in late 2025, an uptick of cases and changes in the presentation of CWD (chronic wasting disease) in whitetail deer were recorded in states such as Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan. the visual traits of the deer were largely the same, increased salivation, lethargy and a lack of coordination. however, one of the primary traits, a lack of fear, soon evolved into outright aggression against others of their species, and in a handful of cases attacks against researchers observing the deer.
the disease seemed to spread between the deer via their saliva, including in shared food and drinking water, and the formerly lengthy incubation period of the disease decreased drastically in the months where the deer were being studied. the infected deer seemed to even aim to infect other deer by attacking and biting them.
a bite on a human was never recorded, nor was the spread of CWD to a human, but caution was still exercised due to the previous spread of other prion diseases such as "mad cow disease" to humans in infected products. a restriction on deer hunting in multiple states was put in place.
ignoring the advice of local authorities, a group of men went on a hunting trip in one of the primarily affected zones. the men killed and ate one of the infected deer, and a couple of days later ended up in hospital with an unknown illness. not long after that, the mysterious symptoms, later understood to be the standard CWD symptoms, became more apparent. and what followed, was the newly evolved symptom. Aggression.
the men ended up attacking and, notably, biting, several nurses, doctors and other patients and civilians before they were stopped by local police or security. from there, one that had been knocked out went on to attack a prison doctor, two that had thought to have been killed reanimated and attacked a foriensics team, and only one was put down for good. before anybody truly understood the consequences of the bite, the victims of these attacks had already been put in their own hospital rooms or sent home after recieving what was thought to be adequate treatment. from there, families, whole neighbourhoods, patients and hospital staff were repeatedly attacked, with hospitals becoming overwhelmed by the surge of patients for this new epidemic. mass panic ensued.
a lack of trust in the government, people concealing their injuries and the general panic allowed the disease to spread extremely fast. on top of that, water and food sources became vectors for infection, furthering the spread before anybody truly knew what was going on. a bite was no longer a telltale sign. it was EVERYWHERE.
quarantines and rationing came into place. militaries and local authorities took control of cities and other population centres, and evacuations began. over the course of months, with a lot of wrangling, a few safe zones were established throughout the country. communication between settlements is often limited, with most of them operating under their own individual laws. outside of cities, some small communities have started in towns and rural areas. between the infections, evacuations and death toll caused by the military, the overall population has dwindled drastically. the world, at least from nico and shiori's perspective, is now quiet and desolate.
nobody is coming to save them.
