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.
Adelaide could hear her father's voice in her head, "big cities are dangerous places sweetheart." She had always given him a lighthearted eye-roll in response. Her mother and father had lived in a small town their whole lives. They didn't even live in the city of the small town where they resided. They lived on the outskirts, among rural farms and land that stretched on for miles without seeing anyone else. She knew they found that life comforting. The solitude and quiet stillness that came with it was something that soothed them. She felt suffocated by it. She had joined all the clubs, ran all the committees. It was never enough. She was always left wanting more. It was only when she moved that she felt her life truly began. She loved the sounds of the city, she loved the people and the constant movement and action. It was like being in the center of everything, the world. Now, as she was hunkered down in her kitchen, trying to outsmart an intruder in her underwear, she was wishing she was back home in her small town.
The guy spoke and she listened quietly, expecting demands. Instead, he...insulted her? The words didn't make much sense. She wondered if he was on drugs. He spoke about his nine-year career as if that was supposed to mean something to her and she scrunched her eyebrows trying to figure out what in the hell was going on.
She decided to make the daring choice to stand, keeping weight off her injured ankle when the intruder told her to shut up. "Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed at the sheer audacity of the guy's nerves as he ordered her to shut up in her own home. She looked him over to see exactly what she was dealing with. When her eyes took in the slightly pale male rubbing his temples she rather liked her odds of coming out of this alive.
As he put his hand on his stomach, his body slightly hunched, her physician side all but screamed in her mind. He was going to vomit. "No..." the words came out stern. Sure the apartment wasn't the most orderly around, but it was clean and she'd be damned if she was going to have to worry about cleaning and sanitizing some strange intruder's vomit off her floor. Her hands were open, tentative and aloft. She had taken this same position days ago when she was trying to talk a gunman into putting his weapon away. This was somehow just as nerve-wracking. No there wasn't any weapon in sight, but this guy was clearly not well and the very last thing she wanted to deal with was whatever the contagious thing he had all over her carpet.
The guy began talking but his words were interrupted and she could only watch in shock as he practically ran into her bathroom. She immediately bolted towards the kitchen, ignoring the pain that was searing up her leg. She quickly grabbed a chair, shoving the back of it under the door handle of the bathroom where he was in. She might not know how to fire a weapon, but she did know that shoving a chair under that handle would effectively lock him inside and there wasn't a window in there for his escape. She pushed against the chair to make sure it would stay a moment before she heard him retching in her bathroom. "Oh come on." It was official. She was moving the second the travel ban lifted. She made her way to the bedroom, sliding on a clean pair of pants and grabbing her phone. The ankle was hurting but she could manage. She didn't think she'd need a brace.
As she made her way back to the bathroom she called out to the intruder. "I'm calling the police. I'm also going to bill you for cleaning services jerk." She sat down, leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom. "Seriously. Who does this? You should have gone to the hospital, at least there they could have helped you."
Adelaide tilted her head to the side when he said humans were sturdy. Humans were most definitely not sturdy. Especially not when it pertained to the way they acted and thought. She'd patched up more broken bones, gashes, and missing appendages to know otherwise. People, especially the male variety, tended to act like they were invincible. They were never going to grow old, they were twice as strong as they actually were and of course, their balance was always impeccable. Reality tended to prove otherwise.
However, she wasn't chastising Mick, he had saved her life. He had acted out of bravery and not stupidity which made all the difference. She heard the noise of the crowd growing a little louder. She tried to not pay attention to the people around. She didn't want to look at anyone truthfully. She didn't want to be some sort of circus side-show that people gawked and took pictures of. She was sure this was going to make the news. After all, it wasn't every day a gunman hijacked the hospital. She pushed that little realization out of her mind for the moment.
After she mentioned the blood, she watched as he took stock of himself. She noticed his hands were shaking. Shock was still a possible threat at this point. He needed to sit down, let the blood circulate as much as possible without pressure. "Sit down for a minute." She watched as he winced while removing his jacket. The blood trickled down his arm and when he put his hand over it, she leaned into the ambulance to open the first drawer they had opened earlier. She put a few pumps of sanitizer on her hands before grabbing a pair of gloves, "Oh yeah? What checklist is that for? Hero 101?" She smirked at him before grabbing the saline and gently cleaning the area. It was a bad graze, she didn't think he'd need stitches, but it did need sutures, and it was going to leave one hell of an ache until it healed.
She continued working, keeping her eyes on the wound she spoke up again, "Thank you. I don't know how that might have ended if you hadn't done what you did." She met his eyes a second before going back to what she was doing, taking as much care as she could to not irritate the area. "I definitely need the name of your gym. I need to learn some of those ass-kicking moves." She grinned and opened the dermaclip suture box, applying them carefully. "Standard wound care. You feel a fever, you call immediately, you know the drill. Do you want a pain med. prescribed?" She took off her gloves and threw them in the ambulance's trash can.
When he mentioned pizza and beer she couldn't help but laugh. "That sounds like the best idea you've had yet." She sighed and checked her watch. "The amount of paperwork on this is going to be such a pain. I better get back and check in." She glanced towards the hospital's doors before turning back to him, " I mean it though, thank you."
Adelaide ducked when she was instructed to duck. There was a moment of grunting and scuffling before a shot was fired inside the ambulance. The loud bang was jarring to her senses. A high pitched ringing noise overriding every other sound. She looked over in time to see Mick wrestling to get control of the shooter. As they fought to gain traction, the stretcher was shoved into her, the high-pitched noise slowly fading from her eardrums. She had never felt so useless before in her entire life. She was normally the first one to take charge, the first to offer suggestions to problems, and often the first one to solve those problems. She had never been put into a situation that she wasn't able to help with or fix in some way.
This was an awful feeling that gripped her for the first time ever in her life. She had no idea where anything was in the ambulance, she wasn't strong enough to help wrangle the guy, she had nothing she could knock the shooter over the head with, she couldn't disarm him. She was totally and effectively useless.
Adelaide did the only thing she could do and began opening drawer after drawer around her. She had no idea where anything was, but at least while Mick had the guy distracted she could search. Her hands were trembling as she moved aside equipment after equipment, finding nothing that could even remotely help. Adelaide saw Mick kick the guy from her peripheral vision and she finally, mercifully, found what she was looking for: a small bottle of Lorazepam with a pack of sealed needles beside it.
She grabbed the pack and opened one up, filling the syringe with the sedative medicine. She had just tapped the needle when the two went rolling out of the back of the ambulance. She began to move towards the exit, following after them, but as she made it to the opening, the sight of the policeman came into view. A wave of relief washed over her and she managed a grateful smile before she closed her eyes, leaning back against the inside of the ambulance. She heard one of the policemen say something to Mick that she couldn't hear. She didn't care. She was just thankful it was all over. She opened her eyes to the sight of the policemen putting the shooter in handcuffs. Her eyes went from him to Mick, who was heading her way.
She nodded at the question and pushed the plunger on the syringe down, angling the needle away from them. She couldn't talk yet. The adrenaline was leaving her, she could feel her muscles begin to shake. She couldn't think about it. If she thought about what actually just happened she was going to lose it. So she turned her attention to him, forcing herself to snap out of, to pretend that it was just a show she had seen someone else in, not herself. "You need to be checked out. Did you fracture anything?" She knew how hard he had hit the ground, there was a good chance he hurt himself in the process. She moved out of the van and put one hand on his shoulder and the other gently on his elbow, trying to slowly move his arm to assess any injuries. "Where are you hurting? You have blood on you, is that from him or you?" She let her mind go on cruise control, to do her job and disassociate from what had just happened. She felt her pocket for her penlight. "Do you feel dizzy at all?"
Adelaide moved aside shredded coconut, peanut butter, and cocoa flour before she finally saw the bag containing the chocolate chips. She had wanted to make a nurse who had just gotten divorced chocolate chip cookies to help cheer her up. She hadn't had time to make them though and had ended up buying store-bought ones. Sure they weren't as good, but it was the thought that had counted, at least that's what she had told herself. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen the woman around lately. She briefly wondered how she was doing.
As her fingers touched the bag, a male voice spoke out of nowhere and Adelaide screamed in surprise, turning sharply to see who in the hell had made the sound. Her footing slipped off the end of the chair, forcing her to lose her balance, and down she came. She immediately felt a sharp pain near her ankle when her body hit the floor, but she couldn't focus on that. There was someone else in her apartment. A guy. She didn't know how in the hell she hadn't noticed him sooner. The thought that maybe she needed to pick up around the apartment more flashed through her mind. It wasn't dirty per se, but it was very, very messy. Clothes were strewn about and various books littered almost every surface and apparently things were scattered enough to be able to hide a person among it all. Sure she could see now that maybe that was an issue, but hind sight being what it was, cleaning it in the future was pending on if she lived through whatever weird burglary this was. She had thought, as she was falling that he said something about calling the cops and money, but she couldn't have been sure. Her mind assumed he was probably threatening her. She didn't think it was very likely that the opposite could be possible and he'd be asking her to the call cops.
The half-wall of lower cabinets blocked her from the intruder, giving her at least a small amount of space to hide behind. She had left her phone in the bedroom of course, so no worries about calling the authorities there Mr.robber, she thought dryly to herself. She couldn't get to her kitchen knives without standing up and she didn't know if he had a weapon, still, she didn't want to just sit there and wait on him to attack. So she yelled out, trying to make her voice sound sure and believable, "Look, there's money in my purse it's..." Dammit, she couldn't remember where her purse was. Her face a comical expression of emotions while she rapidly tried force something to come out that was believable, "...It's near the front door." Maybe. She tried putting pressure on her foot, positioning herself to stand up, but as soon as she tried, the sharp pain made her wince, halting the motion. She remembered to breathe, to keep calm. She just needed to get him out, surely if he had wanted to harm her he would have done it. "Seriously, you need to leave...I have a gun, and I know how to use it!" She yelled to the stranger. That wasn't technically a lie. She definitely did have a gun that her father had given her when she had moved out on her own. Unfortunately, it was in a box, at the very top of her closet, and she most assuredly did not know how to use it. She knew she needed to get up, she had to do something other than just sit here. She mentally counted to three and stood, trying to shift as much of her weight as she could off her injured ankle. Adelaide hissed in pain, but managed to stand, glancing immediately at the knife block, which was empty, "oh come on." She said, irritation seeping into her words.
Adelaide opened one eye slowly. bbzz. bbbzz. bbbzzz. Her phone continued to vibrate next to her head. Damn technology, she thought silently to herself. She buried her face in the soft covers, enjoying the comfort just a little bit longer. Tuesday. It was Tuesday. She was off work today. Her last shift had been for 22 hours. Not the longest that she had ever been on call of course, but it was right after a previous 14-hour shift, and before that a 16. To say the least, she was ready to enjoy her day off. So yesterday she had left the hospital and picked up a few groceries before heading home. She had only been able to pick up half of what she wanted, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she'd have too many days to lounge around the house and munch on food. She had slept and ate at the hospital more than at home lately and she doubted that would change anytime soon. So she intended to enjoy as much as she could of her days off. She had plans, but instead had collapsed after coming home from the grocery store. She hadn't meant to. She had only meant to take a small nap before making herself dinner and calling her parents, watching that show everyone was always talking about. That nap, however, had apparently turned into a blackout sleeping session. She wasn't even sure she had locked her door. bbzz. bbbzz. bbbzzz.
With a sigh she sat up in bed, grabbing the phone and turning off the silent alarm. She debated on going back to sleep. The covers were warm and she had at least managed to kick off her shoes and pants before passing out so she was exceedingly comfy. She glanced at her phone's notifications, her finger scrolling through the list. There was one text from a nurse, two headlines about looting, one tweet from their governor. She opened up her messages and sent a reply text to the nurse. As she pressed the send button, her stomach grumbled. No more sleep, at least not for now.
She got up and stretched, her feet carrying her to the kitchen. She opened the cabinet door that was nearest to the fridge and grabbed the bag of coffee down. That was one thing she always had in the house. No matter how long she was away, no matter what was going on in the world, hell or high water...Adelaide had coffee. She measured out the perfect amount needed, poured the exact measurement of water required, filtered of course, and pressed the start button. She then turned her attention to food. She had time to cook, which was a luxury of course. She thought about making an omelette, but that seemed a little too fussy, a little too healthy. She had been eating the barest minimum of food lately. Whatever nutrition she could get her hands on to give her energy and sustain her through her shift. That was her workweek food. Days off demanded carbs and sugar.
She opened a package of bacon, putting some slices on a cooling rack in the oven and popping it in. She then turned her attention to the package of pancake mix. She would normally just make her own, but the stores had been out of flour for weeks. She hadn't even tried to go down the aisle with baking staples. She did find a pre-made mix though, and that would be just fine to her and her empty stomach. She poured everything into a bowl, setting a pan on the stovetop burner to warm. She mixed the ingredients together and remembered that she had some chocolate chips somewhere in her cabinet. Pulling a nearby chair next to the cabinets, Adelaide stood on it and reached into the top shelf of the cabinet, her hands moving things around while she searched them out.
Adelaide's hand was pressing hard on the wound. The blood was coming out slower. A bad sign, a very, very bad sign. She could hear the labored breathing, the pulsing of her own heartbeat in her ears as the realization hit. They wouldn't be able to save him. He was going to die and then they would have to face whatever consequence the man outside with the gun was going to deal. The man firing off a shot had made her scream. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins, she could feel her hands shaking. If she wasn't careful she could go into shock. Medically she knew what she needed to do, but physically her body was betraying her.
When Mick told her to take some deep breaths her widened eyes met his. She nodded, forcing herself to breath. "Okay. Okay." One. Two. Three. In and out. It was something so simple, something the human body did without command or thought. Yet in moments like this, the first thing that betrays you. She didn't understand why of all things adrenaline would attack the lungs yet here she was, forcing herself to remember to breathe.
She watched as he moved to where they kept the chest seals. It was pointless, completely pointless. The man had only minutes but at least if she could get a seal on his wound the pressure might ease up on his lungs. The chance of survival was low, but it was all they had right now. As another gunshot echoed through the ambulance cabin, Adelaide jumped, gripping onto the side of the stretcher. When Mick yelled at the guy she turned her attention back to the man on the stretcher. His chest had stopped rising and falling, she grabbed his wrist to check his pulse.
She was only somewhat aware that things had gotten slightly quiet outside but before she could turn her head from the dying man on the stretcher the ambulance door was blocked by the gunman entering. Adelaide raised her hands, copying Mick. She was going to die. She could almost see how this would all play out. The man would see his friend was dead, his rage would be turned on them, and she would die in the back of an ambulance with nothing of importance to her name. It was a pretty crappy way to leave the world.
Mick asked about the man's wounds and Adelaide tried to slowly angle herself from the man on the stretcher, hoping to shield his face from the gunman. His friend was gone. His pulse stopping two minutes ago. She silently began praying that the man wouldn't see. That maybe, just maybe he'd be too preoccupied with his own wound to ask about his friend's.
When Mick began speaking to the shooter, motioning ever so slightly to her she complied. Adelaide moved slowly, her hands up in surrender. When Mick began counting down her eyes widened again. Before she could think though he had counted to three and she had ducked. The ambulance breaking out in the noise of scuffling and yelling.
Hello Hello. This is a weird request so follow along as well as you can. We have __________ feel free to name him. NAME: up to you PLAYBY: I love Matthew Daddario because I mean..look at the Gifs already, but Stephen Amell would be great too. AGE: 24 WHEREABOUTS: Generally up to you when it comes to what happens after high school. BACKSTORY: The only thing that is a must, is that this guy and Adelaide dated all through high school, 4 years. They were engaged. During their senior year she found out he was cheating on her with her best friend. They obviously ended things and she hasn't heard from him since.
In this time this guy (your choice of futures/backstory here)
A. Has a baby sister who is now infected
B. Has to provide for his family, maybe he has younger siblings and his parents died and realizes this is a way to make some good cash
C. Is infected himself
So this guy hears word about an antidote being made and given out in highly restricted conditions and realizes that his past fiance can more than likely get her hands on some. SO this guy finds her and tries to get back with her, basically trying to charm her back into dating him again or at the very least getting close enough to get an antidote. He's got to be really, really charming. This is not an easy mission here folks, she's going to want to shoot him. So he's basically just trying to get back into her good graces/her to fall in love with him. Whether he genuinely cares about her or not is totally up to you. Maybe he's changed? I dunno. Your call.
MEANWHILE. This guy is kind of in a 'nothing left to lose' situation so he's either:
A. Tracking down anyone he can, using possibly violent means of finding information relating to the virus antidote.
B. Breaking in/robbing places to get cash to send back home, also picking up some violent tricks at getting people to tell him how he can get his hands on the antidote.
C. Basically all of the above. Breaking into places to get cash to go to the doctor's, using violent methods to get people to talk.
So then you have Demetri. Local detective. Sees through this guy's BS and is slowly putting together who exactly is behind all of these break-ins/robberies/attacks/murders, whatever have you. Depending on how all of this plays out maybe this guy wants to frame Adelaide or maybe he truly loves her and just wants her help, steals her RX pad, detective is involved, I don't know. So we've potentially got a pretty cool love triangle-ish thing with lots of threading and scheming and plotting. So if you've followed along and you're interested let me know.
Adelaide involuntarily jumped as the gunman yelled that no one was leaving, effectively shutting down her idea. The man began screaming at them again and Adelaide shut her eyes closed, mentally talking herself down from panic. She knew she had to stay calm, she had to keep what little nerves she had intact because if she didn't there was no telling what this man would do if she didn't. If she couldn't do her job, if she couldn't focus, there might be more than one gunshot victim she had to deal with.
When Mick began talking, Adelaide opened her eyes, nodding along very slowly to what he was saying. She didn't know how he could be so calm. The only thing she had dealt with that was unpleasant was dealing with a rude patient. That was nothing like the hell she currently found herself in. When Mick mentioned ambulance Adelaide tried not to show too much of a reaction. It was smart. So smart. If it worked there odds of escaping this just might increase.
Adelaide tried keeping her breathing steady and low as she watched Mick get the stretcher. She watched as the two loaded the injured man onto the stretcher. She didn't dare move a step. The man was breathing quickly, pointing the gun at anything that moved. She hoped someone had seen what was going on and cleared the area. If not, the next thing that made a sudden move might end up at the end of the man's weapon. When Mick told the guy to let her through she glanced at the man. One nod from him was all she needed. She kept her hands up as she slowly made her way to the ambulance, her hands shaking as she pulled onto the bar and climbed inside.
When Mick told the man to keep his gun on him, the gunman yelled back, "How about you worry more about saving my friend's life instead of saving your little girlfriend's?" Adelaide moved closer to the man on the stretcher, trying to ignore the man outside. She quickly glanced over the situation, forcing her mind to get to work. She watched as Mick grabbed the bandage shears and cut through the man's shirt, exposing the wound. Blood was covering the man's chest in varying shades of red. When she first saw the guy she had thought it was a hip injury, now, unfortunately for him, she knew that theory had been wrong.
She grabbed the nearest box of gloves and put them on. She opened the potable water container and poured some on the man's chest and stomach so she could see where the wound was coming from. "Here. upper right umbilical." She swore under her breath, grabbing a roll of gauze and applying pressure to the area. The man didn't yell out in pain, instead he emitted something between a grunt and murmur. She shook her head, her words quiet, "He's not going to make it unless we get him inside. He's lost too much blood." The wound had soaked through the gauze already. As she nodded her head at the roll of gauze, the patient's breathing got louder, his chest rising and falling slowly. "I need more gauze. Do you have any chest seals? If we don't get this wound closed he could puncture a lung. I think the-" Her words were cut off by the sound of a gunshot outside. Adelaide shut her eyes closed. "Less talking and more saving. You think I don't see those cops around the corner?" Adelaide froze again, her eyes wide. She met Mick's, trying to keep her voice low, the fear making her speech ramble, "Mick, he's not going to make it. We can't. I can't. He's..."
As Mick said he was everyone's hero Adelaide laughed lightly, "And modest too." She grinned, sipping the liquid. She didn't know too much about him but she could picture him being apart of the cool crowd. He had good looks, he was quick with the jokes. If she had to put a wager on it, she'd put him in the popular jock group. It was funny to think about things like that now. Even though it was only a handful of years ago for her, it felt like ages. Like watching a movie from a foreign era.
Her attention turned from the past and things that didn't matter any more to the present again. When he asked her about her day she nodded. "Same. I had a guy come in with a nail gun injury. Dr. Ramirez was going to let me assist but we had a sepsis on the verge of crashing so I missed out." She wondered if people who weren't in the medical field would think she was a psychopath. She didn't wish ill will onto anyone of course. She was a doctor, she healed. However if someone injured themselves in a very unique way she couldn't help but think a part of that was interesting.
When Mick told her about their cable being cut she frowned, "Oh that sucks. Well if you want to crash the doctor's lounge you're more than welcome. My shift ends at midnight but I doubt anyone would say anything to you, even if I wasn't there." That was unfortunately true. She had gone in there a few times over the past week and the most she saw were two surgeons, a heart doctor and a pediatrician resident there. The surgeons were passed out asleep and the other two were engrossed in their laptops. No one cared very much about rules at the moment. At least not when it came to a worldwide pandemic.
When the car had come screaming to a halt she hadn't realized Mick had taken off running with her. Though she obviously hadn't been paying attention to much until the person driving had begun waving a gun around. After it was clear though, there wasn't anything else she could focus on at the moment except the gun. She hadn't been trained for this. She didn't know what the procedure was. There hadn't been a chapter on lunatic with a gun in her study book.
Mick stepped in front of her and the inside of her head was saying that she shouldn't let him do that. She obviously didn't want her friend shot, but her body was momentarily frozen. She couldn't make her feet move, it was like in the movies when you see a deer caught in headlights. As much as you could scream 'run stupid deer' at the screen, you couldn't make the animal move. She currently was now that dumb animal.
She listened as Mick spoke to the guy, his voice otherworldly calm. Adelaide's eyes moved from the gunman to the other man he was all but supporting up. He was pale, his eyes weren't focusing. When Mick asked about him, the man spoke, his words angry. "He was shot. The damn police can't get supplies to people but they don't have a problem shooting them." She swallowed hard. The man pointed the gun at Mick, "Do your job!"
Adelaide held her hands up, imitating Mick's. She tried to sound calm, her voice wavering, "I'm a doctor. I can help." She took a step forward, keeping her eyes on the man with the gun. "Your friend needs to lie down, I need to see where he was shot, I can't help him if I can't see what's going on." She could see the blood now, seeping through the man's jeans and shirt. It was either a hip or gut wound. One a higher chance of survival than the other. She made it less than a foot away, her hands still raised. "Can I look at your friend while my friend gets some supplies from inside?" She didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a try. If Mick could get inside he could call the police, they could maybe even evacuate the area. There were also tranquilizers inside, lots of things to knock out the man with the gun. That was all pending on if the gunman realized what she was trying to do or not.
Adelaide's mind went from daydreaming back to reality. She made a mental note to check her first patient's platelet levels. Another mental note to remind herself to water the plants in her apartment. She couldn't remember the last time she had done it, so it was a good guess that it might be too late. She didn't care either way. There was too much going on in the world for her to care about foliage. She began to wonder if she should give them away, pending they were still alive of course, after all, it wasn't their fault they got saddled with a workaholic. The last thing she needed was being a plant murderer on her conscience.
"Long day hm?"
Adelaide opened her eyes, a small smile on her lips, "Always." She watched as Mick made his way over. His easygoing smile looked out of place around the chaotic environment they were in. Ambulances racing in and out, stretchers being hauled here and there, people shouting. When he offered her the coffee she grinned, "Thanks." She took the cup from him, sliding over so he had room to sit. Taking a sip of the warm liquid she grinned over at him, "You're my hero." Before the world went to hell she used to prefer lattes with milk or cream frothed and steamed of course, with deliciously paired sugary syrup. The idea of black coffee used to make her cringe. Then the grocery stores began limiting food and drink. Milk slowly became harder to come by and the hospital stopped providing it altogether. So black coffee it was. Now she relished the strong flavor without all of the sugar and mess.
She looked over at him, "How's your day going?" It seemed like such a weird thing to say to people. How are you? How are things going? It was like being in a war and casually asking how the weather was. She crossed her legs, sitting sideways on the bench facing him, "See any good movies lately?" She smirked, taking another sip of the coffee. Before she had a chance to set her cup down though screeching tires caught her attention.
She turned and watched as a car came speeding to the CCU entrance, grinding to a halt, the tires turning the pavement black. Without pausing, Adelaide dropped the coffee and began sprinting to the car. It wasn't uncommon to have normal civilians use the wrong entrance. Often it was in the worst of cases, the kind where it truly was life or death and every second mattered. She was halfway to the car when the driver piled out, running to the passenger side and pulling someone out. She was just a few feet from them when she noticed the driver had a gun in his hand. Adelaide froze on the spot as the driver screamed for help and began pointing the gun.
Ten. The number of people she had seen already today with symptoms varying from dehydration to sepsis. The number of hours she still had left on her shift. The age of the last person she had diagnosed. Ten. Adelaide washed her hands, scrubbing the antibacterial lather into her skin, under her nails and up to her elbows. It wasn't anything she had to think about. Her body knew the motions, allowing her mind to wander. She thought back to the schedule for the day, unsure which doctor was over her.
At the beginning of her residency, the schedule was strict and rarely changed. One doctor was over her and the five others who were in her group. They took turns with patients, always carefully watched and instructed by the doctor above them. It was challenging of course, but engaging and steady. After the virus though, hospitals became overran. Any and all available doctors were needed, and the reigns on residents slowly began to loosen. There were days when the most contact she had with the doctor above her was a brief five minute check in at the end of her shift. She assumed they were being monitored when they could, but for the most part she was on her own.
Adelaide walked out of the washing room, turning to the side to prevent a nurse from bumping into her. The hospital stayed so crowded that it was often impossible to walk through without bumping into at least one person. She walked along the crowded hallway, her feet following a path she had walked more times than she could count. When she came to a double door she pushed it open and stepped outside of the hospital, outside of the critical care unit. The fresh air greeted her from the area where the ambulances pull in, a few benches outside. It was away from the hospital's main entrance and rarely were there more than a handful of people out there at any time.
She blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust to the brightness of sunshine. She hated the fluorescent lighting of the hospital but that seemed like such a minor thing to complain about. Adelaide walked to the nearest bench and glanced at her watch before sitting down. Five minutes. She had five minutes until she needed to be back inside. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.
She closed her eyes, leaning her head back on the bench so it was resting on the side of the building, the sunshine warming her face. One deep breath in and one deep breath out. She tried to let her thoughts from the morning go. She tried to imagine that the world wasn't going to hell, that she might wake up and find this was all a dream.
Above all else she's determined. Her driving force in life is when someone tells her no or that she could never do something. She's determined to the point of it becoming almost obsessive. When she has a particularly challenging goal in mind she can often get too focused on it, neglecting other things such as food and sleep. Determination pairs well with being stubborn of course. When she makes her mind up about something there is no changing it. She tends to think of things in very black or white terms, leaving very little room for other people's opinions. She can be a bit blunt sometimes, not because she doesn't care about people, but because she knows feelings can complicate things and the last thing she can afford in her professional life is to have anything complicate things. When it comes to her personal life there isn't much to tell because she doesn't have one. She tends to stay committed to her goals and that doesn't allow much time for making friends. She very much finds her worth in achievements and accomplishments. When she makes a mistake she tends to be extremely hard on herself and it can take a few days for her to get over it.
[attr="class","ozapptitle"]BIOGRAPHY
Adelaide Scott grew up in the small town of Alexandria, Virginia. She, like many other small-town girls, was a cheerleader, became homecoming queen, and even class president. She was every bit the all-american, small-town girl her adoptive parents hoped she would be. She got great grades, was never too much of a handful, popular, and dependable. She dated the same guy all through her high school years with plans of a marriage soon after graduation. Unfortunately three months before graduating she found out he was cheating on her...with her best friend. Gossip spread but she didn't care, she set her sights for greater things.
Her parents were supportive through the breakup and encouraged her to take a year off from school, to give herself time to relax and pull herself together. Adelaide had other plans. Never one to turn down a challenge, she applied at Harvard Med and when her parents tried swaying her to a less demanding college it only made her more determined to go. She had to apply for scholarships, her parents not being financially well off to say the least. The scholarships could only take her so far so she took on debt to make it happen.
She left her small town as quick as she could, setting her sights on a big college and a big career. She was accepted and soon devoted herself to her degree. She wasn't one to date, had no social life and didn't care about making friends. When her four years of college was up she was then accepted into a residency program in Lethford.
She loved the city, loved the fast-paced life that was so different from the one she was raised in. She jumped at every opportunity for training and clinical work. She passed the USMLE and began working in the hospital as a resident in the critical care unit three months ago. She loved the work. Loved the challenge that each day brought. The challenges seemed to keep coming though, with more sick being brought in by the day. Since the virus was identified her life feels like it's in non-stop mode. She tends to work around the clock, often catching only a handful of hours of sleep in the doctor's rooms before jumping back into her shift. She sometimes wonders what life is like back in the small town she grew up with, if her parents were staying safe. Not that it matters, Lethford city is at the epicenter with all medical hands on deck and she's finding out this might be the biggest challenge of her life.
