The Road To Perdido Chapter I

JANUARY 28th 2051 7:00 PM

Nothing was ever this bad. Small protests about rations were rare, this was something of a fiction.

The dust stings your eyes, everything is in chaos and the air tastes of blood and sulfur. You hear the crunch of glass under your feet and rubble shifts uneasily around you. The loudspeaker crackles and warped messages are sputtered out of it. The guards are on their way, you can hear the sound of their humvees climbing the wreckage at a rapid pace. The speaker gurgles to life again this time, with a clearer message. One that meant get out.

"All citizens of branch B, *ccsshk* please co-operate with Haven guards. All surviving citizens will be detained and interrogated. This is for your own safety and resistance will not be tolerated."

Branch A had an enormous drop in population when those words were uttered last year. Nautilus had demanded a cut of rations then and guards denied any connection between the events. It was time. Home wasn't home anymore...



IC



Glass shattered and heat could be felt on the back of his neck. What was that? The guards were busy patting rapidly at their uniforms and darted off to avoid a flaming bottle. Oh. They truly were under attack, Haven had confiscated alcohol yesterday, this was done by outsiders. Another shatter brought Johnathan out of his trance and he started running further away. The south wall was neglected most of the time, he'd wait until things cooled off. Stumbling over twisted metal, he ducked into the market alleyway. It was a lousy thing to call a market, blankets, and tents with scrap and illegal items were pedaled there. Now it was dead silent and abandoned. He hoped for his mother's safety, she had left to work in the actual market that evening. At least she wasn't here. Coughing as the acrid smell of sulfur and smoke filled the air, he leaned on the brick wall trying to keep himself upright.

Skye heard the crunch of broken glass beneath her feet as she walked. She smelt blood. The acrid scent of sulphur stung her very lungs, and she coughed. Gripping her battle axe tightly, Skye continued walking. Her dull grey eyes darted about her, looking for any guards. Skye let out a barely audible sigh. Why did it come to this? She should never have come to Haven. She should have stayed put in her homeland, up in the Scottish Highlands. That was where her parents were. Her siblings. Her family. Her home. She had abandoned everything to get to this scrap that people call Haven, and she had been greeted by an apocalypse. How fantastic. Upon hearing the sounds of more guards, she ducked into an alleyway and leaned back against the wall. Her battle axe in one hand, the other rose to her neck. Her fingers found a small silver necklace, a charm hanging loosely from it. She ran her skin over the indented surface, tracing the symbol over and over again. Eternal. That was what it stood for. Skye remembered clearly when her mother gave it to her. Now she wished she had stayed put more than ever. Her fist closed around it, before letting it go. Skye tucked it into her leather tunic, keeping it safe from sight. She really looked the part of a warrior, but her outfit had all been stolen. Even her weapon. She had to live somehow, right? That was what she reminded her self as she held her axe tighter and stepped out from the alleyway, walking swiftly over the broken glass and bloodstains. She was eager to avoid detection.

Nathan's breath was ragged and his throat felt sore from all the smoke and chemicals in the air. His father had told him to run and hide, but now he just hid, pressed between two walls with barely a foot of space between them. Though the lack of people calmed his terrified mind, he wished his father was there. For reassurance, he fingered the throwing knives he had been given. They were his only weapon, and he felt vulnerable. He just continued to hide,fearing the worst. His father had been separated from him, and had no idea where he was. All he knew was that he couldn't be caught. His heart skipped a beat when he heard footsteps. Crouching lower, he hoped with all his might that he wouldn't be found. The sound of glass breaking echoed faintly in the distance, causing him to nearly faint. Please don't get found.

Crystal was swiping everything she could see. She slipped them all into her satchel. Then as she neared her scrapyard she saw it. She slipped it on under her shirt, an authentic breastplate for protection. She could hear footsteps. She hid in her little tunnel she had created years ago. In the scrapyard she had lived, digging through the junk to make her own little home. It was protected by mountains of trash, and she had dragged in old wood-burning stoves and furniture. It was pretty nice, despite the smell. Hopefully, the authorities wouldn't find her own little haven inside Haven(ha), because if they did... it would be the end of her.

Johnathan's breath caught in his throat mid-cough as he saw Skye, he was certainly going to die now. No, he could figure out what to do. No guard would carry an ax. This was either another survivor or... a crazy person waiting for a chance. Either way, he peered out of the alley-market to see if he was in the clear. He heard distant radio crackling but, the guards we occupied with the thick crowd that had run toward them for protection. He slowly left the alley, dusting off his jacket. He brushed the pistol in his gun holster and sighed. He hoped that he'd be a better shot than last time he had to use it. Distant gunfire could be heard and seemed to get quieter. Maybe it was over... The sound of another building falling told him no.

Skye's dull grey eyes found Jonathan. She watched him, gripping her axe, alert. She relaxed. This wasn't a guard, and she could tell he wouldn't attack without good reason. Skye was brought back to her senses by the crash that could only mean it wasn't over yet. She sighed, but it was broken by a cough from all those chemicals in the air. She looked over towards where the sound had come from and waited.

What was she waiting for? She had no idea.

The building crashed down way to close too close for comfort. Nathan's terrified mind couldn't think straight, and he ended up just bolting away. Thankfully, none of the guards noticed him, as they seemed preoccupied and he tended to stay in the shadows. He just dashed as far away from the danger as he could. But that was away from his father too. Tears burned in his eyes, clouding his vision, so he was too close to stop when he saw them. A man and a woman on either side of an abandon alley. They didn't seem to be guards, but he didn't trust them all the same. He lunged for a hiding spot under a blanket hung from some destroyed material. He held his breath, hating the smell of the air and not wanting to cough and give his position away. However, the tears kept running a steady stream down his face, both from the chemicals in the air and the fear and grief he was feeling. Reaching into his pocket, instead of the throwing knives, there was a different object he felt to comfort himself. The small locket was still there, still connecting him to his family.

IC: Crystal heard a building fall and the ground shook a little. She grabbed her satchel and ran into the street as the piles of trash collapsed. She looked over towards where the market was, and she saw the swoosh of a blanket and she slowly approached it and reached for one katana behind her back. "Whoever you are, I know you're there." She said. Her eyes darted around, searching for life.

OOC: I imagine her voice like Rey's, kinda British and stuff. (For those of you that have seen The Force Awakens+, you know what her voice sounds like)

OOC: i suck at making speech look scottish so just hear with me. for those who have seen harry potter, I suppose it sounds a little like hagrid but obviously feminine and just scottish

IC:
Skye narrowed her eyes. For a moment, she thought she saw - was it a boy? - run and dive under a blanket. However, he had gone in the blink of an eye. Skye tilted her head, tightening her grip on the battleaxe, when she heard a second voice. Skye looked up and saw another woman. Skye spoke up, her voice cracked with the chemicals and dust in the air. "Oh, aye, because he's goin tae tell ye tha', hen."Skye spoke in very strong Scots. She rolled her eyes and gazed straight at the blanket. "Awe, is the wee bairn scared? Do ye miss yer pa? Yer ma?" she said sarcastically, a small hint of teasing in her voice. She let out a small, cracked, hoarse chuckle, shaking her head. Skye was about to rip away the remains of material, but she stopped. Deciding against it, Skye thought he would show himself soon enough. She stepped back and leant against a wall. "Ya know, this is stoopid, that's wha' it is. Come on, wee laddie, get oot. Show yerseal." she said, obviously in no rush to be polite or understanding.

Crystal looked over to see the other woman. She was older and had a thick Scottish accent. "Never hurts to try, you know."

OOC: We should wait for Jughead Five Golden Memes before posting any more

IC: Nathan froze as the two women approached him. He almost just accepted his death. Then a wave of determination washed over him. He could do survive this. But he was accomplishing nothing by hiding under a blanket when everyone already knew he was there. Nervously, he showed himself, but first picked up two of his throwing knives just in case. Breathing quick and ragged, he looked at the two women he was facing, and knew he was toast. They both were fairly muscular, and had dangerous weapons that his knives would do nothing against. He would have to hope they would show mercy, he fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.
"Please don't kill me! I'll do whatever you ask! They've already taken my father, just please, don't kill me."

OOC: Yeah but... I can't stop myself.
IC: Crystal let go of her katana and relaxed her muscles. It was just a kid. "I don't want anything, silly child. I thought you were someone... else." She said.

sorry guys, I had to go all out for my band's "holiday meeting" that totally isn't a party because it would be against the rules)

Johnathan sighed, watching as the two women investigated the very distressed boy. Nothing seemed to be turning out correctly. "Hey, relax kid. Everything is loud and chaotic already. Let's just... Well..." He glanced at the clouds of dust that were beginning to grow. Had more buildings fallen or had more fires started? Which one was he hoping for? He didn't know. "Let's find a place to stay that's high up, the walls are probably damaged and who knows how loud this attack was. There's probably a horde headed this way-" The sound of tires grew louder in their direction but something was much closer. A crackling radio. Johnathan looked up to see a silhouette on an undamaged roof, crouched and murmuring into something while staring down at them. When they noticed Johnathan, they stood, waved, and then left toward the growing destruction.

"Right- uh. The south gate might be empty, we can hide out there. At least until this is over. It's usually under-staffed so they probably all got called in. No one thinks to guard against the more sleepy side of the residences." He said. He had caused a few distractions that way before, slipping in for a moment to stanch anything that had became confiscated. It was dirty work but it paid.

Just a lil' reminder that everyone has two character slots! Mine are used up but one is saved for later! I'll send out a reminder when openings get close AKA: They reach a type of settlement or area where others are in large groups. Your characters will need to come from those kinds of events so I'll give that information in advance when it gets nearer.))

Skye looked the boy up and down. Just a kid. She relaxed her grip. "Och, child, we're nae goin tae hurt ye." she spoke, her voice just as rough as before. She looked back at the man. Once he had finished speaking, she replied with a simple "Aye."

OOC: short post is sad

Nathan sighed with relief and let his hand slip away from where he had been clenching his throwing knives. Though he was far from feeling safe, at least these people were on the same side he was on. But he quickly reminded himself it was every one for themselves here, and the only person he could trust was gone. He listened to the man's words, immediately conflicted. On one hand, there was no reason he wasn't being led into a death trap. But on the other hand, what else was he supposed to do? He was just a child trying to survive in a world where that was close to impossible, and his family had already been taken from him. What did he have to lose?Getting to his feet, he managed to speak again. "Okay, I'll follow you, but it's still every person for themself."