( Wendy Corduroy )
Wendy tossed the last bag into her truck. It had been two weeks since Dipper and Mabel had went back to the school. Her father and brothers had went to clear the mudslide, and arrived back two days ago. They had never been to the school themselves, so they didn't know how to find it, though they had tried. They figured that with a giant black truck, it wouldn't be hard to spot, they had underestimated the size of that city. They had used the CB radio to try to contact them. Which had the range to get to the school. They never got an answer. So, she was going to find out if they were okay.
While she hadn't insisted on going alone, she was told that she wasn't allowed to go alone. She had always planned to bring Pacifica with her. Honestly, it wasn't like she would win that argument with the blonde anyways. What she hadn't expected was Tambry to come along with her. Insisting that if something was wrong, they might need first aid. Her father, and Soos were coming too. Her brothers wanted to come, but also didn't want to leave the children, and their mother alone.
Tambry and Pacifica were already in the truck, and her father and Soos were in her father's truck. As she hopped in. She took a deep breath.
'Everything is alright.' She thought to herself. 'They were just busy, or had been away from the city scavenging another city that day'
Wendy started the engine, and drove out the gate where her brothers, her mother, and the children were waiting and waving, The gate closed right after her father's truck went through.
"We should have went back to the school with them." Wendy said softly, as she started to let dark thoughts creep into her mind.
"We don't even know if anything is wrong, Wen." Tambry had put her hand on her shoulder from the back seat. "We'll get there, and everything will be fine."
"Yeah. Tam-Tam is right..." Pacifica started.
"No. No Tambers, No Tam-Tam." Tambry interupted.
"Anyways, but she's right. Mabel just probably left the walkie off the charger." Pacifica finished.
"You're right. You both are." Wendy sighed a bit, and picked up the CB radio. Now that her brothers, and father had cleared the roads to the city. They were only about fifty miles away. She pushed the button on the handset. "Try to keep up, Dad."
Wendy hit the gas, and the truck took off down the road, towards the city. Her father's truck not far behind.
…
The trucks screeched to a halt in front of the school, in front of the fire truck. Everything looked normal, she thought as she got out the truck. Followed by Pacifica, and Tambry from the back of the cab. Soos and her father had gotten out of their truck and had joined them.
"Doesn't look like the trucks been moved recently." Dan had bent down inspecting the leaves that had accumulated at the wheels of the truck.
"And the windows are dusty, they would have cleaned it." Soos commented as he ran his finger across the wind shield.
"They had ample food and supplied." Tambry mentioned, seemingly trying to push bad thoughts away.
"Lets just find out." Pacifica started towards the door they used to the school.
Wendy followed her to to entrance, noticing that Pacifica has stopped. Then noticed the note in a plastic bag attached to the door. Pacifica grabbed the bag, while Wendy tried the door. It only opened a little before stopping, and she could see the chains, chaining it closed.
"They never chain this door." Wendy said, as Pacifica opened the plastic bag, pulling out the note that said read first on it. While the others had names on it..
"Oh no. 'Wendy, Pacifica, and everyone.'" Pacifica started reading the note. "'This is to inform everyone that by the time you read this, me and Mabel are probably gone. Inside the bag are notes to everyone. When we returned, infected had followed survivors into the school, who was running from the infected. We thought we had cleared the room, turned out we missed some. Mabel and I were bitten. We decided instead of taking our lives, that we'd live inside the school. Where we could be together, and not harm anyone.'"
"Bitten?" Wendy looked at her, before taking the paper to read the note herself. While Pacifica was tearing up, looking for her note in the plastic bag.
"Dipper? No, Hambone, and my Bro can't be zombies." Soos was in tears already.
"We gotta go in." Wendy felt herself shaking. She had to see. The words meant nothing to her. This was a world where word lied. She needed to see this for herself.
"I... I can't. M...Mabel." Pacifica was kneeling on the ground holding the letter from Mabel to her chest.
"I'm go with you, Wen." Tambry stood beside her. Tambry was her oldest friend, and she appreciated that Tambry would go with her.
"I'm coming too, Honey." Her father moved to the door.
"I'll stay here and keep Pacifica safe." Soos said, still sniffling, still upset. She was sure that he didn't want to see his little friend turned into zombies. She couldn't blame him, she didn't want to see it either. But she had to make sure. She would never believe it unless she saw it for herself.
Her father pulled the door hard, she heard the links from the chain hit the floor as the chain was broken. Her father just stood there waiting for her, Tambry too. It was her idea.
"Lets do this." She walked in, the first time she noticed was the old brown blood smears one the ground, so that was what she followed first. She prepared herself for what she was going to find. When she walked into the room, she smelled it before she, saw it. Her heart stopped as she saw the torn bodies, and the dead zombies.
"They wrote the notes." Tambry pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Huh?" Wendy turned to Tambry.
"They wrote the letters, this can't be them." Wendy looked back at the corpses.
"Oh yeah." She felt stupid. But left the room. They had to be the survivors.
They made their way to the room the Mabel and Dipper had used as their living room, and their room when she and Pacifica were not visiting. The door was closed. She put her hand on the handle. Before she felt a hand on her arm.
"Your gun." her father said sadly, "Just in case. I didn't know them too well. But I know, they would rather you kill them, than to hurt a friend."
Wendy pulled her handgun out, and turned the handle pushing the door open. She looked inside before stepping in, followed closely by Tambry and her father. She looked around the room, it all looked normal, except the black stuff on the floor. Then she noticed them. Both on the same couch under a blanket.
'Did they die, and not turn?' She wondered as she got closer. She could see the blanket rising and falling.
"They're alive!" Wendy rushed to them. Patting Dippers shoulder.
"Ungh..." Dipper's eyes opened looking at her. "No... we... we were bitten."
"When?" Tambry had knelt down next to him, checking his temperature, and his blood pressure.
"Uh... two days ago?" Dipper mumbled.
"Your note said you got bitten after coming back." Wendy said.
"Yeah..." Dipper mumbled before Tambry moved to Mabel, who was starting to sit up.
"That was two weeks ago." Tambry said, then turned to the others. "They both have a fever, They show no sign of changing."
"How do you know?" Wendy asked her friend.
"Couple of the guys at Robbie's camp got bitten. It took a day, at most. It's been two weeks. They might be immune." Tambry turned to Dan. "I don't think they've eaten anything for a while. But luckily they've been drinking water." She gestured to the empty water bottles scattered around the couch.
"What's the odds of them both being immune?" Wendy asked
"They're twins. If one's immune, odds are that they both would be. Most virus' have a ten percent immunity rate among people." Tambry muttered. "Did we bring any of that soup from lunch?"
"I don't know. I'll go look and get Soos, and Pacifica," Dan started to the door. "Wendy, you know where they cook, see if you can make something for them. Just in case we don't have any."
…
Her father had moved the bodies outside, in a full hazmat suit, along with Tambry and Soos, cleaning and moping the hallways. They had moved the bodies down the street and burned them. Dipper and Mabel had been doing a bit better now that they had been eating. She worried that neither her, Pacifica, or Tambry have the instincts for this. Which was why her father was going back to get her mother.
Wendy wasn't insulted by his offer, and she accepted it wholeheartedly. Her mother should be arriving shortly.
Tambry would be staying to monitor the twins health, and Soos would be staying to help guard the school. Pacifica, you couldn't pry her away from Mabel's side.
They had moved the couches, and drug in beds from the other rooms. They agreed Dipper and Mabel would be more comfortable on them than the couches.
"Get back in bed." Pacifica called out causing Wendy to turn.
Mabel was getting up from her bed, just looking at Pacifica, who was trying to get her to lay back down.
"I gotta pee, Paz. So, let me up, or Imma pee in the bed." Mabel sounded grumpy, and serious.
"I'll help you." Pacifica was now helping her up.
"Alone. Together. Doesn't matter, lets go." Mabel muttered as she was helped out the door.
"She's awful grumpy." Wendy chuckled a little.
"Try getting bit by an infected person." Dipper smiled slightly. "Then throwing up that black stuff."
"Yeah, what was that? Tambry took samples of it. We managed to get some of the equipment in the science lab moved to a room near us, and some from the hospital. She was testing it. She said it was the virus. That you and Mabel's body rejected it." Wendy looked down at him. "How did you even let them get the jump on you?"
"We were tired, and thought that we'd cleared the school. They didn't even make noise." Dipper mumbled before dozing off.
She knew that Tambry had them on some antibiotics, and some pain meds still because their bite marks still hurt. So, she wasn't surprised when Dipper dozed off. He had a few times before. They were still weak, and had only been able to hold down broth, until recently. At least their fevers had broke.
( Mabel Pines )
Mabel had managed to escape Pacifica for a short time. She was currently on the roof hiding behind a planter looking out at the city. She loved the girl. She really, really, did. Lately, however, Pacifica was smothering her. Every time she tried to get up, she was right there. Helped her change her clothes. Helped her to the bathroom. She did allow her to do that part without assistance. But when Pacifica started trying to feed her, that was enough.
Yes, she understood that Pacifica was clingy because of the bites.
Yes, she and Dipper had been bitten, and survived. It seemed the virus didn't really like them all that much. Tambry had a long medical term, and crap for it, but the gist was, the virus didn't like them. She didn't know if she should be relieved or offended. Though, she was glad that she wasn't a zombie.
She really didn't want to eat people.
Something howled not far from her. It sounded like it was right near the school. It sounded like a wolf, though bigger some how. She crawled over to the edge of the roof, and looked over the edge. Her eyes swept over Black Beauty, and the trucks from camp. And again, no zombies.
'Why were there never any zombies?' She wondered to herself.
Yes, they had been bitten by zombies in the school, but before that? No zombies. Ever since they had left the camp, they entered towns with a bunch of zombies. But after they had been there for a while... no more zombies. It always happened around the same time that...
Another howl.
Mabel's eyes moved to the sound.
It looked kind of like the Tracker from the camp, but smaller. Something the size of a large dog. It was even more canine like than the other one. The other looked like a bear.
But the Tracker had never come this close to the school.
A groan caught her attention, a few zombies were walking up the road. The Tracker growled and charged the zombies. Before the zombies had a chance to move, the tracker had bit the zombie's chest, twisting it's body, throwing it several feet. The zombie's head smashed into a nearby car. The second, it simply bit it's head off, then dropping it on the ground. Before howling again.
Mabel stood there wide eyed. The Tracker!
The zombies disappeared around the same time that the Tracker had arrived. She had to tell Dipper. Mabel got up and started running towards the door. One moment she was looking at the door, the next she was looking at the Tracker right in front of her. She started at it, it stared at her.
'Oh crap, oh crap...' Mabel thought.
The creature whined.
"What?" Mabel tilted her head.
It moved closer to her, slowly, it's head bowed, as if it were an actual dog. She reached out, thinking that it might be a bad idea. It pushed it's muzzle into her hand.
'It wanted to be petted?' Mabel wondered.
"I got a zombie puppy, that eats zombies!" Mabel yipped.