The Mission

The Mission

Humans: 20-ish
Zombies: 25-ish

Objective: Deliver 5 packages to random people in 5 specific locations and collect signatures. Meet back at safe zone

Our Plan: Split into two groups, secretly give the packages to runners with cat cards for the correct buildings. Let the groups distract and hold off the zombies.

The Story of Group 1.
This one guy who has clearly played before decided to select the two groups like soccer teams, with captains picking their player. He took Group 1 and selected all the biggest, strongest, fastest men in the group and then, with almost no deliberation with Group 2 set off, gung ho, to complete his objective.

They were cut down at the stairs.

Scott took the Norton package and ran. A fellow named Andrew took another package and ran. Everyone else became infected and the horde grew.

Group 1:10 seconds into the mission

Group 1: 20 second into the mission

The Story of Group 2
Our leader was this great, level headed guy called Casey. When Group 1 drew almost every zombie to them we simply turned and walked out of the pit. Easily stunning the two zombies who had been left to guard us.
We took a winding path across the streams with our objective being to get to Central, Reynolds and the Courtyard. Central and Reynolds are two residence halls which are quite out of the way from the main campus but also quite close together. We elected to send David and another guy to deliver those packages, seeing as David lives in Central and the other guy had a friend who could let them into Reynolds. The rest of us had a more dangerous task. The courtyard dining hall.
By this time the horde had finished devouring Group 1, all who now had become zombies.  We were hunkered in Balsam, a nearby residence hall and they were waiting for us at the all 3 dining hall entrances. To give David and co a chance to split off without being followed, our main body decided to launch a diversion attack on the zombies. Then we decided to also use this opportunity to deliver the 3rd parcel. Me and another guy were elected to do this. Him because he had experience, good military strategies, fast legs and a cool head. Me because I am a coward and had stuffed my pockets with more sockballs than a human being should be allowed to carry at any point in their life.
The attack was launched and we made a break for it, out the back door of Balsam, around the back of the dining hall to where there were only 4 zombies posted. We crouched behind a flower bed and discussed our strategy. I would go out long. He would come in short. We'd take them from the front and the side. We had my bajillion sockballs. We couldn't die. 1, 2, 3...we ran at them.
We took them down swiftly but my partner almost got tagged. It was a close thing. We ran inside, and he offered the packages to people who were eating. Everyone he asked declined it suspiciously.

"Let me do it. I'm a girl. People will trust me more".

I said and lo and behold, the first people I offered it to accepted it. I guess sexism is alive and well in the South. We got our signatures and then ran for the exit. Both other doors were blocked and we knew that there were zombies hiding behind the pillars. Then we remembered the door we'd come in. those zombies were still stunned! We pelted for the door (in the middle of the busy dining hall) and burst out the door. 

'Who still has stun time?'

My partner roared out the door at the zombies, his voice going a little squeaky from the adrenaline.

'WHO STILL HAS STUN TIME!? HANDS ON YOUR HEAD IF YOU STILL HAVE STUN TIME!!!!!'

We ended up pelting them with socks anyway as we ran past, just to make sure. But we were free. We had the signature. We made it back into Balsam and our comrades looked at us with adoration, wonder and amazement. 

"You're alive?"

Casey said with a look on his face like he'd didn't believe we'd both make it but was glad we had.

'Both of you? GOOD WORK!' 

And he fist bumped me. I felt my first rush of achievement. I had survived against incredible odds. I txted Scott to find out where he was. He was heading back to the safe zone. He'd also delivered the package to Norton. David and his companion were off safety on their way and Andrew, the other surviving runner from Group 1 had also made a signature. Things were looking good for the humans. 

We were waiting for word from David when the zombies who had been barricading us inside Balsam suddenly made an exodus for the iceskating rink. They were going to let us get the signatures. They were going to get us on our way back to our home base. We reconvened with our runners, compiled our signatures and began to head back. That's when Scott started txting me from inside the safe zone.

'I'm safe'

'Still human and proud. Got about 13 z guarding the place your best bet is to go around the back. only 4 zombies guarding the back stair'

'Hurry. I'm so alone! Back way is still pretty safe!'

'Back way!!!'

'Go the back way. Not up the front steps. There are no zombies that way'

So...I thought it was pretty clear that we should go the back way. But my group wouldn't listen to me! I told them and told them and told them but in the end David and I decided to go out on our own and head around the back way. I was not going to be part of a suicide run. 

We ran around the front, did not see any zombies. Ran around the side, still no zombies. Heard screams and howls and cries for help echoing over the building as the humans were ambushed. We ran. Down the stairs. Still no zombies. Then the zombies saw us. I knew it because the pitch of their bloodthirsty cries changed. I wasn't looking at them though. I was just watching my feet. I was taking the stairs two at a time. Running. Running. Down, down. Blood pounding in my ears, David just behind me. There could have been zombies waiting right at the bottom of the steps. I could have plowed right into them. I was just so focused on my feet, on getting down those stairs as fast as possible. I hit flat ground, threw my sockball at a zombie in my way and flew into the safe zone.

'YESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!'

Scott ran over and we hugged a hug of people who thought they'd never see each other alive again. I danced around in glee, jumping up in the air. So sweaty, So exhausted. So exhilarated. It was the best feeling of my life. 

And then I turned around, just in time to see David taken by the swarm.

My comrade.

Had I just waited a little bit longer and helped him sockball his way out of it we both would have lived. It's a decision I will regret for the rest of my life.

When the mission was pronounced over, the safe zone disappeared and we just ran. All plan and strategy went from our minds and Scott and I just ran and ran and ran. It was exhausting. We were headed off by a very athletic, energetic zombie, but there were two of us and we were stocked with sockballs to the max. He was a bit intimidated and left to pester the guy behind us who was running a slower than we were. Looking back now we probably should have stopped to help. But we were just too desperate to be safe. Too exhausted to care about what happened to a stranger. It literally didn't even cross our minds. Our survival instinct had kicked in and we just kept on running.

I stayed in bed the entire following day. The mission almost killed me - and Scott was zombified on his way to the dining hall last night. 

Now I am all alone