OH NO ZOMBIES (closed)

[formerbanchou]

When the first cases had started showing up, nobody had panicked. There was a great deal of concern, but the media had done a good job of keeping everything under wraps, and in the first stage of infection the people still looked normal anyway. They had that it was a mutation of rabies, quarantined the bitten, and treated them with antiviral meds.

That hadn't worked. It wasn't a virus, it was a spore, and spores were not stopped by antiviral meds. Instead, within two days, the people bitten had turned into the same shambling freaks that had started the mess.

Of course, when the initial bite victims had been taken in for treatment, one had hidden their injury and not gone. So when they turned, they bit a bunch of people, who in turn hid their injuries. And that same pattern repeated until there were a hundred or so 'zombies' lurking about New York city, hidden away in locked apartments and such.

For a year after that, it was a struggle to try to contain the zombies and keep people from panicking. It was contained within the city itself, but most people had to learn the signs of infection and what numbers to call if they thought someone was infected. Still, it was considered an 'American' problem, and most of the world did little to help, beyond screening incoming Americans for bite marks.

Then, one day, it all changed. one of the infected made it to a rooftop, and they just sat down and died. Within a day, a horrendous mushroom-like growth sprouted out of their head, overtaking their scalp and dotting their body in smaller growths. One more day later, the growths burst, raining spores down on the unsuspecting people below.

It didn't take long after that. The bites were easy to contain, but millions of spores raining down on an unsuspecting public? Nobody stood a chance. Infection rates went through the roof, and suddenly the military couldn't keep up. Borders were closed, martial law was declared, and every effort was made to protect the remaining uninfected people.

Some years later, the United States was effectively a deadzone. Some settlements remained, with their high walls and residents full of the necessary gear to survive. But every trip beyond the safety of the walls was a risk, and those trips were necessary to find food, medicine, and so forth. Living in a small, sectioned-off area of a big city just wasn't sustainable in the long run.

That was why Mafuyu had decided that it was time to move on. Though she had pretty much grown up in the walls, having only been a small child when the first outbreak happened, she could see the signs of collapse. Food rations were getting smaller and smaller. Fights broke out daily. People disappeared without any sign of where they went. Zombies turned up just outside the walls, wearing pieces of gear that most definitely had come from within the walled area. This settlement didn't have much longer, and anyone who wanted to survive would have to move on.

But Mafuyu was careful about how she brought up the subject. 'hey, let's leave the safety of the walls on a rumor and a hope of a better life somewhere else' was not easy to say. Plus, Chris was older than her, and probably remembered the beginning of the outbreak better than she did. That risk might be too much for him. She still had to try, though, there was no way she would be able to make the journey alone.

So, one morning, she waited in their shared living room for him to wake up. Which was unusual, Mafuyu usually slept in late. With the curfew in place, there was no reason to get up too early. But there she was, sitting on a milk crate near the window, waiting for Chris to appear before she finally spoke. "Morning."

Okay, she was a bit scared. She decided that she might as well gauge his mood before bringing up her idea. Her bright and bubbly greeting might have given her away, though, it was the tone she usually saved for when she was trying to seem nonthreatening, or when she was about to ask Chris for something.

Comments

[endure]

[ Being in the BSAA had its perks, as Chris had been trained and prepared since the bombing of Racoon City to handle most situations during a viral outbreak, but being one of its few remaining founders and stranded in the States without any support was another problem in and of itself. While the BSAA was backed by the UN and had other branches abroad, with the state of the US as it were they took to heavily monitoring the borders instead of actively looking for a cure. Maybe the world was looking to see if the country would thrive or die and hopefully take the virus with it. Though for now, Chris was stuck with no choice but to survive.

The Burtons, his only extended family after losing his parents, were in Canada. His sister somewhere with them, and as for Jill—he was reluctant to leave the Midwest altogether due to wanting stay near her grave. The reason he'd stuck around with Mafuyu for this long was his partner had given up her life to make sure the two of them both made it out of New York City. Despite the number of years since then, he'd done his best to make sure Mafuyu had survived the initial outbreak. Now, Chris figured the BSAA had labeled both him and Jill dead at this point since most mail was confiscated on account of any lingering spores, telecommunications was either heavily monitored or gone altogether, and what was left was a precarious state of.. functioning anarchy between camps.

Still, they'd need to set out and hunt some just outside the barrier soon. After getting up early to fix some breakfast, Chris boils the last egg for Mafuyu. Along with finding a can of corn beef in and around the almost empty cupboards to cook and pan-frying some buttered toast to mask a bit of the staleness.

Just as he's about to call for her, Chris stops after catching sight of her in the living room. Shooting her a nod before parroting the words back at her. ]

Morning. [ Unused to seeing her up this early, Chris hovers some by the wall to check for any wounds or signs of sickness. ] Just finished making breakfast, so let's sit and eat.

( ooc: i'm back and rdy 2 tag yessm sorry about that )