A/N: This is a guide into the story, written in the form of a worldwide broadcast. This will help you understand some certain aspects that I will not be explaining in the book. Fall back to it if you ever need to understand something about the virus. And also, quick note, not everything will be explained here, so if you find the doctor suspicious or you notice something that doesn't add up, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts in the comments.
Enjoy.
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(World wide audio broadcast)
Static plays in the background, as chaos brew in the ruins of what was once an excelling society. Television, broken or not, trip on and a voice flows through. The same thing happens to the radios, all over the world. People stare in confusion, as far as they know, technology had crumbled after the creatures began biting and ripping things apart.
The voice starts;
Hello everyone, I am doctor Jeffrey Stone. You don't me, and this is the only message you will ever get from me.
The virus that has destroyed humanity is called the Cerberus genes. It was created by myself, and some friends. The point of the virus was to heal the untreatable diseases that have rendered mankind unable to live longer. It was also supposed to increase the life span of a human.
We never tested it on people. Our experiments were done on wolves. All of them died. All except eleven. I won't go into details, that part needs to remain a secret for my safety. After years of working on this project, they broke out. They escaped.
I don't know what we were thinking genetically enhancing wolves for the sake of saving humanity. We didn't even know it could turn into an infection. How they managed to cause this much damage to the world is beyond my knowledge.
I would like to issue an informal apology. My friends/colleagues and I meant no harm. We were trying to do something good for mankind. We couldn't have predicted this outcome.
I'm not here to tell you our life's tale or anything of the sort. I'm here to help you identify yourself. And who you are. The virus has gotten to everyone in the world, I am not joking. Maybe only 2% remain uninfected but it won't be long before they die of starvation, are killed by the infected, or turned into one.
To the infected, you are all werewolves. Like the mythology behind it, half wolf beast who are stronger under the full moon's effect. The same applies to you now. I've taken my time to study, I will not tell you how I got this information but listen to me. This is what you need to know on the virus and who you are.
Firstly, what are the CEBERUS GENES: the Cerberus genes is an infection that connects itself to the human DNA and red blood cells, changing and altering its genetic makeup.
You cannot decide on what you become, the virus itself chooses for you. Becoming an alpha, beta, omega or anything is all random. So don't go running out there to be bitten. I'll repeat, you do not choose who you become. The virus is smart, I think. It decides on what cells are worthy enough to become an alpha or a brainless. This means, a sickly person can become an alpha. And a healthy person can become a brainless. The virus makes that decision.
As werewolves, there are several things I need to explain to you before we dive into the types of werewolves, and how to identify them.
Number one- PACKS: It's been ten years since the infection went world wide, and my research on a family of infected showed me something spectacular. They were like a pack of wolves, protecting and fending for each other. I suggest, to those who are infected, you should create packs. It is the fastest way to survive. You will not be alone. You can hunt with more people. Set roles. And withstand the horror that comes from a blood moon.
I'm sorry once again, I can't tell you about that. You'll have to find out, and deal with it on your own.
Number two- MATES: people normally pick their future lovers and partners. But thanks to the virus, that is no longer your choice. There's an unexplainable bond that forms between two people. If you feel so strongly about someone, more than the emotion called love. Something deeper to the soul, then that person is your life mate. Chosen by the virus for you. You can reject them, but I don't have the information on how to do this, or even how this is possible.
You can uncover your mate through other ways too, such as scent. If a person's smell is very alluring to any one in the world, they are mates. I don't mean alluring in a flower way, I mean their smell is almost like an aphrodisiac or a white noise machine. It draws you in. Once two or more people have found their mates, or decided to be each other's mates, they can mark each other through bites, and tasting each other's blood. The mating mark appears like a permanent, big love bite.
As I said, the bond is a strong feeling, almost similar to the one we know as love today. It's nearly overpowering once you discover your mate. This has been in the myth for werewolves, and trust me when I tell you that it now applies to you. The explanation as to why this is a thing for a virus, I'm afraid I cannot tell you. Because I don't know.
The mating bond can be broken, you just need to find a way to do so. Only two people can never break their bond, an alpha and a Luna. I'll explain what those are soon. But if those two mark each other, they're stuck together for the rest of their lives.
I wish I could tell you how I know this, sadly I'm afraid I must withhold that information.
Number three- THE FULL MOON: The full moon makes every wolf stronger, the alphas more than others, lunas hornier and gammas weaker. It makes the lycans, angrier and more in tune with their wolf side.
Other things to keep in mind;
A marked luna will live for as long as their alpha does, they can only be killed by the person who marked them.
Known Weaknesses to the infected: fire. Pure Silver. And wolfsbane. That plant will ruin you from the inside out so please, if you're infected, avoid it. It's a purplish plant, an image should appear on the screen. And of course, natural disasters. Storms, lightening, hail, all those can do great damage. It's not considered a weakness, but I felt it was important to put that there.
Just in case you feel immune to a thunderstorm and wanted to test that out.
Animals are immune to the Cerberus genes. They can't be infected, excluding the canines. Wolves, dogs, they can be infected if not killed. And I have no information on what they'll become when they change. That's up to you to find out.
Now onto the types of wolves. This is how you will identify yourself, and others.
LYCAN- The lycans are the eleven wolves that escaped from the facility I worked at. The world organization of human research, I know it sounds like a science lab to experiment on people but I promise, it was far from that. We devoted our time to helping.
About the lycans, I know nothing on them, their weaknesses or even how to identify any of them besides the fact that they are large, very large wolves. Bigger than every other. They have no pupils.
The journal we had written on them, died with one of my friends. So I'm very sorry, when it comes to them, you are on your own. They're very powerful. Stronger than anyone of the infected. And keep in mind, the virus will not turn you into a lycan. That- it's not even happening to regular wolves. The way we did our experiments, it made them different. That was more than just the virus.
Stay clear of them if you do discover one. They broke free and immediately started biting people, I can assure you they're anything but friendly.
ALPHA- they are the second strongest out of all the infected. They are ruthless, natural born protectors, and have the power to command all wolves beneath them. With the exemption of the lunas, other alphas, brainless and the top eleven wolves. When a man or woman is bitten, and infected with the Cerberus genes, if their eyes turn to a golden color, three long scratches appear on any part of their limbs, and they can command a wolf to do as they please, they are alphas. Their duties then can be to form a pack or go on solo. They are immune to silver and every other weapons. Their weaknesses are fire and wolfsbane. They are immune to any other infection, flu, chicken pox….etc.
They have super human strength, enhanced senses, self healing, hypnosis[ the ability to put someone in a submissive trance], night vision, and shadow camouflage.
LUNA- they are the third strongest wolves. Lunas are very rare, in the ten years of the infection and disaster, there has only been two lunas, as far as I know. A luna has incredibly beautiful features and physique, they are very fertitle. A luna can be both male or female. There is no gender limit, the genes decide when it comes in contact with human blood. They have bright piercing blue or black eyes, they can't shift into wolves but have immeasurable speed and stamina. Their mark appears above their stomach or in-between their chest, they are the only wolves whose marks are in those areas. They can heal anyone, and once marked by an alpha, they can boost and increase the alpha's abilities. Lunas cannot be marked by any other wolf besides an alpha, the mark would wear off after a week.
The abilities of a luna varies from the norm, some might be blessed with more power than the others, while others have only the listed ones above. A luna's full abilities are unlocked when they're marked and dependent on the strength of their alphas. You would be the most unlucky person to become one.
You'd be a diamond, yes, alphas will trample over everything once this message gets to them, just to find you. What they choose to do with you afterwards…. Let's just say, the only two Lunas that I have seen, aren't living like royalty. Although people don't know what they are, some have figured how to be real life monsters.
OMEGA- An omega can be from both genders. They are submissive, and caretakers. They have two claw marks, stretching along the lengths of their arms, and they can shift into wolves of white, and grey color. They can self heal, teleport, they have empathic powers, and have super human strength. They are not immune to sicknesses.
BETA- They can be any gender. They can self heal, are great trackers, and hunters. They do not have inhumane strength in their human form, but as wolves their strength is noticeably greater than a zeta. They, just like omegas, aren't immune to illnesses. They have brown or green eyes, and their marks only appear on their backs. They can only be very big, and tall, brown wolves.
ZETA- they can be of any gender, but are mostly men. They have no marks, unless they bare one from their mates or partners. They can be brown, black or grey wolves. And are the fourth largest wolves, coming after the betas and alphas. They have bright red eyes, really bright, they are the only people on earth you'll see with red glowing demonic eyes. They are sometimes bloodthirsty and savages. They are warriors, they love to fight and wreck havoc whichever way they can. They are immune to fire due to the fact that they have pyrokinesis, and are the only wolves who can set their skin ablaze whenever they want.
They can self heal, they cannot die of any illness as far as I know. They're super fast and super strong. Weaknesses are the usual, wolfsbane and silver.
GAMMA- they can be of any gender, but are majorly women. They have no natural self healing. Are incredibly fast, and extremely silent in their movements. You couldn't hear them coming even if they wanted to make it obvious. Pregnant gammas, and young gammas- ages 3-18- are weaker during the full moon. Weaknesses are the same as the omegas and betas, only they are not sustainable to diseases or illnesses. They are the only white wolves with grey eyes. They can camouflage themselves, can create a blast of energy, and have the ability to share their manna/energy. They have two black marks, one on each shoulder blade.
Something I feel I should explain, is the abilities that comes with each wolf. You see, I can't disclose that. There was something wrong with the virus, something out of this world. I'm not talking aliens, I'm talking cosmic and nearly supernatural or god like. I might be spilling nonsense because I want some kind of explanation for why we didn't listen to the warning bells.
The virus had killed our first test subjects, the bunnies. Oh god. We shouldn't have added that last ingredient. Yes, it didn't lead to the wolves dying like the others but look at the world now.
We created an epidemic. Breathe Jeffery. Breathe. I'm getting off track, let's get back to the most important type of wolves. The one you will see more commonly, and the ones I named after finding an army of them wiping out cities.
THE BRAINLESS.
When someone is infected, if the infection spreads quickly- like within hours or mere minutes- they are likely to become this. While lunas are rare, brainless are the opposite. They are the most common and one of the major reasons people shouldn't just go out there to be bitten. They are also the main reason the infection spread like wildfire.
When one becomes a brainless, they lose their will to think for themselves and only crave blood and flesh. They're hairless beast, faster than most of the werewolf population, and can walk on their two feet when they want too. They have murky grey skin, spikes sticking out of their spines, and they are blind. They rely on their ears. They have razor sharp teeth, long claws on both feet and hands, and they are over ten feet tall. They can be seen running on all fours but do not think for a second that they can't walk or climb because they can. Their first instinct is to kill and eat. They can be killed by anything but diseases, and most especially hunger. And they are the only creatures whose DNA continues to change. My research showed sightings of the new mutated brainless gene evolving into something else. The Cerberus genes are still at work in them, but I hope those are only fake. The infection spreads through bites alone, and if a brainless bites you, and they don't eat you whole. As long as some part of your body remains, it'll regrow back as a brainless. Now you're thinking, that's not so bad. They'll eat you whole right?
Wrong. They prefer the arms and stomach. Leaving the rest of you alive for infecting. Unless you're already infected and they bite you, then you just die. If you're lucky, they'll gobble every last bit of you. If your aren't, this is me offering you an apology.
The reason why I'm making this broadcast is because I was one of the scientist that made this apocalypse. I sat face to face with the woman who brought this idea in the first place. And I also saw her get devoured by one of the lycans. I want you all to know what you're up against. Who is who, and if you are infected this should explain what you are. That's if you don't end up a brainless.
This is our life now. This signal should be playing all over the world where technology exist, or used too. Try to do the best you can to survive, I am sorry things have to be this way.
We never meant for this to happen, we only wanted to help.
Good luck, and may god be with you all.