There are hills made of bones in flatlands where people have climbed over one another to get to the top.

In the final stages, a person infected will fall to their knees and turn their faces upwards as stalks grow out through their mouths, ears, noses, and around their eyes. Death usually either occurs because of suffocation or because the fungus grows in such a way that it bursts out of their flesh. The spores nestle in the lungs and stomach then climb up the spine so the corpse is twisted into hideous positions as it withers. Animals avoid eating the meat of the infected despite humans being the only species prone to infection and there are fire squads that go out and control burn fresh corpses just before the start of spore season.