"Cat and Mouse" is the twenty-seventh mission of The Home Front.
Enter the belly of the beast as you explore the dark secrets lying underneath Spectrum Mall.
EXERCISES: Kick, Commando Crawl, Bicep Curl, Step Up, Wall Sit
Cast[]
Plot[]
Behind Closed Doors[]
Something has triggered the alarms in the mall and it's attracted the attention of every zombie in the area! You'll need to get moving to stay ahead of them. You head into the hallway but the zombies are everywhere. Sam directs you to a door that didn't seem to be there before. It's painted to make it look like a normal section of wall. You head through it and down the stairs.
Nothing Like Narnia[]
The staircase isn't on any maps that Sam can find, but it goes down a long way. You reach the bottom and lock the door to keep the zombies out. You find yourself climbing out of a wardrobe and into a bedroom. You hear a tape click and hear a recording of Artemus Thurman explaining the 'modern' conveniences of the home you've ended up in. There are zombies behind you so you need to kick in the front door to escape. Stand with one foot in front of the other, shoulder width apart. Lift your back leg and bend it keeping your knee as high as you can then kick your heel out in front of you, making sure not to lock your knee. Go for it! You get through the door and into the hall of what seems to be an apartment block. Better not look too closely though. You can hear flies buzzing behind the doors of the other flats.
Welcome to Stepford[]
You are in what looks like a suburb from an American movie, but all of the trees are plastic. Sam tells you that someone has used lipstick to write 'Help Us' on one of the windows of the apartment building. Sam spots Thurman and you hide behind a bush. You need to Commando Crawl to keep yourself out of sight. Thurman looks the same as he did on the video from the 80s. You get behind a wall and keep moving.
The Magic of Capitalism[]
Sam tells you there were rumours that Thurman had built an entire underground town for him and the people he thought were worthy. There has to be another way back up to the surface. You enter the convenience store which is still stocked with food. You need to close the shutters so that Thurman doesn't spot you. Use Bicep Curls to lower them. Thurman hears the shutters and starts to attack them. There's a fire escape on the first floor. While running, you knock over a display of fruit, and realise that it is plastic - all of the food is fake. As you head upstairs, you find a body. It's dried out but hasn't decomposed properly, and it looks like they were trying to eat the fake fruit. You're nearly at the fire escape, so crank the ladder down and get moving!
Lost and Found[]
Sam thinks he's found a route back to ground level. You head into the school building that looks like the high school from every American TV show, and find the lift shaft. The lift doesn't seem to be working but maybe you can get to a higher level and free it. Thurman has found you, and he looks angry. Quick, up the stairs! You spot a body on the stairs and Sam recognises them as a New Canton runner who went missing six months ago. You reach the lift but there's no up button. It must be the wrong lift. There's a corridor that leads into the neighbouring building. Quickly head over to escape Thurman.
Thurmanville[]
There's a mob of zoms after you. Thurman is herding you where he wants you to go. Duck into the lab and brace yourself against the door to keep the zombies out by doing a Wall Sit. Sam has set off an alarm to try to lure the zombies away. They finally leave but Thurman is approaching and there's no handle on the door so you can't get out! Sam spots a dumbwaiter though, and that seems to lead to the surface! Sam can reroute the power to it for long enough to get you out. You manage to wedge yourself in and escape just as Thurman breaks down the door.
Artemus Thurman[]
You're nearly back at ground level, but Sam is worried by how obsessed Thurman seems to be with you. You reach the top of the shaft, but somehow Thurman is waiting for you!
Transcript[]
[alarm blares]
SAM YAO: Five, Five! Get up, get moving. Something’s triggered the mall’s alarms and every zom in earshot’s shambling towards your location. You need to get warmed up if you’re gonna stay ahead of them. Head out of the room into the corridor.
[door opens] There should be a couple more doors at the end of the corridor. Open the first one, and – [zombie roars] Aw crap! Zoms. Slam it, quick! [door shuts] All right, we’ll try straight on. ...Zoms that way, too. And behind you! They’re blocking all our exits.
Okay, okay. Just-just think. Wait a minute, is that an open door straight ahead of you? I don’t remember that being there before. And uh, no, it’s not on the map. It’s painted, so you’d hardly be able to see it if it weren’t open. Well, it’s the best option we’ve got. Head through… [door opens and closes]
Ah yeah, I can see you on my cams now, Five. There’s a staircase down. Wow, those steps go down a really long way. You better get moving and I’ll… I’ll try and work out where you’re moving to.
SAM YAO: I can’t find the staircase anywhere on the map. There shouldn’t be anything this deep under the mall, but I’m getting camera access as you go down, like… like the whole place is waking up around you. You’ve reached the bottom, Five. There are zoms on the stairs behind you, but there’s a door ahead of you you can lock from the other side.
[door opens and closes] Right, more cams turning on, and then I can tell where you are. [door creaks open] Okay… you’re in a wardrobe. In a bedroom. Right, that’s a bit surreal. Get out and close the wardrobe behind you, okay? [door closes]
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Welcome to your new apartment, employee! Overwhelmed? Take a moment and breathe it all in. Need to escape from it all? Well, there’s your 13-inch color TV complete with walnut cabinet and Betamax video recorder!
SAM YAO: A recording of Thurman’s voice. What’s going on? It’s like you’re in a show house or something. Look for a way out, Five, I don’t want you trapped in there.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Not in the mood for telly? [continues in background]
SAM YAO: It’s like you’ve walked into the 80s. And everything’s so clean. It looks box fresh. If anyone was supposed to live here, they never turned up. Right, there are zoms behind the wardrobe, so you’re not going that way. Front door’s locked… you’re gonna have to kick it in, Janine-style.
Right, stand with one foot in front of the other about shoulder-width apart. Lift your back leg and bend it, keeping your knee as high as you can, and kick your heel straight out in front of you, remembering not to lock your knee, okay?
Go for it. Aim your heel at the door hinges. You can lean on the wall for balance if you need to. Pull your toes back as you kick, otherwise you might break them on the wood. All right, swap to the other leg, now same again. Knee up, kick out. Yep, yep, you’re definitely getting there. Fantastic, Five! You’ve got legs like, like… a donkey. But in a good way. Yes, you’re through!
Head out into the corridor. Cams are showing me you’re on the ground floor of an apartment block. The doors either side of you must lead into other flats. Go straight ahead and you’ll get to the main door. Did you hear that? Flies, buzzing behind the doors of those flats.
I don’t want to know what’s in there. Get out of the building. If the main door won’t open, you know what to do. I don’t understand what’s going on here, Five, or why the zoms were suddenly like, herding you here, but we’ve got to get you out.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Welcome to Thurmanville, loyal employee! To reward your tenacity, creativity, grace under fire, you’ve earned what everyone wants: citizenship in my own personal utopia!
SAM YAO: It’s so weird. It looks like you’re in a cookie cutter suburb from an American movie. Huge pastel houses with swimming pools, massive cars. But the trees are… plastic. And it’s empty, like a ghost town. I think something very bad happened here. The apartment block you just came out of, someone’s written inside the window with lipstick, I think. It says, “Help us.”
[footsteps] I can see Thurman! He’s here! He just walked out of that same apartment block. Oh, he looks angry. He’s looking for you, Five. Duck behind the hedge now! [foliage rustles] Okay, I can get you away. Commando crawl. Stay low to the ground and crawl forward on your forearms. Go. Thurman still looks exactly like he did in his videos. Could it be his son? It’s a pretty uncanny resemblance, if it is. He’s quartering the area, pacing up and down. You’ve got to keep moving.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Don’t you dare let Thurman down!
SAM YAO: Five, just keep moving. He hasn’t seen you, just keep going. Okay, right, that wall will break his line of sight. When you’re ready, head for the next building, but stay low.
SAM YAO: Okay, Five, he’s moved on. Head towards the convenience store ahead of you. I had a look on ROFFLEnet, and I don’t know if this is good or bad, but I think I know where you are.
Remember how Thurman wanted to create a bunker that would survive the nuclear apocalypse? Well, there were rumors he built a whole underground town. It was supposed to be for him and the people he thought were worthy of joining him. I guess that includes you, Five.
So there must be a lift back up or another set of stairs, right? But until we find them, you need to steer clear of Thurman. God knows what he wants you for, or what happened to the people who were supposed to live here.
[door opens, bell rings]
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Welcome to ThurMart, where you can support your town through the magic of capitalism 24/7.
SAM YAO: There’s a lot of food in here, Five. You could hole up in here for months, if you really like weird-colored soda and tins of hot dogs. Yeah, you’d better crank those storm shutters down, I don’t want Thurman to see you inside. Grab the handle and move it up and down like your bicep curls, yeah?
Oh no, Thurman heard the shutters rattling! He’s coming. Keep going, Five. They’re good and thick, they’re your best chance at keeping him out. Halfway. Keep cranking the handle. You’re doing so well. Nearly there, Five, but so is Thurman. Keep going. That’s great, Five. The shutters are down.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: I’m not finished yet.
SAM YAO: Bloody hell, he’s hitting the shutters with his fists. I can’t believe how strong he is. What’s he done to himself? The shutters won’t keep him out for long. There’s no back door, but there should be a fire escape on the first floor. Head up the stairs, and mind that fruit display! You’re going to - ooh… knock it all over. The fruit, Five. It’s plastic, like the trees outside. The food in here, it’s-it’s all fake. Get up those stairs, Five. Yep, that’s brilliant. You’re nearly there.
Oh God, there’s someone up ahead lying on the floor. He’s dead, long dead. Except the body, it’s-it’s not decomposed, just sort of uh… it’s dried out, almost mummified, like there’s no bacteria in the atmosphere. And there’s some of that fake fruit in his mouth. I think he was trying to eat it when he died.
I don’t understand, Five. Why bring someone down here just for them to starve to death? It’s-it’s monstrous! The shutters won’t last for long. There’s the fire escape, Five, you’ll need to use the handle to crank down the ladder. Hurry!
SAM YAO: Okay, I’ve found a lift shaft on the plans that will get you back up to ground level. I think it might be in the tall building to your right, the one that says Thurman High. Smash the window and get inside. [glass shatters] You’re in, Five. Man, it’s like stepping into the high school from every American kids’ TV show, except it looks brand new and completely empty.
Okay, go straight past that row of lockers towards the trophy cabinet. Wow, there’s even a poster for the prom, Summer 1989. We never had anything like this when I was at school. I suppose Thurman thought America was the ideal of capitalism or something.
Yep, there’s the lift. Press the call button quick. ...It’s not coming. Maybe it’s stuck on a higher level. Get up there and see if you can unjam it. [glass shatters in the distance] Thurman smashed a window and he’s climbing through! Oh, his face, Five. He looks so angry. What does he want? Get up those stairs, go.
There’s another body on the stairs. I think… I know who she is. Keep moving. All that noise has attracted some zoms. The woman on the stairs, she’s a New Canton runner, vanished six weeks ago on a meds run. Her mum offered a reward on ROFFLEnet. Her name was Marsha. I guess we know what happened to her.
You’re nearly there, Five. If you can get to the lift, we can get you out of there. Keep climbing. You’re there, and there’s the lift! Ah, but there’s no up button! It’s not the one to the surface. I’m so sorry, Five. Okay, there’s a corridor ahead of you. I think it’s a connecting bridge over to the next building. I’ll get you out, just keep going.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Welcome to the Thurman Institute of Technology, where today’s dreams become tomorrow’s reality.
SAM YAO: Five, there’s a mob of zoms chasing you. Head for that sturdy-looking laboratory door past the robotics department, the one marked "Longevity Research". I’ve watched the tapes back. Thurman definitely set off the alarms in the mall to use the zombies to herd you down here, just like we did to him with the water, but we can use that trick, too. [door shuts] Brace the door. You need to stop the zoms coming in. Remember your wall sitting?
Get your back pressed to the door in a sitting position, your knees over your ankles, and hold it as long as you can. Yeah, keep bracing, Five. And there’s another dead body slumped over that workbench. Oh, I hate this place! She’s holding… is that a Dictaphone?
[alarm blares] Okay, right, I’ve set off the fire alarm to distract the zoms. Thurman must be bringing people down here just like he did with you. The zoms are starting to disperse. Is it all some sort of sick game for Thurman, luring people here just to watch them die? I won’t let that happen to you.
Okay, the zombies have gone, you can relax. Damn it, here comes Thurman again! Quick, Five, open the door and - No! There’s no door handle on the inside! You need to find a way out before Thurman comes in, but there’s no other door. That must be how the poor dead scientist got trapped. There’s… there’s no way out.
Hang on a minute, loads of the food’s piled up around that cupboard in the wall, like it fell out… It’s a dumbwaiter, Five! That’s it, that’s the shaft back to ground level. I think… I think I can reroute power to it long enough to get you out of there. Just give me a minute to uh… Yep, yep, it’s working!
Grab the Dictaphone, we’ll listen to it later. Might be something on the tape that’ll explain this place. Now wedge yourself in the dumbwaiter in your wall sitting position and hit the switch. Yes! It worked. You’re going up, Five. And in the nick of time, too.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: You’re one of the lucky ones, one of my chosen ones. No matter how far you go, there’ll always be a home waiting for you in Thurmanville. There’ll always be a home waiting for you… always waiting for you… always…
SAM YAO: Thank God you’re out of there. For a moment, I thought I’d lost you for good, but you’re safe now. You can’t be comfy, squeezed into a tiny food elevator, but you’re nearly back at ground level and Thurman’s hundreds of feet below ground along with all the zoms. The worst thing is he seems to be obsessed with you, Five. We need to figure out what’s going on down there or we’ll never be able to stop him.
Oh… that’s weird. Your headcam’s glitching. Back on the surface, Five. Time for you to get some rest. There’s someone there, Five, waiting for you outside the dumbwaiter. But that’s not possible. How could he be here so quickly? It’s… Thurman.
Codex[]
Letter[]
Amazing work keeping your cool today, Runner Five! Hold onto that dictaphone if you can - there's bound to be something on there that we can use to figure out what on earth is going on. We'll be in touch again soon, but in the mean time, PLEASE stay safe. we'll get you out of Thurmanville, I promise!
Love,
Sam
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Board game
Candles
Cricket bat
Dress
First Aid Kit
Flashlight
Football
Laptop
Mobile Phone
Sports Bra
Trainers
Underwear
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