James Sutherland

Nickname: James; heavy-duty scavenger

Hair: light brown, medium length, parted in the middle. Bearded face

Eyes: dark brown; wary; sharp; tired

Features: slightly pale skin; slightly chubby body; average height; thick, muscly arms; wide shoulders; strong, thick legs; bags under his eyes; numerous scars over his face and body

Traits: enjoys crafting and cooking; careful, aware of his surroundings; does his best to avoid fighting people who are capable of reasoning, but he has no problems with killing off feral humans and zombies; likes human meat, is a cannibal but he justifies it due to a shortage in supplies; dislikes zombies, aliens, supernatural occurrences. Is usually blank-faced, and doesn’t talk much out of cautiousness. He is far too desensitized by the cataclysm to be judgmental towards a person with mutations, although it still comes as a shock to him when he encounters one. He also shows an unnatural lack of fear towards danger.

Clothing: when relaxing inside his home he wears a knee-length tunic, and customized cargo pants. During exploration or combat, he wears metal leg and arm protection, with knee and elbow pads covering his joints. On his chest he wears a tan-colored ballistic vest, underneath which is a durable Kevlar-lined trenchcoat, and a customized leather rucksack. Slung over his right shoulder is a homemade knife spear. Around his waist is a customized belt, with pouches to hold items. There is also a sheath, and a holster attached. On his head is a custom hood crafted from ballistic Kevlar and leather. His feet is protected by a pair of cumbersome leather boots, covered with small sheets of metal and Kevlar. On his hands are a pair of custom leather gloves, fitted with kevlar to provide extra protection.

Backstory: Before the cataclysm, Sutherland used to be a metalworker. In his spare time, he enjoyed crafting and sewing things, along with reading cookbooks and social studies. His skills in fabrication really helped him when the Cataclysm struck, when he had to craft weapons and armor to fight off zombies and other nether-born creatures. Thanks solely to him, his hometown was cleared of undead and feral people alike, but he could not find anyone else who wasn’t overtaken by the infection or mutations. So he stayed, clearing the town of any threats and creating a safe haven just for himself, save for a few stragglers who come in from the woods.

Notes: He lives in a two-story house on the western edge of town. His kitchen is a scavengers dream - the fridge absolutely stocked with canned goods and dried meat he either found from nearby houses, or prepared himself. Most of that meat may have come from feral humans, but to him it’s all just meat.

Down the hall from the kitchen is his bathroom, where he holds all of his medical supplies. He does most of the crafting in his basement, with a workbench and piles upon piles of fabrics, metal, and other materials needed to create weapons and equipment.

He is skilled at dodging incoming attacks, and is most proficient with spears, though he is also capable with hatchets and other one handed weapons.

It has been eighteen weeks since the cataclysm has begun.

Portal storms are the unfortunate result of our modern world clashing with other dimensions entirely. The very essence of reality breaks down, allowing unimaginable chaos to seep into our world, for an hour or two. Stars change; you see visions of other world; the victims of so-called portal storms are heard. Calling. Screeching. Begging. Beckoning.

ENEMY TYPES Nether creatures: ever since the cataclysm, never before seen animals and figures have been seen roaming the world. Sightings increase when a portal storm is formed. Many of these nether-born creatures include: shadow people; invisible hunters; psychic flaming eyes, and unnaturally large, flying polyps.

Aliens: aliens have also entered Earth. Nothing about them is human; they move fluidly on many legs, faster than any human. They have sharp claws that pierce flesh effortlessly. Antennae cover their triangular heads, twitching and curling at the slightest noise.

Zombies: the most common of these enemies. Far easier to deal with one by one. For many cases, however, even one zombie can prove fatal. Especially if it is heavily mutated. Some mutations can turn the zombie into two-story tall hulking abomination, others can turn them into thin, rotted things that walk on all fours with fatally sharp bone protruding from their hands. Wild and domesticated animals are not safe from the infection either, resulting in even more dangerous mutations. Feral people are also part of the zombie category. The infection stunts their brain, reducing them to wild, violent people with no other desires than to eat and spread the disease. They use weapons such as pipes and spears to fight, which makes it hard to distinguish between a feral, and a normal human.

It is also important to note that the infection which creates zombies and feral humans can be easily treated with a simple disinfectant; i.e. hydrogen peroxide or other chemicals. This is why infected humans and animals prefer to maul and crowd their victims to death instead of simply biting.