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","CONTENT"] Finally. The day Christian had been waiting for such a long, long, long time had finally arrived. His partner was gone and he was assigned a new one. He didn't know much about them except that he was assigned a rookie, fresh out of the academy. Usually, they would be paired with a training officer, one holding a higher rank, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The call came in this morning and for the briefest moment of moments, he wondered what had happened to his former partner. Did he quit? Did he get fired? Most likely - for being such a pain in the ass. Or did he die? But was that something Christian really wanted to care about? He was just glad he was finally gone. Heck, he didn't even know he could hate a person as much as he hated his partner.
The car was already parked outside, popping open the trunk he put the gear for the day inside and closed it again. Adjusting his uniform and checking everything on his belt was where it belonged he moved up to the driver's side. Keys jiggled in his hands as he looked at them. He didn't drive for the past few months and he had no intention to do so. He preferred sitting in the passenger seat, although, letting rookies drive probably wasn't the best idea.
The officer lifted his gaze from the keys, brown eyes looking at a brunette heading towards him. He checked her name tag, making sure it was the name he was told. "Officer Parker." he greeted with a nod before tossing the keys over to her. "You're driving." he said, and with that walked around the patrol car to the passenger side, "You can call me Christian." he called over before sliding into the car.
First day jitters didn’t even begin to describe how nervous Sam was, but she tried to not let it show as she was given a tour of the police department and shown to where her locker was, her desk, and provided with her official badge and gun. She was given her new partner’s information, and then sent off for the day. Sam had kind of hoped to meet her new partner when she first arrived, so that it wasn’t awkward, but didn’t let the fact that she was now going to have to walk up and introduce herself bother her too much.
Making her way out to the parking lot, she scanned the lot before finding her partner, just where they’d said that he’d be waiting. Taking a deep breath, she walked in his direction, offering a faint smile as he looked up to see her. At her name, the smile deepened slightly. ”Yeah-” And then she had keys being tossed her way, and her words cut off as she focused on catching them, her expression surprised. Before she could say anything else, he was already getting into the car. Sam paused, tilting her head slightly. ”Uh - cool, okay.” She said, mostly to herself, hurrying over to the driver’s side and getting in. She started the cruiser before pulling her seatbelt across her body and securing it with a ‘click’. For a minute she just stayed quiet, trying to come up with what to talk about, using the excuse of backing out and making her way out of the parking lot as an excuse.
”So - Christian. You can call me Sam.” She began, glancing over at him briefly before returning her focus to the task at hand. ”How long have you been a police officer?” Was it random? Yes. Did she immediately want to just disappear? Also yes.
316 words - Christian Lee - bigger pile of trash for u
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Shutting the door of the cruiser he adjusted the seat slightly to sit more comfortably, glancing at the laptop in the middle and turning it into his direction. He typed something on it before leaning back into his seat and putting on his seatbelt. His eyes moved between the side view mirror and the rearview mirror, not entirely trusting her driving skills just yet. His old partner was a horrible driver, always stopping every five minuted for a restroom break, always going too slow during a chase which most of the time led them to losing the suspect or with Christian having to get out of the vehicle for a foot chase. Needless to say, he was in top physical condition.
Once they were out of the parking lot he moved his hands to his west, grabbing the collar area of it. It was such a police thing to do. Walking with their hands grabbing their west, standing doing it, sitting doing it. He wasn’t exactly sure why but it was just the most comfortable position while wearing the gear west and belt because flinging your arms at your sides wasn’t really possible unless you wanted to constantly get stuck on your flashlight, your taser, or your gun. "No restroom breaks for the first two hours." he randomly said, just to make sure and perhaps to test her bladder capacity.
He thought about her question… because he couldn’t remember the exact time he began. Time seemed to have passed so fast but also very slow. "I think around… six or seven years now?" he said slowly, narrowing his eyes at the road ahead of them. "Funny. Usually, the first question rookies ask is Why are you a police officer? So Parker-" he paused, putting his arm on the edge of the window. "Sam. Why did you choose to become an officer?"
Samara had kind of expected her partner to be a hard ass, but she was still a little surprised by Christian’s off putting coldness. She quirked a brow at his rule, giving him a nod as she pressed her lips together. ”That’s fine.” Sam replied, though she was pretty sure he wouldn’t care whether she agreed with him or not. She just hoped she didn’t get a nervous bladder out of nowhere and ruin their entire dynamic before it even began. She didn’t want to see what would happen if she needed the bathroom within fifteen minutes of taking off - so she made a mental note to always hit up the bathrooms before coming out. Problem solved.
She was pleasantly surprised when he actually answered her question, and didn’t just ignore her or bullshit it. Sam glanced over at him as he spoke, a little impressed. It was nice to have someone to work with who’d been doing the job for a decent amount of time. She gave a little shrug at his musings on her initial question. ”I’m more curious with how experienced you are, and if I’ll be able to actually learn anything from you. That was my second question, though.” She said, tossing him a slight smile before his question came in like a gut punch. Why had she become a police officer? Because it was quicker than becoming a scientist or a doctor. Because it was the fastest way she could help. Sam’s smile faded slightly, and she used the excuse of driving to not have to make eye contact. ”I just wanted to feel useful. Help out where I can.” She told him, her tone casual. Pulling out onto the road, Sam started on their planned route for today’s patrol. ”What was your reason?” She asked, curiosity in her tone.
313 words - Christian Lee - bigger pile of trash for u
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Nodding along as she talked he glanced over at her from time to time. He was already somewhat relieved when she agreed to his no restroom requirement. That quickly earned her a bonus point - for now. "We’ll see about that." he shrugged, his gaze following two teenagers crossing the street. "I’m sure you’ll be able to learn some things from me but the more important lessons will be those situations where you find yourself in all alone with no backup nearby." Christian averted his gaze towards the passenger side window, resting his elbow on top of the door panel.
He thought about it - his reason to work for the police. To be frank he wasn’t really sure why. It just… happened. It was always something he wanted to do since he was a child. He had asked himself the same question a bunch of times and he was never able to answer it - not even for himself. Did he want to help people? Did he want to fight crime and seek justice for the innocent? Did he want to protect those who couldn’t protect themself? He honestly didn’t know why. It was just… there. The feeling to want to become a police officer. "I don’t know." he told her, unsure about what other things he could have said. He could have lied, tell her the basic story blablabla but he decided not to. They needed to work together and trust each other to protect each other so honesty was a must.
Christian turned his head and looked at her. "I got shot! Where are we right now?!" he yelled, asking out of nowhere.
Sam looked over at him as he spoke, nodding slightly as her gaze flicked back to the road ahead of them. He was right. Of course the biggest tests were where she had to make decisions without the support of anyone else. Still, she was determined to do the best that she could. She couldn’t really prepare for that type of situation specifically, but what she could do was take everything she learned while working with those around her and do her best to apply it to those situations. ”Sounds like you’ve had a situation or two like that.” She replied, giving him a curious side glance and taking a turn.
She had expected a whole lot more than ‘I don’t know’, but she was slowly learning to not be surprised by Christian. She’d only been his partner for a morning and she could tell he was the kind of guy who didn’t mince words. Still, she was expecting a little more than just….not knowing. That didn’t even make sense. How could you not know? Even if it was because you thought guns were cool and you had an inflated sense of pride, that was still knowing. How could one aimlessly become a police officer? Sam frowned slightly, looking over at him, as if she were trying to figure him out. ”You don’t-” She started, but was immediately interrupted by him shouting out. In surprise, Sam brought them to a jerky stop, eyes widening as she looked over at him, bewildered.
Her brain simply could not process his words. She was too shocked. ”Where - uh - what?”
275 words - Christian Lee - bigger pile of trash for u
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Since he had it all planned beforehand he expected her to stop the car abruptly. He grabbed the door already to hold on to and steady himself. Definitely wasn’t the first time he pulled this. Christian looked over at her, eyes wide in expectation. He held up his arm, one finger tapping the watch on his wrist. "Tick tock, you’re running out of time. You need to make a call to dispatch, ask for backup, and an ambulance. Officer Parker, where are we?" he asked, once again, getting a little bit impatient.
The dark-haired officer turned his head to look at her, still attempting to figure out coordinates. "Too late. I bled to death. 10-55. Coroner’s case." Giving the side mirror on his side a quick glance he stepped out of the vehicle, making sure there’s no traffic behind them. He closed his door, walking over to the driver’s side. The officer knocked against the window, signaling her to get out herself so they could swap seats. "Out." He waited patiently for her to exit the car before sliding inside the driver’s seat. Christian wasn’t a fan of driving but that didn’t mean he couldn’t, obviously.
Pulling the car door close, he stepped softly on the gas pedal, letting the car roll slowly down the street before pushing the button to roll down the window fully. "You can get back in once you figure out where we are. If you’re letting yourself get distracted by a simple conversation and not pay attention to your surroundings how am I supposed to let you help others?" Glancing back and forth between the road in front of him and his new partner next to him. The hint of a satisfied smirk crossed his face for a brief moment. Christian poked his head out of the car, looking up at the sky. "It’s supposed to start raining soon. You better hurry."
Sam’s panic flared as he rushed her, which didn’t help her at all. She grasped that he was asking her for a location - to call for help, because he was bleeding to death. Looking at him with wide eyes, she glanced ahead and then behind them, trying to catch sight of road signs. It wasn’t a test she was expecting, not at all. ”Um, a quarter of a mile past-” She tried desperately to remember the last road sign she’d seen. Had she even seen one?
The sinking feeling began when he announced she’d taken too long, and then he was getting out of the car. Frowning in deeper confusion, she watched him come around, trying to keep up with whatever this insane plot of his was. ”Out?” She echoed, but still obediently opened her door and got out. Watching him, dumbly, as he took her seat and shut the door. Leaving her standing on the road, like an absolute idiot.
As he took off, Sam started walking beside the vehicle, because she really didn’t have a choice. She offered him a deadpan expression as he lectured her. He was right, of course, but this was a little extreme, wasn’t it? ”This is a little ridiculous, isn’t it?” She asked, knowing he wasn’t going to agree with her. As he warned her about rain, her gaze flicked forward, trying to spot road signs. If she got rained on she was not going to be a happy camper.
253 words - Christian Lee - bigger pile of trash for u
[attr="class","CONTENT"] For a third time, he repeated the word. “Out.” He looked at the wing mirror on his side and the rearview mirror, checking for traffic he might stop by driving so slowly but of course, given that the government ordered everyone to stay at home unless they were essential workers, the streets were almost empty. The handful of cars that were on the same lane as he was just passed him without any efforts.
“You know what’s ridiculous? Your sense of direction and your memory. We’re at Forsythe Street. There’s an upcoming intersection three miles ahead and if you turn right you’ll get into Watts Street, which is basically the middle of Chinatown.” Christian explained, knowing the route, and more important the city, by heart. He wasn’t born in Lethford, nor was he raised here, but yet he could drive around without the help of a map most of the time. Not always… but usually.
Christian snickered softly, more in a playful manner though, one hand having a steady grip on the steering wheel. The other reached out, over the laptop, to open up the small compartment in front of the passenger seat. He had to lean a bit to the side, but once he accomplished to get a hold of what he needed he returned to his initial position. His gaze turned back to Samara as he held out a set of papers to her. “Old methods never fail.” he told her, dangling the map out of his window.
“Look, I offer you a deal. If you can name the best place to get pho and wontons from I’ll let you back in.”
