The knife shone brilliantly in the sunlight. A long line of rippling silver metal, pure stainless steel. Sharp and serrated on one edge, it was able to cut through bone given half the chance. Right now, it seemed happy to flash menacingly when it caught the light. It was a foot of deadly craftmanship, a masterpiece of violence.

Riley thought it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

She'd stumbled across the dinky souvenir store almost by accident. It was the type that sold the more exotic kind of memoir. The kind that sold knives to rich foolish tourists to hang on a wall and show off to their rich foolish friends.

In the current situation, it had so much more potential.

It even had its own sheath. Riley grabbed the other penknives on display, just in case, shoving them into the green rucksack which held all of her possessions. She lingered over the knife, admiring the naked blade once more before sheathing it and strapping it securely to her thigh. She set about searching the shop for anything else which could be useful. Ignoring the cash register, she began searching behind the cashier's desk. Money was of no use to her now.

With a triumphant grin she pulled out a six pack of chocolate bars, a first aid kit and a tattered map, raggedy around the edges. A whine disturbed her. She glanced up. A silvery Siberian Husky stood among the mess that used to be a shop.

"Loki, c'mere," Riley commanded. The dog obediently loped over, though none too quickly, his characteristic wolfish grin smiling up at her. She gave his ears an affectionate rub while she tore into a chocolate bar and turned to studying the map.

It had been approximately three weeks since Riley had saved the dog from a pack of Infected, the name she had given to the zombie-humans that now ruled the world. All Riley remembered was the flash of steal and the smell of her own fear. She had a soft spot for dogs and she hated to think of anything dying that way, being torn apart and eaten alive. She'd seen too many people and animals die that way. She'd lost count.

Since then, the dog had followed her and had alerted her to danger, saving her skin more times than she'd like to admit. Loki certainly repaid his debts. At first, she had considered scaring off the mutt who was following her. She had saved him sure, but she couldn't afford to feed two. However, the husky had managed to sneakily steal from her and when he couldn't, from elsewhere. It was the day she caught him with his head buried in her rucksack snuffling around that had changed her mind; she could remember that day clearer than any childhood memory. They had faded with all the violence and the bloodshed. She could clearly remember the sheepish guilty expression on the dog's face. And she remembered laughing, long and hard and a little crazily, for the first time since the start of this mess. That was the day she had given him his name: Loki. The Norse trickster God. They had been a team ever since.

She glanced up from her perusal of the map. She knew she was somewhere in L.A, potentially close to New Orleans. The sky was starting to look like ink, night closing its fist around the world.

"And now, the danger meter goes up to about a six," she muttered to Loki. He looked up at her with a puppyish grin, as if to say he appreciated her humour. She scanned the shop with a critical eye, her sharp apple green eyes taking in every detail. It had been pretty hard for Loki and her to get in. Squeeze through a small hole in the back door, through a store room where they were met by a locked door. It had taken her ten precious minutes to pick the lock. If not for the tantalizing promise of the glittering knife in the display window, she would have given up and moved on.

Riley nodded. The shop would do. She found a semi-secluded corner of the storeroom and dragged a few boxes in front of her chosen site. Pretty soon, there was a cosy corner protected from sight, with just enough space to make a quick escape. She pushed her short choppy black hair out of her face and tugged the thermal blanket she had swiped from a camping shop about a week ago from her battered rucksack. She folded her small, thin frame into a more comfortable position on the floor of the chilly storeroom. Fisting a hand in Loki's fur she closed her eyes and drifted into an uneasy sleep of nightmares; of shambling bodies, and screams, and blood smeared on lips.

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Author guidance for This exercise

A closed collab with xkatieshepherd, Colm, riptearton, DTMN, Ty694, EchoOfInsanity + Starwarsfreak117.

When a virus outbreak causes hordes of the undead to roam the streets, a handful of survivors find themselves banding together to fight the coming apocalypse.
It's all about survival.

Characters:
Name: Olivia Rose Johnson
Age: 16
Appearance: Blonde hair, blue eyes. Slim.
Personality: On the outside appears shallow, materialistic but is actually quite perceptive and insightful.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Fast running, good at sensing danger. Not the easiest person to get along with.
Author: xkatieshepherd

Name: Lucas Snowdon
Age: 19
Appearance: Tall, black hair blue eyes. Tanned skin
Personality: Quiet, mysterious. Secluded. The only thing he really likes doing is playing his guitar.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Knows how to handle a gun. Strong and fast. His quiet personality makes people unsure of him though.
Author: xkatieshepherd

Name: Matthew Hubble
Age: 71
Appearance: Tall, grey thinning hair. Dark brown eyes.
Personality: Lack of patience. Genuinely nice. Appears hardened due to army experience, but is actually a softy.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Knows a lot of seemingly useless info. Good memory. Knows how to handle a gun. Not that strong on the outside.
Author: DTMN

Name: Rudolf Kerman
Age: 31
Appearance: Bulky, fighters build. Not very tall, has a lot of muscle. Bald. Golden eyes.
Personality: Quick temper, not good with people. Likes hitting things. Good with animals.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Very strong. Prefers hand-to-hand combat with zombies. Cannot plan at all.
Author: DTMN

Name: Jessie Orchard
Age: 26
Appearance: Dark blonde shaggy hair. Tanned. Hazel eyes. Tall, athletic build.
Personality: Very chilled, not angered easily. Can be intimidating when he wishes. Would never leave a man behind.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strong, intelligent + athletic. Reckless when protecting people.
Author: riptearton

Name: Anne Orchard
Age: 15
Appearance: Long, light blonde hair. Blue eyes. Shot.
Personality: Physically strong, mentally weak. Clings to people who'll look after her.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strong + very clever. Good judge of character. Very weak. Doesn't cope well with danger.
Author: riptearton

Name: Charlie 'Chaz' Evans
Age: 30
Appearance: Tall, bald. Strong build. Several scars.
Personality: Lone wolf. Deliberately doesn't form relationships with people. Dark secrets of past.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strong, good at hand-to-hand combat. Good with weapons. Is very stubborn.
Author: Colm

Name: Rachael Higson
Age: 18
Appearance: Long blonde hair, petite. Blue eyes. Soft features.
Personality: Loves her brother unconditionally, loves all human beings. Incredibly timid. Cannot do harm to anyone - including zombies.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Timid. Cannot harm zombies.
Author: Colm

Name: Gavin Higson
Age: 18
Appearance: Wavy blonde hair, strong frame. Blue eyes. Shares sisters soft features.
Personality: Very protective of his sister and those he forms bonds with. Willing to do whatever to ensure survival of him and his sister. Little patience for those with a lack of respect.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Strong and protective. Will do whatever it takes to protect his sister, even if it gets him killed.
Author: Colm

Name: Zachary 'Griff' Griffin
Age: 35
Appearance: Average height. Black, uncombed hair. Dark reddish-orange eyes.
Personality: Acts funny and silly sometimes, secretly hates the situation. Secret drinker. Very aggressive.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Knows how to handle a gun, can be intimidating. Doesn't look strong but actually is.
Author: Ty694

Name: Alex Kigin
Age: 25
Appearance: Tall, 6"2. Dark brown hair kept neat, Steely grey-blue eyes.
Personality: Mostly prepared for situation. Won't hesitate to kill a threat. Angered quickly.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Very good with hand-to-hand combat. Also very good with gun and aim.
Author: Ty694

Name: Riley Jones
Age: 18
Appearance: Small and thin. Short, choppy black hair and apple green eyes.
Personality: Sarcastic, very loyal and a good fighter. Easily befriends people, doesn't trust easily. Has a siberian husky, Loki, who follows her everywhere.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Very fast, good with hand-to-hand combat. Intelligent + creative. Knows how to survive. Doesn't make good first impressions. Not great with teamwork or using guns.
Author: EchoOfInsanity

Name: Alexander
Age: 17
Appearance: Tall and tanned with black hair cut into a military buzz. Brown eyes. Big smile, muscly.
Personality: Majorly sarcastic, rarely serious. Creative, witty and smart. A bit unsure sometimes. Major fan of LOTR and Star Wars. Best friends with Craig.
Strengths/Weaknesses: His height which could work out either way for him. Likes to conserve ammo which can be bad. Has moments of 'battle rage' and not overly patient. Can run fast and far.
Author: Starwarsfreak117

Name: Craig
Age: 17 (almost 18)
Appearance: 5 foot 6. Unruly brown hair, brown eyes and glasses.
Personality: Speaks his mind, oblivious to embarrassment. Likes to joke. Fond of innuendos. Patient listener. Not shy. Smart, but not as athletic as Alex.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Controlled, calm and patient. Has good focus, knows when to strike. Focus can blind him to what else is going on. Complements Alex's weaknesses and vice versa which makes them a powerful pair.
Author: Starwarsfreak117.

Name: Denmen Con
Age: 26
Appearance: 5"6. Broad, well muscled. Sharp blue eyes, dirty blonde hair. Clean shaven.
Personality: Doesn't trust people, still talks and laughs with them. Questions everything he does since Z-Day started. Had to beat entire family down once they turned. Confident although mentally unstable and may snap.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Good with machines, quick to make friends. Knows how to fix/work a gun although aim is terrible. Mental instability gets in way of making judgements.
Author: chimerakiller2

Name: Taylor Whickman
Age: 36
Appearance: Thin, short black hair and forest green eyes. Fairly muscly. Wears dress shirt and jeans.
Personality: Very caring personality. Calm and thoughtful through any situation. Level headed, knows who he should and shouldn't trust.
Strengths/Weaknesses: Physically weak. Clear headed and calm. Good planner. Very good surgeon, good shooting aims. Can't live on his own.
Author: chimerakiller2

updated Mar 3 by xkatieshepherd