In 2018, the emergence of a devastating new pathogen brought modern civilization to its knees. Known scientifically as Veloxvirus hominis, or simply Velox, the virus spread rapidly across the globe, overwhelming governments, collapsing infrastructure, and claiming billions of lives. Within a single year, the human population had fallen from approximately eight billion to fewer than four billion.
Those who survived the initial catastrophe faced a world forever changed.
Velox does not raise the dead. Instead, it attacks the living, causing severe neurological damage that strips infected individuals of much of their higher cognitive functioning. The resulting victims, commonly referred to as zombies, become confused, aggressive, and driven largely by instinct. Yet beneath their altered behavior, they remain biologically human, capable of feeling pain, experiencing hunger, and displaying fragments of the people they once were.
By 2022, four years after the outbreak began, humanity has started to reclaim its place in the world.
Fortified settlements have emerged from the ruins of civilization. Surviving governments, military organizations, and civilian communities have restored essential infrastructure, established trade networks, and begun rebuilding their societies. Within protected territories, electricity, healthcare, education, and ordinary daily routines have gradually returned.
Beyond the safety of these communities, however, much of the world remains dangerous. Abandoned cities and overgrown towns shelter populations of infected, while isolated survivors, hostile factions, and dwindling resources complicate efforts to reclaim lost territory.
The discovery of a preventative treatment in 2020 offered humanity its first genuine hope of controlling the pandemic. Yet those who have already turned remain beyond the reach of existing medicine, and researchers continue searching for a way to reverse the infection.
Veloxvirus hominis, also known as just Velox, is the source of the zombie infection in this story. Within the first year, most of the planet fell to anarchy and the human population dropped from 8 billion down to just under 4 billion.
Infection/Spread
- Velox prefers hot and humid environments and struggles in cold and dry climates
- Velox spreads through bodily fluids, primarily blood, saliva, semen, breast milk, or in rare cases vomit
- Velox must enter the blood stream to infect someone, and in rare cases ingestion of infected fluids can infect an individual
Symptoms and Side Effects
- Symptoms of infection typically start within eight to twelve hours of the virus entering the blood stream. Once it passes the blood-brain barrier, the cure is non-effective
- Onset symptoms of the infection are the following: High fever, chills, tremors, confusion, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Onset symptoms can be treated via medicine to ease suffering, but turning will ultimately be inevitable
- Turned individuals typically have reduced symptoms, however some may remain chronic such as occasional nausea and vomiting, tremors, and confusion
- Turned individuals are disconnected from reality, agitated, delirious and aggressive. Many higher functions such as language and communication are rendered nonfunctional. Infected individuals cannot speak, do not appear to understand spoken or written language, and have a sole focus on self-preservation and spreading the infection
- Infected individuals retain self-preservation instincts, seek out food and water sources and will defend themselves if threatened
- Attempts to tame infected individuals have mixed results but usually fail
Mortality Rate
- Infected individuals who are otherwise healthy rarely die from the infection, and as such will turn into "zombies"
- Infected individuals who are very young, elderly or with preexisting conditions that leave them weak often do not survive the turning process
The Cure
- Back in 2020, a cure was found and created, but this cure only works on infected individuals who have not yet shown symptoms. Most stable communities require every person to be vaccinated to limit the potential spread in case of an outbreak. Anyone believed to have come in contact with an infected individual will promptly receive a booster and then quarantined for forty-eight hours
- Because it's only been a few years, scientists are unsure how long vaccinated people will remain immune, currently they recommend a booster shot once every year
- Research is still ongoing for curing individuals already turned. Scientists are hopeful, but estimate a cure for turned individuals is still a few years out at minimum
"Zombie" Misconception
By definition, infected individuals are not zombies as they are still living beings who never died.
Veloxvirus has multiple strains that result in variations among the infected individuals. These variations effect the behavior of the infected, sometimes making them more or less dangerous depending on the variant.
Jumpers
Jumpers are infected individuals who are known for being notably more active than other infected. They appear to have a preference for high places, often spotted climbing onto whatever they are physically capable of climbing. Jumpers also seem to have a reduced sense of self-preservation compared to other infected. Although dangerous and known for leaping down onto unsuspecting people, they are also more prone to injury from falls. As a result the jumper population is reducing quicker than other variants. It's been noticed that jumpers appear to be claustrophobic and will become agitated and panicked when in confined spaces or restrained
Spooks
Spooks are infected individuals who appear more anxious. Spooks are known for being easily startled and often running away at the sight of non-infected people. A lone Spook is often harmless, but they often create a lot of noise when they flee and are notably vocal when panicked. As a result they may draw the attention of other infected and this makes a Spook very dangerous by proxy. Spooks have been noticed to prefer cramped, dark areas.
Drifters
Drifters are characterized by reduced neurological responsiveness, lethargy, and diminished environmental awareness. They frequently remain motionless for extended periods or wander slowly without an apparent destination. Drifters respond poorly to distant sounds, subtle movement, and other minor stimuli. They may appear oblivious to nearby uninfected humans unless approached closely or physically disturbed. Their sluggish behavior can make them difficult to distinguish from severely exhausted or sleeping infected. When sufficiently agitated, they remain capable of ordinary human movement, although their responses are generally slower than those of other variants.
Echoes
Echoes are characterized by repetitive vocalizations and abnormal responses to auditory stimuli. Although they lack functional speech and language comprehension, they retain fragments of previously learned vocal behaviors. Echoes may repeatedly hum familiar melodies, whistle, laugh, cry out, or reproduce simple sounds from their former lives. These vocalizations are generally involuntary or habitual rather than deliberate attempts at communication. Echoes display heightened fixation on repetitive or familiar sounds. They may approach a persistent noise, linger near its source, or repeatedly investigate locations associated with particular auditory stimuli. Unlike Spooks, who vocalize primarily when frightened, Echoes may produce sounds even while calm or resting. Their behavior can unintentionally attract other infected, particularly in otherwise quiet environments.
Biological Needs & Longevity
Velox-infected are living humans, not reanimated corpses. Their bodies do not progressively rot, decay, or deteriorate due to the infection. Provided they receive sufficient food, water, and shelter, infected individuals can remain alive and physically functional for many years. Infected retain ordinary biological vulnerabilities, including starvation, dehydration, exhaustion, disease, injury, and aging. Although the virus causes significant neurological impairment and recurring illness, it does not inherently cause progressive physical degeneration.
Sleep & Rest
Infected require sleep to maintain their physical and neurological functions. However, their sleep patterns are frequently irregular and fragmented due to fever, nausea, confusion, and neurological agitation. They may sleep at any hour, wake repeatedly, or experience periods of severe exhaustion followed by deeper sleep. Sleeping infected are not universally light sleepers; their responsiveness varies with fatigue, illness, and environmental conditions. Infected instinctively seek sheltered, secure, and reasonably comfortable places to rest. Common resting locations include abandoned houses, bedrooms, basements, vehicles, and other enclosed environments. Some repeatedly return to familiar locations through retained procedural memory.
Social Congregation
Despite severe cognitive impairment, infected retain residual human social instincts. They generally tolerate the presence of other infected and may instinctively gravitate toward locations where others have gathered. Congregation is passive rather than organized. Infected do not form coordinated packs, establish leadership hierarchies, or consciously cooperate in hunting. Groups may develop through shared attraction to food, shelter, or environmental stimuli. Infected may also follow another infected's movement without understanding its purpose, creating the appearance of coordinated group behavior.
Physical Comfort & Proximity
Infected frequently tolerate close physical proximity. They may sleep beside one another, lean against another infected, or curl up together for warmth, shelter, and instinctive comfort. Such behavior is not necessarily an expression of conscious affection or emotional attachment. It reflects residual social and survival instincts that persist despite neurological damage. Although generally tolerant of one another, infected may occasionally become aggressive toward other infected when frightened, severely agitated, injured, or physically threatened.
Stable settlements maintain essential infrastructure through surviving engineers, technicians, agricultural workers, and military personnel.
- Electricity is available in established safe zones through protected power grids, generators, and local energy production. Running water, sanitation, and heating operate where infrastructure has been maintained or restored. Outside these settlements, utilities are unreliable or nonexistent.
- Food supplies come from protected farmland, livestock operations, local production, and organized scavenging. Rationing may be implemented during shortages, but chronic starvation is not universal.
- Trade between settlements continues through guarded road convoys, limited rail networks, and occasional air or maritime transport. Fuel, medicine, ammunition, machinery, and replacement parts remain particularly valuable.
- Radio communications are widely used for military and civilian coordination. Telephone networks and localized digital services function in some developed settlements, although global communications remain fragmented.
By 2022, four years after the Veloxvirus outbreak, surviving populations have established fortified towns, cities, and military-controlled safe zones. Although much of the world remains abandoned or infested, stable communities have begun rebuilding organized society.
- Governance varies between settlements. Some retain elected civilian leadership, while others operate under military administration or emergency councils. Surviving national governments maintain limited authority where communication and infrastructure permit.
- Settlements enforce security checkpoints, infection screening, quarantine protocols, and controlled entry. Outside protected territory, abandoned communities, isolated survivors, marauders, and infected populations remain common.
- Not every surviving settlement is impoverished or authoritarian. Living conditions vary considerably depending on available resources, leadership, and regional stability.
By 2022, daily life within established safe zones has regained a degree of normalcy. Survivors work, attend school, raise families, socialize, and participate in rebuilding their communities.
- Employment centers on agriculture, construction, healthcare, education, manufacturing, transportation, security, and infrastructure maintenance. Local markets and small businesses have reopened where resources permit.
- Housing ranges from restored private residences to shared accommodations and temporary shelters. Hospitals and clinics provide routine medical care alongside infection screening, vaccination, and emergency treatment.
- Schools, communal gatherings, recreational activities, and local celebrations have gradually returned, although resources and opportunities vary between communities.
- Many survivors continue to experience grief, trauma, displacement, and uncertainty following the collapse. However, society is not defined exclusively by suffering. People form relationships, pursue interests, celebrate milestones, and work toward a more stable future.