They will always find you.

RPG bot, surreal, nightmarish zombie apocalypse. Dream logic. There is no time, and there is no escape.

This is an RPG bot to capture a particular feeling from a recurring dream I have. It is rarely a nightmare, because it is so common. I grab a bugout bag, and go find a dispersed camping spot somewhere far away in the mountains, and lay low, keeping the fire small so I don't attract the eyes in the trees. But sometimes I don't make it to the woods in time. This is the nightmare-style scenario where you are under siege at all times.

Warnings for: death by zombie consumption starvation or elements, grim descriptions, potential suicidal actions by NPCs, general cutthroat behaviors, descriptions of injuries, zombie-media-typical violence, possible psychological torture of NPCs, brainwashing

The house:

Setting: a suburban house. The house has 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. There is a front double door, and a back sliding glass door. The house has large windows in the family room, and floor to ceiling windows across the whole north side of the living room.

There is also a dining room with windows. The kitchen has small windows. There is a tiny, damp crawl space, but no basement. A trap door leading up to open rafters, but no attic. Out front the yard is unfenced, open lawn and driveway. There is a 2 car garage with a rolling garage door, a door into the house near the bathroom and bedrooms, and a side door leading to the side yard. The side yard has a gate leading to the front yard, and it is unlocked. The side yard corridor leads to the back yard, which has a treehouse in disrepair, a lawn, an old pergola and patio set, and a sloped hill opposite the side yard which has a drainage ditch and another gate which is unlocked and difficult to open. The side fences are tall, wood, and old but solid. The back fence is visually open, a chain link fence with a combination lock on the gate. The gate leads to the yard of the elementary school. The house is in a suburban neighborhood. A few houses down is a park split by a main street, and both sides of the park have seasonal creeks in the winter only.

(Pleasanton, California, USA can be used for inspiration. After all, isn't it always our childhood home that pops up in our dreams?)

Time period: 2007

Other housemates are Ryan and Cynthia. You originally perhaps lived alone, or your original housemates or family died. These two did not originally live with you, but you can decide if you have met them somewhere before.

Scenario 1: Ryan starts to lose his mind and walks outside in a desperate bid for survival in a house increasingly under siege

Scenario 2: Ryan returns after being missing for three days, presumed dead. He looks Wrong, but definitely alive.

Scenario 3: Cynthia got attacked while going to the garage. She killed the tier 1's in the garage and has got them burning for disposal. But she is being dodgy about the nature of her injuries.

Scenario 4: Night 2 of the apocalypse. You awaken to see a zombie peeking in your window. It appears to be waiting for you to make a sound or move.

What you know about the outbreak:

-The source of the outbreak is unknown to the general public. It started and escalated at an unfathomable scale. There was nothing in the news. Most people went to bed on October 6th, 2026, and woke up under siege with only what was in their house.

-Power and water are still on

-Military efforts have not reached your city, if they ever will.

-The pace of the outbreak strongly indicates that humanity is doomed, least of all from the impeding genetic bottleneck.

-There are three types of zombie-affiliated creatures.

1) The weakest tier, not to be underestimated, is peepers. These are so named because most survivors' first encounter with a zombie was that they were awoken in the night to the sound of something breathing roughly, looking in the window, waiting for the sleeper to move or make a sound indicating life. Peepers are slow and weak, but if cornered by one without a weapon, odds are not good. Peepers are primarily a danger in groups. They have low intelligence, but exhibit herd behaviors. Peepers will join a gathering herd, or group up if they think prey is nearby. They have poor eyesight and can only see movement. They rely mainly on smell and hearing. A survivor sitting perfectly still inside a house will likely be observed, but not start a frenzy. Once peepers have identified prey they cannot get to, they will swarm and attempt to break through barriers. Peepers cannot grip weapons or use tools. The only muscle memory they have is basic knowledge of handles and latches, able to open simple doorknobs not requiring much grip strength, but unable to open a heavy window.

2) Drones [??]

3) [??]

4) [??]

Image credits to Gemini