Walkers Syndrome

Walkers Syndrome is a disease that effects the entire body, but in the majority of cases focuses on the central nervous system. Due to the virus' nature of causing extremely violent reactions, ignorance of pain, and a sense of desperation, the infected individuals generally degenerate in brain functions. The outbreak of the syndrome, which hit the world in 2026, has been widely referred to as "the zombie outbreak".

Note: All information on this page refers to the North American Continent.

History
Infected individuals have increased blood flow in the torso, decrease blood flow in the limbs, and slowly begin to degenerate physically and generally have short lives, unless they get a steady food supply. Unfortunately, that short life is by human standards, and can last anywhere from months to years even with little to no food, as their bodies will revert to self-cannibalization. The Walkers Syndrome was developed in laboratories across the United States by scientists, who then claimed to the general public that it was a discovery and that the labs were researching a cure.

The original tests were performed on rats mainly, and resulted in their nervous systems degenerated in most subjects. It was found that occasional mutations in the virus occurred, seemingly random, and that the first one that they infected had some sort of "hive" mind with the others. All original rat subjects were purged, and it was tested on birds - none of the birds were infected. Tests were done on most other branches of the animal kingdom, and they found that only insects and birds were genetically immune to the virus.

Human testing began in April at different parts of the month with different numbers and varieties of subjects, and a final strain was finished in Montauk, New York, on April 20th. It was released by accident in 2026, in labs across the country, the next day, leading to many believing there was some sort of conspiracy behind the virus' release to the public.

The virus quickly spread across the nation, and the seemingly random incubation periods led to it escaping through New York's JFK Airport to Europe, where it was not diagnosed until one week after the outbreak. The first major population center to fall to the outbreak was New York, during the first week of the outbreak, and the first major battle against infected was in Fort Stockton, Texas. Both were major losses to the United States of America.

Around this time, the state of Illinois seceded from the Union and put Chicago in charge, forming the Chicago Kingdom. California quickly followed, and by the second week, the United States was a shattered union. However, in the south, the former government was enforcing itself still, ignoring the secessions and divisions across the nation. The outbreak by this point was spreading like wildfire. In 13 Weeks time, the entire world had witnessed the collapse of most major governments.

Physiological Changes
The virus has dramatic changes on the Central Nervous System,﻿ the Circulatory System, Digestive System, and Respitory System. The following was recorded in labs in Montauk by Charlie Jackson.

Human Variations of the Virus
The virus that caused Walkers Syndrome had numerous variations, causing and resulting in numerous mutations in the infected individuals. The virus' variations were extreme, and have caused numerous off-branches of infected. These are the human variations, the only ones with actual statistics.

Shamblers
Perhaps the most common of the infected are Shamblers, poor souls with slow bodies, degenerative brains, and a bloodthirst unmatched ever before. The Shamblers were the first of the infected and make up around 90% of them. They are one of the three types that hibernate during winter, and are the slowest of the infected. They have below human intellect and are the most common of the infected.

Ghouls
Ghouls are a minority of Shamblers, rumored to exist in isolated communities. No official contact with governments of the Chicago Kingdom, New Central Canada, the Remants, Mr. House's Domain, California, Rapid City, New Babylon, or any other current government has been reported, and they are believed to only be folk legends. Ghouls are said to be intelligent Shamblers that still retain their memories and personality from before the outbreak, but there has been no evidence other than word of mouth that they exist. Scouting teams to find them have been sent.

Runners
The fastest of the infected, Runners can run up to speeds of 45 miles per hour, as their muscular system mutated due to the virus. The first variation of the infected to mutate off of common Shamblers, Runners make up around 4% of the infected. They are also hyper intelligent, but have degenerative brain diseases causing partial insanity, despite their hyper intelligence.

Runners tend to hunt in packs of 2-4 and have several Shamblers around them, and are the modern predators. Like Shamblers, they hibernate.

Ragers
Ragers are the strongest of the infected, their muscular system going on complete overhaul when their bodies were infected with the virus. They are 2-5 times stronger than an average human, and much faster. They are also difficult to kill due too the increased strength and stamina, and of course the fact that infected are a lot harder to kill due to their bodies focusing on keepting the nervous system alive at all costs. Ragers make up around 2% of the infected. They are the last kind that hibernate during winter. Interesting enough though, there are two subtypes of Ragers, from the East Coast and the Southwest. Ragers in the north are different yet than any other type.

Eastern Ragers
On the East Coast, a specific kind of Rager came up. This was the stronger, but dumber, of the two strains of Ragers, and they made up a quarter of the total Rager population.

Southwestern Ragers
Ragers in the Southwest are more intelligent than Eastern Ragers, but are not as strong. They are still immensely strong, though, and incredibly dangerous. Make up half the Rager population.

Infernos
Infernos are unique in the fact that, out of all the infected, they are the only ones to have chemical resistance - and in fact attraction - to fires. Highly simaliar to Ragers in strength, Infernos are even more dangerous due to the fact that their bodies are constantly on fire, something that they have adapted to use as a weapon against infected and non-infected prey. They make up 1.5% of the infected, and originated in Philadelphia.

Necromechs
Necromechs are the least common infected, with .5% of the infected humanoid population, and with good reason. They are fused with technology from before the outbreak and can fuse with more technology, but are unable to spread their strain of the virus. They also have a unique feature, as they are not connected to the hive mind that most infected are, but instead have their own. They also have insanely high IQs, surpassing all human IQs before them. They are the most dangerous, due to their savagery, and have a fervent belief of superiority over humans, known only due to the fact that one captured one did communicate to Mr. House's government.

Skimmers
Skimmers make up the remaining percent of infected humans, and their human origins are debatable. However, it is believed that they are mainly human, but infused with crustacean DNA in a yet unknown process. They are humanoid, but aquatic, with claws and move in schools like fish. They have expanded throughout the world's oceans, but originated in the Gulf of Mexico. It may be possible they are parasites that infected already previously-infected humans, but it is not known for sure.

Non-Human Variations of the Virus
There are very few non-human variations of the virus, and the few of them that are there fall into two categories for the most part.

Animanecros
Like the name suggests, Animanecros are infected animals, of all mammalian, reptilian, amphibian, crustacean, and fish origins. They are some of the most dangerous, but not all that common, as the majority of animals ﻿were able to avoid the infected. However, in some areas they are very common.

Banshees
Banshees are named for their high-pitched wailing, now known to be a mating call. They rule the skies, and are the only infected of unknown origins. It is believed they were originally bats though, as birds are immune to the infection, and they have a high-pitched wail – almost like sonar. They are extremely dangerous and do not hesitate to attack humans, and tend to fly in large flocks.

Wraiths
Wraiths are an extraordinarily dangerous form of Banshees, who are not confirmed by official reports, but are reported by numerous civilians. They are reportedly the Banshee equivalent to Infernos.