"Signal to Noise" is the sixteenth mission of The Home Front.
Something's jumbling an antenna signal right when you need it most! Can you make it through the mall to stop it?
Exercises[]
Cast[]
Scenes[]
Bring Our People Home
Sam wakes you up to let you know there's a problem with the comms. Something's disrupting the signal from the antenna on top of Spectrum Mall. There's a plan to bring some runners home and maintaining contact is crucial. The interference is coming from inside the mall, so you're being sent to investigate. Get warmed up while Sam gets the maps ready.
Just Ketchup
You head out of the game and comics shop where you've been laying low. You climb the stairs towards the interference, but are suddenly plunged into darkness! The red emergency lights come on, but some zombies have sensed you and are closing in. Sam spots something painted on the wall – an eight-pointed star, an eye, and an ankh. It's painted in red. Ketchup, hopefully. Keep climbing.
Make Like a Tree
You're in a department store and whatever is disrupting the signal is up ahead. In your path are rows of tropically-clad mannequins lined up with their arms in the air. You try and squeeze through, but can't help knocking them over. There's a zom nearby, so you get into plank position to blend in with the fallen mannequins. The footsteps recede.
Scribbles
You enter the stockroom. The lights are motion-activated, so you do star jumps to keep them on. There's a pile of junk against a wall – dolls' heads? There are movie posters on the wall but someone has scribbled out all the eyes. You approach the door on the far side of the stockroom.
Block the Door
Whatever is disturbing the signal is behind this door. You open it to find... a load of boxes? There are footsteps coming, but Sam says when the zombies approach the security cameras, a shadow moves behind them and the feed cuts out. Better barricade the door. Use the squat movement to shift heavy boxes. Sam reactivates a security camera. There's a pile of zombies on the floor under it with their heads caved in! Whatever did that is now banging on your door.
Back to Bloodbath and Beyond
It's gone, whatever it was. The disruption to the radio signal is coming from somewhere above you, but there shouldn't be another floor. It's marked "Void" on the map with no way in or out. You're going to have to get out of this cupboard and try to find that secret floor.
Transcript[]
SAM YAO: Five? Five, are you there? Uh, sorry to wake you up so late, only we’ve got a problem with the comms again and I need your help. Get yourself up and moving. Uh, how about some jogging on the spot, swing your arms about a bit, and I’ll brief you while you get warmed up.
Okay, so remember how you set up that aerial on the roof of the Spectrum Mall after the horde trampled our old one? Well, it was all working fine, then Janine noticed something weird was happening. There’s something disrupting the signal. Not all the time, just now and again. It wouldn’t be a big deal, except we’re planning to start bringing some stranded runners home to Abel, the ones furthest from the horde, but not if there’s a risk of losing contact at a critical moment.
And here’s the weirdest thing: the interference is coming from inside the Spectrum Mall. So that’s our mission today, Five. We’re going to track down whatever’s causing the problem and then we fix it so we can bring our people home. Easy as that, right? I’m gonna take a few minutes and get the maps ready. You get properly warmed up and I’ll be back soon.
SAM YAO: All right, Five. I hope you’re feeling nice and warm, because it’s time to get moving. Ooh, those dice in that jar by the till are lovely. All those bright colors. Well, maybe you can come back for some later, and… no, sorry. Right. Right, unlock the game shop door. [laughs] I’ve just spotted the sign. Bloodbath and Beyond. I like it. And head to the bottom of the big spiral escalator.
[door opens] Yeah, coast looks clear. Start climbing the steps. That’ll take you up towards where I think the signal interference is coming from. Now I know you’ve been doing lots of step climbing exercises, so you’ve had plenty of practice. Go on, get going.
Five, the lights have all just shut off. You’re in the dark in there, which you’ve probably noticed. Okay, I’ve got the red emergency lights back on. Visibility isn’t great, but it’s better than nothing. Keep climbing those steps towards the food court. Some zoms have picked up your scent. They’re coming up the escalator after you. Keep your pace up and head towards Lord of the Fries and Happy Grillmore.
Yeah, you’re definitely going the right way. The signal’s starting to get wonky. Wait a second, is there something painted on that wall? Turn your head cam left, get a bit closer. It's a sort of a, what, eight-pointed star? And that one’s like an eye. There’s a cross with a loop at the top. It’s an ankh, I think.
Do you think that’s blood they’re painted in? Okay, maybe it’s ketchup. Yeah, probably just ketchup. Maybe someone’s been painting symbols in ketchup on the walls of a zombie-infested shopping mall. You know what? I think that might be worse than blood. This is officially weird, Five. Keep heading up that escalator as long as you can, keep ahead of those zoms. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?
[jingle plays]
AUTOMATED VOICE: Attention, Spectrum shoppers. The store is now closed. Please take your final purchases to the tills.
SAM YAO: They probably didn’t mean final purchases to sound quite so sinister. Yeah, I can see you’re in a big department store now, Five. Keep moving. Whatever’s messing with the signal is up ahead. [laughs] Looks like some of those racks of clothes have been disturbed. The zoms must have knocked into them.
Either that or someone’s been on a supply run for Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts. And I think I know where they ended up. Look at all those mannequins lined up in rows just like extras from Miami Vice. They’ve all been posed with their hands up like they’re waving at someone just behind you. You know what? Don’t think about that.
There’s something weird going on here, Five. And I thought I saw one of them move then. Trick of the light, yeah. Five, those zoms aren’t far behind you. You need to head through the mannequins, but they’re pretty tightly packed. Be really careful. If you knock into them, they’ll all go down like they’re – [mannequins clatter] Oh yeah, like a load of tropical-themed dominoes. Okay, never mind. You’ll have to sort of… scramble over them.
Did you hear that? I think it came from behind you. No, it must be a zom. I can’t make it out on the cams, but I don’t think it spotted you yet. You need to hide among those mannequins, Five. Get down on the floor nice and slow and uh, yeah. See the mannequin that landed face down, sort of like it’s planking? Copy that position. Get your weight onto your toes and your forearms, keep your back straight, and… and pretend you’re made of wood. Okay. Yeah, tighten your abs. Hold that position.
It’s getting closer, Five. I can make out its shadow. Don’t move. Think mannequin thoughts. I’ll try and find the zom’s position on cams, but it’s so dark in there. Okay, I think it’s gone, Five. But maybe just hold that position a bit longer if you can, just in case. When you’re ready, you can start moving through those mannequins again, but keep an eye out, and if you see anything moving, uh, make like a tree and plank.
SAM YAO: Nice one, Five! You’ve made it through the dummies. Now open the door marked "stock room" and go inside. [door creaks open] Dark in there, isn’t it? Have a feel about, see if you can find a light switch. No, wait, no need. The lights in here must be motion activated. Oh, it’s nice to be able to see properly again. [sighs] No, they’ve gone off again. Uh, yeah, you’ll need to keep moving to keep them switched on. How about doing some star jumps? Brilliant.
Now sort of star jump your way forward. Does anything strike you as odd about this stock room? I mean, the way all that junk’s sort of heaped up against the wall. I mean, that looks like a, like a pile of… doll’s heads? And the far wall’s covered in movie posters, but someone scribbled out all the eyes in marker pen. There’s one for Mannequin. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at Andrew McCarthy in the same light again. Yeah, anyway, speaking of light, Five, keep star jumping and head for the door on the far side of the stock room. Those zoms are catching up and I don’t want you left in the dark in this place.
SAM YAO: Okay, you’re close to the source of the signal disruption, Five. It should be through the door in front of you. Now be very careful. We don’t know what could be waiting for you in there. [door opens] Huh, just a store cupboard full of boxes. No doors, no hatches. It’s a dead end.
Did you hear that? That’s really strange, I thought I saw a shadow move behind the zoms on one of the cams, then it cut to static. Now the next one’s done the same thing, like someone’s moving down the corridor towards you, but every time it gets close to the security cameras, they cut out. Look, Five, maybe start piling some of those boxes against the cupboard door in case the zoms try and get in, or whatever else is out there.
The boxes look good and heavy, so tackle this just like those squat exercises you practiced, okay? Legs shoulder-width apart, squat right down and lift with your legs. Keep doing that. I’ll see if I can get anything from the cameras.
Okay, okay, I’ve got one of the cams in the corridor back online. There’s… there’s a pile of zoms lying under it. They look like their skulls have been caved in with something heavy. Five, whatever’s in that corridor is coming right towards you. Keep piling those boxes against the door. If it’s strong enough to smash a zombie skull, the door won’t hold it for long.
Maybe it’s… [door smashes] Five, keep moving! Pick up anything heavy you can and pile it against the door. You can’t let that thing get in. Hurry!
SAM YAO: All right, Five, I think you’re safe. The camera’s are all back on and I can’t see any trace of… whatever that was. Which is good, right? Maybe it’s left the Spectrum Centre. Or maybe it’s gone somewhere we can’t see it, which isn’t a nice thought. Either way, you’re gonna need to get out of that cupboard. The disruption to the radio signal’s coming from directly above you, but according to the floor plans, there shouldn’t be anything there at all. It’s just marked "void", and there’s no sign of any way in or out.
Okay. When it’s safe, Five, you can retrace your steps back to Bloodbath and Beyond - you know, I’m not sure I like that name anymore - and we can work out what to do next. There’s a secret floor in the Spectrum Centre, Five, and we need to find the way in.
Codex[]
Letter[]
Hi Runner Five,
Sam here! I just wanted to check in again and see how you were holding up. Man, not to be a massive chicken but whatever was chasing you earlier has me feeling all KINDS of spooked - and I'm safe and sound at my comms desk a million miles away, not trapped in some creepy, abandoned mall! ...Heh, sorry. Probably wasn't the most reassuring thing I could have said, I suppose. It's fine! I'm sure it's fine. I'm sure it was just your average, garden-variety, totally ordinary undead ex-person. I mean, yes, it didn't really MOVE like a zombie, and zoms don't typically make our cameras glitch out like that, but maybe that was just a coincidence? Those security cameras have got to be pretty old and poorly maintained at this point, so... yeah, it's probably just a hardware issue. Yeah. Never mind those weird symbols on the walls, or all those creepy mannequins...
Okay, I'm CLEARLY doing a terrible job trying to be reassuring, so I'm going to sign off now, but please stay safe, Runner Five. I don't like the thought of you being stuck there on your own for too much longer, so feel free to reach out and message us on ROFFLENET any time, okay? We'll check in with you in a bit, but in the meantime, look after yourself, and watch your back.
Love,
Sam.
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
Cricket bat
Dress
First Aid Kit
Flashlight
Football
Laptop
Mobile Phone
Overcoat
Shirt
Sports Bra
Trainers
Umbrella
Underwear
Whisky
Trivia[]
- "Signal to Noise" is the shortest mission in The Home Front.
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