text: [Themes: horror, horror, grimdark]
  
  This home has been tense without mother around. She had always been the one to make things better between me and Dad. It was always "I'll talk to dad, later" or "It's just one of those days." I never really understood why she left and dad never did anything wrong, honestly.
  
  It was just a day before Valentines. Dad had things set up. He hid a little gift in her room and we even tried to make a cake! But in the end, she never came home. We tried calling her, frantically shaking the phone in despair. There was no answer and it was then that it dawned to me that she was never coming back. Tears.
  
  It was the first time I cried in years. I bet it was the same for father, only he's never cried since probably forever before that happened, old bastard.
  
  Anyways, it's been about an hour since that tangent at the dining table and all I did was just lie on my bed and play some game on my phone. I really should get up or something.
  
  I think I should be doing something else.
  
  > Could go get a drink from the fridge downstairs.
  "Wow, well if it isn't my old friend! The locked door!"
  
  My eyes stare blankly to nowhere as I stand here at the locked door. Heck, why am I even here?
  
  This home has been tense without mother around. She had always been the one to make things better between me and Dad. It was always "I'll talk to dad, later" or "It's just one of those days." I never really understood why she left and dad never did anything wrong, honestly.
  
  It was just a day before Valentines. Dad had things set up. He hid a little gift in her room and we even tried to make a cake! But in the end, she never came home. We tried calling her, frantically shaking the phone in despair. There was no answer and it was then that it dawned to me that she was never coming back. Tears.
  
  It was the first time I cried in years. I bet it was the same for father, only he's never cried since probably forever before that happened, old bastard.
  
  Anyways, it's been about an hour since that tangent at the dining table and all I did was just lie on my bed and play some game on my phone. I really should get up or something.
  
  I think I should be doing something else.
  
  > Laptop on your desk? Why not?
  It's just another messy study desk. It's got four drawers and my sleek shiny black laptop on top of it. Yes, I do keep microfiber cloth for it.
  
  This laptop is practically the only thing I'm proud of when it comes to my current belongings. It was dad who got it for me. I was finally starting to show promise when I got a pretty nice streak during my 5th-grade spelling bee. Of course, I was just looking at one of my classmates in the audience. That kid was Sid.
  
  Out of us three, Sid was the smarter one. Academically of course. which is partly why he skips class. He doesn't need to worry about school.
  
  His story is pretty much a sad one but I don't feel like going about that now.
  
  Guess I'll play a game on my laptop. It might just help me cool off.[Themes: horror, true story, RPG, post-apocalyptic, zombie, war]
  
  The stench of rotten flesh creeps up your nose as you stand in front of the huge university complex. You have been here since the Outbreak began and settled in. Each day more people are coming in looking for protection. The military has the place locked down pretty tight but you doubt that there will be enough supplies for everybody if people continue to make their way here.
  
  Sooner or later you will have to think about leaving the place behind.
  
  [Author's Note: The Zombie Apocalypse and the first part of a (maybe sometime) epic story, whether you make it or not is up to you. This is my first try so please have mercy. (Recieved a comment so I decided to try and make something off the advise and clear the narrating up a bit)]
  
  > head to the gate
  Somewhere between improvised guard towers, sandbags, barbed wire and brick walls guarded by five men in uniform, armed with assault rifles you can spot an improvised gate. It reminds you of something you have seen in some sort of apocalypse movie with all those spikes, you can spot a piece of flesh pierced on one of the spikes. Your creativity immediately pictures a desperate man trying to climb over as his hand slips leaving him lying on the spike.
  
  The voice of a soldier rips you out of your fantasy: "Sorry, got orders to let nobody leave. If you still want to give it a try, talk to the Captain."
  
  > head to the Captain's office
  You enter a rather dark room, the air is thick and warm. Just the moment you enter, sergeant Miller is pushing the heavy curtains aside. A sunbeam lights up the sunglasses of the man on the other side of the room, he grins and looks towards the light, "Good morning apocalypse!".
  
  You inspect the room quickly. You have been here once or twice since you arrived. The man on the other side sitting behind the heavy wooden bureau is the Captain. He wears his uniform and pilot's sunglasses, instead of a beret he is wearing the replica of an old Soviet Union general's hat. "How can I help you?"
  
  > ask him about leaving the courtyard
  For a few seconds the Captain just stares at you through his sunglasses, you can almost feel his breath on your skin as your heart begins to beat faster. After a moment that seemed like an hour of intense staring he slowly begins to nod. "Alright.", he says, pushing his chair backwards as he stands up, "I hope you know what you're doing. To be honest I was hoping for something like this to happen. It was getting crowded."
  
  > Thanks.
  The Captain looks at you, he now stands next to his desk, the sun is growing somewhat stronger lighting up the room just enough to see a few bloodstains on the dark carpet. Making his way around the bureau the Captain asks you:
  
  "I take it you are ready to head out?"
  
  > Hell yeah! Let's roll!
  The Captain grins at you. "Alright then." With a hand on your shoulder he accompanies you to the gate, as the guards see you approach they salute and step aside. The Captain lightly salutes and then just keeps going as the soldiers open the heavy gate for you.
  
  As the gate opens the smell of rotten flesh hits you like a wave. A few dead infected are lying on the sidewalk, looks like the guards didn't have time to clean them up yet.
  
  Now you and the Captain stand in the remains of the once great city. He pats you on the back, "This is it. Good luck. Oh and before I forget it. If you want to come back don't forget to bring some supplies. You never know when the system begins to break down... you know for real this time.". He salutes you and wishes you luck one last time, then he gives the guard a sign and the door closes behind him.
  
  You hear the loud sound of metal on metal and feel a light wind, now you're all alone. The remains of the once great City loom into the sky and just for a moment you feel even more insignificant.
  
  What started the Outbreak? How to fix it? And first of all how are you even going to survive the next day? All these are questions you might have to ask yourself sooner or later, because this is your story and it has just begun.
  
  > On the road again
  You sight. Here you are, all alone, just you and your gun. As you look down the street you wonder if that would really make a good story, nothing but a guy and his gun. You walk down the street and pass burned out cars and looted shops, here and there you can see what seems to be the remains of a once human being. At first you jump every time you see skin as your mind turns every shadow into a disturbing monster that seems to have been waiting just for you, but after a while you realize that everything in at least a radius of two miles seems to be as dead as a rock.
  
  After a while of walking straight you arrive at a crossroad, you might have known this place but even if you are sure that you wouldn't recognize it anymore.
  
  This is your first choice to make now that you're all on your own, what way do you want to go?
  
  > turn left
  You made your choice pretty quick and spend no second thought about it, does it really matter? You follow a few signs, turn a few times left, a few times right and then continue straight foreward. It doesn't take you very long to realize that you're lost. As you look around you see that you're in some small street, it is relatively clear of car wrecks however you can spot a few dumpsters nearby, you cannot spot a single body. You've got a bad feeling about this.
  
  Then you hear it. At first it is very quiet but it's becoming louder every moment. Somebody is singing. Surely it doesn't sound like he was very talented but you can tell that he got the text right.
  
  You look to the dumpsters, then back on the street.
  
  > hide somewhere
  You surely wouldn't survive for long by taking unnecessary risks like standing around out in the open. You quickly move over to the dumpsters, trying to stay as quiet as possible. As you open the dumpster an unspeakably disgusting smell hits you in the face and your eyes begin to tear, there's no way you can hide in there. You are about to turn around but you can still hear the singing. You look at the street another time and decide that hiding behind the dumpster must be enough.
  
  After a little while you can see a person. He is wearing a black beanie, a red scarf, a dark hoodie and a pair of jeans. He doesn't look like a raider to you, but on the other hand...
  
  > decide to talk to him
  As you approach him he reaches into his pocket, you already got a hand on your gun, but he pulls out his iPod and turns his music off. Two people just staring at each other. You feel kind of stupid, you deserve it by the way. So?
  
  > admit you're lost
  He looks at you through his yellow eyes. They seem a little off but as far as you're concerned yellow eyes don't indicate infection. He scratches his neck:
  
  "Yeah I also had my trouble. Stuff just doesn't look the same after it burned down you know?", his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, "You know it would be nice if you decided to tag along, I've been on my own since I started wandering the damn City, it would sure be nice to have some company.".
  
  You look at him closely, somewhere in his equipment you can spot a gun and a knife. He's armed so he might be a raider, on the other hand, so are you.
  
  You look at him and your decision is clear...
  
  > Alright buddy time!
  You and your new friend head onwards together. You spend some time chatting and find out that his name is Bosnia. It didn't use to but he believes that nicknames are sufficient when it comes to the apocalypse and you have the feeling that he's right.
  
  While talking you realize that Bosnia seems to be a nice guy, although he refuses to answer any questions about his past. "What's in the past is in the past. It wouldn't do any difference.", however you aren't so sure what to think about the fact that he refuses to talk about his past.
  
  Occasionally you stop to check the description Bosnia got, it's a crude drawing with a few landmarks, however it is hard to identify them, some are burnt while others seem to be completely missing and a few times you even doubt their initial existence.
  
  At some point you decide to take a short rest and after scanning the area for hostiles you decide to sit down in a destroyed coffee shop. As you realize that you have forgot to bring water and food Bosnia has already started to split up his supplies, he believes that it's the least thing he could do for a friend.
  
  As you continue rested and well fed it still takes you half a day without any special encounters to reach your destination. Just as you turn around the corner you make a suprising discovery.
  
  > What the fuck?!
  Bosnia quickly drags you down besides him. You take a peak over the car you are hiding behind and see the settlement. An improvised wall made of furniture as well as wooden and metal parts has been partially destroyed, somewhat behind it wads of smoke are drifting into the constantly darker turning sky.
  
  You can spot men in ski masks carrying bodies around, they dump them on a big pile, you can tell that not all of those bodies belong to adults and your stomach clenches at the thought of inhumanity. You look over to Bosnia, he has a gun out, his yellow eyes are focussing the raiders.
  
  Both of you glide down with your backs to the car, he looks at you:
  
  "Shit, got any ideas?"
  
  Spoiler: Using items counts as idea
  
  > let's leave
  You look at the way you came. A short look over your shoulder tells you that none of the raiders are looking. Just as you sneak around the corner you stare into the widely opened eyes of a guy wearing a ski mask. You wouldn't even need to see him, the smell reminds you of a dumpster that hasn't been cleaned in months if not years.
  
  His shaking hand wanders to his back and you don't have to be a Harvard graduate to know that he is reaching for his gun. You can't wait for Bosnia to make a move.
  
  You know you have to...
  
  He looks at you through his yellow eyes. They seem a little off but as far as you're concerned yellow eyes don't indicate infection. He scratches his neck:
  
  "Yeah I also had my trouble. Stuff just doesn't look the same after it burned down you know?", his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, "You know it would be nice if you decided to tag along, I've been on my own since I started wandering the damn City, it would sure be nice to have some company.".
  
  You look at him closely, somewhere in his equipment you can spot a gun and a knife. He's armed so he might be a raider, on the other hand, so are you.
  
  You look at him and your decision is clear...
  
  > Think he can't be trusted. You will be on your way.
  You are lost and alone. You have no food and no place to stay and all of this could have turned out nicely.
  
  More and more you realize just how screwed you are, you can't possibly make it on your own and you wish you would have taken a different choice. But there's no way back now.
  
  And there ends the street, well...
  
  > Head right
  Well good work. Good f-, yeah well great job. You didn't listen to me. Now were here, somewhere in nowhere with no food and no safe place to stay, if you make it through the night that would really suprise me.
  
  And you don't.
  
  > You're Dead
  I would say you had no chance in the first place, but that would be a lie.