Chapter 10: Enter the Apocalypse
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
When Noodle opened her eyes, she was back in the basement of the Spirit House.
She lifted her head wearily- when did I end up on the floor?- and stared blankly into the dark room. The floorboards she lay across were trembling beneath her, and the room was filled with the ominous sounds of rattling furniture, creaking beams, and her own ragged breath.
What just happened? The vision- the doors, the dark figure- was that real? Noodle shook her head in confusion, thinking over her strange experience in the corridor. Then her eyes went wide. Wait a minute- where's 2D?
Noodle heard a pained groan rise above the turbulent clattering of the house. Still seeing nothing in the pitch-black basement, she began running her hands over the rough floorboards. I must have dropped my phone around here somewhere… Aha! Here it is! With the press of a button, the guitarist soon had her surroundings exposed in the pale light of her phone screen.
There he was, leaning against the far wall with his bowed head cradled in his hands. The pose was so familiar to Noodle, reminiscent of when the singer would find himself struck by a bad headache (which, unfortunately, happened frequently). The guitarist let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, relieved to have found her bandmate, but also concerned by his evident pain. I have to help him. Stepping forward, Noodle reached out to her friend. "Toochie-"
She stopped in her tracks when he looked up at her with livid red eyes.
The expression on his face made her blood run cold. His teeth were bared in fury; she could feel waves of anger pulsing out of him like heat from a furnace. A deep growl rumbled in his chest, the kind of growl you hear when wolves prepare to fight. His whole body was caught in the demonic red glow of his eyes, and as dust rained down from the shaking ceiling, it appeared as if he were surrounded by a swirling scarlet mist.
Noodle took a step back, her heart beating fast. I was wrong- that's not Toochie.
The demon let out a deafening scream, his voice echoing around the enclosed space with a supernatural intensity that forced Noodle to cover her ears. Even with her hands pressed desperately over the sides of her head, the guitarist could hear the demon shouting as if he were inches from her face.
"ACCURSED WOMAN! I'LL KILL YOU, I'LL KILL YOU ALL! YOUR FRIENDS' BODIES WILL BE FLUNG ACROSS THE CITY IN PIECES! THEIR BLOOD WILL RUN DOWN THE STREETS AS THEY MINGLE WITH THE BLOOD OF A THOUSAND INNOCENT MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN! YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM FINDING THE SLEEPING POWDER WOMAN; I WILL DESTROY THE WORLD WITH MY POWER! NO SOUL CAN ESCAPE MY WRATH!
He made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and an awful cracking noise reverberated through the house. He lifted his arms into the air, and Noodle gasped as the ceiling pulled away from the walls. The dark, starry glow of the midnight sky poured into the basement as the rest of the house was lifted away, rising up until it hung suspended just over the level of the nearby treetops. The demon too began to rise, his toes lifting into the air and his hair floating eerily around him as he ascended. Noodle's neck craned back, her mouth hung open as she numbly watched the unnatural scene.
Those glowing red eyes turned back to her, and Noodle's breath hitched. The demon glared at her, a fiery glare of intense hatred, then swept an arm through the air. "SERVANTS… ARISE!"
Noodle let out a short shriek as, inches away from her foot, a dead hand shot upwards through the floorboards. Her gaze flickered wildly around as hands appeared throughout the room, followed by heads, chests, whole bodies. Decayed corpses rose to their bony feet, their clothes either muddied and torn or rotted away entirely. Some wore upside-down crosses similar to Murdoc's, and through her shock, it crossed Noodle's mind that these must be the demon-worshipers whom Charlene had mentioned, the former occupants of the Spirit House. She could hear unnerving groans resounding across the property, not unlike those she had once been accustomed to hearing around Kong Studios. Noodle felt sick to her stomach. Unless she was much mistaken, a large-scale zombie resurrection had just taken place, and she was in the middle of it.
A cold, cruel laugh sounded above her head. Noodle looked up once more to meet the evil leer of the demon as he spoke. "As much as I would savor the act of personally destroying your soul, I have a city to raze. SERVANTS, FINISH HER!"
With that said, the demon flew out of sight, in the direction of the city. Noodle didn't try to follow him with her eyes; she was more concerned with the formerly floating house which was currently falling through the air. Noodle flinched as it made contact with the walls, but by some cosmic power, the house fused back together instead of crashing upon itself to create a rubbish heap.
Noodle sighed with relief as she found herself encapsulated in a house that, although quite dark, was not shaking and creaking. The feel of a cold, clammy hand clamping onto her shoulder reminded her that this was no time to relax.
Noodle twisted around, breaking free of the bony grip, only to find herself crashing into another corpse. She fell backwards onto it, felt her back press against its stomach, its chin on her shoulder blade, smooth bone against her skin, teeth grazing the hairs on her neck-
She leaped frantically into the air, unintentionally shoving another body aside, which she could hear slamming into yet another body before hitting the floor. She stood with a racing heart as groans perforated the air around her, growing louder, growing closer. Her phone was still in her hand; Noodle turned it back on and held it up so that the light bounced off shining skulls, sent milky beams over yellowing skin, making dirt-encrusted demonic jewelry sparkle.
She was surrounded.
Noodle took a deep breath. Despite the harsh beating of her heart and the deafening roar of the blood in her ears, she did not panic. She was Noodle! At the age of ten, she could kick a zombie gorilla in the face and send the hordes of the undead back to their graves! It looked like it was time to prove that the former super-soldier's skills had not grown rusty.
The zombies were closing in on her. Spotting the stairway door on the opposite side of the room, Noodle dived low and rolled, knocking out the legs of three zombies and making them topple like bowling pins. A fourth zombie stood in her path, stooped forward, and bared its teeth and nails, ready to puncture her skin and infect her with the disease of the undead should she barrel into it. Inches away from its skeletal face, Noodle tucked her feet under her waist and leaped into the air, vaulting over the zombie's head, spinning around, and kicking his skull with her heel for good measure. Landing in a crouch, Noodle watched the zombie's head skid across the floor before disappearing behind the advancing skeletal legion. Leaping high into the air, Noodle hopscotched over the rotting scalps of a few clustered zombies before a particularly weak zombie gave way beneath her and forced her to return to the ground. Glancing up towards the door, Noodle observed that, although she had made it past the thick of the crowd, about five zombies barred her way to the door. Two stood at attention directly against the door. The other three were advancing towards her with their arms raised and their jaws drooping as they released undead moans.
Noodle charged the closest of the three and drove her elbow into its sternum. Shards of bone flew towards her; her elbow was protected by a thick motorcycle jacket, but Noodle had to turn away to prevent the infected bone from scraping her face. Spinning back towards the zombie, she kicked it towards another advancing zombie, knocking both to the floor. They tried to stand back up but tripped over each other's tangled skeletons.
Noodle turned towards the third of the advancing zombies. Leaning forward in preparation for another charge, Noodle was startled when hands fastened themselves on either side of her waist, lifted her off the ground, and began carrying her backwards with surprising strength into the undead crowd. Noodle kicked at the zombie's legs, but even as its legs toppled, the grip on her waist remained firm, forcing her to fall backwards with it, towards the outstretched arms and infected nails of the unnatural horde. Thinking quickly, Noodle wiggled and slid down out of her jacket, falling roughly to the floor before rolling swiftly away, barreling into and knocking down the third of the zombies between her and the door. Noodle leaped to her feet and observed two zombies remaining in front of the door.
Pulling them away with her hands would be risky; she might scratch her palm on a sharp piece of bone or a rock embedded in their skin. With the loss of her jacket, her arms were now vulnerable as well. Noodle narrowed her eyes in focus then leaped into the air with a spin. She kicked out her heel, and her spin sent it crashing through both zombies' skulls. As she landed back on the floor, the zombies collapsed. Sensing their undead compatriots at her back, Noodle rushed towards the door, yanking it open, diving through, and slamming it behind her with a bang.
Noodle sat at the bottom of the basement stairs, breathing heavily as she heard the undead bodies crash against the closed door. She closed her eyes and leaned back onto the stairs, allowing her sore limbs a moment's rest. I'm glad to be out of there, but I suspect there may be more zombies outside. I'm not out of the woods yet… The guitarist found herself wondering what state the surrounding area would be in when she left the house. The demon will probably reach the city soon, if he hasn't already. What kinds of powers does he have? Can he really destroy a whole city? Noodle fisted her hands with determination. I have to get in there. If I can get Murdoc, Russel, and Charlene out of there, we can make a plan to stop the demon. I hope Charlene has had enough time to finish her powder-
Noodle was jolted out of her thoughts when a heavy weight fell across her waist.
The guitarist attempted to leap to her feet, only to topple over as her attacker wound its body around her and pulled her down. Tucking one arm into her chest to protect herself from constriction, Noodle raised her other arm with her phone in her hand, casting its pale light over the slick blue flesh of the wormlike spirit who was rapidly covering her body in its own. A single, glowing eye leered down at her. Noodle felt hot anger bubbling in her chest.
"I am sick of this stupid worm!"
Phone still in hand, Noodle drove her knuckles into the large eye, causing the spirit to squeal and loosen its coils. She raised her fist, ready to punch it again-
A strong hand caught her wrist.
"Seriously?" Noodle screeched as she saw the many-armed spirit looming over her. Fortunately, the wormlike spirit's coils were still loose, and she was able to yank her body out of the creature's grip by pulling herself towards the many-handed creature. More hands reached for Noodle, aiming to apprehend her securely, but with incredible speed she twisted her body, threw her legs towards the many-handed creature's large face, and used him as a kickboard, launching herself up the staircase.
Once more, she found herself yanking a door open, leaping through the frame and slamming it shut behind her as her combatants crashed into the wooden surface. This time, however, she did not wait around to catch her breath. Noodle ran through the empty foyer and, barely breaking her stride, threw a kick at the front door which sent it flying off its hinges. She cleared the porch, tore across the grass, and leaped onto her bike, not sparing a thought for the helmet which lay resting on the ground. As she revved her motorcycle's engine, she could hear the moans of the undead echoing through the surrounding woods. Noodle looked towards the city; an eerie red glow hung in the air above it. She released her clutch and took off.
As she sped down the empty road, Noodle glanced at her phone, quickly skimming through her recent contacts. Finding the name she was looking for, Noodle pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear, holding her breath.
Ring, ring…
Please let them be okay, Noodle thought.
Ring, ring…
"NOODLE, WHAT IN SATAN'S NAME IS GOING ON?"
Noodle released her breath, somewhat relieved. "Murdoc! Is Russel with you? Are you in a safe place?"
"SAFE? ME AND RUSSEL ARE TRAPPED WITH THE COLLABORATORS IN A CONVENTION CENTER BECAUSE THE STREETS ARE FILLED WITH HORDES OF ZOMBIES! I JUST LOOKED THROUGH THE WINDOW AND SAW FACEACHE FLYING IN A CLOUD OF RED SMOKE! WHAT DID YOU TWO DO?"
"Good, stay there. I'll explain everything when I get there. What's the address of the convention center?"
"I DON'T KNOW THE ADDRESS, IT'S NEXT TO THE BLOODY TOWN HALL!"
"Okay, I know where that is. I'll be there in ten minutes."
. . .
The city streets were indeed filled with the hordes of the undead.
Noodle leaned forward on her bike, swerving to avoid the occasional zombie. She glanced at a sign pointing towards Main Street and turned sharply onto the indicated road.
As she flew past rows of ancient brick buildings, Noodle could see the tall spire of the clocktower, which she recalled rose out of the town hall building. On the far side of this structure, Noodle could see a large crowd of zombies milling around the entrance of a large building. The convention center.
Noodle stalled in front of it, a few meters away from the crowd of zombies. Fortunately, they were too occupied with the door of the building to pay her much mind. Noodle looked at a nearby window, analyzing its size. It looks large enough, and it seems like the type that would open from the inside…
Hitting the redial button, Noodle held her phone to her ear.
"Are you almost here?" Murdoc asked.
"Open a window and see for yourself."
Noodle watched as the large pane of glass was lifted, and a scowling green face peered out at her.
"Open it wider," Noodle requested through the phone. Murdoc looked confused, glancing warily at the nearby zombies who were sure to notice soon that a new entryway had opened. When Noodle revved her bike loudly, the bassist's eyes went wide. He pushed the window wide open then disappeared; She could faintly hear him shouting for the other occupants of the building to make way.
Noodle sped forward. When she hit the curb, she used the force to send her bike flying through the air, soaring over the sidewalk, clearing the window sill.
People screamed as she flew threw the window on her motorcycle. Noodle quickly braked, skidding across the slick tile floor and bringing her bike to a screeching halt. Someone closed the window as she dismounted her bike. The guitarist stood slightly hunched over, one palm braced against the seat of her bike, panting with exhaustion.
Noodle nearly had a heart attack when she found herself once more entrapped in a tight, body-binding grip. However, she soon relaxed as a familiar, deep voice sounded just next to her ear.
"Baby-girl, are you okay? I was so worried…"
Noodle hugged her large friend back. "It's okay, Russel, I'm fine. And it's good to see you're okay too."
"Yeah, yeah; everyone's all fine and happy." Murdoc growled, narrowing his eyes at the hugging bandmates.
"Oh, don't pretend you don't care," Russel said with a smirk. "You should have seen him pacing before you called, he nearly tore his hair out thinking about how you hadn't answered anyone's texts-"
"Shut up!" Murdoc hissed, turning away from his bandmates. Noodle smiled and rolled her eyes. Murdoc would never admit to having a soft side when it came to his bandmates. Pulling away from Russel, Noodle charged Murdoc, who turned around just in time to stagger as she launched herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Aww, Murdoc, I was worried about you too."
Murdoc didn't meet her eyes, but nevertheless returned her hug. "Yeah, whatever."
Russel joined the hug and they stood there for a few moments in comfortable silence. Noodle was pretty sure she could hear some of the collaborators chuckling as Murdoc let out a low grumble. Eventually, Murdoc untangled himself from the hug and turned back to Noodle with a slightly softened, but still quite serious, scowl. "So. The city is full of zombies. My singer has learned to fly. You said you had explanations." The surrounding collaborators looked at Noodle curiously.
Taking a deep breath, Noodle launched into her story. "When I got home from the gym, I found 2D playing an enchanted spirit piano. He released a very powerful demon from the piano, but don't be too hard on him, because I think the spirits forced him to do it. The demon is currently possessing 2D, which is why he can fly. The demon is responsible for waking the zombies. He wants to destroy the city and kill everybody."
While Russel stared at her with his mouth hanging slightly open, Murdoc groaned and slapped a hand to his face. "I should've known the Dullard would be the one to kick off the zombie apocalypse. He's going to be the death of me."
"The woman that 2D and I met earlier today, Charlene Germaine," Noodle continued, "is making a special powder which has the power to banish the demon. The demon calls it 'sleeping powder.' We need to find her, make a plan to confront the demon, and send all of the spirits back. Hopefully, once the demon is gone, the zombies will lose their life force and the city will be safe."
Murdoc nodded slowly but seemed to have something on his mind. Noodle cocked her head to the side. "Murdoc? Is something wrong?"
Murdoc met Noodle's gaze warily, seeming hesitant to say something. "Noodle… I know a lot about demons and sending them back to whence they came. Heck, I've sent some back myself. And I think it's important for you to know that, if a demon has chosen a host, they often drag their host away with them when they are banished."
Noodle felt her stomach drop. 2D….
She shook her head. "We'll figure out something. In the meantime, we need to get Charlene and find a safe place where we can make a plan. I can't fit all of you on my motorcycle; does anyone else have a vehicle nearby to make an escape with?"
"The nearest parking lot is two blocks away," said Peven Everett, their Strobelite collaborator. "We all parked there, and I don't think many of us are eager to try and run past all of those zombies to retrieve our cars."
"I parked my truck illegally on the curb," chipped in another collaborator, Little Simz. "I could fit someone into the passenger seat, and maybe someone into the truck bed as well."
Noodle nodded. "Excellent. If Murdoc comes with me on the motorcycle, we can put Russel in the truck bed and save the passenger seat for Charlene."
"Cool," Little Simz responded. "If you can distract the zombies with your motorcycle for a few seconds, Russel and I will crawl through the window and hop into the truck."
"Will the rest of you all be comfortable hanging out in the convention center while we fix this?" Noodle asked the other collaborators.
"Yeah," answered Kilo Kish, their collaborator on the track Out of Body. "The door seems to be holding up alright, and I think these windows are bulletproof. We should be fine."
Noodle walked back to her bike, with Murdoc following close behind. "Okay. Simz, give me a few moments to catch the zombies' attention before you and Russel go out. Benjamin Clementine, could you open and close the window? Good. Murdoc, hop on."
. . .
Noodle felt Murdoc's grip tighten around her waist as she spun donuts in the center of the road. The excited moans of the zombie horde oscillated in volume as she circled towards and away from them, adjusting the location of her path every now and then to prevent the zombies from getting too close and to guide them away from the window.
When she heard a truck's engine roar to life, Noodle broke her circle and shot down the road, leaning forward and narrowing her eyes. She could hear the truck on her tail. Noodle swerved around zombies while looking for the library, which she knew was farther down Main Street, just over a hill about a mile down the road. Once I find the library, I can take the same route I took with 2D earlier today to get to Charlene's house.
Soon enough, the road began to climb uphill and the buildings lining the street began to look familiar. They were almost at the library. Noodle grinned as she put on an extra burst of speed and crested the hill, looking down to see the library-
Shrouded in a cloud of red mist.
Noodle braked, her bike screeching to a hasty stop, and she heard the truck's brakes cry out as said vehicle skidded to a stop beside her. The demon must be somewhere in there, Noodle thought as she turned her bike around. We'd better take a detour; if he sees us-
Suddenly, a wide crack appeared in the tarmac just feet away from her. Noodle's knuckles went white on her handlebars; she turned her head to watch as the crack grew, curving around her cycle and the truck. Noodle revved her bike, planning to jump the crack in the road before it got much larger.
Instead, she barely managed to keep her bike upright as the ground lurched beneath her, sinking several meters in seconds. Noodle gaped as she found herself surrounded by crumbling, earthly walls. The sound of truck doors opening and closing registered faintly in the back of her mind as red mist tumbled over the edge of the pit. She watched, transfixed, as a silhouette appeared out of the ominous fog, hovering just over the edge of the pit, his spiky hair flying and his scarlet eyes leering down at her. He raised his arm and made a wide sweeping motion-
"Watch out!" Russel hollered.
Noodle gasped in surprise as Murdock flung her off of her own bike and onto the ground; he landed on top of her and held her down. She twisted her head around, planning on asking Murdoc why he had just shoved her into the asphalt, and looked up just in time to see a huge hunk of rock soar over the seat of her bike before smashing into the far wall. Had she still been on the bike, it would have killed her.
Before she could say so much as thank you, Murdoc was back on his feet, shouting angrily up at the demon. "Faceache! Stop being an idiot and kick that thing out of your head!"
The demon laughed with cruel mirth. "Your friend can't hear you; he's currently tied up in the darkest corner of his own mind. His soul is dying. Soon, he will be no more."
Noodle gritted her teeth in fury as the demon turned his attention to her. "And you… I'm impressed. I though I'd left you to die in Saturnz Barz. Oh well- I guess you'll just have to die here, with your friends watching."
No sooner had he said these words than both Murdoc and Russel moved to stand between the Demon and Noodle.
"Keep your sodding hands away from my guitarist!"
"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF HARMING MY BABY-GIRL!"
Even Little Simz stepped up to stand beside Noodle and glare up at the demon.
The demon laughed once more. "Oh, you all want to die together? That can be arranged." He lifted his hands into the air, and the walls of the pit began to rumble around them. Noodle's gaze darted frantically left and right; clods of dirt, rock, and rubbish were falling from the unstable walls.
The pit was going to cave in.
Noodle glared up at the demon with tears burning in her eyes, trying to think of one last insult to hurl at her foe. That's when she saw a second silhouette plodding slowly through the mist, a small figure with a hunched back and one hand raised as if it were about to throw something. It sidled up behind the unsuspecting demon, then threw out its hand. Noodle saw a thin, powdery trail shoot towards the demon's neck.
He screamed.
A wall collapsed on one side of the pit. The occupants of said pit backed up as a deluge of dirt cascaded down, creating a tall slope which could prospectively be used to climb out. The demon fell, landing at the top of the slope and rolling down, kicking up a cloud of dust as he went. His body jerked and twisted; he scratched at his neck while screaming with a combination of anger and agony. The hunchbacked figure slid down the slope after him.
Noodle's spine went rigid as the screeching demon rolled to her feet. The hunchbacked figure slid smoothly to the floor of the pit and rose to her feet; Noodle spared a quick glance to meet the eyes of the friendly yet serious-faced Charlene Germaine. The old woman approached, stopping beside Noodle.
"You finished the powder?" Noodle asked.
"No," Charlene croaked. "My batch was incomplete when I had to make a getaway from those pesky zombies. That was a bit of the incomplete formula; I'm not entirely sure what it will do to him."
With tensed muscles, Noodle stared down at the demon who was writhing on the ground, shrieking and scratching at his stolen body. The incomplete powder was clearly causing the demon significant distress, but it had failed to send him away to the realm of spirits. Noodle wasn't sure whether to be frustrated or relieved. I know it would be for the best for the demon to be sent away immediately, freeing the city from death and destruction, Noodle thought, but 2D… I promised that I'd find a way to save him…
The demon flipped onto his back and howled at the hazy night sky. From his open mouth came a flash of red light, then a plume of thick, glowing smoke. Noodle and her companions backed away to the uncollapsed edge of the pit as the plume of smoke grew, spreading wider and rising taller. The top of the plume rose above the rim of the pit, pulsing with an angry shade of red. Noodle sized up the growing cloud, craning her neck to see the top, then following it back down, lowering her eyes to observe where the scarlet trail poured out of the prone body's open mouth. The possessed man's chest convulsed. His head twitched violently. Noodle watched his face as he began to cough. At first he was only choking slightly, small puffs of red mist escaping him with each gag. As the seconds passed, his coughs grew more violent. He was hacking and heaving, his whole body thrashing with each cough. Smoke poured out of his mouth. Then it wasn't just smoke.
Noodle flinched as a spurt of dark, inky fluid sprung out of his mouth and fell to the ground, surrounding his face in a halo of small black drops. A tarlike substance was leaking out of his lips. Some of it spilled on either side of his face, creating a sticky puddle around his head. A column of the ooze rose up from his mouth into the cloud; it grew, shifted, and contorted itself as it rose above their heads. It was forming itself into a human-like silhouette, albeit an unnaturally huge one, arms sliding out from the sides of its figure, a head distinguishing itself from the body, and bubbling up from the face, a set of glowing red eyes…
Noodle clenched her fist as she recognized the figure from the corridor.
Beneath the figure and the smoke, 2D's body lay motionless on the ground. The tail of the smoke and the tar rose out of 2D's mouth, separating the hovering demon from its former host. The smoke-shrouded figure glowed with cosmic power, no longer burdened by the sting of the powder which it had left behind on the abandoned body.
Noodle rushed forward; someone made a grab for her arm but she yanked herself away. Running beneath the smoke, the guitarist crouched beside the still, blue-haired body. Her fingers flew to his neck, just beneath his jaw, and she pressed down, feeling for a pulse… There it was! Noodle sighed with relief. It was slow, it was weak, but it was there! She shook his shoulder.
"Toochie? Toochie, wake up! Show me that you're okay!"
He didn't move.
Frustrated, Noodle tapped his face, lifted an eyelid, and looked into a listless, unseeing black eye. She leaned over his face, her own eyes tearing up, oblivious to the shadowy demon towering above her. "Come on, Toochie… Look at me…"
An ear-splitting roar forced Noodle to cover her ears and look up from her friend's limp frame. The shadowy figure (who was now roughly as tall as a three-story building) was looming over her, angry mist spewing out of his mouth, his eyes lurid and enraged. "FOOLS! HOW DARE YOU DRIVE ME OUT OF HIS BODY WITH PAIN! THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES SHALL BE HIS LAST, AND HE SHALL DIE IN AN AGONY THRICE AS POTENT AS MY OWN!"
The figure swept his hand downward. A gleam of blinding light not unlike a bolt of lightning flew from his shadowy hand and struck 2D in the chest. The force of the impact pushed Noodle away from her friend; she rolled backwards until her back and her head hit Little Simz's truck.
The dark demon creature shot up into the air, rising high above the city. The smoke around him coated the sky, and the stars soon disappeared behind layers of thick, ominous cloud.
The demon disappeared above the clouds. The ground was silent.
Noodle groaned, the metal of the truck grinding against her sore back. Her head was spinning. She raised a hand to her scalp and grimaced as a sensation of dizziness and confusion washed over her. She jumped when a hand came to rest on her shoulder; looking up, she saw Murdoc's eyes skimming over her, checking for any obvious injuries while Russel loomed behind him, and Little Simz and Charlene peered around them.
"You okay?" Murdoc grunted.
Noodle took a deep breath as her mind settled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit dazed."
She could hear the distant noise of zombies groaning; most of them had probably given the glowing cloud of smoke a wide berth, but they would become curious soon and decide to explore the site.
Another groan sounded, this one very close by. Noodle heard Russel gasp, and Murdoc's head jerked towards 2D's body- 2D!
Noodle scrambled to her feet and ran to kneel beside the stirring singer. "2D? Can you hear me? Are you feeling all right?"
2D slowly opened his eyes which, thankfully, had returned to their typical blackened state. However, Noodle became increasingly unnerved as he failed to meet her gaze. She could see his eyes rolling back and forth, his gaze sliding over his surroundings without stopping to take anything in, as if he couldn't see her or any of the bandmates who were forming a small crowd around him.
"Toochie, can you see me? Can you see anything?"
He gave no indication of having heard her query. His eyes continued to roam blankly, surveying everything and nothing all at once. His jaw dropped open slightly. Noodle leaned forward to hear a soft murmur escape his lips:
"Noodle? A-are you there? Noods?"
"I'm here, Toochie," Noodle soothed, laying one hand on his chest. He didn't seem to hear her.
"Noodle?" he rasped, slightly louder this time, and he slowly began to roll onto his side. Noodle's hand fell away as he slid out of her reach, pushing himself onto his hands and knees. He lifted his head, scanning his surroundings without really seeming to see them, until his eyes focused on one spot of ground. Noodle tilted her head, confused. What's he staring at? Why can't he see us?
2D began to crawl towards the patch of ground he had set his eyes upon, muttering as he went, "Noodle… Okay… Have to… Please…"
Noodle approached him as her bandmates watched silently. She stopped beside the singer and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder, restraining him. "2D, what's going on in your head? What are you seeing?"
The hand on his shoulder was distressing 2D. He began to tremble, his arms quivering and his head shaking from side to side. "No… Let me go… Have to get to Noodle… Let me… please… LET ME GO!" 2D cried out, desperate tears forming in his eyes. Noodle yanked her hand away as if she had been burned.
2D crawled faster towards that patch of dirt, then stopped. He raised one hand, moving it forward as if to touch something only he could see. His head bowed.
"No… No, Noodle… Noodle… My fault… It's all my fault… She's… NO!" 2D raised his head and howled the last word, his face stricken with an expression of pure agony.
"Toochie!" Noodle shouted, rushing forward and kneeling in front of the singer. "Tell me what's wrong! I can help you!"
"Dead, she's… Oh, Noodle… No no no!" 2D choked out the words between heavy, rasping breaths as he gripped his head in his hands, digging his nails into his scalp. "It's all my f-fault! I k-killed her! She's… she's… NOODLE'S DEAD!"
A chill ran up her spine when Noodle heard those words. She gripped her bandmate's shoulders, shaking him a little more roughly than she had meant to. "Toochie, I'm right here! Look at me! I'm fine!"
The singer heard none of it. From the expression on his face, you'd think his soul was being torn to pieces. He dragged his nails down his scalp; Noodle could see bloody trails welling up in their tracks. She gripped his wrists, desperate to stop their gruesome progress, and found herself screaming in the singer's face. "Stuart Pot, I need you to stop this! Look at me! Listen to me!"
Then Murdoc and Russel were on either side of 2D, trying to get through to him.
"Listen to Noodle, Faceache! Use your sodding brain!"
"Man, you gotta snap outa this! I know your eyes are messed up, but you ain't blind!"
Nothing got through to the singer who continued to choke and sob, his whole body wracking with the agony of his grief. He looked like he could die for sorrow…
Noodle's blood turned to ice as she remembered the words of the demon. The next five minutes shall be his last… He shall die in an agony thrice as potent as my own…
2D's body convulsed. His head snapped backwards and his arms and legs flew out in a sudden, strong jerk. Noodle's eyes went wide. "Guys, back off! I think he's having a seizure!"
"Shouldn't we try to hold him down or something?" Murdoc asked, an edge of panic creeping into his voice.
"No, that could hurt him!" Noodle responded, backing up as her bandmates did likewise. She watched 2D as he continued to twitch violently, his body wildly jerking and flailing, his neck and torso twisting into grotesque angles. His movements only seemed to be getting worse.
Noodle slowly approached 2D's head and, crouching down, carefully placed a hand beneath his shaking jawline. She shivered. His pulse is racing… It's way too fast… Her thoughts raced desperately. What can I do to help? Should I just wait for the seizure to stop? But the demon said he would die… I can't lose him like this! She looked into his pain-filled eyes and heard his short shrieks and whimpers. He's being tortured psychologically… If I can get him out of this trance, let him know that everything's okay, that I'm okay, he should stop hurting. Gently, Noodle placed a hand on either side of 2D's head, not restricting its movement, but allowing her to bring her lips to his ear without their skulls smashing together. An image of her and 2D standing on the porch of the Spirit House after seeing blood on the walls invaded her mind; she had failed to talk him out of his fear then, how could she hope to succeed now? Noodle tried to shake the image out of her head, focusing instead on the times she had helped successfully, like when he would wake crying from nightmares, or when he got frightened by the raccoon…
Noodle took a deep breath and began to whisper softly into his ear.
"Hey, Toochie, it's Noodle. Stuart, I'm right here. I'm right beside you. The demon's not in you anymore; we got it out, just like I promised. You're free. Everyone's okay, we just need you to calm down. Calm down, Toochie."
His head jerked between her hands. He let out a harsh cry as his body writhed with severe spasms.
"Shhh, Toochie, shhh… It's okay… You don't have to be scared or sad. I'm right here. I'm right here."
She continued to whisper soft consolations into his ear. His head jerked, but this time, there was something controlled about the way he moved, as if he were angling to hear her better. Hope sprung in Noodle's chest as tears welled in her eyes.
"That's right, Toochie; it's okay. Noodle's here. I'm right here by your side, and I'm not going anywhere."
2D shuddered, his spasms growing weak. His left arm twitched briefly; his right leg kicked. Then he went still.
A long breath escaped his lips.
Noodle pulled her mouth away from his ear so that she could get a better look at his face. "2D? Toochie, are you awake?"
Black eyes opened, blinked.
"Look at me, Toochie. Tell me if you're okay."
His eyes slid towards her. They widened. "N-n-noodle?"
Noodle smiled. "That's right, Toochie; I'm right-"
"NOODLE!" 2D cried out her name as if it were a line from his favorite song. He flung himself towards her.
Noodle was expecting a hug.
She was not expecting his hands to clasp either side of her face, his pinkie fingers sliding beneath her jaw, as he brought his lips to hers and kissed her.
. . .
Action, zombies, psychological torment, romance! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! (BTW, I've never seen a seizure before, so sorry if my description was completely inaccurate)
Coming up next: 2D has just kissed Noodle. In front of the rest of the band. So much for being confused about his feelings! Now that the cat's out of the bag, how will Noodle react? How exactly is Russel going to attempt to murder 2D? Oh, and they are still in an apocalyptic city full of zombies. What will they do next?