The Backfire

Admin Posts : 196 Join date : 2022-01-12 Age : 25

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The day had been long, it felt like it dragged along like walking through sand. The young boy had just gotten off the bus and happily ran inside his home. He called for his parents, but he received no answer in return. He dropped his school bag by the front door, going to search for them through the house.

He didn't find them, but he did find a small note on the counter by the microwave. He picked it up, letting his eyes scan over the words written there.

"Dear Ronan,

Your father and I got calls to go to work tonight, we will be back late into the night. There are leftovers in the fridge, just heat them for a minute or so when you get hungry. Make sure that you do your homework and shower, and go to bed on time! We will come and see you when we get home.

Love, Mom."

The boy, Ronan, smiled a bit to himself. He had the house to himself for the night. Yes! He could do what he wanted while his parents were gone. This was going to be a fun night.

Making quick work of him, the boy grabbed one of the dining room chairs and dragged it over to the counter. He used it to climb onto the counter and open the cabinet. That's where he found the stash he knew would be hiding there. His parents' sweets stash.

He grabbed for the cookies, quickly jumping off the counter with a victory giggle. He ran for the living room, throwing himself on the couch. While stuffing several cookies into his mouth, he reached out and grabbed the remote. Clicking on the TV, picking cartoons, of course, he relaxed against the back of the couch.

About half an hour into his cartoons, the sudden sound of the emergency broadcast alarm caused whatever cookies were left to spill over his lap.

"Come on what the heck," he mumbled under his breath annoyed,

Ronan grumbled as he grabbed the remote. He tried to click through the channels, but each one had the same broadcast on the screen. He guessed he wouldn't be able to avoid it to watch something else.

He sighed and tossed the remote onto the couch beside him, leaning up and staring at the tv. It was telling everyone around to pay attention and listen, to lock your doors and windows. But it wasn't saying anything as to why.

Just then the screen flickered, and popped back on, showing a balding older man, holding a microphone. He was standing in the middle of a two-way street, cars speeding behind him. People seemed to be running this way and that, screaming and pushing each other out of their way. The man's hands seemed to be trembling.

"I've been getting news that crazy people are on the loose. There seems to have been an escape from our local hospital of a mental patient. It is reported that the patient attacked workers of the hospital, ripping the flesh from wherever they could get a hold of it.

It is believed that the man was infected with some sort of disease, for the hospital staff he has come in contact with have also gone crazy. Law enforcement has been called to take care of the problem, but I have been informed that they were attacked as well.

People have gotten word about the attack, and have been trying to rush to their homes as fast as possible, as you can see behind me," he pointed to the mild chaos behind him. "I heard that this is something to not worry about too much, this is just another crazy person trying to cause a problem.

But it has been recommended that you lock yourself in your homes, lock the doors, and your windows. Make sure that you do not leave your homes until further notice. Please stay tuned to the TV, or radio for any further information.

Thank you this has been Daniel Campbell with the Channel Five news broadcasting system."

The broadcast didn't end as the man wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, letting out a shaky hand. His mouth started moving with words that couldn't be heard, he seemed to be talking to the person behind the camera.

His head suddenly shot to the side, as he stepped back in defense. He raised his hands in front of his chest, before another person slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The camera shifted slightly, rocking side to side like it had been hit.

A man, who could be assumed as the cameraman ran out, grabbing at the person who had tackled the news speaker. He pulled on their clothes, trying to remove them, but they weren't budging from where they were.

Suddenly then another body suddenly slammed into the cameraman, knocking him back into the camera. It tumbled to the ground, the lense cracking, showing a broken sky.

The screen went black once more, before showing the emergency broadcast once again.

Ronan stared with his mouth wide open, confused about what the hell had just happened. What the hell was going on?
----------------------

Hello everyone, this is going to be an apocalyptic Role-Play of sorts. Most likely zombies, since that's one of my favorite tropes. Considering that this is an apocalyptic RP, there will be Cussing, Blood, Violence, Gore, and possible drug use. So you are warned.

This is an open RP, so anyone can join as they like. You just have to fill out this character sheet below.

Full Name: Characters Full Name
Nickname: What does the character go by
Age: How old are they?
Gender: What do they identify as?
Sexuality: What do you prefer?
Skills: What are they good at?
Personality: what are they like?
General looks: Can be picture or description.
General Clothing Style: Can be picture or description.
Preferred Weapons: Picture or description.
Anything else physical: Tattoos, piercings, etc.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:36 pm

Once he was finished securing the tape to his arms, he got up and looked at Jude. "Is it feeling better?" He asked before sniffing his shirt. He blinked at the smell before taking it off and walked over to his room where his other shirts were. He had a couple of silver scars across his back in a sort of slashing way. He rooted through his bag before finding a shirt with long sleeves. This one had some sort of star pattern on the front. He pulled it on, walking back into the main area and sat down to pull his high top converse on. They weren't the most practical shoes but he wasn't going to not be stylish just because they were in an apocalypse.

He grabbed his bag and packed the rifle, his bat and supplies for the trip. He opted not to take the shot gun for this trip as he didn't want to carry too much. He was bringing the rifle because of the sight that it had. "Right are you ready to go?" He asked, grabbing a handkerchief for a mask and grabbed a cap and sunglasses he managed to find. They were aviator style with 'gold' rims. He put his hands on his hips as he looked at Jude.

Admin Posts : 196 Join date : 2022-01-12 Age : 25

Jude was busy securing everything to his legs, when he moved his head up to look at Jed. He raised a finger to show him to wait just a second. He pulled the strap to his second gun holster as tightly as he could, without cutting off the circulation to his leg. He slipped his guns into place, before strapping the knife that Jed had found him to his hip.

He threw his pack onto his back, before walking over to him. His bow was clenched tightly in his right hand, his left holding the strap to his backpack. He gave Jed a nod, before descending the rope, landing gently on his feet.

He looked around the area, listening for anything that could be of threat. He could hear crows cawing in the distance, and when he looked he could see them circling around. Something or someone must have died recently and they were feasting.

The air smelled like rain, and the sky was full of grey puffy clouds. They would be able to hear low rumbling in the distance, signaling that the storm had drifted away, but it wasn’t gone completely.

And he couldn’t help but wonder if they would be rained on again on the way there. He did have two water proof ponchos in his backpack if they needed them. He always kept them with him, normally to wrap his things in when he had to cross rivers a couple times while traveling.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:53 pm

Jed waited for him to be ready before donning some gloves and slid down the rope. He grunted slightly when he reached the ground and shook his feet off. He breathed in deep and smiled. "Ah I love the smell of rain." He said, stretching his arms before taking out the map. "Right so let's started heading in the direction of the mall and we'll figure out which way to go after that." He said.

He stuffed the map in his pocket and secured the rope out of sight before heading off towards the mall, his hands in his pockets of the sleeveless puffer jacket he was wearing. He had a rain coat packed into his backpack if he needed it.

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Thwack! That made ten. Jude pulled his crow bar back, watching as the rotting bottom fell to the ground with a thud. They had run into single infected on the way to the mall, which was surprising. The storm has brought them in, but thank god it was only some stragglers.

He flicked the bar the side hard, sending the brown and dark red blood flying onto the pavement below his feet. His side was throbbing something fierce, but it wasn’t something he couldn’t ignore.

The mall was just up ahead, they just needed to make it there and figure out where the map lead from there. Jude was trailing behind Jed, making sure to cover his back so nothing could sneak up on him.

The man walked so damn fast, why did he walk like he was rushing to the bathroom. They still had most of the day left before the sun would start to set. Not that they could really see the sun anyway, hidden behind thick clouds.

Jude stepped to the side, when he saw greyed hands stick out from behind a tree on the side walk. He swim his bar down, smacking hard against the arms. The brittle bones cracked and splintered easily, leaving the lower part of the arms hanging on my stretched muscle.

The rotting body fell forward from the impact, landing face first with a loud guttural groan. It squirmed worked trying to get leverage to get up, but no long having functioning hands. It would face plant after getting up only a couple inches from the ground, before trying again.

He turned, throwing his crowbar from high above his head. He slammed the pointed end into the back of the skull, a loud cracking sound echoing in his ears. He jerked it out just as fast, making a face when a piece of brain was stuck to the metal.

And that made number eleven.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Thu Mar 09, 2023 7:48 pm

Jed could hear Jude taking care of a lot of infected behind him. Any that walked into his path, he took out with a swift hit to the head with his bat. "Don't over-exert yourself." He called back to him, not bothering to look behind him. As they reached the mall Jed pulled out the map again, figuring out what side of the mall they were in conjunction to where they needed to go.

"Right so if were here, we need to head East from this point." He said, situating his body to face the way they needed to go. He took out his rifle and looked through the sight to see what was a head of them. "Alright, it seems like the streets are pretty clear of car blockades but we should still be on alert, in case there are any infected or others about." He said before heading off in the direction they needed to go after holstering his rifle.

Admin Posts : 196 Join date : 2022-01-12 Age : 25

Jude was busy trying to get the piece of brain off his bad with his boot, to really hear what Jed was saying. He knew he was talking, but he figured it was something about where they needed to go next. So when he looked up and saw him starting to walk away, he quickly moved to follow after him.

He made a disgusted face at his bar, flicking around a couple times. Finally the piece came free, but not in the way he hoped. It went flying and smacked Jed right in the back of the head. Before it rolled off and landed on the ground in a small splat.

He made a face to himself, hoping that it didn’t hit him hard enough for him to notice. He continued to trial slowly behind him, holding the crowbar tightly while his other hand rubbed his arm in nervousness.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:22 pm

Jed was walking along, hearing Jude messing with someone behind him before feeling something hit the back of his head. He stopped in his tracks, turning slowly as he glared at him. "What the hell was that?" His eyes a storm of silver.

He looked down and saw the piece of brain behind him. He gagged and looked off to the side. "That's fucking disgusting and not funny!" He said before turning around and started walking again. He shuddered and reached up to feel if there was any in his hair.

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Jude jumped when Jed had realized something had hit him. He stared at him with wide eyes, his lip trembling behind the mask. When he turned back around, Jude bent down a bit. He was trying so hard to hold in his laughter. His stomach was starting to hurt.

He still followed behind him, laughing quietly to himself unable to keep it contained. Tears were forming in his eyes from how hard he was trying not to be loud, not wanting to attract unwanted attention.

After about twenty minutes he had calmed down, and had even moved closer to Jed by this point. They had been left alone since leaving the mall, not one infected or person had ran by them.

It felt eerie. Normally if not running into a person, there would at least be one or two infected around. There were too many people in the world -well before the world turned to shit — for there to be no one around for this long.

Not that he wasn’t happy about it. But something felt off. Really off.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:53 pm

Jedediah was also starting to get a bit wary of not running into anything. He stopped as the reached a four way crossing of four blocks. "We should get off the main street." He murmured before grabbing Jude's wrist and pulled him into a side alley and crouched down behind a dumpster. It smelt fucking awful but he wanted to be sure before moving again. He peered out to the main street, listening for a long time.

10 minutes passed and he didn't hear anything. He took out his rifle again looked through at the roof tops and windows, seeing if he could see anything moving about that wasn't a bird or infected.

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Jude was looking around himself, when he was grabbed and drug into an alley. He sat behind Jed, cringing at the smell of the dumpster. It was a good thing the only thing he had to eat that day was half a honey bun.

He peered over his shoulder, watching the road tilting his head. He knew things seemed a bit too calm, but wasn’t hiding taking a bit to far.

He perked up when he heard the groaning of an infected. He could the a heavy foot fall, before the drag of another. That’s when a woman, well what was a woman, came into view. He right foot was shoeless. The other was was bent at an odd angle, a red heel still stuck to her foot.

Her hands there moving up and down, rotted fingers trying to grasp for something that was not there. Her jaws opened and closed, broken and cracked teeth clacking together.

Jude was about to get up, grabbing his crow bar. He was gonna take care of her quietly. Then a shot echoed through the empty street. The woman’s head practically exploded from her shoulders, her body flying to the side. A splattered mess of brain, pieces of skull, and blood covered the concrete.

Jude quickly ducked back down again behind the dumpster, completely taken aback. When Jed kept looking for something, he would see a faint glow from a high rise building, that shifted around in the sunlight.

They would then hear multiple sets of foot falls, and a casual conversation going on. If they looked there was a whole group of men, and women, all dressed in varying different styles of camouflage. Their boots pounding against the streets as they walked, completely unfazed by the infected whose head just got blown up.

Well shit. Of course there would be look outs.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Fri Mar 10, 2023 12:45 am

Jed watched the infected stumble through the street. He felt Jude get up to go take it out and was about to pull Jude back down again when the shot rang through the air, killing the infected. "Shit." He whispered before putting his rifle away and grabbed Jude's wrist and pulled him further into the alleyway and down a couple streets before stopping when he felt they were far away enough.

He turned back to Jude and smacked him on the head lightly. "Are you asking for a death wish kid?" He barked at him. "You don't go kill every single infected you see. Only if they're in your way or they see you " He said rubbing his eyes.

Jesus this kid was gonna give him a fucking heart attack. He sighed before pulling out the map to try and gauge where they were now. He walked to the mouth of the alley and peered around the corner, looking for street signs. "Ok seems like we're on the corner of Queen Street and 21st street. If we keep heading that way," He pointed away from the street signs. "We'll get back on track to where we need to go." He said before stuffing the map back in his pocket.

"Right let's go stinky." He said, heading out of the alleyway but stuck to the foot paths when he could.

Admin Posts : 196 Join date : 2022-01-12 Age : 25

Jude was about to peek over the dumpster again, before he was grabbed and pulled along. He trailed behind Jed as he moved this way and that, before they skidded to a halt.

Ah. That face wasn’t happy.

He squeaked when he was hit upside the headC, turning a glare at the other man. What was that for!? It’s not like he got shot or anything, the infected had been killed before he showed his face. Why was his always mad at him?

He stood there pouting, crossing his arms over his chest. He was getting real tired of Jed calling him stupid and telling him what to do. He knew what he was doing, why couldn’t the other man see that? He didn’t need to be baby sat at every little moment.

He continued to pour as he followed behind him. He looked behind him as he went, the group of people a small dot in the distance. Jed had moved them further away than he thought, which was good. Hopefully that sniper wouldn’t be able to see them from here.

He followed along for about an hour, twirling the crowbar in his hand bored to death. They still hadn’t run into anything, and he wondered if those people from before had cleared out this area as well.

Jude stopped twirling, throwing the bar to the ground. He threw out his hand, grabbing hold of the back of Jed’s shirt. He pulled him back hard, throwing him behind him. Just as a bullet skidded across the pavement where his left foot had been before. But there wasn’t a sound of a shot.

Silencer.

Jude quickly pulled out one of his pistols from its holster, throwing it up and gripped it tightly with his right hand. He moved to a crouching position, his body covering Jed’s who had practically thrown to the ground.

Wobbling around just in front of his feet was a red dot, but it never moved from that spot. Jude kept it in his peripheral, but kept his gun trained up towards a large potted tree just a couple yards away.

Slowly someone slipped out from behind the tree. They were wearing almost the exact same clothing as the group they had run into before. They had a mask covering their face, with a pair of black goggles on.

Damn they were really protecting this place, and they weren’t even that close to it. Was it some sort of military base and not a factory?

They had a rifle in their hands, gripping it tightly. The scope was missing, but had a laser in its place. They shifted the gun in their hands, moving the red dot so it rested in the middle of Jude’s chest.

“State your business. This place is off limits to outsiders,” a female voice demanded.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Fri Mar 10, 2023 4:46 am

Jedediah was so focused on following the map that he didn't notice something was off. He was about to stop to look around again before hearing Jude's crowbar clang to the ground. He was in mid turn when he was grabbed and thrown back onto the ground. "Oof!" He grunted before seeing the bullet hit the ground where he was standing just moments before. "Fuck thanks kid." He said before following suit, getting into a crouched position, pulling his out his own pistol.

He gasped slightly at the red dot at Jude's feet. "Shit I thought we cleared there place." He muttered to himself and watched Jude, ready to move when he did.

He looked up at the woman who emerged from the tree. He raised his hands with his pistol still in his hand. "We don't mean any harm, we're just passing through. Need to get to the outskirts of the city." He said, walking in front of Jude. "I thought we had cleared your area."

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She kept her rifle aimed in the middle of Jude’s chest, but her eyes were flicking between the two in front of her. They must have used the alleyway to get this far in, she would have to let the commander know about that.

“Our area runs more ten miles. If you are headed to the outskirts, you’ll have to get though most of our land,” she said annoyed. “It’s clear that neither of you have been this far before. Or else you have known that.”

Jude ground his teeth together, refusing to release his grip on the pistol. He kept it aimed at the woman, making sure it was level with her head. If she made any sudden moves he would put a bullet between her eyes.

“And I have a feeling I know where you are headed. You’re going to the abandoned military base. You’ll find nothing but trouble that way. It’s full of hoe dunk country folk, who would rather stick a knife in your throat than let you talk.”

She shifted the rifle in her hands, slowly lowering it so the red dot was pointed at the ground. But kept it between Jude’s feet just in case she needed to throw it up fast.

“I would suggest turning around and going back from where you came. Find another way around. Unless the both of you have a death wish. Past our land that is all you receive.”

But Jude wasn’t going to give up. He slowly stood up straight, keeping his hand gripping the pistol tightly. His finger was twitching slightly against the trigger.

He wasn’t going to give up, and there was no way he was going to turn around now. He suddenly then threw up the pistol, cocking it as he went. Almost in the same moment, the woman lifted the rifle, putting he red light between Jude’s eyes.

“Don’t try it kid. It’s not worth you dying here for nothing.”

He was anger. Beyond seething at this point. They had been walking for most of the day, getting covered in blood from the infected. Almost getting rained on multiple times. Jude almost got shot. JED almost got shot, and she was telling them to turn around!?

Who the fuck did she think she was!? She didn’t know them! She had no right to tell them what to do. He glared at her over the sights of the pistol, his arm straight and steady. Not a twitch in sight.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Fri Mar 10, 2023 6:12 pm

Jed watched her and sighed when she told them what the go was. He rubbed his face and looked at Jude before looking back at the woman. "We're looking for someone who might be out there. How far do we have to go to be out of your area so we can pass through peacefully?" He asked, eyes flicking to Jude. Shit he felt bad for the kid... He could see the anger radiating off him.

"Jude come on, we can figure this out. Don't lose your shit. Not worth it." He said, putting a hand on his shoulder before looking back at the woman. "So is there a way to get around you guys or can we pass through without trouble?" He asked.

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The woman sighed, lowering her gun then. She could see that the person pointing at pistol at her was just a kid. She wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if she killed a kid.

“If you guys are so determined to get there, you can have this,” she said. She removed something from her jacket. She knelt down slowly, before pushing it over to them.

It was an old metal badge, the words rubbed almost completely off of it. But the symbol of an eagle still easily noticeable.

“You can use that to get by the guards that patrol near the edge of the cut off. I can see if I can walk you half way to that point, I don’t really have a set route I have to take. That is if you want me to. You don’t have to trust me, but we aren’t really allowed to kill those who aren’t threats. Just keep the kid a bay yeah?” she asked.

Jude dropped the gun, sliding the chamber back into place with annoyance. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was something. And something was better than nothing.

He bent down and grabbed the badge that was on the ground, looking at it for a few moments. He turned his head and looked at Jed. He was going to let him make the call, for he was the one with the more sensible thoughts.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:53 pm

Jed watched her, holstering his gun as he watched her slide over the badge. He nodded as he looked at Jude. "Thank you for being so understanding ma'am." He said before putting Jude on the back. He looked back up at her and nodded. "Yeah I would feel better to have a chaperone with us at least part of the way." He said, walking up to her, pulling Jude along by his elbow. "This one doesn't speak so he won't answer you if you ask him something." He said.

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Jude looked at Jed , begrudgingly following along. He didn’t jerk his arm away, but just let himself be led. The woman walked in front of them by a couple feet, holding her gun close to her chest.

Every once and awhile they would walk by more people wearing the same uniforms. They would give a slight nod to the woman and she would give one back. A silent communication letting them know to leave the two men alone.

“There are some things you need to know if you’re going to go running head first into their camp. They are an aggressive bunch. Not much for talkers, they would rather fight first and talk later. Don’t try to challenge them,” she said turning her head back to look at them.

“No offense but you two don’t seem like you would be able to handle your own against them in a one on one. And they have more bullets than you, you’ll run out fast and be stuck with nothing.

If you want some sort of ‘sanctuary’ try to get on their good side. How that is I couldn’t tell you, but it shouldn’t be too hard. They are stupid just as they are aggressive.”

Jude didn’t really listen to her, he was drifting off into his own thoughts. He only knew she was talking by the droning he could going on in his ears.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:59 pm

After they walked for a couple of minutes, he let go of Jude, thinking he wouldn't try running away. He kept his eyes forward but looked around every so often as they walked through the city.

Jed chuckled at her suggestion of trying to be friends with them. "Don't worry, were not planning on going in there guns a blazin'" He said before looking at Jude, slightly glaring at him. "Are we?" He asked, making sure that Jude agreed.

He sighed when he noticed that Jude wasn't paying attention to anything. "Hey!" He said, smacking his shoulder. "Pay attention!" He said before sighing. "You're acting like a pouty child when you're the one that wanted to come out here in the first place. What am I gonna do with you?" He groaned before going back to focusing on walking.

He felt like Jude was more like a little brother to him now instead of just an acquaintance. He wouldn't admit that to Jude yet but he was starting to really care about him and worry about him.

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Being jerked out of his thoughts by a slap to the shoulder, Jude snapped his head up to look at Jed. He gave him a mild glare, one that didn't hold any actual anger behind it. Sure yes, he was brooding, pouting practically. But he didn't like to wait, he wanted things to hurry up. Just this walking and talking was bothering him. This woman was trying to act like she wanted to be their friend when she just got done holding a gun to their face. To Jed’s face. He didn’t want to be her friend.

The woman chuckled softly as she watched the two men behind her. “As long as one of you listens that’s all you really need. You can relay the information to him at a later date. It does seem like you are the only one he listens to though, so maybe me telling him anything wouldn’t work,” she told Jed, glancing over to Jude. Though she would only get a nasty glare in return, causing her to giggle once again. He looked like a bunny trying to pose as a fox. Soon they came to the edge of her territory, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. She looked over the dying scape of the city. Just a couple more blocks and they would see nothing but desert, with barely any trees on the road.

“This is where I have to stop. I do not wish to go any further,” she said, turning her gaze towards the boys once more. ‘Be careful. I think both of you are rather swell. If you do not find what you are looking for, you are more than welcome to come back and join our ranks. I’m sure we can find something for you both to do.” She gave them a smile.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Mon Apr 24, 2023 11:59 pm

Jed sighed, rubbing his eyes as he knew that Jude wasn't listening to anything she had said to them. "It would be nice to not have to repeat everything but whatever." He sighed, shaking his head.

He stopped when she did at the edge of their territory and looked off at the sandy wasteland ahead of them. He frowned before looking back at her. "Maybe, don't really do well in big groups. Was alone until this one thought it was a good idea to climb a rope." He said, looking over at Jude.

"Say thank you to the nice lady." He said, assuming that he would smile and nod his head since he couldn't speak.

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“Ah no he doesn’t have to say thank you, it’s really alright. I did it of my own violation,” she told him, waving a hand in front of her face. Though she wouldn’t be afraid to say she was rather shocked when Jude turned around and looked at her without a glare this time. He would slowly nod at her in acknowledgment. Well, at least it was something. Better than nothing she supposed. “Be safe you two, and be careful. These are not people you really want to get onto the bad side of,” she warned, waving at them as they began walking away. A frown appeared on her lips. Sure, she didn’t know them very long, but she felt for them. They were young, running around in a world gone to shit. Especially the one with the mask, he looked even younger than his companion. Brother? They seemed rather close like siblings, but who really knew? She just really hoped that if they didn’t come back through, they at least stayed alive.

Jude huffed as they walked through the desert, staring straight ahead. The pistol still gripped tightly in his hand. Was he angry? He didn’t really know himself. Sure, he was annoyed. But at what he didn’t even really know. He was just annoyed, at nothing really in particular. Maybe he was annoyed at Jed for treating him like a child all the time since they had met. Maybe he was annoyed at the woman for aiming her gun at said man. Perhaps about the fact that he couldn’t speak no matter how much he wanted to or tried. It really made things difficult.

They walked for miles, passing by pieces of broken-down buildings, even a wing of a jet plane sticking out of the sand. Jude had started to sweat, so now he held his black baseball cap in his hand, the pistol having been put away. Whatever infected they had walked by were either half buried in the sand and couldn’t get out. Or they had melted and became one with the grains, oozing boiling flesh and blood. It was a rather disturbing sight. They had not run into a single living soul, and Jude was beginning to wonder if that woman had been telling the truth. How could anyone live out here, with the late afternoon sun beating down on their backs? It would drive anyone mad. A small group of trees lay ahead, surprisingly green despite the lack of water.

Jude turned towards Jed gesturing around, trying to tell him that maybe they should set up “camp” under the trees for the night and head out once more in the morning. The boy looked rather exhausted, and frankly a bit dehydrated. He had maybe only taken a couple of sips from his water during their whole walk, more focused on the fact to keep moving.

Subject: Re: The Backfire Tue Apr 25, 2023 4:27 am

Jed was surprised when he actually saw Jude listen to him and say thank you in his own way to the woman. "We promise not to die. Maybe we'll stop by on the way back to let you know if they're still a problem or not." He said, saluting with two fingers in a casual manner before turning on his heal and followed him through the rest of the city.

He walked along beside Jude as they made their way through the city outskirts and into the sandy oasis. He could tell that Jude was brooding beside him with the faces he was pulling that he could see from just his eye expressions. He shook his head and kept facing forward as they walked through the sand. "Ugh. There's sand getting in my boots!" He groaned and fake cried about it for a minute, trying to cheer Jude up. He sighed as they trudged through the seemingly endless sands.

If Jude had looked at Jed, it wouldn't really seem like he was sweating as much as Jude was or as much as he should be. He also spotted the group of small trees and nodded. "Yeah that looks like a good place to 'camp'." He said, using quotations with his fingers. "I just hope I can empty the sand out of my boots." He groaned as they made their way over to the clearing.

When they finally made it, he flopped down onto the ground and pulled his right boot off and an ungodly amount of sand came out of his shoe. He made a chocked face and looked up at Jude before looking back at his boot. "Did you see how much sand just came out of my boot?" He asked.

Admin Posts : 196 Join date : 2022-01-12 Age : 25

Jude grunted as he fell onto his butt on the sand below the shade of a tree. Sweat was soaking into his shirt, causing the fabric to stick to his skin. He always hated the heat, he would much rather be cold. You could always add more layers when you were cold, but there was only so much you could take off when you were hot. Jude raised an eyebrow at Jed when he practically tore his boot off, and a pile was sand came pouring out of the shoe. He began to laugh slightly as he watched the male. It felt to him that he was trying to cheer him up in some way, but he couldn’t be a hundred percent sure. But if it was he really appreciated the effort he was putting in.

Jude began to unpack their things, throwing out a pair of sleeping bags he had found. He dug around inside his bag, pulling out a granola bar that he had found, and throwing it at Jed softly. It would have to be their dinner for the night. Hopefully, they would be able to find something else for the next couple of days. They were running low, which wasn’t good. Maybe they should have asked that woman for some food, but he doubted she would have given them anything anyway. It didn’t take long for Jude to climb into one of the sleeping bags as the sun started to go down, the air quickly getting cold. A complete 180 from what the day was like.

He glanced towards Jude, watching him for a few moments, as he pulled his hands from the bag. Slowly, biting his lip as he tried to concentrate as he signed -Are you keeping watch? Then I will take over after a couple of hours.-

Subject: Re: The Backfire Tue Apr 25, 2023 5:58 pm

Jed pulled his other boot off and even more sand came out of that boot. "What the fuck?!" He exclaimed, staring at the pile of sand. "How is there even more sand in this boot?!" He asked, bewildered as he looked from the sand to Jude and back again. He swept the sand away from him as much as possible before going through his pack to get his stuff out for the night.

"Ahh!" He fumbled with the granola bar and dropped it. "Hey! I wasn't expecting that." He said. He grabbed a rolled up hammock and some bungee cables and set up his bed for the night. He shed his jeans, chucking them on top of his pack before looking over at Jude. His legs were still completely covered in duct tape. Despite it starting to get cold, Jed didn't look cold at all.

"Yeah that sounds good." He said and grabbed his rifle and watched the wastelands around them. He occasionally patrolled around the camp.