Rome, Italy

January 12th
Location: Rome


Character: Roman Empire
Status: Mild infection



There was no hesitation as the man suddenly reacted to the situation that had suddenly occurred. When the outbreak had happened in his old capital city he rushed quickly to find Romano. The man's feet had pounded against the ground and he did not stop running for anyone even if they needed help. Right now his son was his first priority and when he happened upon Romano's house he was glad he made it. Those undead creatures had seemed to have chased him down and begun to swarm his frightened son. No hesitation. Rome started to pull them away throwing them to the ground, punching them, kicking them, however he was able to get them away from Romano. The dark haired man grabbed Romano by the arm quickly and opened the boy's door trying to push him into the home so he wouldn't get bit. His mind was racing because he was wondering if he would even be able to manage this. The screams from the other living people around them, these undead beasts trying to swipe at the two of them, it was worse than any battle he had ever thrown himself into.
"Romano just stay in there I'll take care of it!" He went to get Romano inside but one of those things went to bite the boy's arm. It was a knee jerk reaction without hesitation and no second thought about it as Rome put himself between the zombie and Romano. A sharp pain went through his arm as the thing bit into his arm and proceeded to have no intention on letting go.


Rome closed Romano's door once he was certain the young man was inside. Glaring he picked up a loose brick from the street and bashed the creature over the head. Blood splattered everywhere but he was all but too pissed off to care about the brain splatter. There were so many around him he needed to find a way to distract them so he could get inside. It appeared however that he would need to do things the old fashioned way as he started fighting them bit by bit. Gathering up any strength he had Rome threw them down, stomped on their heads, whatever it was that he knew would work.
"Is this some sort of divine retribution Jupiter?" He inquired with ironic amusement in his voice. Once he saw a break the man quickly rushed inside and slammed the door shut behind him. Quickly he took one of Romano's decorative living room dressers and pushed it in front of the door. Breathing heavily Rome slid down the wall onto the floor and placed his hand over the bite. God it stung worse than any animal bite he had ever had in the past.


"Romano are you okay?" He looked over with a small smile just thankful to see the young man unscathed.

January 12th
Location: Rome


Character: Romano
Status: Uninfected


Romano’s life was a nightmare. He had heard about the chaos happening in other parts of the world, but as a method of reassurance and the prevention of panic, he had denied such a thing was possible in his own home. Not here. Not Italia. Not the land of art, culture, and music. Not the capital of his faith. He knew the Vatican was the first place his brother would head should the infection ever reach the country the two of them shared. Reports had started out in the countryside with a few minor cases that sounded more like myths and horror stories than an actual crisis. It soon showed itself to be what it truly was, and now north and south had erupted into a sea of white flags and trigger-happy forefingers. His boss had called to the world for help, a world that was too busy dealing with its own problems to listen to anyone else’s. Now it was here. The undead were swarming the streets of Rome, and the only thing Romano could think was God, I need to find Veneziano.

He had armed himself from head to toe- a hand gun strapped to every limb, a dagger at his belt. He didn’t feel like any amount of ammunition could prepare him for the horrors that awaited him outside his door, however. Those zombie things were fucking creepy! He pulled back his living room curtain a bit and peeked out the window. The street in front of his home was clear…for now. This was his chance to run for it. Taking a deep breath and mustering up his courage, he checked his guns one last time and bolted out the door.

Romano didn’t get far. He had barely dashed a block when all of a sudden, he was face to face with a multitude of the undead. They came at him from multiple directions, moaning, swarming, and unmistakably out for his flesh. Romano let out a little less than manly scream and whipped out his guns, holding one in each hand. His usually accurate aim was thwarted however, by the shaking of his limbs as he tried to level the guns at the zombies’ faces without actually looking at them. This was the first time he had seen them this close, and he couldn’t stand the sight or smell of them. After a few stray shots and others of varying success, Romano came to the conclusion that he was vastly outnumbered and did what he did best- retreated.

The zombies, unfortunately, followed. There were more waiting for him by his house by then, and Romano found himself with his back pressed against the wall of the structure while the creatures closed in on him. He held out his guns shakily, firing a few shots until the weapons clicked emptily. He switched them for the guns strapped to his ankles, but soon, even those were spent, and he had no more time to reload. There were still more. So many, FUCK, so damn many! Romano trembled violently, tears streaming down his face as he glared at the invaders, angry and horrified.

“DAMN YOU, BASTARDS, JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” he screamed. They didn’t listen, even when his angry shouts turned to pleas. These beings had no souls, no reason.

Oh, God, please…please help me, he prayed as he winced and crossed his forearms in front of himself defensively, the knife from his belt clenched tightly in one fist as if it was his last hope for survival. I need a miracle. Please, someone, anyone- save me!

And then heaven answered him. Romano had his eyes squeezed tightly shut when suddenly, the attack he had been expecting was halted, and he squinted slightly to see the zombies being flung to the ground by an unexpected savior. Who was that? He looked harder, trying to identify the figure. Romano’s eyes widened as he recognized the brown hair, that strong build…those curly hairs.

“N-nonno Roma!” he choked, unable to believe it was really him.

Maybe he was already dead. Was he in heaven? No…if he was seeing his grandfather, this had to be hell.

He didn’t have time to contemplate it any further because the next moment, his arm was grabbed and he was being hauled towards the house by the ghost of the Roman Empire. Wait…weren’t dead people supposed to have cold hands?

When they reached the door and Rome attempted to shove him inside, however, Romano finally snapped out of it and began to struggle despite the other man’s reassurances.

“No! Shit, Veneziano’s still out there! I have to find him, dammit!”

He pushed against the larger man, but Rome didn’t allow him to cross the doorway. Romano shouted a colorful string of Italian curses and attempted to dodge past him, but just then, a zombie leapt at his arm, mouth open wide. Romano’s shriek was cut short by a forceful shove to his chest as his grandfather shielded him with his own body. The young Italian landed unceremoniously on the floor within his house and groaned. The door slammed shut between them, and Romano scrambled to his feet, looking out through the peephole anxiously as Rome continued to fight the invasion outside.

As soon as the man picked up the brick, however, Romano found he couldn’t watch anymore. He took a few staggering steps back from the door and clutched at his stomach. Dammit, he felt terrible. He really had no stomach for these things; the wars that he had been through had barely hardened him at all despite their horrors and gore. It also didn’t help that he was so fucking nervous and scared. The Italian crept into the adjoining living room. There, he sank down to his knees next to the closest wastebasket, leaned over it, and then, promptly threw up.

By the time Rome rushed back into the house, Romano was sitting at the bottom of the stairs near the entryway, a sick, exhausted expression on his face. Fuck, he couldn’t stop worrying about his brother. His head shot up when Rome entered, though his face quickly paled at the sight of all the blood he was covered in. Hopefully it wasn’t his own…

He watched as the strong man blocked the doorway with his living room dresser (that one had been expensive, dammit!) and slid down to the floor panting for breath by the wall across from him. Romano frowned, still feeling as if he was in a daze and that nothing he was seeing before him was real or made any sense. His long-dead grandfather sure as hell couldn’t be real. Romano was surprised he even still recognized him. It had been so long since he had seen the man. Not since he was tiny. Not since…before Spain.

His head really hurt now, and as Romano leaned forward to rub at his temple, he realized that thinking about his former caretaker and worrying about the Spaniard’s safety was going to be more than his sanity could take at the moment. He had to make sense of this first.

Instead, he continued to frown at the other man and scowled even deeper at his question.

“Does it look like I’m okay, dammit?!” he croaked. “There are fucking zombies terrorizing my city and I’m trapped in here with a damned ghost! And who knows how far they’ve gone. Shit, Vene…”

He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes again as his throat tightened. It wasn’t making his headache any better. He knew the idiot was probably running around somewhere flailing his arms in fright or maybe even holing it up with that stupid potato bastard…Probably doing one first and then the other. Damn them…

In his fury and confusion, Romano barely even noticed the old man clutching his wounded arm.

January 12
Location: Rome

Character: Rome
Status: Mild Infection



The nightmare had started before he could fully grasp what had really begun. The morning seemed so bright, so hopeful, and the weather so inviting no one would think anything life altering would happen. Perhaps Rome should have seen the signs though that a large catastrophe was to come their way. In his time reading the signs of nature was a sure way to tell good or bad omens. Everything had truly pointed towards a bad omen but in these modern times Rome had almost lost touch with the old ways. However, his instincts had not left him when the first sign of danger struck his old capital city. When the undead began to swarm he took the first steps to get away from the heavily populated center of town. During which time the brunette man had made his way through the winding streets to Romano's. Amongst the chaos Rome was able to dodge quite a few zombies for a simple reason; they were also busy chasing other living people. As much as he hated to do so he had to use people as a means to make sure he did not get eaten.


Yet here he was bleeding from his arm sitting inside of Romano's living room while the undead howled outside. Breathing in and out heavily Rome moved his hand away from the bleeding wound and examined it closely. He recalled when he saw someone who appeared to have been bitten a week before or so. They were still somewhat sane but complained of terrible headaches and feeling faint or dizzy. Their company was cut short however when they began to act a little more irrational and slightly crazed as the day drew on. Would that be his fate? Or as an old Empire would the effects not take place because he was not a normal human? Still his objective had been reached and he did indeed keep Romano out of harm's way. Except now if he were to start losing focus for weeks to come and began to lose his sanity who would protect him then? Rome knew he needed to get Romano out of the city and take him to someone who could protect him.


"I am so happy that I found you and you are all right." The brunette man smiled widely and scooted over to Romano. Without saying a word he took the trembling young man into his arms and hugged him close.

January 12
Location: Rome

Character: Romano
Status: Uninfected


This was just not his fucking day. Romano closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands, trying to fight the nausea that was still sweeping over him. He wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else. Not trapped in here with zombies outside and a ghost within. Strangely, though, the ghost didn’t frighten him as much as he thought it should. Maybe it was because the zombies outside were so much more frightening than this figure who had just saved him, but Romano got the feeling it was more than that. This man wasn’t just familiar in appearance; the feeling he got from him was one that reminded him of his childhood, a long, long time ago before the Italian Wars that had torn him and his brother apart. He had been happy then- warm, safe, secure. Protected. He hadn’t had to worry about invasion or danger because no one had been stronger than his grandfather. Not at that time.

And now here the old man was again, at least in Romano’s imagination. The Italian briefly wondered if the zombies had some kind of power that caused people to hallucinate. He really didn’t know much about them at all. Romano had been far too afraid to watch the news or talk about the invasion with anyone. Every time he had heard or seen anything about it, he had simply done his best to shut it out, as if working off the theory that whatever he couldn’t see wouldn’t hurt him. His ignorance had been a blessing that had kept him sane until now, but it had come at a heavy price. He wasn’t prepared. Romano had no clue how to deal with what was happening outside his door, and now, what was in his house was confusing him just as badly. It had to all be some kind of trick. Maybe when he opened his eyes again, it’d disappear. He lowered his hands and tried it. Nope- still there. And holy shit, so fucking close!

“Chigiiiiii!”

Romano barely had time to react before the apparition came before him and took him into its strong hold. The Southern Italian cried out in shock and protest, struggling violently to get away. Oh God, the blood the ghost was covered in was getting all over him, red smearing on his clothes and skin with the foul stench of the undead. And then there was that awful bite on the old man’s arm… Romano stopped wriggling and just froze completely, staring at it, stillness only broken by short bouts of trembling as he tried to get his brain to function again. He didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, but he knew one thing- this phantom, or whatever it was, was real, and it was talking to him and hugging him, no more a creation of his own mind than those monsters outside. Could it really be him? Was his grandfather really back from the dead?

“W-who…WHAT are you, dammit?!” he finally managed to blurt out with some difficulty.

January 12
Rome, Italy



Rome kept his hold strong on Romano but looked at him strangely after a moment before laughing a little bit.
"What am I? I am Rome silly you should know who I am." The man laughed a little bit again finding Romano's reaction more amusing than anything. If this were Veneziano the young man would straight away recognize him and not even question it. Only Romano would be stubborn enough to believe the one before him wasn't even real. Loosening his grip he let go of the brunette young man and stood up looking back at the door. That dresser should probably keep them at bay and if anything they will chase after someone else soon enough anyway. Walking away he went to the kitchen and grabbed a paper towel dampening it with water before pressing it to his wound. There were windows downstairs but the curtains were drawn so the beasts would not think someone was within. Still, he knew they had to be on the safe side and so Rome started thinking of a way to block them.


He had never in his entire life seen a situation so disheartening and frightful; and he had seen many frightening things. No war nor fury of a God could ever amount to the utter desperation of the situation his old home was thrown in. Rome had never seen people eat other people nor seen people not die from normal means. It was almost as if the powers that be [/i] were [i] angry with the world and wished to project their fury upon them. At least to his more old fashioned way of thinking that was probably the most logical explanation. Walking back out from the kitchen he looked down at his sore red wound.
"I will find a way to keep you safe and help you find your brother." Rome said looking a little more serious now.

January 12
Location: Rome



The brunette man was taken aback by the sudden attitude and defiance but all the same he could not be too surprised. After all Romano was a very headstrong young man and therefore this sort of behavior was natural. Sitting up right more his golden eyes looked slightly sad and thoughtful as he recounted his life the past couple centuries.
"I have been in a stasis like wandering without anywhere to go after my Empire fell. I was dead in both heaven for a time and in hell serving out my sentence for all I have done. I begged and pleaded to come back because of you and Veneziano still needing me to look after you." Rome said looking Romano in the eyes to show him he was telling the truth and being honest. Gripping the wound on his arm lightly he took in a deep breath.
"I come back to this and all I could think of was you lived here in the center of this mess. I needed to come and save you..." The dark haired man was unsure what point he was trying to make other than he needed to save Romano. It was as if there was something he had to make up for in the past he felt he could reconcile now at this point.

Rome smiled a little it was a sad sort of smile of someone with mounting regrets inside them. He managed to stand up and moved across the floor into the kitchen to get a washcloth. Cleaning the wound off carefully he sauntered back into the room and looked the brunette in the eyes.
"I came back now because it is you I feared for the most. Veneziano is fine where he is but you being here you would not be fine and I knew this." Rome sighed a little and placed the washcloth onto the coffee table and approached Romano without hesitation. When he heard the words 'you never cared' leave the young man's mouth he stopped in his tracks looking at him.

Never cared? Him? No, that wasn't true!

The man's golden eyes started to well up with tears as he stood there feeling ashamed. His actions in the past certainly did not merit him being anything of a decent caregiver. Giving most of his love to Veneziano he knew it was wrong but, he also knew he did love Romano! He always had a very special place in his heart for Romano, for the child who looked more like him than Veneziano ever could.
"No, you're wrong I did care! I gave you my old capital, I gave you most of my vast fortune, I bestowed the name of myself onto you. I gave you all you had and have to ensure you had it better off than Veneziano. Sure there were some unforeseen events but ...in all have you not grown up much more wise?" The man inquired looking at him with a pleading gaze before going and wrapping his arms around Romano.


Please don't hate me

Rome felt his body began to shake and tighten as he was gripped with so many emotions at once. His eyes begun to water and then tears trickled down his cheeks freely. Burying his face into Romano's hair he whispered 'sorry' over and over again like a mantra. The man knew he had done wrong to both of the brothers by disappearing like he did, being an idiot, dying for such foolish reasons that he could have prevented. Selfishness, arrogance, and greed are the three factors of which killed him and this he was most certainly sure of. Now he was back and just in the nick of time to save Romano from perhaps the most unsavory situation. Getting bitten though is what worried him the most right next to keeping his son safe. Upon wandering and fighting through the city he saw what happened to the humans who became infected with the bite. Would the same fate fall upon him? He who was not even technically supposed to be alive? The thought of turning into one of those things it sickened him to his stomach and he did not want to picture it. If it were to be so he would rather be himself up to the very end and commit suicide or something before he lost his mind completely.


"I....I won't leave you again I promise." Rome sniffled some trying to keep himself from crying too much. He needed to keep a clear head right now especially since the dead were devouring people right outside the door. A scream from a woman shook him from his stupor and he stood upright more letting go of Romano and going to the window carefully. Opening the blinds a little bit he looked over and covered his mouth a bit eyes wide. Never before in his life as a soldier in the Roman Army had he seen bloodshed so horrible and despicable. People were running by in the chaos some were taking advantage of the panic to put others in the path of the creatures.


Rome turned and went up the stairs next to Romano's room and opened the door to the balcony. He needed to make sure there was no way for anyone to get in or get up there. When he stepped outside the warm sun and gentle breeze didn't even feel like it was natural. His golden eyes were fixated on the vastness of his old Imperial City; on the destruction. There were pockets of areas where some smoke was coming up from fires apparently, probably cars or buildings even. Everything was going to ruin and he felt his heart start to sink as he watched the throngs of people running in a panic. The creatures chasing them, the screams, the utter chaos and he clenched his fists at his sides feeling helpless. Here he was the great Rome and yet he couldn't even save his old home! The feeling that was overcoming him was more than despair or being distraught it was something much deeper.

"Dammit...dammit why." Was all he could mutter under his breath as he looked out to the way of the Vatican. Supposedly that is where Veneziano was going to but he sincerely hoped the boy had enough sense not to run into the middle of the city. A low whirring sound caught his attention and he looked from the direction it was coming in. In the distance three--no--five black dots were heading their way at rather high speeds. He tilted his head some until he noticed it was helicopters as they passed over the city. One was low enough that he could see within it there were armed soldiers in full gear; this must have been getting serious all over. Backing up he went back into the room and closed the door sitting down on the bed shaking his head. Rome brought his hand up to touch his wound gently and he felt a wave of anger through him. How dare those things bite him, how dare they try to take his life, how dare they even have tried to kill Romano for that matter.

The spirit of perseverance was awakened fully within the Ancient Empire as he stood on the balcony. Though it appeared that the entire world was going to hell he was not going to give up. This bite wound was not going to slow him down no matter what it would mean for him in the end. Through it all he would ensure that Veneziano and Romano were safe, and once he knew they were safe then he could safely take care of his needs. Stepping back inside he heard the shower running and took a seat on the edge of the bed looking taciturn. The start for this event was what he really wanted to know. To get to the bottom of such a horrendous circumstance and try to fix it.


"Veneziano is at the Vatican though? Or maybe actually he is in his hometown which means we will need to go north." North through cities, towns, villages, farmsteads perhaps all infected and riddled with the undead. The chaos would make the journey very difficult and there was no telling what they would have to go through. How would they get food, sleep, just basic things would become more difficult than should be allowed.

Rome sat there looking down at the floor with a very thoughtful expression on his face. As he listened to Romano speak his golden eyes glanced over at his grandson, and then he sat upright a little more wincing from the pain in his arm.
"Let me tell you something Romano and I am telling you this for your own knowledge. Those things are everywhere and when I say that I mean it. I was running through this city long before I found you and I had been near the Vatican. When I went past there those two hours ago they were having a hard time holding any of those things back. It is two hours later so are you so sure it really be the place we need?" Rome did not wish to be cruel and shoot down the young man's hopes but he wanted to show Romano reality. In a situation like this it was like dealing with a war and that meant reality was the most necessary thing.
"Besides, do you plan to stay in the Vatican until they go away, until a miracle happens? I learned a long time ago when it came to dire situations miracles seldom happen. You would truly need to create your own and besides it would be suicide to stay in one place for too long. I know the Vatican is a labyrinth but what if we get lost in that maze? Lost in a maze with the dead biting at our heels." Rome spoke calmly and looked at Romano before standing up. He walked past the young man and went downstairs to go into the basement and find a gun. He had seen guns before but never actually used them so he was nervous about how well he would do. Hand him a sword and he would probably take out rows of these creatures with no problem.

Once down in the basement he made sure Romano wasn't behind him before he hit the side of his fist against the wall clenching it. He felt so horrible saying all those things to Romano but he felt they needed to be said, Romano needed to know the truth. This could be overcome but not by hiding away in the Vatican, no. Bowing his head down he grit his teeth and felt tears threaten to spill down his cheeks.

Rome looked up from his spot where he stood bowing his head and wiped his eyes. There was no way at this moment he would let Romano see him like this, and especially when they were about to go fight zombies. He picked up the gun he chose and turned around the face the young man with a smile.
"Yes, I was just debating on something is all." Rome lied swiftly to try and not draw attention to his sad state of mind. Slinging the gun over his shoulder the older man walked past Romano up the staircase. The man stopped midway though and turned to look back over at Romano furrowing his brow some.
"I am just worried about yourself and Veneziano is all that is why I am hesitating. This is going to be dangerous and you know it, and I know how much you want to find Veneziano. Promise me though," He walked back down and over to Romano, "the minute it gets to be too much run from that place."

Rome had never felt so determined in his life, for he wished nothing to happen to his boys. He placed a hand on the dark haired young man's shoulder. The man's golden eyes were starting to water, and he knew it so he turned quickly around and back up the stairs.

Rome stood in the center of the living room upstairs trying to block out the screams outside. So much pain, so much suffering, and brought upon them by a force that was unnatural. He would have taken a war with murderous soldiers over this predicament. A loud thump against the door startled the man from his thoughts, and he swiftly turned to peer over at it. Stepping closely to the curtains he opened them slightly, and then jumped when he saw a person press to the window.
"Help, please let me in, please!" He heard the person yell but Rome shook his head. There was no way he could show any compassion right now. Looking at them with a stoic face he stepped back some, and had to avert his eyes from the look of horror on their face. The next moment later they were suddenly dragged down, and their screams soon stifled. What had he just done? Did he really just allow an innocent person to become victim to this? Would this be how he and Romano would need to survive on their quest to finding Veneziano? Casting away all humanity and using only survival instincts. Rome supposed this was precisely how one would survive this atrocity in one piece.


Still, a part of him hoped that during this nightmarish hell neither would forget their humanity. That if there were the chance to save an uninfected person that they would.

Rome looked at the gun in his hands and blinked a little bit; a gun? He only saw people use these in those action films, or in the downtown of his old city. Looking up he nodded to Romano and started out the door with him. The streets were still filled with bodies that were thankfully not moving at all. However, the blood staining the stone streets was disgusting even for him. The sun pleasantly shone it's light upon the city, though there was nothing pleasant anywhere. Of course Rome was worried about the journey ahead of them to the Vatican City. Would they be able to make it there without too many problems? These things had a penchant for surrounding you in the worse places.

Of course the thought of his dear, sweet Veneziano running around in fear did not sit well with him. He was scared for the other boy, he knew Veneziano was not equipped to be a fighter. There was a sense of dread that passed through Rome's mind at this thought. He did not want to find out that his other beloved grandson did not make it. Rome then thought though of the best insurance Veneziano had, Germany. That man who would probably battle his way through hundreds of these without batting an eyelash; so he hoped.


"How far?" He inquired quietly.

Rome walked outside with his grandson looking at the bodies everywhere. It was a scene not unfamiliar to him with his military career in years passed. The circumstances were much different, and that fact was more than enough to give a little bit of fear. Treading carefully the Ancient Empire got into Romano's car buckling himself in. Would they really find Veneziano within Vatican City? If not that meant they would have to fight their way through the North. It was a prospect that Rome was none too keen about but, for the sake of Veneziano he would go through the fires of hell. As Romano backed out suddenly and took off Rome gripped the seat. Good lord he had never seen these machines move so fast. The feeling made his stomach feel weird but, he brushed it off and watched the bodies go flying. There was something darkly humorous about that.


"Let's think of this as an adventure, make it seem less scary right? Like adventures from those myths and everything!" Rome was trying so hard to lighten the situation up. There was no point going into this like a bundle of nerves.