Escaping the Zombie Children

A CHOICE-FILLED ADVENTURE STORY

ESCAPING THE ZOMBIE CHILDREN Written by Students of MS. DODD’S 4TH GRADE CLASS at UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY ELLEN THOMPSON CAMPUS

FIRST EDITION PRINTED AND BOUND AT 826MICHIGAN

Copyright © 2021 by 826michigan and Blotch Books.

All rights reserved by 826michigan, the many whims of Drs. T & G Blotch, and the authors.

The views expressed in this book are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of 826michigan. We believe in the power of youth voice and are thrilled that you picked up this book. No part of this book may be reproduced without express written permission from the publisher, except for small excerpts for the purposes of review or scholarly study.

By purchasing this book, you are helping 826michigan continue to offer free student programs. For more information, please visit: 826michigan.org

You are in a house that is a rectangle with triangle windows. The doors lead to different places.

There are zombie kids in the treehouse outside. You are scared of them. You run away and have to pick a door to escape the zombie kids. When you get away, you need to find more supplies to survive. You also want to look for a cure to help the zombie kids!

You can go through the jungle door or the door that leads into a mall.

If you decide to go through the jungle door, turn to page 2.

If you decide to go through the mall door, turn to page 3.

1

You choose the door leading into the jungle.

On the other side of the door, you see monkeys, gorillas, and other big animals.

You turn around and realize the door locked behind you!

You are trying to find a key to find in the jungle after you enter the door (the door is auto-lock).

You are on a treasure-type hunt for clues that the animals are leaving. It’s like a real-life escape room!

You decide to stop for the night. You hope to set up a campsite in the jungle that has a tent and a campfire to spend the nighttime.

You wake up and there is one person who has also been searching for the key and you can join forces to find clues together, so you can escape together. There is a device that a scientist made that enables animals to talk and you have to find it. Some of the animals are able to speak, specifically the monkey and the gorillas.

If you decide to use a key to get through a door, turn to page 4.

If you decide to use a code to get through a door, turn to page 5.

2

You go through the mall door and find the basement. In the basement, you see boxes, packages, and supplies.

You have to barricade the door with wood and chairs so that the zombies can’t get in. The zombie kids are afraid of water, so you use water guns to scare them. You plan to dump a jug of water on the zombies if they get in the basement.

You gather all of your supplies and then see a magical box in the room. You look inside and there are potions inside that give you powers!

One of the potions gives you super speed. It tastes like Kool-Aid. Another potion is red with a yellow lightning strike on it. This one gives you a bright light that hurts the zombies because they do not like the sun. Some potions even give you the power to fly, invisibility, ice powers, and laser eyes.

If you decide to drink the ice potion, turn to page 6.

If you decide to drink the invisibility potion, turn to page 7.

3

You choose to go through the door that needs a key. On the other side is a tiger-dog with an alligator element hybrid animal that is guarding the door. The animal has four heads with each head symbolizing the four elements: air, earth, water, and fire. You have to get past the animal without alerting it.

If the first key does not work, you must go search for the second key in the jungle.

There are no other options for protection other than to build a shield. You decide to use the leftover food as bait to get passed the tigerdog.

Afterwards, you find the key that will get out of the jungle, and you have to quickly get back to the door to escape the jungle.

If you rush back to the door and leave,

write your own ending.

If you find a new adventure, write your own ending.

4

(start again at page 1)

You choose the door with a key code and type in the code, which is 4018. The code works sometimes, but sometimes it doesn’t. You need to find a key card that the monkeys have. The monkeys all laugh at you.

Once you go through the door, a monkey shuts the door on you right away, so you have to find a way to escape! The black and brown monkeys are gathered everywhere, and they can all talk.

Zombies are all over the place and you need to find the cure for the zombie kids. Inside the room, there’s also two kids. There is a zombie king, who puts sleeping potions in the water, and has a cage. He has thousands of keys, and only one of them works, so you have to find the right one to escape.

Once you open the door, big and tough zombie guards wait for you! There is also a laser above the door. Once you escape the zombies with the other kids, news reporters come to put you on TV. You are called the “Zombie Hunters” and become famous. You save the day and go back to the zombie treehouse. The next day is Christmas and you get a camera so you take videos talking about your adventures!

If you decide to start a YouTube channel about your adventures, write your own ending.

If you decide to not be famous, write your own ending.

5

(start again at page 1)

You drink the ice potion granting you ice powers! You have the ability to shoot ice stars and start shooting the zombies with icy blasts!

You start thinking of a plan to get out of the basement as the supplies are running low.

You escape the basement and start running away from the zombies and slip on all the ice into a portal. You escape all but one zombie that manages to step in before it closes. The portal is a bit dark like a galaxy and very purple.

You and the zombie come out of the portal and land in a place with mysterious creatures.

The creatures look like furry bugs with four eyes and smell like flowers. Some have long vampire fangs! You look back on the zombie and notice a zombie shifting into a different form.

If you decide to make friends with the creatures,

write your own ending.

If you decide to run away from the creatures,

write your own ending.

6

(start again at page 1)

You drink the invisibility potion and make everyone else invisible in your invisible shield to help them get out. You don’t have to worry about the zombies, so you can now escape without letting the zombies see you.

You wonder how to get out of the basement.

You see the zombies start to come through the window. They are green and have little spots of blood on them. They also have two pairs of eyes and are breathing hard.

To get out of the basement, you have to break through the door that you barricaded and escape them while you’re invisible. The zombies can still smell you and the dirt you stepped in.

They follow the footsteps you left behind. The zombies are coming closer and you are still in danger. You take off your shoes that have mud on them so they can’t follow you anymore.

Once you get out of the room, you have two options. The zombies are still chasing you. You could run down an alley outside of the mall to escape, or you can use another invisible potion and secretly jump over the zombies. You need to choose your escape route so you can get to the airplane that will save you.

If you decide to run down the alley outside of the mall,

write your own ending.

If you decide to take another invisibility potion,

write your own ending.

7

(start again at page 1)

inspires school-aged students to write with skill and confidence in collaboration with adult volunteers in their communities.

Our writing and tutoring programs uphold a culture of creativity and imagination and support students in establishing strong habits of mind. Through publication and community engagement, we provide students with an authentic and enthusiastic audience for their writing.

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In addition, we hold regular Writers Clubs, in which small groups of students are able to work on a writing project over the course of a semester, culminating in a publication. We also partner with schools to hold Family Writing Labs: laughterfilled events in which families to come together and participate in an evening of engaging writing activities and community connection.

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826 National was inspired to take a stand on issues of inclusion and diversity in light of the many events that spotlighted social and racial injustices throughout the country. We as educators, volunteers, and caring adults need to be aware of the wide range of issues our students face on a day-to-day basis. We need to support these young people as they navigate through and try to make sense of the world and their own identities.

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We at 826 have the privilege of working with the next generation of scholars, teachers, doctors, artists, lawyers, and writers. It's our job to make sure they are able to take their own stands.

As an organization committed to encouraging youth in their creative expression, personal growth, and academic success, 826 National and its chapters recognize the importance of diversity at all levels and in all aspects of our work. In order to build and maintain the safe, supportive 826 environment in which great leaps in learning happen, we commit ourselves to inclusion: we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, nationality, marital status, English fluency, parental status, military service, or disability.

The 826 National network is committed to encouraging youth to express themselves and to use the written word to effectively do so. We encourage our students to write, take chances, make decisions, and finish what they start.

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by Gerald Richards, CEO