Chapter 28: Rude Awakenings

Disclaimer: Do not own Gorillaz.


She moaned as the blue haired man kissed her neck, her fingers knotted in his unruly hair.

"Stuart…." She breathed in a pleading tone. 2D smirked and slammed his mouth on hers.

Clothes lay strewn across the bedroom floor as their two bodies writhed beneath the covers, the squeaking bed accompanied moans, grunts and squeals before heavy sighs of content brought silence.

"I love you Angela." He breathed into her ear before collapsing on top of her and nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

"I love you too Stuart."

"Leave 'im then. We'll run off to Jamaica or sumfink. Beirut. Somewhere darling. We'll fink of sumfing. Just leave 'im."

"Don't fret, I am. Who could ever love Murdoc Niccals anyways?"

Murdoc sat straight up in bed, covered in cold sweat that rolled down his back and formed a damp spot on the sheets. His breaths were shallow, yet ragged and he found himself shaking. He glanced next to him out of instinct and found he was in fact alone in his small bed in the back of the Winnebago.

He promptly tossed off the covers and ran out of the trailer. His feet pounded across the carpark and down the concrete steps.

Stu shrieked and fell out of bed as Murdoc kicked in the door. The sallow skinned man surveyed the room, panting. The light from he carpark barely illuminated the room, but just enough to see that Stuart Pot was, in fact, alone in his bedroom.

"Murdoc, wot the hell?" Stu yelled as Murdoc turned his back and retreated back up the stairs.

Yes, that was right. He had dropped her off at her house after yelling at each other in the car and reconciling eventually after he pulled over and they had a shouting match on the side of the road.

The screen door slammed behind him. Murdoc opened the fridge door and reached for a beer. No, tequila. Mmm yes.

Bloody nightmares. They always seemed so real. He opened the bottle as he went back to bed, chugged it, and curled up on his side.

The words kept echoing in his brain as he passed out.

"Who could ever love Murdoc Niccals anyways?"


"Kevin. KEVIN." Kevin was awoken by someone violently shaking him. His eyes cracked open to see Mike with a black eye hovering above him.

"Alright, you're awake. I swore that crazy bitch killed you. Kevin, we need to go to the hospital and have them look at that cigarette burn. It's oozing. I already called an ambulance and the police."

Kevin's mind barely registered all of this. Crazy bitch…Paula…PAULA. NOODLE.

He sat straight up and his head slammed into Mike's nose.

"FUCK!"

"Sorry Mike. Where's Noodle. I need to see Noodle. She's in danger." Pain seared through his chest. He looked down to see the nasty burn Mike was talking about. It was in fact, oozing into his burned shirt.

"Kevin WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" Mike screamed, obviously unable to keep calm any longer. "I heard knocking on the door, I open it and some woman's standing their asking for you. I said you weren't going to be home for a little bit, she says she can wait and she comes in, grabs the bottle of vodka and slams me across the face with it! THEN SHE CHLOROFORMED ME WHILE LAUGHING ABOUT HOW YOU WERE GOING TO GET YOURS." Mike started crying. "I woke up and saw you laying there and I thought for sure you were dead. I thought you were dead mate. I thought that crazy bitch killed you. I thought that crazy bitch killed my best friend." Mike pulled Kevin in and embraced him tightly.

The sound of someone pounding on the door made them both jump. "Police, open the door!"

"It's open!" Mike yelled as he let go and furiously rubbed away the tears.

Detective Smithy threw open the door.

"Boys, what happened?"

"Paula. Paula Cracker." Kevin spoke, his voice shaking.

Smithy swore and turned around.

"Please, you need to send people out to Angela's and Kong." Kevin pleaded. "She's going to kill Noodle and Murdoc."

"Did she say that?" Smithy whipped back around, his voice raised in alarm. "Kevin, did Paula Cracker tell you she was going to kill Noodle Hobbs and Murdoc Niccals?" Smithy sank down to his level. "KEVIN!"

"N-not exactly, but I know what she meant! She said to tell Noodle to watch her back and to tell Angela she was going to take care of Murdoc. I know she's planning on hurting them, I just know it! Please!"

"Smithy." Another officer walked into the apartment.

"Fifer, call Angela Colbourne's residence and check in on her." Smithy ordered without tearing his eyes from Kevin's pleading face.

"Sir?"

"Do it. Paula Cracker's on the loose and has made threats."

"My phone, where's my phone…" Kevin got up and began frantically digging through his pockets. He fumbled as he flipped it open and hurriedly dialed.


Noodle groaned and rolled over as her phone tinkled out it's ringtone. She glanced at the clock, snarled and finally picked up and began yelling in Japanese.

"NOODLE. NOODLE BABY IT'S ME." Kevin yelled on the other side of the line.

"Kevin? Why are you calling me this late? What's wrong?"

"Noodle. It's Paula. She was here. She attacked Mike and I. She's looking for you Noodle." Kevin's voice was panicked and urgent.

Noodle blanked out.

"Noodle. NOODLE!"

"I'm here Kevin. We're fine. We have zombies." Noodle attempted to reassure him and herself at the same time.

"She's also threatening Murdoc and Angela I think. The police are here. Please Noodle, be careful. I love you. I don't know what I'd do if-"

"Kevin enough, I am safe. Murdoc is here." Noodle's voice shook slightly. "I'm going to go get Russ. Talk to the police. I will call you in the morning."

She shut the phone and stared out the window. The moonlight flooded the room. It was very unusual for Noodle to be frightened. But at that very moment, she felt it.

She threw her covers aside and ran out the door and to the lift. She slammed the buttons furiously. The doors shut lazily as she dialed Russel's number.

"'Lo?" Russel's sleepy voice drifted from the other side."

"RUSS WAKE UP, PAULA IS BACK." She nearly screamed into the phone. "GOING TO CHECK ON MURDOC."

"What? Baby girl you on the lift down?" Russel now sounded panicked. "I'm on the way down to the stairs."

The doors binged as they opened into the carpark. She ran across the concrete to the Winnebago. As she reached it, she began pounding desperately on the door.

"MUDS! MUDS! WAKE UP! MUDS!" Noodle yelled before she finally wrenched the door open. The camper shook and swayed as she tore back to the bedroom to find the empty tequila bottle and a snoring Murdoc laying on his side in a puddle of vomit oozing from his mouth.

She stepped back and ran her fingers through her hair, trying not to panic, knowing there was no waking the bassist. Cortez shrieked and flew out.

She backed out of the trailer.

"Nooooodle. Noooodle Dooodle. Come to Auntie Paula." Her blood ran cold as the voice crooned through the carpark. How? How did she get in? The place was surrounded by zombies. She began to run for the lift.

"Noodle... You can run but you can't hide!"

Noodle veered left and raced towards D's room. He had weapons in his closet that he kept unlocked, unlike Murdoc.

"BOO!" She felt hands rip at her hair. She screamed as Paula Cracker grabbed her and pressed the gun into her head. She struggled against her, but Paula had her in a position where she couldn't barely move.

"You've bothered me enough, you little bitch." Paula breathed as she moved the gun against Noodle's quivering temple. "Say goodbye, Nood- ARGH!"

Paula released her as her cries mixed with a raven's shrieks. Noodle turned around to see Cortex flapping as he dug his talons into Paula's scalp and attempted to go for her eyes.

"YOU FUCKING BIRD! SHOO!" She turned and fired the gun at the raven.

Russel's heart stopped as he flung open the door.

"NOODLE!" The ground shook as he bounded in the direction of the shots.

2D sat bolt upright in bed as he felt his heart beat out of his chest. Gunshots. Why? Zombies? He leapt out of bed and made his way up the stairs and tripped. He got back up and ran as more shots fired.

Paula swore, turned and ran, still firing at the black bird. She slammed the door and heard the furious squawks behind it. She threw the gun into the landfill and opened the car door. She drove around the piles of dead zombies and tore down the hill. All she knew is that she needed to disappear and fast.

Noodle felt Russel pick her up and hug her as she sobbed hysterically into his chest. How could she have frozen? She could have saved herself. Why didn't her instincts kick in?

"It's okay baby girl, she's gone. She's gone. She's gone." Russel's enormous frame shook.

"WOT'S GOING ON?" 2D yelped as he ran up to them.

"D, call the cops. Paula just broke in here and tried to kill Noodle. Shhh baby girl, shhhh." He rocked her back and forth. "It's gonna be fine. It's gonna be a-ight. I'm here. Russ is here. Nothing's going to hurt you now."


The house phone echoed throughout the house. Balto harrumphed and snuggled closer to his Mistress. Stupid human noisemakers.

"Hello?" Angela yawned.

"Angela Colbourne, this is Detective Fifer."

"What do you want?"

Fifer cleared his throat at her tone.

"Kevin Thoms was just attacked in his apartment and we have reason to believe you might be in harm's way."

"What?" Angela sat up, swung her legs to the side of the bed. "What do you mean?"

"Paula Cracker has made threats against your…ahem. Boyfriend. We urge you to be cautious."

"Is Kevin okay? What about Mike?"

"They are both fine. Like I said, we urge you to be cautious." Fifer continued. "Check your locks, windows, doors. We will be sending a squad car around to check on you."

"No, you will go over there and check on her." She heard in the background.

"What? Why do I have-"

"Do it, Fifer."

"Fine, Miss Colbourne, I will be around shortly to check on you. Goodbye."

The phone clicked.

Angela hesitated before she opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a handgun. Like HELL some bitch was going to come into this house.

"Balto, go check the house." She stated.

Balto grunted and didn't move.

"Balto." She shoved him slightly and the husky reluctantly jumped off the bed. He stretched and his nails clicked against the floor.

She got up as he went down the stairs.

Her senses were heightened as she opened the door to Sam's room. Sam was snoring peacefully, blissfully unaware of anything. She shut the door quietly and crossed the hall to Mark's room. Mark was curled up, arms around his pillow muttering in his sleep.

Balto thumped back up the stairs and slunk back into her bedroom. Angela heard him jump up on the bed. Obviously, he had found nothing.

She settled at the top of the stairs, gun in hand, and waited.

She didn't know how long it had been until she saw the squad car pull up. She rose and quietly descended down the stairs. She met Fifer on the outside steps and shivered in the cold. Moonlight flooded the path to the front door and Angela could see their breath form little white clouds in front of them.

"Nothing going on here." She murmured to him.

"Because she hit Kong." Fifer replied dryly.

Angela went pale.

"Noodle…Murdoc…are-are-are they…?"

"They're fine. Although your lover is right now in the hospital for suspected alcohol poisoning from shot gunning an entire bottle of tequila. The others are at the station for questioning."

"Noodle…Oh god, Noodle."

"She's very shaken up, but she's okay." Fifer shifted and scowled. "We suspect Paula's left town so you can go back to sleep now. Is that thing registered?" He asked sharply, noticing the handgun.

"Yes." She snapped.

"Get back inside and lock up. Goodnight Miss Colbourne."

"Don't tell me what to do." She growled as she turned on her heel ans retreated back inside.

Fifer heard the lock scrape shut. He stalked back to his squad car and slammed the door shut. He glanced out the window to see the full moon.

"Figures." He muttered before starting the car.