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.
Things happened for a reason; that was what she had heard so many times before. She hated hearing that. And now, even thinking it, she hated it even more. Coming to Lethford was supposed to be a change, supposed to bring them closer, yet it only drew them apart. Did Lethford bring out another side in her ex-husband? Did getting away from under his father's thumb change the man she had fallen in love with? Or had he always lied to her?
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, looking at herself in the fogged-up mirror. It had only been a few months since the divorce was finalized, but this virus had struck a nail in plans. She still held his last name as her own, unable to return to her maiden name. But at least they were divorced, no longer man and wife. The scary thing was, during the whole divorce process - she had thought she was pregnant. A late period bringing that fear up, but luckily, she wasn't. She wasn't sure how she would be able to divorce him if she learned she was pregnant.
The minute she returned to work, she demanded a new partner. And she was lucky; they were quick to switch her with another. Giving him someone new and slipping her into a different team. Maybe it was because they were scared to piss her off. Or maybe they knew that putting them together, on the same team, was a bad idea. She shook her head. She couldn't be thinking like this. She quickly dressed, grabbed her keys, and head out for the station. After the riots that took place not long ago, there was so much to be done. City Hall was under construction; the Hospitals were in pretty bad shape. Luckily, the station was still standing tall.
Heels clicked as she entered the building, brushing her glasses up her face and resting in her hair. She held her face up, showing that she was ready for business.
The room smelt of her. That hint of shampoo and the subtle scent she’d worn since long before he’d managed to convince Zoe that he was more than the pretty boy son of a man who’d bought his way into the highest echelon of the New York Police Department. It had lingered on everything he’d unpacked in the new apartment, a gut-wrenching reminder of what was no longer his. Days later it was gone, not even the deepest inhalation of the shirt he’d stolen back from her closet had found a trace of it. Here though … he was drowning in it.
Jack shifted uneasily in the chair in front of the desk. It creaked faintly, protesting at the twisting of his body as he glanced over his shoulder, back out at the bullpen. The scent was making him restless, fingers itching to reach out to the items on her desk, to pry. Zoe would’ve slapped them away. Once upon a time he’d had an excuse, a reason for it. The scrawled signatures on their divorce documents had removed all of that. Now he was going to be about as welcome in her office as the virus. Actually, he had a feeling she was going to prefer a dose of it, even with its risk of death, because wasn’t supposed to happen.
Sighing, Jack rearranged his suit jacket, making sure it fell in a way that wouldn’t leave it crushed between his outer thigh and the rigid arms of the chair. These seats weren’t made for him, the ones on the other side of the desk always a thousand times more comfortable than what was bound to become a hot seat thanks to the Captain. In the man’s infinite wisdom he’d gone back on all the promises made when they’d first broached the subject of the dissolution of their marriage and their partnership in his office. Awkward glances, stilted words and more than a little desperation then and they’d been separated, assigned to separate teams with the assurance that they wouldn’t be teamed up again.
The Captain was a liar. A desperate one. The man had been waiting at the top of the stairs this morning, tie pulled loose, a hound dog face settled into grim lines that only drooped further as he delivered the bad news. A member of Zoe’s team had been caught up in the riots. Broken ribs, a punctured lung and a dislocated jaw. The man would unlikely be off for weeks, if not months. There was only one person to float around. The no had exploded from him but no amount of begging, which had been humiliating enough, would change the situation.
They were both going to be miserable.
It was already starting. Jack could feel the pit of his stomach start to drop towards his feet as he heard the clip of Zoe’s footsteps approaching. Always determined to get somewhere. Faltering, he thought, as she spotted him through the open door of her office. Jack schooled his expression, drawing in a deep breath before he turned in his seat and hooked an elbow over the back of it. ”Good morning,” he murmured softly, knowing that ‘good’ wasn’t the word she’d be using for it right now. ”Before you tell me to get out … there’s news. The official sort …” Jack held up his hands, resisting the urge to swallow and clear a throat gone dry. ”Parker’s in the hospital and I’ve been reassigned to fill in. Temporarily, this is just a temporary measure until he’s back.” Or Zoe managed to force the Captain to perform miracles with the teams again.
Heels clicked against the ground as the brunette made her way through the building and towards her office. But she seemed to falter in her steps as she noticed that someone was standing in her office, but as she drew closer, she started to feel her heartbeat quickly beneath her breast. She stopped, taking in Jack as he stood professionally in her office, which she had seen so much in the past. They had been partners both professionally and personally, and this was a sight that she hadn't seen since they entered the messy divorce.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he was already greeting her and started speaking. 'Parker's in the hospital and I've been reassigned to fill in. Temporarily, this is just a temporary measure until he's back.' She swallowed deeply, mouth opening and closing like a fish before she growled. "And the captain told you before he told me? Just get out, Jack, I don't need this..."
Each click of Zoe’s heels against the tile floor was the sound of another nail being driven into his coffin. Bang, bang, bang.
Jack swallowed hard as he listened to her coming closer. The Captain had scoffed at the idea of all of this blowing up in their faces. They were grown ups, they were professionals, this was the middle of a damn plague. They could play nice for a few weeks and then they could go their separate ways again. As if it was ever going to be that easy working with his ex-wife again, feeling that sucker punch smack him in the pit of his stomach every time he stopped steeling himself against it. Zoe had made it very clear with the divorce proceedings that she no longer wanted any tie to him, the job included.
There was a hitch in Zoe’s step as she obviously caught sight of him through the open door. A momentary silence as he pushed his way quietly to his feet. An apology was written all over his face, one that he doubted was going to get him any further now than it had at any point as their marriage had gone over a damn cliff. The explanation for his presence tripped off of his tongue, business like, none of the dread he felt making its way into his tone. The Captain had been a fool to think what had happened outside of the job wasn’t going to come into this, despite their promises when they’d gone to him after the papers had been signed. How could they keep all that past out of this present?
They couldn’t, it was that plain and simple.
Jack’s mouth pinched, his shoulders rising and falling awkwardly before he tucked his hands into his pockets just to keep them from fiddling restlessly. The Captain had undoubtedly known which of the two of them was going to cave first over this. ”I got here before you this morning, that’s all. I imagine he’s lurking in his office, waiting for you to call now.” And to give Zoe the bad news that there was nobody else to cover. It was him or they were down a person and right now they couldn’t afford that. If they could he would’ve been in his own office, not standing here looking into those dark eyes that seemed like a stark reflection of his own right now.
Sighing, Jack pulled a hand free of the pocket of his pants again, pinching at the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t like he’d asked for this. While he would’ve loved a chance to get past the divorce, to at least be able to work with her again in a way that had made their partnership work so well before, he wouldn’t have gone and asked for it, knowing it would only bring pain. His skin felt like it stretched tight over his cheekbones as he dropped his hand and winged his brows. ”You’re not the only one. I don’t need it and I didn’t want it. Let’s just make that clear. We have no choice though. Parker won’t be back and you need the manpower.” His chin dipped slightly, the muscles in his jaw jumping. ”It’s a couple of weeks maximum. We’re adults, we can tolerate each other that long.” They had done in days of yore when his promotion to the detective bureau in New York had resulted in the entire team looking at him as though he’d bought his way in. It had taken time to prove himself then and given the chance, he could do it again.
