Camera Log, recovered one mile north of the southern border of Cascadia with a commercial yard:

  Note: Much of video recording is corrupted, but the audio remains clear.

  Male 1: “Jim! Can you get rid of that camera?”

  ‘Jim’: “Come on dude! We can relax a bit! We got over the border didn’t we!?”

  Female 1: “I don’t know. We’re nowhere near Victoria.”

  Male 1: “Yeah, we need our eyes peeled.”

  ‘Jim’: “We’re through the worst of it though.”

  Male 2: “Just let him. It’ll help keep our eyes peeled.”

  Female 1: “You sure we should be cutting through there? We’re exposed.”

  Male 2: “I recognised the signs; we need to find food somewhere.”

  Female 1: “Maybe we’ll find some Jake’s group, they went on ahead of us.”

  Male 1: “They better not, I don’t want them nicking all the food.”

  An unintelligible noise reaches the speaker.

  Female 2: “Did anyone hear that?”

  Female 1: “Was that… Coleen?”

  Unidentified Voice: “Vera… Jo? Are you there?”

  Male 1: “Why does she sound off?”

  Female 1: “That has to be her though! Coleen?”

  ‘Coleen’: “Over here…”

  Female 1: “She sounds hurt! By the door!”

  Sound of running.

  Male 1: “She didn’t sound that raspy – wait! Don’t-“

  A scream reaches the microphone, followed by a gruttal laugh.

  ‘Jim’: “The fuck!?”

  Male 2: “It pulled her in! Don’t follow her!”

  Female 2: “But we need to help her!”

  Multiple howls echo around the group, surpassing the screams.

  Male 2: “She’s already done for! Back to th-“

  Glass shatters, accompanied by aggressive cries.

  Male 1: “Ferals! Shoot!”

  Gunshots start sounding, pistols and rifles. A few pained shrieks can be heard, but the snarls intensify.

  Male 2: “Forget it! Ru-“

  Feral: (at the same time) “MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!”

  Male 2 screams, a faint chomp is heard.

  Female 2: “There are too ma-“

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Gunshots ring out, accompanied by Female 2’s cry.

  ‘Jim’: “FUCK! THEY’RE USING GUNS! FUCK!”

  Male 1: “Keep firing! We can sti- Jim! (panting and running can be heard). “Where the fuck are you goi…”

  ‘Jim’ is clearly panting.

  ‘Jim’: *inaudible* Got to… *inaudible* Get to… the car… there!

  Steps widen. Distant howls ring out.

  ‘Jim’: “Just got to- agh!”

  A boom sounds, followed by ‘Jim’s’ cry and the sound of crunching metal.

  ‘Jim’: FUCK!

  More subtle booms sound in rhythm, likely footsteps, accompanied by ‘Jim’ hyperventilating.

  ‘Jim’: Oh god… god… no! (a deep, loud growl rumbles through) NO! STAY BACK, NO, ARRGGGGHHHHH!!!!

  A roar echoes through the camera microphone, accompanied by the screams of ‘Jim’ and the splurt of blood.

  Note 2: Ten bodies were discovered, but the scout team was forced to withdraw when more Ferals emerged, including a significant number of freshly turned Formers, led by the same Alpha.

  Between the 100% infection rate and the potential lethality alone, the Retrovirus was already a disease that could have had the potential to devastate significant portions of the world. However, the real power behind the virus lies not its own genetics, but the creation of its primary means of transmission. A force that proved able to cripple human civilisation. The Ferals.

  A species (or rather, a collection of sub-species) of werewolf-like creatures, the Ferals emergence coincided with the first confirmed Retrovirus cases at the start of the Outbreak. Their initial attacks were caused through sneak attacks and raids on large groups of humans, as well as a handful of isolated targets in rural areas and warzones. Often, they would overwhelm defenders and civilians, maiming, killing or infecting their victims before quickly withdrawing. After the initial attacks in the major population centres, many Ferals would start dragging their victims away as they retreated, likely in order to allow them to transform without interference by their fellow humans. However, as the humans struggled to respond to the increasing intensity of attacks – and unwilling to unleash their full arsenals on the cities – the Ferals struck with far more force in vast Hordes, overwhelming entire cities, and some countries in a blitzkrieg offensive, often replenishing or outright bolstering their numbers with the infected.

  Between their unpredictable behaviour and the sheer variety of Feral variants, human civilisation didn’t stand a chance, and would have fallen entirely under the Feral assault until they ultimately held themselves back, not advancing any further towards what remains of human cities. The reason for this remains unknown.

  In combat, Ferals tactics are often brutal, surging at their opponents with sheer numbers of weaker Ferals, and often accompanied by larger, stronger variants. Whilst many Ferals, especially more recently infected or less developed ones, often have a penchant for insanity and stupidity, many more Ferals have proven capable of co-ordinated leadership and a grasp for strategy, using their surroundings and terrain to best engage human forces. Some Ferals have proven capable of using human weapons and even vehicles as part of their attacks. Further still, whilst Ferals often rip humans apart in a frenzy, as stated before they have been known to restrain themselves enough to capture survivors for their own transformation.

  Although there are a wide variety of Ferals, all altered by the Retrovirus in different ways, Ferals can be divided into three general types. Mongrels, Purebreeds and Alphas. These are classified by their level of mutations, intelligence, and raw size. Mongrels, being composed of infected humans that were turned into Ferals, are the last intelligent and more often or not, the smallest, however, they often have the most extreme mutations. Purebreeds are more stable, larger and far more intelligent in comparison, and Alphas even more so. Further still, Purebreeds either have more refined mutations or less apparent ones compared to their Mongrel kin, whilst Alphas show no visible signs of mutation at all.

  Despite their penchant for insanity, in the wake of the outbreak and the end of the initial conflicts, the Ferals still tend to operate in packs. The numbers of these can range considerably, but they are often anywhere between eight to twenty Ferals strong, although smaller and larger groups are present. Some of these packs are a hodge pot of different variants, however, there has been an observed hierarchal structure. Many Mongrels – by far the most common wider type – often formed into packs lead by a more developed, smarter Mongrel or increasingly more often, a Purebreed Feral. The individuals possess greater intelligence than their peers, allowing them to direct their packs with some semblance of strategy.

  Some packs have been known to join forces to form larger units, and at the height of the Outbreak, Alphas were able to bring together gigantic hordes. These Hordes were large, powerful and mobile ‘armies’ that proved able to compete with human military forces. With multiple Alphas taking sub-divisions of Hordes into the field, it has proven capable of overwhelming entire cities and small countries in one go.

  Today, almost all Hordes have broken up into their individual packs which operate across the inhabited zones of the world, although some Hordes still occasionally gather, even if they don’t always launch attacks. However, there is still a lack of information contained within the wider Badlands regions.

  Short Primer on Ferals, written by an unnamed trader operating out of Vancouver Docks