Junior Kathryn Sade dresses up

FEATURES ZOMBIE

FEELING SPOOKY

Junior Kathryn Sade works as a zombie at Union Station’s Survive KC located on the sixth and seventh floors. (Photo by Madeline Hammett)

APOCALYPSE

Junior Kathryn Sade works at Survive Sade said she enjoys her role as a zombie. Her K.C., a zombie-laser-tag facility in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. favorite part is talking with the people that are about to go through the zombie zones beforehand. She then likes seeing the customers go through BY MADELINE HAMMETT because of the adrenaline rush and shock of the COPY EDITOR scare, according to Sade. She took her position in zone five of 10. Multi-colored strobe lights flashed. Sound effects and fog crept in and the zombie prepared herself. Terrified people hurried through clutching each other and screaming when she jumped out as they turned her corner. Grown men jumped as she stormed into their path. But then the people disappeared, the fog faded, the strobe lights turned off and the zombie, once again, became human. Junior Kathryn Sade has worked as a zombie at Survive KC for nearly four months, since they opened in July. She stumbled upon the ad while researching for unique jobs online. “I was looking for a job that I could participate in during the year,” Sade said. “It clearly seemed like I wouldn’t be sitting around at a desk all day, and I’d be more interactive with people.” Survive KC is located on the sixth and seventh floors of the historic Union Station in downtown Kansas City. It is an immersion, liveaction video game that allows players to combat rooms full of zombies. Ticket prices range from $27.99 to $55.99. Originally the attic, the seventh floor is also known as the haunted floor, according to Sade. “It’s supposed to be haunted,” Sade said. “The train workers and homeless people would sleep up there.” The zombie-laser-tag consists of nine to 10 rooms that are pitch black and full of zombies. The strobe lights are the only source of lights, consistently flashing with every new group. “Up on the walls there is writing dating back to the 1960s with names and stuff,” Sade said. “It’s kinda creepy but it’s also pretty cool.” Ever since opening weekend that started July 5, Sade and her fellow zombie workers have been kept on their toes by the constant ebb and flow of petrified people through the zombie zones. Sade and her co workers are assigned to different zombie zones for different shifts to help keep the excitement in the job. “We are packed all day everyday,” Sade said. “You have to make reservations and even then we usually run behind because so many people go through the zones.” “You hear all these people talking like ‘this is why I play Call of Duty,’” Sade said. “Then they get up there and they scream. We have had some grown men fall on the floor because they were so scared of us.” Survive K.C. brings a whole demographic of people by adding a more physical aspect to gaming according to Sade’s co-worker, Michael Wilson. The job requires people with creative minds, good acting skills and fun and fast-paced jumpy personalities. “It’s one of the most unique jobs in the sense that you must step out of your own skin each time you go into the game.” Wilson said. Wilson said he enjoys working alongside Sade because she is so charismatic and enthusiastic. People wouldn’t think those traits would be needed to portray a Zombie, but according to Wilson, her spirit keeps him motivated. “Kathryn has a magnetic personality and her energy is very contagious in a very palpable way,” Wilson said. “There is never a dull moment around Kathryn.” Sade intends on working at Survive KC for quite a while. There is never a boring day when working as a zombie in zombie-laser-tag, according to Sade. “How I dress, what makeup I am doing that day,” Sade said, “how I scare, and where I’m going to hide makes it all so fun.” For the job, Sade usually wears a dark gray T-shirt with red makeup stains on it to look like blood. She pairs that with black leggings. “We can wear pretty much anything to work,” Sade said. “Costumes are worn by a lot of people, like serial killer and clown costumes.” She wears a light green shade of make-up across her entire face and parts of her arms. On top of that she adds some black and red streaks on her face and arms to imitate blood. “It usually takes me around 15 minutes to do all of the makeup,” Sade said. “It depends on the look I am going for on that day though.” Sade enjoys the freedom that Survive K.C. gives her. Having a job as a zombie allows her to branch out, according to Sade. “It’s special up there,” Sade said. “It brings out my more silly side. I can be creative and unique with what I do.” “It’s special up there. It brings out my more silly side. I can be creative and unique with what I do.” -Kathryn Sade, 11

HAUNTING OF UNION STATION (left) Junior Kathryn Sade works at Union Station on the supposedly haunted level six, or attic, where Survive K.C. is located. (Photo by Madeline Hammett) A ZOMBIE APPEARANCE (right) Junior Kathryn Sade has to redo her full face and body makeup for effect every time she goes to work. (Photo by Madeline Hammett)