World:
Environment:
Ruins, City, Cave "Death roams the world, seeking more than to steal a life.
The malevolent force desires to incarnate itself into its own twisted minstrel, playing upon the souls of the condemned for an eternity of rotting horror."
— Veteran patrolman to a new generation of scouts
The lines between definite ending and new beginning blur in the realms of unlife that the Event ushered onto earth. Packs of horrid caricatures savagely expand their numbers and domain through the twisted reproduction of infection and slaughter. Prominent amongst these monsters runs a horde of creatures known for their heart-puncturing screams and vicious bite. The gaunt, armless beings move with terrible alacrity, their clawed feet quiet on the cracked streets of ruined cities.
Few can stop the stalking packs from penetrating ranks of soldiers, feasting on innocent men and then fleeing into the shadows… only to dine once again as soon as the platoon provides an opening. Most who survive an encounter with the fell creatures jolt awake, pale-faced, from dead sleep at the echoees of a cry on the wind. Such are the howling horrors which roam the lands of the North American Union (NAU).
Howling Horrors are a breed of undead that possess an almost-humanoid frame: the leg joints are reversed and the head elongated to present a foul set of fangs, yet shades of a former existence are still there. Scraps of clothing and mangled flesh reveal the once-human nature of these twisted monsters. Whatever their origin, however, they have become mere shells filled with feral rage and ravenous hunger. While these undead seem to possess no eyesight, the horrors nonetheless move with uncanny agility and cohesion through the abandoned city ruins which are their homes. Veterans suspect a primitive telekinesis or echolocation propels the monster through obstacles, yet those soldiers who have lived through attacks all insist that once the terrible packs have your scent they will never forget it. To a man, these haunted survivors refuse to patrol anywhere close to an encountered pack — base duty or even another hazard is infinitely preferable to hearing those familiar grunts and wails… the sound of the hunt.
Howling Horrors rarely congregate in packs larger than twelve to twenty, but they make use of those numbers with terrible efficiency. The creatures coordinate hunting parties to press prey through narrow, high-rise alleys, valleys, and other small quarters with elevated walls — allowing them to leap down upon their quarry in deadly strafes. While armless and gaunt, the horrors' fangs have a severe biting force able to sever through steel and bone. They have even been known to use their feet for primitive grappling, driving a target to the ground before inserting their razor teeth into the victim's neck.
Worse than their filthy teeth is the disease they exude through their saliva — a necrotic toxin that rots a person from inside out. It begins with the blood, but quickly spreads… and once the toxin laces the vital organs, the flesh pigments with black fluid in a mix of the toxin and rotting fat cells. The skull itself goes through a painful transition as the eye sockets fuse to the frontal plates while the maxilla and mandibles enlarge to accommodate massive rows of canines.
Strangely, the necrotic toxin also targets the clavicle joints — dismembering the arms from the torso. The leg joints also invert at the patella and accompanying ligaments to create a forward hunch in the maturing horror; speculation suggests this compensates for the loss of arms, providing compensatory balance and increased movement. Even the larynx alters: the vocal folds tighten to produce a sense-scarring scream. All that remains of a formerly-complete human is a withered stalk of cloth scraps, maimed flesh, and hunger.
The Howling Horror's scream is a strong depressant and nerve suppressant, pausing the transfer of neurotransmitters between the synapses. These inhibitors force the body into various degrees of helplessness — paralysis, concussion, or even cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, the audio pulses do not rely on auditory outlets to halt a person… though the howl itself also has powerful psychological influences such as dread, despair, and utter abandonment to fate. Instead the howls flow through the body as reverberations, targeting the synapses at their particular locations.
Strong reserves in both psychological and physiological capabilities are thus required to overcome even a single Howling Horror's attack. Unfortunately, the effect of several howlers barking in unison is a dreadful cacophony which only amplifies the paralytic frequency. Packs have been known to focus on the largest threat first with this collaborative attack, concentrating individually on smaller threats afterward. Scientists have attempted to synthesize an audio dampening device to embed on troops armor or weapons to help deaden the baleful screams, yet to date the experimental squads have had little success keeping the horrors pinned down long enough to make the localized dampeners effective. Earplugs and thick ceramic plates have been noted among inventive veterans to aid in reducing (although not eliminating) the potency of the Howling Horrors' attacks.
Tactics: Predatory and pack-minded, the Howling Horrors utilize ambush and sheer terror to bring down squads of men at a time. Three or four of the monsters will lead a primary charge, wailing in unison to cause disruption among the target parties, while others lurk nearby in the obvious escape routes — prepared long ago as the true attack points. The group seems to use crude intelligence and communication, whether through grunts or some as-yet-unknown mental connection, in order to keep in contact during these hunts.
The alpha pair, usually the largest and strongest among the pack, begins the true assault. These select the largest of the victims while the others hemming in the remaining targets. The pack then seeks to press their prey to the ground, allowing them to drive home their vicious fangs and fatal toxin. The pack will follow any bitten specimen that escapes… returning to the dead only after the four day incubation period has passed and another horror joins their ranks.
