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.
The beginning of curfew wasn‘t announced with sirens or anything one would see in a movie. It was just… there. Everyone was expected to know. At least the blackouts would signal the hour past the beginning of the curfew, with all the lights from the streets and the buildings diminishing, drowning the city in darkness. Seeing candles being lit inside apartments and houses felt like being thrown back into medieval times when electricity wasn‘t a thing yet. It was a strange feeling yet it slowly became their new reality. Aaron could almost say he was already used to it.
Several pairs of combat boots stomped through the wet street. Fall hit the city with an abundance of rain. It was a nice change after the horribly hot and humid summer but it added an eerie feeling to the empty and abandoned streets. Aaron had his rifle slung across his chest, one hand loosely resting over the trigger. It was the same one he had used back during the riots. He could tell by the scratch marks on it and perhaps the smudge of dried blood on the butt that hadn‘t been cleaned off yet. His uniform, however, was brand new although he abandoned the jacket for the night sporting nothing more than a t-shirt despite the drop in temperature.
Aaron glanced over his shoulder towards his group of soldiers following him closeby. He was in charge of this patrol unit for the night and even though Aaron wasn‘t usually the one assigned for work like this, he didn‘t mind. Desperate times called for desperate measures, even if it meant doing patrol duty as an officer within the military. "Isn‘t it a nice evening to empty some wallets?" he called over, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. Of course, he didn‘t mean their own wallets but rather someone else's.
The group hollered, agreeing with stomps on the ground. Unlike the bunch behind him, Aaron wasn‘t stupid. He ran a quick background check beforehand, making sure the privates assigned to him were either dumb enough or clever enough to keep their lips sealed. The lot he had here was more or less just idiots. Good for him. Bored eyes looked around the street until a dark silhouette of a figure fell into his line of sight. Aaron clicked his tongue, the smirk returning to his face.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] The words that stormed through Jaime's mind were the kind that would have made the vicar blush, words she'd heard from a young age from the mouths of bikers who considered such terms as sentence enhancers. She was late and, whereas before that wouldn't have been a problem, since the pandemic had altered the entire world, it could cause her an issue. Curfews, Jaime understood the need for them, but tonight she'd just messed up, only realising her mistake when the tell tale drone of failing electrical charge echoed around her, plummeting her into complete darkness. Christ, since when had the nights started getting darker earlier? Jaime missed summer already.
With a groan, the young woman made her way down the empty streets, pulling her coat tighter around her body to try and keep the cold rain from soaking her clothes underneath. Her boots had already let the water in, causing her steps to squelch with each move. The moment she got home, Jaime was going to get into her warm pyjamas, her fluffy socks, and snuggle on the sofa with the book she carried in her bag, so long as it hadn't been damaged from the downpour she now found herself in.
Her gran was going to kill her; she'd been panicked about Jaime going out since their cells had crashed. I mean, she'd been worried about the way things were going when the riots happened. Although they both agreed with the rioters, the level of violence they'd seen had been terrifying. Since then, Jaime had promised her gran that she'd be careful, and that promise had been broken tonight, all because she'd wanted some peace and quiet to read.
All she had to do was sneak home. Simple. She could do that. Jaime thought back to all the times she had snuck around the club house, avoiding her parents so she could sneak spirit bottles into the back for the other club kids, then avoiding prospects who believed flirting with her would see them patched quicker… then avoiding Cole. The very thought of him made her chest ache more than the stitch that had started to pain her ribs. Why did she have to think of him now?
Thankfully the sound of raised voices cheered through the air and she jumped, Cole’s face fading from her thoughts, until she realised that this wasn’t a good thing. No one else should be out. This meant that either these guys were either patrolling soldiers or they were people who didn’t fear being out after curfew. Jaime really didn’t want to run into either.
She tried to tuck her body into the shadows, glancing up in case a deity decided to help her out, let her hide out until they moved on.
Look what we have here
A deep sigh left her lips; well it wasn’t like religion had played a big part in life before, she wasn’t exactly surprised it hadn’t worked. Stepping out, towards the group, Jaime raised her hands ”Don’t shoot, just heading home. I lost track of time reading.”
[attr="class","CONTENT"] The group was standing still, waiting for the person to show themself. He wouldn’t have minded forcing them to, play a little game of hide and seek perhaps. There was a certain benefit and of course pleasure in having authority, power, clout. All these no-name soldiers behind him following his orders, doing everything he wanted, even if it was wrong. They had no say in it all - not tonight.
Although he rarely had a chance to patrol these days, today was just the perfect day to get back the money he had been robbed. Which had also reminded him that he still needed to retrieve his car. A grunt erupted from his throat as he mentally rolled his eyes at the events of the past few weeks and months.
Hearing approaching steps he lifted his head, running his tongue over his upper teeth. A delighted smirk played on his lips as the figure appeared out of the shadows, revealing a young woman. Aaron tilted his head to the side before glancing over his shoulder to look at his unit. "She lost track of time reading! Isn’t that unfortunate." he said, expressing both amusement and sarcasm in his chosen tone of voice. He gestured the others to stay put while he stepped forward, loosening his grip around his rifle. "You know what’s also unfortunate? You crossing paths with me. Running low on luck today hm?" the brunette added, shaking his head, lips softly pressed together in fake empathy.
It was unfortunate for anyone that crossed paths with him, be it willingly or accidentally by chance. Aaron reached up to his left ear, grabbing the small earpiece and removing it. It dangled next to his ear before he pushed the small button to turn it off, signaling his fellow soldiers - or minions - to do exactly the same. Yet again he was proving that perhaps he really was the bad guy, the villain. He was sure that a certain brunette would be more than delighted to be witness to this just to prove to him that she had been right the whole time.
Aaron clicked his tongue before his lips arched up into a simple smile, one booted foot tapping the ground beneath him. "I need to see an ID, please." he stated, saying the please in more of a mocking way rather than trying to be polite. He held out his hand, palms reaching upward, dark eyebrows raised in expectancy.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] There was one thing Jaime had noticed since the outbreak turned their world up on its head; the decent people got more decent, and the… well, as her grandmother would have said ‘bar-stewards’, had got even more cruel. Jaime assumed, from the grunt that left the guy in front, that a) he was a douche-bag, and b) he was the leader of this gang of douche-bags.
The smirk that crossed his face caused a further sense of unease to career through her body, travelling the length of her spine and causing her fingertips to tingle. She’d read about this, it was her body flooding with adrenaline, ready to engage its fight, flight or freeze routine. She’d never felt it in this sort of situation before, only when she’d been in trouble and heard her father or mother’s roar of her name. She’d always used flight then.
A frown crossed her brow as she continued to stare at him, his words and tone making her jaw set, begging to be defiant. Oh yeah, she was unfortunate, and lady luck was most definitely not on her side tonight. Then, and then, he took his earpiece out and turned it off.
The words were back, slamming through her mind like when Bill realised he’d lost yet another hand of poker at game night, back in the club house. You knew it was bad when even other bikers told him to cool it. Yet, here she was, hearing his phantom words as her own. That was never a good sign, that was a sign that meant heavy stuff was about to go down and he didn’t want his superiors to know. She’d heard stories but figured they were overreactions, surely the city couldn’t be looking away when their citizens were being accosted by their own military!? Surely!!?
She scoffed at herself silently, there was a reason she’d been raised to have little trust in the police, why would the military be any different? She could barely contain the eye roll as she pointed to her bag, ”ID, sure thing, officer.” Her voice dripped her own version of sarcasm, saccharine sweet as she slowly reached towards the zipper, ”Just gotta reach in the bag to get it, no sudden movements.” She wondered if she could get her phone to record, the thing couldn’t call or get any data, but she might be able to get the camera on.
”Juuust a minute, it’s in here somewhere…” That phone be cursed to the seventh circle of technology hell! May it come back in its next life as the metal tip on this guy’s rectal thermometer. ”Got it!” Well, her ID at least, not the phone which had disappeared into the dark depths of her bag. ”Here you go…” Holding it out, Jaime matched his fake smile, not handing it to him, just… holding it out there.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Corrumpere. Corruptio. Corrupt. Adjective. Having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain. Statistics showed about three law enforcement personnel were arrested each day for misconduct. But those numbers were considered to be nationwide. Lethford alone would have a much higher number of misconducts and lawbreaking by law enforcement if they were all caught.
Unfortunately, since a lot were working together with corrupt government officials they were granted some sort of immunity. Aaron didn’t belong to those. He was doing it for his own personal gain. He had a different motive. There was no one he was working with beside himself. And while he wasn’t necessarily evil through and through he couldn’t be considered a good guy either.
‘Juuust a minute, it’s in here somewhere…’
Watchful eyes rested on her face as she fumbled around inside her bag to find her ID. Dark eyebrows were slightly raised in expectation. He ran his tongue over his upper teeth row before letting out a series of snickers. What was this woman carrying in her bag that it took her so long to fish out her ID? An arsenal of toiletry? Did her bag pose as a secret passageway to Narnia? Did it hold endless items? He shook his head softly, never understanding a woman’s purse.
Once she found it - finally - and held it out to him to see, he looked at her ID and then back at her. She didn’t seem to have any intention of handing it over to him. Understandable. He could easily keep it from her, forcing her to accept whatever mischief he had planned. Though, it would never go past bribery.
"Well, well, Jaime Allen. Looks like you found yourself in deep, deep trouble. How will you fix that?" he asked her, one hand wrapping around the end of his rifle as it rested there. He gave his watch around his wrist a quick glance, yet another string of snickers running through his mouth. "Too bad. It’s too late to just let you off with a warning." Aaron added with a shrug, mocking her in his own ways as he gave her a contemptuous smirk.
He glanced over his shoulder towards his comrades. "You all agree with me, right?" he called over, turning his head back at Jaime. His lips curved down into a sly pout, pretending to be sad as if he was giving her the faintest feeling of pity. "It’s six opinions against one. You lose."
