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.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] "Uuuuuugh." Marisol slammed the stapler down on her desk, hitting the keyboard and accidentally typing out a random mess of words into the document she was editing. She was standing at the reception desk of the City Hall, wearing the most uncomfortable uniform ever: a boring white blouse, a tight pencil skirt and black heels she could swear were the kinds old people wear. Never would have the daughter of a mafia boss thought that she would end up in this hell.
It was horrible, boring, slow. The only thing that kept her sane these days were the evenings she would spend bartending at LUX to keep an eye on their leader and members. It was the only reason she was even doing this awful work. Either way, she couldn't wait to throw her resignation at her current boss. For now, she had to retreat to throwing a wrongly stapled paper into the trash can.
And then someone dropped a box of files and documents on the reception desk.
Marisol raised her eyebrows at the woman in front of her, feeling the need to stab her with a pencil. "How may I help you?" she asked her tone perhaps a bit too sarcastic.
'Do you mind giving this to Belinda Brennan? It's for the Advotex research team. She needs to bring it over to the hospital today and pick up their new records.'
The brunette tilted her head slightly to the side before the faintest hint of a smile emerged on her face. "Belinda doesn't work here anymore but don't worry. I got you." she told the woman, snatching the paper containing address and names on it from her. "I'll do it." She didn't know what exactly she had gotten herself into but it was an excuse to get away from the reception area, out of the building, get some fresh air.
Marisol threw on her suit jacket, stuffed the paper into its pocket, and walked around the reception desk to grab the box with the files. Shooting an arrogant smile at the stranger she stalked out of the building and towards her car, driving to the hospital nearby. She checked the paper beforehand, asked the information desk where to find the team leader of the Advotex Trials, and followed her instructions.
She found herself somewhere in the basement of the hospital. Dark, smelly, nasty. Marisol scrunched her nose at the unpleasant view. "Hello? Dr. Coldren?" she called out, hoping someone would pick her up.
Alaric wasn’t a huge fan of the “secret” location of the Advotex trials. The hospital’s basement clearly hadn’t been renovated in years, and it took nearly fifteen minutes just to leave the building. It was all a complete headache that he would have preferred to not deal with. When he’d arrived at work, he’d been informed one of his assistants had come down with the virus. He’d heaved a sigh, shaking his head, and got to work. Even as able-bodied, certified people became more and more scarce, he continued to forge ahead. Even if he had to work by himself while two fledgling doctors handled their own areas. If the government had given him all it would, he had to work with what he had.
He’d skipped lunch, of course, as he had been doing ever since being given this special, important task of heading the Advotex testing. It wasn’t that he regretted doing it - no, quite the opposite. He was doing what he wanted to do, and that was all that mattered. But he wished it wasn’t even a thing - he wished the virus had never shown it’s face. Because they’d yet to find a treatment nor a cure. If it weren’t for his meticulous note keeping, he’d have lost track of what version of the drug this was.
"Hello? Dr. Coldren?"
Alaric’s head popped up from the microscope he’d been hunched over, for a minute absolutely confused about his surroundings. He didn’t recognize the voice, but that was certainly his name. Still looking ruffled, Alaric stepped out of the lab he’d been in, poking his head out into the hall at first to see who was calling his name. His gaze found a woman standing not too far away, holding some things in her arms and looking a little lost. ”Yes, that’s me. What can I do for you?” Stepping out into the hall, Alaric flashed a warm, friendly smile, the quizzical look on his face fading.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Ew, ew, ew. Marisol looked around, grimacing at the disgusting basement feeling, the dirt, dust, and the spiderwebs around her. This part of the building definitely didn't look like it belonged to the hospital. If no one was going to receive her soon she would just leave the box at the front desk and go. Her foot moved to return back to the elevator just as someone's voice sounded in the dim light.
‘Yes, that’s me. What can I do for you?’
Marisol snorted, stalking towards the man. "Finally! Ugh." she huffed, giving him a once over as she neared him, making it more than obvious. She lifted one dark eyebrow, holding out the box with the files and just blatantly dropping them into his arms. Whether or not he managed to catch it was his choice. "Kind of expected someone more Frankenstein-looking down here." she said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking around.
"Belinda was supposed to drop this off today but she’s not working with us anymore. I wonder if she left the nice folders at her desk." Sol told him, pursing her lips and tapping her chin softly as she thought about Belinda’s desk. Ugh, what had she become? She wasn’t supposed to be this enthusiastic about office crap. Shaking her head, her dark curls bouncing slightly on her shoulders, she focused her attention back to the task she was given - or she stole... snatched... volunteered for?
She turned around to face him once more, giving him yet another once over and nodding in approval. "Right." Sol let out, a brief smile beaming his way. A very brief smile. If someone had stopped the time it wouldn't even be a full second of a smile. "I was also told to bring back any new reports on… whatever you’re doing here." She gestured at him and the box, showing no interest in being involved in any of this. Just get over with it and use the limited time to grab some coffee on her way back.
Alaric was a little taken aback by the newcomer’s energy, not used to running into women who always had places to be that were much more important than whatever anyone else was doing. Strong women weren’t rare, of course, Alaric was just not as sociable as he pretended to be. Nearling fumbling the box as she unceremoniously dropped it into his arms, Alaric cleared his throat nervously, adjusting it in his arms so that it was stable. His brows raised at her comment, an equally nervous laugh escaping his throat. ”Ah, well, sorry to disappoint. Maybe that’s who I’ll be for Halloween.” He told her amiably.
Watching her muse with those same raised brows and expression of a mixture of confusion and awe, he nodded along like he had any idea what she was talking about. The woman who’d usually shown up never spoke to him, and he didn’t mind that. She’d just come by, drop off her files, take the progress report, and leave. He hadn’t even known her name was Belinda - if that was even the same woman he was thinking of. His days all seemed to simply blend together. ”Ah, well, it’s nice to meet you…?” He said, his tone tilting up at the end of his sentence, obviously hoping to get her name.
A little bewildered, he drew his brows down as she assessed him again, flashing a smile that he almost missed. What he saw lit her face up in a way that was quite pretty, he had to admit. As she mentioned the reports, he finally got himself gathered together, past his fascination for the moment. ”Yes, the progress reports. I was just typing that up, if you’d like to follow me back to the lab?” He offered, turning and heading back to the door he’d appeared from. He set the box down on a counter and moved over to his bank of computers. There were three monitors, all used for his work.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] The brunette wasn’t sure if she should laugh at his poor attempt of a joke. "Uh, sure." she replied, raising one irritated eyebrow. "Obviously, it should be nice to meet me." Marisol mumbled under her breath, scoffing ever so slightly. She narrowed her eyes at him as he left the sentence hanging like a question, debating whether or not to introduce herself. She didn’t really see a reason to but in the end she gave in, rolling her eyes at him. "Marisol Palafox."
Marisol wrinkled her nose in disapproval when he invited her to follow him back to the lab. There went her coffee break. Pulling up the strap of her handbag she gave him a snarky smile a la Blair Waldorf, heels clicking underneath her as she stepped into his office with a shake of her head.
Whatever, she thought. Just get it over with as soon as possible. She definitely had better things to do than to spend all day in a smelly lab located in the basement of a hospital. That would make very good horror movie material if she wasn’t the daughter of an ex-mafia boss. If anyone would just do as much as dare to lay a finger on her she’d snap their hand right off the wrist.
Her eyes wandered around his lab, appraising the size of it. For some reason she expected it to be small, perhaps as big as a janitor’s supply room, but it definitely was the opposite. Whatever project he was working on it was big. Marisol, however, had no clue what that project was exactly. She had heard rumors, gossip, about it from Brenda herself whenever she met her in the break room for City Hall staff but that was about it.
She gave a nod of approval at the lab, even though she also had the urge to clip her nose shut because of the strong hospital smell. "So… what science project are you working on here? Looks like you’re trying to win the next Science Fair with it." she asked him, fingers reaching out to touch a bunch of test vials on a table.
Tough crowd, Alaric thought. This woman wasn’t exactly pleasant, but there was something attractive about her attitude that Alaric couldn’t put his finger on. Or maybe her assertiveness was just attractive, and there wasn’t anything deeper than that. He nodded as she gave him her name, smiling lightly. It was a pretty name, he thought.
He was fully aware of her, even though his attention was on the computers he stood at, his fingers moving over the keyboard in practiced motions. He glanced in her direction as she looked around the lab, and felt the corner of his mouth pull up as she asked about the work he did. He was a little surprised she didn’t know - but then, she didn’t seem like the kind of person to pay attention to boring medical and scientific rhetoric. Alaric paused in his work, turning his gaze on the woman fully.
”We’re working on the Advotex trials here. The progress is good….but not quite where we want to be.” He told her, turning back to the computer and quickly pressing a few more keys before the printer beside him started to hum, spitting out pages. The progress report was long, as it always was, and while he seemed nonchalant about the headway they’d made, it wasn’t good enough by a long shot. Many more were going to die before they got close to a vaccine, but he was confident they could figure it out. Taking the pages once they finished printing out, Alaric stood and walked over to her, holding the stack out. ”Here you are, the progress report.”
[attr="class","CONTENT"] "I see. So, how’s it going so far? Got any cure for the virus yet?" she asked, biting her lower lip as she nodded to a non-existent beat and looked around his lab, office, experiment hub… or place of work, or whatever this could be considered. She turned around and reached out for the stack of papers, lifting one eyebrow at the thickness. "Good lord. Good thing I don’t have to read them." Marisol grumbled, even though she really didn’t have anything to complain about or to do with it. She didn’t have to read them. All she had to do was to bring them back and hand them over to whoever had to read them.
Curious hands flipped through the pages anyway, reading a sentence every now and then, and looking at the graphs added to it. It all looked very… scientific. Nothing she really understood without further explanation. Not that she wanted to understand anything of it. She shut the stack close, tapping the paper with her manicured fingernails.
She walked over to one of the tables in the middle of the room, filled vials covering most of it. There was a microscope and as curious as she was - or maybe not but she did it anyway - Marisol clamped the stack of documents under her armpit and took a peek through the microscope. She certainly didn’t like what she was seeing. "Ew." she said, stepping back from it. "I think the cure needs a cure for itself." she added, slightly disgusted by the sight of the bacteria before picking up one of the vials on the table and shaking it softly. "Is this the trial vaccine?"
