Rapture

[Fortune86]

James stopped at the traffic lights out of habit. It wasn't like he had to worry about the other vehicles.

 

He had passed several dozen stationery cars, a bus and two lorries. A few of them had crashed into roadsigns, buildings or even each other. The rest looked as though they had simply coasted to a stop. There hadn't been anyone in any of them.

 

He could hear birdsong and the coo of pigeons. He'd seen a couple of cats and a seagull. That made him feel a little better. Not all signs of life had been wiped away. Just the people.

 

He really didn't know what to do or where to go. He had hoped that by going somewhere that was normally crowed he's see someone, anyone. But the streets had all been empty. He was just wondering if he should carry on and check out places like the bank, hospital and supermarket when something dark in his mirror caught his attention.

 

He turned in his seat to look back at it. It was a plume of smoke. There was a fire somewhere? James turned his bike around and set off. He didn't know what the cause was, but he was going to find out.

[Marcus Pheonix]

Jaune smiled as he admired his latest work. The latest house he had come accross with a nice open wall had soon become the canvas for his art. His art which consisted of a giant mecha duel. He stepped back and admired his work.

"Oh yes, yes, yes! Look at the impact on his leg! Haha he will be feeling that in the cockpit I can assure you!" Jaune smiled wildly, the scene playing out in his mind.

"Excellent suggestion about using that window as a shield, Lucy! I wish I had your creative genius... hmm but alas we all know that the mighty ho-oh lord of the skies and master of colours would see this as an abomination," Without missing a beat Jaune whipped a match out from somewhere inside his onesie and sliced it across the ground, igniting the flame. He raised the match up towards image, the match sitting between his index and middle finger with his thumb stuck outwards like a painter would do when visualizing a shot.

"Ho-oh uses sacred fire..." He said, his voice distant. He pressed down on the top of the can and it gushed forward, catching alight in the flames. His eyes shone, reflecting the light of the fire as he scorched the wall of the building, his artistry disappearing beneath the orange fire. Releasing the button the plume stopped, leaving only smoke and a scorched wall. Jaune scowled at the wall.

"It is super effective. The great lord of the sky is pleased," He said to himself, pulling off the respirator. He whipped the lid back onto the spray can and placed it inside a pocket.

"Now Lucy, onwar-

He stopped, he could hear something, the sound of an engine. Jaune raised his eyebrow and looked down the road, there was a man on a motorcycle, chugging down towards him. A grin spread on Jaunes face and he stepped out onto the road, waving with his arm.

"Ho to thee! For we are the survivors in this dire apocalypse!! While I would have preferred a female companion for this scenario you shall have to do," He shouted at the figure, his mouth twitching slightly. Once again the can was in his hand, a match lit and it was aimed at the figure. If this man would not provide adequate companionship Jaune would be more than happy to satisfy the great lords of fire.

[Fortune86]

Finding the right street was easy enough, but once he had James suddenly wasn't sure that was a good thing. Parts of it were on fire or looked badly sorched. The buildings that weren't smoking looked like they had been decorated by Willy Wonk'a rejected Oompa Loompas. It was a mess. Half chocolate factory half warzone.

 

The only reason James didn't turn around right away was the lone figure standing in the middle of the road. James stopped his motorbike about ten or so meters away and stared at him in confusion while he was addressed. Either the guy was high or just plain mental. James had a feeling it was the latter.

 

"Hey" he called out glad he had kept a little distance from the..giant pikachu man. "Who are you? What happened here? Where is everyone?"

Edited June 16, 2014 by Fortune86

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily turned around to look Erin’s food collection but for some reason she didn’t know if she should take some of the food or not. She doesn’t know where it came from or for how long it had been in that suitcase. Besides she didn’t know the girl and one thing for sure was not to take food from strangers.

 

“Um, I’ll pass.” Emily spoke slowly. “Just don’t feed her anything fatty. I’m not cleaning up if she throws up.” She pointed out to one of Nougat’s issues.

 

[Marcus Pheonix]

Jaunes grin grew wider and he brushed the ears of his ones back slightly.

"Why my fellow mortal I am a survivor of this divine retribution that has taken place!" HE said enthusiastically.

"I am Jaune Lucaire eldest child of the Lucaires, what happened here?" Jaune paused, feigning confusion. He looked behind him at the mutilated buildings and tilted his head.

"It appears that they've been burnt... and painted, such pretty colours. Perhaps it was my fondness for colour that spared me from the unknown fate of our homosapian colleagues." Jaune grinned and sprayed a purple circle around himself and dropped the match, igniting the vapours rising up from the fresh paint. His now matchless hand whipped the gas mask up over his mouth and he let out a loud 'Tom Hardy's Bane'-esque laugh.

"The flame rises," He rejoiced motioning his hands upwards. Waving his foot quickly the air washed away the flames and he quickly walked forward, closing the gap between himself the motorcycle man until they were a meter apart. As he had walked another match had been lit and he now stood within flame distance of the man, the spray can held backwards like a shotput and his other arm, the match teased between his index and middle finger held forward of it slightly, pointed at the man.

"Now," He said, his voice dropping in pitch and the echoing breathing from the mask adding to the feal.

"I've told you who I am... what happened here. I don't know what happened to the human race this last evening, but tell me who you are. Where you're from,". Jaunes gaunt face suddenly changed, like someone pulling off the mask into a playful smile, although his mouth wasn't visible.

"Then we can go and look for others,".

 

((If you feel him being able to close the gap is too much, remember that the sudden flames and performance he put on would confuse most people and 10 meters isn't very far for someone with a brisk pace and a pikachu tail))

[Fortune86]

James gave the man a long unimpressed look. Maybe this Jaunes was both high and mental. Or maybe he was dreaming? First the human race looked like it had completely vanished and now this? A street from a Lewis Carrol book and a cartoon character? Nah. He didn't have those kind of dreams.

 

Ignoring pikachu boy's weird attempt at dramatics, anyone who knew Mr Durham wouldn't be intimidated by antics such as these, James looked around. It seemed no one else was about.

 

"I'm James" he replied. "I saw the smoke and wondered what the hell was going on. Looks like you don't have any answers either. And you had better get that can out of my face or I'll knock you onto your ass."

[Marcus Pheonix]

"Very well good sir, I wouldn't want to ruin this beautiful friendship of ours" Jaune said, casually place the lit match in his mouth before spitting it out, the flame gone. He then flicked the spray can back into his onesie and before James could argue climbed up behind him on the bike.

"Now onwards, we shall search for more survivors and begin the repopulation!" He cried happily, pointing forwards. Jaune paused and angrily tapped James shoulder.

"Go the other way, people are more likely to flock towards areas with foods in times of the apocalypse haven't you read the walking dead?" Jaunes eyes widened.

"Oooh, maybe there are zombies," He quickly looked left and right.

"Lucy do you see any?" He asked looking down at the prey mantis that was seated on his shoulder, munching away at a bee.

"Hmm. No, no, if there were zombies we'd hear them. Why aren't we moving, come on James!" Jaune drummed his fingers briefly on James head.

"Brrrrrrmmmmmm, brrrrrmmmmmm!" Jaune then let out a loud chuckle at his own impersonation.

[Fortune86]

"What the hell?"

 

James half turned to look over his shoulder at the strange insect that Jaune had. He dadn't noticed it before. With Jaune making motorbike noises he sighed and started to turn the vehicle around.

 

He didn't like how Jaune had swung himself up on the bike without so much as a 'please', but the loony had a point. There wasn't much point in staying here and it would be quicker than walking. The one good thing was that since he had found someone chances were there would be other people somewhere. He just had to hope they weren't all crazy too.

 

With the motorbike now facing back up the street James built up some speed and started heading towards the town center again. Perhaps they should try the supermarkets first. Even if no one else was there they could at least stock up on food.

[Fangirl05]

Erin raised her eyebrow at Emily's apparent overprotectiveness; what was she, a freaking lapdog? She let the dog eat her fill from her palms and rubbed her scruff through her giggles when she lifted herself onto her hind legs to lick her face in thanks. She nudged her away when she'd had enough doggie loving and opened her bag of chicken.

 

"Suit yourself" she answered airily, and tore off a piece of the filet with her teeth.

[Mistress of Whispers]

"We have too much to worry about as it is, to be afraid of us disappearing again at any moment. I think for now we should work with what we can influence." Mak said.

 

Wisperlee nodded. She felt no more comforted than before, but Mak was right: no point in worrying about things they could neither change nor predict. They'd just have to make the most of things and take them as they came.

 

She closed her laptop, having created an access port between it and the hospital server, and removed her USB from the mainframe. Taking Mak's proffered hand, she rose. "Let's get back."

 

The walk back through the underground hallways was as eerily as before, but uneventful. Walking almost on auto-pilot, Wisperlee nearly took a wrong turn until Mak corrected her and led the way back to the cafeteria.

 

"Suit yourself" a strange voice said in the distance.

 

Wisperlee stopped for moment and looked at Mak. Our new friend? she mouthed before she realized that she wasn't speaking aloud. She wasn't expecting trouble, but apparently this new ghost-world had already made her wary of new people.

[Fortune86]

Within five minutes James was pulling up outside a supermarket. The lights were on and he could see through the windows into the store. No one was about. He didn't really expect to see anyone.

 

"Come on" he said switching off the engine and swinging himself off the bike. "Let's see what we can find."

 

A sign outside the doors caught his attention. He wandered over to read it but it was just a product recall annoucement. Some battery operated toy was faulty or something. He sighed and wandered a little way into the building. It was so quiet. And so big. You never really realised just how large places were without hundreds of other people filling in the emptiness.

[Kestra15]

Mak nodded to Wisperlee's soundless question. He had snatched up the drip-stand again as they'd left the server area and was still holding it loosely in his right hand, and debated bringing it up into something resembling a ready stance. The voice, however, was female, and it didn't sound particularly angry or stressed. There was the sound of bags rustling and Nougat padding around, nothing like the hurried and chaotic sounds of a struggle or fight, so he guessed that whoever the girl was, she wasn't there for a fight. Still, he took a more firm grip of the stand in one hand as he lead the way cautiously around the corner.

 

The brunette who was talking to the South African au pair was probably the youngest of the survivors so far, in her late teens if Mak guessed correctly. A suitcase full of food gave him the impression that this girl was also aware of the straits they were in and likely thought herself to be the only one around initially. That meant they didn't need to be too worried about her having a couple of friends, unless she was a very elaborate decoy. Even the most aware of the survivors would only have known about the mass disappearance from 0330hrs onwards - in eight hours would they really have come up with a plan and be that sadistic that they would start luring people into traps to catch them unawares and eradicate any competition in the scavenger world they now found themselves in?

 

"Hi there," he said by way of greeting, still several paces away from the girls, only just a step ahead of Wisperlee. "Were you the one who replied online?"

[Fangirl05]

Erin looked up from her chicken and raised her eyebrow at the newcomers, specifically the drip-stand the guy was carrying. He wasn't attached to it, she noted, so it must have been for defense. Or offense. She put down her food and straightened her back.

 

"Are you Wisperlee?" she asked them, mostly to the guy.

Edited June 17, 2014 by Fangirl05

[Mistress of Whispers]

"No, I am," Wisperlee answered the new girl's question. "Are you Erin then?" She remembered the name from the facebook account that replied.

 

Looking around, she easily spotted Emily, Ari and Nougat. The Labrador looked up at the sound of her voice and trotted over to the human who'd been nice to her earlier. Wisperle smiled, happy to have connected with the pet even if it was only on the 'scratch my ear' level and, well, scratched her ear. She noticed that Lydia and Nay weren't back yet, which struck her as a bit odd - with no patients around, she had expected the nurse back before Mak and her. Then again, Lydia was obviously very diligent in her work so maybe she was checking the entire hospital room for room.

[Fangirl05]

"Yes I am." She finished the last of her chicken and eyed the dog jealously. "So," she propped her head up on her arm, "do any of you know what the hell's going on?"

[DragonSpirit009]

Emily nodded in greeting to the others. She was glad to see they were safe and that they sort of succeeded in their mission. Now they just had to wait for the others. In the mean time Emily’s stomach gave a small growl. She haven’t eaten and all this nervousness wasn’t helping much either.

 

“I’ll be back in a second.” She spoke disappearing behind the small kitchens door. She needed something that would last her a couple of hours but this was a hospital not a restaurant. She had to work with what she’s got. She quickly scanned through each cupboard but nothing set her in the mood. In the end she decided to take one of the instant oats porridge packs things. With another search she got herself a bowl, spoon, sugar and milk. With a quick mix Emily placed the bowl in a microwave to heat up.

 

Leaning against the table she took out her phone from her jacket’s pocket. She looked at it and wondered if she should try again. It is a bit later now, maybe someone will answer. Taking a deep breath she dialed her mother. Nothing. Then she tried her father. Still nothing. Worry once more started to seep in. Emily tried to fight back the fear but the knot in her stomach begged to differ. Finally she started phoning her siblings... but their phone’s also kept just ringing.

 

[Marcus Pheonix]

Jaune hopped off the bike grinning madly as he followed James. He tilted his head as he looked at the doors, they were locked. He then grinned broadly and placed Lucy onto the handle bar of the bike.

"Stay here, madam it could be dangerous," He said reassuringly to her. Her larges eyes stared back at him, filled with worry. Jaune smiled reassuringly.

"Never fear m'lady I shall not be leaving you any time soon," He said.

Jaune turned away, facing the supermarket. James was inspecting a small little sign at the front. Jaune reached up and pulled down the hood of his pikachu, which had fallen off during the bike ride. He then raised the gas mask up. He looked briefly at James, now inspecting the inside of the shop. Jaune then bolted forward and flipped through the window, with a loud crash his curled up body formed a large silhouette in the now heavily cracked window. Jaune thumped down onto his back, the majority of the glass was scattered in front of him from the force of his flip.

Jaune burst into a fit of giggles.

"Come on in Jamesy the doors wide open," He continued to laugh, shuddering slightly.

[Fortune86]

James, who was already inside the store, had spun around when he heard the glass shatter behind him. His heart was thumping madly but when he saw it was just Jaune messing about he sighed in both annoyance and relief. The silly sod. What did he go and do that for?

 

He hoped Jaune wasn't the only person left alive. James had a feeling that if didn't find someone else soon he'd crack and just shot the guy. Nonetheless, despite Jaune's behaviour, James didn't want to just leave him behind. Even though the guy was either crazy or as high as a kite he was currently the only thing that felt real at the moment.

 

Leaving Jaune to pick himself up James headed deeper into the store. As he wandered the shelves he grabbed a few canned and dried goods, just in case, and even had the idea to double back a couple of aisles to find a tin-opener. All of this went into his backback, arranged carefully around Mr Durham's package.

[Marcus Pheonix]

Jaune was still giggling as he stood up. He watched as James began scrounging for food supplies. Jaune hurried down and grabbed a box of crackers and a block of chocolate. He then walked over to the drinks section and ripped open the package, removing several cans. Stuffing the box of crackers and chocolate in his mouth, Jaune began juggling the cans around. As he walked his eyes scanned the aisles, they then lit up and Jaune quickly placed his cans down, and stuffed his snacks into his onesie. He hurried forward and pulled out a Stanley knife and stuffed it into a pocket. He then walked up to James, still juggling.

"Have you seen any paint cans or matches? Or a cricket bat? I need more weapons. The shinigami will be after us soon, they'll be angry that I stole their death note." Quick as a whip Jaune dropped the majority of his cans, his left arm slashing out with his newly acquired knife and piercing the can. He grasped the can and sprayed the carbonated drink over himself... unfortunately he'd forgotten to remove the gas mask and he was unable to drink any of it.

He angrily removed the gas mask and crouched down then quickly stabbed the remainder of the cans, drinking each one in quick succession. He turned to look at James and smiled.

"Have you ever had tim tams? I bought some from ebay, they're delicious!" He stood up, his hood dripping with the soft drink.

"I wonder where they are... probably the biscuit section. By the way, when you're done collecting stuff I get the rest!" He said grinning eerily towards James as he held up a spray can and the currently unlit match, his eyes darting over towards the Barbeque supplies.

[Fortune86]

James watched as Jaune made a mess of himself and babbled nonsense. Maybe he's mentally challenged he thought to himself. He acts like a six year.

 

When Jaune got out his spray can and lighter James realised he was more than ready to set the whole store on fire. Typical. The world was going to pot and he was landed with the Joker.

 

"Wait until I've checked upstairs" he insisted stepping round the other man. "There might be something useful up there."

 

Walking up the escalators felt even more weird than normal due to the lack of other people. It was strange how everything was operating as usual without anyone about. It was like everyone had been..taken or whatever...right in the middle of their normal daily lives. James was beginning to wonder if finding out what had really happened would be such a good thing.

 

The second floor of the supermarket was mostly toys and clothes and such like, but there was something of interest. A megaphone. It carried a hefty price tag but since James was planning on paying for it that didn't really matter. He ripped it out of the box and carried it back downstairs.

[Marcus Pheonix]

Jaune watched calmly as James went up stairs. He walked over and found a backpack, he then quickly roamed the aisles filling it with various food, spray cans and another packet of matches. He paused when he came to the cooking section, it was small, this was a supermarket after all. He grabbed a cutlery set, complete with butcher knife and slid it into the back. He then hefted a frying pan and tied it to the side. Then rushing up the escalator and rushing past James he found several packs of domino's. Jaune hurried down the escalators and grabbed several cans of butane from the barbecue section. He then slowly began setting them out, moving around through the supermarket, placing butane cans at strategic points along the trip.

 

On several occasions he had to hurry back up to the top floor, making sure to avoid knocking over the domino's but luckily he was very light on his feet. After probably an hour Jaune stood at the front of the shop, every aisle had a line of multicoloured dominoes, the last of which arced to the front and outside where Jaune now stood. He was glad that James hadn't left him. Now safety back on his shoulder was Lucy, he always made sure she got to see his work before he set it off. The fact that he'd successfully filled a whole supermarket with dominoes in only an hour was an astonishing feat but Jaune was surprisingly careful and quick when it came to things like this. Jaune crouched down in front of the domino, and inspected the top. Everyone of them had been coated with a small amount oil. He held a match and in front of his eyes, he assumed he had timed it all to perfection.

"Now, alas thy judgement day has come," He said loudly, wondering whether James was listening.

"To satisfy the Shinigami, ever in pursuit of us survivors. Sacrifices must be made for the good of mankind. Now I commit these lives to the flames of rebirth, let their spirits be cleansed by Ho-ohs golden light" He lit the match and set alight the first domino, the oil was a small enough amount that it wouldn't cause the flame to spread. Jaune sprinkled multicolored skittles around the domino line.

"Let there minds be set free to travel upon Ho-ohs rainbow path towards the golden gates of Valhalla," Jaune lightly pushed the domino over, and set off the chain. As the trail sped down through the aisles the fire carried with it. Jaune bowed his head slightly, Lucy followed suit. There was a loud crash as the first butane bottle caught alight and the fire consumed the aisle. Quickly followed by another as the explosion propelled the domino's faster.

Jaune stood and smiled in satisfaction, he then turned to James. "The Shinigami are satisfied, next stop the hospital! I want a scalpel, plus medical supplies will be sought after by our comrades. When the Shinigami set their hordes loose upon us we shall need bandages! The one thing they fear more then the wrath of Ho-oh and his angels are mummies!" Jaune hopped onto the back of the bike and pulled up his gas mask, he smiled as he heard another satisfying boom.

 

((Feel free to have James gather more stuff, Jaune was setting up his domino's for an hour, and because we haven't met up with the others yet I'd assume its safe to say our first posts could be interpreted as before theirs. If there are major problems with this then let me know ))

[Fangirl05]

Erin watched Emily duck into the kitchen, glaring at her retreating back. "*" she growled, yanking open her bag of broil slices. She pulled out a couple pieces and whistled to the dog, who trotted over, snapped them up and lay down at her feet. "Well, dog," she sighed, "at least you appreciate my food offers."

[loviebeest]

((Uhm... I think I missed a lot. Can someone summerize what happened? Or have there been really great unmissable posts that I Should just patiently read?))

[Fangirl05]

((Uhm... I think I missed a lot. Can someone summerize what happened? Or have there been really great unmissable posts that I Should just patiently read?))

Eh, let's see... There's a new girl with the main group who's shaping up to have some issues with Emily, and there's a street tough at the supermarket with a psychotic man-child and his pet praying mantis.

[Mistress of Whispers]

Wisperlee relaxed when Nougat settled at the Erin's feet. Most pets had good instincts when it came to people, so at least the new arrival was safe to be around. She hoped.

 

"Are you from America?" she asked, noting the accent.

 

"Mak and I found out a few interesting things about the disappearances. I'd like to wait until Lydia and Nay are back before we discuss it though, so we don't have the same conversation twice. Is that alright?" she spoke to Emily and Ari as well as Erin now.

 

Half-waiting for an answer, she too began checking the cafeteria for food. There wasn't a lot prepared, since the kitchen had been unstaffed since earlier that morning, but she pocketed a few rolls and apples.

 

((Do we need someone to RP the dog or control what it can/can't do? ))