Prologue

Once upon a time, in the city of Bridgeport…

Near the junkyard, just across the street from a criminal hideout and a seedy dive bar, there stood an old, shoddy apartment building. It housed many desperate souls not fortunate enough to afford a better place.

One of the apartments was inhabited by a particularly interesting assortment of tenants.

Young Robin who ran away from home when she was only 16. She changed her looks and lived under the radar until she reached legal age. After that she claimed back her identity but refused any contact with her former family. After struggling in some not-so-respectable occupations, she finally landed a bartender job just across the street. The place was awful, but it paid her bills and it was actually better than what she was doing before. Robin had a 3 years old daughter Rianna living with her. Although Robin did have some idea of who the father was, she didn’t care to tell him and decided to raise her daughter alone.

Oldřich (or ‘Oldie’, how they liked to call him) was something of an anarchist. He frequented various anti-government protests, spray painted murals all around Bridgeport and volunteered in a soup kitchen on his off days. He worked a warehouse job downtown and played in a mediocre punkrock band. Police probably had a pretty thick folder with his name on it. Oldie also owned a husky named Oskar, whom he considered his best friend.

Carl used to live in the country. He was an architect and probably half of Apaloosa Plains houses bears his trademark. He used to be married and had a little daughter, but he wasn’t a particularly faithful type, which eventually led to his wife filing for a divorce. That’s how he ended up living in a cheap shared apartment and most of his money were going into alimony. Carl was a nice guy, he loved to work on his fixer-upper car and had some mad guitar skills. He even used to play in a jazz band, but that was back in Apaloosa.

Mazikeen and Dromos were a strange couple. No one really knew where they came from or what they were doing for living. They were regulars in the Casino and The Grind, but while at home, they mostly kept to themselves. They weren’t particularly friendly and Dromos especially disliked Rianna, so Robin had to take a good care to keep her from bothering him. They had this aura of danger around them so no one wanted to risk earning their ire.

And finally Marley Grimmes. A shy, and some might say neurotic girl, she worked at a quiet little bookstore and spent most of her days watching TV and blogging about the shows, her favorite being The Walking Dead. She also loved cosplaying and never missed an opportunity to join the local cosplay community for various events.

——————–

It was a nice and sunny summer day. Everyone was going about their business when all TV and radio stations switched from their scheduled broadcasts to a breaking news bulletin:

“This is Bob Newbie reporting to you live…”

“…with late-breaking news right here in Sunset Valley.”

“A few moments, ago, Dr. Morgana Wolff, Chief of Staff at Sacred Spleen Memorial Hospital…”

“…held a press conference regarding the discovery of a life threatening virus.”

“Over the past 24 hours, twelve cases of this virus were reported at the emergency room.”

“If you experience nausea or fever, report to your local emergency facility immediately.”

“Until further notice, the town of Sunset Valley is considered quarantined and police officials are not letting anyone in or out.”

“Channel 6 will provide any updates as information becomes available.”

“Thank you and good evening.”

Everyone was feeling uneasy about the news. If they quarantined an entire town, this must be serious.

——————–

Later that evening, the whole household gathered in the living room around their small, decades old TV and waited for another update regarding the outbreak. But what they were about to hear would shake them to the core.

“This is Channel 12 reporting to you live from Bridgeport. Please be advised that a state of emergency has been declared in the town of Sunset Valley. A wide spread virus has devastated the town’s population with 37 cases currently reported. The virus has claimed 28 lives at the time of this broadcast and 7 of the remaining 9 are in critical condition. Medical and science teams have joined forces to combat the infestation threatening to destroy this once serene town. The disease is reported extremely lethal. Due to the risk of potential spread, Bridgeport has implemented a mandatory curfew requiring all citizens to stay in their homes until further notice. If you believe you may have contracted the virus or if you need other emergency assistance, contact the emergency response service at the number on your screen. Thank you.”

——————–

The night has fallen upon Bridgeport and its streets became unusually quiet. No people laughing and chatting on their way from one bar to another, no taxis speeding around, no people rushing everywhere. Only accassional police patrols making sure that everyone is at home.

What will the next morning bring? Will they, too, succumb to the new deadly virus, or were the precautions taken just in time to prevent the worst? How long will they have to be stuck at home before the situation calms down? And what will this epidemy mean for the civilization as a whole?

——————–

Bridgeport, 6:17 AM:

“Good morning, further events concerning the virus that ravaged Sunset Valley have unfolded. Martial law has now been declared on the streets of Sunset Valley. The death toll continues to rise and citizens are resorting to desperate acts of crime to survive.
Scientists have reported that the virus is strongly believed to lie dormant in hosts who contain a genetic resistance to it. Anyone who comes in direct contact with the host becomes a carrier who must either develop antibodies to force the virus back into dormancy or their bloodstream is poisoned leading to organ shutdown and death”

The survival rate in humans
is 1 out of every 12 infected.
Scientists are calling it the T-12 Virus,
but survivors in Sunset Valley are rumored
to have given it a very different name:

‘THE DOOMSDAY VIRUS’

*The news reports are direct citations from Doomsday Challenge rules. All credit goes to MistyDW of ModTheSims.

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