Zombie Mutations

Newly Infected aka Runners

Runners are zombies that have just been infected or have been infected within the last week, because the cellular necrosis hasn't kicked in yet they can still move like an uninfected human, they are very fast as they don't tire as an uninfected human would so they can easily catch up with you and they tend to be sneakier than normal zombies retaining some predatory brain function. If runners manage to keep up a steady diet of human flesh they can manage to keep their higher motor function but the majority of the runners soon deteriorate and become biters, newly infected are harder to spot than biters as they move closer to uninfected humans but up-close you can be spotted easily, they crouch walk like they are stalking prey, they have slightly paler skin and the skin under their nails has darkened, they have the same cloudy eyes as the rest of the infected but their eyesight is a lot better, they tend to bare their teeth all the time and they still have fresh black liquid coming from their nose and mouth but unlike most infected they prefer to infect victims rather than kill and eat them, the reason for this strange mutation is unknown yet but it disappears once they become biters.