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's respect for Lexi only grew when she'd mentioned they were for a student. How could she think about something as small as that in a situation that threatened her life? Not to mention she already took a risk going outside despite there being a virus. She said she'd figure it out, but Benjamin still felt the need to offer. It felt like the least he could do, despite really just wanting to go home after this crazy day. "Sounds important. If you want I could do it. Just give me the address," he said, sending her a friendly half-smile as well. Hopefully Lexi wouldn't feel like she was asking too much of him or anything like that.
"No need to apologize, shit happens," Benjamin reassured her, simultaneously trying to reassure himself at the same time. He couldn't control everything that happened either, as frustrating it was for him to accept that. He wanted to punch a wall just at the thought of it. "I'm with the locals," he answered her question. "I've lived in Lethford all my life. What about you?"
'No need for that tone.' Benjamin had to stop himself from rolling his eyes right then and there. Stay professional, Ben. Really, the guy who crossed boundaries and pretty much committed a crime should not be the one with the attitude. Especially not when Benjamin's finger was still dancing around the trigger. "You're aware that that is a crime? That you crossed illegal boundaries?" he said, still hostile. "This isn't open for civilians and we made that very clear. You're lucky to walk away with a charge because approaching military bases could get you shot on sight." He wasn't going to tolerate some curious civilian. Benjamin wasn't told exactly what the military was doing here either, but at least he was smart enough not to be one of the Area 51 stormers, since he knew the danger of military bases very well. Unlike this guy who seems like he'd practically do a naruto run into gunfire. "I'd like to see your ID first." He started to follow standard procedure for arresting a civilian like he'd practiced. Benjamin felt more like a cop in this moment rather than a soldier, but the bottom line was that he had to follow orders. "Then I will take you in for further questioning." He watched the man closely, since Jim could make a run for it any moment.
The school she worked at. So it was the school Benjamin had gone to when he was younger. What a coincidence. She asked about her bag and Benjamin started realizing what she had meant when she said 'the papers' while bleeding out. "Uh, no, I didn't. The police probably took it, should be at the station. How important are they?" Surely, whatever school thing could wait a day, right? Or else maybe this was going to be Benjamin's next quest. He'd be happy to do whatever for her right now anyway, anything to make it up in some sort of way.
Benjamin smiled at her weakly when she asked how much trouble she was in. How could she be worried about that? "Zero, unless you count your wound," he told her reassuringly. "I think I can trust you, so you're free to go as soon as the hospital lets you."
Startled by Benjamin, he saw the intruder almost drop whatever it was that he was holding. Only when he turned to look was when Benjamin realized it was a camera. The stranger said he couldn't drop it. Understandable."Lay it on the floor. Slowly," he said in a warning tone. He knew he was gonna have to take in that camera and have I.T erase everything on it - just to be absolutely safe that the man had not recorded any military secret. Or of course, they could simply have it be destroyed. Too bad for the civilian, but he shouldn't have come here in the first place. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
"Tell me your name and what you're doing here," Benjamin demanded from the man.
Lexi stopped speaking about it when he mentioned the man probably hadn't survived. He was grateful for that; he didn't want to think about it anymore either. Instead, she asked if he was hurt. He shook his head. "No, I'm fine." Surprisingly he had gotten out of that mess completely unharmed. Made him feel a little bit of survivor's guilt, if he had to be honest.
However, he couldn't agree with her when she insisted it wasn't his fault. To a civilian, maybe not, but to him, he felt like he had failed at his job, at his one task. Sure, it was a very difficult one, but he should've known and done better. Not that he could go back anymore now though. He smiled at her sadly. "Thank you." It didn't make him feel any different, but at least she was trying, and she wasn't mad or anything... that would have made it worse. She told him how grateful she was that he had managed to save her, that she wouldn't have been here without him. "That's just what I had to do... you just happened to have very unfortunate timing to get lost there. You know the way home from here, right?" He wasn't sure, maybe she never lived in the city after all.
She asked for his name, his first one. He smiled again. "Benjamin."
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.
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.
Apparently patrol duty was more important than he had initially thought. After finding two people in territory where they weren't supposed to be, Benjamin was yet again met with footprints of boots he did not recognize. Either people really wanted to know what the military was up to, or they just wanted to piss him off. Little did they know, Benjamin if anything found this exciting and it kept his job from being a drag. He wasn't surprised when they kept sending him on patrol duty again either — at this point he had become some sort of magnet for intruders, like a sniffing dog.
He followed the footsteps eagerly. Why was it so easy to get into restricted areas anyway? Did they just need something to keep privates busy by having to fend off strays all the time? A gut feeling told him that the person probably wasn't that dangerous, if they were dumb enough to leave their tracks in the snow. Perhaps another lost civilian? Or maybe just an idiot. He was about to find out.
And then he saw his target sneak behind an abandoned car. He could see that the man was holding something, but couldn't tell what it was from this distance. The thought of it being a weapon already stirred up the adrenaline in his veins, and he raised his gun. Slowly he stepped closer and closer to the car, trying to go unnoticed, despite the snow creaking under him with every step. Hopefully the man would be too distracted to hear his footsteps. He kept the barrel of the gun aimed at the back of the intruder's head, in case he would try anything.
When he was close enough to the man, he held still.
Benjamin had waited for what seemed like forever before she woke up. Many thoughts had crossed his mind. One he had been repressing was the thought of the two men he had shot. If they didn't make it, that would've made him a killer. He couldn't help but replay the scene in his head over and over. Wondering what he could have done differently, if anything. His friends in the army had always told him that it's best not to overthink, not to let your mind wander about what happened or what the ideal scenario would have been. It was best to learn from your mistakes, recognize them, accept them and move ahead. Look forward, not backwards. You don't look in the rearview mirror constantly when you're driving a car. But it was easier said than done.
Thankfully for him, the first distraction pulled him out of his endless thought process when he heard Lexi's voice. Sadly, her first words were asking about the man. She truly seemed like a caring person, with the way she had yelled at him when Benjamin had shot him, and now immediately asking about the strangers rather than herself. If only he could be so compassionate, but then he wouldn't be able to do his job.
"Another man showed up and shot you. I don't know if either of them survived, actually..." Benjamin remembered specifically asking the paramedics to let him know if they lived; but not to tell him if they didn't. He'd know the answer either way, but wouldn't have to directly hear it. He didn't know if he would be able to handle the outright words spoken to him, confirming his deeds.
But it had been so long. If either of them had been stabilized by now, they would have told him. And so the worst was assumed. He sent Lexi a sad, sympathetic look. "I don't think so..." He said softly. He followed her gaze to the clock on the wall. Right then she asked the question he'd expected. "About five and a half hours," he said. Outside the windows loomed the dark heavens after the sunny afternoon had turned into a grim blackness.
"I'm sorry," Benjamin said after a few moments of silence. "About this happening to you. I should have made sure it was clear. I'm glad the paramedics were able to rescue you." He never should have tried to help the man first. His sympathy was going to get him, or possibly someone else, killed. Maybe it would be better now that the first two kills were out of the way... or maybe it would make things worse. For now he knew that all he could do was try to help Lexi as much as he could.
The man in front of him looked at least a few years older. Not any more dangerous than him though. This once again raised the question in his mind whether or not he had brought friends with him. Benjamin put his finger away from the trigger but kept the barrel aimed at him when the man raised his hands. Claiming not to be armed. He didn't look like, on first sight, as if he was hiding any arms, but there was no way Benjamin could tell if there wasn't a gun hiding in his jacket. And someone who tried to break into a military base... well, would they really come so unprepared? He watched the hands of the man carefully. He got an introduction and was expected one back. No way that he would become so friendly so easily. "What are you doing here, Jim?" Benjamin asked, a hostile undertone lying in his voice. He wasn't about to be messed with, so Jim had better come up with an amazing excuse that would explain everything.
The army, in both media and its advertising, was heavily glorified. Benjamin was painfully aware of that fact when most of his days had become patrolling the same areas over and over again, most of the time completely on his own. They didn't want to give him leadership duties just yet, but they trusted him enough to go do things on his own. He struggled to stay alert when after hours and hours of wandering, nothing exciting had happened yet, and worse, he had nobody to talk to. But he persisted, knowing that he just had to do whatever he was told.
That's when he caught the warehouse door opening and closing. He raised his eyebrows. Nobody was supposed to come here around this time. Quickly he made his way over there, only to see nobody. He raised up his gun and walked past the aisles, scanning them one by one. Suddenly his eyes met with the strangers that was standing there.
"Hands up in the air! Now!" His finger moved towards the trigger.
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.
Benjamin couldn't remember the last time he had been inside of a hospital. Despite the many injuries he had gotten from climbing and running around, fighting with other kids and doing stupid things, he never had gotten a serious injury that didn't heal on its own. Not even for the death of both his grandparents had he been inside of a hospital; they both had died peacefully in their own homes. If anything, the unknown sense and general atmosphere of the place made him uncomfortable. His eyes had been scanning the wires attached to the heart monitor and the other complicated machines he couldn't begin to name or have an idea of what they were for. The room was silent except for the steady rhythm of Lexi's heart, the woman he had just barely managed to save. Or, how it rather looked in his eyes, the woman that got shot because of him. If there was any hero in the situation, it was definitely Mick and all of his coworkers.
He had taken his heavy military gear off and left his gun out of sight. Now it was just him in his shirt, exposing all of his muscles, and the digital watch on his left wrist, sitting aside the bed of Lexi. Somewhere he was grateful for being allowed the opportunity to go with her. He didn't like the thought of her going through something traumatic like that and next waking up in a hospital, all alone. But hey, for all he knew she hated him now, and would throw a punch at him as soon as she woke up. He really didn't know enough about her personality to tell.
There was something else, vaguely in his mind that he wanted to discuss with her. Whatever she had meant by 'the school papers' when she was on the verge of dying. Whatever it was, he guessed that if you're reminded of it on your death bed, it must be important. Maybe the school papers contained an important code she was trying to give to the CIA. Really, what did he know about any of this? There were more questions, too, like why the hell she was visiting a student in the middle of a pandemic. Not that he was going to expect her to lie, or reveal some malicious intent. He just wanted to know who she 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.
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.