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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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.
Callie was really trying not to lose her positivity about this entire situation - at least, in her mind, they hadn't died. But her body was already beginning to ache as they started to walk, and Callie was straining to make sure she didn't step wrong and fall off the platform back to where the tracks were. She was also really not a fan of the darkness.
There was no doubt that he was much faster than she was, but Callie was doing her best to keep pace with him while at the same time not stepping on his heels, either. So when she caught movement, and felt his hand bump hers, she took it gladly. His hand was extremely large compared to hers, but it was comforting to feel human touch. It made the darkness seem less sinister.
Pierce suggested a number of things that could have caused the fire, which was a good point. Surely whenever the city officials got ahold of the accident, there'd be some sort of explanation provided. Until then, the only person who had a chance of knowing what had happened was currently unconscious. Callie was worried about the conductor. They needed to get him to street level so he could get the medical attention he needed. "Emergency exits will have a light." She said, remembering that much about subway safety. But if the lights were out because of the train, or the storm, or the curfew, would that still be lit? "I haven't seen a door yet. But we should be close to one. Most tunnels have one between every station." She explained. So they'd either passed the emergency exit, and would be approaching a station, or they were very close to an exit. Which...would lead to a hatch. "Will you be able to carry him up a ladder, though?" She asked, her tone concerned.
Pierce kept moving, hand in hand with Callie, as they looked along the walls for any sign of an exit. He agreed, there should be an emergency exit sign lit up but at this point, he was truly thinking they were in a thriller/horror movie. Of course there would be no sign to point them in the right direction. Why would there be? It was fitting the narrative perfectly for this situation. His head nodded in the darkness at her statement about how there should be one close by, as they had to have ways out in case of emergencies. And he would agree with that as well.
"Will you be able to carry him up a ladder, though?"
He paused his movements then. Really giving himself a moment to think that over. Would he actually be able to do that? He was not trained to climb up and down ladders like a firefighter would be. He was a damn vet. "Not sure I have another choice. Lets hope its a set of stairs and not a ladder that I have to climb." He told her. He was not a small man by any means. He was tall and strong. Had to be to deal with large animals sometimes, whether lifting them up or having to pull them around. In a gentle loving way, but sometimes they put on the breaks and he has to put a little more power behind it.
But he was sure that climbing up a ladder with a man over his shoulder was a dangerous task on its own. He squinted in the darkness as he kept his grip on her hand firm. And then tugged her lightly as he started to walk forward once more. "I... I think I see a door." He told her as they moved on. He really hoped that he did and that it wasn't just his eyes playing tricks on him.
Callie almost felt a little bad when her question gave Pierce pause, because he'd been so confident and quick to action this entire time. It sort of felt like she was popping his bubble, but if he wasn't able to get the man up a ladder, then that changed their plans a little. They'd have to find the next station, and hope that the runaway train hadn't caused any issues further down the line. It also meant they might have to spend more time in the tunnels, and Callie wasn't a huge fan of that idea. "Whatever it is, we can figure it out. The next station exit can't be that far away." She told him, trying to keep the mood positive. There hadn't been any kind of crash or vibration to indicate a collision, so she was guessing the train was still in one - charred - piece. Meaning the next station should be perfectly safe. She hoped.
Callie leaned around him, peering into the dark stretching out ahead of them, trying to spot the door he mentioned. When she did, she released his hand, jogging past him to study it. The light above the emergency exit sign was dead. "Must be the storm." Callie commented, frowning up at the light. Still, it was an exit. "I've got the door." She tacked on, reaching out and pulling the door open, stale air and the sound of the storm greeted them. Apparently, it was still going strong up on street level. The interior of the space was nearly pitch black, but Callie could make out stairs. "Might be slippery." She warned, stepping aside so Pierce could go ahead of her, holding the door wide so there was no accidental bumping of the conductor against anything.
They weren't very deep under ground, and as Callie climbed the stairs she did begin to hear the trickle of water. There were two flights of stairs to go up, and as she crested the final staircase behind Pierce, her gaze found a problem. A ladder stretched down to the cement from the ceiling, and then there was a hatch with emergency exit instructions. The ladder was fairly short. "I can go up first and get the hatch open." Callie said quickly, not wanting to turn back into the deeper darkness behind them. "With me helping from street level, you think you can do the bulk of the lifting?" She asked, glancing over at Pierce.
"Whatever it is, we can figure it out. The next station exit can't be that far away."
Pierce was not an overly optimistic person. He was not someone who went around believing that the sun was shining somewhere on earth and that everyone had a bit of good in them. No, some people did not. He truly believed that there were some people who didn't have an ounce of good in them, even if they had moments of humanity. But Callie here, she seemed to be one of the few he had come across that actually had a good bone in her body. One that made her radiate happiness and optimism and truly, he had no idea what to do with it. He grunted in response to her and continued walking.
They both seemed to spot the exit sign that wasn't illuminated and once again, that sense of dread spread through him. "Let's hope you are right, little miss sunshine." He said to her, letting her open the door for him. This wasn't exactly a time to be big on being a gentleman. Part of him felt guilty that he wasn't able to hold the door open, but he was carrying a whole human and his shoulder was starting to tire from the man. He heeded her warning on the stairs and carefully made his way up each one. Careful to not catch the next stair and trip.
"I can go up first and get the hatch open. With me helping from street level, you think you can do the bulk of the lifting?"
He stared up the ladder and thought about just setting the man down and going to open it himself. What if it got stuck and she couldn't open it? But he needed to save any little bit of strength he had left, so he nodded his head. "Yeah I should be able to get him up there. You go up first, if you can't get it open, just come back down. I'll get it." Or at least he hoped he would.
Callie wasn't bothered by his little nickname in the slightest. She was quite aware that she was always looking for the silver lining in every situation, but it was the only way she kept pushing past all the obstacles in her life. Her optimism had paid her back tenfold in her lifetime. Callie only smiled, even though he might not have caught the gesture, watching him carefully as he made his way up the stairs. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if he actually slipped and fell - become part of the human landslide, probably - but she wanted to show some sort of support as Pierce did all of the work.
When the problem of the ladder came up, she expected him to shoot her down and insist on doing it himself. But he was clearly getting tired - he was carrying a grown man, after all. Callie was prepared to argue against him if he did try to shut her offer down, but was pleasantly surprised when he conceded. Callie offered him a determined nod and a smile. ”Okay. Deal.” Turning to the ladder, she grabbed onto one of the rungs, stepping up to the lowest one and then carefully making her way up. The ladder wasn’t terribly long, thankfully, so she was at the hatch on just a few moments. The door had instructions on how to open it, but with time they’d become a little worn. No worries, though, because the handle for the hatch was large and bright orange. Callie gripped it, giving an experimental tug to see if it had any give. The handle didn’t even budge. Frowning at it, like it was a math problem on a chalkboard she needed to solve, Callie tightened her grip and pulled with effort.
The metal gave a groan and a soft screech before coming loose and fully extending, allowing her to shove the hatch up. It made a thudding sound as it fell open. Looking down at Pierce, Callie gave a bright grin before climbing all the way up and then turning around, leaning over the opening. She didn’t even give a glance to her surroundings, though she was thankful that the access opened into an alleyway, which offered some cover from the rain. ”Okay, come up. The rungs are still pretty sturdy.” She called down, ready to reach down and grab the man as soon as he was within reach, to help Pierce get him out completely.
