Pariah

Overview
A Pariah is an special infected enemy type in Our Worldly Woes.

Description
A Pariah is the result of undergoing a terrifying mutation of The Pathogen, creating a monster that is as strong as several men, fleet-footed as a deer, and possessing the hunting instincts equivalent to a lion. The Pariah is perhaps the most deadliest infected type to exist, and it becomes difficult to believe that one of these abominations was formerly a regular person - somebody's neighbor, family member, or lover - now transformed into a horror biologically programmed to slaughter and consume humans with maximum efficiency.

Appearance
The mutation caused the infected subject to undergo a number of significant physical changes to their body. The mutant grows a considerable amount of muscle tissue and shoots several feet taller in height. They take on a low, hunchbacked posture and grow disproportionately long arms to aid in quadrupedal movement. If pariahs stood up straight, they might look akin to a gigantic metamorph from a distance, but up close, their ghastly mutations are unmistakable and very distinctive - rough, scaly skin that even provides a measure of protection against some firearms, long, thick claws protruding from the fingertips of muscular hands, teeth grow larger and longer and many begin protruding outwards, through the skin of the lower face. The eyes, now nearly white as a cataract, grow a third eyelid for extra protection,

In most encounters, pariahs appears hunchbacked and low to the ground, oftentimes on all fours, but when standing up straight, they can appear to stand nearly 8 feet tall.

Behavior
Though the pariah is blinded when it's third eyelids close, it remains just as deadly due to it's equally honed other senses.

Pariahs do not outwardly show any kind of emotion. A blank, wide-eyed, open-mouthed look remains on their face at all times, no matter the situation. While some infected display their emotions through facial expressions - baring their teeth and contorting their face in rage at the sight of an uninfected human, or grimacing in anguish due to the severe pain they are suffering from their affliction - Pariahs seem to be incapable of exhibiting any signs of emotion or feeling at all. Their blank expression remains even if heavily injured or dying. This leads many to wonder if pariahs are immune to pain or emotion, which some fear makes them the perfect apex predator. and move their facial muscles so seldomly, it's almost as if their entire face is paralyzed. seem to only use their facial muscles for eating or vocalizing

Since Pariahs are nearly static in their behavior - it can be assumed that they are not prone to being enraged. They act very deliberately and very precisely in all of their actions, and never seem to slow down or even speed up their pace regardless of what happens to them, by virtue of their assumed lack of emotions.

While some infected tend to display simple emotions such as contorting their face in rage during combat, or

almost as if their entire face is paralyzed

Strategy
Pariahs are extremely dangerous adversaries, not just due to their powerful and agile build, but also due to the fact that they behave as predators - while the more common infected would attempt to pummel and eat you as soon as they lay eyes on you, Pariahs possess an uncanny intelligence that allows them to quell their impulses and wait for the right moment to strike. This means that they are one of the only infected that may easily detect you before you detect them. Once you start getting the feeling that something horrifying is nearby, it may be too late - you're already being hunted. Staying on your guard and never letting it down becomes crucial here.

The most important strategy to keep in mind with Pariahs is knowing where they tend to be. Though a Pariah can be encountered virtually anywhere in the city, many accounts speak that Pariahs tend to be encountered in the inner city most, where food is abundant and easily found. Other areas that Pariahs tend to be drawn to are larger, open areas like malls, parking lots, and highways. This is probably due to the wide open space which lets them detect potential prey more easily. Pariahs will usually roam a small section of the area they have chosen as their hunting grounds, and will not leave until after a few days have passed, in which case they will take off in a random direction to settle down into a different spot and resume the cycle.

While Pariahs do not "sleep", they have a short dormancy period at the same time every day where they will get down close to the floor, cease movement, and become still as a rock, presumably photosynthesizing. While they do not become completely unresponsive, during this period their senses are considerably diminished and it is possible to sneak past a dormant Pariah without waking it. Loud noises such as gunfire, explosions, alarms, and loud vocalizations from other infected can wake it up and it can jump right back into action in an instant. If one discovers a Pariah in an area without being detected by it, it is a good idea to take advantage of knowing when it starts its dormancy period every day. Armed with this knowledge, one can now easily sneak past it or perform a sneak attack while its defenses are down.

Though Pariahs are quite resistant to most weapons, large guns and fire are effective equipment to battle them. They are not immune to fire, and even the toughest of skin cannot hope to ward off a concentrated spray of hot lead forever.

Fighting Pariahs with melee is generally unadvised, as their greatest strengths lie in close-quarter combat. However, if one is brave and skilled enough to take on a Pariah in hand-to-hand combat, aiming at the legs is a good strategy. Attempting to take away the agility of the Pariah by disabling its legs could buy a few more vital seconds that can be used to escape, regroup, reload, or finish it off.

The only good thing that can be expected of encountering a Pariah is that they behave as solitary creatures, and would sooner fight to the death with another one of its kind than work together with it to hunt down a meal. In this sense, as unpleasant and dangerous of an idea as it sounds, looking for a Pariah when being hunted down by another Pariah becomes a plausible, albeit a high-risk, strategy.

Backstory
Applying also to all infected collectively, the reason why Pariahs attack uninfected humans is unknown and subject to speculation. It becomes harder to determine for Pariahs because of their expressionless demeanor. Some believe Pariahs are sentient and conscious of the cruelties they are inflicting, while others believe a Pariah is just a lifeless shell, or a tool to the Pathogen - a robot or killing machine, essentially.