12 hours before outbreak – 2200
"Leo you gotta stop it man, my kills are all stolen by you and your M60."
"Captain Leo leading the team dude! You can't possibly rely on those retarded bots that looks at you while you are incapped and seeking for help to revive eh?"
"Ouch! Watch the friendly fire!"
"Sorry, I was just trying to kill the freaking jockey near you Percy. That friendly fire saved your ass from getting ridden on."
It was gaming night for Leo and Percy, as it is every Sunday night, and they just happened to play left4dead2 right before the outbreak. Timely, but of course they could not have predicted the outbreak, just like everyone else in Grand Olympus Hospital. Anyway, Leo and Percy are roommates in one of the apartments in the Zeus district. Leo works as a newbie fireman and Percy as a temporary lifeguard until he finds a better job offer. Both sharing a common interest in gaming, especially in first-person-shooter zombie games, they cliqued immediately when Percy first moved in. You can say that they are pretty 'into' the zombie killing thing because they had actually considered buying a real katana to be put on display in their apartment. It would have been perfect for them now, should they know what would happen next. Sadly, their wallets said no at that point of time. However, they still have the habit of storing canned food and drinks in preparation of a 'zombie apocalypse'.
"That was close man, almost didn't make it to the plane because of that stupid tank." Leo sighed in relief.
"To be fair, a smoker did get you at the last minute or so, which means you still did great though." Percy stood up from his computer chair and stretched his back. "Damn, can't believe we only took 30 minutes to finish this map."
Leo looked at the credits scene and gasped, "48% headshot dude, you are one crazy survivor. I only got a sad 29%."
"You got this Leo, but maybe after a little more practice." Percy chuckled and looked at the wall clock. "And do remember to shut the lights before you doze off, I shall head to dreamland first tonight."
Leo gave a thumbs up and continued to browse the web.
9 hours before outbreak – 0100
"You alright Nico? You seem pretty pale to me."
"I'm okay, Detective Grace. Can I help you?"
"Cold as usual, huh. Alright, I need the post-mortem report for that homicide case yesterday. You know, the one with the slash on the neck."
"Got it. Will pass it to you in a bit, got some toes left for examination."
"Thanks, but I'm off-duty in ten, so leaving it on the desk would be good if you don't see me there then."
"Will do, detective." Nico sighed and went to retrieve the corpse of the homicide from the storage. Background information, he works at the Zeus Police Department (ZPD) morgue as a medical examiner. Being the only man on the job, he was overwhelmed with the amount of corpses that were sent in every week. His mentor was on a month-long break and the new assistant was not due in two weeks. With his super fair complexion and dark eye circles, you might mistake him as one of the cases he is working on. Nonetheless, his shift is not over until six hours later, so he put on his latex gloves and continued the autopsy.
Two levels above the morgue was the ZPD working space, where files were piled up on almost every desk you see. In the corner of the room stationed the desk of Detective Thalia Grace. Unlike other desks, hers is arranged neatly in every order. Apart from a photo frame of her saluting with her brother in uniform, there were hardly other signs of non-work related items. Her colleagues gave her the nickname of 'hunter', due to the sheer number of cases she cracked immediately after her transfer to the homicide team of ZPD a few months ago. Furthermore, those who witnessed her training in the rifle range said that her firing is one of the best in the team. Quote, "She is definitely not an officer to be messed with."
By the time Nico finished his report, Thalia had already left the building. The medical examiner then carefully placed the report on her desk. As he was about to head back to the morgue, he took a glance at the photo frame and lamented about his own missing sister.
6 hours before outbreak – 0400
Along one of the beaches in the Zeus district, a group of friends were camping at the seashore this particular night. They had planned some late night fishing and skinny dipping just for the fun of it. Some of the guys reeled in their rods and compared their catches while sorting them out in the pail. Some were fast asleep in the trailer and others were swimming in the dark waters.
"These fish seems pretty decent for supper, don't they?"
"I agree, but are you sure it's safe to consume them? I mean, we don't have professional chefs here, do we?"
"Come on, don't be such a wuss. It's just fish. Let's go roast them by the fire."
3 hours before outbreak – 0700
"Doctor Solace, we need you down at A&E room 2 immediately. Car crash patient, several broken ribs and punctured lungs. Doctor Yew is handling another patient in the same crash in room 1, so we are kind of short-handed."
"Copy that, I'm on my way now."
Will Solace was about to knock off when he was summoned to the accident and emergency department. He had just finished treating three patients that suffered from puffer fish poisoning paralysis. However, every time he was needed at the A&E, he would not refuse even after hours as he believe that all lives deserves to be fought for. To his colleagues, he was well known for his angel-like personality and healing hands. Couple that with his sun-kissed skin and adorable freckles, there was always a trail of fangirling nurses behind him wherever he went. Upon changing into his surgical robes, the blond doctor rushed to A&E from his quarters.
On the other hand, police cordoned off the campsite that laid a corpse of an unfortunate teenager. Detective Thalia Grace stepped out of her Mercedes and headed towards the crime scene while putting on her lanyard.
"Monday blues indeed. Okay, what have we got here?"
Nico, who had arrived earlier to conduct the initial autopsy looked up from the corpse. "Time of death approximately 0453. Victim suspected to have died from food poisoning, though there appears to be heavy damage dealt to the head post-mortem." He then pointed to the hole that pierced through the victim's head. "Clearly a knife was stabbed into his head and removed after, but I need to get the body back to the morgue for further examination."
"Detective Grace, we found this knife abandoned about 5 metres from the victim."
"Great, send it to the lab to have it analysed." She rustled her jet black hair and pointed to the victim's head. "Nico, any idea why the corpse has several patches of missing hair?"
The medical examiner pondered for a while and replied with uncertainty, "It does not seem to have been intentionally pulled out. Instead, the hair appears to have dropped naturally. He could have suffered from Alopecia Areata. But like I said, I need it at the morgue to determine the cause."
"Detective Grace, we have got three patients suspected to be friends of the victim at the Grand Olympus Hospital. They just got treated from puffer fish poisoning."
"Nicely done. Look around for more clues and update me if any witnesses come forth. I'll be at the hospital."