Red Fatigue Plague

Spooktober 2022 Prompt: Whispers

CW: This article describes a viral disease and mentions a global pandemic caused by it. If these topics will cause discomfort, please do not read any further.

The red fatigue is a viral infection best known for being the main driver of a pandemic that swept the world from AE 186-187. After an incubation period of 4-5 days, those who are infected will begin to exhibit a pathognomonic pattern of drowsiness. The symptoms will begin rather mild, often compared to a simple bad night's sleep, and mentally, the patient will remain this way throughout the duration of the infection, experiencing a mild "brain-fog" but still being present and aware of the world around them. It is when a patient's physical exhaustion begins to impair their ability to function with no other reasonable cause that the red fatigue plague can be swiftly diagnosed. Patients will experience soreness and weakness of the muscles, slowed reflexes, dizziness, bloodshot eyes, and blurry vision, all of which will gradually increase in severity throughout the course of the infection. The use of stimulants can often slightly ease the symptoms, but their effectiveness will wane after the first week.
During the second week, the infected persons will begin struggling to stand and walk, eventually finding even speaking at a normal volume to be too strenuous a task, leading to some referring to it as the whispers plague. It is believed if one can survive past the third week, they are almost certain to make a full recovery.

Alternative Names
The whispers, the red death

Type

Viral

Cycle

Short-term

Incubation Period
4-5 days
Average infection duration
3.5-4 weeks