CONFIDENTIAL MEDICAL REPORT Patient Name: Keller, Jonathan R. Date of Birth: 17 March 1992 Patient ID: #A93217-L Date of Examination: 12 May 2025 Attending Physician: Dr. Emilia Hartmann, MD, PhD Facility: St. Gabriel Institute for Containment and Infectious Pathology (SGICIP) – Sublevel 3B, Zurich
CLASSIFICATION: BIOHAZARD LEVEL 4 – PATIENT UNDER HIGH-SECURITY QUARANTINE RESTRICTED TO EYES ONLY – CLEARANCE SIGMA-V REQUIRED
PRESENTING SYMPTOMS: Patient admitted following reports of unprovoked aggression, compulsive scratching of the forearms, and auditory hallucinations. On arrival, patient’s pupils were fully dilated despite bright lighting; skin was mottled and exhibited raised black veining. The patient was mumbling in an unknown tongue while repeatedly clawing at his own ribcage.
STAGE 1 – INCUBATION (EST. 3-5 DAYS):
Flu-like symptoms, fever peaking at 39.4°C
Insomnia, violent dreams described as "whispering roots" and "glass faces"
Subdermal twitching reported — described as “worms trying to escape”
STAGE 2 – NEUROCUTANEOUS DETERIORATION (DAY 6-12):
Skin begins to blacken at extremities, especially fingertips and lips
Muscle contractions become involuntary and erratic
Subject’s voice deepens dramatically; laryngeal morphology shows unnatural elongation
Onset of Mirror Response Syndrome – patients react violently when shown their own reflection
STAGE 3 – COGNITIVE COLLAPSE (DAY 13+):
Vocabulary collapses into guttural phonemes, sometimes mimicking animal sounds
CT scan shows aggressive growth of unidentified tissue mass in occipital and frontal lobes
Signs of bone restructuring, particularly along the spine and jaw
Patient begins vocalizing in frequencies beyond human hearing range (recorded at 47 kHz)
PROGRESSION STATUS (KELLER): Day 14 – Subject no longer responds to verbal stimuli Day 16 – Subject attempted to "feed" on attending staff member; incident contained Day 17 – Subject’s body began producing a thick, resinous secretion from pores, hardening into chitinous plates Day 18 – Both irises lost pigmentation; sclera turned black Day 19 – Subject requested "to go underground," claiming "they are calling from the hollow places"
NOTES:
Infection vector remains unidentified; not airborne, but suspected to spread via biological residue (saliva, blood)
Three containment staff now under observation; one has developed similar skin discoloration
Patient Keller’s voice recordings played backward reveal rhythmic clicking patterns matching extinct species of predatory cave insects (†Abyssocrypta Silens)
Psychological evaluation: Subject no longer identifies as human
CURRENT RECOMMENDATION: Immediate cryogenic stasis recommended. Transmission risk growing. Further study only to be conducted under Emergency Protocol Blackroot. Subject Keller is designated Patient Zero for pathogen codename: CHORUS-VIRUS / XRV-13 “THE WHISPERING PLAGUE”
u awaken in the dark, your body aching, your thoughts fragmented.
Flashes of memory return like broken glass—shards of metal, screams behind thick glass, something alive inside your veins. You don’t remember your name. Just a whisper of one… a name the others called you in the dark: Echo.
You were part of something once. Not a soldier. Not a scientist. Something between. A specialist—deployed when protocols failed, when the infection spread too fast, too deep. You were trained to neutralize, contain, survive. But this… this was different.
The last operation—Project HOLLOW MOUTH—was classified above your clearance. An underground town sealed off in 1972, unearthed by seismic tremors. Blackstone walls. Singing bones. People whispering in their sleep. And you—sent in alone. You volunteered. Or were sentenced? The file was missing from your locker when you awoke. You must uncover what happened. Who you were. Why you, of all people, didn’t fully turn.
There’s something inside you. Something the infection wants.
Or maybe… something it fears.