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.
With an hour left before curfew, Greg left the hospital with the urge to go somewhere. It had been too long since he’d gotten time to himself, wedged between his hours at the hospital and his work at the clinic. The sun had already begun to set, but there was time to do something. He knew that he should try to go for a run in the park, or get some food- his fridge was looking rather sparse lately- but Greg found that he had driven somewhere else, instead.
The local amusement park hadn’t been a mainstay of Greg’s life, even before lockdown. He had enjoyed some fond memories here of misspent youth, but he’d outgrown the place. Maybe he would have eventually taken his kids, but it wasn’t the sort of thing he had seen himself doing in his twenties. Like plenty of other childish interests, amusement parks had given way to the humdrum of adult life. Now, though, he found himself seeking it for nostalgic reasons.
There was the other benefit, too: the quiet. As an essential healthcare worker, Greg was surrounded at all times by people who were crying or dying. This place held the memory of screams of joy, and it was blissfully quiet. Greg wandered the unoccupied streets of the park, hands in his pockets. He braced against the chilly wind; summer ending, now, he worried about what would happen come winter. So many people had already been lost. Things could only get worse. He kicked a rock away, not expecting it to make him feel better. It hit the bottom of a long-abandoned food stall.
He made a circuit of the place, looking at the rollercoaster with a hint of a smile. Somehow, rollercoasters, skiing, bungee-jumping- a lot of cheap thrills that had entertained him in the past were out of reach. Some people wanted escapism, but Greg wanted to feel that rush again. He wished there was something he could to recapture that feeling. He approached one of the rides, looking to see if there might be some way to get onto it. It would be monumentally stupid to try this by himself- rides needed operators- but he couldn’t see the harm in just getting a closer look.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Carmen looked up at the pirate statue standing right next to the entrance gate, a soft snicker escaping her lips at the sight of it. She didn't know exactly what her reasoning for being at a closed amusement park was. It was her day off from both jobs - for once. She had time to spare and she didn't feel like wasting it on sleep. Sleep was for the weak. With the current situation in the city, every single second alive was precious.
The gate was unlocked, she probably wasn't the first to come here after it closed down. One delicate hand reached out and pushed the gate open as she slipped inside and shut it behind her. Carmen had never actually been to the amusement park during its regular operating hours. The memory of her and Az sneaking in after dark when they were younger made her smile as she walked down the path of the park.
Her gaze flickered to the empty ice cream stand, a wave of sadness washing over her. Wrapping her arms around her, a thin synthetic leather jacket failing at keeping her warm, she made her way to the electrical room, knowing exactly where it was. There was still time until the power outage would take place and lockdown hadn't begun yet either. It was usually Az or one of his men who would turn on the power but Carmen memorized every switch she needed to turn on.
Her fingers reached for one switch after another, the park around her slowly coming back to life. Some things looked like they wouldn't work but that was fine. She didn't need everything. Even if it was just the Ferris wheel it would make her more than happy.
Once that was done she continued her way down the path until she arrived at a ride, spotting a figure in the distance. Carmen had always been an open person, lively, and perhaps a little noisy. The two of them were in the same situation. Chances they entered the park legally were low. She walked up to the operation desk of the ride, leaning against it. "You want to ride?" she called over, smiling brightly at them, fingers ready to flip the ON switch.
[attr="class","TAG"]352 WORDS @gregoriodelgado Finn LaSalle
Greg examined the locking mechanism. He didn’t think it would come open without any power. He didn’t know if he wanted to power the ride back on. If he went looking for the park’s electrical system, he was just committing to doing this, and this was monumentally pointless. Just because he missed how things used to be, that didn’t make him special. Everyone missed how things used to be. He shouldn’t bring an amusement park back to life just to recapture his youth. He could do that later, when he was peacefully settling down into middle-age- after they’d beaten this pandemic.
He was just thinking about whether he could bring himself to go looking when the lights and sounds started to come back online. Greg startled, looking around. Someone else had come to the park, too. Should he hide? No, he hadn’t done anything wrong- well. He’d crossed some lines getting in, hadn’t he? He would look guiltier if he tried to hide. Lockdown hadn’t started yet. Whoever it was had probably had the same idea as him. They wouldn’t turn him in if they’d done the same thing. Honor among thieves, he thought wryly. As the figure approached, Greg marveled at his luck. It was Carmen. Trust her to be here for his dark night of the soul.
He’d heard those words often enough from his team that he should’ve learned to pay attention to them but he was a dog with a bone and he knew it.
A) He shouldn’t have been out on the streets after curfew, even with the benefit working at Prism gave him. B) His job was liaising between the military and the biotech company, that should’ve been his focus. C) The damn virus was everywhere and D) Who the hell should’ve cared if someone else was wondering around out here at night?
More fool him for agreeing to help with a patrol. It just fed into that loop in his head. There were answers out there though, ones he’d slowly started to find breadcrumbs of.
Not here though.
Hands in his pockets, the mask leaving him feeling like he was breathing through a damp sock, Finn made his way through the amusement park. This was the sort of place that would’ve been filled with screaming kids and their harangued parents just a few short months ago. Did it look better under the bright neon lights or did they just illuminate the grim under all that bright flashy gloss? Did it matter?
Finn huffed out a breath of laughter. When he’d been like ten his dad had brought him to a place like this. It had been tired as hell, half the rides out of order, the toys offered up by the little concession booths as cheap as they’d come but he’d loved it. His dad had even complained about the dozen rides he’d demanded on the Ferris Wheel. They’d been in a bottom of the barrel motel then and in comparison the fairground had seemed like another world. This one … this one just felt sad.
One more circuit he told himself, then he’d head back, calling in a clear quadrant. He saw the flash of colour then, the park lighting up around him. Weaving his way towards the spot he saw two figures resolve. There went the clear quadrant.
”Hey, what are you doing in here? The place is meant to be locked up.” Not that it stopped anybody in Lethford. Maybe if people had been able to keep their asses home the virus would’ve been petering out by now instead of climbing to record heights. Dark brows drew together above his mask as he got close. ”You planning on riding?” He tipped his head back, looking up at the ride. Alec would’ve told him it was a sign but his dad always had more faith than he did, despite all that had happened to him.
Tagged:Carmen Romero & @gregoriodelgado * Word Count: 438
[attr="class","CONTENTb"] The brunette tilted her head to the side, luminous curls falling on her face. She tucked away a strand behind her ear, keeping it from blocking her view. Her gaze dropped down to the operation desk, dark eyes flickering between all the buttons and levers, one delicate finger running over them. Hmm, she thought as she tried to remember how it all worked. It had been a hot minute since the last time she was here. Blame the lack of time thanks to work.
Carmen somewhat remembered how it all worked but she wasn't entirely confident in her abilities. Nevertheless, she pressed one of the buttons, chocolate eyes sparkling as the ride came to life just like the rest of the park. The lights flickered slightly, fighting and struggling to get alive after probably a long time of being turned off.
Flashing a bright smile at Greg she nodded towards the ride. "Hop i-" She stopped mid-sentence, her head whipping towards the new voice. Carmen gave the newcomer a quick once over, lips arching up in delight at the sight of his uniform. A soldier. Her last run-in with those didn’t end quite… well. At least not for Az. A little bitterness and anger bubbled up inside of her at the sight of him. Carmen had never been the kind of woman who was out for revenge but sometimes - especially when it involved Az - she could go for a tiny, itsy bitsy bit of vengeance.
"Oh, it is?" she questioned, pushing her bottom lip slightly forward into an innocent pout, looking around the area. "I did not realize." the brunette responded, a fake gasp making its way past her lips, shaking her head slightly. "In need of a short break from patrol, sir?" she told him, offering nothing more than a small shrug towards the ride.
[attr="class","TAG"]### WORDS @gregoriodelgado Finn LaSalle
Greg watched Carmen work, impressed. He’d come here before, but he’d never snuck out here and operated the rides, which she did easily as though she was a master. The lights flicked on, and he returned her smile. Alright. They’d already snuck in; where was the harm in just a quick ride? Just as Greg returned Carmen’s smile, she was interrupted. They shouldn’t be here, and they’d been caught.
Based on the uniform, things could get even worse. Greg had never known law enforcement or military types to have the coolest tempers, even when they were otherwise good people- and this pandemic tended to bring out the worst in people. Greg took in the soldier’s serious expression worriedly. This guy wouldn’t even be wrong to think of Greg as just like any other citizen disobeying the law. They shouldn’t be here, and they certainly shouldn’t be here together. They weren’t here in a medical capacity.
Greg resisted the urge to move closer and apologize- he often found himself resisting his natural tendency to try to connect with people by closing the distance. It might have worked wonders in the past, but now it was more threat than demonstration of empathy. Besides, this man might arrest them. He didn’t need Greg trying to talk his way out of it and failing. What excuse did they have? Just having a little fun- at the expense of undermining necessary precautions. He just wanted a break- but so did everyone else.
Greg kept his hands where the soldier could see them, level with his chest- anything higher up or further out might have seemed threatening. He didn’t want to make more trouble for himself or Carmen. They might already be facing some. Breaking lockdown protocols just for a night of illegal fun was a bad look for two medical professionals- the only reason anyone took them seriously was that they abided by the same rules as everyone else. Guiltily, Greg spoke up.
“We have some time before curfew. We’re both off the clock, and we had the same idea.”
It wasn’t, strictly speaking, false. They didn’t have much time. If they left now, they might make it just under the wire. The soldier knew how close they were cutting it too, and more importantly, that they’d broken in. Greg smiled bashfully, trying to play it off. There was no reason to turn this into a fight. If the soldier wanted to enforce the law, they would be upstanding citizens and leave. If he didn’t, that was another story.
People weren’t happy to have their fun broken up. More than once on these patrols he’d taken a ton of flack from those who believed their civil liberties were being trampled over because they were being asked to stay the hell at home where possible. Oh, they had rights, everybody did, including the one to go and get themselves killed by this virus when they refused to follow a single rule being put forward by the government. A party for thirty in an apartment building? Sure. If you want to watch the corpses of your neighbours being wheeled out two weeks later.
For now it was what it was, you lived with the rules or you faced the consequences … most of the time. Ranking his teeth over his lips beneath the cover of his mask Finn eyed the brunette working the controls and the guy she was obviously powering the ride up for. Technically he should’ve been moving them on, commanding voice booming, the threat of a fine or a trip down to the local precinct added for good measure. There wasn’t an ounce of that authoritative heat in his voice as he reminded them that the place was meant to be shut.
Brown eyes narrowed at the woman as she raked him with a gaze that should’ve warned him about what was coming next. He clucked his tongue, bobbing his head slowly. ”I suppose the signs all over the entrance were kinda hard to miss,” he drawled lightly. His eyes returned to the ride, dropping back down to her at the emphasis on the sir. ”Sargaent LaSalle,” he lied. His military rank was as redacted as everything else in his life these days. Catching sight of the guy’s hands still hovering in the air like he was warding off a shot that wasn’t gonna come. ”You can put them down,” he told him, gesturing his hands down.
He was a hard ass at the best of times but something about the bright flash of lights was making it hard to keep up that pall of grim. ”Maybe, there is a little time til curfew after all,” Finn grunted. He cast a look over his shoulder, his gaze skittering from booths to rides and back again before they returned to the ride in front of him. A soldier on patrol was meant to be the paragon of virtue. The poster boy for following every regulation as though each had been rubber stamped on his ass. ”Think we can social distance on this thing?” Screw it. He’d never been the party type, had rarely cracked the grim to have fun once he’d gotten old enough to enlist but if this was the end of the damn world then he wasn’t gonna go out having passed up the opportunity for one last spin around in the air.
Tagged:Carmen Romero & @gregoriodelgado * Word Count: 476
