Futuristic The Crimson Death Lore

[Gears]

Spoiler: The Infection

The Crimson death is airborne, able to stay on surfaces for up to three hours, depending on heat and sanitation. The virus’s base variant has three stages:

Within two hours of infection, the virus will spread through the immune system, leaving the patient prone to other diseases. After the immune system is compromised, the virus will begin forming crimson boils, full of a viscous liquid able to spread the virus further via exposure to any orifices or cuts. Additionally, the subject will show aggression and confusion. Recommendation is to eliminate vector before the second stage is reached.

The second stage begins three weeks after initial exposure, causing the boils to grow in thickness, compromising the spinal cord in some cases, leaving the victim paralyzed. The infection will then be passed through the victims lungs. Furthermore, the infected will experience depression and various mental illness. Following the end of the phase, the victim will plunge into a coma, until the third stage begins.

The final stage will be triggered one month into infection, causing the victim to suffer from: Hallucinations, Violent Seizures, delirium, Aggression, and vomiting a crimson substance able to infect others. The infected will seek out uninfected for help, unknowingly spreading it further. A synthetic version of the virus has been aged to this stage and used as a hallucniation of some crime rings. Following between twenty four hours and a week, the victim will cease all functions.

Mutated Strains: There are many strains to the virus, caused naturally and by the experiments on asymptomatic carriers. The viruses strains have many different effects, particularly the Crimson Undeath: (In order of origin of virus over years)

Spoiler: The Scarlet Lightning

Crimson Lightning: Thus particular strain speeds up each stage’s exponentially. Taking a single day to go through the entire process. The viruses form of spread is by the vascular system, spreading through the lungs and causing asthma like symptoms. Additionally, upon death a cloud of infectious particles will exhale from the lungs, hanging around the body for up to three days.

Spoiler: The Countdown

Countdown: The countdown is known for its slow speed and low infection rates, being only blood born and sexually transmitted. For whatever reason this evolution only takes approximately 375 days to kill the victim, deeply contrasting the previous Strain. The New Eden Virology Department recommends humane termination of the victim.

Spoiler: The Scarlet Death

Scarlet Death: The scarlet death is the precursor to the Crimson undeath, spreading via water borne particles, driving the victim mad, and contaminating the victims blood, urging them to enter bodies of water and (censored) themselves, spreading the virus further. Analyzation by NEVD has determined that the Scarlet Death has taken on biological material from several viruses found within hot zone 23A, meaning anyone around the eastern seaboard is likely to encounter the infected.

Spoiler: The Crimson Undeath

The Crimson Undeath: The crimson death is at its base, impossible, seemingly a combination of most the various strains and many viruses of the past. The virus will cause symptoms simpler to The Scarlet death, making the infected insane. Victims under surveillance have noted to have spoken of The voices and other rants.

The victim will somewhat evolve, although this is impossible, to increase bite strength, bone mass, and hardness of their nails, forming claws. Additionally the metabolism will be slowed down, allowing victims in this stage to have an almost supernatural energy, and allowing them to survive for weeks without food or water.

Upon expiration, the infected will exhibit sudden brain activity, (usually) losing previous neural and physical skills. Their natural functions will no longer be needed, only exhibited out of instinct, including hunger. The infected will seek out any kind of food, ranging from insects, Wildlife, Plants, and Humans, including other infected in some cases.

The infected are difficult to dispatch, only killed when at least 65% of the brain is destroyed or when their entire body is destroyed. Decay is also gradually reduced, allowing infected to survive around a hundred years according to Dr. Wilson (That Prick)

 

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Settlements
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Spoiler: New Eden

New Eden is the most advanced settlement, clear of infection. Majority of the population is the rich from the old world and immunes. This is where research on the cure for the Crimson Death is led by the New Eden Virology Department. The government is purely democratic, rumors of rigged elections are untrue according to the New Eden Election Committee Sponsored by the NEVD. The NEVD has assured the other leaders that a vaccine for biological weapon designation A23 is underway, so refugees will not be accepted in order to protect their efforts.

Dr.'s Wilson and Drand are leading the research on the virus, as a result of the NEDVD fund contributed by our great government. New Eden is the last reminder of our world before Atlas began its invasion, containing the same technology and other luxuries of the old world. NEVD is a part of the American Defense Coalition, but can not deliver supplies to any Settlements not within the ADC. New Eden assures all of the fractured states that a vaccine is almost complete.

Spoiler: The Citadel

The Citadel is a violent community on liberty island. The Statue of Liberty has been reconstructed into a fortress; towering over every building in the nearby New Manhattan. Harboring or protecting Citadelians is illegal according to the New Eden Treaty, punishable by death or banishment. The Citadelians are a war mongering people, raiding NEVD supply trains. Any settlement associating with the Citadel will be cut off from New Eden: supply shipments, military assistance, and Vaccine shipments.

Spoiler: Newer York

Newer York is an area surrounding the previous New York territory. Ever since the beginning outbreak, The New York Territory has been contaminated, leaving it uninhabitable.

Spoiler: New Manhattan

New Manhattan currently rests in the former Manhattan territory. In the beginning, the settlement was ripe with drugs and corruption, until former police lieutenant Damien Edison formed a police force and cleaned up the town. After his work was finished, Damien served as commissioner for eleven years before becoming Governor. New Manhattan is alllied with New Eden, known for being one of the most organized settlements in the fractured states.

 

[Gears]

Infected types:

Spoiler: The Shambler

The Shambler is the result of the chemical agent Z-24 that is derived from the scarlet undeath.

Contact with Z-24 reanimates any human tissue as long as the corpse died less then two decades ago.

The infected are slow and unintelligent. The infected can bite or scratch to infect survivors. The infected dwell in hordes and are fairly durable.

Spoiler: The Runner

The Runner is the result of a victim of the Scarlet undeath dying from the disease. The infected can remember memories from their past and use these against survivors

Infected with firearms training are able to use firearms to a degree, along with other skills from their previous life. Like all infected, they require food ti survive and will even eat Ferals and Shambler to survive.

The fights between the three main factions are common, usuallly in the form of two or more hordes fighting and even avoiding survivors.

Spoiler: The Feral

The Ferals are the result of the Scarlet Death, and one of the more dangerous creatures to encounter.

ferals are able to run at extreme speeds when they detect uninflected or infected from different factions. When no food is detected they will remain in a dormant state until their designated scouts detect food. The scouts will begin sounding the alarm: a disturbing combination of screaming and laughing. This is only one of the animal like behaviors they exhibit.

Spoiler: The Banshee

The banshee is the result of a feral being exposed to loud noises during its transformation. The Banshee is generally passive until it detects any noise, wandering to the source. The Banshee is able to scream at incredible decibels, able to disorient survives and attract more infected

Spoiler: The Goliath

The Goliath is a feral with high muscle mass that grows exponentially following its transformation. The Goliath is slow but can take on nearly limitless amounts of damage.

Spoiler: The Infernal

The infernal are infected exposed to natural gases during or before its transformation, making them explode upon death or if triggered by flammables, bullets, extreme heat, or self detonation

Spoiler: The Mimic

The Minic is an infected with mutated vocal chords, possessing the ability to mimic voices from survivors. The mimic will tear out t throat of its victims to mimic their screams for help.

Spoiler: Diver

The diver is an infected with mutated lungs, allowing them to hide in bodies of water for an unlimited amount of time, able to detect vibrations in the water to pounce in an unsuspecting survivor.

Spoiler: Decoy

A decoy isn’t necessarily an infected, but one l taken by a pack of Ferals. Through an unknown process, the victim will lose all vocal abilities and lose most brain functions. These are docile, attracted by noises associated with humans. These provide both reconnaissance and a distraction for a pack.

Spoiler: The Sandman/Iceman

The Ice man is an infected that hides among snow and ice, able to spring from its wintery hiding place without warning. The sandman has simaler tactics but in desert environments.

Spoiler: The Rotter

The rotter is an infected that has sustained severe damage to the point of hiding: in Body Dumps, Dark Places, or playing dead only too grab and bite any unlucky survivor.

Spoiler: The Skinwalker

The Skinwalker is an intelligent Feral that captures a survivor, usually from a large group and slowly and carefully use sharp objects to skin the victim alive before donning the skin. The Skin Walker uses their gruesome disguise and their limited intelligence to emulate their victim, occasionally using a Mimic to assist with the illusion.

Spoiler: The Crawler

The Crawler is a version of the rotter, but instead of hiding in the shadows, they crawl through the abandoned cities.

Spoiler: The Nomad

The Nomad is a Feral that instead of joining a pack of its fellow Scarlet strand infected wander the woods and any place distant from civilization. The Nomad is a terrifying creature, large but intelligent to emulate any of the survivors it encounters in the woods, watching them for days before learning to use their tools and even camps to lure survivors.

 

[Gears]

The Crimson Death: The Story so Far...
The Shu Corporation was one of the greatest providers of technology for the new world. Space travel was commercial, thanks to the recently discovered Beta Tech. Beta Tech powered much of the modern world, including the recently established global superpower: Atlas. Atlas or The Floating country known for residing on a manmade island that circled the pacific ocean, used their resources to assist in installing a Beta Reactor in every major country. For years people relied on this tech, unaware of the providers intentions. On one fateful day, all Beta Reactors overloaded and released dangerous Beta Rays, instantly killing all human life within the affected area. This weapon obliterated the very being of its victims, leaving no bodies and no evidence of the massacre.

Atlas began its assault on the world a week later, using the Beta Rays to eliminate entire cities while leaving the resources unharmed. After seven years of warfare, the floating country disappeared for years. During this time, the world rebuilt; trying to repopulate the desolate cities that had been left to nature since they were hit. The Shu Corporation continued to innovate and protect the weakened world, creating: Sustainable food, Airships the size of cities, and The Gamma Core, an experimental version of the Beta core theoretical safe to use.

In 2036, Atlas returned, using an immense fleet to block off The US, home of the Perseus Corporation; The tech company devoted to preparing for a second invasion by Atlas. Perseus buildings were bombed, many innocents were killed.

Panic set in throughout the world, mass rioting and looting happened worldwide. People feared that atlas would use the beta rays once more, but soon the world realized that Atlas's resources had run low following the previous war.

The world didn't except even Atlas to use biological warfare. Atlas used the rest of their assets to begin Project Doomsday: a project made to bring the world to its knees.

Project Doomsday seemed to progress faster than anyone could have imagined, almost as if they had been working on the project since before the original invasion. The US continued to fend off the Atlas forces, noticing the increased space and satellite launches.

The Crimson Death was released shortly after Atlas bombed all ways to exit the states. The CDC couldn't combat the virus, evolved to resist all treatments that the CDC attempted to use. Overtime, different states and territories were quarantined and tried to avoid the outside world.

New Eden was formed by the Shu Corporation, devoted to creating a cure from the recently discovered immune. The rich and were of course given entry, as the Scarlet Undead created the animal like Ferals. The Ferals quickly overrun the majority of settlements that hadn't created walls, but not too long after that The Dead Rose

The Crimson Undeath brought those who had died after the first invasion happened. The mass graves that surrounded each settlement became hordes of undead abominations. People panicked and began fleeing the USA, barely avoiding the blockade as it fled the US, seemingly horrified by what they had created.

Soon, the remains of the government crumbled and each settlement became a settlement, fighting for the quickly dwindling resources. The Shu Corporation continued their own efforts in curing the virus, until each of their headquarters were targeted by Atlas Mercenaries, promised with free passage from the Fractured States.