Z 2134 by Sean Platt, David W. Wright

to see at least six
zombies heading up the ramp. They weren’t running, but it would be less than a
couple of minutes before they reached him.
    He began making his way around the lip of
the Mesa platform, which extended just two feet around the cage in every
direction.
    The only crossbar within reach was around
the corner, about 30 feet away.
    Jonah forced himself to move faster,
gripping the bars tight as he navigated the outside of the cage. Just as he
rounded the corner, one of the zombies was pushed from the pack feasting on
Bear. It looked up and saw Jonah standing on the other side of the bars.
    It shrieked, drawing the attention of the
others.
    “Fuck!” Jonah screamed, as he was still
10 feet away from the crossbars and would have to pull himself up once there.
    He raced, his heart pounding against his
chest as he went bar to bar, and finally reached the crossbar. Just as he
reached it, a zombie’s face and wide-open rotting mouth greeted him with a
scream — just inches away and reaching for Jonah.
    Jonah’s foot slipped and he fell, hitting
his knee hard, as his hand slipped down the bar, and sent the bulk of his body
over the ledge. Somehow he barely held onto the bar as the rest of his body
slipped down, coming to a sudden wrenching stop as his shoulder exploded in
fiery pain.
    But he held on, the rest of his body dangling
off the Mesa platform.
    His relief was short-lived, however, as
he felt the zombie clawing at his hand.
    Jonah brought his left hand up, grabbed
the edge of the Mesa platform, then let his right hand release the bar and fall
to the edge of the platform, where he held on for dear life by the tips of his
fingers. Six zombies gathered, shoving themselves at the bars just above,
moaning, screeching, and reaching through the bars, swiping at him.
    Jonah moved his hands repeatedly to avoid
their swings as his fingers felt like they might fall off at any second.
    He looked down. The ground beneath him
was soft with snow, but the snow wasn’t that deep. And there were more zombies
gathering beneath him.
    He had nowhere to go.
    Just when Jonah figured the drop’s instant
death might be better than getting grabbed and pulled into the cage, two orbs
flew into sight and hovered above him, displaying a screen filled with people
in the studio audience at City 1, cheering.
    “This might be the best finish on record,
ladies and gentleman!” Kirkman proclaimed from the orb’s speakers. “WOW! We’ll
be talking about this Darwin Final between Jonah Lovecraft and Dimitri “Bear”
Aronofsky for years!”
    One of the zombie’s hands grabbed ahold
of Jonah’s right hand, and he yanked it back, nearly losing his grip with his
left hand in the process.
    He cried out, “Get me outta here!”
    Suddenly Jonah felt a harness threading
itself around his chest, then a tightening pressure as he was slowly pulled
toward a silent hovercopter above.
    Kirkman continued from both orbs on
either side of Jonah as he floated up and away from the cage, looking down at
the screaming zombies and the fleshy, bloody remains of Bear.
    “Any last words for the final few seconds
of the Finish, Jonah?”
    The orb went silent, waiting.
    Jonah was too tired to say a word and had
nothing to say even if he weren’t exhausted. He shook his head, trying to keep
from passing out.
    “Oh no,” Kirkman chimed. “Looks like
Jonah needs a nap!”
    The screen suddenly brightened and showed
Jonah’s face in a live action shot. The words “WINNER” were written in bold
blue beneath him.
    “Jonah Lovecraft is our newest Darwin
Games winner!” Kirkman shouted. “He will now be cleaned up and rubbed down, and
will get a reminder of what it means to be a man as he’s prepared by The Darwin
Games producers for his first-class trip to the rest of his life in SUNNY City
7!”
    The screen suddenly lit with vibrant
images of City 7, showing Jonah the same sight the crowds were seeing — in
every bar, public square, dark alley, and