Frank Iero | The Runner
Frank had been one of the lucky ones in the beginning. When the virus was first going around; god knows how. What little research had probably been preformed was likely obliterated as the world went to hell in a hand-basket. He had been forced to watch as the world burned. London, Hollywood, Boston... You name it. Crashed and burned in flames. In the beginning the government had tried to stop it, to conceal that the fucking walking dead were coming from their graves. And in Frank's opinion that had been what caused humanity to undergo the most trying and dark period possibly in recorded history. In America, Vermont had been ground zero, where the first outbreak was recorded; right on the border of Canada. It had spread, disgustingly quickly to the rest of the East Coast, and that included Jersey; Frank's home-state. The Eastcoast had largely gotten evacuated in convoys by the army, well whoever was left; to a Safehold that had been resurrected in Houston of all places. It didn't help, most of those Frank knew had perished before the convoy even got there.
His mother and father. His girlfriend and best friends; save for Gerard. They had gone together, and for that Frank was thankful. He and Gee had gone to school together, worked near each other and had been roommates when the whole outbreak started. The coffee barista's life changed quickly after that. Healthy people who didn't have more desirable traits, like math teachers, farmers, doctors, and scientists were supposed to help protect the wall, after all apparently being a coffee barista isn't enough to get off patrolling duty. The remnants of the army trained the survivors, and with sheer luck he'd been placed in Gerard's group. That made the mousy man feel a little better about having to go at some point, beyond the walls to scavenge for anything useful. His group was mainly supposed to be focused on medicine. There was another group for supplies like weapons, and another group for things like livestock. Anyway, he and Gerard hadn't been there for more than three months when their group came up for their first expedition.
They had left with the destination of Austin, any town and city in between to be scouted. Their expedition was supposed to be a month long. Had everything gone according to plan. Life has a funny way of fucking everything up; and that's why a week into their expedition the car they'd been given to use shit the bed. The group had come to the decision to radio for help, and wait for it to come. They had weapons, Frank himself had a trench knife and a pistol in all honesty he hated guns though it had saved his ass more than once and the with their training they should of been fine. But then night fell before they could get a hold of anyone and wouldn't luck just have it that on that damned dusty road, just outside of their destination a horde had found them. It had been a fucking massacre. People he had been put into training with dropped around him and for a moment Frank had just blanked. His body had frozen as people around him were ripped to shreds and the stench of rot filled the air. Had it not been for Gerard's quick thinking pushing Frank down and smearing him with zombie blood; well Frank would of perished there and then that night.
That's why Gerard had been his best friend since middle school. When it was safe the two made their way into the city, probably the most dangerous place to be; but the car wasn't an option and it was about ten miles back to the small town they'd driven by earlier. So the two had, with great caution, decided to find somewhere to crash for the night and try to once again radio someone the next day; hopefully the horde would of dispersed and they would have help within a matter of hours. The trickiest thing about the city was that zombies weren't always in the street. It was simple to take care of the lonely stragglers, a quick stab between the eyes was quiet and sent them back to the dead without attracting more zombies. So, when Frank noted a small restaurant with large glass windows allowing them to view inside without actually having to chance zombies and finding it clear he suggested they crash there. Luckily that place seemed to be deserted and Frank wondered if the rumors of the undead migrating towards the walls was true. After all it made sense; go to where the food supply was. That sent shivers down his spine.
They'd taken turns sleeping and watching, until the sun was up and both felt awake enough to go and search for some food. Their best bet was canned food as disgusting as that was. Back in the wall wasn't much better as rations were getting low and patrols were becoming more and more frequent. There were whispers of the hierarchy crumbling and riots poised to break out. But Frank couldn't afford to distract himself with those thoughts. It may cost him or Gerard their lives. They had scanned the streets, the activity rather dulled as zombies tended to be more active at night; though that didn't mean there wasn't a few hordes that shuffled by. The zombie guts and blood that had been smeared on him last night was probably enough to keep them from scenting the men in the empty restaurant. So when they decided to chance their escape, bolting into the closest grocery store rather carelessly, Frank had let his guard drop. That was his first mistake. He didn't notice the freshly slain zombies on the floor. His second mistake was splitting up from Gerard to cover more ground.
The onyx haired man had been browsing some cleaning supplies because shit did he smell gross, when he could of sworn he heard something being knocked down about an isle away. Freezing, narrowing his eyes the short man whipped around, his ivory skin paling when nothing was there. Trying to shake off the feeling that someone was watching them he went back to plundering some shampoos and soaps. He had just thrown them into his backpack when he heard Gerard yelp from a few isles down. Swearing Frank wondered if they had missed something, a zombie? He hadn't gotten very far when he heard footsteps behind him. Spinning around expecting the worse he was already fumbling for his trench knife, though was rather shocked when he came face to face with a petite woman. She clearly wasn't dead, though she didn't look too thrilled to see him. Coming to his senses, remembering it was protocol to try to get refugees to come back to the wall Frank held up his hands to show he wasn't threatening. "Hey, I'm Frank. A survivor from the wall. Are you hurt?" He had a few medical supplies in his bag, and while he couldn't see any visible wounds, he was supposed to ask._____________________________________________________________________________________________
Athena Eris Pax| The Fighter
This past year had been hell. Athena's easy life had been upturned, and one by one she watched as her friends and loved ones died. And this past year had taken everything that Athena was, and had twisted it. Prior to this outbreak she had been kind, sweet, and funny. Your run of the mill "Girl next door" type of woman. And then the outbreak had happened. Her humor and sweet disposition had disappeared, twisted with something harder and a need to survive. She had clawed and scratched her way to survival, and on her own for quite awhile too. It had only been a couple months ago that she had met Odette. It hadn't been the plan to actually team up; but the girls realized it would be beneficial and Athena enjoyed human company once again. Holing herself up in a different place every night too afraid to sleep wasn't a living. Athena had met her in Napa Valley, and they had slowly made their way towards Texas.
Athena had heard of a safehold there, not that she was interested in joining. The free-spirit could already smell the corruption that was bred within those walls. Not to mention stories she'd heard horror stories from refugees fleeing the wall. Odette and Athena had secured a place in Houston for now, a small building that had been used as a therapy center. It had couches, was small and easy to defend so it was livable. Since they'd been running low on food the two had decided to do a sweep of local grocery stores, which was how they ended up at the tiny beaten down grocery store, who's sign had since fallen off since the outbreak. The ombre-haired woman didn't expect much. Maybe a can here and there; but it would have to do. She'd only gone hunting once since the outbreak and had felt terrible. Also she may of puked while trying to.. prep the dinner. The zombie threat wasn't as high as it could of been, 'Thea had noted a disturbing amount of walkers leaving the city area, though enough were still left to make it very dangerous with one slip up.
A few zombies had greeted the girls on their food expedition but they were taken care rather quickly by Athena's compound bow. She had become an excellent shot over the past year. Athena was in the middle of sweeping a few cans of Campbell soups into her ragged backpack when she heard the doors open; and instantly her head snapped in that direction her gaze narrowing. The thing about the outbreak was it had brought out the wost of everybody; not just Athena. The girl had seen during the initial months mother's throw their children to hordes to try to distract them, friends murdering friends over scraps of food and other unspeakable acts. There weren't a lot of options for those living outside the walls; and the easiest way to get a few medical supplies and scraps of food was thievery which Athena was no stranger to. So when those doors had been pushed open, the woman scanned the room for Odette frantically; frowning when she couldn't see her. Having no idea what these people wanted Athena had quickly run to the isle over when light footfalls began making their way to the canned goods section.
Her view was obstructed by racks holding molding bread and a few mice had scattered from that isle when she'd pressed herself out of view. Disgusting. The stench of zombie rot, called that as it didn't smell quite like normal corpses, but had a powerful effect of letting one blend in with a horde in a pinch. The downside was since walkers had shitty eyesight, Athena reckoned it had something to do with the fact the virus effected the brain, where the visual cortex was, they hunted in packs and were drawn to one another by scent. Which meant that if there were zombies near the store she could very well be facing a horde. Listening as can after can was swept off the shelf the woman finally decided to act. Maybe they were covered with zombie gore; but she was not and if a horde came her and Odette would be the targets thanks to whomever these numbnuts were. While Athena couldn't afford to take off her shoes; god knows what she could contract on these floors, she stepped as quick and light as possible in the early morning gloom of the store.
Her plan was use the bow strapped on her back to frighten the guy into giving her the food he was taking, maybe leave a can for him if she was feeling gracious and fucking jet. Maybe find a safe place to bathe. It felt like her skin was caked in a layer of grime that would never come off. It was actually easy to sneak up on the man who was crouched to the bottom shelf, reaching back to grab the last can of soup. He hadn't even heard her comig until Athena cleared her throat. "Put the soup cans down if you want to live. And I mean all of them." Voice gelid and flat, the woman tried to appear somewhat intimidating, and when the man stumbled back, yelping as he simultaneously collided against the dusty linoleum and drew his gaze up to her bow, notched and ready to fire. It was clear he was from the wall, he was had the standard issued gun and she assumed trench knife somewhere on his person; not to mention the pack he was shoving the food into was clearly from the wall. "Oddie, are you alright?" Athena called, without taking her eyes off the man, who looked torn between being shocked, nervous, and somewhat pissed.
Beyond the dirt and grime though... He had potential to be attractive. Which if Athena was honest he actually wasn't all that bad looking. There was a hallowed grace that clung to him as he looked dumbfounded. His hair, albeit a bit shaggy was the deepest obsidian in color, a sharp juxtapose against his pale skin, as if it hadn't ever seen sun. Sharp intelligent eyes, colored with light-catching shades of greens and golds were narrowed at her, but Athena couldn't dwell on that. Food was scarce and she wouldn't let herself die now. Not after she'd survived all this time. The man still hadn't moved and she was beginning to feel a little flustered. "Cans on the floor. Now."
