Tales of Attempting...: The Time I Survived.

It was a Saturday morning.
I had just had class in the Belk building and had decided to stay there until word of the final mission was e-mailed out. It was more central and had more exits than my little Village house - and it had computers.
We remaining humans (15 of us) were all separately receiving txts with clues for the final mission and were being told to collaborate with each other to work it out. My clue was:

'You will have to be handsy with the opposition'

Feeling frantic, hands shaking with adrenaline, I posted my number on the facebook page with a desperate cry out to the other humans.

'We need to communicate! txt me!'

The texts started flooding coming in.

'This is Eric, I'm with Shana and Jerrica. We're working out the clues now'.

'This is James. I've left home and am heading over the Ramsey now'

'Hey. It's Richie. I'm sitting alone in the dining hall. Where are you? have you heard anything about the mission?"

I was in a texting flurry! My fingers felt clumsy and and awkward as I tried to text a million people at once.

'This is my clue! I'm hiding in Belk! The mission starts at 2! I'll let you know if I hear anything else!'

Then I got a message from Scott. Scott my friend. The zombie.

'You're not getting out'

(cue music - this is actually what came on my mp3 player at this time. No joke)

THEY KNEW WHERE I WAS!

I couldn't control my fear. Despite my precautions I was surrounded. I texted James in a flurry.

'James! Do you know what the mission is? Can you help me? I'm surrounded and trapped!!'

His response sent my blood cold.

'I. Am. Zombie.'

James had fallen.

Then I got a text from Eric.

'We have to stun and transport a zombie to Reynolds. Meet at Reynolds'

Poor Richie was totally without a computer and begging for information. I passed on the mission details then said.

'Come to Belk, help me stun the zombies and we'll head up together'.

His response was disheartening.

'Belk is completely surrounded by zombies. I can't even get past Balsam'

I decided to make a run for it.

Heart pounding, I scoured the exits. Looking out a 2nd storey window, I saw that a side door was completely free. I sprinted down the fire stairs and then calmed myself before heading out the door.

I ran straight into a zombie.

It took us both a moment to comprehend one another. Then, we both dropped into a kind of crouch and began circling, like squirrels about to fight over a testosterone injected acorn.

I had the advantage however and he soon realised it. He was a lone zombie simply following orders. I was a cornered, terrified human, with a bazillion sock balls at my disposal. He began to inch his way back to the path which would lead him to his friends. I ran and blocked him off. With his options gone he began to advance on me. I threw a sockball. He dodged. It missed! I threw another. He jumped to the side but not far enough. It caught him in the hip.

'Damn'.

'YESSSSS!'

I ran to pick it up just as he ran past me bellowing,

'HUUUUUMAN!!!!!! HUUUUUUMANNNNN!!!!!'

My stomach dropped and I turned and ran. I ran and ran and ran. I headed towards the football field. There was a game on and so there were crowds in the parking lot. I reasoned that I could blend in with them but after a while I realised the inevitable. I would have to go back. I had to get to Reynolds. So, trying to appear nonchalant, I made my way back to Belk, the other side this time. As I reached it I saw two more zombies up ahead. They were distracted though. They were both peering intently up to the 2nd storey window of Belk. I did not change my rhythm. Subtly, I reached into my pockets and stroked my sockballs.

Soon my pretties soon.

The two zombies finally saw me when I was maybe 2 meters away. By then it was too late. A sockball each to the chest and they were both stunned. The humans inside were free.

I resumed running. The blood freezing cry had gone up again.

'HUUUUMAN!!!!'

except this time (and admittedly it was probably the adrenaline talking) it sounded more like a frustrated, angry, retarded bull.

'BBBBLOOOOOGGGGGAAAAAAMMMMMMNDFSD&R$*R&*WFW!!!!!"

was what I heard - but I knew what they meant, and so I started to sprint.

OH GOD, OH GOD, OH GOD.
I didn't need to look behind me to see a pack of at least 6 chasing me. Up ahead there was a group of 6 more, crossing the road to cut me off. I crossed the road early and ran for a church building, intending to run up the mountain path. The angle I chose took me out of sight of both groups for maybe 20 seconds and in that moment I made a life defining decision.

-They had seen me make a direct beeline for the mountain path. They knew where I was going. So instead, I took 6 steps backwards, back to the road, and huddled beneath some bushes beside the footpath. The 6 zombies who had been behind me reached the mountain path-

'She was heading this way!'

They called and they took the path. All they would have had to do was turn their head 90 degrees and they would have seen me. Two others walked along the footpath, passing literally 30 cm from me and my wheezing lungs.

After I calmed myself I reached for my phone. I had a text from Richie.

'Where are you?'

'I've left Belk' I replied. 'I'm headed for Reynolds'

'Ya. I heard someone stunned all the zombies'

I felt a rush of accomplishment.

'That was me!!!'

Then I got a text from Eric

'Come to Benton'

Benton is a residence hall not as far up the mountain as Reynolds and so sneakily, I began making my way there. I didn't see any more zombies. They were all by the fountain, plotting. When I reached Benton I texted Eric.

'I'm here. Let me in!'

'We thought you were still in Belk so we're down in Blueridge' (a residence hall next to Belk)

I had literally JUST come from there! Basically we had just swapped sides of the map. SOOOO frustrating! I replied to Eric that I would come back down, I was just waiting for Richie. Then I texted Richie saying

'Come meet me at Benton'

And he replied that he would.

So I waited. and waited and waited and waited. I kept receiving reports from Eric who I realised now was with the last group of remaining humans. Of the 15 of us who had started there were only 5 of them left. And then Richie and I.

I texted Richie again.

'Where are you?'

'Coming round the side, too many zombies in the middle'

I waited and waited and waited some more. I was starting to get freaked out. I was too exposed. If the horde found me there was nowhere I could run to. Also. there was pressure from Eric and the others to get moving. I texted Richie again.

'Are you coming out near Central?'

'Ya. Be there soon'

Then I got a text from Eric which made my spine freeze.

'I heard Richie just got turned Zombie'.

Frantically I texted my friend.

'Still human?'

I died a little inside when I received the response.

'Nope... and one more thing...'.

Something else? Something worse?

'Oh god. What?'

'This isn't Richie...

he just died in front of me...'

I died a little, actually a lot, inside.

The fact is that while there was indeed a human called Richie playing, he and I had never corresponded once during the entire game. A Zombie by the name of 'Rabbit' had taken my number off Facebook and has used it to exploit me. I had told him the mission, the position of my fellow humans and my own. THAT'S HOW THEY HAD KNOWN I WAS IN BELK!!! There was no 'poor' Richie trapped in the dining hall, computer-less, sockball-less, companion-less... there was just Rabbit and the other 24 Zombies receiving every single secret detail of our mission - from me.

Humiliated and angry as hell I left Benton and made my way to Blueridge to meet with the other humans. They had a zombie stunned and ready to transport. We took a long winding way out of the building, avoiding the zombies altogether. We took the mountain path and were halfway up when Eric received another text.

'Instead of Reynolds, go to the Track and Field track'

So, with much swearing and great frustration, we turned around and headed to the other end of campus. We saw not a single zombie. Things were quiet...Too quite.

We reached the track and field stadium. There was no one there. We girls stayed with the zombie while the boys scouted out the area. We were looking for the 'scientist' but could see no one. Tired and angry, Eric texted the directors and we were told to spread out and look harder. We left the field and began to follow a running track beside the creek. Suddenly, as I looked over to my right, I saw a group of five people running along the mountain ridge by Norton. They were far away but even from that distance I could make out the yellow bandana. Zombies!

They were running to try to cut us off.

I don't know which happened first. Either we saw 'The Scientist' standing inside a circle of cones, the 'safe zone' under a tree and began to move towards him. Or we heard the horn, true Lord of the Rings style blowing from behind us. We turned and saw every last remaining zombie spread out over the hill behind us, charging, with an enormous American flag waving behind them, silhouetted spectacularly, ominously, by the sun. There has never been a more dramatic, movie scripted moment in my entire life.

Notice that I peed myself a little in fear...

'RUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!'

and, with our captured zombie in tow, we bloody well ran.

Of the 120 players who had begun the week earlier, 15 humans survived until the final Saturday. 6 of us made it to the safe zone and won the game for humans everywhere.