A world without magic...and zombies

The world was crap. Everyone knew it, since that time when the calamity hit. It's been about a year now since a wave of energy created from a outer space meteor wiped out all magic in the world. That's when it happened: The Outbreak. The corpses around the crash site began stirring. slowly at first, like they were bugs waking from a slow sleep. They stood and walked, everyone was convinced that their friends and family were OK, that they had survived the crash. they tried to take them to the hospital to get them treated. but without magic their wasn't much to the doctors and nurses could do to heal the patients. Or defend against them. No one knows exactly when it happened, but one of the dead patients suddenly got up and began attacking everyone in the area. Biting, tearing and eating them. it was a gruesome site to behold, when the people inside tried to restrain them, the corpse who was mutilated stood up and began to do the same thing. within minutes the hospitals was overrun, within hours the surrounding town. the "virus" spread quickly without magic to stop it. Entire towns getting wiped off the face of the map. Guilds destroyed the Ex-mages of Fiore would ban together to try and survive the onslaught of flesh. It has been some time since this event, now only a few scattered remnants of that grand alliance remain. Internal conflict has split each into different groups looking to survive, to that end some will kill, steal, pillage and destroy to achieve their goals.
Careful who you ally yourself with, they might end up stabbing you in the back.

----------1 1/2 years since The Outbreak--------

A hooded figure slowly made his way through the streets of a ruined town. Glancing in windows and making his way slowly around corners. He slowly opened a door to an old convenience  store and checked around. Digging through trash and random discarded crap he looked for anything he could use. Moving around back behind the counter he found a sight that would have made him cringe a year ago. but now was just another site: a body, no head missing chunks of flesh with its guts spilling out over a table. Flies and maggots moving all over the body. the figure sighed and pulled up the scarf as he moved the body. there he found a few cans of food and a knife. He dropped his pack and unzipped it. placing the cans within and taking the knife. It was still somewhat sharp, sharp enough at least. He slid it into one of the empty slots in his belt alongside the other knifes. He heard a get kicked along the ground and ducked, staying silent. Akire wasn't sure what or who was their. There were rumors of zombies with strange mutations that could crush buildings, or melt walls. He ad also heard rumors of gangs that would kill and rape anything that wasn't a walking corpse. Either way he didn't want a fight. Not right now anyway. Staying silent and still he listened and waited for any movement.

Kicking the dirt, as she had been doing the past three days, she looked around the small shop for enything useful. It was mostly trash and rotten food, some bones and body parts from zombies or just normal corpses. She was almost used to the smell of death, but it still hit her when entering a room.
She hadn't met enyone in a week that wasn't a zombie, but they where a gang desperatly trying to turn her to food for their starving stomachs. It disgusted her how some people had turned mad and lost their mind when they should focus on surviving, but some people didn't have the instincts.
The smell of death and rotten flesh filled his nose and she frowned when she noticed where it came from, by the counter. Moving towards it, she could hear a silent noise that sounded like breathing and she stepped away from the counter. A zombie?.. No, it sounds too alive to be, she though and hesitated to either call out or just stand there. She drew her knife from her belt and stood there ready, holding her eyes toward the counter.
"Whoever it is, step forth!" she called, her voice echoed in the room and was followed by silence.
Had the breathing stopped? she thought while waiting patiently.

Akire stilled his breath as he caught wind of a girl calling out his hiding place. He wasn't sure if it was a trap or not. In this world one can never be to cautious. He thanked his lucky stars that he spent so much time in the arena before the world turned to what it was now. He slid the pack off his stomach and reached grabbed a bit of the counter that had cracked off. He tossed it rather awkwardly from his position. It flew to the right and hit off a can farther into the store. The sound wasn't loud enough to alert any of the creatures outside but it would hopefully it would draw enough attention. Not that Akire had much time to think. As soon as he heard the sound he drew both his knives and hopped over the counter. Intending to land and disable the target, when he saw it was just a girl standing there by herself it surprised him enough to lose his balance upon landing and caused him to fall flat on his backside. "um hi there miss?" he said

She didn't really know what the person was trying to do by throwing some trash off to the side, she didn't move and preperd for who it could be. When she saw the guy jumping up and getting surprised by seeing her, she took a step back as she watched him fall. She had a frowned expression and walked up to the guy, offering him a little help to get up. It looked like quite the fall too.
"Hi to you too" she said a bit awkwardly as she helped him up and stood infront of him, looking a bit confused. She didn't really know what to say since it was the first time in a few days she had seen a person that wasn't a walking corpse.
"Though I was the only one who has survived"

Akire gathered his knives and tanked the girl when she helped him up. Dusting his his pants off he looked down at the girl. He thought she was probably close to 18, and she didn't wear anything that marked her as part of a local gang. He was on his guard none the less. He smiled and talked as he went to retrieve his backpack from under the counter. "Sorry bout that miss. Thought you'd be one em corpses." he said lifting the rugged pack onto his back. "I've seen types of those, I hesitate to call them zombies, that can imitate words heard often." he said going back to rummaging behind the counter. Tossing bit and bobs about, he continues "I've taking to calling them Howlers." He grabs a unopened can and tosses it to the girl as he walks out behind the counter. Leaning against the top of the counter he casually asks "Something's been on my mind:; how did you manage to survive this long by yourself? you look too lightly armed to be part of a local gang so what are you doing way out here?"Putting his hands in back pockets. which in reality was were he kept a small switchblade he picked up just in case. Ya never know in this crazy land,

She caught the can and opened it, looking at the poorly made Food but knew that there wheren't enything better around. She listened closely as he spoke, but at the same time he studyied him from top to toe. He still seemed a bit tense. No mark was visible on his body, but he seemed like a strong guy so it would make sense that he easily could survive out here. Now when he was asking her, she sighed with a slight smirk as she looked at him.
"I don't believe in luck myself, so I guess it must be skill" she said and smelled the food in the can then her smirk turned to a frown by the weird smell.

Akire kept his eyes on the girl as he fished a granola bar out of his pocket and began chowing down on it too. When he heard the girls answer about skill he chuckled quietly and looked out the window, the sun was going down. he had spent the remaining day light talking to a girl he still doesn't know if she'll stab him in his sleep tonight. "Sun's going down. best not go out." he said heading to the back room, checking to make sure it was clear and secure, he unrolled a sleeping bag. and then made his round to make sure the doors and what not were locked up or sealed in some fashion. he then hid his bag when the girl wasn't looking. But he made sure to bring a knife along and hid it under the pillow just in case. "Im going to bed. I suggest you do too. there isn't much to do at night since the corpses get...crazy...at night" he said closing his eyes.

She sighed with a slight smile and nodded as she looked out the window, seeing some movement in the distance that was most likely some corpses out taking a stroll. She didn't have enything to sleep on so she just found a blanket laying on the floor and made it a pillow before she layed down in a corner, curling up as a ball.
"I don't know if it helps, but my knife is useless so you don't need to be so tense" she said with a smile and closed her eyes.

OOC: Sorry it's so short XP

Akire heard that and now questioned here 'skill' if she was carrying around a useless knife. something about this girl didn't sit right with him. He stayed up till he was sure she was asleep before going into a very light sleep through the night. Upon mooring he woke early before she was up, he left her a decent knife, some canned food and a bottle of water along with another blanket he picked up. He was happy he would do so but also he needed those to survive. He unlocked the door and moved out into the rising sun of the city.  He pulled out an old map and a compass, "Time to head out. Gotta get there and maybe it'll be all good. I hope" he said talking to himself before heading out. It wasn't more than 2 minutes he started walking that a sharp pain shot through his arm. He looked by him to see that what looked like an arrowhead attached to fleshy rope had grazed his arm. "That can only mean one thing...GRAPPERS!" he looked up to see about 5 corpses, all rotting. swinging their intestines with bone like tips that could piece flesh with ease. They all stood on the roof tops looking down at him. That was the worse part about grappers, they were easy in one-on-one fights but groups were much more dangerous. almost as if they got smarter the more of them were around. So he dived into an open building as 2 more threw their weapons at him, barely missing. "shitshitshitshit." he said his back against the wall so he could peek out the window. He didn't have any way to attack them from range and that was bad. very very bad for him.

How nice of him, she though as she packed her stuff and walked out to hear the sound of objects being thrown and someone running. She smirked and climbed up on the roof of the building she came from, seeing that there where a group of grappers there. She smirked to herself again and crouched low to the building as she drew up the knife he had got her and the other and aimed.
Headshot.
When they wheren't looking in her direction, she threw them as hard as she could. Weird noises of the blades hitting the skull, she quickly jumped from one roof to another to attack the last two. One of them had falled down from the roof and where gathering himself down there. Whisteria came up to the cropse and kicked his throat, it's head flipping back and she used her heel to wound it's chest. It grabbed her arm and clenched it's hand, digging it's nails into her skin. She let out a small scream and grunt before feeling that it hit her face aswell. With a turn, she threw her foot around and hit the corpse on the hip. It fell down from the roof and she retrieved her knifes, making sure that she crused their chest and throat before looking to see what the last Grapper where doing on the ground. She where panting and realized that it had been almost a month since last time she came over a whole group of Grappers. She had trained herself to throw the knifes at their heads for weeks, always going around and hoping that the next zombie she would meet where a Grapper.

Akire was in the basement of the old construction building he had run into, it not that he couldn't have taken 5 grappers with ease but he simply chose not to, it was too much work when there were plenty of buildings around to hide in and keep moving foreword. Yet he was in the basement rummaging around for materials. There wasn't much there other than a few good bits of cloth. He stuffed them in his pack, hoping to trade them at the city. He climbed up the stairs and watched the girl who he had just met take out the grappers with ease. More importantly though; was she following him? that made him very weary of her. He stood in shadows of the door way watching and observing her fighting skills. She was pretty good, but he doubted there was much she could do in other situations. he noticed that one was on the ground and just shrugged it off. One grapper wasn't too much trouble, but packs were. With the threat dealt with he pulled his hood back over his head and walked out of the building, keeping the girl in his peripheral vision he headed in a direction that took him toward his destination.

Jumping off the roof and landing behind the last Grapper that where trying to get away, so she just ignored it and looked toward the way spotting the guy from before trying to get away without being seen. "Hey you, wait up!" she called, running over to him. She didn't know where he was headed but hoped that he knew the way to her destination. It wasn't far from here, but she could at least ask if he knew the right direction to walk in so she wouldn't get lost. Her sense of direction wasn't very good.
I didn't catch his name, she though as she walked over to him. Maybe the reason he was in a hurry was to get away from her? She hadn't done her enything, but you could never know when meeting a complete stranger.
"You know the shortest way to closest city?"

Akire stopped walking when the girl called out to him. "I didn't think she'd follow me so early in the morning. but then again...she did take out a group of grappers by herself, so maybe her story on skill was a little viable." he thought to himself as he made her way over. then as an after thought he added "i get the feeling this isn't going to end very well." sighing he waited for her to catch up. when she asked if he knew the direction to the nearest city he pulled out a compass and a map. "closest city would be Boulder. it's a city right around...here" he said point to it on an arena were a bunch of roads intersected. "I'm headed that way myself i'll drop you off.". he rolled up the map and placed it back into his pack. and shuffled it onto his back before heading out of the town. He didn't want to stay in abandoned towns too long. Strange and mysterious things happened in those places. Grappers and Howlers are just a few of the more common strange things to happen in this land.

"Thanks" she said and followed after him. She wanted to get out of here quickly, it was so weird and creepy to go here even though she wasn't bothered that much.
"Oh by the way, I didn't catch your name" she said, looking at him as she walked.

(Sorry it's short, I gotta do homework :P)

They both walked silently through the land. he had actually given her a fake name "Felix" he had replied before they left. Passing through cities that had once been bustling metropolis, was now covered and overgrown with plants of all shapes, sizes and colors. Encountering groups of zombies that they opted to hide from rather than dispatch because the noise could draw unwanted attention. When they were forced to, they did it quickly and silently. It was tedious moving through the city. They stopped in a fallen building that overlooked an overgrown city square. he signaled for her to stop and squatted down behind one of the blasted out walls. looking down on the square he he saw that it was pretty open, meaning a lack of cover and a higher chance for getting caught. He couldn't see any zombies and that worried him a bit. On the other side of the room they were standing on there was another building that had falling onto it. It was a pretty far jump but with a running start someone might make it. The main problem was the giant chasm that separated the two sides just on the outer lip of the town square. They could either climb down the building and investigate the chasm or try getting across the building and continue walking toward Boulder City. He turned around and told the girl his observations and options they had.

"Whisteria" she replied as he told his name. Felix, hm? Fitting, she though as they then moved on.
The atmosphere around the area was a bit tense and undescribable at times, but she felt safe as long as she kept close to Felix. She wasn't surprised when she saw her fight, knowing that he had to be good to survive this far. She didn't want to admit it, but he was proboly more skilled then herself when it came to zombie slaying. Not that she knew if this was basic skill or not, as long as they survived they where good enough. Pushing that aside as he explained the options, she let out a slight sigh while looking over at the other side of the large gap. She was a good jumper, but it was no way she could make that and she had no idea how to do it eny other way.
"Well, I don't really like the sound of risking my life jumping over a cliff.. So I guess we should look for another way around or under to the other side" she said and looked at Felix to see if he approved of her opinion on the situation.

Felix checked the area, Whisteria's idea was good but it worried him that there we so few zombies. He decided he'd check out the building that had fallen against the one they were currently occupying. He looked over the edge, it was a long long drop to the ground, if he messed this up he'd probably die, or worse. Shaking his head he took a few steps back and took off sprinting and lunched himself across the gap. He landed in a room and rolled to defuse the momentum before hopping to his feet. He looked around the room for something, finding a door that had fallen off it's hinges he picked it up and laid it across the gap. Testing it he walked slowly across it. "If it can hold my weight it can definitely hold her's." Felix thought to himself as he recrossed the gap and investigated the room, looking for any useful bits or any form of information.

Whisteria followed after Felix and looked around in the room. It was medium size big, but looked smaller with all the trash laying around, broken chairs  It kind of looked like it had been some kind of lecturing room, no blackboard was there but small tables and chairs everywhere. All the windows where broken and just beside one stood a shelf with still in one piece. She opened one of the drawers and found a small, black book. It looked like some kind of diary, but she didn't hesitate to open it.
"What in the..? " she turned the book upside down and around to try and see what was written. It was all messy and with weird letters, some kind of foreign language maybe.
"Felix, I found a book but I have no idea what it says" she said, walking towards him still looking into the book. Not seeing where she was walking, she suddently went through a hole in the floor with her right foot and fell to the floor. The hole had the foot all up to her hip so she was stuck. "Great... "

He was busy checking the room when he heard Whisteria to call his name. Turning Felix saw her leg stuck up to the hip in the floor. He sighed and went over and looked at the situation. He reached up under her arms and easily pulled her out of the hole. Setting her down he said "Be more careful next time you don't-" His voice was cut off as he saw a zombie lunge from a closet door. There wasn't time to warn her, yet his body just reacted. He grabbed her and pulled her close as he spun around. Using his back as a shield from the claws. Pain raked through his body and his face contorted in pain as flesh was torn from his back. He kicked back with his right leg, easily breaking the zombie's leg. When it fell he set Whistera down again and brought his heel down on the zombie's head. Breaking it's skull easily. He then swung his leg back and punted the head clean off the neck. Some of the spine flying out. The to make double sure he grabbed an arm and hoisted it into the air, holding it tightly he brought his arm back and punched it hard in the chest. The sounds of ribs shattering emitted from the body before he dropped it to the ground. Going back over to her he smiled "You ok?" he asked looking tough for her. It hurt a fair bit but he wasn't in any danger...or so he thought.

Whisteria didn't have time to react before after she was put down on the ground, she blushed sligtly. Did he just.. protect me? she focused back as she heard the crackling of bones and looked up at Felix. "You're asking me? You used yourself as shield, turn around" she had forgotten her own pain from the scars on her leg from the ankle to the thigh and pushed his shoulder so he turned his back.
Seeing the wounds and the blood, she gasped. Not hesitating, she grabbed her cape hanging from her shorts and ripped it off, laying it over the wounds and trying to stop the bleeding. She hated to see other people bleed, or be hurt in general. "Do you have a rope or a belt?"

Felix listened as Whisteria spun him around. "If you planning on using it to slow the bleeding by constricting the veins, it won't work on the back. too many entrances and exits." he said. Pointing to his bag over on the side of the room. "Outside right pocket there is a pack of bandages. They'll work for now. But we need to get to a city and get better supplies before these become infected." Fleix said as he waited for her to go over and grab the bandages. When she lifted up his shirt to wrap them, she'd notice all the scars along it. Not just the recent claw marks, these were much older, much harsher marks. Once she had wrapped him, Felix put his shirt and jacket back on, grabbing his pack her sat Whisteria down and bandaged her leg with practiced gentleness. Once he was finished he stood up. "Best we get moving, and fast. I don't like being in buildings for now obvious reasons." he said picking her up and carrying her on his back and his pack in front of him. "Best you stay off that leg for a bit" He said as they looked for the exit.