You press the button, and a discharge of gas spills out of the tank. Sirens and spinning red lights turn on. As the tank slowly opens, a computer voice speaks loud:
“Personnel warning. Test subject live.”
You step back. The tank door opens fully, and a Frankenstein monster sized zombie walks out of the tank. He’s wearing a lab coat with a name tag reading “Test”. The size of the beast freezes you from fear. The dead eyes pierce the room, as if scanning for food. He finds you. The creature smiles. Your blood turns to ice.
“Brains”, the zombie says in a low, guttural voice.
Lock sounds come from every corner of the room. The computer voice continues to narrate.
“Room secured. All exits locked. Containment protocols in place”
The monster approaches you. You just become his dinner.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 256
Open the tank that reads “anti”
You close your eyes for a second, then hit the “open” button hoping not to regret it. The tank opens up. Inside, there is a thick suit with a note stick to the helmet. As vapors and coolants fall from the capsule, you take out the post-it and read:
We leave this suit for you, in case anyone alive reaches this place. Under no circumstances open the “test” tank. It is a failed experiment. This suit will make you invisible to the zombies. Good luck. See you in Eden.
“Holy Christmas in July! Is this for real?” You say to yourself. Without much delay, you put on the suit. It feels cold. A small heads up display with a map pops up inside your helmet. A navigator signals distance with an arrow pointing to a place not too far away marked as “Eden”.
You pace yourself in the room, thinking. Finally, you open the door and let the zombies in. Just like the note said, they ignore you even when you bump into them. Manners first. You say “excuse me” to each zombie you push aside as you walk out of the mall. Outside the sun shines on a clear summer day.
“I think is a good day to walk”, you say happily as you head north towards Eden.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 257
Inspect the tree
You approach the tree looking over your shoulder for any unwelcome undead. You are completely alone, and you wonder why. Near the trunk, you step on a root. It gently moves away letting you step on solid floor. There is nothing threatening about this tree, yet, you feel is as sentient as you
Amidst a thousand shades of green, the fire red flower stands up. When you approach your hand to touch one, it opens up and expels a puff of spores. You cough, but the little things have already gone all the way to your lungs. You stumble back. Leaning on a table you find safe footing.
The world around you spins. Your skins slowly turns green, matching the tree’s tone. Whispers in the air float around you. Something is wrong with your head. Focusing on the voices, they begin to make sense:
“One of us”
If you… Go to…
Talk to the voices Section 267
Approach the tree for a closer look Section 268
Section 258
Search for food
You learned already not to be distracted by beauty, and to concentrate on survival. First things first. The tree is breath taking, but that won’t keep you alive. You head for the first fast food shop you see. You walk into the kitchen, looking for anything to eat.
“Empty”, you talk to yourself, “the place is empty”.
More disappointed than hungry (and you are very hungry), you try one by one all the food stands. Same result. Still, the place is devoid of zombies. Then, luck strikes and you find a cupboard full of cans with different goodies. Some even are within the expiration date still.
Your screams of joy attract a zombie into the court. He sees you from the distance, and charges in. It never has a chance to get closer to you. Multiple vines from the tree attack the zombie. In front of your very eyes, the vines wrap around the zombie and lift him in the air. In matter of seconds, the tree crushes the thing to a pulping puddle. The roots move fast, sucking up the remains down to the bones.
“So, that’s why there are no zombies here”, you exclaim with a smile. This place will keep you safe and fed for months if not more. This tree will be your guardian and protector… and who knows, maybe in the spring will give fruit to feed you too. All in all, this place is perfect to make camp. And you happily do.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 259
Attempt friendly contact
As you approach the apparition, she speaks to you in a deep voice that cuts through your body.
“Oh, for how long I waited for my replacement”
Before you can react, she floats through your body and imprints the seeds of immortality on you. Your body twists and turns in pain, as it transitions from life into the undead. A thousand years of memories fill you up. Visions of an endless world teach you about the mission you have bestowed upon you.
The vampires are scared. The zombie outbreak it is a threat to their food supply. The zombie horde is a common enemy for both, humans and vampires alike. The lack of food has made many of them turn to dust already. The new powers given to you turn you into a perfect zombie killer, a weapon working for them. They can kill them in the night, but they need you to do the same when the sun is up.
Others like you join the battle. One by one, you fight the zombie horde to extinction. The few humans remaining will soon replenish the Earth. The balance will then be restored.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 260
Run away
Vampiress
You are under attack and must fight this monster. If you win, keep reading. If not, find the You are dead page at the end of the book.
Running was not a good idea. Fighting the vampiress was hard, but came up on top. You survived. As you lean over the rapidly deteriorating vampire, she turns to dust. Around you, zombies from multiple directions. They surround you, yet, stand still. Their blood thirst gone. They just stare at you, waiting. Your heart beats strong, as adrenaline fill your veins. You are ready to fight to your last breath. But what happens next startle you.
The zombies chant!
A high pitch sound goes through your brain and rewrites your mind. The chant grows and grows, together with the sound. Then, suddenly… you understand them:
“Long live the king! Love live the king!”
You look at your hands. Your skin gray as ash. The memories of the dead vampire flow through your mind. When she bit you, she turn you into one like her. You are now the vampire king, ruler of the zombie horde. It is your time to taste blood and rule the world.
YOU SURVIVED.
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 261
It can’t be human. Attack first.
Fighting a vampire is never easy, but you win the fight. As you deliver a final blow, the vampiress fades away in a cloud of dust. An evil laughter reverberates in the air, and a hundred voices whisper as one:
“It has spirit, this one!”
“Maybe we can have use for him, after all”.
You turn around, looking for the origin of the voices, but nobody is there. A mist grows around you, blocking the light and creating darkness.
You feel a sharp sting in your neck, then pain in your arms and legs. Your limbs go numb as multiple vampires materialize attached to your body and draining your life blood away.
The last thing you hear, is them talking:
“Finally, the last human… but what we will eat next?”
YOU DIED.
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginnin
g Section 1
Section 262
Descend through the stairs
The voices below sound like people conversing. It is worth exploring. Maybe someone is alive. Gathering courage, you walk downstairs into the dark.
The stairs open to a corridor, illuminated with flickering lights. The sight of working electricity amazes you every time. You can’t help to wonder how is this possible. Soon, you reach door with a sign:
Control
Cautiously, you open the door and walk in. The sight surprises you. You are surrounded by people wearing white lab coats, clapping and smiling at you. They celebrate you!
A nice lady grabs you by the shoulder and leads you to the center of the room. An elderly man raises a glass cup and with gentle taps of a fork makes everybody quiet.
“And so we see, that the experiment works”, he declares proudly. He then goes on talking about test subjects, real life conditions, and other things that don’t make sense to you. Over the shoulder of the crowd, you look at the giant screens with detailed cameras pointing at everything. Some have replays of you. They have been watching you since the city fell. In the opposite wall, a large map of the region marks a well delimited fence. The color code below the map marks the city and the mall as the “infected test area”.
Does this means the zombie infection is not global?
You are given clean clothe, food, and eventually taken by helicopter to the “normal” area where life continues as always and nobody has ever heard of zombies. Nobody ever gives you an explanation, and they make you sign a contract to keep you quiet. The government settles you in with a new identity, a job, and a new apartment in a posh neighborhood.
Many times you wake up with nightmares. The faces of people and the horrors you lived through are still there. Whatever experiment they are running, you know the zombies will not stay where they are. At some point they will break loose into the outside world. When that certainty strikes you in the middle of the night, you sit by your window looking down on the city and wait. They will come.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 263
Accept the offer
You walk towards the end of the platform and look below. Around you, automated machines and robots work diligently, busy like honey bees. You take a deep breath, close your eyes, and think very hard. You are so tired of running, not knowing when you will turn into zombie meal, living in fear.
Steve approaches you and places his hand on your shoulder.
“It is safe, believe me. This is our only way.”
You turn around and nod. You will sleep in the capsules with the rest.
Surface personnel come down in batches. Once they are all down, small charges blow up the elevator’s shaft, sealing it for months to come.
One by one people enter the pods. You walk into your assigned capsule, and the pod floods with a breathable liquid. The fluid will feed you and cleanse your DNA from the zombie disease. The liquid is heavier than air, so it takes some effort to breath. For almost an hour you remain awake, until all the checks give OK. Sleeping drugs mix in the tank. The last thing you see is Steve giving you a thumbs up.
One day the machine wakes you up. You step out of the pod, coughing out the liquid from your lungs. Your body hurts, and your muscles can barely hold your weight. Your eyes adjust to the bright sky above. The entire cavern is now open to the sky. Green plants fall down from each side. All over the valley hundreds of pods open as well. With some difficulty, you all come out to the surface. it is a new world, claimed by nature. Your fear of zombies is also gone. They all died out more than 500 years ago.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 264
Reject the offer
You can’t bear the thought of sleeping in a watery capsule for even a day. You tell Steve that you can’t do it. He looks sad, as weighted by a terrible decision.
“Believe me, this is for the best”, Steve says as he sticks a syringe in your neck. You struggle to get away, but the drug running through your veins is too powerful. You fall flat on your face.
Your head hurts. You have dreams and nightmares. You are not fully awake, nor fully asleep. One day, you wake up, wet and cold, inside of a tube that doesn’t fully open.
With some difficulty, the machine that holds you in its belly opens up the door and you walk out. Around you, others come out as well. The roof of the cave is gone. Dangling plants cover each side of the crater-like valley. Behind you, the display on the machine informs you that you slept for over 300 years. The doctor did it against your will.
Hundreds of people emerge from capsules all around the valley. The human race walks on the earth again. Mid way to the top, a scream bellow makes you turn. People run away, desperately trying to climb away from a small zombie horde. You can’t believe it. The horror continues.
A few pods failed, and instead of humans they preserved zombies. For centuries, the nutrients perfected them as killer machines. Strong, smart, and hungry. This time, it all may be over for good.
Run. Just run.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 265
Fight the doctor
With only half the doctor on sight, you look for the ax. You let the stretcher go and run to the wall. The moment you grab the ax’s handle, the doctor jumps at you and clings from you like a travelers backpack. You let go the ax and grab her head and pull from behind you. She flips over you and falls flat on the ground. She took a chunk out of your shoulder.
“You see”, she says. She’s smiling, resting on her elbows. “It’s all about survival.”
The doctor’s face distorts into and cracks like a porcelain doll. Behind the mask, the horror of her face freezes you. She laughs maniacally. Her bottom half drags itself towards her torso. You watch in terror. This is no regular zombie, not a regular human either. Like a villain from a bad movie, she narrates her origin story. You don’t care… The poison of her bite is getting to your head. Soon, it will be you in the boiling pot.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 266
Get on the truck and run
With the crawling torso still on the stretcher, you pull your weight and flip the stretcher aside. The violent move sends the doctor flying over. With no delay, you run to the cabin of the truck. Lucky for you, the door is unlocked. You climb inside and lock the doors. The keys are in the ignition already.
“Lucky day, I guess.”
Shaking, you turn the engine on. Like a bird against the windshield, the doctor’s torso hits your side window. She bounces to the floor and tries again. She propels herself using her arms, like a leaping frog. If she was not a murderous cannibal, you could stay longer to watch. You try again with the engine. This time it works.
You look at the garage curtain, and hope the truck can make it through. You pump gas into the engine, when you see on the dashboard a garage remote. You press the button and the curtain begins to lift. You are the luckiest person on earth today.
The huge doors open, and you drive through a garden of zombies into your freedom. You cut through them as driving over a field of pumpkins. In your rear mirror, you see the frog leaping witch fighting off zombies.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 267
Talk to the voices
“Who are you”, you speak out-loud.
“We are you, what you are and will become”, the voices chant as one,“we will all be one soon”.
“I don’t understand”, you cry, “what’s happening to me”
“Soon, soon”, the voices stop.
You look at your hands and feel the strength of
a tree growing through your veins. Your eyes change, mutate, improve. Now you see what was invisible before. The tree is actually many vines intertwined, different personalities each one of them. Once ago, they all were like you: human.
“This is the cure to the zombie decease, and now you are cured. You are one of us.”
As your feet turn into roots, and your hands move into branches clinging to the main tree, you understand the truth of it. This is the only way to escape becoming a zombie. The animal world has failed. Now, with this new race you will conker the world. You’re an infant still, but soon these plant-kind will learn how to move and how to reclaim the earth.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 268
Approach the tree for a closer look
Still coughing, you lean on the tree. Behind the vines, you see the remains of corpses, partially absorbed by the roots.
Suddenly, a wandering zombie walks into the food court. When he sees you, he charges at you. You get ready to defend yourself when the zombie stops in its tracks. Is as if he can’t see you anymore. He starts walking around and eventually wanders off.
Whatever those spores did to you, it changed more than just the color of your skin. Somehow, it made you invisible to the zombies. You test your theory walking towards the zombie. You are right in his face, and even push him a little. Nothing. No reaction at all.
“This is perfect!”
You leave the food court, and pass by a hundred zombies without being noticed. You take with you several of the flowers from the tree. If you find other survivors, maybe you can share this cure with them. That is, if they don’t mind having their skin turn green.
Zombie Mall Page 18