The End Days of Erida [JeopardizedJake]

[Kynikos]

CS

Name - Gavin Polznik
Age- Late 30s/Early 40s
Physical Description - Gavin is 6'2, beefy in build, and weighs about 184 pounds. He has a night-shadow beard that connects with his sideburns and his hair a relatively solid black, however the gray hairs that pop up are sign of his growing age. As for clothing, Polznik wears a dark blue, corduroy, long-sleeved, collared button-up with a gray athletic shirt underneath for comfort along with a pair of khaki cargo pants. He has a pair of low-top shoes that are a dark blue as well.
Location - Middle Class
Start - Nothing
Perk - Lucky


The city had astounded you when you saw it, gleaming in the summer light of July. A shining gem, cut off from the rest of the world by a thick jungle... it was the stuff fairy tales were written of, you're sure of it. And now it's all changed, the atmosphere is tense. Peering out of the window in the apartment room you're hiding in, only a few stragglers wander the streets in dazed confusion. They were packed just yesterday.

Things change quickly. You pace over to your backpack, filled with things you had managed to grab in your flight away from the hotel and the shooting that took place there. Inside lies a civilian pistol you bought at one of the market stands without any ammo [it would be a hassle to get it through customs], an outdated gas mask ripped from an emergency room along with three filters for it claiming to last a day each, enough food to cut about three or four meals if you are careful, a thermos filled to the brim with water, and a change of clothing that includes a pair of pants, a white t-shirt, and gloves. Taking careful stock of the apartment, you also found a useful cleaver and a few knickknacks. It is obvious that the apartment you are in was abandoned a short while ago, maybe a week or so - perhaps its owner left the city to go traveling. A camera lies on the nightstand with two rolls of film, a very outdated device. The fridge was cleared out and the water still currently runs, although the power flickers on and off. Your phone has not been able to get any reception for several hours, but you do have the charger tucked into your pockets along with your wallet. Your wallet has this apartment key tucked inside of it, a lucky grab from the reception desk outside as you were desperately running. Three paper lanterns hang below the window sill, capable of being grabbed.

Footsteps are heard pacing back and forth the corridor as you contemplate, before pounding on doors screaming in a foreign language you don't understand.

[Deleted]

I assemble my gear and put on my gloves. I turn my phone off then tuck it in my pocket, putting my backpack on once done packing. I grab the cleaver and hold it in my left hand. I go to open the door but take one last look at the camera before going back and retrieving it as well. Hell, I don't know what'll be useful to me and what won't so it's best to grab what I can carry. Afterward I open the door, taking a few steps back as I do to get distance between myself and the assailant on the other side of the door.

[Kynikos]

After making the necessary adjustments to your person, you slowly flip the deadbolt and open the door. Peering outside, you see the man banging on one door in particular, down the row from you. He looks to be some kind of office worker with a gas mask strapped to his belt, tie hanging loosely from his neck. There is blood splattered up his left leg and doesn't seem to be visibly armed, besides carrying a briefcase. It looks like he's crying.

He does not notice you. If you head away from him, there is a staircase leading up or down the building.

[Deleted]

I ignore him and head up the stairwell to see what lies on top of the building.

[Kynikos]

You carefully ascend the floors, feeling the burn in your legs as you ascend one flight after the other. Finally on floor eight, you reach the top of the building. A flimsy plastic door blocks your way out into the roof proper, locked. You could break the door down but it would cause some noise. On the other hand, you haven't heard anything coming up and it may not be any more noise then your footfalls on the concrete steps.

[Deleted]

I decide to bust the door down with my brute strength.

[Kynikos]

The door clatters to the ground with minimal noise. Stepping out into the bright light, the rooftop is fairly empty. One tent is erected in the middle of it, with a pair of binoculars and a book underneath it. There is no one around.

[Deleted]

I investigate the tent, pocketing the binoculars beforehand.

[Kynikos]

The tent is very simple, probably something grabbed at the clearance rack of a sporting goods store. One half open sleeping bag is inside and not much else. You grab the binoculars - while you have no idea about what good binoculars are, you certainly can zoom in pretty far on these.

[Deleted]

I roll up the sleeping bag and strap it to my backpack. I then take the binoculars and scan the streets below.

[Kynikos]

There is no place to clip a sleeping bag to your backpack - not only that but out of its case, it rapidly uncurls itself. If you had some rope you could probably fashion some sort of device to keep the bag connected to your backpack.

You take the binoculars and examine the streets. You note three men in what looks to be military uniforms making their way down the street. They're completely kitted out. Trailing behind them is a man wearing dark orange robes with a bald head. All three of them have gas masks strapped to their face. The rest of the road is empty - whether from fear or chance, no one is prowling about.

[Deleted]

I tuck the binoculars in my bag, then make my way back down the stairwell. I intend to leave the building opposite of the side I saw the armed men.

[Kynikos]

You descend the steps, taking care to minimize your noise. At the lobby, you take the door into the alley, but not before hearing some kind of rustling in the lobby. In the alley, everything appears fairly normal. One corpse is face down in front of you wearing dark clothing, and if you were to go straight you would be on a different street then the ones that had the four men.

[Deleted]

I take the alleyway, too disgusted by the dead body to do any real looting. I shuffle along, my pace brisk but not too fast since I don't want to make any noise.

[Kynikos]

You come out on the other side. This street is covered in several corpses - likely a remnant on the gunfire you heard earlier - and several buildings are now seen. A grocery store along with a way into the subway is to your immediate right, while across the street is a little park with a garden. A chapel is built in the middle of it, and you recognize your hotel past the chapel.

Other then that, the street is lined with very similar tall buildings. A few have markings that make them apparent to be apartment or the occasional business building, however.

[Deleted]

I make way for my hotel, hoping that some of my belongings would still be there.

[Kynikos]

You quickly cross the street through the gardens, giving the chapel a wide birth. On this street, the bodies of the dead are numerous. You were the first ones to duck out and managed to avoid this. It's a gruesome sight. Peering through the broken glass, you think you can make out the figure of someone standing inside the lobby. Maybe two people. There are a few other hotels, but more apartment buildings. To your left, the road opens up into one of the major freeways of the city. Once prized for it's easy access to the rest of the city, you can only feel a bit sick now thinking of the rest of the city.

[Deleted]

I decide to try my lucky, and enter the hotel anyway, cleaver tucked away behind my book.

[Kynikos]

You cautiously creep through the street in to the hotel. One person is sitting in the lobby, back turned away from you, sipping something. You note the pistol on the dress stand next to him, he appears to be unarmed. Other then that, just move scenes of death played out. Some people tried to crawl behind couches, tables, or the front desk. Doesn't look like any were successful.

[Deleted]

I grab my pistol and cock it, making that trademark sound of metal gnashing against metal. "You move an inch I blow your fucking brains out!" I say in an overpowering tone of voice. I knew damn well I had no ammunition, but hell, I was hoping my bluff would work and I could waltz through unscathed.

[Kynikos]

"What?" He says, not turning around. "Uh... uh... okay, sure. Gotcha, pal." You hear a door open to the right of you, from the staircase.

[Deleted]

I aim my pistol in that direction, moving closer to the man sitting down. "Don't fucking move," I tell him, directing my attention toward the door while keeping a close eye on him.

[Kynikos]

The stairway door opens to reveal some kind of woman in a military uniform. She is holding a rifle, pointed directly at you. "What the fuck is going on down here?" She asks, slowly shifting herself into a position where she can get to the nearby couch. The man remains still for the moment.

The stairway door slams shut.

[Deleted]

I make a sprint for the man and attempt to grab him around his neck, hoping my height and strength would help me achieve the task. I plan to make this a hostage situation, gun pointed at his head if I manage to get him in a headlock.

[Kynikos]

You quickly grab him, pulling him away from the couch, his hand that was going for the pistol pushing it to the ground. The woman opens fire, bullets flying harmlessly above you. She stops shooting when she realizes that you have the man.