Get ready for the Zombie Apocalypse!
Wake the Dead is one of the many stories under Pixelberry's Choices: Stories You Play collection.
A plague of zombies devastated the world 21 years ago. Now a group fights for survival against enemies both living and dead. Will they succeed?
The first two chapters were made available for VIP players on October 27, 2021, with chapters being released weekly for VIP players until the general release began on December 29, 2021.
Wake the Dead includes examples of:
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Ash has their first mission (which has them ambushed by a zombie and potentially ends with one of their teammates dying and another getting an eye clawed out) on their birthday.Cassidy: Hold up, today's your birthday? And you decided to spend it doing this?Brynn: Don't look at me, I suggested we all get drunk and play foosball instead.
- Aerosol Flamethrower: A premium scene in Chapter 4 allows you to obtain one to roast a horde of zombies with.
- Actual Pacifist: The residents of Sunflower Creek are this to the point of not wanting to kill zombies during a Zombie Apocalypse and punishing Feather for killing one zombie to save a child.
- Alliterative Name: The default name for the main character is Ash Archer.
- Amputation Stops Spread: Normally, if a person gets bitten by a zombie, they get shot to death in the head. If they get bitten in a limb, however, it can be amputated before the person becomes a zombie, as evidenced by Minna Arbogast.
- Cast Full of Gay: The book has plenty of LGBT+ characters, in no small part due to being a Zombie Apocalypse story taking place in the 2040s. The main character, Ash (who can be customized as either male or female) has both male and female love interestsnote , all of them can be romanced regardless of Ash's gender. In addition, Ash and their sister were raised by two fathers, Knuckles is in a polyamorous relationship with a man and a woman, Aliyah is married to another woman, and Hatchet is non-binary.
- Content Warnings: The book opens with a warning stating that it contains frequent depictions of violence and gore.
- Darker and Edgier: Being a Zombie Apocalypse story, this was a given. Notably, this is the first Choices story to be given a 17+ rating for violence alone, as such a rating is usually reserved for stories with mature sexual content.
- Dirty Coward: King Trent is exactly what this trope says. When he captures prisoners, he throws them into the arena full of zombies, but when it comes to facing the zombies face to face, he turns pale as a ghost and runs away, but he ends up dead anyway: Beheaded by the people of Ironmount, shot in the head by Ash, or killed by zombies.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The Zombie Queen appears to have familial love for zombified Brynn, calling herself Brynn's "mother" and seeming genuinely hurt when Brynn overcomes her infection. In the bonus scene, it's implied that this is the remnants of her protective and motherly attitude towards Ash and Brynn before her conversion.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: As usual, the main character can be named as you wish. Their default name is Ash Archer. Their sister's first name is also customizable, with her default name being Brynn. After clearing Red Meadows, an abandoned ski resort, of zombies, you'll rename it as you see fit, with its default new name being Olympus.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Brynn does this twice. First, she tells the group to leave her for dead at Eli's cabin and save Ash instead, because Brynn is wounded and thinks she will slow them down too much. In Chapter 20, a zombified Brynn regains her sentience after Ash stabs the syringe with the antidote Shannon created. The Zombie Queen is decapitated by Brynn who gets mortally wounded and dies again.
- Walt sacrifices his life to save his daughter Minna in Chapter 19.
- Both Mack and Darren sacrifice their lives for Ash in Chapter 19, if they are still alive.
- If Dirk is still alive in Chapter 20, he dies trying to protect Ash from a zombified Brynn, who disembowels and eats him.
- Humans Are the Real Monsters: Compared to many zombie works, this is downplayed. The Tower is a corrupt, authoritarian organization that sacrifices dissidents, but it's the only faction to be purely evil. The Raiders are gruff and violent but can ultimately become valuable allies on the right path. Sledge can even become a love interest. The people of Sunflower Creek, Skyweld, and Ironmount all have various flaws but are generally sympathetic. Even Dirk, who inevitably betrays Ash, will perform a Heroic Sacrifice if not executed.
- Human Sacrifice: The end of Chapter 1 shows a group of people being sacrificed to the zombies to ensure they stay away from The Tower.
- Machete Mayhem: A premium choice in Chapter 3 allows Ash to obtain a multi-machete, which not only carves through zombies like a hot knife through butter, it also comes with built-in tools such as a screwdriver and bottle opener.
- Not Using the "Z" Word: Zigzagged, while the zombies are frequently referred to as "drones", they are just the standard type of zombies encountered throughout the book, so the term "zombie" is just as commonplace.
- Our Zombies Are Different: There are different types of zombies throughout the book. Drones are the most common kind, scouts search the area for prey before signaling other zombies with shrieks, soldiers are the Giant Mook, and sirens have human builds and lure their prey by humming before finishing them off. They're also eusocial, with an insect-like "hive" and a sentient Queen in charge of them.
- Player Headquarters: Red Meadows, an abandoned ski resort that would later become a colony called Olympus.
- Regularly Scheduled Evil: Every seven years, during the Summer Solstice, there is a massive surge in the number of zombies that roam in the open. In Chapter 3, it's revealed that the last surge was seven years ago, and there are only a few weeks left until this year's solstice. In Chapter 19, the Queen exploits this by realizing that the humans have caught on to the schedule and attacking a few hours early.
- Removing the Head or Destroying the Brain: The only way to kill zombies.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Dirk betrays Ash and his group, delivering them to be executed by Marcus who also betrayed them. Marcus is killed by Ash after a melee fight. Still in Chapter 18, if Dirk isn't killed by Ash, he will be disemboweled by Brynn in Chapter 20.
- Rite-of-Passage Name Change: The Raiders do this rite when a new recruit joins and the new recruit gets a name according to the weapon they used during their trials. Ash can earn one of these names according to the weapon he used: Splitter, Champ, Shank, Jazz, or Slugger.
- Sadistic Choice: One feature of this book is "Hard Choices", where there's no right or wrong answer, and you have to pick whichever one you think is best, then live with the consequences.
- In Chapter 1, a scientist is trapped in a room with a hefty supply of medicine in the cabinets. You can either smash the glass to get her out of there faster, or you can have your sister work on the electronic lock. If you smash the glass, you have enough time to grab the medicine, but the sound alerts more zombies to your location, and one of your teammates is killed, while another is injured. If you wait for your sister to unlock the door, everyone makes it out alive and (relatively) unharmed, but without any medicine.
- In Chapter 4, Angel joins the group and wants to bring her parents with her to the colony. The only problem? They're zombies, so bringing them into the colony would be a serious risk. Eli and Troy suggest killing them (to which Angel protests), while Shannon suggests bringing them, but keeping them locked up and out of the way at all times. If you choose to kill her parents, Angel is both furious and seriously upset, but there's no chance of them being a threat. If you choose to take them with you, Angel is extremely grateful, but Troy and Eli rightfully call Ash out for potentially putting the colony in danger, since the threat of the zombified parents breaking loose and biting someone is now constantly looming overhead. And in Chapter 14, they do just that, killing Mack in the process, much to Angel's guilt.
- In Chapter 8, both Shannon and Minna (the daughter of the guy you are hiring to build your colony's fortifications) are pinned down by zombies, with Shannon locked in a cupboard and Minna barely holding her own. You only have enough time to help one of them. If you choose to help Shannon, Minna gets one of her hands bitten by a zombie and has to have it amputated. Her father is understandably pissed off, since he told you to bring his daughter back in one piece. If you choose to help Minna, she suffers no casualties, but Shannon's psyche takes a few hits, due to being locked in the cupboard for too long with zombies hammering on it to the point it tips over. She spends the rest of the chapter in shell-shocked silence, and the message at the end of the chapter mentions that "she will never be quite the same again".
- In Chapter 9, Trent is captured by the citizens of Ironmount for sending innocent people to fight in the arena to be devoured by zombies just for fun. If you deliver Trent to the people, he will be decapitated in the middle of the street, upsetting his champion and childhood friend Aliyah. If you spare his life, Trent will become a peasant and return together with Marcus to execute Ash after Dirk's betrayal and you will have another chance to execute him.
- In Chapter 12, Ash will notice that Eli is ready to attack after he was bitten by a zombie in the previous chapter. If you shoot him, Eli will be confused and ask why Ash didn't shoot him before, and if you don't shoot him, Eli will attack Ash and feel guilty for attacking him/her.
- In Chapter 18, Dirk betrays Ash, handing over the location of Olympus to Marcus to execute him and usurp the leadership and Trent will come along with the traitors, if you spared his life in Chapter 9. If the traitors (including Trent) are executed, they will not return. If they are spared, you will get a +Fighters bonus and they will try to redeem themselves by sacrificing their lives helping Ash in Chapter 19.
- In Chapter 19, the fate of Boots and the others are decided during the solstice. If Boots is saved, Ash will be wounded in the leg and saved afterwards. Otherwise, they will be devoured by zombies, causing you to lose fighters.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Subverted. In Chapter 11, Troy accepted Sledge's offer to walk away and leave Ash, only to ambush the Raiders.
- Shout-Out:
- In Chapter 5, if you take the premium option to give Cassidy a glorious death, the achievement for it is "Witness Me."
- The protagonist's default name is Ash, after Ash Williams from Evil Dead.
- The Siege: The story involves preparing in advance for the summer solstice surge when thousands of zombies come out in the open to feed. You have to perform a balancing act of fortifications, food, trained fighters, research and morale. Chapter 14 involves a smaller surge 7 days before the solstice. Chapter 19 is when the solstice surge begins and all your preparation pays off.
- So Much for Stealth: In Chapter 8, the group must navigate a warehouse and escape with gas tanks, which they will give to a group of builders in exchange for them building fortifications for their colony. Making a wrong choice will result in the group alerting the zombies, and if too many wrong choices are made, the group gets to the warehouse's exit to find it swarming with zombies, resulting in them losing a gas tank and getting less fortifications built at the end of the chapter.
- Social Darwinists: The Raiders. Their leader Sledge sees nothing wrong with threatening innocent settlements because she considers them weak and deserving of subjugation. In Chapter 12, their rite of passage involves fighting against a soldier zombie without bringing in any weapons and armor.
- So Proud of You: It's the first thing Brynn says after Ash sticks the antidote to her neck, freeing her from the Zombie Queen's control.Brynn: "I'm so proud of you. You've grown so much. You're everything I hoped you'd be and more. But I'm still your big sister."
- Swiss-Army Weapon: The multi-machete is one. It comes with a built-in screwdriver and bottle opener, among other things.
- Trap Master: Being by herself in an abandoned mall for years has allowed Angel to become one. Unfortunately, the group falls into one of her traps at the end of Chapter 3.
- Viva Las Vegas!: Chapter 15 has the party go into the ruins of Reno, NV, showing which state in the former US the story takes place.
- Wham Shot: Chapter 16 reveals the existence of the Zombie Queen who is responsible for how infected people turn into different kinds of zombies, and demonstrates her ability by making a new Queen... who just so happens to be Ash's sister.
- Zombie Apocalypse: The setting. At the start of the story, it has been 21 years since the outbreak. The Lore Journal you find at the end of Chapter 4 reveals it started in 2021, putting the current setting in 2042.
