Roamers

'Roamers'; also known as 'Biters', 'Munchies', 'The Undead' and 'Corpsies' are humans who have been infected with the 'Roamer Pathogen', which causes the host's brain to cease functioning, barring basic functions. Once infected, there is no cure.

Origins
The pathogen that causes a host to become a roamer originated in an unknown location somewhere on Earth, several years into the 2020s. The first reports of the new pathogen leaked from the United States of America, but were widely covered up or branded as hoaxes and scaremongering. World Governments covered up the situation for nearly twelve months, secretly enacting apocalypse protocols, such as the emergency closure and decommission of Nuclear Power Plants under the guise of environmental concerns.

Over time, the pathogen spread around the world, causing many people to become infected and reanimate as a result. Scientific studies were conducted, revealing that a pathogen, passed through bodily fluids, including saliva and blood from infected individuals traveled via the bloodstream to the brain, taking control and deactivating non-vital sections of the brain, such as thought. What was left was a shell of a human with only survival instincts and ruthless behaviours. The body's immune system was ineffective at stopping the pathogen and no cure was able to be developed.

In early March 2022, a massive surge occurred worldwide, causing the beginning of the apocalypse. Within weeks, much of the Earth's human population had been wiped out, as well as the collapse of governments, economies and countries.

Physical Appearance
From a distance, a freshly reanimated roamer would appear extremely similar to a regular human, but, on further inspection, roamers had paler, greyer skin and the eyes of roamers quickly glazed over and clouded up. As time progressed, roamers would become more disheveled - with ripped and dirty clothes, tangled hair and dirty bodies. It was not uncommon for roamers to have visible injuries.