A.N: Alrighty, you guys! Buckle up cause the action is about to start back up now. XD
Also, consider this as a birthday treat from my side. I actually spent a lot of time and effort into updating my two fanfics for this very day.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO FAVORITE AND FOLLOW! YOU ALWAYS AND WILL FOREVER ROCK! LOVE YOU!
Here is my bday cake for you all!
[# ~ ~ ^ ^ ~ ~ #]
Hope you Enjoy!
Chapter 14: Is an Enemy of an Enemy Really A Friend?
They didn't have to drive too far before a diner came into view. By the looks of it, it was a medium sized one; wasn't as small as a trailer and wasn't as big as the ones back in town. It was only a few miles away from the gas station. Hiccup was still out of it for most parts of the ride. He woke up occasionally; muttered incoherent words and was out like a light again. Toothless had taken its place beside him a while back; little sniffs and whines and licks. It was adorable and touching to say the least. Those subtle actions showed so much love and adoration from the furry creature towards his master and best friend. It was as if Toothless could sense Hiccup's pain and was trying to make him feel better; as if it was apologizing for not being there when he got hurt.
Jack's blue eyes shifted from the rear-view mirror back to the windshield and he grinned. "Looks like you were right, Red Bush. There is a diner up ahead."
"I told ya," Merida smirked with pride. When her brothers occasionally took her out of town for the weekends they normally took this route and they once stopped at a diner and had the tastiest apple pie she had ever eaten. That place is hard to forget. She was sure it was somewhere along the long stretch of the highway but didn't know how far it was. Well, they don't have to worry about that now. The point is that she was right all along. "Ya should listen ta meh more often, Snowcone."
"What? And risk our lives? No thanks, Short-fuse."
"How dare ya, ye blasted Ice-pop! Am ta one who told ya ta directions to the place,"
"No one likes a back seat drive, short-bus."
"Oh yeah? I'll show ya a back seat driver!"
"Ow! Merida, stop that! You want us to crash or something!"
"Crash into wha'? There's nothin' around us, Snowcone."
"Yeah… It's the perfect place to abandon a certain someone-"
Rapunzel rolled her eyes playfully and giggled, listening to her friends' bicker. Jack and Merida's banter was incredibly annoying but it can be entertaining at the same time. And don't even get them started on the name calling. Merida called Jack 'Snowcone' because she thought that his head looked like a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and Jack called her 'Red Bush' for, well, obvious reasons and some of the other names made absolutely no sense at all but that didn't mean it wasn't funny. It was all good natured.
The car neared the diner.
As they got closer to the building, they realized two things. One; the place was boarded up like a freaking fortress and two; zombies were surrounding the diner, lolling their heads lazily to the desert winds. They were standing in place, not even attempting to break into the diner.
Maybe they didn't have to break into the diner, maybe no one was in the diner; no one alive that is. The zombies must've killed them all.
Jack narrowed his eyes with valor and grit his teeth. "Hang on…" was all the warning his friends got from him as he jammed his foot down hard on the accelerator, just barely giving them enough time to get brace themselves. The car roared to life and raced towards the diner in top speed. Rapunzel was forced back into her seat from the sudden acceleration. Merida held on even tighter to Hiccup; making sure the ride doesn't hurt him more. She hoped whatever happens next wouldn't jostle him too much. There was only so much pain the poor lad could take.
There were about three to four zombies standing around the place; if there were more… then they were out of sight; probably somewhere around the other sides of the diner. But right now, they'd focus on the few zombies they could see.
Jack was sure he could run them all over without having to slow down the Chevy if he drove properly and timed it right. They neared the diner in record time; the zombies didn't even realize that they were one step away from being road-kill. In fact, they didn't notice the car charging towards them at all till it was too late.
The occupants in the car felt the sickening crunch of bones being crushed beneath the heavy wheels of the Chevy. They nearly felt the unmistakable impact of flesh and body hitting the bumper of the bulky vehicle each time it made contact with the man-eating-monsters before they were pulled underneath the car. One by one, Jack dauntlessly drove over each zombie, killing them all instantaneously. Once they ran over all four zombies, Jack stopped the car and three sets of eyes glanced behind them to see the extent of damage that the car had done to the dead-creatures. Three zombies laid there on the semi concrete ground; unmoving, blood oozing all around them; all dead… At least for now. They were as flat as pancakes.
Except one…
"What the hell?" Jack exclaimed aloud. Everyone was pretty much thinking the same thing.
One of the zombies; even though its body was completely broken and crushed, began to stand up. It looked as though the zombie was attached to strings and a puppeteer was making it move and come alive again. The zombie that was astonishingly somehow still alive, was the most disgusting one of them all. It no longer had any flesh. It truly looked like a decayed corpse that had been buried under the ground for years. The zombie had no skin whatsoever; just insignificant patches of it here and there. Instead of milky white eyes, like the other zombies had, it didn't have any eyes at all; just empty eye sockets of hollow voids. It had no lips either, leaving its black gums and rotten teeth completely exposed. They could actually see some of its unhidden bones too; some whole but others broken with dried up bone marrow still stuck to it.
Yup… definitely the most disgusting one of them all.
But it also looked like the weakest compared to the other zombies. The lack of any muscles was obviously the reason for that. But how it was still alive let alone moving still flabbergasted them. But it was only one thin-as-a-stick zombie, if running over it didn't kill it maybe bullets will. If they were careful and fast enough they could make it to the diner without any unwanted incidents.
"Okay, Hiccup's with me, Rapunzel you too. Merida, you're up front," Jack barked out commands, already undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car and opening the back door so he could help Hiccup out. He saw Rapunzel do the same. Jack began tugging gently at Hiccup when Merida protested. "Maybe I should help ya carry Hic,"
"No. We'll be faster if I carry him and I need someone with a sharp shot protecting us." Jack said to her firmly. Merida backed off instantly but reluctantly and let him and Rapunzel take care of Hiccup while she bent down to the floorboard to get her bow. She understood why Jack made the decision he made. Even though she was stronger than Rapunzel and could take on Hiccup's weight better, Jack needed someone to protect them all. Rapunzel was weaponless at the moment so it wouldn't make sense to put her in charge of protected them from the zombie, if need be.
Even though she didn't want to admit it, she was sure Jack could lug Hiccup into the diner faster than she could. So this was definitely the only logical and most efficient way to handle this situation. Jack seemed like a natural born leader… She had to admit, she was slightly jealous. She also couldn't help but wonder what kind of a life the infamous Jack Frost had led.
Merida stood bravely in front of her friends ready to defend them. She had only one arrow left, so she would have to be careful not to waste it.
Hiccup groaned when he felt hands on him, shifting him from the seat which, by default, resulted in shifting his shoulder. He vaguely heard Merida mutter a faint apology then he felt his arm, the one attached to his non-damaged shoulder, being raised and draped over someone's cold neck; probably Jack's; Jeez, he really was the coldest kid in town; literally. Only Jack's skin could be so cool in the middle of a desert highway. He also felt soft gentle hands supporting his back and chest, that's definitely Rapunzel. He felt something soft and plushy tickling his ankle too. A smile crept into his face; Toothless. His vision was blurry and he was able to pick up only bits and piecing of his friends' conversation but he hazily understood them. Something about him being with Jack and Merida… protecting them? Protecting them from what? Where the heck was he anyway? Oh yeah, desert highway… but why? His mind couldn't activate enough brain cells to formulate an proper answer. Just go with the flow he told himself. Besides Rapunzel must've given him the good stuff, well, either that or his body was shutting down; that doesn't sound good.
The drug hadn't worn off yet; which he was thankful for. The pain in his shoulder was throbbing but it was bearable at least. It took every ounce of energy left in him to just stand. Even in that haze he didn't want to be a burden to his friends; his real friends… Friends like that are hard to come by and he didn't want them to hate him for being such a liability. So he tried to do whatever they wanted him to do without too much fuss. God, his shoulder was on fire!
Simultaneously, Jack and Rapunzel helped Hiccup out of the car, Toothless hopped out and stood by Hiccup's feet barring its teeth at the remaining threat, Merida took her stance in front of the group. The door of the diner was only less than fifteen feet away. Yup, piece of cake. Absolutely nothing to worry about.
But they couldn't have been more wrong…
They wouldn't have even made it three feet when the supposedly-weak-zombie charged at them like a raging bull. Damn! Was it just them or was this zombie a lot faster than the other zombies? Before Merida could fire the arrow at it, the thin fleshless zombie grabbed her and flung her into the air and into the side of the Chevy. Merida hit the door of the car and collapsed on the ground. Her bow and arrow lay uselessly by her side.
"Merid-"
Before the others could even utter another syllable, the ultra-strong-super-fast zombie rammed itself straight into Jack and he went down hard; almost taking Hiccup and Rapunzel down with him. The back of Jack's head hit the ground hard and he grimaced; Shit, he's gonna feel that in the morning… If he even makes it till morning that is.
The zombie was so strong that Jack literally had to use everything he had and more to keep the zombie from biting into him like he was some sort of a fat juicy turkey on Thanksgiving night. He felt like he was fighting a sumo wrestler on steroids. How could this frail looking zombie have so much power?
The zombie was trying to go straight for his neck and Jack was determined not to let it have the satisfaction of tasting his flesh… and also not to get turned into a cannibal zombie of course.
Toothless, the loyal creature that it was, was trying very hard to get the zombie off Jack. He had pounced on the decaying creature's back and was digging its claws and fangs into it like a possessed animal. But that didn't seem to deter the zombie even in the slightest way.
Rapunzel shrieked when she saw the zombie head straight for them and tackled Jack to the ground. She stumbled back awkwardly but was able to stay on her feet while still holding a slumped Hiccup. He was gasping in pain. He was half lying on the ground and she could see him trying very hard not to pass out. She saw Jack pinned under the zombie with the unusual supernatural strength. This is not happening! She felt the familiar rise of overwhelming panic overtake her rapidly beating heart. "JACK!"
He grunted loudly and colorfully swore before shouting at her. "Go Rapunzel! Get into the diner NOW!"
"No! I can't just leave yo-"
"Listen to me, Punzie! Urg…! Hiccup needs you right now!" Jack grunted again as he felt the zombie increase its strength; Jeez, this zombie was really determined to have him for dinner, wasn't it?
He felt a little guiltily for putting that kind of pressure on Rapunzel but it couldn't be helped right now, he could distract the zombie long enough for them to get to safety, besides if it meant that she and Hiccup would be safe then it was worth it.
Plus there was no way he was dying now, he had to save Merida and live to gloat about it later. "Get into the diner, I'll be fine I promise!"
I promise…
Rapunzel reluctantly but hurriedly lifted a half conscious Hiccup. He was almost completely leaning on her and she could see blood seeping through the bandages from the corner of her eye. Shoot! He must have torn the stitches when Jack went down. She grunted at his weight; for a scrawny looking kid, Hiccup sure was heavy. She glanced one last time at Jack before dragging her brunette friend in the other direction. She knew Hiccup was concentrating hard on keeping one foot in front of the other just like she was coaching him to do. And right now that's about all she could ask of him. He only stumbled a few times but he was doing great, considering...
Her mind was racing over time. Did she do the right thing…? Was she kidding herself?! She practically gave Jack to the zombie on a silver platter! Oh God! Oh God! What have I done! I shouldn't just leave him there! What if he dies! Or gets turned into one of them? No! She believed in him. Jack made her a promise… He would keep it. He would! She knew he would… he had to.
But a voice kept whispering to her.
What if he doesn't this time…? What if he can't?
She shook her head as tears clouded her eyes. No, he will come back to her. She refused to believe anything else as she reached the door of the diner. She froze when she heard the distinct sounds…
Sounds that both relieved her and spiked fear in her heart at the same time.
Fear for Jack…
Meanwhile-
Jack struggled under the weight of the zombie. The creature itself wasn't all that heavy but the sheer power and effort it was putting on trying to bite his neck was just baffling. Jack couldn't even kick the zombie off of him like he did before and he couldn't get his gun out either. It was pressed so hard against his lower back that he was sure it was starting to bruise. His arms were beginning to feel the strain from the exertion. They began to shake with effort as they were pushed back. Jack grunted and pressed his head back onto the semi concrete ground. This was it… this time for sure! This was the end of the line for him. He knew it. His eyes flickered to where Rapunzel and Hiccup were. They were close to the diner's entry point now. Thank god… They were gonna be okay… He just had to hold on a little while longer.
He saw red beady eyes for a split second, somewhere on the roof of the diner. He heard the ominous caw of the crow. It was the bird from earlier… or a different bird. It's not like he could tell the difference between them all anyway. It was strange though; it was almost as if… It was following him. But then again, it could be just that the bird was waiting to feed on the dead remains that the zombies left behind.
His dead remains…
Merida wasn't in his line of sight so he didn't know if she was alright or not. He just barely saw Merida's head hit one of the windows on the side of the car, causing spider web like cracks on it, before the zombie had attacked him. He hoped she wasn't unconscious. He wished she would snap out of it and get to the diner too. He couldn't hold on much longer.
Despite Toothless's best attempts to help Jack, the zombie was winning. It was too close to Jack's shoulder now. Nearly at his neck.
It was going in for the kill…
It's disgustingly rotten teeth were only half an inch away from Jack's jugular when a series of gunshots rang out repeatedly; all burying themselves into the side of the zombie's head. It took Jack three whole seconds to realize that the zombie had been shot at. But I don't remember using my gun… so then, who the hell fired at the zombie?
A dazed Merida was just coming to, when she heard the loud unmistakable sound of gunshot sounds. She winced and rubbed the back of her head with her left hand and blinked open her eyes to focus on the scene before her. Jack was laying on the ground with a zombie on top of him. The both of them were still struggling… the zombie still very much alive. So what were the gunshots for? And where did they come from? Or was she just imagining it all… Maybe she had a concussion. Snap outta' it, lassie! She told herself as she grabbed her bow and began to stand up. A wave of dizziness overtook her and she suddenly felt very tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep… for weeks. Okay, concussion it is then… But she had bigger things to worry about now.
Jack was sure the bullets had lodged themselves right into the zombie's brain; or what was left of it. It shouldn't be this hard to kill a freaking dead-thing. What the hell made this zombie so special? He just couldn't figure it out. The zombie wasn't dead but the shots did weaken it considerably. He still couldn't kick the zombie off him but he could crawl away from under it. Now, if he could find some sort of a distraction for the creature…
Luckily for Jack, Merida came swooping in to the rescue.
She raised her weapon high above her head and brought it down on the zombie's head. But that wasn't such a good idea she realized a split second later as the creature's head snapped closer to Jack's. Oops, wrong decision… Stupid concussion. She wasn't able to think clearly. Would arrows have worked on this un-killable zombie? Speaking of arrows, where was hers?
"Whoa!" Jack yelped when the disfigured face of the zombie suddenly came unbelievably close to his face. "Don't help it," He scolded Merida as he used extra energy to push the zombie away from him once more. This time though he saw Merida swing her bow sideways, like a tennis player, going straight for the zombie's head again. The lower limb of her bow hit true to its mark so swiftly that they heard an audible crack sound that came from the zombie's fragile neck. Its head snapped to the right and then hung limply a moment later; lolling lazily.
Jack didn't waste any time as he proceeded to quickly crawl backwards from underneath the zombie, partially kicking at it too. It was still very much alive and was growling, moaning and gurgling at the same time. Merida helped Jack all the way up.
As soon as Jack got to his feet, he grabbed her hand in a hurry and they rushed to the diner's threshold. Merida halted jerkily and yelped in surprise. Jack's head snapped back to see why she had stopped running and saw that the un-killable zombie had grabbed ahold of her ankle. It was tugging weakly but its grip was strong. Merida sluggishly swung her bow at the zombie while trying to pull her leg from its grasp. It only tightened its hold. She cursed at her concussion for the second time that night. The zombie was determent, she'd give it that much.
Jack thought fast and pulled out his gun from his waistband. Instead of aiming it at the zombie's head, which obviously did no good, he aimed it at its abnormally thin wrist and fired. Merida fell back onto Jack with the detached maggot hand still clinging to her ankle. The zombie yelled out in an animalistic manner. Either from the pain or from the vexation of losing its prey, they could not say.
They didn't wait to find out as they finally made it into the diner. The second Jack closed the door and turned around; he was met with a barrel of a rifle pointing threateningly at his face and an angry looking teenager holding it there.
This was going to be looong night…
Hmm... I wonder who this teenager is going to be. Will it be someone from the story? Or someone else entirely? Feel free to let me know through your reviews or PMs.
SHOUT OUTS TIME!
RedLegoManiac: Thank you! And thank you for the cookie! Here's three from me! (::)(::)(::)
AvaniAcrux: Hehe, c'mon you really think I'd kill off my poor dragon child so soon in the story. Nope. Not yet. But yay! Thank you so so so so much for the love! As for the infection that's still out there and Hiccup being vulnerable to it, you'll have to wait and watch. (::)(::)
Infrared-Ultraviolet: Lol, SAME! My reaction would be the same. Ah.. poor Punzie. And yes, All shall be revealed in due time. All you gotta do is stick around. And thank you! I tried my best to keep the characters... well, in character as possible. XD I'm super glad your enjoying it! Ah yes, the frying pan. XD I couldn't resist tbh. Your review to the 'serial killer' Jack had me laughing like crazy. Yes, we are all disappointing in you, Jack. YES! WE MUST ELIMINATE THE THREAT IMMEDIATELY! JACKUNZEL ALL THE WAY! AND OH GOSH I KNOW! DAMMIT! FOXES EVERYWHERE MAN! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH IT HURTS! (::)
Yup, I thought Toothless being a dog suited him more. Plus, in the movie, Toothless always does a lot of dog-like things. So yeah. And IKR! *shakes head at Hiccup* My little nerd child. As for his past, you'll have to wait and find out. Thank you for the compliment on Hic's character. I tried very hard to match his sarcasm to this story and I'm glad it didn't come out as forced. And yes! About the 'it' and 'he' IM SO SORRY! THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO HAPPEN! Pretty sure my brain farted there cause I LOVE ANIMALS and would normally never let that happen but yeah... I'll be more careful next time. Sometimes I'll make mistakes so if it happens again, please let me know. I'll fix it. (::)(::)
OneWhoDreamz: You had me thinking about Katy Perry's Fireworks song in the beginning. SHINE BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN DREAMER! Your welcome and thank you so much for investing in this little story of mine. You didn't have to, but you did and for that I am beyond grateful. EMBRACE WHO YOU ARE! AND LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN! ONWARDS WE GO! (::)(::)(::)
LoneWolfPunk101: NOOOO! JEFF! My Jeffery! You ate him, you monster! (lol jk, it had to be done) Jeff was going to kill you in your sleep so I guess it was for the best. BUT WORRY NOT! I have another gift for you. (::) TADA! Another cookie! (This one is safe, I promise.)
Guest: Oh no! Please don't be angry! Umm... Here, *shoves a pizza towards you* It's all I've got between the cake and cookies. Take it. Please dont be mad... (::)