Zombies in Tokyo

YOU live and work in Tokyo. Tokyo is a big city. More than 13 million people live around you. You are never alone, but you are always lonely. Every morning, you get up and take the train to work. Every night, you take the train again to go home. The train is always crowded. When people ask about your work, you tell them, “I move papers around.” It’s a joke, but it’s also true. You don’t like your work. Tonight you are returning home. It’s late at night. No one is smiling. Sometimes you don’t see a smile all day. You are tired. You are so tired…

In the morning, you start again. You shower, get dressed, and walk outside. You move slowly, half-awake. Then, suddenly, you stop. Something is different. The streets are quiet. Really quiet. There are no people. No cars. Nothing. “Where is everyone?” you ask yourself. Suddenly, there is a loud sound—a police car. It speeds by and almost hits you. It crashes into a store across the street! You stand there, not moving. Then, another police car drives by. The police officer sees you. “Off the street!” he shouts. “Go home, lock your door!” “What? Why?” you shout back. But it’s too late. He is gone.

“What’s going on?” you ask yourself. Suddenly, a man runs by. He is running toward the train station. There is blood all over his shirt. He looks scared. “Wait!” you shout, but he doesn’t stop. You follow him. Outside the station, you stop. A woman is lying on the ground. She is not moving. “Hey!” you shout. “Are you OK?” She doesn’t answer. You get closer. Her eyes are closed. Only her fingers are moving. Open, close; open, close. “She’s alive!” you say to yourself. “No! Don’t touch her!” someone shouts. You look up. Three people are waving at you from across the street.

DO YOU GO ACRoss the street?

OR

do you help the woman?

tap on your choice!

You run across the street. There, you meet a young family. The father’s name is Maru, the mother is Yoko, and the little boy is Kei. They look scared. “What’s happening?” you ask. “We don't know,” Maru says. “This morning, everyone is… not dead, but… not alive, either!” “They’re zombies!” Kei says, crying. “And that woman…?” you ask. “Yes,” Yoko says. “Right now, most of the zombies are inside their homes and on the trains. We must escape Tokyo before they get out!” “Come with us,” Maru says. “We’re going west. We’re going to follow the river to the mountains. Maybe the mountains are safe.” “Watch out!” Kei shouts.

It’s the woman from the station. She’s walking toward you with her mouth open! “Get down!” Maru shouts. He hits the zombie on the head with his golf club. She falls to the ground and stops moving. “You’re right,” you say. “Let’s get out of here!” It’s a short walk to the river. On the way, you find some bikes. Soon, the four of you are riding toward the mountains. Suddenly, Yoko stops. “Zombies ahead!” she says. The four of you get off your bikes and run behind some trees. A group of zombies walks by. They don’t see you. A few minutes later, they are gone.

DO YOU get on your bikes and continue?

OR

do you wait longer to be safe?

“Call for help!” you shout. “This woman is dying!” You put your fingers on her neck. Nothing. Her heart is not beating. You pull out your phone and call 119, the emergency number in Japan. There’s no answer! Then you see that you have a new video message. It’s from your friend, Evie. She studies science at Tokyo University. You play the message. “…if you get this…” Evie says. “…I can’t explain now... the important thing is…” Suddenly, she looks around, scared. “Oh no, they’re here! Listen… the head! Hit them ON THE HEAD!...” BEEP! the message ends. Then you hear something behind you.

It’s the dying woman! She’s walking toward you! Her mouth is opening and closing. She looks like she’s going to… to bite you! What’s going on? you think. “Ehh… just a minute!” you say, holding out your hands. “Are you… are you OK?” The woman doesn’t answer. She’s getting closer. What can you do? You don’t want to be rude, but you don’t want her to bite you, either! “Listen,” you say, walking back. “I’m… uh, I’m late for my train, so…” You look for somewhere to run. That’s when you see the rock garden next to you. It is full of large white rocks.

do you pick up a rock and hit the woman?

or

do you run away?

“Let’s go,” you say. “Wait,” Kei says. “Daddy, I need to pee!” “OK,” Maru tells him. “Go down by the river. But be careful!” The three of you watch as the boy walks to the river and starts to pee. Yoko turns to Maru. “Soon there will be more zombies,” she says. “We need to get out of here quickly.” “We need food, too,” Maru says. As they talk, you see a baseball bat by your feet. This may be useful, you think. You pick it up and look back toward the river. You don’t see the boy. “Hey, where’s Kei?” you ask. Suddenly, you hear a scream.

You run toward the scream. You see Kei running from a zombie. The zombie is slow, but the boy is scared. He falls down again and again. “Hold on!” you shout. As you get closer, Kei tries to go up a tree. He almost makes it, but the zombie catches his leg. It pulls the boy down. You swing the bat. It hits the zombie on the head. The zombie falls down and stops moving. “Are you OK?” you ask the boy. Then you see the blood on his leg. It’s a zombie bite. “Thank you for saving Kei,” Maru says, catching up. “Now let’s get out of here!”

do you continue on your bikes?

or

do you worry about kei's zombie bite?

“Wait,” you say. “Let’s be sure the zombies are gone.” Maru and Yoko agree. You stay down. After a few minutes, you carefully look around. You don’t see any zombies. You get on your bikes and continue west along the river. Soon, the sun is high in the sky. “I’m hungry,” Kei says. “Let’s take a break,” Maru says, stopping. From his bag, he pulls out two lunch boxes and two bottles of water. “It’s lucky we made these last night,” Yoko says. The four of you sit under a bridge and eat. You hear some screams and gun shots from far away. But mostly, it is quiet.

“Thank you for lunch,” you say as you finish eating. “But where will we get more food later?” “There’s a supermarket over there,” Maru says, pointing. “We can get some food, then continue toward the mountains.” “No, it’s too dangerous,” Yoko says. “Can you hear those screams? There are zombies down there!” “We may not find food later,” Maru says. “We won’t get to the mountains if we are too weak.” “Forget the supermarket,” Yoko says. “Let’s go to the mountains. There are no zombies there.” “But no supermarkets either!” Maru says. “We need to get food first!” “What do you think?” Yoko asks you.

do you continue to the mountains?

or

do you stop at the supermarket?

You pick up a large rock and hit the woman on the head. It makes a wet THUNK! sound. The woman takes one step back and falls down. Oh no, what did I do? you think. She’s dead! I need to find the police! You know that there is a small police station on the other side of the train tracks. You run up the stairs, then across the second floor of the station. At the top, you stop and look down. There are hundreds of people standing on the train tracks! What are they doing? you ask yourself. Are they making a movie?

You continue across the train station. When you get to the other side, you go down the stairs. At the bottom is the small police station. There is a police bike outside, but no police officers. You sit down inside to wait. Suddenly, something touches you! You jump up and turn around. It’s a cat! “Hey, there,” you say. “You scared me! You’re not going to eat me too, are you?” Outside, you can hear people moving around on the train tracks. It must be a movie, you think. I’m sure the police will be back soon. However, an hour later, you’re still waiting.

do you take the bike and go home?

or

do you continue to wait?

You try to run. However, the woman catches your arm and bites you! “OW!” you scream, pushing her. She falls back and hits her head on a rock. She stops moving. “Oh no! I’m sorry!” you say. “I… I’ll get help. Wait here!” You look at your arm. There’s blood everywhere. There’s a convenience store on this street, you think. Maybe I can get help there. You start to walk to the store, but you fall down. You feel very strange. You get up again. This time, you make it. The door is locked, but you push and pull, and it opens a little. You push yourself inside.

Your head hurts. It’s hard to think. Where am I? you ask yourself. Why… why am I here? You look around slowly. Something smells good in here. Really good. “So huuuungry…” you say. You walk to the store counter. On the counter, inside a glass box, you see some pieces of chicken. “Huuuuungry…” you say again. You take a bite, but the chicken is not good. Not good at all. You become angry. You break the glass and knock down all the chicken. Suddenly, you hear a sound. You look around. A girl is sitting on the floor. She looks scared. “No, please!” she screams.

do you move closer to the girl?

or

do you ask her why she's scared?

“Yes,” you say. “Let’s go!” Yoko wraps a towel around Kei’s leg, then puts him on her bike. You and Maru get on your bikes as well. Soon, you are all riding west. It was a good idea to follow the river. You don’t see another zombie all day. By late afternoon, you are close to the mountains. It’s getting dark, but you feel much safer. We’re going to make it, you think to yourself. Suddenly, Yoko starts to scream. She crashes her bike, and you and Maru stop to help. Bad idea. Kei has turned into a zombie. Yoko is already dead. You and Maru are next!

THE END … START AGAIN

“It’s too dangerous here,” you say. “Let’s keep going. We’ll find food in the mountains.” Hours later, you make it to the mountains. You find a small convenience store. There are some zombies in the street outside, but you move too quickly for them. You fill your bags with food, then run up the mountain. It’s dark when you get to the top. “Look at all the stars!” Kei says. You look up. The sky is beautiful, but it makes you sad. The reason you can see so many stars is that all the lights are off in Tokyo! We’re safe here, you think. But… for how long?

THE END … START AGAIN

You get on the police bike, and put the cat in the basket. Then you ride toward home. The streets are getting crowded. There are now more people walking around. They all look strange, like the people at the train station. You pass some children eating a pizza man. A little girl tries to catch you, but you ride by quickly. Soon you are home. When you open the door, the cat jumps in your bed and goes to sleep. “Good idea,” you say, jumping in bed too. “Maybe tomorrow things will be different.” And they are. When you wake up the next morning, a zombie is eating your leg.

THE END … START AGAIN

“No, please!” the girl screams again. “Hellooooo,” you say, moving closer. “Aaaaare you OKaaay?” Suddenly, you stop. Now you know what smells so good. It’s the girl! “NO! STAY AWAY!” she screams. However, you’re not listening. You can only think about one thing. Food! FOOOOD! After your breakfast, you walk outside. Your head doesn’t hurt anymore. In fact, you feel great. Better than you’ve felt in years. Outside, it’s a beautiful, sunny day. Many other people are out now. Everyone is enjoying the day. Everyone in Tokyo is smiling. And why not? No one has to work today. No one has to work ever again.

THE END … START AGAIN

“The zombie bite,” you say. “Isn’t that...?” “NO!” Yoko shouts. “Kei’s fine! He’s fine!” “Go on,” Maru says, sadly. “We’ll catch up later.” You don’t want to leave them, but it’s dangerous to stay. Soon, the boy will become a zombie. “I understand,” you say. “Good luck.” You continue along the river. By yourself, you move quickly. It’s easier to hide from the zombies. Soon, you are in the mountains. You’re safe! The next day, you find an empty temple. You have a place to sleep, and food to eat. However, you are alone again. You don’t know if you should laugh or cry. You do both.

THE END … START AGAIN

“You stay here,” you say. “I’ll run to the supermarket and get food. I’ll be right back.” “Here, take my golf club,” Maru says. You take the golf club and run across the parking lot. The supermarket doors are open. Inside, it is very quiet. You see many dead bodies on the floor. They are not moving. I can do this, you think. Just need to be quiet… You move carefully, taking only what you need. However, as you turn to leave, you drop the golf club. It makes a loud CLANG! sound. At first, everything is perfectly quiet. Then the dead start to move. There is no escape.

THE END … START AGAIN

You wait. The police will be back soon, you think. You pick up the cat. It is happy at first. Then, suddenly, it jumps up and runs away. You look outside. There is a crowd of people in the street. They’re all around the police station. They start to push on the windows. There’s a loud CRACK! as one of the windows breaks. The people start coming in. They look hungry. Very, very hungry. Maybe this isn’t a movie after all, you think, moving back from the window. For the first time today, you are right. Sadly, it’s too late. It’s far too late…

THE END … START AGAIN

“What’s… wrooooong…?” you ask the girl. Suddenly, there is another sound. BANG! BANG! you hear from behind you. You turn around. A police officer is standing there with a gun. BANG! BANG! she shoots again. You look down at the holes in your body. Then you look up again. You are angry. Really angry. You catch the police officer and bite her neck. Her warm blood tastes so good! You have another bite. And another. Soon, you forget all about the convenience store girl. That’s too bad. While you are eating, the girl hits you with a bottle of wine. Your zombie head breaks open like a watermelon.

THE END … START AGAIN