A.N: Yo guys! Wassup! Alright alright, I know its been a while. So sorry about the long wait but YOU KNOW WHAT? So many things happened to me these past few weeks. I've finally moved out of my home and I've moved a few states over. And things were super crazy settling in and I've got a job now (My first one) And I'm getting to work on something that I've been a trash for since 2015 think? Basically its been wild and my laptop has been collecting dust in the corner. BUT! I am starting to get the rhythm of things again so I'll be updating better from now on hopefully.

(For those who are concerned. I'm working on my BH6 fanfic as well (The planning part of it at least, so it'll still take some time till I start updating that one. I'm thinking it'll be once this fanfic is finished. So just wanted to let you guys know THAT I HAVE NOT ABANDONED MY BB)

Listen to "Dance with the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin … It depicts this Chapter really well (At least in my opinion it does) I listened to it when I wrote this chapter (Maybe that's why I feel that way) BB's one of my favorite bands! They ROCK!

So anyways… back to the story. Enjoy! Cause here goes nothing… *Gulps nervously*

Oh and AGAIN! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS! AND REVIEWS! YOU GUYS KEEP MY ALIVE AND MOTIVATED AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT!

(I'm re-uploading this chapter cause I had to fix some things. Sorry for the inconvenience guys.)

Chapter 20: And Then There Were Four... But For How Long?

There was no mistaking it.

The marks were as clear as day.

Teeth marks… Zombie Teeth marks…

NonononoNO! This can't be happening! Not to Rapunzel! Jack couldn't take his eyes off the bite mark and Rapunzel couldn't take her eyes off his. She didn't see fear in them at all… Instead she saw… Anger? Guilt? Sorrow? Regret…? She couldn't perceive all the different emotions that ran by his face. But in a flash, they were all gone and were replaced with his stone cold mask once more. Even though his face didn't give anything away she could literally feel the anxiety radiating off him. It was odd… Even though she was the one who got bit; Jack looked like he was the one in pain.

But she wasn't all that far behind in that department. The pain of the bit mark was nothing compared to the pain she felt in her heart. The pain of realizing what was going to happen to her. In a few hours or maybe even minutes, she was going to turn into a zombie. A disgusting man-eating disfigured zombie. How was anyone supposed to cope with that?

Jack was the first one to snap out of the all-around shock and despair that everybody was in. He steps forward; shoulders squared; face determined. He bends down and grabs Rapunzel's wrist and hauls her to her feet; a little forceful than necessary. She offers him little to no resistance. He cuts through the others as they wordlessly give way for the two of them.

Jack takes her to one of the bar stools and motions her to sit. She obeys; not once taking her eyes off his face. He seemed so calm…. Scary calm even. It was unnatural for anyone to be like this- This emotionless. She saw him grab the fallen first aid kit and walk over to her.

"Merida, help me with this," He said; without even the slightest bit of quiver in the words. When the fiery haired girl didn't make a move to acknowledge him, he called again, this time more commandingly. "Merida!"

Merida tried not to flinch at the sheer hardness in his voice. She looked over at a worried Hiccup before making her way over to the two teens. He gave her the antibiotic and held onto Rapunzel's wrist and elbow to keep her hand steady. Merida wasn't an expert but she didn't need to be one to do this. She gave Rapunzel a sympathetic look before starting. She placed her knife on the counter and silently cleaned the bite wound as the others watched on.

Rapunzel winced as the burning liquid touched the raw wound. Her arm was on fire but she couldn't bring herself to pull away from Jack's hold. His nails were digging into her skin but she didn't care. She turned to look at the snowy haired boy's face again. On the outside he seemed completely impassive but she could tell he wasn't feeling the same on the inside by the way his hands were trembling. She wanted to know what was going on in his mind. She wanted him to say something; anything! It felt like he was shutting her out and for some reason that hurt more than anything else. "Jack…"

"Don't." He snapped; his voice low and grainy. He sounded tired. Not physically maybe but emotionally…? He seemed exhausted. How much does the poor guy have to go through before he finally breaks?

"Jack…" She tried again in a more pleading voice. Begging him to listen.

"Be quiet, Punzie." There he goes again. Calling her by the nickname only he was allowed to say. It was breaking her heart. Tears welled up in her eyes; causing his face to become blurry.

He still doesn't look at her though. He can't. He just couldn't face her; couldn't face the fact that he had failed. Failed at keeping the most important promise he's made in the recent past.

To keep her safe and to protect her.

In a lot of ways, Rapunzel was a lot like Emma. Maybe that's why he could open up to her so easily. Maybe that's why he felt good hanging out with her. Maybe that's why he felt the overwhelming desire to keep her safe. And maybe that's why this hurt more than any physical injury he has ever had combined.

He felt like an invisible hand had reached into his chest and was squeezing the life out of his heart. Even though he looked calm on the outside, he was freaking out on the inside.

"Jack, please…" She whispered. A single tear making its way down her cheek.

That was enough for Jack to finally look at her.

She looks at the bite and then back at him. "It's no use…"

"No…" He shakes his head in denial.

"You have to do it," She nods, doing everything in her power to stay strong for him and not burst into a teary mess. She pulls her arms away and cups his hand in both of hers. "You have to kill me-"

"NO!" Jack suddenly yells. He couldn't contain it anymore. The anger came off him like tsunami tidal waves. This time everyone in the diner flinched; Rapunzel included. He grabbed the first aid kit and hurled it at the closest wall and swiped everything off the counter in rage. He then grabbed a stool and flung it blindly at the opposite side of the counter. It didn't stand a chance and broke on contact. He threw anything he could get his hands on and majority of the faultless objects around him ultimately met their sad demise. After his loud and violent outburst, he gripped the edge of the counter and bowed over; willing himself to calm down. His shoulders were shaking and his breathing was heavy. He let his head drop, chin to his chest with an exhausted sigh. No one in the diner dared to say a word. Even poor Toothless hid in between his master's legs.

After a few moments Rapunzel gasped and everyone's gaze fell on her. She whimpered and cradled her wounded arm close to her chest.

"Rapunzel?"

"She's turning man!" came Flynn's panicked yell as he lifted his rifle to take aim.

"You raise that gun even an inch higher, you'll be dead before you hit the ground, got it?" Jack barked loudly and with equal gruffness. "Do I make myself clear?!"

He did... Flynn reluctantly lowered the weapon. But as soon as he did, the whole diner burst with high-pitched voices of the teens. Everyone seemed to be arguing about their own point on how to deal with the situation until one voice boomed louder than the rest.

"No, Damn it!" Jack barked, successfully shutting everyone up. "No one's killing anyone!"

"Then what're we supposed to do?" Astrid asked with irritation. This was getting them nowhere. She liked these guys, she genuinely did and she felt bad for them but this time Flynn was right. The only merciful way to deal with this was to end Rapunzel's life and possibly save her the agony.

Jack only took a moment to think about it before pulling out his keys and holding it out to Merida. "My car's up front, take it and get outta here. All of you."

"What about you?" Hiccup asked though he already knew the answer to that one.

Jack looked at him and ruefully smiled. Like you don't know the answer to that one… He gave the brunette boy an 'I won't leave her even if she kills me for it' look.

Rapunzel, who understood the silent conversation, spoke up immediately; still clutching onto her arm. "Jack, no… Please, go with them. Leave me here."

He chuckles ruefully again and turns around. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Punz."

"Are you sure about this?" Jim asks. He knows it's not his place to make Jack's decisions for him. If staying here's what he truly wants to do then it's his funeral.

Jack looks at them dead in the face and right then, they knew that he's completely serious and nothing was going to change his mind.

"I'm staying too." Hiccup says suddenly.

"What?" Jack and Rapunzel both asked him. Jack sounding surprised while Rapunzel sounded distressed.

"I've decided that I'm gonna stay here with you guys," He repeats once more. They freaking saved my life. If it wasn't for them he probably would be died in some nameless convenience store by now or somewhere on the street. They were the first-and probably the last- real friends he's ever had. He won't abandon them when things got rough. That's not what real friends do. Besides, he didn't even thank her yet for saving his life, so you see, he had to stay. He then looked hopefully at Merida.

Merida switched her eyes from one best friend to the other before letting out an annoying huff. "Ya guys have some loose screws up here…" She said twirling her finger inches away from her right temple. But she was sure they got the true meaning behind those words. She was staying. Even though she didn't want anyone to know, deep down she knew she wanted to stay too. She was with them through thick n' thin; as the Americans say… or was that the British…?

Rapunzel stared at them like they just came out of the cuckoo's nest. "What is wrong with you people?!" She cried, jabbing both her fists at the ground. "You're all crazy, you stupid idiots!"

Rapunzel saw all three of her best friends grin stupidly back at her before Hiccup said. "Well, at least we're crazy idiots together then," She felt Toothless's soft fur brushing against her leg. The dog barked and looked at her with a happy doggie smile while wagging its tail.

With that Rapunzel sank back down with a frustrated sigh. But inside she couldn't be gladder. She knew it was selfish of her but she wanted her friends to stay with her. Till the end. She wanted all of them to be together until her last moments on earth. She didn't want to go through this inevitably cruel transformation alone. She wanted someone there to end it before it even begins. She was truly happy they were staying back for her but she still scolded them. They were still crazy fools and were completely off their rockers.

"Then that's that," Jack then tuned and tossed his keys to Flynn who quickly snatched it from the air out of reflex. He smirked. "Take good care of her,"

"Won't you need a ride too?" Astrid asked. She looked apologetically at Rapunzel. "You know… after…?"

"There's a Mustang out there, right?" Jack chose to ignore her 'after' comment as if he'd never heard it and just skipped to answering her question. He had seen the car parked neatly beside another haphazardly parked Ford. Astrid said the Ford had broken down, that was the reason he was letting them take his car instead. Jack anyway didn't plan on using the Mustang anytime soon. "We'll just hotwire it."

"Do you even know how?" asked Flynn with one eye brow raised.

Jack actually looked insulted by that. "What, you thought I'd spend all that time in the Juvie and not learn a thing or two?" He smirked. Come to think of it, he had learnt a lot of useful things while he was there, huh, go figure. Besides if he was leaving here then it would be with Rapunzel and his friends or not at all.

They will find a way to fix her… they had to!

"Where ta heck did all those zombies come from anyway?" Merida asked.

"I told you there were a whole bunch of them when we came here. Not my fault you didn't believe me. They must've come alive again. They tend to do that, in case you didn't know."

"We do know," Hiccup said. "Which is why we're going to be locking them up in the cooler," that way when they came alive again, they won't be a danger to anyone.

The other four teens stuck around long enough to help them drag, carry and stuff the zombies in the walk-in freezer.

Jack, Merida and even Hiccup went to help out too. But they didn't want to leave Rapunzel alone.

"Will you be alright?" Jack asked her.

She gave them a feeble smile. No… "Yeah, go ahead. I-I'll be fine." She didn't want to sound needy. It's just that, she wanted to spend as much time as she possibly could with her friends before her life came to an end.

"We'll be right back." And just like that, they were gone-but not forever; not yet.

They were back by her side before she could even miss them; which wasn't all true. She missed them the second they left but now they were here. The two teen gangs wished each other farewell and one of them left in the Chevy to the town's only exit while the other stayed behind at the diner.

Once everything was done, the four best friends sat at one of the tables in the main room. "So, uh… Now what?" asked Hiccup feeling unsure.

"Now," Jack sighed. "We wait."

I know this is a pretty short chapter compared to the others I'e wrtten but its sort of preparing you for the next. So... next time, come prepared. Lol.

SHOUT OUTS TIME!

AvaniAcrux: Lol, nah I get it! I do that too sometimes. Cause some authors *cough cough* take ages to update and you'll be like… hang on, what happened in the previous chapter again? So you wait for a few chapters to get with the flow. I understand. ^^ Thank you for the review though! It means a lot (especially coming from my regular readers hehe) (::)(::)(::)
BoneKat: ChaosKitten16 HI! ^o^ ( I hope you got the cookies Dreamer sent you ^^) Lol, that idea though XD I might have to steal that for future use (*evil chuckles to myself*) IT DOES GET LONELY! But worry not cause this sort of immortality is selective. So I can choose to die once I know my deed is done. AND YES CAKE! AND YOUR NOT SUPPOSE TO EAT THEM ALL AT ONCE! *gushes over you like Tooth* Save some for later, whydoncha? (::)(::)
OneWhoDreamz: Hmm… I suppose your right… But what if I told you your straining your mind too much. You need to step back and think simpler. ^^ Lol, Dreamer, you're really in for such a ride. YOU ARE SO CLOSE ON ONE OF THEM THOUGH UUGGGHHH I WANNA TELL YOU SO BAD! But spoilers though so you'll have to read to see which one of your theories it is. And as for the black bag I'll let you know, either story form or chapter form. Lol, fear not, you will know eventually. I LOVED THE REVIEW! Thank you! (::)(::)(::)
Amaya-chan07: Yes, Zombies equals death. How can it ever be avoided huh? Lol, but it's not the end yet. Not by a long shot. That's all I can give you right now I'm afraid. So just stick around, okay? (::)
Unknown: Thank you! Here's your update! Hope you liked it! (::)
Infrared-Ultraviolet: Oh yay! Your back! C13: I didn't include Pascal this time cause then it'll just be too many characters to deal with and it'll get kinda unnecessary. Maybe I'll include him in future fics. ^^ And now that you've pointed that out it does sound hilarious XD True, Punz is definitely an animal lover if the movie is anything to go by. She became friends with Max pretty damn fast after all. XD AND IKR! Who isn't sarcastic when they're annoyed amarite? Oh and the part that confuces you. I usually write the italics below the person I'm referring to. So you can kinda figure it out that way. I'll try to keep what you send in mind for the future chapters though. C14: I KNOW! I'm so cruel to Hiccup! Forgive me Toothless! IKR! Jack is bad-ass. I love characters who are all cold and tsundere idk kill me for I am the deepest trash ever. TRASH I TELL YOU! And okay, I'll try. Lol. C15: IKR! Tbh, Jack made the right call. XD And thank you! I hope I can keep the pace going and keep scaring you. And I have a weird thing with resourcefulness rather than Ex-Machinas, ya know? It just seems so overused these days. C16: I KNOW! So much angst. Also, I'm super happy you have such confidence in my character killing abilities. XD And your right. I'm pretty bad at writing romance stuff (if you can't tell already) so…. Yeah, plus, no one has the time to deal with love right now. SURVING FIRST! And ikr! I felt bad writing that line tbh, but Jack's been dealing with so much shit and crude remarks that he'd pick up something for someone along the way. Again, thank you! I shall try! C17: Lol, yeah. Poor bb. Will my torment for him never stop? Is it considered a spoiler if I explain the moon thing to you right now? I guess not… If you think it might THEN YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED SKIP THE ITALICS LINES RIGHT NOW: Okay, so Jack seeing Emma's face in the moon is, in fact, metaphorical. Like, your brain has a way of making you see things that aren't there if those feelings are powerful enough. But as the worry and doubt and fear for her wellbeing begins to seep into his heart, he stops seeing her (in his mind.) So it's that type of thing. Jack keeps thinking he'll see Emma's face in the moon as long as she's alive and well. And now that he doubts whether or not she is, is affecting his ability to see her anymore. I hope that clarifies that. And lol, OMG YES! Same. Like, "you. Yeah, you over there in that corner desk. I can tolerate you." XD Hang in there. The backstory is coming soon. Lol. Thanks for the review! (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) (A cookie for each chapter review and an extra)
ava: DO NOT WORRY! As I keep saying. I will never abandon a fanfic. Even if it doesn't get a lot of attention. Once I've started something I'll finish it. Please just bear with me. (::)
Phoenix F: YES! YES! HERE YOU GO! I'm going to hell for this. But its ok. Lol (::)
Guest: Yay! Thank you! I try my best! Hope you liked this chapter and I didn't scar you too much. Hehe. (::)

So thats it for now! I hope you enjoyed.
Please leave me your comments cause it really makes me happy to read them no matter how small. ^^
Until next time!
Byeeeeee!