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.
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CODING
GRAPHICS
ADVERTISING
CHARACTERS
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!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
APPLICATIONS
THREAD MODERATION
MEDIATOR
CHARACTERS
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!
GENERAL INQUIRIES
CLAIMS
DIRECTORY
CHARACTERS
STAFF NAME
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"] Click. Click. Click. The sound of a mechanical keyboard being used to type away rung through the office. Joseph had completely lost track of time as he replied to one e-mail after another. A quick glance at the small digits in the bottom corner of his computer screen told him it was too late for a regular person to still be at work.
The demand for a cure or a vaccine was just as high as the demand for answers. When is it going to be ready? Is there any clinical test runs yet? What’s the approximate date for release? Will it work? Joseph stared at the screen or rather glared, as a window popped open with an unexpected video conference call. For the briefest of moments, he considered declining, but that’s not what a businessman should do.
There he was, sitting in front of his desk for another hour trying to explain the current situation and information about the status of the vaccine to one of the bigger investors from overseas. With a sigh, he finally hung up, leaning back into his chair, hands resting on his thighs. Yet another ten minutes passed before the president of Prism decided to rise from his chair and leave his office, one hand casually tucked away in the pocket of his slacks.
The hallways were dark, most of the lights out. Not because of the power outages because those didn’t affect Prism since they had a good reason to keep working 24/7. Nevertheless, it looked better if they seemed to care and pretended to save energy or empathize with the citizens of Lethford.
Joseph strode down the dark corridor down to the small breakroom for staff, silent steps, and the darkness making him almost invisible. During non-pandemic times Joseph would never be caught dead in one of these rooms, and surely not to grab a cup of coffee. Cheap, tasteless coffee. Unfortunately, these times were different.
He stepped inside the room, taking in how tiny it was compared to just his office. A snort rippled through the silence, gaze falling onto the coffee machine. Moving over to it he reached up to open one of the hanging cabinets, searching for the actual coffee to make it. Once he gathered all the things he needed: the ground coffee beans, a filter, and water, he placed them in front of the machine.
Now, one would think someone as smart as Joseph - the owner of the company searching for a cure - would know how to make coffee… but he didn’t. Just for the simple reason that it had been years since the last time he made himself a coffee that didn’t require just pushing a button to get some fancy latte.
Being in personal protective equipment was a pain in the ass. There was no other way to describe it. It was hot, uncomfortable, and the lenses of his safety glasses fogged up at random intervals. He felt like a disaster in it. He often came out sweaty, he was pretty sure he had lost weight since the start of the outcries. Before the virus he had been lax with his PPE at best. But now he had no choice, the protocols were strict and the punishments more so if you were caught going against policy. So now when he donned his PPE he tried to go for as long as possible without having to doff. Most exposures happened because of improper doffing. Besides, if there was anything worse than wearing the PPE it was putting it back on after a break.
Tonight Thomas had stayed late, like so many other nights. He had been working in the lab, running samples and doing grunt work he knew needed to get done. When his bladder couldn’t take it anymore he doffed. Shedding the layers of PPE and decontaminating himself. He couldn’t help the sound of joy as the layers came off. It was a process and at the end of it he felt lighter. He had to wonder if this was the equivalent to girls taking off their bras after a long day.
The bathroom was his first stop, emptying his bladder. He instantly felt better. He hadn’t realized just how much his body was struggling to keep it in. He kept pushing the limits, trying to stretch out the time as far as possible. He stopped and regarded himself in the mirror, the lines of his mask still visible on his face. He so slashed cold water on it, knowing full well the only thing that would make them fade was time. He was just happy he didn’t bruise.
Next was coffee.
The sweet bean juice that would help him either ride out the rest of the night or allow him to make it home. He thrived at this time of day. Where everything was dimly lit in the hallways and the office lights were out. People were home with their families or loved ones. It meant he didn’t have to pretend to care about Pams cat or Samuels Netflix show ending after only one season. He didn’t have to pretend, he could let his guard down and just be. It was one of the main reasons he stayed so late, the other was he wanted to be useful. This was how he went about it.
The light was on in the break room, he found this odd. Thomas stopped dead in the doorway to the small break room. Seeing another human being in the building so late was surprising. It took him a full moment to register who the man before him was, than another to see the man was trying and failing to make coffee. The man was staring at the coffee maker like it was technology from another world. He wouldn’t lie, it was kinda amusing. ”My brain doesn’t like to work past midnight either.” He offered, stepping into the space and gesturing to the coffee pot. Feeling unease seep in as he spoke to the owner of the company he worked for. This was the mother of all bosses and he was about to offer to make him coffee. ”You want me to have a go at it?” He awkwardly asked, not wanting to get in the mans way but also wanting coffee himself. ”Sir” he added after a moment as if forgetting who he was talking too and trying to make up for it.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Joseph raised his eyebrows in slight astonishment. He wasn’t entirely sure if the man was courageous or a fool but he offered to make the coffee so he would take either. He gestured towards the coffee machine and nodded. "Have a go at it." he said, his voice very plain. Moving out of his way, the dark blonde walked over to the small table on the other side. He pulled one of the four chairs out and sat down, crossing his leg over the other.
Stifling a yawn he gave the room a quick look around. There really wasn’t much to it. It was just a plain, boring break room. Good enough to grab a cup of coffee, eat lunch, sit down for a minute. It was efficient enough. His employees were doing important work and he was almost certain no one had time to take regular breaks. He didn’t either. And while he wasn’t standing in one of the labs himself, he was busy with the paperwork, trying to get more funds, finding ways to develop everything better and faster. In the end, it would all be for the money.
His gaze fell upon a newspaper someone had left on the table. He reached for it, sliding it over to his side and folding it open. Someone definitely read it but someone else used it as a coaster for their cup of coffee as the big, brown stain gave away.
"Which department do you work in?" he asked, flipping open yesterday’s newspaper lying on the table. Cold eyes scanned its content for anything interesting. There was so much going on in the city and the world in general that the news section seemed cluttered. Pausing on an article about the ongoing Advotex Trials, although it did not deliver much information on it and was more of a made-up message to citizens. A sad attempt to raise their hopes that things will get better - they probably won’t.
The shadow of a small smile appeared on his lips as he read through the whole thing, softly shaking his head and internally snickering at it. "You know if the coffee doesn't taste decent I'll have to fire you." Joseph told him very nonchalantly, obviously, he didn't mean it. But putting a bit of pressure on someone couldn't hurt. He gave the newspaper a shake before flipping to the next page.
He could tell the man was just as surprised to see him. Neither of them had been expecting visitors, or maybe he hadn’t expected Thomas to stick around. He knew countless others that would have tried to sneak away without being noticed. But the man stood between him and coffee. He wasn’t willing to back down that easily. Even if it meant conversing with the owner of the company. Joseph stepped to the side, gesturing to the pot. Thomas’s words were echoed back to him. The younger male whipped his hands against each other as he stepped forward, a nervous motion.
He was glad to have something to focus his attention on. Grabbing the pot, he went to the sink to fill it with water. Hyperaware of the mans continued presence in the room, the scrape of a chair and the older mans weight settled into it. Thomas worked as he heard the man fight to stifle a yawn, Thomas’s body instantly wanted to yawn as well as he poured the water into the coffee maker. He heard paper moving, glancing over his shoulder he watched as the man considered the words before him. Thomas couldn’t read the mans expression. He didn’t know how he would feel to be in the mans place, to have the world watching and waiting for your company to produce a cure to a deadly virus. His attention went back to the task at hand, scooping out coffee grounds into the filter basket.
Joseph’s words caught him by surprise, not the context of the question but rather how his words broke the silence. How many people worked for Prism BioTech? For all Joseph knew he could be a janitor. Thomas was more than content with being an employee identification number to the man sitting at the table. It wasn’t often he talked about his job title, much less what he did for the company. He liked to leave it vague at best. The nondisclosure agreements he had signed had made sure he always chose his words carefully. He glanced towards the small door to the break room. As if someone would come around the corner at any moment at catch them.
This was the president of company, he had to know about everything that was going on. Right? Still he spoke carefully as he kept one eye on the door. ”Uh- um. Thomas Moore I’m actually just in the process of transitioning to a new department.” Thomas hesitated, it was clear he wasn’t sure if he should be talking about it, even to someone like Joseph. ”I’ll be joining the team working on the Sinoxyn trials.” Thomas went on, as if trying to bury what he had just said, ”I’m just trying to make the transition as smooth as possible.”
”And I of course know who you are.” There was a joke to the words, his sad attempt at cutting the tension he felt. Flicking the On button he was greeted with the sounds of the coffee maker percolating. Thomas leaned his lower back against the counter, facing Joseph once again unwilling to join the man at the table.
The man hadn’t seemed to take his eyes off the paper before him, Thomas was just trying to figure out what to say next when the man broke the silence. His words were hard to read, they held a joking tone but he couldn’t help but feel a slight undertone to them. He had never met the man before, he let a nervous chuckle leave him. ”No pressure.”
Joseph flipped the page of the newspaper, the virus was on the front page everyday. Sometimes it lost focus as the media focused in on the military presence, curfew, and riots. Everything just seemed to be compounding, Thomas had to wonder how long it would be until something broke. ”Can’t be easy seeing the competition getting so much attention. People are saying that the Advotex trials are what will save them.” Thomas tilted his head indicating the paper the man was reading. He knew that at the public had mixed feelings about a vaccine. There would always be anti vaxxer’s in the world spouting lies about the vaccines and spreading fear.
”I don’t envy the position you’re in. Being a number on a spread sheet is much more my speed. Having all eyes on you cant be easy.” He paused for half a second before going on. ”Is that why you’re hiding out in the employee break room?” The words were half a tease and half curiosity as he tilted his head watching the man. Maybe he was crazy for engaging the man like this, but what better way to get a feel for things than to ask the man himself?
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Calm eyes skimmed through the next page of the paper, crinkling it slightly on the sides where he held on to it. What once used to be the space for adverts from various stores, online sites, products, was now covered with donation requests. Cries for help. Some looked legit, desperate, others sounded more like a scam. Make use of that exact desperation and agony.
Getting people’s hopes up for a successful vaccine or cure was perhaps the same - a scam. For now at least. It’s been months and there was no success so far. Meanwhile Joseph’s rivals, at least he considers them that, were pretending to be having more of a success. If that was true… he wasn’t sure. But he knew it wasn’t on the market yet and after just a couple of months the hype about it had died down significantly.
Joseph didn‘t bother to look up from the newspaper. However, at the mention of the Sinoxyn Trials, his ears perked up, electric blue eyes flicking towards the other male. The Sinoxyn Trials were currently more of a deathtrap than anything else. He was aware that quite a high percentage of test subjects died after administration of the experimental cure.
He nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I hope you’ll be able to transfer smoothly." he replied, turning his gaze back to the newspaper. Joseph wondered if the guy knew what he had gotten himself into. Might as well be his last transfer too. "I was planning to visit and check on the progress this week but unfortunately... there were some complications." he added, flipping the pages of the paper once again before he ultimately put it down on the table once he started talking about the Advotex Trials.
A mocking laugh left his lips as he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. One taunting eyebrow was raised before he turned his head to look at Thomas. "I quite like the quietness around our version of the trials. I’m not sure how much information you were given so far but maybe in the near future you will know why." Joseph said, glancing around the man to look at the coffee machine as it brewed the coffee he was longing for.
"As for the Advotex Trials…" he continued, clicking his tongue once. "We will see what will save them or who will. If any of us do, that is. Who knows-" he replied, shrugging. "Maybe it will be too late by the time a successful cure is made." But either way it wouldn’t really matter because all Joseph cared about was the money anyway and he already had that… plenty.
Another laugh left his lips, this time there was no mocking or sarcasm in it though. It was just a plain, perhaps even a little genuine laugh. “Mhmm. When you grow up having all eyes on you most of the time because of your family you kind of get used to it. Maybe if you’re successful with the Sinoxyn trials you might end up on the front page as well.” he told him, a devious chuckle escaping his throat. Either with the success of the trials or for taking part in some crooked, highly illegal mischief. "As for the hiding here part... I may be the president of the company but I'm still an employee as well. Just needed to go and stretch my legs a bit. So tell me, Thomas-" Joseph started, looking him right in the eyes. "What made you choose this specific department? It’s not something anyone could get into or would want to get into. You know… things could go wrong." He gave him a quick flick of his eyebrows as he spoke the last part.
It felt like he was walking on eggshells. One misstep and it would be the end for him. He knew he was putting a lot of pressure and emphasis on the casual conversation, but how could he not? This was the owner of the company he worked for; this guy was as high up as you could get. Thomas had never thought he would be having a conversation with the man over coffee in a break room. Yet here they were.
He could see the man’s interest as he mentioned the trials. Thomas met the mans intense blues with his hazel eyes, refusing to look away. Joseph looked back to the paper, but his interest was perked at the man mentioned complications. Thomas chewed on the words for a moment before he steeled his resolve and spoke. ”What kind of complications?” He knew it was a big ask, he didn’t even know if the man would tell him. But the fact that he had mentioned it meant something, Thomas wasn’t one to leave well enough alone. He wanted to know, his curiosity not allowing him to drop it. ”Might be nice to know what Im walking into.” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to seem casual about it.
There was a mocking laugh that left the man, he watched as Joseph leaned back, arms crossing over his chest. Thomas soaked up every word as the older man spoke. Thomas met the others gaze, leaning back on the counter crossing his own arms over his chest. ”I’ve heard that our death rate is through the roof. One of the reasons they wanted to bring me on, to see if there is a biological reason in the test subjects the vaccine is being rejected so harshly.” Thomas kept his tone even as he spoke, he hadn’t been able to look over the data fully. But he knew it wasn’t good if they were bringing more people in on it. Thomas didn’t miss the glance to the coffee, he had a few more minutes until it was done brewing judging by the noises the machine was making.
There was a weight of truth to the others words. It was possible by the time they had discovered a vaccine the virus will have mutated and the vaccine would become ineffective. It was a chance he was willing to take though, he couldn’t sit around and do nothing. ”I hate to agree with you, but I do. This could all be a giant waste of time if the virus mutates. But at least we’re doing something.” He offered, his fingertips drumming against his forearm.
Joseph laughed, but this time it sounded more genuine. It made sense that Joseph was used to having all eyes on him thanks to his family. Thomas couldn’t help the slight uptick in his lips as the other spoke, he didn’t want any of the attention the trials could possibly bring. ”Hopefully I can avoid that.” He had no interest in being front and center when this thing hit the papers.
His tease about the boss being in the break room wasn’t lost, the man’s reason for being here was more than justified. The man owned the building, he could go wherever he wanted. He found the conversation turn serious; Joseph made sure to meet his eyes as he spoke. The question hanging heavy between them. Thomas’s fingers stilled, no longer drumming against his forearm. ”Things could go wrong anywhere. I understand what my role will be, I signed the papers.” Thomas paused for half a second, never looking away from those intense blue eyes.
”I left my job at the cancer research center because people kept putting up red tape, they kept stopping us from making progress. Do you know how many times we got close to a breakthrough just to have it ripped away? For the FDA to step in and slap our hands and threaten us? Too many. Those barriers have been removed.” Thomas dropped his arms, turning away from the man to pour himself a coffee. Thomas left his black, taking a step away allowing for the other to get up and get his own coffee. ”I’m willing to do what is necessary to see a vaccine be created.” He offered, taking a sip of the rich black coffee.
Maybe it was the coffee that gave him courage, or maybe it was the fact that he could have an honest conversation with the man about the trials. Either way he spoke. ”There is a lot of risk for you in all of this, I’m a little surprised that you are allowing it. What happens when the statistics hit the news? Or will you control that? If people knew the truth they wouldn’t hail you as a hero.” Joseph seemed like a smart man, Thomas had no doubt the man had already thought about it. That the man before him already had a plan. Joseph was too smart not too.
