Bibliothèque publique de Fulton,
Alanta (Géorgie)
États-Unis d'Amérique
Elle avait raison sur le bruit attirant plus infecté, assemblant plusieurs structures en bois créerait le bruit nécessaire pour obtenir l'attention des infectés dans les rues autour d'eux. Une situation acceptable, le pire résultat a été des rues bondées parmi la bibliothèque et infecté faisant leur chemin à l'étage inférieur du bâtiment. Pourtant, avec les moyens d'atteindre l'étage supérieur ayant été barricadé, ce serait aussi loin qu'ils pourraient aller. Pourtant, une augmentation du nombre d'infections rendrait le déplacement plus gênant. C'est génial, on peut les utiliser une fois que j'aurai les matériaux dont on a besoin. Je ne suis pas inquiet que d'autres survivants voient les structures, la seule façon pour eux est de passer par le rez-de-chaussée. Je suppose que les infectés pourraient être un petit problème s'ils entendent les bruits de construction mais ils ne seront pas en mesure d'être très près de nous. Je pourrais toujours organiser une distraction ou les attirer plus tard.» Le rez-de-chaussée était jonché de cadavres, humains et infectés. Quiconque regarde de l'extérieur devrait prendre en considération la possibilité qu'ils se réveillent avant d'entrer. Une fois à l'intérieur, ils trouvaient les escaliers aux étages supérieurs barricadés, enlever la barricade prendrait beaucoup d'efforts et de temps. La seule autre façon d'entrer était à travers le toit, mais avec la bibliothèque étant le plus grand bâtiment parmi ceux qui y étaient reliés, il n'y avait aucun moyen pour quiconque de vraiment monter là-haut sans une échelle de leur propre. La chance qu'un peuple ait une échelle avec eux était si petite que Jean ne l'a pas pris en considération et a donc pensé que le rez-de-chaussée était le seul moyen d'entrer.
La réalisation soudaine du rez-de-chaussée, qui constitue un obstacle naturel pour tout humain qui passe, a complètement changé son approche. D'abord, il voulait le nettoyer et ensuite barricader le rez-de-chaussée aussi, mais dans son état actuel, il a frappé la peur et démoralisé quiconque doit entrer. Seulement Anastasia et il savait que tous les corps infectés étaient déjà morts. Ce que s'il le voulait aussi, il pouvait simplement aller là-bas et rassembler tout le matériel dont il avait besoin. Il n'y avait pas grand-chose à rassembler, mais surtout des pièces électroniques et des livres. La salle de bains avait quelques tuyaux de rechange pour réparer ou faire une arme modifiée comme il a déjà porté, les recueillir à l'avance serait bénéfique. ''Je ne suis pas sûr si je suis à l'aise de manger des pigeons, et s'ils portent l'infection aussi bien. Ils pourraient même porter d'autres maladies. Je suis déjà paranoïaque jusqu'au point de ne pas boire à partir de bouteilles d'eau pré-ouvertes que je trouve. Je pense que nous devrions nous concentrer sur les marchandises en conserve et la construction d'un jardin.» Aucun d'eux ne pouvait être sûr du fonctionnement du virus, il était déjà au-delà de ce que n'importe qui avait rencontré auparavant. Prendre des risques n'était pas quelque chose qu'ils pouvaient se permettre.
Ayant leur base dans la bibliothèque s'est révélée être un effort considérable, il y avait beaucoup de livres sur différents sujets. Y compris des cartes sur la ville, détaillées aussi. John avait grandi ici, quelque chose qui lui donnait déjà un avantage, mais avoir une carte n'a fait qu'augmenter ses connaissances. Il ne serait pas difficile de repérer un chantier ou un magasin, le plus difficile serait de transporter toutes les planches et l'équipement nécessaire jusqu'à la bibliothèque. Il avait besoin d'un camion de ramassage ou d'une voiture à tout le moins, un véhicule aiderait également à rassembler l'équipement dont ils avaient besoin dans un magasin de jardinage, y compris les graines et le sol approprié. Pensez-vous que vous pourriez étudier les cartes pour moi et encercler tous les sites de construction ou les magasins de construction les plus proches? Vous devriez aussi encercler ceux qui pourraient vendre des fournitures de jardinage. Je serais en mesure de les repérer et de voir lequel me donnerait les meilleures chances de succès.» Il avait appris à connaître Anastasia assez bien pour voir quand elle était contrariée, les souvenirs du rez-de-chaussée s'est avéré être un problème important, donc il a laissé tomber toute tentative de lui en parler, y compris d'évoquer qu'elle pourrait être contrariée, en espérant qu'un autre sujet lui ferait perdre la tête.
Maintenant que les plans ont été établis John a choisi de passer à la conversation normale, il a vraiment aimé lui parler après tout. Ayant été enfermé dans le même espace avec une femme attirante a fait son esprit errer de temps en temps, bien que voir les cadavres d'infection ou de fuite d'eux ont généralement pris soin de ces pensées. Ce n'était pas souvent qu'il s'asseyait vraiment et pensait juste à des choses. Comment te sens-tu à la jambe? J'ai déjà demandé, mais je me demande toujours s'il y a quelque chose qu'on puisse faire pour accélérer votre rétablissement. Ils avaient peu de médicaments, mais ils n'avaient pas encore grand besoin de cela, John a cependant compris qu'il devait obtenir plus avant l'hiver, mais c'était encore une faible priorité en ce moment. D'abord le jardin puis la médecine. ''Il devrait y avoir quelques livres sur votre état ici.'' John savait quelques choses sur le traitement d'une blessure à la jambe, comme les massages à la jambe qu'ils préformaient sur les gens quelques fois. Pourtant, il ne savait pas si quelque chose comme ça s'appliquait à sa situation.
Le fait qu'il pleuvait n'a même pas traversé son esprit jusqu'à ce qu'il regardât par la fenêtre par pure chance, la pluie serait assez chanceuse pour eux. Il a rempli les conteneurs installés sur le toit et a donc augmenté leur approvisionnement en eau. Ça ne durerait probablement pas longtemps. ''Anna, nous devrions garder les yeux sur la météo, un arc-en-ciel peut apparaître.'' Il sourit, pensant qu'il la réconforterait de voir de la beauté là-bas.
Name: John Theodore Statham
Age: 31 years old.
Personality: John can be quite sociable and has no problem engaging in conversation or talking infront of groups, he however enjoys his alone time and often takes a few hours of the day for himself so he can relax and read a good book. History is his passion and it's only fitting that he himself, is old fashioned as well. Because of this he is always the gentlemen, looking out for women more so then he would for a man. He doesn't let himself believe that he does so because women need protection and can't protect themselves, but to others it may look as though deep down that is how he feels without realising it. This goes in line with his hesitation to fight a woman, whether that be through words or with physical violence. His attitude to men is much different, he expects any man to take care of himself and he frowns upon men that express their emotions rather then keeping them inside. His believes extend as far as that if a person can't listen to reason, he needs to listen to violence instead so he will be reminded of his place in line. Despite that, he is lucky enough to have an aura of natural charm and a bright smile. He treats everyone nice and with respect, actively listening to whoever is talking to him. Yet if someone annoys him he will be quick to ignore them and should that person find himself in a situation they need his help, it is most likely that he will not help them but rather watch them fail. Everyone has a chance at redemption though, should a person he previously disliked change his attitude, then they will find that John's attitude towards them improves also.
Occupation: History professor at Georgia State University.
Equipment: John is wearing a pair of expensive black shoes, a pair that would normally be worn with a nice tuxedo or a blazer. He has combined this with a pair of dark blue pants, supported by a black police belt that he stole from the corpse of a deceased police officer. The blouse he is currently wearing is an equally dark shade of blue, that matches his pants perfectly. Unlike his pants however, the blouse was taken from the same deceased police officer, along with the man's badge and shoulder fitted radio. On his back he has a dark grey backpack with a bedroll attached to the lower end. His whole apparel is some what dirty, featuring both old and faded bloodstains and a thin layer of dirt. He choose this specific outfit so that others would firstly be intimidated, believing that he was an active police officer and is thus a more then capable melee fighter yet is also able to accurately use a gun. Secondly because unlike with the military, most people still have a positive image of police officers, many of whom simply died in the first few weeks of the outbreak attempting to help people.
Inventory: John still carries his phone from before the outbreak, savouring the pictures on it but keeping it off for most periods of time, attempting to preserve the battery. He also still carries his wallet, filled with money, small change, his identification, drivers license and various cards.
The police belt still holds a pair of handcuffs, keys, a primary flashlight, secondary flashlight, baton holder without a baton, disposable gloves and mask, taser and a bottle of pepperspray.
The backpack on his back contains two large bottles of water, five variations of canned food, a roll of tinfoil, half empty bottle of deoderant, nearly empty bottle of toothpaste, toothbrush, two journals in which he can write down his thoughts or notes on the infection, a small box of pencils, pencil sharpener, a packet of condoms, razor, shaving cream, three sets of clean underwear, four pairs of socks, two shirts, one jacket, two pairs of blue jeans.
Weapons: Steel pipe with a double tee pipe fitting fastened to it. The double tee has one large steel bolt tightly secured on each end, resembeling a sledgehammer albeit half its size, in appearal. The weapon has only moderate weight, but is capable of taking down walls whilst suffering little to no damage. The materials required to craft the weapon are easy to find and require little technical knowledge to assemble.
Smith & Wesson M&P semi-automatic pistol that has unfortunately suffered a malfunction and despite looking fire ready, is unable to preform. Lack of knowledge and experience on weapon maintenance has prefented its user from fixing the issue. The weapon in its current form can only be used as a last resort melee weapon or to intimidate Humans that do not know about its defective state.
Background: John grew up in the richer part of Atlanta, Georgia. His family wasn't exactly rich but they weren't poor either. At best their situation could be described as above middle class, something that allowed John to have a care free childhood, which was uneventful at most. The only real hardships he had to deal with in his younger years were the things that most childern would experience, such as the death of a family pet or a friend moving away.
When he entered his teens, John discovered his love for history. He started to devote more of his free time to reading history books, reading studies online, watching movies and even going as far as participating in several history related roleplays. A habit that continued throughout his teens into his adult life, that wasn't all he did though. Playing a soccer was a beloved past time and he spend most of his weekends playing soccer with friends, untill he started to notice girls that is. Once he gained an interest in them he devoted less time to soccer and history and more time towards talking to girls, one in particulair.
John discovered at that age that he was quite comfortable talking to girls as well as boys, in large groups even. Something that proved to be quite handy during presentations or in terms of making a romantic gesture towards a girl. Approaching a woman surrounded by her friends would take a lot of courage and that in turn is bound to gain interest. Despite his natural charm, he never really became a ladies man. Choosing to instead focus his attention on one girl, in which he entered a relationship with that lasted to his adulthood. Over that period of time he was her first and she was his in everything ranging from kissing tow making love.
After high school, John decided to study History with the aims of becoming a teacher or professor at either a high school or college in town. His study was succesful and he graduated amongst the top of his class, having a passion for the thing you're studying helps keep you interested and greatly boosts your knowledge and memory of the subject. During his time in college he never really developed a habit for drinking or smoking, he never experimented with drugs either. Choosing to stay clean of all out of personal choice, succeeding in not allowing peer pressure to take him down.
Finding a job as a teacher proved to be easy, his young age and inexperience proved to be a minor bump in the road. The demand for teachers was higher then the reluctance of some schools about his age. Fortunately one of the universities in Atlanta allowed him to try out as an intern, hoping that John would prove to be a good teacher that would in turn inspire more young people to become teachers as well. Their confidence in him was not misplaced and John proved to be an able teacher. He was able to identify with his students because they were rather close to his age, but he was also capable to command respect and keep order in his class room. Whilst at the same time actually teaching them, his broad knowledge and genuine interest in history rubbed off on his students, which in turn started to enjoy his classes more. In the end his job proved to be perfect for him. Truly living up to the phrase of ''If you love your job, you never have to work a day in your life.''
At the start of the outbreak John found himself in one of the large library's in town, amongst a crowd of students preparing and studying for finals. When hell broke lose the local police forces attempted to barricade themselves inside along with a large group civillians that were previously on the street. The library, now heavily crowded. Stood no chance when the infected managed to get inside. In an array of fighting in which students tried to defend themselves with anything they could find, police officers shooting at will and others choosing to smply run for their lives. Total chaos erupted, the end result being that both groups virtually eliminated eachother, the infected ultimately winning and creating a carnage. The library now filled with the corpses of the childern studying there and the infected that died in the initial assault.
John survived by hiding in the bathroom, ripping pipies out of the wall and fashioning them into a makeshift weapon. From there whilst high on adrenaline, he managed to kill several infected and managed to escape up to the second level of the building. On the second floor he found the corpse of a dead infected and a small trail of blood leading away from it, towards a large closet. Judging by how several things had been thrown out, John was able to deduce that a person was hiding inside. He chose to approach the closet and reassured the person inside that it was safe to come out and that he wasn't going to harm her.
After a some what shaky and awkward introduction, Anastasia and he decided to stick together for the mean time. Together they set up a small safe house in one of the offices on the top floor of the library, barricading the stairs going down in an attempt to avoid facing what was downstairs. After a few days of listening to the radio and watching the unfolding events, they decided that things were not going to get any better and that they should stick together. That was two months ago today, they have been together ever since. Taking care of eachother when needed.