It was a warm summer morning when the news broke out: the dead were alive, and they were hungry for human flesh. It didn't matter if you were bitten or not; if you died, you would become a zombie, unless the brain was destroyed. When Tintin found out that the outbreak had started in China, he cried for days and kept his last letter from Chang in his pocket, reading it over and over again. The zombies then spread east towards Europe. Tintin, with the help of Professor Calculus, set up an electric fence to keep the undead out. They all stocked up on food and ammunition (not to mention whiskey). If they were lucky, a rabbit would accidentally leap on the electric fence.
One day Tintin turned on the radio and heard static instead of the usual news reports. The inhabitants of Marlinspike Hall were cut off from the world, but they were fine until the day the zombies reached the area near the mansion.
Fortunately, the electric fence worked, but one day Professor Calculus went to check on it. When he didn't come back, Tintin and Captain Haddock loaded their guns and silently prayed that the professor was fine. It was wishful thinking. The two saw that a zombie had knocked over a fence-post and was now feasting on Professor Calculus' dead body. Captain Haddock furiously pointed the gun at the zombie but Tintin stopped him, warning the Captain that the sound would attract the other zombies. Tintin smacked the zombie with his gun and stomped on its head. Blood gushed out of the crushed skull, and Tintin could barely recognize the disfigured face of Cutts the Butcher. Tintin hesitated for a moment before doing the same with Professor Calculus. It was better than letting him turn into a zombie.
Tintin and Captain Haddock fixed the post, buried the bodies, and mourned their fallen friend. As the weeks went by, they had each other for comfort as they reminisced about fond memories. Tintin never let Snowy out of his sight, and often gave his faithful dog bones to chew on, something he had never done before. Nestor remained a man of few words.
They made an escape plan in case the zombies broke in. If the fence broke once, it was highly likely it would break again. The plan was to run to the basement, grab as many supplies as possible, and exit through a trapdoor under the carpet. Under the trapdoor was a tunnel that led outside.
Tintin and Captain Haddock both wanted to tell each other how much the other person mattered to them, how they would sacrifice their life for the other, how they never doubted the other's friendship, but they couldn't get out the words. So on their last night together they shared a bottle of whiskey and Tintin gave the last drops to Snowy.
The next day they jolted awake to hear Nestor screaming. They saw to their horror that the zombies had finally broken in. Nestor lay dead, his blood staining the ancient floor of the once-peaceful mansion he had once served in. There was no time to mourn, dozens of zombies were approaching fast. Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Snowy raced down the stairs, the two men occasionally firing at zombies that were too close. Right before they reached the supply room, however, Tintin heard Snowy bark and a snapping noise. He turned and caught a quick glimpse of his faithful dog's bloody body before a zombie grabbed Tintin's leg and bit it. Tintin blacked out.
Captain Haddock had no time to process what had happened. He fired the gun on impulse, killing the zombie. He dragged Tintin into the supply room and slammed the door shut, dragging crates to the door to block it. The Captain heard muffled thumps as the undead tried to break the door.
"Ca-Captain?" Tintin asked weakly. Captain Haddock turned to look at him. It was the Captain's worst nightmare, except now it was reality.
"You're too young to die, lad! It should have been me, not you!" Captain Haddock yelled.
"Captain, don't say that!" Tintin said.
"The bite's not too deep. Maybe you aren't infected." Captain Haddock said, but it sounded like he was just trying to convince himself.
Tintin shook his head, his breathing starting to get shakier.
"But you can't die like this! There must be something I can do..."
"There's only one thing." Tintin said, looking at the Captain's gun.
Captain Haddock's face paled. "Blistering barnacles, no! I can't shoot you! There must be some other way-"
"You know there isn't!" Tintin yelled. "I'm sorry Captain, but you have to! There's no other way!" Tintin broke into sobs, and the Captain did too. "I don't want to turn into one of those monsters..."
The words that weren't said before came spilling out of the Captain's mouth. "When you crashed through my window on the Karaboudjan, I had no idea how much my life would change after that. You're-you're like a son to me." Captain Haddock sniffed.
Tintin said quietly, "And you're like a father to me." They shared a moment of silence before a loud thump interrupted their thoughts. "Captain, we don't have much time left."
Captain Haddock hugged Tintin in a tight embrace. He felt Tintin's heart beat weakly, his slightly-greenish skin hot with fever.
"I can't do this." the Captain said quietly.
"You have to." Tintin responded.
"I'll...I'll miss you." Captain Haddock said shakily, tears running down his face.
"I'll miss you too."
Captain Haddock stood up and held the gun, pointing it at Tintin. His hands shook when he saw that Tintin was calmly looking at him. He pressed the trigger and Tintin slumped to the floor. The boy reporter lay dead at his feet. Captain Haddock sobbed as he kneeled down to close Tintin's eyes.
There was a huge cracking sound as the door started to break. Captain Haddock stood up, a look of fury in his eyes. The zombies had killed his son and his best friend, and they were going to pay. He turned to look at the trapdoor, but decided that he wasn't going to leave this mansion alive. A Haddock always goes down with his ship, and the last Haddock intended to go out with a bang. Captain Haddock poured a trail of gunpowder leading to some dynamite. At that same moment he set the gunpowder alight, the door broke apart and the zombies approached him. Captain Haddock grabbed a nearby sword and unleashed his fury at the zombies, slashing the monsters and screaming, "YOU ECTOPLASMS! CANNIBALS! BASHI-BAZOUKS!" until the flame hit the dynamite. There was a giant explosion as the mansion blew up, burning debris raining down to the ground to mark the place where the last Haddock took his final stand.