Spring 2009 - Day 3 Pre-Mission

I apologize if this seems rushed – I have a mission in less than an hour.

Friday morning was to be a bloodbath of zombifications – so declared by Ben Shannon and so confirmed by myself. The truth of HvZ population dynamics is that, with accumulated kills from Wednesday and Thursday, every zombie would be fed on Friday (and surplus people would probably be munched). Only the strong and the smart would survive, because by this day the zombies were organizing advanced ambushes to annihilate individual humans during passing periods. In particular, zombie population density followed a Gaussian curve model about the Bell Tower, with ends stretching toward Magruder-Violette and toward Baldwin. To the east and the west, numbers were significantly diminished, so humans that made it through this wall were safe to their destinations.

And the humans weren’t letting this wall build, either. There was a constant human defense organization positioned at the Violette door of Magruder, and that parking lot was kept open and clear for humans all morning. I took a path across the Mall to get to Baldwin after my chemistry class in Magruder and saw no zombies on that side of the population wall. While moving, I overheard a bible-thumper proclaiming the good word, and I had half a mind to perform a mockery by declaring the end of the world by eventual zombification.

After Spanish I made it back across the Mall (safely again) to the SUB where I had lunch with Gina. She’s been humoring all my HvZ stories, for which I’m grateful, although she does think I’m a dork for carrying a campus map in my backpack. For the readers who were members of DotA Squad – it’s the very same map. After lunch I escorted Alexis Matthews from Violette to Centennial by passing through Magruder. Alan Eckert was the only zombie we saw, and he followed us on principle. I applaud the man.

I found Zach Minute in Magruder before my other chemistry course, and we went to the Chemistry Corner to discuss strategies for the mission. Not knowing what it would entail, we could only speculate on attendance numbers and escape routes for the post-mission munchathon (A newly-coined term. Learn it. Love it.). We broke dorms up into three destinations: Centennial (C-Hall and WCS), Missouri (MO and BNB), and Ryle (Ryle, Campbell, and Fair). Centennial is more isolated relative to the others than any other destination, and Centennial was the group that got attacked the day before (see Spring 2009 – Day 2). However, respawn points had to be considered. Thus, our plan was the following. If either the Missouri or Ryle destinations are respawn points, then the entire human coalition goes to Centennial first. The group stays together after that until they can safely split into Ryle and Missouri. If either of the other two are the respawn points, then Centennial is safe on its own and Ryle and Missouri stick together until it is safe to split. This was how we would minimize casualties.

After chemistry, about 12 zombies were populating the Violette-Magruder gap. To make matters even more fun, Taylor Hyndman was in Violette and had a meeting at 2:30 in Magruder. He wasn’t going through that parking lot. I was on the phone with him, and I think we were on the same train of thought because he asked if the C-Store and the Multi-Cultural Affairs buildings were safe zones – they most certainly were. He made it to the MAC, being chased by zombies. I got on the phone with him again and, when we both had visual of the zombies present, told him to make a break to Grim when he had an opening. We disconnected our phones and I walked out of the south greenhouse exit of Magruder toward Patterson. I kept the attention of three zombies – just enough to give Taylor a chance. Bolting around the building toward the SUB, I drew the zombies away from Grim and toward myself. I ran to the basement door and heard Ben Eggering say, “He’s inside, he’s safe.” Not quite yet, zombies – Taylor wasn’t home yet. I ran up the steps and Ben, confused, questioned, “…maybe not?” I ran again to the next Magruder Door – the west door that opened to the parking lot. The zombies in pursuit slowed as I reached that door, and they barely followed me at all as I went to the final door and inside the building.

Taylor was in Grim, he said on the phone, and I was on my way back to the greenhouse door. I made it just in time to hold the door open for him as he sprinted across a clear Patterson, pursued 20 feet away by a single zombie. He was safe.

I convinced the humans inside to escort me to my van, parked by Centennial, so that I could unload most of my backpack and be more nimble during the mission. The movement from Magruder to Centennial, through the parking lot, and back again was psychologically intense, although only three zombies were in pursuit. Most of the humans had to get to Missouri (two had to get to Ryle from there), so from Magruder we made it to McClain, Baldwin, and across the quad to Ophelia Parrish. Behind this last building, near the parking lot that it shares with Missouri, we had a skirmish of 7 humans against 4 visible zombies (and one that I drew out of hiding from around the corner). Every zombie but one were stunned, and everyone made it to Missouri safely. No zomibifications during that ordeal, and it’s thanks to the intelligence of the humans with us. As veterans, I have a lot of respect for Zach Minute, Tom Hogan and Joey Palmer. I’ll be glad to see them at the mission today.

I darted to choir in Ophelia Parrish at 3:30 and, at 4:30, I’d made it safely to Centennial 15 minutes early for the mission. Humans were already gathered, preparing, and I’d formulated a plan to create a thinktank to solve our mission’s objectives.

-John

Spring 2009 - Day 2

Partly cloudy with a chance of brain.

My day started as well as I could hope. A cold rain coupled with dramatic wind ruled Kirksville through 1:00pm, and this weather kept many of the zombifications at bay. I enjoyed thoroughly uneventful treks to my chemistry lab, my apartment, my radio show, and Magruder (to which I arrived around 2:30pm). The rain had to end, however, and the zombies soon came.

Taylor Hyndman and Alexis Mathews, two fellow survivors, were going from Violette to McClain and Centennial, respectively, and I had promised to escort them. So by 2:45pm I was waiting in the lobby of Violette, chatting with Zach Silver about life and unlife. He offered to help me with the escort, an invitation I graciously accepted. Taylor and Alexis came down the stairs and we left. Violette to Magruder to the SUB (if necessary) to McClain to Centennial was our path and, other than Zach’s human friend who joined us to get to Baldwin, we saw no one out and about. Zach had heard about zombies on the Quad by the Library and we, being competent intelligent humans, opted to intercept them and eliminate the kills they’d cause. With the help of humans hiding out in Baldwin and a few crossing the Quad, we stunned every zombie. Zach and I were even able to provide an escort for two more people to the Centennial area.

At 3:30 the humans received intel on a mission – meet in the main lounge of Ryle at 4:30. I had just under an hour from reading the email to make it. This was plenty of time, and zombies were on the prowl, so I kept my head low and my eyes open to the activity around Magruder.

Fellow survivors, bunkered in the southeast door of Magruder, stood outside to fight the horde as they charged from Violette and the Bell Tower. As soon as the last zombie ran by the Cyber Café, I kicked the door open and bolted after them, firing darts and keeping a cool head. One human was lost – the very Zach Silver who helped me earlier in the day. There wasn’t time to lament, however, because zombies were swarming the SUB.

I had a complete visual on the 7+ zombies circling the building, although I didn’t know who was inside. The members of the horde were preparing for an ambush at first, but slowly became antsier as their prey never left the building. I finally decided that whoever was inside was ready for a long wait, and that they could probably use my help. After 10 minutes circling the parking lots to find a zombie-free door and another 10 minutes scouring the building, I found Cody Sumter in the basement. He was dressed in quite fancy clothes and was strategizing via phone. The mission time was quickly approaching and thus the zombies were leaving their Magruder-SUB post, meaning that Cody and I could sprint across while Joey Palmer and Ian Noble covered our retreat. With the three others, a Tom Hogan, and 5 humans from Centennial, I passed from Magruder to Ryle in time for the mission to begin.

The humans were packed in throngs, all chatting about their latest close call or the pain of watching their friends get munched or that sweet stun that saved them on Day 1. Many old friends were already gathered as well, and I was grateful to see that their experience and skill would benefit the human cause today. However, going into the mission my mind was set on my end goal – Nothing else matters but my own survival. The mission objectives, rescuing other humans, the men trapped in cryostasis, all coming second to this goal. I have a reputation from never becoming zombified in a non-mission setting, and so this mission setting was the most dangerous place for me to be trying for this goal.

The moderators made a few announcements and, breaking into three groups, the humans spread throughout campus. From my perspective the entire mission felt more like a wild goose chase than a wartime battle, but I had decided to relinquish the reigns of leadership until someone took them over, and if it meant that I was somewhat out of the loop then so be it.

Zombies populated the Quad – 15 to 20 of them, and we had a Baldwin group of humans and my Ophelia Parrish group of humans. Between all of us we stunned every minion without casualties. Our next stop was the Fair Apartments parking lot, which was a strategically terrible place to defend for an invasion. I took over at this point, directing the humans to the edge of the U-shape so that we could be flanked from 2 directions rather than 8 different corridors. Once safe, Michael Hogard took over and led the troops to Red Barn Park where the mission was completed. I talked with a member of The Wildcat Squad, which is coming to Kirksville in a day or two to help our survival.

Another wild scramble – the moderators announced the end of the mission and everybody tried to gather up in geographic squads to return to dorms. I bellowed over the din, organized the humans into 3 different groups (Ryle, Missouri and Centennial) and went with the Centennial group to Franklin Street. The most dangerous part of the mission would thus begin.

Halfway to Centennial from Barnett, we spotted the horde at a distance. They were flowing from Centennial since it was their respawn and rendezvous point, and some of the humans tried to back into the parking lot. I told them that we would, instead, be better off crossing the street and entering Pershing to make it across campus. We crossed between traffic and backed up to the building, but found ourselves in a courtyard with one-way doors. And that one way was not the convenient way. Meanwhile the horde was advancing. At the last possible minute, the two humans who had run around the building opened the doors from the inside and we flowed in, cheering for ourselves and jeering the zombies.

I ordered the humans through Pershing to the far north side, where Grim’s back door existed. However, zombies were already on that position. The space itself was about 7 feet wide (between the two buildings) and 12 feet long (from the fence to the corners). Joe Siegel himself was guarding our easy retreat, and zombies climbing the fence had the harder way. Thus, we could only stun the fence zombies and press on through Grim. At the front door (facing Magruder, our goal where we would find ourselves beyond the most difficult hill of the travel), nearly 15 zombies waited in ambush around corners, behind trees, and against the building. We had 18 humans, enough to lose no one if we fought correctly.

I will take this time to acknowledge my tactical and strategic failure from last semester – the space between Baldwin and McClain. The humans were freaking out, unorganized, and too scared to pull a trigger. Thus, I died. I would not let that happen again.

4 zombies were to the left and the rest were to the right. Thus, the plan was for me to lead a charge with 4 other humans to the left and stun those zombies. Meanwhile, the rest of the humans would pour out and form a wall to stun the right-side zombies who rushed. We all knew that we had to fight our way out and that we might not all make it. Someone asked for a prayer and, 10 seconds later, we all sang a heart-felt rendition of Amazing Grace. When the song finished, we’d make our move.

The zombies saw me push open the door singing “…now I see” while rushing to their right. 4 humans followed behind me and we started popping every zombie we saw. One behind the tree, down. Two against the building, down. One’s charging from across the lawn, down. Meanwhile, the others were stunning zombies behind us. 5 humans were at Violette the whole time watching the battle and opting not to help, but we ended up not needing them.

After a 15-second melee, most of the zombies were stunned. In the chaos I was unable to identify stunned from unstunned from human easily. Thus, I directed the humans to the greenhouse door of Magruder across the street, and it quickly became apparent that a few zombies remained. They pursued us toward the building, but every one of them was stunned by the time we made it to the doors. No time to mourn the two that died in the pursuit, however – we weren’t in Centennial yet. I directed the humans to double-time through Magruder and we went to the Northwest door, which was a straight shot to the SUB. That was in turn a straight shot to Centennial, and all of the remaining humans made it inside safely and alive.

The rest of my evening was uneventful from a zombie standpoint. I had dinner in my apartment and went to my night class. My girlfriend, being one of the more HvZ-considerate ones I’ve known, came to Magruder to me rather than making me go to the Library to her, and we talked on the basement couches for a while. Ben Shannon and Eric Bozarth arrived and we all had a good talk about old antics and dating during HvZ, and the stroll back to my car was zombiless and relaxing. Were I not paranoid, I would have stargazed the whole time.

I’m now relaxing in my apartment, finished with my day’s reflections and ready for sleep. The count stands at H 136 – Z 50. Every zombie fed today (some twice), so I’ll have to wait until at least Saturday afternoon for starvation to begin. This is contingent on humans not dying during passing period, the Friday mission, or the Saturday mission.

…*sigh*. It’s going to be a long weekend.

-John

Spring 2009 - Days 0 and 1

I am hunched over the keyboard in a dimly-lit bedroom in an apartment south of campus at 12:38am on Thursday, April 2. My legs are sore and my back aches, but tomorrow will be an early rise. I’m taking full advantage of the lengthening days because survivability against the zombies is easier in sunlight. My name is John Mohr, and I’m still alive in the Kirksville Zombie Apocalypse of Spring 2009.

26 hours and 23 minutes ago, I slid darts into the rotating barrel of the Firefly and let it drop to my side. The strap slung over my shoulder and the gun felt comfortable at my waist. An old friend, the Firefly has seen me through ambushes, battles, and narrow escapes for a year now, and this zombie apocalypse would be no different. It was 10:15pm on a chilled, windy Tuesday night and 30 other humans were waiting for me at the fountain behind the SUB. I had just left a particularly hot make-out session and was less than eager for what I assumed was a zombification false alarm until Mike Solomon described the situation. Three people, in cryogenic suspended animation, were somewhere on campus and their vitals were dropping. 3 days from that point and they’d be dead. Our tasks that night were simple and quick – hit the multiple buildings, solving puzzles at each one, and eventually hack into a communication system that kept track of the life signs of every person on campus. In short, we would receive automated messages every time somebody died. 24 hours later and the soft vibrations of my phone are more gut-wrenching than I could have imagined.

At 7:30am I showered, dressed (wearing my Food Chain Pyramid shirt with zombies at the top) and made lunch and dinner for myself. Sandwiches and fruit – food that I can stuff into a backpack is essential for maximum mobility and minimum locale dependency. Going into the day I didn’t know what to expect, but growing up I was always taught to be prepared. With extra socks in my pocket, an arm band wrapping my right arm and my Firefly tucked behind my back, I climbed into my minivan and made the drive toward campus.

The desolate silence was my first warning – campus is usually noisier than it was that morning. I ducked into Magruder and met Ben Shannon. He is a talented human, a gunsmith, and an all-around brilliant man. It is virtually impossible to sneak up on him, and that’s what allows him to survive. If I knew then what I know now… We chatted about tweaking guns and he even offered me a Zebra Cake – it tasted just like zebra.

By then I’d already sent a mass-text April Fool’s joke declaring Cody Sumter, the game’s original moderator, as an Original Zombie. To this I received responses ranging from “Fuck” and “Chriiiiiiist” to “Figures”. Ben appreciated the joke, but I confessed quickly as I met more and more humans that morning. I went to my Physical Chemistry lecture with no excitement and went to my van afterward. Along the way I saw Carl Schmitt waiting in the Magruder doors toward Violette, so I yelled “Zombie!!” behind him to scare him. He didn’t seem to appreciate it. I let him run outside ahead of me and we kept our distance since we were both worried that the other could be the OZ.

Reaching my van, I drove to the square where I cut my hair. Correction – I hacked my hair. It went from a straightened, almost emo-look to short-cropped and wavy. With such a drastic difference, I could become even more inconspicuous than I already could be, and I enjoyed my lunch in the SUB while feeling like a ghost to friends who passed by, not recognizing me from a distance. It was certainly an experience.

By this point I had almost confirmed Carl Schmitt, Ben Shannon, and potentially Ben Eggering as the three OZs. This was solidified after Organic Chemistry when I stunned Kevin Luker between Magruder and Violette after Carl Schmitt had gone into Violette. This was my first encounter that day, but certainly not my last. I’d been speaking with a few other humans and they’d confirmed Joe Siegel as another OZ – one that was added at 12:00pm so as to catalyze the zombie population growth.

The eventual trek to Ophelia Parrish for my choir class was uneventful, save for the activation of the TrumanZombies Twitter account on my phone. At that point I could receive text alerting me of every zombification as it happened. This is very good in theory, but horribly demoralizing in practice. The path back to the SUB from choir proved to be more dangerous.

It was about 4:40pm and Taylor Hyndman was going to the SUB to attend the same committee meeting as I was, except that he was trapped in Violette while I was in Magruder. I was with 2 men that I met minutes before he called, and they were formulating a plan to break their friend out of the library. The complication: a horde of 12+ zombies were patrolling the Bell Tower. I had Taylor on the phone and told him, when I gave him the signal, to run across the parking lot. I knew that he could make it if the few zombies in the area didn’t know about the mad dash that would ensue. Giving the waving signal, he threw open the doors of Violette and began running across the path. This run turned into a dash, which turned into a mad sprint, when all 12 of the zombies began pouring from the parking lot – between cars, behind trash cans, from across the street the zombies bolted after Taylor. He vaulted the 5 steps downhill and made it to Magruder with just a second to spare.

We quickly made it across the path to the SUB and rested during the committee meeting, and the rest of the day was luckily uneventful. I stunned Joe Siegel while leaving the SUB, made it home for a nap, picked up some papers from my girlfriend’s house, and enjoyed stress-free evening meetings from 8:30pm to 10:00pm. Hogey and I escorted each other from Magruder as far as Dobson before splitting ways. I drove from the northeast corner of campus to Il Spazio on the square to savor a well-earned Rum & Coke and made it back to my apartment.

Upon finishing the narration of the first full day of the zombie invasion, I have mixed emotions. I’ve met some wonderful people so far, but they’re all the same – just human. They’re just as susceptible to the flesh-eating minions as I am, and I hate receiving texts from 40404 because it never brings good news. However, I am optimistic at the same time. Hogey is a smart man and a fierce fighter, and there are many humans just like him. Also, I’ve done my research on this zombie infestation compared to the last one. This outbreak has not been as bad as the one before, and for that I’m grateful. I’m just curious on the state of the rest of the world as well as the three souls in cryostasis.

So ends Days 0 and 1.

-John

UPDATE: I’ve just received message from the communication system in Kirksville. System Power is at 1%, with a total failure predicted within 24 hours. Despite a few bastions of human defense, the world is mostly overrun with the horde. And their numbers here are steadily rising. This isn’t going to be a leisurely stroll.

Unification and Leadership

My role in Humans vs. Zombies, after my first semester of play, has been the decisive, vocal and educated leader. During Fall 2007 I was a pioneer in the unconventional warfare, examples of which include:

1. Duck Maneuver (I think we called it that) -. Nate Klessig and I left a the sieged Violette through a side door, coordinating an ambush on the door zombies with the humans still inside. Everyone made it.
2. Baldwin Radio Technician - A columned group of zombies rushed our four-man position, so I took the left flank and sprayed a Magstrike clip at eight zombies at once.

In Spring and Fall 2008 I was seen as an experienced player, a survivor, and a generally charismatic guy. Even as a zombie the other players needed me, and eventually expected me, to take a role as a general. I’ve had my good leadership calls and my bad, but they still trust me. This is probably due mostly to my tendency to stick my neck into danger for another’s survival, and it has certainly got me munched. This is a less favorable state for me since I’m a better human than zombie, and a better leader than follower. I haven’t studied zombie tactics as much as human tactics, so I’m most effective at the top of the human hierarchy.

In a given battle situation, a mob of zombies plows into the human position. Does Charlie hold his position to stun a few zombies, knowing he’ll save the comrades behind him but inevitably get munched? Or does he screw them and retreat 25 feet to a more survivable position? When four zombies semicircle around a retreating human such as Josh Hirner or Ben Shannon, do the rush knowing full well that they’re going to get stunned (and potentially not feed)? Or do they hesitate, hoping to wrap around the human for a more tactfully advantageous opportunity? My point is this: There is no higher cause that can justify a person to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. HvZ is not a political war game and it’s not La Revolución. It comes ultimately to survival of the individual. Then is the concept of a unified, cohesive army (on either side) achievable or just a fool’s dream?

Let’s look again at my game tendencies. As a human I escort humans, take dangerous parts of missions, and combat the zombies directly. As a zombie I organize the ambushes and lead charges. I go out of my way, putting myself in danger, to make sure that a few other players have less danger. Players see me as an effective leader, but they also see me as a way to minimize their own risk. To cite Fall 2008’s Baldwin-McClain lab technician massacre, I led the humans into a dangerous deathtrap and I lost control of them. I compromised their safety and they had to think for themselves. Uncontrollable chaos.

Now, let me say that I have been reading Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and will soon delve into books by Sun Pin, Machiavelli, and Clausewitz. Hypothetically speaking, if the humans had a unified mentality and were willing to work together without doubt beyond the reasonable constrains of human nature, I could very easily minimize (or negate!) casualties on missions and achieve victory in as many of them as possible. The contingency is that humans work together, and this requires that they put aside their survival instincts and individualism for the sake of the group.

It’s said that you have to die before you can live. Humans and zombies will not have to sacrifice their 15 minutes or their lives to a good general. They must, however, be willing to do so. This is where the trouble lies. I can’t tell my humans, “I promise you’ll make it out alive.” Then they won't expect danger. I can’t tell my humans, “Prepare to die for our side’s cause.” This forces the individual to compromise themselves, which no one will do. For this reason, the human cause will never be unified and will never live, but rather just survive.

Zombies have an easier time in masses because they each understand that death means a 15-minute downtime. In smaller skirmishes, though, zombies are either timid to rush (because their numbers and strength are small) or they lack confidence in their ability to tag one of the three humans they rush. The mentality that rushing is better than a free escape is the best mentality a zombie can have. The mentality that rushing is better than not rushing is the worst mentality a zombie can have. The latter gets into more global strategy, which I will not discuss at this time.

As a human leader, I have to work with the humans’ survival mentality. I’ll never have a total unification and, thus, a perfectly networked pyramidal system of teams, squads, platoons and armies can never be enacted. Victory will never be achieved with total organization and this is integral to understanding HvZ war dynamics. All I can do is show the army the preemptive battle plans, tell the army how the enemy is projected to respond, tell them how we can respond to achieve victory, and hope that they buy it. If they like it, great – we have a survivable game plan. If not, well – go with another plan and be ready to run when it turns sour. That, after all, is the mentality each of your players will have.

Humans and zombies are terribly indecisive creatures. The leader occasionally rises from the masses, but this isn’t because they need to lead – the leader could just as easily run away from trouble, maybe munch or stun a few people along the way, and make it to the next sunrise. Rather, the people need to be led. When a group needs a decisive person, the telltale sign is that they become disordered and separated. The leader role is created out of necessity and it is filled by the most eligible candidate at the time (see my side note at the end of the post).

For this reason, I will almost certainly avoid the position of widespread leader among the humans and the zombies. By the coming semester I will be very well qualified and very well trained, but there are certainly other people who would enjoy leading just as much as, if not more than, myself. If the necessity arises I can and will provide the leadership needed to keep my group alive. If someone steps up and suggests decisions that may be less favorable than those I would choose, I will not hesitate to bring mine up. If I’m in a small group that gets skirmished, I will shout tactical orders to keep us all alive. But I no longer need to be the general. My year-long reign is over.

I must take this time to acknowledge an observation concerning my zombifications. During Fall 2007 I never took an active leadership position on missions and I was one of nine on that helicopter. In Spring and Fall 2008 I took very vocal, very active leadership positions and I was munched during missions both semesters. Needless to say, I’ve noticed my tendency to survive more effectively alone despite the "protection" of fellow humans. I’ll certainly contribute when I see a loophole that could send a plan to hell. However, stunning individual zombies over a long period of time seems to be safer than surviving the big clashes, and I want to get back on the helicopter this semester. Thus, don't be surprised if I contribute to missions by staying away from the humans.

-John

A side note: Taylor Moody, an experienced player and an unconventional HvZ theologian, had an interesting social experiment of which I am supportive. The concept is this – throw the fledglings out of the nest and let them learn to fly. At the beginning of the first human mission, gather up experienced players and well-respected leaders and separate them from the masses. Then see which newbies step up as effective leaders among the chaos. Remove them from the masses to work with the more experienced players and repeat as necessary. By the end of Day 4, and assuming that leaders step up for all players as well as for smaller mission-specific teams, as many as 20 functional leaders could be revealed. Operation Fledgling is contingent on less than one third of the population being zombified on Day 1, of course.

Recapitulation

In the fall of 2007, Cody Sumter brought Humans vs. Zombies to Truman State University’s campus and, of the 120 registered players, 100 significantly contributed to the game. The Original Zombie, Wendy Morgan, successfully turned some very talented zombies who in turn made many of the Day 1 kills. I remember seeing Carl Schmidt at 9:00 am on that first day, wearing a headband across the quad, and realizing that people had already died. The adrenaline kicked in at that moment and I bolted from Ophelia Parrish to Baldwin. I crossed the bridge to McClain and he continued to follow me around the building outside. I actually had to hide behind couches, indoors, on the first day of this first game. That’s when HvZ really started for me.

We received survival missions such as searching campus for food, protecting radio technicians across campus, and even scrambling to the helipad to escape Kirksville on the night of the eighth day. Automatic guns were legalized along the way and I used this to my advantage, sporting one of the only machine guns that semester. I used the Magstrike, with a 10-dart clip ready to go at any time and three more strapped to my chest. I carried a duffel bag in my backpack to put all my guns, socks and ammo in during classes, and I strapped everything on in between. I was a knight in shining armor – zombies cowered at the thunderous rip of the emptying clip. The stretch between Magruder and Violette was always zombie-free for any travelers while I was on watch.

Morale was another victory during that game. I made a point to greet every fellow survivor when I saw them. These hails were few and far between by the fifth day, but they became more inspiring since it showed that other humans were still alive. Also, zombies were beginning to starve by that point. A particularly large partition of the population withered away by midday of the sixth day, and Truman’s campus became a ghost town Not allowing a sense of security, I stayed hidden despite the missing hoards. I guarantee that this added guard at all times, even when travel seemed safe, is what allowed me to make it onto the helicopter at the end of the game. The eighth day had ended and nine people survived.

The next night was Truman’s first Final Stand, starring Josh Hirner in the Pit. It has since become a staple of any Truman game.

In the spring of 2008, 140 people registered to play, approximately 115-120 of them contributing significantly. This game lasted seven days rather than the obscene eight and it finally introduced a proper story line. Also, two Original Zombies were chosen rather than one. Corey Johnson and Chris Jeffrey quickly added Sean Kamrey to their ranks at 12:30 am and the hoard began the reign of terror.

Missions for the humans included collecting biological samples from specific zombies, recovering genetic research tools, unlocking the military armory by killing the then-undead soldier with the keys, and eventually destroying the escape helicopter by which the mad scientist tried to escape. My head on a swivel, traveling between classes was again my bread-and-butter. I was untouchable on my own. Surviving a five-zombie ambush between Violette and Dobson on the fourth day (Nick Holtgrewe was munched by Sean after we took out the first four), I realized two things. First – the Firefly was the main member of my arsenal from then on. Second – my decisive battlefield leadership was the difference between life and death when it came to skirmishes and full-out battles.

The mission on the fifth day was when I became zombified, and by none other than Sean Kamrey. The humans were huddled between Violette and Magruder, backed against the parking lot with an 8-zombie wall in the cars to prevent a simple retreat. The hoard rounded the far corner of Magruder, marched into a formation, and charged. Magstrike blazing, I took to a flank to spray an entire clip and was gloriously overrun by a group of five zombies. That was the last time I ever touched my first gun, the blue automatic.

I helped my fellow zombies hunt between classes and I was a member of the mob-like rushes during the missions after, but I was new to being a zombie. I didn’t have the tactics down and I couldn’t contribute like the veteran soldiers around me. I was slow, timid, and bad at dodging darts. For the first time since that mad dash from Carl Schmidt, I was a newbie.

The humans destroyed their means of escape because the bad guy got on the helicopter first. Missing that mission – I think I actually had a date that night – I rejoined my flesh-hungry brethren for Truman’s second Final Stand. An admirable group of rag-tag, heat-packing survivors stood on a hill with every weapon in the pantheon of legendary foam dart guns – the Rapid Fire 20, the Tommy 20, the Dual-Wielding Magstrikes, and others. Each one of them bit the dust as the hoard melted over their hilltop position. Yummy brains.

In the fall of 2008, 305 people registered on the site. This population explosion, unpredicted by the moderators or any of the veteran players, provided a dangerous unforeseen element to the eventual five-day game. Five Original Zombies massacred that population, a majority being inexperienced players. Ivan Lenov had fresh zombies lure humans to him. Drew Clark earned trust, actually escorting humans to their (inconspicuous) locations where he munched them. Steve Bermudez eventually worked with Ivan. Jimmy Wiley kept a particularly low profile for much of the day, hiding his status as an Original Zombie until he could take full advantage of unsuspecting humans. Kevin Sack – I never saw the man in action, but his OZ status was one of the first confirmed. Nate Klessig was not an Original Zombie, but he was the single highest-suspected human that day.

The Original Zombies killed 45 people that day. Nearly 100 people altogether were members of the hoard at the end of the first day. The remaining humans were in a panic. The zombies had high-profile names, but many freshmen who’d never seen the game before also. The comfort of their potential lack of talent was overshadowed by the fear of their raw numbers – 1/3 of the population dead in 24 hours.

The missions trudged dangerously and the humans lost more and more players. I was munched on the third day during the single biggest victory for the zombie side. During that transition hour I walked with the zombies, learning their ways and becoming excited about the prospects of hunting. This time, I realized my position in the hoard. I can’t run fast, I can’t dodge bullets, and I can’t give intimidating roars. But I sure as hell can mobilize and direct a hoard.

My successful conquests included:

1. Surrounding Magruder AND the SUB, simultaneously, with 40 zombies for over 2 hours
2. Surrounding Kirk later that night for 2 hours with about 35 zombies
3. Staging a camp-out outside of Kirk for 4 hours, with the entire zombie hoard, during which time we played games, sang songs, gained friends, and really demonstrated the camaraderie of the hoard. Stories echoing in the halls of legends come from that night, and there is nowhere I’d rather have been than in a circle of Human, Human, OZ on a Saturday night.
4. Leading a third of the hoard to victory on the mission of the fourth day
5. Leading a third of the hoard to victory on the mission of the fifth (and final) day

Of the 20 humans left for the mission on the fifth day, 3 made it into Kirk (from the West Campus Suites, to Ophelia Parrish, to Barnett, and to Kirk without going into ANY other buildings). In the storyline, the humans induced cryostasis upon themselves to out-live the hoard. In real life, 3 humans survived the deadliest game of HvZ to date and themselves became legends.

I look back with mixed feelings, unresolved sentiments, hypothetical answers to countless situations, and restlessness. Let me clarify - I've loved every minute of the game. But one can't give a year and a half to this experience without wondering how things could have gone differently. This is coupled with reasons as to why the upcoming game will be significantly different from any other:

1. Cody Sumter, chief moderator and the game’s originator at Truman, is finally playing.
2. The other moderators have full control over what happens, and veteran players are stepping up to fill Cody’s shoes. The storyline and missions will get crazy.
   
3. This will be the biggest game we've seen, with the 300 people from last semester and the inevitable population swell of spring from fall.
   
4. Spring 2009 will parallel the game during which Goucher’s documentary was filmed, and there is already talk about our own similar attempts.
5. Blogging the game, which started with one man in Fall 2007 and has since become the primary means of portraying the greatest stories of HvZ, will potentially propel the game into mass media. This will affect an exponentially-growing population outside the game and will have real-world ramifications. (I found out last week that Goucher students were reading my Zombie Journals last semester… simply epic)
6. Tactics, strategies, survival seminars, squads, politics, alliances and enemies, potential innovations to the game, and other abstract ideas are falling out of the existence of this game. And 300+ people can make a lot of it happen.

My next post, ideally, will concern my philosophies on psychology and leadership in Humans vs. Zombies. Following that post will be a series of episodic explorations into varies aspects of the game – success and failure precedents for both sides of the game, zombie tactics, human tactics, and even my overall vision for human survival. I may at times cite specific scenarios from previous games, but none of what I plan to contribute is set in stone. My posts are not plans of mine but purely resources, and my reasoning for this will be further explained in my next installment.

So brace yourselves. Things are about to go unexpectedly.

-John