𝐴𝐺𝐸 𝑂𝐹 𝐶𝑂𝑁𝑇𝐴𝐺𝐼𝑂𝑁 - 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛

[natrillie]

─────── 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝑜𝒹𝑜𝓇𝒶 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓎 ──────────────────
[ nineteen ] [ bisexual ] [ form ] [ tagged: n/a, open ] [ location: abandoned building ]

it was no surprise to theo that raiders had chosen to ambush their caravan. the windows were never properly tinted, making it easy for looters to notice the array of people inside, who likely carried a wide amount of supplies each. it was a smart move. she had chosen a window seat so to glance at the remnants of neighborhoods and cities, and now putting her in quite the uncomfortable situation, as the woman seated next to her sat screaming, the look of terror sending a ping of guilt down theo's spine. under her bushy blonde hair, she evaluated her chances if she chose to help the woman, and sulked as she chose to leave her behind. grabbing the head cushion in front of her own seat, theo vaulted herself over the lady, shooting an apologetic look her way as she did. she reached into the foot-space and tugged at her weapon of choice, a baseball bat which had been with her since the beginning of the outbreak. although she was definitely sentimental towards the abused object, theo would never admit her attachment to it, as even she knew it was ridiculous to show such emotion.
with the bat dangling at her side, theo's dominant left hand gripped comfortably four inches above the bottom knob. in times like these, violence was not the way to go. the wakers were drawn to noise, and as long as she was sly and quick, she was sure she'd easily make it through the hoard as it began storming in and around the caravan. noticing a crowd at the exit door, theo made her way to an open window, and sent herself through feet-first. her landing was much softer than expected, as she wound up on top of a thin, lifeless man; likely one of the first victims of the wakers. several sat slouched near his front, chowing down as if this was the first meal of their lives.
quickly so not to get more attention from the hungry wakers, theo darted towards a nearby building. its exterior was rough, with crumbling paint and eroding brick screaming to any outsider that the inside was just as unpleasant. while making her way to the open doorway, theo quickly noticed the few lively faces that had begun making their way that direction as well. it was the best option, as buildings were a great form of protection in hoards, as theo had so troublesomely discovered on her own. without making any sound that could be heard above the shuffling wakers and shrieking victims, zooming through the undead crowd wasn't much of a hassle.
not to her surprise, there were quite a few others at the entrance of the tattered building. a prominent brunette standing with a deep sense of confidence and a spear hanging at her side was the first theo noticed. there was a variety of other faces staring around the room, all of which could be vaguely recognized from the once peaceful car ride. no one dared to speak, proving to theo that they all had common sense regarding wakers, and sending a flare of hope through her chest. groups had never been her thing, but maybe this lot wasn't too bad?

[coyotebluff]

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♕「 name 」cal kestor
♕「 age 」eighteen years
♕「 gender 」male
♕「 sexuality 」bi
♕「 tags 」everyone?
♕「 mentions 」none
♕「 location 」building

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the farther cal walked, the closer the screams got. they rang loudly in his ears like a warning siren, telling him not to come any closer. cal didn't listen. he withdrew his machete and pulled the hood of his black waterproof poncho over his head and picked up his pace. staying low to the ground with the grip of his blade clutched tightly in both fists, the smell of rotting flesh and fire filling his nose. he wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he needed to find out. his pace quickened to a silent jog as he turned numerous corners, the screams surrounding him on every side and frustrating him. he ran out into the middle of an intersection and stopped dead like a deer in headlights, arms dropping at his sides and face falling in disbelief. before him were multiple burning vehicles with hundreds of bodies surrounding it, few were alive as they scrambled away and disappeared behind buildings. cal just stared, frozen.
everything in his head was telling him to turn around and avoid the danger, but something inside him was telling him to move forward. run away!
but cal kept going, eyebrows furrowing and feet moving fast as he hurled himself into the mess. he swung his machete back like a baseball bat and sliced the head off a waker with a yell, kicking another to the ground as it came to close. he caught sight of a human as he dashed inside a door a few meters from him. cal pushed and fought his way through the crowd towards where he saw the human go, a large metal door finally coming into view. without thinking, he sprinted forward, slicing any dead that stood between him and that door. he slipped in just before the door slammed shut, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes as he caught his breath. his machete dangled out of his loose hand as blood dripped on the floor beside his boot.
once his nerves calmed, cal opened his eyes and took his hood off, pushing his red hair backward out of his face. he scanned the small crowd, seeing about a dozen boys and girls around his age.
they must have been the ones in those vans, he thought as he slipped his weapon back into the holster. following another human into such a chaotic mess was normally something cal would never do, especially since he tried to avoid the living as much as possible, but something about that burning caravan attracted him. his logic stopped working and instinct took over, hence him thrusting himself into near-death just to follow some human into an old building. he wasn't even sure who it was anymore, so cal stay leaned up against the wall beside the door.

[Nightsent]

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𝑂 𝐿 𝐼 𝑉 𝐸 𝑅 . 𝑇 𝑊 𝐼 𝑆 𝑇
"ollie," 18yo, bisexual, 6ft 1in, form
tagged: daravia, aries, august, callen,
theodora ...................................
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
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the first to join oliver in his 'doorway of safety' was a dark-haired girl, who, for some reason, kept staring at him. it was... quite odd, but he'd met weirder people since the fall of the old world. so, ollie flashed the girl a quick smile, whispered his name as softly as he could, and went back to trying to get peoples' attention.

his next visitor had short, blue hair and glasses, then one with golden hair, and a guy with a freakin' MACHETE in his hand (that wasn't nerve-wracking at all), but still no rowan. maybe she found a better place to hide, or maybe she somehow managed to ditch the caravan before we got so far into the city? she couldn't have been dead, rowan had always been the stronger of the pair, after all; the more careful, less clumsy. and no matter how scared he was that he wouldn't be able to find her, ollie knew he couldn't stop looking.

it felt like forever had passed, the crowds thinned even more. out of the corner of his eye, the teen spotted movement. someone was watching him from the shadows - one of the raiders who'd attacked the caravan, maybe. careful to keep the person in his line of sight, oliver looked back over the crowd. he could still hear the screams, smell the smoke, but things were becoming quieter. the cries of the living were being replaced by the moans of the dead.

somewhere in the sea of wakers, he spotted a flash of blonde. it was probably a fresh waker, but ollie's spirits lifted just a bit more as the possibilities raced through his head. she's alive! definitely alive, he thought, the shadowy figure slipping from his mind as he turned towards the small group of survivors who'd joined him.

"i'm oliver," his voice was barely a whisper, "have any of you seen my friend, rowan? she's like... yea tall, with really bright blonde hair?"

[axelandria]

A R I E S . H O L T ─── tags: oliver, daravia, august, theo, cal
ari | 17 | genderqueer ; she/they | lesbian

aries watched as more survivors entered the building. she was most wary of the girl carrying the spear, and most drawn towards the dirty blonde carrying a baseball bat. almost subconsciously, aries shuffled closer towards the girl before sitting down cross-legged. she looked towards the girl sideways, and noticed a scar sticking out of the other girl's pant leg. aries quickly looked away, feeling like she'd invaded the girl's privacy.

eventually, the screams turned to moans, as the poor souls trapped on the caravan either died or turned into wakers. aries closed her eyes, her hand going to the crystal hanging around her neck. she'd been pagan before the apocalypse, and still practiced magick sometimes, but not often. she said a quick incantation in her mind, although she was sure she misremembered the prayer. aries opened her eyes, glancing around the room, still holding on to her pendulum.

aries sat silently among the other remaining survivors, until someone spoke. she turned towards the speaker, the boy, around her age, who'd waved the survivors into the building. aries quickly scanned her memory, then shook her head. "sorry," she responded, her voice the same volume as oliver's, if not quieter. "i hopped out of the caravan pretty early on, i didn't see much action." she paused, thinking. "i'm aries."

[ethereal .]

✰ ＇ＲＯＷＡＮ ＬＡＲＳＯＮ
aka "roe" ✰ seventeen ✰ tagged; lizzy ✰ mentioned; ollie

rowan straightened her posture before reaching up and tangling her hands in her hair, occasionally clenching her fists and tugging sharply. okay, no reason to panic. she had been in situations much worse than this. already the abundance of bodies was starting to disappear as they walked further down the streets, searching for their next victims. the only problem she faced in that exact moment was finding her person. she'd been traveling alongside ollie for what must have been years now. neither of them had really gone very far without each other. so she told herself there was a slim chance of him wandering off without her...unless he was among the many that lost their lives.

rowan shook her head once. focus. she needed to get out of the open. the raiders had already begun looting the trucks, and it more than likely wouldn't take them long to realize this random girl wasn't with them. she didn't know what kind of people they were, or what they would do to her, but these days she considered almost anything and anyone a threat. so instead of sitting around and waiting for her life to come to an end, she ran as quietly as she could. there wasn't a whole lot of cover at first sight besides dark allies with who knows what waiting in them, but she didn't have much of a choice right now. the ideal spot for her would be someplace nearby and out of sight.

her breath was coming out at fast, quiet huffs as she looked up and down the streets while she ran. her best bet right now would've probably been an apartment complex. they usually had those ladders that you can pull down and climb up didn't they? or maybe she could just hide in an old dumpster. hopefully she wouldn't vomit from the smell. in the midst of her thoughts she skidded to a halt, spotting what she assumed was a fire escape-- wait, was there someone else up there? rowan squinted, trying to get a closer look. they certainly didn't look like a waker, or someone that would steal her things and leave her in the alley. she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth nervously. maybe she should just take her chances.

quickly, she tiptoed on over until she was underneath the fire escape. finally, she was close enough to realize that it was a girl. maybe around her age or a little older. the technicalities didn't matter right now. she debated on calling out to her, but when she opened her mouth no sound came out. instead, she started waving her arms above her head, trying to get the girls attention. hopefully she wasn't an every-man-for-himself kind of gal because rowan was starting to run out of energy and ideas.

[♡ Pineapple ♡]

Ｌｉｚｚｙ Ｃｏｏｐｅｒ
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════
[ location - fire escape ] - [ female ] - [ eighteen ] - [ tags - Rowan ]
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As a petrifying silence filled the air, only a couple moans from the undead could be heard in the distance. The young brunette sat in silence as a trail of tears gently rolled down her cheeks. She was starting to come down from the adrenaline rush and her head began to clear. Her brother didn't make it out, she didn't know anyone else, she would have to survive.

A curse left her lips as she rested her head against her hands. Of course she didn't know much about surviving, sure she had made it this far, but to be fair they survived for the most part in a farm. Sure they would get wakers occasionally but that was nothing compared to the amount of wakers that were in New York city. When they were at the farm they had a fence that helped to keep them out and killing them was easier when they couldn't get you.

Whenever it came to a life or death decisions her brother always knew what to do. Her brother and her father had been pretty close, they went hunting and attended to the farm together, so basically the whole time she really wasn't doing much to provide for their survival. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't want to, her brother didn't let her, he always told her that everything would be fine and that he would handle it. She knew he was trying to protect her and shield her from this new world, but what her brother didn't realize is that he had set her up for failure. Now that she was alone and with almost no skills how was she going to survive in the middle of New York?

She had absolutely nothing with her, her personal items were probably stolen or burnt to a crisp by now, and there is no way she was going to go back to check out the caravans. A small piece of ash danced as it descended, she stared at it as her mind went blank for a few minutes. She was both mentally and physically exhausted but she had to keep going, unless she was planning on making this stairwell her home. Her eyes fixated on something else that was moving in the alley she watched slowly as the figure moved towards the staircase, wakers wouldn't be able to get her up here would they? Then the figure began to move its arms, definitely not a waker.

A small glimmer of hope flashed in her eyes, it was a girl, another breathing person that as far as she could see didn't appear to be injured. Lizzy stood up and made her way down the stairs careful not to make too much noise, when she got to the bottom she unfolded the ladder and flipped it holding it as firmly as she could so it wouldn't slam against the concrete. She backed up allowing the girl to climb up before pulling up the ladder again. She looked over at the blonde headed stranger that was now in front of her and wiped the tear trails off of her face before engulfing this stranger in a hug. Honestly, her over friendliness and trust in people would probably get her killed one day but she would deal with that when it came to it. "I was beginning to think no one made it out of there" she said as she let the poor girl go. Making sure her voice wasn't loud, she may not have the most skills when it came to survival but she knew the basics she wasn't stupid, then she realized she should probably introduce herself first. "I'm Lizzy" she said with a bright cheerful smile on her face. And there she went again back to her old habit. She had hope now, even though she knew absolutely nothing about this girl it gave her hope, maybe they would find more people? As long as she had hope she was back to pretending as if nothing had happened and bottling up her real emotions, it was the only way she was able to deal with the world now days.

[♥Princess of Lions♥]

𝔻aravia ℂastellanos
Female | 17 | Location: Building near caravan attack | Tags: Oliver | Mentions: Cal, Aries, Theodora, August

Daravia continued to stare at Oliver as he flashed a smile and shared his name. "Daravia," she whispered in response, tilting her head a little as she looked over his expression. His visage was creased with concern and his gaze was determined as it swept among the sea of shamblers. He was definitely looking for someone specific, perhaps a loved one.

The people he waved over arrived one by one, and Daravia spared a moment to glance over each one of them, assessing their build and any supplies in hand. She took note of one young man in particular who clutched a bloodied machete in hand. That was certainly interesting, the odds of survival were better if you elected to slip past as opposed to seeking out a fight. This one must be some kind of thrill seeker, living life on the edge. That, or he didn't care all that much whether he lived or died. Daravia's gaze lingered over his expression a moment longer than the rest of the new arrivals before she turned her attention outwards once more, observing the thinning crowd of undead and scanning the corpse-filled field for any salvageable supplies. What appeared to be a pale plastic container was clutched in the arm of a young woman, face down in the dirt. She was most certainly deceased, as was evidenced by the pool of blood beneath her. When Oliver spoke once more, Daravia responded without taking her eyes off of the container.

"If you don't see her body, she made it out alive," she whispered in response. It would be much easier to look over all of the corpses of the dead than to try and find the living who were hiding. "You can shape the corpses on the ground into an arrow to point her in the right direction if you think she'd come back here," she added on in suggestion. Sure it was morbid, but also highly effective. Wakers didn't often mingle with the bodies of the dead, and something else like drawing an arrow in the dirt wouldn't last as long because of weather.

Daravia gave it another moment for the Wakers to thin out even more before deciding it was the optimal moment to depart. "We need supplies," she whispered, not speaking to anyone in particular and not bothering to wait more than half a second before stepping out of the building and into the light of day once more. She expected others to follow her, but figured not all of them would. Without another word, Daravia navigated about the field, weaving around bodies, limbs, and rubble on her way to the corpse with the plastic container. When she finally arrived to the body she halted her movements, leaning over and pinching the sleeve of the corpse to lift the arm and tug it away from the box.

Lowering the arm back to the ground, Daravia carefully slid the small plastic box free from beneath the body. Lifting it up into the air, she looked over the fading red cross imprinted upon it and watched some of the woman's blood dripping from one corner. The medical kit didn't appear to have much, but there were still some supplies intact within. It looked like proper bandaging, maybe even a little antibiotic or suturing material for wounds.

After glancing over the contents of the container, Daravia straightened up her posture and turned back towards the building to see which of the survivors had decided to follow her out. The ones who came were the braver ones, the ones with the greatest potential, and also those who could pose the greatest threat. Those who stayed behind would be the scared ones, more difficult to deal with in the long run and more easily dependent on others.

[natrillie]

─────── 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝑜𝒹𝑜𝓇𝒶 𝒹𝑒𝓁𝒶𝓃𝑒𝓎 ──────────────────
[ nineteen ] [ bisexual ] [ form ] [ tagged: oliver, daravia, aries, cal, august ] [ location: caravan, abandoned building]

for a moment the lot sat in silence, absorbing the chaos that boomed all around them. eventually, a boy with short dirty blonde hair piped up, introducing himself and expressing his concern about his blonde friend. without speaking, theo faced him and shook her head, a crunched apologetic look on her face. occasionally she peeked out the side of the doorway, catching sight of the slow demise that greeted the many people who chose to stay put in the caravan. survival of the fittest, theo thought to herself. it was definitely a morbid and not very respectful notion, but if you had any experience with wakers, it was common sense to get out of that tiny vehicle and make a b-line for any sort of cover.
while turning back to face the others, a quiet shuffle of feet brought theo to look down at a young girl with short blue hair and backpack strapped securely onto her shoulders. theo pouted for a moment, realizing she hadn't gotten the chance to grab her own, which likely still sat in its place on the overhead bars in the caravan. "theo," she whispered just loud enough for the huddle of teenagers to hear. just as she introduced herself, the tall-ish girl wielding a spear seemed to suggest gathering supplies. theo's eyebrows rose, and she shot looks at the others to gather their feelings about the idea. it seemed a bit risky at first, but it would give her the chance to retrieve her backpack. with a bit of hesitation, the bushy blonde gripped her bat a bit tighter and headed off on daravia's heels.
the dark-haired girl stopped at the body of what was once a young woman, her pale hands wrapped around a plastic container filled to the brim with what looked to be medical supplies. she stood as cover while daravia tugged it free, watching intently as wakers disbursed, only accompanying the victims who continued to cry out for help. "i gotta grab my backpack," she whispered so quietly there was no telling if the others heard her or not. "i'll be quick i promise," she mumbled before turning away from the others. just as she had escaped, theo made her way to the open window and pulled herself up, taking note of the few wakers still scavenging around for victims. stepping over a few bodies, she carefully made her way closer to the front of the vehicle, cautious not to make any sudden movements or loud noises. without much trouble, theo was able to slip her battered army green backpack over her shoulder and maneuver back through the window, this time not landing on a body, as it had been dragged and now deserted by considerably angry wakers. hastily joining the others, theo took a deep breath and nodded at them as they began back towards the open doorway.

[axelandria]

A R I E S . H O L T ─── tags: oliver, daravia, august, theo, cal
ari | 17 | genderqueer ; she/they | lesbian

aries hesitated before following some of the others out of the building. she immediately grabbed a mean-looking machete from a corpse. she held it cautiously, unsure of how to use it. i may not be good with it, but's sharp and definitely looks like it can slice open a waker. aries looked up, hearing theo speak. she took a few steps in the girl's direction, then stopped. she watched as theo entered a vehicle, retrieved a bag, then returned.

aries strapped the machete to her backpack, then retrieved her combat boots from around her neck. she sat down momentarily to put them back on, and quickly laced them up. she hopped back to her feet, looking around at the others.

she spoke softly, but just loud enough to be heard. "i say we start moving. that building doesn't look easy to defend. maybe we can even reach the town we were headed to."

[ethereal .]

✰ ＇ＲＯＷＡＮ ＬＡＲＳＯＮ
aka "roe" ✰ seventeen ✰ tagged; lizzy ✰ mentioned; ollie

it didn't take long for rowan to catch the stranger's attention, and when she finally did her shoulders slumped in relief. even more so when she noticed the girl was letting down the ladder for her. rowan reached out to assist her once the ladder was within reach. carefully and slowly, rowan climbed up the ladder. this was the home stretch and she didn't want to ruin it now. so she made sure that each step on a new rung was as quiet as a mouse. she wasn't sure what to expect when she reached the top, but it definitely wasn't a hug from someone she'd never met before. though, she supposed she could understand. even then her body went rigid with surprise. when the girl finally let her go she offered a sympathetic smile. it was clear this event was really taking a toll on her. "i'm rowan." she muttered softly.

out of the corner of her eye she noticed movement in the distance. without much thought she grabbed lizzy's wrist and tugged her down with her into a crouched position. once again she was on high alert. glancing sideways at lizzy she brought a finger up to her lips and then pointed out towards the figures moving and walking around. they were certainly too far away from them to be heard, but she didn't want to take any chances. these people could've been from the group that ambushed them in the first place. or they could've been totally harmless survivors from the caravan.

"keep an eye out for a taller boy with light brown hair..he's a friend." she spoke so quietly that she couldn't be sure if lizzy had even heard her. in that moment, she wasn't even sure what would happen once they did find ollie. rowan felt like she'd kind of adopted the poor girl already, not wanting to leave her behind for more bandits and wakers to find her. would lizzy want to come with them though? and what if ollie was with other people? would they all just fall into a mass of mutual trust or would there be problems? everything was different now and she couldn't help second guessing every move she made. she was so used to traveling with just ollie and now here she was.