text: [Themes: Zombie, Horror, twist, violence, dead protagonist, post-apocalyptic, profanity]
  
  > look around
  The road curves to the north here around a steep cliff. Dead ahead
  is the scene of a horrific accident - four or five cars are smashed together.
  
  A horde of monsters is ripping chunks off of Peter's body. You
  could almost swear their shrieks are cries of frustration that they can't find his brain, that their putrid drool is mixed with tears of longing.
  
  You can also see your bomb here.
  
  The elderly gentleman, joined by a gaggle of his companions, turns from Peter's body and reaches for you. You swing your machete, and it gets stuck in a shoulder. Before you can pull it out, five hands grab your arm, and others behind you lift your body, twisting your arm, turning you upside-down...
  
  But they're not big scary monsters. No, you're the monster... these are just little schoolkids. They couldn't be more than eight years old. There's so many, though, and they want your brains just as much as you want theirs. Headfirst, you're lowered towards their broken little teeth...
  
  > throw the bomb at the zombies
  (your bomb the monsters)
  (first taking your bomb)
  
  You might, if you were very lucky, blow up one of these creatures before they got to you. No, this bomb is for you to go out with a scrap of dignity - and avoid becoming one of them.
  
  The elderly gentleman, joined by a gaggle of his companions, turns from Peter's body and reaches for you. You swing your machete, and it gets stuck in a shoulder. Before you can pull it out, five hands grab your arm, and others behind you lift your body, twisting your arm, turning you upside-down...
  
  But they're not big scary monsters. No, you're the monster... these are just little schoolkids. They couldn't be more than eight years old. There's so many, though, and they want your brains just as much as you want theirs. Headfirst, you're lowered towards their broken little teeth...
  
  > go west
  The horde is approaching from all directions. There is nowhere to
  go. The only choice you have is how you will die.
  
  The elderly gentleman, joined by a gaggle of his companions, turns from Peter's body and reaches for you. You swing your machete, and it gets stuck in a shoulder. Before you can pull it out, five hands grab your arm, and others behind you lift your body, twisting your arm, turning you upside-down...
  
  But they're not big scary monsters. No, you're the monster... these are just little schoolkids. They couldn't be more than eight years old. There's so many, though, and they want your brains just as much as you want theirs. Headfirst, you're lowered towards their broken little teeth...
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  a rosary
  a filthy machete
  your bomb
  
  > wear the bomb
  (your bomb)
  You fix the straps around your head.
  
  An elderly gentleman with no flesh on the right side of his face touches Peter lightly on the ear. Peter doesn't flinch, he just relaxes his thumb. The two of them drop to the ground amid a deafening crack of blood and fire.
  
  The elderly gentleman gets up.
  
  > turn off the safety
  You switch off the safety. If you have the guts to press the
  trigger button now, you will never be reanimated. Maybe you'll finally know if Peter was right about choosing eternal rest...
  
  > attach the hand
  (to your arm)
  As you place your hand on your arm, the itching becomes more intense until it feels like a white-hot flame. Cartilage springs from your bone as sinews reattach and flesh crawls together. Within a minute or so your hand is as whole as it was before - that is to say, putrid and threadbare, but attached.
  
  Unfortunately, your headache is worse now.
  
  > Status
  Your hand has been fused back onto your arm, and your foot has been fused back onto your leg. You have eaten some Sister's brains, some old yellow dog's brains, and a last piece of your friend Jim's brains. A ringing in your ears like a power drill boring into your skull is the last remnant of a once formidable headache. Now it's only about twice as bad as anything you had while living.
  
  > look at the children
  They're emerging from under the schoolbus and spreading down the road to the west.
  
  > go east
  The wreckage of multiple vehicles blocks further passage down the road. The only way back is to the west.
  
  > go inside
  Some of the children watch hungrily as you leave.
  
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  An old jukebox stands in one corner, lit up and ready to play a tune.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the kitchen door.
  
  > Go west
  The dancing children are so densely packed by the kitchen entrance that you can't get past.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection B2: 'Big Car' by Severed Heads. A foursquare techno beat.
  
  > Go east
  You slip into the booth without the children noticing. It seems that second-graders are even more easily distractible when they're dead.
  
  The Uptown Diner (in the booth)
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  A handful of decaying schoolchildren are dancing to the music, temporarily oblivious to your presence. More are joining them as they come in from outside the front of the diner.
  
  Each booth is a formica table with two bench seats upholstered in ripped and faded red vinyl, with a speaker positioned on the ceiling directly overhead. This booth has a blind covering the window. It's crooked and appears to be jammed, but it covers the glass so that you can't tell whether it's broken or not.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the kitchen door.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection B2: 'Big Car' by Severed Heads. A foursquare techno beat.
  
  > Break glass
  (the east window)
  You ball your fist up and punch the window. Your fist bounces off. You try again, harder, and pieces of bone splinter from your knuckles. Finally, you pound your head against the window and it shatters pleasingly. You pick the bits of glass from your flesh and drop them to the ground.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection B2: 'Big Car' by Severed Heads. A foursquare techno beat.
  
  > go east
  You crawl out the window.
  
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  > go to the east
  You push your way through the oncoming crowd...
  
  The road curves to the north here around a steep cliff. Dead ahead is the scene of a horrific accident - four or five cars are smashed together. Behind the pile-up is another wreck: lying on its side, blocking the entire road, is the carcass of a school bus.
  
  Several more cars seem to have stopped short of the accident scene. Most are stripped-down or rusted beyond recognition, but a large, boxy blue sedan looks more recent.
  
  Sister Christina Therese is sitting on the ground, staring ahead with a pure, empty gaze.
  
  A horde of rotting schoolchildren is emerging from under the schoolbus and spreading down the road to the west.
  
  You can also see a siphon pump here.
  
  > examine bus
  The bus rocks back and forth gently from the force of many, many children crawling out from their temporary burial underneath the vehicle.
  
  > Go northeast
  Some of the children watch hungrily as you leave.
  
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  This would be a nice quiet place to hide out, but there's no chance of that now that the kids have seen you going back here.
  
  > go northwest
  You are standing under an awning that forms a small shed against the back of the diner. A paved walk leads east around the building past the parking lot. Next to the shed, a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY" leads south.
  
  A tangle of cables emerges from amid the vents on the wall. The cables snake down to a backup power generator that is chugging away noisily.
  
  The generator makes a really loud noise, and it makes everything shake. You can't even think straight.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the employee entrance.
  
  In the parking lot you see a few of the children wandering over from the road.
  
  > Examine generator
  The generator is weathered, but nothing is obviously broken, and it's still hooked up to some thick cables that run into the building. It has a large opening on the top labeled "GASOLINE." The gas cap seems to be missing. There's also a button labeled "IGNITION." Down near the bottom, where the motor is located, there's a pull cord with a plastic handle.
  
  The generator is currently switched on.
  
  The gas tank is full.
  
  > switch off the generator
  There's no obvious way to turn off the generator. It's probably designed to shut down automatically when the grid power comes back on.
  
  > go south
  Everything is shaking. You try to turn the handle on the back door but you can't get a good grip on it.
  
  A crowd of mean-looking kids sidles over from the parking lot, ready to tussle. With the kind of bloodthirsty abandon only a dead guy can muster, you take down half a dozen of them and sink your teeth into a soft, moldering head. But more of them pile on top, and you go down at the bottom of the pile...
  
  > go southeast
  You head towards the crowd...
  
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  Several dead schoolchildren are milling around. They're wandering over from the front of the diner, and moving towards the back entrance of the diner.
  
  A sudden chill comes over the crowd and their attention focuses more sharply on you. As one, they reach out and begin pulling at your clothes, at your flesh. Little fingers pry your skull open wide and little teeth sink into the rotting remainder of your brain. Your body is laid out flat by many hands, and you become a permanent feast.
  
  > go inside
  You shuffle along with the moving crowd...
  
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  An old jukebox stands in one corner, lit up and ready to play a tune.
  
  A small crowd of undead schoolchildren is collected here, a few of them turning your way with blackened drool oozing from gaps between their rotted teeth. They're wandering over from the front of the diner.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the kitchen door.
  
  > Go west
  The dancing children are so densely packed by the kitchen entrance that you can't get past.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection A1: 'After the Fall' by Klaus Nomi. An operatic soprano with a German accent belts out apocalyptic lyrics over a bombastic 80s beat.
  
  > Go east
  You slip into the booth without the children noticing. It seems that second-graders are even more easily distractible when they're dead.
  
  The Uptown Diner (in the booth)
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  A sizeable crowd of dead schoolchildren is dancing to the music, temporarily oblivious to your presence.
  
  Each booth is a formica table with two bench seats upholstered in ripped and faded red vinyl, with a speaker positioned on the ceiling directly overhead. This booth has a blind covering the window. It's crooked and appears to be jammed, but it covers the glass so that you can't tell whether it's broken or not.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the kitchen door.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection A1: 'After the Fall' by Klaus Nomi. An operatic soprano with a German accent belts out apocalyptic lyrics over a bombastic 80s beat.
  
  > break the window
  (the broken window)
  You ball your fist up and punch the window. Your fist bounces off. You try again, harder, and pieces of bone splinter from your knuckles. Finally, you pound your head against the window and it shatters pleasingly. You pick the bits of glass from your flesh and drop them to the ground.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection A1: 'After the Fall' by Klaus Nomi. An operatic soprano with a German accent belts out apocalyptic lyrics over a bombastic 80s beat.
  
  > enter the window
  (the broken window)
  You crawl out the window.
  
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  > go to the north-west
  You are standing under an awning that forms a small shed against the back of the diner. A paved walk leads east around the building past the parking lot. Next to the shed, a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY" leads south.
  
  A tangle of cables emerges from amid the vents on the wall. The cables snake down to a backup power generator that is chugging away noisily.
  
  The generator makes a really loud noise, and it makes everything shake. You can't even think straight.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the employee entrance.
  
  > Go south
  Everything is shaking. You try to turn the handle on the back door but you can't get a good grip on it.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  Your hands are freeA rosary hangs around your neck.
  
  > put rosary on the door
  You might as well just drop the rosary.
  
  > Scream
  You open your throat, but a warbling moan is all you can produce.
  
  > Go east
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  > go west
  You stumble along, trying to get past the horde. Your dragging foot catches on a rock. With a crack, it snaps right off and you plant your face in the hot asphalt.
  
  The crowd leaps upon you with squeals of anticipation. They crack your skull wide like an egg and suck out the last rotten remains of your brain, as the world swirls into an increasingly painful blur. Your body becomes a plaything for a band of inquisitive little torturers...
  
  > Go west
  You climb in the window, and find yourself in a booth.
  
  The Uptown Diner (in the booth)
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  An old jukebox stands in one corner, lit up and ready to play a tune.
  
  A horde of decaying schoolchildren is wandering around the diner. They don't seem to notice you.
  
  Each booth is a formica table with two bench seats upholstered in ripped and faded red vinyl, with a speaker positioned on the ceiling directly overhead. This booth has a blind covering the window. It's crooked and appears to be jammed, but it covers the glass so that you can't tell whether it's broken or not.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the kitchen door.
  
  > Dance
  You flail around, jumping up and down like a crazy fool. It makes you a little dizzy, but your head doesn't hurt any worse for it.
  
  > go west
  You get out of the booth.
  
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  An old jukebox stands in one corner, lit up and ready to play a tune.
  
  A horde of rotting schoolchildren is crowding you in. They're wandering over from the front of the diner.
  
  The sound of barking dogs is coming from the kitchen door.
  
  > examine the door
  A heavy chain wrapped around the chrome bars of the door prevents it from opening. But if you wanted to leave the diner, you could just walk south through the smashed windows.
  
  > examine the jukebox
  The jukebox is powered up, but not playing anything right now. An array of panels list the available songs. There is a button labeled with the disc number and side by each one:
  
  A1: After the Fall - Klaus Nomi
  B1: The Voyeur of Utter Destruction - David Bowie
  
  A2: Piggy Smack - Severed Heads
  B2: Big Car - Severed Heads
  
  A3: Mad World - Tears for Fears
  B3: Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears
  
  A4: Thriller - Michael Jackson
  B4: Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Junior
  
  A5: Jerdacuttup Man - The Triffids
  B5: The Spinning Top Song - The Triffids
  
  A6: Love Zombie - Sweet Lickin' Honey Babes
  B6: I'm Not the Man I Used to Be - Fine Young Cannibals
  
  A7: Omnichrome - Three Hour Detour
  B7: Snow Karma - Three Hour Detour
  
  Button B2 looks more worn than the others - you can hardly read the label at all.
  
  > Go west
  Some of the children watch distractedly as you leave.
  
  Traces of rust and mysterious stains line the reflective surfaces here, but do little to obscure the reflection of your gruesome appearance. The kitchen door is east, and there is an employee exit to the north.
  
  A massive steel door dominates the west end of the kitchen. It is open and locked.
  
  A steel key hangs from a chain bolted to the wall.
  
  A pack of wild dogs is barking aggressively and hopping around, each one tripping over the others to get at you first.
  
  Muffled music can be heard coming from the jukebox in the dining room.
  
  > go east
  You head for the dining room, pursued by the dogs.
  
  A long counter divides the dining room from the kitchen entrance to the west. Booths line the east wall. Many of the windows are smashed, including most of the ones on the south wall, which provide an alternative exit to the locked front door. The floor is scattered with broken dishes and window glass.
  
  A horde of decaying schoolchildren is dancing to the music in a tight clump around the booth, oblivious to your presence.
  
  The dogs charge in after you and then see the children. For a moment, all creatures are frozen, and then they approach one another with quiet, sideways steps.
  
  When another child enters from outside the front of the diner, you're suddenly pushed aside by a twirling melee of claws, fingernails and teeth. Fresh blood mingles with rotten black ichor like a Paleo smoothie gone wrong. The dogs squeal with surprise and terror as more children arrive, then they bolt from the room. The pile of wounded children struggles to its feet and turns its attention on you.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection B2: 'Big Car' by Severed Heads. A foursquare techno beat.
  
  > Go west
  Some of the children watch distractedly as you leave.
  
  Traces of rust and mysterious stains line the reflective surfaces here, but do little to obscure the reflection of your gruesome appearance. The kitchen door is east, and there is an employee exit to the north.
  
  A massive steel door dominates the west end of the kitchen. It is open and locked.
  
  A steel key hangs from a chain bolted to the wall.
  
  Muffled music can be heard coming from the jukebox in the dining room.
  
  > Go west
  Pale fluorescent lights illuminate the room. With the power back on, this walk-in freezer is getting cold quite rapidly. For a moment, it offers relief from the summer heat. Then the chill starts to seep in and you feel your body shutting down.
  
  The freezer door is to the east. It is open and locked.
  
  > look at the kids
  They're dancing to the music in a tight clump around the booth, oblivious to your presence.
  
  The jukebox is playing selection B2: 'Big Car' by Severed Heads. A foursquare techno beat.
  
  > go west
  Some of the children watch hungrily as you leave.
  
  Traces of rust and mysterious stains line the reflective surfaces here, but do little to obscure the reflection of your gruesome appearance. The kitchen door is east, and there is an employee exit to the north.
  
  A massive steel door dominates the west end of the kitchen. It is open and locked.
  
  A steel key hangs from a chain bolted to the wall.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  
  Undead children follow you from the dining room.
  
  > Go west
  Some of the children watch hungrily as you leave.
  
  Pale fluorescent lights illuminate the room. With the power back on, this walk-in freezer is getting cold quite rapidly. For a moment, it offers relief from the summer heat. Then the chill starts to seep in and you feel your body shutting down.
  
  Through the open freezer door you see a gathering crowd of ghoul-children.
  
  > Wait
  You freeze, hoping the children will forget you and move on.
  
  > Wait
  You keep still, hoping the children will forget you and move on.
  
  > go to the east
  You squeeze in amongst the swelling crowd in the kitchen.
  
  Traces of rust and mysterious stains line the reflective surfaces here, but do little to obscure the reflection of your gruesome appearance. The kitchen door is east, and there is an employee exit to the north.
  
  A massive steel door dominates the west end of the kitchen. It is open and locked.
  
  A steel key hangs from a chain bolted to the wall.
  
  Several rotting schoolchildren are milling around. They're wandering over from the dining room.
  
  > go east
  You squeeze in amongst the swelling crowd in the kitchen.
  
  Traces of rust and mysterious stains line the reflective surfaces here, but do little to obscure the reflection of your gruesome appearance. The kitchen door is east, and there is an employee exit to the north.
  
  A massive steel door dominates the west end of the kitchen. It is open and locked.
  
  A steel key hangs from a chain bolted to the wall.
  
  A small crowd of dead schoolchildren is milling around, some of them eyeing you shyly with a look of predatory curiosity. They're wandering over from the dining room.
  
  > go north
  Some of the children watch hungrily as you leave.
  
  You are standing under an awning that forms a small shed against the back of the diner. A paved walk leads east around the building past the parking lot. Next to the shed, a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY" leads south.
  
  A tangle of cables emerges from amid the vents on the wall. The cables snake down to a backup power generator that is chugging away noisily.
  
  The generator makes a really loud noise, and it makes everything shake. You can't even think straight.
  
  > Go east
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  A movement over by the shed catches your attention. The children are coming out the back of the diner towards you.
  
  > go northeast
  A short drive from the southwest leads to this empty parking lot. The mountainside is choked with shrubs, obscuring the view of the road from here.
  
  The windows are smashed, allowing entry to the diner to the west. A paved walk leads northwest around the back of the building.
  
  Over in the back entrance of the diner you see a horde of children shambling your way.
  
  This would be a nice quiet place to hide out, but there's no chance of that now that the kids have seen you going back here.
  
  > Go south
  You can't go that way. You can go north to the back entrance of the diner, east to the dining room or west through the freezer door.
  
  > go north
  Some of the children watch hungrily as you leave.
  
  You are standing under an awning that forms a small shed against the back of the diner. A paved walk leads east around the building past the parking lot. Next to the shed, a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY" leads south.
  
  A tangle of cables emerges from amid the vents on the wall. The cables snake down to a backup power generator that is chugging away noisily.
  
  The generator makes a really loud noise, and it makes everything shake. You can't even think straight.
  
  > close the door
  That's not something you can close.
  
  The children shamble a little quicker towards you through the employee entrance. Sensing that you're trapped, they surround you, reaching out their puffy little fingers. You're squeezed from all sides, then you're pulled apart in all directions.
  
  > go northwest
  You head towards the crowd...
  
  You are standing under an awning that forms a small shed against the back of the diner. A paved walk leads east around the building past the parking lot. Next to the shed, a door marked "EMPLOYEES ONLY" leads south.
  
  A tangle of cables emerges from amid the vents on the wall. The cables snake down to a backup power generator that is chugging away noisily.
  
  A couple of decaying schoolchildren are gathered here, looking for something with enough brains to eat. More are flooding in through the employee entrance.
  
  The generator makes a really loud noise, and it makes everything shake. You can't even think straight.
  
  A sudden chill comes over the crowd and their attention focuses more sharply on you. As one, they reach out and begin pulling at your clothes, at your flesh. Little fingers pry your skull open wide and little teeth sink into the rotting remainder of your brain. Your body is laid out flat by many hands, and you become a permanent feast.
  
  > go to the west
  You poke your head in the window and lift the blinds - but then you see the dense pack of children poking around the booth, looking for that screaming voice they heard. You back out before they notice you.
  
  > go east
  You push your way through the moving crowd...
  
  The road curves to the north here around a steep cliff. Dead ahead is the scene of a horrific accident - four or five cars are smashed together. Behind the pile-up is another wreck: lying on its side, blocking the entire road, is the carcass of a school bus.
  
  Several more cars seem to have stopped short of the accident scene. Most are stripped-down or rusted beyond recognition, but a large, boxy blue sedan looks more recent.
  
  Sister Christina Therese is sitting on the ground, staring ahead with a pure, empty gaze.
  
  A horde of rotting schoolchildren is shuffling back and forth along the road, some returning to the schoolbus and some wandering off again.
  
  You can also see a siphon pump here.
  
  > examine bus
  The bus rocks back and forth gently from the force of many, many children crawling out from their temporary burial underneath the vehicle.
  
  > get in the bus
  There's too many kids coming out of there for you to get past them.
  
  > examine cliff
  The hills here are steep and treacherous.
  
  > examine the cars
  The cars form an impenetrable mess. That blue Dodge sedan looks like it's in reasonable shape, though.
  
  > search nun
  A peaceful woman in her seventies, Sister Christina Therese looks quite dignified in her purple dress. One eye is missing and a dark purple ooze stains her plain white veil and flows out from where her left ear should be. She's sitting on the ground, staring ahead with a pure, empty gaze.
  
  > Go north
  The wreckage of multiple vehicles blocks further passage down the road. The only way back is to the west.