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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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 had been a few days since the fateful encounter with that woman. A journalist, if she remembered correctly. One that had recognized her as one of the many missing people, her face plastered everywhere. However, her words completely contradicted the things that Demetri had said. Like she had said, she was missing for almost three months, while Demetri had said that she had only been gone for seventy-two hours. At the time, she wasn't exactly sure what to believe. Did she believe a stranger, a member of the media that she didn't even trust to begin with? Did she believe her partner, someone she considered a friend, would never lie to her?
At first, her mind had gone to her partner. He would never lie to her. He had never lied to her. And yet, as the conversation had continued, she wasn't too sure anymore. And she knew what she had to do. Even though she technically wasn't allowed to work as a detective until they figured out if she was trustworthy enough, it didn't mean she couldn't go looking for information on her case. And when she got home that night - she found it. The internet didn't lie, and each time she had type in her name, it said that same thing. Demetri had lied to her...
It took her a few days to figure out her next move. Each call and text from Demetri went untouched. She didn't exactly want to talk to him. How could she, after he had broken her trust? But that day, she had swallowed her pride and decided to head down to the station. Her goal? To find the file that held all her missing person reports. To get to the bottom of it all, find her last location and backtrack from there. She didn't need Demetri's help, because at that point...how could she trust that he was honest with her? What if he kept things from her, the truth from her? She swallowed, pushing her fingers through her hair angrily.
Grabbing her keys, she left her apartment behind and made her way down to the station. It didn't take long to park, get inside, find her file, and get out. Of course, she didn't exactly tell anyone she was taking her fine - not that she took the real thing. Making copies of it was easy, and quickly she slipped it into her bag before leaving behind the place she had called home for so long. Eventually, she knew they would welcome her back, maybe after she figured out what had happened to her.
The moment she made it down the steps, she ran straight into someone, her bag falling to the ground. "Shit," she hissed out, dropping to the ground to gather the stray papers that had slipped out and stuffed them back in. She realized then that the person she had run into had moved on, leaving her to stand to her feet and roll her eyes. "Watch where your going next time," she muttered.
allie liked to end a long work day with a jog - even throughout the pandemic, she had routinely gotten home, switched into her jogging gear, and then she had jogged along the quiet streets just before curfew. She didn't bother wearing a mask, as she wore one nearly the whole day long at work and so coming home just to put another mask on wasn't exactly her cup of tea. But she did keep a healthy distance from other people, and always sanitized her hands if she touched anything that might have been previously touched by someone else. For the most part the jogs were peaceful and without any kind of notable event.
Callie had had a particularly long day at work today, and she really needed to let off some steam. She'd made a few mistakes in the lab and was admittedly letting herself experience some self pity.
This jog, for instance, was going just fine. She had been out for about half an hour, and was considering stopping somewhere to get food or to just sit and enjoy fresh air for a while, when she watched someone in front of her smack into another person. Callie's steady footfalls hesitated as she watched the stranger continue on, seemingly without a care, leaving the woman to clean up the spilled papers. Callie found herself being drawn forward without really thinking about it, and the woman stood up and muttered a few choice words just as Callie came to a stop a few feet away. "Are you alright? Horrible how rude some people can-" And then, like a bolt of lightning had hit her, Callie's words stuttered to a halt, as she recognized the woman before her.
She should - as she had drawn blood from this woman not even a month earlier. Callie had been asked to do some routine labs, and the woman seemed off, but Callie had assumed she was infected. Most of the people getting tests done currently had contracted the illness, so Callie had thought maybe this woman was a new patient who just didn't look the part just yet. Callie had drawn the blood, checked to see if the woman might need anything - which was greeted with no response - and then she had left. She hadn't seen the woman again, but that was par for the course. Callie was the assistant; so she was generally all over the place.
"I-I'm sorry!" Callie exclaimed, snapping herself from her shock. "You just look so familiar. But that's...silly." She said, smiling in her usual friendly manner. There was no way this could be the same woman. She wouldn't have been permitted to leave quarantine. She really was working too much. "I can't believe that person just knocked into you like that." Callie said, though she was still working on brushing off the strange feeling she was getting. She wasn't bad with faces - she was actually better with faces than names. She was certain this was the woman whose blood she'd drawn.
The brunette hadn't been in the mood for rude ass people, and that person bumping into her irked her. And without a word, the person had disappeared, leaving Lara to pick up her life pieces. Not exactly, more so, the life she had vanished from for supposedly the past three months. This file held answers, or maybe it was just clues, but she wanted it whatever it was. It wasn't like Dem was going to tell her, nor was anyone else.
The sound of someone else approaching had Lara attempting to pick up the papers faster, wanting to get them before they were trampled. Or worse...flew away. It seemed the woman was trying to speak, and when Lara glanced up, she seemed to freeze. It was as if the woman recognized Lara, which she wasn't exactly surprised by. Supposedly her picture had been everywhere on the news the past few months.
But as she looked at the woman, a flash of a needle and lab coat filled her vision, disappearing only when she closed her eyes for a second and opened them once more. Her brain started to throb, but not as bad as she needed the pills to ease it. She finished grabbing the papers, stuffed them back into the folder, and stood to her full height - just as the woman snapped back to the present. The woman said she looked familiar, before calling that silly.
She shook her head, "Could have seen me on the news...I've been missing for three months," she said, adding a laugh to the end to relieve the tension. "I can. Everyone's in a hurry these days. The whole pandemic seems to be throwing people through a loop."
allie didn't really know what to do with the response she was given - the woman told her she'd been missing for three months, but Callie had seen her more recently than that. At Prism. Her expression scrunched in concern, Callie felt confusion twisting around in her mind. "Oh, wow, really? Three months?" Callista echoed, trying to gather her thoughts. "I'm sorry to hear that." She added, feeling awkward as she studied the woman's face.
She could have been mistaken - she'd been working so many hours lately, that she'd been depriving herself of sleep most of the time. And she'd only seen the woman once, for a few minutes. Callie didn't want to consider whether or not this was the woman, as if it were, then that meant the woman hadn't been missing. She'd been at Prism. But was she lying? Or was Prism? The thought made her chest hurt, and Callie rubbed at her shoulder absentmindedly. No, it was better to assume the logical path - that Callie was overworked, overtire, and overwhelmed with the chaos the city - the world - was going through right now. She was working long and hard to impress her employers so that she might procure a more solid position, and she was mistaking a woman for somebody else. If the woman was missing, there was no way she could have been the same patient Callie had encountered at Prism. The only way that worked out led back to the pain in her chest, telling her something wasn't right.
"Still, you would think they'd be trying to avoid coming into contact with other people." Callie finally said, pulling herself together and offering the woman a friendly smile. "All of the chaos definitely doesn't help people think straight though. I'm Callie." The blonde offered a short, relaxed wave rather than offering her hand for a shake. Social distancing, of course. "Nice to meet you." The pleasantry was automatic, though sincere. Callie had better manners than most - even though her main job was to do lab work, her coworkers and superiors were all very formal and rigid. Talking like a corporate drone was one of her specialties.
She had to be wrong. There was just no way this was the same woman - she'd said it herself. She'd been missing. Callie repeated that as if it were a mantra, something she could hammer into her thoughts until it was the truth. But something in the back of her head was screaming for attention - something was telling her she was entering dangerous territory. "I hadn't actually heard anything about you - I work doubles most days, so when I'm not working, I'm usually trying to sleep." Callie said casually, smiling pleasantly.
Lara knew that it was a little weird to tell people she had been missing for three months - acting as if it were no big deal. But she was more numb to it now than she was when she was told that it had happened. Of course, it was more angry numbness than anything. She was still trying to figure out why Demetri had lied to her...did he think it would be better if she were in the dark? Was he trying to protect her? She wanted to smack him in the face, but she had refrained from even talking to him. The only person she had been in contact with was Ezra, the reporter that had helped her learn the truth and shared her information. A woman that she had promised to keep in the loop with what she found to bring it all to light.
Was Demetri in on it? Was he the reason that she went missing? That she had lost that part of her life? Her trust in him was slowly lowering, and she hated it. He was like her best friend, and now he was a stranger with her best friend's face. Even him moving to a new department within the force seemed suspicious to her. Lara shook her head at the awkwardness of the woman when she finally answers, and Lara shrugged. "It's okay. I'm over it. Sorry to have sprung it on you like that..." she breathed out, it was a little weird to say such a thing to a stranger.
'Still, you would think they'd be trying to avoid coming into contact with people. All of the chaos definitely doesn't help people think straight though. I'm Callie. Nice to meet you.' It was awkward, not being able to shake hands - something so mundane. Lara had even held her hand out before she realized what she was doing and quickly brought it back to herself, "Shit. I hate this," she breathed out more to herself than anything. "Lara. It's nice to meet you as well, even if this entire encounter has been awkward."
The woman revealed that she had been working doubles most days and sleeping rather than watching the news. She nodded her head, "Well, I'm glad. Usually, when people recognize me, they want to interview me or ask me a million questions that I can't answer..." she breathed out. She shook her head, "I mean...it sucks that you have to work doubles most days and don't get the sleep that you deserve..." she quickly said. This...was awkward.
learly, Callie had caught this woman during a stressful time. She seemed upset about something, but of course having gone missing - for three months - was probably enough to upset anyone.
"It's okay. I'm over it. Sorry to have sprung it on you like that..."
Shaking her head, Callie brushed a hand through the air as if to wave away the awkward tension in the air. ”It’s definitely a memorable first encounter.” Callie said, her tone light and humorous. She smiled easily as she spoke, her cheerfulness blooming in light of the tension. Callie was always quick to offer reassurance. ”But it’s okay. I imagine something like that just sort of exists in the front of your mind.” She added, shrugging her shoulders. Callie knew she wouldn’t be able to think about anything else, and would like be spouting off the fact just the same.
When the woman cursed in response to the whole awkwardness of social distancing, Callie couldn’t help but grin broadly. Her next words only made Callie laugh, nodding her head. Yes, awkward was one way to put it. And the woman’s face was still so familiar. Hauntingly so. ”That’s alright. The pandemic isn’t making social interaction easy these days.” Callie said, her words factual. It was simply true. People were frightened, panicked.
Listening to Lara struggle through her response, Callie glanced down the sidewalk in the direction she’d been heading, before looking back to Lara with an inviting smile. ”Not like it’s your fault.” Callie told her, another casual shrug following the words as if she could simply brush any awkwardness off so easily. ”I happen to know of a coffee shop down that ways a bit, and they also happen to still be open. To go only, of course. But I wouldn’t mind some company, and I promise not to interview you.” Callie offered, nodding her head in the direction of the coffee shop. Gesturing at the files the woman had been carrying, Callie had a curious tilt to her head. ”Do you have somewhere you could put those for now?”
Maybe if she just spent a little more time with Lara, she’d realize something that would solidify the fact that she couldn’t have been at Prism. Clearly Callie was sleep deprived and needed to take more breaks from her work. There was just no way….no way at all.
So much was happening in her life these past few days, she was getting thrown for a loop. And the fact that this was the second stranger she practically threw her troubles upon showed that her head wasn't screwed on tightly enough. First was Ezra, though she had gained an ally out of that, and now this woman that had stopped to see if she was okay. At least this time, she apologized for her mouth running. Though, the woman had a sense of humor in her reply, reassuring her that she wasn't completely insane.
The woman mentions that the pandemic wasn't making social interactions easy, and she nodded her head, letting out a laugh. "Well, the fact that I have amnesia that practically took away all memories of the pandemic starting and only re-learned about it a few days ago...it definitely has fucked with my thought process on social distancing and mask-wearing," she said with a small awkward laugh. Brushing a strand of brunette hair behind her ear, the woman looks down at the papers against her chest for a moment. It was as if she wanted the ground to swallow her whole, taking her away from this weird and awkward encounter that she placed herself in.
Before awkwardness would have rolled right off her - she would have taken it in strides. But lately? It was like her confidence had been taken down a ping...I guess going missing for three months will do that to a girl. 'I happen to know of a coffee shop down that ways a bit, and they also happen to still be open. To go only, of course. But I wouldn't mind some company, and I promise not to interview you. Do you have somewhere you could put those for now?'
"I'd love some coffee," she started, nodding her head towards a car parked not far from them, "I got my car. Just give me a second," she said. She slipped past the woman, heading towards her car - unlocking it on the way. She threw open the trunk and dumped the file inside, hiding it from sight as she slammed it shut. She spun around, plastering a grin on her lips as she stuffed her hands in her pocket. "Lead the way?"
