leading to an outdoor playground surrounded by a huge metal fence. The fence was too tall and slippery to be scaled. However, Dave saw this as a way to at least get the zombies outside and away from the kids .
He walked backward to the door. He was careful to maintain a safe distance from the zombies, while still keeping them close enough to retain their attention. He pushed the door open behind him and stepped outside. The door was attached to an automatic closer, but it was slow enough to allow the two zombies through before shutting behind them. Dave led the zombies around to the far side of the playground and then bolted between the swings and monkey bars to return to the door .
The door was locked .
“Why would they lock the outside doors of a mental hospital? People are trying to get out, not in!” Dave thought to himself. He peered in the window but saw no one. He banged on the door, but he knew that Janet and the kids were too far away to hear.
The zombies continued their pursuit, each coming from a different direction. By the time Dave turned around to notice, he was almost trapped. He ran between them and almost got through cleanly. However, one of the zombies managed to get a firm grip on Dave’s sleeve. Dave struggled, dragging the clutching zombie away from the other zombie so he would only have to fight one at a time. He punched the zombie in the face repeatedly and even kicked it in the groin. The lack of response indicated that zombies do not feel pain, even in their jimmies.
The zombie lunged at him, while still keeping a death grip on Dave’s sleeve. Dave used this to his advantage by dodging backward and pulling the attached zombie off balance. The zombie fell to the ground but did not release its grip. It began trying to pull itself up by Dave’s sleeve. Dave tugged on the front of his shirt, popping the buttons off with some effort. Once his shirt was open, he slipped it off. The zombie was left on the ground, gnawing on the fabric of the shirt.
Dave ran back to the far side of the playground and yelled at the zombies. He continued yelling and waving his arms until both zombies were chasing him again. Once the zombies were lured far enough away from the building he circled back to the door. He looked through the window, again seeing no one. He pounded on the glass and screamed at the top of his lungs, but there was no indication that anyone could hear him. Lest he be trapped by the zombies again, he lingered at the door only a short time before fleeing across the playground again. He repeated this cycle several more times with no success. Running back and forth was wearing him out, so he decided to seek higher ground. The centerpiece of the playground was a large wooden playscape that resembled a pirate ship. It had a rope mesh along one side that served as a ladder for climbing. From the deck of the ship, a wooden ladder led to a crow’s nest. A long steel slide led back to the ground from the crow’s nest.
Dave climbed up the rope mesh to the main deck of the ship. The zombies stumbled up to the mesh but did not seem to understand the concept of climbing. Dave sighed in relief. He was relatively safe atop the playground equipment, but he was stuck there. He had a flashback to his childhood where he and his friends would play a game called “Pirate Ship”. It involved climbing atop a piece of furniture and pretending that the floor was water filled with sharks. If you touched the floor, it meant you were eaten by the sharks. Somehow the nostalgia he felt for this game had lost its luster in this moment. Playing the game with zombies instead of sharks was much less fun than he had remembered .
His goal now was to get the attention of someone inside the building. He spent about five minutes shouting at the top of his lungs, but eventually hoarseness overtook his ability to yell. He took off his shoes and threw each one as hard as possible at the door, hoping the noise would draw attention.
He walked backward to the door. He was careful to maintain a safe distance from the zombies, while still keeping them close enough to retain their attention. He pushed the door open behind him and stepped outside. The door was attached to an automatic closer, but it was slow enough to allow the two zombies through before shutting behind them. Dave led the zombies around to the far side of the playground and then bolted between the swings and monkey bars to return to the door .
The door was locked .
“Why would they lock the outside doors of a mental hospital? People are trying to get out, not in!” Dave thought to himself. He peered in the window but saw no one. He banged on the door, but he knew that Janet and the kids were too far away to hear.
The zombies continued their pursuit, each coming from a different direction. By the time Dave turned around to notice, he was almost trapped. He ran between them and almost got through cleanly. However, one of the zombies managed to get a firm grip on Dave’s sleeve. Dave struggled, dragging the clutching zombie away from the other zombie so he would only have to fight one at a time. He punched the zombie in the face repeatedly and even kicked it in the groin. The lack of response indicated that zombies do not feel pain, even in their jimmies.
The zombie lunged at him, while still keeping a death grip on Dave’s sleeve. Dave used this to his advantage by dodging backward and pulling the attached zombie off balance. The zombie fell to the ground but did not release its grip. It began trying to pull itself up by Dave’s sleeve. Dave tugged on the front of his shirt, popping the buttons off with some effort. Once his shirt was open, he slipped it off. The zombie was left on the ground, gnawing on the fabric of the shirt.
Dave ran back to the far side of the playground and yelled at the zombies. He continued yelling and waving his arms until both zombies were chasing him again. Once the zombies were lured far enough away from the building he circled back to the door. He looked through the window, again seeing no one. He pounded on the glass and screamed at the top of his lungs, but there was no indication that anyone could hear him. Lest he be trapped by the zombies again, he lingered at the door only a short time before fleeing across the playground again. He repeated this cycle several more times with no success. Running back and forth was wearing him out, so he decided to seek higher ground. The centerpiece of the playground was a large wooden playscape that resembled a pirate ship. It had a rope mesh along one side that served as a ladder for climbing. From the deck of the ship, a wooden ladder led to a crow’s nest. A long steel slide led back to the ground from the crow’s nest.
Dave climbed up the rope mesh to the main deck of the ship. The zombies stumbled up to the mesh but did not seem to understand the concept of climbing. Dave sighed in relief. He was relatively safe atop the playground equipment, but he was stuck there. He had a flashback to his childhood where he and his friends would play a game called “Pirate Ship”. It involved climbing atop a piece of furniture and pretending that the floor was water filled with sharks. If you touched the floor, it meant you were eaten by the sharks. Somehow the nostalgia he felt for this game had lost its luster in this moment. Playing the game with zombies instead of sharks was much less fun than he had remembered .
His goal now was to get the attention of someone inside the building. He spent about five minutes shouting at the top of his lungs, but eventually hoarseness overtook his ability to yell. He took off his shoes and threw each one as hard as possible at the door, hoping the noise would draw attention.
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