A.N: I swear I have no idea how this always happens. I upload and log out thinking I'll be back next week and ... I come back seven days later and BAM it's the end of the year suddenly. Like how!?

Well... here I am though. Almost a year later. :) Thank you guys for forever being patient with me about writing fanfics still. It continues to be a really fun hobby and it just helps lighten my mood. I hope reading the crap I write lightens up yours too! Hehe.

Before I get all sappy- ON TO THE SHOW!

ENJOY!

Chapter 27: Sinners are Forbidden from Entering Heaven's Golden Gates

It wasn't working!

They were too late.

Far too late…

He wasn't coming back to them.

Don't… don't do this…

It's never too late… There's still a chance.

Maybe not this time… maybe this is where they truly said their last goodbyes…

No! Not here…Not now… Not EVER!

They just had to keep trying harder.

… And keep breathing for him.

"Jack… don't… don't go…" Rapunzel said breathlessly. Tears streamed down her face like waterfalls but she didn't care. All that mattered was Jack. She repeated CPR for the fifth time on him also checking his pulse simultaneously. "You made a promise to me, remember?" She choked.

He promised he'd find a way to reunite her with her parents…

He promised he would be alright and not make her worry…

He promised her when this nightmare was over that he would go back to his family…

No way was she letting him break all those promises. He couldn't! She wouldn't let him.

They were all screaming his name desperately.

Merida and Hiccup helped with the compressing as they both took turns trying to get Jack's heart and lungs to work. They did the compressions while Rapunzel breathed air for him. They were mumbling incoherently to themselves between gaps or at least Hiccup was.

Seeing Jack like this—so still; so lifeless and dead. It was just too much to bear. It just didn't seem real. It felt wrong. Everything felt so wrong and out of place. This wasn't supposed to happen! First, it was Rapunzel, and now Jack?

It was just too much to handle.

"Stay with us, Jack…" Rapunzel looked up at the moon for a second. Please don't take him away from me…

She breathed for him again. His chest inflated and fell. Then nothing…

Jack's skin was normally always pale but now; it was ghostly pale-like a corpse. She checked his pulse again; willing to feel the light thump against her shaky fingers but nothing. They repeated the process again and yelled out his name but received no response from him at all.

How many minutes had he spent with water suffocating his lungs? Ten? Fifteen? More?

"P-please… Don't do this to me!" Rapunzel was wailing in sorrow. But she wasn't giving up and neither were her friends as they still tried their best to revive their snowy-haired friend. She patted his cheek; a little harsher than necessary but his head only lolled on the wet ground "Don't you dare leave me now! After… after everything we've been through together… you can't leave us now! Wake up, you jerk!"

But Jack remained as motionless as the still and serene night. His skin was ice-cold.

They couldn't keep going at it much longer. The muscles in their arms were burning from the strain and Rapunzel was beginning to feel dizzy from giving him all of her air. It seemed like forever since they pulled their lifeless friend out of the deep depths of watery despair and yet it seemed they were just too late to save him.

The wind blew gently around them. The cold air mixed with the wetness in their clothes sent shivers coursing through their bones, although they weren't quite sure if the cold was the only thing making them tremble right now.

"Jack, please!"

"Stay with us…"

They repeated the words like a broken record… as if the infliction and sincerity in their voices alone would magically bring him back to the world of living. They didn't know what else to do…

Nothing was working…

They stopped and looked at each other in misery; the same hopelessness reflected in all their eyes.

Seconds passed… then Minutes… and still, Jack showed no signs of waking up from his eternal slumber.

They had truly lost him and now all they felt was dark emptiness filling the huge black hole in their hearts. They felt numb and their bodies felt weak and wooden.

It's been too long, those minutes felt like hours and they knew that too many of those had passed already.

It was over…

They were moments away from accepting the unacceptable when suddenly they saw crystal blue eyes shoot open and water spouting out from his greyish blue tinged lips.

Out of spontaneity and instinct, Hiccup and Merida helped Rapunzel roll a choking Jack to his side to help him expel all the water from his water-logged lungs.

The three teens couldn't even believe the amount of water that was gushing out of his lungs as Jack convulsed and hacked. His limbs twitched and his arms twisted and pulled at his blue hoodie, battling desperately to take in as much air as he could. His chest shuddered with the effort as he managed to gulp in little wisps of oxygen. He heaved and coughed with the remaining shred of energy he had left.

"It's alright, Jack. You're gonna be okay…"

"We gotcha, buddy."

"Hang in there, Snowcone."

Jack heard his friends' supporting words. Once he finished hacking the lake out of his lungs he rolled over to his back and let his eyes drop. It felt like the weight of ten elephants was pulling his eyelids down. He coughed some more even though his lungs were no longer occupied by liquid. This throat felt like it had just went through a meat grinder. If only he could lay there and drift off into oblivion. He left hands touching his arm and face. But at the moment he couldn't care less… more like he didn't have the energy to bat at them. He was completely spent.

Jack lay on the wet squishy ground for a long while; glad that his friends weren't disturbing him. Finally when he began to breathe a little easier he fluttered his eyes open only to find three- No, four sets of eyes peering back at him. He cleared his throat and whispered out hoarsely. "Quit starin' already, it's creepin' me out…"

The comment received a wide grin from Rapunzel, a small chuckle from Hiccup, and snort from Merida, and a happy bark from Toothless.

"I oughta smack ya in ta head for makin' us worry like that, ya damn glaikit Icicle!" An angry Merida mocked before collapsing beside him on her back; in the same position as Jack was.

"I'd like to see you try, Red Bush…" scoffed Jack but ended up grimacing instead.

"Hey, don't try to talk. You're still-" Hiccup started but Jack cut him off with a lazy wave of his head.

"I'm fine, Hic…"

"No, you're not!" Rapunzel rebuked suddenly; her voice silencing everyone and echoing through the forest. "Stop acting like some kind of an invincible hero, Jack…! You died! Can't you understand that! You died and it was a miracle that you're still even alive right now! We almost lost you, you idiot! I was so worried and scared! You weren't breathing on your own and you were s-so still and … and… dead. We were so… Oh god, what would I have done if… if…" Her loud high pitched voice had shrunk down to merely a hitched whisper.

Jack remained stoic throughout her rant. He watched her as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed her eyes out; her shoulders hitching. He sighed and lifted himself up on his elbow till he was completely in a sitting position. He leaned towards the golden-haired girl and wrapped his arms around her and laid his chin on top of her head.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered to her. "I'm sorry for making you worry like that and for scaring you."

Rapunzel opened her glassy eyes and leaned into his hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him closer so her ear was resting over his heart. She smiled as she listened to his rhythmic heartbeats. To make sure that all this wasn't just a cruel twisted hallucination. Jack was really here; hugging her in his strong arms. He was alive.

She missed the contact as soon as he let go; wishing it lasted just a little bit longer. Jack sat back on the grass and chuckled as Toothless came to lick his face and nuzzled its nose into his hand. "Alright, alright I like you too… Now get off, Fido. I'm already wet; I don't need your doggie slobber adding to it."

"Here, I think this belongs to you," Hiccup said as he handed the gun back to its owner. He saw the silvery-haired boy stare at it with an unreadable expression before reaching out and taking it from him muttering a faint 'thanks.'

"Hey!" Merida yelled suddenly and sat up so fast that it made everyone jump. "Wha' happened ta the zombie?"

It was a good question. They hadn't even thought about the zombie as they were so busy trying to bring Jack back to life. What did happen to it?

"You mean that one?" Hiccup asked rhetorically, as he pointed his finger to the center of the lake.

The others squinted their eyes and were able to see a dark shape floating in the water like an algae infested log when it fact it was the zombie. It was not moving; just drifting. It must be dead then. It should've drowned and remained at the bottom of the lake but they guessed the reason for it to be floating was because dead bodies float… and the zombie had been a dead corpse for months. It was only natural for it to float. Though they were still surprised it died so easily.

Easily? Yeah, right…

"So, what do weh do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jack tilted his head slightly in her direction. "We head back into tow-"

"Nah-uh! Not in that condition, you're not!" Rapunzel felt her anger rise up again. "Did you not get the part where I said you DIED! You could have hypothermia or-"

"Jeez, Punz, calm down. I don't have hypothermia. I'm normally always this cold."

"Yeah, I know but still, you're not ready to face another zombie attack. None of us are," Rapunzel told him. She was too tired to go trekking into town and besides their only means of transportation was now sleeping at the bottom of the Burgess Lake.

"We're not gonna be facing a zombie attack. I know a shortcut." Jack gave them a knowing smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"We're going to make it to Pitch's place using the sewers."

"Wha!? Eww… Hell no!" Merida wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"It's the only way." Jack sighed and rubbed his temple; which didn't go unnoticed by his friends.

"Okay, let's say we agree with your idea," Hiccup held out a hand to silence a protesting Rapunzel before continuing. "Do you even realize how hard it is to navigate through the sewers? We could get lost down there."

"No we won't," Jack smirked cheekily. "How else do you think I escape from the cops all the time?" Certainly not by running on the streets. Although sometimes he would let himself get caught because that's what Pitch demanded but other times he would just escape into the sewers and make his way to Pitch's place. He knew almost every tunnel through the sewer system like the back of his hand, now wasn't that something to be proud of.

"Ugh, are weh seriously goin' through wit this?" Merida asked sitting on her elbows.

"Hey, if you got a better idea, I'm all for it,"

David's car's gone. And as Rapunzel said, they weren't ready or nearly as prepared as they should be to face the zombies that are sure to be freely lumbering around town so this was their only safest option.

"Well, I'm NOT!"

"Fine, then I'll go by myself."

"We're not letting you do that!"

"How are you going to stop me?"

"We'll… tie you to a tree."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"Why are you being so difficult?"

"I'm trying to figure a way out of this mess!"

"And it can't wait until you recover?"

"Recover from what? I'm fine!"

"Ugh, it's like talking to a wall! You're being irrational and pig-headed! You're far from fine!"

"And you're overthinking this too much. Look, guys, I'm fine so like it or not I'm going."

"Alright!" Rapunzel huffed in irritation at Jack's stubbornness. "But only on one condition! We all stay and get some rest first."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Hiccup said as he too collapsed on his back with Toothless snuggling in beside him.

"Right, those in favor o' Rapunzel say 'I'," Merida said raising her arm to the night sky and was followed by the 'I's of the other two.

Bark!

"See, Snowcone. Even the Mutt agrees wit' us."

"Damn it," Jack cursed under his breath. Fine, he guessed a few hours of rest wouldn't be a problem. In fact, it may even be just what he needed. Despite his words earlier, he wasn't fine. He felt dizzy and lightheaded and was sure he had a massive headache coming on. He felt extremely weak, not to mention his body was inches away from dropping dead. No pun intended. Plus he also felt a little nauseous. So he decided to listen to his friends. "But only for a few hours."

"Fine!"

"Fine." Jack retorted one last time before mimicking his friends and lying down and closing his tired red-rimmed eyes.

See guys? They're all fiinneee... You didn't think I'd actually kill one of the main characters in a zombie fanfic, did you...? Haha... ha..ha... ◑.◑

Well. At least they get a little bit of rest before they continue on their journey. :) NOW WHO WANTS COOKIES?!

SHOUT OUTS!

elocin the lost: Hello again! ^^ Always good to hear from you. *holds up a shield and backs into a corner* The boy is alive... The boy is alive I swear... Lol yeah didn't sit that well Jack the first time around huh? XD Then again... If he hadn't drowned, there would be no RoTG movie... soooo... XD Ohh! I have watched Epic before but none of the characters stuck with me so I didn't remember their names right away. I'm sorry! ^^; AND YES CROWS ARE THE NEATEST! (My mom would highly disagree though lol) And Yay! I'm super glad you liked the chapter! It's always nice to hear from your readers. Thank you for the wonderful review. MAY THE COOKIE GODS SMILE UPON YOU! (::)(::)(::)
GabeElf:*NOM NOM NOM* Thank you so much for the lovely cookies and the lovely review as well. ^^ I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. A much-needed break from cliffies I think. Hehehe (::)(::)
thewindyguy: As you command ^^ Hehe, don't worry. I'll finish this story if it's the last thing I do. Your reviews bring me just as much joy! Please enjoy! (::)
Dolphin Shanks: Awww! Hi there! Your review brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much. I can't believe my writing actually inspired someone. Thank you so so much for taking the time to let me know your thoughts! It means the world to me. And I hope your dreams of becoming an author come true and you sore the skies! I would love to read anything you've writing and/or planning to write. And please don't apologize for the wall of text. XD I love them. Spam me with the words XD And thank you for the yummy cookies too. I genuinely have tears blocking my slight right now lol. Here are some extra delicious cookies for you, my friend. (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)

I'd love to hear your thoughts for any chapter so far! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!
Everyone, please take care!
And stay safe!

Until next time guys!
Cheers!