A/N) Hello there, thanks for all your amazing reviews and for following this story. I hope you guys like this chapter - it definitely helps move the story in to our next phase.
And now I'm just relizing - this story might become longer than I thought.
Oops.
Anyway.
Motivation is your Superpower!
It was peaceful.
Unsettlingly so.
Boomer's felt this weird tingling in the back of his neck all day, since Butch left with the group. He's walking around base and trying to help people with random tasks but his feet just keep taking him form one place to the other without point. Something feels really, really off.
"Boomer?"
Boomer startles at the sound of his name, his dark blue eyes widen as he looks at the source of the word. Bubbles is standing outside of the infirmary biting her lip as she looks at him with, what his small heart can only rejoice at, concern. He's never had anyone else be concerned about him before.
"Yah?"
"Are you alright? You seem - edgy today. Very - um - twitchy almost."
So she noticed - huh, maybe there really was something wrong.
"No - no, I'm fine . . .yah." Mostly - "Totally fine." Not at all. Something's wrong, Butch isn't back yet. Something's wrong. Oh crap - "I'm good." He grins at her knowing it doesn't reach his eyes. He's internally freaking out way too much to act very well.
She notices.
She's very observant. "You sure Boomer - you honestly don't seem fine. Are you worried about your brother?"
Boomer waits a beat, he kicks up a cloud of dust with his dirty boot. Should he tell her his weird paranoid thoughts? That was going to worry her though - maybe he shouldn't . . .
"I'm worried about Butch and the others. They're not back yet" He blurts out.
Bubble's pretty eyes lower and she sighs. '"Me too - it's been bothering me all day. I always worry when Buttercup goes out like this."
His heart swells. She understands!
"I know she's really good at fighting, maybe even the best but - but sometimes - sometimes I worry. Anything can happen out there you know. Anything at all." She looks out towards the gate now, her golden hair shiny under the dim sun light, her pretty, smooth face forming a sad frown. Boomer realizes he doesn't want that look on her face anymore.
He doesn't like it.
Bubbles was too - too bright to look anything other than happy.
"Yah - yah, but they'll be fine." He tries to comfort her.
Bubbles cast him a soft look now, her lips tug at the corners a little and he counts that as a success. "They will." She agrees.
Boomer prays to anything that he's right.
"Cut that out."
"Cut what out?" Boomer asks, the picture of innocence as he continues to do the very thing Brick wants him to stop doing.
"Pacing. Stop pacing - you're making me tense." Brick snaps, definitely not in the mood for Boomers nerves. Boomer has the sneaking suspicion that Brick's been feeling the paranoid worry that's been bothering Boomer too.
"It's late." Boomer says.
Brick doesn't answer, his nose stuck back in his ratty paper pile. Books - they called them books.
"The sun's setting."
Brick still doesn't answer. Boomer suspects he's listening though because his dark red eyes look slightly glazed.
"Zombies come out now - you know, the hordes." His throat feels dry, his nerves frizzle a bit. "Lots of them. Hundreds. They're not back yet - why aren't they back yet? They're fine right? Butch's fine, 'course he is - he's fine - just a little late . . . they're fine." His words get more tense and shaky as he speaks.
"Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine - all is well - no need to worry, I'm not worried. Are you? Well, you shouldn't be - worried I mean - you shouldn't be - you know, cuz - cuz I'm not and - and they're fine so there's no need - so stop looking worried -"
"Boomer!"
Boomer freezes, eyes huge as he stares at Brick's tight expression. Bricks fingers are white from the grip he has on the book thing, eyes narrowed viciously at him.
"Meep." Boomer squeaks.
"Shut. Up."
Boomer suddenly feels like crying. He takes a shaky breath and nods, eyes on the ground. "Yah - yah they're probably fine."
He can feel Bricks frustration in the wordless space they are in.
Then a sound shakes the walls of their cabin.
A low deep below that neither of them have never heard before. It shakes the ground and vibrates all the way up Boomer's legs. His eyes snap to Bricks' and somehow they both have the same thought.
Something's wrong.
They tear out of the room and bolt for the gates - so is everyone else.
Oh - oh no, no way - not - Boomers' heart's in his throat, his brain is sizzling with fear. Brick grabs his collar and holds tight, he does this as some sort of security assurance, or maybe he just wants to make sure Boomers still there.
"Move, move, move, move!" A tall man - and the Professor come shoving through the crowd.
"What's happened?" Boomer here's Professor asks as they rush through the crowd of people.
Boomer vaguely recognizes the tall man as the guy who was training Buttercup and the others. He doesn't, however, recognize the blob of human in black clothing they are carrying inside. Boomers heart flips in terror – Bricks' grip on his shirt tightens.
Then Butch breaks through the crowd. Hair disheveled, face bruising, scratches everywhere and blood dried on the corner of his mouth.
He looks terrible.
And Boomer's never been so happy to see him.
He shakes off Bricks loosening grip and charges towards their idiot brother who's looking around the crowd like he's in a daze or something. Boomer watches that confusion fade when Butch's eyes catch him.
"You're alive!" Boomer gasps, grabbing Butch's sleeve as he tries to breath.
Butch's face is tight, "Yah - but I don't think Mitch will be in a bit."
"What happened?" Brick asks as he walks up, eyes training on the rest of the group members coming in. None of them look so good.
"Zombies Brick." Butch says, his voice flat, Boomers never seen such a dim look in his brothers eyes before - then he looks at what Butch won't stop staring at.
Buttercup.
She looks worse than all of them.
Her hair is dirt, caked with –Boomer shudders – Zombie fluids, her face as scratches all down he side, her shirt sleeves are ripped and her entire being is dusty with some dark questionable substances spread all over.
She was talking with Blossom who was shooting off questions at her which seemed to be making the dark haired girl more and more anxious.
"Zombies - there were seven of you, how did - "
"There's something wrong with 'em." Butch cuts Brick off, now his eyes swivel to meet Bricks' quizzical ones, he grabs Bricks' wrist where his hand is still gripping onto Butchs' shirt, and lets out a deep breath.
Then Boomer sees the horror in his face.
"They're faster Brick, and they - they don't - they're limbs, they don't break off - like - like they ain't dead flesh anymore. They're - "
"Alive?" Boomer startles them with his horrified whisper. Both his brothers look at him.
"Yah - yah. Alive. They could see too, they had two eyes a piece and they're teeth - more teeth, less grey and moved fast, real fast." Butch continues, his voice cracking a bit towards the end. Boomer notices his arm twitch. Brick hasn't let go yet.
The three of them go silent in the middle of the noise surrounding them. Everyone was running back and forth, doing only they know what - Buttercup and Blossom had disappeared and the rest of the people seemed to have forgotten the three little boys standing there.
Then Boomer startles to life and turns towards the infirmary, that's where most of the people are, he moves towards it, trying to ignore the buzzing in his brain that's supposed to be keeping him away from this. That was his flight signal - but he walks towards the mess of people and elbows his way through until he gets inside.
Professor is whirling around the spread out body, Boomer feels sick as he looks closer, Mitch's arm had puncture wounds in it and - and it's turning a sickly grey-yellow color. Buttercup was sitting on a crate next to the boy's unmoving form, and Boomer wonders - wonders for a brief horrible second - what she'll do when Mitch dies.
A heavy hand startles him as Butch pulls him back a little, face tight and stony, his green eyes dark as he looks at the boy on the cot. Boomer suddenly wishes they hadn't come here. It's a horrible weight on his heart, like ice has encase it and its making it too heavy to beat - but - but if they hadn't come here, they wouldn't have anyone else to worry about - besides themselves.
If they hadn't come here - they wouldn't have anyone else to mourn -
If they hadn't come here -
Boomer realizes the world was suddenly blurry, he feels hot liquid run down his dusty cheeks and - and he's crying.
Brick's on the other side now, red eyes narrowing at the boy on the cot.
Boomer hastily wipes the tears away with the back of his hand and avoids sniffing too loudly. He looks up a Brick - his oldest brother - probably the strongest of them - probably the scariest when it comes to anger - suddenly Boomer has a flash back -
That time when Butch had stayed out longer than he was supposed to - He remembers how worked up Brick had become - Pacing and muttering of how he'll kill Butch once he gets home, if the Zombies hadn't.
Boomer remembers the sheer tenseness of his brother for hours; he hadn't sat down - then finally he'd gone out. Boomer had wanted to follow. Brick said no.
"In case he comes back.'
So he sat there for what felt like years - until Butch burst into the place - scraped up, worn and definitely not dead.
"Where's Brick."
"Went out to find you."
"Crap - we gotta get him."
Then they'd run out to find Brick - Boomer remembers feeling like that night would never end. He remembers hating every tight moment they took to find Brick - he doesn't know how but . . . but he felt something off that night.
When they found Brick hiding behind a bare store shelf griping his arm - he hated that he'd been right.
Brick had been bitten. His arm - was turning that ugly color Boomer was looking at now on Mitch. Brick was dying - Boomer remembers the gripping fear, the sheer force of pain that came with the thought.
They'd taken him back to base - Brick had told them never to do that - because once the bite kills them , they're going to Zombie and - and then -
Boomer shudders at the memory -
He also remembers that Brick wasn't dead - he hadn't died. He was alive the next morning, and the bite had disappeared.
The boys couldn't explain it - Brick couldn't explain it and it had bothered him for a while until he learned to just accept the fact that he wasn't dead and thye didn't have to go on without him.
Brick hadn't died.
But Mitch will.
Why?
"Carful Buttercup - hold him steady while I inject this." Professors' voice was firm and calm - Boomer wonders how he does that - as he carefully sticks something in Mitch's arm.
The boy convulses for a moment then goes still. Boomer sees the flash of despair on the older man's face for a brief second. Bubbles comes in from the other side, her arms full of things Boomer doesn't know what for, Blossom on her tail, her pretty face was scrunched up as if she was in deep though, on auto pilot as she navigated her way towards Professor.
Brick does that too - when he's thinking so hard.
"It - doesn't look good Professor - " Blossom says suddenly, she refuses to look at her green eyed sister who'd just thrown her a glare of death.
Professor shakes his head sadly. Bubbles turns away, Boomer sees the tears on her pretty face. He suddenly wants to reach out and hug her or - or something.
"He'll be turned by morning." Professor says, "If none of these work - "
Brick steps forward and clears his throat. They all turn to look at him. "If what doesn't work?"
Blossom shots him a sharp look before glancing at Professor. The older man nods and turns back towards his desk. The red haired girl turns to them now.
"Professor has been trying to create a cure. For the past eight years, all these are - tests."
Boomer gapes at her, a cure? For the undead?
"That's the thing Boomer - we're not so sure - they - that they are undead. If they die at all." Blossom answers his thoughts.
Had he said that out loud? Oops.
"Wait, wait, wait - you sayin' - are you saying we don't die from this?" Butch asks suddenly, his eyes widen at that.
Boomers pretty sure his own face has gone white. Brick's lips tighten in a thin line -they don't - die?
"Then - then what is this?" Brick asks.
Have all their ten years of knowledge been incorrect this entire time?
"A sickness - virus, disease - " Blossom answers.
The Zombies they've killed - aren't dead?
"And you think, if this is true, you can fix it? All over the world?" Brick sounds skeptical.
They've been killing sick people?
"That's the goal." She sounds so sure.
Boomer throws up.
Everyone reacts by either moveing away, screaming, or smacking him on the back. Butch's the one who smacked him.
"Boomer? You alright man?" Butch asks, voice a lot rougher than it should be.
Boomer hacks, dry heaves, his throat burns, his head is spinning and - and theirs a Zombifying person in this room - and - and - "Brick didn't get sick." He spits out suddenly, his voice burning his throat as he does.
The room - despite the throw up on the floor - freezes.
Like, Boomer can feel time stop for a full moment.
"What did you say?" Blossoms voice breaks the pause, a whisper - like she's afraid that if Boomer repeats the sentence - it won't be true.
"I said- " He straightens, shaking Butch off -Bricks face looks furrowed in concentration as he looks at Boomer hard. "Brick got bit a while back. He didn't get Zombified - he was ok the next morning."
Boomer sees the realization dawn on his older brothers' face, like the shadows cleared from it or something.
Buttercups on him - she grabs Boomers arms in a death like grip. "How - how - I swear you little twerp if you're lying - "
"Buttercup." Blossom says the name sharp, tight, no room for arguing. She then turns to Brick after Buttercup lets Boomer go. "I think you have some explaining to do."
"Nothing to explain." Brick says, calm now - as if he's thinking so hard he's trying not to let it show externally.
Blossoms' eyebrow twitches at him.
"I got bit, didn't die, bite was gone by morning. That's it."
Boomer watches in morbid fascination as Blossom comes forward and takes Bricks arm in her hands, she tugs his brother - weirdly gentle - to a stool and sits him down.
"Professor?" She says, her eyes training into Bricks so hard Boomer wonders how his brother hasn't flinched yet.
"Brick - can I - may we - have a bit of your blood, please?" Professor asks, his voice shaking a bit, Boomer sees the weird mixture of fear and hope in the man's eyes.
"Sure." Brick says.
That's when Boomer catches on.
They want to make a cure - Brick didn't get sick - Brick survived - nobody survives - why had Brick? That's when Boomer catches on.
Brick could have the cure.
Ta-daaaaah!
Yay, hopefully this story will live up to the suspense I - Tried to - build.
Review, Fave - story and me ;) - hope to hear from you guys soon!