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Post by Savverz on Mar 25, 2009 18:50:38 GMT
The people of America know what they are, who they are, but not when they are. Perhaps it's the radiation messing with their memory, or perhaps they just stopped caring. It's been many, many years after a huge nuclear war; many hid in fallout shelters deep underground, but the people above ground weren't so fortunate. The few handful of surface-'survivors' had been horribly mutilated and slowly died of cancer due to radiation poisoning. The entire country was damaged beyond recognition; one couldn't tell New York apart from Seattle, except by the amount of destroyed buildings and the types of trash and rubble left behind. There are several other large shelters meant for keeping animals; livestock, domestic pets, and many other kinds. Life, being stubborn and persistent, carried on for decades, maybe even centuries underground. After some time, a few shelter-dwellers left the safety of the fallout shelters, only to find that the land once known as America had not recovered. Soon, they found that it was possible - albeit rather inconvenient - to live on the surface. Some made towns, some chose to travel, but many decided to stay underground where it is safer. Some found that there was life on the surface. But it isn't the same.
In the surface town of Harbrook, one of few that's surrounded by tall, durable walls, its old Water Purifier has broken down, and the people are slowly running out of safe-to-drink water, so they have to send out a group of travelers to find a better place to stay. This is where it all starts. (See Resource Thread for more info)
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 25, 2009 22:20:21 GMT
Liam was waiting. The man that usually gave Liam water in trade for supplies wasn't there. He set down his bag full of scrap metal and skulked around, listening to what was going on. He could feel that the citizens of Harbrook were tense. Something was going on.
". . .And then the water purifier went on the fritz!" He heard someone saying. Creeping near, Liam tilted his head to listen.
((Minor NPC Powerplay, if that's fine.))
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Sfot
Major
Mistress of the Realm of Over There!
Posts: 463
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Post by Sfot on Mar 26, 2009 18:46:20 GMT
Anna was sick of the gossip going on. Here she was, trying to pull together a small clockwork mechanism, and they were distracting her with their stupid chatter!
The dirt-coated girl stood up, holding her incomplete work in her hands as she wandered off towards the wastelands in search of peace and quiet.
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 19:03:45 GMT
Liam watched the girl walking by, holding a small contraption. It didn't seem completed. Walking over, he stood in front of her, glaring at her with his eyes. His eyes were bright grey, and very intense. They seemed to see everything, but they were somehow intimate. Then he spoke a few terse words in an oddly musical voice. "What's going on?"
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Sfot
Major
Mistress of the Realm of Over There!
Posts: 463
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Post by Sfot on Mar 26, 2009 19:11:43 GMT
Anna stepped back quickly as a stranger blocked her path, and the second she made eye-contact she went on the offencive.
"Something about the water filter, not that I listen to the gossip half the time. After all, right now it's the reason I'm walking away from everybody else." She said coldly, wishing she had a spare hand to grab her wrench with.
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 19:14:52 GMT
"Water Filter." Liam said to himself. Looking at the girl, he bowed slightly. "Thanks." He walked away.
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Post by Savverz on Mar 26, 2009 20:00:40 GMT
Beeping. Beeping could be heard, coming from behind a large pile of rubble not too far away. Soon, the voice of a woman could be heard behind that same pile. "That can't be good." Moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps kicking up dust and refuse ended with a smash as the woman threw herself over another mound of trash, hoping to shield herself from the oncoming explosion.
The beeping stopped.
Fire and debris shot out in all directions, leaving a small, smoking crater where the land mine used to be. The same voice from before squeaked nervously. "I'm okay!"
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 20:13:35 GMT
Liam was walking and thinking. The water filter was down. What did that mean for him? They would use the remaining water for their own people, and they wouldn't trade it to him. That meant that he would need to go find somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Somewhere-
The sound of a large explosion made Liam leap down to the ground, interrupting his thoughts. "I'm okay!" Getting back up, he looked around for the voice that called out. There he saw a moderately tall girl in dirty clothing. Then he noticed something about her skin. It was almost as pale as his own. Walking near her, he spoke. "Your skin," He commented, "Why is it like that?"
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Post by Savverz on Mar 26, 2009 20:19:02 GMT
She stood up, dusted herself off, and then glared at him, her arms akimbo and her face bitter. "You got a problem with my skin? It's what happens after being exposed to certain amounts of radiation over time. Yeah, I'll prob'ly die of cancer at a terribly young age, but I won't be the only one." She looked at him through the top of her eyes, pointing at what little skin on his face that could be seen. "You don't look all that tall tan and handsome yourself, y'know."
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 20:22:06 GMT
"Wasn't an insult." Liam said. How come everybody acted like he was being rude? "Mine is the same." He said, pulling off one of his gloves to reveal a pale, soft hand.
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Sfot
Major
Mistress of the Realm of Over There!
Posts: 463
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Post by Sfot on Mar 26, 2009 20:41:31 GMT
Anna just glared at the air as he turned away. He did everything but snarl at her, then walks off again? What kind of je-
Her thoughts were distracted by an explosion, and following her curiousity she raced towards the sorce. After all, where there's explosions there is normally mechanisms, and if they weren't digital, but analog creations, then even better for her.
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Post by Savverz on Mar 26, 2009 21:00:25 GMT
Rust combs her hair back with her fingers as she puts her hat onto her dirty head. "My my, I guess people are serious about kicking people out on a suicide mission. What are your guys' names, anyway?" She gestured towards Anna, looking more annoyed than anything else.
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 21:09:05 GMT
"Liam" Liam said, stepping back to allow the other girl into the conversation.
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Sfot
Major
Mistress of the Realm of Over There!
Posts: 463
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Post by Sfot on Mar 26, 2009 21:17:39 GMT
Anna just stared at who she found. "I'm Anna." Short and sweet, just how most conversations should be when you're trying to finish something off, and if she kept this up the system that was perched in her hands was going to get choked on dust.
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Post by Savverz on Mar 26, 2009 22:14:12 GMT
She flicks the brim of her hat a few times, watching as the dust fell from the hat and gently floated down to the ground. "My name's Rust. Don't laugh, I like my name. Anyway, I build and demine for a living, if you can call it that. You guys look interesting, what do you do?"
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 22:16:28 GMT
"I hunt." Liam said. He looked downwards, as if he were thinking for a few moments, then he turned to Anna. "I didn't mean to be rude." He said apologetically.
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Sfot
Major
Mistress of the Realm of Over There!
Posts: 463
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Post by Sfot on Mar 26, 2009 22:21:11 GMT
"Me? I work with machinery, preferably clockwork." Anna shrugged. "As for you not meaning to be rude, it would help if you weren't so blunt." She replied to Liam, before a faint smile slid across her features.
"So now what?"
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Post by Savverz on Mar 26, 2009 22:26:11 GMT
Rust turned to look at Liam, cocking her head to the side, a hint of mischief in her smile. "I suppose you could call me a hunter as well. I hunt for things that make other things go boom. Lots of fun." As she turned to Anna, the smile faded into a more neutral expression. "Well, the mayor wants to send out a group to find better land. We should stick around for a while to build up supplies, and we also need to wait for more people to join our group. Safety in numbers, y'know."
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Zerrer
Squad Captain
Posts: 160
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Post by Zerrer on Mar 26, 2009 22:30:50 GMT
"The more one talks, the less value are one's words." Liam said. He stepped back and knelt down on the ground. "I'll come." Liam said, not meeting anybody with his eyes. He wanted to have some choice on where they moved to. He didn't know why he was so attached to the village, though. "Mountains. North." He said, looking up to Rust.
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Post by Savverz on Mar 26, 2009 22:33:48 GMT
She watched as Liam knelt, and a mixed expression of embarrassment and annoyance returned to her face. "What are you, some sort of knight? A gentleman? No need to be all kneeling-like. Oh, and what's that supposed to mean? Are you saying that when a person begins to talk a bit much, they start to... to... hm..." She thought for a while, rubbing her chin as she did so. She shrugged, not really caring about it. "Whatever."
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