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.
Brooke stood in line at the convenience store, her black mask over her face and her eyes avoiding the looks given to her. She was dressed in her fatigues, pants tucked into her boots, shirt tucked and buttoned up to the neck, and hair in a high tight bun on top of her head. She was off duty, finally, and had stopped on her way back to the barracks for beer. There was nothing that combated the mundane day-to-day of Lethford City like beer. Besides, when her mind was fuzzy it pushed away the darker thoughts about the bleak end of the world they were facing and how lonely her exit out of it would be.
It was time for her to face the music. She’d been back in Lethford for months and had seen him over and over again. Adam was a face she would always remember. She saw it in the night terrors and the good dreams. He was there with her worst memories and her best ones. It made his face one of the ones that she wanted to avoid most of all. And over the last several months she had done a good job of it. Brooke stayed busy enough to keep from feeling guilty about it, though. But it was clear none of this was going away anytime soon. And as things escalated it was important she confronted his memory, his presence before she was forced to do it while on duty.
And so she as getting beer. She reached the front of the line and responded to the cashier with one-word answers and grunts in reply, waves for goodbye’s and a sign she didn’t need a receipt and then she was gone, making the drive the rest of the way to the barracks. She’d texted another soldier, checking to see if he was there and the confirmation had set her plans into motion. Once there she put the government-issues vehicle away and made her way inside to shower and dress down. And just a few minutes later she was wandering into one of the many common areas with her cold case of beer, hair wet and dressed from her fatigues and into a pair of leggings and a long army t-shirt that was baggy enough to hide her figure.
She approached him, catching his eye and giving a nod as she spoke, ”Meiks.” It was a greeting and Brooke set the beer down in front of him, sitting across from him and getting to work opening it, ”I know I’m cute but you didn’t have to follow me to Lethford. I mean, come on, I thought you were a man of action.” She pulled out a can for herself and waved to it for him to help himself, ”I always wonder what people think of the place. Considering I grew up here, and all.” The can hissed as she opened it, taking a long drink and avoiding his gaze as she tried to pretend like this wasn’t incredibly awkward.
Adam spent the better part of the morning in the infirmary; mostly for means of getting a better night’s sleep - since lacking sleep - his recovery time appears sluggish and his response time slower - something a Soldier didn’t need on their back while having other men’s lives on the line. Although, this time, it wasn’t the same, not like wartime; the war was different, and nothing he ever expected to see - even if they did train for it and often prepared for every scenario; ready for anything - they could do it all, but doing it all didn’t stop the nightmares, and pain of the stress carrying on their backs. He’s learned to hide it - pain can be controlled and often ignored - even sleep where training to deal with harsh conditions and the lack of sleep from it.
But this time, the nightmares were causing more problems than he usually can handle, and the phantom pain in his arm reminded him of his injuries he sustained in Iraq. He can’t just get over some things that happened there; the shock of the injury and how worse it could have been; especially considering the type of attack it was, and Adam thought he got over it, but it still appears he had demons yet to heal. Although, he was living just fine with it until he first saw her. Staff Sergeant Brooke Hasting, he was in her unit while they were stationed in Iraq, the war, the fighting, bombings and overall hellish condition was something you just don’t forget. Since he saw Brooke the nightmares always ended up the same, however, he would always wake up when a bomb was going off next to his head which sends his body into shock.
It was hard to ignore her - being this close in The Barracks or The Mess Hall - eventually they would cross paths here at the base, and the last thing they needed was tensions of what happened in Iraq leaking into their present missions out there in the city. The sleep medication he was given he considered to put it to the side and look more for a proper means to getting a better night sleep then drugs. He was hunched over in thought, mansplaining, forearms resting against his sweatpants; his dog tags hung without restriction of a tight shirt loose around his chest. He had a look a lot of men and women in the Military had sometimes - the thousand mile stare.
His name called and it was like being hit with an order, and an automatic response he snapped out of it and looked up and saw Hastings. He came to stand and stood erect. “Ma’am” The response was robotic but natural. Her comments made him lower his eyes to the floor but a clear smirk in place meant he wasn’t at all as uptight as he appeared to be in that moment. ”Depends on your definition of action, Ma’am - and that could go against regulations - to fraternize with a higher ranking soldier.” He tried to remain that soldier - forever staying on as most did but not everyone was as serious as him.
Now he sits back down and smiles down at the beer placed at his feet, he looks up from under his eyelids and nods. He accepted it and decided to enjoy her company, maybe that is what he had to do to get over these nightmares but facing what caused them; really it wasn’t her fault that this happened but, it was a heavy reminder. Facing it with her was probably the best option he had - and he wasn’t about to take sleeping pills either. ”Actually, I was sent here after coming home..after my injury.”
He takes a swig of the beer and tilts his head looking around The Barracks before casting his light hues on her and half-smiled in her direction. ” I kind of found a soft spot for this place, I thought about moving here after I retired... “ He chuckles awkwardly, another swig and another look over the crowd of men and women who were his family now. It wasn’t just the nightmares from his past when he faced Brooke, but what they were doing now - this wasn’t what he signed up for. ” - but that changed..but I guess I can’t complain I am living here..” He can feel their conversation was still at the awkward stages; both were avoiding talks about what happened in Iraq.
His lip curls again. ” So.. that means you have pretty high authority in grounds and mapping while out there in the field? - probably know about some places that not even our boys know about, huh?” He did remember briefly about her home being here, but at the same time his memory fogged sometimes, but this he found interesting to consider for future missions.
With every step toward him her insides twisted up tighter. Brooke wouldn’t be surprised if he got up and left, unwilling to share a space with her because it transported him right back to the moments before the ambush and the firefight. Because it took her right back. She could feel her body tightening up, her fight or flight engaging so that she could save herself from whatever would come up. Because it hadn’t just been one combat encounter with Meiks, there were several. It only took the one to cause deep trauma and ache and change lives forever, though. And they’d been the unlucky ones to hit that lottery.
When he jumped up to attention she was surprised but the look faded to delight. ”Wow, it’s been a while since I had a man jump at attention for me. At ease, soldier.” Brooke teased him, set the beer down and offered him some friendly ribbing. He took it and shot back at her. As a woman in the military she knew all about the fraternizing rules and just the sort of men that shoved them aside. Having one of them defend himself with it was refreshing. ”Well then I hope no one sees us sharing beers. The last thing you need is anymore disciplinary action.” She knew all about his troubled past and knew just how good the military had been for him. It usually was for people like him.
Adam explained how he landed in Lethford and her eyes glanced to his arm and then gave a nod, ”I guess there are worse places to end up after an injury.” There was a knowing sort of tone to her words that seemed to say ‘at least you had to option to go anywhere at all’. Death was their reality, another sick lottery everyone in their rank and station participated in. The mention of retirement made her laugh and she took a sip of her beer, ”Retirement. God, I forgot how fucking old you are.” Brooke smirked at him behind her can. It was so easy to slip right back into the teasing and the joking that came from tours together. But awkward silence settled between them again and she took deeper drinks of her beer to fill it up.
It was his turn to ask about her and she shifted when he asked about her familiarity with the area, ”Uh, I mean I guess. I’m actually pretty shit with directions. Unless it’s the ten miles around my childhood home I’m no better than anyone else..” She went on sheepishly, ”I got lost just last week, actually. It was not my..finest moment.” Brooke reclined a little bit, ”But if it’s secret haunts and best spots to hike to or camp, I’m definitely your girl. Cadets and untethered parenting from my mom and dad mean I know the best overlooks for what some might have called illegal activities for person’s under the age of 21.” She smiled a little, ”Or maybe just for a quiet escape, now that almost everything is legal at our age.”
His eyes narrowed into humored slits; with a plastered grin on his face he responds.”Come on’now I am not that old yet..”
He laughs before continuing. ”Although age feels a lot different when you’re in the military.” He sighs having another swig of his beer, staring down at the can and spinning it around in his hand he pushes on the aluminum can which makes a crinkling sound - it’s almost soothing to his ears, but most likely annoying to others.
”I thought about going home.. I guess I wasn’t ready to look back there yet.”
The one thing about Adam was how quiet he was about his past - anything about his family, or if he had friends. His whole idealism was to keep his head in the game, he went from this rebellious kid to the disciplined Soldier overnight that he didn’t have time to consider meeting a proper middle, and while he is capable of communications and humor he had a tougher time having personal conversations like this. His sense of duty always outweighs his personal life, but there’s that part of him - that rebellious part that is still attempting to reach the surface, and it is possible his discipline wasn’t safe from it either.
”My Fault…living in a rural area all my life you kinda think the rest of the world knows a thing or two about their living spaces. Two thousand verses twenty thousand has a big part of knowing who’s who and all the inner workings of that space more difficult.”
He almost sounded like he was rambling, and he took that bitterness on his tongue as a reason for that; nothing harsh from the current conditions of the world - well maybe there was some part of that bitterness but mostly it was the sweetness from the beer just hitting his senses; it made him relax just a tiny bit now. He inclines his head to tilt towards the direction she reclines getting more comfortable, that was a good thing, and he felt it too that the awkwardness was subsiding faster than expected - but still they did need to address it somehow, but at what point do they, and would it cause a rift to grow more between them; it was no one’s fault but in the confusion he thought he could do more to help his brothers and sisters in arms but his injury made it difficult.
”Most of us were misfits. Do you ever get up that way now, to escape for a few minutes?”
Of course that was a tough question, and with everything that happened it made it hard to get away from their current affairs to have a moment of pleasure.
