"Under the Zombie Moon"
Okay, well. I spent one whole week squealing with joy every time the AGU movie commercial came on. I watched it with my dear, dear friend Lakie [CrazyLake42] and I watched it together. Throughout the 'Interview with a Campfire' movie, we were talking, laughing, screaming, and pigging out on food. I even threw my cupcake at the screen when they cut to a commercial when Chuckie was falling off the cliff. Lake screamed, "Cliff hanger! How dare they!" So I replied, "Hehe...cliffy...he's hanging on a cliff..." Yes. I am retarded :)
Anyway, I must say I'm pleased with the movie, it was definitely cool. All in all though, I was disappointed with the length of the movie. 1 hour was not the proper amount of time. The movie was rushed, and could have been way cooler if it had been longer.
Therefore, I and Lake both decided we would add alternate endings. They'll be different, rest assured.
My fiction starts directly after the adults go missing, and Lake has opted to start before. So, without further ado, READ MY FIC! BWAHAHA!
And, after you read mine, go read Lakie's! Now! What are you waiting for?!
Disclaimer: I do not own Rugrats, All Grown Up, 'Interview with a Campfire', or anything affiliated with it. I own a half-eaten cupcake, and another smashed cupcake spread all over my television from throwing it at it.
I'm sorry, but I've only seen the movie once, so the quotes will not be direct. After all, it's my version :)
By the way, I just wanted to let you all know...me and Lake started writing our fics as soon as the movie ended. We decided to post together though, and I needed to finish this chapter, so we decided to post today instead of last night. :)
...
Phil whipped his head around, "Uh, g-guys?" His voice started to crack, distorted with worry, "Where's the grown ups?"
Tommy lowered his video camera, slowly gazing around the area. "They're..."
Chuckie crossed his fingers, chanting quietly, "Don't say gone...don't say gone...don't say gone."
"Now, there's nothing to worry about." Lil replied calmly, trying to sound optimistic. Her voice wavered, but she continued, "They probably went back to the play."
"Yeah, yeah." Phil nodded his head in agreement, clearly not wanting to address the problem as serious.
"Or maybe," Dil started in an eerie voice, "The zombie settlers got them." He waved his fingers in the air for effect.
Tommy glared at him, obviously not in the mood for joking around. Chuckie, however, took a shaky breath, "Tommy, what if...what if the settlers come after us too?" He paused for a few moments, and stomped his foot, "I never even got to know what I was good at!"
"Chill!" Tommy exclaimed, "We're going to be fine! Just don't panic, okay? Dil, no more creepy stories! Chuckie, no more freaking out! Everyone just stay calm." Tommy gazed around at the group, "Beans, you know your way around here, don't you?"
Beans seemed to ponder this question, scuffing a bit of dust up off the ground with the tops of his shoes. "Yeah, I guess. You know, it's pretty easy to get lost around here though." He added, with a gleam in his eye.
"See? We're going to be okay. There's nothing to worry about." Tommy raised his camera into the air, "So, which way back to camp?"
"Well..." Beans perused the area quickly, his eyes darting around. "This way. "He pointed to the left, allowing the others to walk ahead of him.
The full moon shone eerily, lighting up their path, and making the grass dance with shadows. A light breeze whisked through the chilly air, rustling the wind branches and leaves. An owl fluttered overhead, uttering an omniscient hoot.
Stumbling over branches and stumps, they finally made their way to a clearing, surrounded by heavily foliage and dense brush. The bright moon was high above the clearing, the light gray and white clouds swirling around it. Fog was beginning to develop around the area, making the nightmarish surroundings even more picturesque.
Beans stared up into the bright sky, the pale sphere illuminating his freckled face. The soft wind blew a lock of his hair slightly, but he didn't seem to notice.
"Beans? Dude?" Dil stood behind him, snapping his finger slightly, "You okay?"
From somewhere in the distance, a lone wolf howl pierced through the cool night air. Chuckie wavered slightly, and Lil let out a soft whimper. She moved cautiously closer to Phil, hoping that he was braver than she was. Sure, she enjoyed a horror movie every now and then, but she did not want to be in one.
Phil started to shiver slightly, but noticed that Lil was already shaking. He bit his lip, trying to act brave. He didn't want Lil too know he was scared as well.
"Beans?" Dil asked again, quieter. The taller boy was still staring into the sky, transfixed by the milky disc suspended above the stars. The fog was blocking out much of the midnight blue sky, except where the moon glowed. The area around the swirls of pasty white was completely clear of any fog or mist, sending a beam of yellowish light streaming onto the two boys.
Beans slowly turned his head around to face Dil, his face a ghostly white. His eyes shone fiery red, his pupils disappearing in the burning glow. He smiled a twisted grin, his face morphing into a laughing skull. His eyes blackened, crumbling into pieces that a breeze gently blew away. His teeth yellowed, decaying and falling out. His hair turned to dust, brown strands falling out in clumps that fluttered to the ground.
He reached out to Dil with a bony hand, segments of his fingers snapping off loudly. "Dil..." He breathed, the wind carrying the decaying and dead smell into Dil's nose, "Say goodbye..."
Dil stood there, transfixed by the skeleton advancing toward him. He couldn't think, couldn't move. His eyes were devoid of any emotion as he watched the decaying skeleton slowly reaching out. He felt his bony fingers and sharp, pointed nails digging in and closing around on his small neck. He felt the air being cut off, but before his last wisp of air left his throat, he let out a blood curling scream, dropping to his knees in an attempt to prevent himself from being suffocated. He choked, determined to catch his breathe, his face turning red. He closed his eyes, feeling the iron grip on his neck finally loosening.
"Dil!" He heard Tommy shouting, his footsteps pounding on the mossy forest floor.
"What's wrong with him?" He heard Lil yell, the wind carrying her voice across the clearing. She ran towards him, grabbing Phil's arm as she ran.
Dil was still on his knees, eyes closed, panting heavily. He shivered, rubbing his neck with his hands. He struggled to catch his breath, as he felt Tommy's arms left him up from his position.
"Dil, are you okay?" He heard Lil ask, her voice rising in worry. She pulled her settler costume closer to her skin, the air was becoming colder.
"He-He..." Dil stumbled as Tommy and Chuckie helped him to stand up, "He..." He stuttered, and then pointed an accusing shaky finger at Beans, "You...you..."
Dil paused, gulping in a huge rush of the cool, crisp air. Beans' eyes had returned to their normal blue, his hair brown, his skin and clothes were still intact. He looked...normal.
"Beans what?" Tommy asked, noticing the silence and panic on his younger brother's face, "What did you do to him?" He thrust a finger into Beans' face, a look of sternness etched into his features.
"Whoah, calm down." Beans' face paled, his eyes widened, "I didn't do anything! I was just looking into the sky, and I turned around and Dil was choking himself!"
"That's stupid! Why would he do that?" Lil asked, putting a reassuring hand on Dil's shaky back.
"Dil, what really happened?" Chuckie pried, after Beans had once again denied doing anything to Dil.
"I d-don't know, I was just calling his name. He was staring at the moon, you know. I dunno, all of a sudden he turned around and looked at me...his eyes were red, he looked like a ghost..." Dil struggled to remember, "He...he turned into a skeleton, Tommy! He did! His hair and his eyes fell out! He started reaching for me, but I couldn't move! He started choking me!" He looked around at all the disbelieving faces, "You believe me, don't you T?" His face turned sullen, and he rubbed his arm where goose bumps were beginning to form.
"Dil, this cold is really getting too you. We need to get back to camp, pronto. "Tommy advised, turning his camera back on. He aimed it at the glowing moon, the fog starting to dissipate.
"No, T! We've got to get out of here!" Dil whispered quietly, "Beans is going to kill us!""Dil, it was your imagination!" Tommy exclaimed, "Beans did not try to kill you! He did not turn into a skeleton!"
Dil shrugged his shoulders, and sighed heavily. Maybe he had imagined it all.
"Yeah, man." Phil spoke up, "It's getting scary out here. We need to get back to camp!"
An eerie silence filled the chilly night air after Phil had spoken. Beans pursed his lips, and looked upward once again. He studied the area around them, peering to see through the dense fog that was settling.
"We should be close." He told them with surety in his voice, "Not too much farther." With one last look at the sky, he started to make his way towards the forest.
Dil lagged behind, trying to keep his distance from Beans. How could he have imagined that? 'It seemed so real...maybe the cold really is getting to me.'
After a few minutes of trekking through the brush, Beans stopped suddenly. He looked around, grey swirls of mist blocking his sight.
"Don't tell me..." Chuckie shivered, "We're lost, aren't we?" He stepped backwards, running into a tree.
"Nah...We just, you know, don't know where we are." Beans reported quietly, closing his eyes and breathing in the cool air.
"I knew it! We're lost! Doomed!" Chuckie yelled, hugging the tree dramatically.
The sound of footsteps came from the stretch of forest to the left of them, light at first, but growing louder with each step.
"Wha...what was that?" Lil shrieked, grabbing onto Phil's elbow. Her eyes widened in fear. 'This is not happening, this is not happening...'
Thump. Thump. Thump.
"It's getting closer!" Dil shouted, his voice rising an octave. Lil started crying, as Chuckie panicked.
"Stay calm guys!" Tommy's advisement lay on death ears, a startlingly chilly breeze carrying his voice into the woods.
The gang stayed as quiet as they could, Lil sniffing a few times unintentionally. The sound of the footsteps echoing through the shadowed brush had been silenced, and no more sounds could be heard.
Still, they kept quiet, gathered in a small circle together. The wind whistled through a branch of a nearby tree, calling out to the sky. The same owl that had hooted its warning earlier let out another cry, warning them not to venture further.
"I think it's gone." Beans replied finally, after a few long minutes had passed since the thumps of someone's feet had quieted. Life instantly came back into the group, Chuckie sighing deeply, and Lil letting out a long whimper.
"What was it?" Phil asked solemnly, letting go of his sister's shaking hand. He peered cautiously out into the heavy fog, waiting for something to pounce out at them.
"What if it was one of those Zombies after our brains?" Chuckie breathed loudly, his eyes widening with every word he spoke, "They'll go after Dil first, he's the smartest!"
"Well, at least Phil has nothing to worry about." Tommy replied half- heartedly. He let out a nervous laugh, and adjusted the eye piece on his camera.
"It was probably a deer or a rabbit or something. Maybe a bear. There are lots of animals around here." Beans answered calmly, reassuring the group.
"Yeah, yeah." Phil nodded his head, "Just an animal. See, Lil? We're okay."
"I...I know." Lil replied crossly, pulling her arm away from his, "I wasn't scared."
Tommy sighed daftly, his camera falling to his side. "Okay, we need to remain calm. We still have plenty of time to find our way back to camp; it's only 9:30." He reported, glancing at his National Geographic watch he had gotten free in a magazine.
"Wow, it gets dark out here fast." Lil stated, letting her eyes slide upward to stare at the full moon. It seemed almost hypnotizing, suspended in the darkened sky surrounded by the milky clouds. She shook her head, dropping her gaze back down to the forest floor. 'There was something weird going on around here...' She couldn't help but sneak a glance at Beans. For a weird guy, he was pretty cute. He caught her glance, and waved slightly. She giggled unintentionally and waved back, attaching a smile to her face.
"So, which way now?" Tommy asked, holding his camera back up to his eye. The fog was making the atmosphere seem even more horrific, although blocking the picture albeit from view. 'Well, I wanted to make a good horror movie. I guess I got my wish.'
"Uh..." Beans surveyed the thick brush, and waved his arms around to slice through the fog, "I have no idea." He admitted, shaking his head.
"We're lost." Lil declared, her mind spinning, "We're actually lost."
"What if we never see our parents again?" Chuckie asked quietly, "What if I never see Kimi again?" His face morphed into a mask of worry and doubt, "We're never going to make it out of here."
Tommy lowered his camera once again; the fear of never making it out of the forest alive was finally surfacing. He stared at his camera...the last remaining evidence that could be found if they disappeared. He remembered back at Pioneer rock, where he had instructed Chuckie to break it. He was now very glad he had not...he wanted his parents to see what had happened to him the last few minutes of his life.
However, he refused to lose his cool. He put a smile back on his face, and began his happy façade all over again. "Nothing bad is going to happen." He assured Chuckie and Lil, putting a hand on Lil's arm. "We'll find our way out of here."
"I think we should go...that way." Dil replied, spinning around in a circle with his eyes closed, and pointing in a direction.
"Why?" Phil asked, raising his eyebrow questionably.
Dil paused for a moment, "I dunno." He replied, scuffing the ground with his shoe, "But what other choice do we have?" he thought for a second, "Besides the other way..."
Chuckie shrugged, "I guess we have nothing to lose...except our brains!" he waved his arms in the air dramatically, almost tripping over a stray root sticking out of the mossy forest floor.
As the clouds moved farther away from the moon, the fog settled in more thinly, spreading amongst the wooded forest. They made their way through the thick forest brush, tripping over roots and stray plants, brushing aside twigs and branches, and stumbling over tree trunks and stumps.
Phil let out a scream as he went crashing to the ground, his foot twisted into a large root from a nearby tree. He lay sprawled painfully on the ground, and instantly sat up, clutching his still entwined ankle.
He moaned, "Man, it hurts!" He tried uneventfully to twist it from the root, but the pain of his ankle forced him to grab his foot once again.
Lil sat down beside him, taking his hand away from his ankle. "It's okay Phil, stop squirming!" She shouted, grabbing his hands again as he reached for his ankle.
"Lil, it hurts!" He moaned, "It's bleeding!" He took a wavering breathe, and touched his ankle gently. When Lil pulled his hand away, it was covered in red, sticky blood.
"Tommy, get his ankle out! The root is covered in thorns; they're digging into his ankle!" Lil shouted, wiping Phil's bloody hands onto the grass.
"Uh..." Tommy surveyed Phil's bloody foot, trying to detach the root without touching the thorns, "Okay Phil, you have to sit still."
Chuckie leaned against a bent tree, trying not to look at Phil's ankle. Blood made him queasy, and from what little he had seen, there was plenty enough of it to make him sick. Dil watched from a distance, not wanting to interfere.
"Beans, can you help me? It's really twisted." Tommy asked, his finger coming dangerously close to a thorn.
"It's okay Phil." Lil assured her brother, "Does it hurt really badly?"
"Yes!" Phil shouted, gritting his teeth in pain as Tommy tried to remove one of the thorns. "What if I can walk, Lil?" His eyes widened, "I'll be stuck out here! The zombies will eat me!"
"No they won't Phil! And if you can't walk...erg, I'll help you! It's going to be okay!" Lil told him sternly, holding his hand tightly while Tommy and Beans worked on the root that was twisted tightly into his ankle.
Beans surveyed the bloody mess of Phil's foot. The thick root was wrapped around it, the sharp thorns cutting into the soft flesh of his ankle. Blood was splattered around the ground and the root, and even more of the sticky crimson substance was leaking out of the various cuts all over his foot.
"Hmmm..."Beans sat down beside Tommy, "I can get it out, but it's going to be really painful."
"Better..." Phil paused to take a shaky breath, "Better then it is right now..." He squeezed Lil's hand, tears starting to well up in his eyes. The pain was fierce, it burned and stung, but he forced the tears down.
"Okay then." Beans shrugged, getting into a more comfortable position. He put his hand on the backside of one the bigger thorns, which was as big as his thumbnail. He thrust it inward, and twisted it out of Phil's skin. He paused to listen to Phil's piercing scream echo through the woods, a group of screeching bats taking flight overhead of them. Beans smiled lightly, grabbing hold of another large thorn, thrusting, and twisting it outward again.
Phil screamed louder this time, his voice turning horse as he panted heavily, squeezing Lil's hand so hard she thought it would burst.
"Stop! You're hurting him!" Lil shouted, hugging her crying brother tightly.
"Do you want the thorns out, or not?" Beans asked grimly, throwing the two discarded thorns aside. The flashlight Tommy was holding up showed that more and more blood was pouring out of the wounds.
Lil soberly nodded her head, wiping away a few stray tears falling from Phil's eyes that he tried to hide. Chuckie and Dil came over, Chuckie awkwardly patting Phil on the shoulder, trying to look away from the thorns tearing into his skin. Dil walked over to Tommy, examining the wounds, which looked pretty serious.
"Here it goes." Beans announced quietly. Phil closed his eyes, squeezing Lil's hand once again. Beans gripped the thorned root tightly, thrusting it into Phil's flesh again. He seemed to hold it for a few seconds, listening to Phil's moans of pain. Finally he twisted it slowly out, sending a stream of blood spilling onto the ground. Phil's scream sent another smile too his face, which was quickly covered with his usual blank stare. He stood up, throwing the root behind him.
Lil was panicking, shouting, "He's losing blood! We need to put something on his foot!" Chuckie was standing back over at the tree, looking albeit queasy. Tommy was setting his camera down on the ground, telling Dil to watch it and make sure no one knocked it over.
"Lil..." Her brother started, clutching the ground tightly, tearing pieces of grass off, "I'm dizzy...I...I don't feel good..."
"Guys, we need to put something on his foot to stop the blood from coming out!" Tommy yelled, putting his hands on Lil's shoulder to calm her down. "Lil, let's use your cap, we can tie it over Phil's foot." He instructed, as Lil tore off her settlers cap.
She leaned towards Phil's foot, taken aback at how much blood was pooling around his foot, and how much was still pouring out of the many wounds allotted around his foot and ankle.
"Tommy, you do it." Lil commanded, holding the cloth out for him. She knelt back down by Phil, squeezing his hand once more.
"Lil, don't...don't mess with it!" Phil told her weakly, "It hurts real bad..."
"We have to make the bleeding stop, you idiot!" Lil yelled at him, but squeezed his hand harder.
"Okay, this is going to sting a little..." Tommy warned him, putting the cloth against his foot, and wrapping it around, tying it under, and folding it over. Phil emitted a slight groan, flinching a bit, but no more screaming. It was covered good enough that it would stop the bleeding for about an hour...'Hopefully enough time to get us out of here.'
He checked his watch again. '9:52'. Time to take charge again.
"Okay, Lil, can you pick up Phil by yourself?" Tommy asked, wiping the blood on his hands onto the ground. He picked up his camera again, filming the blood covered spot. "Mom, dad...in case you're watching this, this isn't where we died. Just so you know."
Lil groaned, pulling Phil so he was standing up. However, as soon as he was upright, the pain in his foot and the pounding in his head intensified. He dropped to his knees, vomiting and gagging.
Tommy faced the camera away from him, but the sounds of Phil throwing up were still audible in the background. Quietly, he added, "Well, this might be where you find one skeleton." He made sure Lil hadn't heard him, hurrying back over to the other 5.
"Okay, let's try this again." Lil said, lifting him up on his right foot, and letting his injured side lean against her. She took a step, as he hoped with one foot. He groaned, but nothing else happened.
"Alright, slow down the pace now." Tommy instructed the rest of them, "Let's get moving."
The moon rose higher in the sky, brightening everything, creating shadows so tall they looked like ferocious monsters about to attack. The fog was slowly starting to dissipate in some areas, and thicken in others, creating ghostly swirls of grey that floated through the air, blocking some of the paths.
Chuckie was shaking with fear, biting his nails subconsciously. He was in between Beans, who was leading the way, and Tommy. He kept hearing fluttering noises, but Tommy assured him it was just birds.
Suddenly, he heard a rustling noise to his right. He screamed, grabbing a hold of Tommy's arm and pointing shaking at the bush. Yellow eyes suddenly peered out at him.
His first instinct was to run. Fast. Unfortunately, the inner primate in him decided it would be safer to climb a tree.
A few minutes after they had discovered the eyes and rustling was only a frightened deer, Chuckie decided to climb down.
"Well, tree climbing is something you're good at!" Tommy cheerfully told him, trying to uplift the mood.
"Yeah, well..." Chuckie began, climbing back down the tree. He felt a foot hole, and stuck his foot in, and then his hand. Suddenly, he fell, but not before grabbing whatever had been in the tree hole. He fell, luckily, into a flower bush.
He held up the bookish object that he had pulled out. The cover was a faded red, the pages were yellowing and stained black from ink. He struggled to read the flowery writing on the cover.
"It says... Debra-Mae Lou, The last Surviving Member of the Everwood Settlers. 1872." Lil read quietly, staring at the book, "It's...a journal."
....
Wow. That took my two days to write, and I've seen the movie twice by now.
I made Lakie wait long enough to post hers, so sorry if this chapter totally sucks. I C-A-L-Q-Late this fic should be about...5, maybe 6 chapters. That is, if I write the whole fic in one chapter, which I almost did, lol.
I think the movie still rocked, even though it was short...I have it taped [I did it this time Lakie! Go me!], and I'm watching it again with Lake on Sunday. If you haven't watched it yet, then...well, what the heck are you reading this for? Go watch it!
...Then go read Lakie's fic, 'cause hers rocks too!
Don't forget to reply! I didn't write a 4, 200 word fic just for you to stare at it like a zombie! Get to it! And don't forget to reply to Lakie's too!
The next chapter should be up by tomorrow or Monday, after the movie. Love you all! [You too Lake!]