Author's Note
Here I am, once again devoid of something funny to say. I guess all I can say is thank you. This story was the first thing I posted here, and if not for the support of many of you, be it submitting an OC, frequently reviewing, or just plain helping me get the chapters uploaded, I would have never gotten this off the ground. But, the end is only in sight, we've yet to reach it, so let's enjoy the last legs of the ride.
Disco Rising
…Twenty Minutes before the survivors' escape….
"So, what do we do now, I mean with Russell gone?" Petunia asked.
"We wait, I suppose. Now that he's gone we can escape with the other survivors." Disco said, heading towards the vents to leave Petunia's hideaway, "Coming? It'll be safe with us."
"It's safe here, I prefer to be alone. The helicopter's coming tomorrow, at noon, right?"
"Yeah, it is, but are you sure? I don't want a pretty young thing like you to be alone with these ghouls."
"Odd how you flirt with a girl right after telling her that her brother is dead, no?" She replied coldly, Disco taking this as his cue to leave. He leapt down from the vents into the northern plaza, and decided he'd kill some zombies on his way down t the security room for kicks. He dumped open a tool box, finding a couple saw blades and a nail gun, and went to town on the unsuspecting zombies. He was actually beginning to enjoy the bloodshed, and was almost to the security room when the transceiver on his hip rang again.
"Disco, it's Flaky, get out now."
"What, what are you talking about, is everything okay?" Disco was shocked, it appeared like one of the few people he could fully trust was turning on him.
"No, it's the military, when you got the cell barrier down, I called them. They heard that there was more survivors and now, oh god." He could hear Flaky sobbing over the transceiver.
"Flaky, Flaky, stay with me!" he tried to calm her down, "is there anyone else there? Who can I talk to?"
"There's nobody else here, they all escaped, but I can't. I can't leave here, I'm going to die here!"
"What do you mean, is this about Flippy?"
"He's dead! Flippy was eaten by those bastards and now, now I'm gonna die here with him!" She screamed, and she threw her transceiver against the wall, making a ferocious crash in Disco's ear.
"Fuck, Flaky!" He yelled into the dead line, "God damnit, I gotta find her before she does something reckless!" He stuffed the transceiver back into the pocket of his coat and broke into a sprint, checking his handgun was loaded.
…Back in the security room, ten minutes after the survivor's escape….
The two soldiers, the ones who had only been incapacitated, had awoken from the blows that had knocked them unconscious and while one stood guard on the door, another was interrogating Flaky in the monitor room. The mouse, Ka-boom was his codename, paced back and forth as she kneeled on the couch, clutching her knees. He felt no threat from her and left his rifle in the corner of the room.
"Miss Flaky, please, what was zat transceiver doing zere, and why were you aiding zose survivors?" Ka-boom asked her, in a heavy French accent. "Just come clean and we will forget zis ever happened, no?"
She didn't answer, so the mouse reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to negotiate with her.
"Please miss, just tell us what we need to," he looked into her eyes, they were glassy. "Uh, miss are you feeling okay?"
She didn't say anything to him, but instead began growling. Outside the monitor room Sneaky, a chameleon who had also survived the attack by the escaping survivors, could hear the commotion. He tapped the glass off the door,
"Hey, Ka-boom, you okay in there?" He asked. No answer came for a few seconds, and then he heard a roar, and a girlish shriek.
"MON DIEU, DE PORC-EPIC FILLE EST FOU!"
He could recognize Ka-boom's voice, and rushed in. He aimed his rifle at Flaky, who was hunched over Ka-boom, his body drenched with blood. She appeared to be chewing on his neck.
"Flaky, Miss Flaky, is that you?" He asked, slowly approaching. Then, she suddenly turned and lunged at him, knocking the rifle from his hands and jumping on top of him. His short fit of screams was broken by the gruesome snapping of his jugular as Flaky bit deep into his skin, letting out a spray of blood.
….
Disco climbed from the vents, gun in hand, ready to confront the special forces that the military might have sent in, but the room was quiet. Quiet, except for something he had never heard in the security room, something that threw him off.
"Is there a… zombie in here?" He knew it, there had to be, something was gnawing on flesh, and it was close.
As he cautiously approached the monitor room, and peered in the doorway, he almost vomited. Flaky was soaked in blood, her clothing torn from the struggles of the two hapless soldiers she was feasting on. Their entrails were spilled out on the floor from her vicious clawing and she was hunched over a body, chewing on the eyes of an unfortunate mouse.
"No, no, no please Flaky not you. Not sweet little Flaky." He was going to cry, but he didn't have time to. Flaky, or at least what was left of her, heard him approach, and lifted her head from the carcasses. In a split second, she lunged at him, but even grieving he didn't let his guard down. The zombie had flung itself straight at him, and he caught her by the throat, pressing her struggling form against the wall. Disco coldly pulled the pistol from his coat and pressed the cold steel against her head.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Flaky, please just stop struggling," He said, tears running down his eyes "Just please die…"
The trigger clicked and Flaky's brains were splattered against the wall. Disco let go of her, letting her lifeless corpse slump to the ground, and he stumbled horrified to the counter in front of the rows of monitors. His head was spinning, he felt like vomiting, and worst of all he was alone. He couldn't face Petunia now, he couldn't look at her after he just murdered a young girl, with so much ahead of her. He was a murderer.
"No, I'm not the murderer, they are…"
Disco looked up onto the monitor, the special forces soldiers were crawling around every inch of the mall, shooting down the zombies, if they even were zombies. His hands clenched in rage, and he realized he was crushing a piece of paper in his fist. He flattened it out and read it quietly.
Disco,
We're getting out of here, I would've waited for you and your ride but there's no time. We managed to jump some Special Forces officers and hijack a helicopter. I might not look it, but I've got a small aircraft license. We're all getting out of here, but Flaky, I don't know about her. Everyone misses you, and they all agree that we wish you could have come along, but still, you've got your own ride. I figure you'd need a little while longer to do your research. I definitely owe you a drink if we meet on the other side.
Mole,
P.S. I left you a little something to defend yourself, just in case. I asked Giggles if she wanted to keep it, but it just brought back bad memories. Check under the desk.
Disco reached under the desk where he had found the note and felt the rubber tipped handle of Rhyme's chainsaw. He picked it up and grinned grimly, muttering under his breath.
"Revenge"
…3 AM…
He had managed to sneak around the mall quite easily, in his three day stay he learned how to move without detection as the Special Forces ops slaughtered the zombies. He had almost everything he needed, but stopped in the park to find the crashed Jeep where the convicts had died. Lifty was still lying there, it seemed the zombies ignored the dead as if they were spoiled meat.
"Sorry pal, I'm gonna need to borrow this," Disco said, unzipping his convict's jumpsuit.
…Unknown time...
Paradise Plaza
The soldiers were like a well-oiled machine, mowing down zombies in a collective unit. Several squadrons were employed in each sector of the mall to make sure the cleansing operation was complete. One soldier, most likely an officer of some sort, signaled his unit to stop so he could answer an incoming message from command.
"Attention, all units be on the lookout for a psychopath wielding a small handheld chainsaw, he has reportedly killed all units stationed in the northern plaza and the food court areas. There have also been several reports of this individual using Molotov bombs on our soldiers. The suspect is wearing a convict's jumpsuit and a hockey mask, if the reports are correct. Shoot this individual on sight, over."
The officer clicked his walkie-talkie off and addressed the other soldiers.
"Well, boys, looks like we've got hostiles in this mall, shoot anyone wearing a convict's uniform on sight, he is a hostile."
"Wait a minute," a soldier nearby him said, "did, did I hear that thing correctly? The radio I mean, it said we're facing a maniac in a hockey mask with a chainsaw?"
"Yeah, what's it to you? We're armed private; remember that and maybe you won't get killed."
"But, this is insane, zombies and chainsaw-wielding maniacs? I signed up to be in the military, not some slasher –flick!"
The officer lowered his weapon and stepped up to the soldier, jabbing him with his free hand, "Listen punk, I am in the middle of one of the most dangerous missions of my life, and I won't get killed because one of my soldiers is pussying out on me!" The soldier was just about to respond, when the sound of a chainsaw whirring echoed through the mall. Screams could be heard from above, the second floor.
"Holy shit, squad 117 is up there!" One soldier exclaimed.
"Stay frosty soldier, aim up." The officer said, and the other soldiers aimed at the railings, a few setting their sights on either set of stairs. The screaming halted for a second, and then a body flew over the railings. The soldiers fell back in shock, realizing it was one of their comrades.
"Oh my god, that's Rex, he fucking killed Rex!" a soldier screamed,
"Shut up, shut up! Stay focused or you're next!" The officer said, aiming his rifle up again, just in time to see a Molotov fly over the railing, setting more than half his squad on fire.
"No, dammit come out of hiding!" The officer fired randomly around the mall, trying to hit his invisible foe. The chainsaw revved again, and another scream echoed through the mall, but by the time the officer turned another of his soldiers was dead. Then another, and another until the officer was alone.
"You son of a bitch!" He said, still firing blindly into the air, "Come out and fight me!" But, suddenly the pounding shots of the machine gun he held silenced. He clicked the trigger a few more times, and realized he was out of ammo.
"Well, if you insist," Disco called, his voice much more sinister. He stepped out of the wall of flames that had engulfed the soldiers, his convicts uniform and hockey mask stained with blood. The soldier backed up in terror, throwing his gun aside and putting up his hands to defend himself. Disco was unarmed though, and simply walked up to him. The soldier backed into a wall, and Disco clenched his right hand into a fist. Then, like a lightning flash, he struck. The soldier didn't feel anything at first, then a hot pain building up in his stomach. He looked down and realized his entrails were spilling out of his stomach, and that Disco was holding them in his hand. With his cocky smile hidden behind his mask, he lightly pushed the soldier away, letting him slump over on the ground.
As he walked away, he muttered to himself "47, 47 murderers KIA…"
…11:30…
Half an Hour before the scheduled arrival of the helicopter.
Petunia was still sitting by her computer when Disco hauled himself up the ladder, still drenched in blood. He was still wearing the mask; he wasn't quite ready to face her.
"I see you've been busy," She said, unflinchingly.
"Very, I've been taking my revenge." He said.
"I know, Russell had hacked his way into the security cameras a long time ago."
"Well, I'm finished, I've killed 47 of the bastards."
"You're just like him, my brother."
"Now I see why he did all of this. It feels right."
"It's not right, you knew that in the beginning
Disco thought about what she was saying, but brushed it off, "The helicopter's coming soon, we need to leave."
"Go, you have a ride to catch, and I'm sure you don't need me dragging you down." She said, and faced the computer again. Disco thought about responding, but she was right he did need to get moving.
….12:00 noon, time of scheduled helicopter arrival….
Disco had decided to change back into his suit, the convict's uniform might scare away Handy when he arrived. There he was, alone, but he knew the truth now. While he was waiting he pulled out his notepad, the one he had been using since he arrived to keep track of his adventure at Happy Tree Mall. He sighed, thumbing through the pages. His day of arrival, Russell's first attack, Flippy and Flaky.
"At least everyone else is safe, at least the truth is safe." And now he was safe, everyone was escaping, but Petunia. She would die like her brother, but that was the path she'd chosen.
Off in the distance, Handy was there, watching him on a nearby building through a set of camping binoculars.
"Well damn! He made it, that son of a bitch made it! Now to get in there, swoop him to safety and stake my claim." He laughed, and hopped into the helicopter, starting it up. From the mall roof Disco could hear the whirring blades of the helicopter and began to wave frantically to attract the pilot.
"Don't worry buddy, I see ya, I see ya!" Handy said quietly, and began his descent onto the mall's helipad. But, unknown to him, a zombie had managed to sneak its way onto the helicopter, and lurched up behind him, chomping down on his neck.
"Oh god, what the hell?!" He screamed and let go of the controls, desperate to dislodge the attacking ghoul. From Disco's perspective though, all he could see was the helicopter spiraling out of control missing the mall and crash landing in the parking lot.
"No, oh no, no, no!" He whispered, "No, it wasn't supposed to be like this, no, I was supposed to get out. No…" He fell to his knees, staring off into the sky, his only escape was gone. His mind felt numb, he couldn't grasp what had just happened. How he was robbed of his only way out, how he was just doomed.
Unbeknownst to him, zombies had even found their way onto the roof, and were slowly closing in on him.
Petunia, who had a last minute change of heart, had made her way to the roof, only to find Disco on his knees, doing nothing to stop the undead closing in on him.
"Disco? Disco! What are you doing?" She called to him, but he didn't move. Finally, she fired a few shots from her own handgun to kill the nearby zombies, and ran to him.
"Please, Disco! Snap out of it!" She called to him, and he turned to face her. His eyes were glazed over, and he slowly collapsed on the helipad, as if the life had been drained from his body.
Petunia kneeled beside him, placing her fingers on his neck. "An irregular pulse, no, no! They've gotten to him. Please, don't die yet Disco, I can save you…"
"Please, don't become one of them…"
What happened to Disco, could it be true? After all this time, could he be… No, not him, he can't be…
One more chapter to go.