windyheir: (a little uneasy)
John Egbert ([personal profile] windyheir) wrote in [community profile] backyardbbq2012-09-15 06:13 pm

[closed] zombiestuck

[April 13th, 2009. That was the day everything changed. Nobody expected the sudden invasion from the skies, and within a year the invading aliens had taken control of a good portion of the planet. These creatures with grey skin and orange horns were absolute terrors on the battlefield, and no human army could even compare to their destructive capability.

That was why the remains of the American government decided to make the virus. They knew no army on Earth stood a chance against such a fearsome army, so they decided to turn to chemical warfare instead. No matter how strong the alien army was, even they would fall to disease. By late 2011 they had designed a virus that only killed off trolls, while leaving humans unaffected. The world had its secret weapon.

November 11th, 2011. 11/11/11 day. It was meant to be the turning point in the war, where the American military would unleash their fearsome disease on trollkind, killing them all off within a matter of weeks. Indeed, it seemed to work at first, and trolls began dying off by the thousands. They were dying so quickly that the Condescension, the leader of all trolls, had to continuously send new waves of trolls to Earth to fill in the spots for the front line soldiers as they died. Still, the virus seemed to be working, and all of humanity bundled themselves in to try to wait for the trolls to give up and leave.

But then, as the bodies accumulated on the battlefield, something terrible happened. Nobody knew why it happened, but some of the dead trolls began to rise again. Their bodies were dead, their souls were gone, but somehow they were able to move and attack. And when they attacked, they didn't just kill humans. they devoured them. And they attacked and killed other trolls too, and those trolls who were killed by their own dead rose again as well. spreading this mutation of the sickness.

Zombie trolls proved to be much, much harder to fight than regular ones. While normal trolls stopped fighting if they were fatally wounded, zombie trolls would continue to fight until their bodies were either burned or blown to bits. At first the Condescension tried to fight the zombification, telling her best scientists to find a cure. But after years of trying, no cure could be found, so the Condescension pulled her forces out and left in 2014, a mere five years after her initial invasion.

She didn't take all of her trolls with her, though. Any troll who had ever been planet-side was left behind, and all of their space-traveling vehicles were destroyed. She would not risk any chance of the sickness going along with her when she left. As far as she was concerned, the displaced and zombified trolls were now the problems of Earth.

It is now 2019. Roughly thirty million humans and seventy million trolls remain alive on Earth. Those numbers continue to dwindle every day, as the hundred million survivors of Earth have to combat countless zombies, each more fearsome than the last. Some are fast. Some have telekinetic powers. Some can control the minds of animals, other trolls, and even humans. All of them want just one thing: the flesh of the living.

John Egbert had only been 13 when the invasion started. He had been far too young to play any kind of role in the war, and afterwards all he could do was survive. Most of his friends had fallen out of contact when the invasion had started. His one remaining relative, his loving father, had fallen to the zombies years ago. All alone in the world, John had continued to survive in what remained of Seattle, making a home in the small, walled-off area that held all of the survivors from the western coast of the United Stated. It used to be a suburb of Seattle, actually, and the mayor of the settlement had been the mayor of Seattle when civilization had fallen.

They couldn't hide behind the wall forever, though. They could grow food and sustain life inside the walls, but when anything special was needed someone had to go out into the remains of Seattle and hope to find what they were looking for.

That is why John Egbert is currently sneaking through the empty streets, his trusty hammer on his back and his two pistols in his belt. He is trying to recover a spare part for one of the generators, and he has to make it to one of the many hardware stores and back before the sun sets. Being midday, the zombies are all inside, hiding from the harsh rays of sunlight. One of the lucky breaks humanity had gotten was that trolls seemed to hate sunlight, so zombie trolls instinctively kept to the shadows. John is taking advantage of that, and he hopes to make it home before any zombies come out to bother him.

But is he truly alone?
]
very_sorry: (♣ Turn your back on)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 12:31 am (UTC)(link)
[War is a two-way street. Each side does what they believe they are in the right to do. When met with resistance, they fight back. When their lives are endangered, they defend themselves. Regardless of who instigates the war, once it starts good and evil becomes a matter of opinion.

Many of the remaining victims of the chemical fallout, the remaining trolls, had arrived not long before 11/11/11 day. Though they had been raised for this exact purpose, they were still very green. Inexperienced. The invasion seemed as good as complete, as far as the youngsters were concerned. It was very unfortunate for those eager to make a mark in history. Those who had something to prove.

Then the virus struck. There was nothing to prove anymore.

There was only survival.

Abandoned by the very empire they were fighting for, they were left to deal with the aftermath. Their own forces -in some cases, their own friends- were turning against them. Many alien brethren who they had witnessed fall before them rose once more and attacked indiscriminately.

Their culture was not unfamiliar with the undead.

They were unfamiliar with it en mass. They were unfamiliar with the territory.

It became a quick and growing problem throughout the sweeps to come. The remaining few, the ones immune to the disease, were hunted down by human and undead alike. The former with a vendetta and pride in what was left of their miserable planet. The latter were eager to feed upon them, make their numbers grow. There was little rationality. No kinship. No remorse. There was only suffering.


The day time was hardly a safe time for a still stable-minded troll to be out and about. No time was, really. The undead we less of a threat during the day, but there were still the humans to worry about. Though fewer in numbers they were still dangerous.

Especially to a troll with no powers. Nothing to give him an edge over his predators.

But the day time was the only time he could avoid the undead, who were an even greater threat in his mind. Humans can't manipulate trolls. They have no psychic powers to use against them. It took greater strength for humans to take them down than a fellow troll. Or former fellow troll, he guessed.

Still, while the sun was nowhere near as painful as the Alternian one, it was still a pain to have to endure. Begrudgingly it was a pain he needed to trudge through to get to safety. He had survived this long. Dying now would be fucking stupid.

With sickle in hand he carefully traversed the dystopia that was once a human community. As soon as he heard a sound in the distance he made sure to take cover behind what he could only assume was the wall of a former hive. He looked up to spot a figure in the distance.

Human. Shit.

Avoiding confrontation would be best, but it was only one human. Maybe he could take him out before he even noticed he was there?

He decided to watch for a few minutes more, trying to find an ideal opening to strike.]
very_sorry: (♣ We done)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Oh great, he was heading this way. This made Karkat flinch a little bit, trying to keep himself out of sight. He couldn't tell if the human had actually spotted him or not; it was best to keep still he was sure he was unaware.

It wasn't that he didn't think he could take the human out. His kind outnumbered them dramatically. It was just better to avoid confrontation unless necessary. After all he was just heading back to his own little base. It wasn't like he was out to pick a fight.

Still, he made sure to keep what was left of his former sickle at the ready. If the human noticed him he would not hesitate to strike. If not...well, he wasn't above killing him either.]
very_sorry: (♠ NO IT'S NOT)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
[Shit. So he had been spotted after all. Great job genius. Way to make this more of a pain in the ass then it had to be.

He felt his heart beating a little faster, and was suddenly annoyed with himself. Why was he nervous when the human was the one in the hunted position? If Karkat waited long enough he could just kill this guy from behind.

In fact, maybe if he moved slowly enough...

He started to slowly sidestep, making sure to stay perfectly still if he felt he had made too much noise. He wasn't going to get caught, and this dumbass wasn't going to rat him out to anyone else.

More importantly, he wanted to do this without attracting any undead.]
very_sorry: (♣ The fu...?)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 04:31 am (UTC)(link)
[Yes. Yes he did turn around. Unfortunately for Karkat it's impossible to be stealthy when you're hunched over behind someone in broad daylight, ready to strike.

John had gotten too far away. The jig was totally up.

>FIGHT
RUN

Well, he may as well take the shot. As soon as he came to his senses he came charging at the hammer-clad lad.]
very_sorry: (♣ Not pleased)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
[Karkat didn't respond, but he did hesitate for a moment. Was this guy really going to try to rationalize the situation? What sort of creature doesn't fend for its life?! No wonder humans were a dying species.

Still, the fact remained that fighting the human was more trouble than it was worth, so he lowered his weapon, implying he'd at least listen to what he had to say.

He swore to god it better have been good. He hated having his time wasted.]
very_sorry: (♠ Say that again)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 04:58 am (UTC)(link)
AT LEAST I HAVE HORNS Y--

[Okay that was loud. He wasn't a very quiet guy to begin with, but when he was pissed off he was even worse. He clammed up and glared at the guy. He could have culled him right then and there, but...

Well, he had a point.

With a little cringe he decided to just run off. The human wasn't even worth wasting his time on anyway, and he needed to find shelter; the sun was starting to irritate his eyes.]
very_sorry: (♣ Asterisk)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 10:11 am (UTC)(link)
[Of course he would have been back in the area. He was a troll that didn't get much sleep. It had always been the way he lived, and being the creature of habit that he was he continued this trend on Earth, sleeping only when he felt it was safe to. Or when he couldn't stay awake any longer. Whichever came first.

At any rate he had returned to the area to scrounge around for food himself. The little base of operations had nothing he could readily take, so it was another night of winging it. Winging it and hiding from the undead. Wow was this place shitty!

It didn't take long for the nubby-horned troll to realize the human had brought food. When you're hungry food smells even better than usual. It still confused him though. Why was he back? Did he forget something?

Was he just stupid? That was probably the answer.

He didn't approach John directly, again choosing to keep an eye on him from a distance. In hiding. Brilliant.]
very_sorry: (♣ :|)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-16 06:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[See now that was just offensive. The human had left rations out for him like he was some sort of dying animal. Karkat shuddered at the idea of being pitied by a human. How pathetic would it look if he accepted it?

Still, he was pretty hungry...

NOPE. No. No way. That was not happening. This human was downright condescending to him. Also, he was very shitty at hiding. Karkat could see him plain as day. He lifted his head out from his hiding spot.]


I'M NOT GONNA TAKE THAT!
very_sorry: (♠ MY FACE WHEN)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-17 03:12 am (UTC)(link)
THAT ISN'T THE POINT!

[He looked pissed. He looked downright offended. He ducked his head behind his hiding spot again, shooting him the middle finger.]

LIKE I'D TAKE A HANDOUT FROM A FUCKING HUMAN. I DON'T NEED YOUR CHARITY!

[Even though he said that, his stomach was aching pretty badly.]
very_sorry: (♣ :T)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-17 03:19 am (UTC)(link)
[The troll lifted his head up again. A trade? Well, that was fair. Less demeaning than a handout. Although...]


....I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING.
very_sorry: (♣ God shut up)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-17 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
WELL, YEAH. NO FUCKING SHIT.

[Why did he even ask that? This guy is a moron.

Karkat came out of hiding, his busted up sickle still firmly in his grip.]


...BUT I WON'T TELL YOU ANYTHING THAT CAN GET MY PEOPLE IN TROUBLE, Y'GOT THAT?
very_sorry: (♠ Yeah whatever fuck you)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-17 03:54 am (UTC)(link)
[The empress? Fuck the empress! Karkat's loyalty lied in his people alone, and he wasn't going to let any humans know of their whereabouts, or any weaknesses they may have.

He reluctantly walked out, slowly and suspiciously making his way towards the food. He never took his eyes off of the other man for even a second.]
very_sorry: (♣ Really.)

[personal profile] very_sorry 2012-09-17 04:00 am (UTC)(link)
[What's that John? Karkat was too bust scarfing down this free food. God, if he wasn't so hungry he'd actually be embarrassed by this.]

THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE HEMOSPECTRUM.

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