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.
Lexi found herself smiling softly when Benjamin admitted that was the only subject in school he liked. She hadn't minded school, but from an early age her parents had taken an invested interest in her subjects as well as extracurriculars so there simply had never been another option. She had always been encouraged to try new classes and work her hardest. School itself wasn't always her favorite thing, but the people and memories she had made during her time there were still treasured. She nodded when he mentioned video games, "That's cool. I'm not coordinated enough for it. I always end up dying." She had tried her hand at them a few times, but she couldn't get the controller figured out to save her life, literally.
When he asked her what hobbies and interest she had, Lexi didn't have to think much about it. "I like movies, history, and reading." She gave a soft laugh before reaching for the water again. "Now I'm the one that sounds like a cliché." She brought the ice cold liquid to her lips and drank slowly. Her mouth was still feeling dry, but whatever they were pushing in her veins was still doing a remarkable job keeping her pain at bay so she wasn't about to complain.
Lexi listened quietly as he spoke about the raids. It was clear he wasn't keen on them, which made her feel a little bit better about the whole situation. At least it wasn't like the military people were sitting on go and itching to bust through people's homes. At least there seemed to be some level-headedness, at least with Benjamin. She gave a half-smile, "Yeah, me too."
Benjamin played video games from such a young age that he couldn't remember being uncoordinated in them. Most of the time it just came naturally to him. "Yeah, they take some time getting used to. But once you know them, they're a lot of fun," he said. He couldn't help but chuckle when she mentioned her hobbies, she was the one that was actually cliche here. "Oh, what part of history is most interesting to you?" It would be something if it was any of the World Wars, but he felt like that probably wasn't the case by her lack of military knowledge. Benjamin himself had of course been interested in it, and he was sad school never covered specifics of it.
Lexi laughed softly when Benjamin spoke about it taking some time to get used to. She mused for a moment that he was being much too generous in his assumptions of her coordination. She was hands-down one of the most uncoordinated people on the planet. If there was ever an award for it, she would have taken home top honors. "Well, I'll have to take your word on it." Lexi sat back in the crisp linens and glanced over curiously, "Do you play the soldier-related game? Is that where the passion came from?" She couldn't recall any video game names specifically but she did know there were a few that were popular that dealt with being a soldier, zombies, and car racing.
Benjamin asked what areas of history interested her the most and Lexi had to think about it. There wasn't honestly one particular time period that held her interest. To her, it was more about the human connection throughout the entirety of their planet. The way human-kind adapted and evolved. The way society grew and cultures melded. It was a hard question to pin-point. "I don't think I have a favorite part. I mean, I love learning about indigenous cultures, but I don't think there's necessarily a particular time period that I love more than another." Her lips pursed, tilting in thought a moment as she worked over the question a little more. "Ancient Greece is fascinating too of course and the way it inspired modern art, I could go on for days about that." She laughed lightly, "Am I boring you yet?"
Benjamin maybe should have guessed that Lexi wasn’t a very coordinated person by the way she’d dropped her phone earlier before the shooting. But he wasn’t thinking about it too hard — everyone had bad days, who was to say she wasn’t perfectly coordinated all of the other days? He grinned when she asked if his passion came from military simulators, because that was exactly how it happened. He nodded. ”Yeah, I grew up playing those type of games,” he said. ”And so grew my interest in the army and the world wars in general.” It wasn’t like the games fueled him to kill in real-life, however. He still lingered on how he had killed somebody today. Things were much different in reality in comparison with the games, too, but then again, games were supposed to be entertaining. ”I always had a lot of respect for the soldiers. I actually did Engineering in college before this, which I failed at and dropped out. I mostly did it because my parents said it would make good money and that joining the army would be out of my league, and too dangerous.” His parents had not been very approving of his decision, but he was happy with what he had done and accomplished. Even if today he had done the one thing that made him a killer.
Lexi said she didn’t have a favorite part, which Benjamin found a little hard to believe. His suspicions were confirmed when she admitted that Ancient Greece was one she found very fascinating. Benjamin barely remembered anything from Ancient Greece at all, but he had never paid attention in school unless it interested him. He chuckled. ”Not any more than my teachers were,” he said playfully. ”I don’t think I remember anything from Ancient Greece to be honest.” It was weird how the two were so contrast but seemed to get along well.
Fight like you'll never die Fight to stay alive Fight to raise the crown Fight to take them down Fight like you're gods and monsters Because you want to To save a life
Lexi nodded when he confirmed her suspicions. It was nice when people followed their passions. If more people did it, the world would probably be a much better place. She could remember playing 'teacher' when she was a little girl. She would always make her friends be her students and had even given them homework. Her mother had a picture of her in front of her 'students' somewhere if she remembered correctly. "So your parents saw it coming then?" She imagined it might have been a little easier to take if they had seen the signs coming rather than a surprise 'hey mom and dad, I'm joining the military!'
Lexi's face showed a moment of surprise when he mentioned engineering. It was something she could never wrap her head around. Way too much math. Way too many exact and precise measurements. No room for creativity nor error. She would have felt stifled beyond belief if she had taken a route like that. She couldn't blame him for not wanting it.
He continued speaking, bringing up his parents and she listened quietly before replying. "I'm sorry they weren't supportive. That must be hard. You're clearly proving them wrong though." She had never had a moment in all of her twenty-four years of life that her parents weren't supportive. She couldn't imagine how hard that must be, how it must feel. "You should be proud of yourself for following your passion. Money can't buy you happiness right?" It was an old adage, but one that still rang true. At least for her.
Benjamin made a joke and Lexi found herself laughing softly. At least he was honest. She replied back with a little quip of her own. "You're not missing a lot I suppose, just the founding of Democracy, mathematics, and astronomy. The Archaic period of art and literature of course. Nothing big." She gave him a playful smile, hands resting softly on the hospital cover.
Benjamin nodded when she asked if his parents had seen it coming. Ever since he was young, playing those games made him play pretend army in real life. Every day he said he would be joining one day and now he was finally there. Yes, it was a dream come true, and he was proud of himself for making it, but he wasn’t sure if right now was exactly how he’d imagined it going. Oh well.
She had a hint of empathy behind her eyes while he told her about his parents, and how he proved them wrong. ”Yeah, I am,” he said, with a sad smile. He nodded again when she said money couldn’t buy happiness. ”I wouldn’t trade this for any amount of money in the world.” He felt like he had structure, a purpose, something to follow. Like he made some sort of difference in the world, even if today he only saved one life by ending two others.
She talked about what he was missing. He was surprised at his lack of knowledge because even the words didn’t bring back any memories. ”Sounds like I’m missing a lot,” he smiled. ”I bet you have way more knowledge than me.” He knew things, of course, but nothing specifically except the military tactics and code he was taught. But he didn’t specialize in anything. Some days he envied the teachers and other intellectuals a little; if only he had the focus to study one subject so much, he would feel a lot more intelligent.
Fight like you'll never die Fight to stay alive Fight to raise the crown Fight to take them down Fight like you're gods and monsters Because you want to To save a life
Lexi grinned at his comment, "That's when you know you've found where you belong. When it doesn't feel like a job and the money doesn't matter." Coming from the position of a public school teacher she knew first-hand that teaching was a job you had to love because there was certainly no money to be made in it. Still, her parents hadn't pushed her into anything more than the career she had set her eyes on. They hadn't pushed for a doctor or lawyer in the family. She was grateful for that. She couldn't imagine the alternative. His career path made a little more sense to her.
Lexi shook her head when he commented that she had more knowledge than him. "I'm positive that's not true." There was a world of knowledge that she knew she was lacking. In her mind, that was kind of the whole point of life. To constantly be learning, growing, and discovering. The world would be a boring place if she thought herself superior to it all. "Plus, knowledge is always subjective. Trust me, my kindergarteners would find you a thousand times more interesting than they find me."
She grinned softly at the idea. It was true. She wasn't exactly known as the cool teacher. She was the crafty one who baked cookies and gave hugs. She wasn't the one they went to for dance moves and cool video game or sport knowledge. She could keep up with the cinema talk though. She did have that going for her. Before the virus disrupted their world she loved going to the movies and being the first in line for the newest flicks. Good or bad, she watched them all. Her favorite was when a kid movie was shown and the whole class had discussions on their favorite parts. She'd take the opinion of five-year olds over any adult critic any day of the week.
”Exactly,” he said to Lexi’s comment about finding your calling. He was glad he’d found his calling at such a young age, and same for Lexi. He felt sorry for those who couldn’t find it, or like most people, only found it later in life.Benjamin was known to underestimate his own intellectual abilities — he himself didn’t view himself as intelligent. With all the years he had struggled in school, all the subjects he failed and the dropping out of college, he was always amazed at people who did get through it. Of course it didn’t mean he wasn’t intelligent, but rather that he struggled with the school system itself, and that he wasn’t the type of person to sit behind a desk all day. He knew loads of things about guns and the military, though sometimes he was kind of jealous of people who didn’t specialize, since they seemed to always know way more.
He smiled at the idea of kindergarteners finding him more interesting. He would have been the same. It made him wonder how many of those children would become soldiers like him. He was planning to serve in the military until his death, so if he lived that long, perhaps he would see them as young recruits once he was one of the older veterans that he now respected so much.
He realized how late it was getting, and he was getting tired, wanting to put the day behind him himself. Though he felt kind of bad about leaving Lexi behind after what he did. ”I guess I should be going soon... Is that okay with you?” he asked to be sure. Maybe she was traumatized and the small talk was just a distraction and she would break down if he left. What did he know about it? He wasn’t a psychologist. ”They should be letting you go tomorrow, too, I’m sure.” They both lived in Lethford, so he wondered if he would ever see her again.
Fight like you'll never die Fight to stay alive Fight to raise the crown Fight to take them down Fight like you're gods and monsters Because you want to To save a life
