Timeline

Before the Cave-in

1891:

A flood decimates an entire district in Marcheleau.

Following the flood, the government sent a team into the damaged district to survey the area and ensure it was safe for development. The team never reported back. A second team was sent in to investigate, cautioned to proceed into the flood zone with greater care, and discovered the surveyors. Only half of the second team made it out alive.

Zombie virus discovered. In response, the government paves over the entire district.

It was with the discovery that the district was filled with the seemingly reanimated corpses of its former inhabitants that the government decided to pave over the flooded ruins and start anew. Thus, the zombie plague was sealed away. But it was not forgotten. Throughout the ensuing decades, knowledge of the incident carried across the various administrations, though none ever acted upon the information; for all intents and purposes, the problem had been dealt with. It wasn't until the cave-in in '83 that the issue resurfaced.

Those who were trapped in the district during the flood begin to rebuild underground.

1970's:

• Marcheleau begins building a metro system, taking care not to make contact with already-existing infrastructure for fear of zombie virus.

Late 1970's-Early 1980's:

• Expansion of the metro starts creating connections between metro line and the rest of the abandoned underground. Shopping malls expanded, parking lots built, tunnels dug, and the zombie virus begins appearing in the metro system.

After the Cave-in

1983:

• Marcheleau causes a cave-in that blocks off part of the metro and seals off other exits in hopes of containing the zombie virus.
• Biological tests on zombies begin, both to discover a cure and to use as a weapon of war.

1984:

• The CDC discovers the Marcheleau water table is contaminated. Not everyone becomes infected, but some become carriers.
• Under the guise of measles inoculations, CDC begins identifying carriers of the virus and locking them in the underground for further experimentation.
• Mr. Americana unites the people who were trapped underground and coins them the Mulberrians -- otherwise known as The Dwellers.
• In response to Mr. Americana's exclusivity, Jonas Turner and his cronies form the Key Station Gangsters.
• Elena Chavez opts to leave the Mulberrians and join the Key Station Gangsters.

1985:

• The first disappearances begin. Rumors circulate the undercity of Shadow People abducting victims who crossed the KSG. The KSG make no attempt to refute this.

1988:

• Jonas Turner is disappeared by The Shadow People. Elena Chavez takes his place as leader.

1989:

The people living in the sewer system are finally recognized as a group: The Ratfolk