(Common survivor names: “Hunters,” “Takers,” “Skin-Thieves,” “Whisperers”)
Snatchers are not mass killers.
They are harvesters.
The Animaphage produces them when it needs new hosts, genetic material, or strategic disruption. Where Shamblers flood and Brutes break, Snatchers remove key individuals—scouts, guards, children, leaders—without ever triggering a horde response.
They are how people disappear.
Snatchers barely resemble humans anymore.
They are tall, thin, and jointed wrong, with elongated arms that reach almost to the ground and narrow torsos built for crawling through vents, gaps, and rubble. Their skin is matte, dark, and absorbs light rather than reflecting it. Muscles are tight and fiber-dense, built for short bursts of overwhelming strength.
Their faces are smooth, stretched, and inhumanly still. Eyes are glossy and reflective, adapted for low-light. Mouths open too wide, not to bite—but to silence.
They do not rot.
They are refined.
Snatchers are silent.
They do not shamble.
They do not rush.
They stalk.
They move in slow, fluid motions when observed, but explode into terrifying speed when they strike. They can:
• Climb walls and ceilings using clawed hands
• Drop silently from above
• Creep through vents, ducts, and broken windows
• Hang motionless for hours waiting for prey
Most victims never realize they were hunted.
Snatchers are highly intelligent.
They are not human—but they are aware.
They:
• Observe patrol routes
• Track survivor habits
• Identify vulnerable targets
• Avoid hordes and Sirens
• Understand how survivors use space
They know how the city works.
They use it against you.
A Snatcher will not attack a fortified group.
It will wait until someone wanders alone.
Snatchers do not kill openly.
They take.
They grab victims and drag them into shadow, vents, sublevels, collapsed stairwells, or sewer shafts. Once removed from the group, the victim is either:
• Infected deliberately
• Carried to a Matron
• Used to bait others
• Or simply consumed
Sometimes the body is never found.
Sometimes it returns… changed.
Shamblers kill with numbers.
Fresh kill with speed.
Brutes kill with force.
Snatchers kill communities.
They:
• Remove leaders
• Steal children
• Erase scouts
• Break morale
• Collapse safe zones without a single scream
Many enclaves fall without ever seeing one.
Just… fewer people each week.
If someone vanishes without a sound—
A Snatcher was there.
And if you see one watching you—
It already decided who it’s taking.
Role in the Animaphage Ecosystem
The Mauler is what happens when the virus optimizes a host purely for close-quarters annihilation. Where Brutes break structures, Maulers break things inside those structures. They are not siege engines — they are living meat grinders.
They exist to enter survivor spaces and end them fast.
Maulers are grotesquely overbuilt, but not slow.
Their skeletal structure has been rewritten into a dense, overlapping frame of fused ribs, shoulder plates, and spinal ridges that form a natural armored carapace. Muscle fibers are layered and knotted, giving them a corded, hydraulic look, like industrial cables wrapped in flesh.
Their arms are the defining horror:
Both forearms have split open along the bone, forming elongated cleaver-like blades of calcified bone that extend past the hands. Fingers still exist — but fused backward into hooked gripping talons used to pull victims in while the blades do the work.
The head is partially recessed into the torso, protected by a sloped bone mantle. The jaw splits wider than humanly possible, allowing crushing bites and tearing.
Maulers are terrifyingly fast for their size.
They can:
• Sprint in short, explosive bursts
• Leap through doorways and windows
• Slam through interior walls
• Pivot quickly when engaged
They are not graceful — they move like falling machinery, but they move fast.
Maulers retain advanced gross motor control.
They can:
• Charge and tackle
• Grab, lift, and pin victims
• Rip people apart at close range
• Tear through doors, furniture, and barricades
They cannot:
• Use tools
• Manipulate mechanisms
• Perform fine actions
Everything they do is violent and deliberate.
Vision is poor, but better than Shamblers.
Hearing is strong.
They track movement, vibration, and heat extremely well at close range.
Once a Mauler locks onto a target, it does not lose it easily.
Maulers are pack predators.
They:
• Prefer enclosed spaces
• Rush into buildings and tunnels
• Focus on eliminating defenders first
• Tear apart anything that moves
They do not chase for long distances — but once inside a survivor space, they do not stop until it is empty.
They often operate:
• Inside Shambler hordes
• Near Breachers, Brutes, or Sirens
• In places where survivors cluster
They are the virus’s answer to fortified humans.
Extreme (Close Quarters / Zone Wipe)
A single Mauler can wipe out a small outpost.
Two can end a fortified shelter.
A pack means the area is dead.
Most survivor groups that encounter Maulers do not leave survivors behind — just blood, bone, and silence.
Maulers are why:
• Buildings aren’t truly safe
• Barricades are temporary
• “Hold the line” strategies fail
They represent the Animaphage’s answer to human adaptation —
the virus learning how to kill us inside our own defenses.