Stiff Fever

A corpse lies motionless in a bed. Moving closer, it is apparent that they are very much alive. Eyes frantically dart across the room until they attach onto a face. A tear swells, but no hand can move to wipe it away. The head is locked in place, as are the limbs and the neck. They cannot move. Feeling their heartbeat is painful; it is laboured and unfathomably slow. They surely will not last the night.

Transmission & Vectors

From person to person, it is transmitted through bodily fluids. However, it can also be caught through interaction with items infected with the bacteria, which can range from plants to clothing, wood to metal.

Causes

It is caused by a bacteria that infests itself into the bloodstream and the nervous system of a victim, immobilising them and causing complete and utter organ failure.

Symptoms

Victims are unable to move any muscle in their body save for their eyes, which are often observed to dart frantically around. The brain is fully active and the victim is completely aware of their fate. Their insides are also affected, though at a slower rate, and the organs completely fail before long.

Treatment

There is no treatment. Most victims are shot in the heart by an arrow and buried in several sacks deep into the ground. This is to stop the living victim spreading it to anyone else, and the sacks aim to prevent infecting the ground they are buried in. The victim is never stabbed because this could infect the blade they are killed with. The arrow is therefore not removed.

Type

Bacterial

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired

Rarity

Rare