Victoria Holman narrowly
escaped a zombie attack at 11:30 a.m. Monday outside of Utah State University’s
Taggart Student Center. She thought she was in a designated safe zone.
“I was on my way to class
and a zombie came out of nowhere,” said Holman, who was traveling alone.
Holman, like many among the
living and undead alike, expressed confusion Monday over the rules of
engagement for human-zombie warfare, set forth by the Leagues of Supernatural
Nations in the Goucher Accord of 2005.
According the accord, on-campus
buildings are allocated as safe havens for humans seeking protection. However,
as the number of zombies increase, humans are finding it harder to stay alive
even in designated safe zone areas.
“I am always on the look
out for zombies, but I didn’t think I would be attacked in a safe zone,” Holman
said. “Now I have to be aware of zombie attacks even in buildings where I am
supposed to be safe.”
The Goucher rules are
meant to maintain fairness to both zombies and humans in the event of war. However,
disputes often arise due to unclear definitions of what a safe zone is.
“I thought the TSC patio
was a refuge from ultimate human extinction,” Holman said.
Despite this common
belief among humans, many zombies have disagreed, noting their belief that only
areas inside of buildings as off limits under the rules of warfare.
Some humans believe the
Goucher rules are outdated and should be rewritten to specify where safe zones
begin.
“I don’t want to have to
feel uneasy everywhere I go,” said human Danielle Fawcet. “They call it a safe
zone for a reason.”
Once humans venture
outside safe zone lines, they become vulnerable to enemy attacks. The most
prevalent attacks occur between USU class sessions, according to zombie Death
Capt. John Gillespie.
“Zombies have the
advantage, because we have nothing to fear and there are more of us,” Gillespie
said. “We have alliances formed all throughout campus.”
Though Holman knows the
chances of survival as a human are slim, she wants to stay alive as long as
possible.
“I don’t want them to
attack me,” she said. “I want to at least survive three days, that’s my goal.”
UnDeadline reporters Natalie Thatcher, Jonathan Larson, Kellianne Smith and Erin Davies contributed to this report.
