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.
Havyn was beyond glad when he didn't mention anything about her cleaning. She could see his curious gaze from the corner of her eye but she didn't turn towards him. It wasn't really his business why she was the way she was, though she also wasn't ashamed of it. She was a 'survivor', as many people would say. Which apparently meant she should walk around and tell everyone about how she had beat cancer. Or at least beat it back into remission. The longest the years went by, the better chances that it wouldn't come back. Though she knew the chances were high.
She was also glad that he didn't immediately dive into how the hand sanitizer might ruin his vehicle. But from the sounds of it, this wasn't his personal cruiser. This was a borrowed one for the time being. Which meant maybe she shouldn't be calling him an officer. Perhaps a detective or captain or something of the sorts? She thought about asking about that when he offered his name back to her. And made mention that he'd rather her call him Jude. Which she gathered was his first name. "Hey Jude it is." Her cheesy drop of the Beatles song came out before she could stop herself, her voice even singing lightly the 'hey Jude' part. A smile spread under her mask, making her eyes scrunch up lightly at the corners. Pleased with her own joke.
"How long have you been doing that?"
She glanced at him in time to see him nod towards her bag. Did he mean her weird germaphobic behavior or the spray painting? She was going to go with the latter of the two. "I've been creating stuff for a long time. I was rather crap at it when I first started. I got more into graphic design and using technology in my teen years. Even dabbled in tattooing." She shot him a small smirk, hidden again by her mask. Her exposed arms probably suggested such a thing. She had added a few of her own to herself, which she took pride in. While she sat for others for the rest. They were random, all without color. But she loved them. "I happened to overhear the owner talking about changing up the outside of his building, and I suggested some actual artwork. The city can use something nice to look at besides a plain wall." She continued.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the iPad, ready to flip to the page she had sketched out to show him. Except she stopped as the radio crackled through with a dispatcher. She felt her heart clench in her chest in the last sentence. She couldn't imagine this situation, and wide hazel eyes turned to him. She found herself nodding at his words when he punched the gas pedal. She reached out and held one hand to the seat belt across her chest and the other grabbed the door. Holding on, waiting for their arrival. They weren't very far and arrived quickly on the scene, which gave her no time to prepare for what she was about to be a part of.
Three vehicles, it didn't seem too bad at first. Until Kins could see that one of the hoods was smoking. She felt her throat close up as she thought about the dispatcher talking about the kids still in the vehicle. She saw the people standing around and could see a frantic woman trying to pull her children from the back seat of her car.
As he thanked her for her apology and well wishes, she simply nodded. As bad as a start as they had gotten, she knew that she was not going to continue with low blows against people who had seriously just lost a lot. The raids had been something that she was truly shocked by. And she couldn’t imagine the work that he was having to do, and those like him, now that it was over and they were going to have to try and prevent this once more. How were they going to do it? She had no idea.
“That’s all.”
She heard his footsteps receding behind her. Well, there was the end of that delay that had taken up much more time than she would’ve liked. But that thunder threatened her. It was quick, those storm winds pushing it into place and as she shoveled all of her supplies into her bag, she felt the first few raindrops hit her skin. She stared for a moment. Damn this was not going to be a fun walk home. Nor a quick one. A soft curse was said under her breath as she tried to make sure that her tech was covered because if that iPad or her phone gave out she was surely screwed.
“I’ll take you home, if you want.”
She turned to look back at him, just in time to see him gesturing over his shoulder to his car. She hesitated, was that really a better option? She watched as he turned and headed back to the car. Not really bothering to see if she followed him. She eyed the vehicle, when was the last time it had someone inside of it that was infected? When was the last time it had been cleaned properly? She knew she had hand sanitizer in her bag but that was not enough to clean the entire seat right? Would he make her ride in the back, where he’d put criminals? Is that where she’d belong?
She didn’t have much time to ponder on it though, as a bolt of lightening seemed to tell her to get to it. She practically ran to his car, only pausing lightly as the thunder cracked over head and more rain started to come down. She took a deep breath and tossed her bag in at the passenger feet before she got in his car, pulling the door shut. Her hands immediately went for her bag, yanking out the bottle of hand sanitizer that she had in there and opening the lid. “I.. ah... yeah, I’ll take you up on that.” She said, pouring out a handful of the liquid and started wiping down the door handle and dashboard in front of her.
Did she care that it would potentially be something he didn’t want? Nope. This was for her own safety. “My address is the same one in the system, if you still have that up.” She said lightly, not looking over to him as she completed her wipe down of the area around her, even the arm rest to her left. She tossed the bottle back into her bag once the lid was secured and she buckled herself in, and laid her hands on her lap as casually as she could, her finger tips playing with the black fabric that covered her legs. “Thank you officer...?” She looked over at him and found that in the closeness of the car, that he had a really remarkable color of eyes. Brown at first, but a really lovely shade up close.
She leaned in her seat away from him, trying to act as casual as she could in hopes that she wouldn’t offend him.
“I’m on patrol right now because the man who normally works this route was seriously injured in the riots. Donut time is cancelled for now.”
She found herself at a loss for words. She hadn’t even thought about that. The raids had been something that wasn’t very long ago, and a lot of people were hurt. Civilians, police, military, and rioters. She had seen the articles and the pictures that flooded social media and the news. She had been tucked away in her apartment, just hoping that no one came crashing through her own door. “I’m sorry.” It fell from her mouth without much thought. She looked him over then, he was in normal clothes and just had his badge on display. He wasn’t in the usual uniform. “I hope he has a speedy recovery.”
Kins knew how much it sucked to be in a hospital bed. She lived in one for a while and hated it. Constantly having someone check in on her. Even though she loved the women who did, those nurses who she still kept in touch with during the year, it was the blank walls and the same twenty shows that repeated on the television that made it bland. It was why she picked up new hobbies of drawing and graphic design. Gave her a way to experience things without having to leave the precious room that ultimately saved her life.
A true laugh fell from her as he actually dropped his first joke. She wanted to applaud him, as if this was the first sign of seeing a human behind that badge and flashy cop car he had pulled up in. “I know, it’s crazy. You don’t have to learn on that on the job anymore. Times are a changing.” A smirk spread below her mask, her hazel eyes locked on him for a moment before she looked off to the ground.
She almost flinched when he insisted on the mask, even when he glanced back at his computer. She was sure this was a power trip thing. That he was just showing that he had the say here. She didn’t give much though to his look as he agreed to keep his distance, perched inside his cop car. He didn’t make any movements towards her so she pulled the masks off. Holding them still close to her face so she could put them back on after a moment. She glanced at him for a moment, lingering as she made sure he got a good look before she hide herself back under it.
Taking a deep breath as she did so, realizing that she had held her breath for a moment while the masks were off. She adjusted them where she needed them. Her hands dropped from her face as he stood, taking his time to extend to his full height, almost a foot above her own. She stared up at him, and was truly waiting for him to tell her to quit waiting for an apology. Because it wasn’t going to happen. Except he did. He apologized for the inconvenience and for her going along with it. Even though it sounded like he was reading from chapter three of cop 101, she could hear that he actually meant it.
“Better?”
Ah, there it was. She watched the way his mouth moved, wanting to smirk or smile as he fell easily back to this banter the two exchanged. “Meh,” She replied, her shoulders shrugging as she tilted her head to the side. Unimpressed basically. “Communication still sucks, officer.” She said, turning on her heel and starting to make her way back to her bad. She tossed a look over her shoulder, eyes narrowing slightly as she stopped a few steps away. “Is that all? Or do you plan to harass me some more?” A challenge of her own. She belonged there as well as every spray can she had in her bag. Her dark hair still tucked neatly behind her ears as she heard the first thunder roll in. She groaned lightly, looking back at the wall before she looked up. Guess that was going to be the end of her painting for the day.
She did scoff at him with that. Her hands taking up residency on her hips as she stared him down over her masks. “Oh I am so sorry officer. Did I interrupt donut time? Or something equally important?” It was a bad taunt. She knew it the moment it left her. The donut thing was over used, and yet she scrambled to find another thing to say to him. So she just had to hope that her strong stance and tone were enough to hold back his comment from further irritating her.
And then he smiled. She hadn’t expected it. She even felt her face soften for a moment as he seemed to do the same when she laughed. But it was gone as quick as it appeared, his unamused expression coming back to light as if he had it trained to live on his face. As he insulted all other police officers and himself, she felt another wave of laughter want to leave her. Her hand raising to cover where her lips would be, as if she could hold the sound back if it dared escape. “Well, you’ll be pleased to know they could at least read the ‘bachelors degree’ part of my submission. I was thoroughly impressed.” A small ghost of a laugh was at the end of that.
She had followed him to the police car, not getting too close. He was watching her, and she knew that it was part of the job. Clearly he had to be ready in case she decided to bolt from him. But she wasn’t in that kind of mood. No, instead she was going to settle for the triumph of knowing he was about to look like a giant ass. Especially as he got his phone out to call the owner. Kins watched him closely then, her eyes narrowing slightly in amusement as she heard him thank Jason before he hung up. He didn’t even look back at her. Which she knew was because she was right.
He looked through the computer some more, she knew what was there to be seen. She had been arrested one time before, wrong place, wrong time kind of thing. Though she knew that’s not what he’d have to say about it. It was for the exact thing that made him stop her now. Tagging. Illegally defacing a train car. Okay, maybe she had done it. But she was just eighteen and had finally gotten the news that she was cancer free. She was happy and celebrating with some friends. And maybe had an under age drink with her. Besides the point.
He seemed to stare at the screen for too long. She shifted her weight again as she waited. His statement on her photo was a correct one. She shrugged lightly. “Been meaning to update it. But you can’t exactly walk into a DMV right now...” She commented back. Thinking that he was getting ready to let her go now. Except he carried on and immediately the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She took a step away from him, her head shaking lightly as she did so. “Ah, no. I... I can’t do that. Can’t you just look up and confirm some of my tattoos. They wrote those down before.” Hinting about that prior arrest she was sure he had found. She knew that would drag out this experience though.
She took a shaky breath, her head looking at her feet for a moment as she told herself that it’d be fine. “You need to stay back okay? I’ll take them off but keep that distance.” She didn’t feel like she needed to explain herself further as she put appropriate distance between them. Hopefully the police department had been trained to respect these things during this pandemic. Her hands reached up and she unhooked one side of her masks, and slowly took them off. Her face still turned down as the breeze hit her newly exposed skin. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I look a bit more alive now a days then back then,” She joked, though the joke was not said with an amused laugh. She blinked a few times as she stared at him before she secured the mask back to her face. “So, that apology?” She quirked at him, raising a brow.
... he had a point there. But would she take that answer? Not with that tone. He was looking for a fight and for some dumb reason, she was willing to give it to him. Something about his tallness and deep voice made her feel some type of way, especially when nothing but aggression was rolling off of him in waves. Almost like the ocean that was trying to drag her out to sea. “Even us regular citizens have to make a living. Life continues on, as well as bills. And I don’t have the luxury of a secured job.” She snipped back to him. Though she had a feeling that the moment that had escaped her, he would have a comment about how she should have chosen a better career. So she took it a step further.
“I was too educated for the police academy, so they wouldn’t let me embarrass the rest of the recruits.” Though she meant it as an insult, it came out with a small laugh towards the end. Her eyes narrowing lightly in a challenge, curious if he would have something to say back to her. About how she seemed unfit for what he did anyway. Which would be one hundred percent true. She was not nearly strong enough to be a cop. The years of treatments and being sick made sure of that. And the only thing that got her through those years, was her art work. So of course this seemed the right choice for her.
He brushed off her comment on communication and, a very small part of her, applauded him. She had not only insulted his career, but she insulted every little bit of his skills that she was sure he had been taught somewhere along the way. “You don’t say.” She muttered, before she focused back on searching for that pesky wallet of hers that seems to have pulled a Houdini on her. Had she really just left it at home? Had she lost it on her way here? Had someone stolen it when she wasn’t looking? Though she doubted that last one, cause her iPad was still there.
Kins stood there, as he seemed to be thinking over the possible outcomes now. He had the upper hand. Though truly he always had the upper hand in this situation. And as the time passed, she found herself shifting lightly from one foot to another. Was he really going to make this harder than it needed to be? Not that she had made this interaction easy at all.
“Alright. I can look you up on my laptop.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and stepped towards him, but stopped when she got within six feet of him. Not wanting to get closer, even if she was double masked and they were outside. All it would take is for him to sneeze in her direction, because at this point she wasn’t sure if he could even properly block a sneeze, and just a small particle to get through her masks. And she wasn’t willing to risk herself like that. She moved with him towards his patrol car, keeping her distance and keeping her arms crossed, giving off the body language that she wanted him to stay away from her as much as he could.
“H-a-v-y-n. K-i-n-s-l-e-y. August 1, 1995. Jason’s number is,” She paused, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and turning her full attention down to her phone as she searched for his number. “Let me know when you are ready,” Her hazel eyes remaining on the screen and would read out the number for him when he was ready for her to.
“The owner of this building is paying you to paint it during a pandemic?”
She could hear it in his voice. Not that she also couldn’t see the way he was trying to keep his face trained as well. Considering the man was not wearing a mask either. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him from the distance that they still had between them. “Hard to believe but some people are still working during this time, yes.” She snipped back. Why was she even so upset about this? Normally she would have just shut her mouth and did what she was told. But the fact that he had come up and automatically seemed to be annoyed by her presence just really seemed to push a button for her.
Even when he started with his next statement, calm and cool. She felt like she was already just set into a bad mood with him. Before she could continue. “That’s what I am telling you. I will get you his information...” Did she not clarify that the first time? Her tone was less snippy and she spoke slower, as if to make sure that he actually heard her. She knew her double mask could sometimes muffle her speech but she felt like this was a little over the top.
“I apologize for the inconvenience. But I'll need to see your ID, and I'll need the owner's contact information. That way we can get this cleared up and go about continuing our jobs.”
She almost called out bull to him as he ‘apologized’. His tone said it all. Even the way he said it sounded... well like the rest of it had sounded so far. “You know, they say that communication is important. And that fifty five percent of it is you body language, thirty eight percent is your tone of voice, and only seven percent is what you say. You have poor communication skills officer.” Yeah, she was pushing it now. But she was already annoyed, he didn’t seem happy or like he had a lick of respect for her. So why should she feel any other kind of way towards him.
She pointed to her bag and said, “I’m going to look for my ID in there.” And she flipped the canvas bag open so he could see what she was doing in there without thinking she was going for a weapon of her own. A bunch of paint cans were inside, and she was looking for a small purple wallet in particular. Which as she moved things around, she started to wonder what in the world she had done with it. “I don’t suppose you would just take my word when I tell you my name is Havyn Kinsley?” She asked almost nervously, her hazel eyes looking up at him as she stood back up. Fat chance after she just insulted him. “The owner’s name is Jason Ortega. I have his number in my phone. He owns the whole building here and rents out the fronts there.”
Havyn woke up early that morning. The raids were not that far behind them, much of the areas effected were still in the clean up phases. But that didn’t matter much to her, she had a job to do. With a pair of black joggers on and a paint stained tank on, she filled up her bag with the spray cans she’d need as well as some industrial pencils. Her iPad and supplies thrown into another bag. Tennis shoes tied on, double masked because she couldn’t be too careful, she headed out the door. Following the GPS on her phone to make sure she got to the right wall.
When she arrived, she set down her supplies and took a picture on her iPad. And then got to work with what small guidelines she was given and let her creativity take over. She probably had sat there for a good two hours before she stood up and stretched. She was ready for this project. With a quick email sent of her sketch to the owner of said wall, she started her work with the industrial pencils, marking the plain white wall where she needed it to be. Her hands worked effortlessly, moving over the wall as she marked it. She used a bucket to get to the higher places as she worked, standing on her tip toes when needed.
The owner seemed thrilled with the idea, and she grinned under her mask before she pulled out the first of the spray paints. This would be a several day project to make sure it was just right. Nothing to be rushed. Between needing colors to dry and then having enough supplies, she had quoted about three days if she worked from sun up to sun down. Depending on how she felt, she figured that was something she could easily do. She was just finishing the out line of the art when she heard something. She paused for a moment, tucking a part of her black hair behind her ear.
“Care to tell me why you’re tagging that building?”
She felt her brows pull together as she realized that the man approaching her was actually talking to her. “What?” She asked him, as if he was stupid. Why would she be tagging a building in broad daylight? Her eyes ran over him, his dark clothing made her think he was just someone looking to pick a fight or yell. That was, until her eyes landed on the little flash of a badge on his belt. Oh great. An overworked police officer who was no doubt going to think she was lying. Her tattoos were typically the first thing people locked onto, and her short hair and masked face apparently said ‘I am trouble’.
“Do you have some form of identification on you, ma’am?”
Oh she hated that even more. Not the word ma’am. It was his tone. Like he was bothered by having to talk to her. “I’m not tagging the building.” She spoke a little louder than needed so that way he could hear her over her double masks. “I am working. The owner hired me to paint this wall.” She said, not making any movements to try and find her ID that was probably tucked somewhere in her bag, right? Oh she hoped she remembered it, not that she was going to go out of her way to find it right now. Didn’t he have better things to do than come bother her?
“Officer, listen, I am almost done with the outline. I can give you the contact information for the owner if you really need it. But I am here by request.” Her hazel eyes staring him down over her mask.
