I finally finished my base camp, and I do regret that I didn’t keep track of where all the CC I used came from because there is some truly awesome content out there. I designed the base camp to be hidden at the back of a ruined lot. The front of the lot looks like this.
I wanted to add decor to the lot while also making this look like a good hiding place for my Sims. Their base camp actually exists behind this dilapidated house.
Here’s a close up of their sleeping and cooking areas. (I’m not positive if that dog does anything, but I thought they’d definitely have a guard dog, so he’s there.)
I added the shower into the rocks to make it a bit more realistic, and I brought in some CC fishing stuff because they’ve got to eat!
But I think my favorite part of the lot is that dilapidated house at the front. I downloaded a lot of CC that is post-apocalyptic decor but is so much more than that. So, when I put the house on the lot, I thought it would be more realistic if I included some of the CC appropriate to the house. Obviously it’s way too small to be a full house, so I set it up as just a first floor or half a house.
All the content in these photos is additional CC, but they work so well in the run down house you would think it all came together.
I also added some additional CC to the front “yard” of the house--a rusted bicycle and a broken chair along with a broken mop, but when I decided to make the lot overgrown that got a bit lost in the images. That’s fine because in real life it would be lost in the overgrowth.
Tomorrow I’ll work on creating the sims that inhabit the town. That will give me time to think through all the traits I want to allow/forbid for the challenge.
Jade looked up as her brother hovering in her doorway, rubbing at a bumped shoulder as he recovered from impact with the door frame. “You almost done?” He threw an impatient glance to the laundry basket overtaking the bottom half of her bed.
“Almost,” countered Jade, deciding against picking fun at her brother's clumsiness, she could see his patience was already trying. Which was funny considering he wasn't heading for his room but actually leaving the house with her, for a party.
“Well hurry up,” he started, “Before Mom makes you clean your floor too.” Before she could roll her eyes Jordan had slipped back out of the room, attempting to seem collected instead of as nervous as he was.
The laundry mostly folded, Jade moved over to the mirror for a final quick assessment. Already the sky was beginning to darken and she was starting to think the reason Jordan was so keen to get to the party was because of a certain girl, it definitely wasn't his outgoing nature propelling him, or the pleas of his sister who had been trying what seemed like her entire life to get him out of his room. Jordan was a shut-in by choice, he seemed to prefer being alone, hanging with a small group of mostly unrecognizable under class-men. He was cute enough, they were twins after all, yet he insisted on dying his hair black, and though he'd never admit it she alone knew he wore concealer over a layer of freckles. It wasn't something Jade could entirely understand, she'd always been friendly and sociable enough; she enjoyed the rush of meeting new people, a little something unexpected. Yet Jordan was different. Even if they'd shared a womb, growing up had stuck a wedge of difference in them and now in their teens she was feeling it more than ever. Which, to be honest, truly sucked. It bothered her far more than she let on. Her brother was distant and changing, which left her feeling out of place and oddly alone. The spin of her thoughts transformed the practiced smile into a trying grimace, she turned away from the mirror.
Mel greeted Jade with a hug enthusiastic enough to wipe all other worries to the back burner. “You dressed up!” she said as if it were a pleasant surprise instead of something she had threatened her about throughout the week. “And what are you supposed to be?” Jade inquired stepping back for an assessment of her friend.
“A pop star of course,” she swore with a devilish little smile. “Even bought a wig to match- an itchy wig” she added. Jade was surprised Mel hadn't just bleached it, though she wasn't sure her friend's hair could survive another arduous dying process. Mel changed her hair color as often as some people changed their nail polish, or even clothes.
Mel was already distracted from the conversation, Jade offered a look behind her following her friend's gaze to find her assessing Jordan, who had his eyes elsewhere. So her hunch had been right after all.
It was strange to think of Jordan looking at someone like that, though she'd suspected as much. It felt kind of strange to see and she was grateful when Mel led Jade away from them, towards the back of the room to pour a couple of drinks. Every once in a while she scoped out the room to check things, eyes lingering on the door.
“So, who are you waiting for?” Jade nipped. It was obvious in all of a minute.
Mel seemed to have forgotten Jade's presence in one step of the stranger, it looked as if it would take a heavy drink to break Jordan out of his own wide-eyed coma. Jade shook her head and excused herself from the room without a word of protest, once again feeling like she was intruding on something.
Moving from the party into the kitchen was like stepping into a wall. Stunned by what she saw Jade found herself caught between a step, looking awkwardly at the duo. The girl she knew only on a first name basis was leaning over her boyfriend, he looked greenish as if he'd had too much to drink but somehow that wasn't quite right. Whatever it was in his expression kept Jade rooted instead of apologizing and ducking back out of the room.
“Nate?” said the girl- Stacy, her voice was high with concern, her lip fastened in her bottom teeth.
“Is he alright?” broke Jade, though she wanted nothing more than to just back out of the room.
“I don't know,” started the girl, her pitch cracked with a dry sob. “He-he took something and he's..” She trailed off, Nate's eyes had rolled backwards his body collapsing limply on the ground. “NATE!” she screamed now, scrambling onto his body, pulling at his shirt desperately. “NATE!”
Jade turned to find some one, anyone who could help but already the kitchen door was being thrown open at Stacy's yell. Just as quickly Nate had bolted back up and invested himself in the cleft of his girlfriends neck. The blonde spilled onto the ground with a crash.
Jade's scream stuck somewhere in her throat, she watched from above the room as a current of plasma drooled against the hardwood. The silence was thick, it couldn't have been longer than a handful of seconds until a stranger was wrenching Nate backwards and the sound came back in. Some one was shrieking, Stacy was wailing, her rescuer was yelling trying to fend off the rabid sting of Nate's teeth. The teen Mel had admired kicked out his feet, it still took him and a wounded friend to bring Nate to the ground.
“What was that about?” huffed the teenagers, the fireman, Heath, had dropped to help restrain Nate who was wriggling from side to side snarling. “Don't hurt him!” cried out Stacy, her neck was bleeding freely but she made no move to stem it. “He didn't know what he was doing- he-.”
“We need to call the cops,” said the male, ironically dressed like a criminal.
“No!” she howled again, Heath moved besides her clumsily examaning the abrasion. She shoved him aside wobbling back up to her feet looking furious and determined. “He took some drugs! He's not himself! They'll arrest him!”
Mel drew attention back to her with a click of her teeth. “No one's calling the police – not here,” she said certainly, though she wouldn't quite look in Stacy's direction. “My parents would kill me, let's, just let Nate cool off, okay?” She looked for approval of her decision but even Jade couldn't give her the confirmation she needed. Just a distraction.
“How about we find the first aid kit?”
“I can't believe this,” whispered Mel as soon as they stepped into the hall. “My parents will kill me if the cops wind up here Jade, I'd never have another party, I'd never leave my house again!”
“It'll be alright,” Jade consoled, though she had no idea and her heart was still racing wildly in contrast. “We'll patch Stacy up, let Nate wind down..Think how funny it will be tomorr-.” A loud crash in the kitchen broke Jade off mid-sentence.
Mel and Jade ran into the room, stalled by shock at the doorway. Heath was still, waxy in the center of a red puddle. Face stained with two sorts of blood Nate devoured numbly, investing his head back into Heath's ribcage. A touch on Jade's shoulder broke her from her daze with a scream, she spun around to find herself face to face with her brother. Before she could make a sound he'd grabbed her around the arm, yanking Mel and herself back into the hall.
Jade could barely process the surroundings of the adjoining office before her brother had stunned her by throwing his arms around her. “Jordan?” The worry in the room was palpable, the miniature office stuffed with what was left of the party, a mere six people.
“What's going on?” interrupted a voice. One of the few girls stood off to herself, arms folded almost suspiciously. “Jordan brought us in here when we heard the yelling – Reed, is that blood?” her suspicion broke, she was more worried than anything else, they all were.
“He bit me. Like an animal,” Reed scowled and clamped a hand down harder on the wound, it was obviously painful.
“Who did?” responded the girl looking quizzically to the door. The screaming behind the door had waned but no one was keen to throw it back open again.
“Nate,” said Reed. “Then Stacy gets up and starts at it too, she looked fine a minute before. Well, minus the bleeding.” Reed paused, shook his head. “Heath's dead. Nate.. Nate killed him.”
“He wouldn't do that!” she argued back, holding her body defensively.
“I saw him do it Casey,” said Reed shaking his head. “He's not acting himself.. he's on something. Either way we can't go in there, I'd say now is the time to call the police. Arguments?” Reed gave an appraising look over of the room, no one was arguing, not even Mel who had her forehead pressed up against the wall.
Jade shifted to remove her own cellphone from her pocket.
Jade dialed, her heart bucking wildly as she did. She brought the phone to her ear trying to form the words to describe their circumstance but any prep work was in vain. The phone rang, then rang again before a recording clicked to life. “Thank you for calling 911, due to a high call volume your call will be answered in the order it was received. Estimated wait time -.” A busy signal cut off any further reflection of the wait time. Jade's mouth felt dry as she turned to sum up what had happened, it took passing the phone around the group fingers poised on redial to prove she wasn't pulling a terrible prank.
“This makes no sense,” Mel collapsed into the computer chair bringing a hand to her forehead. “I don't get this – try, try our parents- or the operator?” She looked hopeful for a hint of a second but at the same flat result dropped resolutely back into position.
“Well something's obviously going on,” Jade dropped a comforting hand on Mel's shoulder. “But it'll be over soon. And we can get help. Maybe we could look it up?” Jade leaned forward to power up the computer, her brother turned to the window as if it would offer word on what was going on. The entire thing made no sense, but combined with the shock was the gravity of what they had just seen. It made it impossible to pretend, every time Jade blinked she saw the blood, the bodies, the consuming.
