Have you ever heard of Chronic Wasting Disease? This world certainly has. It used to only affect animals like deer and elk, with other strains mutating to be transmitted to humans. One of these strains has been plaguing Deidamia for decades.

How did it spread to humans? Well, a hunter came across an infected deer, in the early stages, and shot it before feeding it to his family. These four people went about their days as normal before people noticed them acting.. strangely. Over the course of a year, they completely lost their inhibitions, grew emaciated, lost muscle-control and eventually grew violent, biting and scratching those who got too close. They were dead by the end of the year, but they had already done their job of spreading the disease.

I'll show you what each stage looks like and what to look put for, to keep you safe. We'll use our friend Stanley, the hunter's son who started the spread!

Infected - Stage 1 (1-3 months)

In the first stage, not much changes so it can be hard to tell if someone has caught the disease. However, there are some tell-take signs:

- Greying of the skin, especially around the eyes
- Lack of inhibitions
- Loss of fear

Infected - Stage 2 (4-6 months)

By stage two, the infection starts making itself known but still, the symptoms could be mistaken for something else:

- Increased fatigue
- Sunken or dark eyes
- Confusion, issues with memory

Infected - Stage 3 (7-9 months)

At this stage, the person they were before is fading by the day and even just existing for them has become painful:

- Loss of muscle control
- Muscle spasms
- Increased sweating
- Reddening of the eyes

Infected - Stage 4 (10-12+ months)

Not many live for longer than a year after their infection. If they're strong, they might get a few extra weeks, maybe another month if they're lucky but this disease is 100% fatal.

- Pale/grey skin
- Bleeding from the eyes and mouth
- Emaciation
- Aggressive and violent
- Death

If you come across and infected person, do not approach them. You can't risk a bite from them, or any of their fluids getting into open wounds or orifices.