Survivor No.1: Jamz

[Jamz 253]

I've played DayZ for almost a year now and I still remember the very first time I set foot on the beach in Chernarus, back in July last year. When I play DayZ now I use imagination to enhance my experience, for me the mod is all about immersion. I love the way that there are no explanations for what is happening or a backstory for the character, so each one of my lives is different... And the first one, although short, was something like this...

 

 

Survivor No.1: Jamz
 

 

The shrill cries of the gulls overhead cut through the wind as the figure on the beach began to move. It was a man, sprawled half in the surf and fully clothed, a small and vulnerable object on the stark grey background of sand and mud. Slowly, He began to crawl and drag himself from the surf and up the sandbank towards a clump of bushes, the effort seeming to be almost too much for him to bear. The figure paused and rolled onto his back, let out a low groan and passed out.

awareness crept back to Jamz in the form of the whistling wind and rythmic washing of the ocean.  There was no pain but every breath he took was laboured, as if he had run a marathon. His mind swirled as he tried to think, to remember what had happened. He sat up slowly, aware of a weight on his back.
He remembered the chopper, The frantic radio chatter, some kind of problem at their end. He had been on his way to investigate the outbreak of a new epidemic, a form of Flu, in the post-Soviet state of Chernarus. Not the first outbreak - the same syptoms had been reported in several other countries, but his team were closest to this one at the time. It was nasty virus, affecting the victims neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes in such a way that the infected exhibited an almost feral madness, which drove them to acts of savage violence.
Jamz had been identified as being immune to the virus and, together with a team of immune scientists, soldiers and government observers, he had been sent by Chinook to a ship off the coast of Chernarus which was to be used as a staging area and makeshift laboratory.

 

Only they never made it.

 

The chopper had been hit by something, something fired from the land as they had followed the coastline. Jamz remembered grabbing a survival pack and sprinting for the opening cargo doors as the chopper vibrated and shook. The damage to one engine too much for the other  to cope with, the pilot had opened the doors and ordered everyone to bail out as he tried to ditch off the coast.

Edited August 3, 2013 by Jamz

[Jamz 253]

Jamz checked the survival kit strapped to his back, it was half opened and most of its contents had been lost to the ocean he guessed, but a waterproof torch remained. Also a military issue bandage. His clothes were soaking wet and the wind was picking up, he knew he had to get off the beach soon or risk hyperthermia. He stood up and for the first time, looked inland.
It seemed deserted, a highway ran parallel to the beach and hills and mountains rose up into the distance. He guessed he must be near to the town of Chernarus and decided that the first thing to do was to find a telephone and contact his superiors, he would need a pickup. He scanned the  road before him, to the right he caught a glimpse of what looked like a house. It was beginning to get dark but there were no lights that he could make out. Suddenly, he felt panic rising... what if the infection was here? he was immune but he had seen footage of what the infected could do. 'Calm down' he told himself, it's entirely possible that the place was deserted. He began to walk along the road towards the house.

 

As he approached the house, he could see it was actually part of a small village. He noticed an object in the road ahead, what looked like a pile of furniture, wood, metal sheets, it spanned the road like a makeshift barricade. He saw that part of a fence had been pushed down to his right and ducked into a crouch run as he saw a dark red patch on the wood, maybe he wasn't alone here. Moving quietly, he ducked into the bushes at the foot of the path leading to the nearest house. The wind was relentless now, whipping at him and roaring in his ears as he moved slowly down the path to the house.

[Jamz 253]

As he reached the doorway, he saw that the door was open slightly but there were no signs of forced entry.  He slipped through and pulled the door to behind him as his eyes adjusted to the low light in the hallway. He moved forward keeping low, the debris on the hallway floor suggested a struggle, or perhaps a hasty exit. The lights were off in the house and wind had blown leaves in, but Jamz thought he could see something on the floor of the kitchen ahead. He moved closer, his heart beating through his chest and saw it was clothing, military fatigues by the looks of it. The kitchen seemed empty so he shuffled towards the clothes, a quick scan confirming his guess.

 

He scooped up the clothes, they seemed like they would be warmer than his current civilian gear. As he picked up the clothing, he discovered an old double barrelled shotgun underneath them. There were only two shells for it that he could see so he quickly packed the clothing away, collected them up and loaded it, he wasn't really sure it would be a good idea to find out if it worked as it seemed almost antique. Suddenly he heard something. He snapped the breech shut and froze for what seemed like hours, hearing the only the wind outside. Then, a low grunt! It originated from outside but from where he had entered the house. He turned slowly, the darkness of night now enveloping the house, but he could make out movement in the doorway.

 

It looked like a man, but there was something inhuman about him. He was bent to one side, crooked as if he had an injury but he didn't seem to be in pain. Suddenly the man seemed to notice Jamz for the first time and roared, a sound more akin to a wild animal. Jamz moved, as if jolted into action and sprinted toward the figure, fear giving him strength. He barged past the man and out of the house, as he barged past the man he noticed his features were twisted into a mask of anger. His eyes prinpricks of white in the blackened sockets and his skin cracked and stretched across his skull like a demon of some sort. The man made a grab for Jamz but he twisted and let rip with both barrels from the 12 guage. The force of the blast lifted the figure off his feet and almost tore him in half. The mangled corpse ended its jouney by the kitchen doorway, a pulpy mess.

Jamz ran, he didn't know what he was going to do now but he had to get out of this place. The infection was here and he was in danger, he could hear the cries of other infected beginning to pursue him as he ran. He had to get to the forest, maybe he could lose them amongst the trees but he didn't know where he was, panic began rising and he could hear himself panting loudly as he ran. He took a right turn into what seemed to be an alley way, and straight into the path of an infected. He couldn't alter his course in time and collided with it, both of them collapsing to the ground. Jamz desperatley struggled with the thing but heard more of them closing in. As they pummled and bit at him, his last thought was that his world was over, it would be like this everywhere.
 

 

 

 

The Human Race didn't have a chance.

Edited January 1, 2014 by Jamz