Drunken Hamster: Funny you should mention that, because the plot is starting to progress itself.
Korrasami 88: Hooray!
Al Drin Hoshizora: Oh, also, about Zuul... don't worry, those guys aren't finished in the story yet.
Razorback 234: Thank you for the compliments. And I've prepared this chapter earlier than usual.
I am a burglar: Fine.
Antha1: Indeed.
Creamy Buttercap: Who, exactly?
Candlehead: Yes, it was fun writing this story.
Minty Zaki: Let's find out.
Gloyd Orangeboar: She was... you know what, never mind.
UltraTech Cinder: You really like changing your name. And indeed, let's hope for the best.
Yellowjacket and Blackjacket started to walk towards the door leading outside the apartment building. Blackjacket's hand rested on the doorknob, Yellowjacket watching uncomfortably as his fingers tightened around it.
Yellowjacket's clawed hand shot out and gripped Blackjacket's shoulder, attracting his attention towards her. Yellowjacket's eyes illuminated in the darkness, and they contained worry in them.
Don't do it, The stare told him.
Blackjacket stared at her, conflicted, then said, "Just need to feed." With that, he turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open. Yellowjacket immediately dodged behind Blackjacket to avoid the gaze of the dozens of zombies on the streets. She didn't know why she was frightened; wasn't she one of them? However, she just couldn't shake the feeling that she just wasn't truly a part of them anymore.
Yet, at the same time, she wasn't a Freak, either. She wondered if she was somewhere in the middle.
Blackjacket shook her hand off and confidently walked onto the streets. It was then that Yellowjacket noticed that, for some reason, there were no zombies on the streets. She wondered where they had all gone. However, relieved that they weren't there, Yellowjacket ran onto the streets and joined Blackjacket as they strode down the sidewalk.
Neither one of them noticed a small, pale girl approach the open door of the apartment.
Bill and Jill were gathering medicines in the hospital with a few other members of the group. However, their mind were evidently elsewhere; Bill stopped gathering medicine when he saw a picture of a young, ill girl patient. She reminded him of Riley.
Bill felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Bob standing next to him.
"Hey, we've been noticing something odd with you two lately," He said, his arms folded.
Bill raised an eyebrow. "What... what do you mean?" He asked, trying to sound as non-suspicious as possible.
"You spend a lot of time hanging out in that building," Bob pointed out. "We barely see you two. What's going on?"
"Nothing," Bill said bluntly, and then he realized that the rest of the group was staring at him and his wife.
"Oh really, now?" A man named Larry inquired, his eyes narrowed. It was then that Bill realized the truth; the real reason the group had suddenly decided to join them on a scavenging mission. They had noticed that he and Jill weren't around as much. He had been a fool to think they wouldn't think much of it.
"So... what is it?" Bob asked, approaching Bill, who was sweating profusely now. Jill was doing the same.
Then, the door next to them was smashed open, and several dozen zombies came crawling inside.
Bill had never been so happy to see a horde of zombies enter a room in the whole year he had spent fending them off. As they advanced upon the group, Bill had the perfect opportunity to avoid revealing his daughter to the group.
Grabbing his wife by the wrist, he dragged her out through the door, his gun in his hand. As two zombies shambled towards them Bill aimed his pistol and fired two rounds. One zombie was struck in the shoulder and fell. The other was struck in the arm, but continued forward, so Bill slammed his fist into his jaw and floored him.
Close behind him, the rest of the group came crashing through the open door. One man turned around to fire at the zombies, then shut the door. The zombies started punching through the door, and the group continued running.
Bill had secretly hoped the zombies would get them. Reluctantly, he led them through the building, dodging past swarms of zombies. They ran down a hallway, three or four zombies pursuing them. Jill paused, spun around, and kicked a trolley down the hallway. It crashed into the zombies, knocking them to the group.
Bill dodged into a room which held no zombies. Jill joined him soon afterwards and, separated from the group, they ran into an emergency exit. They ran down the stairs in a crazed panic. One zombie suddenly burst through a door and limped towards them, but Bill brought his gun up and decked the zombie in the jaw, and it went flying off the railing. Bill and Jill continued running as they heard the zombies ghoulish screams as it vanished into the darkness below.
Bursting out the door and into a hallway, Bill and Jill stopped when they were met with a crowd of zombies in the hallway. Lifeless eyes turned to them, and the zombies stood, blocking their only way of escape.
Bill held up his gun as a warning, but there were too many of them. The zombies started to advance, but suddenly, the couple saw a member of the group run out from behind the crowd, light a Molotov cocktail, and chuck it at the zombies. The hallway was lit aflame, as were the zombies.
Bill and Jill took the opportunity to shove past the burning zombies and make it to the end of the hallway. Grabbing a stroller, Bill shoved it through the door, smashing it open, and the couple dove out into the sunlight, landing on the group.
Bill and Jill lay on the ground, relieved at their escape, but mostly at having avoided answering the group's question. However, their joy was disrupted by a growl, and they turned to see a zombie tear down the streets towards them.
Bill sighed, raised his gun, and fired.
Yellowjacket and Blackjacket were eating a piece of cold meat at a restaurant. A few zombies were shambling in the restaurant with them, but the children took no notice.
Yellowjacket stared at her reflection in the plate. She noticed that she looked different now. She was still pale, but not the same shade as Blackjacket, or the other zombies in the room with her. Also, her eyes didn't look as lifeless. Dull, yes, but expressive. She wasn't quite as thin, and her hair was dirty-blonde rather than the ash blonde it had been some time ago.
She was still a zombie, but she had more life in her now.
It was only then that Yellowjacket noticed the stares. She was staring at her reflection, but she could feel the other zombies looking at her. It appeared they, too, noticed how different she looked from them.
Feeling uncomfortable, Yellowjacket got up from the chair and walked out through the back exit of the restaurant. Blackjacket followed her.
Yellowjacket soon wished she had never taken the back exit, however, as she found herself in a damp alleyway. And, even worse, she and Blackjacket weren't alone.
Several zombies stood in the darkness, their glowing eyes staring at the two children, but especially at Yellowjacket. Slowly, they came out from the darkness, approaching the young girl. Blackjacket stood defensively in front of her, but the zombies didn't slow down.
The two were about to run in the opposite direction, but one zombie jumped off from the apartment outside staircase and landed in the alleyway, blocking their path. He approached the two, his back hunched over as it neared them.
Yellowjacket felt her hand grasp Blackjacket's wrist and tighten around it for comfort. She bared her teeth and snarled at the zombies as they approached, but they continued forward.
The hunchbacked zombie stopped when it was a few feet away from the two, and then it stood upright, showing how tall it was. It towered over the two children.
Before the zombies could do anything, however, there was a cry of surprise, followed by the sounds of gunfire. The zombies turned to the sound of the gunfire and, immediately, they skirted past Yellowjacket and Blackjacket, lumbering out of the alley.
Yellowjacket and Blackjacket followed them, and saw a small group of Freaks, cornered by the zombies. They weren't part of Bill or Jill's group, Yellowjacket noticed.
The Freaks were firing at the zombies to try and keep them at bay. Yellowjacket knew it was pointless; there were too many zombies to shoot them all. She wondered why they didn't run when they had ample opportunity to, and conceded that they were just stupid.
One Freak fired at the two children, and they immediately ran down the street to avoid the bullets. The hunchbacked zombie took the opportunity to sink its teeth into one Freaks's shoulder, and the zombies advanced.
Yellowjacket and Blackjacket heard the bloodcurdling wails as they ran, but they ignored it. They only stopped when they heard the sounds of bones crunching, and the screaming abruptly stopped.
For a moment, Yellowjacket craned around to stare off in the direction that the zombies and the Freaks were. Then, she turned and continued running, taking Blackjacket with her.
The two didn't stop until they reached the apartment. Then, they continued running; up the stairs, down the hallway, and finally into the room. Yellowjacket bent over to catch her breath while Blackjacket flopped onto the bed.
Yellowjacket turned to the door, and wondered why it had been open when she came back; she thought she had closed it when she left with Blackjacket. She took no notice, however, and walked up to eat some of the treats Bill and Jill had left for her.
She looked through a stash of hot dogs and fish meat, searching for some steak that Bill had gotten. She stopped when she realized that there was no steak left. But she thought she had made sure there was some left for when she came back.
Yellowjacket stared at the food for a moment in deep thought, then shrugged her shoulder and went over to the bed to sleep.
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