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.
Brooke was fairly certain that she smelled like a dead body. When she’d stumbled upon that body in the woods she didn’t know what she had been signing up for. Sure, the young soldier had inserted herself into the investigation, complete with her own insistence that as the one to discover the body that she be brought in to things. And then she’d gone to the morgue and spoken with the coroner and it all smelled very strongly of preservatives and dead things.
She could only hope that the smell didn’t stick to the food in the passenger’s seat too.
Pulling the mask off her face, she texted Thomas and told him that she was coming and bringing food. The N95 hung from her rearview mirror and, thankfully, her phone’s GPS was working. She wouldn’t get lost this time. No more bodies...for now. The phone was thrown onto the passenger’s seat so that it could screech commands at her from there while she drove and bobbed her head to Ed Sheeran. Her lips moved and she mumbled the lyrics, only slowing when she got to his complex and knowing, then, that she’d spend another ten minutes looking for parking on the busy street. With a groan the mask went back around her sore ears and she grabbed the food, her phone, her purse, and her coat. It was an impressive balancing act that had someone opening the door for her and Brooke calling her thanks as she crossed to the elevator.
Her elbow pressed the button. Full hands were smart during a pandemic, and then was stepping out on the third floor a little bit later. Down to his apartment, Brooke kicked the door and when it opened she held out the food to him, ”Can I use your shower? I smell like death.” She didn’t wait for him to answer. She dropped her other things on the end seat of his couch and was unbuttoning her uniform to reveal the undershirt beneath it even before she got to the bathroom. Arching out of the doorway she called, ”Could I borrow some clothes too, maybe? I’ll bring them back, I promise.” and with that her heel kicked the door shut and she turned on the shower. Those clothes would definitely never get back to him, though.
When she emerged she smelled like him and dressed in the clothes he’d set on the counter while she showered. Brooke was toweling off her hair and left the towel in the bathroom when she finally emerged. ”Old bodies smell so much worse than fresh ones. Like drained of the blood and then they just smell stale and chemical’y?!” She made a sort of gagging sound and shook her head, ”idk how you science people handle it.” Stopping in the middle of his living room she gave him a grin, ”Sorry about ruining our picnic.”
The apartment was minimalistic, clean lines and tidy to the point of obsessive. Everything had a place, everything had a home. It was a bachelor apartment, everything was in the same space except for the bathroom which was tucked out of the way. It held a glass shower, toilet, and vanity. He could have afforded something bigger, but he preferred the open concept. Being able to see everything and having clear sight lines. The large bank of windows along the one wall let in plenty of light. His bedroom separated by a glass wall.
The only plant in the apartment was a single aloe vera plant. It sat in a cement planter on the coffee table. It required minimal effort and upkeep. It was his only companion. His mother had kept so many house plants, their house growing up had smelt warm and earthy. He had tried to replicate it, but they kept dying. The long hours didn’t exactly allow for him to care for things.
He was settling into his nightly routine, grabbing an ice cube from the freezer he plopped it into Vera’s planter. The ice cube would slowly dissolve and water her over night. Then he grabbed a beer, looking in his fridge and remembering he needed to get groceries. Something he had forgotten yet again. Cooking for one was a hassle. He liked to keep the food he made simple and clean. His pocket buzzed, closing the fridge door he fished it out. Looking at the screen and the message there. He couldn’t help the sigh that escaped him. He wanted nothing more than to sit down and go over the research papers he had pulled from the library. But it looked like Brooke had different plans.
Thomas had just finished his beer when he heard the loud knock on the door. He opened it and was greeted by Brooke, she looked dishevelled, shoving the food at him and moving past him. She was already talking, not waiting for him to say yes or no. He looked from the food to her as she disappeared, ”shower?” He couldn’t help but ask as the door closed to the bathroom, moments later the shower was running. She had asked him for clothes, he stood there for a moment still holding all of the food.
Settling the food down on the small table he went to find her clothes. He spent too long trying to decide what to give her. He settled on a black t shirt and grey sweatpants. He grabbed a clean towel, standing outside of the bathroom door. Did he leave the clothes here? Then she would have to open the door. Would she be mad if he opened the door and put them inside? The shower was still running when he opened the door and shoved the bundle inside.
Thomas settled at the table, having grabbed two new beers from the fridge and setting them out. He felt out of place, he wasn’t used to having people in his space. It was odd to hear the shower running, it was odd for there to be life in the apartment. He glanced to Vera as if she would share his sentiment. The shower turned off and he flipped through one of the case studies from Europe as she got dressed.
He glanced up from his spot at the table as she spoke. She looked small in his clothes, they hung off her awkwardly. He was glad he had picked sweats with a waist band. He set down the highlighter he had been using for the case study and crinkled his noise. ”Do I even want to know what you were doing with a dead body?” He made a mental note to clean his bathroom. If they dealt with a dead body at work he made a point of showering at work before he came home.
”Biochemist, not a dead body wrangler.” He informed her, the lie felt heavy. How many people had died so far in Prism’s trials? How many people had he personally infected with the virus? How many people had died shortly after getting the vaccine? He didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to think of his role in it. ”Picnic?” The question was out and in the same breath he remembered his promise to meet her. He cringed, ”that wasn’t today was it?” He couldn’t help but ask, clearly having lost track of time.
He paused, his brows bunching together in confusion. ”Did you get called into work? Where did you find the body? I was half hoping you were joking.”
A shower had never felt so good. She hadn’t realized just how yucky the dead things had made her feel until she was stepping out of the shower, clean and ready to put on clean clothes. Her uniform had been left in a pile on the floor unceremoniously and she simply balled it up into a tighter mess in the corner as she dried off and stepped into Thomas’s clothes.And as she stepped out of the bathroom in the oversized clothes she was very aware of the fact that she was going commando. She wasn’t going to put on her death panties again! But she was certain that there weren’t any holes in the sweats he’d given her.
She had missed the look of mortification on his face when she’d invaded his home. But then again, Brooke was fairly oblivious to the world around her, particularly when it came to body language or reading expressions. And there was no reason she could think of that would cause a problem with showering there. She was toweling off her hair, head bent to one side when he spoke to her. But all she could do was scoff at how incredulous he was being, ”Military police. Police have to deal with dead bodies. And I found one today.” She said it casually, mostly because she felt like that somehow elevated her cool factor.
When she was halfway to the couch he asked about the picnic and Brooke stopped, scoffing and throwing her arms down, ”Oh my god you were going to blow me off! What the hell, thomas!” She frowned at him and the rest of the way to the couch she stomped just a little bit, probably only managing to disturb his downstairs neighbors than have any sort of effect on him. She stepped up onto his couch and then folded herself so that her feet were underneath her as he questioned her about the body. Brooke looked around and creased her brow, ”Food?”
But she didn’t see any and instead snuggled down into the cushion and went on, ”I was on the way to the picnic and I got lost- big surprise, I know. My phone had no signal. These outages are getting worse.” She gave pause to let him tease her if he wanted and then went on, ”So I pulled over and I was trying to get signal and then, boom. Body in the woods. And when the police got there they said that it wasn’t the first one found in that same area.” She paused, glancing up at him and hesitating before going on, ”I think they said one or two of them worked at the same place you do.”
