Starting about two months ago, Garvey, Ambika, and my fellow grade nines have been training to run a zombie 5k in Medford, New Jersey. This apocalyptic race consisted of dodging terrifying zombies and attempting a number of other challenging activities: avoiding electrified chains, climbing rope nets, and crawling through mud pits.

The eight of us originally planned to go “Darwin-Style,” every man for myself, but as we saw a sneak-peak of what was ahead we decided it might be better to pursue working as a team. I think this was the best decision we could have made because not only did we have a blast weaving through the zombies together, but as our group slowly became “infected” we were able to help the ones who were still alive survive until the end.

Sprinting the last 100 meters was possibly the strongest of the many adrenaline rushes during the morning. We splashed into the blood pit and immediately afterwards had to begin crawling on our hands and knees under a wooden tunnel. Then we ran faster than we thought possible, zombies on either side of us, mud splashing in our faces, and dove under the final electric fence. We officially made it through with only two of us surviving. We all truly ran for our lives.