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.
Aelin was fully absorbed in every word that was currently coming out of Casey's mouth. Given, there were only a handful, but no matter the infrequency, she found herself latching onto every single one. A Swimmer. It was almost too impractical to imagine. His voice trailed off and her eyes were locked onto his face as he finished it by adding that it was due to injury. Aelin's mouth parted faintly in shock, her eyes softening. A car accident. He hadn’t simply given up the idea or moved on from it…it had been taken from him. Aelin looked down as Casey's eyes shifted further down the street.
The only sound between them was the falling of their feet and the occasional car pass here and there, the silence becoming a solid form between them. She didn't exactly know what to say for a moment, but his voice cut through the night again and she kept her eyes down as he spoke, a line creasing between her eyebrows as she processed what he said. They couldn't fix it? The idea seemed absurd to her. They were living in an age where medical advancements were jumping light years forward by each passing year. Given enough money, there was rarely something that couldn't be fixed or at least prolonged. She looked up at him, the question coming out softly, "You were young though. That was at least…what? Twenty years ago? Have you had it checked recently?"
The idea and plan was already forming in her head. Like an act of penance, the need to fix someone else's broken dream to account for her own. Almost as if she could make his possible, hers had a chance as well. Aelin dragged her rapidly spinning mind away from her thoughts as she looked up at him, meeting his smirk with one of her own. "How modest you are."
She was intensely curious as to which university had wanted him but as his face hardened and he told her a solid no on the picture evidence, she held up her hands in mock surrender. "Fine." She waited a breath before speaking up again, her voice filled with mischief, "Although, if one happens to come across my screen while looking up something for a perfectly legitimate school paper I certainly can't be blamed for that." She continued smirking playfully as her attention moved forward. It was nice, calming even. The subject was something new, the air was cool, there wasn't anyone else around. She could almost forget that tonight had blown up in her face. Almost.
Then he brought up her father and her calm feeling vanished as fast as her attacker had tonight. "I suppose what I want and appreciate is irrelevant then? As long as he's happy?" The anger edged into her voice, the words turning sharp. "I'm twenty-three years old and I'm being treated like a teenager. I can't be friends with whoever I want, I can't go anywhere I want, hell I can't even have the career I want but none of that matters. He says jump and everyone asks how high." Was she bitter? Absolutely. None of it was a lie though. Her father was almost totally in control over the city, and what he wasn't directly in control of, his money could provide control over.
Aelin stopped when Casey did, her arms crossed in front of her chest. "A handful is a really nice way to describe a dictator." She felt like a child who was being grounded. Like she was living in some sort of bizarre world where she had no rights. Like a Stepford daughter who wasn't allowed to defect. Aelin's lips pursed, her anger growing. The way she saw it, she had two options. One: run away and disappear, changing her name and forsaking all ties to her father. Two: take the option of her being into politics off the table. Either way, she was done playing this game. She shook her head, pushing forward, her voice cold, "Whatever. Let’s just get this over with."
The police officer with, apparent multiple personality disorder, touched the side of his radio, speaking into it and verifying everything was clear to proceed. She was absolutely certain that this was the most embarrassed that she had ever been in her life thus far. She tried telling herself that his opinions on her didn't matter. She had been with him, her lips had met his, there was no denying that. He was clearly not admitting to their encounter and acting like a total reversal from the boy who she had met. That wasn't on her. Whatever actions she had taken because of that shouldn't bother her, but as his stupidly handsome face broke out into a grin as she apologized, she wanted to both punch him and go die under a rock.
He graciously accepted her apology but began looking around, gently touching her arm and moving her to the side of the house, away from the prying eyes. She pursed her lips in irritation but moved with him. She had begun to at least attempt to make an excuse for her actions when he told her to stop and she responded indignantly, "Me stop? You stop. You're the one acting like Jason Bourne." She let him lead her away, not that she was particularly looking forward to spending any more time than necessary with him, but she was even less excited to see anyone over where her father was.
He sighed and removed the earpiece, Aelin crossing her arms in front of her chest. He brought up the fact that he was the police and she gave a sardonic laugh, "Oh really? I missed that. Thank you for reminding me." He then scoffed at her vigilante hero comment which she personally felt was quite accurate. "Look, you were the one who-" The boy then laughed, suggesting that their meeting was all some sort of a dream she had and Aelin leveled a glare at him. She thought, for just a moment, about slapping him, but figured that might be pushing it, especially since he was clearly not in his right mind. The reasonable side of her head told her to let it go and leave, to just be done with him because none of this mattered. But she had never been great at letting things go.
She let him continue his little speech as he tried gaslighting her into oblivion before she spoke, taking time to breathe deeply and compose herself. "Two weeks ago. The rally for social reform. The protest turned violent and I found an alley to hide in. You showed up almost immediately after me. You were wearing a dark green hoodie and a black ballcap. We hid together for over an hour." She had a moment of doubt, of wondering if she had mistaken him but as her eyes moved over his face, lingering just a second on his lips before she looked away, she was sure. With absolute certainty. She met his eyes again, no wavering shakiness in any of her words. "We made out. I know it was you and I remember everything about that night, I'm not making any of this up. If you don't want to admit to it, whatever. I don't care. You weren't even that great of a kisser anyway, but don't try to act like I'm crazy."
Aelin let out an annoyed sigh wishing more than ever one of her security guards would come over and interrupt them. That maybe someone would message him over his stupid radio and make him leave her presence so she could be done with this whole ordeal. Then another thought came to her, causing her to give a self-assured leveled gaze, meeting his eyes again. "I can prove it. You're in one of the photos I took that night." Let him try to talk his way out of that, she couldn't help but think smugly.
Aelin nodded once when Casey told her to not worry about the car. She mused that of course he would have ways to get it back, he always seemed to have something up his sleeve. There wasn't much that she could get past him. Tonight she had thought she'd re-traced and back-tracked enough to elude him but that hadn't worked. Sometimes when she knew he was the one on duty she would find herself attempting the most elaborate ways to escape him just to see if he'd catch her. No need to do it, just testing out if he could catch her. Which he usually did.
He seemed to always be calm, always have some instinctual edge that seemed to work in his favor. Perhaps that was why it was so surprising to hear the no that came out of his lips. She glanced over as they continued walking, unsure what else a guy like him would be doing. Immediately she wondered if it was something in the military or perhaps even something like being a spy. She wasn't sure how someone would go about applying for the job title of international spy, but she didn't doubt he would know. She was running through a list of jobs that she could imagine him in when he said olympic swimmer.
Aelin stopped in the middle of the street, a pleasantly surprised look over her face. "What? Seriously?" She caught back up with him and immediately began speaking again. "Okay you have to tell me more obviously. First, why didn't you? Second, were you really that good? Third…are there any pictures?" She grinned, absolutely pleased with seeing this entirely different side of him that she never would have guessed. She couldn't imagine it. She truly could not. He was always so stern and serious. She couldn't imagine his profession being something as recreational as a swimmer.
When he asked if she always wanted to be a trouble maker she waved it off with a playful roll of her eyes, "Of course I did." She kept the smile on her face as she mused that she had been a trouble-maker from the moment she was born. She had never been able to sit still, to color inside of the lines. It had been a constant thorn in her father's side for her entire life. And he truly didn't know the half of it.
She spoke up again, a sarcastic tone in her voice, "Voters love a rebel, right?" Her father did not agree with that sentiment. Any stepping outside of the lines was a betrayal to their lineage, to their family honor, as if things like that were still a thing. No. She didn't care about the family honor, nor the so called proud lineage. She was done with all of that. A few more months, a few more applications and she hoped to make that sentiment known soon. To everyone.
Aelin gave a dry chuckle when Thomas said it was a noble profession. "Not from the world that I come from." In her small circle of prep-school friends who had graduated together, eight had turned out to be doctors, four had gone into banking, four into politics, and three into managing fortune 500 companies. If they had known she had taken her college courses and chosen a much different plan for her life, they would have all pitied her. Maybe even asked if it was a rebel phase or if she was on drugs. She would, without a shadow of a doubt, be looked at as the failure of her small group. And that was just within that little friend group. Her father and his tight circle of stuffy figureheads was a much more critical bunch.
Thomas admitted that it had sounded a little snobby and Aelin felt the heat come to her cheeks, utterly thankful that the room was being lit with a little cell phone. "Sorry. I promise I'm not usually as pompous as that sounded." She hoped at least. Sure, you couldn't exactly help that your upbringing shaped the person that you ultimately became, but she liked to think she had more of a down-to-earth vibe than most of her prep-school friends. She had no issues wearing outfits out of season or taking the bus when she needed to evade security.
Aelin studied the lines on the paper and quickly amassed that the odds were high that there wouldn't be a winner. She placed her O blocking his X, in the right middle box. She tapped the pen lightly on the ground in thought before tilting her head to the side and holding the pen out to him. "hmm. I think, in the event of no winners…we each get to ask one question. Fair?" She had a small smirk on her lips, her question all ready to go in her mind of course. She was nothing if not prepared.
She watched him with a grin on her lips as he promised not to tell the press anything. She knew he probably thought she was being vain and a little silly but she knew all too well how media could make or break someone. "So you're not a Kardashian fan? Very surprising Thomas the biochemist." She teased him playfully. Aside from being cute, he was fitting very uniformly into the introverted scientist role.
Aelin nodded appreciatively, chuckling at his comment. If she was being honest, she wasn't the biggest history fan. Sure she could appreciate it on occasion, and she had gotten high marks in her studies, but she was much, much more interested in the present. All of the books in the world couldn't drum up the thrill of something happening in the present. The literal action of history in the making. She'd take that over any old history book any day of the week.
He shrugged off his job and Aelin knew she shouldn't press. He clearly wasn't very comfortable discussing his career path, but she wouldn't exactly be herself if she ignored her curiosity. He was a bit of an oddity. Usually people who had taken careers like his would drone on and on about their latest discoveries and tests and whatnot. At least the few who she had the displeasure of being around. Thomas, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable with discussing it. Which naturally made it more and more interesting to her.
He began to talk about his father and she listened quietly as the reasoning behind his discomfort became something all too familiar. She knew that feeling. The feeling of letting down people who you loved. The anger at them for putting you in that impossible situation. "Well, it's your life, not theirs. At the end of the day, we're responsible for our own happiness. No one else is." At least that was what she told herself at night. When she was feeling guilty for blatantly lying about her passion. When she was feeling like a coward for pretending to be someone she wasn't. Maybe one day she'd be able to listen to her own advice.
Thomas chuckled, seemingly surprised at her choice of career and she let the attention move back to her. She found herself, oddly enough, at ease about disclosing all of it. He wasn't speaking with surprise paired with disappointment, more like surprise with curiosity which she could handle. She shook her head at the paper and pen comment but before she could say anything else he jokingly mentioned her not leaving well enough alone and she found herself moving her hand to her mouth, stifling a genuine laugh. "That might be….very accurate." She grinned.
She was enjoying his company a lot more than she had previously thought. "Photojournalism actually. I want to see everything. Try everything. Be in the middle of everything. You name it." She wanted to see it all and capture it all. Put it all on film and paper for the girls like her stuck in small towns dreaming of something bigger. Was it cheesy? Absolutely, but it was the truth.
She drew her circle and smirked when he matched her little quip, "Damn, you're right. Now I suppose you have no choice but to join us." She watched as he placed his second X and replied, perhaps a little more awkward than before. She didn't press on the matter, instead she took the pen from him as he asked about her getting into trouble. Aelin made an O on the paper, blocking his chance of winning. A normal girl might have let him win the first round, he was clearly more concerned about their situation than she was and one question didn't matter much. That wasn't Aelin though. Even if realistically she couldn't win, she wasn't going to allow him to win willingly.
She handed the pen back over, a smirk matching his, "Till ? Awful bold of you to assume you'll get the chance to win." She was playing of course, a grin on her lips before she thought about the question and shrugged, "A lot. Probably. I guess it'd depend on if I was booked, if the lawyers could pay off the arresting officers in time. If not, then…" Then she would be charged, booked, and it would officially be game over. "Then I guess I'd get to find out what it's like disappointing a parent." She let her mind go down that road for just a moment. The choice of being honest with her father and who she was taken away as it would be forced for him to see. For everyone to see really. No hiding it after that.
"God did that sound as horribly privileged as I think it did?" She managed a small chuckle, trying to get the conversation back to something light. The last thing she figured he needed was the mayor's kid having an existential crisis. "You're not going to go all TMZ and call the press after this are you?" She playfully smirked, thought the idea wasn't totally unfounded.
A grin lit up Aelin's face as Thomas guessed the author of the quote. She nodded, "Yeah. Are you a history buff or a literature fan?" She asked him curiously. She made a mental guess that he was a lit fan. There was nothing truly telling on him either way, it wasn't like something along the lines of football where you could take an educated guess based on physical attributes. Nope, just conjecture on her part.
He casually mentioned he was a biochemist, skirting over the title like it wasn't anything of importance and her eyes widened slightly, her lips giving a playful grin. "Oh come on. That's immensely interesting." She continued on, "Especially right now. You're kind of on the front lines, just in a different way, if you really think about it." She tilted her head to the side as she continued speaking, "It definitely beats being a boring soldier." She shrugged. Not that she had anything against soldiers of course. She was thankful for them, on the odd occasion that she did think about them. It just wasn't exactly a career choice that she could ever picture anyone purposefully wanting to join.
"So why do you like it?" She asked, genuinely curious. It certainly was a small world. Here she was, barricaded in a cleaning closet with a stranger who had also defied his parents career wishes. It was kismet. Either that or perhaps that having crappy parents was more common that she thought.
She glanced away briefly when the realization of who she was sunk in. She hated that part. The part where normal people put her into the rich-kid brat box and filed her away under naïve and spoiled. He called her a princess of the city and she cringed, meeting his face again, "God no. I would have to run away if that were true."
Thankfully, the subject moved onto her studies and she found the light smile returning to her face. A small shake of her head answered his question. "I am a fan of debate, but no." She felt a lump in her throat, debating on actually telling him her degree or not. He would quite literally be one of the only people in the entire city who knew. Then again, it wasn't like he could tell anyone anything anyway so what did she have to lose? Aelin cleared her throat, "Journalism, actually." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, glancing again at him to gauge the reaction. Not that she figured he would care either way. It wasn't like he knew her or anything about her.
She focused her attention back to the drawing in between them. He asked if she actually meant anything and she nodded, "Anything." She held the pen out, almost certain he'd turn her down. Especially after clarifying the rules. To her surprise, however, he agreed and took the pen from her. She was pleased he had taken her up on it. Not only would that have made their time a lot more awkward if he hadn’t, it also would have been hella boring.
She laughed softly when he made a joke and she grinned, "Yeah, it's actually my side hustle, professional Tic-Tac-Toe shark. There's a secret ring that meets the third Tuesday of the month." She watched him make an X in the middle and she took the pen from him. Aelin placed an O on the top left of the board and handed the pen back over. He moved forward and she found herself grinning again as he teased. "If I were going to do that, I would have challenged you to strip tic-tac-toe or something. Q and A is getting off easy." She smirked, her tone mimicking his.
Aelin heard Casey's voice over the loud music of the club and she managed a nod. Physically, she thought she was about as okay as could be expected. Mentally? She was a nervous train wreck. She stood still as he moved his hand to the back of her head, his fingers pressing gently to where she had thrown her head back, making a collision with the guy. He didn't say anything and she mimicked him, putting her hand over the spot. Her hand came away wet, though she realized quickly that it wasn't from her blood. "Oh ew." She gagged once, the image of a stranger's bodily fluids on her making her stomach do somersaults.
Casey's arms steadying her were the only thing keeping her vertical at the moment. Her stomach lurched again and she took her hands off of him slowly, wiping the guy's blood on her dress with shaking hands, caring less about ruining it rather than having any of his bodily fluids touching her skin.
He said it wasn't her fault and she stopped wiping the blood away long enough to give him an exasperated look. She knew better than that. Causing him to deal with crowds or getting vomit on him? Perhaps part of the job, especially when it came to her. Interjecting in a kidnapping and having his car stolen? That was beyond the realm of things he should be asked to do. She made a mental note to see what she could do about a raise, or maybe an expensive toy her dad wouldn't mind footing the bill for. She didn't speak further on the matter though, managing only a quick nod when he became serious with her. The idea of sneaking out again wasn't the thing that scared her, the stranger was. Maybe it wasn't a matter of avoiding breaking the rules but rather having better judgement over what she choose to break and do. At least that's how she saw it.
Aelin followed him out of the club, thankful for the cold air that hit them. She normally was a baby when it came to chilly weather but after everything that happened inside, she took deep breaths in, welcoming the cool air. The only sounds around them were that of the city, the booming inside of the club fading behind them. She took another steadying breath, her nerves quickly calming as she watched his facial expressions. She wondered for a moment why he was irritated when she remembered the car. Oops. "Maybe you can call the police and they can remotely halt it?" She didn't know much about cars, but she supposed it was worth a shot to bring it up. "Adrien Walker's parents did that to him when he took his dad's lambo out for a ride."
Casey then pulled out his cell, mentioning a cab or another guard and she wasn't quick enough to stop him. She could only purse her lips as she watched him make the call. She would be dead and done if anyone answered. There could be no denying or lying about what she had chosen to do. She would be turned in immediately. Grounded. Forced to listen to another lecture that would no doubt result in her and her father having an argument. What little freedoms she had would be taken away immediately along with all electronics of course and that was all but a death sentence to her. There would be no computer to edit photos on or listen to music, no phone to pretend she was anyone other than herself. There would be no escape at all.
Casey glanced at her, putting the phone away and she felt her heart quicken with hope. He asked if she was okay to walk and she nodded happily. "Absolutely." She began walking in the general direction of her house before he had a chance to change his mind. The only thing she supposed they had to worry about now was the police stopping them for being out after curfew. She sent up a silent prayer of thanks for not being outed, at least not yet. There was still hope of sneaking in. Pending he didn't turn her in immediately, which she couldn't blame him for. "Are you going to turn me in? I mean, I get it. I would too if I were you. I just want to know." So she could prepare an argument. So she could form her words before she had to face the man who called himself her father.
She knew she was utterly cliche for hating the man. Just a spoiled brat who couldn't have her way, rebelling at everything he wanted for her. At least that's what it looked like on paper, would have made a hell of a book she always mused to herself. She couldn't help it though. She hated all that he was and stood for. She hated his choices, his viewpoints, his mannerisms, and friends. She hated his control more than anything. Wrapping her arms around herself as she continued walking she glanced over at Casey. "Did you always want to do this for a living?"
The guy in the stolen police uniform was a very good actor. In fact, his tone and the way his eyes almost implored her, made her pause for half a second. He genuinely looked as if he was a police officer escorting her to safety. Alas, she knew better. She had seen him throw something over the line of civilians into the group of officers. She had heard his voice shouting along with the crowd against the PD's presence. She had spent two hours, a few of those moments in his arms, as he had gone on and on about rioting and taking control of the city back. She had listened with her heart beating wildly in her chest at the sheer thrill of him. He was passionate and a revolutionary and every bit the direct opposite that this guy was trying to be.
So when it was clear that her guards were no longer available to help her, she bolted. He asked about calling her dad before she had exited the room and she didn't let herself entertain that illusion. As if he was an officer of the law here to escort her to safety. A knight in tactical gear, riding in on a white squad car to save her from some mythical dragon. No thank you. She was not that naïve.
She was running, down the stairs, her mind halfway in shock that he hadn't tackled her or something. She cleared the stairs, turning to the left and intended to race across the foyer towards the wine cellar. However, as she made the left, her front door was in view. Wide open. The sight of what lay on the outside of those doors causing her to stop immediately.
Patrol cars with flashing lights and a line of policemen a few feet away, crowding around the front driveway, all in clear sight. She could see the guards, the vans, the staff. God even the media with cameras. All safely outside. Waiting on her. Aelin moved backwards immediately, out of the site of anyone on the outside.
The realization dawned on her like a ton of bricks. He wasn't lying. The shock and embarrassment fully took hold as his voice came to her. "I just want to get you to a safe place because right now this house isn't safe." She closed her eyes, mentally cursing herself. And him. And her father. And him again. Then herself once more for good measure.
She took a steadying breath, trying to force the want to jump off a very high bridge to go away. It was unsuccessful. She opened her eyes, her cheeks incredibly hot. She cleared her throat, trying to summon any of the dignity she had left, smoothing the edge of her shirt before speaking to him, refusing to meet his eyes. "I…apologize. I thought…" Her hands messed with the edge of her shirt for a moment before straightening it again, finally meeting his face. "I didn't know you were with the police department. You said a lot that night about defunding them and rising against them, you can hardly blame me for doubting what you said up there."
She had to look away again, the embarrassment only adding fuel to the fire of her being irritated at him. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you clearly don't have high marks in the integrity department but whatever." She crossed her arms, fully intending on letting it go and getting the hell out of there, hopefully never to see him again. Her mind though had gone back to that night, his lips on hers. Playing her like a fool. She spoke up again, unable to help herself as she got another word in, "You know, just for the record, making up a vigilante hero persona just to get a girl to kiss you is pretty pathetic."
Aelin was only dimly aware of the guy's words, ushering her forward. She was far more concerned with making her feet follow through with the movement that was being asked of them. She stumbled, the only good thing about the guy gripping her was that falling down wasn't an option. His hands kept her upright, which she supposed was a tiny bright spot in the situation. The ringing in her ears was beginning to fade and the smell of booze and sweat from the dancefloor was becoming all too strong. She felt a wave of nausea roll over her as her head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. The black, fuzzy circles that had appeared were now gone however, replaced by the image of Casey moving away from them.
A small whimper left her lips, her feet stumbling over themselves once more as the guy began to pull her. Thankfully, Casey stopped, speaking up loudly as he did, turning around to face them again. Car keys were held aloft, his tone level. Aelin felt the guy stilling behind her, the both of them now facing Casey as he stepped towards them. She didn't say anything as he presented the offer. Before she had much time to guess on if he'd take him up on it or not, Casey tossed the keys in their direction.
Aelin was shoved forward, her equilibrium off balance immediately as the room tilted and she stumbled both forward and sideways. The guy had caught the keys, taking off at a run towards the door that they had just been trying to leave from.
The ground rose quickly but before her face met it, arms gripped her. She grabbed onto them, looking up to see Casey. Her words came out quickly, "Casey I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't think anyone would have seen you or me or- I don't know how he-." Her hands were gripping onto him, the adrenaline high beginning to tank, causing her to begin shaking. Tears were next, the shock of everything starting to become clearer. "I'm so sorry." Everything was suddenly too much. It was too loud, too packed, too unsafe, too far from anything she had wanted for the evening. The wave of nausea moved through her again and her eyes closed for a second, her shaking hand on her stomach. "I want to leave. Please." She forced herself to breathe, to try and get control of herself, but all she could think about was getting the hell away from this place and all of the eyes that were on her.
Aelin didn't reply to the comment he made about not being the type to have someone watching over him. He was most definitely a public school kid. Not that she had anything against that type of education. It was just all too common for people in her circles to have at least one layer of security. Especially with how the world was working lately. There were people losing their jobs, needing money desperately for the very basic of supplies and food. Wealthy people like her family were all too aware of the precarious nature that put their lives in.
She was relieved when Thomas spoke, knowing the train times. She had to admit that he was more than likely right, they would be here for a few more hours. Aelin had decided to make herself comfortable and she watched as he did the same, sitting in the spot near her, but not too close. It was a little silly, the more she thought about it. She had just been dancing shoulder to shoulder with a ton of strangers, it was a little odd to now give distance between her and him. She didn't want to make him any more nervous than he already looked though.
She had grinned and he had grinned back. He had a nice smile. She thought he looked much cuter with it than the nervous look he had been sporting earlier. Aelin gave a soft chuckle at his idea of dancing. "Well, at least you'll have a phenomenal story to tell when this is all over. That beats staying at home and drinking a beer alone right?" She ran a hand through her hair, gently finger-combing out the tangle that must have occurred from her being shoved to the ground.
She listened as he spoke, thinking over what he said about the party. It was true of course, and sure, when you wrote it out, it might sound ridiculous to go to a place like this during a pandemic but that didn't mean life should cease to be exciting. "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences." She retorted. Aelin had written a paper on Eleanor Roosevelt, the quote coming easily to her mind. "I don't think she had a secret dance club in mind when she said that but I think it still applies." And that, in essence, was a quote that she liked to live by. That and almost everything Oscar Wilde was quoted for as well.
Aelin leaned back, her palms on the ground as she listened to him say where he was from. She was right, he had been a public school kid. When he mentioned the cadets and being a soldier her chin tilted ever so slightly, curious. "What do you do instead?" She could write novel upon novel on fathers and their damning expectations.
Thomas then asked if she was a princess and she found herself laughing softly in the quiet space between them. She shook her head, "No. I am definitely not a princess. My dad is the mayor, which comes along with the wonderful prize of always having a bodyguard around." She rolled her eyes on the last part before continuing, "Tonight one of the new guys was in charge however, so I was able to slip out pretty easily." She shrugged before flipping her hair behind her, off her shoulders. "I was born here. Attended a private school in the next city over, and then studied at Harvard. I planned on traveling once I graduated but clearly the virus had other plans."
She had such big dreams, so many things she wanted to see and do. She had thought she would finally be free of this place. It seemed Lethford wasn't ready to let her go yet.
Aelin took off the small handbag that remained slung over one shoulder, which was a miracle in and of itself that it hadn't been lost in the scramble like her jacket currently was. Opening it up, she dug around until she found her pen, taking it a small 3x5 notepad out.
She made four lines on the paper to create a tic-tac-toe board and put it on the ground. She scooted it so that it was between then and spoke up, "Want to play? Before you agree though, if I win I get to ask you any question I want and if you win, same goes for you. No lying and no skipping the question." She was grinning as she held the pen aloft for him to take, if he decided to take her up on the game. Was it juvenile? Maybe, but it beat sitting in silence for the next four hours.
He was cute and that only served to make her more irritated at him. Guys who were attractive and clearly knew they were attractive thought that they could get away with anything. One smile or one sweet compliment and they thought they were off the hook for whatever bad behavior they did. His odd appearance here brought up the question of their meeting in her mind. Had it been chance? Had he been seeking her out to somehow gain entrance to her house for whatever plan he was now acting out? It made her want to slap him. Instead, as she entertained his horrible job of acting confused, she rolled her eyes before making her way back into the room.
As if her life wasn't complicated enough, now some guy was trying to play vigilante or Robin Hood or something. On top of conveniently not remembering making out with her. The damn audacity. He spoke into an earpiece like he was James Bond and she sighed in annoyance, moving back to her computer.
She became aware of him following her in and she stopped, turning back to him. Suddenly the situation felt less irritable and considerably more frightening. She didn’t know the guy, other than the fact that he was at an anti-government rally, which clearly didn't work in her favor. She wasn't near her phone so she did the only thing she could think to do and that was to call out to Casey, "Casey!" She didn’t elaborate. She never called for his presence so she assumed he'd realize the situation wasn't a joke. And if he wasn't on duty, surely someone would hear her call.
The guy began speaking calmly, calling her idiotic and the anger made another re-appearance. She crossed her arms and leveled a glare at him, ready for this stupid charade to be over with. She wasn't sure what kind of tactic he was trying to pull with her, but whatever it was, it surely wasn't working.
He spoke about her guards and her father being gone and as the seconds ticked by with no appearance of anyone at all, she felt her heart drop as she realized he wasn't bluffing. He had actually somehow taken the guards off the table. Now it was her turn to talk in a calm manner, "Look, I don't know what you think this is going to accomplish, but it's not going to be worth it." She edged closer to her bed, where her cell was. She wasn't kidding herself, she knew that she probably wouldn't have time to call the real police before he was able to grab it away, but she had to try something. She had taken two steps slowly back and as she angled her body away from him to grab the phone, she saw him move from her peripheral vision.
Aelin acted instinctively and grabbed the nearest thing to her, the laptop, and threw it in his direction as she abandoned the phone and instead made a run for the door. If she could get outside the room, moving fast enough, she could make it down the stairs and if she could do that, she could reach the wine cellar. If she could make it there, she could reach the iron clad safe room that held their antique guns and other hidden things that her father didn't trust out in the house.
The shouting and sounds of moving feet began dulling to a soft echo and Aelin found herself wondering how long they would have to stay in the room. It looked like their luck was holding, at least for the moment. The officers didn't seem to be too worried about checking every room, she didn't hear any other doors opening but she knew that could change at any minute. Once the people in the club were apprehended it would be a coin toss to see if they continued looking for more.
His voice pulled her thoughts back into the room and she shrugged in the dark. "It's the only positive side effect of having someone watching you 24/7. The exits stand out." She let her mind wander to the guard whose care she had slipped out from. She wondered if he had raised the alarm that she was missing yet. She doubted it. It would mean almost instant dismissal. She hoped he had kept the knowledge to himself, buying her a little more time to sneak back in, pending she made it out of this place without being in handcuffs.
He asked how long she thought they'd need to stay, echoing her thoughts and she listened to the noises outside for a moment before answering, "I'm not sure." She stood up and moved back to the door, straining to hear voices. The door was too solid to hear much though. "Hopefully they'll round up everyone and leave. Do you know when the station opens up for the day?" They were in a cleaning closet, so at least it wasn't the breakroom which could be filled with people when shifts were up. Still, they needed to get out of here before the work crews came in. That or leave after their arrival to blend in. Aelin pulled her cell out, it was on airplane mode so it couldn't be tracked, but she could work the flashlight feature. She scanned the room once, to make sure there wasn't any windows.
He mentioned his name was Thomas and she grinned in the dark when he complained about coming. "Nice to meet you. I'm Aelin." Sure it had been a stupid idea, but that was what life was about wasn't it? She walked over to where he was, choosing to sit down with a few feet of space between them. She put her phone in the middle so they'd have a little light. The door to the room was solid and she doubted the phone's little light could be seen from outside. "Why? Is dancing not your thing?" She watched him, a friendly smile still on her lips. She didn't regret tonight, at least not at the moment. Had she been handcuffed? Sure. But at least right now, she had no regrets on her choices.
Aelin leaned over so her dress wouldn't ride up and slipped her high heels off. The dress was going to be ruined, but she didn't care. She was still hoping for the chance to sneak back into the house so she wouldn't have to explain it off. She set the shoes to the side, thankful that they were now off and put her attention back to Thomas. "So, are you from here?" He looked to be about her age, if not maybe a few years older. She didn't think she had ever seen him before, though that wasn't a surprise. Unless he ran in the same small political circles she did there wasn't a high chance of her knowing him. Little exposure to the outside world was yet another reason why she couldn't wait to leave her metaphorical prison.
The guy was incredibly strong, at least in her mind. He hadn't looked that intimidating while they were dancing, but as he carried her out the door with ease she remembered something someone had said about looks being deceiving. Unfortunately the phrase hindsight was 20/20 was another that was ringing true. She tried resisting, twisting against his grip but it was all to no avail.
They were so close to the door, so close to exiting the cramped space. It wasn't the best place that she had been in but at least it was safer than the sheer unknown of what was on the other side of the doors. She struggled once more, one final rush to try and get free of the guy, but he had adjusted his grip and continued moving along. If she got out of this she promised herself she'd take a self-defense class.
The door was looming but before they got there a voice spoke out that halted her captor. Casey. She had never been so happy to hear him before in her life. She didn't move, she didn't make a sound. She had never seen him in action before, of course there hadn't been a reason before. Before the pandemic no one cared that she was the mayor's kid, outside of the circle of upper society snobs of course. She hadn't exactly been free to do what she had wanted, but there hadn't been any danger in sneaking out or disobeying rules. There hadn't been a risk to her life, at least nothing scarier than the threat of a scandal.
Still, she had heard the rumors. She didn't move an inch as the guy handling her turned sharply, pulling her around so they were facing him. Casey spoke about jail time and Aelin tried calming her breathing. She had spent two months at a yoga retreat in New Mexico, finding her center and all of that. None of that calming breathing mantra was working for her now though.
"No, I don’t think I will. Now I think you should turn the hell away and leave us alone."
The guy began backing out slowly pulling her along, her arms still pinned firmly behind her back. She moved back two steps with him before dropping her weight. As she and her captor fell forward she threw her head back, which in the movies looked a lot less painful than in reality.
Immediately she saw stars and was only vaguely aware that the guy was cursing loudly. What she was more intently aware of was that her little stunt wasn't enough to pull him off his feet, just enough apparently to make him mad. And possibly bleed profusely from his nose. She wasn't completely sure if that was where the blood was coming from, it was either that or maybe from the back of her head. Who could be sure? She wondered vaguely to herself.
"Enough!" he yelled, half a second before something hard was pushed against her side. "You. Go mind your own business and you…start walking."
Aelin's body hit the ground and she scrambled to get back on her feet. This wasn't her first time being somewhere that she wasn't supposed to be, disobeying orders and rules. She had seen how quickly things could turn and knew that if she didn't get back onto her feet, she was likely to get seriously hurt or killed in the stampede of people. She barely made it to her knees when someone knocked into her, causing a quick yelp to leave her lips. She found herself sprawling again as finally, mercifully, someone leaned down, parting the sea of people and asking if she was okay. Aelin nodded, "Yeah, thanks." She tried to reply over the sound of people shouting.
The guy shouted for her to come along and follow him and she nodded, grabbing for his hand. The sirens were growing louder and the two of them were pushed along with the crowd. The doors weren't large enough for the huge mass that was trying to exit at once and she wondered, if they were caught, how she could possibly get away with this.
There would be no hiding her actions if she was taken into the police station. There was no quick-thinking plan that she could have at her disposal. If she ended up in cuffs, she was done for. Especially once the tabloids got ahold of the story. That was all best-case scenario. Worst case was that they didn't get to leave the underground thrown-together club at all. She pushed that last thought away as he moved close to her, his voice standing out against the crowd. She nodded and followed his direction.
They were essentially fish swimming in the opposite direction of the stream, but she stayed close to him, trying to weave in between people instead of just barreling their way across. She was pushed roughly once, her hand almost getting pulled from his, but they both held firm. The guy seemed to have a direction in mind and as he was currently her best chance at making it out, she stuck to him as close as she could get.
When they made it to the small stage area she noticed the second exit. Still holding onto his hand, she found herself following along, out of the second door, up a darkened set of stairs and through a hallway. They almost made it to the exit, the red-lit sign glowing at the other end of the hall. As they were half-way there however, the sound of policemen yelling orders became louder. She realized they wouldn't make it.
Aelin stopped, tugging his hand so he'd follow her. She ran back in the direction they came, turning the knob on the first door that they had passed and stepping inside. The lights were off, but she could make out what looked like a supply closet, the smell of chemicals enveloping her. She waited for the guy to come in and she closed the door quietly, locking it from the inside.
Her chest was rising and falling rapidly from the running and the adrenaline. She moved to the nearest wall, closing her eyes as she listened to the police move through the hallway. They poured through two, maybe three seconds after the door had locked. She counted at least two different voices, but guessed that there was probably more. She waited until the sound of their footsteps passed before she spoke up in the dark, "Thank you...for getting me out of there."
Aelin had her headphones on. Her favorite ones, with the black on black trim and total noise-canceling capabilities. They locked out every single thing that she didn't want to hear and replaced it blissfully with her music and only her music. She had her laptop open and an image on her screen. Her head bobbed lightly to the beat of the sound, her fingers moving carefully.
She had uploaded some of the shots that she had taken two weeks ago. She had slipped her charge and gone to one of the protests in the city. She had been dressed all in black, hoodie included, to blend in and it had been every bit as exciting as she had hoped it would be. There was a thrum of energy in the air. People were chanting, police were stone-faced. It had made for some excellent shots.
She had been pleased with herself for braving the event and had just packed up her camera safely in her bag when a protester had launched something at the police line. All hell had broken loose. People began pushing back, everyone was shouting, bodies were falling and running. She had taken off at a run as well, going two blocks down before she pressed herself against the brick wall in an alley. She hadn't been the only one to do that.
A guy had done the same thing, ducking next to her a minute after she had gotten there. He was about her age and utterly handsome. They had spent the next hour talking quietly, laughing softly, and making out shamelessly until it was safe to go back out on the streets.
She messed with the image curve on the screen and pushed him out of her mind. Not that she had thought about him a lot since then. Only a little, and almost entirely because he had ghosted her out of nowhere. Ignoring her like she wasn't anyone worth talking to and as if they hadn't shared some exciting night together. Aelin's song moved to the next and she heard a loud banging on her door in between the silence. She took off the headphones and sat quietly for a moment, wondering if she had heard right.
"Everyone needs to evacuate the building."
A male voice called out and she moved off of her bed and towards her door. She opened it quickly and surprise lit her face as the guy from the protest stood in front of her. "What are you doing here?!" The question came out immediately as she crossed her arms. Her eyes glanced over his "uniform" but dismissed it. The boy who she had met was definitely not a police officer. "What's going on? Do you really expect anyone to believe you're actually with the police?" She looked around, wondering how he had even gotten inside. "Save whatever idiot thought you have and leave. I mean it, the guards won't be long and you're not going to get any pity from me." She turned sharply on her heel and moved back into the room, going back to her laptop.
