Zombie Infectee: Difference between revisions

A [[Zombie Apocalypse]] is no fun for anyone; even the zombies are incapable of feeling fun. It's especially hard for the Zombie Infectee; [[Not a Zombie|carelessly]] bitten by a zombie or infected with an early stage of [[The Virus]], they're in for a [[Painful Transformation|slow and painful transformation]] into a monster that will kill or convert their friends and loved ones. The only way out is death, either by [[Heroic Sacrifice|suicide]] or [[Shoot the Dog|mercy kill]], and any miracle cure or even [[Heroic Willpower]] is right out the window if you aren't a main character.

 

 

 

At this point, the onus, unfortunately, is on the heroes to [[Virus Victim Symptoms|notice the erratic behavior]] (for a [[Zombie Apocalypse]], anyway) and [[Shoot the Dog|take the appropriate and necessary steps]]. Other people -- friends, relatives, lovers -- may also sink into denial and [[Zombie Advocate|try to hinder the heroes from dispatching the walking liability]] before s/he becomes the walking dead. When they do turn, the [[Zombie Infectee]] will almost always infect or kill at least one unsuspecting victim (often the [[Zombie Advocate]], for additional [[Irony|tragic irony]]), unleash [[The Horde|the horde of zombies]], destroy all the ammunition or find some other way to cause a really bad day for the remaining survivors.

 

 

Obviously, much of this page talks about works in which a Zombie Infectee is kept a secret even from the audience, and thus learning the identity of one prior to experiencing the work would ruin [[The Reveal|a somewhat major twist]]. '''Beware of spoilers from here on.'''

* The weird but excellent [[Zombie Apocalypse]]/House fic "The Rampant Disease" features an infectee House refusing to let his love interest kiss him because they know [[The Virus]] is spread through bodily fluids. (That the story also contains two of the more egregious instances of [[Die for Our Ship]] ever seen detracts slightly, but it's still a great story.)

* There's a [[Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)|Fullmetal Alchemist]] fanfic called "Mistakes" where Mustang becomes an infectee after getting bitten on the wrist and refuses to admit what bit him. Despite admitting the truth eventually, Mustang ''averts'' the trope by being cured when his totally infected arm gets torn off by the Gate.

 

== Film ==

** On the flipside, [[Badass Preacher|badass ex-preacher]] Jacob is open and frank about the fact that he's been bitten and doesn't have long, and was pretty emphatic in getting his kids to do him in when the same was happening to him.

*** Not that they do before he infects his son.

* In the 2004 remake of ''[[Dawn of the Dead 2004]]'', pregnant Luda gets bitten. Once her husband Andre discovers the bites turn the victim into a zombie, he sets his wife up in the maternity store, separate from the other survivors. Andre sinks so deeply in denial that he refuses to accept the truth, even when it's obvious [[The Virus]] has her; instead he becomes her twisted [[The Caretaker|caretaker.]] Ironically, Luda doesn't kill anyone, because Andre restrained her when she went into labor (during which she died and reanimated). When Norma discovers zombie Luda, she shoots the undead new mother. Norma and Andre then exchange more gunfire, killing each other. Ana then arrives and shoots Luda's [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|newborn zombie]] [[Infant Immortality|infant]].

** Additionally, Frank, once informed that the bites are going to turn him into a zombie, elects to be separated from the others, knowing he will be killed when he reanimates.

** Subverted when Michael gets bitten and stays behind, knowing he can't accompany the rest of the survivors beyond this point. It's not quite a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], but he at least displays consideration for the other survivors' safety. It is instead Ana, the woman Michael loves, who goes into denial, insisting she can help him because she's a nurse, even though she knows full well the consequences and wasn't able to do anything for any of the other infectees in their recent acquaintance.

* In ''[[Land of the Dead]]'' not a single infected person hides their status; if they are bitten they commit suicide or die fighting. However, the prize goes to Chollo, who is just about to abandon the city when he unexpectedly gets bitten. He's been on a zombie-killing team for years, so he knows what's coming. His right hand man asks if he wants to be shot or shoot himself. Chollo [[Take a Third Option|chooses neither]], but instead goes back to Fiddler's Green, intending to take his flesh-eating revenge on his [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] [[Bad Boss]] Kaufman.

* Averted in ''[[30 Days of Night|Thirty Days of Night]]'', when a widower not so slowly turning into a vampire asks to be killed not only to avoid becoming a murderer, but because he can't stand the thought of being immortal and never dying to see his family in heaven.

* Several people in the ''[[Return of the Living Dead]]'' series keep their wits about them once infected. They even find ways to stave off the desire to eat flesh well into the transformation phase, so as to not be a danger to friends and loved ones. This, unfortunately, makes them rather attractive to the government.

* Averted in ''[[Grindhouse]]: Planet Terror''. Cherry is attacked by zombies who bite her leg off. After getting medical attention, she proves to be immune to the neurotoxic agent causing the zombies, as are most of the other leads. Others, not so lucky, are infected not through bites or scratches, but through the infected smearing bodily fluids on them. [[Squick|Ew.]]

** The very beginning. Gordo gets bitten, and dies. His girlfriend is of course in shock, and claims he might not rise. The group doesn't believe her, but this is the beginning, so they aren't sure, and they leave her to grieve. He does eventually rise, but she reluctantly shoots him in the head instantly, before he cause any trouble.

** [[Jerkass]] Ridley, who was in the horror movie at the beginning of the [[Zombie Apocalypse]] they're blog-documenting, is seen early on partying with his girl. He invites the film crew to come join him because they're perfectly safe where he is. By the time Jason and company get to him, he's all alone and acting erratic, even for him. Only when Deborah convinces him to tell her where everybody else is does it become obvious that he's infected.

* In another vampiric variation, Montoya in ''John Carpenter's Vampires'' also hides his own vampire bite. His subterfuge does not really matter, as he gets bitten again later in a less discreet place.

* ''Quarantine'' involves a news crew and a group of firefighters locked into an apartment complex with a bunch of other people and a zombie infection. They store the infectees in the same room that most of the living people are congregated. Guess what happens?

** Played straight, however, with 406, but to be fair nobody knew about zombies or [[The Virus]]. She just thought some crazy homeless guy attacked her. Plus she only says he ''tried'' to bite her, not that he actually had.

* As the title might suggest, this is the entire point of the movie ''Carriers''. While you don't turn into a zombie, the plague's extreme contagiousness makes you just as much of a threat. After being infected, Bobby plays this trope painfully straight, until being abandoned with a little water and directions by her boyfriend. When he in turn is infected, he initially forces his companions to carry him, and then makes his brother shoot him when they try to escape, rather than leaving him to die a slow death.

** {{spoiler|There ''were'' rumours of cures, and immunity - mostly fueled by the Quislings, and the fact that it ''was'' possible to survive being bitten by one of ''those'', but not by a real zombie.}} Early in the book, one of the interviewees - a guy who dealt in smuggling people across the borders, mostly by car - mentioned that he suspected a ''lot'' of outbreaks in other areas were caused by infected getting out of China through the smuggling routes he and people like him used and then going to ground in the ghettos in other countries. {{spoiler|He mentions that he regrets letting them get through, on his watch, and that he believes that most of the infectees (and their families) were trying to get out and find a cure - not because they actually believed there was one, or because there was any rumour that one existed, but because they were ''desperate'' and clinging to any straw of hope they could find, that they wouldn't have to take that final option.}}

** Of course the cure rumors weren't helped by the fact that the zombie virus did have a drop in number infected the first winter of the crisis, a corrupt businessman linked it to his placebo antivirus (it was just vitamin pills) which created a false sense of calm. In reality the drop was due to the colder weather making zombies in places like northern Europe freeze solid for a couple of months and by limited operations from military commandos to slow down the rate of infection. Unfortunately government budget restraints stopped the U.S. (and presumably most other nations) from starting a dedicated offensive until it was too late.

** Head? No, that wasn't sure enough for him. He arranged for them to shoot him in all vital organs SIMULTANEOUSLY.

* In George Romero's short story ''Anubis'', plunging a knife into the brain of a dead person is part of the funerary rites---note that Romero revenants are not infected with a zombie "virus", it's just that the bite of a zombie is fatal, and ''everyone'' who dies rises.

* In ''[[Pride and Prejudice And Zombies]]'', like the above, all dead people are beheaded, because they all rise. Also, {{spoiler|Charlotte Lucas is infected, marries Mr Collins just so she can have "a proper Christian beheading and burial", and slowly transforms into a zombie. This may be taken as symbolic of how, in [[Pride and Prejudice|the original]], she threw away all hope of being truly happy so she could marry a fairly wealthy man and be secure - she's sort of the "living dead". Anyway, in ''[[Pride and Prejudice And Zombies]]'', [[Zombie Gait|staggers around]], speaking weirdly, eating disgustingly, and [[Toilet Humor|nearly having diarrhea in the corner of a parlor]]. It turns out that the reason she transforms so slowly is that Lady Catherine has been dosing her with a [[Failure Is the Only Option|not-so-efficacious antidote]] which only prolonged her suffering.}}

* Completely averted in the [[Newsflesh]] trilogy, because it's very easy to test if someone is infected. All the characters are trained not to go near anyone who's been out in the field until they've had a blood test, and all the characters who get infected (and discovered by the test) simply say their last words and let their teammates shoot them.

* {{spoiler|Beth}} in ''[[The Forest of Hands and Teeth]]'' suffers from a small wound at the hands of one of the Unforsaken. {{spoiler|Her husband, Jed,}} knows about it and has troubles accepting the tragedy. He keeps it a secret from everyone but Mary, who promises to keep silent for the time. {{spoiler|Beth's eventual death is a mercy kill}}.

* There are many in [[Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse?]]. They can't pretend for long, though, since the time between being infected and reanimating is fairly short.

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** FYI: It is not.

* The opening fiction to zombie RPG ''[[All Flesh Must Be Eaten]]'' records the [[Apocalyptic Log|personal log]] of a scientist who's been bitten by a zombie. Needless to say, it goes in the typical direction, ending with the doctor talking about how h-h-''hungry'' he is...

** One chapter-opening story is centered around a group of infectees, quarantined by the United States government (by the rules of the scenario it's based on, infectees rise when they die of anything after the infection hits). The narrator finds her husband has committed suicide, but refuses to report it to the guards - they were growing apart, and as she puts it, "Before I die, he's going to touch me. One last time."

 

 

== Video Games ==

* In the MMORPG ''[[Urban Dead]]'', some players, called zombie spies, go into survivor strongholds and then click the search button or attack until they die, then rise as a zombie and start biting everyone in site. however, accidental zombie infectees can be cured with a first aid kit, because the pandemic zombie virus is actually harmless, it's only the bewildering array of bacteria in a zombie's mouth that is a threat.

** Meanwhile, Z-killers continue to attack other zombies, even after rising as zombies themselves, possibly representing those individuals whose [[Heroic Willpower]] allows them to use their monstrous powers for the good of the remaining survivors.

*** Then again, Branagh didn't exactly try to hide it, even going so far as to kick your player character out of the room and lock the door in RE 2 to make sure he wouldn't hurt you when he turned. It doesn't ''work'', but not through any fault of his.

*** It doesn't help that [[Poor Communication Kills|he doesn't tell you]] ''why'' he's kicking you out.

*** In the ''Case West'' DLC, {{spoiler|Frank himself shows up, shooting Zombrex into his neck.}}

* In the [[Freeware Game]] ''Survivor: The Living Dead'' you have an infection meter. And there's nothing in-game that can cure it, only a few items you can unlock that reduce your infected level, which then begins climbing back up.

* This [http://www.qwantz.com/archive/000573.html Dinosaur Comic].

* Happens to Gwynn in ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. {{spoiler|Turns out the zombies were just messing with her about the whole infection thing, though.}}

* By turns [[Averted Trope|averted]], [[Defied Trope|defied]], [[Discussed Trope|discussed]] and [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructed]] in ''[[The Zombie Hunters]].'' [[The Virus]] is contracted through exposure to ''any'' [[The Undead|zombie]] bodily fluids through an orifice or wound, but only being bitten or [[Poison Is Corrosive|vomited on]] causes [[Viral Transformation|imminent zombification]]. Those otherwise exposed are [[Zombie Infectee|infected]] with a dormant form of [[The Virus]]. These "Infected" can live full, asymptomatic lives, but they remain [[Typhoid Mary|contagious]], able to spread the disease to others through their own bodily fluids, and doomed to [[Came Back Wrong|reanimate]] after death. On the [[Island Base|Island]] [[Police State|Military Base]] [[Endangered Species|humanity's remnants]] inhabit, Infected are both [[Fantastic Ghetto|segregated]] from and forbidden from [[No Sex Allowed|romancing]] the uninfected. Infected are also [[Dystopian Edict|required to]] wear [[Fantastic Racism|identifying armbands]] and ID tags, [[Big Brother Is Watching|pass through checkpoints]], and [[Fascists' Bed Time|obey curfews]] while among uninfected, and the unskilled are [[Fantastic Caste System|exploited]] as [[We Have Reserves|highly-expendable]] [[Disaster Scavengers]].(The eponymous [[Super Fun Happy Thing of Doom|Zombie Hunters]]) All residents are tested regularly, and anyone who goes off-island has to pass through quarantine and [[Decontamination Chamber|decontamination]]. The only character who can survive being bitten [[Half-Human Hybrid|is already a zombie]].

 

* [[Averted Trope|Averted]] for most people in [[Were Alive|We're Alive]] as they usually turn rapidly. There was some discussion about possible "slow turners" that would play this straight but it hasn't happened yet onscreen.

** [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] with Saul. He was chained up for much of season 2 out of fears that he may have been infected but he got better.

 

 

* ''The Secret Show'' had a zombie infection that was triggered by certain words when spoken. Oddly, the cure was also certain words when spoken. So people could prevent the infection if they were careful what they said. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, the words that triggered the zombie infection were "yes" and "no" for a good part of the episode!}}

* ''[[Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!]]'' had a zombie infection caused by a Skeleton King floating eyeball. Locking gazes with the eyeball was all it took to become infected. Transformation was instantaneous, so the tension came from people desperately trying to avoid the eyeball's gaze, and running from those who had not been able to avoid looking. This eventually left Chiro the last man standing until {{spoiler|the sun came up and killed the vector, which [[No Ontological Inertia|restored everyone to normal]].}}

* Parodied in [[South Park]] Episode "Night of the Living Homeless" in which a character sitting on top of the community center receives a phone call, that he lost his house, and subsequently asks the other people around him to help him out with a little money, some... "change?", ending up in Randy [[Shoot the Dog|putting him out of his misery]].

* Homer becomes one in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' Treehouse of Horror XX segment "28 D'ohs Later".

[[Category:Tropes of the Living Dead]]

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Face Monster Turn]]

[[Category:Sublime Rhyme]]

[[Category:Zombie Infectee]]