To Save a Ruined World

bgunny • 4 October 2019 at 11:49 AM

Ivy~
The hairs on my neck raise as I get the odd feeling that I had been spotted. I hear a growling noise behind me and something breaths on my back. I’m not alone in this bush, I think bitterly. I close my eyes and take a breath, before turning my head. I let out a shriek of alarm and jump out of the bush into the road. Two shadow monsters shaped as raccoons slink out after me. I pull out my dagger from its sheath and hold it awkwardly in front of me, pointing it at the shadow raccoons. I can handle two, can’t I? I think, trying to be bright and positive. “Leave or I will be forced to kill you,” I tell the monsters, sounding as threatening as I could, which, unfortunately, wasn’t very. The raccoons make a condescending noise and turn to the bushes. Another raccoon comes out of the bushes. My heart sinks. At the arrival of the third monster, my chances of winning had been wrenched from my grasp.

The raccoons make the first move. It pounces at me. I kick it away, but now before it could give me a scratch on my leg. The other two run over to their friend to check if he was okay. He was perfectly fine. The kick was only strong enough to get him away from me. At their distraction, I do what, hopefully, any sane person would do in my situation: turn tail and run. They chase after me. I wanted to call out for help, but I knew my chances someone coming to help would be even slimmer than my chances of getting out of this mess safely.

chaoschild • 4 October 2019 at 1:48 PM

(@bgunny, Would it be okay if Serafina met up with ivy as well?)

Serafina:
~ I could hear the shadow's footsteps behind me. I run down the path until I reach a tree with a low-hanging branch. I grab it and swing myself up into the tree it came from. The shadow cat runs beneath me. There was glitter stuck to it. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding and slowly climb down from the tree.

Jean saw a shadow on the road in front of him. He didn't think it was a shadow. It was too well defined. it ducked into the shade on the other side of the road.

bgunny • 4 October 2019 at 2:39 PM

(@wingedfox, It's fine with me. 😊 )

shadowdragon28 • 4 October 2019 at 5:06 PM

Emilia's eyes widened as another survivor ran out of the bushes. Three shadow raccoons follow her. She hesitated, was it really her place to rescue another survivor? Was she willing to take the risk? Emilia winced at her thoughts, the apocalypse had changed everyone, for worse. She ran after the shadow raccoons, drawing her double swords.

Niall walked through the streets. It seemed like there was a figure standing far away from him, but it was probably his imagination. Or a shadow monster. He tensed, and got ready to run.

robinn • 4 October 2019 at 6:25 PM

Rayne holds his breath. Why wasn't the figure leaving? He didn't want to have to fight it off, maybe he could distract it. He notches an arrow and fires it towards the direction of the figure. He knows it won't hit it.

arcana • 4 October 2019 at 6:35 PM

(Is anyone interested in having Tori meet them?)
Tori starts walking to another village, hoping to spot someone or a group to join. Her teachings didn't include how to get food. It was very risky to travel the wastelands without a group or people, which she knew, but she decided to jump-start her life.
Paloma stared out into the horizons, blinking every so often. She thought she had been seeing shadows, and animals, but it looked more like people, the more and more she looked. Paloma frowned. Without knowledge of their intentions, she would just have to wait and see if they visited the city.

shadowdragon28 • 4 October 2019 at 7:34 PM

(You can join us if the others agree)
Niall nearly screamed as an arrow flew by, landing near him. Wait, if the figure could shoot an arrow, it wasn't a shadow monster. And the figure might know where his friends are. He paused for a moment, fear and curiosity clashing until he unsheathed his dagger for protection and ran toward the figure, "I'm a human," he yelled.

robinn • 4 October 2019 at 8:08 PM

Rayne drops his bow. Did he hear that right? He jumps out of the bushes. There was an actual human being standing there. "I'm not the only one." He whispers to himself happily.

bgunny • 4 October 2019 at 9:59 PM

(@arcana, Tori can meet up with Ivy's group, if you would prefer that, and if the others don't mind.)

Ivy~
I’m going to die. There’s no surviving this one. I’m going to die, I thought over and over again. I was an okay runner. I didn’t have much speed, but I had the endurance. The problem was not having enough speed. Little by little the shadow raccoons were gaining on me. Giving up, I whirl around and point my dagger at them. I blink back tears, frustrated. Stellan had kept me alive for 9 years and now that he was gone, I only managed 1 year. I was truly a failure. I force a smile on my face. That’s okay. Death couldn’t be as bad as people thought. I rush towards the shadow raccoons. I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Stellan wouldn’t want that.

As I ran to meet the raccoons, a movement in the distance catches my attention. I freeze. The raccoons copy. There was a human. Despite the circumstances, I smile for real this time. There was a real human right in front of me! And they were coming to my aid! With a weapon! A real human! I’m not alone!

arcana • 4 October 2019 at 11:24 PM

Tori trudged into another village, not really expecting anyone, but suddenly spotting a girl, fighting shadowy... raccoons? Not the monsters she'd come all this way for, in fact, she would even fight these back home, but it was enough of a fight. Tori charged at one of the raccoons, putting it out of its misery.

Paloma heard the shriek of a shadow dying. It wasn't uncommon, but it was indicative of human presence. Grabbing her favorite weapon, she watched the window carefully.

shadowdragon28 • 5 October 2019 at 12:03 AM

Emilia ran in and slashed at one of the shadow monsters. Another one leapt at her, both of them attacking at the same time. Drawing her swords she blocked, but one raccoon got under and scratched her. She hissed in pain, but cut the raccoon down. One thing good about already being infected, is that scratches wouldn't do anything more then give her a fever for a couple of days. Out of the corner of her eye she saw another young girl charge at a raccoon, killing it. Two survivors in one day, Emilia was turning into quite the magnet for trouble.

chaoschild • 6 October 2019 at 2:09 AM

Jean heard something shout up ahead. It sounded human. He quickened his pace until he was running and saw two humans there. He grinned in relief, then realized that he probably looked like a monster to them.

Serafina looked around for more shadows and when she saw none, the started running down the road. She wanted to get far from there. For all she knew, there were more evil cats hanging around.

shadowdragon28 • 6 October 2019 at 11:58 AM

Niall sighed in relief as he realized it was actually a boy. "Did you see a gang of-" he suddenly whipped around as he heard thumping footsteps running towards them. It was a.....was that a shadow monster? He unsheathed his dagger.

robinn • 6 October 2019 at 12:09 PM

Rayne draws his bow. "Is there a shadow nearby?" He asks.

bgunny • 6 October 2019 at 9:44 PM

Ivy~
I jump when another girl comes running from who knows where. I watch dumbly as she strikes down one of the raccoons. There was another human? What were the chances I was going to run into two survivors at the time I needed most? I had hardly seen any humans for ten years. All of the humans I had ran into during my travels could fit into my small temporary dwelling, and it was very small. I didn’t need to do the math to know that my chances were very unlikely. I had been extremely lucky. I turn just in time to see the other human kill the second raccoon. The third raccoon noses its dead partners. It lets out an angry chitter and then jumps at me. I close my eyes instinctively and hold my dagger out. I hear an agonized squeal and open my eyes. The raccoon had plunged itself into my dagger. It was dead now. I drop the dagger in shock. I stare at it before remembering the humans.

Stooping down to retrieve my dagger, I decide to try and speak to them. “Thanks,” I say. I smile my typical shy smile. “So, uh, you’re humans?” I realized how dumb that sounded. I was still trying to get over the shock of seeing other humans again.

chaoschild • 7 October 2019 at 2:18 PM

Jean stopped and watched them take out their weapons. He took a step back.

shadowdragon28 • 7 October 2019 at 3:33 PM

Emilia scowled at the annoying girl, "No. I'm a walking talking bush." She rolled her eyes to emphasize her annoyance. The cut on her arm stung and she covered it up, the other humans might turn on her if they thought she was infected.

"Who are you?" Niall called at the shape in the distance.

chaoschild • 7 October 2019 at 3:36 PM

"Uh... I'm Jean Mitchell... I, uh, come in peace." Jean says nervously. He wondered why they wanted to talk with him.

bgunny • 7 October 2019 at 10:02 PM

Ivy~
“Oh.” I watch the girl, disappointed. I had said something stupid, but that hadn't meant she had to be rude about it. It reminded me of the bullies. I guess I had forgotten about how mean humans could be in my desire to see them again. I guess people don’t change, even if something as crazy as an apocalypse happens. My eyes flicker to her cut. She covers it up. I knew I could offer to clean it and put some ointment on it. I wasn’t going to. Now that I had seen how she acted; I didn’t want to stay with them any longer. “Well, thanks again. I should be going now,” I say. I smile and nod at the other girl, who hadn’t said anything yet, before turning and heading down the road. I hoped neither of them would do anything to try and stop me. I just wanted to go rest now. Well, I guess I wouldn't really be resting, but I would be in a quiet place without the worry of being ambushed by shadow monsters.

arcana • 7 October 2019 at 11:15 PM

Tori looks back after she hears the other girls start talking again. Scouting had become one of her habits, and a distraction.Glancing back, she sees the awkward one leaving, and the one with a cut roll her eyes. Scanning the area for any more monsters, Tori fell into line behind the awkward one. She seemed like a nice girl, one that didn't deserve to die in the wastes. That, and she enjoyed traveling with company. It had surprised her how this girl had reacted to others. It seemed like she hadn't seen anyone for a very long time.

Paloma's eyes gleam as she spots two figures walking along a path that went past her city. She couldn't tell what they looked like, only that they were there. Estimating that it would take them at least an hour to arrive on foot, she climbed back up to the roof, where she had rescued some rotting trees from a nursery. They weren't exactly healthy, but they were getting there. Hopefully.

robinn • 7 October 2019 at 11:45 PM

The figure talked, so it must not be a shadow. Rayne thinks. He lowers his bow. "We won't hurt you." He calls.

shadowdragon28 • 8 October 2019 at 4:08 PM

Emilia sighed in relief as the other humans walked away. She turned and headed in the other direction, towards a safer place. She didn't know why she stepped in to help the other human, as it would only make her life more complicated and dangerous.

Niall hesitantly nodded, and took a step closer to the figure. It had to be human, but as he got closer, the more the figure seemed inhuman.

chaoschild • 8 October 2019 at 6:18 PM

Jean walked towards them cautiously, tightening his grip on his backpack strap. "I sure hope so. I don't want a fight." One of the shadowy figures takes a step toward him. He keeps walking.

Serafina kept running until she could barely breathe. She stopped and leaned against a tree. Suddenly, she could hear voices. They sounded feminine. She wasn't sure if they were just shadows trying to trick her or real humans. But She figured that if they were shadows, they should just come and kill her already because she was easy prey right now.

robinn • 8 October 2019 at 6:44 PM

Upon further inspection, the figure was starting to look less human. Rayne picks up his bow.

chaoschild • 8 October 2019 at 6:56 PM

Jean stops walking towards them. He looks from one of the humans to the other. "If you're going to shoot me, at least let me have a last meal. I'm famished." He took the backpack off his shoulder as if to get some food out.

bgunny • 9 October 2019 at 1:02 PM

(@wingedfox, is Serafina near Ivy and Tori?)

Ivy~
I was too busy checking for monster to notice that the quiet girl had started to follow me. I hadn’t bothered to hide in the shadows again. If there were monsters nearby, they would know where I was. The fight had been so loud. I peek over my shoulder and see the girl. A look of surprise appears on my face, before it is replaced with a smile. “Oh, hello,” I say, kindly. I had no idea why she was following me, but she didn’t seem like a bad person, so I wasn’t overly concerned. I step next to her. “My name is Ivy. I’m going to my…” I searched for the right word. Temporary dwelling made complete sense to me, but it might take a bit of explaining for the girl. “Home,” I decide instead. “Did you want to come with me? I could give you some food and a place to rest as a thank you.” It was nice being in the company of another human, even if they were quiet. I was perfectly fine with quiet.

shadowdragon28 • 9 October 2019 at 1:22 PM

Emilia ran across the road, panting. It had hardly been ten minutes and another group of shadow monsters were on her tail. Today seemed not to be her lucky day. She turned around and slashed at one, watching it disappear, then running from the others. She kept running until her brain caught up and she realized she was not at the apartment. She was in a kind of thick fog. "Where am I?"

Niall paused, "What are you?" He had come close enough to see that the head of the figure was shaped like a canines.

chaoschild • 9 October 2019 at 1:27 PM

(Yeah)

Serafina watched the girls for a little longer before walking into the woods. She didn't want to interrupt them. Her foot cracked a stick and she cringed. The sound radiated through the woods. So much for not interrupting... She thought. She moved her foot and picked up the stick. She threw it into the woods so it wouldn't crack again.

Jean sighed. "I honestly have no idea. I'm a mutant." He replies.

arcana • 9 October 2019 at 9:30 PM

Tori's head snaps to the woods and her hand goes to her sword. Narrowing her eyes at the area where the sound came from, she took a cautious step forward. Listening for any other sound, she stares at the forest, looking for movement. After a few minutes, she dismissed as a falling branch. "Well, I'm Tori. And if it isn't too much trouble, it would be nice to see how other humans are doing." She smiled and took her hand off her sword.

chaoschild • 10 October 2019 at 5:41 PM

Serafina ran to the nearest tree and climbed up it. If the beings had been shadows, they would probably have chased her. She scurried up the tree and jumped onto another one.

Jean opened his bag and rummaged around.