To prepare for Journy to the End of the Night, I made sure to dress comfortably and wear shoes that I can run or climb in. I also tried to read up on previous praxises, as I did not have an entirely complete understanding of how JttEotN would occur, and to read up on others' strategies. Before leaving my house, I made sure to stock up on supplies (CTA map, CTA card, cell phone, uncrushable determination).

I met up with Meredithian and Sparrows Fall before heading down to Wicker Park. We met up with a large group, with other fellow foecakes, but decided that for the run, we should stick to a small group of three so as not to draw too much attention. At the meeting point, we recieved our manifests with a map of checkpoints and safe zones. We also sized up the other runners, knowing full well that many would eventually become our enemies. We decided early that our main strategy would be to take indirect routes and to stay away from the big group. This served us well as we trekked through alleyways to get to checkpoint 2, and we noticed that just a few other runners took this route (many of whom we had continued to run into throughout the night, as they had decided on a similar strategy).



Our first near run-in occurred as we grew close to the safe-zone near checkpoint 1. Approaching the corner to Elston, we heard voices around the fence at the corner. I stealthily crept up behind the voice, and quickly assessed that it was a chaser passing information via cell phone to other chasers. So far, avoidance was working for us, so we decided to take an alley behind Elston, which eventually lead through a taxi depot and into the safe-zone. After being taunted by a Red (who, thankfully, was wearing sunglasses - a fashion choice that undoubtedly would give him a disadvantage), we made it to the first checkpoint. Checkpoint 1 was manned by two puppets that were dressed like chefs - or chefs that were dressed like puppets - in any case they were puppety chefs and they were standing outside an old restaurant, and they gave us the clue for the next checkpoint as "very formerly dressed" (I learned later that they were actually FORMALLY dressed, and I misheard the puppety chefs). After getting our manifests signed, we downed a cupcake, called a few other foecakes to check in on them, quickly decided on our route to checkpoint 2, and moved on.



Another strategy we decided upon was to allow another group of Blues to move ahead of us, so that any hiding Reds would be triggered before we got to them. We spotted a small group of three ahead of us on Halsted on the way to checkpoint 2. But they stopped moving as we moved into view. It turned out to be Gremlin, Little Monk, and Kevin (fellow foecakes), who apparently had the same idea about us before they realized who we were. We decided to merge and travel together.

As we approached the safe-zone, I recognized the sunglass-wearing Red coming after us, and NOT wearing his ribbon, I might add (an unfair strategy, if you ask me). But, he made clear his intentions shortly enough, and we scattered. Amusingly, when instinct to 'run away' kicks in, we humans tend not to look back - so i quickly lost sight of all but Gremlin and Meredithian. After gathering our wits, the three of us decided to make the safe-zone our priority. But as we approached, the Red zoomed out of nowhere and we scattered again. I lost sight of Gremlin and thought for sure she was a goner. Meredithian and I managed to make it to a nearby L-stop (all L-stops were designated safe-zones). We were pleasantly surprised to find the rest of our group, and though shaken, still clad in blue ribbons.. We briefly encountered another small group of blues inside the L-stop, and warned them about the Red looming above on the streets (sadly, I must report that at a later checkpoint, this same group trudged in behind us, but they were no longer wearing blue ribbons). When the red was out of sight, we crept across the street, through a dark and narrow alley, and bolted to the second safe-zone and checkpoint 2. Gremlin's status was still unknown, and we all feared the worst.

Checkpoint 2 was manned by 4 very dignified young ladies enjoying a tea party picnic, which took place on the sidewalk under an overpass for the Kennedy Expressway. We contacted Gremlin with our cell phone powers, and thankfully she was still blue, so we guided her to the safe zone. (Admittedly, there was some doubt as to Gremlin's state given the last time I saw her. We would have been very cautious about revealing our location had we not been in a safe-zone). Our next clue was simply "Green and Yellow."




We met up with fellow foecakes Jumpin’ Jane and Rex. After some deliberation, they had decided to traverse the streets to checkpoint 3, and we decided to head back to the L-stop and take the blue line to Clark and Lake. From there, we headed to lower Wacker.



Lower Wacker is covered, dark and sidewalkless, so it offers some protection from Reds disguised as civilians. However, it was a little nerve-wracking since there was really nowhere to run. As we approached the Michigan Street bridge, we spotted two Reds up ahead of us. We bolted, not looking back as we dodged the heavy traffic. We managed to make it to the bridge. There was some confusing about whether we were able to cross he bridge from the underground level, and since there were Reds hot on our tails and we didn’t have time to discuss, we got divided. Kevin and I stuck to the underground, while Meredithian, Sparrows Fall, Little Monk and Gremlin went to the street level. I utilizing cell phone powers again and contacted Meredithian to reconnect, but as we headed towards the safe-zone, we spotted a Red seated on the other side of the bridge. She was trying to say something to us, and while I didn’t trust her anyway, I couldn’t hear her. I promptly got off the phone and skidded in the other direction. Alas, as I turned around, I saw two figures fast approaching. I thought for sure I was surrounded – doomed – my life as a runner was over – but thankfully, as the figures approached I realized that it was Rex and Jumpin’ Jane. As we turned around, the seated chaser had not moved, and as we got closer, it turns out she was trying to say “this is a safe-zone. I’m just smoking a cigarette.” And indeed, she was.



Checkpoint 3 was inside The Billy Goat Tavern, an old and dank restaurant/bar with a friendly waitstaff. We shortly reconnected with the rest of our group, and with the addition of Jumpin’ Jane and Rex, there were now eight of us. The checkpoint people where clad in green and yellow – one green, one yellow. As they signed our manifests, we were informed that a lot of people were getting tagged, and it had been a long time since they had seen any runners. It seemed as though our strategies were paying off. Our next clue was “a man, a woman, and cardboard.” We headed out.



We decided to take Michigan Avenue towards checkpoint 4. It was flooded with shoppers and pedestrians, and while there may have been Reds at any turn, we used this to our advantage and managed to blend in. Somehow in the crowd, Meredithian, Sparrows Fall and I got seperated from the group. Half way to checkpoint 4 we ran into Kevin again, and made it to checkpoint 4 without incident. (actually, there was a small incident. We were using our strategy of following behind a group of Blues. When they all suddenly ran screaming to the closest EL stop, we froze and watched carefully – but did not see any chasers heading towards them. It seemed, to their and our releif, they had been afraid of a civilian woman with a red strip on a her sleeve.)

Checkpoint 4 was like a piece of performance art. There was a man and a woman wearing white jumpsuites, and they were worshipping a tower constructed from white cardboard and packaging tape. They were unresponsive to us, and were maniacally chanting and moaning what sounded like names – some of which were familiar. It turns out, the tower had writing on it – the names of all surviving runners who had so far come through the checkpoint. It was frightening how few in number these names were. We waited for Gremlin, Little Monk, and Rex to join us. Sadly, Jumpin’ Jane did not accompany them. Losing a member of our group was disorienting – she had only just joined us. But we were determined to move on. But what was the next clue? One of us realized that among their chanting, the man and woman in white jumpsuites were crying out “Two girls, one dress! Two girls, one dress!” Was this our next clue?



We picked up two other runners - Ninja and friend, and after adding our names to the tower, we let Kevin guide us to checkpoint 5, as he had some experience navigating south loop. He did a good job moving us through side streets as far as Canal. We were nervous about taking such a direct route to checkpint 5, but Canal was the only clear path. Plus, the street seemed vacant, and it was open enough that we knew we could see a Red coming from any distance. However, Canal turned out to be our biggest mistake of the night.



As we approached the light at 11th street, we saw a suspicious character chatting on his phone and waiting to cross the street ahead of us. Something wasn’t right about this guy, but we were so close to the checkpoint, and there was really no turning back, that we cautiously continued forward. Plus, he began to cross the street. We glared, tryin to spot a red ribbon, which was not in sight. But as we approached, it became clear that his cell phone call was a façade, used to block his ribbon from view. Just as we noticed this, he came after us. So far, this was the closest we had come to a Red, and it was terrifying. Most of us ran down a deserted alley, which was a gamble since there was no exit in sight. Once we turned a corner, we realized we were not being chased, but there were two people missing – Meredithian and Keven. Did the chaser get them? Where they still in persuit? It was too grim to consider, so we tried to focus on getting out and to the safe-zone. The only clear path was into a dark parking garage that was under the checkpoint. As near to the safe-zone as we were, we knew there must be more Reds close by, but hopefully, there would be a way up and out.

As quietly as possible, we crept into the garage. There where only two clear exits – a stairwell going up, and a ramp going out to the street. I scouted the back of the garage as well, which revealed a short wall, over which was darkness – a third exit, but only to be used as a last resort. Nearing the staircase, we heard unhuman mumbling and pounding from above. Backing away, we moved towards the ramp. This seemed like our best escape. Little Monk and Sparrowsfall were the brave leaders as we inched up the ramp. They spotted a group of reds around the bend, too close for comfort, and frantically whispered to go back. We started shambling away, thinking the reds had not seen us. As we quickly shifted back into the garage, I looked behind me, and I’m glad I did. I witnessed one or two reds pounding after us which apparently no one had seen yet. I scramed, “THERE’S A RED RIGHT THERE!” and we all ran as fast as we could towards the back exit – hurtling the wall into the darkness.

Apparently, the back entrance to the parking garage was the correct choice, as the Reds did not follow us. Gremlin, Little Monk, Sparrows Fall, Dex and I were together, but Ninja and her friend were not in sight. Perhaps the Red went after Ninja and her friend, but again, we focused on getting to the safe-zone. We found ourselves underneath the Roosevelt St. bridge, and there we had two options. One was the empty trainyard (which really lead to nowhere), or through a fenced-in parking lot, with only a 15 ft gateway exit. This was risky, as 50 feet away, on the edge of the safe-zone, were a small group of Reds, waiting. We were moving quickly and Sparrowsfall suggested we get out of the fenced-in area. Which was a good idea, and everyone followed as she darted out and across the street, but I did not like the idea of running so close past the gaggle of Reds. One of them started to go after them, but decided to stop in the gateway, trapping me in. At first, I thought I had made a mistake. I decided to run back under the bridge, and the Red did not persue, but grabbed some of his riends and ran across the street after the other foecakes.



Now I options – I could either go back into the parking garage, try to get out through the gate, go through the railyard, or investigate for some other exit, which is what I ended up doing. It turns out, there was a slim break in the fence which led to a narrow area between the fence and the bridge. While the bridge was high, it grew closer to the ground as it went towards Canal – right where the group of Reds were standing. Though risky, I decided this was my exit. I trudged through the shrubbery and litter along the side of the bridge, and as I got as far to the end as I could, I was able to peek over the top of the bridge rail (about 6 ft off the ground), and was pleased to see that only one Red stood on the corner. Less than 8 feet away from the Red, I had to sieze the moment as his back was to me, and he may turn around at any moment. I pulled myself up and lunged over the rail, directly behind the chaser. On Roosevelt. Safe.

But where were my friends? I was safe, but all alone, and I didn’t know where anyone was. First, I went for the checkpoint, which I found in a bustling diner on the corner of Canal and Roosevelt. The two girls (one dress) sat quietly in the back of the diner, in what someone described as a David Lynch-like scene. They where happy to hear my harrowing tail, and signed my manifest. As I left the diner to get a better street view and to try to connect with my friends, the group who were faked out by the red stripe-wearing civilian near checkpoint 4 skulked into the diner, having just been tagged. I was scared for my foecakes.




Over the next 20 minutes, Sparrows Fall, Little Monk, Rex, Kevin, Gremlin, and finally Meredithian all made it to the checkpoint, each with their own story of near escape. While waiting there, countless newly turned Reds grudgingly strode into the diner, reminders of how lucky we all were. Ninja and her friend, however, were not seen again. We heard later that the Reds who chased us out of the parking garage went after them, and they were caught somewhere near the produce section of the Whole Foods to which the parking garage belonged. RIP Ninja and friend of Ninja.

We had come as far as checkpoint 5, and were determined to make it to the next and final checkpoint. However, like our path to checkpoint 5, we did not have a lot of options. There was some disagreement about the route. 3 of us wanted to go straight through – we had outsmarted and outran every Red we had encountered so far, so why not? On the other hand, the other 4 wanted to stick to our current strategy of staying away from direct paths, and were convinced that once we cleared the safe-zone, Roosevelt would be crawling with Reds. Democracy ruled, and we headed north a couple blocks, and cut across to the lake, fortunately without seeing another Red.

Crossing into the final safe-zone was accompanied by celebratory high fives all around. We had traveled for almost 5 hours, and had traversed approximately 9 miles of road, allyway, train, and finally lakepath. Though we had lost a few along the, the 7 of us had made it together. We strode to the final checkpoint, and approached with our arms raised victoriously.



Arriving at the final checkpoint reminded me of the final scene of alice in wonderland. We had gone through this surreal adventure, complete with danger and excitement, encountering a host of bizarre characters, who were all gathered for a big finale. Though exhausted, we hung out for a while, and chatted with chasers, runners and volunteers alike.



Though exhausting, the Journey to the End of the Night introduced me to sides of my city that I have never seen before. It was the most fun I have ever had in Chicago, and I’m happy that the memory of this adventure will remain with me for a long time.