OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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CODING
GRAPHICS
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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APPLICATIONS
THREAD MODERATION
MEDIATOR
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CLAIMS
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STAFF NAME
OPEN MODERATOR POSITION
outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
A glance at her watch told her it was already past midnight. Quinn finally got off work inside the city and was on her way back to the entrance of the military base outside of the city. Once she got in the car she first turned on the heater. Despite spring being around the corner it was still quite cold outside. She turned on the navigation system inside the car, put on her seatbelt and turned on the engine. Even with a pandemic going on driving down the city at night felt really nice - especially with the streets so empty and no traffic.
And no people.
A strange gurgling sound caught her attention but it was already too late. Her car started slowing down and stopped in the middle of the road. Just to make the situation even worse: considering it was already super late there were no other cars or people around. “Great.” she mumbled annoyed by everything and angrily stepped on the accelerator. “Get a new car they said. It’s gonna be nice they said.” she exclaimed and slapped the steering wheel. After a couple of times trying to turn on the engine Quinn finally gave up.
With a sigh she removed the seatbelt and opened the door to step out of the car. The fresh night air felt nice - if she wasn’t stuck in the middle of nowhere with her car broken down. She scanned the right side of the road and then the left side of the road but all she could see were fallen apart buildings and a rat dashing towards a dark alley. None of the buildings looked like they were still in use - maybe by strays and rats but definitely not by humans. It was the first time she saw a part of Lethold City like this. Usually even if there were buildings not in use anymore like companies or stores there normally were apartments and 24/7 stores around. This street or district? Completely empty and dark.
With yet another sigh she turned back towards her car and fumbled around for her phone.
“Gotta love modern technology.” she mumbled and threw the phone back into the car. Mental note for tomorrow: take a twr with you. Grumbling she took the car keys and locked the doors before walking down the street to check if there was anyone or anything nearby.
With a slam, Pierce closed up the back of his navy Jeep Wrangler. Several bags of dog food and cat food sitting in the back with a clean can to scoop out the food as needed. This was part of his routine when leaving the office, before he headed home. Feed some of the strays and give them a visual once over before going home and enjoying his next day off. He was a softie when it came to the strays that ran around. He wanted them to be taken care of, but wouldn't go to the extent of trying to catch them. They weren't hurting anyone, and he kept an eye to make sure they were not hurt themselves.
Besides do you know how hard it is to get someone to adopt one of them right now? Damn near impossible. So it was safer and less stressful to just come give them some food and then let them be. It also let him decompress after a long day of having to be professional. He changed into a pair of jeans and a black henley before double checking the doors to the office were locked. He knew that one of his vet techs would be there in a few hours to do rounds of letting out the few dogs who were staying there, as well as checking on the cat that had just finished with their surgery. But he never wanted to be the one who was caught leaving things unlocked. He was the damn Doctor of the place.
It was later than he was supposed to be leaving, but the owners of the cat had rushed his door a few minutes after closing. Their cat was screaming and clearly in pain. Which prompted an emergency surgery. Thankfully, all things went well and sent his staff home as he explained the care that would be needed once the cat was clear to go home. He promised to close down for them. Though he was sure that he forgot something that no doubt the tech coming later would catch. She was good, and that's why he kept her on staff. But at least he remembered to shut off the lights and lock the doors.
As he turned the jeep on, he finally got a flash of the time. 11:30pm. Well then. He looked down at his watch. The thing had died about an hour ago, so much for having a smart watch. Though it doesn't help when you forget to charge it the night before. He plugged his phone into the car, turned up the music to a comfortable level,and headed for damn near deserted side of town.
About 20 minutes of driving, he hit his first stop. A familiar little black puff ball was waiting patiently on the sidewalk. Upon hearing the purr of his engine, she jumped up and started pacing in front of the small bowl he had on the corner of a building. He parked next to the curb, though he could have stopped in the middle of the road and would have no issue of blocking traffic. "Hello beautiful, how are you doing?" he said in greeting as the cat started to wrap herself in between his legs as he walked to the back of his car. He scratched the back of ears and gave her a once over before getting to work on feeding her. A small pat on her soft side and he was off to his next stop.
Some of the dogs and cats got used to him making visits. They sat perched at spots where he left food, some scattered when he arrived, watching from a safe spot. He had made friendly progress on a few, but others clearly were not interested in him. Just in the food he would place down. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair before he shifted back into drive. "Two more stops," Pierce said to the inside of his car. As he turned onto a street ahead, he did a double take, seeing a figure bigger than he was prepared to see. No, not a figure, a person. A woman from the slight build. He slowed his vehicle as she seemed to look up and down the street.
What was someone doing out here well past the witching hour, by themselves? His gentleman side kicked in, over the side that told him to be cautious. He pulled his vehicle up near her, with enough distance so he wasn't very threatening. He rolled the passenger side window, the nearest to her, down. "You okay there ma'am?" He spoke clearly, keeping his blue eyes on her.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
The sound of sirens lingered in the background. It felt like almost every ten minutes a police car or an ambulance drove passed nearby. Sometimes both. Sometimes followed by the fire department. But unfortunately none were in her sight. Even though Quinn was used to the amount of emergency vehicles rushing through the streets in this big city it seemed like emergencies tripled ever since the outbreak. She had watched some Karens calling the cops for trivial matters, matters they wouldn’t even make a fuss about sending a patrol car for. The police had their priorities and those definitely weren’t a bunch of teenagers not sticking to the six feet distance rule especially with the Karen not sticking to it either by walking over to them and trying to pull the group apart by pushing them away from each other. She may or may not have overheard her threatening to call their parents. But Quinn had also seen scenes of the police or the military unit get out of their vans with seven men to interrupt a meeting between three hooded strangers lingering in front of a building. There was that and that.
As she made her way down the dark alley the brunette looked to her left and checked the smaller alley for people - the kind you don’t want to meet at night. She wasn’t scared or afraid but she was cautious and tried keeping her surroundings in check. It was something she had trained for and something that was an automatic response now forever stuck inside her head. A street lamp ahead of her flickered and the misplaced pedestrian light wrapped its surroundings in an eerie red hue. Quinn rolled her eyes at it. That’s why people are getting a wrong idea of the whole situation - because bad maintenance of the city plus an outbreak makes a lot of them think they are in some kind of horror movie.
The sound of a nearby car engine caught her attention. A car! Quinn thought but still she wasn’t going to let her guard down easily. Her hand instantly went for the gun holstered at her side, hidden underneath her jacket. She wasn’t in uniform as the meeting didn’t require her to. With her outfit consisting of black skinny jeans, a simple white tee and a dark olive green colored coat she looked like an ordinary civilist. However, her permission slip and identification card were tucked away inside the inner pocket of her jacket just in case it was needed.
Moving slower to keep an eye on the vehicle before it pulled up beside her she came to a complete halt herself once the driver rolled down a window.
"You okay there ma'am?"
She took a look at the driver after he asked her. He didn’t look like he was in for some trouble but nevertheless in the back of her head she was preparing herself for a possible threat. Quinn put a casual smile on and answered “Yes, everything’s okay. It’s just that my car broke down and my phone died at the same time. Would you mind if I make a quick phone call with yours? I’m not sure if recovery services are operating now but it should be worth a try.”
Pierce had known they had slipped into a time where it was a bit more dangerous. He should have, like most others, kept moving along down the road and not even bothered to stop. But of course, it would have ate away at him the rest of the night wondering if harm could have fallen upon someone. If it was a man, he probably wouldn't have stopped, and that was a bit messed up to think. He was sure that people would shout at him something about equality and how even though she was a woman she could have handled herself. But unfortunately, he knew that other people were awful sometimes. And since he didn't have bad intent, he knew that at least he would be one interaction this woman didn't have to worry about.
The dark haired woman seemed a bit tense as he stopped his car, but he should have expected as much. He would have done the same thing had he been walking by himself down the road, no car in sight. He didn't take any offense to it.
"Yes, everything’s okay. It’s just that my car broke down and my phone died at the same time. Would you mind if I make a quick phone call with yours? I’m not sure if recovery services are operating now but it should be worth a try."
Now, in almost any other circumstance, he would have handed over his phone without much thought. But it was late at night, in an area where people really shouldn't be. In his head, red flags start to appear because he should be a bit more cautious. Next thing he could know, he was being dragged out of his car by a whole bunch of people who he didn't see because he was distracted by a woman in possible distress. The thought alone had him check his rearview window just in case. Paranoia at its finest thanks to these pressing times.
He reached down to his phone after a moments pause and unplugged it from his car. "What I am about to say is going to sound sketchy as all hell," He prefaces as he looks back up at her. He reminded himself that he didn't know this woman from Adam, so he had no right to just blindly trust her. Last time he blindly trusted a woman, he wound up embarrassingly standing at a church alter for hours on end. "But considering the times, and currently place, I would prefer you make the call while I drive you back to your car. I can take a look at it, not that I am a car genius. Or at least I can give you a ride back into a busier part of town." Yeah that still sounded sketchy as all hell. He quickly looked around his car for a business card of his. Just to try and put her somewhat at ease to know who he was.
He found one and brought it towards her, sticking in it the rubber that would usually hold the window up on the jeep. So that way she didn't have to reach into his car for the card he offered. The front of the card had a few different animals across the front, all looking happy and healthy, with "RYKER VETERINARY CLINIC" printed across the top. A phone number and fax number at the very bottom. On the back, was a professional picture of him in a navy button down shirt, a stethoscope around his shoulders, and his office tabby, Betsy, purring into his neck. One of the girls picked that picture because, and he quotes, his arms looked great and Betsy just made it downright adorable. His name printed there next to him in bold letters (along with Betsy's name) with some cheesy line one of the office girls added. "Pierce Ryker," He offered her as he leaned back into his seat and hit the unlock button on his car.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
“... I would prefer you make the call while I drive you back to your car. I can take a look at it, not that I am a car genius. Or at least I can give you a ride back into a busier part of town."
Quinn raised an eyebrow at his suspicious offer. Even in the past where everything was seemingly normal and there wasn’t a pandemic going on inviting a woman - or anyone - to drive her anywhere would sound suspicious and sketchy. She wasn’t a big fan of his idea, nor was she going to just hop in. Not like she couldn’t defend herself if indeed something sketchy was happening. At the first strange sign she would jump out of the car - even if it was driving.
Her eyes narrowed at the business card he stuck to the window as she took a closer look. “You don’t look like a vet.” A slip of tongue. She didn’t mean to say it outright but it was the first thing that came to her mind as soon as she saw the job title on it. Her eyes wandered from the card to his face and back. Tilting her head she pondered about possible other options but this one was probably the only one without having to walk around for possibly hours or even worse the whole way back to the base. While it wasn’t an impossible task it was not really something she wanted to do. Maybe there was still some faith left in humanity. Even if most of the population was trash there were rare exceptions. Perhaps he was one of them. So she decided to trust him and have him giving her a ride back to the car. It was only down the street anyway.
She opened the door and jumped into the car with no further comments. Buckling her seatbelt she threw a quick glance over her shoulder towards the backseat. Considering he had revealed his identity to her to assure her that he, most likely, wasn’t a threat she figured it would only be right to do the same. Fumbling around in the pocket of her jacket she fished out her identification card which just consisted of a picture of her in uniform, the US army logo, name, rank, pay grade and a golden chip. “Quinn Delaney.” she said, giving him a quick nod as greeting. “Thanks for helping me out here.”
“So, what is a vet doing out here at this hour past curfew?” she asked him, wondering, her hands resting on top of her thighs. “If the authorities catch you-” she cleared her throat, “you might get into trouble. Measures are getting stricter day by day.” Not that she was going to say anything now or could say anything about it considering she was off duty, in a stranger’s car, not sticking to the six feet rule and obviously she wasn’t at home either even if it wasn’t her fault her car broke down. At least she was on her way there. And despite being part of the military with more authority and easier regulations than ordinary civilians, the were too many issues with corrupt soldiers within their own ranks that one could never be careful enough.
[attr="class","ditags3"]Pierce Ryker - sorry it's short :c
He got that a lot. Tall, blonde, in shape, he looked more like a personal trainer on some days than anything else. He raised the same hand that placed the card in the door and rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a small nervous laugh. “Yeah, I forgot my vet shirt back at home,” he joked. Hoping he wasn’t about to offend her with his dad joke. Sometimes he just couldn’t help it. It was like word vomit of bad jokes and with it being this late, he blamed it on exhaustion. At least this time.
He was about to open his mouth to say something to reassure her that he wasn’t some rapist or kidnapper when she opened his door. He shifted back into his seat completely, so that she had plenty of room on her side of the car. He wasn’t offended when she looked into the back seat. He probably would have done the same thing if he was in her shoes. Though she would have gotten an eye full of probably empty water bottles, a white coat or two, and an extra pair of shoes he kept back there. Nothing that was going to jump out and get her. He watched her fumble in her pocket for a second before she produced a military ID.
He quickly scanned the ID as she spoke up, repeating her name for him. “Nice to meet you Quinn,” he nodded as he shifted his car into gear. He assumed she would point out where he would need to turn to get back to her car as they went. Before he took his foot of the break though, he unplugged his phone and offered her the charger in case her phone was still with her. “You can charge up if you want,” He figured it’d probably make her feel a bit better to have a phone at least on and working. Not that she looked insanely uncomfortable with him now.
As she asked him about what he was doing, part of him hoped it wasn’t because she was going to arrest him after this. He was way past curfew and she clearly had a job that was known recently for the arrests. Pierce glanced over at her with bright blue eyes. “I just left work, and on my way home, I stop by the abandoned areas here to feed some of the ownerless pets.” He gave her a small smile as he saw one of the cats that was extremely friendly with him meowing at him from her corner. He nodded lightly towards her and pulled over. “Hope you don’t mind a few stops between here and your car, I still have a few bowls and obviously a couple expecting customers,” And with that he was out of his car and popping his trunk.
The gray cat was immediately, wrapped in between his feet, curling in and out while purring almost as loud as his jeep. He crouched down and scratched under her chin before scooping some food out for her into the bowl he had in the back. He made quick rounds to putting the food away from the street and then checking her over once. A friend of hers trotted up, black and white spotted, but kept just out of reach from Pierce. He did a visual once over, and once content with his scan he made his way back over to the car. With the back shut and him back into the drivers seat, he turned towards her. “How far is your car from here?”
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
“Oh. Right… ” she exclaimed when he offered her his charger to charge her phone. “I left my phone in my car because it was of no use anyway.” she said in response and shrugged, feeling a little bit of regret afterwards realizing she probably should have taken it with her even if it was dead. Not that she could have charged it anywhere else since the power outage was already taking place so no places could offer a working outlet.
Quinn chuckled softly when she noticed the look he gave her. It was subtle but it was there. “Don’t worry. I don’t arrest people. That’s not part of my job. I’m doing more office related work than anything else really.” she explained, returning that small smile he gave her. She could, however, report him to the unit who does indeed arrest people around this area but she wasn’t the kind of person to do that. Especially not after he explained why he was out and about. Someone who voluntarily spent his free time doing a good deed wasn’t someone she wanted to get into the way of. Those were just too rare these days and she partly admired him for doing it.
“No it’s alright. Take as much time as you need. I’m not really in a hurry.” she said but stifled a yawn shortly after her words left her lips, rubbing her eyes lightly. She watched him as he got out of the car, her eyes on the rearview mirror when he opened the trunk to take out pet food. She couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly. With all this mess going on around them it was welcome change in her daily routine.
The brunette glanced out of the window but it was too dark to see much, the headlights of the car only going so far. “My car is almost at the end of the road. I’m not too sure how far.” she said, trying to remember the exact location. She knew she was walking up the street for at least twenty minutes until his car stopped at her side. She opened her door to take a look at the road, trying to figure out where they currently were when suddenly a tiny ball of fur leaped onto her lap. Quinn let out a surprised gasp, one hand still on the door handle and the other half in the air. She knew you shouldn’t necessarily touch young strays because their mother - if they still had one - might reject them later on if they smelled different, but she couldn’t resist the fluffy temptation sitting in her lap.
“I always wanted a pet but my parents never allowed me to have one when I was younger. It must be wonderful working with animals.” she sighed, brown eyes sparkling and lips curved into half a smile at the kitten as she started scratching it behind its ears. “I mean… we could compare some of the soldiers I work with with animals but they are more of the wild and beastly variety. Untameable.” she uttered and did a mental eye roll thinking about the handful on top of her list.
He thought it was odd that she left her phone in her car. He wouldn't have done that, had he been in her shoes. Whether the phone was dead or not. Simply because if he even decided to walk home, at least he'd have that to plug in and be set for when the battery had enough charge to turn back on. Or perhaps if he even stopped in to one of the very few places that would have been open for him to charge a phone. But that was his mind, not hers. She had thought more along the lines of 'what good would it do me?'. And in a way, it made sense. He just didn't think that way.
"Don’t worry. I don’t arrest people. That’s not part of my job. I’m doing more office related work than anything else really."
Though it was meant to be reassuring, Pierce lifted an eyebrow. He was slightly skeptical, but right now she was sort of at his mercy. So hopefully him helping her out weighed in his favor of her not turning him in to one of her buddies who did do the arrests. "A lot of stories are going around about those arrests... and I have a lot of people depending on me. Their little fur balls too." He wasn't trying to make her explain again how she wasn't going to arrest him. Pierce was more so just putting it out there that he was a doctor of sorts at the end of the day. And he really didn't need to head ache of trying to get bailed out.
How embarrassing would that be? He didn't really have anyone close by to call. So he'd be calling up one of the techs or his office manager. And he did not want to have to live with that gossip for the rest of his career. 'Remember that one time Dr Ryker got arrested?' Yeah, no he didn't need that head ache. He gave her a short nod at where she mentioned her car was at. He figured it was probably going to be one of the only ones and would make it easy for him to spot it.
Pierce almost laughed at the scene that unfolded in front of him. A young kitten he has seen around launched itself into the young womans arms and made itself a home there. Purring happily at the attention that it was soaking up. His eyes softened lightly at the sight, he truly loved when he could see a good connection between a pet and their owner. He listened to her talk about wanting a pet, but how her family told her no. Immediately, especially watching the two of them, he thought that she should have one. Perhaps this one. "Well, you are older now. And it looks like someone picked you." He said, gesturing to the one in her hands. "I've got some good starter supplies back at my office." He'd love to see one of the friendly ones from the streets find a good home. "They can ride with us until our next stop, don't have to decide now."
He did laugh at bit at her comment on her coworkers. "Ah, the beasts that come out of the military." He joked. Clearly he wasn't saying it about her. But he has meet some very... "manly" as they would describe themselves, men. He always scoffed at them, because there was nothing good about their behavior. He was sure that there were good ones out there, but he hadn't met one yet. All he knew was the fact that everyone he met had already been married and divorced at least once, thought they were some special gift to women from god, and thought that they owned everything. And Pierce didn't put up with that. "I'm sure there are some good ones, but I've yet to find one." He said to her as he started their drive back up the road. Headed to the next stop.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
"I'm sure there are some good ones, but I've yet to find one."
Quinn huffed and let out a laugh at his comment. “Same.” she replied to having to find a proper soldier between all those beasts. She continued scratching the kitten sitting in her lap and smiled at it as it rubbed its little head at her jacket. They said a cat’s purr had a soothing and relaxing effect on humans and the more Quinn focused on it she could tell it was true. It was a nice change after all the stress and work that came with moving bases into the epicenter of a pandemic. She was pretty sure her parents would go crazy if they knew she was back in Lethford City.
Her eyes met the amber hues of the stray and for a moment - just a very, very brief moment - she was thinking about just keeping it, however, she knew it wasn’t possible as of now. She was older, sure, but she didn’t have an apartment or house of her own and was constantly moving places most of the time. Plus she would never be at home even if she had a home she could call her own. She sighed. “As much as I would like to keep it, I don’t think a cat would be much appreciated at the base. I can see the chaos unfolding inside the barracks if it escapes my room.” she said, her smile disappearing for a short moment as she thought about it. “I’m not sure if I get to move to an apartment in the city but if I do I will consider it.”
She was going to jokingly suggest he take care of the cat in the meantime, which probably wasn’t something he would be able to do as he had so many other animals to take care of. The ones at the clinic, the strays out in the streets and most likely pets of his own - but her attention shifted to a bunch of hooded people a little further down the street. Her brown eyes narrowed at them until she realized they were standing around a car - it wasn’t her car but it was someone’s car and Quinn has the tendency to have little regard keeping out of other people’s businesses. Especially when it involved petty crimes.
She watched them peeking through the windows, trying to open the door to the driver’s seat and kicking at it while one of them was trying his luck with the trunk. “Could you just stop for a moment?” she asked him but didn’t wait until the car came to a full stop. She unbuckled her seatbelt and and turned around to take a closer look at his backseat again. Spotting a can of dog food she twisted around in the seat and took it. “I’m gonna pay you back for this.” she said before hauling herself out of the car within moments.
Throwing the can up and catching it again she looked at Pierce through the open door. “I think it might be better if you stay inside. Take care of the cat.” she said, tucked the can under her armpit to take the cat and place it on top of his lap and then closed the door. “Oy!” she called over, licking her upper lid before they curled upward into a mischievous grin. It didn’t take long for her to have their attention and with one swift motion she hurled the can in their direction, sending it flying at one of their heads. “Don’t tell me the story of one of you losing their car keys.”
[attr="class","ditags3"]Pierce Ryker - excuse the randomness LOL
Pierce watched her with the little ball of fur in her arms. Quinn truly seemed to be enjoying her moment with the cat. It actually warmed his heart a little watching the two. He was however, sad to watch her face fall as she explained how she couldn’t. That even though she looked so comfortable and the cat clearly was in love, she wouldn’t be taking it home today. As he drove and stared at the road ahead, he did a small shrug. Possibly reading her thoughts, but also something he found himself offering before he could think much about it. “I mean, I would want to do a check up on them. And perhaps some lab work to make sure everything is okay. Sometimes that takes a few weeks, especially now with the whole pandemic and shortage thing.” He started, his blue eyes glancing over to look back at her. “I could hang onto the cat until you find out if you get moved into the city.”
What the hell did he just offer? And why? He had an office cat. Sure, she was friendly and enjoyed other cats. But now to possibly have two? Because what if Quinn wasn’t able to move into the city. She was right about the military base not letting her have a cat running around. That he was one hundred percent sure about. He had never seen anything except work dogs at a military base. And that was only judging from the movies he had watched. He believed they had to be somewhat accurate in that at least?
As they drove, he spotted what looked like a group of people down the street. He let his brows pull together as he saw them peering into a car and immediately found himself praying that wasn’t her car. That he could just continue driving on so they didn’t find themselves in any trouble. And that might have happened if the brunette next to him didn’t suddenly as him to stop the car. She was moving as he pushed on the breaks, not quite stopping all the way but letting the car roll slowly forward. He watched her start digging in his backseat before she was unbuckled and opening her car door. “Quinn! I don’t think this is a good idea. Don’t get out of the car.” He said as he hit the breaks so she didn’t get hurt when she got out.
Next thing he knew a cat was dumped into his lap and he was told to stay inside the car. Like hell, he was going to. He wasn’t about to let her do whatever it was she was going to do without back up. He gently put the cat in the backseat as he put the jeep into park and got out of his driver-side door. Just in time to see the can of dog food she had grabbed from his backseat go flying through the air and hitting one of the men square in the face. Damn, she had an arm. Had they not been standing in front of a group that outnumbered him, he would have cheered her on. But he was a bit more worried about what the hell was about to happen.
Shouts erupted as the man who just got his held his nose, blood clearly running down it. “Quinn, get your ass back in the car.” He said, knowing he had no right to demand things from her. But goddammit, this was not looking good in their favor. The shouting continued as the group started heading towards them. “Hey fellas, how about we just all go our own ways. You guys head home before the next patrol comes through, we will head on our way. All good. Your face looks fine. Just put some ice on it.” Yeah right, like that was going to work.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
“Quinn, get your ass back in the car.”
Quinn raised her eyebrows in response, but kept her eyes fixed on the bunch of thugs in front of her. Letting out a small sigh because she clearly told him to stay in the car. It was one thing doing this alone and her plan of jumping back into the car in case of emergency was now shattered. Pursing her lips she took in the surrounding. There was the car, some trash cans,
Her gaze flickered between the two standing on the right and the two next to the car. Calculating her chances of dealing with them. She could take on two… perhaps three with a little luck, but she hadn’t dealt with real combat situations in a while. Ever since moving to Lethford City it was more paperwork than anything. She was - so to say - a little rusty with her skills. She raised her arm and pointed at them. “Like he said… if you don’t want to get arrested for being out past curfew you better get going and leave the car alone.”
As she watched one of them move forward in her direction she offered him a soft smirk, mouthing the words try me as he crept closer and closer. One she could take. It would be fine - hopefully. Quinn cracked the knuckles of her hands, balling them into fists as she held them in front of her face. When he charged, she ducked, spun around and kicked him in the back to send him tumbling to the ground. She turned back, only to see two more sprinting at her - oops. Her eyes caught sight of a shiny piece of metal in one of their hands and her hands immediately stretched out to grab his wrists, twisting them in the process. It took a moment as she struggled with him, the blade managing to graze her cheek slightly.
Trying to get a stronger hold of his arm she pulled at it, pulling him towards her before kicking him in the chest, glowing eyes watching him fall back into the others. Already out of breath she backed up a little, taking two steps towards the car behind her. “He’s with the military. You don’t want to mess with him!” she said out loud, nodding her head towards Pierce and blowing a strand of dark hair out of her face. He wasn’t. But he looked the part. He could easily be mistaken for a soldier - at least look wise. She wasn’t too sure about it personality-wise, because listening to orders apparently wasn’t his thing. One hand propped on her hip, semi-hovering over the gun tightly secured to her waist. “He’s a beast. If you want to get out of this alive… run.”
Perhaps it wasn’t her best idea to get out of the car. She may or may not have calculated it wrong.
Pierce didn’t believe this was what was actually playing out in front of him. He wanted to smack his face and try and get a hold on himself. There was no way this was the reality that he was in with this woman leading all this madness. He should have just kept driving, should have left the pretty face to wonder to where ever she was going before he arrived. Serves him right, there was a reason he kept women at a distance after what his ex had done to him. And the moment he allowed himself to try and be the gentleman in the situation, here he was, staring at a group of guys that definitely had an advantage over himself and Quinn.
As the woman threatened the curfew thing, backing up what he said, he didn’t think it was going to work. And boy, he was right. Except the little dark haired woman jumped into action. She was quick and easily handled the men that came towards her. He stepped out farther from his side of the car. Well hell if there was one thing going for him, it was his overall size and the fact that he was at least in shape. The man was not prior military or anything of the sorts, but he had thrown a couple punches back in his day. Not something he was super proud of but he felt like he might do some damage if needed.
He had to compose his face as Quinn started talking him up. Jesus she wanted to get him killed. A beast? Military? He crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to make himself appear bigger than he was, trying to make himself look as intimidating as possible. What he was hoping was for them to stop at that point. But they only paused, looking him over with a critical look before one of them decided to try his luck out with Pierce. He made a mental note that if he survived this, Quinn was going to owe him EVERYTHING he could think of. And he’d track her down for it. She was taking that god damn cat home.
And with that he found himself face to face with a male who was cracking back a fist. Pierce decided to rush him, grabbing the man by the front of his shirt and hearing the fabric rip a little made him a bit proud of himself. The two exchanged a few blows before Pierce knocked one on him that sent the other male to his behind on the concrete below their feet. “Enough.” He shouted, whether it was to the idiots in front of him or sent to the woman with him, stopping either from making any other dumb moves.
He saw lights ahead, and nodded towards them. He’d rather deal with the military then these idiots any day. “Back up is here. I suggest ya’ll make a run for it.” He said, which seemed to send a threatening message to the men. As they all scrambled and started heading off it other directions at a fast run. The lights ahead turned again and he almost sagged in relief that it seemed like another civilian was just trying to get home. He turned sharp blue eyes to the military woman with him. “Are you out of your goddamn mind?” He finally let out, hands resting on his hips as he shook his head, trying to get rid of the adrenaline that was rushing through him.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Letting out a hiss at the guy near her the two of them were just about to get into another round of fighting when Pierce unexpectedly punched his opponent right back in the face. Quinn’s eyes widened, because she did not expect this response at all. She wasn’t even sure he would do anything at all and she wouldn’t have minded. She dragged him into this mess after all. And if it ended well for both she would owe him. Perhaps by taking the cat anyway, although she really didn’t know how to sneak it inside the military base without raising suspicion. Maybe the sneaking it past security wasn’t the difficult task. Knowing cats are independant and curious having it sneak out onto the base without her knowing and causing trouble was the bigger issue.
Her head bopped in agreement when Pierce suggested them to make a run for it once the lights appeared nearby. “I’ll get you all arrested if I see you around again.” she yelled after them, raising her arm, one hand balled into a fist as she punched the air after them. There was a sigh of relief after watching them disappear into the dark. Quinn leaned slightly forward, bending her upper body and resting her hands on her knees. Her long hair fell forward, covering her face. Taking a deep breath she whipped up her head and stood up straight as Pierce’s voice cut through the short moment of silence.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
Quinn’s face contorted into an apologetic grimace. “Sorry.” she muttered, running a hand through her hair. “Look, I just really can’t stand people committing crimes. If that was your car you would have been thankful if someone had done something to prevent it from getting stolen or damaged.” she said, biting her lower lips as she looked at him and pointing to the car they just saved.
Her apologetic look soon turned into a look of light annoyance. “By the way… ‘get your ass back in the car, Quinn’? I will remember this.” she repeated the words he said to her earlier, letting out a huff, blowing up a strand of hair which fell on her face. She mimicked him by stemming her hands on her hip as well, moving aside her jacket and exposing the gun secured on her side. Quinn was known to be quite… spiteful. If there was something bothering her she wouldn’t be able to let go of it and take it to her grave. If there was a chance for revenge, even the smallest, she would take it. And poor Pierce might have just become her victim for revenge.
“I admit… the situation might have been a little out of control.” she said, “and I might be a little out of shape.” Quinn continued, “But if you had stayed in your car like I told you to, you wouldn’t have needed to get involved.” The brunette let out another huff, brushing her hair behind both ears, fanning her face as her head started flushing. Her cheeks glowed a soft shade of red out of annoyance and a tiny amount of anger. She whipped her around around to look back at him. “You know I had a plan B. It was jumping back into your car and having you run them over, but whatever.” she explained, waving a hand to dismiss.
She took a deep breath, hands placed on her cheeks sucking in the heat. Her eyes paused on his hands and she remembered the punches he threw at one of the guys. “Are you okay though? You hit him quite hard earlier.” she asked, drawing her eyebrows together and scrunching her nose. A delicate mask of concern and worry forming on her face. Quinn couldn’t help herself and mumble another apology.
Pierce wasn’t sure what had just happened. What coursed through him but it seemed to rattle all of them, himself included. He could see the shocked look on Quinn’s delicate features, even from the corner of his eye. She had not expected him to throw the punch he had. To spring into action. But he was not going to just stand there and allow her to be without back up. He was the only thing she had. And a vet was better than nothing, right? She bent forward as if to catch her breath after the men disappeared from sight and he just was floored. Waiting on her to answer him.
He scoffed lightly at her, somewhat annoyed by the fact that she was trying to turn this into a ‘if it had been you’ situation. “Not if I knew that the person trying to stop some punks doing it was a woman with no back up except a tall vet who has no business being out numbered in a dark ally.” He didn’t care that it might have made him sound like he was weak. It was the truth. He was not trained in combat or military tactics. He was trained to help animals. Perform surgeries when needed, stitch up broken skin, medical uses. Not throwing punches and fighting.
He smirked lightly as she seemed annoyed by what he had said. Well serves her right, at least now she could feel a bit of what he was feeling at the moment. Her posture changing to mirror his and he almost found it adorable. Almost. And even when her gun stuck out on her hip, he still felt like the numbers were not in their favor unless she planned on dropping all of the other men and leaving them in the street. So his eyes remained strong on her and held almost that same spite that was pouring from every pore on her body. His eyes almost challenging her to continue her scolding on him. And he didn’t have to wait long for her to press on.
He at first was almost taken back, as she somewhat admitted that this was a bad situation and he might have been right. He softened for a moment, his hands loosing their rigid look on his hips. That was until she immediately twisted it back to him. Talk about whiplash. “You wanted me to stay in the car, so what? I could call 911 and watch them jump you? Yeah, no thanks. I don’t need that kind of bad publicity or even bad taste for myself weighing on me. And a plan B? You can’t have a plan B and not make the other party aware of it.” He continued, his voice in a tone of annoyance and almost disbelief at her. “’But whatever’.” He threw back at her.
He stood there ready for the next release of words when she twisted it again. He was going to need to see a chiropractor after tonight. Was he okay? “Yeah... I’m fine,” His voice a lot lighter as he glanced down at his hands. He was sure that his knuckles would probably be bruised but he had some frozen vegetables at home he could throw on them if he needed. He took a deep breath and approached her at that point. “Are you okay?” Looking over her as he got a little closer, a softness reaching his face when he didn’t see anything that seemed like a call to emergency services was needed.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
“You wanted me to stay in the car, so what? I could call 911 and watch them jump you? Yeah, no thanks. I don’t need that kind of bad publicity or even bad taste for myself weighing on me. And a plan B? You can’t have a plan B and not make the other party aware of it.”
Quinn slowly blinked at him as if she didn’t understand what exactly he was trying to tell her. Sometimes she forgot how civilians were different from her fellow soldiers she spent most of the time with, administrative work or not. “Why? Why would you need to feel bad about it if it was my idea and my decision? It’s not like you could have stopped me.” she argued, trying to justify herself. It wasn’t like she expected him to do anything. She didn’t need to. All she wanted was for him to stay in the car.
“I made you aware of it. I told you to stay in the car!” she fired back, raising her voice just slightly. Running a hand through her hair and ruffling it out of frustration Quinn sighed, fanning some more air to her face to cool down both physically and mentally. Glancing back at his car she threw her hands in the air dismissively, tired from arguing about something that didn't matter anymore. “Let’s just… drop me off at my car. It shouldn’t be that far away anymore. I’ll just grab my phone and take a cab.”
“Are you okay?”
The brunette squinted at him as she gave him a quick once over before looking at herself. She couldn’t remember taking a punch so that was good. She rubbed her arm, checking the other and looking down at herself before moving on to her face. “Yeah, sure. I’m alright. Been through worse. This is nothing.” she shrugged, her hand brushing past her cheek where she felt just a little burning sensation because of the small cut which was fixed with a bandaid slapped on top of it later.
“I’m sorry. I hope this doesn’t cause any trouble with your work.” she said as she looked at his hands. “I can already feel all the grudges held against me for you not being able to properly help all the animals.” she added, letting out a soft laugh. And as if on cue a ball of fur curled around her legs, her eyes glancing at the open car door. Without hesitation she picked up the cat, scratching its head. “I guess… I will have to take her with me to make up for this? And probably buy you dinner sometime.” she offered, holding the kitten tight to her chest.
She then turned away from him, starting to walk back to the car. Opening the passenger door one-handedly she dropped the cat back inside. Quinn was about to get inside herself when she clapped her hands, remembering something. Leaving the door open she jogged back to the other car, eyes searching the ground. It took a moment for her to find it but once she did she bent down, a hand moving under the car and reappearing with the can of dog food. She blew on it, rubbing a little bit of dirt off of it. It was dented but still closed and perfectly usable. “Look, you can still use it.” she said, showing Pierce the can before throwing it over for him to catch.
Tucking her hands inside her jacket she walked back to the car, finally taking a seat again. Dark eyes looking at him expectantly through the windshield. Dark eyes looking at him expectantly through the windshield. The kitten quickly returned to its initial spot on her lap and she picked it up once again, holding him up to face Pierce and lifting its paw to make it wave at him. “She’s waiting too.” she silently mouthed at him.
