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.
Falling into a routine had been good for him. Wake up, go for a run, head to work, stay late, go home, water his sole aloe vera plant, than try and sleep. It was simple, but it kept him focused. With the new restrictions in place there wasn’t much else to do. It was harder now that he couldn’t see anyone, he felt himself drifting from everyone. Texts went unanswered longer, he didn’t actively seek people out. He couldn’t make plans, he couldn’t see anyone. He didn’t see much of a point in trying to keep up with everyone. He knew it wasn’t the greatest way to look at it, but he couldn’t help it. He was tired of hearing about how over the virus people were, how they were tired of wearing masks. He just didn’t want to deal with it, it was the other reason he was staying off of social media. His sad attempt at mental survival.
Work was where he was happiest. He kept staying later, because being at work was better than being in his empty apartment. Besides, there was always something to do. He liked being busy, he liked not thinking.
His fingers moved across the keyboard before him. Data entry from his latest study. The keys made a satisfying clicking noise as he worked. He was absorbed in his work, he didn’t notice his boss at the door until they wrapped on it with their knuckles. Thomas looked to the door, fingers still moving across the key board. ”Hey,” he greeted simply. She seemed in phased that he continued to type as she spoke. ”Thomas, we have a new employee starting today. Show him around, get him up to speed. He will be joining us in the trials.” Thomas paused his typing, ”alright. When do I have to meet them?” He glanced to the clock as she spoke again. ”They are with HR right now signing the non-disclosure agreement for the trial. They’ll be another hour.” He nodded, ”not a problem”.
An hour later he was walking towards the section of the building that held the HR end legal departments. The non-disclosure agreement was extensive. The public had no idea about the trials, a select few did even at Prism. They were kept under lock and key, the legal ramifications were steep. But he had heard of people going missing from Prism. He didn’t really believe that, people didn’t just go missing. He had no doubt they had moved onto bigger and better things. He just tried not to dwell on it for too long.
He stopped before the open HR door, knocking before stepping in. Like everyone else at Prism he wore a mask as per the policy. ”Im here for the new hire.” He informed the two figures in the room. Than he looked at who the new hire was. ”We just finished. Good timing as always Thomas.” The HR worker spoke but Thomas wasn’t listening. ”Gray?” It came out as a question more than anything else. Confusion and happiness were the two emotions he felt at once. Gray was the last person he had expected to see here at Prism. One of his closest friends, the urge to greet the other with a hug was over whelming. ”Your the new hire?” He couldn’t help but ask even though it was apparent.
He wasn’t nervous a lot in life, but as he was on his way to his new job at Prism BioTech Grayson could feel his hands curl into his clothing. He had put a lot of effort into being able to work at Prism but there was just so much that depended on him doing a good job that he was afraid he’d mess up and prove that his parents had been right about him all along; that he was a failure. Maybe he should have just stayed at his old job where he hadn’t been on the team that worked on the cure. That definitely would have been easier. But he knew that he needed to do this if he didn’t want anyone else he cared about dead. Working at Prism was the only way to go forward.
Trying to put those thoughts aside, he focussed on how he would also finally see Thomas again. With everything going on they had barely talked these past months and it would be amazing to see his friend again. At the same time it also made him nervous, precisely because they hadn’t spoken in so long. Grayson had kind of, unintentionally, ghosted the other. With Matt dying and the pandemic going on it had been difficult to muster the energy to send a message; even for Gray who most people found too social in normal circumstances. He didn’t know whether Thomas had noticed or if the other had also been too busy with the pandemic; he’d find that out soon enough.
When he arrived at Prism BioTech he stood still for a moment, taking in the sight before entering. The woman who greeted him from behind her desk sent him further inside the building towards HR where he was met by another woman. This one wearing a perfectly tailored suit and a black mask that hid most of her face. As he greeted her, he noticed her eyes disapprovingly going over his own mask. He’d known most people would be wearing a boring black or white mask, or maybe even some other solid colours, to appear professional. Still he had opted to wear his most colourful mask that had been made by a local artist. She, and everyone else, would just have to deal with it.
After spending what seemed like an eternity signing a non-disclosure agreement there finally came an end to the places he had to put a signature. He’d known Prism was very secretive, but this was even more so than he’d expected—it made him stop and wonder for a moment what he’d gotten himself into.
A knocking sounded through the room after which a familiar voice announced they were here for him. The look on Thomas’ face when he saw who the new hire was was priceless. “Hey Tommy!” he answered with a wide smile that was reflected in his eyes. He took a step closer to hug the other but remembered just in time that there was a global pandemic going on. A bit awkwardly he took a step back; he hated not being able to touch people.
Thomas’ surprise was exactly how he’d imagined the other would react. “No, I’m only here for the tour,” he laughed. It was good to see Thomas again; it really had been too long. “I thought it would be a fun surprise,” he explained himself. “It has been a long time since we last saw each other.” Of course he could have told the other he would be working with him, but making it a surprise had just seemed like a lot more fun to Grayson.
The want to embrace the other was so strong, he hadn’t seen the other in what felt like forever. The human resources worker was looking between them. It was apparent that they knew each other well. But she had no idea how close they had been. Thomas felt like he had to explain his absence from the others life, he knew that he should have been there more for Gray when he had lost his boy friend to the virus. Guilt turned in his gut as they both awkwardly stood there after they both clearly wanted to embrace the other.
Thomas knew the other was being sarcastic, there was no way he was only here for a tour. It was clear that Grayson would be working at Prism, but not just for the company. On the trials, Thomas had to wonder if the other knew what he was signing up for. The woman behind the desk was sorting out the papers to file them away for later use if needed. Thomas recovered from his shock and surprise. ”Its been a hot second.” He offered, it was hard not to keep the happiness over seeing the other out of his voice. He had forgotten how much he enjoyed Gray.
”Common,” Thomas spoke the words as he jerked his head towards the door. ”I’ll show you around. We have the coolest toys.” He smirked under his mask, there was no lack of funding here. They were at the forefront of research, Thomas had been thrilled when he had seen all the tech. Less so when he had started to use it, until he had started to test the vaccine on people. There was a heavy weight to what he did at Prism, he was still trying to learn how to carry it.
”You’re looking good,” he informed the other as he lighting nudged the other with his elbow. ”Why didn’t you tell me?” There was no hurt to his tone, only curiosity. Thomas questioned as they moved towards the elevator banks. He knew the other would know what he was asking, he hadn’t known the other was applying at Prism. It made sense since he had lost his boy friend to the virus. It made sense that he would want to be at the forefront of the research. ”You doing okay? Im sorry that I abandoned you Gray. After everything you did for me after Charles died-“ his words trailed off. Offering the other a tight lipped smile under his mask, he kept forgetting that the other couldn’t see.
Now Thomas stood before him and he truly realised how much he’d missed the other, Gray wondered why he hadn’t just sent Thomas a message. Even if they had to be careful because of the pandemic, messaging or hearing the other’s voice would have been a lot better than not talking—any type of communication would have been better than none at all. But here he was, stuffing that feeling away because there was no way to change the past.
He smiled in excitement when Thomas started the tour. He could only begin to imagine the equipment Prism had at its disposal. Funding had always been a problem at his old job; there had never been enough money to make the progress they wanted to make. It sounded like that wouldn't be a hindrance in his research here. "Can't wait to play with them," he smirked.
An elbow slightly poked into his side. “You too,” he answered before Thomas continued with a question he’d been expecting. “Like I said, I thought it would be fun to surprise you.” Which was true. He’d spend hours imaging Thomas’ reaction and the real deal had been even better. “Your face when you saw me was priceless,” he laughed. But there had also been an additional reason. His expression turned thoughtful before he admitted with a soft voice: “But I also didn’t really know how to tell you after not speaking for so long.” At times he’d spend hours staring at his phone, thinking about sending a message. In the end, he’d always closed the app and put his phone away.
His first response to whether he was okay would have been yes; but then came the rest of the question and he knew that answer wasn’t an option anymore. “Don’t be sorry. With this virus and everything going on it’s hard to stay in touch,” he said with a smile, trying to laugh off his problems as usual. Of course it hurt that he hadn’t had his friend to lean on, even so, thinking too hard about that only made it worse. He just wanted to be happy that he was finally seeing Thomas again and not think about all the rest for a while.
There was an ache in his chest as he took in his best friend. Could he still call him that after the time that had passed with little contact? He had missed Gray, the man who had taken him out of his grief when Charles had been killed. When his father had turned to the bottle instead of him. His fathers favourite son was dead, he never let Thomas forget that. But Gray had been there for him, to drag him out and remind him how to live. Than the pandemic hit, Thomas hadn’t been there for Gray when he had needed it. The guilt was heavy. Gray had lost his boy friend to the virus, and Thomas hadn’t been there for him. He hadn’t stepped up and repaid the favour.
But Gray was smiling, excited to see him, excited to be at Prism. He couldn’t deny that he was just as excited to see the other. It had been too long, and Thomas wanted to make up for past mistakes. He joked about the toys. But it wasn’t a joke, Prism had everything. You wanted it, they could get it. There was no funding issues, no red tape. They were able to practice science, to find a cure.
He took the nudge, shooting the other a smile he couldn’t hide. His face was going to hurt later and he didn’t care. Gray just had a way of putting him at ease, at making everything just seem better. ”Im very surprised, I did not expect this. But I’m glad it’s you, I’m glad you’re here and we get to work together.” He couldn’t help but beam before the conversation took a more real and serious note. Thomas dropped his eyes from the other as he admitted he hadn’t known got to tell him. Thomas hadn’t been the best friend, he knew he should have done better, that Gray deserved better. Gray told him not to be sorry, but he couldn’t help it. His eyes went back to Gray as he spoke. ”I haven’t been a very good friend these last few months. With everything that happened-“ There was a sad smile on his lips as he trailed off. ”That’ll change now. I’ve got your back, we’re going to find a cure.”
He knew that Gray was hurt, that losing his boy friend had sucked. More than sucked probably. But yet he was trying to throw a smile on his face. Like everything was sunshine and rainbows, Thomas knew the other well enough to see through it. ”Did I mention you get your own office? It’s got a window and everything.” Thomas followed the others lead, trying to cheer the other up. It was Grays first day at Prism. It was a day to celebrate, not wallow.
Thomas led the way as he spoke. ”All the legal stuff didn’t scare you off? I almost turned and ran when the lady slammed the stack of documents in front of me. How many non disclosure agreements does a company need?” His words a joke, but there was also a question. Did Gray understand what he was getting himself into with the trials?
He was so happy to finally be here; to finally see Thomas again; to finally get out of the house for more than groceries. He’d been quite nervous on his way to Prism, but as soon as he’d seen Thomas’ surprised face that feeling had been lifted. That the other was the one who had to show him around the place was a perfect coincidence. It gave them some time to catch up. Which was much needed since they hadn't spoken for so long. Gray had hoped it wouldn't be the first conversation they would have, but when Thomas asked why he hadn't told him that he had taken a job at Prism it was hard not to bring it up.
As Thomas' expression dropped, Gray couldn't help but regret ever bringing it up. Today he really wanted not to feel anything negative; even if it was just for a day. It had been a while since he’d felt happy and he just really needed some time where there weren’t any worries on his mind. And so, when Thomas started to apologise Gray made sure to tell him not to worry about it. The answer he got hit hard. Thomas was right: the other hadn’t been the best friend lately. But none of that mattered; not today. So he grabbed the chance Thomas’ last words gave him to start smiling again. “We’ll have a cure in no time.”
“My own office?” he questioned happily; glad for the change of topic. He hadn’t seen much of Prism yet, but he could already tell that this place was going to be like nothing he had ever seen before. “You’ll have to show me yours too.” If he was going to get a tour, he wanted to get a complete one.
As he followed Thomas through the building the conversation turned back towards all the documents he’d had to sign earlier. “If this wasn’t the only company that has a chance at finding a cure I would have run far, far away,” he laughed. It was probably true though. In any other situation he would have stayed far away from this place. He didn’t know exactly what was happening inside Prism, but he could imagine enough. However, now he was so invested in a cure he had no other choice but Prism. He hadn’t even bothered reading any of the legal documents. No matter what he had to do, he was going to work here and find a cure. He was kind of curious about them though. “Kind of makes you wonder what they’re all for.” All the non-disclosure agreements needed to be for something. Otherwise they wouldn’t exist.
