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.
Standing on the curb, Olivia slipped her hand into her pocket and felt for the tin that had once held mints in it. She turned it over in her fingers, felt the little impacts of white pills against the sides. It was a small comfort, a nervous tick that helped her deal with the anxiety of her life, of her job situation, of her dwindling bank account. Those little pills were her fallback. If it got to be too much she could sell them, and if that wasn’t going to work she could swallow all of them and drive away. She had to hope that the next time no one would find her. She’d slip into the familiar comforting fog and go to sleep and that would be that. No one would have to deal with Olivia Ford ever again.
Across the street was a coffee shop. Inside was a woman that got there early and brewed the coffee, pulled the baked goods from the freezer, and then served way more customers than was appropriate for a pandemic such as the one they were in. Two weeks ago she had emailed Olivia and asked her to check in on her Fiance. He was a paramedic and he was working long hours, which Liv had reassured her was customary given their situation...but she’d insisted and when she pushed a couple hundred dollars in her hand Olivia couldn’t say no. She’d taken the money and her camera and found the man.
It was true that he’d been working long hours. But he spent even more of those hours with his partner parked behind a shutdown Dairy Queen canoodling. And it was those photos that Liv had blown up and printed and shoved into a manila envelope to deliver to the barista. It was the worst part of her job. She felt sleezy following people around, it wasn’t the same as when she could do it with a badge, and every other day was like an episode of Cheaters. But the woman had paid and as much as she hoped to run away and disappear some days, Olivia was no flake.
Adjusting her mask, she walked across the street and into the shop. There was a line but the barista’s eyes went to her right away. Only a couple of tables had chairs around them to prevent patrons from lingering and she got in line to wait for her turn with the woman. Two people ahead of her, one ordering a hot chocolate and the other ordered a complicated ‘skinny’ drink that had the barista running from one spot to the next behind the counter. Liv felt people in the line behind her and shifted her weight when it was her turn. At the front she slid the envelope to the woman and spoke, ”I’m so sorry. They work together.” The woman wasted no time in opening the package and when she pulled out the first picture immediately started to cry.
Olivia winced and glanced around awkwardly, ”Everything you’ll need is right in there.” She waited for a coworker to relieve the woman and dismiss her to the back….but there was no one else. ”I should..” With panic rising, Olivia turned to leave, colliding with the person behind her and holding her hands back as she apologized and ducked her head, ”So sorry, I think maybe she needs a break? There’s a starbucks..somewhere.” And with that she started toward the exit, hoping to make her retreat.
Luca wasn't a morning person. He was the definition of a night owl. Parties that went until sunrise? Absolutely. Pulling all-nighters while hanging with his boys? No problem. Up at the crack of dawn for work or school? That was a hard no. He didn't see the appeal in any of it. Fresh air made him feel cold, no matter the temperature. People were always smiling and saying cheerful things that made him only grumble in response and sorry but not sorry, breakfast food tasted better at night. Sleeping in was a habit of his that he had yet to grow out of.
In college he had arranged all of his courses for afternoons and evenings and when it came to high school he was usually absent more often than not, so that hadn't been a problem. Then his parents made him get a job and of course the guy he worked for was up at the crack of dawn.
It was frustrating. What was the point of being CEO if you couldn't come in whenever you wanted? It blew Luca's mind. If he was in the guy's position he wouldn't have rolled into the office any earlier than noon. But he wasn't in that position though. He was that guy's assistant. It wasn't a bad job. It paid shockingly well, there were lots of cute girls around the office, not a whole lot of work to do and he had even gotten to drive the guy's expensive car on a few occasions. The major downside that he had discovered, however, was the early morning hours.
Today he had rolled out of the bed at 4:30 am, ran his hands through his hair, brushed his teeth in a fog and began getting dressed. He made it two steps out the door when he realized he didn’t have shoes on. At 5:15 he was jogging out of his apartment. He had made it all the way to Prism's doors when he realized it was Saturday, his day off. Luca had sworn and irritably began making his way back to his place. He was already awake though, the damage was done.
He pulled his hoodie out from the messenger bag that his boss made him wear, instead of the backpack with holes he usually toted around. He loved that pack. It was vintage, worn, and kicked ass when it came to carrying his gear but his boss kindly told him it made him looked like a "homeless vagrant" so messenger bag it was. He pulled the hoodie over himself, fixed his mask, and began making his way back to his place.
He had been a block away when the sight of a coffee shop lured him in. He figured that if he had to be up, he might as well be caffeinated. Luca got in line with the others, everyone giving up six feet of space. He rubbed his eyes, not really paying attention to what was going on around him. There was the normal shuffling that he was tuning out of course, but then the woman who was working behind the counter began crying. Luca's face held confusion as the customer who was in front of the line turned suddenly, shoving into the person behind her. Luca glanced back at the crying barista as the blonde ducked away, making a quick exit. As she passed him, however, he realized that she wasn't just any blonde. She was his sister-in-law.
Luca exited the line quickly, jogging out in the direction she went, "Olivia! Hey, wait up!" He moved quickly out the door to catch up with her, his voice playful. "What was that about? She owe you money or something?" He grinned at the little joke. Before he could think about if she'd want him to or not, he moved towards her, going to give her a hug, "How are you? God it's been forever since I've seen you."
Maybe it was cruel to deliver that kind of news to someone’s place of work...but that had been the agreed-upon meeting place and the woman had said she was prepared for the news, be it good or bad. Clearly, that had been the wrong call to make. But with the pictures out of her hands it wasn’t her problem anymore. And the quicker that she could get out of there the better. She muttered an apology to the person behind her (running into a stranger during a pandemic was probably everyone’s worst nightmare. But the blonde appeared unfazed.) and tried to make her retreat before anyone could say anything about what she had done.
Already, though, someone was following after her. Liv cursed and pushed the door open with her forearm, stepping outside but he followed. And after a moment of panic his voice broke through and she recognized it. The slowed, twisting but still walking forward as she spoke, ”Luca?” She was stunned to see him, eyeing him with uncertainty. What had Liam told him? And what did he think about all of that? During her year-long bender there had been moments of clarity with the Ford family crossed her mind, particularly Luca. He was such an odd black sheep, the mirth in an otherwise stiff group. And with her own family extinct, he was a refreshing addition to her world.
Then again, he was apart of a world she had run away from. He didn’t seem hesitant to chat with her, and he didn’t scold her for her swift retreat from rehab...so did he not know? It wasn’t that surprising, maybe. The brothers weren’t exactly close. She slowed and glanced toward the door to the coffee shop when he mentioned money, mumbling, ”Well actually I collect the fee up front so..” It was strange to admit that people paid her to make them cry. Her hand went up into her hair and when he moved in to hug her she was surprised. But she didn’t stiffen away from him, instead welcoming the gesture. She was living in a glorified, her health and safety were threatened there every day...she could handle a hug from her brother-in-law during a pandemic.
People gave them a wide berth as they chatted on the sidewalk. When the hug ended she gave a little bit of a laugh and nodded a little, ”Yeah, a little while huh? I’m the worst as keeping in touch..”And I’ve been bouncing between hovels surviving on pills and bodega food, she thought to herself. She gave him a once over, stepping back to make a show of assessing him, ”Are you up early? Or still up from last night? Because I can’t remember you ever being vertical before 2.” Her arms hugged around her middle and she tried, in her assessment, to read him again. ”I’ve been alright. But you look great! What are you…” She paused, almost as though she wasn’t sure how small talk should work, ”how are things? Tell me about you.”
Luca's quick gait caught up to her as she bolted out the door. His sister-in-law turned as he called her name, clearly surprised to see him. He and Liam had never been close brothers, they weren't the kind of siblings who hung out or even spoke to each other more than once or twice a month. He was a little embarrassed to admit that he hadn't made an effort to keep in touch with Olivia either.
He liked her. She was funny and smart. When her parents threw stuffy dinner parties with their "important" friends she was sometimes the only one who kept him from sneaking out. Or getting completely trashed. He always wondered why she was with someone as boring as his brother, but he wasn't about to cross into that red zone. The less he knew about their marriage, the better.
Luca let out a laugh when she mentioned something about collecting the money, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "What?! I was actually close on that? What's the fee for?" He was a bundle of curiosity. He thought she worked in the PD like Liam, though maybe now that he was thinking about it, she might not be there anymore. He vaguely recalled a dinner at his parent's house where Liam said "no" to the question of her enjoying the department. He didn't know that that meant she had left though. Again, he made a mental note that it probably wouldn't hurt to be at least a little less self-absorbed and reach out to his family once in a while.
She had let him hug her and gave her a big hug, his arms encircling her easily before moving back, a wide grin on his face. Tucking his hands into his hoodie pockets he shook his head, "Nah. That's not on you and it's fine anyway. There's this whole pandemic thing going on so I think we all get a pass."
Olivia stepped back and gave him a look-over, asking why he was awake right now. He chuckled, "I wish I was still partying. Unfortunately, I'm up early, I know. It's a crime right?" He ran his hand through his hair, messing up the professional-looking way he liked to style it when he was at work. "I got a job at Prism which is great, except I have to be there by 6:30am. The guy I work for is a jerk too so I have to be there right on time…with his coffee." He rolled his eyes. It wasn't that he thought he was above the work of being an assistant or that he didn't like the job. He simply hated people who couldn't relax and took everything so seriously. Like the world would crumble and fall if he was ten minutes late bringing some guy in a suit his coffee.
Luca noticed that Olivia skimmed over herself, asking more about him and he let it go. If she didn't want to bring up what she'd been up to, he was the last person who would push. "Thanks. I've been good." Luca shrugged, "Just keeping up with work, dating a few girls here and there, and trying to stay out of my parent's radar." Which reminded him that ne needed to call his mother. She overlooked 90% of the junk that he pulled on a regular basis, being the baby of the family did have its perks. The one thing that she required of him and actually got upset about him not doing, was a weekly phone call and he knew it was due.
"I got my own place so it's been nice not having to climb mom's flower trellis to sneak back in at night." He grinned at her again before his chin tilted to the side, "Hey, you don't know anyone who's looking for an apartment do you? I need a roommate and I keep getting the weirdest people answering my ad." His mind ran through the list of people who he had dealt with in the past week. One had asked about storage for a rock collection and another had asked to see his personal and professional schedule before agreeing to anything. Both were a hard no.
Her insecurity and trepidation at seeing Luca dimmed as his enthusiasm grew. He was excited that he’d guessed right and that was infections, the blonde chuckling a touch and shrugged a little, ”PI stuff. Investigating cheaters, it’s not nearly as exciting as it sounds. Most of it is spent eating garbage and sitting in cars alone for hours.” The talk of work relaxed her and the tension in her shoulders lessened just a touch. He was so casual, so confident, and it was as though it hadn’t been a year since they last saw each other. Sometimes, she was baffled at how he was actually related to Liam. With Luca, the apple fell far from the tree. And she was glad for it.
He explained that he was up early, something about a new job, and she crossed her arms casually as she gave him a nod, ”Wow, I mean, that’s great! That’s a big deal, Prism is huge. Especially now, with everything..Anyone with stock in that one is going to come out of all of this in good shape, so at least you’ve got job security.” She scrunched up her nose, though, as he explained about the early start time. ”Be honest, how many of those days are you coming in straight from the night before with no sleep in between?” Liv was teasing, her tone light and a smirk on her face. It felt unfamiliar and foreign to be joking.
Did he not know? He couldn’t have known. People who knew treated her with gloves, as though any sudden movement or word would cause her to shatter and spiral back down toward an overdose. If he didn’t know...that meant Liam hadn’t told him. It hurt, but also flooded her relief all in one motions. It was a strange sensation. On one hand, her husband had spared her dignity. On the other, she hadn’t even been important enough for anyone to check on the absolute radio silence from the woman for the last year.
God, she missed her parents. They were the only people in her whole life to have ever really seen her.
But Luca was doing a good and she smiled, encouraging him, ”Wow, you went and grew up, I guess! Don’t go and get stuffy on me, Luca.” She winked at him and he changed the subject to roommates and Olivia went still. She’d been bouncing between spots, sometimes sleeping in her car, and trying to keep all of that a secret from her husband so that he’d keep supplying her with the pills she needed to stay straight. But a steady place? With someone stable like Luca? Sure, he was a party animal but he was family. He wouldn’t try to sleep with her or take advantage of her or rob her. She shifted a little bit and went on carefully, ”Actually….I am..” She eyed him, ”Liam had to tell you...right? About the separation, all that? What all did he tell you?” If she was going to really entertain the idea of staying with him she needed to know what he knew so that she could keep up whatever appearances it was Liam had sold to his family in order to keep them off his back.
Luca's mouth formed a perfect O as his curiosity turned into excitement. He had never been exposed to anything of the PI sort of course, so just the mention of it had his mind running wild with things he had only seen on television or the big screen. Ideas that were filled with exposing shady companies, dirty cops, or stopping kidnappings. They were totally opposite of what Olivia said she did, but he didn't let that put a damper on his excitement. "Oh come on, don't be modest you can tell me the truth. Bust any undercover drug rings? Shady cops?" He waggled his eyebrows, playing up the intrigue about it all.
The conversation turned to his line of work which obviously was much, much more boring than hers. Luca found himself mimicking her play of brushing it all off. He shrugged, giving her a meager, "Eh. No big deal." before stuffing his hands into his hoodie.It was nice to have someone mention his new job without constantly bringing up the fact that it was due to his father. That was an anomaly when it came to his family. Sure his mom wasn't likely to point it out, and his dad was usually too busy to talk to him anyway, but his big brother on the other hand. There wasn't a conversation that went by without him reminding Luca that he was given everything that he had ever had without working for any of it, blah blah blah. It got old quick.
Olivia was a breath of fresh air. She teased him about staying up all night and he found himself laughing with her, "Okay so there might have been a few, especially when I first started." He grinned. Now, if he was honest, he was lucky to stay up past one am. His lovely new schedule was turning him into a boring adult. That annoying fact ever more clear as Olivia brought it up, teasing him about becoming stuffy. "God, I hope not. Maybe I'll talk you into letting me come along for one of your stakeouts. Beef up my street creds and all that." He grinned playfully, throwing up a completely ridiculous gangster sign. "I'll let you pick out our call names and everything. You do that right?"
Their relaxed nature took a shift when he brought up the roommate thing and he had a brief moment of panic as he wondered what he had said. Then she brought up Liam and it all made sense. Olivia shifted and he had never wanted to punch his brother more in his life. "Yeah, I mean...he mentioned the separation thing, but I figured you were keeping the house. Did he make you leave?" Luca felt the anger rising in him. The idea of his brother kicking her out made his blood boil. Sure Liam could be a jackass, but cruel wasn't normally something he'd associate with the older Ford sibling.
Luca had to force the anger down, managing to put a relaxed smile back on his face, though the idea of being relaxed was a far stretch from how he was feeling on the inside. "Hey. Do you want to get some breakfast? There's a place a block from here that makes the best waffles I've ever eaten." He extended the offer, hoping she'd agree to it. The last thing he figured either of them needed was to be standing in the middle of the sidewalk talking openly about his jerk brother. "We can catch up somewhere a little less cold. Plus my place isn't too far either. If you want to check it out?" Because there was no way in hell the extra room would go to anyone else if his sister-in-law was in need of a place.
