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Post by Damian on Aug 26, 2014 19:38:37 GMT -5
GAME MASTER
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 3:15 P.M. It had been approximately three days since Subject Zero was released into Auberry, California by the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasure Center (NBACC). Unknown to the residents of Fresno County, California, the entire county had been placed under quarantine; no one allowed in or out. Military checkpoints dotted each major entry into the county, effectively blocking access. All flights within the county were grounded and ones leading in were redirected elsewhere much to the chagrin of passengers and travellers alike. Every person who tried to enter or leave Fresno County was met with the same hostile demeanor from the National Guard troops stationed on the outskirts and told to simply turn around. Those that refused to comply were detained. The weather is 92°F and is mostly cloudy. There is a 4 mph wind.People have been fleeing from the panic and chaos in nearby Auberry towards Fresno and other areas of Fresno County. Those that have made it to Fresno have either decided to continue on through and try to get out of the county in general or have come seeking refuge with family, friends, or to simply just get away. Due to the situation in Auberry, a portion of the Fresno City Police Department has been tasked with heading over to Auberry to assist where they can as the Fresno County Sheriff's Department is having a hard time dealing with it. Due to this, portions of the city are understaffed by Law Enforcement agencies and people are taking advantage. The most densely populated areas such as downtown are still fully staffed, but the suburban areas are without attention. Some of the people that have fled from Auberry have been infected by the Atrophia Contritio parasite and are beginning to show symptoms. A very small number have already turned and are beginning to attack the population, adding to the small-scale looting that is already occuring within parts of Fresno that are without police protection. Arahna Egbert is within the Courtyard Fresno, a 5-star hotel after having just spent the night with another of her vices. Artemis Malcolm Jackson and Roseus Satnav are in Roseus' Uncle's house in one of the suburban districts of Fresno, witnessing first-hand some of the looting and small-scale anarchy occuring within the streets. Jared Ballack has heard of the lack of police presence in the more suburban areas of Fresno and is currently making his way from downtown in an effort to cause some havoc with his gang. ((Click the URL to see your actual positions on Google Maps. Jared Ballack has been given NPC permission for his gang members. ))
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Post by Kotaiso on Aug 27, 2014 21:39:06 GMT -5
Jared found himself excited; he hadn't been excited in a very long time. Sure, things more often than not went his way... but it was a given. Jared knew that he would get it and that knowledge satisfied him, but do to it always happening it often bored him. Thus he found himself wanting more and wanting to do more. So when he heard about the small-scale looting going on in the more sparsely populated areas of the city as oppossed to downtown where he normally hung out with his goonies, he found himself intrigued. Surely the police would have put a stop to it almost instantly? But that's when he heard about some situation in Auberry; a small town he'd never heard of nor been to and probably never would. He was content with causing havoc and mayhem in Fresno; it was a big enough playground. However, what intrigued him most about what was happening in Auberry was that a portion of the Fresno Police Department had been called away to assist the Fresno County Sheriff's Department stationed there. This meant that portions of the city were less protected by law enforcement which left those areas ripe for the picking. Jared ambled down the street flanked by two of his followers; all of them dressed in relatively the same manner: jeans of assorted color, t-shirts, and boots. Jared himself wore a plain black t-shirt followed up by a pair of khaki cargo which were dressed into black combat boots. He kept his hands in his pockets and stared straight ahead; never making eye contact with anyone as he passed by. He felt like this gave them the feeling that he was better than them and couldn't care less about them. While that fact was true, it was in case he decided he wanted to do something to them... and what better way to have them not expect it? Don't look at them. If Jared didn't make eye contact, then his would-be victims would never expect he was dangerous; instead simply assuming he was just another punk walking down the street with a pair of friends. In the past, this proved to be very successful as Jared had waited until he and his goons passed by the victim before suddenly turning on them and performing whatever random act of violence came to mind. However, today would not be one of those days. After a bit of walking, Jared stopped at a small parking lot to his right on North Fresno Street and East White Avenue. He scanned the surrounding area looking for anything that could give him a chance to not only get what he wanted quicker, but also cause a little chaos at the same time.
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Post by Damian on Aug 30, 2014 22:14:21 GMT -5
After a bit of walking, Jared stopped at a small parking lot to his right on North Fresno Street and East White Avenue. He scanned the surrounding area looking for anything that could give him a chance to not only get what he wanted quicker, but also cause a little chaos at the same time. GAME MASTER In the parking lot, Jared would be able to see a white pickup truck; a 2005 Dodge RAM and a man in his early to mid-40s outside of it, on the phone. There would also be a handful of civilians in the area.
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Vantas
Survivor
Roseus Satnav
Posts: 6
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Post by Vantas on Aug 31, 2014 3:48:46 GMT -5
The Satnav house, despite it only holding two occupants from the usual three, was anything but quiet. There was a constant string of muffled, poorly amplified screaming coming from Roseus’ phone as she sat silently at the small dining room table, seemingly unmoving as a horrified expression gazed down at the device. Despite the shock effect the videos had on her she continued to flick through one after the other, all of them telling the same story but getting increasingly worse.
Auberry was in a chaotic distress, however it’s neighboring city had no access to any information about their current status until late evening the previous day. That’s when social media pulsed and news started pouring into every site. Tumblr, a very frequented site for both residents, flicked their meme loving switch off and flooded everything with various links to articles, live streams, and larger social outlets about the events in Auberry including snippets about Fresno they were unaware of until now.
This including the understaffed police in smaller areas of the city. A concerning factor considering Roseus was positioned and living in such a place. She sighed heavily, the only sound she made since she began watching and reading about the events.
“Apparently there have been reports and witnesses to looting in Fresno…” Roseus’ voice drifted as her finger flicked further down the article.
Auburn eyes drifted to the other person within the room, concern replacing the horrified expression she had before. “Artemis?” Her voice faltered a little as Roseus’ attention still focused lightly on the current article she was reading.
The looting started from a small scale protest when the public demanded what was happening. If social media was lying then the live streams that flooded UStream and Youtube were really consistent and well thought out “hoaxes” on Auberry’s behalf. At this point it was pointless to lie to the masses, but still the public did not get the information they wanted nor the help that Auberry needed and began acting out.
It was understandable but Roseus still found everything so hard to swallow. Doubt still clouded her mind as another gruesome photo popped up on her phone, this a little more unbearable to look at than the others. Her face was tinged green as a loud clap echoed as she dropped her phone to the table.
Roseus sighed and rubbed her face before looking back at Artemis. “I just don’t know what we should do. Uncle said everything will be fine but…obviously it’s not. I just hope nothing happens to hi--”
Her sentence was cut when a loud crash sounded just north of them near Fremont Avenue. Roseus flinched as more destruction sounded; a smash of glass, a man yelling, a car alarm, more people yelling and a few distressed screams.
“Artemis…”
At this point the smaller woman was fiddling with her hands staring at the other for signs of comfort or confirmation about their situation. She still couldn’t seem to grasp the destruction that was leaking into the city of Fresno.
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Artemis
Survivor
Artemis Malcolm Jackson
Posts: 7
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Post by Artemis on Aug 31, 2014 4:47:24 GMT -5
Artemis wasn't ignoring Roseus, still paying attention to the words she was saying, but she sat as transfixed as her girlfriend was at the images and videos being shared around on the web. Corpses and gore were nothing new to her - having seen dead bodies before when she was younger, and having spent just too much time on the internet during those late nights - but she frankly had never seen someone practically scrape another person's face off in a complete rage. Her right hand was clicking, clicking, clicking, video after video, and her left was gripping the table tighter with every passing moment. Quite frankly, the only reason she hadn't responded to Roseus was because the gears in her head were working overdrive, thinking about too many things, taking in all of this information.
She was a writer. A poet, more importantly. It was hard to not think about this in a near-philosophical manner. Though, her thoughts were bordering on jokes.
This was the novel they were in, the movie, the show. It was a genre so overplayed, so overdone, that she was sure millions of people had their own plans for dealing with this scenario. The word was already being tossed around, with people trying to refute it but having a very difficult time given the mountains of images and videos coming out of Auberry, California. Zombies.
The young woman almost wanted to laugh. Even if things might not escalate to the point some media take this concept, she now lived in a world where there might be zombies, and it was getting likelier by the hour. She was caught up rationalizing this, mind unable to help but consider the possibilities of what this was, while trying to think of plans not necessarily just for this threat but the chaos slowly unfolding in the city. Could they stay in here? She didn't want to anymore, but trying to leave to find Roseus' uncle sounded as bad as every other idea.
What finally snapped her out of her deep pondering was the sudden commotion nearby, which prompted her dog, Makya, into barking in protest. She snapped out of it, pushing the laptop away, and turned to the cur with a stern expression. "Hush." The dog went silent promptly, turning to Artemis to listen for another command, but she had already turned to Roseus after realizing she had been so quiet.
"We need to stay put," she told her after a moment, knowing any plan was a bad one at this point. "And we need to prepare." Seeing how uncomfortable Roseus looked, she got up from her chair and went to her, grabbing her hands and cupping them with her own. "That means getting ready to leave, Ro. Things are getting bad and they might get worse. We need to be ready." She gestured in the direction of her bag, though didn't turn to it, "I never unpacked. So we should try being as efficient as possible: get the most important things, do the same for your uncle if you can. I am going to move some furniture in front of the sliding doors because we need to start taking precautions.
"Do you understand?"
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Post by Kotaiso on Sept 1, 2014 15:43:42 GMT -5
Jared tilted his head to the side as he watched the man on the phone near the pickup truck. "Now, that's interesting... I am truly blessed."
The two men with Jared looked at him as he spoke then followed his gaze towards the parking lot, understanding what he meant, "You want us to go get that pickup truck, boss?"
Jared held up a hand and shook his head, "Let's go have some fun."
The man was oblivious as he walked towards pickup truck, hopping from one foot to the other like an excited child playing hopscotch; his goons trailing behind pulling the look big and intimidating act. The man on the phone continued to speak to whomever was on the other end as Jared began to hum to himself as he Hopscotched forward, jumping from one foot to two; back to one, double foot twice, and then finally landed with a big jump in front of the person on the phone.
By this point, Jared was looking at his feet as his goons approached from behind; staring the man on the phone down. Jared held his hands behind his back and shifted his weight from foot to foot, still looking down at the ground like an awkward toddler wanting a toy at a department store but being too shy to ask. Slowly, Jared raised his gaze and looked at the man on the phone in front of the pickup truck, staring for a few scant seconds -- scanning the man's eyes for any signs of fear, intimidation; trying to understand this person. A sly smile spread across Jared's features as he reached out in an attempt to cuff the man's face with his hands like a lover reuniting with their long, lost partner. "...hi." The words came out very firm, but quiet.
As Jared reached to cup the man's face, the two men behind him walked past him to either side of the man on the phone and practically boxed him in with Jared in front, the pair on either side, and the pickup truck behind him; there would be no escape.
Quickly, Jared stepped back from the man and closed his eyes, moving his arms like the conductor of an orchestra as the two goons attempted to grab for the man and beat him down.
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Vantas
Survivor
Roseus Satnav
Posts: 6
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Post by Vantas on Sept 1, 2014 17:39:35 GMT -5
Roseus jumped when Makya started to react to the commotion as well. His barks doing little to frighten her further, however it was still unsettling to see him confirm the growing intensity of the situation. Another car alarm began to go off though Makya was soon hushed by Artemis. A flicker of a smile appeared for a fraction of a second at the dog before her serious expression returned.
Her voice cracked slightly as she went to throw another question at her girlfriend but felt herself swallowing her words almost instantly when warm hands cupped hers. Despite how much she trusted Artemis, she still felt her gut turning in fear at her words. Scenarios began flooding into her mind as the smaller woman let herself panic.
Looters smashing into her home and hurting her family, people dying in the street, the cliché movie that was Auberry leaking into Fresno further…
The “What if?” game was taking a toll on Roseus’ ability to speak as she just stared into Artemis’ eyes. She looked expectantly at her, addressing her attention to the rucksack she brought with her the first day she arrived at the Satnav home. Her throat started to feel tight as she briefly glanced at the bag.
Pack?
“Oh…?...Oh!” Shaking her head and clearing her throat she fiddled her hands inside Artemis’ until she was able to squeeze back, reassuring her that her words were finally piercing through the cloud of distress.
“I should also contact Uncle, tell him to take a different street home and be careful.” Roseus murmured. “Alright. Essentials. I understand, but…I’m not good at this, Artemis.”
The yells of anger were collecting in masses, the distance still the same as before but growing numbers meant spreading people. A groan of worry left Roseus’ lips before she furrowed her brows at her girlfriend’s plan while she packed.
“Furniture against the doors? Do you really think it’s going to get that bad? Is that necessary?”
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Shag
Survivor
Arahna Egbert
Posts: 2
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Post by Shag on Sept 2, 2014 2:04:06 GMT -5
A shower, some food, the news. For Aranha Egbert the morning had been slow and dull, wrapped up in a robe as she was, sitting cross legged in an overstuffed chair as the prey of the night paced back and forth in the room on his phone. Lockdown this, looting that, people getting shot and detained. On the outside she rolled her eyes, letting a cheek rest against her shoulder as she stared out over the city. The inside was a knot of fear and worry, mostly for herself, a little bit for the rest of the people that had come to this city for the shoots that ended up canceled on such short notice.
The news was saying people were indeed looting, getting injured, injuring others, taking full advantage of the freedom given by apparent anarchy elsewhere. She wanted to leave, maybe go back to Texas for a while and lie low. But instead, oh boy, she got to stay in this county, and worse yet, in this hotel with this guy. He'd taken it into his head that they were a thing, keeping her locked up like a pretty bird for his eyes only. It made her teeth grit when he ended the call and tossed his phone on the mussed up bed, turning back to his prize and staring until she switched legs and turned cold eyes towards him.
"I didn't exactly come to this hotel with you to get locked in like a prisoner," thin fingers drum against the arm of the chair, "would you like to let me go or do I have to like, leave forcefully or something?"
The offhand comment about sure, get yourself killed out there like a weak woman you are makes her stand up, scowling, "it's bad enough to be trapped in the county. It's like death being trapped here with you."
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Post by Damian on Sept 3, 2014 19:34:09 GMT -5
As Jared reached to cup the man's face, the two men behind him walked past him to either side of the man on the phone and practically boxed him in with Jared in front, the pair on either side, and the pickup truck behind him; there would be no escape. Quickly, Jared stepped back from the man and closed his eyes, moving his arms like the conductor of an orchestra as the two goons attempted to grab for the man and beat him down. GAME MASTER The middle-aged man near the pickup truck had nowhere to go. He was absolutely disturbed by the actions of Jared; he'd never been approached in such a way by a person before... especially a stranger. It was enough to stun him, which worked to Jared and his gang's benefit. When Jared reached to cup the man's face, the touch was enough to bring the hapless man back to reality and he stepped back; hitting the side of his Dodge RAM. As Jared's goons blocked the man in and Jared stepped back, the fight or flight mentality kicked in and he tried to run away. However, Jared's goons were already in place and he barely took a step before being grabbed and punched in the gut. Another kicked at the back of his legs, bringing him down to his knees. From there, the pair quickly searched his pockets and found a wallet and a set of keys; tossing both to Jared. The two continued to kick at the man on his knees, who could only try to cover himself with his arms as best he could. He hoped, pleaded that someone nearby would come to his rescue. None came. ((Jared Ballack has NPC permission on pickup truck owner. ))
He'd taken it into his head that they were a thing, keeping her locked up like a pretty bird for his eyes only. It made her teeth grit when he ended the call and tossed his phone on the mussed up bed, turning back to his prize and staring until she switched legs and turned cold eyes towards him. "I didn't exactly come to this hotel with you to get locked in like a prisoner," thin fingers drum against the arm of the chair, "would you like to let me go or do I have to like, leave forcefully or something?" The offhand comment about sure, get yourself killed out there like a weak woman you are makes her stand up, scowling, "it's bad enough to be trapped in the county. It's like death being trapped here with you." The comment was enough to send the man flying into a rage. The phone conversation he had just had obviously left him stressed and worried, so much so that he wasn't going to let Arahna make him feel any worse. If she didn't want to stay with him, that was fine enough. He would have liked to have another taste of her at least one more time but decided he needed to get home to his family ASAP. With that in mind, the "prey" gave Arahna 10 minutes to get her things and get out of his hotel room.
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Artemis
Survivor
Artemis Malcolm Jackson
Posts: 7
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Post by Artemis on Sept 8, 2014 3:53:05 GMT -5
"Yes. More than necessary," came the young woman's reply. She began pushing furniture they weren't using against the sliding screen door leading to the backyard, the biggest danger in her mind. "I will keep you safe but I cannot cover the entire house at the same time. This will prevent people from coming in if they plan on it."
She silently moved the heavy items as the news from her laptop played in the background, still recounting the events happening in Auberry and the trickle-down chaos into the rest of Fresno County. It fueled her to do this all the more quickly, especially since the voices were getting drowned out slowly by the commotions outside. The stern expression on her face didn't betray the mounting turmoil in her mind.
There was a part of her that was sickly enjoying all of this, which unsettled her. After living day-to-day out in the wilderness for nearly two years, after the heart-pounding argument with Apollo that started her trek, after the hell that could barely be called a life under that man's roof, living here with Roseus and her uncle for several weeks had been so strange. She was restless. The odd jobs she did to justify her being here never brought any satisfaction, and they were so far from wooded areas that would let her indulge in some of her favorite past-times.
All she had been doing here was writing poetry, exercising, and spending time with her girlfriend. She never voiced this, in case it would upset Roseus, though she had a hard time keeping her stagnation secret with how down she could get from inactivity. She enjoyed the time with her, quite a lot actually, but a part of her wanted to be out there wrestling life by the horns and making it submit to her will, one of the few things she could agree with her father over what's important in life.
They were in danger now. Despite not wanting Roseus and her uncle and others to get hurt, she was itching for something to happen. Not to play the hero, not to protect those two, but just for her own sake. She was ready for a fight, but more importantly, to get out there and really earn her living in a form beyond money.
There was always people too caught up with surviving to appreciate living. Artemis was the kind of person who couldn't live without surviving.
"Think of it like an extended camping trip if we have to leave - bring what you think we all would need if we had to survive in the woods for a while," she told the other girl, heading to the main bedroom to block the sliding doors there with the dresser and the bed. After that, only the regular front door would need blocking, and she could keep watch there. Before leaving the living room, though, she finished talking, "And make sure you will be able to carry it."
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Post by Kotaiso on Sept 9, 2014 0:20:23 GMT -5
As his assosciates beat the man down to the ground and tossed him the keys, Jared interlocked them in between his fingers and played with the tips of the carved metal. He walked around the pickup truck, inspecting it thoroughly as his assosciates kept the owner on his knees; who began to plead. He offered them money, his belongings, whatever they wanted as long as they let him go. Most of the people nearby either weren't paying attention or simply didn't want to get involved and end up in a similar situation. Jared finished circling the truck and came to a stop once more in front of the owner, looking down at him; keys still in between his fingers. He knelt down next to the owner and stared at him, "Shh, shh. Don't speak to them, you talk to me." That got his attention, the owner finally making eye contact with Jared. "What do you want? Please, take it." The owner pleaded, trying to struggle free in an effort to get into a better grovelling position. He was held fast in place. "I don't know what I want. Sometimes I don't want anything and opportunity just strikes me as it has today!" Jared beamed, sitting down cross-legged in front of the owner, "The opportunity to take your truck to get where I want to go, to kill you, to take your money, find where you live, torture your family, and maybe enslave your children." Horror struck the owner of the pickup truck; he was absolutely helpless and he knew it. Jared watched the man's reaction carefully, studying it and seeing where he hit most deep with his words. "You see," Jared continued, " I am in control here and I will tell you what I want; I don't want your offers." The pleading turned into unintelligble sobbing; the line about the owner's family had really gotten to him. Jared smirked and pushed himself forward, resting his forehead against the owner's, "Please don't cry. I don't like it when people cry." Jared knew that the man wouldn't heed his words, he'd scared and intimidated him beyond the point of keeping calm. He sighed, resting a hand on his cheek dissapointed, "See, you're just like everyone else. You're not very fun." Jared rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders and carefully removed the Dodge key from the ring, pocketing it. He then replaced the rest of keys in between his fingers and struck at the man's face quickly, connecting with the bridge of his nose. The keys scrapped and glided across the owner's skin, causing blood. Jared continued the motion as the man yelled out in pain and fell back; Jared's assosciates releasing him as their boss unleashed upon him. Jared continued his onslaught until the man's pained yells began to gurgle as the amount of blood from his face began clogging his throat. Jared stopped hitting the man and tried to open his mouth, "No! You don't choke unless I allow you to choke!" Jared thrust the keys into one of his assosciates hands, looking up at him with blood smeared all over his face from residual splash, "Shove these down his throat." Jared stepped back to allow his assosciate to do as instructed. The man struggled but eventually managed to force the keys into the owner's mouth and slightly down his throat. Violent gagging sounds were heard alongside the gurgling from the blood; the owner going silent a few moments later. Jared retrieved the Dodge key from his pocket, tossing it to his other assosciate. "Drive." "Boss, you wanna get the blood off your face first?" "It's my warpaint." The trio loaded up into the Dodge pickup and headed northeast to the East Bullard and North Cedar Avenue intersection, leaving the owner's corpse to rot in the parking lot.
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Post by Damian on Sept 9, 2014 0:52:46 GMT -5
GAME MASTER
Tuesday, August 26th, 2014 4:00 P.M. Due to the extreme situation in Auberry, evacuations were being prepared and those that could be saved and brought to the city of Fresno were staged in Bulldog Stadium near the California State University, Fresno campus. Due to the high amount of Law Enforcement personnel that had lost their lives in Auberry, a large amount of Fresno's Police Department were ordered to the stadium in an effort to keep an eye on the refugees and to keep chaos from further erupting. Unfortunately, this stretched the Fresno Police Department's manpower even further and caused even more looting to occur in more parts of the city as a result. In the areas that had been almost completely free of police presence prior to the evacuation center being set up, the looting continued to get worse with people going to even more extremes. Fights were common in the streets as were break ins. In some instances, the small amount of infected in the city were mistaken for looters and when violence erupted as a result, no one paid particular attention it. The amount of infected in Fresno continued to grow, some roaming the streets attacking anyone within sight while the rest were yet unturned in Bulldog stadium.
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Post by Kotaiso on Sept 25, 2014 16:38:17 GMT -5
There seemed to be a lot of activity going on to the south of the intersection the trio were currently stopped at. Jared sat in the bed of the pickup truck; he could care less if a cop tried to pull them over for reckless driving or some other annoying vehicular "crime" due to it. He looked at the passengers and drivers of the vehicles around all looking at him and the truck's occupants, talking amongst themselves which caused Jared to smile. As they were stopped at a redlight, the traffic began to build on their side of the intersection and the opposing as vehicles passed in between. Jared once more glanced down south and noticed relatively more traffic heading into that area than there was up where he was. His eyes weren't perfect, but he could've sworn he saw a couple of police vehicles down there. Humming to himself softly in contemplation, Jared analyzed the situation he was in.
He and his friends had just beaten a man to death to the southwest, stolen said man's truck, and were now parked several blocks from a lot of seeming police traffic. This didn't sit well with Jared and he figured if they were any good at their jobs, the Fresno Police would eventually pick them up in their extremely hot vehicle. A scenario played through Jared's head of his fun being spoiled before it even had a chance to begin and he rose to stand in the back of the pickup, placing his hands on top of the cab, looking east. He slammed on top of the cab three times to get his assosciates' attentions. They rolled the window down, "What is it, boss?"
"Let's give these people a show. Run the intersection." He could hear the driver's heart skip a beat in the silence and gripped the metal of the backrack that was equipped on the Dodge RAM.
"But--"
"Don't 'but' me! Drive or I swear to fuck, I will use your head as a brake!" He heard a belt buckle latch itself as the passenger obviously knew what would be coming. The driver swallowed hard, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he revved the engine.
Jared grinned as time seemed to slow down. The truck's tires skidded against the asphalt and people gasped. Jared stayed in the bed of the truck for a second or two as they zoomed forward into traffic coming north to south and vice versa before throwing himself out of the back, hitting the ground hard as his body rolled to a stop near the pedestrian walkway. He laid on his back and stared up at the sky as he heard a rather large screech followed by a smash; success! The sounds repeated several times followed by a variety of honks. Music to his ears; the image of his performance on a grand stage played through his head as the crowd erupted with applause and threw flowers at his feet while he bowed in appreciation. Suddenly he was snapped out of his daydream as something sharp coursed through his ribcage; he'd landed wrong. Oh well... All part of the plan.
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Post by Damian on Sept 28, 2014 20:13:28 GMT -5
GAME MASTER As Jared's former means of transportation collides with several other vehicles at the intersection of East Bullard and North Cedar Avenue, people begin to crowd and rush towards the scene in an attempt to assist. Nearby, Ian Rockefeller would be able to witness the crash and its aftermath.
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Ian Rockefeller
Survivor
Ian Rockefeller
Love is telling people what they'd rather not hear.
Posts: 14
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Post by Ian Rockefeller on Oct 1, 2014 12:11:45 GMT -5
Fresno certainly was in some kind a state, wasn’t it? It hadn’t been too terribly long ago that Ian Rockefeller had arrived in the city, smaller than L.A., but still quite large, intent on spending some time with his dad who was apparently loving his semi-retirement. The two of them had a relationship that wasn’t the closest, but it was friendly and Ian had been glad that his dad seemed proud of him, although receiving compliments always made him feel a bit awkward, particularly when they came from a man whom he’d probably seen for a net total of less time than any single one of his close friends back home.
So, they did a few things together, tried to catch meals together, but it was impossible for the two of them to spend day and night together without the conversation quickly digressing into awkward throat clearing and shuffling. How bizarre that Ian was naturally so open-lipped with his clients and with his dad he suddenly found himself incapable of saying anything to keep a conversation going.
Naturally, this led Ian to wandering the streets much of the time, especially now that the initial novelty of seeing his dad had worn off of them both. He missed his crowd back home and few knew him here, but in a way it had been kind of nice. People here were in a dire state, with worries high from looting and the disaster that had happened over in Auberry, resulting in quite the number of refugees.
All in all, there was no shortage of people to talk to, but at the present moment, Ian was relaxing, leaning against a wall and people watching. With his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his thin but well pressed black suit, Ian puffed on a cigarette hanging between his lips, keeping it tucked between the edge of his mouth and one of his lip rings as he exhaled the smoke from the other side of his mouth without bothering to use his hands. The only pain was the ashes and now and then he reached up to pull the small stick from his mouth and tap it off against the wall, letting the ashes crumble near his crossed feet.
Even just leaning there, most of the people passing glanced at him. Some because they were pissed about his smoking, pulling their children in like he was corrupting them just by being there, and some because they were simply intrigued by his unique appearance, the stark contrast of his suit in addition to his white and black hair making him stand out without him even trying. Of course, the piercings only added to that, of which he had snake bites and a bar through the middle of his bottom lip, a tongue piercing, and piercings ringing his right ear, including several rings, spikes, and a bar. The shades he usually wore in public also gave him an apathetic, mysterious aura, though it was probably a good thing that people thought he didn’t give a shit because in actuality, Ian was studying everyone and everything around him quite closely.
That was why he noticed the rather peculiar actions leading up to a Dodge RAM flying out into cross traffic. Ian certainly wasn’t a genius and he definitely didn’t possess the superhuman ability to notice everything happening around him, but he noticed the strange way that the truck, which had come to a complete stop at that red light, suddenly jerked into motion, jumping out into the lanes of cross traffic far more slowly than it might have if it had simply blown the light already going thirty or more miles per hour. And with that strange behavior, how could he miss the figure standing in back and grinning, too?
How bizarre.
Of course the resounding squeal of metal and crunching glass caused a chorus of screams and Ian was extremely concerned for those injured, but as traffic came to a halt and the intersection locked up, there were plenty of people flooding the mangled mass of metal, checking to see if people were alright.
Many of them ran right around the man on the ground, but Ian sighed and pushed himself off of the wall, taking a deep inhale of his cig as he sauntered over to the guy, who looked a little worse for wear. Stopping short of the man, Ian leaned over him slightly and brought his fingers to his mouth, taking a hit of the tobacco before tossing the cigarette onto the ground and grinding it out under the toe of one of his shiny black shoes. “I don’t think reckless and stupid preclude each other,” he said after some time, raising one dark, thick eyebrow over the rim of his shades.
“Rescue services are already stretched pretty tight and I’ll wager that any ambulances that show up are only going to have room for your uh, victims,” Ian continued, smiling easily. “But… you wouldn’t happen to need any medical care, would you? Of course I’m talking about physical help only. It’s quite clear you need mental help.”
Holding out one hand, Ian offered it to help the other man up. “Ian Rockefeller,” he introduced himself.
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