Kaz walked boldly in the middle of the street, two pistols held in his hands. His face was scorched by a fire that he didn't feel, his shirt was riddled with bullets that only glanced off of his body like they were shooting at diamonds. The attackers that crossed his path laid dead in the street, bullet holes in each of their heads. Soon, word of him caught wind and was brought to the leader of the Black Knights. A plan was formulated to take out the seemingly invincible man. Rockets were fired at a building that was next to where Kaz was, aimed at the bottom where the support beams were placed. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Kaz only watched as the building slowly fell upon him, not even bothering to move. SLAM!
(Sorry that it's a bit sloppy, I lost momentum mid-way)
Explosions ripped through Curtis's small home on the edge of New Haven. He fled to the streets. Normally, retreat wouldn't have been on his agenda, but how was he supposed to take on men with rocket launchers and grenades when all he had was a bo staff? Avoiding them was his only hope of survival.
He watched as the walls of the city were demolished, along with any hopes and dreams he'd had of one day living a peaceful life. Ducking behind some large blocks of rubble, Curtis hoped to avoid the murderous glares of the men– most of which stood on the remains of the wall. But they weren't looking at him; they were focused on another man, walking down the bloodstained, cobblestone street, carrying two guns. Something about the man confused Curtis.
He looked pretty calm.
Before Curtis had time to really figure out why the man was so chill, the rocket launchers took out one of the larger buildings next to the man. Down the building went, rubble and rocks flying through the air. When the smoke cleared, Curtis could see that the building had collapsed on the man.
Now the rocket-launcher-guy was looking at Curtis.
"Oh crap," he mumbled under his breath, making a run for it. A single blast was shot, hitting the ground behind him. Through the air he flew, scraping his elbow and twisting his knee. They must've thought they killed him, because they moved on, deeper into the city.
But they didn't. Curtis composed himself, staggered over to the remains of the building. He knew it was a stupid idea to go digging for the body of a man who was doubtlessly dead, but for some reason, he couldn't refrain himself. Something compelled him to search for the stranger. He began to dig through the dust and rubble, searching desperately for the man hidden beneath the wreckage.
The man laid under a piece of rubble so big someone could've sold it for real estate. Any normal person would've been turned into a bloody meat pancake after a building fell upon him, but his chest rose and fell at a normal pace and the only sign anything happened was a bruise growing over his left eye. Thousands of tons of concrete, rebar, and steel fell on the guy. How was he even alive?
Curtis had expected to find a body that looked like roadkill, but instead he found a guy who looked like he was asleep, with the exception of the bruise. Curtis himself looked worse than this man, with bloody scrapes and a huge gash on his forehead– but Curtis wasn't even the one to get smashed by a building.
"What the–" His eyes widened in amazement. How was this physically possible? A miracle, perhaps? There was no time for bewilderment, though; he could still hear the sound of the city's destruction. If he stayed in the open, he'd likely be seen.
Trying his hardest not to cause the man any pain or damage (although he was wondering if that was even possible, considering what he'd just witnessed), Curtis pulled the man from beneath the debris. His whole body ached and complained as he pulled the man along, dragging him farther from the wreckage. Soon, they reached the edge of the city, which bordered the forest. The forest wasn't much safer, but there wasn't anywhere to else to go. They'd be found if they stayed in the city. Besides, there wasn't really much of a city left to stay in.
Curtis dragged the stranger into the woods, until he was sure they were unseen, and found a place to hide in some thick foliage. There, he collapsed on the ground, panting. It was a miracle that he had survived, but he couldn't think of that when this other man had survived a whole building.
It took about 5 minutes for Kaz to begin stirring. It started with small groans and mumbled curses. Next came the occasional twitch or jerk. Finally, his eyes slowly opened, squinting at the sunlight that seared his pupils.
"Mmmmmph," he said, sitting up and rubbing this head. "God, who dropped me off a building in my sleep?"
Curtis was still lying on the ground, sore and bruised. He stared at Kaz wide-eyed as the man sat up, rubbing his head. Curtis grunted as he forced himself upright to look at Kaz, to promise himself that this was real and not his imagination. Maybe Curtis had a concussion and it was making him hallucinate. Could concussions cause hallucinations?
"You– how–" Curtis tripped over his words; he paused to compose himself before continuing. "I don't– I don't understand. You… weren't dropped off a building; a building was dropped on you. How– how are you still alive?! That's impossible!"
Kaz raised an eyebrow over at the panicked man, giving him an incredulous look. The hell was this guy talkin' about? Actually, better question: Who even was he?
"Woah, bud," he said, putting a finger out to hush him. "Way too early in the morning for you to be speakin' that fast."
Curtis's bright blue eyes remained wide, locked on Kaz. The more he thought about it, the more it freaked him out; his face may have even paled slightly. He looked like he'd seen a ghost, because as far as he was concerned, he almost was looking at a ghost.
"But– you– you were–" He swallowed hard, feeling (and looking) like an overly amazed child. This guy not only survived, but he was sitting up, talking plainly less than fifteen minutes after it happened. Impossible! Curtis was tripping. He had to be dreaming, hallucinating, imagining– something! There was no way this was real. "Who are you?!"
"Who am I?" Kaz frowned at the question. Who am I? Um……huh. I have zero clue. What kinda person doesn't know their own name?
"Well…..who are you?" Kaz diverted, simply because he had no clue how to answer it.
(Why am I laughing? Am I insane? Probably.)
Curtis hesitated. "Curtis," he replied warily, staring at Kaz. "Some people call me Curt. But– you– didn't answer my question. How are you still alive?" Curtis shifted his position a bit, obviously still in some pain, although not to an excruciating degree. "That building could've– should've– killed you."
"What building?" he asked, pulling a face.
The hell? This guy is raving about some building falling on Kaz, which seems so ridiculous that he didn't even want to think about it too hard. And his name. How does he not remember his own name? All of this made his head hurt more than it already did.
"The building!" Curtis paused, realizing that the statement "The building!" didn't answer questions. "You were in New Haven. They… shot a building down. It fell on you. I thought you were dead– anybody else would've died– but no! You were alive! I saw it happen. You were just walking down the street, and the next thing I know– BOOM." Curtis used gestures to support his point, but he realized that he probably looked like an overly-enthused child trying to tell a story. "And now here you are! Alive!"
It took Kaz a couple of moments to fully comprehend what Curtis had said. The first thought that passed through his head was, This guy's insane. The second was, Dude looks like a toddler when he speaks.
"So you're trying to convince me that people shot down an entire building for the sole purpose of killing me," Kaz said slowly, "And that I survived?"
Curtis nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it. I'm just as confused as you are." He could tell that this guy didn't believe him– which made him feel dumb, considering the fact that Curtis barely believed himself. He wouldn't have believed it either, if he hadn't witnessed it firsthand. He knew no one was was going to take him seriously if he didn't calm himself down a bit and stop acting like he was hopped up on coffee. "Maybe it gave you a concussion, if you can't remember any of it."
"I….can't remember my name, either," he admitted, scratching the top of his head and pulling a face. "Whatever happened, it knocked my memories out of my head." Although I doubt it was a building.
A plume of black smoke slowly trailed its way up into the sky as the Black Knights began to burn the city. Say what you will about them as people, but they were thorough as hell.
"Is that the city you said got merked?" Kaz asked, beiginning to stand to get a better view.
(In case you need to know that that means https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=murked)
(I have been absolutely LOVING this so far)
((ME TOO! This is a heckin' lot of fun. You're a good RPer and Kaz is the best.))
Curtis stood up, trying to dust off his clothes– which was pointless, considering the fact they were so tattered and stained that getting any worse didn't seem like an option.
"You don't even remember your name?" Maybe the building had hurt the guy a bit more than Curtis originally thought. Still though, it was impressive that the man even survived. "Yeah, that's New Haven." He frowned. "Er– was New Haven." He watched the smoke rise, a sickening feeling churning deep inside him as the realization set in: he no longer had a place to live. And, not only that, all of his acquaintances were dead.
((Thank you! Same to you!))
"Hm," was his only response, scratching the side of his face absentmindedly.
He undoubtedly had people he cared about in the town, but without his memories, he felt no emotional reaction to the burning Haven.
"Think anyone else survived?" Kaz asked, glancing over at his new accomplice to gauge his reaction. It didn't look good.
(I feel like there should be someone who survived that knows Kaz. Maybe a potential love interest?)
(Ooo yes. What kind of personality do you think would pair well with Kaz in a relationship? Similar? Opposing? A bit of both? She could remember him and that's where he finds out what his name was? Would it be an interesting twist if the love interest turned out to be one of the scientists that had helped with the experiment or is that too much? XD sorry I ask a lot of questions :3 )
Curtis swallowed hard, struggling to keep himself together now that he was thinking about all of the families that had been torn apart and slaughtered in what was once a peaceful city. His family had been dead for a long time, but now he'd lost everything. Involuntarily, he found himself fingering his necklace– which had once belonged to his father– although that didn't help ease the stress.
"I hope so," he replied finally, sounding much steadier than he felt. "There were a lot of people in New Haven. Surely some of them could've gotten away."
(I WAS THINKING THAT SAME THING!!!! And someone not afraid to tell Kaz when he's being an a-hole. Very strong, outgoing personality. Stubborn enough to force her way into his heart)
"Well, let's go down there when they're done burning the place and find whoever's left," Kaz said, feeling sympathetic for Curtis.
Huh. I'm the one with no clue who he is, or how he got here, yet that guy's got it worse than me. Kaz awkwardly shuffled over and put a comforting hand on the guy's shoulder. Right then and there, he decided that the people who did this would pay. How he would go about doing this, he had no clue, but he would.
(I'm so excited to see where this goes, oh my god! I haven't been this pumped during a roleplay in forever)
((Honestly, this is going to be amazing. I'm super ecstatic about it, too!! :D sorry for my delay; I'm actually in bed right now. I'll probably try to respond in the morning, and if for some reason I don't, I definitely will tomorrow when I get home in the evening!^u^ I'm glad you're enjoying this as much as I am! Also half asleep rn so sorry for any errors grammatically or otherwise.
GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE. So is that a yes she should be a scientist?? XD))
It was a bit forced and short-lived, but Curtis offered a smile. He wasn't really expecting Kaz's awkward attempt at sympathy, but he appreciated it nonetheless. It had been a long time since anyone had even feigned being his friend, so even as small of a gesture as it was, it meant something.
"If anyone else survived, we have to try to find them. I don't know how long people can last trying to go at it solo. There are gangs like that all over the place."
(This post is a little sucky but I'll try to make up for that tomorrow XD goodnight!
(Yes, she should)
"So are all the gangs out here capable of tearing down a whole city in a few hours?" Kaz asked, pulling his hand back. "'Cause if that's so, we're screwed."
We should go down there now. They look like they're clearing out at this point.
(Sweet!)
Curtis shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "No, not usually. I've never seen a gang with so many powerful weapons. The walls of New Haven protected the city for years. The gangs are mostly just dangerous to weak cities, smaller gangs, or lone individuals like us." He glanced back to New Haven's smoking remains. "Usually, that is."
"This was probably planned for years, then," Kaz said, beginning to walk back towards the city. "Looks like rocket launchers, grenades, and countless small arms."
For some reason, the prospect of meeting of those gang members while searching for survivors didn't scare him in the least. It just didn't feel like a big threat.
"Whoa! Where are you going?" He rushed forward to catch up with Kaz, nearly tripping over a root protruding from the ground. "I don't think they've left yet– and you just said it yourself: they've got a lot of weapons far more powerful than anything we have." He motioned to the retractable bo staff on his back.
"That's why we gotta go in there," Kaz insisted. "If someone got hurt, we gotta go help. Five minutes, in and out."
He continued towards the city, a calm look on his face. We'll be fine, right? I doubt they would double back and search a place they'd already flattened. They're a gang, not an army.
How could Curtis argue with Kaz's reasoning? After all, he was all about helping people. Still though, something about the thought of heading towards a gang with an arsenal of military weapons at their disposal when all he had was his staff and a dagger on his belt really made him uncomfortable. Curtis kept up with Kaz's pace, staying right on his heels.
"You're right, but let's be careful. They'll gladly blow us to smithereens if they get the chance."
"You kept on saying a building fell on me," Kaz said, looking around the devastated city.
There was a string of gunshots and an explosion, Kaz stopped, keeping a sharp eye out for the gang.
"Which one was it?" he asked when the noise died down.
