All Animaphage-infected hosts exhibit relentless hostile response toward anything not carrying the infection. This is not emotion-driven. It is automatic, constant, and unceasing. Infected do not feel pain, fear, exhaustion, or hesitation. Once stimulated, they pursue until physically prevented or destroyed.
Infected are stimulus-reactive, not goal-oriented. They respond primarily to sound, vibration, movement, and proximity. If stimulus ceases, they do not search or patrol—they drift, compress, and wait.
They do not retreat.
They do not regroup.
They do not reassess.
They fill space.
Fresh infected are the most immediately lethal form due to retained coordination and speed.
Behaviorally, Fresh act like predatory humans stripped of restraint. They sprint toward targets, climb, grapple, and strike with intent. They pursue individuals rather than groups and are capable of short-term tracking and ambush.
They vocalize constantly—screaming, howling, mimicking speech fragments. These vocalizations are involuntary and serve as unintentional horde beacons, rapidly escalating outbreaks.
Fresh burn hot and fast. They do not conserve energy or avoid injury. Their behavior is explosive, reckless, and terminal.
Shamblers represent the most common and enduring infected state.
They move continuously but slowly, advancing rather than chasing. They do not sprint, dodge, or lunge with intent. Instead, they apply persistent forward pressure, piling against obstacles, doors, or barricades until something gives.
Individually predictable, collectively catastrophic.
Shamblers respond strongest to sound. Once drawn, they do not disperse easily. Groups naturally merge into larger masses over time, forming hordes that behave like environmental forces rather than enemies.
They do not hunt.
They accumulate.
Skitters behave unlike any other infected.
They are quiet, erratic, and movement-focused rather than sound-focused. They favor ambush, sudden bursts, and confined spaces. Skitters often remain motionless for long periods, then strike violently when prey enters reach.
They exhibit emergent pack behavior—not coordination, but simultaneous reaction. Multiple Skitters responding at once creates the illusion of planning.
They do not form hordes.
They infest.
Their behavior makes interiors, overgrowth, and cluttered environments uniquely dangerous.
Spewers exhibit area-denial behavior rather than pursuit.
They move slowly toward stimulus but stop once positioned. Their presence reshapes terrain, forcing survivors to abandon cover, choke points, and defensive positions.
Spewers rely on other infected for incidental protection. They are most dangerous when ignored or embedded within Shamblers. Their behavior encourages movement failure, not direct kills.
They do not chase.
They poison space.
Sirens are passive until triggered.
They anchor themselves in open or elevated locations and remain dormant for extended periods. Once stimulated—by loud noise, injury, or sudden movement—they vocalize with catastrophic effect.
Their screams are deliberate reflexes, not panic. Once activated, a Siren will continue calling until exhausted or destroyed, drawing infected from vast distances.
Sirens do not pursue.
They weaponize the city.
After a Siren event, infected movement in the surrounding area increases for days.
Brutes exhibit obstacle fixation.
They move toward resistance rather than prey, targeting doors, walls, barricades, and structures that impede forward progress. Survivors often die incidentally—caught in collapse, crushed during breaches, or unable to escape when defenses fail.
Brutes are easily redirected but nearly impossible to stop once engaged. They do not adapt or maneuver; they advance until the environment changes.
They do not hunt people.
They destroy solutions.
Abominations do not behave as predators at all.
They advance slowly, inexorably, reacting primarily to vibration and structural weakness. Their movement permanently alters terrain—collapsing buildings, sealing routes, erasing districts.
They do not respond to individuals.
They overwrite space.
Once an Abomination establishes itself, the area is effectively lost.
Matrons are fully intelligent apex infected.
They display territorial behavior, deliberately positioning themselves to control movement, routes, and infected density. Matrons actively manipulate lower infected through dominance signals—drawing hordes in, pushing them outward, or clustering them defensively.
They hunt selectively, using speed and precision rather than numbers. Matrons will disengage temporarily if threatened, repositioning instead of charging blindly.
They do not wander.
They rule zones.
Tyrants are apex solitary predators.
They exhibit extreme territoriality and will actively drive other infected away from their domain. Unlike Matrons, they do not command hordes—they eliminate interference.
Tyrants hunt by sight, not sound. They stalk, observe, and strike decisively. Once engaged, they do not disengage. Survivors encountering a Tyrant are typically killed not by surprise—but by inevitability.
They do not spread infection.
They enforce dominance.
Their presence creates silent dead zones avoided by all life.
The infected are not clever.
They are not coordinated.
They are not alive.
They are dangerous because they are consistent, relentless, and unchanging.
The city survives only where:
• sound is controlled
• movement is vertical
• light is disciplined
• and escape routes always exist
The infected do not adapt to the city.
The city adapts to them.