; leaving her to her demise.

 

Kasper looked away from the window as he heard the woman's screams.

[Psycho Cat]

Marley weaved her way through the forest, mumbling to herself about how much faster it would be to take the country road. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option for her, as her choices were get burned, or take the forest. She put her hands in her pockets, and browsed the scenery: it was a pretty quaint forest, with nothing too spectacular to see, other than the occasional squirrel. She'd grown quite attached to the place, though. It was perfect for her, almost like a haven; it wasn't bright, it was moist and cool, and most importantly, there were no people around.

 

It wasn't long before she had reached Deepridge. As she walked around, she felt like something was off, but she didn't have time to elaborate on that since she could already feel several mocking stares. She sighed, as it was something she was just too used to. As she finally reached the school, she laughed a little to herself, knowing exactly what was about to happen. I guess this is where I ruin the life of one more child. They'll just have to suck it up. After all, the world isn't a kind place to be. She walked in, her face completely expressionless, other than the twisted glee in her eyes. It was awhile before she heard a scream. She ran into a closet and turned on the lights. As she scanned the area, she noticed a few bottles of cleaning supplies. Reading the back labels carefully she put the most dangerous ones in her wide pockets. After scavenging some more (and finding a pocket knife in the process) she opened the door to leave, only to look down and find something horrendous. Without hesitation, she kicked It across the hall and the stabbed It in the head. Then she picked It up by the neck and smashed It into the wall. It fell down without even a twitch. "Don't know what that was, don't wan't to," she said, walking a little farther. Soon she notice what looked like a music room. She tried to open the doors but they were locked. Figured, but she still wasn't going to go through this alone. "Hey, let me in!" she said, banging on the doors.

[TotallyDrow]

Kasper's attention was drawn towards the door as he heard knocking from the other side and a woman's voice. He quickly ran towards the door and placed his hand on the lock, unlocking it and opening the door quickly.

 

Without even looking, he reached his hand out and grabbed whoever it was, yanking her inside before slamming the door shut and locking it once again.

 

"Damn it!" he said through gritted teeth, "Did you have to make so much noise?!.. those things are attracted by sound... god only knows how many of those things heard the commotion you made..."

 

He placed his ear against the door to try and hear if there were any sounds coming from the hallways but could only hear the frequent screams of students and teachers that echoed through the school. He sighed and fell to the floor, his back resting against the door.

 

"Who the hell are you... your too old to be a student and I've never seen or heard of a teacher that looks like you.."

[Psycho Cat]

"You're probably better off not knowing why I came here," she said with a faint smile "But my name? It's Marley, and it's certainty anything but my pleasure to meet you, especially when you grab me like that. Did you think that I had somehow magically forgotten how to walk through doors?"

 

Marley sat down and sighed. She fiddled with her pocket knife for some time, and the closed it and put it back.

 

"So, what's your name? And it probably wouldn't hurt to tell me a bit more, too, considering that we won't be leaving any time soon."

[TotallyDrow]

"You were daft enough to make enough noise to draw in those creatures... i figured getting you in as soon as possible would be the smartest thing to do... besides I don't need any of them sneaking in while you took your sweet time to enter the room" replied Kasper. He watched as she fiddled with a pocket knife, its blade covered in red.

 

Kasper ignored her first question, he had no intention of giving her his name, it wasn't like they were going to be together long. Fact is there was a good chance one if not both of them would lose their lives to whatever it was that was invading the school. There was also the case of her withhelding information pertaining to her reason for being in the school; another reason for him to not reveal anything.

 

If anything, the woman was just as mysterious as those creatures were. Her response implied that she did not work for the school and thus he had no grounds to trust her on. What if she was the cause for all this? She was wearing a lab coat after all... what if this was an experiment gone wrong?

 

Kasper sighed and decided to play it cool for now, "What you see is what you get... I don't know anything more then you probably do... those things... whatever they are appeared and starting attacking... logically I bolted.... it may come as a surprise to you, but I value my life.. which is why I don't go around shouting and banging away at doors; increasing the risk of one of those monsters finding me.."

[Psycho Cat]

"So? Who cares if They find us," she said, shrugging "They're clearly not exponentially smart. And even if They can get past the lock, we would still have the advantage. Think about it: no matter how many came at us at once, They would still have to file through that door, giving us plenty of time to pick them off one by one." Marley knew she was right. It was a relatively small room, with maybe only one or two other doors, which were most likely closets.

 

"Look, if you want to live, then we will be in here awhile. We can't just wander the hall, waiting for our doom. We need to think of something that will get us out of the damn school." She didn't want to be in here too much longer either, but there wasn't much of a choice.

[TotallyDrow]

"Who cares?! Are you being serious right now? Of course I care... I for one value my life!" retorted Kasper. "Did you say we have an advantage? Have you honestly thought this through? They severely outnumber us and this room is not exactly big... eventually they will pile up in here.... you do know what that means right?... We will be trapped between a window and a pile of dead creatures and more out in the hallway. We would have no chance of escape... and that is assuming we can fend off enough of them to fill this room up!"

 

Kasper calmed himself down and thought for awhile, he had planned to just run out of school but that did not seem to be an option. Those things were all over the place and that most likely included the school entrances where no doubt other survivors would have been heading towards. "There should be several buses in the bus lot... I'm pretty sure a field trip was being scheduled to a museum or something for one of the lower grades... if we can get to the bus, we should be able to make it to the police station with relative ease... the problem is getting from here to one of the buses, those things are all over the place.

 

The sound of windows smashing broke his trail of thought and he stood up. The room in the opposite building where the group of students and teachers had barricaded themselves had been breached, at least three bodies were on the floor in the process of being consumed. The survivors in desperation had smashed the window, opting to jump to the floor rather then get eaten. An idea that proved futile as their lifeless bodies lay broken on the ground.

 

"Damn it all... I should have just skipped school today as usual!"

[Psycho Cat]

Marley felt like throwing this kid out the window. She knew there were buses, and she knew that they could easily escape if they used them, and she knew that this was impossible because of the sheer numbers of Them.

 

"That's exactly what I've been trying to say! If we weren't trapped like rats, we could easily leave. But we can't, so we're just going to have to make use of this place while we try to figure things out."

 

She sat down and thought awhile. She knew next to nothing about Them, and now They were hunting the two down like animals. "Maybe we can't stop Them altogether, but we can try to keep Them from reproducing," she said "Some type of disinfectant, something that would be hazardous enough to kill Them as They were born."

[TotallyDrow]

"Reproducing?"[/] thought Kasper, he hadn't considered that. "Do you even know how they reproduce?" he replied. Logically speaking it should be impossible for anything to reproduce instantly, so the mere thought of that had not crossed his mind at all.

 

"Look, all I know right now is that those things are attracted to sound and have a craving for people... beyond that is a mystery to me.." he paused and began muttering to himself as he scanned the room. "Sound... Sound..." his eyes widened as he realized that he was in the perfect room for making noise.

 

"Quick, Look for something in this room that can remotely make noise... we can use it to bait those creatures away, while we make a break for it.."

[Psycho Cat]

Marley looked around, finding plenty of things. She put them in a small pile in the middle of the room, careful to keep them quite until they could be found useful. This was a bit difficult for some, but she managed be muffling them with her coat.

 

"Ya know, I've been thinking, how do They reproduce? They seem to like people. A lot. But what strikes me as odd is that compared to humans, They're not that big. In fact, it almost seems unnatural how much they eat. I wonder if that has something to do with it."

 

She stood up after laying down a couple more instruments. "I think that's enough. After all, a pin drop will attract them,"

[Mousia]

"All logic goes out the window in the event of an emergency. That is where most people falter. But remaining level-headed is the way to go. Which puts me at an advantage, I think." - The Journal of Ashley Baker

 

Ash saw the buses lined up. A lot of people didn't notice that it would be the safest way to escape the school. They tried to run out the gates, screaming and pounding their feet. As the young woman adjusted Liam against her so she could keep holding him up, she saw an opening. Just a small one. "Close your eyes, Liam," she whispered. Smashing through Them, she hurried toward one of the buses and waited. Anyone who was smart would congregate there. Then, they could escape the school and look for somewhere to stay for the night. If worst came to worst, they'd have to sleep in the bus together. But when she reached the buses, she just crouched down and hid. "You can open your eyes now, Liam. But try to be very quiet. They are attracted by noise. Okay?" The boy simply nodded and they both waited, crouching and praying for a miracle.

[WolfLover8]

Roy dodged screaming people and lifeless bodies as he fled through the halls, a metal rod in one hand and his switchblade in the other. He dove through gaps and pushed people aside, focused on getting to the door. Where the heck did these things come from?! he thought as he dodged a room with small green bodies spilling out the door. He mentally blocked out the screams and tried to be quiet as he ran past Them. It wasn’t good enough, though, and he frowned as two turned to look at him as he turned the corner. He ran all-out to the far door, hoping to lose Them in the crowd of panic. He had no such luck, and They gained on him. Without hesitation, he struck the closest thing with a swing of the rod, crushing it against the wall. The other leapt, and Roy held his blade up, but a girl was pushed from the crowd and into the path of It. Roy didn't let himself think as he turned and shoved his way outside.

 

He spotted a group of Them heading toward the door and slipped away, instead moving along the wall and away from the exodus of students and teachers alike trying to escape. He slid down to the ground between two bushes and tried to catch his breath. There’s gotta be a way out of here without going to the gates, he thought. He twisted his switchblade in the light and scanned the parking lot until his gaze settled on a group of buses. That could be it.

[DrakeOfBones]

Daniel sprinted through the halls, a tear streaming down his face. Something... something terrible had entered the room during his presentation. They must have been attracted by the smell of the cooking meat, and his favorite teacher had been slaughtered before his eyes. In retrospect, he was saddened. In the heat of the moment, however, he had pulled his cleaver from his board and nearly taken the beast's head off, cuing a second round of screams from the children before they scattered. Austin followed suit, after wrenching his weapon from the neck of the creature of course, and grabbing his chefs knife. The handles never left his hands.

 

Dropped of by cab... no car here. No keys to any vehicle in the area. Best way to survive is get the hell away so lets find me a vehicle. None of the kids seem to drive." He thought to himself as he slid to a stop, patting down another body in search of keys. He turned as he heard claws against the marble against, swinging his cleaver wide. It dug into the open jaws of a second creature, sending it side ways. Daniel step over to it, slitting it's throat. Gotta get to the buses... Was the only thing in his mind as he stepped through the front doors, eying the Twinkies on wheels.

[TotallyDrow]

"Every living thing has to eat... even if its a monster... regardless, wouldn't they need a certain amount of time for their young to grow before birth?" replied Kasper, continuing to look around. The tems gathered all required someone to play them on the spot and that would not help in any way, they needed something that could play a sound by itself.

 

His eyes fell upon an old boombox stored behind some boxes within one of the closets. "Perfect!" he exclaimed, carrying out the dusty electronic out.

 

"Now we just need an extension cable, with that we can turn this on from a safe distance.." he turned to look at Marley, "Did you happen to pass by a janitor closet on your way here?" he questioned,

[Psycho Cat]

She nodded.

 

"But it's not exactly super-close. If we shut up and lay low we should be fine. But before we leave, we should stock up. Maybe find some food, and a couple more supplies, and then go. After all, who said They were confined to the school? This may be our last chance to get any type of support."

 

Marley walked over and unlocked the door. "Just keep that in mind, OK?"

[TotallyDrow]

"I'd rather we got out of here first before worrying about food... besides.. I'm sure the cops and probably the army have got things handled outside.. they should be able to provide us with everything we need.. assuming this invasion has spread out of the school grounds.." he replied.

 

Kasper picked up his baseball and placed it in a guitar case along with the wooden pole that had a hooked end, used for pulling down the white screen for overhead projectors as well as a flashlight (with no batteries) he found in the closet.

 

He placed it over his shoulder and picked up the boom box. With his free hand he gripped the guitar before stepping out. "Alright, lead the way to the janitor's room..."