CataclysmDDA

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BMR
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Post by BMR »

Day 001

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So it's come to this. I've managed to flee the chaos in the city, but it was a close one. I wasn't even able to take anything with me, leaving behind all my things and my precious books. The bridge to cross the river was too far away though, and I was forced to jump into the river. It was a tough swim, and I would have frozen to death, but luckily I stumbled across this evac shelter. There was some food, and the heating was still active so I was able to dry off and get some rest.

But it's been a week now, and the food has run out and I'm down to my last bottle of water. I haven't even seen anyone in days, though I can still hear the sounds of destruction off to the west across the river. I need to move on from here if I want to survive to see my next birthday, but I have no idea where it might be safe. I've searched through the shelter, but there's nothing I can really use here. All the lockers are empty, chances are someone got here before I did and raided the place. I was able to put together a slapdash crowbar after destroying one of the lockers in the shelter and beating it into shape with a rock. I used it to pry open the door the the roof, but all that was there was an empty water tank and the solar panel that I'm guessing provides power for this place. There's nothing in the basement either, just a bunch of benches and table stacked up against the walls.

I've checked the computer in the shelter, but the Internet seems to be down. Predictable. I was able to get a printout though, showing me the way to larger refugee center down to the south. But it's a long ways away, and I don't have the supplies to make the trip. Granted, I might be able to scavenge some food along the way, but it's no guarantee. All I've got are the clothes on my back, and with it snowing outside, I don't know how long I'd survive out there. Of course, there's the city to the west across the river, but chances are it's probably a death sentence to head on there. Then again, it's a death sentence to stay here too, and the same if I head out unprepared...

I just want to go back to the way things were, curl up in bed with a nice book, maybe get myself a nice grilled cheese sandwich... But I have to face the facts, things aren't going to go back to the way there were any time soon.



>What should I do?
Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

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Bob the Hamster
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

First, raid the printer for precious paper. You might need to write your own books from here on out.

Second, scavenge more food.
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Post by Spoonweaver »

Explore the area around the shelter in ever widening circles
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BMR
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Post by BMR »

Day 01 - Afternoon
Bob the Hamster wrote:First, raid the printer for precious paper. You might need to write your own books from here on out.
Paper is always useful, so may as well grab whatever's left in the printer. There are still a good fifty sheets or so. I guess if I have nothing else to do, I could make a few paper cranes. I think that there was that legend about making a thousand paper cranes granting you a wish? Or something like that.
Bob the Hamster wrote:Second, scavenge more food.
Spoonweaver wrote:Explore the area around the shelter in ever widening circles
Most of the area around the shelter is just grassland, with a few trees and flower bushes here and there. I did find a few strawberry bushes, but there's no fruit on them seeing as it's still winter. Off to the east, I can see a treeline, so there might be something worth retrieving there.

Day 01 - Mid-Afternoon

I found bollocks. Well, not exactly, I did manage to find a pinecone, which I guess I could gnaw on if I get hungry enough. But actual edible plants or berries? Nothing. There were a few trees that might have given edible roots, but I've got nothing to dig with and the ground is too hard for my bare hands. I decided to abandon the eastern area and circle down to go south a bit. I found another group of trees, smaller than the massive forest to the east. I was about to enter it to test my luck, but--

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I saw the sign that was posted. "DANGER! MINEFIELD!"

Some incredible git thought that it would be a grand idea to mine a small patch of forest. As I have no intention of getting blown to smithereens, and the west is blocked by the river, I decide to go a bit further south instead. I would have gone north, but in the distance I could see what looked to be a zombie bear of some sorts, I do not want to tangle with that.

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O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!

Some ways to the south, I found another shelter. There wasn't much anything inside, but I did manage to find a bottle of booze. In the basement, there was a spare tarp there which I have decided to use as a makeshift cloak to keep me warm. It's incredibly bulky, and I look terribly ridiculous, but at least it's better than nothing. It's not like I've got a lot of stuff with me, but every little bit helps to keep me alive.

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What's better though, is that parked near the shelter, was a semi truck! And the keys were still in it! It's rather beat up, but there's still some diesel left in it, and it does seem to still run. Thankfully, my younger sister forced me to learn how to drive couple years back so that I could get my driver's license. I mean, it's not like I even own a car, so I told her it was pointless. Being her of course, she smacked me upside the head and told me that it was still important to have some official ID like that and practically dragged me to the government office. I don't know where you are right now, but I hope you and your kids are safe.

For now though, I've got a truck and some booze. Not a great start, but it'll get me somewhere. I'm getting quite thirsty though, but my water bottle is frozen solid. I could drink the booze, but you know what they say about drunk driving. Then again, it's the apocalypse, so that might not be applicable any longer. Either way though, with this truck, I just might be able to make it to the refugee center to the south. I guess I could risk going back into the city, but I'd rather not risk it to be honest.


>What should I do?
Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

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Bird
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Post by Bird »

According to the equipment, we are a human with a body temperature of circa 37 degrees celsius or... circa 100 degrees farenheit. Put the frozen bottle under your winter coat and then run around in circles to heat things up. Also, think about tasting the snow. Is it consumable?
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Post by MorpheusKitami »

Store the paper in the truck, then look for some good rocks and then practice throwing them. Maybe look for sticks to make into arrows.
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Post by Bob the Hamster »

Think back... Didn't you read somewhere that an atlatl is much easier to craft than a bow, and still quite effective as a ranged weapon?
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Post by Spoonweaver »

Drive truck back to the first shelter to pick up anything of any use and load it in the truck. Then start heading south.
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BMR
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Post by BMR »

Day 001 - Evening
Bird wrote:According to the equipment, we are a human with a body temperature of circa 37 degrees celsius or... circa 100 degrees farenheit. Put the frozen bottle under your winter coat and then run around in circles to heat things up. Also, think about tasting the snow. Is it consumable?
MorpheusKitami wrote:Store the paper in the truck, then look for some good rocks and then practice throwing them.
I stash the paper away in the truck, getting it ready for when I'll leave this place. Well, if I ever decide to, that is. But still, I think the cold might be getting to me... I tried warming up the bottle with my own body heat while running around the shelter while looking for rocks to pick up, but all that really did was make me feel even colder. I did manage to melt a bit, but the few drops I got just weren't worth the cold and the exertion.

Eventually, I got desperate enough that I decided to use one of my matches to set some bush on fire. It took some doing, and adding a few dry leaves and twigs under it, but it didn't take long for the bush to catch fire. Thankfully, it was already mostly dead and dried out, so it burnt quite nicely. I left the bottle of water next to it for a few minutes, waiting for it to thaw out. Thankfully, that did the trick and I was able to get a decent drink. Still thirsty though, but not quite as bad as it was earlier.


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I guess I could go west to the river and drink from it, but with all the chaos that's happening and all the dead bodies in the area, I have to wonder if it might be infected, turning me into one of those creatures. Best case scenario, I get some food poisoning I guess.

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MorpheusKitami wrote:Maybe look for sticks to make into arrows.
Bob the Hamster wrote:Think back... Didn't you read somewhere that an atlatl is much easier to craft than a bow, and still quite effective as a ranged weapon?
Spoonweaver wrote:Drive truck back to the first shelter to pick up anything of any use and load it in the truck. Then start heading south.
The night is still young, and years of reading in the dark with nothing but a bedside lamp have made my eyes a lot more accustomed to the dark than others. May as well put that to use, I guess. I get back into the truck and head to the first shelter.

There's not much left here, but the furniture, if torn down, could possibly make for some good materials. I spend the next few hours dismantling what I can, and smashing the rest, loading it all up into the truck. I manage to get quite a bit of wood, and if I could just remember how to do it, I guess I could make an atlatl to throw darts. I tried it with one two by four, carving it with my pocket knife, but to no avail. I just wound up with a gnarled mess that couldn't throw a dart if my life depended on it. If only the Internet were still around, I could search how to build one of those things properly. For now though, I'll just keep the wood in the truck.

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It's a decent haul, but I should probably get some sleep first before doing anything. All that work hauling everything also made me quite hungry, and I'm really very hungry. I spend some time rummaging through the brush for something to eat, but to no avail. I did find a body bag though. Thankfully, there was no one dead inside. Must have been accidentally dropped by emergency services.

I'm really, really hungry, but I can't find any food here. May as well try getting some sleep.

Day 002 - Dawn

I'm woken up by the gnawing pain in my stomach. This is the first time I've ever gone longer than 24 hours without food and am definitely not used to it. There's nothing really left here, so I may as well head on south as far as I can while there's still diesel in the tank. Maybe I'll find an overturned food truck along the way.

Day 002 - Mid Morning

I've been driving for a few hours now. For the past few miles, the road has been parallel to the river. I occassionally see some fish leaping in the water, but without a fishing rod or a net I can't even begin to hope to catch one. Then, I notice that there's a cabin a ways away. I drive as close to it as I can, maybe I can get something to eat there.

When I pull up near it though, I find that it's on an island in the middle of the river. By the wreckage in the area, I'm guessing there was a bridge of some sort here, but it's long been destroyed now. I guess I could strip down and swim over there and-- OH GODS, WHAT THE CRAP?

Day 002 - A Little After Mid Morning

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A beaver. A slime-ing beaver! I can't believe that out of everything that could possibly try to kill me, the first thing that would actively do so was a beaver. I was looking at the cabin across the water when it suddenly burst out of the water and started attacking me. I was able to beat it to death with my crowbar, but it was still able to bite me a few times. And... and I kinda fell on my slime when it first attacked me, allowing it to jump onto my chest and smack me in the face a few times...

On the plus side though, I guess I could try butchering the beaver and eating the meat. I mean, I've never done it before, but how hard could it be?


>What should I do?
Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

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Bird
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Post by Bird »

Slice the beaver corpse into pieces. And don't hesitate eating its meat quickly, unless there is a fireplace near to cook.
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Post by Spoonweaver »

Build a fire.
This will help with the cold, cooking the beaver, and drying your clothes should you swim to the island, which I'm sort of against considering the angry beavers int he water, unless it's kinda close
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Post by MorpheusKitami »

Build a makeshift hammer, sling and axe, if possible. Then, see if we can't snipe any beavers with rocks.
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Post by BMR »

Day 002 - Midday
Bird wrote:Slice the beaver corpse into pieces. And don't hesitate eating its meat quickly, unless there is a fireplace near to cook.
Spoonweaver wrote:Build a fire.
This will help with the cold, cooking the beaver, and drying your clothes should you swim to the island, which I'm sort of against considering the angry beavers int he water, unless it's kinda close
I manage to butcher the dead beaver well enough to get some good pieces of meat. I did mess up a little though, and I doubt I was able to get as much as I could have. Still, I've got some good cuts, and some that I suppose I could generously call "minced meat". I guess I could eat it raw, seeing how fresh it is... but honestly? That idea doesn't seem all that appealing.

I head back to the truck and grab some wood as well as a few dried twigs from the nearby treeline. It takes me a couple matches (damn wind) but I manage to get a fire going. I use my pocket knife to whittle a point onto a stick so I can skewer the meat onto it. It takes a while, and the smell of the cooking meat makes me want to just tear right into it. Patience though, patience.


Day 002 - Some Time After Lunch

Delicious. Well, no, actually it was a bit too gamey for my tastes, but anything will taste good after having not eaten for some time. Thing is, I'm quite thirsty now. Hmm...

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Alas, poor booze, I was never able to taste thee. With a heavy heart, I dump out the booze onto the grass and wash the bottle in the river. I then fill it up (but not too much) with water and start boiling it over the fire. It doesn't take too long, as I may have made the fire a bit bigger and hotter than it needed to be.

Soon, it's boiled and I drink it down as soon as it's cooled off enough. It's still quite hot, but that's a welcome feeling in this cold. I just try to imagine that it's rather tasteless coffee. What I wouldn't give for a nice cup of the stuff right about now.
MorpheusKitami wrote:Build a makeshift hammer, sling and axe, if possible. Then, see if we can't snipe any beavers with rocks.
Time to get to work though. I go back to the truck and grab a two by four and a rock. I cut the wood down some, and then tie the rock onto it with some of the string I got from demolishing the curtains in the first shelter. It's rather crude, but it'll work enough as a hammer. I try the same to make an axe, but I can't quite strike the rock in the right way to give it an edge. Maybe I need a special kind of rock? Flint or something? I don't really know, I was never really the outdoorsy type. On the plus side, my attempts at adding an edge to the rock gave me a bunch of smaller stones. Hmm... and that gives me an idea.

I use some of the curtains I tore down and I try to make a sling to hurl the little bullets. It doesn't work too well though. I'm guessing the lacy curtains are not quite the best material for the stuff. I guess I need something like leather for the pouch. The string I've got, but I just need something better to hold the bullets in the weapon.

Well, no use dwelling on that now. If I continue south, maybe I'll stumble across something I can use. I'll leave the cabin behind for now, I do not want to tangle with any more crazy killer beavers.


Day 002 - Midday

Oh, slime it all...

Image

I'd been driving south for an hour or so, when it started to rain. And if that wasn't bad enough, I saw lights in the distance. At first, I was happy, I thought maybe it was another survivor driving along the road as well. But as I got closer, I saw that the lights were from a couple of parked vehicles. Police cars, to be specific. They're behind a barricade, and I can just see a few bodies behind the barricade as well. They look to be quite dead, with no signs of them rising up again. They look to have been armed, I'm guessing this was a last stand or something.

What's quite worrying though, is that there are still a couple of turrets in place. If I get too close, they'll shoot me full of holes. Though... I am in a giant semi truck, maybe I could plow right through them? Might be tricky avoiding the parked cars though, but then again, those cars might still have some gas in them, making them usable. I suppose I could go back north, but according to the printout, this road is the only way to get to the refugee center...


>What should I do?
Last edited by BMR on Sat Jun 08, 2019 2:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
Being from the third world, I reserve the right to speak in the third person.

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MorpheusKitami
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Post by MorpheusKitami »

Check how far away the shelter is on the map, if it's less than half a day's hike, walk around the turrets. If it's not make a path in the nearby forest we can drive through. (but either way, make sure the car is off before doing anything, don't want to burn any unnecessary gas)
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Post by Bird »

Is there an accessable side of this turret? It doesn't shoot automatically, right? So there must be someone inside! In that case use the lights of the truck to signalise to the scene, that there is another surving being. Also remember, that there might be lootable weapons in the police cars.
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