The bestiary sat on the table, but then went through various outings, opens, and essence building. "Today, I will be complete," Jack spoke as the pages were flipped. "And once the final monster's essence is absorbed into my pages, I will become a powerful talisman to protect this world! Also, Jack has amazing hair."
"Dude," Dirk spoke up as the book closed, walking up to Jack. "Are you doing voices for the book?"
"Uh, what?!" Jack shook his head rapidly. "No!"
Dirk just laughed at him. "That's not even what books sound like."
"I-I wasn't! I didn't!" Jack tried denying it. "You were doing voices!"
"Smooth comeback," Dirk retorted knowingly and Jack smiled down at the book, deciding to ignore that comment.
"Last monster!" He grabbed the book, walking into the middle of the treehouse. "And hopefully this is the one responsible for the shrieking and the missing zombies," He kicked the door open.
"Don't forget the brain sucking," May clicked her teeth while pointing at him. After finding out her past, things went back to normal between her and the group. And she and June had grown much closer than before, only having minor spats rather than intense fights.
"Yeah!"
"Whoo hoo!"
"Talkin' books!"
All of them stepped out, ready to find the last monster. Quint stopped May by touching her shoulder and she looked over to him. "Um...May, are you alright? I know that visiting your place was a lot, and...well, I-I just wanna make sure you're feeling okay."
She smiled softly at his concern. "It's a little...emotional still thinking about it sometimes. But I'm fine. Thanks, Quint."
"...Is it weird...feeling that you don't have to keep up expectations for him anymore?" He wondered and then flinched. "I'm sorry, I take that back if that's too much for you."
"It's fine to ask me that question," She assured him. "But..." She rubbed her arm as she thought about it. "It actually feels...like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. Especially since I don't need to excel in everything I do just for the sake of...family," She looked reluctant to use that word to describe her father.
"You know, I'm sure that if we weren't in the apocalypse right now, you would've had the courage to tell your mom. And maybe one day you still can," He encouraged her.
"Oh, yeah? How do you know that?" May rubbed the back of her neck. She kept that part of her life hidden for as long as she could remember. It was all about keeping up positive appearances, so that no one ever knew the truth. She wasn't sure if she would've even said anything ever...it was a prison that she didn't have the strength to break out of. And her father's last words before she ran away had said it all...
"Because you're stronger than you give yourself credit for! After all, you made the right decision to make sure you survived," He smiled happily and walked off, leaving her surprised. She blushed, brushing away a bang bashfully as she stared at him. It was like he made her feel like a real person whenever he was nearby.
The five took off running as they charged at the last monster. It was a large one with a bunch of tentacles, teeth, and eyeballs. The monster roared and using a tentacle, knocked Jack into a burger joint. The others tried to attack next, but all of them got knocked away by the tentacles. June landed on the floor, Quint landed on Big Mama, Dirk landed in a pile of trash, and May landed in a tree.
"Saving the most ferocious creature for last may have been a miscalculation!" Quint cried out as the beast stepped backwards onto the road. He jumped up from a tentacle, jumping off the car as it attacked him. May stood in front of the car, holding up her shovel claws for the beast to wrap around it. Quint looked up in shock at the girl gritted her teeth, planting down her feet hard as it tried to pull her forward. He ran forward and hugged her waist from behind, pulling her back as she grunted while pulling.
"How are we even supposed to get its essence when we can't even touch it?" She called out as she slid forward a little, therefore so did Quint.
"It's the last page of the bestiary," Jack popped up from the burger joint. "You need that big grand finale! It's like fireworks-" He screamed and ducked as he was attacked next.
"Fireworks don't usually end with people dying," June called out, grabbing her spear and deflecting a tentacle. She ran towards May and Quint and kicked the tentacle off the shovel claws.
"You've never been to my Uncle Beau's Fourth of July Spectacular!" Dirk held onto a tentacle, and the front of it opened it to reveal a blue orb inside, along with a mouth.
"There! The glowing goo pods inside each tentacle tip," June eyed it and Jack came out of the burger place.
"That's the essence. We need one of those!" Jack looked at the page in the bestiary and then looked back up at the monster. It flung Dirk around before tossing him away. "I got it! The perfect move!" He smirked and grabbed his slicer. He jumped forward, narrowing his eyes. "As taught to me by Thrull!"
May looked annoyed at hearing his name. Jack slid past the tentacles, getting some burn from the ground. "Rising Anguish!" He performed it so hard that the glowing orb slid out of the tentacle. Jack landed safely, with the orb landing on his hand...or so it seemed as it slipped, but he caught it. The monster then retreated, roaring at them one last time before slithering off. The others then joined him.
"My favorite part—standing in a cool pose and gloating," June smirked as they all struck heroic poses. Jack took out the bestiary, planted it down, and flipped through the pages. It was like he could hear music, the others walking up behind him.
"Geez, windy out. I'll block it," Dirk stood next to Jack, a leaf flying to his eye. He turned to Dirk in slight annoyance, looking back down at the book.
"Here goes...the last page! The final bit of monster essence." He planted it and the essence was absorbed into the book. And then nothing, which felt a bit disappointing to all of them. "Ohh." They stared at the book, but nothing else happened.
"Well, if nothing's gonna happen, I gotta go feed Alfred," Dirk jerked a thumb behind him. They all stared at him in confusion. "What? I've gotten to like the little dude," He rubbed the back of his neck. A hum was heard and they looked to the neon signs from the diner next to them. Then the lights from Big Mama flickered before breaking.
"Uhh, guys?" Dirk wondered and they looked back to the last page, which blew for a bit. Then a bunch of blue wind came from the book, floating above them as they looked in awe. The book then started giving off blue lightning before closing and landing a few feet away. They ran up to it. "That's a cool book! And I don't even like books."
"Guys, we completed our quest!" Jack exclaimed happily to them. "Together!"
"Whoo!"
"Yeah!"
"Alright!"
"Feat complete. Filled the bestiary!" Jack said as he high-fived June.
"I still say my bestiary would have worked, but whatever," Quint grumbled while crossing his arms.
"Relax, it's nothing personal," May placed a hand on his shoulder with a small smile. "Your bestiary hasn't been entirely forgotten," She winked and he smiled at her assurance.
"Time for a new quest," June spoke up in determination. "...Dance quest!"
Dirk turned up the music from Big Mama, putting on sunglasses. Jack removed the tape from the bottom of his sneakers, Quint also putting on sunglasses. May removed her hair from her braid with a small smile as they all sat on Big Mama. They started dancing to celebrate their victory, Quint and May shimming together. He took her hands and they spun around, the girl giggling happily. One by one, they showed off their moves.
"Stage dive!" Jack cried out, landing on the floor roughly. "Ow!" He groaned in pain, rubbing his back. "I don't know what I was expecting."
June picked up the bestiary as she joined him. "Wait a minute," She helped him up while the others continued dancing. "Jack, this wasn't just about completing the bestiary. It was supposed to be about tracking down whatever monster's been sucking zombie brains."
"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, partly, sort of," He shrugged, a big grin on his face.
"Well, we've found every creature in the book but nothing to show us which one, if any of them are making the shrieking or messing with zombies-"
A growl interrupted her and they all looked up to see that the tentacle monster they defeated...had brought friends. "Okay, this may not be the safest place to chat," Jack stated as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go deliver this to Thrull."
"But..." June looked hesitant, as did May. They all got into Big Mama quickly.
"And we can ask Thrull if he knows anything about the missing zombies," Jack said rapidly and after May put on her seatbelt, she crossed her arms, looking displeased. She looked to Dirk still dancing and grunted.
"I don't like this..."
"I'm sure it'll be fine," Quint tried to assure her. Jack drove off, the monsters following them but not getting very far.
They reached Joe's Pizza and entered, Jack looking confident. The others monster saw them and started talking. "Sorry, guys, can't talk right now," Jack said while high-fiving one. "Big hero business." They reached Thrull at the cool kids table, where he was sitting alone playing a game. "Thrull," He called out, the monster looking up as he lost. "I've got big news!"
"And a big question," June narrowed her eyes.
"First, we just tangled with a Dementicle. Kicked its butt, retrieved its essence and lived to tell you the tale," Jack smiled as he joined the monster, June sliding in next to him with a glare.
"Most impressive," He placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.
"But wait, there's more." The door opened and June turned...to see Bardle walk in. He looked around and then stepped inside. She took the bestiary from Jack before he could tell Thrull. "Wha-" She pulled him, hitting him on the chin with the table before they hid. "Ouch..."
"You can't hand over the bestiary now," She whispered to him.
"Why not? Thrull's gonna be so psyched!" He took the book from her. "I'm so close to being a permanent resident of the cool table..." He looked at June, who didn't look as enthusiastic. Quint suddenly popped up.
"Are you guys talking about tonight's movie pick? It's Tuesday, so it must be a sci-fi feature from between 1993 and '96."
"I was thinking we could go all out. Get all the snacks, make a fort, wear comfy pajamas," May suggested to them. "But why are we talking about this underneath the table?"
Dirk chewed on some popcorn. "If I get mozzarella sticks, will anyone else have some?" Dirk whispered between mouthfuls.
"Jack, just trust me," June insisted to Jack, ignoring the three. "You can't hand over the bestiary now." Jack looked past her as Bardle approached the table, standing in front of it. All of them popped up one by one, worried looks on their faces...aside from Dirk as he had to squeeze himself out.
"Hello, Human June," Bardle spoke up thinly. "It has been three moons since our last encounter," He sat across from her. She narrowed her eyes, still suspicious as she remembered seeing all those pictures. "I trust you have kept...safe, since then?"
"Yeah, that's not creepy," She pointed at him, darting her eyes around.
"Bardle, the young ones say they have something to share," Thrull turned to them, May narrowing her eyes as she was still being careful around him like June was with Bardle.
"Yeah, it's our-"
June elbowed Jack before he could finish. "Research journal," She held up it with a nervous smile.
"Uh."
"Huh?" The four looked at her in confusion.
"What are you researching?" Bardle wondered after a few seconds.
"The...uh, missing zombies." He just glared silently at her after she mentioned that. "And the zombies that have holes where their brains should be."
"I just realized!" Quint exclaimed with wide eyes. "The zombies began disappearing right when you guys showed up."
"That's right, Quint. Weird, huh?" June glared at Bardle.
"Yeah. Makes you wonder what's out there," May kept her glare on Thrull, arms crossed.
"Before you guys moved in, there were zombies everywhere," June pointed out, Jack wincing at the girls. "But now, not so much." She raised a suspicious brow at Bardle, who looked really angry right about now.
"Hey, girls," Jack whispered to them. "Ex-nay on being all jerk-ay."
"Human June," Bardle spoke up carefully. "You think it's strange that the shrieking should occur after we arrive?" She gave a shocked look as the five glanced at each other. "A simple coincidence, I'm sure."
"Or the undead following the shrieking," Thrull added in.
"Bardle, Thrull, uh, we didn't mention the shrieking," Quint said slowly. "Or the zombies following it."
"Uh, no?"
"No," The five answered in unison, though that was a red flag now.
"No," Dirk said again.
"No...no, we must have misheard."
"Enough!" Thrull slammed down a fist. "The humans say some creature is eating the brains from the undead." Bardle walked off, however. "Come, Jack. Together we will slay this foul evil." They all stood up, Thrull tripping and falling onto a table. He roared as he struggled to get off. "It is my job to crush the servants of Rezzoch, but I am useless. Useless!" Bardle and another monster helped him up. May stared at him; even with his leg issue, she had seen him being able to at least help. If he was hunting down those servants, he would've most likely found out who was sucking zombie brains or known about it already. "Jack, you came with news. Please, I am in need of it."
Jack glanced at June, who shook her head no in a panic. May followed suit with her. "Quint, engage Emergency Escape Maneuver Nineteen," Jack whispered to him behind a menu.
"Oh, come on. Maneuver Nineteen was designed to escape an embarrassing school lunchroom incident, not tension filled dialogue with multi-dimensional monsters. Plus have you forgotten that May is right there?!"
"Do they think we can't see them?" Thrull questioned Bardle, who didn't answer as they continued staring.
"You owe me," Quint warned his friend, who nodded in agreement.
"Well?"
"Yes, Thrull," Jack tossed away the menu, facing the monsters again. "Great news! We have-" Quint jumped in front of him, pressing a button to make air flow in his pants. They then exploded to pieces.
"Oh, rats! My pants have shattered!" May let out a giggle, Quint grumbling in embarrassment. "Quickly, friends, to the spare pants room!" They ran off, Dirk remaining behind. He then realized the situation.
"Oh, uh, pants. Heh," He ran off after them, the monsters staring after them.
"Hmm, human pants are surprisingly combustible," Bardle commented as they thankfully didn't think too much of it.
An action figure was tossed into the air, Jack smacking it like a baseball bat. It went flying and he hit another one. He took out a figure from his backpack while they stood on the roof of a building. "The end of the world stinks!" He shouted while hitting another figure. "Uh, sorry," He turned around to his friends. "You know I didn't mean that."
"We all heard Bardle say the shrieking," June pointed out to everyone. "He brought it up. I told you he's involved. Like, he's behind this horror. Like, we're here. Here's all the horror. And then Bardle's like behind the horror."
"I still don't think Bardle's really guilty," May spoke up while sipping on a milkshake Quint got her. She blinked at the flavor in surprise, but shook it off for now. "If he supposedly is watching us and is behind this whole zombie disappearance thing, why would he kill a zombie to save you?"
"Maybe to deflect suspicion off of him. Plus you saw how he was acting!" June insisted to her and she sighed.
"I mean...that's something to look into, but we don't know what he's aiming at here. He wouldn't just outright say it to five teenagers. There's...there's just something about Bardle that just throws me off personally. Because it's all Thrull," She narrowed her eyes.
"Bardle or Thrull, I don't see what that has to do with the bestiary," Jack hit another figure, looking at Joe's Pizza in the distance. "W-Why can't we give it to Thrull? We can trust him. We can just wait for Bardle to take a nap, or something. He seems like he's, like 9,000 years old. He definitely naps."
"Dude, what's the rush?" Dirk raised a brow that Jack seemed insistent on handing over the bestiary, especially compared to everyone else.
"...Look, there's something I didn't tell you. The book has power."
"No duh," Dirk remarked in confusion. "We just saw it light up like a Christmas tree and do a triple back flip," He circled a finger.
"No, I mean, real power," Jack emphasized to the four. "And now that it's complete, it might be the one thing that can keep us safe...and stop Rezzoch the Ancient Destructor of Worlds from coming."
"What?!" Quint looked up in alarm as they were shocked to hear this.
"Bro!" Dirk turned to him in disbelief, Rover lifting up his head.
"Wait, how long did you know that?" May glared at Jack, balling up her fists. He rubbed his neck, smiling sheepishly as he stayed silent. "Jack..." She seethed at him angrily that he kept another secret, therefore screwing them over again. Quint ran up to his best friend.
"Why didn't you share this information previously?" He asked the question that everyone else wanted to know.
"I didn't wanna scare you guys," Jack informed and June grabbed an action figure from his backpack.
"Jack!" She threw it at him.
"Aw, come on! Ow!" He recoiled back in pain, stomping his foot. "Hey! That's a collectible!" He got another one thrown at him, this time by May. "And that's pointy!"
"Good!" May retorted as they looked pissed at him.
He sighed in defeat at them. "You were already so freaked out by the shrieking and the zombies," He shrugged a bit.
"Dude, you need to treat friends like friends, not like things you have to protect," June held up an action figure. "We are not collectibles!" May hummed in agreement, crossing her arms and nodding. "Is that why you went with him alone with the book once?"
"More like he was being a stubborn idiot, because he wanted to track down whatever was eating the zombie brains himself," May gestured to him and Jack winced a bit. The shrieking occurred again, the first time that had happened in a while. They looked around in alarm, the five alarmed and worried.
"The shrieking!" Quint exclaimed and they realized that they needed to head back.
"We gotta get home to walk the zombie!" June added in quickly.
"Bu-but the bestiary!" Jack protested to them. Getting the bestiary to Thrull was the best way to protect them, but now they were heading right towards danger.
"We can deal with that later. This is our chance," She tossed the figure into his hand. "Come on!"
"And then we'll deal with your impulsiveness another day," May glanced over her shoulder as she followed the others, glancing down at Quint. "Umm...but Quint, I really hope you get a new pair of pants on sooner than later."
"Oh!" He covered up his underwear with his hands, or at least attempted to, as he realized he still didn't have pants on. "Don't look!"
"Quint, really, it's fine," She tried to assure him, Jack tossing up the figure and hitting it again. He ran off, the figure landing on the ground as the shrieking occurred again.
Alfred was still in the cage, but was attempting to get out. They got out of Big Mama, rushing to the cage. Quint was about to let him out when Dirk stopped him. "Wait. You can't just release Alfred into the wild, h-his brains will get sucked."
"He's a research tool, Dirk," Quint told him gently. "The entire point is that we let him go."
"If we don't, we might never get a chance like this again," May added in as they felt a little bad since Dirk had grown...attached to Alfred, like a pet. Quint stepped up, but Dirk stood in front of the cage in protest. He shook his head no and May tried to get past him, but Dirk slapped it away. She sighed at him as Quint rubbed his chin.
"Idea!" He rushed off and then came back seconds later. "A helmet to protect Alfred's skull from sucking," He demonstrated a flashlight from the helmet. "A glove lets us get close, and this flashing light so we don't lose him."
"If we give him all of this, will you let us release him?" May asked Dirk gently.
"Okay, that's...better," Though Dirk still sounded concerned. "But you two almost share a mind, it's a little weird."
June elbowed him and he looked confused. She actually thought that Quint and May were adorable together, even if May didn't really know it at first. She and May sometimes teased each other about Jack and Quint. The two just glanced at each other, Quint smiling.
"That's because we're a team. Right May?"
"Right," She smiled back at him.
"Let's do it! Oh, wait, hold on," Jack ran off, opening the doors to the treehouse. He ran up to a box and put the bestiary inside. "There. Safe and sound," He closed it off.
They surrounded the cage, Jack sitting on top of it as Dirk, May, and Quint held a rope. The shrieking continued and Alfred reacted to it. He nodded to June, who returned it. She looked to the three, who also nodded. She flipped the lock on the cage and the three pulled the door open. As soon as Alfred stepped out, Jack carefully placed the helmet over him. He leaned too far forward and fell to the ground. They watched Alfred walk away from them. Rover picked up Jack with his mouth.
"Thanks, bud," He patted the monster on the head. "But you gotta stay here, now. Last thing I need is you getting your brains sucked out."
Rover licked his face and they gathered together. "Alright, May and gentlemen, time to crack this brain thing wide open," June hit her fist against her palm. The shrieking occurred again as they stared off into the distance.
It was nighttime as they had spent minutes following Alfred slowly in Big Mama. June drove as they weren't getting anywhere yet in particular. "Wish we had Thrull with us. It would be nice to have a monster hunter alongside us. Also, he's super cool! And smells good! Like freshly baked waffle cones."
May just rolled her eyes at his fanboying and the other three stared at him. Jack glanced at the brunette, seeing her look of disdain. "May, what do you have against him? He's helped us out multiple times. Do you just not trust monsters in general?"
"If I did, I wouldn't go out to Joe's Pizza all the time," May remarked while crossing her arms in annoyance. "Don't remind me of monsters when you kept info about the bestiary. But Thrull...I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about him. It's the same with June and Bardle."
"Well, your loss," He shrugged at her. "You're missing out."
"Are you sure about him?" Quint looked at the girl. "Bardle doesn't seem innocent either."
"I don't know anymore," May sighed, a hand on her forehead. "But we'll find out eventually."
They kept following Alfred until they heard the shrieking once more. The five looked around to try and find out where it was coming from, to no avail. However, it made Alfred speed up. "He's moving faster. Like, that was a 'hurry up, already' shriek," Jack narrowed his eyes a bit.
"Yeah, or a dinner bell," June revved up the engine, and they stopped as they couldn't see him anymore with some cars and a store around. "Where is he?" She growled as she parked the car, hitting another one.
"I'll get eyes on him," Dirk opened the car window behind him, pulling a lever. A telescope came out from the back and he climbed up towards it. He took a closer look, making a nervous sound as he had eyes on Alfred. "I see where he's headed...and it ain't good," He commented as the zombie was headed for an entrance. "The town pool!"
"Why would he go there?" May murmured to herself as she stared at Alfred, who got past the bars.
"I'm not stopping!" June said in determination, stepping on the gas. Dirk put on his seatbelt from the chair outside, smiling nervously.
"We're not gonna fit!" Jack exclaimed in a panic.
"Yes, we are!" June argued back, and the car got stuck in the entrance.
"We don't fit," Quint corrected her, June trying again and again to get through. But considering the size of the car and the narrow entrance, it'd take a wrecking ball to past. They watched Alfred walk onto the diving board.
"Oh no!" Dirk cried out in concern. Alfred fell inside and they all yelped. Dirk whimpered at this since zombies probably couldn't swim. "Alfred! He—uh, he can't swim! He might die! Again!" However, Alfred seemed to be doing just fine as he was walking at the bottom of the pool. He was just going very slowly because he was in the water.
"Too bad we don't have Thrull. He can walk under water," Jack brought up and they just stared at him. "...Probably."
"Again with Thrull," May complained to herself at him, shaking her head.
Alfred emerged a few seconds later, groaning as he continued on. "That's my boy!" Dirk exclaimed proudly with a smile. Alfred walked out through the exit, but they were still stuck in the car lodged in the entrance.
"I'm not losing him! Not now. We're too close to figuring this out," She reversed the car out of the pool entrance.
"I know a shortcut—that way!" Jack pointed to the left, June taking off. As she sped down the road, Dirk just laughed at the adrenaline rush. June went around to the pool exit and they stepped out of Big Mama. They saw no sign of Alfred.
Dirk gripped Quint's shoulders in a panic. "We lost him! We lost our zombie buddy!"
"I was gonna say valuable test subject. Valuable test buddy?" Quint rubbed the back of his neck.
"Now we'll never find out! Ugh!" June kicked the side of the car in frustration, crossing her arms.
"Never say never, June," May smiled at her knowingly, hands behind her back. Some whirring was heard, and she glanced back in confusion. A drone came out of Big Mama from the back, flying over the car.
"Guys, we haven't lost Alfred yet," Quint smiled in realization. "We've got an eye in the sky," He took out the remote control with a smirk. "And look, June! One of your salad forks is the antenna."
"I'm so proud," June deadpanned as she could care less about that fact. She then turned to May. "How'd you know about the drone?"
"Oh, when I last did a maintenance check on Big Mama, Quint suggested that we added a drone in case we needed it. So I added a compartment to place the drone in the back to activate whenever someone kicked the side of the car," She explained to the girl. The camera for the drone activated from the remote. They all stared up at the drone as it flew off to find Alfred. A billboard came to view.
"Billboard!" June exclaimed in a panic.
"Hey, look out!"
"Ah!" Quint looked away as June smacked at the remote.
"Punch it!"
The drone went through the billboard and they looked to see that it wasn't damaged. Quint sighed in relief as it took weeks to perfect it for the car. The drone continued flying through town when Dirk noticed something.
"There!"
Alfred was barely there, but they could still see him walking through town. "Closer!"
"Copy that," Quint nodded to June's request. He moved the joystick so that the drone could zoom in on Alfred walking out to the forest. But then suddenly Bardle came in out of nowhere and destroyed the drone with his sword! They all gasped at that reaction; it was for a split second, but they knew it was him. He was the only monster they knew that carried a sword.
"Was that-"
"Bardle!" June gritted her teeth as she interrupted Jack. "I told you he was behind this."
"Did anyone recognize that location?" Quint asked the others as they didn't get a good look on where Alfred was headed.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Dirk answered grimly.
Big Mama came to a stop as they found the drone. Quint ran up to it and sighed in dismay. May walked up and patted his back. "It was good while it lasted."
"Um, gonna take more than June's salad fork to get that airborne again," Dirk commented to him and June looked up to where Dirk had led them.
"Ugh. Wyndham Woods? This place was spooksville before the monster apocalypse," She stepped forward first.
"Also, all public parks close at dusk," Quint added in. "So we're breaking the-" Dirk pushed him forward and then leaned in.
"Trust me, dude, you'll thank me later," He glanced at May, Quint getting the hint and clamping his mouth shut. May followed after them, Jack the last one to follow.
"We should have brought Th-"
"Jack, for the sake of my sanity, do NOT finish that sentence," May deadpanned at him and he gulped. They looked up at the dark forest and as they walked to find Alfred, Jack was going on about Thrull, again.
"Thrull could totally handle pandemic bioluminescent vine thingies," He stated while cutting some down. May just rolled her eyes at the butt-kissing he was doing to Thrull, who she didn't trust still. Although Bardle was starting to make her rethink a little, because why would he destroy the drone? "It's one of his top ten hobbies. Right after being cool, and being super cool!"
"You okay?" Quint looked to May, who shrugged.
"I actually used to come here when...when I needed a breather from my own house," She rubbed the back of her neck. "Only after school for a little bit, though. After that it was back to studying and practicing and memorizing."
"You don't find it all that creepy?" He raised a brow at her.
"Psh. If anything, all my fears of this forest went out the window when I got home. Dad did not like me sneaking out..." She rubbed her arm, feeling a bit awkward now. "Not really sure if I should be this casual talking about it, though."
"If it helps you feel better about what you went through, you can be however you want it to be," Quint encouraged her. "Even though it still makes me mad just thinking about how much of a jerk your dad is!" He stomped a foot and she giggled at his reaction. The fact that he took it so personal meant a lot to her, since she only acted that way once with her dad and then never saw him afterwards.
"We can both be mad later by throwing rocks at the fence," She suggested and he smiled at her.
June narrowed her eyes, holding up her hand. The others bumped into her one by one. "Listen," She looked around cautiously. They heard some rustling from the bushes, getting their attention as they looked up in horror. The bushes kept moving until a bunch of little creatures came out, heading right towards them.
"They're attacking!"
However, they ran right past the group, confusing Jack. "They're not attacking? They're running right past us," Jack put his slicer away as May hopped backwards to get out of the way. "Where are they running in such a hurry?"
"It's not where they're running to, it's what they're running from!" Quint pointed up ahead. "Look!" They darted their eyes forward and the four gasped. Up ahead was a giant old tree. June turned to Jack, May breathing heavily in fear.
"Hey Jack, can your monster pal, Thrull, handle that?" She asked him.
"Probably," He said, though didn't sound as confident as before. They stared at the tree, Jack gulping. "Dirk, you're, like, extra into plants and junk...you ever see a tree like that?" As he asked the question, Quint took May's hand and she squeezed it, calming down a bit. They squeezed hands as they stepped forward a little.
"Uhh, no, dude. No one has," Dirk murmured quietly. Suddenly the tree was revealed to have a face and it shrieked. "Get down!" Dirk ordered and they jumped behind a giant log. May pulled down Quint and they sat next to each other. May panted a bit and then they looked down at their hands, realizing that they were still holding them. She yelped as she yanked it away, a blush coming onto her face. Quint blushed too with a small grin on his face as she looked away, not wanting to look at him. June turned around to get a better look when Quint gasped, pointing forward.
"Zombies!"
They looked up ahead to see a group of zombies all gathering together. However, while they did see the five, they completed ignored the group in favor of going past them. "What?" May murmured in confusion, glancing to the side. "They're heading straight for..."
She didn't finish as they turned around, watching the zombies heading for the tree...which was causing the shrieking that they were so drawn to. The zombies obediently followed it, the tree extending its branches to form hands. It snatched up a zombie, and then another. It ate the zombies whole, shocking all of them. They watched as the tree continued consuming zombies like food. After doing so, it grew significantly in size.
"Oh, crud, it's growing!" June pointed out.
"I have a hypothesis, but I don't like it. I think the zombies are like food!" Quint explained to the four.
"Or at least the zombie brains are," Jack gritted his teeth a little.
"Then we've found our zombie brain eater. Do Thrull and Bardle know about this thing?" May murmured and no one answered as they really didn't know how to. The tree dragged in more zombies into its mouth before letting out a loud sound. All the zombies it just ate flew out the top.
"When this...this tree monster thing finishes eating the brains, it spits them out," June frowned at the others.
"Like buffalo wings. Tossing away the bones when you're done," Jack realized in horror. "Only this thing is spitting them all over my town!"
"So, this tree was the bad dude?" Dirk pointed to it. "Not Bardle, at all?"
"Gah!" June cried out in frustration. "I don't know!" She covered her eyes with her hands, as she was even farther from the truth than she was when this all started. If Bardle wasn't the bad guy, why did he conveniently pop up in places for her to be suspicious about him? They suddenly heard speaking, turning around as they heard a familiar voice...a large shadow approached the tree and May squinted at him. "Nope, it's him! I was right!"
A tree moved away the moon as the wind blew leaves. May recoiled back as she recognized the body shape. "Umm...June, I hate to be that person, but...that's not Bardle..."
A hockey stick revealed itself as Thrull stood in front of the tree, an evil grin on his face. "What?" Jack murmured in disbelief.
"What?" June shared the same sentiment that she was wrong.
"Thrull," May gripped the bark underneath her from the log while gritting her teeth.
"Tree of Entry, the brains of the undead have guided your growth." All of them, except May, were dumbfounded at what was going on. "You will bring Rezzoch the Ancient Destructor of Worlds into this dimension!"
"Rezzoch the Ancient? Thrull is using this unholy arborvitae to bring it here?" Quint asked the others.
"No, that doesn't make sense. Thrull hunts the servants of Rezzoch," Jack was in a state of denial as he tried to excuse it, but the truth was clear. "Bardle's the bad one. Bardle! Right?" He looked at them, hoping for one of them to agree, but none of them did.
"I guess you were right about Thrull," Dirk glanced at May, who frowned as June placed a hand on Jack's shoulder.
"Yeah...but I didn't wanna find out like this..." She murmured as she felt bad.
"May," Jack chuckled, still denying it as he grasped her shoulders. "It's Bardle you had a bad feeling about, right? Right?!" He shook her a bit and she looked at him, a bit overwhelmed by the state he was in. "Please tell me this is some kind of dream."
"Jack, I know you don't wanna see this right now, but this is real. And we just heard of his plan. Thrull is working with Rezzoch..not Bardle. I'm sorry," She said solemnly as she gently pushed him off. "But it's true, and I'm afraid I wasn't wrong."
He stared at her in horror as his eyes shook. Before he could say anything else, the shrieking occurred again and more zombies came forward, including Alfred. Dirk gasped upon seeing him, holding out a hand. "Alfred!"
"Alfred, no! You may only be an undead, potentially lethal research tool, but you're our undead, potentially lethal research tool," He ran off, Dirk processing what he just said.
"Wait! Ugh," Dirk facepalmed at him.
"Quint, wait, it's too dangerous! Thrull might see you," May whispered, but he didn't listen.
"Stupid brave little nerd!" Dirk couldn't help but admire Quint for going after Alfred. May sighed at the two slowly.
"If they're not careful, Quint is gonna get caught—I mean, both of them!" She corrected herself with wide eyes, June smirking a bit.
"Come on, guys!" June told the duo and they started to run after their friends. However, a flash occurred and the three screamed, hiding behind the log again. Dirk and Quint froze in place before the former grabbed the latter to hide them behind a tree. Thrull stared up at the tree as the inside of it was giving the tree some kind of power. Electricity struck from the tree before a small explosion occurred. The tree opened up wider to reveal a blue flame with a moving face.
"Thrull..." A female voice spoke up to him.
"Master!" He grinned evilly up at her.
"Oh, dear!" Quint pointed at the tree. "I think that's Rezzoch!"
"I never should have agreed to hang with you guys," Dirk murmured in fear.
"Guys, are you seeing this?" June shook them both, Jack staying silent as he couldn't believe he was with an enemy the whole time. And talking him up, and training with him...
"What of the key?" Rezzoch asked Thrull. "What key will be used to unlock this Tree of Entry? I am yet unable to join you in that dimension."
Alfred continued stumbling towards the tree, Dirk and Quint laying eyes on him. "We gotta get him," He insisted to the shorter boy.
"We can't let that being from beyond see us!" He winced as it was possible they'd get seen by either Rezzoch or Thrull.
"We can't let it eat Alfred, either!" Dirk protested to him and he looked at the zombie walking up to the tree. The two boys glanced to each other and nodded, taking off after Alfred. The duo started acting like zombies to blend in.
"The key is a bestiary," Thrull informed Rezzoch. Jack recoiled back in shock.
"Oh no..." May murmured in realization.
"I have imbued the book with magical energy." The girls glanced sadly at Jack. "And when it is complete, the essence of the creatures inside will transform the book into the key."
"Where is this bestiary key now?" She demanded the monster.
"It is nearby. A foolish human boy, Jack Sullivan, leads his naïve companions in preparing it. He was easily manipulated. One of his friends May, however, is not as gullible as I thought. But they know not the bestiary's true power."
"You jerk...!" May hissed quietly while gripping the bark underneath her. "You'll get what's coming, I promise you that."
"Sorry for doubting you, May..." June murmured as Jack fell to the ground, heartbroken and betrayed by someone he thought was a friend.
"What have I done?"
"Jack..." May whispered sadly as they both felt horrible for what was happening.
Quint and Dirk got closer to Alfred, Quint reaching out and grabbing the back of his helmet. "Got him. Phew." However, Alfred insisted on going forward, causing the light to fall off the helmet. Quint bumped into Dirk, both of them getting a little frustrated. Branches grew around the tree to start taking zombies.
"Alfred!"
"Alfred, no!"
They watched as he was hung up on a branch, about to be consumed by Rezzoch. "When I enter, I must feed. In my current form, I am weak. Frail. I need more, Thrull!"
"Do not worry. Nearby, I have gathered many monsters. They are yours to feast upon," He smirked as he was referring to the monsters at Joe's Pizza.
"Is...Thrull talking about the monsters at Joe's?" June looked at her friends in worry. "Rezzoch's gonna eat them?"
Jack snapped out of it, looking up in shock.
"I told you guys he wasn't to be trusted," May whispered as she gritted her teeth. "Now he's a...whatever's above a jerk!"
Quint jumped up to grab Alfred by the leg. "Got him."
"Succeed, Thrull, and you shall be rewarded," Rezzoch stated to him. "Come closer, give me your hand." He did so, reaching out and touching her face. A new foot regrew for him and he looked down happily upon realizing what she did.
"My only desire is to please you, Master," He bowed down to her.
"Good, now go bring me the key. I must be..."
Quint and Dirk managed to break free Alfred, and he crashed onto them. Rezzoch feasted on the zombies before the mouth closed. They looked up in fear as the tree eventually stopped moving. Thrull stood up and walked away. The boys dragged Alfred back to the group, staring after Thrull. Alfred groaned, causing him to stop. They all covered his mouth, May panting heavily in fear as she looked a bit pale. She still thought he was a jerk, but she didn't want to know what would happen if he laid eyes on them right now. Quint rubbed her back soothingly and she slightly calmed down. Thrull turned around, sniffing the air but left. They popped out of hiding.
"Let's get out of here!" Dirk exclaimed in a panic and they ran off. Finally, the tree spat out all the zombies...