Second Strain (Open)

[Deleted]

Second Strain



First Strain

        They live within another larger organism, often refered to as their "host." They usually take nutrients and other resources from their hosts in order to benefit themselves while being detrimental to the host's health, which can even result in death in some cases. These organisms are called parasites.

        We thought that if a disease were to take over the world that it'd be a virus or bacteria, as their potential for mutation and infection is virtually unlimited. Unfortunately this was not the case.

        On August 25th of 2019, the first case of the parasite, now know as NAP-12, was documented in rural Africa. It spread feverishly throughout the area, giving its hosts flu-like symptoms. Many countries began to research the parasite, hoping to discover a cure. However it was not enthusiastically pursued as the parasite wasn't seen as incredibly threatening.

        By July of 2019, however the entire globe had documented cases of NAP-12. The research for a cure was nearly completed when a new strain emerged that attacked vital organs with petrifying brutality. The deaths racked up around the globe, eventually numbering in the billions by the time the strain ran out of new hosts to infect.

        At this point, about 73% of the world's population had fallen to NAP-12. While many world powers were in anarchy, some were able to reestablish control again and it seemed that the human race would beat out the parasite.

        This was the only first strain.

The Second Strain 

        January of 2020, countries and their population were beginning to reestablish order and it seemed that humanity would eventually take reigns over the world once again. This was when the second strain of NAP-12 struck.

        The strain evolved, connecting with neural pathways of the brain which essentially raised them back from the dead with a craving for any source of food. They were basically zombies, however they did not target only humans as in the films. They chase anything with a pulse.

        About 35-40% of the population was ressurected as a result of this new strain. The rest were far too dead for neural pathways and connections to be established between host and parasite.

        People began dying and getting infected again and it seemed as it all was over for humanity. However, there was still a glimmer of hope, somehow. The remaining population of the year 2021, which was about 10-15% of the original world's population, had natural immunities against the NAP-12 parasite, meaning they could not be infected.

        This is but a small victory, because the ratio of brain-dead "zombies" comparatively to humans can be around thirty to one depending on the area.

More info on the NAP-12 parasite 

        Once infected by the NAP-12 parasite, the host will experience flu like symptoms within the first 24 hours. After that, intense pain in the navel and waist area will occur, hinting at the damage it's doing to the vital organs within this region. It sometimes takes only a few hours for the host to die after experiencing these symptoms, however they can survive for up to a week in some cases.

        Once the host dies, the NAP-12 parasite eventually establishes a neural connection and is able to take control of the host once again, even though the host is dead. The brain deteriorates over time even though the parasite is controlling it, which means the infected and their cognitive functions vary greatly.

        As for the natural immunities the remaining healthy humans possess, it will not shield them from infection entirely. For example, most are able to stave off three or four bites at a time, however getting bitten will often make them bedridden for at least a little while. Those who have survived being bitten multiple times are subjected to be bitten more each time. For example, if someone survives being bitten four times, they have a much higher chance of surviving five or six bites. Infection is most commonly direct and through bodily fluids like the saliva, urine, and blood. The parasite is unable to be airborne and it has trouble surviving in water for long periods of time. Even if the parasite does manage to enter the body through water resevoirs, the chances of full blown infection are incredibly slim, unless of course the water were infested with the parasite.

Types of infected 

        These are only basic descriptions of the certain types of infected you may encounter. Because of the different stages of cognitive decay, every infeted will be different and there will always be anomalies that will not be able to be classified under these three groups.

Stiffs 

        These are some of the first infected, as their cognitive functions have diminished drastically. They walk anywhere from a slow hobble to a speedwalk, but they're usually seen standing upright in a frozen position, hence their name. Depending on how decayed their brain is, they'll trip and fall, attack their own kind, and some won't even notice you're a human if you're standing a meter away from them. Even though they aren't dangerous alone, in groups they can corner and turn even the most skilled of fighters.

Beaters 

        These are infected that have been turned within a month or two. They're high-functioning infected, meaning they can run, vault obstacles, and even do things like hide and wait for a survivor to come within arm's reach. Beaters, still having most of their cognitive thinking in place, are able to make almost scary connections through the neural pathways of the brain. For example, Beaters will scream memories of the host's past or they'll still carry out old habits that the host had when they weren't infected. This is especially scary for those who knew these infected, for the things they scream and the habits they continue to carry out can break even the most hardened survivors.

        Another thing you should be aware of is their incredible, inhuman strength they possess. They are known to be able able to sometimes be thrice as strong as an average man and will NOT stop attacking until the brain or spinal cord is damaged in some way. If you couldn't guess already, this is how the Beaters earned their infamous nickname.

Floaters

        For reasons unknown, some of those that have been infected for awhile experience an immense gaseous build-up internally, much like how a decaying body left in water bloats when given time. These infected wobble around and find it difficult to scale any sort of obstacles becuase of their incredibly bloated body. For some reason, most are incredibly lazy, so much so that they won't give chase to survivors sometimes when they see them. This doesn't make them harmless though. If a Floater were to be shot or stabbed it would explode in a disgusting way, bits being sprayed up to ten meters from where the Floater initially stood. This is where the real danger of Floaters come in, because all of those guts is obviously going to attract helluva lot of infected. That and those gaseous, disgusting innards are nowhere near clean. Coming into contact with the guts of floaters is an easy way to get turned, especially if there is contact with an orfice or open wound.

Baldwin, Louisiana. 
Significant Locations 

    (Other than the name of the location itself, nothing else is accurate.)

        Baldwin, Louisiana, is home to a few thousand people near the Gulf of Mexico. Nowadays though, the surviving population makeup comes up to about a hundred or two hundred lucky surviving souls. Baldwin, Louisiana is like any coastal town with many tourist attractions, hotels, the inviting palm trees, sand-laden streets, and that trademark seabreeze that never lets up.

        These streets aren't like they used to be, though.

Lance's Boardwalk

        Lance Bartolemew is who this boardwalk is named after. It had a different, pre-apocalypse name, but names change as does the world. Now, don't let Lance's surname fool you, he was no gentleman, rather he was definitely more of the ragged-type of man, a man self-made by his work ethics. How the boardwalk was established will tell you more about the kind of man he was.

        When the second strain was in full effect, many people fled to different places seeking safe-haven, but many only found their demise when the horde cornered them. That night Lance rallied as many people as he could to the boardwalk. Under his command, they took up arms against the approaching horde and, surprisingly, survived. They say that when they were low on munitions and raw manpower, Lance charged over the barricades, carving his way through the horde with no more than a machete. This gave those still on the other side of those makeshift barricades time to thin out the horde and eventually win the battle. They went through all the bodies once sunrise came, but Lance's own was not found. Rumor has it that he either became one of the undead or is still in Baldwin somewhere.

        The boardwalk used to hold a small carnival, however this is now obviously inoperable. There's a ferris wheel, a sling-shot, a relatively small roller-coaster and a few old stands which have been refurbished for storing supplies or to act as a trading stand. The boardwalk is now a trading hub for survivors as well as a shelter for those who need it.

Rodstey's Cinema

        While humanity has, for the most part, banded together to face this mutual enemy, some have been abusing this general trust for their own doings. One such act was when Carlos Rodstey who killed seven people in the cinema for "fun." Details will not be provided, as what Rodstey did to those people is truly... inhumane.

        Trying to stay as close to their civil roots as possible, the people held a public trial. When his twisted hearing was finished, which consisted of him describing in brutal detail about each kill, he was hanged. Publically. His body still hangs from a lamp post out the cinema as a reminder.

        The scene inside and outside the cinema was cleaned up, however no one resides within it anymore. People are just too afraid to return.

Baldwin's Sanctuary

        Baldwin's Sanctuary is a reinforced hotel which acts as the main sanctuary for most of the remaining residents of Baldwin, Louisiana. The hotel is friendly to all, however weapons are removed at the doors to give everyone in the hotel some peace of mind. There's electricity, as the backup generators produce more than enough power for the entire hotel, while consuming quite small amounts of fuel. This electricity is enough to also grant artificial light to grow vegetables. The sanctuary has been attempting to harness this advantage by making indoor farms, however success has been less than exemplary thus far.

        Baldwin is the leader of the hotel. He was the mayor's son, coming from a long line of relatives who were some of the first to actually establish Baldwin, Louisiana long ago, hence his surname. He offers safe haven to everyone so long as they work their assigned jobs, which are customly made for each memeber to ensure maximum efficiency in the field. He's a hard drinker and gambler, but for some reason there truly is no better man for the job. He cares for his people and the common man, and is selfless in those respects, despite his shortcomings.

Winghill Trailer Park

        Winghill Trailer Park is a pre-appocalypse housing unit spread across about a half mile, being home to about 20 trailers in total. Since the unit already had prestanding fences, they were easy to reinforce and defend when the second strain broke out. Winghill has had few large-scale tests in strength, as they've managed to dodge infections and hordes under the quaint leadership of Josiah Alderman. Alderman united the families within the trailer park, enforcing strict rules, rationing, and defensive procedures. Because of his "walk silently, but carry a big stick," mentality, any attacks on Wingill have been dealt with expertly.

        They aren't very welcoming to outsiders, but they are willing to trade spare parts, food, ammunition, trades, and things of that sort so long as supply is high. All in all, Winghill is a strong yet small, unified, secretive community. Yes, they are few, but each one of them are trained expertly to combat any threat, including adult women and young boys who begin training at ages 10-12. 

Highway 86

        Highway 86 is the easiest way to enter the town of Baldwin, and practically the only way. You, Baldwin lies on a peninsula, only accessible by this highway. Now some undead simply float across the ocean gap, but this doesn't happen too often. Because Highway 86 could mean easy access for hordes, all of the communities have banded together to reinforce the highway in case of attack. Members of each society are hand picked based on their skills to be placed here on guard. Anyone in or around Highway 86's outpost is one mean sunuvabitch, you can guarantee that.

Rules

1. Weapons are REQUIRED to be minimal. Unless your character is a defender of Highway 86, they won't have assault-like weaponry. Ammunition will be scarce as well, since it has been a few years since the outbreak, so roleplaying about conservation of resources is realistic and also required.

2. Combat is dictated by yourself and yourself only (aka dice don't determine your action's outcome), so please be realistic. Your character can't face many infected at once without being overrun, especially if the setting is compact and or cramped.

3. Your character should have flaws, and lots of them. The apocalypse has strained people's mentality, their morals, and relationships as well. Be realistic, don't have good relations with EVERY character you meet. Like all humans, we're not going to like some of the people we meet. Remember that.

4. Death can invoke the strongest emotions, so it's encouraged that you actually consider your character's own death. You can always make a new character and having multiple characters is HEAVILY encouraged. This doesn't mean every character you make has to die.

5. Try your best to interact with other people's characters. You may start already having bonds with them, if you both agree of course. This will ultimately keep the roleplay alive, so please consider doing this.

6. When making your character, stay true to the setting. This means that I don't want to see characters from foreign lands and I also don't want to see on caucasians. 32% of Louisiana's racial demographic is African American.

7. Be active and inform me if you will be gone for a few days/weeks on vacation or something of the likes.

8. Have common sense.

Character Sheet

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Weapons:
Faction:
Skills/Trades:
Appearance: (Mainly for attire, but describe anything your photo leaves out)
Bio:
Photo: (Required.)

[Deleted]

Characters

Baldwin's Sanctuary

Weston "Wes" Gabbett-Fairfax

48
Male
Wes carries a Ruger Alaskan revolver in .454 Casull, as he is a go big or go home kind of person who would not settle for much less, even if he has less than twenty shots left since the outbreak. He scarcely uses the revolver for that reason, though, and generally ends up fighting with a Fairbairn-Sykes knife which can be traced back to his grandfather.
Resides at Baldwin's Sanctuary, but he is strongly opposed to the removal of weapons and tries his best to keep his while inside.




__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Francis Montgomery
19
Male
Francis carries a Bren Ten, only having about 20-30 rounds of .45 ACP and 10mm rounds left, as the cartriges aren't exactly common. As back-up, he carries a double-edged combat knife and, oddly enough, a high-power pellet gun.

Francis' father was a mechanic and, since book smarts were not his forte, he took up the trade as well. While there wasn't much time before the world went haywire, he was still able to learn the trade relatively well enough to be able to carry out at least the basics of car mechanics. Since Baldwin already has a skilled mechanic, Francis is usually sent on patrols since he is innately strong, agile, and able to adapt partly due to his younger age.

Francis dresses for the weather, which is, nine time out of ten, warm and humid. Short sleeved shirts and shorts make up most of his wardrobe, but for the few months where it does get chillier, he layers on a jacket and jeans.

Francis isn't from Baldwin, rather he's from the neighboring state of Mississipi. He arrived in Baldwin soon after the outbreak had taken a toll on his immediate family, having stolen the neighbor's car to get there in first place. His original plan was to hijack a boat and go from there, but this plan fell apart pretty quickly. After awhile, Baldwin was established. He joined the faction and since then it's been a bit of a battle between morals and the desire to rebel for the teen. However, as he's matured, he's started to come around and take responsibility for his actions and is beginning to sacrifice his own comfort for the better of the faction.

[Deleted]

(save post incase more needs to be added)

[insurgencies]

(If there's something wrong with this character I'll gladly fix it, I'm not entirely satisfied with him and haven't really put enough time into this but whatever.)

Name:
Weston "Wes" Gabbett-Fairfax

Age:
48

Gender:
M

Weapons:
Wes carries a Ruger Alaskan revolver in .454 Casull, as he is a go big or go home kind of person who would not settle for much less, even if he has less than twenty shots left since the outbreak. He scarcely uses the revolver for that reason, though, and generally ends up fighting with a Fairbairn-Sykes knife which can be traced back to his grandfather.

Faction: Baldwin's Sanctuary, but he is strongly opposed to the removal of weapons and tries his best to keep his while inside.

Skills/Trades:
 

Appearance: He stands at six feet, three inches, and could be considered fairly well built by pre-apocalyptic standards (although after the natural selection of the first and second strains he probably doesn't look all that out of place). He has a good amount of muscle left, for somebody his age, but it is clear he has not dedicated any of his time to working out in the last few years.

He almost always wears an olive-drab M65 field jacket with an old, gray, shirt under it along with dark earth-colored cargo pants. His feet are covered with a set of black, steel-toe work boots. Under his jacket he has a hardened leather chest holster for his revolver, which has his knife hanging off of it in its sheath.

Bio:
Weston is generally accepted as a simple man. As stated earlier, he has a "go big or go home" attitude towards most things and attempts to maintain many conservative standards, although not a religious person. He was born and raised in northern Texas, moving to Louisiana while he was in the Marine Corps, where he managed to get the rank of Sergeant and then quit after another few months. After his military career, he got a job as manager for a construction company. His jobs led him to be a very rough and demanding person, who, when not respected or recognized as superior to everyone in the room, would feel the need to prove himself. After the downfall of society, his newfound status of equality with everybody has led him to end up making rather stupid decisions in attempt to distinguish himself.

Photo

[llama]

(this still going to happen?
if so i'll make a character)

[Τι κοιτάς ρε]

Dec 30, 2016 23:49:52 GMT -4 llama said:

(this still going to happen?
if so i'll make a character)

x2

pls jake bby dun give up <3

[Deleted]

Oh, well, holy shit, didn't realize anyone else was actually interested. I ended up abandoning it because I felt it'd just get dry with only two people.

Now I feel like I owe something, and I damn well do. So, I'm going to go ahead and make a character. If any of you are interested just post a quick response saying you are indeed interested.

All in all, sorry for the neglect.

[llama]

(still interested. i'll make a character when i can, probably within the next couple of days)

[Deleted]

(Alright. If Insurg comes back before then we'll get started in the meantime.)

[Τι κοιτάς ρε]

(I'm still interested mang. I have a half-written char that I stopped writing when I thought nobody was joining. But I can finish it up anytime, man.)

[Deleted]

(go for it)

[insurgencies]

(I'm alive.)

(I think.)

[Deleted]

(That's good enough for me. As a side-note, please add headers to your posts. Character name and general location should be enough. Insurg, I'll have our two characters out on a patrol.)

[Deleted]

Francis Montgomery - Patrolling near Rodstey's cinema, coastal side

The air wasn't too hot, hovering about 70 degrees on a cloudy day. However, the humidity, which was about as boiling as the devil's asscrack, made the outside world a living hell. Especially for the two men, Francis and Weston, who had to patrol the sea-side for any undead that may have floated in through the channel recently. Francis wasn't one to complain, but the sweat the persperated on his forehead dripped down into his eyes constantly, stinging them for a few seconds every minute or so. That, combined with his shirt being sodden wet made the journey all the more uncomfortable for the pair. So, yes, some bickering about the weather was inevitable.

"Holy shit Wes, I feel like I'm tucked between the devil's nutsack. It's way too hot out here for this," Francis said in a relatively monotone voice, wiping his brow to remove the sweat that had built up in mere minutes. "How much more we gotta go again?" Francis asked, his tone of voice hinting at a tinge of defeat; this weather was kicking his ass. 

[insurgencies]

Weston Gabbett-Fairfax - Patrolling near Rodstey's cinema, coastal side

Weston paused for a bit after the inquiry, catching his breath, as well as letting his knees recover marginally from the walking and the heat. He, too, had sweat glazing his forehead, and several second and third thoughts about his choice of regular apparel. He found himself carrying his jacket over his right shoulder, the sun reflecting off of the revolver holstered on his chest.

"Come on, this isn't that bad. You ever been in Phoenix during the summer? It's dry but it sure as hell isn't cool, especially in uniform," Wes called back to Francis, despite he himself being fried and also quite broken by the heat and humidity. If he did have the choice, he'd probably take Phoenix over Baldwin anyway.

[Deleted]

Francis Montgomery - Patrolling near Rodstey's cinema, coastal side

"Well at least we got snow once or twice in Northern Mississippi when I was kid. I doubt this area's ever seen such a thing," Francis joked, stopping to catch his breath as well. He sat on a nearby bench, old and decaying yet still relatively sturdy. He unclipped his pellet gun from his sling, setting in beside him while reaching back and grabbing his semi-auto pistol out of his waiste-line to send it on his thigh as well. This way he could rest a little bit in relative comfort.

After a few minutes, Francis was standing again, slinging his rifle and tucking his pistol in the back of his waiste-line since he didn't have a proper holster for the gun. "Let's keep movin'. 'Lyssa said she saw some Stiffs further down while she was headin' to the Boardwalk," Francis said reluctantly, mentioning the red-headed trader that wanders this part of Louisianna while reaching a hand up to wipe his brow again. "I think that's the only reason Baldwin's got us out here anyway."

[insurgencies]

Weston Gabbett-Fairfax - Patrolling near Rodstey's cinema, coastal side

Wes stands while Francis waits, going out of his way to step into the shade from a nearby tree. While they rest, he reaches for his pistol, which burns his finger upon him touching it, his hand recoiling back and causing him to drop his jacket. "Yeah, better get there while they're still there, not that they'll probably ever bother going anywhere. It'll give us an excuse to just go back and get out of this goddamn heat."

[Deleted]

Francis Montgomery - Patrolling near Rodstey's cinema, coastal side

"I can agree on that," Francis said, slinging the pellet gun on his shoulder, tucking his handgun in the waisteline of his cargo pants. Once done, was ready to start getting a move-on, but a low moaning stopped him dead in his tracks for a moment. "I think we're closer than we thought," Francis said, a bit lower. "It sounds like it's coming from Ferguson Way. Cinema..." Francis said, getting the last word out with a bit of hesitation. What happened at the cinema is imprinted in the minds of everyone in Baldwin, even those who weren't even remotely related to the incident at all.

[llama]

(apologize for my late cs. will try to make it this weekend.)

[Deleted]

(By all means if you want to. Insurg hasn't been around in awhile though.)

[insurgencies]

(Sorry for not posting, I don't really have an excuse.)


Weston Gabbett-Fairfax - Patrolling near Rodstey's cinema, coastal side

"You sure about that? It sounded a bit further off than that, closer to the intersection to me," Wes told Francis. If he knew anything at that point, it was that he was not planning on going near that goddamned movie theater. He didn't feel like dealing with any of the crazy shenanigans that came with such an incident that occurred there, particularly the supernatural which he feared. While not religious, he had no interest in dealing with anything of such a dark type and did not want to piss off any God or deity that might be up there.

Weston continued towards the sound at a slower pace than before, his hand on the handle of his knife but him still in a normal walking stance, rather than a crouched, fighting one. "How far back is the base, again?"

[Deleted]

Francis Montgomery - Near Rodstey's Cinema

"I hope you're right. We'll take the road toward the intersection though. We'll still pass the avenue the Cinema's on, so if anything is actually there there... well, we'll see it," Francis said, the last bit of his statement coming with a little hesitation and an awkward shrug to finish it off. He, like most of the people of Baldwin, had no particular liking of the Cinema or its gruesome background, but he knew they'd get chewed out if the group of Stiffs were just left there to possibly ambush a survivor. So he continued on with Wes, albeit at a slower pace until they rounded the street corner, getting a peek at what Rodstey's Cinema looked like.


Francis let out a disgruntled sigh as he did this, seeing that there were about six Stiffs shambling around along with a Floater the was awkwardly leaning against a car, not exactly moving too much. He frowned, feeling like a pit had suddenly opened up in his stomach. "Well... we gotta deal with this Wes," Francis stated in a low voice, just incase any of these infected still had any sort of keen hearing skills left. "There's a floater," Francis started, pointing at the bloated figure leaning against the car, "so I think I shoot it with my pellet gun to start off, bust it like pimple. That should draw the Stiffs in to feast on whatever'll be left," Francis said, stroking his chin in thought as he crouched behind a trash can. "I don't know where we go from there though, attracting them one by one would be difficult. You got any bright ideas, Wes?" Francis asked, looking away from the infected back to his unlikely companion.


(It's all good, it's just been 1x1 for now anyway. It's not like we've been rushing to get anywhere really, so don't sweat it.)