"Top 40" is the fifth side mission of Season 2. This mission takes place anytime before Season 2 Mission 35: Dog Days Are Over.
A pop princess is mobbed by adoring undead fans. You might just be the hero she's holding out for.
Cast[]
- Sam Yao (Philip Nightingale)
- Jody Marsh (Jennifer Tan)
- Janine De Luca (Eleanor Rushton)
- Keisha (Jessica Stanley)
Crew[]
- Writer: Andrea Klassen
- Director: Matt Wieteska
- Sound Designer: Richard Bell
- Series Created By: Naomi Alderman
Scenes[]
Beethoven's 87th
Sam is excited by the day's mission - you are heading to a CD shop.
A Familiar Face
Inside the shop, a hysterical woman throws a CD case at you; Sam and Runner 4 seem to recognise her.
Fans
Sam and Jody start singing your new companion’s hit single, but Keisha silences them, fearful that her zombified fans will swarm towards the sound.
Loyal Fans
Keisha explains that the teen zoms are after her - her most loyal fans were camping outside her gig venue the night of the outbreak.
No More Glitter Costumes
Keisha dwells on the past, lamenting the fact that the outbreak prevented her from relaunching her career as a serious singer/songwriter.
Text Me Up
As you're running out of options, she proposes reluctantly that the runners sing her hit song, Text Me Up, in order to confuse her undead fans.
Transcript[]
[gate siren]
SAM YAO: Aw, man! This is amazing! Runner Four, Runner Five, are you ready to go? We’ve got - [laughs] I can’t even believe it – we’ve got something really exciting for you two to do today, don’t we, Janine?
JANINE DE LUCA: I suppose that would depend on your definition of “exciting”.
JODY MARSH: What is it, Sam?
SAM YAO: Oh, right! Well, we sent a scouting party into a new part of the city a couple of days ago, and they found – oh, I can’t even say it! It’s too great! Janine, oh, Janine, tell them. Tell them what they found.
JANINE DE LUCA: The runners were able to locate a store that specialized in -
SAM YAO: They found a CD shop! A real old fashioned CD shop! Can you believe it?
JODY MARSH: No! Really? I didn’t think there were any of those left.
SAM YAO: Well, that’s what I said! We’re sending you out there today straight away before someone else gets in and loots it.
JANINE DE LUCA: Yes, I’m sure all the other settlements in the area are putting that at the top of their list of priorities.
SAM YAO: Oh, come on, Janine, don’t be like that! The way things are, I mean, it’s not like it’s been much of a party around here lately. We could all use a little more fun right now. Look, I bet Four and Five could find you one of those, um, classical guys you like. Maybe Beethoven’s 87th piano symphony? Or Mozart’s flute and, um, trumpet, uh, duet, in A, uh, major?
JANINE DE LUCA: When Runners Four and Five get back from this mission, you and I are going to have a chat about your musical education, Mister Yao.
SAM YAO: You heard the lady. Runners, bring us back all the classical music you can find. And uh, maybe some good stuff, too, while you’re at it.
SAM YAO: There we are. Go past that grocery shop and turn left at those burnt-out traffic lights and you should be right there. MegaTunes Music Emporium.
JODY MARSH: Ahh, look at that! Three whole stories of music. It’s… it’s beautiful!
SAM YAO: Okay, right, I’ve got a list of requests here, for you. Let’s see, let’s see… children’s CDs for Ed and Molly. Uh, bit of old school David Bowie for Runner Seventeen. Bit of dubstep for Runner Nine. Uh, looks like Runner Three wants you to find him some… ew, is that country music? Yeah, well, we’ll just wait and see if you have room in your backpacks before we get that one. The scanners aren’t showing much activity in the area, so uh, you two should be able to take as long as you like inside.
JANINE DE LUCA: What about that?
SAM YAO: What about what?
JANINE DE LUCA: There! Near the center of the screen!
SAM YAO: Oh, oh no! Runner Five, Runner Four, be careful. Looks like someone else has got here ahead of us. I don’t think – no, they’re not moving like a zombie. [door opens] If Van Ark’s guys have turned this precious CD shop into yet another secret lab, I -
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: [shouts] [throws a CD at the runners] I said no autographs! [more CDs clatter] Yeah, there’s more where that comes from, you stupid zombies! Find someone else to chase around for a while -
JODY MARSH: Wait, wait! Stop! We’re alive. We’re not zombies.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: What? What are you doing? Don’t sneak up on people like that! You scared the hell out of me! Oh God, you made me break those discs. I’ll have to bring more. Are there any of these CDs still in one piece? This looks cracked, but if I just put a price sticker over it, maybe no one will notice.
SAM YAO: Mm… that voice. Does it sound familiar to you, Janine?
JANINE DE LUCA: I have no idea what you’re talking about, Mister Yao.
JODY MARSH: No, he’s right. She does look familiar. Don’t you think so, Five?
JANINE DE LUCA: Be that as it may, we have a mission to complete. Runners Four, Five – head to the third floor. I believe that’s where you’ll find the classical section.
JODY MARSH: Got it, Janine.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Wait! Wait, I’m coming with you.
JODY MARSH: You are?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Those headset thingies you’ve got on – you’ve got an eye in the sky, right?
JODY MARSH: Uh…
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Someone’s watching us, telling you to look out for zombies and stuff?
JODY MARSH: Right…
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Then I’m coming with you! Maybe you’ll find the zombies before the zombies find me.
SAM YAO: No, I’m telling you, she looks familiar! Definitely saw her in… oh, maybe she was in “I’m A Celebrity”. How do you not see it?
JANINE DE LUCA: Some of us had more important things to do with our time before the outbreak than read gossip magazines and watch reality television.
SAM YAO: Mmhmm, I know, it’s just bugging me now. Ooh, ooh, Runner Five, snag a copy of that last Eurovision compilation album while you’re passing through the pop section.
JANINE DE LUCA: That’s not on the list.
SAM YAO: It’s… for a friend?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Ew, Eurovision? Someone really wants you to pick up that garbage? The winning song was terrible. Even my first single was better than -
JODY MARSH: Oh, wait! I know who you are! Sam, I know who she is. You’re Keisha St. Cloud!
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Well, yeah, obviously.
SAM YAO: Oh my God, oh my God, Janine, are you hearing this?
JANINE DE LUCA: I’m sure it’s fascinating, Mister Yao, to those of you who know who that is.
SAM YAO: You’re joking. Uh, you’re not joking. She only had the biggest hit single of all last summer! Aw, you know! You’ve got… [sings] “Hey, boy, looking so shy, da da da da da”. Oh my God, how’s that next bit go?
JODY MARSH: I know! [sings] “Come on and text me up, whoa-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh”
SAM YAO and JODY MARSH: [singing] “Yeah, you’re so sweet, whoa-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh / Don’t have to be shy, when we talk on the screen”…
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Shh, shh, don’t do that! They’ll hear you!
JODY MARSH: Aw, there was a dance, too, wasn’t there?
SAM YAO: Aw, yeah! Yeah, it was kinda like a shuffle to the right, like – and then a bit of a shimmy.
JANINE DE LUCA: Do not dance in here, Mister Yao, you’ll knock over the - ! [equipment collapses]
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: Stop talking to your invisible headset people and listen to me! You can’t sing that song, you can’t even mention that song! They’ll hear you!
JODY MARSH: There’s no one but Five and me. Who’s going to hear us?
JANINE DE LUCA: Mister Yao, have you knocked any key wiring loose?
SAM YAO: No, I don’t think so, why?
JANINE DE LUCA: Then it’s highly unlikely that swarm of zombies headed towards the MegaTunes is a scanner error.
JODY MARSH: I thought you said there weren’t any zoms around here.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: I told you! I told you they could hear!
JODY MARSH: Who?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: It’s my fans! They’ve found us. We have to get out of here, now!
SAM YAO: Outside door, everyone. You’re coming out about five blocks up the road from them. Head back the way you came as fast as you can.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: The guy in your headset. Can he tell you what the zombies look like?
JODY MARSH: Sam? Keisha wants to know -
SAM YAO: Yeah, I’m looking, yeah. Ugh, okay, that’s weird. They all look like teenage girls.
JODY MARSH: Oh, I hate kid zoms.
SAM YAO: Well, I guess these would technically be young adult zombies.
JODY MARSH: That’s not better! Sam, I can see them. They’re gaining on us. They’re all so fast and… all wearing the same T-shirt?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: I told you. I told you this would happen! That stupid song! Every time I manage to lose them, someone has to sing that stupid song.
SAM YAO: Five, Four, hang a left up there by that billboard. We’ve got to shake them before you can come back to the township. We’ll take you up and down the side streets, try and confuse them, or… or something.
JODY MARSH: There’s so many of them! There must be nearly a hundred. Why are they all together like this?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: It’s me. They’re after me! I was supposed to play a concert the day after the outbreak started. A secret show down in London, only for my most dedicated fans. They were camping in the street outside the theater when people started coming back to life. They’ve been following me ever since. I can’t shake them! They know where I am all the time!
SAM YAO: Right, go right, now! There’s a little gap between these two office blocks up ahead, do you see it? It’ll bring you out one street over, in the clear. You’ll all fit through it, but it should pack up the zombies a bit.
JODY MARSH: We see it, Sam. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to be fine, we’re going to be fine…
JANINE DE LUCA: Runners, try to speed up. Those zombies do seem to be catching up with you rather quickly.
JODY MARSH: Oh no!
SAM YAO: Get through the gap, that’s all you need to do. Sprint if you have to, just go!
SAM YAO: It worked! Oh, thank God it worked. They’re piling up in front of that passageway. There’s only maybe three or four right on your trail. If we can find a way to get rid of them -
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: [gunshot] Got one! Find someone else to take a picture with, you little undead brat!
SAM YAO: Hmm, well, that works.
JANINE DE LUCA: I see Miss St. Cloud is much more gifted with a semi-automatic firearm than she was with song lyrics.
[gunshots]
SAM YAO: Keep moving, guys. You’ve got a bit of a head start, now.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
JODY MARSH: Hey, it’s alright. Sam’s going to get us out of this, you’ll see.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: It’s not that. That secret concert I was talking about – it was supposed to get me away from all this! This stupid bubblegum pop stuff. I had a whole new album just about to come out. I was going to do serious songs. I was going to play guitar.
JODY MARSH: So… no more dancing?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: No more songs about stupid boys, no more glitter costumes, no more Top 40 countdowns. I was going to be a serious artist! Acoustic, real! I keep leaving copies of the new album in shops, hoping someone’s going to loot it and maybe listen to it. But all anyone ever wants to talk about is that one stupid song. It’s not fair!
JODY MARSH: Uh, Sam, should Five and I be going anywhere else right now?
SAM YAO: I can’t believe she wanted to give up the dancing. I liked the dancing.
JANINE DE LUCA: Runners Four, Five? You should be coming up on the town council offices. Look for a clock tower. Do you see it?
JODY MARSH: I do.
JANINE DE LUCA: Run straight past it, then take a left. That’s what we agreed upon, isn’t it, Mister Yao?
SAM YAO: Yeah, yeah, what Janine said. The zombies are – oh, wait. How’d they… oh, that’s just weird. They’re on your trail again, guys! They must have found another way up the street. Better pick up the pace.
JODY MARSH: They’re catching up, Sam! What do we do?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: I have an idea. It’s me they want. If we split up, they’ll lose interest in you two. But I need some time to get away. I need you to distract them.
JODY MARSH: How?
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: You know the words to “Text Me Up”, right? If you sing it loud enough, they might get confused. Not that you’re going to sound like me or anything, but they’re dead. Their hearing’s probably not that great.
JODY MARSH: Sam? What do you think?
SAM YAO: Well, not that we’re running out of options here or anything, but… well, yeah, actually, we are running out of options, kind of quickly. Give it a shot?
JODY MARSH: I only know the chorus.
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: That’s fine, I don’t think they care. Um, hey you, Runner Five – take this for good luck. It’s my new album. If you don’t die, you should really listen to it. I think it was going to be a big hit. You ready?
JODY MARSH: [sings] “Come on and text me up, whoa-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh / Yeah, you’re so sweet, whoa-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh / Don’t have to be shy when we talk on the screen”…
KEISHA ST. CLOUD: I’m going to turn off here. Keep going! And louder!
JODY MARSH: Oh, I can’t remember!
JANINE DE LUCA: [clears throat] [sings] “You’ve got my number, I want your ILU”
SAM YAO, JANINE DE LUCA, and JODY MARSH: [singing] “Text me up, tell me your love is true-oo-ooh / Don’t have to speak, don’t have to phone / Text me and tell me you’re mine alone / Come on and text me up, whoa-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh / Come on and text me up, whoa-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh”
JODY MARSH: Did it work?
JANINE DE LUCA: It appears the zombies are still chasing Miss St. Cloud.
SAM YAO: But, uh, should we sing it again?
JANINE DE LUCA: Runner Four, Runner Five, your way is clear. Best come back now while the swarm is distracted.
SAM YAO: But - !
JANINE DE LUCA: It’s not our business, Mister Yao. We can’t have that pack following the runners back to Abel. Besides, if she’s survived this long, I suspect Miss St. Cloud will manage without us.
SAM YAO: That song! Did you know it all along?
JANINE DE LUCA: I don’t know what you’re referring to.
SAM YAO: Maybe when the runners get back, we should all have a listen to that new album. Like a sort of… like a tribute thing.
JANINE DE LUCA: Or perhaps you could show us more of your dance moves, Mister Yao. Away from sensitive equipment.
SAM YAO: I don’t think… no one wants that.
JODY MARSH: Aw, you have to do it, Sam! Come on, Runner Five, let’s get back. This, we’ve got to see!
Codex[]
Supplies[]
The following supplies can be found in this mission.
(List may be incomplete.)
9mm Ammo
Bandages
Batteries
Book
Bottled Water
Mobile Phone
Pain Meds
Radio
Shorts
Sports Bra
Tinned Food
Trousers
Base Unlocks[]
The following objects unlock for your Base upon completing this mission.
Concert Area
- Description: Most sets played here are acoustic, but on very special occasions enough fuel is spared to allow for use of the speakers, lights and smoke machine for one glorious rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing".
- Cost: 20 supplies, 3 materials
- Effect: Increases morale.
Behind the scenes[]
Making Zombies, Run! 2 - 'Text Me Up'
Behind The Scenes of "Top 40"
Making Zombies, Run! 2 - Collaborative Song Writing 101
Making Zombies, Run! 2 - Collaborative Song Writing 101
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