Our Lives in ZomTopia
Undead, Ghoul, Risen, Zombie
We have stumbled upon a treasure trove of scientific data from the government’s clandestine operations on human specimens. They exposed them to the dreadful agents of zombification and documented the results. How marvelous! We can learn so much from their findings about the various classifications of the Undead.
There have been three variations observed of the undead so far. Each one seems to have their own quirks. We will continue to keep this section updated as we find more information out about these undead. A recent finding of research papers from a government experiment has helped shed light on these creatures. It was originally believed that you had to be bitten or infected in some fashion in order to turn undead, but the research shows that is not the case and means we need to take extra precautions.
Pre-Death
The virus or what have you has been seen to affect living hosts as well as recently dead hosts.
There are several different names for this type of undead. Here are a few of the ones we have heard.
- As in they are at the edge of death.
- Almost Zombie. This was a name given by R.M and somehow caught on.
- A name given by Jay because “Fred always looks almost dead”. While this may be true it is not an appropriate name.
- The name given to them from the research papers we found.
They are more agile, intelligent, and lethal than ordinary undead, even the newly turned ones. The Pre-death undead, or the not-yet-undead, are humans who have fallen victim to the disease that reanimates the dead.
These creatures have some cognitive abilities. They can open doors, climb ladders, use simple weapons like rocks to break windows, and overcome obstacles with ease.
The host body can remain in a near-death state for several days or until the host body expires. Sometimes, the human side of the host will resurface and attempt to regain control, but none have succeeded. When the host body finally dies, it will reanimate into a Freshie or a newly undead.
What we have dubbed as Infected is the stage when the host body is unable to fight off the infection or cause of the turning, the host will go into a hypnotic like state where they lose control of their rational thought and will lash out aggressively. This is often associated with glazed or dilated pupils. When the host comes back to their senses, they seem to have no recollection of the incident and are often horrified by their actions. This indicates that the cause of the turning is not limited to dead flesh but can in fact affect living hosts.
They are able to run at full speed almost indefinitely, jump as high as any normal human, and some have been seen to swim. They do not exhibit tiredness or show any indication they feel pain, similar to undead but without the limit of motor function or lack of intelligence the undead show.
Often these almost-undead will look no different than the human they were before the turning starts. You will notice strange behavior as the person starts to lose control to the monstrosity they are to become. The eyes will glaze over when the human host loses control to the monster within.
To kill these Pre-Death beings, it is possible to destroy their vital organs and the host will die. However, these will then rise again as regular Undead. It is recommended to destroy the brain to permanently eradicate the specimen.
These monsters are fast with a semblance of intelligence. They will try to dodge your attacks or pull your weapon from your hands. They have been known to try surprise people, hiding around corners and even have been seen to feign death.
Studies have shown all undead begin at stage 1 and then eventually deteriorate to stage 2. Regardless of the cause of death, unless the brain was damaged, the host would turn into a stage 1 undead. Findings do indicate that preexisting dead do not turn into undead of any kind. Even when exposed to the blood of an undead or infected person. This leads us to believe that the living host must first contract the contagion before it can take over the host.
Fresh Turned
When a human first turns undead, they are far more dangerous than an older undead.
There are several different names for this time of undead. Here are a few of the ones we have heard.
- Apparently, a reference to a video game nickname.
- Fast Zombie. This was another name given by R.M.
- Jay will not explain this one.
- The name given to them from the research papers we found ‘Stage 1’.
Often more aggressive and much faster than regular undead, the fresh turned undead can often gain an advantage against unsuspecting survivors with their speed and quicker reflexes.
While they lack the cognitive abilities of pre-death undead, they are able to maneuver over obstacles much better than undead and seem to stay focused on the hunt better as well.
They are able to pull themselves up onto ledges or platforms and have little difficulty with stairs. They are unable to climb ladders though as that seems to take too much motor skills.
The first stage of undeath, or stage 1 undead, is when the host body dies and is reanimated. This stage has been known to last for a couple days to several weeks. It is theorized that the lack of or limited blood flow causes the undead’s muscles to atrophy, causing their slower state later.
This stage is faster and more aggressive than stage 2 undead. This stage exhibits much lower cognitive recognition than Infected stage, but exhibits higher ability to maneuver around obstructions than stage 2.
This stage of undead looks mostly like the original host body but will often have damage to its body, either scrapes and cuts or broken limbs or fatal gashes from the causes of death.
Their eyes will be glassy and their skin will lose its luster, resembling a corpse that has been rotting for a week. They may look human from afar, but their movements are always unnatural, like a puppet controlled by strings.
Like with the undead you must destroy the brain to kill these monsters. They will continue to chase you regardless of the mutilation done to their bodies. Unless their brains are destroyed you are in danger.
See Undead for best practices.
Undead
Undead are the ordinary, dumb, slow, and unrelenting monsters us survivors are used to.
The undead have been called dozens of different names. We will notate a few of them here.
- This is a reference to a movie monster Jay and R.M liked.
- A reference to the movie again, or so we are told.
- The name given to them from the research papers we found ‘Stage 2’.
The scourge of this world and the constant threat all survivors now must deal with. The undead are slower, dumber, and more plentiful than the other variants.
They will often struggle with the most basic of obstacles, such as stairs or ledges. They have no cognitive abilities other than the pursuit of their victim. They do not get tired and will chase unended, or until something distracts them.
While it is easy to deal with a few of these creatures at a time, they will often travel in groups. It is also hard to judge where they will be as they can travel dozens of miles a day if they are in a herd.
There do not seem to be any reasons why some groups of undead will constantly travel through the deadlands while others will stay in one location only.
The second stage of undeath, or stage 2 undead. These undead are the slowest of the undead. They typically shuffle at a slow to mid walking pace. They have been observed to have quick bursts of motion when their prey is near. They do not, however, require rest or sleep and can continue to chase their prey indefinitely.
When no food is around, they have been seen to go into a dormant state, like hibernation. In this state it is even possible to approach them quietly and they will not rouse. Though it should be noted it is not recommended to approach these creatures without proper safety measures.
This stage of undead can range in look, from similar to the host, to rotten and disgusting monstrosities. It seems the host body takes much longer to decay than a normal dead body would. This is believed to be due to the fact that insects and other carrian creatures do not prey on them.
There has been reports of undead wandering around with missing limbs, burnt and charred from fires, skin stripped from the bones, or even with vegetation growing from them, though this is a less common occurance.
The undead can take an extreme amount of damage to their bodies and continue with no sign of pain. If you remove their legs they will crawl. If you take their heads, they will continue to bite. The only way to kill these creatures is by destroying the brain.
Bludgeons seem to work well as they do a wide area of damage. They have a higher chance of crushing the skull and doing major damage to the creatures brain.
Bladed weapons will work but you do run the risk of either deflection from the skull or the weapon getting stuck in the bone.
Guns are another option, if ammunition is available. Being slow they make easy targets but be warned the caliber can make a big difference. Surprisingly the .22 caliber seems to work well as the bullet will enter the undead’s skull but rarely exits and so bounces around inside causing major damage to the brain. While the 9mm has been known to enter the undead but potentially miss the vital points of the brain, allowing the undead to continue the hunt.
Subject 174, a prisoner from Caral County Prison, had been receiving chemotherapy. He was isolated from the general population and had minimal contact with staff or inmates, but he was the first to turn at the prison. We managed to capture the subject without incident for tests and found no anomalies in his blood. More tests are needed to determine the origin of this epidemic.
We have started trials on subject 139 and 212 to see if we can reproduce these results. If we can understand what causes this transformation, perhaps we can cure it.
Other
There are other “types” of undead though not officially categorized. These are not commonly found undead.
These dead typically are either undead swat or military. They will have some sort of body armor and sometimes a helmet. This makes is much more difficult to get a clean headshot on them.
Some will have full face covering which will prevent them from biting, but they are still dangerous as they can pin you to the ground. Also, they often have a limited area of view from their head gear blocking their peripheral vision.
While these undead are more likely to be found at military bases or overrun safe zones. You will find some in hoards as well.
The best practice is to segregate these undead from others and either use a bladed or sharp object to stab them up under their chin and into their brain. You can also, if stealthy enough, sneak up behind them and dispatch them.
These undead are the product of the twisted minds of the Scarecrows. They will take undead and modify them to become horrid, deformed beasts. These undead are normally only found in the Scarecrow territories, but some of them have wandered to other regions.