Students ran for their lives Friday night as zombies invaded the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

As the sequel to last year’s event, this year’s Outlast the Outbreak: They’re Back hosted about 1,200 students in the Rec. Set up as a mock zombie apocalypse, the event included 20 student volunteers dressed in hazmat suits and dozens dressed as zombies.

Upon registration, students were given two flags to clip to their waists and given the goal of collecting as many cards as they could from the men in hazmat suits without getting their flags pulled by the zombies.

At the end of the event, students who still had at least one flag could turn in their cards for a chance to win prizes, including an Xbox 360 and a mini fridge.

“Everyone was mass panicking. It was pretty intense,” freshman chemistry major Randy Davis said. “It was a hell of a ride.”

Beginning on the main basketball gymnasium, the courts flooded with volunteers playing zombies. Without warning, they chased the crowd, causing more than  a thousand students to disperse throughout the complex.

“I was hiding under a desk when everyone started spreading,” senior American sign language major La’Shawn Brooks said. “I never ran so fast in my life.”

With so many people in such a tight space, leaving the courts wasn’t easy.

“I’m 5-foot-2 inches. I was pushing guys that were 6-foot-4 so I could get out of there,” Brooks said. “As we’re trying to leave, the zombies were just everywhere, and I was just caught in the crowd.”

The zombie apocalypse “infested” the outside area the Rec as well.

“These zombies came after me and locked me in this little gated area,” said Briyannah Pearson, a fashion merchandising major. “They chased me around inside and I literally could not get out.”

With hundreds of students and dozens of zombies, both factions had to get creative.

“There was a guy hiding in a tree,” Pearson said. “I’m running and I look up and there’s a guy hiding all the way at the top of a tree outside, saying ‘Shush.’”

The infestation lasted two hours. At the end the center hosted an after party for participants that included catered food and raffle prizes.

Contact Brittany Rees at [email protected].