Infection - Prologue

On the eighth of May 2016, a modified influenza virus was synthesized in government-controlled labs located in the heart of the English midlands; onlookers were to believe it was developing a new vaccine.

The virus' production was funded for by an anonymous source, though companies with the funds to do so were scarce; individuals with the funds were scarcer.

Specifications were extensive: the virus was to increase higher brain function, the intensity and range of senses —smell, sight, hearing—, increase pain threshold, allow the body to digest more foods —a list was provided— and to allow the brain to 'shut down' unneeded parts like an aquatic mammal to reduce the need for sleep.

The intended use for the virus was not known, but technicians believed it was the work of someone with a view to 'improving' the human race. While not many were optimistic about the virus' effectiveness, work continued for several months until a promising batch was produced.

An unlikely breakthrough took technicians by surprise, and they progressed from tests on donated brain matter to small live mammals. Samples were sent to similar facilities in Glasgow, Middlesbrough, Manchester, Gloucester, Norwich and London, it seemed as though the effect of the money that funded the research was more widely spread than assumed.

The virus was named Virus-C, on account of it being the third modified generation of virus.
When looking back at the events that followed, it is undisputed that the spreading of the virus around the British Isles was a fatal error with consequences no one had thought to consider.

Tests in the new facilities showed that the virus had mutated almost beyond recognition into something new — the theory is that time and preservation chemicals helped it to mature into a new stage of development.

The results from the first laboratory had been promising: rats exposed to the virus showed a high pain tolerance, were able to digest raw meat and thrive from it, and had their field of vision increased by ten centimetres — these were a hundred percent expressed results across a range of a hundred male and female adult rats.

However, in the new laboratories, the rats showed similar but exaggerated symptoms.
The rats became lethargic soon after infection and lost interest in food or other stimulus —pain or sound.
As time progressed, patches of fur began to fall out; exposing blotchy dark areas of skin as melanin pigment —that had been absent in their albino bodies— began to flood the skin cells. Dark red eyes were caused by burst blood vessels and, as they became savage, it became apparent that the previously hopeful experiments were futile. The rats were all destroyed.

Every lab expressed similar results, but a final sample of two hundred rats and fifty small dogs was done to confirm their findings.
Within two weeks, every lab reported an outbreak of the virus into human hosts. An unexpected trainee had tried to feed one of the dogs when it attacked him savagely, causing severe damage to his hands and arms; the man was rushed to hospital.
Other outbreaks occurred similar ways but it was also found that the virus had become airborne from the animals and several men and woman were infected across the country.
All the animals were destroyed and every human with the infection was reported, evaluated and given an ineffective antiviral.

Those that were known to be affected —twenty-five men and woman ranging from nineteen to forty-seven— were taken to secure facilities and soon began to exhibit similar symptoms to the animals in the testing facilities.
The infected individuals' health digressed over the course of a day. They began to be lethargic after only a few hours and lost all sense of pain, their hair began to fall out soon after and their ability to speak or understand was lost within a few more hours. Several of the infected were kept at the original facilities throughout this time. The final symptoms were burst blood vessels in the eyes and chronic nosebleeds.

The hospitals where the infected individuals were housed were soon faced with homicidal creatures with no reaction to sedatives, pain or other deterrents; they were reported to have been rampaging through the facility even with the security measures before all contact was lost with the hospital.
It was found locked down and burning the day after; civilians were led to believe it was a gas leak.

Men and woman who had not reported their infection —or were unaware of it— were observed in a similar state soon after. The families were found either dead, infected or locked in rooms in the days proceeding. None were known to have survived past the next three days.

No official reports were made on the outbreak, but an isle-wide search began to track down those with the virus in their systems. At this time, no further research had been made on the virus, and it was only when the infected continued to attack, kill and infected others that people realized they could not be killed in any other way than an unlucky shot to the head.

Five days after the outbreak began, a red alert was issued and the citizens of the fifty miles around each infected incident were urged to evacuate their homes and move to designated 'safe zones' across the UK.

Word of mouth worked more effectively than the news and people began moving swiftly, however, the virus continued to spread rapidly and people began to fall like pawns.

The British Isles was put under quarantine after a week but it seemed a futile effort.
The estimated number of infected equated the population of Wales and continued increasing day by day.

The infected were characterized by blotchy skin (paler in dark-skinned individuals and darker in pale-skinned), red eyes, attraction to human blood and an innate instinct to kill any human they come across.

Needless to say, all efforts to keep the virus confined to areas of original outbreak failed within six weeks.