Humans vs Zombies: Finale!

photo courtesy of Richard Neil (more of his work)

I stand before you my friends, to make the last broadcast and most important broadcast of my life. The message I share with you today, is one of hope, the humans... have triumphed, in what you may call a Pyrrhic victory, 9 humans did the unthinkable, they have survived the incredible war of today and secured their escape out of the war zone, out of the quarantine, and hopefully, to a safe and healthy world. Not to say others didn't try, that others didnt give it their all, no, it was because of their efforts that the 9 were able to secure their safety, let us mourn the losses of the amazing people who fell on their way to victory by the ravenous horde. 241 was the official number for those in the quarantine area when Patient Zero was infected, soon after, the area was shut off, and the people left to fend for themselves against a menace nobody could ever predict or understand. At the time of the final mission there was rumored to have been 112 zombies, and 84 uninfected humans, though sadly, only 20 of these humans had the courage, the tenacity, and the indomitable spirit required to stand up to the might of the swarm. What will happen to those who did not try... they will certainly be a tasty snack for those who are among the dead that walk this earth.


^the growing Horde, Juggernaut's can be identified by their green face

I will try my best to recall what all I observed, I spent most of my time playing catch up trying to keep up with all the groups and the different escapes, all while being hounded by the unrelenting horde. The mission was to be collect these items: weapons, a medikit, maps, provisions, and spare fuel. A straightforward task, but not simple in the least. It would require the hunters to pool all of their resources, knowledge, skill, and abilities if they were to overcome the undead menace. 3 MODS special units would help them and had enough fuel in their vehicles for a one way trip to a location, the humans broke into 4 groups, one for each MODS unit, and 1 group of 3 brave souls who would run the entire battle area acting as backup and scouts for the other groups. I chose to follow them, rather than overburden the packed vehicles.


^MODS Special Unit operatives

And so we ran, already we could see zombies on the horizon, spying us, and running to tell their ilk of our location, I soon realized that I would become a burden to them and they would have less visibility if I tried to keep up with them, in my peripheral vision I spied a MODS unit dropping off his group, I decided to hook up with that group and see where they may take me. As soon as they hit the street they were on a mad dash to enter a building, but to their shock, all doors locked, they turned to shrieks as they had been discovered by scout zombies, so a mad rush to the nearest building began as a horde of the Zombies closed in at a rapid pace. The humans at one moment looked to very close to being surrounded and overrun, at the last moment they broke free! Onward they raced at a mad panic to see who could get there first, at a brief pause they were rushed by the group of zombies, in an intense firefight they drove the zombies back, and rushed for the building and barricaded themselves in.

They raced to the 3rd floor in search of a fuel container, as the Zombies broke through the barricades and rushed in, picking up straggler zombies as they called for more backup. The survivors were getting desperate, guarding the stairs and elevators, they were just too many corners to cover, as they found the fuel they were beset from every possible entry way, bullets flew from every area and missiles filled the air, one man's gun jammed and he was overtaken, another was violently tossed through the air and he landed hard, injuring his leg, but the zombies had been beaten back and in panic the group split apart, one group taking the elevator the other down a long hall, I chose that group. There was never a moment that I thought they wouldn't be overtaken by the ever vigilant menace, always on their guard, in desperation they forgot all defense and ran with all their ability to escape their fiends down stairways, down hallways, but the zombie menace is not one that is easily lost, as one Alpha Zombie kept up with their pace the entire time, scaling walls, jumping levels, he could not be shaken. The survivors ran at a pace I could not match and I was left, to my horror, without an escort.


^protecting the stairwell before the ambush, man on left perished

I got word on my radio that 3 survivors were at a small outpost, I ran to the location as fast as possible, stopping to remove cumbersome equipment I was carrying, and as I came to the outpost I saw another group of survivors meeting up with the scout detail I was originally following. There was word that one of the items was in the forest so we set out through the dense treeline. A man who's name I did not know, who led the scout detail, donned in a hockey mask led our group through the forest. We were unsure of where to go when we got word, all items had been discovered and returned to the lone safe house, so the group split once more and we made our way through the forest to the location, only to see it beset on all sides by the zombies.


^always ready to pounce and surround, Zombie tactics 101

As we formulated a plan to break through the line of defense, we were spotted, as they fell upon us we retreated to a fenced off, abandoned apartment complex, but it would prove to be the groups doom, I chose to hide as a Juggernaut Zombie, my former correspondent who dropped in the Thursday night massacre, raced past me and overtook a young woman who defended the gate to the complex, he broke through the fence, and obliterated another woman, then raced off and killed the MODS special unit who led the troop, and finished off the last straggler who died emptying his gun into a beast that would not be stopped by his bullets, they were too busy feasting to notice my escape from the scene. I race to the only safehouse, and was greeted by a paltry few survivors, weary from the strain of combat.


^whats left of the survivors

I received reports from them that another team was sealed off in a building by the zombies and they were waiting on word from them, as I broke the news to them about the demise of the team I was following. I spent some time resting and regrouping my mental faculties, hearing stories of close calls and moments of triumphs from the survivors and word on how the other items were recovered. A young woman, no more than a teenager, told me how she stopped 4 zombies and recovered one of the precious resources on her own, and was able to retreat without the horde consuming her, just then a man burst through the door, a man... with a hockey mask on. Out of breath and clearly drained he told me how he outmaneuvered 15 of the beasts with no weaponry or backup to get here, I knew the quality of his opponents, little to say, I was impressed. Just then a large shout "COVER THEM, COVER THEM!" as the doors burst open and the final team rushed in carrying their items and with them a surge of much needed moral to the group. Twelve now was all that remained, but the mission was only halfway done...


^the calm before the storm

Now they needed reach the military vehicle and the lone surviving MODS unit would drive them from the zone to, hopefully, safety. The catch, as there always is, was only 4 at a time could go. The survivors looked around each other, the happiness moments before was replaced with grief and uneasiness. But it had to be done, they had to escape! So they braced themselves at the door, looking at a near infinite army of hungry zombies, the Alpha zombie, now a Juggernaut,licked his chops as he knew his belly was soon to be full, the other Juggernaut still snacking on the limb of a fallen survivor tossed it aside, soon to replace it and Patient Zero, the Original Zombie lurked from the shadows. There was no time to think, the zombies flooded them trying to take them out in one swift motion, they came from all sides, just a sea of arms, hands, and teeth. The survivors let loose with all they had, bullets rained from the skies, accompanied by grenades and missiles, no use holding back now! The humans pushed back the swarm and ran for the vehicle, the Alpha-Juggernaut knocked people aside, looking to fulfill his ravenous hunger in one big buffet of humans. The survivors lost a precious few, numbers they could not spare, as 4 clambered into the vehicle as the MODS drove off in panic, leaving those who had gotten to the vehicle behind, they would need to find another drop point and wait for the MODS unit to come back.


^Only four pictured here survived

The young woman who had retrieved the item on her own and was so proud of her accomplishment, was one of the ones to be overtaken in the fray, the young man who I had met yesterday who received an antidote from one of the kamikaze survivors was one of the ones left behind. A mad panic now to get to the next drop point, I was lost in the fray trying to find a haven from the madness, I was knocked to the ground and my camera was destroyed, as the horde chased the survivors I was able to follow the mass of bodies to their location, another vehicle was boarded and 3 were in it already, success for them! They waited to see if another could fill the seat, as the horde surrounded the vehicle. In the distance, one man came, running at full speed, I noticed he was one of the very few to survive the massacre of the thursday night mission, the horde descended upon him and a survivor behind him with all the fury of the Old Testament. As the zombies dug into him, and bit him, I watched in shock, as he brandished a device and sunk into his heart a giant shot, which I can only guess was an antidote as he broke free of his attackers and they stood in shock as this man ran at full speed to the vehicle and jump in. His friend was not so lucky as he was ripped to shreds, but from behind a man outmaneuvered them and used their moment to feast to hop into the vehicle, and off they drove.

I chased the horde as they ran to the next drop point, I was too late as the vehicle had been beset by all sides and the survivors were in chaos. A loud noise as the horde descended upon the young man I met yesterday as he bravely rushed the vehicle hoping for safety, they got to him moments before he reached the vehicle, as he too, dug a needle into his heart and injected himself with the antidote he received the night before, safety for him. He called for his team "Vehicle surrounded, be careful!" I then saw the remainder of the scout unit, the man in the hockey mask, running in a berserk fury throwing grenades and missiles left and right, out maneuvering the enemy, but the numbers were too great even for this man, and he was absorbed into the hungering army. Shouts and gunfire rose from out of my sight as I saw humans in desperation trying to gun down their chasers, one man missed his shot and was pounced on by his attacker, with a look of peace on his face as he knew his number was up. Another broke from the attackers running at a full sprint to the vehicle, but it was not enough as Patient Zero jumped on him and dragged him down. The last man, completely surrounded, wasted all his ammunition in the fury of combat, I noticed that he too, was a survivor of thursday night. As he was dragged down, my heart sank, then from the mass of zombies his hand broke up , with an empty antidote in his hand, as he broke their ranks and reached the vehicle, safe. That's when I, with no other option, took the last seat, as we were ferried from the site of mankind's last stand, looking at the carnage they left behind.


^the only survivors of the zombie war

And that is the story those of you out there who have heard my messages, that is how mankind fought for their future. Keep in mind this is all that I observed, there are more stories to be told from here, but I hope I gave enough tribute to those who gave so much to survive only to fall in their last moments, I saw many familiar faces become zombies, including those who survived the thursday night massacre. My heart sank at every loss, and my heart raced at every moment of combat. Today will be a day that will go in the record books for the future of humanity is in our hands now, if the virus has spread beyond the containment zone we will likely be going from one war zone to another. But there could be no other option, we will not lie down and await our demise, we will always fight for our lives! Now I can rest with my saviors, and try to mend this darn troublesome bite I received....