"Mousetrap" is the twenty-fourth mission of The Home Front.
You're on the path of the mysterious stranger in Spectrum Mall, but is there more going on than meets the eye?
EXERCISES: Jumping Jack, Abdominal Crunch, Bicep Curl, Step Up, Commando Crawl
Cast[]
Plot[]
Keeping Warm
The person you saw on Thurman's floor of Spectrum Mall is back and you're going to find out what's going on. They can pass through the zombie horde, but always head inside when it rains. Maybe the zombies are deterred by something they're wearing that can wash off? The plan is to use the mall's sprinkler system to drive the person into the attached conference centre so you can talk to them. You'll need to activate the sprinklers by burning something under the smoke detectors. Try doing Star Jumps to spread that smoke around! The alarm starts and the sprinklers begin to drench you with cold water. Keep doing Star Jumps to warm up!
Mr Invisible
You've found the control room. The controls are a bit decayed so you'll need to use the manual override by doing Crunches. Great job! Mr Invisible is heading back towards the bulkhead. Sam will keep an eye on him!
Pass Through
Mr Invisible has reached the bulkhead door and he doesn't seem happy. Sam tries broadcasting to him again, but he flicks his fingers at the camera and it turns off. When Sam sees him again he's heading for you. You need to try to box him in. Grab that crank handle and do some bicep curls. Good job! He's trapped. Now head down there to speak to him.
Deathmatch Arena
The conference centre is a bit eerie. Sam can't see Mr Invisible right now, but you can check through the fire door windows. Wait, the lift on the other side of the building started moving, and Mr Invisible isn't where you trapped him anymore! He's gone up eight floors, and the lift he used is full of zombies. You'll need to start climbing! Good job, the zombies are trapped on the floor below. Take a look around and see if there's another way out.
Distribution Centre
You'll need to go through the laser tag area. Mr Invisible is on the other side of the arena. He unleashes the cleaning machine along with a bunch of crawling zombies. Kick the covering off the nearby vent and Commando Crawl forward – lie on your front, knees out to each side, and use your forearms and knees to crawl through the vent. Great! Get out of the vent, drop into the room below, and stretch out.
Obituary
You're safe for now. The zombies are wedged in the vent and can't move. There's a bedroom ahead of you if you want to rest. You hear a knock on the glass, and you see Artemus Thurman who says that it isn't over yet. He doesn't look a day older than when he died... thirty years ago!
Transcript[]
SAM YAO: Okay Five, I hope you’re ready for action. Start warming up and I’ll brief you on today’s plan to find out what’s really going on in the Spectrum Mall, because that shadowy man you saw, the one who lived in Thurman’s secret floor? He’s back. Just picked him up on long-range cams re-entering the mall. [flips through a large stack of paper] Janine’s put together a dossier on him. We’ve seen him going through the horde at least five or six times now. Every time, the zoms completely ignore him, so we’re calling him Mr. Invisible.
But get this: he always runs back inside when it rains, like he’s more afraid of water than the zoms. Janine’s theory is that he’s covered in something that can wash off, maybe some liquid pheromones that make the zombies ignore him. Now can you imagine, Five? Something like that could change everything! So Janine’s plan: we just want to talk to him. We’ve tried dropping messages and broadcasting and he doesn’t respond to any of it, but there must be something he wants that we could trade for whatever he’s got that keeps the zoms away.
So there’s a conference center attached to the mall. Janine thinks it’s fully configurable from a single control room. Walls, doors, everything’s movable. The idea today is for you to get to the control room and we’ll use the mall sprinkler system to encourage him to move into the conference center, too, where we can talk to him. If Janine’s right and he doesn’t like water, that should do it.
We don’t know anything about him, of course, and we want you to be safe, Five, so if you have a parlay in the conference center, you can make sure there’s always a nice safe wall between you. We’re hoping he’ll be glad to see a friendly face after being alone for so long, but you know, well, if not, we can’t send backup because of the horde, so we need to make sure you’re safe.
Okay, okay. First, we need to activate the sprinklers. We’ve worked out which sensors we need to trip so the sprinklers turn on in the mall but not the conference center. It’s the two right outside the donut shop. You’re in position now. Now find something flammable. Uh… yeah! Yeah, those empty donut bags blowing about should do it. And light them with the matches you picked up in the camping shop. [Five strikes a match] Nice one, Five! Now you need to wave them about under those two smoke sensors at the same time.
[laughs] Hey! Hey, you could do this as your warm-up. Get star jumping, Five. It should take about a minute to get a good cloud of smoke going. Reach up, get the flames nice and close to the sensors. That’s it. Not bad. You got a little smoke cloud gathering there. Ah yeah, keep going. Aw man, I can’t believe that much smoke wouldn’t have tripped the sensors. Ah, yes! Nice one, Five. The little red light has started blinking. Yeah, wave a bit more smoke under it. That should do it.
[alarm rings]
Brilliant, Five! Now head along up the stairs and through into the conference center to the east. Hopefully Mr. Invisible will be close behind you. Oh, that water looks a bit chilly. If you want to do a few more star jumps to keep warm, have at it.
[door opens]
SAM YAO: Great, Five, you found the control room where you’ll be able to configure the layout of the conference center. Oh. Oh wow, it’s all a bit, uh… decayed, isn’t it? I guess the Thurman Employee Motivation Center fell into disrepair long before the apocalypse. Right, I’ve got Mr. Invisible on cams. The image isn’t fuzzing out like it normally does when he’s close. Maybe he’s turned off his camera fuzzer-outer. Anyway, he’s on the move inside the mall, heading to the conference center.
We’re gonna try to sneakily cut off his escape route. It says here that to lower the partition and stop him running straight back into the mall, you should… press button A12. Yeah, try that. [Five presses the button; machinery grinds] Uh-huh. Okay. Not working. Right. Um… Well, there’s a manual override. Um, flip open the panel to your right near the ground. There’s a lever, and so basically, you’re gonna need to do crunches to move the bar up and down.
Lie on your back, bend your knees, feet flat on the ground. Now curl forward, lifting your head, neck, and shoulder blades off the floor. That should bring the bar up to the right position. Yep. Now lower it slowly back down. Lift as high as you can, just remember to keep your back straight.
Okay, yeah, get going. Keep going, it’s working. I can see a big bulkhead wall coming down behind Mr. Invisible. That’s it, carry on. He hasn’t noticed a thing, he’s just racing towards the conference center. Keep crunching that lever. The partition is almost down. Great, you’ve done it! There’s no way out of the conference center now unless you raise the wall again.
Uh-huh. Hmm. Mr. Invisible is uh, well, I think it’s safe to say he’s noticed what we’ve done. He’s heading back towards the bulkhead door now, not running, just walking at this-this steady, even pace. Hmm. Five, hang tight. You could do a few more crunches if you want. I’m gonna keep an eye on Mr. Invisible.
SAM YAO: Okay, Five. So uh, Mr. Invisible is… is… well, he doesn’t seem happy. He’s wearing a sort of cowl-type thing that’s covering his face so I can’t see his expression, but he’s run to the bulkhead door you’ve just lowered and he’s… he’s put his hand flat on it. Um, yeah, I’m gonna broadcast to him again.
[over intercom] Um, uh, hello? Uh, Mr… I mean, uh… unknown person. Sorry. I, uh… Look, I know it seems like we’ve trapped you. Well, I mean, I know we have actually trapped you, but you don’t need to worry, is… [sighs] We just want to talk! We’re, um… I mean, I’m Sam from Abel Township and we just want to know - [electronic feedback]
[through headset] Oh. Oh, well, he sort of, he just… he flicked his hand at the camera and it, and it turned off. Uh, that’s okay, Five. Um… No, I can see his back. He’s running down some stairs. Oh wow. I mean, I didn’t even know that staircase was there. He’s heading right towards you, Five. We’ve got to stop him. I mean, this can all be sorted out, but he doesn’t look very happy. We can lower the walls behind and in front of him, okay, yeah? Box him in. Um, uh, yeah. There’s a long crank handle on the far wall about waist height. Do you see it? Grab it in both hands. You’re gonna move it up and down in that bicep curl move you’ve been practicing.
A minute should do it. Okay? Go! I am sure we can straighten all this out if you can talk to him. Uh, yeah, that’s it. The fire partitions are starting to advance in front of Mr. Invisible. Good work, Five. I don’t think he’s noticed. He’s just walking down the steps at this really even pace, like… like nothing will stop him. Keep cranking. Another 15 seconds should do it, and then we can talk to him. Okay, now grab the lever to your left to lock the fire doors in place.
Okay, this is great! You closed the doors and now he’s stuck in a stairwell between two floors. [nervous laugh] He’s definitely noticed. Okay. Oh, he’s slamming his fist into the fire door at the bottom of the stairwell. Hm, I am starting to feel really bad about this. Let’s go and talk to him. You can show him you’re, you’re totally fine. We’ll let him go if he wants. We’re just, we’re just gonna talk. Um, okay. The blue cranks to your left will move the walls on your floor so you can walk straight through to where Mr. Invisible is. Just keep doing those bicep curls until you’ve got enough space to pass through.
SAM YAO: Oh, the conference center floor is a bit eerie, isn’t it, with no one in there? All those motivational posters and no one to motivate. Obviously, Mr. Invisible has done whatever he does to turn off the cameras, so I can’t see him, but there are little windows in the fire doors, so you can say hello. We can figure something out. Hey, look, if he’s willing to share his zombie invisibility potion with you, the pair of you could walk out of the Spectrum Mall straight back to Abel.
Wait a minute, that lift on the other side of the floor’s moving. But it’s been deactivated! That’s weird. Oh, my cameras have come on in the stairwell again. I can see you looking through the window. Hello, Five! [giggles] I don’t understand. Mr. Invisible isn’t in the stairwell anymore. Um, let me just… ah, he’s in the lift. He’s gone up eight floors above you. He’s walking out of the lift and… and he’s just sitting cross-legged on the floor there, huh. I think the lift is coming down again.
Hmm. I don’t like this, Five. I think whoever this guy is, we just need to leave him alone. Maybe you can use the lift to… [bell dings, zombies groan] No no no, forget I said that! No, crap, lift’s full of zoms. Repeat, lift’s full of zoms. Five, get out of there! Open the door to the stairwell using the override lever now! Now down the stairs to - he’s closed all the doors to get down. The only way is up to where he is.
Only thing for it. Start climbing, go. Okay, that’s two floors. Zoms are still behind you. That’s four floors. I’m really trying to come up with something, Five. Six floors. Ah! I know where we’re going. The whole top floor is set up for laser tag. That’s it, eight floors up. The zombies are… [door slams shut] Oh. Oh, the zombies are sealed on the floor below you. Right.
[sighs] Okay. Well. The door in front of you leads to the Death Match Arena. Apparently, it used to be used for corporate bonding exercises. Like, you know, pretending to murder each other with ray guns. So… do you want to try going up another few flights, see if there’s another way out? While I try and figure out what’s going on here.
SAM YAO: All right, I’ve called Janine. She says as all the other doors are sealed, your best way forward is through the Death Match Arena, and she says hands up, show that you pose no threat. But it’s-it’s really dark in there, isn’t it? I can only make out shapes and shadows on my cams.
AUTOMATED VOICE: Welcome to the Death Zone! [sinister laughter]
SAM YAO: Oh. Well, that’s lovely. Goes with the badly drawn monsters from Thriller on the walls, I guess. We do have a way out of here for you, Five, but first… Yeah, look, I can see Mr. Invisible waiting over the far side of the Death Zone. I’m gonna try and… Yeah.
[over intercom] Hello? Um, uh, look. Clearly this is your mall. Or like, well, you’ve made it your home, and that’s cool! Me and my friend Five here don’t want to hurt you. We-we were just hoping to find out how you escaped from the zoms, that’s all. Now if you don’t want to talk, we can -
[through headset] Oh. Uh, see over there, Five? A door’s opening. Maybe we’ve… I think it used to be a cleaning machine, but all the cleaning rollers have rotted off and now it’s just spikes with zombies impaled on them!
AUTOMATED VOICE: Welcome to the Death Zone! [sinister laughter]
SAM YAO: And the zoms are crawling and jerking towards you now. Okay, enough trying to make friends. We have to get you out of there. Uhh... Yeah, I’ve got a plan. Kick the cover off the vent in the wall to your left. Good. Now squeeze into the air duct and crawl forward. A proper Ministry-approved commando crawl, okay? Lie on your front with your knees out to each side like a frog, a really tough commando frog. Use your forearms and knees to crawl forward.
Go, quickly! The zoms are right behind you. This is gonna bring you out somewhere safe, I promise. You’re halfway there. Good job staying calm in that dark, Five. Nearly there, Five. I think we’ll be leaving Mr. Invisible in peace from now on. That’s it, Five. There’s a floor hatch coming up ahead of you. When you feel it, open it and drop down to the room below.
Great work, Five. You’re in the distribution center. The glass wall to your left was for Artemus Thurman to… to watch his busy bees at work. The door to your right will lead you back to the mall, but you can rest now. Stretch out. I don’t want you on the move while Mr. Invisible is around.
SAM YAO: Okay, you’re safe in the distribution center for now, Five. A couple of zoms got wedged in the vent and the rest of them can’t get past. Ugh, imagine what it’s like in there right now. Rotting bodies pressed up against each other in the dark… Ew. No, actually, don’t imagine it.
There’s a small bedroom in front of you if you need to rest there overnight until Mr. Invisible… That knocking. Someone’s knocking on the glass window. It’s so dark out there and so bright in the room. I can’t quite see… Oh no. Oh no.
ARTEMUS THURMAN: Now I know what you’re thinking. What if the living dead were to rise from their graves? Don’t go anywhere, because I’m not finished yet.
SAM YAO: He’s gone. Five, that was him, right? Artemus Thurman. And he doesn’t look a day older than he did in his obituary three decades ago!
Codex[]
Letter[]
FIVE,
Please let me know if you're okay as SOON AS YOU GET THIS!!! I know you put up with a lot given that it is, well, the zombie apocalypse, but as your operator and friend, I am DRAWING THE LINE at potentially psychic, undead 80's capitalists! Regular capitalists are bad enough!
Love,
Sam
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Anti-depressants
Baseball Bat
Board game
Candles
Cricket bat
Dress
First Aid Kit
Flashlight
Football
Laptop
Mobile Phone
Shirt
Shorts
Sports Bra
Trainers
Umbrella
Underwear
Whisky
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