[M] Outbreak Genesis IC

[Rayne7]

October 1st, 2025
Approximately 0800
Denver PD 4th District

The infected roam the streets, filling the air with the stench of death and feces. Their bodies are covered in blood and sweat as they move manically in search of prey. Howling and screams can be heard sometimes far off in the distance, occasionally accompanied by gunfire. A faint fog accompanies a cold wind as the morning sun rises.

In the 4th district precinct, survivors are gathered around talking amongst each other while others stand aloof. Some of the remaining officers and military personnel have passed out a few MRE’s and jackets to keep people warm in the coming days. Cots have been distributed to the elderly and women with children while others make do with whatever else is available.

“We can’t stay here.” Grimm muttered to himself as he leaned over the map spread across the desk. Most of them had been there for the last two days, the rest dwindling in on their own. A cigarette rested between his lips as he considered the situation. The police station made a decent safehouse but it lacked resources necessary for long-term survival. They needed to find a secure place that had room to form a new community, growing food, and house other resources they would need.

Looking at the map there were a few places on the outskirts that might prove suitable but he wasn’t as familiar with Denver and the surrounding area as those who lived there. His team had been deployed to assist with containment efforts but their status was currently unknown after things took a violent turn. Hopefully he would be able to locate them.

Taking a long drag of his cigarette, Salem looked around at the survivors in the precinct. They were a ragtag bunch, if mostly reasonably armed. Some of them appeared to be likely residents who would know the area better than him, and hopefully would know of a place to go.

“Hey! We need to move to a better location. We don’t have the resources necessary to stay here long-term. Any ideas?” he asked, glancing at everyone.

[Fox Xalian]

Maisie was sitting near the group, giving her dog, TK, a treat. "Not sure, depends how far out we want to go from urban areas" she said. She moved over to the table, grabbing an old road atlas for the state before taking a look. "There's a few spots north of here, a small town named Grover, right here near the Pawnee National Grassland...and there seems to be some smaller...villages I guess? Farmsteads? Something like that inside the Grassland area" she explained.

Miles, who had just come back from the helipad where he had been doing some basic maintenance to his helicopter, looked at the map as well. "There's the Redtail Gas Plant as well, they upgraded it to produce fuel, which all our vehicles, but especially my helicopter will need" he said, pointing it out on the map. "So there's our suggestions, anyone else got any?" Maisie said, sliding the map into the center of the table for the others to look over.

[SikstaSlathalin]

A loud burp came from somewhere in the back of the room followed by the crushing of an aluminum can. "Y'all city folk always so quick to say the world's endin'. *urps*." The opening of another can followed the deeply Southern sound words. The holder too a long pull of the beer and meandered his way to the map table only spilling a little of it as he leaned over the map eyeballing it carefully.

The man adjusted his hat taking another drink. This was Zeke Edge, dressed in his white tank-top, jeans and boots, he looked equal parts out of place among the survivors and right at home. His colt pistol, tomahawk jangled lightly from his utility belt along with his knife, canteens, binos, and other battle rattle. Swaying lightly from the drink he pointed to the forests outside of the city and the flat lands around it. "I reckon these woods an' scrubs would be our best bet to wait out this little zombie spell. Naywheres in Denver or the surroundin' towns will be safe enough for...*hics* all the old heads an' den mothers. An' most farmlands are too flat an' big to be 'fensible, an' trust me fencin' farmland ain't sometin' ya can do with dea'ers nippin' at yer dangly bits." Standing up he took another long pull of his beer emptying it before smashing the can against his forehead and tossing it over his shoulder to lay in the graveyard of it's friends. "But we ain't gots the drivers nor the clunkers to move the...extra weight." He drunkenly motions around the precinct at all the old people, injured, and children. "So we...*hic* need movers...an'...shakers...*burps* 'afore we can even thinka reachin' a promised land o' hills, trees, and ways to blow dea'ers up an' use them for lawn ornaments. Buses...rigs...hell get me a tank...an' I...*hic*.... I can plow it through'em" He chuckled manically and winked at some of the women. "I'm good at plowin'."

With his bit said Zeke pulled out a pencil and drew a big circle with little zombies being blown up by the mountains before he staggered back to his little corner of gear and cracked open another beer cackling like the mad man he was the entire time.

[Dnafein]

“For a bunch of ground pounders you all seem very determined to avoid the obvious.” A voice suggested after the redneck finished offering his suggestion.”You’re looking for a place where you can bunker down, provide protection to the non-coms and has the potential for expansion, right?”

The speaker sat nearby, his eyes on a tablet in his hand, his boots propped on a crate. The man’s eyes flickered across the screen even as his fingers moved slightly. “I’ll even bet that any military hardware would be a bonus, yes?”

He motioned to the map on the table, “There’s a mountain about 80 miles south of Denver. It’s literally a massive military bunker. With an Air Force Base.nearby. Hell there’s even a Zoo nearby.”

Ash shifted and moved his feet to the ground, “That helicopter up top can get a team there in..” The Analyst titled his head doing the math. “Probably a half hour or so. Honestly probably 20 minutes or so, but a fly over of Peterson and the complex entrance would probably be best. Hell if the helo has a full crew on board, could probably land at Peterson for a refuel while a team moves to check the complex.”

Ash shrugged and shifted to put his feet back up. “That’d be the first place I’d look anyway.”

[Alura]

Becky sat with her back to the bars of one of the precinct's detention cells, passing a joint back and forth through them with another woman who looked like she had been fresh from a vice sting when things went south. She was trying to calm the other woman, who was worried for her son.

"If Big Mary had him, you know he's making out just fine if any of them are, Kitty. She loves that boy like he's her own."

Kitty sniffled and let the smoke waft over her soothingly. "She does."

The scuffle of feet announced the approach of someone and Becky elbowed the other woman gently as she tucked in her heels and slid her back up the bars. "Fine afternoon in Denver, isn't it, Sugar?"

The man looked at the pair suspiciously, regarded the woman in the oversized flight jacket and messy auburn hair for a moment before rolling his eyes and stepping around her. He proceeded to what she assumed were offices at the other end of the corridor. Becky looked back and waggled her brows at Kitty as she lifted her pack onto her back, which made the other woman hide a smile behind her hand and wave her off.

"Catch you on the flip, Kitty Cat!" She called cheerily, dancing backwards through the door the passer-by had used to enter. Becky Starr made her way through the bustling pen, snagging a few bottles of water and stuffing two into her pack before moving towards an older man propped by the entrance with a beer in one hand and a rifle cradled in his opposing arm. Surveying the people who milled about, she sidled up beside him and leaned against the wall with her pack at her feet.

Proffering the bottle of water to him, she nodded, "Anything exciting going here, Uncle?"

Reginald Byrne had had a very bad week. He and Jimmie had made quick time out of the city, or at least they had tried. It was a miracle he'd ultimately made it to the 14th precinct with his van intact, but he had. He had pulled up in a semi-circle of other vehicles, some more heavily armoured by far and fished out a carton of beers, locked the van, and joined the others inside. That was two days ago, though he still prefered to sleep in his own van.

When a young woman wrapped in an old, worn flight jacket sauntered up to him offering a bottle of water. He made a faintly negative sound in response to her question as he accepted it, setting it in a chair beside him and lifting a beer bottle towards her in exchange. The woman looked delighted and accepted it readily, cracking it open and banging it against his own before taking a drink. He watched silently, half his attention still on the crowd gathering nearby to discuss strategy.

Despite her half-closed eyes as she took a swig from the high-necked bottle she held, he noticed that she paid attention to the maps being used. Nodding her with him towards the group, he heard her footsteps trailing behind him. Making a slow stroll around the group, she attempted to surreptitiously glance at whatever the man holding the tablet was viewing.

"Grasslands sound better to me. State university has field offices and extensions with farming supplies scattered all around. If anyone is up for a little sight-seeing, I've got a bird perched on top of a highrise not far from here." Becky said. "Refueled just before... Well, all of this." She gestured with the brown bottle to the city surrounding them, "Could maybe take three or four other people. Military presence doesn't seem to be going so well for the city. Are we sure more of it is the answer?"

"Base sounds good to me. Security, then worry about long term resources." Reginald disagreed quietly. "Any case, you're all right. Can't stay here."

Becky tipped her beer to her lips again, eyes flickering around the group before she returned her attention to the maps.

[bluemoon]

It was funny how the sounds Andi had barely noticed before the disaster were the ones she missed the most...the rev of cars passing outside her apartment window...the drone of her students whispering before she started lessons...the ticking of the clock on the wall...the buzz of the fluorescent lights overhead. All these were missing as she stared in silence at the MRE in her lap, the contents already starting to coagulate as it cooled. She pushed the beef stew around the plate with her plastic spoon, her appetite quelled by the smell of blood which permeated her person. No amount of washing had removed the odor, and she was beginning to think it was a phantom scent, spurred on by the memory of the past few days fighting the infected. She had lost count of the number she had put down, her ammunition gone by the end of the first day. It had been the discovery of the tire iron which had allowed her to keep fighting, the levering end filed to a point by some unknown survivor. Even now the tool was close at hand, it's duct-taped handle pressed against her thigh.

The room in which she sat was filled with strangers. She had met some of them yesterday, but her memory of their names had been fleeting. It was not like her to forget...she had taught herself to link a word with each person, making their name easy to pull up...but not today. They were unknown, as she was to them, although the current conversation listed her as little more than a den mother or extra weight, compliments of a drunken cowboy. She actually preferred the next descriptor, non-com, as was spoken by a man who seemed overdressed for the situation. He had mentioned a bunker in the mountains, the same as she would have, had she decided to speak up. But it was more his working tablet that set him apart, either he had incidentally been in a secure area when the EMP hit...or he knew it was coming and had taken precautions...a peculiar situation either way.

A sigh left her lips as she tucked away a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her hand coming to rest under her chin after the sweep. All this talk...the business of finding safety...could be determined without her. It was for those in authority to worry over...the soldiers and emergency personnel. She was more concerned about the strength of the glass doors in front of her and the ability of the barriers that had been set to keep the infected at bay. How long did they have before the station was overrun? The last thing she wanted was to find herself on the streets again. It would be the death of her this time, her luck already pushed to the limit.

Staring outside, she chewed her inner cheek before she once again turned her attention to her meal, the bland cracker set off to the side the only thing she thought she could stomach. She broke off a corner and placed it inside her mouth, her hand reaching for the luke-warm coffee she had placed between her knees earlier. It was instant, and barely consumable, but she sipped at it regardless, the alternative...no coffee...a less desirable option. The beer that so many had access to would only serve as a temporary sedation, but she decided to join them in their solidarity by taking out her flask and pouring a shot of whiskey into her cup. She raised it to her lips and drank, the burn of the alcohol soothing her nerves as she continued to listen in on the discussion.

[Biscuit]

Biscuit walks towards the current base holding a little girl about the age of five hugging a teddy with stitches covering it with his right arm and a duffel bag on the left. They appear to be chatting. It looked like they were in a world of there own and nothing could hurt them.
Yet when they reach the base the little girl seemed more scared. Not because of the redneck either sulking in pain or living his best life with beer, not because of the old Sturn man with a suspicious woman next to him, not at all the people. It was something else.
"Hey, remember the enchantment I cast on your Carol?" Biscuit said toward the little girl.
The girl nodded hugging the teddy bear tightly still looking towards the base.
"Will mama be der?" She asks turning her head towards Biscuit.
"Maybe, but even if she isn't there you have to think positive. That enchantment I gave to Carol will make you brave no matter what as long as you stay strong and believe." Biscuit told her cheerfully.
"Okay... promise?" She said as they were let in by the military personnel.
"Promise." He said as he put her down. A couple of parents and grandparents looks up toward the girl with hope soon turned into sorrow till a one grandma shuffled there feet toward the little girl.
"Jaine dearest is that you?" Said the hunched grandma.
Jaine snapped towards the grandma and jetted to her giving her a hug tightly soon sobbing a river.
"Jaine thank the lord that he didn't take you yet!" She said to her repeatedly saying thank you.
Biscuit drops off the duffel bag and walks towards everyone.
"Hey guys, what's going on? Need any help?" He says through his mask looking around the room then to the map resting his hand on the bloody hand cannon in it's holster.

[Rayne7]

Salem's expression was impassive as he considered the responses he'd received. The drunk redneck's was typical and he disregarded it as whimsical. However the other man's point about the base was more logical and reasonable. It wasn't that he hadn't considered it himself but he felt...hesitant. Despite his background there was a nagging feeling he couldn't place. Regardless it was as good an answer as any.

"Sounds reasonable." He said, taking a drag from his cigarette.

At that moment another man approached asking if they needed help. Salem glanced him over, noting some odd gear. With a sigh he leaned back against the wall.

"Just planning." He responded as he looked over the map.

[ColtenBarg]

It had been a long few days. Getting the lift from his contractor to the outskirts of Denver was the start of it all. Since he landed, it was nothing but death and chaos. Nothing new to him. Finding other survivors and gaining their trust was essential, so Neeko moved as quietly as he could through the streets until he stumbled upon the PD in the 4th district. When he arrived, he saw a group of people gathered around a map on a table and figured it was a good place to get his plan started.

Neeko stood in the back of the room, observing the group's ideas and trying to get a sense of who in the room had any brains. Clearly, there were multiple people in the room who had military experience, which was certainly a positive thing to note. Maybe they had a chance of survival after all. The main negatives he noticed was the clear alcoholic in the room, and also the fact that no one had suggested recon. Everyone just wanted to do this or do that, not knowing a bit of what they were potentially getting themselves into.

He pulled out a fresh can of snuff, packed it, and put a solid pinch in the pocket of his bottom lip. "Y'all are rushing too much. We have no idea what we are dealing with here. We need to secure this area before we even dream of venturing out in helicopters. First, we scout the area. Then we look into going to the base." He paused to swallow. " What good are our pilots if they don't stay alive long enough to fly?"

This was all part of his plan. Neeko would do whatever he needed to in order to figure out the cause of this outbreak. His job depended on it. However, he knew he had no chance of getting into that base on his own, so helping keep these people alive would only help him achieve his goal.

[Biscuit]

"What he says is true. If ya'll are going to do something big like getting into a what I'm guessing is a military base. Your gonna have to know your way around it and how you're gonna transfer food there and how were going to include some protection. That bag of school food I brought in won't last forever and from the looks of the guard's we don't have that much ammo left. I suggest we prepare ourselves as well as do some research on that base. Unfortunately I don't have my shade tech. It's all fried to hell and back so I can't pull up any information for it. If there is a weapon store somewhere that's a good place to start after we get a fresh supply of food in the meantime for the civilians but both at the same time would be paramount. Though what I'm saying is that we need volunteers to split up into teams to scout those places. Mainly the base too. We also can scout out to the places with the helicopter we have on hand. Though the fuel is not entirely sure if it's not been taken out of the military base. So we need to have some recon on the fuel for thus helicopter. We need to gain allot of resources before we begin a big move also heads will need to be counted and order will be harder to maintain if moral gets low inso..." he takes a breath. "I'm just worried about the safety of the people. If we put too much time and resources about the base -including how much days were going to have to take to move a convoy of people- we won't be able to protect the current one with it's people. I might be missing some points that could be held to change my mind though if there is tell me. And also to mention that hopefully we won't be noticed by the Zom's roaming in the streets." He said as he crossed his arms.