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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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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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!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
Ryder's eyebrows furrowed, mock confusion on his face as he angled himself in his chair, looking towards the coffee shop sign. "Oh, wow, yeah, sorry. I hadn't noticed this one had your name on it before." He then turned back in his seat, facing her again, a dispassionate look on his face, "Oh wait, that's right. We aren't in Kindergarten. Looks like I'm going to keep my ass here in the seat then."
He sipped his coffee and watched her, trying to read the expressions on her face. There was anger, obviously. Though as her lips all but snarled at him, he wondered if hatred was a better suited one for her. He knew he had pissed her off, but damn he couldn't for the life of himself understand what the hell he had done to make her hate him so much. Was she scared? Was she suspicious? He couldn't tell and she sure as hell wasn't giving him any more to go on.
When she told him to inflict himself on others, a genuine laugh came from his lips, her words balancing between being wildly hurtful and irritatingly witty. "Inflict huh? That's a good one." Oh if she only knew what was coming he thought bitterly to himself. His presence was but a mere irritation on a long list of things she was going to have to face today.
When she brought up their last encounter he groaned, rolling his eyes and throwing his head back before meeting her eyes, "Come on..." his voice exacerbated, "Do you always have such a hard time letting go of the past or am I just really lucky?" He had sat down with the intention of seriously talking to her. He had hoped that maybe if he had gotten her to actually talk to him that he could make this process go a whole hell of a lot smoother for her. He wanted to ease this shitty situation as much as possible which was a hell of a lot nicer than what she would have received at the hands of another agent.
She wasn't making his job easier though. In fact, she seemed damn determined to make this whole exchange go as worse as she could. He grabbed the coffee menu off the table, tapping it in irritation. He needed to calm down, he knew that. There was something about this girl that got under his skin and God did he hate it. He reminded himself to be calm, that he was in control and her life had taken some hard turns lately. He swallowed down his anger, but it hadn't looked like it was going to stay down long.
He watched as Brianna got up, hurtling more words at him. "Anna...look...I'm sorry that-" Her words caught him off though, speaking about the people around them. He didn't give a damn about anyone around them. He watched her turn sharply and begin to walk away. Ryder swore under his breath before getting up from the table, leaving his coffee behind.
In just a matter of a few seconds, he jogged lightly to catch up with her. He got in front of her, his eyes catching hers, all but pleading for her to listen. He didn't touch her of course, his hands halfway raised to show her he didn't mean her any harm. "I'm sorry okay. I was an ass and I'm sorry. I know I'm not the person you want to talk to right now but please..." His eyes leveled with hers "Please give me just five minutes."
The kid was glaring at him and Ryder couldn't help the smirk that came to his face in return. He sent up a silent prayer that he had grown up the way he did. When he was a teenager he hadn't put one toe out of line. He was all yes sir, no sir. That had given him a sense of discipline. That stuffy, strangling life had taught him how to work hard, how to support a family, work until you couldn't see clearly, then do it all over again the next day. He couldn't have imagined the person he'd be if he didn't have that upbringing. He mused that he'd probably be a whole hell of a lot more of a hell raiser. He would have probably been more like the gangly kid in front of him.
The kid yelled at him about being fine, his words dripping with anger. Ryder tilted his head to the side, his hands resting on the rifle. "Oh yeah? Raise your hand if you think I care at all about your feelings on the matter." Knowing full well that the kid couldn't have raised his hands even if he wanted to. The cuffs were too secure for any movement at all, much less a hand raise. Ryder sarcastically looked around, "Well..look there. Not a single fuck given." He smirked at him a second more before putting the wrapper and bloody gauze away. He didn't mind blood, he had gloves on. Still, he had to put them in a special place on his jacket so that when he got back to base they would be disposed of properly.
He had shoved the guy along to walk and the kid had stopped, spitting blood out in front of him. Ryder didn't comment, ushering him along again, making sure to not go near his hand."Talk all you want kid, but when I was your age I sure as hell wasn't spending my evenings alone breaking into old houses." He was curious as to why of all things the kid had decided to sneak into an old house, but decided to wait to bring it up. The guy clearly wasn't in the mood to talk to him.
Ryder was surprised when the kid had given him a full name. Not that he actually believed that the one he gave was his real one of course. When the kid went on about not wanting to ruin the surprise, Ryder gave a humorless laugh, "Oh man, now my hopes are up." He kept his hand near the kid's upper arm in case he stumbled or tripped. There would be no way for the guy to stop the fall and he didn't want to have to do more paperwork on him accumulating more wounds than the ones he had already.
"Hmm. Let's see if I can guess. Jason Bourne? Secret agent. Or wait, I've got it. You're an anti-gun, anti-military rally leader. Here to bring the mission down." He grinned, his head turning to the kid. "I'm going to be real disappointed if you're not something heroic man." He continued walking on. He amusingly hoped the kid didn't mind the walk, they still had 2 miles to go before they got to the base. Sure he could call in an ATV to pick them up, but what would the fun in that be? "So, are you going to tell me what the hell you were doing out there, or am I going to have to give you to the interrogation team?"
Ryder stood up and dusted himself off, a small grin on his face. If he was being honest, he had enjoyed that little bit of excitement. He wouldn't ever wish that more people broke in or that the compound was facing nights like this on the regular of course, but a little bit of fun here or there never hurt anyone. Plus it had appeared to just be a kid doing normal stupid kid shit, and not someone intent on breaking the law or causing harm. Ryder made sure the attachment that secured his rifle was still intact, moving the gun to his side so he could haul the kid up. When the guy said he was fine Ryder gave a chuckle, "Tell that to your bleeding face kid." He reached down and moved his hand under the guy's arm, bracing him to help haul his rear off the ground.
When the kid was up he could check him out a little more thoroughly. Ryder turned his flashlight on, moving the beam over the kid. His face was cut and his jeans were torn, but that appeared to be the worst of it that he could tell from the front. He wasn't a medic but he was pretty sure the cut would need stitches, "Cut your face pretty good." he murmured. Ryder pulled out gauze from one of the compartments on his jacket and dabbed the kid's head, looking to see how deep it was. He pulled the bloody gauze away and grabbed a bandage out of the same pocket. Opening the wrapper with his teeth and one free arm while holding the flashlight in the other. He stuck the band-aide on, not caring too much to be gentle. "There ya go. You might even get lucky and end up with a cool scar, hell of a chick magnet. Or...guy magnet. No judgement here." He grinned a second before moving to the kid's back, ensuring the cuffs were secured when his eyes fell on the bent and mangled looking finger.
Ryder whistled, "Ouch. That's not going to be fun to fix. The med team will look at it when we get to base." The kid had asked about his camera and Ryder shook his head, "Sorry man, that's the property of the US government now." His face was stern and serious, not a drip of humor in his words. He watched the kid a second before the smile returned to his face, "I'm kidding man." He walked over to where the camera lay and picked it up, ensuring it was off. He wasn't sure if the thing could work anymore, but he didn't want to take chances. He slipped the camera into an empty pocket and put his hand on the guy's cuffs, urging him forward. "Alright so what's your name, do you have ID and what are we going to find when we run your prints?"
Ryder could tell the irritation in her face that arose from his presence immediately. If she didn't hate him, he probably wasn't too far from that line. He didn't care. He had a job to do. There were more important things to worry about than if some girl didn't like him. He had tried offering her a hand, a lifeline when it was clear she had needed it. She had instead chosen to get pissy and indignant about it all. Whatever transpired between them had been her fault, at least in his mind of course. When she said the line belonged to her he laughed, "Don't flatter yourself sweetheart. This isn't a big town." He took another sip of the coffee, the warm liquid waking up the parts in his brain that were still sluggish. He glanced over at her leisurely and found she was boring holes in him with her narrowed eyes. He was thankful at that moment that he had worn Kevlar under his shirt, if she had a weapon there was no doubt in his mind she'd use it on him.
She asked why he was there and he lifted his coffee cup, "Wanted coffee. Then I saw you here and thought I'd offer to buy you a cup to make up for our last meeting." He finished off the remainder of his croissant while he watched her internal struggle on whether or not to believe him. Damn, she really did hate him, he thought a little humorously to himself.
He had just taken another sip of his coffee to wash down the buttery pastry when she felt the need to assure him that she didn't like him. He laughed, "Oh yeah? Well, thanks for letting me know. I mean, I thought the go-to-hell looks were flirting but yeah, thanks for clearing that up." He wondered what the hell was going on in her mind. Normally he could read people easily but she was like a damn brick wall in hieroglyphs. "At the risk of pissing you off further...you're not my type so no worries there." He sat back in his chair a second, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I'm not here to get on your nerves or piss you off. I thought I'd offer you a coffee and that's that. If you want me to leave just say the word." It wasn't true of course, but it wasn't like he could actually tell her the truth. Plus he'd much rather gain her trust a little bit so that when he told her she had to come with him there might be a little less hostility.
He looked at the table next to them and grabbed the to-go menu from it, his eyes scanning over the list of foods and beverages they offered. "They also have frappes, whatever the hell that is." He scanned the menu once more before sliding it across the table to her. Ryder then pulled out his phone and pretended to write a text, as if she was the last thing on his mind. Just a normal guy doing normal guy things. He kept his eyes on his phone, his fingers moving as if he was texting as he quietly hummed the song No Games by breaking benjamin.
Ryder watched in amusement as the kid pointed the phone at him. He stood still, resisting the urge to wave. He wasn't undercover here. There weren't any penalties for anyone seeing who he was and what he looked like doing his job. He figured it was probably a good thing that the public saw the somewhat authoritative figure that the military imposed. Maybe if more people saw the kind of defenses that they were up against the less he'd have to deal with stupidity like this. He watched as the kid slowly raised his hands above his head. Ryder would be lying if he thought the kid posed any sort of threat to him.
Even if the guy had a gun, he doubted very much the slightly shaking arm from his boy could get off a good shot. Even if by some miracle it did, he was wearing enough kevlar to protect himself. The boy didn't answer his question and Ryder knew that to be a good sign. If he was hiding anyone, nine times out of ten they said something along the lines of it's just me! No one but me! Lines that tended to tell different stories. The kid couldn't seem to say a full sentence either and that was another soothing thought to him. It was good he was scared, healthy. He remained silent as the kid took a step, mentioning he'd come peacefully. A half-grin of a smirk came to his face. As if the kid had any other choice.
Ryder took a step forward as the kid froze. That pause lasted half a second, Ryder barely getting out "don't..." before he uttered an apology and bolted. "Section 3-5 runner. Wyatt meet at 5a fence line." He all but yelled into the walkie on his shoulder before bolting after the kid. The guy had a head start and was through the hallway and bounding for a back door before he had taken off.
He had just made it out the door as the figure of the kid laying haphazardly in the ground came into sight. He came to a sliding halt, angling his body down at the ground where the kid was. His body hit into the kid, Ryder's hands instinctively grasping for the kid's hands, shoving them behind his back and his face in the dirt. The cuffs were around him and Ryder sat back, the adrenaline making his heart race. "Do you know how stupid you are? I mean come on man, of all the places to break into, you pick a shitty dilapidated house in the quarantine zone?" He pressed the walkie on his shoulder again, "Kid down, apprehended. I'm taking him in. Call in Evans for replacement until I get back." He looked over again, his eyes catching the blood, "You hurt?"
Ryder finished the last of his protein bar. He had missed chow, but the base always had lots of filling snacks laying out and around. So he had grabbed a protein bar and a bottle of water before checking the rotation schedule for the night. He knew he was on duty. Last night he had a day off, his first since arriving to the city. He had spent the majority of it sleeping, to which he had no regrets. He enjoyed his little vacation from the living as long as it had lasted, but as he washed up and got dressed he found that he was actually looking forward to being back at it tonight.
When he was off he only had time to think. That wasn't a good thing when it came to him as of late. Normally he focused on the job, the next assignment, the next meal, the next girl. His thoughts didn't tend to be profound. Lately though, no matter what he tried focusing on, his mind always drifted to a certain annoying blonde. He couldn't figure her out or why in the hell they had clashed as hard as they did. He kept going over what had transpired but he couldn't figure out the mystery that was Anna. He was ready to have something to focus on.
He scanned his name and gave a curse word when he saw he was on patrol duty. If it had been a more interesting part of the fence he might have gotten excited. Unfortunately, it was one of the more boring ones. The only thing around was a few empty houses and people didn't tend to break into quarantined areas to go house hunting. He finished his snack and signed his name into the weapons room. He loaded up on the usual patrol gear, filling his belt with all the required equipment plus a few he tended to like having on him. He bitterly thought he might as well bring popcorn with how boring it was going to be. Alas, no popcorn could be stowed so he made his way outside into the night.
He walked with a small squad of five guys until they came to various parts of the fence. With how little action this side of the area tended to get, they each got about two miles of area to oversee for the night. He began walking along the fence line, quietly letting his mind drift, his hand on his weapon. He had made it to one of the old houses when a light coming from inside immediately caught his attention. Ryder paused, there seemed to be only one. He crouched down and quietly edged his way to get closer to the house without being seen. He radioed in that he was checking on suspicious activity and moved closer to the entrance of the old home.
He watched from the shadowed entrance way as a kid moved around the house, seemingly talking to himself. Ryder was a little concerned that maybe someone ill had broken out of containment, but the guy had turned and he spotted the phone that he was speaking to. On one hand he was grateful that the kid wasn't a literal crazy person. On the other, he wasn't thrilled about being videoed.
The kid spoke again, “What lays beyond door number one?” and Ryder stood up, walking into the house, "Oh I don't know, handcuffs?" He leaned against the doorway, his hand leisurely on the assault rifle slung across his chest. He kept eye contact with the kid as he radioed in to the walkie on his shoulder. "Section 3-5 code 718. Got a kid in here." He took his hand off the radio and addressed the boy, "You here alone?"
Ryder yawned leisurely before sitting down in the crappy plastic chairs that sat together in rows in the makeshift briefing room. He hadn't slept for hell last night, or the night before. Their hours were all over the place. He had gotten sent out at 19:00 to patrol the quarantine fence line. The particular area he had been in charge of had the highest amount of escapees and damage reported. It was a line where the fence broke through a nearby tree line that provided lots of cover for those seeking to damage it. If he would have been consulted, that would have been the first thing to go, as well as a few other thousand recommendations he had. Unfortunately, he hadn't been consulted, only recruited to enforce, so that's what he did. He had got in at 3:00 am after one chase resulting in a capture, one chase that had resulted in an officer getting shot with no capture, and one suspect taken in with the contents on his person to make a homemade bomb.
The kid hadn't wanted to hurt anyone thankfully. He just wanted that fence down. They all did. People didn't tend to see the sane reasons why certain people were being kept quarantined away from others. They didn't see that these measures were being enforced for the protection of others. No, all they saw was the military keeping their mother away from them. Their brother being taken away for no reason at all. It made him irritated that people wouldn't use their damn heads.
He had shuffled in and gotten about four hours of sleep before having to wake up and report to the briefing room. He sat back in the chair, his eyes glancing at the coffee machine in the corner. No one had bothered to make a pot though, the empty canister sitting near the machine. He made a mental note to get coffee the second he got out of here.
Folders were passed around the room at random. Today they would be finding aliens who hadn't checked in at the Visa department. Most of their locations were unknown, and none were reported on the deceased list. Ryder opened his folder and looked over the picture of a brunette male, age 37, wife recently marked deceased. His eyes scanned the page twice before shutting the folder.
Yawning again he leaned forward in his chair, his eyes glancing lazily at the officer next to him. The guy's folder was open still and Ryder's eyes glanced at the picture. It was her. It was the girl he had an...altercation with days ago. "Hey. Switch with me." The other guy looked a little confused but Ryder grabbed the folder from him without waiting for an explanation. He shoved his folder at the guy and stood up, jogging to his barracks. He changed out of his uniform and put on civilian clothes, keeping his weapons, badge and identification hidden. He sat on the edge of the bed and read her file.
GRIFFITHS, BRIANNA MAY
Age: 24
"Anna my ass." He murmured to himself as he continued reading on. She looked like a different person in the picture on her Visa. She was smiling, in an inciting and dangerous way. She wasn't a stranger to breaking hearts.
She was from Australia, visiting for holiday. At least that part had been somewhat true. She had come into the country with her mother, father and brother. He pursed his lips a moment when he read over the report marking them recently deceased. He had been right. She was in a bad spot. He read over the rest of her papers before putting her folder on the nightstand that he was using as a makeshift desk. He ordered a car and got in, giving the guy the directions to go downtown. That was where he had first seen her and decided that was as good a place to start as any.
There weren't too many places she could be hanging around. He didn't know how much money she had on her, but he figured she couldn't get a hotel without an ID and that would have been flagged in their system. No, she had to stay somewhere low. He sat back in the car, a yawn escaping his lips. They were about ten minutes down the road and he spoke up, "Hey, actually take me to a coffee shop." The man nodded and Ryder closed his eyes. He wondered why she didn't check-in. Surely she could see that they would have given her some grace. They wouldn't have shipped her out immediately. True, she wouldn't have been able to take her parent's or brother's body back with her, that would have to wait, but hiding wasn't going to help that.
The car stopped and Ryder got out, making his way to the coffee place. When he entered, the smell of freshly baked bread made his stomach protest so he ordered a red-eye coffee and a croissant with it. He paid the barista and took them outside, walking over to the car. He told the driver he'd walk from there and nodded a goodbye. He walked back to the outdoor seating outside the coffee shop and sat down, sipping the hot liquid. His eyes glanced over the crowd and the people nearby. Most were keep a good distance, but a few were hurrying around and pushing much closer than 6ft.
He leaned back in the chair, relaxing and letting the coffee warm him up. His eyes had followed the crowd until they landed on a blonde, a table up from where he was, her back to him. He watched a second, debating on what to do. He wasn't completely sure it was her. What the hell, he thought to himself. He walked over, his eyes falling upon her soaking up the sunshine. It was definitely her. He sat down at the table across from her, his face relaxed, a grin on his lips, "If I didn't know better I'd worry you're stalking me."
NOTES ; I thought it might be interesting to have them list her brother as being deceased by accident? Then he may tell her and she'd be like WHAT?? I dunno. I can edit it if you don't like it
Ryder rubbed the back of his neck in irritation. He didn't know what else he had to do to show this girl his sincerity. The fact that she absolutely refused to see his point was frustrating. It was like arguing with someone who didn't want to admit that the ocean was blue. Of course the ocean was blue and of course his observations were accurate. Yet instead of conceding his point, she was putting her head in the proverbial sand and getting angry that he had the audacity to point the colors out.
When she asked who the hell does what he just did, he had to stop and thank a moment. Had he overstepped? His mind hit the pause button. Did normal people not do this? He wasn't sure. He hadn't been a "normal" person in quite a long time. Did normal people not comment on things they picked up as odd? Did they not call out people on their shit on the regular? He wasn't a guy who could let stuff like that go. He hadn't thought that made him un-normal exactly, he didn't think it was a product of his job either. In fact, that personality quirk had gotten him into more trouble in his career than it had helped. He just didn't like bullshit. "Look, I'm sorry I'm not someone who can go around kissing people's asses and acting like the world is perfect. I bet you have Instagram, don't you? You post those bullshit pictures with #blessed right?"
He kept his voice leveled, anger wasn't creeping in but irritation had made it's home there. He watched as her lips pursed, her eyes narrowed at him. It was clear he wasn't the only one getting aggravated here. As her voice raised he listened to what she had to say to him. When she spoke about him pointing out that she looked like shit he jumped in. "whoah, whoah. I didn't say you looked like shit. I said you look like you've got a million problems right now. I was offering you a lifeline Anna. I wasn't saying you looked like crap to be a jerk." He crossed his arms for a moment before addressing her again, the side of his brain that warned him not to push things getting shoved to the back of his mind. "And by the way...maybe if you weren't so hooked on how you think you look and what people think, you could get yourself the hell out of whatever situation you're in."
Ryder suppressed an irritated groan when she sarcastically mentioned not being dressed well enough for him. He wanted to make a smart-ass comment about it but decided it was in his best interest to let it go. She was beyond angry at him and he didn't really know why he cared. Maybe because he couldn't fathom why in the hell she couldn't see he was trying to help. Maybe because she was something he hadn't quite figured out. He didn't know, but he had run after her and made his plea. Of which she had shot down.
He pursed his lips, debating on chasing her. For a brief moment, he debated on arresting her. It would hold. Hell, he had taken people into custody for much less. There was something he couldn't shake, something that kept digging at him like a splinter that he couldn't get out. He watched as she quickened the pace away from him. He'd let her go. She was annoying and frustrating, like a rubik's cube, but he was hungry and the damn city was hot, and he knew soon enough there'd be more headaches to come. Headaches he was getting paid to deal with. She wasn't worth his time. Stuffing his hands in his pocket he headed towards one of the places he saw earlier, shoving Anna out of his mind.
NOTES ; Sorry, it's ehhh. He's...something. I think the next post should totally be her name and picture come across his assignment sheet and he's like ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!
Ryder watched her motions as she said she didn't care about what he thought. He could see the change in her like a storm that comes over the sea. He had pissed her off, and not in the normal fashion that he usually tended to rub people the wrong way with. No, this girl seemed absolutely livid at his comments. As she stepped closer to him, her eyes were narrowed and lethal, her words sharp and rebuking. He laughed sarcastically when she criticized him for being alone and judging. "Is that what you think I'm doing? You think I just decided to walk down the street and make someone feel like crap? Do you really think that highly of yourself that you don't need anyone else's help? I'm the bad guy because I'm telling the truth? Is that the problem here?"
He didn't make any movements as she continued on her rage-fueled path. He caught the small motion of her hands bunching into a fist and for half a moment of amusement he wondered if she would actually hit him. When he first met her she didn't seem the type. She had been a shy little thing with a blush on her cheeks. Right now her face was red from anger and she looked like the girl who had killed the girl he had seen earlier. After she was done with her spiel he shook his head, his hands up and opened to her, "No, you're right. You don't owe me a damn thing and if you weren't so damn self-absorbed maybe you could see that I'm not judging shit about you. What the hell would I judge? I'm just being honest with what I see. Good or bad, the truth is the truth. Maybe if you were honest with your own self you could change whatever damn predicament you're in because you and I both know you're in one."
He hated people who couldn't be honest with who they were. One of his worst fights was when an arrogant navy seal couldn't admit that he wasn't as experienced in bomb detonating than one of the guys in Ryder's battalion. The whole troop had almost paid the price because one man couldn't be honest with himself and his shortcomings. He took a few breaths. He hadn't meant to upset her, not really. He hadn't thought she would have reacted this strongly. How was he to know she would be so stubborn and proud?
When she pointed to the burger place and called him an ass, all complete with a death glare, he grinned but resisted the urge to laugh, "Look, I'm sorry that I offended you. That wasn't my intent." His words hadn't seemed to stick though. When she briskly began walking in the other direction he jogged to catch up with her, "I dropped out of high school. When I drank for the first time, I ended up breaking into a Michelin star chef's restaurant and was arrested in my underwear. I can't whistle and I am irrationally afraid of bats. There. Now you can judge me. Level playing field."
Ryder watched her motions as she said she didn't care about what he thought. He could see the change in her like a storm that comes over the sea. He had pissed her off, and not in the normal fashion that he usually tended to rub people the wrong way with. No, this girl seemed absolutely livid at his comments. As she stepped closer to him, her eyes were narrowed and lethal, her words sharp and rebuking. He laughed sarcastically when she criticized him for being alone and judging. "Is that what you think I'm doing? You think I just decided to walk down the street and make someone feel like crap? Do you really think that highly of yourself that you don't need anyone else's help? I'm the bad guy because I'm telling the truth? Is that the problem here?"
He didn't make any movements as she continued on her rage-fueled path. He caught the small motion of her hands bunching into a fist and for half a moment of amusement he wondered if she would actually hit him. When he first met her she didn't seem the type. She had been a shy little thing with a blush on her cheeks. Right now her face was red from anger and she looked like the girl who had killed the girl he had seen earlier. After she was done with her spiel he shook his head, his hands up and opened to her, "No, you're right. You don't owe me a damn thing and if you weren't so damn self-absorbed maybe you could see that I'm not judging shit about you. What the hell would I judge? I'm just being honest with what I see. Good or bad, the truth is the truth. Maybe if you were honest with your own self you could change whatever damn predicament you're in because you and I both know you're in one."
He hated people who couldn't be honest with who they were. One of his worst fights was when an arrogant navy seal couldn't admit that he wasn't as experienced in bomb detonating than one of the guys in Ryder's battalion. The whole troop had almost paid the price because one man couldn't be honest with himself and his shortcomings. He took a few breaths. He hadn't meant to upset her, not really. He hadn't thought she would have reacted this strongly. How was he to know she would be so stubborn and proud?
When she pointed to the burger place and called him an ass, all complete with a death glare, he grinned but resisted the urge to laugh, "Look, I'm sorry that I offended you. That wasn't my intent." His words hadn't seemed to stick though. When she briskly began walking in the other direction he jogged to catch up with her, "I dropped out of high school. When I drank for the first time, I ended up breaking into a Michelin star chef's restaurant and was arrested in my underwear. I can't whistle and I am irrationally afraid of bats. There. Now you can judge me. Level playing field."
The soldier part of Ryder was pushing back against his normal guy side. When he joined the service and became enamored with that life, his mother had visited him after his first tour. The two had the most awkward dinner that night, during which she had said she wished he hadn't joined the military. After he asked her why she had stated that he was more soldier than boy and the best thing he could do for himself was to get a normal job and settle down with a nice girl. The dinner hadn't gone any smoother after that, and a handful of years later their relationship turned into the obligatory Christmas and birthday card in the mail. He didn't mind it.
She had married his father when she was 18, they had lived together their entire life all the way up until his father's passing. Of course a woman like that couldn't understand a life like his. She thought the only way to happiness was raising a family. He found it in the thrill of the job. They couldn't be farther apart in their differences, and he to this day, disagreed with her statement from all those years ago. He wasn't always a soldier. He had seen guys who lived 24/7 in their combat boots. They were jumpy and tense, most of those who he had met following that path were also drunks and anger-thirsty. He wasn't one of them. He could separate his personal side with his professional. Usually.
Today was a little harder. His mind wanted to flirt with the girl next to him. When he had tripped she had made a movement to help steady him before he had righted himself. It was cute. He outweighed her by a long shot and stood at least a few inches taller. If he had actually tripped hard and was coming down, her grabbing him would have just pulled her down with him. It was a sweet gesture though. It was an easy target to play. Her small smiles and quick glances all but demanded he flirt, but then she had to speak and make the soldier part of him unable to shut-up. She was clearly, clearly hiding something. He couldn't let it go. Why lie to him? He was a nobody as far as she knew. The suspicion was overwhelming. As she stumbled through her explanation he nodded. "I gotcha." He was sure somewhere out there, someone might have that story, but he doubted very much it was this girl.
When he asked about her mom worrying about her, he could almost feel the shift in her. The purse of her lips, the swallowing hard, the slight hunching of the shoulders. That was it. Those little indicators that he had hit on something important. This was typically the time when he would dig in deep, keep hitting that wound until he found out what he needed to find out. The soldier part of him all but demanded it, the regular side of him warned him not to be an asshole to someone who was helping him. He tried to settle with something in the middle of those. "Hey...I've got friends in the medical field." He stopped walking, his eyes meeting hers. "If you need help or if you're in some sort of trouble...I can help."
He forgot all about the food. He hadn't put her story together yet but he had some good ideas. If he had to put money on them, his first guess would be that she was a runaway. Maybe a girl who picked the wrong time to leave the comfort of her parents. He had seen it a million times. Girls who wanted to show their parents they could handle themselves, kids who didn't want to follow mom and dad's rules and who end up needing to be rescued from black market trades. His next would be homeless which he supposed could be linked to her running away. Though that was a harder stretch. If that was the case she couldn't have been homeless long, she was much too pretty. He wasn't sure if she'd open up or not to him, and he wasn't ready to take that choice away from her yet. He tried conveying honesty, "I know you don't know me, but I'm kind of a problem fixer. And right now you look like you've got a lot of them."
She laughed and he again found himself annoyed at her appeal. He didn't think he had a type. The women he had found himself sharing his evenings with didn't tend to have a certain look or style. They did, however, tend to be more up-front about how they wanted to spend their evenings. He liked it that way. There was no game, there was no lying or making up excuses to leave, there wasn't pressure. It was honest and attachment-free. It was almost like a business transaction. They both agreed, signed on the dotted line, fulfilled their part, and then they each went on their way.
She was different. She kind of reminded him of the girls from his high school back home. Pretty and coy, girls who had Pinterest boards filled with their wedding ideas before they were even in a relationship. Girls who came with a long line of conditions and terms that he didn't want to bother himself reading. It was annoying but maybe the lack of contact from girls like that was why he found himself caught in all of those small movements she did. At least that's what he was telling himself. When she mentioned the chicken nuggets he grinned, momentarily caught off guard by her admittance of getting drunk. Behavior that definitely was not like those girls in high school who he didn't have time for. "Ah, liquor will get you every time." He hadn't had more than a drink here or there in years. He didn't like how it messed with his reflexes. He tended to be the one who drove everyone home after a good long night of drinking.
Ryder was watching her as a shade of red grew on her cheeks. For a brief moment he was concerned that she might be having some sort of reaction or allergy. When his brain registered that in fact, he had made her blush he damn well tripped over himself. Literally. His foot catching the other and causing him to stumble forward. He righted the motion quickly, thankful that he hadn't made himself fall, mentally cursing himself for even talking to this girl.
Keeping his eyes on what was before him and not looking over at her, he nodded along when she said she wasn't originally from here. "That sounds pretty cool. When I was younger I always envied those kids who traveled a lot." Hence why he chose a career in the field of traveling of course. When she mentioned her dad was in the military he looked over again, "What'd he do? My grandpa was in the service and I've always been interested in it." the question coming out of his mouth effortlessly. It wasn't a lie either, technically his grandfather had been in the military and of course, he certainly was interested in it. He reminded himself to get his head in the game. The girl was clearly lying to him and though her blush had made him momentarily forget that she could be trouble, he was here for a purpose. There was a reason his company was brought in and it wasn't to make nice with locals.
When she asked about him he shook his head, "Nah. I'm not from here. I'm from Wyoming originally. My job brought me here though, perfect timing right?" He gave a half grin, playing the I'm not a threat or anyone of interest card. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Girls who didn't actually care where he was from or what he did for a living tended to buy it and not ask anything else. He didn't think she'd be one of those girls though. She was rattling him, ducking when he thought she would dive. He stuffed his hands in his pocket as they continued walking, glancing at her just a moment before asking. "You sure your mom won't mind you showing a stranger around town?"
