A.N: Sorry for the long wait, you guys. I hope your all still with me! Here is the next chapter!

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Chapter 18: Dinner Time, Zombies. Come and Get It!

"I had no idea… " Rapunzel whispered in astonishment. What he told her was so unbelievable and so unreal. She couldn't imagine going through what he did. And his sister… "It wasn't your fault you know…" She says placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He snorts and shrugs off her hand. "Yeah, right…"

"Jack… It really wasn't your fault. You shouldn't blame yourself. I'm sure your sister doesn't,"

"And how would you know that, huh?" Jack snapped at her. "You've never met her; you've never talked to her. Hell, they wouldn't even let me talk to her. I mean, for all you know, she could hate my guts."

"And for you know, she might not. From what you told me about Emma, that doesn't sound like something she would do…" Rapunzel still maintained her calm tone even though Jack's was rising. "She's your little sister. She could never hate you-"

She stopped when he gave her a non-humorous dry chuckle. "You know, if it wasn't for David, I wouldn't even have known if she'd waken up from her coma." He said as he rubbed his face with his hands. In the first few months after he moved to Burgess he had called his parents constantly but they never responded to any of his calls. He wanted to know about Emma but the only way he could find out anything about her was through his uncle.

Sure, after a year or so, everything was vice versa, his parents were the ones calling him constantly and he was the one who never bothered to pick up the phone. He didn't even care to listen to the voice messages they left him. He felt after everything that happened, it just wasn't worth the effort anymore. He was so mad at his parents back then. He still is…

"What happened?" Rapunzel asked slowly and quietly; almost tentatively.

"You mean, after I shot my sister?" He asked apathetically; his jaws locked and his stone cold mask back on.

Rapunzel nodded ever so slightly; almost not nodding at all.

"I woke up at the hospital alone," Jack continued; turning his gaze away from her "I tried looking for Emma but I couldn't see her anywhere. I started yelling for her and a nurse came in and calmed me down and told me that my sister's having the best people looking after her. Of course I wasn't paying any attention to anything she said after that. All I wanted was to see my sister and make sure she was okay…"

"What happened to the thugs?"

Jack shrugged indifferently.

"You don't know?"

"Not for sure… I was too focused on Emma to bother with anything else." He didn't even know why they broke into his house or what they took in the black bag. He didn't care. All he cared about was his sister.

"Right…"

"I kept the gun with me. Couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard I tried. I knew it was back home in the trashcan where I threw it. I even brought it with me to Burgess… Jeez, how pathetic is that," Jack said with a dry chuckle. Deep down though, he knew why he kept it. He knew why he couldn't throw it away. It was because the gun became a constant reminder of his failure. The gun kept him grounded. It kept him from going completely insane. "Even when the cops came to question me about the incident I said I didn't anything; said I couldn't remember. No one would think of searching a traumatized kid for a weapon, would they?"

He looked at her for a split second and answered her unasked question "No, they didn't know I was the one who shot her, so they had no reason to suspect me. But I wanted so badly to tell them it was me, but…but I couldn't."

"You were just a little kid, and you were scared… " Rapunzel told him. But he wasn't listening to her.

"Anyway, they ran some tests on me and gave me the 'thumbs up' and I sat in the waiting room for hours while Emma was behind those ER doors fighting for her life," Jack chocked and a single tear made its way down his pale cheek. "Th-they said they lost her for a while on the table… I just- I donno what I would've done if-if …"

"It's okay, Jack. She came back… for you…" Rapunzel said as she rubbed circles over his back; trying to get him to calm down. He didn't shrug her hand off this time. He almost welcomed the comforting touch. She could see that this flashback was taking a toll on the poor guy. "You can stop if you want…"

"It's okay," Jack quickly recovered; brushing the stray tear away; his mask back up again. "M-my parents showed up while Emma was being moved to the ICU for further observation. It was almost dawn and all they would tell me was that she was stable. As soon as mom and dad saw me, they hugged me and didn't let go for longest time."

Little did I know that, that was the last time I was ever getting one of those…

"…I told them what I did, the truth," Jack scoffed. "I'll never forget the look on their faces. But I just knew they hated me, right then. How could they not after what I did?"

He initially wanted nothing to do with them… but really? All he really wanted was for them to love him again. He wished they'd hug him, just like they did back at the hospital. In his heart he knew though, that it was never going to happen again.

"Jack, I'm sure your par-" Rapunzel started but he didn't even let her finish. He didn't want to listen to her. He refused to listen.

"I didn't know Emma was in a coma at the time, I just thought that she was asleep, you know, recovering. I stayed by her side waiting for her to wake up so I could apologize to her…" Almost wishing and begging for her to wake up, "But she never did."

"I spent every minute I had with her… " Jack whispered. "But then my parents sent me away… I mean I understand why they did it... Who would want to have a killer hanging around their child anyway, right?" But it still hurt like hell…

"Jack, it was an accident, I'm sure your parents had a better reason for doing what they did. I'm not trying to justify their action or anything, I'm just saying… "

"It doesn't matter, I still did it." Jack closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. "Anyways, after that, I moved to Burgess to live with my uncle… but he's more like a big brother to me than anything," Jack said with a light-hearted chuckle. Memories he'd spent with David replayed in his mind, followed by the familiar pain in his chest.

He never talked about stuff like this to anyone. It felt good to tell someone; someone who wouldn't judge you for who you are or the things you did. He didn't want to hear anything she said- too afraid that even the smallest of words would make him break down right there.

"While I was here, I started to get in trouble and people began to talk… It started with a little fight. A classmate made a sick joke about my family and I just lost it. I kept punching him till my knuckles broke… along with his face. He ended having to go to the hospital… after that, I…" Jack sighed and dropped his eyes shamefully to the ground. "Well, you know…"

"Yeah… " Rapunzel said. She did know. At last she could make a pretty good guess- He got mixed up with the shadiest people in town, who made him do less than good things for their own profit and he did them because it was the only escape he could find. He stole, robbed, and probably even killed for them but… "But none of the rumors are true, are they?"

"Most aren't and others were just exaggerated but a few of 'em are true," Jack confirmed. "But honestly, I-… I was trying to justify the rumors by doing exactly that. Drifting in and out of the Juvie had become almost like a routine for me."

She nodded silently. She hoped or rather wished that the rumors about him killing people weren't true. The story where he shot his sister was twisted into some evil sounding nightmare that made Jack seem like the bad guy; where in reality, he was just as much a victim as his sister was.

Jack's eyes went back to his gun, thumb brushing over it. "You know, I've memorized every inch of this gun. A Colt 1911 A1 .45 caliber… I never thought I could hate something so much in my life. But I couldn't find it in me to let it go either… Seriously? How messed up is that…"

"It's understandable…" Rapunzel said with a soft smile, searching out Jack's eyes with her own, but shamefully Jack couldn't meet her gaze.

He turned away and closed his eyes in disgust at the killing instrument in his hand. "But this gun?" This single stupid object… "Ruined my life. I despise it more than anything,"

Rapunzel was quiet for a moment. She looked at him a little nervously. "Don't take this the wrong way… but I don't."

Jack snapped his head around to see her. He looked at her with confusing and betrayal evident on his face. After everything he told her. She couldn't be serious, could she?

"What?"

"Well… in a way, if it wasn't for that gun… we would've never met," She chuckles. "I probably would've ended up dead in those woods somewhere… I'm just really happy I met you. If there's one person I would want by my side during a… Zombie Apocalypse, I'll want it to be you."

Jack stares at her right in the eye, trying to process what she had said…

"I'm not saying that whatever happened to you was a good thing, Jack… " she rests her hand on his, the one holding the gun. "All I'm saying is that we can make it better…"

"We…?" He said raising one of his eye brows; almost smirking.

"Huh?" Rapunzel asked suddenly realizing that 'we' was something she said involuntarily.

"You said we… just then…"

"I-I did?" Rapunzel suddenly turned bright red and sputtered. "I- Well, what I meant was… It-it was-… Um, we- as in, you and me and Merida and Hiccup and Toothle-"

Jack's lips on hers stopped her from saying anything more. Even though she was completely taken by surprise by his action, she leaned in anyway.

Now, this would've been pretty romantic; under the moon light and all- if their background music had been night crickets and soft music; but instead, they got yells and gunshot sounds.

"What the-" Jack and Rapunzel broke away and were already on their feet and running towards the metal door. They threw it open and carefully descended down the steps. Who knows what could be waiting for them down there.

(A little while ago)

Is there a draft in here or what? Why is it so cold?

Hiccup groaned as his eyes blinked open from the sudden change in temperature. He pulled himself up and slid backwards a little so he could rest his back on the boarded window behind him. The pain in his shoulder didn't hurt so badly now. It only hurt when he moved it; otherwise it was okay. His friends had done a pretty good job of fixing him up; considering the circumstances. He would have died from blood lose alone if it wasn't for Rapunzel. He should thank her for that- speaking of which, where are all of them anyway?

A smile played on his face as Toothless came to lick his hand.

"It's alright, bud," Hiccup whispered, he was feeling much better and more aware of his surroundings now. By the looks of it, everyone was asleep; even the people he didn't know. He kept his voice low so he didn't disturb anyone. "I'm feeling a lot better, how's your head?" He rubbed the canine's head lovingly.

Toothless stuffed its nose at Hiccup's chest and the licked his face happily; tail wagging uncontrollable. Hiccup did everything he could not to laugh and pushed his dog back down. "Okay, okay, I get it… shhh… Toothless, hehee, Stop. Down boy-"

"Well, well, well…" He heard a familiar voice say then saw the owner of that voice poking her head out from on top of the adjacent booth to his right. "Look whose awake,"

"Yeah," He smiled at Merida. "How are you doing?"

"Meh?" Merida made a face then threw her hands in the air a little. "Am' not ta one who got shot, ya moron." She was still angry at him for taking the bullet in her place; grateful but angry.

"Point taken," He chuckled and brushed his hand over the new bandage on his shoulder. "But I'm fine now… thanks to you guys."

"Ah, it was nothin'," She dismissed it with another wave of her hand "Dr. Goldie's ta one who did all ta work."

"I'll thank her too then," He said as he saw Merida move from her bench and came to sit by him. "So?"

"So…?"

"Uh… Where are your folks?" He asked nervously; trying to talk about something. He felt a little jittery because of the close proximity she was to him. Jeez, anything was better than the awkward silences. You'd think he'd be used to it by now.

"Oh, They'r back in Scotland," She said with a shrug.

"Lucky…" Hiccup deadpanned. He knew Merida was from Scotland based on her accent. "So you're here alone?"

"Nah. I've got ma brothers wit meh," She said. She had been thinking about her brothers during their car journey to the diner. As much as they annoyed and irritated her, they were still her brothers; her family. She hoped they were okay and it was better than whatever she and her friends were going through. The road blocks must've been why they hadn't been back in town yet. She was sure her brothers would come for her if they could. Gosh, she really did hope they were okay. "We'r transfer students."

"Oh, that's nice…"

"Yah, I love America!" Merida cheered but still kept her voice low. It wasn't that she didn't love Scotland; she did but she'd already seen everything there. America was something new. Here, there was always something going on. It was so different and Merida liked different. "Bu' I think ma older twin brothe's love it more."

"Twins, huh?"

"Yah, Hubert and Harris are their names," Merida said proudly. "Selfish as a seagull, I'll tell ya. They always leave meh alone a' Mrs. Pennyworth's house ta go hav' fun and explore." She spoke as she quoted the word 'explore' in the air with her fingers.

"Bu' not for long…" An evil sadistic grin crept into her face. "Once ma parents shift here, their carefree days are over!"

Hiccup raised his eyebrows at her. They were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and they might never get to go back home and have a normal life again and here she was, talking like they it was just another day in the coffee shop and assuming that everything would go back to the way they were. Was she really that ignorant? Or just plain hopeful. Well, she's optimistic. I'll give her that.

"Enough bout' meh. Wha' bout' yea?"

"Me what?" Hiccup asked in genuine confusion.

Merida huffed in irritation. "Yer family?" She pressed on.

"Oh…" Hiccup realized and began to think of the best way to answer her. "Well, I um… I was-"

Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!

Toothless barked as loudly as a dog could before growling deep in its throat; waking everyone who were asleep in the process. It grabbed at its master's clothes and began tugging him away from the window he was leaning against.

"Toothless? What is it, bud?" Hiccup winced as the movement jarred his shoulder a little but his dog didn't need to say anything more as everyone in the diner heard the loud banging and shudder coming from the different places of the diner. A decayed putrid hand broke through the thin space between the boards and snagged and clawed at Hiccup.

"What the hell is going on!?" Voices from the other side of the diner yelled with a bunch of other cuss words.

The windows and doors rattled. Within moments. In fact, it didn't even take five seconds before the zombies broke through the barriers and began rushing in.

Holy Shit!

All the zombies were busting in and they were caught way of guard! In other words…

All of them were soooo screwed!

And so the action begins again. Lol, jeez I dont even know if the before chapters counted as a break. Why do I constantly feel the need to torture my beloved characters. The next chapter is gonna be the most shocking one yet, so stay tuned!

SHOUT OUTS!

Amaya-chan07: No one ever does. XD I was counting on it. With this fanfic, you'll never see anything coming. I'll make sure of it. (::)(::)(::)
ChaosKitten16: Lol, I SHALL NEVER DIE! I mean, I might slip into a coma from time to time, but I will never let the evils of life destroy me or my passion to write. ^^ Also, I hope the next chapter doesn't hurt you by smacking you with the ton of bricks like the last one did. Also, damn! For a small cake, it sure tasted good! Thank you! And for the cookies as well! (I shall save them for later, hehe) (::)(::)
OneWhoDreamz: WOO! I love being able to catch you off guard. It's almost safe to assume it's what I live for these days. IT HAS BECOME THE SOLE PURPOSE OF MY LIFE NOW! Also, for all those observations, some are correct and some are... well, debatable depending on how you look at it. Now, since anything I say is spoiler material I wont be commenting more on it, but you'll get your answers soon enough. (not really, there's still a long way to go with this story. It's nowhere close to ending yet) AND OMGOSH! I do that too! But with PMs! It's so annoying. LIKE BRUH I WAS TYPING NOT CLICKING! STOP SENDING MY PRE-MATURE MSGES! XD Also, Jack was a kid who was only a few years short of being a responsible(not really) teenager- so I think its safe to assume he made some stupid decisions as a kid. In my experience, kids who think they know what they're doing but in reality dont are the ones who are most likely to get into trouble... Poor Jack. Okay, I'm rambling like I'm 30. Jeez XD I'll leave you to your theories now. See ya next chapter (I hope!) (::)(::)(::)
Guest: Ah! But you see, I have a weird allergic reaction whenever it comes to Elsa for some reason. I think its pretty safe to say Frozen wont be a part of this fanfic. Besides, I wouldn't know how to incorporate her into the fanfic even if I tried. (Plus, I kinda had this story bubbling in my head even before Frozen was announced... so... yeah... better not count on it...) BUT I HOPE THAT'S NOT A DEAL BREAKER FOR YOU! *hugs your ankles* PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! (::)

And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I bid you adieu!

Please review! It's what keeps me alive and safe from slipping into a coma!

Until next time!
Byeeeee!