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.
allie had been so preoccupied with her internship that she hadn't actually seen her sister in almost a month. Though that was par for the course - Sloan was an attorney now, and so that meant that with both of their schedules so tight that usually when one of them had free time the other was busy. But with the pandemic going on, Callie was starting to think it would be best to keep her family close. She'd already spent her free weekend a while back at her mother's place, and not even a full day later she had called Sloan to see when her sister had some free time. Though she and her siblings all lived their own lives, Callie still missed them every day - though they weren't related by blood, they were the only family she had - and she felt like she'd been selfishly spending too much of her attention elsewhere. She and Sloan had planned a little sister date this evening, and Callie was digging through her closet to find a decent outfit. The plan was food and then they'd trek down to a little community garden Callie liked to go to.
Time seemed to go very quickly - by the time she was finished getting ready, it was nearly time to go - she was just waiting for the taxi to come get her. Callie didn't have her own vehicle by choice, as driving made her nervous and she could certainly go without any of that. The ride to the restaurant she'd picked out - a local family-run korean restaurant just a few blocks away from the community garden - was short and she made sure to tip the cab driver before stepping out onto the curb. She didn't see Sloan right away, so she went on into the restaurant and was greeted by an incredibly small, elderly asian woman who smiled bigger than anyone Callie had ever met. The woman, despite speaking very little english, always recognized Callie whenever she came in, which always brightened Callie's mood. She returned the woman's greetings with a broad smile of her own. "Hi, nana. Can I have the table by the fish tank?" She gestured at the large tank, which was beautifully decorated and spanned an entire accent wall. It wrapped around a small booth in the corner, and it was amazing to sit there - as if you were in the water yourself. The woman exclaimed something in a language Callie didn't begin to try to understand, and then led her to the table she'd gestured to.
Callie took her seat and order a bottle of sake for the table, and a couple waters. She didn't need to look at the menu laid out before her, but she liked to look at the pictures - bright and colorful images of the food that the older woman's family carefully crafted. She head the sound of the bell and looked up, a broad grin breaking out over her face as she spotted her sister. "Sloan!" She exclaimed happily, waving her fingers in a tiny wave. "I just ordered some sake, you have perfect timing." She added, her tone gushing with excitement. The sight of her sister made her chest tighten, because it felt like things were about to implode, and Sloan had always made her feel safer. Callie had really missed her.
With everything going on in the world, things have been a little hectic. Enough so that Sloan had found herself working long hours and barely getting any sleep. It was like she was on overdrive. And maybe she was trying to impress her boss to get a better position in the firm since she was still new to it all, but she wasn't sure. She hadn't realized that she was working as hard as she had - and if her siblings had seen her, they would have teased her for being all work. That was why, when Callie had contacted her, she was snapped back into reality. She calculated how long it had been since she saw her sister, or any of their family for that matter, and realized it had been far too long.
Sadly, both of their schedules were tightly packed; her sister with her internship at PrismBio and her as an attorney. Luckily, they had found some time to pencil each other in - which, as she thought about it, sounded so horrible. But with what her schedule looked like, she had to mark it before she fucked up and scheduled something up. She almost did when she was asked out to dinner by a colleague who wanted to make sure she ate. She had turned them down, gathered her things, and headed home for the evening.
It didn't take long to shower and get ready, arriving at the Korean restaurant that Callie swore by. She agreed to go, and when she arrived, the place looked quaint. She looked around for Callie, who called for her and waved her arm around. Sloan waved back just as she was greeted by a woman that spoke broken English. She smiled at her, "Oh. My party is here," she said, pointing towards her sister by the fish tank. The older woman smiled brightly, nodding her head, and lead her towards the table.
Luckily, she did dwell for long as Sloan took her purse off her shoulder and slipped into the seat. She smiled, "I hope you ordered some for the both of us," she said, a laugh leaving her lips. She looked around, nodding in approval, "This place is nice. Kind of sad, I didn't know about it before."
allie couldn't help but grin as her sister approached the table, flashing the elderly woman a kind smile before refocusing on her sister once they were alone. Rolling her eyes mockingly, Callie scoffed. "No, I only ordered it for me." She teased, watching her sister take her seat and looking her over. Sometimes Callie worried that Sloan worked too much, but she didn't really have room to comment on that with her own schedule. "The food is even better than the atmosphere." Callie gushed as Sloan made her approval of Callie's choice known. She glowed with pleasure, happy she was both able to find a place that her sister liked, and one that she hadn't been to.
They had a few moments to look over the menu before a younger woman came out with the sake and to take their order. Callie, already knowing exactly what she wanted, ordered first. She asked for more food than she could ever eat in a day, but she liked to bring home leftovers. Dumplings, beef bulgogi, and a spicy chicken and rice soup. After her sister had ordered and the woman had gone off to put in their respective orders, Callie poured the sake into the two small cups they'd been provided, nudging one towards her sister. "To finally finding time to see one another?" Callie said, holding the tiny cup up to clink against her sister's, smiling broadly before taking the shot of sake in one gulp. Instead of pouring herself another, she set the cup down, more interested in her sister at the moment.
"So, you first. How is work? Life? Tell me everything I've missed." Callie said, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm. "Any new, interesting cases?"
Callie didn't know how her sister did the work she did - but that wasn't exactly surprising. Confrontation had always made Callie's stomach twist with anxiety, but Sloan had always seemed to have a nerve of steel and a backbone that was even stronger. It was easy for the blonde to admit that, even as an adult, she tended to idolize her sister a little bit. Looked up to her. Wanted to be like her - tried to emulate her confidence.
'No, I only ordered it for me.' She faked hurt, putting a hand to her chest, a small pout appearing before a grin took its place. She knew her sister was teasing and quickly got comfortable. Callie immediately gushed about the food is even better than the atmosphere, and Sloan smiled. She loved seeing her sister so excited about something, be it big things or little things. And since she hadn't seen her in what felt like years, it was nice to see her so happy and content.
The server came over with the sake and proceeded to take their orders; of course, Callie went first and ordered a whole table full of food. Not that she blamed her, it was always nice to have some good food in the fridge to warm up later. And from the sounds of it, it all sounded delicious. Sloan found herself following suit, ordering some dumplings and other foods that sounded good, especially the wonton soup. Both of them handed over the menus, and she watched as the woman disappeared to tell the chefs. She then noticed Callie pouring sake into both cups, nudging one towards her sister before she proposed a toast. A smile appeared on the brunette's face, "To finding time to seeing one another," she said, laughter ringing free as they clinked cups. Callie downed that thing as if it were a vodka shot, leaving Sloan in the dust as she took a huge sip.
'So, you first. How is work? Life? Tell me everything I've missed. Any new, interesting cases?' Sloan found herself laughing as she placed the cup back on the table, shrugging her shoulders. "Work is good, a bit stressful. Being the new guy isn't all that fun, but I've been working my ass off, and it seems to have gained some attention. As for my life...it has been non-existant, I feel like I should just sleep at work at this point. And the cases are all pretty boring stuff, but I feel like the longer this pandemic goes on, the more interesting the cases might get." She wanted this pandemic to be over, but she knew that it wasn't happening anytime soon.
"What about you? You're an assistant now...right?"
Callie hadn’t realized how much stress she’d needed to get off her shoulders, but just these few minutes she’d already spent with Sloan made her feel pounds lighter. Of course, the sake would help that feeling along. She didn’t feel the slightest bit embarrassed that Sloan took her shot slower than Callie had - she was pretty sure the proper etiquette wasn’t to shoot it back like a five dollar tequila shot, but she couldn’t help it. Maybe she’d sip the next one. Maybe. She went ahead and poured herself some more sake as Sloan told her about work, smiling as she listened.
"Work is good, a bit stressful. Being the new guy isn't all that fun, but I've been working my ass off, and it seems to have gained some attention. As for my life...it has been non-existant, I feel like I should just sleep at work at this point. And the cases are all pretty boring stuff, but I feel like the longer this pandemic goes on, the more interesting the cases might get."
Tilting her head as she listened, Callie took a sip of her sake before smiling broadly. ”You sound so grown up, talking about cases and stress.” She teased. ”I was really hoping for some wild quarantine story, but your life sounds as boring as mine is. Probably as boring as everyone’s life is right about now.” Callie said, with a sigh that was maybe a little bit more emphasized than necessary, just to add a dramatic flair. Sloan was asking about Callie’s work, and Callie gave a quick nod in answer to her question.
”Oooh yes. I was really hoping for something more exciting from the great Prism Biotech, but unfortunately it’s just as boring as any other lab. I’m basically a glorified secretary most of the time.” Callie pouted, taking another sip of her sake. It was interesting, meaningful work. But sometimes it felt like for every step they took forward, the virus took three more. ”It’s getting a little depressing, with the increase in infection rates. But we’re hoping to get a breakthrough soon.” Her brows pulled in as the words left her mouth, sounding just as robotic as it did every time that exact phrase was used in press conferences. Groaning, Callie tipped her head back and downed the rest of the sake in the tiny glass. She didn’t know how people drank like this, because she was suddenly needing a whisky on the rocks. She was going to get a gray hair soon, she could feel it.
”I sound just like the politicians.” Callie commented, laughter in her tone. ”I love it, really. Or I did...but, with all the bad news lately…” She shrugged, smiling ruefully at her sister. Callie was worried about her family. Worried about her coworkers, and herself. And of course there was the pressure to find a cure - not only on her shoulders, but on all of the scientists hard at work. Even if Callie was just a cog in the machine, she still felt the weight of the responsibility. If anyone was going to fix this thing, it was Prism Biotech.
'You sound so grown up, talking about cases and stress. I was really hoping for some wild quarantine story, but your life sounds as boring as mine is. Probably as boring as everyone's life is right now,' A groan left her lips, a fake one, "You are so right. I sound grown-up. Disgusting." She wrinkled up her nose as she looked at her sister, giving a small chuckle after a few minutes.
Callie went to go on about her job and how she thought it would have been more exciting. She took a sip of her drink as she listened, nodding her head, "Are they close to a cure or anything?" she questioned, shaking her head quickly, "If you can't answer, it's okay. I'm just curious..." She didn't want to get her sister in trouble for sharing trade secrets. "When is the internship done? Do you get a position there when it is?" she questioned.
'I sound just like the politicians. I love it, really. Or I did...but, with all the bad news lately...' Sloan found herself frowning, nodding her head, "Yeah. A few people in the office have gotten worried here and there. One of the older ladies put in her retirement early because she wanted to be home before this got worse."
