Apologies, a good portion of the early bits below is me setting up the game and dealing with technical issues.

Also, a quick note. Due to how things are set up, Day 14 is the starting day because we skip the spring in favor of starting in the summer. All characters start on Day 14, even though the world is shared between them. All names are randomly generated.

Year 1, Day 14: Rudolf Schmidt

At first, when the alarms started, I thought I had been caught. I was so close to getting into the vault. When I made it out of the bank, however, it was like something out of a horror movie. Everyone had gone crazy, just tearing and ripping and biting.

Fortunately, there's an old shelter outside of town that they had built in case the bombs dropped back in the Cold War. Not much there, so I'm gonna have to go out.

There's a town to the west. I'm going to try and walk there to see what I can find. There are a few dogs there, and they look hungry. Could they have gone feral already?

At this point, barking and screams drown out the recording. After a few piteous screams, all that is audible are the faint sounds of creatures moving through the brush, until the recording stops on its own.

Year 1, Day 14: Charleena Qualls

Historical reenactment has its benefits, especially when the world is coming to an end. Charleena felt confident as she stepped out of the shelter. Sure, she didn't have everything you could ever want in the zombie apocalypse, but with a sturdy shield and spear, she felt like she had at least a solid defense against the end of times.

In a way, it was almost exciting. Maybe she'd find other survivors, and they could band together. It would be like ancient Greece all over again. She headed east, along the road to Buckport. All of this kit was heavy, and she doubted she'd be able to go too long without finding something to drink. In her haste, she had forgotten to fill her waterskin.

The zombies were easy enough to deal with. She'd underestimated how slow the armor would make her, but as long as she kept them off her arms she'd be fine. The cuirass and helmet did their job beautifully. Still, she was starting to get nervous about the scratches on her arms.

So long as she was careful, she could keep darting from building to building and avoid the horde. She just needed some nails. She could gather most of the other stuff she needed in the forest, given enough time, but it would be a long time before she'd be ready to work iron.

The dollar store, maybe? She edged her way by the worn facade, striking forcefully at the zombie that was standing there and forcing it to the ground. With a grunt and a stumble, she was able to draw the spear back out, but she could feel someone–something–grabbing her from behind.

RIP

The backpack spilled its contents all over the ground. A few batteries, some ammunition for a nine-millimeter handgun, and a handful of other knick-knacks. They weren't as important as the backpack itself, and she cursed her luck as she turned and dispatched her assailant, battering it with her shield.

She could find a new one at the military surplus store, probably. Maybe even a better one. She moved quickly. Night would be falling soon, and she didn't want to get caught out in the dark.

They were following her, but she didn't mind. So long as she moved quickly, just a little bit faster. She found herself trying to catch her breath. There were a dozen, too many to fight. The armor was too heavy. She contemplated trying to leave it behind, but there wasn't time to get it off. They were in front of her now, a half-dozen more. She struck out with her spear, but it stuck into the zombie without slowing it down. It lunged at her, falling over her shield and knocking her to the ground.

She could feel the cuts, the scratches, the biting, all over her legs and arms. It was a mercy when it stopped.

Year 1, Day 14: Olive Burroughs

There was already someone lying dead right outside the shelter. Olive tried to keep her head. She hadn't been the first one here, but the guy looked like he'd been pretty well mangled. Still, whatever had killed him hadn't eaten much of the body, and the bite marks were too small for zombies.

She unfolded her folding baton as she heard a rustling in the bushes behind her, and raised it to block the coyote's attack. She struck back. One good hit followed another. It yelped after the second blow hit, but she brought a third down on it. It fell, laying still in the grass.

"Good riddance."

The blood around the creature's muzzle confirmed her suspicions. The man had carried a messenger bag, and she took it back into the shelter. A few caffeine pills, a laptop, and a portable game console. Nothing of much value now, but better than nothing.

She'd go west. There was a town there, and she was willing to bet that the zombies, if they could track her, wouldn't follow her through the forest.

She stopped at the pond. Even this close, there was a lone straggler. She went at it with the baton. Whack! Whack!

After a few good hits, the zombie fell, its decaying body too damaged to carry on.

"Piece of cake!"

She looked around, watching for any signs of trouble. Nothing had noticed her altercation, so she continued to the town.

Her Beretta was still in its holster. She didn't want to use it unless she had to. It would draw the horde, and that wasn't her idea of a good way to die.

Maybe there were just a few of them here, since it was a smaller town. She didn't even know its name. The whole place was practically deserted when she showed up.

Everything was locked, though. She forced her way into a couple buildings, hoping to find something good, then realized that the noise had drawn the attention of a horde.

She ran, trying her best to make progress away from the town. About a mile out, they stopped following her. They could find better food among the corpses, food that didn't still run away. A speck appeared on the horizon, and Olive headed toward it. She remembered that there was an old storage center outside Northport. It was far enough from the city that it had to be safe!

There was only one zombie outside, and it went down easily. She grinned at her luck as she searched through the wreckage of a few vehicles. There weren't any bodies, but stuff had gotten strewn all about. She picked up a sturdy toolbelt from the fire-truck, and made a note to come back for some stuff later.

The sun went down as she was rummaging through the storage units. Time to hunker down. Olive hunkered down for the night, but she was getting thirsty.

No water! She'd found a couple canned beverages in the storage units, but she'd already drank them and there wasn't anything left. She'd have to go back to the pond and hope for the best.

It was a mistake. Zombies had already gotten there, but they were at least distracted by the water. The problem was that it had all been contaminated. She found a clear-looking puddle far from the gaggle of undead, and prayed that it hadn't gotten anything in it. She carefully cupped her hands and dipped them in, bringing them up with water while keeping her eyes on the zombies.

They began to pay attention to her presence. She ran. As she made her break into the forest, she realized that they had stopped following her.

Then she threw up, feeling her stomach revolt against the dirty water. She made it to the shelter as night fell, collapsing on one of the benches. She heaved with an empty stomach, waiting for sleep to come over her.

In the morning, she knew she had to get medicine. Northport would be large enough, they had to have something.

She'd just follow the road this time. Maybe there would be an ambulance or something and she could loot it for supplies. Besides, she was much faster than the zombies.

A helicopter had crashed into the ground just outside the forest. She approached it hesitantly. So close! She peered in through the battered frame.

The growls and grumbling of the aircraft's formerly living occupants sent her running. She drew her Beretta. These ones had been soldiers, however, and her shots wouldn't even have a chance to take them down.

She ran, but these ones were faster, tougher. She turned and wielded her baton against them, watching it bend as she slammed it into zombie after zombie. The first fell, but the second grabbed her arm. Then it was all over.

I play a little Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

My live stream is at DLive