"Okay, Operation Catch a Zombie starts now," Quint announced to June, May, and Dirk on the balcony of the treehouse. He had a chalkboard behind him. "Step one: build traps. Step two: test the traps. We'll need a volunteer..."
"Not it," June said first with a grin.
"Not it," Quint chimed in next.
"And not it," May crossed her arms.
"N-oh, man," Dirk threw down the rope in dismay, crossing his arms.
"And step three: set the traps, and lie in wait until we catch a zombie."
Dirk opened his mouth in realization, turning around. "And that means..."
"Stakeout! Stakeout! Stakeout!" They chimed in unison, June looking at them deadpanned while May just chuckled.
"Um..."
"Like in every cop movie," Dirk started off and she just stared. "And spy movie? And good movie?! Sitting around...watching stuff for hours...being all moody...stakes. Out," He stumbled putting on sunglasses. "Stakeout!"
"...This sounds like not a fun thing that I really don't wanna be involved in. You're not seriously going along with this, are you, Yoon?" She turned to May with crossed arms.
"Come on, it doesn't seem as bad as it sounds," May shrugged a little. "Especially with friends."
"And June, there's stakeout food," Dirk grinned widely at her, putting an arm around her.
"Greasy burgers."
"Soggy fries."
"Chips. Dips."
"Meatball subs, two at a time!"
"A stakeout smorgasbord!"
"I'll grill the burgers!" May offered happily while raising a hand.
"Yes!" Quint pointed at her happily.
"I hate all the beginning stuff...but I'm totally in it for the snacks!" June said happily with a wide smile.
"Yes!" Quint smiled at her. "And Jack should be back with the food any minute."
"Yeah, well, you might wanna check up on him. Jack has some medium-rad qualities, but staying on task is not exactly his strong suit," June spoke up hesitantly.
"Yeah, that's his strong suit," Quint points to the suit Jack got from the mall. Dirk laughed, his knees falling to the ground. June groaned, rolling her eyes as May shook her head silently. "See? This is the sort of hilarious stuff you can look forward to on our stakeout."
"There's a suit!" Dirk kept laughing, May sighing a little.
Jack struck a hero pose. Jack the Conqueror. He was riding on top of Rover, as they roamed through the city in destruction. Thanks to Thrull's super cool instruction, Jack was no longer a hero in training. He yelled as he chased a monster. He was the real deal. He jumped off Rover, jumping on the heads of zombies. The Grand Taco...The Blue Plate Special...he...also may have been hungry. Jack ate a slice of pizza. The monster turned around to face them as it was completely cornered. Jack looked at the bestiary, seeing that he had to get a feather for the essence. But he finally had something to fight for. Rover snarled at the monster and it screamed, hiding itself into the ground. A family. Jack plucked the feather and put it on the page. For his family of friends. He yelled out as Rover went down the street, jumping over a pile of cars. He was always focused, always dependable, and never, ever distracted from his-
Jack looked at a butterfly flying past. "Ooh, butterfly!"
Uh-
"Jack, come in!" Quint interrupted as Jack was daydreaming again.
"Uh, what was that?" He looked around in confusion. "Oh," He took out his walkie-talkie. "Uh, Quint! What's going on? You okay?"
"Just checking on your snack retrieval ETA," Quint told him. "How's it coming? Over."
"Uh, sorry, bud, Rover and I kind of took the long route," Jack fiddled around to look for something, taking out a piece of paper. "But I have the list and I'm at Snack Central."
"Okay," Quint said slowly. "It's just that you disappeared all day yesterday," He looked worried as the others crowded over him.
"I quadruple-pinkie-swear-blood-brothers promise I'll be there with the grub, or else I'll forfeit our friendship for eternity. And...you get all my comics." Rover barked, shaking his head.
"Awesome! Knew I could count on you, friend," Quint replied, the dog-like monster rolling his eyes.
"I know, Rover. The bestiary is super important, but I promised I'd handle the nosh retrieval," He held up the list. A monster shrieked and suddenly he was knocked into the air. He yelped in alarm, landing roughly. He snapped out of it, looking up to see something snagging a vine. It was invisible, so he couldn't see it. "Rover, I've been looking everywhere for this thing," He took out the bestiary and flipped through it. "Camobeast. Super elusive. Changing pigmentation allows it to blend in anywhere. Nearly impossible to get its essence." He looked at the picture as it could be either a tail or a tooth. "Am I supposed to grab its tail or its teeth?" Jack looked back up at the Camobeast, realizing something as he took out the list again. "Or the snacks..." He glanced back at Snack Central, debating his choice. He could either get this essence and fill up another page, or get the snacks...but this monster he might never see for a long time.
"Forget the food, Jack," Thrull told him in Jack's own voice. "Finishing this bestiary is the only thing that will protect you and your friends. Don't forget I said this. You'll need it later for flashbacks. Like this one."
He scratched the side of his head. "Aww, the guys are gonna be upset. But I'm doing this for them," He closed the book, putting it in his backpack and walking away from Snack Central. He jumped onto Rover and the Camobeast looked up as it heard them, running off with a screech. He laughed as Rover ran after it.
"Let the trap testing begin!" Quint announced with a smile after looking at the list. Dick used a hammer, June snapped a rope, and Quint linked them together. May got out a crank.
"Uhh!" Dirk put a bunch of danger stickers on himself. "I am a crash test zombie!" He stepped forward into a rope. Quint pulled it and the rope grabbed Dirk's leg, looking up as he was still standing. He smirked and then a tree branch fell on his head. June and May laughed, Quint rushing over as it wasn't part of the trap.
Dirk put on a helmet, looking at a fake brain on a chair. He groaned and stepped forward, taking the brain. He sat down in the chair. "Ah, brai—uh, brains!" He pretended to eat it, Quint giving a small smile. "Yum, yum." Quint pressed a button to launch Dirk into the air and he landed on top of the fence behind them. The fence then fell over and May winced, going over to help him.
Quint placed down a bear trap, just without the spikes, and June put down some whoopie cushions. The three looked on proudly as they had placed several of them in a pile. Dirk ran through them, falling onto the ground and May snorted in laughter.
Dirk did not look amused as he pushed down a standee, getting slime and feathers dumped on him. May and Quint laughed before Dirk started chasing them.
He hopped over to a bunch of umbrellas, stepping on the middle. He looked relieved until all the umbrellas opened around him. "Blegh!" He walked up to June holding up the toy brain while at a fake stand for them. "I'm still hungry!" A bunch of tires fell over him, and he tossed the last one off of him. "Enough! I'm done being your crash test zombie! And I'm hungry!"
"Me too!" June added in. "Time for munchies! And the stakeout!"
"I skipped lunch and everything!" Dirk took off his helmet. "Where the heck is Jerk Sullivan with the grub?!" The top of his head had slime and feathers still on top of it. May bit her lip, glancing over to Quint. Her stomach growled and she sighed wearily.
"He is taking longer than he should...I'll go make some sandw-"
"No! Part of the stakeout is that you binge on food!" Dirk protested and she gave a blank look.
"Um, I'll call him," Quint looked down nervously, Dirk coughing up a feather. "Again..." He sagged his shoulders while walking off.
The Camobeast shrieked while running down a staircase, disappearing. Rover looked down the staircase as the two emerged into the subway. He held his walkie talkie while looking around. Jack turned on a light to see as Rover growled while walking forward. "Camobeast~" He called out quietly. "Oh, Camobeast," He said again as a small monster shrieked and ran off. A can rolled in front of them and got kicked away.
"Jack?" Quint called him. "Over!" He didn't answer as Rover growled up ahead. "Hello?! Over!" Rover dove forward as the Camobeast got out of hiding, running off.
"I'm definitely still here!" Jack finally answered Quint urgently, keeping his eye on the Camobeast still.
"We're at the stakeout," Quint informed as the others were unloading the equipment for the traps. "We're setting up by the crashed plane on State Street," He glanced back at the plane behind him.
The Camobeast yelled again while running down the tracks. "Uh, yeah, sounds like a great plane—uh, plan!" Jack corrected himself while the beast went further down. As soon as Jack entered, a bunch of bats flew out.
"Okay. But you've been quite distracted lately," Quint pointed out, rubbing his neck. "And some people..." He looked back at June and Dirk, who didn't look hopeful for him coming soon. "Not naming names...are not sure we can count on you."
Jack's eyes widened at this. "Wait, what?!" He cried out in defense. The Camobeast ran past some cobwebs, Rover tearing into them as he ran. "Aww, some of it got in my mouth!" He spit out in disgust, but he said it into the walkie-talkie, therefore Quint took it out of context.
"In your mouth? Are you eating our goodies already?! Just try to stay focused! We still got a zombie to catch!"
Jack held up the radio as Rover came to a stop deep into the tunnels. "That's a 10-4, good buddy," He flipped off the light, smirking up ahead. "But more importantly, we gotta catch the Camobeast. Up that way!"
They heard it go up a hole, Rover climbing out of it. The Camobeast ran off and Rover emerged into the outside, looking around as they were in front of a store. They heard the beast near the entrance. Jack jumped down from Rover. "Bajingo! A grocery store! Two needs with one deed. Am I right, Rover?" The beast just tilted his head in confusion. "Never mind. Now, stay."
Rover panted while sitting down, Jack taking out the list and looking around while in the parking lot. He heard some noises and rolled up ahead, peeking over an abandoned car. A van was being ransacked by the Camobeast. Jack put the list in his mouth, walking forward and then grabbing the tail. "Gotcha!" The Camobeast shrieked and revealed itself. "Great plan. Totally working!" Jack held on tight to the tail, getting slammed onto the ground and dropping the paper. "The list!" The Camobeast ran around trying to get him off, and he screamed.
"Feed me, Jack!" Dirk said over the walkie-talkie. "Feed me!"
June laughed and then took it from him. "Dirk drools when he's hangry." The two laughed as she held it away from him.
"Do not!" He tried to snatch it back, May chuckling while sitting on the ground.
"Uh! Hey!" Jack called out. "Can you guys keep it down? I'm working here!" He then snatched the list.
"Jack, hurry!" Quint shouted playfully.
"Dirk's gonna eat us!" June said next.
"I might!"
"No, I'm too good to eat!" May giggled and Jack was now annoyed.
"Are you guys having fun without me? That is so not cool." He yelped as the Camobeast revealed itself, running so fast that the list slipped out of his hand. "No!" The Camobeast then shredded it to pieces with its teeth. "Aw, man!" Eventually, the tail slipped off, the monster looking back as it regrew, running off. It snatched some cotton and ran into the store.
Jack groaned from the ground, Rover licking the top of his head. "Yes!" Jack smiled as he held up the tail. "Got the essence for the bestiary-" However, the tail crumbled to dust. "Aww, man," The wind blew it away. His friends laughed from the radio and he frowned. He had no essence or snacks, and his friends were having fun without him there. "Aww, man!" He then groaned; if he hadn't gone after the Camobeast, this probably wouldn't have happened. Rover whimpered for him as he laid down.
The four grabbed boxes, walking them over in front of the plane. Quint put down the last one and June nudged Dirk while looking at the floor. He gasped as he saw footprints leading somewhere. "Zombie footprints!"
"Let us trap ourselves a zombie!" Quint exclaimed while activating his drill, the others smiling happily. They split up to get the traps ready. "Uh, May?" She glanced over to him before she could leave. "Um...you don't think that Jack is unreliable, do you?" Quint asked her hopefully and she winced.
"Ahhh...I mean, Jack is great, but there have been times when he puts his own priorities first. This is the same guy who lied to get more attention, got us trapped with zombies and a worm, and kept being overprotective of you we're talking about..." She rubbed the back of her neck.
"...Yeah, I know," He told her quietly. "I just wish I knew what he was doing all the time, and not take things so far for our sake."
"I'm sure whatever he's doing, he'll come back soon. But if he comes back with nothing, I can't say he'll get open arms from them," She jerked a thumb to Dirk and June. He smiled a little from her words.
"Thanks."
"No problem. It'll blow over, they're just really hungry," She giggled a bit and ran off.
After setting up all the traps, they watched from the bushes as they tested out the first one, the one with the rope. A growl was heard and June glanced over to Dirk. "Keep it down!" She warned him.
"It's not me," He defended back. "It's my tummy, Hurley," He pointed to his stomach.
"Then tell 'Hurley' to keep it down!" She repeated, using quotation marks on the name.
"I can't help it. I didn't agree to a stakeout with no carbs!"
"No one did," She pushed him down. "And yet..." They glanced over to Quint.
"No eats, not a real stakeout," Dirk pointed to the boy, who rolled his eyes.
"He'll be here!"
"We should've had May get the food, at least we would be eating by now, even if it was from her," June grumbled, May opening her mouth in disbelief as she turned to her.
"You know, June, I'm getting real tir-"
"Shh!" Quint interrupted the cat fight before it could start. "I think we have one!" He smiled as he pointed a zombie coming out of hiding from a car. They all beamed as they watched, but the zombie turned around. "No! Over this way!" He called out, the zombie turning around and walking over. It stepped into the rope and Quint pulled the crank. They all cheered at the zombie hanging upside down. "It totally worked! First time!" A thud was heard and they turned to see why.
"Awesome," June remarked as the leg from the zombie broke off. "Only a couple hundred more bones to go." The others laughed at her statement.
"Cause I...I don't get it," Dirk commented after laughter.
"Should've expected this from the undead," May shrugged a little. The zombie dragged itself away without a foot. Jack narrowed his eyes at the laughing, meaning he was missing out again.
"Ha, ha, ha! We're having so much fun without Jack. He's so distracted all the time, and can't get food," He said bitterly while grabbing a basket and a snack. "Stay on target. Food, food, food. Don't even know how much I do for you guys. I'm not appreciated in my own time," He grumbled while gathering up items. "I...food and all the..."
The four waited from their hiding spot, looking weary. Dirk's stomach growled again and he groaned a little. "Quiet, Hurley." They heard a zombie, peeking over to see a female zombie walking over to the slime trap. She fell face first into it.
"Yes!" Quint shouted happily...but then the zombie managed to crawl out of the trap, to their shock.
"What a drag," June joked to him.
"Not now, June. Not now," Quint lamented that another one didn't work.
"We'll get the next one," She tried to assure him.
"Yeah. One of these is bound to work on one of them," May hummed as she stood in front of him and he glanced up. She gave a little smile. "We just have to be patient. Whole part of the stakeout, right?"
"...Yeah," He smiled back at her. June glanced between the two, raising an amused brow. She could see a little...something-something going on there.
"Ohh! You know what? Ugh, after seeing that, I'm not hungry anymore." Dirk then went wide-eyed as his stomach growled once again. "Okay, now I'm hungry again."
A zombie was in the chair trap, gnawing at the fake brain. The chair bounced the zombie into the tree and they looked up with smiles. However, the zombie was trapped in the tree, and they had no way to get him down without being victims themselves...
Quint pressed a button to drop a trash can onto a female zombie, and while running around, she fell into the sewers. They all looked down as the zombie groaned while floating away.
They waited in mostly boredom, Quint anticipating this one to work. A zombie walked into the umbrella trap, and they opened up around him. "Aha!" The wind started to blow past and he looked up in confusion. "Huh?"
It was so strong that it blew away the zombie attached to an umbrella. May pinched her nose as they looked disappointed.
Dirk was asleep as Quint looked over the edge. June looked bored and May was starting to doze off. "Trap number eighteen. This one'll do the trick," He said hopefully to the girls, though May didn't hear it as she fell onto Quint's shoulder, her eyes closed. He froze on the spot, glancing down at her and then looking back at the zombie, his face red. Another zombie arrived, activating the trip wire and the net went over it. "Yes!" Quint shouted so loud he woke up May and he ran off before she could realize what happened.
"Got him!" June jumped over the edge as May's eyes went wide.
"Wait, really?!" She asked in surprise as she chased after them, Dirk waking up.
"Yeah!" The trio cheered, but before they could get it, a screech was heard. They looked up as a large flying monster came in...and grabbed the zombie, flying off with it.
"Hey! That's our zombie! Bring it back!" Quint screamed in anger.
"We called dibs!" Dirk complained as the monster screeched at them before going further away from them.
"...Yeah, we're not getting him back," May sighed while slumping her arms.
"Argh!" June shouted in frustration. "This is all Jack's fault!" The trio just stared at her, wondering why she was blaming him. "He's not here, so it's his fault!"
"What are we gonna do now?" Quint questioned in worry as that was the last trap, and they didn't have any more plans for new ones.
"Oh! I know! Uh, I got it!" Dirk exclaimed happily.
"What now?" June walked over to him.
"Uh, uh, eh?" He pressed his fingers together.
"A clam?"
"A Velociraptor?"
"A big claw?" May rubbed her chin.
"A...hand...butt?"
"No! It-it's—hand butt? It's teeth, like the wretch! They look like the bars of a cage. We should build a cage!" He suggested happily to them.
"That's great!" June smiled at his plan. "We've got lots of material around here. We could recycle it into a zombie cage!"
"We can use the rope from the first one to hook it to the cage!" May smiled, bouncing a little.
"Yes!" Quint cheered as the others high-fived.
"Hand butt!"
Quint ran over to the materials when the walkie-talkie went off. "Hell-o?!" May glanced over to him and walked over after she realized it was Jack. "I can hear you." They peeked into the box to look at the walkie-talkie. "This is Jack, in case you've forgotten me. You got any more inside jokes you don't wanna share with me? Hand butt? Over!"
June took the device, annoyed that he was angry at them when he was late bringing the food. "Well, if you were here like you said you'd be, they wouldn't be inside jokes, now would they?"
"And, more importantly, if you were here, we'd have grub! There's somebody here who wants to talk to you," He held up his shirt and June placed the device over to his stomach. Hurley growled into the walkie-talkie, grossing out Quint and May a little.
Jack took something from a shelf. "Cool your jets, Hurley," He replied knowingly. "I'm getting 'em as we speak. I just, uh, had some questions about the list," He wanted to make sure he wasn't missing anything. "June, uh, your handwriting is really messy and I can't quite make out what it was you or May wanted."
"Hold on," June started off suspiciously. "I thought you already had everything."
"Oh, yeah, yeah, mission accomplished. Just wanted to double check while I was, you know, wrapping things up." He then tripped over something, looking to see that he had landed on some purple eggs. He gave a shout of surprise, looking up to see that the whole aisle had eggs. He gasped as he looked into one, seeing an eye appear out of nowhere...and that was when he realized why they were there...
The eggs belonged to the Camobeast.
"Oh, Mama. I really should not be in your nest," He murmured while backing away. The Camobeast roared and he ran off to hide. The creature growled as he cringed, and she slithered over to her eggs, seeing an open eye.
"Okay. To confirm," Jack gasped as the walkie-talkie was giving him away. "I want the crunchy-" He tried to cover it up, but it was too late. "Cheesy bites. The puffs, not curls!" He ran off as she looked around, and he was hiding in another aisle. "Puffs! Not curls! Got it?"
"And I want the chocolate crunch bites," May told him next.
"Oh, yeah, good," Jack whispered into his walkie-talkie. "That's super great, thanks. Yeah, I-I can read that now. Much better, June. Thank you for clarifying!"
"And more potato chips!" Quint screamed, the Camobeast snarling while glancing behind her.
"Hush. Over. Over, over, over! Talking is over!" Jack pleaded, climbing the shelf just as the creature walked in. She looked around and then walked off, Jack sighing in relief. However, he dropped his walkie-talkie...knocking over the phone for the speakers next to it. He gave a nervous sound as the Camobeast heard, but didn't turn around. Jack held onto the shelf while climbing down a bit, reaching out his hand as far as he can to the walkie-talkie.
"Snack attack addendum! Hurley wants peanuts!" Dirk spoke up, activating the speaker. The Camobeast turned to the speaker, confused.
"Quiet, quiet, quiet!"
"Oh, and for my chocolate crunch bites, get the regular ones," May told him, the Camobeast now hearing Jack's presence. "And just to reiterate-"
"Do not get the peanut ones!" She and the three all stated in unison, the Camobeast turning around to see him.
"Oh, boy..."
She shrieked and lunged forward. Jack quickly climbed to the top of the shelf, knocking over some stuff. "Clean-up on aisle two!" He then stood up to run, kicking over the stuff on top. He jumped to another shelf as the Camobeast snarled, reaching up to roar at him. "And aisle three, too," He threw the snacks at the Camobeast, jumping to the next and barely hanging on. He glanced over nervously at the Camobeast running over, getting on top just as the Camobeast jumped. It then climbed the shelf, roaring when it saw Jack. He took a pack of chips and put it into the Camobeast's mouth. However, she dragged Jack with her, knocking both of them onto the ground. He immediately grabbed a basket and ran off, the Camobeast ripping apart the pack. She then ran after Jack, who got out of the store and grabbed a cart. She snarled as she ran after him.
A make-shift dummy sat on the ground, holding a mop with the top of it shaved off. "Help. Oh, please, help me!" Quint said in a high-pitched voice through a speaker. "Do not come eat me! I am not delicious, like potato chips!" The four all sat in Big Mama to wait for a zombie, June looking annoyed.
"I understand that we need something to lure the zombie, but...why does it have to look like me?"
"Well, you and May are the only one of us who look edible," Dirk told her.
"Excuse me?" June just looked confused now.
"And why is that?" May placed a hand on her hip, raising an angry brow.
"Mostly because you both shower," Dirk shrugged a bit.
"It's just science...and hey, I shower," Quint protested, so that May would think he did. But sometimes...he didn't. "Oh! Do not consume my flesh like potato chips!"
"I do not sound like that," June narrowed her eyes a bit.
"Fine. Like cheese puffs!"
"Better," She grinned in approval, May chuckling a bit. Dirk then took the microphone, clearing his throat.
"My name is June and I'm a girl person. Also, journalism."
May laughed out loud as June took the microphone. "My name is Dirk, and I have complex emotional problems that make it hard for me to connect to people."
Dirk opened his mouth, looking away. "That's offensive. My emotional problems are not complex."
May then took the microphone. "My name is Quint, and I'm all about science. Also, I called May sweet and adorable when I got hit by a quill!"
"No way, really?!" June laughed as Quint pouted, Dirk snorting a bit.
"Awkward."
"It was a spur of the moment," Quint held up a finger, shaking his head rapidly after saying that. "I, uh, that is, not that you're not those things—I..." He faltered as they were just staring at him now as he was making it worse for himself. He chuckled awkwardly and took the mic from May. "M-My name is Jack, and I'm totally overprotective, but also, I abandoned my best friend in the middle of a stakeout, which is something he was really excited about."
"Hey!" Jack protested over the walkie-talkie. "I heard that!"
"Whoa," Dirk smiled, pointing his fingers at Quint. "That sounds just like him."
May ran a hand down her face. Her stomach growled and she groaned, holding it as she looked at the back of Quint's head. She just hoped Jack would be here soon since Quint seemed to be mad at him now...granted, they all were, but Quint was still holding hope on Jack earlier.
Jack ran down the street while moving the cart, Rover running up to him. He grabbed the back of Rover's tail and jumped into the cart. He looked around as he suddenly didn't see the Camobeast anywhere. "Maybe we lost her?"
She roared as she popped up out of nowhere, causing him to scream. He looked up ahead to see that he was about to pass underneath a bridge. The Camobeast shrieked as the gates closed, but Rover forced them open. He went down the little incline in front of the bridge, Jack yelling as he had let go of Rover by the time he went down. The cart flew a bit and then crashed on the other side. The Camobeast jumped and landed behind him. He quickly grabbed the basket and ran off.
He went through a pipe, the Camobeast seeming to get stuck there. Jack laughed triumphantly. "That was totally my plan." The creature shrieked at him.
June popped her lips, her hands behind her back. Quint was in the driver's seat while Dirk was in the passenger's seat. May leaned against the window as she yawned a bit. "...Okay, so, was all that test dummy stuff just you getting revenge on me for like...picking on you at school?" Dirk suddenly asked, May raising a brow as she looked at them.
"...No." June continued making popping noises. "Uh, maybe a little," Quint took it back. "You don't just get over that stuff, you know. At least I don't. It leaves a mark, Dirk."
"Quint..." May looked sad for him. If she had known it was that bad, she would've stopped him more. Though there were times where Dirk said he had done something to some nerds whenever she met up with him during their... 'relationship.' She never once asked about it...
"Ha. You wanna talk about leaving a mark," Dirk held up his arm, revealing some scratches. "Your traps did that, man!"
"That's nothing!" Quint argued back. "Just because you can't see mine..." He hugged himself, sniffing. "Doesn't mean they're not there."
Dirk sniffed too, leaning back with his arms crossed. The two girls glanced at them and then at each other. "...You guys want some alone time or-"
They both blew raspberries at her.
"Guys!" May placed her hands on her hips. "We can leave you two alone if you're gonna act like that," She opened her car door.
"No. May, please stay," Quint pleaded with her and she faltered. "Every time I got bullied by Dirk...I'd always see you walking by. And it...it was always assuring to me. Especially after you saved me and Jack."
She looked over at him with wide eyes.
"I-I know, it's dumb, but you always had a smile on your face or looked so focused in what you were doing...that it always made everything okay for me. No matter what Dirk did."
June and Dirk looked at each other in surprise, May opening her mouth a little.
"Now for some essence," Jack took out the bestiary as the sun was setting and it was starting to get dark. He debated what to take, though. "Tooth or tail, tooth or tail...well, your tail just dissolves, so..." He nervously held out his hand to her mouth. The Camobeast shrieked again and it got Rover's attention. He leaped over and Jack noticed it. "Rover, no!" He knocked the Camobeast out of the pipe, who roared at Jack. "Time for a new plan! Rover!" He rushed off, the Camobeast following after him.
However, Rover couldn't see with the pipe stuck. He moved his head down to break it himself, running off after the two.
The four sat in Big Mama as not one zombie had shown up. May glanced up at Quint, who looked at her through the rearview mirror. Once they locked eyes, they both looked away, blushing as she held her arm.
"...I-I didn't know I had such a calming effect on you back then," May rubbed her neck nervously.
"Ohh," Quint covered his face with his hands, June and Dirk smirking at each other knowingly. "Did I make it weird earlier? I didn't think it'd make you uncomfortable-"
"No!" She shook her head with a smile. "No, it doesn't. I actually really appreciate you saying that."
He smiled back at her in relief. "...You think Jack is okay out there?" He wondered since it was now dark, he was getting worried. Sure, he was still mad, but Jack was still his best friend regardless if he seemed unreliable.
"He's fine, Quint," June assured him as they waited. "He's just not very reliable." The three then all stared at her as she smiled. "His heart does seem...most of the time, to be in the right place, though." Dirk slid over to Quint with a wide smile, May wiggling her eyebrows as Quint opened his mouth in shock.
"June?" He glanced at the two, seeing their looks. "Do you like Jack?" He smiled at her.
"Sounds like you like Jack," Dirk raised a teasing eyebrow.
"Like the way he likes you, in fact," May crossed her arms with a smirk.
"Uh, what?!" She scoffed at the three. "No! Go suck on a wrench!" She then accidentally beeped the horn. "Oh! Sorry," She smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, you should talk Quint, since you like-"
"No one! Absolutely no one!" Quint glared a bit at her as he silently told her that he would stop if she didn't tell May that he liked her in that way.
"Okay?" May murmured in confusion.
The Camobeast was still going after Jack down the road and he tossed some of the snacks at her. She chomped a bag into pieces. "Aw, come on! If I give you all the goodies, my friends will kill me harder than you will!" He shouted, even though he kept throwing them as the Camobeast got closer. That was when she chomped the entire basket. "I could be wrong!" He gave a panicked look as he kept running.
"But...I miss them," June confided into the three as May was now in the driver's seat. She leaned against the window, her eyes closed. "Every day."
"...Yeah," Quint agreed with her as he started to miss his parents too. "Yeah." May didn't look sad, she just looked...they didn't even know how to describe it. It was like she had pain in her eyes, and they had no idea what was going through her head. "May? You do miss your parents...right?" He asked in concern as she squeezed her eyes shut.
"...Look-"
A moan was heard before she could explain. "Guys! I think we got one!" Quint pointed forward with a smile and indeed, they could see a zombie heading for the dummy. Dirk smiled as he looked at June, gesturing to the zombie.
"See? Edible."
"Science," Quint grinned widely. June just looked at May, who shrugged.
"Jack! Good news!" Quint announced while Jack was fearful of his life. "The zombie's headed right for the trap!" The Camobeast used her camouflage to pop in and out of places. She headed straight for Jack's head, but he ducked and ran off. "Hurry! Or you'll miss everything!"
"Aw, man!" Jack complained, the Camobeast lunging forward to chomp at his head, but he ducked in time thankfully. The Cambeast crashed into a large van as Jack slid underneath it. "Quint! I'm almost there!" He glanced back at the creature. "And I'm bringing company." The Camobeast ran to the other side to go around. "And I'm not distracted! Over!" He jumped on top of a car pile-up, which was right behind the crashed plane. The Camobeast looked around and then saw him, growling and chasing after him. Rover started to jump after them.
Jack ran inside the plane, seeing some airline peanuts. The Camobeast appeared right behind him and he leaped out of the way. "In the event of an apocalypse, your seat cushion-" He held it up in front of the Camobeast, but she slashed it in half with her claws. "Won't really be of much help at all." He looked around and pressed a button to incline the seat, crawling out of the space. He ran off and then noticed the peanuts. "Ooh, peanuts!" He grabbed some and ran off as the Camobeast got out. She leaped after him, Rover crawling over the seats. He sniffed the peanuts and grabbed them. Jack got out using the front broken window, sliding down the front. He then saw the zombie, the cage, and his friends in the car.
"Jack?" They all wondered in confusion.
"Hey, you guys!" He greeted and then saw the Camobeast arriving, screaming and running for the cage.
"No, no, no, no, no!" June called out rapidly.
"Look out for the trap!" Dirk screamed at him.
"Watch out!"
May narrowed her eyes and then honked the horn, crawling halfway through the window. "JACK!" She pointed at the zombie, but he took it as a greeting as he waved. The Camobeast snarled at him and he gave a nervous look.
"Zombie!"
"Trap!"
Quint fully got out of the car. "Jack! The trap! Zombie!" Quint warned and while Jack was dodging the incoming zombie, he went through the trip wire, knocking into the dummy. The zombie and Camobeast both fell to the ground on top of each other, the cage crashing on top of Big Mama. She got up and roared at Jack, jumping towards him. Rover came in and knocked her back, breaking off the rest of the pipe. The two creatures snarled at each other before the Camobeast retreated. Jack looked in confusion at the dummy, May starting up the car. June narrowed her eyes.
"Punch it."
May did so, though Jack looked panicked about the car heading right towards him. "Girls?" She got even closer to him. "Girls?!" He held the dummy in front of him, but May stopped at the last second to let the cage fly off and trap the zombie inside. The zombie took the dummy. "Oh, wow! Nice work, guys!"
Rover came back to Jack with the Camobeast's tail in his mouth, dropping it next to Jack. "Mission accomplished, Rover!" He then realized what Rover came back with. "Oh, wait, not the tail. Buddy!" The tail disintegrated and he sighed. "No essence."
"Wait, what?" May asked in alarm while they got out of the car as he said that out loud for them to hear.
"You were working on the bestiary?!" Quint demanded angrily as the four didn't look pleased at all.
"You were supposed to be here on the stakeout with snacks!" June gritted her teeth at him.
"Thanks a lot for making me starve the whole day over something you weren't supposed to focus on!" May threw up her hands in anger.
"Oh! Wait, wait, wait, wait! Here!" He held up the peanuts. "Munchies?" He offered them with a smile. Dirk took one and examined it.
"Whoa!" He laughed while looking at the package. "They're heavily salted and complimentary! Score!" He chowed them down but then spit them out. "They're stale!" He cried in dismay, holding his stomach. "I'm sorry, Hurley..."
"What? I bet they can still taste great," Jack walked up to May, who immediately backed up. "May, come on, try one. It's probably not that bad."
"No wait Jack, I can't eat th-" He shoved a whole handful into her mouth.
"See?" He gestured to her as May started sweating and then coughed. Her lips started to swell a lot and she fell to the ground. "Wait, what's happening?"
"Ugh, Jack, didn't you know?!" June gestured to the girl as they surrounded her.
"May is severely allergic to all kinds of nuts! As in, she can't eat peanuts," Quint held up a pack of them while bending down to her.
"Yeah, she told you over the walkie," Dirk narrowed his eyes.
"Ohh...I'm so sorry! You see, I wasn't listening because I kind of had two tasks today," He told them nervously.
"Then you messed up both of 'em!" Dirk shouted as May's breathing started to slow down.
"And we are still hungry, Jack!" The three exclaimed in unison since May couldn't speak. The zombie chomped on the fake head.
"Okay, so no essence and no food. But we, I-I mean you caught the zombie! Good job, guys! Go team! High five!" However, none of them did so because they were still mad at him. "No high five? Okay. Head butt?"
"...It was hand butt, Jack," Quint stated and Dirk demonstrated for him. "And you had to be there. Come on, we gotta get May home before she gets worse." He held May's shoulders as she started convulsing. "May-May, do you have your allergy medicine?" Quint tried not to look panicked as he asked the question. She coughed violently while gasping sharply, and she started shaking. She shook her head frantically. "Where is it?"
She wheezed, gesturing with her hands, but they didn't make sense to any of them. "T-T...Tree! T-Tree!" She was able to say.
"I know where it is! Here, help her up! Help her up!"
Dirk and June pulled her up immediately. "We won't be able to make it by car in time the way that she looks," June said in worry.
"No," Quint held up her on his back piggy back style, surprising the others. "But I will if I run!" He rushed off immediately, despite their protests.
"Quint, wait!"
"Dude! It's miles away!" Dirk called out, but Quint didn't listen as he ran as fast as he could. June and Dirk gave Jack glares.
"I just tried to do both, guys!" Jack protested as the other two walked away. "I was doing both! For you!" Jack groaned, pulling out a bag of peanuts. "Well, maybe the day wasn't a total loss after all," He was about to eat one when Rover ate the whole bag, spitting it out as he didn't like the stale taste either. "Aw! Ohh..." He complained as he walked off. Bardle looked on from the shadows of the plane, narrowing his eyes. He then disappeared, the zombie with the umbrella still floating around.
Quint panted as May's eyes were closed, her breathing almost non-existent. He glanced at her and narrowed his eyes in determination. All she could feel was his body flooring it. She hadn't had an allergic reaction in months, and for some reason...Quint made it feel like surviving was possible. She tried to ignore her chest fighting against her, trying to ignore the dizziness. She could barely hear Quint speaking to her.
"Just breathe...just breathe for me, May. We're almost there."
She lost consciousness as the dizziness, coughing, and swelling was overwhelming her. By the time she woke up, she was still experiencing the reaction. But this time she realized she was laying down on a table, looking up at a ceiling. She knew she was in the treehouse, but she didn't feel Quint's body anymore. He leaned over her with her EpiPen in his hand. She reached out for it, but he gently pushed them away. He flipped off the cap and prepared to use it on her.
His face was inches away from hers as she saw him remove the safety release from her EpiPen. He lifted up one of her pant legs with the EpiPen in his mouth and then jammed it into her thigh. He waited three seconds as he glanced over to her, a wave of relief flying over her. Quint waited until her breathing went back to normal, her lips still a little swelled. He removed the EpiPen and then used a wet cloth over the area he jammed the EpiPen in.
"There you go..." He spoke softly as the pain slowly stopped. He was patient, waiting until she was fully back to normal and he dropped his hand.
"T-Thank...thank you," May told him, still struggling a bit to speak because of her lips.
He nodded at her and she took a moment to exhale before slowly sitting up. May realized that she was in Quint's lab, and she looked over to all of his things from the table knocked over. He cleared his throat, getting her attention. "Better?"
"Huh?"
"Are you feeling better now?"
"Oh," She realized what he was saying. "Y-Yes. Thank you. I'll be okay." She rubbed her arm as she never let anyone let see her like this before...at school she always made her own lunches since her pantry mostly consisted of things without nuts in them. "Quint?"
"Yeah?" He asked while making sure the EpiPen was okay to use the next time.
"How did you know I have an EpiPen?" His eyes widened at her as he bit his lip. "I never told you where to find it. I passed out on the way back."
"I, uh...I-I saw a glimpse of it...one day at school. When we had that surprise math quiz, I saw a sneak peek of it while you were closing your backpack," He answered meekly, grabbing a cloth and putting it over her forehead. "S-Sorry."
"It's okay," She smiled a little at him. "If you hadn't known, you wouldn't have been able to use it."
He smiled back at her and then sighed. She could tell in his eyes that he was really worried for her. "Why didn't you have it with you?"
"To be fair, I didn't think I'd have to eat peanuts if I wrote for me not to have them," She pointed out to him. "But...yeah, I guess you're right. Sorry I made you worry." He hung his head a bit in agreement, standing up. "Um...could you stay with me until I fall asleep in my room?"
He looked at her in shock and then nodded with a small smile.
As she laid in bed, Quint gently wiped at her forehead with the cloth. "And you're sure you're okay? You scared everyone."
"I'll be fine thanks to you," She told him gratefully. "I just need some rest to relax my body from the effects."
"Well, I'll do a check-up in the morning, just to be safe...May?"
She yawned a bit, her eyes half closed. "Yeah?"
"...What are your parents like?" He asked hesitantly, waving his hands. "N-Not that you don't have to tell me, but...you didn't seem to miss them at all earlier. And...and it's a little concerning. I don't know what you went through at home, but if you wanna...get it off your chest-" He glanced down at May as she had fallen fast asleep. He gave a small smile as he saw her at peace, standing up and leaving her room with the cloth.
The others finally made it to the treehouse as they ran over to him. "Is she okay?"
"Is it bad?"
"Did I kill May?!" Jack held his head in a panic.
"She's fine. I administered the EpiPen before it got worse," He told them and they looked relieved. "But she's sleeping now, she should be fine by morning."
He walked off and they stared after him. "You okay?" June wondered as he let out a long sigh.
"Yeah," Quint gave a weak smile; now he knew how Jack felt when he almost got eaten by zombies. "Yeah, I'm fine."