The war is over, the zombies have won

The final battle ended decisively. The undead have
taken over Utah State University.

Rotting body parts, half-eaten organs and fetid entrails were strewn across Utah State University's desolate campus on Saturday. 

The last human survivors had huddled together in the George Nelson Fieldhouse where, at 3 p.m., they make their final stand in a battle dubbed Herm's Deep.

“I do not plan on dying,” said human Leslie Bredthauer as scores of zombies surrounded the building. “I am going to fight as long as I can.”

Fight she did — as did her living brethren — with sock bombs and Nerf darts. But when the battle was over the zombie horde had assumed full control of the campus, exiling a small band of remaining humans from the once-bustling campus.

The undead had won the day. 

•••

"The end of days" 

Moments before the battle began, Cmdr. Steven "Sparkles" Collins addressed a group of about 20 humans, delivering a speech he'd composed on a blood-stained sheet of ruled notepaper — a reminder that he and his fellow warriors had been carefree undergraduates just days earlier.

"Humans. Survivors. Forth. Down fear the darkness," said Collins as he stood before the survivors. "Arise, arise, survivors of Utah State. Socks shall be hurled, blasters shall be exhausted. A stun day. A red day. Ere the sun rises. Fight now. Fight. Fight for ruin and the world’s ending. Death. Death.”

The speech brought cheers from the human army, which was gathered behind a structure its members had dubbed the Hornburg Wall. 

Collins said he knew most of the remaining humans would lose their lives during the coming battle. He said he wanted to prepare them for that fate. 

Joseph Lemmon understood the states. 

“This is the end of days," Lemmon said as the zombies neared. "We will go out in a blaze of glory.”

As he prepared for battle, Eric Lambert said he would kill himself before letting a zombie infect him. 

“I’m going to stand my ground and go down fighting,” Lambert said. “I will probably die today, but I will die human.” 

Gathering behind a barricade, the humans awaited their end.

•••

"Just cannon fodder" 

Approximately 70 soulless corpses shuffled forward, their mouths opened wide as their shrieks of hunger filled the air. The horde paused, momentarily, as Omega zombie Coltin Grover took a post before his undead army. 

"Charge!" Grover screamed.

The zombie horde rushed forward, colliding with the human resistance. Blackened zombie teeth sunk into warm human flesh. Wave by wave, the zombies attacked. One by one, the humans fell. 

As their numbers quickly dwindled, so too did the humans' morale. Warriors who just minutes earlier had cheered Collins' words were now screaming in desperation and agony.

In the midst of the chaos, Gen. Jon Kuhl lost track of the number of fellow humans killed. 

“In the chaos, there’s no way to tell,” he said

Kuhl would soon be among the dead. Previously impervious to infections thanks to an antidote that wore off early Saturday, Kuhl reportedly stunned 28 zombies before succumbing to the horde. 

“‘Tis but a scratch,” Kuhl said, before transforming into a blood-thirsty zombie. 

Soon, his thoughts had turned toward human flesh. “I’m hungry,” he said. 

Zombie James VanderMeyden said the said the undead strategy was to form two or three lines to charge the humans’ stronghold. 

“The zombies in the front are just cannon fodder," VanderMeyden said. "They are there to block.”

The waves of attack granted the zombies time to re-spawn and fully recover from damages caused by the humans. The automatic re-spawning allowed the horde to become more powerful as the battle continued and many of the remaining humans became zombies.

The plan worked. Only 11 humans survived the initial zombie barrage. With dwindling troops and ammunition, the remaining mortals fell back further into their stronghold.

By the fifth zombie wave, human Zachary Jackson could see that his life was nearly over. 

“On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m a 1," he said. "I know I’m going down.”

•••

"Avenge the fallen" 

By 4:20 p.m., the battle was over. 

Exiled alongside four other survivors, as the undead horde chanted and groaned in euphoria, Collins vowed to return with reinforcements.  

“I plan to find all the humans I can to burn the horde and avenge the fallen who have died here today,” said Collins, who is thought to be immune from the zombie plague but did leave the site of the battle injured. “Mark my words, I will be back. I will raise an army. I will build whatever it takes and I will take the zombies down."

Emily Esplin, the executive vice president of the exiled Utah State University Students Association, issued a statement on behalf of the entire student body, and pledged to build a memorial on campus – once the zombie horde had moved on. 

“Thank you to those who put their lives on the line to protect USU and its students,” she said. “I know that the losses are difficult to overcome, but as we've seen, good always overcomes evil.”

But Grover, the zombie leader, didn't see it that way. 

Saturday's final victory, he said, was quite conclusive — and felt “pretty dang good.” 

“The day of men is over and the age of the zombies has risen,” Grover said as he strolled through the rotting carnage of the battle. "Man has fallen. Man is weak. Man is dead.”

Though the war had come to an end, the stench of the zombie's victory lingered in the fall air.

UnDeadline reporters Sarah Winder, Mandi West, Lindsey Snyder, Taylor Condie, Ron Matheson, Dominic Bohne, Sierra Copeland, Jamie Keyes, Jaimie Son, Katie Larsen, Scott Hall, Caroline Peterson, Itzel Leon, Kris Hyde, Madison Maners, Stacey Worster, Stewart Ulrich, Hannah Hendricks, Alora Clark, Emily Lindley, Christopher Campbell, Bradley Bair, Marley McClune, Morgan Jacobsen, Eliza Welsh, Jeff Dahdah, Cassidy Stephens, Robyn Van Valkenburg, Mitch Watkins, Sara Bailey, Amanda Ahlman, Bennett Purser, Elisabeth Gee, William Christensen, Branson Smith and Mina Sayer contributed to this report.

Little hope for those infected with zombie virus

Zach Gompert

A cure for the infectious zombie outbreak will not be available for years, according to Zach Gompert, an assistant professor of biology at Utah State University.

“I’m sure there’s certainly lots of people working on vaccines that would prevent the spread,” Gompert said, “but those things take a long time to figure out.”

According to Gompert, the fact that viruses tend to mutate further complicates the situation.

“You can have a vaccine that works and then suddenly it’s no longer working because the virus itself has evolved,” Gompert said. “So it may take a while before something’s truly nailed down.”  

Even if cured, those infected with the virus have little hope for recovery.  

“The sooner a cure for the infection was administered the better off a patient would be,” said Josh Woolstenhulme, a physical therapist at The National Institutes of Health. “Zombies’ bodies are breaking down all the time. Depending on their injuries, zombies would need a lot of amputations and prosthetics.”

Woolstenhulme said after a certain time, even with a cure, the damage sustained to the body would be so great that the person would not survive.

Greggory Madden, an experimental behavior analyst at USU, said classical and operant conditioning can be used to teach them.

“Since they’re so stupid, you could probably manipulate their behavior quite readily,” Madden said.

According to Madden, it may be difficult to do this because the zombies may not give humans the amount of contact they need to condition them. Instead it might be better to associate humans with an aversive sound as a way to ward off the zombies.

The League of Supernatural Nations is encouraging all those who have not been infected to stay home and not to open the door for anyone, even family and friends.

UnDeadline reporters Alora Clark, Christopher Campbell, Stewart Ulrich, Emily Lindley and Hannah Hendricks contributed to this report. 

Humans complete mission, destroy spawn pit

Humans captured a zombie spawn pit on Thursday night. 

Humans gathered outside the Lundstrom Student Center at Utah State University in Logan, armed and ready to take over the zombie horde on a mission Thursday night.

“For the resistance,” yelled Sean Schilling, a human leader, as the living pack attacked the zombies that flooded the building.

To fend off the zombies, the humans declared a safe zone in a room on the west side of the building.

As the humans made a battle plan, the zombies had already strategized a sneak attack from the north side.

“I enjoy being a zombie. I like to see the fear on human’s faces,” said zombie Carissa Grover.

The zombies also surprised the humans with the use of crabs, also known as super zombies — which can only be killed from the front as their backs are heavily armed. Crabs also have immunity powers.

“I am worried about the crabs," Schilling said. "They're dangerous.”

“Trying to kill a crab is a very hard thing to do,” Staheli said.

As more and more zombies got hit by the human’s projectile missiles, they continually kept re-spawning. This made it very difficult for the humans to hold off the horde that was constantly coming back to life.

Finally, the zombies surrounded the outside of the building on the north side. The dark became a canopy as zombies re-spawned and attacked humans while avoiding the safe zone.

The humans ultimately managed to destroy a zombie spawn pit where many zombies were recovering. No crabs were killed in the battle.  

UnDeadline reporters Bennett Purser, Elisabeth Gee, Branson Smith, Mina Sayer, and Will Christensen contributed to this report.

Original zombie was undercover as member of human resistance

Original zombie Dylan Jones was undercover
as a member of the human resistance.

Original zombie Dylan Jones was undercover with the human resistance on Utah State University's campus on Tuesday and remained among the living until he was identified as a zombie Wednesday morning.

After being discovered, Jones returned to the zombie horde and joined in the hunt for humans. 

“The OZ made us very fearful because we did not know if the human standing next to us would be a zombie in disguise,” said Jacob Tibbitts, a human squad leader who was infected by Jones.

“What better tool to destroy your enemies than fear of themselves?” asked Coltin "King Omega" Grover, who kidnapped Jones at the beginning of the Fall 2013 semester and trained him to disrupt the human resistance. ”The OZ provided us with vital intel.” 

The original zombie used his position to gain the whereabouts of the human leaders. This information lead to four humans being ambushed, according to Grover.

“He helped plan routes to classes and that is how he set up the ambushes for humans,” Tibbitts said. “He was very deceptive because he was so nice and helpful.”

Jones said he had no regrets about betraying the humans because his role was to take out as many humans as possible. 

“I was trained to do it," Jones said. "It was their mistake trusting me so easily and they paid dearly for that mistake."

After the human resistance learned of the original zombie’s identity, Jones was forced to hunt humans without his cover.

“It was a very lucky guess that got me,” Jones said. ”We were able to kill the guy who revealed me the day after I was discovered.”

Skylar Godfrey, the human who identified the original zombie, said he had his suspicions about Dylan when he saw him conversing with a zombie.

“He decided to go down fighting,” Jones said. “After he was tagged we gave him a public execution at the day mission.”

“I was no longer afraid once I embraced Omega in my heart,” Godfrey said.

Jones said he hoped to turn more humans into servants of his king Omega. 

“We are going to continue to snowball zombie numbers and wipe out humanity,” Jones said. 

UnDeadline reporters Scott Hall, Caroline Peterson, Itzel Leon, Kris Hyde, Madison Maners, Stacey Worster contributed to this report

Materials for a cure obtained, but not without a high price.

Steven Collins, also known as Captain Sparkles,
prepares for battle.

Resistance fighters were given orders on Wednesday night to gather outside the Lundstrom Student Living Center at Utah State University, where they were to be taken to their second night mission. 

At approximately 9:05 p.m. a bus arrived and the troops assembled to be transported to the Stan Laub training facility, where Captain Sparkles, General Kuhl and Lady Harbinger would be waiting to give the group further instructions.  

When the bus arrived the troops gathered outside and awaited their mission plan. Shortly after, their objective was revealed: They would need to retrieve the lost materials for a cure that had been stolen by the zombies earlier that day.

“I was in the middle of my research and then I left for a demonstration and came back and my whole hideout had been ransacked,” said Tori Winslow, also known as Lady Harbinger, president of the League of Supernatural Nations. “The vital parts of the cure are missing; I was really close to establishing it.”

Winslow’s hope for the mission was for the humans to recover the lost property so she could piece together a cure.

“We’re anticipating the zombies to be everywhere,” said John Tucker, a human who survived many zombie attacks. “With the zombies it’s always scary because once they see you it’s almost like lightning and they go right after you.”

As the troops waited outside the building, Steven Collins, also known as Captain Sparkles, greeted his comrades and gave a speech to inspire his group.

“Don’t fear the horde because we are humans, if we are united we will not fall,” Collins said.

The humans entered the structure and saw provisions scattered across the indoor field. Next to the supplies awaited a large group of zombies.

Zombie leader Coltin Grover stood in front of both groups and explained there was an invisible fence holding the zombies back. Once a bag was grabbed by a human, the fence dropped allowing the zombies to charge.

Before the fight began, Collins had a moment to collaborate with the humans and talk about tactical plans.

“We don’t want to get too deep into zombie territory and surrounded there,” Collins said. “We have a group that goes forward that clears the area, we make sure the people picking up the bags are guarded and then we have a firing line of humans to shoot the zombies off their backs.”

Winslow said reclaiming the cure will be a turning point in the battle.

“The humans have come out, but they’ve come out a little bit weaker than last night, so hopefully they will be able to pull through,” Winslow said.

  

As the humans gathered onto the field, excitement spread through both groups.

“I have my nice guns so I’m ready to go,” Tucker said. 

The humans and the zombies faced each other, bearing arms and ready to fight. The zombies started chanting phrases like “Brains, brains, brains,” to intimidate the humans. 

The humans then proceeded forward. The first bag was grabbed and the zombies charged.

“For the horde,” the zombies screamed. 

As the battle continued, the humans were successfully meeting their objectives. 

“We are achieving our objectives extraordinarily well; the humans as a result are performing admirably,” Collins said. “We’ve taken very few casualties which is actually excellent.”

Grover said he was looking around and noticed nothing but scared humans.

“The humans are scared spitless; they run like a bunch of scared rabbits,” Grover said.

At one point in the battle, a lone human decided to advance without communicating to his leaders. This advancement resulted in a lot of casualties.

“I know we were doing really well but somebody tried to be sneaky and we lost a lot of people on that one attack,” Tucker said. “It is better to plan effectively and follow the plans instead of trying to go out on your own.”

The battle ended with 20 humans being infected. The zombies celebrating by chanting, “One of us!”

“It’s still a win for the humans tonight,” Tucker said. 

According to Tucker, for the humans to survive until the end of the week they'll need to fight smart.

“The zombie horde is a lot bigger now,” Tucker said. “What humans need to do is be smart during the day, be sneaky, if we coordinate with each other then everything will go well. It’s going to be tough, but I think we can get it.”

UnDeadline reporters Scott Hall, Caroline Peterson, Itzel Leon, Kris Hyde, Madison Maners, Stacey Worster contributed to this report

Rookie Zombie holds record for human deaths

With the human death toll rising every hour on the Utah State University campus, a young zombie, after being selectively chosen by death captains, has become a major force for the zombie horde.

The former human, James Kellmer first encountered the death captains before the apocalypse. He was working with a group called The Human Resistance, which plans attacks and safety strategies against zombies.

The death captains invaded their meeting and Kellmer was forced to submit his human life.

Now leading the death toll for the zombies with 14 deaths this week, Kellmer has also been chosen to be the zombie’s newest death captain.

Before the apocalypse, Kellmer said, he was paralyzed with fear. “I knew I wasn’t human for life," Kellmer said. "I was super paranoid, always thinking what I should do. It was haunting,” 

After his submission to the death captains, he felt relieved and finally safe. Then he noticed changes within himself.

Since he became a zombie, he said, he’s felt viscous and hungry. He can’t stop thinking about his next attack.

“I became a zombie and all zombies are loyal to the horde,” Kellmer said. “Now I have to be loyal. I cannot show mercy.”

Katie Pontsler, a zombie who Kellmer infected on Tuesday, said she is experiencing similar behavior since her attack.

“I have been insanely hungry since I’ve become zombie. We only have to eat every 48 hours, but that’s not enough, I want more,” Pontsler said.

Her loyalty to the zombies is equally as strong. She is responsible for two deaths since losing her human life.

“It’s an overwhelming desire, I’m always craving brains. I must kill for brains,” Pontsler said. 

Another danger for humans is the Original Zombie, a zombie disguised as human. The location and identity of the OZ are unknown, so it can attack humans without warning.

“That was my main fear when I was still human. I did not want to get hit by the OZ,” Kellmer said. “But now I fear nothing.”

Although some humans have sought a truce with the undead, Kellmer believes that zombies and humans cannot live in peace with each other. He said his new urges are too fierce to sympathize with human life. 

“When zombies take over the entire planet, they can be our slaves,” Kellmer said. 

And Kellmer said he is proud of his role in that revolution. 

“I will be rookie of the year,” he said.

UnDeadline reporters Elisabeth Gee, Mina Sayer, Branson Smith, William Christensen and Bennett Purser contributed to this report. 

Prolific killer is feared and revered

James Kellmer willingly sacrificed himself to the zombie horde; he is now among the most prolific killers.

He surrendered his life to the deadly zombie virus. As one of the few, he was trained by zombie generals and worked his way to leadership in the walking dead horde. He is both revered and feared by his friends. 

And now, he's ascended to high leadership of the zombie horde. 

Killing humans gives James Kellmer vigor — a vibrant life in a lifeless body.

On Thursday, the Lundstrom Student Living Center on Utah State’s campus housed over a hundred zombies and humans. That night, Kellmer became a super zombie and was promoted to the leader of both zombies and super zombies. 

It was a well-deserved position, fellow zombies said, given his blood-thirsty dedication.

Kellmer killed 10 humans his first day as a zombie.

“If I see someone running, it’s a good sign they are human,” Kellmer said. “So I launch into a dead sprint after them.” 

“James Kellmer is the fastest zombie here,” said human Aditya Chauhan. 

His fearlessness attitude petrifies the humans and is helping to increase to moral of his fellow zombies. 

Outside the Lundstrom center, Kellmer gathered a large group of zombies and, with flesh-torn arms slung over one another's rotting shoulders, they huddled close. On Kellmer's lead the group began to chant the words to "Hoist the Colors" in deep, unholy voices. 

Yo, ho, haul together,

hoist the colors high.

Heave ho,

thieves and beggars,

never shall we die.

When David Redd heard Kellmer was going to find him and kill him before the night attacks began, his human eyes opened wide. 

“Knowing that he is a super zombie is going to be scary,” Redd said. 

According to zombie general Dylan Jones, Kellmer has remained one of the top killers of the horde. 

“He has been racking up kills ever since his first day as a zombie,” Jones said. 

As zombies gathered around Kellmer for their killing instructions on Thursday night, he raised his fists in the air and, with human blood dripping off his lips, commanded them to slaughter all the humans. 

Hearing his orders, and without hesitation, the soulless corpses lifted their arms to salute their leader. 

“We’re going to strike fear into their hearts,” Kellmer said with a smile. “And their souls shall quiver.” 

UnDeadline reporters Dominic Bohne, Sierra Copeland, Jamie Keyes, Jaimie Son, and Katie Larsen contributed to this report.

Visually impaired survivor proceeds with caution

Sean Schilling

Sean Schilling, one of the few remaining humans of the zombie apocalypse as of Friday, has been surviving by taking cautious routes while on the campus of Utah State University.

Most humans are on the lookout for zombies but Schilling, who is visually impaired, uses different strategies to escape the walking dead.

Friday afternoon, Schilling was located in the Eccles Science Center awaiting an opportunity to relocate to the Taggart Student Center for shelter. Another surviving human met Schilling at the front doors and together they successfully avoided encounters with zombies.

“It is always good to have another human with you,” Schilling said.

Schilling also knows typically where the zombies graze for human consumption. By avoiding these areas he has been able to survive throughout the week.

Still, he had a few close calls. 

On Tuesday, when leaving Old Main, Schilling was bombarded by four zombies.

“I had to run across the Quad, taking shortcuts and I zapped two of the brain-sucking zombies in order to escape,” Schilling said. “I have encountered zombies before, but not to that extent.”

Jon Kuhl, a general for the humans, estimated 30 humans are still alive.

“Earlier today I faced a horde of zombies and was cornered behind the library,” Kuhl said. “They only left a couple scratches when I was able to escape.”

The number of zombies has now far bypassed the humans, who are now forced to travel alone more often while zombies gather in hunting parties, Schilling said.

“Today I was going to stay in the ESC until 4:15 p.m. when I knew it would be safe to move through zombie territory,” Schilling said. “Luckily another human was there to accompany me; lately this is rare.”

As of now Schilling, along with other survivors, are gathering as much ammunition for the final battle. 

“Being one of the last remaining humans, for someone who can’t see very well, it makes me feel like a powerful person,” Schilling said.

UnDeadline Reporters Hannah Hendricks, Emily Lindley, Stewart Ulrich, Christopher Campbell and Alora Clark contributed to this report.

Resistance leader dies during a scouting mission.

The zombie horde continued its onslaught against human survivors with the killing of Dean Bartschi.

Dean Bartschi, a leader of The Resistance, was killed during a Wednesday night mission, human officials have reported.

Bartschi was a moved to the first rank of The Resistance after Jacob Tibbitts was killed during Tuesday night’s mission on Utah State University’s campus.

“Who among you thinks they have leadership qualities that people will follow?” Gen. Steven “Sparkles” Collins, a leader of the humans, asked at Tuesday night’s mission.

Five humans stepped forward, one of them was Bartschi.

Bartschi was made a captain and given a scouting squad of eight members. 

Taking command of the squad, Bartschi taught them formations, signals and calls that they would use on their missions. Throughout the mission, Bartschi’s squad went scouting for supplies while others set up a base camp.

  

On Wednesday, while the zombies were at truce with the humans, Bartschi was on a bus transporting the dead and the living to the mission site.

“The tension between the sides was obvious and uncomfortable,” Bartschi said. “We were on edge the whole ride. It was intense because there were teams of zombies and just a few scattered humans. We had zombies in our faces telling us we were next.”

The humans knew their chances of survival were not good.

“I want to live through tonight,” Bartschi recalled thinking. “If I go down, at least I’ll go down fighting.”

During the onslaught of Wednesday night’s mission, Bartschi met his demise.

“In the chaos of a retreat and regrouping, my backside went unprotected and unwatched,” Bartschi said.  

Bartschi was focused on stunning the few zombies who were limping aimlessly around the supplies that his squad was retrieving. He did not notice the horde growing just behind the few wandering zombies until they charged at him and his squad. More than 40 zombies went after Bartschi with crazed eyes and gnashing teeth. He began to retreat while still covering the other scouts. He ran into a wall and was trapped by the zombies when he was bit.

Bartschi said he was angry that he had been trapped.  

“I feel dead, cold and lifeless. I miss the human side,” Bartschi said.

UnDeadline reporters Amanda Ahlman, Mitch Watkins, Robyn Van Valkenburg, Cassidy Stephens and Sara Bailey contributed to this report. 

Mutated zombies captured by harbingers for target practice

Pictured from left to right: humans Jonathan Young, David Redd and Cmdr. Sparkles prepare for an exercise. 

Five human harbingers — mortals who are immune to the undead virus — brought a crop of newly mutated zombies with unique capabilities to be used for a training exercise for The Resistance on Thursday afternoon at the Utah State University Quad. 

The exercise took place in a human safe zone, where the virus cannot be spread. The zombies were tamed by the harbingers through unknown methods to sharpen the zombie hunting skills of the humans. 

The harbingers captured the zombies to train the humans in preparation for a large-scale attack expected tonight.

“The real battle is tonight,” harbinger Weston Taylor said. “We want the humans to know how to fight them, but it’s a funny thing because the zombies learn, too.”

Jeff Pontsler, one of the 140 remaining humans, came so he could better defend himself in future battles. 

“It’s supposed to be an exercise, but when the zombies put on that face it just makes you want to kill them,” Pontsler said.

Pontsler lost his brother and sister on Wednesday to zombie attacks. Now, he said, his former siblings are his enemies. 

“If I come to face-to-face with them, I will kill them,” Pontsler said. “As far as I’m concerned, my brother and sister died already.” 

Zombie Jackson Pontsler said even though he was captured, he would use the human exercise to his advantage. 

“I know I’m not able to die,” Jackson said. “I will be able to see the humans’ weaknesses.” 

“People think zombies are brainless, but we’re not,” Jackson said. “We just need to feed on brains.”

Jackson said he would infect his brother if he had the chance.

The exercise was part of an increasingly organized effort to train The Resistance army for an attack on the Horde’s nest. 

UnDeadline reporters Alora Clark, Stewart Ulrich, Christopher Campbell, Emily Lindley and Hannah Hendricks contributed to this report.

Humans and zombies reach temporary truce, play games

A human hunter escorts two captured zombies for a game of capture the flag.  

With a basketball game on Utah State University's campus drawing human and zombie fans alike, the League of Supernatural Nations ordered an evening truce for all combatants, and organized a pre-game capture the flag contest. 

Capture the flag game was played on the central campus lawn, located near The Junction. About 35 zombies and humans showed up to play.

“This is almost the best part of the week,” said Sean Shilling, a key soldier for the zombie horde who is known for leaving the blood of his human victims on his face. “Humans can play as zombies and zombies as humans. It is completely for fun. It doesn't matter who wins at all.”

Coltin Grover was the moderator on the scene making sure that the teams were even and that everybody was playing by the rules.

“Regardless of what game you play there are always those players that don’t play fair or are kind of jerks,” said Daniel Weckler, a zombie general. “But that happens in every sport and in every game, it’s still fun.”

Weckler said his was disappointed, though, that not many living or undead people showed up to play. He attributed that to exhaustion from running around all week trying to eat or avoid being eaten — and a final battle expected for Saturday evening for which some might be trying to rest.

Players were divided into two teams and began attempting to reach the opposite team’s flag, which was a large Nerf battle ax, while avoiding flying projectiles.

"It’s really unfortunate that we didn't have any missions today,” Shilling said. “But it’s pretty fun just getting together and playing for fun.”

Due to the low turn-out, the event was cut short and ended at 5 p.m.

UnDeadline reporters Will Christensen, Branson Smith, Elisabeth Gee, Mina Sayer, and Bennett Purser contributed to this report. 

Zombie infection causes tension in student relationship

The zombie plague has proven difficult for some student relationships.

A zombie attack on Tuesday proved problematic for freshman couple Hannah Masko and McKay Mondfrans. 

While walking around campus, Masko and Mondfrans were ambushed by a horde of zombies. Although Masko was able to escape unharmed, Mondfrans was infected during the struggle.

“They initially came after me, but I was out of ammunition,” Masko said. “McKay jumped in front of me and got infected instead. It was supposed to be me.”

According to Masko, Mondfrans began transforming into a zombie right after being bitten.

“I could smell his flesh start to rot almost immediately,” Masko said. “It was really hard to see my boyfriend turn into something almost unrecognizable.”

“There was a lot going through my mind at the time,” Mondfrans said. “I was just hoping that she would somehow still want to be with me.”

After the attack, Masko avoided Mondfrans as much as possible.

“Of course I care for McKay, but once he turned into a zombie, all I could do was avoid him,” Masko said. “I didn’t want to turn into one either.”

Although Masko tried to avoid contamination, she was infected in the Stan Laub Indoor Training Center Wednesday night during a mission to secure a vaccine for the zombie virus.

“There was really no escaping it,” Masko said. “I was surrounded.”

According to Mondfrans, Masko’s infection has improved their relationship.

“Now that we are both zombies it’s great,” Mondfrans said. “We get to be together constantly without worrying about killing or eating each other.”

While Masko and Mondfrans are able to be together without harming each other, their relationship is much different than it was when they were human.

“Every time we hug, little chunks of flesh fall off,” Mondfrans said. “I know it shouldn’t bother me, but it feels really weird.”

“I’ll always be grateful to McKay for saving me, but now that we are both zombies, I’m not sure how we can really care for each other,” Masko said.

According to Masko and Mondfrans, being zombies has put a strain on their relationship, but neither is willing to give up on it.

“If we can just push through until we get the vaccination, I know that we will come out of this stronger than before,” Mondfrans said.

UnDeadline reporters Sarah Winder, Mandi West, Lindsey Snyder, Taylor Condie and Ron Matheson contributed to this report.

Zombies roaming college campus will soon be sedated and treated for parasite.

Scientists believe they might have found a cure to the zombie epidemic.

The cause of Utah State University’s zombie outbreak, which began Tuesday, has been determined. A parasite which inhabits the brains of humans was found in several different individuals serving as hosts.

This parasite, which is the first of its kind and is not yet named, mutated from the 2012 form which infected students on Utah State’s campus for more than four days.

Those who have not been touched by zombies are safe as long as they avoid direct contact. Zombies can be easily identified by their orange headbands and rotting flesh. 

“This parasite effectively enters the bloodstream and it can completely alter the brain synapse and the neurotransmitters,” said Sofia Origanti, a molecular biologist instrumental in determining the cause. “It has found a way to somehow get inside your brain.”

After effectively quarantining Cache Valley on Tuesday evening, scientists were able to tranquilize four zombies by shooting darts which cut off the brain from the circulatory system. This induced coma allowed blood samples to be obtained and organs examined. 

The zombies remained tranquilized through the night for testing. During that time The results showed that these individuals previously thought to be undead are still living.

"You can't just walk around from point A to point B," said Edwin Antony, a biochemist who assisted in the examination of sample corpses. "You need some sort of energy to keep the body going."

The examinations showed that organs are not directly affected by the parasite but by hormones which come from the infected brain. Organs are not harmed, due to the parasitic nature of requiring a healthy host.

Antony said that there is hope that the infected can be treated and return to normalcy.

"Because they can be cured we have to make sure that we sedate them, quarantine them and then slowly work on rehabilitation," Antony said. "But we can kill the parasite. Parasites work differently than humans so you can definitely develop drugs for it really quickly."

Vaccines will be available upon request at the Registrar’s Office on the third floor of the Taggart Student Center starting Friday morning. Two different treatment procedures for the infected are still in development.

UnDeadline reporters Scott Hall, Caroline Peterson, Itzel Leon, Kris Hyde, Madison Maners, Stacey Worster contributed to this report

Human army captures vaccine after suffering casualties

A zombie feasts on a human heart.

In an effort to secure the vaccine for the zombie virus, Gen. Jon Kuhl led his troops into the zombie-infested Stan Laub Training Center Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.

The antidote was secured at 11:15 p.m. and was transported back to Utah State University’s main campus.

 

Kuhl and his troops received word Wednesday afternoon that the zombie horde was protecting what was known to be the last supplies of the antidote to cure the infected. The human leaders plan on reproducing the cure with the facilities still operational on USU’s campus.

 

Under the direction of Kuhl and Gen. Steven “Sparkles” Collins, the human army acquired weaponry to overrun the horde. Forty-five humans organized outside the training center and formulated a plan of attack against the 54 zombies.

 

“Choose who you trust. Choose who you think can help you the best. Do your best,” said Kuhl before the attack. “Don’t die. Kill zombies.”

 

According to Kuhl, 20 humans were infected over the course of the mission. Oftentimes, humans witnessed their fellow soldiers fall victim to the zombie horde.

 

“I’d be willing to kill my friends if they turned” into a zombie, said human soldier Joey Shields regarding the possibility of losing a fellow soldier. Shields never had the chance as he was infected shortly thereafter.

 

The horde chanted and swayed after a human became infected:

 

“One of us! One of us! One of us!” were the words that echoed from the horde.

 

“Unleash hell on the zombies as soon as they go,” said Sparkles to his troops during the attack.

 

Radios crackled among the human army; empty shell casings lay askew on the ground; humans shrieked into the night as they were devoured one by one.

 

Kuhl fell down and injured his stomach during the attack, but continued to provide leadership for his unit.

 

“I’m fine. I’m good to go,” said Kuhl after a close encounter with a blood-thirsty zombie.

Overall, the mission was a success for the human army. After multiple running attacks, the humans retrieved the bags containing the cure.

 

“We got our goal. But we lost 20 humans tonight,” Kuhl said. “I hope it was worth it. The scientists better make more of the vaccine now.”

 

UnDeadline reporters Bradley Bair, Marley McClune, Morgan Jacobsen, Eliza Welsh and Jeff Dahdah contributed to this report.

Editor's note: The mission proved hazardous for UnDeadline reporters who embedded themselves within the human army units. Reporter Marley McClune almost became infected when a group of zombies ambushed her. McClune only survived due to her boots being made of the same material as Nerf bullets, which stunned the attacking horde.  

Experts unsure how long humans can last

The recent zombie outbreak at Utah State University has led to questions about how long humans can last. 

The outbreak started with one infected individual on Tuesday; as of Thursday evening it had spread to at least 19 zombies.

USU professors are seeking answers, but the results of their research look bleak.

“It seems to me that it would grow exponentially at the beginning and in the middle,” said USU calculus professor Nathan Geer. “At some point there won’t be a whole lot of humans left and the rate will start to go down.”

The graph for exponential growth with limits shows a quick increase in the infection rate at the beginning and a decrease in rate after the halfway point. At the point where half of the population at USU is zombies, the spread rate of the infection will be the greatest.

“Even if some humans are more resilient than others, once the population is primarily zombies, the humans will go pretty quick,” Geer said.

Scott Ensign, a USU chemistry professor, has some ideas for people to become more resilient. He suggests humans mask their scent because zombies can track humans by smell.

“Cadaver is a molecule that stinks like one of those nasty decomposing body smells,” Ensign said. “I think that would be a great way to do it. Use cadaver just like perfume. It’s good stuff — stinks really bad.”

Despite the suggested precautions to humans, Ensign still believes the spread of zombies will be fast.

“In a matter of weeks everyone will be a zombie,” Ensign said.

UnDeadline reporters Bradley Bair, Marley McClune, Morgan Jacobsen, Eliza Welsh and Jeff Dahdah contributed to this report.

USU scientists working to find cure to zombie virus

As the recent zombie outbreak continues to spread across Utah State University’s campus this week, local scientists are working hto find a cause to the virus and, eventually, a cure.

Several scientists agreed that the first precautionary measure to take was to cut off all contact with those known to be infected.

Andy Anderson

“Quarantine is the first thing,” said Andy Anderson, a USU biologist. “We have to close the borders, close the roads and isolate ourselves from the virus.”

As soon as it became clear that the virus was spreading very rapidly, a team of epidemiological scientists began investigating the origin of the virus.

“We are always looking for commonalities,” said Reed Geertsen, a USU medical sociologist. “We have to track down who has the virus, find common symptoms, look at the physical traits and try to come up with how this virus began and how it is spreading so rapidly.”

According to Geertsen, there are still a lot of questions that haven’t been answered and the cure won’t be found until the underlying cause is discovered.

Reed Geertsen

“We know that the zombie virus is flesh-eating,” Geertsen said. “What we don’t know is how it began. Was it an airborne virus that the first person caught? Was the first person bit by something previously infected that contracted the foreign virus? We just don’t know yet.”

Geertsen compared the zombie virus epidemic to the Black Death that plagued Europe hundreds of years ago.

“This virus is like the plague because of how rampant it is,” Geertsen said. “We are hoping that it ebbs and flows like the plague so we can have more time to figure out how it began.”

Although the future is still unknown in terms of controlling and eradicating the virus, Geertsen, Anderson and their colleagues are hopeful that medical knowledge will prevail and answers will be forthcoming.

“We are applying our best medical and scientific knowledge to stop the spreading of this virus,” Geertsen said.

The fear of not being able to find a cure and becoming infected still remains while the scientists have been running tests and researching the results.

“The thing that’s scary is you don’t know who’s infected,” Anderson said. “Someone who looks normal could have a small bite somewhere and transform into a zombie within a matter of seconds.”

Aside from the medical and scientific aspect of searching for a cure, scientists are also worried about the emotional impact the virus continues to have on human relationships.

“Without scientific knowledge, we are hopeless,” Geertsen said. “When we are hopeless, mass hysteria ensues. When mass hysteria ensues, human relationships are destroyed.”

UnDeadline reporters Amanda Ahlman, Mitch Watkins, Robyn Van Valkenburg, Sara Bailey and Cassidy Stephens contributed to this report.