FILE 000: ORIGIN OF THE VIRUS & INFECTION TIMELINE

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THANK YOU.

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for taking an interest in your survival.
THIS GUIDE HAS BEEN CREATED WITH THE INTENTION OF KEEPING YOU ALIVE. EDUCATION IS YOUR GREATEST WEAPON AGAINST THE RANKS OF THE UNDEAD (although hey, a shot to the head is decidedly pretty damned effective, too.) YOUR WILLINGNESS TO USE YOUR GREY MATTER IS WHAT SEPARATES YOU FROM THE LUMBERING RANKS OF THE RE-ANIMATED, SO LET'S GET YOU INTO SHAPE.[/color][/size][/center]

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Current understanding of the virus suggests that it is a mutated strain of the Ebola virus. During 2012, when people's paranoia was directed against the apocalypse in more forms than you could imagine, something sneakier and even more catastrophic was brewing--a global Ebola pandemic. It spread through the United States of America like wildfire, but the government made furious attempts to keep it under wraps, seeing as people's wits were already at an end. They hospitalized all known infected individuals, initiated quarantines, and, of course, attempted to devise a cure. Attempts at a vaccine were futile for months--until a certain Christoph Lummel emerged with what he earnestly believed to be a cure to the Ebola. Testing on patients seemed to alleviate their symptoms--but what he didn't know was how fleeting this relief was. His 'vaccine' was supplied to nations in the most desperate need, and while he hoped he had devised a cure, it would appear that he'd only succeeded in mutating the virus--to a degree where a hankering for human flesh would become its trademark. From a tiny hospital in out-of-the-way Arkansas, the infection spread. The hospital in which it was originally contained was overtaken in an spastic, devastating rampage and soon the disease was encroaching the nation. Call these 'zombies' what you will-the walking dead, the heartbeat-impaired... there is no scientific name for them, simply because there is no point.

The disease may be spread through blood and bites--and as of late it has been reported that the virus may also be spread through air. Luckily (for you), it will die after a short period outside the body but in short--wearing a gas mask outside is a simple, but very effective measure to guarantee your safety.

Before we get into survival tactics, you might as well know what you're fighting. Here's a timeline of the symptoms that will transform you from a member of the living to a member of the living dead.

DAY ONE-TWO: ENLARGED AND BLOODSHOT SCLERA. PAIN AND DISCOLORATION OF THE INFECTED AREA (GIVEN THE INFECTION CAME FROM A WOUND.)

DAY THREE-FOUR: TISSUES AROUND THE NOSE AND MOUTH ENGORGE WITH FLUID. THERE IS SEVERE CONSTRICTION OF THE THROAT AND NASAL PASSAGES.

DAY FIVE-SIX: CONSTRICTION OF THE CHEST. BREATHING BECOMES RAPID AND SHALLOW.

DAY SEVEN-EIGHT: SEVERE STOMACH CRAMPING. DIGESTING MORE FOOD BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE PATIENT.

DAY NINE-TEN: MUSCULAR ACHING. WILL START MILD AND ACCELERATE TO CAUSE INTENSE, DEBILITATING PHYSICAL PAIN.

DAY ELEVEN-TWELVE: CRAMPING OF THE EXTREMITIES. WALKING BECOMES DIFFICULT, THEN NIGH OF IMPOSSIBLE. MUSCULAR CAPACITY FALLS BELOW ZERO, PATIENT BECOMES BEDRIDDEN; IMMOBILE.

DAY THIRTEEN-FOURTEEN: FLATLINE AND REANIMATION. THE LOSS OF THE PATIENT'S MORALITY IS OBVIOUS.

As time passes, schlera darken further and eventually become black. Skin earns a saturnine coloring, that changes with further decay. They are largely driven by sight (depending, again, on their rate of decay) and sound. No respiration is obvious. Heart activity will remain a zero, yet muscle capacity will return (albeit in jerky, wild movements.) The undead will be able to walk again--and more eerie still, will retain the muscle memory to grab and to turn (in the case of door handles, etc.) Most sinister of all is the fact that the undead retain vocal capacity, and while unable to give diplomatic speeches, cling to simple vocabulary and are able to parrot the words they've been exposed to. The inner workings of these beings are otherwise foreign--and the level of their brain function eludes us still.

Lastly, it's been expected that some individuals carry a natural 'resistance' to the virus. It lives within their cells but for some reason fails to mutate them--which effectively renders them carriers. Simply because they're not exhibiting the symptoms of the human munchies, you should not assume they are safe--it is estimated that regular contact with a 'carrier' will result in your becoming a flesh-craving monster. The only known symptom of these individuals--stuck in limbo between human and zombie--is bloodshot eyes, but of course, it's a vague symptom and easily dismissed by claims of 'sleeplessness' or hell, maybe even 'contact lens wear'--and it effectively renders them the most dangerous threat to your safety.

BE ON YOUR GUARD, AND REMEMBER:
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "SAFE", ONLY "SAFER".

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