(Common survivor names: “Screamers,” “Reds,” “Newborns”)
0–48 hours post-conversion
The Fresh are newly turned Animaphage hosts whose bodies have not yet degraded neurologically. Unlike baseline infected, they still retain significant motor coordination, speed, and residual human behavior, making them the most immediately lethal form of infection.
They do not last long—but while they exist, they are catastrophic.
Skin flushed or darkened rather than pale
Eyes bloodshot but focused
Muscles tense, responsive, and explosive
Wounds bleed heavily but are ignored
They still look human at a distance, which makes them especially dangerous.
Unlike basic infected, the Fresh can run and sprint.
Capable of full human sprint speed
Agile, able to dodge and change direction
Can navigate stairs and uneven terrain easily
Do not tire during this stage
Their speed drops sharply after this phase.
The Fresh retain gross and limited fine motor control.
They can:
Pick up and use melee weapons (pipes, knives, clubs)
Kick, shove, and grapple with intent
Force doors by battering or breaking them
They cannot:
Reload firearms
Use complex tools
Coordinate advanced tactics
Weapon use is instinctive, violent, and short-lived.
The Fresh are extremely vocal.
Capable of screaming, howling, and shrieking
Vocalizations are loud, prolonged, and involuntary
Screams act as horde beacons, pulling infected from wide areas
This is one of the primary ways hordes form rapidly after an outbreak.
The Fresh are:
Hyper-aggressive
Erratic but focused
Drawn to movement and sound
Capable of brief pursuit and ambush
They show flashes of recognition—calling names, mimicking speech, or reacting emotionally—but it’s fragmented and unstable.
This phase is often described by survivors as “being hunted by someone who remembers how.”
The Fresh stage is brief.
Begins immediately after full conversion
Lasts 12–48 hours, rarely longer
Ends when neurological degradation removes fine motor control
After this, they degrade into baseline infected:
Lose the ability to run
Lose weapon use
Lose speech and screams
Extremely High (Short-Term)
One Fresh can wipe out a small group
A cluster can collapse an enclave
A single scream can doom an entire block
Ironically, they are also fragile in the long term—their bodies burn hot and fast.
The existence of the Fresh explains:
Why outbreaks spiral out of control early
Why initial containment always fails
Why hospitals and evacuation centers fell so quickly
Why screams are feared more than gunfire
They are the Animaphage at its most violent and personal—
the moment where humanity hasn’t fully died,
and that makes it worse.
(Common survivor names: “Walkers,” “Drifters,” “The Slow,” “The Mass”)
3+ days post-conversion (stable state)
The Shambler is the most common form of Animaphage host and the long-term endpoint of infection. By this stage, neurological degradation has stripped away speed, coordination, and higher behavior, leaving behind a body driven purely by sensory stimulus and herd instinct.
They are not explosive or dramatic—but they are everywhere.
Skin pale, gray, or waxy but fully intact
Eyes clouded, unfocused, often milky
Muscles rigid and densely toned from constant use
Wounds persist without healing or decay
At a distance, they resemble exhausted, sick people. Up close, the absence of awareness is unmistakable.
Shamblers cannot run.
Slow, uneven walking pace
Continuous movement without fatigue
Poor balance, frequent stumbling, rapid recovery
Speed increases slightly when packed tightly in groups
They never sprint. They never charge.
They advance.
All fine motor control is lost.
They can:
Walk forward relentlessly
Push and lean with full body weight
Slam into obstacles repeatedly
Grab with extreme grip strength
They cannot:
Use weapons
Open doors or manipulate handles
Climb ladders or complex terrain
Perform any intentional hand-based action
Once a Shambler grabs hold, its grip locks reflexively and does not release.
Vision: Severely degraded; limited to nearby movement and contrast
Hearing: Highly sensitive and dominant
Sound is their navigation system.
Silence is the only reliable defense.
Shamblers are largely mute.
Low groans, rasping breath, or occasional moans
No screams or directed vocalizations
Noise is incidental, not intentional
Unlike the Fresh, they do not call others—
they respond.
Shamblers are:
Single-minded
Non-reactive to pain
Drawn instinctively to sound and motion
Incapable of fear, hesitation, or retreat
They do not recognize people or places.
They simply fill the space they are pulled toward.
Shamblers exhibit extreme herd convergence.
Lone Shamblers seek others unconsciously
Groups naturally merge into larger masses
Hordes move slowly but inexorably toward stimuli
Once formed, hordes rarely disperse
They do not pursue targets—they absorb terrain.
Low individually. Extreme collectively.
One Shambler is manageable
Several are dangerous
A horde is an environmental catastrophe
Most survivor deaths attributed to Shamblers occur due to:
Exhaustion
Entrapment
Structural collapse
Loss of escape routes
The city looks the way it does because of Shamblers.
They explain:
Why streets clog over time
Why districts fall silent instead of burning
Why sound discipline is absolute
Why vertical space equals survival
They are not hunters.
They are pressure made flesh.
(Common survivor names: “Runners,” “Claws,” “Little Ones,” “Shrikes”)
Child hosts — post-conversion stabilization
The Skitter emerges when the Animaphage infects a child. Due to smaller body mass, developing skeletal structure, and higher neural plasticity, the pathogen expresses very differently than in adult hosts.
They are fast.
They are quiet.
They are feared more than any other common variant.
Small, lightweight frame
Elongated arms disproportionate to torso
Fingers fused into hardened, bone-like claws
Spine slightly hunched, shoulders drawn forward
Skin pale but intact, stretched tightly over muscle and bone
Limbs appear wrongly jointed, optimized for speed and reach rather than strength.
Skitters are extremely fast.
Capable of sprinting bursts
Move in sudden, erratic patterns
Low center of gravity allows rapid direction changes
Can scramble over debris, furniture, and low obstacles
They do not climb with intent—but their anatomy allows them to pull themselves over objects instinctively.
Skitters retain advanced gross motor function, but no fine manipulation.
They can:
Run, leap, and scramble
Slash and latch using clawed hands
Cling briefly to surfaces or targets
They cannot:
Use tools or weapons
Open doors deliberately
Coordinate complex actions
Their attacks are instinctive and frantic, not planned.
Vision: Poor, similar to other infected
Hearing: Extremely sensitive
They react violently to sudden noise—but are also capable of remaining unnervingly still when unstimulated.
Unlike the Fresh, Skitters are nearly silent.
Clicking or chittering sounds when agitated
Rapid breathing or soft wheezing
Rare, high-pitched shrieks when injured or cornered
Silence is their greatest weapon.
Skitters exhibit:
Ambush tendencies
Pack-like coordination (emergent, not intentional)
Attraction to confined or cluttered spaces
Fixation on movement rather than sound alone
They do not form hordes like Shamblers.
They infest.
Extreme (Close Quarters)
Individually lethal to unprepared survivors
Packs can overwhelm armed adults
Particularly dangerous in interiors, alleys, and overgrowth
They are responsible for:
The abandonment of schools, apartments, and subways
Survivor superstition surrounding “small shadows”
Strict Bastion policy regarding child infection zones
Skitters are why:
Survivors avoid dense interior spaces
Overgrown zones are feared even when quiet
Silence is sometimes worse than noise
They represent the Animaphage at its most unnatural—
a lifeform reshaped around speed, hunger, and persistence.