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.
Darcy hadn't gone shopping in the past few weeks, and now she was suffering for it. She'd been so distracted by her work that what her terrible planning resulted in was her coming home early to an empty kitchen, without the time nor patience to hit up the grocery store - and, icing on the cake - the current state of the world made it very hard to find a place still open and serving food. The minute she thought it, she felt terrible. People were dying and she was upset she had to wander out into society to buy food. Chastising herself mentally, Darcy put her work clothes in the dirty hamper and traded her briefcase in for a ratty, small backpack. She'd had it since she was a child.
Changing into more casual clothing, and with backpack over shoulder and black mask over her face, Darcy traveled out into the world. For the most part, Darcy's life had largely been unchanged by the pandemic - she was so busy with her work that she didn't usually travel out into the world, and when she did it was only for very short amounts of time. But as she walked to the restaurant, she found herself looking around her, observing the way things had changed. There was very little traffic on the street - and everyone was wearing a mask. The people she did see out on foot avoided eye contact and if they happened to be on the same strip of sidewalk as her, they acted as if she might spew the plague on them right then and there.
The air was filled with fear and tension. Darcy had of course heard about the riots. She didn't know what to think about it. She knew that she was working as hard as she could to do her part in solving this illness, and everyone around her was just as dedicated. At least as far as she could tell.
Shaking her head to clear her mind, she focused on her destination. They were a smaller mom and pop Italian restaurant, and she'd been there before. When she arrived, she was faced with a long line of people waiting to order.
Of course. She'd taken an early day, instead of having a full day off, and this was lunch rush for most other people. Sighing softly, Darcy stepped into line. It didn't take her long to realize that the guy in front of her was muttering to himself. She thought she heard something about pasta, and the more she paid attention she was pretty certain he was repeating an order over and over. Frowning curiously, Darcy cleared her throat softly. "Are you, uh, okay?" She asked, her tone a choppy mess of awkward and friendly.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]two paper moons hanging on the night ceiling sometimes to be seen, or unseen
[attr="class","dilyric3"]as it please
[attr="class","dibody3"]
‘Don’t mess up our order!’ Was all he heard as Cameron watched the fire truck he should be on back out of the station. He let out a slightly annoyed grunt, tossing the piece of paper with his name on to the floor before he walked over to the locker rooms to change clothes. He easily slipped out of the trousers and put on a simple pair of jeans, his simple dark t-shirt with the LCFD logo printed on the left side hanging loosely over it. He threw on his lightweight bomber jacket and grabbed his wallet before heading out.
It had been a while since he was last picked for their lunch run. He had been lucky so far but now that it was his turn he just couldn’t help himself but be annoyed about it. Why? Because he missed out on the call. Since everyone was rushing out just right after telling him what to order he completely forgot to check the menu for himself. He reached for his phone in the pocket of his jacket but it wasn’t there. Cameron stopped, thinking about going back to fetch his phone but he was already near the restaurant. The blonde dropped his head, ruffling through his hair with both hands before he continued on his way.
As he walked he tried to remember all the orders because apparently everyone wanted a different dish to make his life more difficult. He could barely memorize Mal’s and his own. “Mal wants Chicken Parmesan, Cass Marinara Meatballs, Mick Chicken Alfredo, Art alla Spicy Vodka, Elea Carbonara, Derek Gnocchi with some kind of meat sauce, the other guys just want Basil Pesto and Bologna. Alright. Easy.” Cameron said, counting down the number of people on his fingers as he walked down the street towards the restaurant. The line, fortunately, wasn’t too long but it was nothing new these days. Waiting times everywhere increased but that was fine.
Once he stood in line he continued mumbling the order so he wouldn’t forget. “Chicken Parmesan, Marinara Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, alla Spicy Vodka, Carbonara, Basil Pesto, Gnocchi with any meat sauce, Aioli. Chicken Parmesan, Marinara Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, alla Spicy Vodka, Carbonara, Basil Pesto, Gnocchi with any meat sauce, Aioli.” Cameron was about to repeat it another time when a female voice interrupted.
‘Are you, uh, okay?’
Still mouthing the words to make sure he would remember he turned around, blue eyes looking at a red-headed woman. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just trying to get my order right. It’s… a lot.” Cameron responded, one corner of his lips arching into a smirk as he scratched his head. “Chicken Parmesan, Marinara Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, Spicy Vodka-” he stopped mid-sentence, frowning before he rolled his eyes and slapped his own face with the palm of his hand. “Damn, I forgot.” he sighed, one more time rummaging through all of the pockets his clothing offered, in a desperate search for some piece of paper with all the orders on it. Nope. Nothing. He had it all jotted down on his phone - the phone he managed to forget back at the station.
“Hey could I borrow your phone? Gotta make a quick call to 911.” he said, letting out a laugh before he realized what he said. “Oh no. I mean… sorry. I’m working for the Fire Department.” Cameron added quickly, holding his jacket open to the side to reveal the LCFD logo on his shirt. “I forgot my phone where I just happened to have written it all down.”
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just trying to get my order right. It’s… a lot.”
At least when he turned to her, he looked like a perfectly normal guy. No crazy eyes. A pretty nice smile, actually. Before she could really say anything else, he was continuing, but this time he stopped half way through the orders. He’d forgotten, and immediately Darcy felt guilty for interrupting him. She watched him search his pants, apparently coming up empty handed. And then he was looking at her again.
“Hey could I borrow your phone? Gotta make a quick call to 911.”
Darcy’s brows pulled down, a questioning look on her face. Sure, it was a terrible thing to forget what you were going to order, but 911? Seemed like a waste of resources. Thankfully, the man cleared it up pretty quickly, flashing shirt hidden beneath his jacket. A firefighter. Darcy felt her lips twitching, finding this entire situation kind of funny. The action was hidden by her mask, which she reached up to pull down so she could articulate better. ”Carbonara, Basil Pesto, Gnocchi with any meat sauce, Aioli.” Darcy parroted the last half of his order back to him, having caught his final full repetition before she’d decided to say anything to him. ”I don’t, um, usually keep a phone on me. I’m pretty good at remembering things people say, though.” She explained with a light shrug.
Her gaze flicked to the line, which was moving up, and Darcy gave a slight nod to direct his attention to it, not wanting to get cut off by any newcomer. As they moved up, Darcy kept her mask down, her inner voice telling her to carry on a conversation. To just try to be social. ”So, the fire department. I imagine it must be kind of chaotic for you right now.” Darcy managed, feeling absolutely lame. As if it weren’t obvious that emergency services were bogged down right now. She knew how it worked in a pandemic, how the spread of the sickness and severity of it’s affect often led to the complete overwhelming of the local emergency services. That was just it’s natural course.
”I mean, obviously that’s a given. Everyone’s struggling.” Darcy rambled for a second, and then her gaze lit up. ”Not to make it sound like you’re all not doing a fantastic job.” How bad was it to insult the city’s finest as a representative of the government? She almost opened her mouth to continue to stick her foot in it, but pressed her lips together tightly, the corners of her mouth pulling up in a ‘strike me now’ sort of smile.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]two paper moons hanging on the night ceiling sometimes to be seen, or unseen
[attr="class","dilyric3"]as it please
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Cameron stared at her in awe, blinking slowly as if his brain stopped working for a moment. "Wow." he said under his breath, surprised and shocked at once that she remembered his order while it took him a hundred repetitions to get it right, and yet he still forgot. He scratched the top of his head, running a hand through his blonde hair. A broad smile appeared on his face as he turned to look at her. “That was impressive.” he told her, lips slightly pulled downward into an approving manner.
That smile soon disappeared and was replaced by a more worried expression, eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, concerned and suspicious at once. "Who these days doesn’t carry a phone? I mean, no offense. I just haven’t met anyone whose face wasn’t glued to a screen. That too is impressive." Cameron uttered, looking at her as she nodded at him, telling him to move. He smirked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket and taking a few steps backward. "It’s always chaotic at the fire department." he shrugged, taking another step back.
The blonde guffawed at her rambling. "Of course. Of course." Cameron said, nodding along. He always appreciated compliments - even if they weren’t voiced as such in a direct way. "Apparently I’m not doing much of a fantastic job considering I’m here playing Uber Eats instead of putting out fires or running into burning buildings." he laughed, this time it wasn’t loud but more of a soft chuckle. "But I'm sure the others are doing a great job."
He glanced over his shoulder as the line continued moving, still walking backward as he was too interested in the woman in front of him to turn around. "Do you mind ordering for me later? I already forgot again."
