Hey guys! :D
I think I'm getting better at updating...even if it IS a month...it's better than several months, right?
Anyway, I want to thank Alicia the Wolf for helping me with this chapter, and giving me inspiration to write this.
And also, thank YOU for reading, favouriting, alerting and reviewing. It really means alot to me, and I'm super glad that people love this story so much.
It was also brought to my attention that someone was copying my story on DeviantArt...I had to make an account to solve this, and boy did I give this person a hard time! XD If anyone thinks my fic is being stolen, I would greatly appreciate you telling me :) Thanks guys!
Review Replies:
Shadamyfan123 - Wow, thank you so much! As for your question, it should be explained in this chapter, but feel free to PM me if you need any further clarification :) And yes, I too hate it when people don't finish their work, it's very annoying. Which is why I don't ever intend to be one of those writers. Late updates? Sadly, that's definitely a possibility (life gets in the way :I). Abandoning story? NEVER.
amyrosefan123 - You are most welcome hon! :D And as for your questions, all will be revealed in later chapters ;)
**WARNING, THERE IS A SPOILER HERE! DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW REPLY IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS!**
Brandy - You think I should bring back Sonic? I'll let you in on a little secret...*whispers* Sonic the zombie is definitely going to make an appearance at some point...
**THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE ZONE...You may continue reading**
And as for what Andy is hiding...there was only a select few who came close to getting it, I think even one person DID get it. Many of you came up with creative ideas, I loved reading them. But read on, and you shall find your answer...
This chapter is a special one with Andy and Shadow's POV's, just to mix things up.
Andy's POV
Beep
Beep
Beep
Groaning, I reached my arm out to hit the top of my alarm clock, effectively stopping the irritating noise. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, the red flashing numbers on the clock reading six AM.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, my eyes drifted to the photo placed on the bedside table, right next to my clock. It was my most treasured possession, the only thing I had left that really held any meaning anymore. I picked it up with a small smile and ghosted my fingers over the picture.
My parents stood proudly in the background with an arm around each other, while my younger sister and I stood in front of them, pulling each others' quills. This was about ten years ago, and this picture reminded me of happier times, where there were no zombies.
I missed my family terribly. I still remember the day that they were taken away from me, ravaged by those bastards in front of my very eyes. The image of their blood-stained corpses was permanently tattooed on the inside of my eyelids, for every time I closed my eyes, I could see nothing but that image; hear nothing but their screams of pain...
Shuddering, I forced the image out of my head, and stared at the innocent face of my sister. She was five years younger than me, and despite the arguments and the sibling rivalry, I loved her and my family more than life itself.
She didn't deserve to die the way she did. None of my family did.
My parents threw themselves to the undead to enable my sister and I to escape. I remember her screaming as I dragged her away from the sight of our parents being devoured, and tears streaming down my face as I struggled to keep her in my arms.
The next thing I remember was being pushed to the ground by a zombie and seeing my sister being bitten in the neck, writhing helplessly as the zombie pinning her chewed mercilessly on her flesh.
Grimacing, I slammed the picture back down and stood up, heading over to the door and listening carefully for any sign that Shadow and Amy might be awake. After a moment of silence I stepped out of my room and headed downstairs to the garage quietly, ready to begin my daily routine.
Reaching the garage, I unlocked and climbed into the car, reversing it back slightly - just enough to reveal a hidden basement door, which blended well with the concrete floor. I pulled it open and stepped inside, walking down a few of the wooden steps before shutting the door behind me. Walking down the rest of the stairs I flicked a light switch at the bottom, lighting up the previously dark room.
I headed over to my workbench and grabbed a clean apron and a dust mask, putting them on and grabbing a large butcher's knife from the utensil hooks on the wall.
A few, scattered flies surrounded a small pile of rotting bodies that lay next to the workbench, which were covered in blood and produced a vile stench, probably because they had been there for about a month. Grimacing, I cut a pair of legs off the one at the top of the pile and placed them on the workbench, hacking and slashing at them to cut them into pieces, paying no attention to the sticky blood oozing out.
It was a truly gruesome job, but it had to be done. Apron covered with blood stains, I placed the rotting flesh in a bucket next to my foot, humming to myself as I did so.
Once the bucket was full, I took off the apron and mask and placed them on a hook.
Picking up the bucket, I was ready for my first task of the day.
An hour later…
Yawning, I sat down at the kitchen table with bowl of cereal in front of me. I had successfully completed my daily job, and now it was time for breakfast.
My thoughts wandered to Shadow and Amy, and a grin found its way onto my face upon thinking of my plan for them. Sure, they wouldn't be happy about it, but frankly I didn't really care.
Now wasn't the time to worry about others.
Amy was exactly like my sister used to be. Bright, bubbly, caring…
Alive. In more ways than one.
It was bewildering to think how Shadow and Amy could even have a relationship together, they are polar opposites! She is far too innocent to be in this mess.
Just like my sister.
"Good morning!"
Amy's sweet voice pulled me from my thoughts. I smiled at her, and gestured for her to take a seat, which she did.
"Morning…how did you sleep?"
"Good, thank you." She nodded at me, returning my smile, and made herself some breakfast. I frowned, noticing Shadow wasn't following her, nor did I hear any movement upstairs.
"Where's Shadow?"
"Oh, he's still sleeping. I don't like to wake him; he's scary enough as it is…"
I raised my eyebrow, but didn't reply. She shouldn't be scared of a nobody like him.
"Andy…can I ask you something?"
"Sure…"
Amy looked a little nervous, barely looking me in the eye. "Last night…why were you so adamant that Shadow and I couldn't look around?"
I blinked. Well that was unexpected, but surprisingly, I didn't feel as hostile towards her as I did yesterday. Perhaps that was because Shadow wasn't present.
"I'm entitled to privacy, am I not?" I smirked.
"Well…yeah…but you were so…harsh about it."
"Amy…my house means a lot to me. It's full of happy memories I shared with my family, do you think I'd really want strangers wandering around and snooping through things that aren't theirs, or trashing the house?"
"I guess not," She shrugged, "But Shadow and I have better things to do than trash your house."
"Good…because if I find anyone snooping in places they shouldn't…well, you'll wish you hadn't."
My face was completely serious, with not a hint of emotion.
Amy gulped, and resumed eating her breakfast. "Well, I'll be sure to remember that…"
I looked towards the stairs, eyes narrowing "I hope you're not the only one…"
Shadow's POV
About twenty minutes had passed since Amy went downstairs.
I stood at the bedroom door listening carefully to the conversation partaking between her and Andy.
Hearing her tell him that I was still asleep, I was sure that he would be sceptical about it, considering what had happened last night. He didn't seem the most trusting of people.
But then again, neither was I.
Whilst Amy and Andy were engaging in conversation over breakfast, I carefully opened the door and stepped out of the room. After listening for a moment longer, I deemed it safe to explore.
Starting with Andy's bedroom, I wasn't actually sure what I was looking for. Upon entering, I saw it was pretty plain, just like the room Amy and I slept in. I searched the wardrobe, chest of draws and underneath the bed, but there were no signs of anything suspicious.
Noticing an en-suite, I checked inside. It was a pretty ordinary bathroom, nothing seemed out-of-place. Though there was one thing bugging me.
Peering inside the medicine cabinet above the sink, I noticed there were painkillers, among other general household medications.
But there was no sign of the antipyretic drugs Andy brought from the pharmacy.
Frowning, I shut the cabinet and exited Andy's bedroom, standing on the landing.
Amy and Andy were still talking, but I knew I had to be quick, otherwise Andy would get suspicious. I wondered if Amy was okay. She sounded fine for the moment, and she was doing brilliantly well in keeping that Faker look-alike occupied.
I briefly wondered if he liked her; it certainly seemed as though he held a soft spot for the girl.
Thinking this made me glare at the wall in annoyance. Amy was the second girl that I ever truly cared about, and although I don't understand these strange feelings, I know that I care deeply about her.
A strange fluttering feeling suddenly swept over my chest and around my stomach, making me grimace.
Just what is this strange feeling? Is it somehow linked to my feelings for Rose?
Shaking my head, I cleared my mind from these confusing thoughts and tried to put my focus back on the mission.
Next, I decided to head to the garage to search the cabinets in there. Just where could he have put that medicine…and what was he hiding? I had no idea, but I knew one thing.
I was going to find out before Rose and I end up in danger.
Upon arriving, I opened one of the huge metal cabinets in the garage which was surprisingly unlocked. Unfortunately, there was nothing of interest to me. Just oil, fuel and other car necessities.
And that's when it hit me.
The putrid, vile, disgusting stench invaded my sentitive nostrils, making my stomach churn. It was a very familiar smell, one of rotting flesh I knew, as I remembered it from just before I saved Rose from Sonic.
I was on my way from the GUN base to check out the situation at the evacuation centre, but upon my arrival I noticed that there was not one single survivor left. Zombies milled about lifelessly, and many dead bodies were scattered around randomly. It looked as though the evac centre had been abandoned for days, considering the repugnant odour that was coming from the area, most presumably caused by the half-burned bodies and the decaying flesh of the living dead.
Narrowing my eyes, I searched around the garage for anything that could be responsible for emitting the smell, but to no avail.
I figured that whatever was causing it had only just been done last night, as I never picked up the scent yesterday.
Perhaps the drugs had something to do with this?
All of a sudden, my eyes picked up an extremely faint, thin trail of pale red, almost pinkish liquid that had stained the floor. If I wasn't the Ultimate Lifeform, I never would have noticed it and neither would any other normal person.
The trail seemed to lead underneath the car, so using my strength I pushed it backwards a little, being careful to keep the noise down to a minimum, though it would have been considerably easier if the hand brake was removed. Alas, I had no keys to unlock the car.
I pushed the car back until a trap door was revealed, where the trail, which I clearly knew was blood, lead.
I realised I had to be quick, seeing as Andy would be getting suspicious. So, pulling open the door, I immediately recoiled as the stink of rotting flesh hit me, making me gag.
Regaining my composure, I walked down the stairs and flicked the light on, keeping my guard up and my eyes peeled for anything, but also bearing in mind that I had to hurry up.
As I descended the stairs, the nauseating smell got increasingly stronger, which I had no doubt would cause anyone who didn't have a strong stomach to vomit as soon as the door opened.
Resisting the urge to gag, I noticed the trail was no longer a pale pink, but a deep, dark, thick red.
Blood red.
As soon as I entered the room, my eyes drifted to the cause of the stench: A pile of rotting bodies, which lay situated next to a heavily blood-stained workbench.
Heading over to the bench, I saw various knives and cutting tools laid around and hung up, some covered in a red, sticky substance, some with chunks of bone wedged onto the blade, and some clean and shining, clearly unused.
Realisation suddenly hit me like a passing train, slamming into my body with such force I felt physically sick to my stomach.
Andy was cutting up the bodies.
But why…
Growling, I quickly made my way back up to the garage, turning the light off and shutting the door behind me.
I took a moment to gain my composure, a thousand questions running through my mind. Just what did Andy feel the need to keep a stash of bodies for?
And more importantly, did he plan on using Amy and I to add to his morbid collection?
"Shadow," Andy gave me a smile, which was clearly fake and forced. "So glad you could join us."
Grunting, I sat down next to Rose at the kitchen table. It looked as though the two had just about finished breakfast, which was good.
The sooner I can talk to Rose the better. We needed to think up a plan as soon as possible.
"Good morning, Shadow." My female companion gave me a small kiss on the cheek, looking relieved to see me. I guessed she was beginning to grow annoyed with Andy's company, though I don't blame her.
His presence was more than enough for me to want to strangle the guy.
"So, what do you guys have in mind for today then?" The fake smile on Andy's face never left.
"I think Shadow and I are just going to recuperate for the day, get our strength back before moving out. We're both a little malnourished and exhausted from the past few days; it's good to finally relax a little."
I kept quiet as Andy nodded "Very well. We're fine for supplies with our little run yesterday, so there's no need to venture out unless necessary. Of course if you feel like some target practice or getting some fresh air then you're quite welcome to borrow some ammo and everything."
"Thanks, but I think a day without those zombies is very much appreciated!" Amy giggled.
Andy rose from his seat, stretching "Whatever. Well, I'm going to go work on the car. I think running over that one zombie yesterday did a little damage to the underneath, but I'm sure it's nothing that can't be fixed." He shot Amy a toothy grin, and I saw her twitch a little.
I assumed she must be comparing him to Faker…
"Remember," He glared. Boy, this guy has mood swings. "Don't go snooping around."
After he left, I made sure he was well out of earshot before turning my full attention to Rose.
"Rose…we need to make a plan, and fast. I found something in a secret basement in the garage. We're in danger."
Her eyes widened, "What? What did you see?"
"Not here," I put my finger to her lips to silence her "We'll talk about this in the bedroom, away from any eavesdroppers…"
Grabbing her hand, we stood from the table and made our way over to the stairs.
However, I stopped short, causing Amy to bump into me, "What is it?"
I kept quiet, staring at the very tiny droplets of blood on the floor, right in front of a door.
Amy followed my gaze and she gasped "Shadow! Is that…"
"Yes." I nodded, and slowly approached the door. "Keep behind me, watch out for Andy."
Grabbing hold of the door handle, I twisted it, not surprised to find that it was locked.
"Amy, I'm going to smash the door down. I need you to create a noise to disguise it. Something loud, but nothing that would sound suspicious."
"…Like what, Shadow?"
I nodded over to the kitchen area "Knock one of the dining chairs over, that should clatter loud enough to cover me. But you must time it right, got it?"
"Got it," she replied, and walked over to one of the chairs. I could tell she was growing in confidence, as a few days ago she would have hesitated at such a request. Once she was in position, I positioned myself to break the door down.
"On three. One…two…three." I rammed my shoulder hard into the door at the same time Amy toppled one of the chairs over onto the tiled kitchen floor.
"Rose…you're so clumsy." I said a little louder than necessary, in case Andy could hear, just to cover us a little more. She wore a smirk, just as I did.
"Oops…sorry Shadow." She replied, picking up the chair and heading back over to me.
"Well done," I kissed her forehead "That was perfect."
She giggled, and gestured to the empty space before us. "Well…go on."
Turning my attention back, the door lead to a proper basement, which was pitch black and also emitted a stench of rotting bodies, exactly the same as the one earlier. I hoped there was nothing too gruesome down here, considering Rose wasn't likely to have such a strong stomach as I.
"Come on," I started down the stairs, feeling for a light switch on my way, but to no avail.
"Shadow…I have a bad feeling. This smell is awful!"
"I know…don't worry, Rose, I'm here."
I did my best to comfort her as we reached the bottom. My eyes made out a strange shape as they adjusted to the darkness. It looked like…
…Like a person…
"Keep your distance, Amy!" I warned, bracing myself for whatever was to come.
"Shadow, I found a light switch!" The room was suddenly flooded with light, and Amy let out a shriek.
She came back over to me, where we both stood in complete shock.
Everything made sense now.
Why the bodies were being chopped up.
Why Andy was being so secretive and hostile.
Why he didn't want us snooping around the house.
And why that awful smell was present.
That sick bastard…
"Shadow…I feel sick."
I couldn't reply as I was trying to make sense of the situation.
"Who…who is that?" She gagged, utterly disgusted.
"I don't know…but we have to get out of here as soon as possible. I knew this guy was bad news…"
There, chained to the wall with thick, metal shackles, was not a human…
…But a young undead girl.
She stared at us with vacant eyes, jaws snapping, dying to get her hands on our flesh. She looked about a couple of years younger than us.
"Is Andy…keeping her…as some kind of pet?" Amy questioned me, not able to take her eyes off the gruesome being.
"Not exactly…"
Our heads both snapped to the basement door, where to my horror, Andy stood with a sick grin on his face. He slowly walked down to us.
"She's not my pet. Far from it actually, she's my baby sister."
Andy carelessly walked past us and over to the undead girl where he gently caressed her hair, paying no attention to her growls.
"Isn't she beautiful? She looks just like she did before…well…"
"Before she turned?" I glared "Andy…this is sick. I knew you were shifty right from the very start, but I never would have suspected this."
Andy just laughed "You should expect the unexpected in this world. Enough of that though," his expression suddenly turned murderous "Why were you snooping when I clearly told you not to. Now I'll have to speed up my plan, and I didn't want that."
"Plan?" Rose piped up "What plan?"
"You and Shadow weren't brought here to be saved; you were brought to be fed to my sister. It's been so long since she's had fresh meat…it's about time she was treated to a decent meal, too."
Amy gasped, "So you led us to believe you were actually doing us a favour when in actual fact we walked straight into your sick plan."
"Exactly," Andy turned his attention from the zombie and rested it solely on us. "And I'm quite impressed on how it turned out. Extra supplies and fresh zombie food."
"And the antipyretics? What were they for?" I demanded.
"They were in the hopes of reversing the zombification process. I've been experimenting ways to bring the living back from when they turn, but so far I've achieved nothing. Everyone knows about the fever you get as you turn, so I had hoped that feeding her those pills would reverse the process back at least a little. Still, nothing."
"She's fully zombified, Andy…I'm afraid there's no turning back once transformation is complete." Amy tried to reason with him, voice calm. I guess she still believed she was talking to someone like Sonic.
But this guy was nothing like Sonic.
"How did you know we were here?"
"Amy…" Andy grinned "You're cute, but you shouldn't ever underestimate me. Shadow here didn't put the car back when he finished snooping 'round my house. He found my workshop underneath the garage, that I hid beneath the car."
Oh shit.
My eyes widened. I was so intent on getting to breakfast before Andy started to get suspicious that I forgot to move the car back to cover the entrance.
I'm the Ultimate Lifeform…such mistakes should not be made, let alone any mistakes.
Still, Andy's plan was revealed. All that mattered now was defeating him and getting the hell out of here.
Alive.
"What's this hidden workshop?"
Andy rolled his eyes at Rose's question, "Ames, enough with the questions already."
"STOP CALLING HER THAT!" I snarled, "You have no right to call her that, now answer the damn question before I rip your head straight off your shoulders."
My patience was wearing thin with this guy, and Amy flinched at my harsh tone.
"Who are you to tell me what to do! You're going to be zombie food in a matter of minutes, Shadow. And Amy here…well, if she's not fed to my sister, I'm sure I'll find another use for her." Andy winked at my companion, who glared in return.
"You may look like Sonic, but you'll never be like him." Tears fell from her eyes at thinking about the Faker, but her steely glare never faltered.
"The bodies were for food, idiot." Andy sighed, "Now, are you going to give up and submit to me or do I have to take you down with force?"
"Do we really look like the kind of people to sit back and take a beating?" I smirked, getting into a defensive position.
"Good," There was a strange glint in Andy's eyes. He looked almost insane… "It's more fun when they fight back. I love watching them struggle."
Andy's zombified sister snarled at us, frustrated with the fact a live meal was within metres from her, yet she could not reach it.
The clanking of the chains and her moans were ignored though, as Andy and I readied ourselves for a fight.
"Amy, I want you to keep back. Let me handle this."
Said girl huffed with frustration, but never replied.
This fight will result in one thing,
Either Amy and I will live to see another day...
...Or we'll be fed to Andy's pet zombie, and our story will be over forever...
Wow...so how many of you were expecting THAT huh? :D
What do you think will become of Shadow, Amy and Andy? Who do you think will win?
I'm looking forward to your thoughts!
And yes...I got the inspiration for this from The Walking Dead..I love that show!
Oh, and just a quick question for you guys - What's your favourite Sonic character and why? (Just thought I'd get to know my fans a little more :D)
There's also a poll on my profile page, I would appareciate a quick vote if you have time :)
I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May 2014 bring you happiness.
Love,
CP x