THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE MEME

[unrewarded]

THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE MEME
inspired by the Left 4 Dead games, The Walking Dead, and various other zombie-related media.

It's a scenario that needs little introduction: the dead have risen to feast upon the living.
In the beginning there were evacuations, emergency broadcasts, reassurances from the government and the media.
It was hoped that things would return to normal sooner rather than later. But eventually, all that's left are the shambling hordes.
So take up that baseball bat, or your father's shotgun. Cling tight to your memories of the better times, or your faith, or whatever keeps you going.
The odds aren't stacked in your favor....but maybe you'll survive.

WHAT.
a productive survivor is a happy survivor.

1) Scavenge/Search: The end of civilization as we know it also means the end of all things convenient, up to and including hot water, electricity and McDonald's. Whether it's ammo or edibles, you're looking for any salvageable supplies. This option is also for if you're trying to find a familiar face somewhere among all the destruction and danger.
2) Fight: Not for your right to party, but for survival. Whether against a lone zombie, an entire horde or a fellow human being, there's nothing else to do but try and come out of the encounter alive.
3) Barricade: There's nowhere to run, but you can at least hide out and hunker down for awhile. Hopefully being cooped up won't drive you stir-crazy.
4) Escape: There comes a time when the only thing to do is run. Is there a horde on your tail? A final evacuation helicopter waiting just ahead? Whatever the reason, better hope you don't stumble.
5) Scout: Charging ahead blindly is an easy way to get killed. A little reconnaissance can prove to be the wisest decision.
6) Relax: Seems like an out of place choice, doesn't it? But sometimes, peace is just as important as safety. You've managed to secure a little while to breathe, to forget the horror you've just gone through.

WHERE.
location, location, location.

1) City/Neighborhood: These places used to be bustling with life. Now they're silent, littered with wreckage and likely crawling with foes.
2) Farmstead/Mill/Lighthouse: Isolated, secluded buildings out in the sticks.
3) Sewers/Subway/Rooftops: If you're heading through these areas, you're likely just trying to get to someplace better. Here's hoping nothing gets the jump on you.
4) Hospital/Army Base/Evacuation Center: These places once offered hope and protection. There might still be firepower and supplies stocked somewhere within.
5) Woods/Swamp/Coast/General Outdoors: Nature hasn't gotten any kinder, but it might just provide needed cover or a place to gather food the old-fashioned way.

WHEN.
at what stage of the world's end do you find yourself?

1) Initial Outbreak: This awful reality is new and frightening. There's chaos and panic everywhere you turn.
2) Two Weeks Later: The horror isn't quite so fresh, or maybe you're just starting to get a little numb to it.
3) Two Months Later: Some of the dust has settled on what remains of society. How have you been holding up?
4) ???: Specific time of your choosing.

WHO.
humanity's numbers have thinned dramatically, but you aren't alone.

1) Family: In this world, kin may be all you have left, or those who are as good as.
2) Friends: Better to be in the company of those you know and trust than those you don't, right?
3) Lovers: This isn't exactly the time or place for a honeymoon, but you're lucky enough to have found your spouse/romantic partner/fuckbuddy/whatever.
4) Strangers: You don't know this person and they don't know you. In any other situation, your paths might never have crossed. But here the two of you are anyway, like it or not.
5) Enemies: Perhaps you were at each other's throats long before this world went to hell. Maybe you just ended up that way over time, or due to the stressful circumstances at work.
6) Guardian: It could be that you don't even like this other person, but you feel responsible for them anyway.

EXTRA.
feel free to add these at your own discretion.

A) Power Loss: Immortality? Gone. Magic? Nixed. You're just an ordinary person now, for better or worse.
B) Infection: You've been bitten, or scratched, or maybe you're grappling with a sickness that has the same eventual end. You can resist the symptoms for awhile, but the only "cure" to be found is a bullet to the head.
C) Injury: Unlike the option above, you aren't hurt because of a zombie. How badly have you been knocked around?

AS ALWAYS, if there isn't a prompt that suits your needs, you're free to make up your own scene.

Comments

[french]

[ Em shrugs a little, tired, and tries to sit up better, holding Matthias closer. She looks down to him, brushing his blood-stained hair, and shakes her head. ]

I'm too nauseated. [ A pause. ] Do we have something left to clean his wound? I don't want this to get infected.

[ She sounds tired and slurred, her English slipping into a more French-sounding one as it does when she's tired or purely worn out. She's using her left arm to do everything, since her right one is still unusable. She will have to take care of it soon but, gosh, she would rather not. ]

[affections]

( Unhappy at that, Jules shoot Em a look, before nodding and moving to the supplies. Not a lot, they had to move fast, but as much as she could carry. It only takes a few moments before she returns with a plastic bottle, half empty, and a few pieces of bread. She gives one to Chloe, and the little girl grips at it a bit desperately. A moment taken to soothe her - empty words, Jules suspects - and she hands the next to Em. ) You can't look after them if you've been neglecting yourself.

( That, at least, should get through to her. ) We need to look at your shoulder, too.

( She's being harsh, she suspects, but this is too jarring, even as she reassures Matty before dabbing the disinfectant to his brow. ) Shh, it's okay. You'll be okay.

[french]

I'm fine. [ Strained and angry, Em watches Chloe eat the bread and it hurts her heart quite a bit, how desperate the little girl is to eat and she can only imagine how Matty feels, their little glutton.

She frowns, a flash of a tearful moment, but it's gone then as she strokes Chloe's hair, letting the little girl curl by her side. ]

The kids first. [ Em leans back and sighs tiredly, rubbing Matty's stomach. ] He needs to eat.

[affections]

( Liar. Jules would say it outright, but the kids look exhausted, completely beside themselves, Matty clutching at the bread as Jules hands it over to him. There's more, she'd bought enough over for all three of them, but Em's dismissal of her injuries and her hunger rubs the wrong way. ) Suit yourself.

( Anger makes her voice rough for those two words, though she soothes Matty as he wriggles against the sting of his cut being cleaned. Meanwhile, Em's selfish insistance - as far as Jules sees it, selfish not to look after herself - continues to gall her, and only when Matty's wound is clean as he's guzzling away the bread does she look over at her. )

You're being reckless. Let me look.

[french]

[ It annoys her, deep down. How Jules can take a fall and not feel a thing, how her cuts and bruises heal so fast. In the meantime, Em breaks easily, so stupidly easily when compared to Jules, and it annoys her. She wants to be able to sustain injuries and not complain. Alas, that is not the case and Em grits her teeth under a lineface while looking at Matty. She's maybe trying to find a way to delay that, to not give in (so stubborn), but there's nothing so she just looks at Jules for a second before rubbing her eyes. ]

Fine.

[ Em sits up a little and asks Chloe to move to the left side of her, so she can cuddle with her brother, giving Jules some space. ]

We need to get more supplies.

[affections]

Thank you. ( Not exactly gracious, given Em's attitude, but she regrets her tone immediately. It's written all over her face, and truth be told if she could give Em her strength and her resilience, she would do it in a heartbeat. She'd give it up entirely if it meant Em was safe, the twins. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like that sort of thing could ever happen in reality, confined to the realm of fantasy.

A little sigh, and she grabs a fresh scrap of cloth to dab at Em's forehead, frowning a little as she does. ) I don't think it's too deep.

( Running in the dark would do that, though. Easier to evade detection, but easier to break yourself in the process. As she works, she pauses to wordlessly offer Em the bread again. )

[french]

[ She catches the tone and frowns, but doesn't make a big deal out of it. Wasting energy in getting mad at each other would be stupid and the exhaustion is probably making her irritable anyway, so she swallows some of her pride and lets Jules clean her up. ]

I really don't feel like eating. [ A pause, where she considers something, and then adds softly: ] Later.

[ Em lays a hand on Jules' knee, trying to ignore the pain on her shoulder, instead just closing her eyes. ]

Are you hurt?

[affections]

( She looks at her reproachfully before she can stop herself, but the expression eases as Em relents. At least a little, she relents. ) Later. ( An assurance she won't forget. Hope that there will be plenty of laters.

She's still dabbing the last of the mess away from the wound, careful not to re-open it with the effort, but glances back to Em with the question. She is stronger, true, but not unbreakable, and there's a throbbing pain over her right shoulder. ) Sore. When that thing fell, it caught my back.

( She hasn't looked at it, and really didn't want to, enjoying the virtues of a dark shirt for concealing potential injuries slightly more easily. ) Okay. This is all done.

( Silence stretches for a few moments, and she very gently touches her dislocated arm. ) Come on. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can use it again.