Zombie Mall Read online

  The guys left you at a dentist office. They sit you and tell you to wait. Soon enough, a skinny old man comes in, wearing a white robe and thin round glasses.

  “Hi! My name is Doctor Horland. If you please be so kind to remove all your clothe. I need to make sure you don’t have any bite marks or similar wounds.”

  If you… Go to…

  Refuse to comply Section 67

  Collaborate Section 68

  Section 43

  Demand to be let in

  Not feeling safe enough, you bang at the door of the wall. You demand to be let in. The pounding echoes through. The noise rattles the zombies behind you. Their moaning grows louder and louder. The gate suffers under the pressure of the mob, with the sound of rusted metal about to break.

  Then, the gate opens and you step back. A tall, bulky man comes forward. You raise your hands. Before you can utter any words, a huge fist smacks you right in the face, sending you down on your back. Dizzy and disoriented, you lean on a side trying to stand up. He knocks you down again. Now you stay down.

  A couple of men drag you inside the palisade. Next thing you know, the sun hits you straight in the face. A kid pokes your leg with a stick and runs away when you wake up. It takes you a moment to focus. Your teeth hurt, and your face is swollen. You are on the other side of the palisade now, but inside a cage. On either side, there are more prisoners in cages.

  If you… Go to…

  Talk to another prisoner Section 69

  Talk to a guard Section 70

  Section 44

  Find a way in

  The zombies keep pushing against the gate. At some point, it may give out and then you are done. You look at the tall palisade, looking for a way in. A guard looks at you from the top. He warns you to stand back. You ignore him.

  Palm by palm, you try each sheet of metal in the wall. Soon, you find one that is more or less loose and pull it outwards trying to make enough room to come inside. The guard on top keeps yelling at you. You are almost inside now, half of your body through the breach. You hear a loud bang and feel a sting in your shoulder. More bullets follow. Your entire left arm is now covered in blood.

  You die slowly in the metal wall. Your thought run through memories of childhood, college, your work, friends… and then they fade away, replaced by the one and only thought that you will ever have: I’m hungry for brains.

  YOU DIED

  If you… Go to…

  Start from the beginning Section 1

  Section 45

  Go inside the mall

  You walk with so much liberty that you almost feel silly for sneaking in the first place. You follow the line of zombies into the mall. Soldiers with guns guard them. You study them from a safe distance. Something in the scene doesn’t add up. Some soldiers wear jeans, chew gum, and their overall aspect is sloppy.

  These are no soldiers at all.

  Moving towards the end of the deposit, you look for exit doors. The first one you check has a small window. Inside, people argue around a large table. They have maps and other papers. It seems the argument may blow into a fight soon.

  The next door also has a window, but the lights inside are off. The door is locked with a small wedge stuck at the bottom. Security in this area is minimum, but you fear somebody may pay attention to you at any moment. Not too far away, there is a metal stair leading to an office overseeing the deposit.

  If you… Go to…

  Go to the office Section 71

  Enter the dark room Section 72

  Section 46

  Steal a truck and run away

  A truck nearby is loaded and ready to go, but the driver is not yet in place. You climb to the cabin and find a map, together with instructions and a cargo manifest. A soldier ahead of you gives you the sign to move along, so you play the part.

  Driving carefully, you follow other trucks and exit the compound. You wonder where the convoy leads. Fighting sleep, you drive through the night. By dawn, you arrive with the rest to a large military base by the sea side. Parking the truck with the rest, you sneak around and explore the base. What you find amazes you. The trucks are loaded with supplies. Half go to a rocket, the rest to a huge cruise ship by the pier.

  If you… Go to…

  Head towards the rocket Section 73

  Board the cruise ship Section 74

  Section 47

  Pretend to be a zombie, and join the line

  Keeping your head low, you growl and walk forward as the soldier ordered. He doesn’t pay any more attention to you, so you join the line of zombies heading back to the shopping mall. All the zombies around you wear the same collars with lights. When one stares at you, the collar turns blue, then it goes back to green. You make a note of that.

  Close to the deposit, you see a door nearby. It could be your way out. At the first chance you get, you sneak out of line and inspect the door. It is locked through an electronic keypad. The number 0 and 4 have blood marks. A note above it reads: “Not found”.

  The soldiers patrolling the line will soon be back. You only have a chance at this.

  If you… Go to…

  Type 004 Section 75

  Type 404 Section 76

  Type 000 Section 77

  Section 48

  Reveal yourself as a human

  You raise your hands and walk slowly into the light. Soldiers keep you in their sight, guns aimed at your head. You look at the soldier in front of you. He is wearing one of those collars you’ve seen on the zombies. His face is as dead as it can be, save by the mouth that is tightly sewed shut. The voice comes from a speaker in his collar.

  Scared, you step back. The soldier comes forth and knocks you unconscious with his riffle.

  With a headache and ringing in your ear, you woke up after a while. You are tied up in a chair, in an interrogation room. There is a mirror on the wall, a door, and a speaker hanging from the ceiling. Someone is watching you behind the glass.

  If you… Go to…

  Call out for someone Section 78

  Demand to be released Section 79

  Section 49

  Stay put and do nothing

  You sit back in terror, hoping that your presence goes unnoticed until you can escape. Below, the dark creature steps out of the portal and consumes the witch in one bite. With his tentacles, he grabs other cultists and skins them alive. It is mayhem.

  The acolytes rush in panic. The creature cuts their escape. The beast moves from one to another, in a killing spree, tearing them apart and turning them inside out. Soon, none is left alive.

  When the last cultist is dead, the creature stays quiet. Bodies around him reanimate. The creature backs up. Walking zombies grow tentacles, and mash up together in one massive, monstrous thing. The demon, no longer the alpha predator, fights for his life.

  The zombie mash-up reshapes, grows eyes in every tentacle, and a massive eye in the now ball shaped being. He chews up the demon like candy. Then, he looks at you with his many eyes. He eats you in one bite.

  YOU DIED

  If you… Go to…

  Start from the beginning Section 1

  Section 50

  Move forward towards the ladder

  The creature consumes bodies and souls of the cultist. Tricked in their dark belief, betrayed by their idol, they scream in despair. You run towards the ladder, hoping not to be seen. Large tentacles lash out to the catwalk and wrap around it behind and in front of you. Metal screams under the pressure, and the whole section comes apart. You hang to the guard rail while the creature holds the catwalk up in the air.

  Below, dead cultist turn into zombies. The creature roars at you. It’s mayhem.

  If you… Go to…

  Jump and slide down a tentacle Section 80

  Let go of the rail, and hope to land on something soft Section 81

  Hold on with all your might Section 82

  Section 51

  Get out of here

  Shocked by the scene, you step back and hi
t some boxes that fall with a loud noise. The two cultists, surprised, search the premises for the source of the sound.

  You run, double backing on your tracks. When you reach the stairs, they see you and open fire. They get you, real good, but keep running.

  You reach the corridor, leaving blood in each step. One of your legs refuses to walk anymore. You don’t dare to look at it. The pain is enough to know you can’t use it anymore. You help yourself up by a wall, and keep moving. Behind you, the evil couple walks slowly towards you. They open fire again. This time, the wounds are lethal.

  As you turn into a zombie, the last thing you see is the end of a gun barrel. They will mercy you as soon as you turn.

  YOU DIED

  If you… Go to…

  Start from the beginning Section 1

  Section 52

  Think about the children

  Holding your breath, you cover your mouth not to scream. The dead man was talking about “children”. Are there children down here?

  After the two women step out of the room, you still take several minutes to compose yourself. Whatever is behind that door, children are in danger. You have to do what you can to save them, or die trying.

  You find a service door that leads to a dressing room. It connects to the museum main hall where the cultist are. Much to your surprise, this area looks nice and clean.

  You take a red robe from a locker, a mask, and disguise yourself like one them. Taking a deep breath, you walk into the a museum area and join them. The hall was once an exhibit for the ruins discovered during the excavation. Now, it’s decorated like a cultists layer. Goat skulls hang on the walls, torches and five pointed stars with runes all over the place. A procession comes in, chanting.

  If you… Go to…

  Follow along the procession Section 83

  Stay in the shadows, avoiding attention Section 84

  Section 53

  Stay in the office and see what happens

  Whatever is happening down there, is not of your business… but the children, they don’t deserve any of this. You made it this far, but you can’t go down to the main room without getting caught. You pace yourself through the office, trying to come up with a plan, someway to take those children back to safety.

  When the chanting stops, the old witch raise a knife above the mummy. She cuts her hand and her dripping blood falls straight into the mouth of the relic. New flesh and skin grow over the ancient bones. The mummy lives again.

  The ungrateful creature roars at the cultists that brought her to life. She grabs the witch by the hear and rips her head. The cultists scream in disarray, running for their lives as the mummy chases you, harvesting their organs.

  If you… Go to…

  Run downstairs and save the children Section 85

  Find a weapon, save the children Section 86

  Section 54

  Come up with a plan to release the children

  Children in cages is never something good. You have to do something.

  The cultists discussion escalates. The man turns around, determined to free his children. The woman stabs him in the back. He turns around, and both struggle in a gruesome fight. Those two will soon become part of the zombie gang.

  That gives you an idea.

  The fighting couple is down, covered in blood. It will be only matter of minutes before they seek for blood. With much effort, you drag them into the museum area. One of them is almost ripe. The cultist, eyes closed, don’t see what happens in the back of their little get-together.

  And then it happens. The reanimated corpses rush to eat new flesh. The entire cult falls in disarray. You rush towards the cage, and take the children out. Swiftly, you lead them backtracking your steps.

  As you run through the tunnel, you hear the echoes of the massacre you left behind. You are not a judge, but better them than the children. You all live to see a new day.

  YOU SURVIVED (like a boss)

  If you… Go to…

  Start from the beginning Section 1

  Section 55

  Inspect the roof

  To your surprise, there is a helipad on the opposite side of the roof. You walk to it, drawn by a bulk you see at the center. It is a backpack with a note that reads: “Instructions for survivors”. On the floor, spray painted you read:

  Survivors, wait here.

  You open the bag and find a satellite phone. There is a plasticized book, with instructions to operate it. There are coordinates for the mall, with instructions to call and request for an extraction helicopter. Without delay, you call. An operator on the other end answers. She gives you instructions and tells you that in three more days an helicopter will come to pick you up. You are eager to talk with another human, so she stays in the line longer than she should. You learn that they have several of this initiatives around the city. In the pack there are also some rations, so you won’t starve.

  You wait patiently until, surely enough, on the third day you see an helicopter coming your way. Once they land on the roof, they welcome you in. You watch as they replace the backpack with the supplies before taking off.

  Flying above the premises, you see the mall surrounded by the undead. They will take you north, to Eden. They explain more about the fortified city, but honestly, you don’t care. All that matters for you now, is that you are safe.

  YOU SURVIVED

  If you… Go to…

  Start the adventure from the beginning Section 1

  Section 56

  Check the restaurant

  The place looks like it was never opened to the public. There are paint buckets and other building materials piled up against a wall. The tables don’t have any cover, and the ceiling is not complete, with many wires hanging.

  You sit at a table, enjoying the gentle sun coming through the windows. It’s so peaceful. A nice welcomed change of pace. Is as if the devastation of the zombie uprising never happened. You wish it all would go away, so you can go back to your life. Yes, even the boring life you had before. But is not meant to be. The world has gone bad, really bad.

  After a few minutes of rest, you decide that is time to move on.

  If you… Go to…

  Inspect the roof Section 55

  Check the kitchen for food Section 87

  Section 57

  Load the truck and hit the road

  Without hesitation, you exit the mobile lab into the cabin. You want to see how much fuel there is left in the tank, but for that you need to turn the engine on. That will attract the zombies outside. Long shadows creep under the open iron curtain of the docks. Soon they will be here.

  Better leave the engine test for the last moment. There must be enough, for sure, to make it out of this place.

  With haste, you exit the cabin and run to the deposit, grabbing any box labeled as food as you can find. There are also some medical supplies, but you just grab a first aid kit. Food comes first. You hurry, keeping an eye on the noise you make. Even your breathing is now a threat. Each time, you take a pick at the garage door. “One more”, you say every time. In your haste, you misplace a box and if falls, shattering and spilling cans on the floor. You stand still, watching the shadows. The worst is happening now. They are coming your way. In a few more moments they’ll flood this place.

  If you… Go to…

  Leave everything and get on the truck Section 88

  Try to load more cargo Section 89

  Section 58

  Inspect the lab carefully

  The lab has a shower and a toilet, which you use very soon. You almost cry when you find a package of six toilet paper rolls. It is indeed a luxury of the modern age. There is also fresh, clean clothe in one of the shelves. In the lab room, there are chemicals, journals, official papers, some kind of suit and a working computer. It is this last thing that impresses you the most. You can’t remember when was the last time you used a computer since all this started.

  You turn the computer on. Darn. It needs a password. The key
board has a card reader. You check the suit, and surely enough you find an access card. You give it a try on the keyboard, and it grants you access. It may be muscle memory, but the first thing you try is the web browser. It doesn’t work. The computer is locked down somehow. It only works to record data. Even though you have access, most of the files and programs demand a password. Everything is encrypted. What a disappointment.

  You are about to turn the computer off, when you find an unencrypted folder. It contains video files. The scientists recording them left before protecting those. Having something to watch on a screen is yet another luxury. You double click the first file, and watch.

  The first video shows the live testing of a new vaccine. Video after video, each trial was a failure. Since you have nothing else to do, you watch each one in order. Then, in test case #149, something different happened. The test subject doesn’t turn. The video ends abruptly, leaving you thinking with more questions than answers.

  A notification on the computer prompts you to open an application. It is a proximity alert from the habitat. The screen divides into multiple views, with cameras showing you each side of the truck surroundings. At the time it took you to watch the videos, the garage filled up with zombies. For now, you are locked inside of the habitat-truck. You take a deep breath and calm down. The zombies are unaware of your presence. They wander around aimlessly.

  The mobile lab is a refuge from the horrors outside, at least as far as you keep quiet. It can’t last long. At some point you’ll have to come out.