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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CODING
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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.
It was late and dark outside, the cold air had definitely set in by now and despite still being in the hospital, Benjamin could already feel the cool breeze tickling his skin. When he had last looked out the window, snow had begun to fall heavily, too. He walked through the fluorescent lit hallways, making his way to the elevator. Though he felt a sting of pain somewhere in his heart for having to leave Lexi behind like that, he was ready to just put this wild day behind him, and go home to his apartment. All he could think about was how he'd curl up in bed with the TV or the radio softly on and would slowly fall asleep. He felt the tiredness now that the adrenaline of the situation had completely worn off. He was wearing his military gear again, but had put his gun on his back, since he was off duty anyway.
And so he stepped inside the elevator. Two strangers joined him. Neither of them looked like medical personnel to him. Benjamin simply waited for one of them to press the buttons first. Then the elevator started to go up. Followed by a creaking, ear piercing noise that made him flinch. And next, the lights went out. Complete darkness. Back was his old friend, the adrenaline, that Benjamin thought he had left behind. His instincts were to find the flashlight he had, but before he could an emergency light, slightly weaker than the bright one they had before, flickered on. The elevator wasn't moving. And the realization sunk in.
It had been a long shift already and it was far from over. But luckily the hospital had quietened down a bit as the sun went under and Nicholas would be able to go to his office to get a few hours of rest before it would all start again. Now he wasn’t constantly looking after patients, his eyes kept fluttering closed and it was getting hard to keep them open. He really loved his job, but at times like these he really wished he could have a regular sleep schedule.
He decided to take the lift instead of the stairs; he’d had more than enough exercise today already. Two other men also went inside. Luckily, the lifts in the hospital were all quite large and so they could keep the necessary distance from each other. Opposite of him was a young man in military apparel. It was hard to tell anything more about the other two with the masks hiding their face. Slowly the lift went up. Until the lights flickered and the lift shrieked to a stillstand. Then, total darkness, followed by the weak orange glow of an emergency light. He was startled, but quickly recovered his composure. He was so used to hiding his real emotions from patients that it was little more than a reflex to slip the mask on. “No need for panic,” Nicholas spoke up. He was seemingly the only one here who worked at the hospital and so he took it upon himself to address the situation. “The backup generator should start up any minute.”
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Aaron let out a sigh, the disappointment and frustration very much apparent. He slammed his fist down on the top of the front desk, startling the nurse who sat in front of him and earning him glares from other nurses around the station. With a disgruntled growl he turned around, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. It was his day off and he wasn‘t wearing his uniform, just plain clothes. However, he had his military ID tucked away underneath his black bomber jacket and a handgun secured on his belt. One could never be too cautious these days, especially any law enforcement personnel who earned themselves a lot of hatred thanks to the government‘s decision to have stricter regulations.
He walked up to the elevators, slipping inside the one that just arrived. His finger hovered over the button panel to push the one for the ground floor but it had already been pushed as the red light behind the letters indicated. His eyes quickly went over the two strangers, one of them wearing military gear. He couldn‘t help the small, barely noticeable, smirk before he turned away, taking a spot next to the mirror and leaning against it. Aaron lifted his gaze up, watching the vent above him when suddenly the elevator came to an abrupt stop. The lights flickered for a moment before the three were tossed into darkness.
One of the men spoke up, telling them not to panic, and Aaron scoffed in response. The words he wanted so say, something along the lines of If one of you panics I‘ll knock you out didn‘t find their way out of his mouth. Instead, he rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and making himself a little more comfortable. „Usually backup generators don‘t work for elevators. If they do, they only have enough power to make one work. So I guess we can just hope it‘ll be this one. Because I really don‘t feel like being stuck here with two-“ he said, the last part of his sentence falling into silence as he didn‘t say the word out loud.
Don't panic, said one of them. Not that Benjamin was going to, and the other guy seemed a little bit offended that he was told the obvious. Now that he had a closer look at both of them, he could tell they were around the same age, making him the youngest. The first one said that the backup generators would start soon, but the other seemed to think he knew better. Benjamin simply listened to their words.
Two what? Benjamin kinda wanted him to finish the sentence, more out of curiosity than anything. But the man would likely take it as a challenge, and he didn't want to start a war to defend his ego. That's the last thing they needed if they were actually going to be here much longer than expected. With all the elevators in the building, Benjamin doubted this was going to be the one that it would activate. He wasn't sure of the odds, but they couldn't be in his favor. He leaned against the wall as well, while trying to ignore the frustration that exactly out of all times this could have happened, it happened now.
The others didn’t look like they would panic but he still told them not to. It was a habit as a doctor and a way for Nicholas to take control of the situation. The elder of the two men, however, clearly didn’t appreciate the words. It was hard not to react to the other acting like a child by rolling his eyes but he managed to ignore it. The explanation about the backup generators made sense even though it contradicted the information he had been given. Nicholas had to confess he didn’t know anything about generators and the other seemed like he did.
“Two what?” Nicholas retorted with furrowed brows. The other was getting on his nerves and his annoyance was starting to show. He still tried to hold the emotions back as much as possible, but that was made difficult by how tired he was. The long work days had wrecked his sleep schedule which left him more emotional then he otherwise would be. The sleep deprivation, however, didn’t keep him from knowing that challenging the other would only make their time stuck in this elevator that much more awful and he really wanted to get out of here without making an enemy. And so he backed off with a “Never mind.”
[attr="class","CONTENT"] Aaron rolled his eyes at them. "Idiots," he breathed, finishing his sentence after all. He leaned back in his corner of the elevator. Being stuck inside a small space with no way to keep much distance from others during a pandemic was a little irritating. Slipping out his phone he pushed the button on the site and the screen lit up, coming to life. However, the little bars showed no signal. With a sigh he shoved it back into the pocket it came from. He looked up, wondering if there was another way to exit. He wouldn't mind climbing out of it if he had to but unfortunately the emergency exit a lot of movies came up with was exactly that - fabricated. Even though those openings in the ceiling existed most of them could only be opened from the outside, so there was that.
"Hey, idiot number one," he called over to the guy wearing a military uniform. "Do you carry a radio with you?" Aaron asked, both eyebrows lifted in an inquisitive manner. Perhaps a radio would be able to catch some kind of signal. He didn’t imagine spending the rest of the day inside this metal box the size of a tuna can. Turning his head towards the other guy he gave him a quick nod of his head. "Idiot number two," he called over, a cocky grin dancing on his face underneath the mask but even then the mocking tone of his voice showed it just as well. "You got any more ideas as brilliant as staying calm?"
The other person asked the question for him, and Benjamin could understand why, but also didn’t want to make things harder. The guy seemed to realize that as he suddenly backed off with a “never mind”, but the man finished his sentence after all. Idiots, right, they were stuck here with a grumpy man. Benjamin was idiot number one and the guy asked if he had a radio. He was still wearing his military gear, so it made sense why he would think so. That would actually have been Benjamin’s plan, though he was sure the power would get back on eventually.
He picked up his radio. ”Faulkner here, does anyone copy? Over.” He would genuinely be surprised if even his radio wouldn’t pick up a signal here. They were in a hospital and not in a dark tunnel, plus military gear could not be that weak... right? He tried to remember anything from his Engineering college course to see if he could remember if he ever learned this, but his mind drew a blank.
The man also asked the other, calling him idiot number two. He clearly gave off ‘authority figure’ vibes, or maybe he was just an asshole that was used to telling people what to do. Benjamin didn’t have a problem with those type of people anymore after dealing with his drill instructors back in training. Nobody could phase him anymore after how horrible they were. Not that he liked being told to do by some random, but it was against his better judgment to start complaining now. Hopefully, the other person would feel the same.
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
