Fandom Life in a Quarantine Zone { The Last of Us 1x1 with icedthemoon }

[EquineGurl23]

Life in a Quarantine Zone

FEDRA ( Federal Disaster Response Agency ) runs the Denver Quarantine Zone. FEDRA seized control of the U.S. government and armed forces in order to set up the quarantine zones (QZs) and they imposed martial law. In these QZs, soldiers prevented citizens from leaving the city, subjected them to labor in the zones and when supplies were low, restricted basic food rations. They often executed and expelled those that went against them. This included the organization called the Fireflies who were considered terrorists. What happens when a high ranking FEDRA officer realizes that this isn't want he wants? And when an artist tags along with him when he leaves, will they work together and survive?

A 1x1 The Last of Us Rp with icedthemoon​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Spoiler: Kaleb Price

Kaleb had been born and raised in the Denver Quarantine Zone. He was the son of a FEDRA official and he was raised to believe in how the agency worked. It was all he knew as he grew up. Kaleb didn't have much of a childhood, none of the other kids wanted to be his friend because of his family. This set Kaleb up to be a loner as he grew up. As soon as he reached fifteen, he was sent to the training school for FEDRA officers. The teenager did well, did his best every day and proved to be a strong leader. He took charge as soon as he was given the chance to lead a group of his peers. This group would be his once they graduated from the school.

Kaleb rose through the ranks and once he was sent out to work and guard the zone, he was nineteen. Kaleb would spend the next six years with his group, protecting the zone and enforcing the laws. He'd taken note roughly two years later of a black haired man who seemed to be watching him. Kaleb knew that romance and love with civilians was frowned upon, and so he had to ignore him. This was hard for him as he was getting frustrated the more he witnessed what FEDRA actually did in the zone. It wasn't at all what he'd thought, but how could he change it? He couldn't leave, couldn't do much but he did work with his group to make sure they treated people like people. Today, Kaleb was guarding the far wall of the Quarantine Zone, on his own like he so often was.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Spoiler: Carlos

portrayed by robbie daymond

Life in the QZ was probably rough. Honestly, Carlos couldn’t tell you if it was since he hadn’t ever been anywhere else or at least he didn’t remember any other life. That was one of those things he wasn’t super clear on really. Not having any parents around to tell him, he wasn’t really sure who he was or where he came from. That was fine. He had a name, and that was worth something. He also had people who were just as lost as him. Lost people like Jade, Basira, and Salim. Kids who got lost in translation somewhere. Also he had enough people who could tell him what to and not to do. Of course, he didn’t always listen. So maybe he was trouble. That’s what all those tall officers liked to call him when he was a young boy. Trouble. It wasn’t his fault that they were boring and stuck up. Didn’t they understand fun at all? Nope. Okay Officers No Fun and Boring. When he was a teen, a new one mind you, Officer Boring told him to stay where he was supposed to be. When he was a little bit older, Officer No Fun told him that he was not allowed to coerce other people into getting him things that were strictly banned. They weren’t horrible things but whatever. When he was older but still only a teen, No Fun told him that his last command before being promoted and getting out of dodge, whatever that meant, was for him to stop sneaking around past curfew. Yeah, well, that wasn’t going to happen, especially since No Fun was out of here.

And then there was Blue Eyes. He was new to the guard or at least new to the area or even maybe new to whatever Carlos was going to notice. He was fascinating to look at with those striking blue eyes. They reminded him of paint saturated across a canvas he shouldn’t have. A guy’s got to have some way to work out all that creative frustration. And since no one would ever let him have paint, he took to drawing him instead. It wasn’t creepy or anything like Jade told him. And also Basira. But not Salim. Salim got it. If they’re going to be pains in our collective butts, then they should be forced to also be our muses. Sure. That’s what it was. Or at least that was what he decided it was. That made it easier.

Blue Eyes made him nervous. His whole body got all funky and spazzy any time the guy was near. It’s because he’s an officer, he told himself. Officers are meant to make you feel nervous. But the rest didn’t. None of them. Just this one. But why, Carlos? Why must you, now 23 and therefore definitely old enough to know about your own self, be all weird and confused? And why can’t you just ask him about the rations? Because if anyone is going to not bite your head off, it’s this guy. This guy who doesn’t feel as… volatile? No Fun would have been so angry. Boring would have sent him away, so that’s not so bad. What the worst he could do? Salim needed more food if he was going to recover.

Okay, he could do this. Carlos, hands in his pocket and jaw firmly set, walked over to this officer, this guy who was totally not going to handle this well, and sheepishly smiled. “Uh, hey, um Officer…” probably shouldn’t call him Blue Eyes to his face. Probably. Let’s go with Officer. Yeah, that works. “Can I ask you a super quick question? Because you see it’s…” he looked down at the floor as his breath decided it was too cool to hang out in his body anymore. “It’s just that I, um…” Lie. Then it’s his own fault and not someone else’s. “I lost my, um, rations? And I need more?” He looked back up and smiled as wide as he could.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb had been walking along the outer border. He'd been warned of a handful of trouble makers that the prior Officer Jones had warned him about. He had shrugged it off. Most of the trouble makers were ones that had a rough start in life. Kaleb had noticed four of them, all hanging around every so often. He really hadn't noticed anything special about them, well except for one with dark brown hair. He seemed to be the most interesting of the four. Kaleb couldn't do anything to interact with him, not being the leader of his group and being the son of the FEDRA official.

Kaleb had paused for a moment to look around when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. Immediately his hand went to his holstered pistol as he turned before he removed his hand. It was the dark brown haired man that he'd been noticing. He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at him. Kaleb tilted his head to the side and took a look around. "You know we aren't supposed to give out extra rations no matter what right?" He said, looking at him. Kaleb looked around again, not seeing anyone else around, and the camera systems have long since gone offline. Kaleb reached into his pocket and handed the man two ration cards. "Don't lose these and stay out of trouble, now go on." Kaleb told him. He could get in trouble for handing out his own ration cards, but something in him didn't want this man to starve. Officers had more ration cards than even the best citizen. A way to keep a line between the officers and the citizens.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

This was one of those moments that he was prepared for the worst. He was ready for the lecture, the slap on the wrist, and the downright crappy life that was going to be who he was for the rest of time. He could only imagine how it would have been with No Fun. Basira and Jade would have to drag his sad little butt back to their room. You know, because when you are nothing and have nothing to prove you’re worth anything, you don’t get to have your own room. You get shoved into one with your troublemaking buddies. Was that a curse or a blessing?

But then that didn’t happen. He didn’t get the lecture or the slap or really anything but exactly what he needed. He stared down in shock at the two ration cards in his hands. No way. No freaking way. He yanked his eyes from the cards to those blue ones. Beautiful blue eyes. No. Way. Was he serious right now? Carlos looked around, and no one else was in the immediate vicinity. Did this guy take advantage of the lack of other officers to do something good and nice for one of them? Not just one of them. One of the main instigators of trouble. Again, that was definitely not his fault. That was mostly Jade. And also Basira. They were horrible together. With such strong arms. Mmm. How Salim skipped out on the strong arm gene was shocking. How can you be a twin if your twin took it all?

“Uh, thanks.” He smiled, his chest constricting with his poor attempt at breath. “Thanks a lot Officer…” Still can’t call him Blue Eyes. Maybe learn his name? Or maybe leave while you aren’t being reprimanded? “I really- um, really appreciate this.” He shoved the cards into his pocket and backed away, marveling at this man who should have been like everyone else. Should have been awful. No fun and boring. But not Blue Eyes. He swiveled around, a new pep in his step as he began to walk away. Kind? Was he kind? And handsome. Oh boy was he handsome. He had to tell the rest of the crew about this. He looked back over his shoulder, bottom lip between teeth as he moved away. Okay Salim, your food is on Officer Blue Eyes tonight.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb could see the shock in the man's face when he looked at the two ration cards that Kaleb had handed him. It was a funny look to Kaleb, he wasn't sure entirely why he'd done that but he did. His gaze traveled over the man and smiled. He hadn't smiled in years, it was a weird feeling to the man and he quickly dropped it. "You're welcome. It's Price. Officer Price by the way." Kaleb told him, watching the man backing away. Kaleb watched as the man swiveled around and seemed to have a pep in his step.

It chilled his blood at how shocked the man had been. Kaleb had started realizing just how badly people were treated here. Treated by FEDRA in general. Kaleb finished his patrol and headed into his groups barracks. He gathered the five men around him and looked at each of them. "I want you all to treat these people as people. If any other officers or groups have any issues with it, direct them to me. I'll talk to them. We're here for the people, and yet we treat them like dirt. Is that understood?" He asked them.

"Sir, yes sir!" The chorus of voices responded and he nodded. "Thank you, that's all" He was going to do what he had to in order to change this zone. And if he couldn't, then he might just leave it. Kaleb laid down in his bed that night, dreams filled with the dark brown haired man and his shock at how nice Kaleb had been by giving him two ration cards.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

The first thing he did was turn in the ration cards for food. As he stood in line, all he could see were those blue eyes. And that smile. It was so slight, and it hadn’t lasted long, but it was enthralling. Between that little smile and those eyes, he wasn’t going to make it. They were in his every thought. They were on every face of every guard he saw after that, and he was disappointed when they weren’t him. When he was back in that tiny little room, handing Salim the rations as he lay on the tiny cot looking like death, Carlos was staring out the window instead of listening to the conversation. He wasn’t listening to whatever annoyed them today. What was new? Nothing. Nothing except Officer Blue Eyes.

Price. Officer Price.

“What’s got you so distracted?” Jade stood beside him. She could have been there forever.
He stared out the window instead of answering.
She also stared, her arms crossed. “What are you looking for?”
Who. Who am I looking for?
“No one.” He retreated and moved to the tiny little table where all his notebooks and pencils were scattered. He moved over the latest drawing that was not quite complete. It wasn’t even right. He erased the nose.
“What are you doing?” She asked as she sat down beside him.
He stared at the drawing, imagining those blue eyes on this paper. “Fixing it obviously. It’s not right. Hand me those colored pencils, will you?” She sighed but did as he asked. He fished through it and pulled out several colors. Several shades. Blue eyes.
“He’s an officer, Carlos. Like a big time kind of guy.” She waited a while before sighing again and leaving to join the twins.

He went to sleep long after Jade gave up talking to him. Long after Basira finished berating him for being obsessed with one of them. Long after Salim thanked him profusely for working his magic to get him more rations. It really helped. He was feeling so much better. Long after the sun died away, and they were all asleep. He stared at the night sky for so long before eventually falling asleep right there at that table. When he awoke the next day, he was distracted. He was lost. Even more lost than he used to be. He was up and out of the room looking for work before the rest were awake.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb woke up the next day and checked his assignment. He had been assigned guard the workers around the zone, but this time he was with another officer. Kaleb had been assigned to be with another high ranking officer. His biggest rival in training. Officer Dumont. He hated the man beside him and rolled his eyes as he joined him. He had cold steel grey eyes and a permanent scowl on his face. A vast difference from Kaleb with his softer face and kind blue eyes.

Kaleb was wondering if he'd see the man from last night again. He and Dumont walked around the various working groups. Their job was to make sure that the people did the job, punish those that didn't or were found trying to smuggle whatever they were doing back to their homes after. Kaleb wasn't really focusing on his job, he was paying more attention to if he could see the dark brown haired man instead.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

The amount that Carlos wanted to do this little nothing jobs was zero. The only reason he did them was because that was how you survived. If he wanted rations, he needed to work. If they were going to get Salim back up to full health so that he could be a useful member of society, or at least useful member of the room, then Carlos had to work to get him there. The work was terrible. What he wanted to do was draw and paint, but what he actually got to do was tears down old buildings and structures that could kill anyone who entered. It was because of his strength. He was one of those strong build types. Though he was proud of his strength, he also found it highly annoying. They were always sending him to do these kinds of jobs. It did mean that sometimes they gave him a little extra for risking his life or whatever, but it also meant that he was well, risking his life. Wasn’t much of a life now was it?

Of course, sometimes, when they were sent to do these kinds of things, they were left alone, because the officers and guards were too good to get themselves dirty and potentially damaged. They stood outside watching and didn’t come inside. That was when he got away with some less than work-specific things. The best part about these strong people duties was being surrounded by all the strong people. He loved strong people. They made life worth living. So, if he couldn’t create art where he wanted, he could create a different kind of art. He could watch the color splotch across people’s faces when he said something that embarrassed or aroused them. He could watch them squirm when he accidentally bumped into them. There were lots of little things he could do. Plus, who didn’t absolutely love to kiss a beautiful body? Now that was much more of a life.

Except for the part where he was not even sure if he was in the mood.

Today, that was yet again his job. Jog all the way down to the condemned street and start tearing down the old theater that was falling apart. He sighed. Was anyone interesting on this job? Anyone at all? Toned Legs was already ripping down something. That was nice. He was a fun personality to be around. Ugh, no, it was Officer Scowl. That was going to make his life so much worse today. He hated when Scowl was around. He was even worse than No Fun. If only Blue Eyes was there. That might make the day a little bit better.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb had been lagging behind Dumont on the way down the old condemned street. His mind had been occupied by dark brown hair, so soft. Hair he wanted to run his fingers through. Kaleb jogged to catch up to Dumont who had made it to the theater that the citizens were working on tearing down. it was important to do that, because if not the building could collapse and potentially trap or kill people who'd checked it out, even if they weren't supposed to. Kaleb looked around to see just who was on this site, and his heart stopped. He remained with a partial face, but he saw the same man from yesterday.

Kaleb didn't know his name, but decided that because he seemed to be strong, he'd call him Strong Arms. Yeah, it wasn't original but it worked. And if it works, then who cares? He had to watch everything but his blue eyes always ended up looking at Strong Arms again. He glanced over at Dumont who'd been reprimanding a worker for not putting enough effort into the tear down. Kaleb rolled his eyes at the display, his arms crossed over his chest in clear annoyance. If he wanted to keep his group and this position, he couldn't say anything outright, especially not to Dumont who always looks for a reason to get Kaleb in trouble.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Push, pull, rip, tear, throw, kick. Whatever took it down, that was what he had to do. They had an assortment of old and used tools. Those tools were crap, and his hands did better. Sometimes, he wondered if using a crowbar could get better leverage, but those tools were so bent out of shape and scuffed that there was no way they could do better than his own arms. He liked his arms. He liked the way they looked. He liked the way others looked at them. They were his favorite feature of himself. It was also his favorite feature of just about everyone else, which was why he so often noticed arms before anything else. That guy had mediocre arms. He was strong but not that strong. That woman over there rivaled Jade in her arm strength, and that was frankly impressive. That guy had-

Oh.
Hello, Blue Eyes. When did you get here?

He trudged behind Scowl looking like his life was hell, and Carlos couldn’t blame him. It certainly looked like the worst possible thing to have to do. Be the shadow of some rude guy who picked on everyone because he could? Yeah, he sucked. So what was up with Blue Eyes? Price. Officer Price. He should use that name. Ugh, no, he hated officers. That name sat wrong in his mouth. He was going to use his own instead. What was his deal? He didn’t approve of Scowl’s demeanor. That was plain to see, or at least plain for him. What was he doing? Crap, he was staring. Um. Hair. He was pulling back his hair. That was definitely what he had been doing the whole time. Nope, he was not staring at the penetratingly beautiful eyes of an officer of the people who loved to make him and all his friends suffer. He was not considering the way he stood there looking both authoritarian, which Carlos had to admit was more than a little hot, but also weirdly soft? Also hot. No no no, that was not what he was thinking. Nope. You know what this was? He had been spending so much time being a good boy and following orders and doing his job to get as much as possible for Salim that he was feeling stifled. He hadn’t been able to work on any of his art back at home, and he had zero socialization really. That’s what this was. He was projecting.

And he also had been standing there doing nothing for too long.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb had been looking over at the workers, when he looked at Strong Arms who'd been staring at him. Kaleb felt his lips twitch up in an cocky grin. Kaleb turned his head to look to see just what Dumont was up to this time. He saw the officer finish what he'd been doing before turning back to Kaleb. He tipped his chin over towards Strong Arms. Apparently the man had been standing there staring at Kaleb for too long. Kaleb sighed heavily, walking over to the man. He placed his hand on Strong Arms' arm and turned himself so his back was to Dumont. "I'm going to yell, but it's not real. Once I let go, return to work like I'd been successful in reprimanding you." Kaleb had spoken softly so only he and the other man could hear him. Then he raised his voice.

"What are you doing? Standing there doing nothing?! Looking at an officer and not working?! I should pull you off the job and you get no ration cards tonight. If I catch you doing this again, I will pull you off and send you away with no ration cards." Kaleb finished his rant, and let go of Carlos' arm with a small (gentle) push. Kaleb turned and walked away, looking at Dumont who'd had a smug scowl on his face. Kaleb rolled his eyes and looked away, returning to his post watching the workers.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

How was he supposed to feel when suddenly the object of his current obsession was walking straight up to him? Was it terrified, because he was terrified. Even as he sighed, Carlos could see the kindness in those piercing blue eyes. A kind and stern look. How could he be both? He moved with the kind of authority that conveyed that he meant business but also spoke to just how much that authority was not like the abused ones of Scowl over there. He looked down at the hand on his arm, and his entire insides clenched in a way it very rarely did. As he spoke, Carlos could not help but be confused. What was happening right now? This wasn’t real? He raised his eyebrows and cringed away at the sudden loud reprimanding. He stumbled back, accidentally helping this performance out since he lost his balance due to the extreme weak knees. And then Blue Eyes was gone. He walked away like this was exactly what he was supposed to do and not at all like he just saved him from.. well, exactly what he threatened. He peered over at Scowl before looking back at Blue Eyes with his own wide eyes. Maybe, if Blue Eyes was lucky, he would look like the kind of stunned that came from fear and not like the kind of stunned that came from this. Oh god could anyone be more attractive than this?

Carlos willed himself to turn and walk away like he was told, but his mind was reeling. He wanted to look back over his shoulder to find him again, but that would be a horrible idea. So he wasn’t going to make sure he got no ration cards? He didn’t care about the staring? Because he totally wasn’t staring, he was just fixing his hair… Yeah, he was staring, but how could you not when Blue Eyes was so, um, so… Well, just so? Work. He was going back to work. He was ripping walls down and saving lives or something. But as he did so, all he could see was this officer. An officer, Carlos. He’s an officer. You play with all sorts of people, but you don’t play with officers. The rest of work was long, because he spent so much time either thinking about him or finding reasons to go look for him. By the end of the day, he was spent.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb had felt bad that he'd had to reprimand the man at all. In fact he'd been flattered that the man had been staring at him. Unfortunately though, Kaleb had been with Dumont and he wasn't allowed to just let the man stare. Kaleb had never felt these feelings inside, but he was an officer, and Strong Arms was a civilian. There was a clear line between the two of them. A line that Kaleb couldn't and wouldn't cross because not only would that earn him a punishment of his own, but he doubted the man actually liked him.

Kaleb spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about how those arms felt in his hand, how close he was to the man. It made things even worse. The feelings even worse. Kaleb was finally able to leave Dumont as they split up to give the workers their ration cards. He took one line of workers and Dumont took the other. Kaleb had made sure that he took the line he saw Strong Arms in. He did that on purpose, and probably for selfish reasons. Oh well. He might not understand these feelings but he wasn't going to let weird alien feelings stop him from seeing the man again.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

The plan was to get in one of these lines, grab the ration cards, and go home. He was exhausted, he was sore, and he did not feel like fighting with the food problem. He was going to get back into that tiny little room, throw both of those cards at Salim’s dead little body, and then he was going to draw. Probably. And maybe he would go knock on Sweatshirt’s door if he really couldn’t focus. That wouldn’t at all help him with anything, but why have a neighbor if you can’t use them, right?

His plan was absolutely ruined the second he noticed that Blue Eyes was the guy in charge of this line. How was he suddenly everywhere? Not that Carlos was complaining of course. He really liked looking at this guy. It was because he was so earth-shatteringly gorgeous that it made him want to die. And he had these beautiful blonde locks of hair that Carlos wanted to touch so bad that it actually hurt. The further he got in this line, the more his stomach fluttered. He considered getting out of line and joining the other one, but that would one be suspicious and two he would hate that immensely. How could he deprive himself of such a beautiful visage. So when it was his turn, he was just a bundle of nerves. “Um, hey.” Yep, this was going well for him. It was like he had never done this before. Instantly forgot everything he was supposed to do and say.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

He watched as the line moved up, one by one. Each worker get two cards and that was it. Two ration cards for probably one of the more dangerous jobs in the entire zone. If it were just Kaleb in charge, he'd slip all of them an extra card or two. He kept an eye on Dumont before turning his attention to the line. He was working through the line faster than normal, but it was worth it when he saw Strong Arms. He had managed to put four ration cards and make it look like two. "Hey. Good job out there today after our 'talk'." Kaleb said, handing him the cards. He gave a small shake of his head to tell him not to question anything and accept it.

He glanced over at Dumont and noticed the other officer wasn't look. Kaleb was thankful because he was technically breaking the rules even more, but he didn't care. They wanted to treat people the way they do, then Kaleb would do little things to get back at them. He didn't think he could leave the zone, and so he'd do what he could to help where he could.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Now that he was at the front of the line, standing right in front of his officer of the horrendous law, he was pretty sure that his memory was wildly mistaken. He was remembering some attractive guy who had kind eyes and gave him ration cards from his own pocket and fake reprimanded him. Attractive. Yeah, no, he was pretty sure actually that he was staring at the hands down most gorgeous face he had ever seen in his whole life. Breathe, Carlos, breathe. He had been attracted to people before. Many times before actually. He really could be attracted to just about anyone he felt sometimes. He went through phases of liking certain things more. This was why he was known as trouble. He was all kinds of trouble. Insatiably flirt was one of those troubles. Sometimes he saw someone who was attractive, and he just couldn’t help it. Most of the time, that person was another civilian, so acting on it was fine. Now it was an officer. An honest to goodness FEDRA officer. What was wrong with him? Had he lost his mind? Oh yes. He lost his mind.

And now he’s been standing there just staring at him forever again. Good job after out talk? What was happening? Was he really talking to him? “Thanks.” Was Carlos answering? FEDRA officer, Carlos. He could hear the words of Basira in her thick accent ringing in his ears. Why would you want a FEDRA officer? He didn’t! He didn’t. He just… liked the way he looked. Which was so unbelievably handsome. No, stop it. What is wrong with you. Okay, take the rations and go. He picked them up and stared down at them for a moment. Four? Did he just- The subtle shake of the head stopped his potential gawking. “Th-thanks,” he repeated. He blinked twice then smiled. “Thank you very much, Officer… Price.” See, he could remember things. He moved out of the line, looked at him some more, cocked his head a little, then turned around and left.

Oh boy.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb noticed that Strong Arms was staring at him again. It made his heart rate increase more as he nodded. The way that he saw the man repeat the thanks, with a small stutter made Kaleb smirk a little. He schooled his face a moment later although when he heard his name from the man, he felt his lips tug up into a smile before it returned to its normal neutral state. Kaleb watched as Strong Arms left the line, looked at him and cocked his head a little in the cutest way, before leaving. Oh boy. Kaleb had to watch himself. He finished the line at a more normal speed before walking off.

"Officer Price!" Kaleb froze, turning back to look at Dumont. "Yes?" He asked, arms over his chest. He wasn't sure what Dumont would want but he bet it wouldn't be good. "I want you to keep an eye on that one, the one staring at you. I've heard he's one of the biggest trouble makers in the zone" The man said and Kaleb nodded. "Of course. I've been watching him." Kaleb said with a small snort. He hated talking to Dumont almost as much as working with him. The other officer rolled his eyes before he dismissed Kaleb. Kaleb headed to his bunkhouse not hungry and his mind swimming with the face of Strong Arms. He ended up falling asleep dreaming about the man.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

“You are not drawing him again.” Basira this time. She was concerned. She was thinking this was more than his usual obsessions. “He’s an officer, Carlos! Why can’t you go make out with one of the guys down the hall? Aren’t they pretty enough for you?”

Carlos sighed so loudly that the whole building was going to be able to hear him. She could never understand him or his thoughts. Why he even tried, he had no idea. Wait, yes he did. He tried because she was so stinking cute and also the closest thing he had to a family. “That’s not what this is about. I mean, yes, the guys down the hall are top notch beauty as is the girl next door and also you and them, but that’s not it. If I just wanted to make out with someone, I could do that right now.” To prove his point, he grabbed her shirt, yanked her down, and kissed her like he had many, many times before. When he couldn’t breathe, he let her go and groaned.

“Oh my god, you were not thinking about him just now were you?” She stared at him just long enough to get his answer and then storm away.
“Four, Bass! He gave me four ration cards!’ He lifted them up high before staring at them. Then he tossed them into the middle of the room where Salim crawled his less dead self over to pick them up. “Who does that? What officer does that?”
“Yours.”

Carlos looked back at Salim, blinking. His? That was crazy talk. Absolutely crazy. “Um…”

“So what are you gonna do about it?” Because Salim was actually supportive unlike Jade and Basira it seemed. And that was the question. What was he going to do about it? Right now, the answer was keep drawing the same face over and over again. That wasn’t going to do anything for him. No, he needed to do something else. Did Salim really mean that he should do something for real about this? When he looked over at that face, he knew immediately that the answer was yes. Do something about it. Even if he is an officer. A weirdly kind and horribly attractive officer who should treat you like trash but doesn’t. He ripped out the page and tossed it to the side. He stared at the blank page for a moment before beginning another one.

“I’m gonna need paint.”

He worked all night. He didn’t sleep. Well, occasionally he dozed, but otherwise he didn’t sleep. He had a masterpiece to create. When morning came, he was already up and ready. It wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready. It had to be perfect. But until then, he was another boring day of a boring job to get ration cards to keep them all alive.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

The sun rose the next morning, waking Kaleb and pulling him from his dream. Another dream about Strong Arms. He couldn't seem to keep the man out of his thoughts lately. Kaleb got off the bed with a low groan. One of his officers was still in the room when Kaleb got up. "Sir? I had an issue with another officer trying to punish someone for taking something they shouldn't have and I tried to be polite about it." Kaleb looked at her and sent her a kind smile. "Which officer tried to give you a hard time?" He asked, so he could talk to them. "Dumont" Welp, that's not a good sign. "Okay, I'll speak to him" She nodded with a smile, before the two of them stepped out of the bunk house. Kaleb made his way over to his assignment, same abandoned street, same theater that still had parts to come down.

"Officer Price!" Again, Kaleb turned to see Dumont standing there. "I had one of your officers being polite to someone who needed to be punished. She said it was your order. Care to explain?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest. "I told my group to be nicer. You'll get better work ethic from these people that way" Kaleb said, taking full responsibility. "In that case, give me all your ration cards, and in a few days you can have them back." He ordered. Kaleb huffed and handed the last three he had left over. Kaleb turned away from Dumont after that and focused on the workers coming to the site to start work again.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Ah, yes, the theater. Great. That was exactly what was going to make his day go super slow and not at all allow him to plan what he wanted. Or, maybe it would. Maybe it was the right kind of monotonous that was exactly what he needed. Maybe. Even if not, he could have some fun. Like, for example, hang a flier or two. That was one of his favorite harmless pranks. This one was about Scowl, because he needed to calm down and stop being so hard on literally everyone. This one was a drawing of pretty close likeness with the grumpiest looking face Carlos could have managed. He was proud of himself for this one. On top, it read “Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” and on bottom, “Stop blaming the bed.” It was not the most clever or original, but it was all he could think of when his mind was otherwise distracted by certain individuals.

When he got there, he moved around, pretending to do his job, actually doing his job, until finally he felt like no one was around, especially Scowl himself. He snuck over to one of the front parts of the building so that when someone did come by, they were sure to see it. He chuckled to himself and turned away just to see Blue Eyes. Well, there went secrecy. But also, was Blue Eyes always going to be around? Because he could get behind that. He looked to the flier that he was definitely standing to close to not to have been part of this and then over at Blue Eyes. He raised a finger to his lips and laughed before walking away from the flier nonchalantly. Not away from view just away from that. If he worked over here, he may even get to see everyone’s reactions.
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb had been making his rounds, fortunately Dumont was on the other side of the theater. They were not beside each other and that was what mattered to Kaleb. His eyes were looking for Strong Arms more than anything else, though he made comments to those who needed a little polite encouragement to continue working. He was walking through when he found Strong Arms putting up a flyer of a really good likeness of Dumont. The words made him chuckle softly. He saw Strong Arms look at him and then looked at the flyer. Kaleb watched as he put a finger to his lips and then walked away.

Kaleb shook his head with a small smile before he schooled his expression back to normal, turning and walking to another part of the theater to guard. It was boring work, and Kaleb really didn't like standing around and guarding the workers who really didn't need it in his opinion. Kaleb couldn't help but look over to see Dumont finding the flyer. Kaleb could see his face turn red and he tried to keep the smile off his face. Although Dumont headed straight for Strong Arms. "You think this is funny?!" He basically snapped at the man. Kaleb walked over, stepping in between them, and pushed Dumont gently back. "Enough. You don't know it was him, anyone could've made it. Maybe I made it after the earlier removal of my cards. Give me that, and go check somewhere else, or do I need to get the General down here?" Kaleb never used his father as a threat before but he did today. Dumont grumbled and turned away, walking off. Kaleb slipped the flyer back to Strong Arms before he headed off in the other direction.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

He was mildly shocked when Blue Eyes didn’t immediately tear it down or tell him to knock it off or some other gentle reprimand. Who was this guy? He knew he made the thing and put it up, and yet he let that slide. What? This was crazy. Absolutely crazy. Was he wrong about everything he thought he knew? Go to work, Carlos. Get it together. So he went to work, pulling things down, mostly ignoring other people, getting some cranky talk from String Bean about ignoring him now and didn’t the other night mean anything to him? It did. It meant that it was one moment that he wasn’t constantly thinking about this stupid officer.

Stupid?
Okay, maybe not so much. Stupid would mean that he would be like everyone else, but he wasn’t. Scowl was screaming in his face, because let’s be real. Everyone knew it was him who did this. He didn’t do it for subtle reasons. He was bad at subtle. He was, however, very good at being trouble. He wasn’t sure what this trouble would do for him, but no. Just kidding. No trouble. Blue Eyes to the rescue. He cast the potential blame on himself and all. And he is using some general guy to save Carlos? That seemed bold. Or stupid. Maybe he was stupid after all.

And then he was gone. No, don’t go, beautiful blue eyes. Come back. His hand moved a few inches before he pulled it back and left it to sit on his chest. That man walking away was not only gorgeous and kind and the best kind of authority but he was also everything Carlos wanted. Yep, he agreed with the rest of them. He lost his mind. He finished up the rest of the work to get in line for his ration cards, which he could only hope would be given to him by his favorite officer, and thought about what else he could do. Would Blue Eyes be amused by other things too?
​

 

[EquineGurl23]

Kaleb Price
High-Ranking FEDRA officer | 25 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Kaleb was glad when the day was over, and he once again stood in the line to give ration cards out the workers. He picked the same line as Strong Arms again. He had shocked himself earlier when he'd used his fathers position, but it made Dumont back down quickly enough. So things worked in his favor. Kaleb started wondering just what else the man would do, as he seemed like quite the little trouble maker to Kaleb. He was definitely curious now about this man, and just what he'd do. He also planned to give him four cards again today, tucked just so it looked like two.​

 

[icedthemoon]

Carlos Da Silva
Trouble-Making Citizen | 23 | Current location ;; Denver Quarantine Zone

Carlos impatiently tried to see the front of the line. He tried to look around people but mostly got ugly looks and rude comments about rushing people or skipping people. He wasn’t. He just wanted to know if his favorite officer was going to be the ones handing out cards again. As he moved up closer and grinned. Mmm yes. That was exactly what he wanted. When it was his turn, he stopped with his signature Carlos smile this time. “Oh hey.” Super casual. “Having a good evening?” Yep, not weird at all.
​