CHAPTER 36: To Get Out of Camazotia

I was carted by my assailant into a large pyramid-shaped building. After pushing a few buttons, a doorway opened out of nowhere.

"Get in!" the zombie growled as he shoved me headfirst into the doorway, giving me a warping sensation before I was in a room with an odd zombie sitting in a chair at the front of the room. He was an old Buckethead, with drunken looking eyes and blackened hands. Burn scars, maybe? I was too scared to ask.

"This is . . . Elyssia Antonia Maccabaeus. The one we've been hunting for ages and ages ―"

The zombie who brought me here was cut off by the zombie in the chair.

"No need for the introduction, Harryton." he intoned, not unlike a mantra.

"Just shut up, and be lucky that you got the girl. If you didn't manage to snag her off the street, I would have killed you with my Zombot." Harryton nodded.

"Yesh, Moses." he mumbled as he shuffled closer to me and shackled my leaves.

"So, according to Zomboss, you're a threat. Correct?" Moses asked as he came up to me and sized me up, giving me the creeps.

"Umm, I don't know about that . . . I really don't know about that . . . I don't hang around your lot . . . so I can't answer that question . . ." I muttered.

"I . . . what . . . well . . . fine, then! Harryton, tell me, do you think that Lyssie here is some, ah . . . threat?" Moses implied, snapping his attention to his servant.

"Of course, I mean, she ain't harmless! Boss said that she's dangerous . . . to us, and his intentions." Harryton snorted.

"Thank you, buddy. Now . . . all dangerous things should be tortured and killed, right Harry?" Moses asked.

"Uh . . . ummm . . . yeah!" Harryton exclaimed.

"Why else do them humans down on earth shoot dangerous animals on Earth? Because they're inhuman and callous? Don't think so! Why don't we just, ah . . . what's the word . . . umm, edaricate her?"

Moses chuckled and shook his head. "The word is eradicate, Harry Barry. But . . . you've officially hit the nail on the head." Moses chortled.

"So . . . little Elyssia . . . what am I to do with you?"

As he went over and grabbed my face, I could feel the pulse of Camazotia take over my heartbeat. It also sent shockwaves of pain pulsing through each and every nerve and vein in my body. There was nothing I could do but fall to the floor.

I woke up in a plastic room. Harryton was laughing like mad, while Moses was having an odd paroxysm of snorting, coughing and wheezing.

"Wait . . . where the hell is this place?!" I screeched.

"Camazotia, one and the same, Elyssia. Now . . . I'll have you crack open one of these vases. You could reveal a zombie . . . or your beloved." Moses explained calmly as he snapped his fingers, his undead beard whipping around as several vases popped out of the low ceiling.

"Christ Jesus . . ."

"Oh, Elyssia!" I heard a simpering voice behind me, and before I could turn around, something had impaled me right through the chest, allowing a pool of blood to form around me.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" I yelled before I blacked out.

After I regained consciousness, I hear Harryton laughing his maniacal laugh.

"Don't be confused. You can die over and over. AND SURE AS HELL YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT OUT OF THIS ROOM!" I stood up and gasped in shock as my wound stopped bleeding instantly.

"Alright . . . can I pick a vase to crack?" I gasped as I looked up to the ceiling.

"So be it." Moses muttered.

Closing my eyes, I sent a jet of ice hurtling at a random vase, earning a loud yell of shock from the vase's former prisoner.

As soon as I saw Peater, I just waited until he was good and close. Then, I punched his stomach.

"What the . . ." he mumbled as he recovered from the blow.

"I ain't one to forget, Peater. You, the unforgiving one, you, the one who . . . who . . ."

I could continue no more. Useless tears began to well up in my eyes as I stared into the boy's green orbs. I blinked the tears away, not knowing what to say or do next. Finally, after a moment of silence, I decided to speak.

"I'm sorry, Peater." I whispered before I turned my back and let my tears fall to the ground.

I then turned to the two zombies, who were snickering like mad.

"I'll just wait . . ." I said loudly.

"Thank you for reminding us, Lyssie." Moses said in a booming voice as he clapped his hands and shattered open the vases, revealing zombie after zombie.

I gasped as I realized that the zombies were shooting a million pellets at me, which slowly took its effect on my body. Finally, I slumped to the ground.

I was awoken by my leaf being squeezed. I opened one eye and groaned.

"Thank the lord you're alright . . ." Peater mumbled as he pulled me into a standing position. I still felt dizzy, but I prayed that it wasn't going to turn into a deadly concussion.

"So . . . are you feeling . . . fine?" he asked nervously, hoping that he wouldn't get another punch. I just shrugged.

"Uh, I'm fine . . . I guess . . ." I mumbled.

Out of what seemed to me like sheer impulse, he pulled me into a hug.

"At least we're fighting together . . ." he murmured.

Just then, we were blasted apart by the bearded zombie.

"No time for emotional crap, you two. It's time for the real man to come out. Face him, or your beloved will suffer. And if you're so . . . desperate to get outta here, well . . . your lover will die. And if you're gonna be like a damned Lathyrus, well . . . die and let the boy over there go out."

I growled and faced the two zombies. Harryton was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, and I could've sworn that I heard him snoring a little.

"I won't let you harm Peater, and I won't leave without a fight!" I snarled.

"So be it. So be it." Moses chuckled.

"Well, Harryton . . . let's bring out the Zombot, shall we?" Moses clapped his hands.

Harryton just remained in his position on the wall, unmoving, letting out the occasional snort.

"Harryton? I said, "Let's bring out the Zombot!"" Moses said, a bit louder.

Harryton still didn't budge. All he did was continue dozing, which made me laugh a little ― something that I didn't expect to happen in this place. Shaking his head, Moses studied Harryton. When he finally realized that his lackey was asleep, he let out a low growl, and practically exploded with the force of a small bomb.

"Harryton Hayes, wake up this instant!" Moses yelled at Harryton, who was definitely sleeping.

When Harryton didn't budge from the wall, Moses finally let out a growl and shoved him to the ground.

"What the heck is going on in here?!" Harryton yelled as he was jerked awake.

"You God-forsaken fool! What the hell do you mean, "What the hell is going on here?!" We're gonna finish off these two weeds, that's what's going on!" Moses screamed.

Peater laughed a little at the little scuffle that the two zombies were having. I couldn't help but laugh as well ― at least I'd get one last laugh before I'd die. When Moses finally stopped tearing off a strip with a dazed Harryton, he kicked the wall, which activated a portal. Sending Harryton head-over-heels into the portal, he yelled,

"Get the special Zombot, you lazy bum!"

Then, Moses faced Peater and I.

"So . . . while Harryton fetches your deaths, why don't I tell you the tale of Camazotia?" Without waiting for an answer, Moses started droning on and on about Camazotia's tale.

"One day, Zomboss was mad at Harryton, myself, and a few other zombies. Apparently, we had tried to betray his side, which wasn't true. Thinking we were traitors, he sent us to this area of the dream realm. We dubbed it Camazotia. We eventually lured plants over here, so that we could abuse them when we got the chance. To start things off, we decided to give Camazotia's plantly citizens a rhythm that they were to follow day in, day out. It affected their walking, their playing, their breathing, their working . . . you name it. We even decided to not give any of them a choice. They were to do the same thing, and not follow a different path. Camazotia's heartbeat is what creates equality and peace on this otherworldly planet."

I frowned, for I knew this wasn't right.

"You call imprisoning your citizens peaceful?!" Peater yelled.

I held his leaf. "Hey ― I'm not about to let you get hurt by some random bullet just 'cause you bawled him out." I whispered.

Just then, the walls began to go to wrack and ruin as a heinous looking Zombot started crashing through the room. Harryton looked sleepy and drunk as he drove the Zombot into the vicinity. Moses looked like he was going to tear Harryton apart as he saw him making a spectacle.

"Harryton Hayes, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Moses screamed.

"Having fun! WOO HAA!" Harryton replied as he stomped about in the Zombot.

"Oh, you God-forsaken idiot." Moses growled as he climbed up the Zombot and got into the capsule where Harryton was being driven mad.

"Out of there!" he snarled as he grabbed Harryton and tossed him right out of the driver's seat, leaving him to take control as Harryton smashed into smithereens the moment he made contact with the ground.

"All right, Lyssie. It's time." Moses cackled as he revved up the Zombot and proceeded to charge at us.

At first, I froze up, thinking, What the bloody hell am I gonna do?! when I realized that asking one's self questions was a hell of a bad idea when being faced with a heinous Zombot. I tried climbing the leg of the Zombot, when Moses pulled a lever, which caused me to get kicked off. When I hit the floor, I could feel blood pouring out of several fresh wounds.

"I . . . I'm fine!" I panted as I went up to the Zombot.

"Elyssia, let me handle it!" Peater yelled.

I ignored his command, and I jumped up high into the hand of the Zombot. Moses tried to crush me with the metal fingers, but the more pressure that was applied to my broken body, the more alive I felt. Finally, I managed to pry away from the hand and get into the driver's capsule.

"Get the hell outta here!" Moses growled as he tried to push me away.

Finally, he grabbed me by the throat, and was trying to choke me to death. Then, by the famous Maccabaeus instinct, I had bitten on his hand, causing him to cry out in pain. I then sent a blast of ice whirling at Moses, which knocked him out of the capsule, leaving the Zombot to fall down. I jumped out, and hit the floor with a thud. I ran to Peater and gave him a tight hug. I was about to open my mouth to say something to him, when suddenly, the world around us started to disintegrate into little flecks of shimmering dust with loud, whooshing sounds.

"Peater . . . what the heck is happening in here?!" I yelled as the whooshing became louder.

"I . . . I dunno, Elyssia. I swear to God, I don't know!" Peater replied as the ground started to turn into the shimmery flecks.

The wind had started to pull us apart, and I held onto Peater's leaf like it was a lifeline.

"Hold on! Don't let go! Don't let go!" I screamed as we were swept up into a tornado of glistening dust.

We were spinning around faster and faster, and it was becoming harder and harder to hold on to him. Finally, the wind had succeeded in blowing us apart.

"NO!" I cried as the winds died down, leaving me to drift on a slowly moving current of air.

"No . . ."

And with that, I fell asleep.