“That’s is our home. Would you like to join us?”
If you… Go to…
Reject their offer Section 217
Accept their offer Section 218
Section 194
Fight your way through
If you’re going to go down, you’ll do that in a blaze of glory. A quick look around and you discover a pile of brooms on an open pallet. Taking one, you yell your lungs out at the zombies. You charge at them, armed with the power of a mad cleaner after an office party. One by one the zombies fall at your mighty broom. They don’t even put a fight. They stand there. For a moment, you feel all-powerful as dozens of undead fall in pieces at your feet. But then, you realize that they are not even trying to attack you… they are just slowing you down with the power of numbers. Behind you, bony hands take you by the shoulder and chew on your shoulder. The lab-coat zombies are all over you.
There is no way out of this one. And if there were, you would be infected and your hours counted for. If there is any consolation on all of this, is that you went out in the same way you lived: fighting!
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 195
Climb again the storage shelves
With no way out, you climb again the shelves. You make it just in time as teeth below bite the air. Zombies can’t climb. What they do, is pile up against each other until they reach you. You watch in horror as the process begins. They come in large numbers. If you don’t act, they will reach you.
Opening some of the boxes around you, you grab whatever you can find and throw it down busting some heads on the way. It must be reaching noon outside because the deposit is lightly more illuminated now than when you arrived. The small difference gives you an advantage. You keep throwing down wrenches, cans, anything you can find with a weight on it. It is a fight against time.
You look around for another alternative. The opposite end of the corridor is now clear. You run through the pallets, throwing boxes as you pass by. You gain a few moments to think what to do next.
If you… Go to…
Jump to reach the shelves on the other end of the corridor Section 219
Climb down and make a run for the exit Section 220
Section 196
Go left, to the machine room
The tunnel seems to twist and turn forever. At some point, near the end, you hear a distant chant. It goes on an off. At first you thought your ears were playing tricks on you. As you approach the engine room, the chanting becomes clear.
You enter a large machine room, full of pipes, working machines, metal stairs and catwalks. The chanting continues louder. You make up the words:
Su-Sa-Mun, Su-sa-Mun…
Sneaking in, you see a crowd dressed in long red robes. In their midst there is an altar, splattered with drawings of the apocalypse and dried blood. Close to the altar, a thin female zombie is strapped by a chain. The reach lets her come over the altar, but not to the crowd beyond.
Before you now, strong arms grab you from behind. You struggle, but they come unto you fast and strong. The cultist capture you, binding your hands behind your back. They bring you forward to the face the altar. A witch priestess raises her hand and the chanting stops:
“Su-Sa-Mun protect us from the death above! Praise be Su-Sa-Mun!”
The cult repeats the words, then resume the chant. The priestess looks down on you.
“We provide a sacrifice and Su-Sa-Mun keep us safe. Do you submit to her will?”
If you… Go to…
Submit to the cult Section 221
Resist the cult Section 222
Section 197
Go right, to the exit tunnel
The arrow pointing right has a green tone on it. Usually, that means an exit somewhere. You follow the tunnel until the very end. An exit door, locked from inside opens up to a large field of grass. Before opening the door, you take a moment to enjoy the fresh air and listen for any undead. After a while, you are sure that there are no zombies nearby.
With a quick turn of the handle, the door opens with a loud metal-on-metal sound. You walk outside, adjusting your eyes to the morning sun. The place seems familiar. Beyond the small hill, the highway makes a turn. Behind you, the off ramp that leads to the shopping mall is crowded with zombies heading that way. It is clear that the shopping mall adventure is a no-go for you. There is nothing else to do, but to press forward. Maybe there is a better place up north. Who knows. You’ll find out soon.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 198
Climb down the rope
The rope has a strange smell, and is very sticky. It is some kind of polymer that reminds you of some comic-book superhero. At first, it gives you the chills to touch it.
It takes some time, but you climb down. The stickiness of the rope helps you stay on. You repeat over and over to yourself: I’m so out of shape for this sh@t.
Silently, and finally, you reach the open window and go inside. You are in the storage area of a sports store. There are all sort of sporting goods around you. You walk around the lines of boxes and stuff, eyes wide open. On the floor, a trail of dried blood leads in one end into the store. It gives you the impression that someone was dragged by the feet against their will. The trail end to a fire emergency door.
If you… Go to…
Go to the front of the store Section 223
Investigate the fire escape Section 224
Section 199
Accept defeat and stay
You are tired of running. With no where to go, you know that either the night cold, thirst or hunger will get you eventually. You can also take an easy way out and smash a few zombies on your way down. That would save you the pain of starvation. You have not decided what to do, but you accept your fate. Out here the view is very nice and you are at peace. Knowing that you probably won’t survive the night, you sit down to watch the sunset for one last time. When the moon and the stars bright above in the sky, you say your prayers and close your eyes. The cold makes you tremble. Hypothermia will get the best of you soon.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 200
Follow the exit sign, out of the construction area.
Walking on your toes, you move away from the curtain towards the exit. Fortune eludes you today. The crushing sound of rubble alerts whatever is behind the plastic sheet. Before you can do anything about it, a giant cube of gelatinous doom jumps from behind the curtains and engulfs you. You find yourself floating in this strange slime. It burns and dissolves your skin. You swim in a gelatin ocean with other remains. You are still alive as it digests you, little by little, peace by peace. Who knows how long it will take for you to finally find peace.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 201
Check behind the plastic curtain
Wobbly-Cube
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.
Fighting a gigantic cube of gelatin was the crown jewel of the day. That was the weirdest experience of your life. Moreover, who would know that it dissolves with latex paint.
Not wanting to explore more of the construction area, you make it into the shopping mall. The shop you walk into is locked down, with no zombies on sight. There is not much to see. Heading down, you gasp to find a cement mixer truck. It has the keys on, and a full tank. The whole mix in the back has hardened, so the truck is heavy like a tank. This area is isolated from the shopping mall, and closed to the parking lot. Very clever and neat. You can see how this worked in such a way that shoppers were not disturbed. For you, it means time to plan ahead what to do.
If you… Go to…
> Go full mad-max on the truck Section 225
Fortify the place and make it your safe zone Section 226
Go deep into the shopping mall Section 227
Section 202
Ignore the eye, keep walking
You try to ignore the eye, but it follows you. His stare makes you uncomfortable. You keep walking, but the eye is always behind you. You wonder if you are loosing your mind. The eye is there, always there… staring.
You close your eyes and try to ignore it, to make it go away. You panic. You feel the stare crawling up your skin. You confront the eye. Yell at him and demand an explanation. The eye ignores you. It doesn’t blink, it only stares. It stares!
Thoughts run through your head, panic, despair. The eye is in your head. It takes your breath away. You try to shake it off, but it surrounds you. The eye has eaten you!!
As you melt away inside the eye, it’s still in your head. The eye… the eye…
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 203
Kick the eye as hard as you can
Oculus Orb
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.
Taking aim, you run towards the eye, ready to kick it over the curb. It will be an spectacular kick.
And so it is!
The eye explodes and splatters the entire place. It pops like a water balloon. You end up covered with some nasty and smelly jelly. Cleaning yourself as much as possible, you walk carefully back to the safety of the food court you already cleared. The eye psychological powers still linger in the air, giving you a headache.
Now is a good time to stay put. You fortify yourself in the food court. Piling tables and chairs, you improvise a palisade. Is not rock solid, but if something comes your way, you’ll know about it. You are somewhat concerned, though. Usually eyes come in pairs.
Days pass. Finally a group of soldiers and a scientist arrive. They take samples of the “jelly”, and walk you to an helicopter that will take you to safety. They have seen eyes before. You were very lucky. The one you found was only a baby.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 204
Find something else to do
“I’m not built for these things”, you try to explain to the plants.
You stand up and walk outside, trying hard to forget what you just saw. The tree has it all wrong about you, if it thinks that you’ll stay and take over a nursery. With determination, you storm outside of the glass cabin. Sharp vines cut your way. They intertwine in a patter in front and behind you, trapping you inside a vegetable cage.
“What’s the meaning of this?” You shout at the plants
A red flower opens up in front of you with a final message:
If you won’t help, then you are part of the problem. You are like them. You can’t stay here.
The vanilla smell in the air disappears, changed by a sour scent. The sensation around you is of pure helplessness. For a moment you fear the plants will bring you to the horde outside, but you are mistaken. The cage closes in on you. Tighter and tighter, braking your bones and squishing your insides until there is nothing left to tight anymore.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 205
Stay and take care of the offspring
With one hand you rub your forehead. The implications are great, but you can’t walk out of this. If these babies have the same abilities as the tree, then indeed they may as well be immune to the virus. If we are all infected, then they are the only future left. The earth can’t go on without humans. Maybe this is the way it should be.
You look up at the vine. The flower still open, awaits for your reply.
“I’ll stay. I’ll take care of them, and I will teach them all I know”. Your voice shows determination and care. The vine retracts, and the place fills up with a sweet smell. You look at the body of flowers, resting in the dentist chair. A smile escapes your face.
“You did it. You found a way.”
And so, as days, weeks and months pass by, new generations are born. They grow faster than regular kids, but as jolly and pure as any child you’ve ever known. You teach them all you know from the world that once was. They venture in the mall and bring you stuff: books and other things that sparks their curiosity. You love them as your own, and they love you back. These little boys and girls are the future of the human race. There is no fear for them for the zombies. The undead fears and avoids them. They are immune to any disease, as you’ve never seen them get sick. You never leave the food court alone. They wouldn’t let you either. A new civilization is born.
YOU SURVIVED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 206
Run up the stairs
Stepping back from the door, you take a pick at the stairs shaft. Below is dark, and who knows what may be down there. Straight up, there is light, natural sunlight. There must an exit up there.
Grabbing yourself from the hand rail, you propel yourself upwards, several steps at a time. Your energies don’t last long, but it gives you a couple of floors of advantage. At each rest, you try each door. They are all locked from the other side. Most of them don’t even have a handle to grab on.
A few stairs below, the zombies blast through the door. They race towards you. It chills your blood, and makes your heart pump even harder. You keep running, muscles aching with pain. One more stair, one more door. No luck. The undead are closing in on you, fast.
Suddenly, a door opens behind you. A thin old bearded man holds the door and looks at you in surprise. He signals you to come in.
“C’mon! Hurry! Come here”
The man waves you in. You are half the way to the next floor. There is only one more floor to the roof, where the light is shinning through.
If you… Go to…
Keep climbing the stairs Section 228
Go with the old man Section 229
Section 207
Run down the stairs
You hurry down the stairs, trying every door on your way. No luck, they are all locked. A few stories above, furious zombies burst into the staircase. Your heart pumps and adrenaline floods your veins as you push yourself to run faster. At the very end of the stairs, you desperately try the last door. Your luck changes and the door opens. You rush inside and lock the door behind you.
You find yourself in a short dark corridor. Lively voices sing and laugh. You approach the room cautiously. A thick plastic curtain separates you from the people in the other side. You take a deep breath and step in.
The bright light blinds you for a moment. The voices and laughter stop. As your eyes adjust to the light, your heart sinks again. You are in a large butcher kitchen, with over a dozen people dressed in bloody robes. Human parts hang from meat hooks. The people stare at you. You scan for another exit, but there is none. Slowly, they surround you. The butchers smile holding axes and knives. Behind you, the door opens bluntly as zombies rush in. They tackle you down before you can react. They take down the butchers too.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from the beginning Section 1
Section 208
Attempt to communicate
You raise your hands and try to communicate with the creature. Without hesitation, it unsheathes double swords and prepares to attack. You step back, still with your hands in the air. The creature looks at you, with sadness in his face:
“Human, you have been quarantined. The infection must be contained. All hosts have been marked for eradication.”
The lizard warrior jumps at you and finished you off.
YOU DIED
If you… Go to…
Start from t
he beginning Section 1
Section 209
Attack first, ask questions later
Lizard Warrior
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.
You put out a struggle. Your quick thinking throws the creature to his knees. Not defeated, but taken aback, the lizard soldier sheathes his swords.
“You have fought well, human.”
“Thanks?”
“You released me from my prison. The others capture me and extracted my blood. What did they do with it?”
Still processing the new information and the fact that you are talking to a real life alien, you mumble a negative response. As conversations go, you tell him about the apocalypse and the situation this far. The alien looks very concerned.
“I must amend this situation before the infection spreads out of this world. My blood mixed with yours has certainly created this effect in your race. I will cleanse the world… But first, I need to eat to gain strength.”
You look around, trying to find some food but there is nothing at hand. Then, it hits you as your brain connects the dots:
Zombies crave human flesh…
Zombies have this creature’s DNA…
Therefore, humans are the alien’s source of food!
Zombie Mall Page 14
