@The Touched
(Common survivor names: “Scarred,” “Echoed,” “Still-Breathing,” “The Unturned”)
The Touched are humans who were infected by the Animaphage and did not fall.
They should not exist.
In extremely rare cases, a human survives past the point where conversion is considered inevitable. The infection takes hold, advances through early stages, and then… stops.
Not cured.
Not dormant.
Contained.
The Animaphage remains present in their system—threaded through neural pathways, embedded in tissue—but fails to achieve dominance. Why this happens is unknown. No consistent genetic marker has been identified. No environmental factor has been reliably reproduced.
Every known case is unique.
Most attempts to study the phenomenon ended with:
the subject’s death
conversion
or violent intervention by terrified enclaves
Externally, the Touched still appear human, but close inspection reveals subtle wrongness.
Common signs include:
faint discoloration along veins near the neck, temples, or spine
eyes that reflect light slightly differently
irregular heartbeat or breathing patterns during stress
scars that never fully fade
Medical scans (when possible) show anomalous activity in regions the Animaphage normally consumes completely.
The body functions.
The infection remembers.
The defining trait of the Touched is perception.
They can feel infected.
Not as thoughts.
Not as sound.
As pressure.
Many describe it as:
a tightening behind the eyes
a low hum in the bones
a crawling awareness in the chest
an instinctive pull toward—or away from—certain areas
The closer infected are, the stronger the sensation becomes. Dense hordes feel suffocating. Matrons feel wrong in a way that provokes nausea or panic. Tyrants are often described as voids—areas where everything goes silent inside the mind.
This sense is not voluntary.
It cannot be shut off.
The Animaphage does not ignore the Touched.
It recognizes them.
Infected behave erratically around the Touched:
Shamblers may hesitate or cluster strangely
Fresh may fixate with disproportionate aggression
Skitters often avoid them unless provoked
Sirens may scream sooner than expected
Matrons, when aware of a Touched, often redirect movement rather than engage directly.
Tyrants show no consistent response—some ignore, some hunt.
The Animaphage does not see the Touched as prey.
It sees them as unfinished.
The Touched cannot be reinfected.
Bites do not progress.
Exposure does not escalate.
The infection is already present—and contained.
This immunity is absolute.
It is also irreversible.
No known method has ever removed the Animaphage from a Touched without killing them.
Survival comes with consequences.
Common long-term effects include:
chronic insomnia
heightened irritability
emotional blunting or detachment
intrusive thoughts that are not one’s own
difficulty forming close bonds
Some Touched report moments where they feel aligned with infected movement patterns—knowing where a horde will go before it does.
Others describe constant fear that one day the containment will fail.
No confirmed case of a Touched converting late-stage exists.
That does not reassure anyone.
The Touched are rare and dangerous by association.
Reactions vary:
some bastions execute them on sight
some weaponize them as trackers or early-warning assets
some revere them as cursed survivors
some imprison them indefinitely
Trust is conditional and fragile.
A Touched entering an enclave often causes panic—not because of what they are, but because of what they prove.
That the Animaphage does not always win.
And that sometimes it learns.
Every Touched must answer a question no one else has to:
If the infection is inside me, where do I end and it begins?
Some reject the world and live alone.
Some attach themselves to Infected Hunters.
Some become symbols—willing or not.
Some disappear.
None are untouched by what they survived.
The Touched are most often found:
guiding evacuation routes before outbreaks
embedded with Hunter teams
isolated in quarantine zones
hunted by factions seeking to exploit them
Seeing one means you are near infected.
Or will be soon.
The Touched are not proof of hope.
They are proof of resistance.
Not victory.
Not cure.
Just the fact that the Animaphage can be stopped—sometimes.
And that knowledge terrifies the world more than the infection ever did.