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"] The weather change from summer to fall happened so fast it gave Aurelio no time to prepare. The cold slapped him in the face out of nowhere. Ouch. Wrapping his arms around himself, he walked down the street, eyes scanning the area for someone. But it was empty. There was no single soul out at this time. Thank you pandemic. Half of the street lights were already turned off and he could hear soldiers shouting in the distance signaling a bunch of people to return to their homes since the curfew had already started.
He caught sight of the tip of the rifles as they turned around the corner, his feet quickly dragging him into a dark alleyway. Tiptoeing down and throwing glances over his shoulder ever so often he spotted a set of fire stairs on the side of an apartment building. Aurelio never tried his hand at breaking into someone's home... he tilted his head back, looking up and squinting at one of the dark windows. Maybe. Before he could think more about it he heard footsteps approaching fast - too fast - and with that, he swung himself up the stairs, climbing up as fast as he could.
There were light and voices coming from the windows above - only one was dark. It looked as if no one was home. Perfect, he thought as he grabbed the window on the bottom to push it up slowly, avoiding making too much noise. The brunette ducked and squeezed himself through the opening, softly landing on the carpet as he made his way inside. It was so dark he could barely see anything but he did manage to spot a small cabinet, walking over to it and opened the first drawer - empty.
Charlie tended to sleep when he wasn’t out trying to find random jobs to do. So it wasn’t odd for him to already be in bed, fast asleep, by the time curfew rolled around. But the thing about being stressed - it tended to make one a light sleeper. And boy was Charlie stressed as of late. So when he woke in the middle of the night, he blinked up at his dark ceiling, wondering what had woken him up. He laid completely still in bed, listening intently, not really seeing anything in his bedroom. He felt like he could hear a faint shuffling, but couldn’t decide if it was someone moving in another apartment - these walls were as thin as paper - or if it was coming from his own apartment.
Still, his heart immediately started hammering in his chest. He hadn’t forgotten the night in the park a few nights ago, his encounter with those other guys. The ones who would have done who knows what if they’d gotten their hands on him.
Quietly sliding out of bed, Charlie reached out for the bat he kept next to it. And then he slid over to his door, barely lifting his feet from the carpet as he wrapped his hand slowly around the knob, counting to three in his head before whipping the door open, flicking his bedroom light on, and rushing out into the living room, bat raised up as if ready to hit someone. The light from his room spilled into the common area, and he immediately caught sight of the slight figure in the room. Not recognizing the guy in front of him, Charlie tried to look serious. ”Who are you and what are you doing in my house?” He demanded, hoping he sounded tougher than he looked - dressed in only a white tee and his boxers.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Aurelio jumped at the sudden brightness in the room and the appearance of someone else. His hand went up to shield his eyes from the light, giving them time to adjust. He blinked rapidly, spots dancing in his view. Shit, fuck. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He could have sworn there was no one at home… but then again, the lights being out in the evening wasn’t unnormal these days, considering the scheduled power outages prevented people from having electricity at home after curfew.
He stepped back from the cabinet, holding his hands up to show he wasn’t armed. He tried to stay still, only his eyes moving as they looked at the person in front of him. Aurelio opened his mouth to explain himself, trying to come up with an excuse… but what would he say? Oh sorry, wrong apartment? I lost my keys and thought no one would notice if I climbed into it through the fire stairs? I thought I saw someone breaking in so I followed but hey, there’s no one so you’re safe? Fuck. Maybe he should get some sort of mentor. How to be a better thief 101.
Aurelio just… felt like giving up. He felt like making up an excuse wouldn’t help his situation and he was just… tired. Today out of all days he was out of energy. “S- sorry. I’m… I’m really, really sorry. I- I just….” he stuttered slightly, biting his lower lip as he looked at the guy with the baseball bat. “I didn’t take anything! So if you would just… let me go this time?” he requested, his voice quiet. He dropped his hands to his side, clenching them into fists to keep them from shaking, head drooping slightly.
Charlie kept the bat aloft, ready to swing in case the guy decided to suddenly lunge for him, even as Aurelio raised his arms in surrender. But as he listened to the other guy talk, the bat slowly lowered, Charlie relaxing his stance and frowning, already feeling bad for being so aggressive. The guy didn’t look that old - and he just looked...so sad. Charlie let the bat fall to his side, holding it loosely. He could still get it up for defense, but he was really doubting this was about to be a fight to the death. ”Uh...well…” Charlie glanced around his living room. Most of the expensive stuff had already been sold off. He didn’t even have TV in here anymore.
”To be fair, there’s not a lot for you to have taken, anyways.” Charlie said, his tone softer and just a little bit awkward. What a strange plot twist to this whole situation. ”But you did break in…” He knew he should call the police. Or at least kick the guy out. But he felt a little sympathetic now. Curse his nice disposition. ”These aren’t the most fancy apartments around, did you just...hope you’d find a hidden gem or something?” Charlie was really trying to understand why anyone would waste their time during a pandemic breaking into apartments on the off chance they’d find something nice to nick. He’d never stolen in his entire life, though, so maybe he just couldn’t understand it.
Remembering he was still in only his boxers, Charlie felt heat rising in his face. Alright. This was awkward enough without the lack of pants. ”Uh, look. I’m not...gonna hit you with this, or call the cops. You’re...fine. We’re good. Just - give me a minute.” He made a gesture for Aurelio to wait before disappearing into his room, returning moments later without the bat and dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of sweats. Stopping a few feet from the other male, Charlie cleared his throat. ”I’m Charlie. You are…?”
[attr="class","CONTENT"] ‘These aren’t the most fancy apartments around, did you just… hope you’d find a hidden gem or something?’
"Umm… actually, I was just hiding from patrols." he uttered, scratching the back of his head and nodded at the window. "Your apartment just happened to be the closest and it kinda looked like no one was at home." he mumbled, his voice quiet, clasping his hands together as if that would help somehow. He wasn't making up excuses, he didn't know if the guy would care or not. He just felt the need to clarify. "I didn’t intend to steal… just happened to cross my mind while I was here anyway. Sorry about that. I really am."
Aurelio was taken aback by the friendliness of this guy. He just broke into his home and tried stealing whatever he could have gotten his hands on but yet there he was introducing himself to him. This unintentionally made him more nervous. Did he accidentally break into a psychopath’s apartment? Was he some kind of weird serial killer? Who would react like this to a thief? Definitely not a sane person.
As he disappeared into another room or part of the apartment, gesturing him to wait where he was, Aurelio considered leaving, running away, hiding once again. He quickly moved towards the window and opened it slightly but as soon as he poked his head out he spotted the uniformed group right outside. Not a chance he would get away again.
He narrowed his eyes at the guy as he introduced himself as Charlie, asking for Aurelio’s name. Aurelio had his doubts about this guy but as he looked more around the room he noticed that there really wasn’t much he could have taken that had any worth. Maybe he wasn’t completely sane but he sure seemed just as unfortunate as him. "I’m…" he hesitated, swallowing hard. "Aurelio." He looked at the guy and the window before the sound of his grumbling stomach echoed through the room. "I probably should get going."
The answer the other boy gave him made much more sense. Charlie himself had had to avoid the patrols before, even though he’d always been returning from work. It seemed the longer this went on, the more power-drunk the people on those units seemed to get. Briefly, Charlie wondered if having the urge to steal just because he happened to be in someone else’s place made him a kleptomaniac. It didn’t really matter, of course, unless Aurelio was interested in stealing pocket lint and instant ramen.
”Yeah those patrols….I don’t blame you for that part, actually.” Charlie said, clearly already over the whole thing. He’d been startled, but he was now settling back into his friendly nature. Maybe he was just a little bit lonely - lonely enough to want to befriend a stranger who had broken into his apartment and attempted to rob him. It was sad, but it was true.
He thought Aurelio was going to leave - couldn’t blame him for that, either. Normal people didn’t treat thieves like he was treating Aurelio. But Charlie figured...if the world was going to be so nasty, then why not be kind? He’d never understand being cruel for cruelty sake. As Aurelio mentioned leaving, Charlie frowned softly. ”Erm, well...uh - well, what about the patrols? You don’t have to leave…” He said, trying to think. Yep, he was lonely. How long had it been since he’d had some company in this too-quiet apartment? Since before his parents, surely. Charlie glanced towards his kitchen and then back to Aurelio. ”I’ve got some takeout in the fridge. Are you hungry?” Charlie asked, gesturing towards his kitchen.
