Cities were thrown into chaos, every computer around the world faltering, shutting off entirely. Planes losing course, practically dropping from the sky, trains, subways, many derailing, crashing into each other. Navigation systems failing, leaving boats stranded in the ocean, open waters, communication limited to radios. The prison security systems shut down, convicts escaping into the world, killing the guards who tried so very hard to keep order. Government computers, bases going into almost darkness as their technology all crashes, controlled missions now becoming death traps to those involved.
People in hospitals, the machines keeping them alive waver; they gasp for their life, but only so many can be saved. Complex computer and security systems in laboratories down, some releasing toxins, or things meant to be kept contained from the world around it. Test animals escaping, some carrying unknown diseases and mutations, hiding in the corners of the wreckage, spreading things that were once possibly the hope for curing a disease.

Plumbing and water at this point still work, but without being maintained, will soon be scarce. The advancement of society have made the availability of food plentiful, grocery stores and large corporate chains of stores making food, clothes, and other things easy to come by. But human instincts kick in, fighting for the remaining of the supplies, even as great of a number as they are in.
No one is sure if this chaos is widespread, and many areas are not nearly as affected, but large cities are chaotic, though many survive. The movies, the books that told stories of these things putting people in an uproar, making them act irrationally, making the situation far worse than need be. Fire run rampant as people neglect to control them, building bursting into flames as furnaces over-heat, stopped cars litter the streets, glass of broken windows from those taken to looting, injured and dead people scattered about, some just as they were before the computers shut down.

Can you keep your wits about you? Realize that to survive you must be cautious and be careful of your actions. How long will you survive?

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A girl, looking much like she was about the age of 16, leaned against a wall, panting heavily. Her once pale pink tank top was now stained with blood and soot, and her reddish-blond hair was plastered to her face with sweat. Clutched to her chest was black backpack, covered in patches of various bands, looking well worn. Peeking out over the bag, her green eyes were wide and frightened as she seen him, standing just on the other side of the street. The man glared at her, but he was breathing just as heavily as she was, a large cut on his face was dripping blood, which seeped into the white t-shirt he wore. He was older, and rugged looking, holding a box-cutter tightly, to the point his knuckles had turned white.

She whimpered and cursed under her breath, thinking she had finally lost him. Her eyes frantically searched the area, looking for something, or someone, that would save her. It wasn't like she had anything special, in the bag was little more than some items she had found while scavenging through a house. Some clothes in her size, some bleach for cleaning, some hygiene items, and a bit of food. Yet people were completely mad these days... this man wanted to kill her over, what at one time, was about fifty dollars worth of junk.

It had been weeks since the failure, and people had looted and horded since that day, so if you didn't get the supplies then, it was tough now. She had been with a group, people that she was with at the time (some friends, and others from the movie theater), but... she cringed, thinking about what had happened. Another group, mostly men who had escaped from prison, raided the theater and killed nearly all of them. Since then she had been on her own, well, she did have Henry, the dog she had befriended when she found her hiding spot.

She was snapped back to reality when the man whistled, it was one of the ones that had raided the theater. She should just leave the bag, but... she was going to starve otherwise. He walked slowly across the street, his nostrils flaring.

It's a few weeks after the electrical failure that sent the world spiraling into chaos and madness. Instead of staying together people had lost their minds, hording and stealing everything they could get their hands on. Caring for only each individual self. Then again, in these such desperate times, he wasn't much different.

He was a man, in his early 20s of average build. He had shoulder length brunette hair, which he purposely kept matted looking. In fact he usually purposely looked dirty looking, helped him blend in with the madness. He had military training, even if it wasn't much. In fact he was only a mere sniper who never even seen real combat. Though he was still taught how to survive behind enemy lines on near nothing. That's what this excursion of his today was all about. He was wearing his long trench coat, underneath he wore a small backpack which he was able to fill with some supplies. Nothing major since he still had things at his hideout. Mainly just a couple bottles of extra water, a few batteries and another flashlight. He also had his custom sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. He usually only used it to go hunting, though now it was for protection.

That's when he noticed it, or more like them. From the alley he just emerged from, he saw the young girl frozen in place by sheer terror as some large fellow stalked towards her with a type of weapon in hand. What should he do, he learned not to trust anyone. That people will only betray you the first chance they got. He would be better off walking the other way. Though it was just a young girl, he couldn't just let her die. Taking a deep sigh he slowly unslung his rifle from his shoulder, dropping to a knee and raising the butt to his shoulder. Making his breathing steady as he slowly took aim, the cross hairs aligning upon the guy's chest. He closed his eyes only once as he gently squeezed the trigger. Sending the bullet hurtling towards the mad man's chest.

There was a strange whistling sound, and she watched as the mans dropped. Her eyes were wide in shock, it took a moment for her to register in her mind what had happened. When she finally realized it was because he had been shot, her eyes scanned the area, following to the source of it all. She wasn't sure if this was good or bad, considering the man could easily kill her as well... everyone was entirely mad these days. At this point, she couldn't think it wise to trust anyone, else she'd end up dead, yet... clearly she wasn't too good off on her own.

But wait... what if he was going to shoot her too? Take her food, and return to wherever he had come from. Yet her feet didn't want to move, at least not quick enough. Plus, he'd likely be able to outrun her. She was fast, sure, but... well one, she didn't have any shoes on, and her feet were cut and bruised from wandering these streets. Plus, she hadn't exactly been eating properly these past weeks.

With a sigh she resigned, tired of the madness. If they wanted the little bit of junk she had, then they could have it. The bag dropped from her arms, hitting the cement with a thud, some of the contents spilling out onto the ground. Before she said a word, she turned, hurrying quickly around the corner, hoping the man wouldn't give chase... She would just keep running, all the way back to her hideout, and try again another time.

The man returned his breathing to normal after watching the madman drop to the ground lifeless. He looked towards the girl wondering why she was still standing. Slowly he stands up, reshouldering his weapon after popping out the spent shell. Watching as the shell fell to the ground he shook his head. What was he thinking, wasting ammo. It's not like the girl would probably survive for long anyways. He takes a step to turn around before seeing the girl take off running, her bag dropping to the ground. He sighed heavily, after all that, she leaves her stuff. He runs over to where the girl once stood, gathering her scarce items into her bag, before taking off after her "Hey wait?

As soon as she had turned the corner, she took off, running with all her might down the street. By the time he had turned the corner, she was several buildings away, and still moving. Though she did hear him call, and slowed just slightly, turning back to look at the man. Soon she turned down a side street, kicking up dust in the gravel that covered the alley way. She managed to ruin her footing stumbling a bit, and dropped to her knees, gasping for air. Her chest heaved, and her throat was on fire, she needed something to drink.

Quickly though, she managed to get up, kicking up gravel as she hurried down the alley. She didn't need him to see where she was going, so she tried to hurry, hopping up on the crate that was against the wall. It creaked under her, and she hurried, climbing up onto the dumpster beside it. After getting up, not even taking time to catch her breath, she tugged at the old window, with a grunt, managing to get it open, and quickly, she crawled inside, the window crashing back into place behind her. If she was lucky, he hadn't seen her go in there... so far, she had done a good job at keeping her hiding place a secret.

---

She couldn't even go further than the mattress she had landed on. Her throat felt like it was on fire, and she was heaving, unable to get enough breath. A large, shaggy dog padded over to her, nuzzling into her small frame, sitting beside her on the mattress. Once she could breathe, she buried her face against the dog, sighing. Why did it have to come to this? Here she was in this abandoned building, alone, running and hiding. If tomorrow didn't go better, she was going to starve.

Her eyes scanned the area, the building had, at one point, been a shop of sorts, she had made the stock room her home. The door that led to the front of the building, as well as the one that led outside, she blocked off, nailing boards over it, and pushing the heavy shelves and boxes in front of them. It was clean enough, and she had little areas set up, one with an old cot and a thin mattress on it, covered in blankets and a pillow that looked like it belong on a couch. There was also a shelf set up, and it was stocked with only a few things, three cans left of potatoes, a bag of chips, and a few other food items. Bottles of water as well, but only five unopened, and a few cans of soda that she was saving...

She stood from the mattress, groaning as she brushed the gravel off her clothes, and picking the pieces that were embedded in her skin. Managing to drag herself to the bathroom that was set up, she splashed the water that was in the sink, clogged by a towel, on her face, and looked at herself in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her pale skin seemed even lighter, her freckles standing out even more. "Fuck..."

The man continued to chase after the girl, his breathing becoming heavy. cursing to himself, darn she was fast. Why was he doing this again. It was pointless. He shook his head, clutching the girl's fallen bag tighlty in his arms, pumping his legs faster. As the girl turned the corner he pushed himself with all he had trying to catch her before he lost sight. He skids to a halt, his eyes darting about trying to locate the girl. She simply seemed to have disappeared.

That's when he noticed it, the small board moving slighlty as though it was moved. He shakes his head once more, apparently the insanity of the world was making him stupid. He takes a breath walking towards the board, lightly pulling it open. He croutches down speaking up "Hey.. You in here... You dropped something?" He holds out the bag through the window.

The girl continued to wash her face and hands, but before she could do anything more, she heard footsteps in the alley, and then the mans voice. She froze, debating with herself, should she grab the pack? Well then he would know she was there, and that would not be good... perhaps he wanted to kill her. Yet, he wouldn't have just said she dropped something, would he of? He could have easily just burst in, and shot her there. Slowly she walked away from the bathroom, grabbing the knife she had on the way. Gripping the handle tightly, her knuckles turning white, she moved closer to the window. The dog had kept quiet, she taught it best not to bark. But now it growled, almost as if telling her not to get closer. Yet a pale, slender hand reached and quickly grabbed the bag, pulling it into her, and she slunk off into the shadows. The dog started barking, scratching at the wall, wanting to get out to get the man.

The man stayed there, shaking the bag lightly, not daring to enter any further. Feeling the bag being snatched away quickly he smiles softly, moving his hand back "Next time you take off, you may want to be sure you have a firm grip on your bag" He withdraws his arm, about to stand up and walk away before reaching into his inner pocket. Shaking his head once more "Here, you should use this" He tosses a small bag with straps into the room, moving the board back into place, knocking on it once before turning and slowly walking down the alley. It was getting late, he better hurry up and get home before it got dark. He just hoped he made it

She looked at the pack, and the dog sniffed it cautiously. She sighed when she noticed he was just trying to be helpful, and she was acting so... awful. Carefully she climbed up onto a few boxes, and the board creaked as she pushed the window open, she peeked out slightly, watching him walk away. He didn't seem that dangerous... he didn't kill her, anyways, and he was leaving without staring anything. "It's getting dark out, yah know..." Her voice was frail, and her throat a little dry. She knew it was dangerous to be out at dark, so many crazy people... Plus, they had to worry about the wild animals, as well. Normally, a wolf in the city would be a problem, but with people no longer so busy and rushing, some of the wildlife has moved in, and run crazy.

"It's not safe out there." She continued after a moment, wondering if she was making a big mistake. He could easily kill her.

As the man walks, he rechecks his rifle. Making sure it's loaded and ready to fire. He then pulls out a small compass to get his bearings. The girl was so fast he had to focus on running that he forgot to take note of his surroundings. Well, at least it put a bit of adventure in his life. He stops and looks back hearing the girl before looking up at the sky "That it is" He looks back at the girl, wondering how long she wanted to talk, he didn't want to be out here when the sun went down. night time was the animals time.
"Your right, you should get back inside, board up that window to be safe"

"But what about you?" She questioned, slowly climbing out the window, sitting up on the edge of the dumpster. "You shouldn't be walking around, even with the gun, what good is it against a pack of wolves?" They were especially bad around this area, considering she had chosen a building on the outskirts of the city, the woods were just a block over. "Come on..." It was too late anyways, he knew where she was, and if he wanted to kill her, he could at any point. So she figured, well... maybe someone like him would be good, she wouldn't be alone. She didn't wait for a reply, instead she climbed carefully through the window, dropping down onto the mattress below with a thud. She winced, her feet hurt like crazy. She resolved to find some shoes next time she went out.

He watches her climb out of the window and sit on the edge of the dumpster "Well, if I'm quick enough, I should make it safely back before it gets too late". She was right about the wolves of course. if he was lucky he may drop three, perhaps 4 before they got him. But in the end they would get him. He tilted his head slighlty, smilng to himself. This girl was odd indeed, first takes off like a bat out of hel, then willing to invite him in. He shrugged his shoulders. He might as well stay in some shelter for the night. At least it was defendable if the wolves came out. He slowly walks back to the window, carefully climbing down and landing behind the girl. He slowly looks around. "So this is your place huh?"

She moved to sit on a chair towards the middle of the room. "Yeah, it's not too bad..." She shrugged. It wasn't the best place, but it was safe. No one knew she was here, it wasn't so nice that people were going to fight over it. It was perfect for her, it has everything she would need, well... mostly. "I don't have much food, but..." As she spoke she stood up, rummaging through the pack he had returned to her. A sigh escaped her as she pulled out some of the things, then went over to a table set up, it had a small gas stove on it, and she turned the dial, cursing at first when she couldn't get it to go, then lit a flame. It flickered to life, and she took a pot, putting it on the burner. "At least it is something warm..." She likely shouldn't be sharing her food, but he did save her life...

She opened the can of soup, pouring it into the pot, and taking a spoon to stir it a bit. "Why didn't you kill me?" She asked as she turned to look at him.

The man looked about the room, it was small sure, but it was confined, isolated, safe. Upon hearing her, he turns his head "It's ok, I always carry a small bit with me" He reaches into his coat, pulling out a small roll and a small canteen of water. He didn't need much to make it through the day. He slowly moves and sits down on a chair, taking a small nibble from his roll. He looks at her, while his other hand undraped his rifle, propping it against the table "Why would I kill you? you didn't do anything wrong."

"For the stuff I had? Because you can? People have killed for less..." The girl shrugged and watched him for a moment, looking at the rifle. She didn't have anything like that, just a knife, and it was hardly anything at all. A sigh escaped her as she stood up, going over and stirring the soup in the pot. "My name is Melinda. I'm 19." There wasn't much else to say, plus... honestly, she hadn't talked to very many people lately. Even when she was staying with the others, at the theater, she sat mostly by herself.

When the soup was done, she turned off the pot, and went over to the shelf. She grabbed two of the bowls that was there, and an extra spoon for the man. Picking up the pot by the handle, she poured some soup into each bowl, and then turned, holding one out to him, putting the spoon in the bowl. "Here."

The main shakes his head "And look at what those people have become. They've turned into something far worse than animals" He notices her looking at his rifle, moving a hand to pick it up, flipping the safety on. Extending it to her "Would you like to look at it?"

He wasn't very good at talking. Even before the world went to chaos he was a loner. It's why he joined the sniper corp in the first place. He figured they didn't really talk, they just followed orders, aimed, and shoot. "My name is Joe. I'm 21" He watched as she poured the soup, taking it gently in his hands. "Thank you"

The girl sat down and quickly worked at eating the soup, it was chicken noodle, something she wasn't used to. It had been a little while since she had any meat, so this was amazing to her. Though she ate so quickly, she hardly had time to enjoy it. This was the first time she had eaten today, so she was rather starved. The shaggy dog came over to her, it had been curled up on the mattress, silently watching the man. She was sure if something happened to her, that dog was going to do all it could to protect her. She looked at her bowl, her soup was almost already gone, some noodles and a few bits of meat left, so she put it on the ground, and the dog lapped happily at it, eating just as fast as she had, "His name is Jenga".

She stood up, the light was fading and it was getting dark in there. She grabbed the lighter she had, and lit some of the candles she had, it didn't do much, but it helped. Her small frame glowed against the orange light, she didn't look like she was 19, she looked more like she was 16, only somewhere around five feet tall, and scrawny. Even her face looked young, and her voice didn't help anything, she easily could pass as being 15 or 16... unless, of course, she really was. But did she have a reason to lie? She stood in silence, honestly, there was not much to say. "Thank you... for you know, saving me."

The man ate a couple more bites of the soup before looking at the girl. He slowly pushes the bowl towards her "Here, you need this more than me" He didn't mind, just the roll he had could get him through a day. He looks down towards the dog "Jenga huh? reminds me of that old block game"

As she got up to go light a couple candles, he moved with her, following her. Blowing out the candles "Candles are too risky, the scent can be picked up easier. Here" He reaches into his other coat pocket, pulling out a couple small sticks, grabbing the ends and bending them until a small crack is heard. illuminating the room with a faint green glow "These can be hidden and you dont have to worry about relighting them" He looked at her up and down, she looked so young. She was a fighter that was for sure. Most people would have given up by now. He shakes his head softly "No need to thank me"

She looked at him, and then the glowsticks. She had never thought about that before... but it wasn't like she had access to glowsticks. She worked with what she had, and that was candles. "And I do have to thank you, that man wanted to kill me..." It was crazy to think that he could have easily walked by, and let her die. At least she had someone, even if only for a night. Sometimes being alone was just more than she could take, and made her wonder why she was even fighting so hard to stay alive.

"It is after the game... When I found him he was chewing on the pieces to Jenga..." A small laugh escaped her, the first time she almost smiled in weeks. Since he didn't finish the soup, she took it, finishing it off quickly, then taking that bowl, and picking up the other, and taking them to the work sink, dropping them in it. "Here, I found this, it isn't much, but... It's not something we see too often." She dug through the pack she had, and pulled out a candy bar. It had been a long time before she had any sweets, so she couldn't wait, ripping it open quickly. She broke the bar in half and handed him the piece, still sticking out of the wrapper. Like a child, she shoved the half into her mouth, enjoying the taste of it so much. Of course she couldn't lie, she was a little less than civilized these days, but what did it matter?

After her bit of chocolate was gone, she moved over to the cot where she slept, digging in a chest of drawers, pulling out some clean clothes. Her jeans had gotten ripped, and her shirt was bloody... no surprise, it was so hard to have decent clothes these days. "I don't know where you'd like to sleep..." Since it was dark and he was busy, she began peeling off the dirty tank top, and slipping on an over sized t-shirt, which went down to almost her knees, the large neck hanging off one shoulder. "... I have some extra blankets you can use, or you can take the cot, I don't mind the floor." She unbuttoned the jeans, wiggling out of them, and tossing them to the side.

The man pulled out another glowstick and cracked it aglow, setting it on the other side of the room, basking the room in a soft green light. "No need to thank me. It was no problem at all" His eyes looked about the room, thinking to himself, why did he save the girl. What was the point?. They'd probably be dead in the near future anyway.

"Interesting.. Well at least I know to keep the game from him." He smiled softly. It was odd, he hasn't heard a laugh in weeks, it was kinda nice. And her laugh was rather cute. His eyes widen slighlty seeing the candy bar "Wow, they still exist" He took the half over to him, bringing it to his lips, taking light nibbles from it. It's been ages since he last had sweets, and though he could shove the entire thing in his mouth right now, he wanted to enjoy it. Taking slow bites.

"Hmm" he tilts his head hearing her after she went over to the cot. He quickly looks about the floor "It's ok, right here is just fine.. You take the cot and blankets" He walks over and grabs his rifle, moving over to the nearest wall. Propping the rifle against the wall before closing his coat, wrapping the belt around the waist tightly, securing his coat closed. He presses his back against the wall, slowly sliding down til he hits the floor. Having one leg outstretched, the other leg bent up, he folds his arms across his stomach. "Yup, this is just fine"

Melinda moved closer to the man, shaking her head, "That can't be comfortable..." She had no problem, offering up the cot, since it was likely she wasn't going to sleep anyways. She couldn't remember the last time she had a decent nights rest, and it showed on her face. Normally she stayed awake, reading a book, or playing solitaire, and when she could find batteries, with her Gameboy. It was older, and only had two games, Tetris and a Mario game, but it did help pass the time. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she worked so hard to stay alive, considering the fact that there really was nothing for her in life... running, trying not to die, coming back to an abandoned stock room, alone.

A sigh escaped her as she sat down in front of him. "So, do you have a group you're with? I had one, but they're... gone now." She shook her head. It was sort of nice, having someone to talk to, even though she felt she might have been talking far too much. "I'm sorry, I can shut up, if you'd like to get some rest."

Joe looks up at her, shaking his head "It's ok, I usually never sleep anyways" It was the truth, sure he may close his eyes now and again, but usually he just laid on the floor with his rifle aimed at the door. His senses always alert. he figured paranoia probably creeped into his mind at night. It was too dangerous to let your guard down.

He watches as she sits in front of him "Im sorry to hear that.. I never had a group. It's just been me and my rifle here.. I guess I was always just one of those anti-social type" It was weird. usually he never cared for not talking with people, but I guess after so long it's kinda nice to hear a voice other than your own. "It's ok, I dont mind talking"

"Yeah, I don't much sleep either." Melinda shrugged, playing with the hem of the shirt she wore, letting the words hand in awkwardness. A sigh escaped her as she stood up, smoothing out the fabric, then walked slowly around the room. In the faint glow of the green-light, she ran her fingers along the row of books she had. "I have books, if you like to read..." She wasn't much sure of what she wanted to say, there wasn't exactly a whole lot to talk about, not about the new movie, or what happened at work, basically you were alive or not, there was not much else.

Her small frame wandered around the room, in a sort of pattern, fingers tracing the binding of the books on the shelf, then running along the stack of crates, the wall... across the mirror, where she stopped to look at herself. She looked like a child, swallowed by the shirt she wore, and tiny as she was already. "I'm sorry about this all... You should have just left me."

"I guess it's hard for everyone to sleep in these times" he lets his gaze drift about the room, wondering what it would have looked like before the catastrophe. "Hmm, what types of books do you have?" He inclined his head in her direction, he was always a fan of books. When you had no friends, you tended to lose yourself in books. It's why he turned one of his rooms into a tiny library.

He slowly stands up noticing her stop in front of the mirror "Hey, you ok?" He slowly walks over to her. He softly places a hand on her shoulder "Dont be sorry.. you did nothing wrong" He smiles lighlty looking down at her

Her skin was pale, beyond that of normal, she was suffering from malnutrition, deprived of the sun as well. A tiny sigh escaped her and she all but froze under his hand, looking down at the ground slowly. "I'm not much good, I can't fight, and I'll just get you killed." She shrugged, knowing it was true. What good was she? All she knew how to do was run, and even then... she apparently wasn't very good at that. Her hair fell around her face carelessly, it was surprising well kept, as she was... even as things were, she did keep clean. Washing as she could, taking care of herself. It was all she could do to keep sane anymore.

Peeking through her bangs, she looked at the reflection in the mirror, disturbed by what she saw. It was not the person she remembered, she looked dead, practically. "And uhmm... I have a lot of books. Whenever I see something interesting, I pick it up." She shrugged. Her mind told her to move, to not stand there so awkwardly, but she couldn't seem to move her feet. "I've read them all so far... I plan to look for some more tomorrow." She nodded softly, just continuing to babble on. Her eyes slowly fell on his reflection in the mirror, watching him carefully. Despite everything, she still didn't exactly trust him, but... it was a little late for that now.