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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CODING
GRAPHICS
ADVERTISING
CHARACTERS
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!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
APPLICATIONS
THREAD MODERATION
MEDIATOR
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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!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CLAIMS
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STAFF NAME
OPEN MODERATOR POSITION
outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
Jax stirred awake in his bed, his senses slowly registering that someone was calling his phone. He opened one eye just enough to find his cell, his finger clumsily touching the button to answer it. His voice was husky as he spoke, "Hello?" He cleared his gravelly throat as a chipper voice on the other end of the line asked if he was Jackson Etter. Jax rubbed his eyes with his free hand, "Yeah. Who's this?" He glanced at his watch and registered the time as 7:45 AM. If this had been a work day he and Arlo both would have been up well before the hour, but since quarantine, he had adopted the habit of sleeping in until around nine. A habit he hoped would soon be coming to an end. He loved being in quarantine with Arlo. That was the only thing that was currently keeping him sane lately. It was the unknown that he wanted to be over with. The fear of not knowing if he had put her at risk or not. The idea that he might have jeopardized the health of the only person he wanted in his life. The possibility of his career being taken from him.
The voice spoke, once again much too happy for his currently sleepy brain to enjoy, "Mr. Etter, my name is Patricia. I'm the nurse at Lethford General." In a heartbeat Jax sat up in bed, holding the phone steady against his ear. All of his senses were suddenly on alert, sleep no longer on his mind. The woman continued speaking and Jax felt his heart begin to thump harder in his chest. "I was calling to inform you that the lab results were back. We tested them twice to verify and we are certain that you are not infected." Jax smiled. A genuine, bright smile that he couldn't make go away even if he had wanted to. "So did I have it before or was that some sort of mistake?" He asked, the question being the only thing that was holding him back from jumping up and down on his bed. "You do not have any traces of the virus in your system. It looks like this was a testing error."
Jax laughed. The woman began to apologize and he shook his head, "Nah. Nothing to apologize for. Thank you." The woman mentioned he could call back if he had any questions and that they would be sending the information to the PD. Jax nodded happily as he listened to her speak. "Thank you."
Touching the little red button to end the call he tossed the phone next to him and got up from the bed. He quickly shrugged on a pair of pants that were nearby and moved to his bathroom to brush his teeth. Two minutes later he was bounding as quietly as he could across their apartment. He moved Arlo's door open a little wider and slipped inside her room. He could barely contain the absolute glee that was radiating off of him as he moved to her bed. He laid down behind her, on top of the covers, and laid his head back on one of her pillows. He spoke softly, just enough to wake her up, "Hey sleepyhead, how do you feel about breakfast at that fancy french bakery downtown? My treat."
The door to her room had never shut during their quarantined time together. Two weeks and she had always left her door cracked in the very least, wanting to hear him when he woke up. Ready to jump up and get the day going for them. Breakfast, coffee, the works. Get ready for them to find some movie or show to watch together and she had even moved the TV a bit closer to his room so it wasn’t super far away for him to see. She might have tortured him a few times with her selection of movies, but she just laughed as he commentated the whole thing away.
And on top of watching all kinds of show, boy did they eat. She had a huge delivery of groceries delivered to them by the second day and she had not wasted any of them. Recipes that she had long ago saved but never had the time to try? They were tried. They were made, consumed, and rated on a scale of one star to five star. Jax and her went through it all, and she swore she gained ten pounds alone just because of her cooking. Though obviously she had not. All she knew was that she was extremely grateful that he had agreed to stay. That they could do this together.
Even if it tested her. Arlo had thought about just passing the invisible barrier that he had made her promise to stay away from. Just about slipping into his bed and curling up at his side. She could promise to not touch him, though she was sure that her unconscious mind might have moved against him during her sleep. The point was, that she’d try. She just missed him. Missed the way they could even just sit side by side on the couch and watch a movie together. Her falling asleep against his shoulder or his head winding up in her lap as they watched a movie and she played with his hair. She’d never take those things for granted again once they got past this.
Arlo was in bed and had the door just slightly open, as always. Her mind still lost in dreamland when Jax entered her room. Nothing went off in her body that told her to look alive, that she was suddenly not alone anymore. That there was a weight in the bed next to her as it sank down under the weight of her blonde roommate. A small twitch happened as her brows tugged together. “Hey sleepyhead,” she knew that voice. Her face visibly relaxing as she placed whose voice it was. Jackson. Immediately her mind pulled up a mental image of him with those marbled eyes. A smile on his face.
“... at that fancy French bakery downtown? My treat.” What was he talking about? A soft mumble left her lips as she slipped her one hand forward, the other pinned thanks to the fact she was sleeping on her stomach. Dark curls laid across her forehead and cheeks. The moment her hand hit something... or rather someone... very solid in her bed, she peeked one eye open. It was slightly blurry thanks to sleep but she could make out the shape next to her in bed. “Marbles?” She muttered softly, blinking a few times as both eyes moved to take him in. It was most definitely him. A soft smile tugged at her lips. “What happened to the boundary rule?” Had she been more away, she might have figured it out on her own. Instead, she was just enjoying the way the sun was highlighting him on her bed.
Jax looked down at her sleeping face, a smile tugging at his lips. Her brows pinched together in confusion for just a second before she relaxed again, his chest feeling like it was filled with butterflies. She nor Jax hadn't left their apartment in weeks, a fact that grated against every fiber of his being. He liked being home with Arlo of course, that had been the only thing keeping him sane, but being out with her sounded like paradise.
He was a social creature, and even with his SWAT buddies calling on the regular, he missed being outside and around people. He missed the stupid little things like having lunch at the park outside or that feeling he always got when he walked through the precinct doors. Stopping by their favorite coffee place and picking her up a cup on his way to work. There was no doubt that he missed it all, but as his eyes moved over her next to him in bed, over her pleased face, he wouldn't have traded places for anything in the world.
A grin lit up his face as she sleepily looked up at him. His nickname came from her lips and he resisted every urge in the world to scoop her up and swing her around and around. She questioned the boundary rule and a self-satisfied tone replied, "I got the call this morning. I'm all-clear. Apparently there was a mistake and she confirmed that there are no traces in my blood. So I can do this…." He snuggled in closer to her, moving to wrap his arm around her. "And this…." His other hand gently moved her soft curls out of her face. She was beautiful. Ridiculously so. Even in the morning, her eyes were making him forget to breathe. How he had somehow convinced her to like him back was beyond his reasoning. His eyes moved from hers and hovered just a moment on her lips. The want was there, but he also knew it wasn't the time. They needed to define what exactly was going on between them and hell, he knew he owed her a date at the very least. There would be a time and a place for kissing…if he was lucky.
His face lit up with a grin again as he contently laid next to her in the bed. There was no rush, at all. Life was perfectly wonderful as far as he was concerned. He was healthy, she was healthy and nothing else mattered. Jax glanced down at her, his voice a little softer, "Thank you, again, by the way. I don't know if I would have made it through all of this without you." It was a little hard to think that barely a few weeks ago he had thought about leaving her alone. That he had realistically considered going to the quarantined zone and waiting it out by himself.
That idea seemed insane now that he thought about it in hindsight. Not to mention that his chances of actually catching the disease would have easily doubled. He had made the right choice by staying with her. Not just the right choice, but the only one that had him coming out the other end. She had refused to let him go. Thrown him a life jacket while he was treading water and refused to let him sink. She had saved him, in every sense of the word. "So…what should we do first?"
Arlo had been half asleep when she had spoke to him, her brows slightly furrowed as she listened to him. He got a call? It felt too early for that, but the happiness in his tone made her believe it. Maybe her internal clock had gotten used to sleeping in a bit. Her eyes brightened with every word as she suddenly felt like she had taken several shots of espresso and it was sinking into her blood stream. There was no trace of the virus, it was a mistake made in the testing center. He was okay! Truly okay and was here now to prove that.
As he snuggled closer, she moved into him. A bright smile taking over as she laughed. His hand brushing the curls out of her face only brightened her smile somehow, her cheeks almost hurting from how wide her smile was. The only thing that gave her pause was the moment his eyes left hers to glance down at her lips. It was enough to make her breath catch for a moment, thinking that finally he was going to kiss her again. Only he seemed to settle back, laying on the bed as if he was in no rush to do anything of the sort.
That made only one of them. When he thanked her, she shook her head at him. She'd do it again for him, and she could only be thankful that he had actually listened to her eventually. While he had wanted to wait, she felt like she had waited long enough. Without any warning, without any further explanation or heads up, she launched forward in the bed. Dragging her blanket with her and knocking a pillow to the floor as she took his face between her hands and planted a brief, yet passionate kiss to his lips. Only lingering long enough to make sure he knew she meant it.
With a quick release, she flashed another smile and then rolled over and off of him, planting her feet on the ground before she turned towards him in her bed. "We are doing whatever we want." She stated confidently, raising a brow towards him as she tugged on her sleep shirt to make sure it was in its place before she placed her hands on her hips. "I first suggest coffee at our spot after we get dressed. I don't think PJ's are going to cut it for today." She shrugged lightly, as if she wouldn't know the correct answer to it anyway.