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.
Jasper really didn't want to be going out into this madness. Of course he had heard about the haunted house and warehouse rave. He was pretty sure he had heard it straight from the masterminds mouth, a handful of rebels who just wanted to have some fun. Who just wanted to party it up without having to have the police show up to their place and shut down the party because there were too many people near one another. Not because of some noise complaint like the good ol' days. Jasper truly had no intentions of going. Had even told the guy he wasn't going to.
And then damn Ezra Littlejohn. That frustrating little blonde woman of his. Or well, not really his but he couldn't help but feel that way about her. She had made the comment that she was going. Something about work and a story. He tossed a fit, in his usual Jasper way of course. Quiet, trying to be reasonable, scoffing when she refused to just stay home. So what did that mean for the six foot seven beast of a man? He had dug out a plaid shirt, jeans, boots, and a pair of suspenders. Do it yourself, last minute lumberjack costume. He definitely looked the part with his long hair down in light waves and his bearded face. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be wondering his way towards the warehouse. But there he stood, in the shadows so no patrol saw him, waiting for Ezra to arrive. His phone in his hand as he texted her to let her know that he was there.
When Ezra had heard about the forbidden halloween party, of course she'd known she'd have to go. She'd already decided as much when she mentioned it to Jasper, and found herself arguing with him instead. Of course, when she'd reaffirmed she was going, she thought that was that. But no, now they were going together. And because she hadn't planned a costume, she was left with what she could find in her closet. Hopefully Jasper didn't put too much effort into his outfit.
She parked her bike a few blocks away, choosing to approach on foot and to keep her bike far away from the criminal activity. Hopefully everyone else was just as careful when arriving, or this would be a short lived rebellion. As she walked, she texted Jasper, and it didn't take long for her to spot him. She almost tripped when she did, but thankfully she managed to stay steady. Along with the ripped up shirt, lace and fishnet combo bodysuit, she was wearing skin-tight jeans with fishnet covering the areas of her legs where the jeans revealed skin. Her feet, though, were sensibly clad in military boots. The choker, numerous bracelets, makeup, and teased, wild hair finished it off. She wasn't sure if she was just dressing grunge, or if she really looked like a 'rocker chick' like she'd been hoping. Maybe just a hooker, then. She'd thought, looking at herself, but it was a little too late to go back now. "Hey." She said, simply, in way of greeting, suddenly extremely nervous to know what his reaction would be.
Jasper was so focused on his phone that he didn't bother looking at the others passing by. Trying to see those little dots appear to show that she was texting him back. But after a while of not seeing anything, he started to feel a little silly. He put his phone away in his front pocket just in time to hear her voice greet him. His blue eyes moving from the ground to run up her costume until he could look her in the eye. Well, this certainly was a different costume. He was not sure what he had really expected from her but it was not this. "And what exactly are you supposed to be? A gothic chick that is begging for me to take her home right away? Because if so, you nailed it." He teased her, letting his eyes roam over her once more before he stayed focused on her face.
Ezra wasn't exactly expecting his words, but that didn't mean a little thrill didn't run through her, feeling her face heating up already. She was blushing - which was a shock - and all she could do was hope the darkness and her makeup would hide it from his view. "I was going for some kind of rock fan. And you're a...lumberjack?" She gave him an appraising look, smirking. "That almost seems too easy." She shifted her weight, nodding towards the warehouse.
"I've still got a story to get, so we're definitely still going." Though, she thought, she wouldn't be opposed to joining him at his place after the party. Stitch was staying at Rosie's, thankfully, so she could make that choice. She didn't mention it, though there was a look to her eyes that revealed a hint of what she might be thinking. "Ready?"
Had Jasper seen the blush on her face, he would have further teased her about going home. Because truly he did believe that they should no be out here. That this was a not so great idea on either of their parts. Her's for wanting to work a story, his for following after her because he didn't want anything to happen to her. He had learned that trouble liked to follow her. Which meant that now he was cautious and wanted to be there as her backup. More trouble for him really. "It was the best I could do last minute." He laughed, looking down at himself and the lumberjack idea that he had.
As she pressed that they were not to be leaving, he groaned lightly. Pressing his lips together for a moment, with his hands on his hips as he closed his eyes and his face was towards the ground. Clearly looking like he was pulling himself together before he reached out and took her hand. "Let's get this over with. You stick by me, okay? Don't leave my sight. I have a feeling you would find trouble the moment I couldn't see you." He told her, his voice perhaps a bit stern but it truly was said because he worried about her.
Ezra smiled as he defended his choice of costume, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "I never said it didn't look good." There was a wicked curve to her smile that said she definitely found it quite pleasing to the eye. And then she cocked a brow as he responded to her announcement that they most certainly were going in.
She wasn't expecting him to take her hand. Ezra had never held hands with someone before, at least not like how she held Jasper's hand. No, there hadn't been any mountain top dates, night drives that led to night swims, and certainly no hand-holding while attending a party together. It made something in her chest ache terribly, and she considered dropping his hand. Because that was such a...couple thing to do. And she didn't want him thinking she was just going to be Mrs. Jasper now. But his words made her throw him a smile, giving his hand a squeeze. "Mmm, I wouldn't bet on it. I'm sure I can still find trouble even if you're right next to me all night." A quick flash of her usual smirk and a wink and then she was taking off, using the hand holding as an excuse to haul him behind her. Pushing through the entrance to the warehouse, Ezra led the way into the haunted house.
Jasper wasn't an overly gushy with his feelings. Had never been as a child, had never been as a teen, and definitely not as a man. But there was just some stuff that made you feel good that made him want to touch her. The hand holding was enough for him. And when she didn't rip her hand from his, he secured his grip on her. She wasn't going to slip away from him. Hopefully. And as her hand squeeze his, he had to laugh. It felt good to have her beside him like this. It made him feel light. As light as a six foot seven man could be.
He let her tug him along, towards the front of the warehouse and he chuckled. "It's true. A lot of guys want to try and show their tough with the biggest man in the room." Maybe that wasn't even a good thing to put out there as a possibility. That it was a bad idea to put out into the universe. But the worse were already out there. And in that moment, he was distracted enough to be pulled into the haunted house. It was dark, and he found himself hovering closely behind Ezra. Well here goes nothing. "How good are you with haunted houses?" He asked as they lingered outside the first room. Was he going to the be the jumpy mess, or was it going to be her?
Ezra chuckled at his words, shaking her head at the image of Charles, puffing up like a rooster when Jasper had approached her. "That's got to be exhausting. No one ever tries to challenge the short girls." She quipped, shrugging her shoulders. In her opinion, being underestimated was only an advantage for her. People didn't look at her and think she was tough, or a challenge. But she'd been short as a kid and even though her height was average for a woman, anyone would feel dwarfed next to someone as large as Jasper. And yet, he didn't make her nervous - at least not in a bad way.
Stepping into the haunted house, she hesitated, glancing around before turning her chin upwards and over her shoulder to look at Jasper as he asked her about her level of comfort with haunted houses. Ezra gave a little shrug. "Never been in one." She admitted, looking back towards the only route available to them. An open doorway, darkness the only thing she could really make out. As a kid, her parents hadn't really been the kind to drive all over god's creation just to take their kid to a few frights. She'd mostly just gone trick or treating and stayed out well past her bedtime. As an adult, she'd been so focused on her goals and work that she'd never felt she had the time. And yet, here she was, holding this man's - this confusing, terrifying, irresistible man - hand. "Don't worry. I won't let them get you." She teased, grinning now as she tugged him forward, excitement making her eager to begin.
The first room was even more darkly lit than the entry hall, but then there was a loud snapping sound that made Ezra jump out of her skin, her forward movement suddenly coming to a halt as she side-stepped, as if already moving to avoid some unseen enemy, her head whipping to the side as she followed the source of the sound. A flash of light revealed that the snapping sound was the crackle of electricity, some sort of jump scare mixed with a light source. It lit up the room enough for her to see the figure standing in the far corner, at least. Right next to the exit from room one and the entrance to room two.
A very doubtful expression made its home on his face. "The girl who charges head first into sketchy bars and probably breaks some laws to get a story... has never been in a haunted house... why do I not believe that?" He said, looking down to her as she tried to shrug it off like it was no big deal. Her hand still firmly in his and his eyes watching her for any sign that she was not going to like being in the haunted house. Though, if she did get scared, it was a good reason for her to get wrapped up in his arms. So in a way, it was a win win for him. First time through a haunted house, maybe she'll get scared and want him to hold her tightly.
"Don't worry. I won't let them get you."
He chuckled, following her into the first room without any hesitation. He had to duck under the doorway, but that was nothing new to him. Most places had a clearing of six foot five inches. Which meant the top of his head usually got clipped if he wasn't paying attention. The family in the shop had actually installed bigger doors just because of him when he became like family to them. The first room was dark, and he was blinking several times to try and get his eyes to adjust. He had to admit she was brave for going in first. Though his grip tightened on her hand when she jumped. The electric snapping noise coming from the side lit up the room enough for him to see her clearly. He was not aware of the figured in the room. He switched places with her, taking the lead as it was now his turn to tug her along.
As he went to enter room two, the figure he missed moved as an audio played an evil laughing. The figured reaching out to act like it was going to grab him. He high stepped it out while pulling Ezra into his arms with him. Laughing as he realized that he was just a bit spooked by the figure.
"The girl who charges head first into sketchy bars and probably breaks some laws to get a story... has never been in a haunted house... why do I not believe that?"
Ezra glanced up at him, brows raised and a growing smile on her face. ”I just...never got the chance to go, I guess.” She said, her tone flippant and dismissive. Ezra hadn’t ever felt like she was missing out - she always had other things to focus on every time Halloween came around. She was only going to this one because it was illegal and she wanted to know what would end up happening.
She was a bit relieved when he took lead, thinking that he’d seen the figure, too. At least she didn’t have to charge towards it and act brave. Only, as soon as they reached the next doorway the figure jerked forward and the next thing she knew she was being all but dragged from the room. Raucous laughter broke out of her, and she put a hand over her mouth to muffle it. ”I thought you saw him.” She said, her tone apologetic but laughter in her words that died a slow death as she turned her gaze towards the room they’d entered. For a moment it was just as dark as the last room, and then a pair of red lights flashed on for a brief second before turning off.
The light was just long enough for her to see what was all over the walls. Bloody handprints. The faceless mannequins stationed in the room, like a crowd of onlookers, were also drizzled in blood. Ezra hadn’t seen blood since the riots, and even though there was a voice screaming in her head that it was fake, that it was for show, some deeper-seated part of her went ice cold. She wasn’t really aware of the fact that her grip was tightening on Jasper’s hand, and as soon as the light flashed again she was trying to see past the mannequins to see where the exit was, but she couldn’t seem to focus. It was like the entire room was drenched in the stuff, even though that was only the affect of the red lights.
He was still chuckling as he looked down to her. Slowly letting her go from his arms as he shook his head to show that no, he had not seen he figure in the corner. But he had gotten them the hell out of there just in time. The tease died on his lips as he turned to look down on her and watched her as she looked around the new room. Her face going almost pale in the red flashing flight which was concerning. Her grip tightened on his hand and as he looked up into the room, it took him a moment to see what was going on. Was it the mannequins themselves?
And then he noticed all the blood. And he remembered when he had stitches up her hand and she told him about what had happened. She didn't dive deep into details but he didn't need her to at the end. She had said enough and the strain in her voice that night had been a clear indicator to him on how much it effected her. So as they stood there staring into the room. He knew he'd have to walk her through this. "Ezra, hey look at me. Okay little one?" He said to her, stepping in front of her, and placing his free hand on her cheek as he tried to encourage her to look up at him. "I'm right here. Lets move through this room okay? It's all fake."
His hand was warm on her cheek, and his stepping in front of her meant that all she was looking at was him as the light flashed again. Ezra took in a deep breath, leaning into the palm of his hand for a moment, as if gathering herself up. Her blue eyes flicked up to meet his stare, his next words pulling a nod from her. Fake. It was all fake. Not real blood. Fake blood was just corn syrup and dye. It didn’t matter that she knew it was fake, though. Her brain took the images and ran, and Ezra was fighting back the images of the man from the riot. She hadn’t even known his name when she killed him.
Fake fake fake. It was all fake. Ezra took in another deep breath, feeling silly and ashamed. She’d never had to deal with irrational fear before, but apparently this was her new normal. Reaching up, she wrapped her other hand around his wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze. ”I’m okay.” It was only half true, because her gaze was locked to him, refusing to look at the rest of the blood-drizzled room. So long as she had something else to focus on, the room didn’t make her head spin. Why was it that Jasper always seemed to be around when she was feeling weak? Or maybe it was that she felt like it was safe, with him, to be a little exposed and raw. He made her feel safe. ”I’d like to get out of here, though.” She admitted, letting her hand slide down his forearm before dropping it back to her side. Her other hand, though she’d relaxed her terror-fueled grip on his, remained holding his other hand.
He really didn’t believe her. She didn’t seem okay. Even as she stared at him she seemed to relax a little, to snap out of her. But he had to get her out of there. Even she said so herself. His head nodded as he kept his hand on her and he walked backwards into the room. He kept his eyes on her, glancing over his shoulder every so often to keep him from walking into a random mannequin or wall. But his eyes always came back to her. Always found her once more until they were out of the room.
When they got out of it, he had them pause in the hallway between the second and third rooms. He hoped that there wasn’t many more rooms like that last one. Or else they were going to have a rough night. “If we run, we can get through this faster.” He half joked towards her. He wanted to make this better, but he wasn’t sure how.
Ezra let Jasper lead her out of the room, keeping her gaze locked on him even as she made cautious steps to avoid even brushing against the mannequins. She felt more than a little ridiculous, but the fear lurking in the back of her mind kept her from dropping his hand, from acting tough. As soon as they were out of the room, Ezra felt the tightness in her chest ease, though she didn’t even attempt to turn and look back. As he joked about running through the haunted house, she bit the inside of her cheek, a faint curve to her mouth. She was glad the haunted house was so dark, because she could feel the heat of embarrassment in her face. How many times was she going to lose composure in front of this man?
”I’m sorry about that.” She said, gesturing lightly over her shoulder, back towards the room. ”Fake blood’s never bothered me before.” The comment was like her attempt to justify that this was a recent issue. That she hadn’t always been so easily bothered. Not wanting to bring the mood of the night down any further than she already had, she squeezed his hand and moved past him, tugging at him gently. ”I’m all for running, but try to remember that we’re not all eight feet tall?” She teased, looking over her shoulder at him, that faint smile growing into her usual smirk.
Jasper kept steady movement to get her out of the room. And once they were out, he was relieved to see her relax. Even just a little bit. When she apologized, he shook his head at her. "No need to apologize. Certain things freak us out. I won't tell anyone." He winked at her before he let her tug him towards the next room. She was beautiful. In that moment, he wished he had a picture of her. And as she warned him about not everyone being as tall as him, he smirked at her. Well that was the damn truth. He was a big boy.
So at that mention, he took a few long strides so he could get in front of her and then crouched down. "Hop on," He said, tossing a look to her from over his shoulder. His blue eyes shining with mischief and ready for her to climb on for a piggy back ride. Surely he would be able to get them through quicker this way. And it would give him the excuse to hold her closer.
