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.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]we lose all control of our senses, so slowly give them up untilwe're defenseless, so surely this is not what you think it is
[attr="class","dilyric3"]it's worse
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Never would have Liam thought he would be back on patrol duty. But yet here he was standing on the Venshaw bridge, patrolling the entry and exit of the city. He made his way to the middle of the bridge, taking in a deep breath of fresh air. The night was quiet, a little chilly as it had finally cooled down. The summer was almost over and he couldn't wait for the heat to completely disappear.
His ID dangled around his neck - click click click - as the wind kept bouncing it against the metal railing of the bridge. Slightly annoyed he decided to take it off, pulling the cord over his head. Shaking his head at this ridiculous special identification instead of just trusting the badge, Liam whirled it around in a circle when suddenly a strong gust of wind caught him off guard, the ID card slipping out of his hand.
His reflexes kicked in almost instantly as he tried to grab it but his fingers just brushed past the fabric of the cord. Wide-eyed he watched it drop down, expecting it to hit the water of the river underneath the bridge, but the cord got stuck on something beneath the railing.
Liam tried to lean over the railing as much as he could to see what exactly it was stuck on but it was too dark to see. He plopped down into a crouch, arm outstretched to fetch it from the side he was standing on but he couldn't reach it. Mumbling a curse or two under his breath he let out an angry huff, standing up again, hands stemmed on his waist before he decided to climb over the railing.
It probably wasn't the safest thing to do but he trusted his skills. Locking his foot into the metal he swung over one leg, half sitting on the railing before the other leg followed. His back was turned towards the open side, the river below him. Making sure to hold on tight he tried reaching down with the other hand... just a little... more...
Unsurprisingly the clamped down harder than a pit bull with a steak. The military had been sent in early, the town’s police and the army sectioning it off, almost barricading it like they were just portioning it up for the virus to take in one big bite at a time. A decent move if you thought people were going to respect those boundaries anymore than they did any of the other orders that had come out of city hall.
Wear a mask.
Stay home where possible.
Don’t gather – like that wasn’t a red flag to a bull with holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving coming up.
Obey curfew.
That last threat and the punishments meted out for it had worked for the most part, although as an officer who’d served with her father had let her into the area leading to Venshaw Bridge, Frankie had proved that it meant little to her. She wasn’t adverse to taking risks, never had been. In the parts of the world where war raged and those in uniform stormed in to try and bring peace back again disease raged. Never as quickly or without a single life saving measure in place other than trying to keep the hell away from it in the first place, but it raged all the same. You got used to the hand washing, to the masks. Even if they drove you insane.
Frankie tucked her hands in her pockets, fingers curling around camera she’d jammed into the big flap pockets of her coat. Not the zoom lens that would’ve made all of this easier but those were a little harder to hide from anybody who might stop her. The small bridge camera would maybe struggle in the lowering light as night fell and wouldn’t zoom half as far as the end of the bridge but it was something. It was all something.
Her footsteps slowed as she moved onto the bridge itself. The soldier had warned her that there were patrols out here, that she was pretty much on her own and totally screwed if anybody found her but like she did with most things, she shot him a half smile and tapped her fingers against the press pass around her neck like that got her anything but more half truth and glossily veneered words of reassurance from city hall.
There was movement out there, a figure at the side of the bridge. Clad dark enough for it to be uniform, thankfully not looking in her direction as she crept forward to see just how fiercely they were cutting the city off out here. Frankie eased to the other side of the bridge, taking slow, easy steps to keep from giving away she was here with her usually rapid stomp of boot heels. One eye was on the tall form, the other on the road ahead and the distant objects she could see that might’ve been some sort of road block.
One blink the officer was standing there, the next it seemed he was about to go over the edge. For Christ’s sake. Breath trapped in her throat Frankie bolted across the road, snatching a handful of the guy’s uniform jacket right between his shoulder blades. She wedged her feet under the railing, like that was going to do anything but cause a momentary pause if he fell. ”What the hell are you doing?” she hissed. Frankie craned, getting a second hand on him, a fumbling grip that had her slipping slightly. ”There are other ways of dealing with what’s going on, people to talk to.”Don’t take me over with you, don’t take us both over, please, please, please.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]we lose all control of our senses, so slowly give them up untilwe're defenseless, so surely this is not what you think it is
[attr="class","dilyric3"]it's worse
[attr="class","dibody3"]
The brunette was slightly struggling to reach the ID card. It was just four inches out of reach if even. If he could just duck a bit into its direction he could grab it. He outstretched his fingers, flexing them ever so slightly, trying once again. The tips brushed past the cold, plastic surface of the card, but he couldn’t go any further without moving from his spot. Would it be worth falling for a piece of plastic? Probably not.
The prospect of taking a dip into the, now freezing waters, wasn’t that great and definitely not what he had planned for the day. He exhaled, the warmth of his breath against the cold air forming a small, foggy cloud. Pressing his lips together, Liam scrunched his nose as he focused on another attempt.
However, before he could do anything a hand suddenly grabbed his jacket out of nowhere. Startled, Liam momentarily loosened his grip on the railing, "Shit!" he let out, his voice raised in anger and annoyance. He looked up to see a woman grabbing him from the other side of the railing. "Are you out of your goddamn mind?" he huffed, eyebrows drawn together as his facial expression turned from surprise and light confusion into a glare. "What the hell am I doing?" he repeated after her in disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?" Liam bellowed at her, a low growl erupting from his throat.
Liam twisted his body, trying to return to his original position so he could climb back over to the safe side of the bridge. But her hard grip on his clothing made it difficult and before he knew his footing slipped, his hand gliding down the metal as he tried to regain his grasp on it. "Geeze. Let. Go. Of me!" the officer shouted, blue eyes glancing back and forth between the blonde and the river below.
The guy was heavier than he looked, almost breaking free of her grip as her grab for him seemed to either startle him or push him into making that leap. As he cursed angrily Frankie jammed the toes of her boots harder against the railing, ready to throw herself backward and shift their weight entirely.
If this guy was going to take a dive he’d have to take her with him to make it happen now and while people were ready to make decisions about their own life and death they were so rarely prepared to take someone else with them to do it.
He looked up at her then. Blue eyes, scruff the colour of his sandy brown hair on his jaw, surprise in his expression giving way to piss and vinegar as he huffed at her. Frankie stared at him for a moment, her mouth falling open slightly. ”Am I out of my goddamn mind?” A shocked laugh rolled out of her, her breath pluming the air between them in a way that reminded her she should’ve had her damn mask on. Maybe this guy had tested positive and this was him choosing his own way out instead of dying choking on his own lungs in a hospital bed. ”I’m not the one climbing over the side of a bridge. I’d say that makes me the sane one right now.” The fact that she was clinging onto someone without a second thought when social distancing had been rammed down everybody’s throats for months might’ve added a heavy dose of pants on fire to that claim.
Frankie flexed her fingers in his clothing, the drag of his body weight and the heavy cloth making them ache. He had to weigh far more than her, his body weight added to with the bulk of whatever he was wearing. Most of it seemed lost in the darkness of the night, just a vague shape giving her the idea that he wasn’t going down light. ”Are you kidding?” she asked, entirely serious. Frankie jerked her chin forward, green eyes glimmering as she indicated the fall just an inch in front of his nose. ”I’m playing baccarat, what the hell do you think I’m doing.” Christ.
The curse grew more vehement in her mind as he went to shift and slipped.
Shit.
Frankie fumbled, one hand flailing to grab for the hand that was slipping. She wrapped her fingers around his wrist, tightened them until her knuckles went white. ”I’ll let go when you start getting your ass on this side of the bridge,” she ground out between gritted teeth. ”You try and go off the other side and I’m going with you. Do you really want that?” She didn’t. Coming to Lethford to try and document what was going on had been a big enough health risk but one she was willing to take. This was so far over the line on what even she was prepared to do for a story.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]we lose all control of our senses, so slowly give them up untilwe're defenseless, so surely this is not what you think it is
[attr="class","dilyric3"]it's worse
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Liam let out a long, irritated sigh, the air coming out of his nose turning into steam right in front of his face. Oh god, he couldn’t believe this. How he wished he could just slap his ID in her face to show her he was working. "I’m not too keen on taking a dip in freezing cold water either. I’d very much prefer a hot bath at home. But if you continue to hold on to me like that the dip in the river sounds like a more plausible scenario." Liam spat out as he continued his glare at her. If only she would let go of him he could have a more stable attempt at getting back over. But like this? Not knowing how she would react when he moved? It could be too risky to do much.
It took him some time for the realization to hit him with the same coldness the evening breeze brought with it. "Goddamnit! Do you think I’m jumping?" he roared over the wind, followed by an audible scoff at the woman holding onto him because she thought she was clinging to someone who lost his will to live.
Liam’s hands were cold, the frigid metal burning his skin as he held onto it, fingers curled around as tight as possible. He took a deep breath, mimicking her laugh from earlier. There were many ways to go and even if it was the case Liam would definitely choose a more pleasant one and especially one that didn’t carry down someone else with him. He understood her concerns and he would most likely be having the same thoughts if he saw someone climb over the railing of a bridge.
It was a perilous and probably a stupid idea. The cold wind blew in his face, his cheeks turning a shade of tawny rose. Snuffling as the crisp air stung his face he attempted to get his secure footing back. It would definitely be easier if she let go of him. At least he wouldn’t need to worry about accidentally taking her with him like she threatened or feared. The latter being the more logical thing.
"As if you could drag someone my size back over." he murmured under his breath, sarcasm and more annoyance filling his voice. Give it a try, he thought, might be a good arm workout for her. "Look, I’m not trying to jump. I was just trying to get something I lost over there." he explained, nodding towards the direction of his ID. All thoughts about retrieving it were gone already. It would be a pain to get a new one and he could already see the glares he would receive from the desk sergeant. Good thing temporary IDs existed… he hoped.
Another glance down at the river before he looked at the railing in front of him, wrapping his fingers around it tighter. "Let’s make a deal, shall we? I’ll climb back over but you have to let go first. If I go down by accident I would prefer to go alone. Can’t drag a civilian into this mess." Slowly, he rose, moving one foot to the side and tucking it into the railing. He slid his hands up the frosty bars as carefully as he could, trying not to be bothered by the cold biting his skin.
Careful and slowly. That was his plan. That plan went down the drain, or bridge at this moment, as he slipped once again. The bridge didn't look that frozen and slippery in the dark but Liam found out too late. He popped up in a standing position within a second of slipping and automatically grabbed the woman by her shoulder with one hand.
Fortunately though, the benefit of being part of an exclusively trained police force, he pushed himself forward, hitting the railing hard with his upper body before slipping his arms over it. Today was not the day to fall down from a bridge. A series of curses left his lips as he hung over the railing, breathing hard from the adrenaline that shot through him. He was going to just take a breather before swinging himself over to the other side.
Green eyes narrowed to jade slits at him, watching through his exhaled plume of air as he got pissy with her. If he wasn’t so damn keen on taking a dive then maybe he shouldn’t have been clinging on to the side of the bridge after dark, looking for all the world like he was about to pull a damn swan song. Frankie snorted through her nose, shaking her head at him, disturbing that mist in the air. Right. She’d let go and he’d be gone and whose conscience was it gonna be on then? Not his because the fall was high enough that he’d obviously snap his foolish neck the moment he hit the water.
Her teeth bared at him, numb fingers digging tighter into his clothing. ”You’ve got a pretty shitty way of showing it,” she growled back. The glare wasn’t about to work on her, not when she’d spent her entire childhood and most of her adult life facing it from men with far more power and far scarier death stares.
Doubts began to set in though, like the cold in her bones and the burn in her fingers as the weight of him dragged at her. Eventually she was gonna lose her grip and if she was wrong he’d be gone. If. She’d been so damn sure but then the roar tore out of him and Frankie gritted her teeth against it. There was the power. Her eyes widened as she stared down at him. ”Yes! What the hell do you think it looks like from up here?” Appearances were deceiving though. Hadn’t she spent her entire career stripping away those deceits?
Most of the time she’d gotten it right, the times she hadn’t … had been a kick in the teeth.
This one felt like that now. The certainty in her face melting away as he tightened his grip on the rail and laughed at her. She’d been wrong and had jumped in with both feet. There was no way in hell she was going to call it doing the wrong thing though, not even with this idiot laughing his ass off at her as the wind continued to chap at both of them.
It was a Mexican stand off pandemic style, at least until he got sarcastic. Then she felt like letting the asshole go. Screw her conscience, he’d deserve it just for underestimating her. ”As if you’d have any idea of what I’m capable of,” she growled back coolly. Brows furrowing, Frankie craned forward an inch, trying to see past him. ”It didn’t occur to you just to let it go?” She wouldn’t have done though, would she? Stubborn fool that she was she’d have done the same and maybe made a better job of it than he had.
Frankie shifted her feet, trying to get a better purchase while she had the chance. Her fingers flexed in his clothing, the fabric grinding against her skin, the joints screaming out for release. She stopped as he called her a civilian in the terms of his little deal though. Looking down sharply, she tried to study his clothing as he began to rise. A cop? Military? Shit. ”Half right,” she grumbled. Looking back up Frankie studied his face for a moment before she nodded slowly. ”Deal. I’m done trying to save your ass.” Ungrateful ass it seemed at this point.
Slowly, as he began to move, she loosened her grip on him. Fingers gone white loosened, skimming over the fabric of his uniform as she edged back to give him room. Boots crunching on the ground as she managed a half step, weight shifting as she went to take another. Like she’d predicted, his little trip back over without her help worked out real damn well. In an instant he was slipping, popping back up almost instantly to clutch at her. The ‘I told you so’ was on her lips as she stumbled back in, her hips slamming against the rail as she made a clutch for him.
He hit the other side, rattling the rails as he threw himself over it. The curses that slipped out of him had that near hysterical huff of humour bursting out of her again. ”What was it you were saying about doing this yourself?” she asked. Her fingers slowly eased their grip on him again, hovering an inch over him like that was going to do much if he took a bigger tumble. Frankie panted, the muscles of her arms and legs quivering. All of this for whatever the hell he’d dropped.
