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.
Benjamin held onto the gun like it was his lifeline. It kind of really was. His eyes stayed wide open as he guarded Lexi, who seemed unresponsive to the things he had said. Not a good sign. Until he suddenly heard her voice. The school papers? What in the world did that even mean? How important could they even be? He turned to Lexi. "Yeah, I got it, don't worry," he reassured her. He had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. Or if she even heard him at this point.
He aimed his gun towards the new footsteps that were coming their way, but lowered it again when he saw the policemen and the paramedics coming onto the scene. "Three wounded with gunshots. I had to shoot two of them in self-defense. My name is Benjamin Faulkner, P.F.C, and that's Lexi Miller." He hoped they were going to focus on saving her first. Sure, it was a moral dilemma to some, but he'd rather save an innocent civilian over two criminals who attempted murder.
[attr="class","CONTENT"]Mick and his partner were just about to turn around the corner to get back to the station when yet another call came in. So instead of pulling into the station, he stepped on the gas, switching on the sirens, and drove past the initial destination. As dispatch ran them through the information they received he let out a resigned sigh. The number of gunshot wounds was soaring he felt. Lethford never had many cases, despite the local gangs causing ruckus here and there, but ever since the pandemic the amount doubled, tripled. He lost count already.
Thanks to the empty streets, despite being covered in snow, they were able to get to Venshaw Bridge fast. Blue eyes spotted various figures in the distance, one standing, three others on the ground. Mick swallowed, already preparing himself for the worst. Multiple injured meaning he had to decide to take the one with the lowest survival rate. The ambulance came to a halt, he turned off the sirens but left the lights, flashing a bright red through the area around them. Swinging the door open he jumped out of the driver‘s seat, ordering his partner to grab the stretcher while he slung the emergency bag equipped with various appliances over his shoulder.
His eyes scanned the scene as he jogged towards the group. One man was dressed in military gear, the other two looked like regular civilians and then there was a female on the ground bleeding profusely from what he could see came from the shoulder area. Now, normally Mick would have been required to wait for the police to clear the scene, make sure they were safe and wouldn‘t in harm‘s way but these days Mick couldn‘t care less. He definitely wasn‘t willing to waste time. Resources including patrol units were scarce anyway.
He glanced between the guys, one looking barely alive while the other was clutching his leg. Reaching for his radio he called for two more ambulances, even though he wasn’t sure those would be available. Their call was about a female so he immediately went over to kneel beside her, dropping the bag next to him. The blonde looked at her wound which was already covered in bandages but the blood was soaking through those already.
While his partner went through the basics Mick looked a the guy in uniform, listening to him introduce both himself and the woman. „What happened?“ His attention went back to the blonde on the ground who looked like she was falling in and out of consciousness. „Hey, you gotta stay with me okay? Can you tell me your name?“ Despite the guy already telling him her name Mick asked again, wanting her to speak to him, to talk, to just stay conscious as long as she could.
"She got lost in restricted area and I was showing her the way out when those two men came out of nowhere and started shooting at us," he explained to the blonde in front of him. "You can save her, right?" He knew he probably wasn't supposed to be asking those questions just yet, and rather just focus on what he could do, but he hated all the blank pages in his head. He didn't even think about the other two men he'd shot anymore, his only concern was whether he was going to be responsible for the death of Lexi. Guilt was eating away at him. He would apologize, but he doubted that's what she wanted to hear. He would be lucky enough if the girl even ever wanted to see him again.
"Do I need to help you out with anything?" he asked the paramedic. He wanted to be useful again, not sitting there being useless and ridden with emotions. "If not, I'll go help the police patrol the area and make sure you guys are covered until you're in the ambulance."
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Mick gave him a quick nod as he listened to what had happened. Unfortunately, it was a story he had heard too many times now. He didn’t reply when the guy asked him if he could save her. He surely hoped so but he didn’t want to raise false hope. The majority of his attention was on the female on the ground as his gloved hands checked the dressing that had already been applied. "Hey Lexi, I’m Mick. I need you to stay with me alright?" His voice was calm as sky blue eyes hovered over her face, the only part visible as the rest was hidden underneath a mask. And he smiled, as he would always do, even though she couldn't see it either. "If you can hear me squeeze my hand."
While his partner started administering oxygen he lifted his gaze towards PFC Faulkner once more. "You can help us move her into the ambulance." he told him, eyes flicking to his partner for approval that they were ready to leave. Mick pulled the lowered stretcher next to her, sliding aside to make space and pushing the bag behind him. "Careful." he said before lifting her up, steady hands easing her onto it and securing her to it. It was important to transport her to the hospital as soon as possible. He got a hold of the stretcher and started rolling it back to the ambulance, carefully pushing it inside on the ramps. "Do you want to ride with us?" Mick asked, his partner made his way to the front to drive it.
Lexi caught the question as the soldier spoke it. She had no true medical knowledge but she knew well enough that when people began asking if someone could be saved, there was a high probability that things were going horribly, horribly wrong. She closed her eyes, unsure if that was a good idea or not. Either way the world seemed to be tilting so she supposed it didn't matter. She opened them back up as a stranger's face came into her eyeline. Who apparently knew her name. She was almost certain that she hadn't heard an answer to the soldier's question. For some reason that thought seemed hilarious to her and she found herself attempting to laugh. "Well that's not good."
The pain was intense, but not as bad as it had been so she figured that maybe it wasn't all as bad as she thought. A nice numbness was slowly edging it's way in and she mused that if she could just get warm then really she had nothing to complain about.
Mick put his hand in hers, asking her to squeeze it if she could hear him and she gave it a solid attempt. She had no issues with the squeezing part of the demand but she quickly realized her fingers were slick and the realization that it was because of her own blood had her apologizing, "I'm bleeding, I'm so sorry." She didn't know who Mick was but she doubted he'd want a stranger's blood on him. Nor the soldier, who she figured had jumped ship by now and she couldn't really blame him. This seemed like a terrible way to spend an afternoon.
Something was placed on her face, cold air tickling her nose. She felt another chill go through her and realized that she was now moving rapidly. An ambulance. She was a little surprised when she was eased into it, thinking that surely they needed to take the man who she had tried saving first.
No reply. As he expected. Benjamin was taught not to make fake promises to civilians either. He couldn't expect the paramedic to do the same. The paramedic tried to talk to Lexi, who still didn't give an answer. Benjamin really started to worry about her dying today now, until she spoke a few words apologizing. Apologizing for bleeding? If anything he was the one who had to say sorry for getting her shot in the first place. He was angry at himself in his mind, wishing he had checked the area more thoroughly, and wishing he had asked Lexi to stay behind that first car. But he had been too concerned with trying to save the man, who he really thought didn't deserve it.
He helped the man with lifting her up onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. When she was finally in, a sense of security washed over Benjamin they were gaining back control over the situation. Mick asked him if he would ride along, and as much as he wanted to say yes to make sure she would live, he had to shake his head. "I'm not supposed to leave my post. I might visit her in the hospital when I get the chance," he said. Lexi Miller, that was the name he would have to remember. Somehow he was afraid she was going to reject his visit and hate him. Not that he could change anything from here on out anymore. It would be worse if he arrived to the hospital to heard she had died.
"Thanks for your help," he told Mick, despite it literally just being Mick's job, and wandered back to the place where he'd dropped his gun, picking it back up. The other ambulances had started arriving at the scenes and the other wounded were being taken away. Police were patrolling the area, and with a new twisted feeling in his gut, he knew he had to help them out. He took in the scene, seeing the bullet marks on the cars that they'd been behind just a few minutes ago. Strange, how quickly a peaceful afternoon could turn into a war zone in such a short amount of time... But hey, that's technically speaking what he signed up for.
Suddenly he noticed his commander had arrived at the scene - and a new sense of dread filled him, perhaps that he was judged for not handling the situation better. He was about to report to him when the commander told him to go with the ambulance. He obeyed and quickly went back to Mick.
"Guess I'm going after all," he told Mick before getting in.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Gunshot wounds were tricky. Even if looked harmless on the outside the damage a single bullet was able to do on the inside of a human being was tremendous. He couldn't really tell how much was damaged, if it hit a vital artery or not but so far the blood loss seemed to be the main issue. And that surely wasn't helping at all. "There you go." he said, the corners of his lips arching up into a bigger smaller underneath his mask as Lexi managed to squeeze his hands, a wave of relief washing over him for just a moment. She was still with them, somewhat conscious but it was better than nothing.
As they moved her into the ambulance and his partner took a seat in the driver's cabin Mick went over to the doors, accepting the other guy's answer that he won't go with them because he needed to follow orders. Mick couldn't help but chuckle softly, all in good will, when he was told thanks. "You're very much welcome. No worries." The paramedic was about to shut them when Faulkner returned, telling him that he would ride with them despite saying no earlier. Mick gave him a quick nod and waited for him to get into the ambulance before pulling the doors closed.
Moving further into the ambulance as they started driving Mick looked at the monitor, checking her vitals every minute or so. "You can take a seat over there." he said to Faulkner, pointing at the seat right below the small window giving them access to the driver's cabin. He pulled out a pair of scissors and cut open the bandaging which was already applied prior to their arrival. As he gathered new dressings and bandages he glanced over his shoulder, even if most of his attention was solely on Lexi. "Are you alright? Hurt anywhere?" Mick asked the guy, just to make sure, his eyes flicked to the monitor one more time. "You did a good job doing first aid." he added. Reassuring people involved that they did a good job doing whatever they did and calling emergency services was always important.
Mick felt a little sorry having to remove it again though. He cut through the upper part of her top and through the bandages applied, revealing what seemed to be the entry hole to him. The moment he removed the wound dressing the blood started to flow out once again but less than it probably did before. "Everything's going to be just fine." he whispered to Lexi, an attempt to reassure her as weel as his hand moved to the back of her shoulder, feeling for the exit wound if there was one. And there was.
Benjamin had never been in an ambulance before. It was a new experience and he couldn't help but look around at all the fancy equipment before sitting down. He stayed silent as the ambulance swayed slightly while they drove, the sirens blaring through the streets. He smiled slightly when he heard the compliment on his first aid. "Thanks, I had to do it at least a thousand times in training, so I would be disappointed if I messed it up," he said, adding a little bit of humor to the situation. Not on purpose though; his nature just forced him to be like that. "You must've done it at least a million, though." He respected Mick very much already, simply for his line of work.
Mick cut open Lexi's old bandage, and Benjamin guessed it was to remove the bullet inside. If it even still was inside. Benjamin had no idea if there had been an exit wound or not, but he didn't have the training to remove a bullet anyway if it was the case. That required absolute precision and skill, something he would never have had the patience for. "I'm fine," he told Mick when he was asked. Only then the realization started to sink in that he could have very well ended up like Lexi. Something he didn't want to think about for too long. He had acted in the situation and his body had made most of his decisions for him. And he was still alive. He heard Mick talk to Lexi again and wondered if she was even still awake.
Lexi heard sirens coming from somewhere but for the life of her she wasn't sure why that was a problem. The medic was speaking to someone and she found herself getting tired. In the back of her mind she wondered if she was being rude. Falling asleep while other people were talking seemed like a rude thing to do, but her eyes were so heavy. Wherever she was at was warm and as she listened to the medic talk she figured he seemed like a nice enough guy to overlook her being rude.
The ride was lulling and it did nothing to stop her from closing her eyes. Lexi felt something at her shoulder, a cold metal and she heard the voice of the EMT soothingly speaking to her. She felt very settled in her idea of sleeping. She even heard the soldier ask something and she nodded to herself. Yes, good, she mused, they could talk to each other and she could take a nice nap.
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Mick let out a choppy chuckle. “Yeah, maybe not a million times but too many to my personal liking. Pretty sure you’ve seen more firearm-related wounds than me.” Too many to count now. In fact, gunshot wounds weren’t as common pre-pandemic as one would have thought. And if he ran into these occasions it would usually be nonfatal, a graze, a bullet to the leg. Nothing dramatic, nothing life-threatening, nothing that would take lives. He was pretty sure those who died of their wounds were discarded before medics would even be called if they were called. Gang crime was the city’s main issue and while most of them did yield various firearms they didn’t always leave bodies or couldn’t afford to leave them. Reports were few but still existed.
In the past few months, he had been shot himself, but it was just a graze as well. It barely scratched his shoulder. It left a silhouette of a scar but it would always remind him of that day someone held him and a friend hostage inside the ambulance while forcing them to save his friend. He lovingly called it his battle scar. Then there was the situation where the riots enabled rebels to storm the City Hall and he had to deal with both someones injured by an explosive device and someone being shot in almost the exact same shoulder area as Lexi. As far as he knew she survived but he wasn’t sure what became of her after that.
He gave Faulkner an understanding nod when he told him he was fine. He still felt the need to have his gaze linger on the soldier for a bit longer, doing a small check-up from what he could see on the surface. The guy seemed to be fine enough, well enough. So Mick lowered his gaze and looked back at Lexi and her shoulder. Worried he drew his eyebrows together. She looked like she didn’t have the energy or will to stay with them anymore. “Lexi? Lexi, you really have to stay with me. We’re almost there. Just a little longer alright?”
Situations like these made even the most experienced medic nervous. Her life could slip away under his hands at any moment and even though he was very good at pretending to be calm he wasn’t. Underneath his mask, he gave her a reassuring smile and as they turned around a corner he lifted his head to look out of the window in one of the back doors. Almost. He recognized the street. The hospital would be just down the road. Almost. Mick looked at Faulkner, glancing over his shoulder. “I’m not sure how long she could be in surgery but I would suggest you stay for a while. It might be nice to see a familiar face after waking up.”
Mick was right about the firearm-related wounds thing. Benjamin had only been serving for 12 months but they happened a lot. And he knew this wasn't going to be the last of it. Maybe just the beginning of the things to come that he would see. He truly hoped he would be able to handle it, and wouldn't end up as one of the veteran soldiers, plagued by nightmares and PTSD.
Benjamin saw Mick's attempt at talking to Lexi once again, but still no response. The way Mick stayed calm in the situation gave him reassurance, but he knew they weren't out of the woods yet. With the way the city had been filled with crime and destruction the past few months, he doubted that they would ever be, even if Lexi survived. Good thing they were almost there. The ambulance ride had gone by incredibly fast. As does every dangerous situation, really. One moment you're casually talking to a civilian and the other you're fighting for your life as they slowly bleed out on the pavement... Anyone who says time slows down in those moments has never experienced one themselves. Mick told him he better stay with her and he nodded. "Yeah, I definitely will," he agreed. Then the ambulance stopped.
