"You're up, Lynn!" Margo gave her friend a pat on the back and a thumbs up, along with the rest of the Squirrels, as Lynn ran up to home plate, carrying herself with brash confidence.
Lynn spat into both of her hands and rubbed them together before grabbing her bat. She bent her knees and prepared to strike as the pitcher threw the ball.
Gripping her bat tightly, Lynn locked her eyes on the flying ball and hit it into fair territory. Her teammates cheered as she bolted towards first base.
Soaking in the adrenaline, Lynn could only pitty Lincoln and Ryan for not being here to marvel at her glory. She was on fire tonight!
Sure, Lincoln insisted on watching their sisters, but if she hadn't completely forgotten about this match until Margo had to come and drag her to the departing bus Lynn would have tried everything in her power to make Ryan come along, even if she had to secretly stuff him in the back of the bus in order for him to be here.
It was certainly a much more favorable alternative in her mind than letting him waste his evening lounging around in his room.
Lynn made a small dust cloud as she slid across the ground and her foot reached first base before the fielder with the ball could and the crowd went wild.
Basking in their cheers, Lynn laughed triumphantly and raised her fists into the air as she ran around the field..
"The boys are sure missing out on something!" she thought exuberantly. "I wonder how they're boring themselves right now?"
"You freaking loon! What have you done to them!"
A terrified Lisa was clinging on to the top of one of the poles surrounding Lucy's bed, her arms and legs hugging it tightly so she could remain out of reach of her furious brother. She had expected him to be enraged but not to this extent.
"What were you even thinking! You're out of your goddamn mind!"
"Lincoln, get a grip!" Luan cried desperately as she tried restraining her little brother from attacking Lisa.
"I'm trying to get one on her scrawny neck!" Lincoln raged in response while grasping at Lisa.
"Lincoln, please!" Luan begged him.
The genius watched in shock and horror as Luan had her arms wrapped around his torso, struggling to hold him back. Neither of the sisters had ever seen Lincoln loose it like this.
Luan could hardly fault him for his reaction. How could one possibly respond to being trapped in a house with a horde of zombies who were also their family, and all of this was a byproduct of a bored toddler's faulty science project.
"Lincoln, calm yourself!" Lisa shouted in a panic. "Attacking me won't accomplish anything!"
"Why did you do it!" Lincoln demanded, ceasing his struggling for a second.
"It was an accident!"
"Why did you make that damn formula!" Lincoln roared at her.
Lisa flinched, nearly losing her grip."I'll explain myself once you calm down!"
Lincoln tried to catch his breath and growled. "How could you do this! How could you do something so careless! So stupid!"
"It wasn't my intention! The serum was never intended to come in contact with a human!"
"Why did you ever make that stuff!" Luan glared daggers at her.
Lisa gulped, realizing that Luan was only holding Lincoln back so he wouldn't accidentally squeeze the life out of her. Both were mad enough to wish to cause her grave harm.
Complaining that they had locked her up in a closet would be suicidal at this point. This hardly held a candle to inadvertently turning your family into zombies.
"It wasn't supposed to do this..." she stammered "...I was...was working on a potential formula for exelerated cognitive development on arthropods and..."
"How the hell did a brain boost serum wound up as a zombie serum?!" an enraged Luan asked incredulously.
"I don't know! It was an experimental one! It seems to cause rapid cellular breakdown with multi-celled organisms!" Lisa retorted. "But it seems to have a different effect on single-celled organisms, like a virus."
Lincoln stared at her agape and squinted his eyes in bewilderment.
"So you're saying the only reason Lana didn't die instantly was because she has the flue?" he asked in disbelief.
Lisa gulped nervously. "A blessing disguised as a curse it would appear?"
"So you're saying that if literally anyone else had drunk your serum, they would have dropped dead just like that?!" Luan lamented.
Lincoln stared at the genius with horror and disgust. "You...you...murdered them!"
"I did not!" Lisa yelled flippantly. "I can make them better!"
"What have you done! You've poisoned them all!" Lincoln tried attacking her again but Luan held him. "YOU'VE DOOMED THEM ALL!"
"Lincoln, control yourself!" Luan cried. "We have to let her try!"
"Yes!" Lisa exclaimed curtly. "We don't have much time! For all we know the zombies will continue to fester until..."
"Until what?" both her siblings blurted. Lisa lost her voice, unable to bring herself to finish that statement.
It didn't take long for the latter two to realize what she was trying to say, and Lisa saw looks of utter despair wash over their faces and Luan felt her brother nearly losing his footing as she held on to him and slowly helped him kneel down.
Lincoln stared down at the floor. Luan tried to see his face and saw the grief in his eyes. She herself started tearing up as everything Lisa said started sinking in.
Lisa grimaced at the sight in front of her. "We can't get emotional about this now! Not when we can still fix this!"
She turned pale as her brother looked up at her with a frightening glare and jumped to his feet. "Don't you tell me how to feel, you little shit!" he snarled at her and Luan grabbed him by the elbow.
"Lincoln!" she cried.
"What do you know about emotions! You don't even care about the others!" he yelled at the genius with unrestrained fury while his eyes started watering.
"This is just some lab accident to you that you want to clean up to save your ass!"
Lisa's face shrank into her turtle neck. Lincoln's words cut like a knife and she couldn't muster up a response, not when she was racked with so much guilt. It took all of her will power not to break down crying.
"Lincoln, I'm not proud of her any more than you are." Luan told him while trying to calm him down. "But she's our only hope to-"
"Get your hands off of me!" Lincoln's elbow struck her in the flank without warning.
Luan stumbled back, holding her aching side, and looked helplessly as Lincoln shot Lisa a vicious glare.
Both feared that Lincoln would attack her and Lisa braced herself. But to their surprise, he mustered enough self-control to refrain himself from doing so.
He just glared Lisa in the eye, his expression filled with anger and disgust. Lisa's heart pounded with anxiety, thinking he would snap at her any second as Lincoln's breathing grew shallower and he started trembling with tranquil fury.
"Of all the careless...idiotic..." he ranted incoherently before releasing a furious cry and storming away. Lisa flinched at the volume while Luan rushed after him.
"Where are you-" Luan jerked back as her brother released another cry and kicked the nearby closet, causing an avalanche of sports equipment to spill out.
"Why!" the boy raged as he mindlessly kicked a soccer ball, then a volleyball. "What did I do to deserve this!"
Luan stepped away further as Lincoln grabbed a baseball bat and started hitting and slowly splintering the closet.
Panting fearfully, Luan looked back at Lisa and marched up to her with a hateful scowl.
"Luan, please!" the genius begged. "We have to remain composed! This is not the time for infighting!"
Luan looked like she was using all her will power not to snap at her. She actually tried following Lisa's advice. She knew Lisa was the only way to restore their siblings back to normal, at least she thought so.
"Can you cure them of their...zombiefication?" she asked bluntly.
"Can you pick up my jet injector?"
Her brow furrowing, Luan realized that Lisa was talking about the gun thing she had dropped on the floor when Lincoln snapped.
"This?" she picked it up and noted the green liquid rocking inside the capsule.
"Yes! Yes, be careful with it. The zombie blood is crucial if I'm going to make an antidote." Lisa said over the noise of Lincoln beating the closet.
Luan jolted and spun around to see that Lincoln had busted one of the doors and was now standing there, panting miserably and using the bat for support.
Grimacing, Luan turned back to Lisa. "So you can cure them?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes...I mean...eh yes..." the genius stuttered with uncertainty "...I think so."
"You think so?!" Luan grew irritated.
"I don't know!" Lisa raised her voice, sweating with anxiety. "I've never tried restoring flue zombies back to human form! My plan is currently purely theoretical!"
"So it's hopeless then." Lincoln shot her a revolted glare, being too worn out from his outburst to yell.
"I never said that!" Lisa snapped angrily. "I've got DNA samples from the zombies, I've secured the perimeter so the virus won't spread further, and I only insinuated that we can't be 100% sure my cure will work since nothing like this has ever been attempted!"
"Way to raise morale, egghead." Luan snarked bitterly.
"Will you hush up!" Lisa snapped at her. Lincoln glared at Lisa before looking away.
Feeling confident that her brother wouldn't hurt her now, Lisa climbed down and snatched the gun from Luan. She pulled out the capsule and threw the gun away, as it was of no further use.
She exhaled and showed them the capsule. "If we can finally discuss this issue like rational people, you must first understand that we have to keep this safe under any circumstances until we reach my lab."
"How are we supposed to do that? The hall is probably crawling with zombies!" Luan lamented fearfully.
Lisa huffed. She couldn't let the matter rest. "Well, we wouldn't be facing this issue if you hadn't played volleyball with Santiago's head."
Luan turned red. "I was saving our siblings!" she yelled angrily.
"And Lucy got infected regardless!" Lisa retorted matter-of-factly.
"Oh, great job at practicing what you preach!" Luan laughed bitterly. "Playing the blame game is gonna-"
"Enough!" Lincoln interjected, silencing them both.
He glared down at Lisa. "If we reach your lab you'll be able to make an antidote?" he asked bluntly.
Lisa blinked and looked hesitant to speak. "I believe so."
Lincoln groaned and rubbed his forehead. He had heard the argument between her and Luan and didn't need an elaborate explanation for why the so-called genius seemed so uncertain.
What was done was done. The boy realized that letting anger get the better of him would be to no one's benefit now. Lisa had just created the biggest mess their family has ever faced but she was also the only one who could possibly fix it.
Keyword being "possibly". Lincoln had been forced to watch enough age-inappropriate zombie flicks with Lucy to see a million different ways in which they all could meet a grizzly end, but it's not like they had a choice.
Either sit here and argue and let a zombie apocalypse happen or perish trying to prevent it. It was a loose-loose situation.
"Alright." he grumbled dejectedly before making eye contact with Luan.
"We have to get Lisa to her lab." he said grimly. "If we don't do anything, those things will get out and..."
"Cause a zombie apocalypse?" Luan finished and promptly kneeled to the floor and clutched her head as the full gravity of their situation sunk in.
"Guys...I'm...I'm really having a hard time seeing anything humorous about our predicament..." she said in a distraught, trance-like state.
Lincoln grimaced, barely keeping his own composure and glowered at Lisa.
"It would appear so." he stated bitterly. "Because of Lisa's idiocy."
Lisa scowled. "Do you have to rub salt into the proverbial wound." she asked irritably.
Lincoln didn't respond to that. "So how do you propose we get to your lab?"
Lisa's irritation melted away and was replaced with nervous uncertainty. "I was hoping you could devise a plan for that. I was under the impression that getting out viscous situations was your expertise."
"Of course it's all up to me..." Lincoln muttered exasperatedly and deflated.
Luan looked at him hopefully and so did Lisa. Lincoln sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
He breathed in and out to alleviate his own anxiety and try not to think about the undead monsters that used to be his sisters and try to think of this as just another attempt to move through the house without being detected.
He had tried it many times before with limited success, but this time the consequences of failure would be far greater than his sisters meddling or bothering him.
"Okay, we have to think this through carefully. This is no game, one slip up and we're goners." he told his two remaining sisters.
"I think that's pretty obvious..." Luan replied sarcastically while feeling sick in the pit of her stomach.
"We have to keep that firmly in mind." Lincoln reiterated. "We are the only ones in this house not infected, and we're vastly outnumbered."
"Wait! What about Ryan!" Luan suddenly remembered and grew alarmed. Lincoln's eyes also widened with horror.
"Yes, what did become of your accomplice?" Lisa inquired more casually.
"No! Not him too!" Luan buried her face into her hands and started sobbing.
Lincoln felt an odd amount of regret and grimaced. Personal feelings aside, it was his fault Ryan got involved in Lisa's mess.
"Luan, don't cry." he tried to reassure her. "He's tough and resourceful. He wouldn't go down easy, so let's not jump to conclusions."
Luan looked up at him, sniffing with despair. "Your walkie-talkie?" she recalled. "Can't you call him?"
Lincoln gulped and hesitantly pulled it out. He looked at it tentatively before sighing in resignation.
"Better face the grim truth..." he reckoned and started adjusting the frequency. Luan was biting her nails in fearful anticipation as they heard the static.
They waited, but there was no response. Luan grimaced fearfully when her back suddenly felt the cool evening breeze.
"There you guys are." came a familiar voice.
"AHHH! A ninja!" Lisa jolted and nearly dropped her capsule as a masked figure suddenly appeared on the dresser and landed behind Luan, whose face immediately lit up upon seeing him.
He pulled off his mask and let out an exaggerated sigh. "You won't believe what just happened to me."
"Ryan! You're alright!" Luan squealed and instantly glomped him.
"You had me worried." she sniffed while resting her head on his shoulder. Seeing him gave her a small glimmer of hope.
Ryan was surprised by her reaction but tentatively hugged her back. "Eh...I didn't think I'd be missed so much..." he joked awkwardly.
Lincoln felt a small wave of relief but quickly rolled his eyes. Of course Ryan was alive, the guy was harder to kill than a cockroach on steroids. Neither wolves nor zombies could seemingly get the better of him.
Ryan noticed Lisa and huffed in surprise. "What's she doing out of her cell?"
"Please explain to me why he's wearing that cretinous costume?" Lisa deadpanned to her brother.
"That's classified, Lizzie." Ryan retorted smarmily. "As our prisoner, you lack the "jurisdiction" to know."
Lisa seethed. "Of all the people that could have been bitten..." she grumbled, causing Luan to let go of Ryan and give her an ugly look.
"Don't start any arguments, Lisa." Lincoln warned her sternly.
"Oh please, you outgha give me more credit than that." Lisa shot back. "I have more class than to engage in petty bickering with the likes of him."
"Awwww, and here I thought I could annoy the piss out of you too, Lizzie." Ryan cooed at her mockingly.
"Same goes for you, Taylor." Lincoln turned to him.
Ryan wanted to make a snappy comeback but remembered that he had some bad news to deliver. Arguably bad news at least.
"Heh...silly me." he sighed and gently pushed Luan away. "But there's something you guys outgha know."
He bit his lower lip and grew an uncomfortable expression. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, you see...eh...I dunno how to break this to you all...but..."
"Leni and Lori turned into zombies? Yes, we know." Lincoln replied flatly.
"Oh?" this came as a surprise to Ryan, and his gaze drifted down to Lisa. Suddenly, things started making an iota of sense to him.
"And lemme take a wild guess? This zombie stuff is her doing?" he casually pointed at her, making her shrink in shame.
Ryan huffed in amusement. "Must admit, I didn't peg you as someone who idolizes Dr. Frankenstein."
She scowled at the remark. "And I wouldn't have pegged you as someone who fancies faux-feudal Japan wardrobe." she replied dryly.
"What can I say, I look slick in black." Ryan shrugged.
"Ryan, this isn't the time for banter." Luan grabbed his shoulder. Ryan looked at her and saw her morose expression.
"Oh, right. They actually care about those two bimbos." Ryan realized and smiled uneasily.
"Why, yes. We have two undead blondes in the basement." he stated before taking on a confident demeanor and flexing his knuckles. "But not to worry, I've handled worse situations."
"It's far worse than that." Lincoln explained grimly. "The twins have been infected. So was Lucy, and Bobby."
"Lucy?" Ryan blurted, caught completely of guard.
"She was caught while helping us escape." Luan told him sullenly, looking like she was on the verge of crying.
"And we're the only humans left in this house." Lincoln added with a steely expression.
"Yes, and if we don't get to my lab and I synthesize a cure, we're certainly looking at a global zombie outbreak. Just so you're up to date." Lisa elaborated stoically.
For the first time in a long while, Lincoln saw Ryan completely drained of confidence and stunned into silence. Even someone as seemingly unfazed as him couldn't possibly swallow so much info at once.
His gaze slowly drifted towards Lincoln. "Okay, lemme get this straight?" he said in disbelief and waved his arms up, trying to wrap his mind abround their predicament.
"We started off trying to sabotage some dumb teen party so your house wouldn't get wrecked and your folks wouldn't recieve a ticket from the police, but now the fate of the world lies in our hands as we have to prevent an incoming zombie apocalypse, courtesy of girly Dexter playing God with science?"
Everyone just blinked, unable to swallow the reality of it themselves.
"Well, this escalated quickly." Ryan chuckled in dumbfounded bewilderment. " I mean... damn. It seriously got out of hand fast."
"So you're gonna help us, right?" Luan asked him hopefully.
Still trying to pull himself together, Ryan shot her a sardonic look.
"I don't have much of a choice, do I? Living on a zombie planet isn't the future I'd imagined for myself." was his sarcastic response.
"Good point." Luan looked aside sheepishly.
Ryan looked back at Lisa with an expression she could only describe as peeved. His words, however, were a lot harsher.
"Well, congrats, Lizzie. You've done and fucked everything up."
Luan gasped. "Ryan! Language!"
"Don't look at me like that." Ryan retorted sharply. "How else could you summarize what she has done? That little turd fucked it up for everyone."
Luan cringed again.
Ryan looked back at Lisa and shook his head disdainfully. "Mad scientists..." he grumbled "...always perverting nature to satisfy their twisted curiosity."
The genius fumed before shaking her fist flippantly. "Alright! I get it! If everyone's finished reminding me that this is all my fault, or using vulgar language that I don't even know the meaning of? Can we finally focus on what matters! Reaching my lab!"
"Lisa's right." Lincoln agreed with a serious expression. "We have to reach her room."
"And how do you propose we do that?" Ryan retorted sarcastically while making a walking motion with his fingers. "Obviously, taking a stroll down the hallway isn't an option."
Lincoln walked up to him, retaining his serious expression. "No, but we can use the ventilation shafts." he pointed at an air vent in the wall, above Lynn's bed.
Ryan raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Huh, not a bad idea. I guess this might not have to be a suicide run after all."
"But what if one of the zombies pops up in there? We'd be sitting ducks." Luan asked fearfully.
"Luan, this isn't a horror film." Lincoln told her exasperatedly. "These zombies might have acid breath but I'm pretty sure they can't teleport."
"Acid breath?" Ryan blurted but then chuckled. "Well, that's something new. But why did neither of the two bimbos use it on me?"
Lisa stepped up. "Probably because they do not wish to harm a potential host to further spread the virus. As for your concerns, Luan. I can assure you they are unfounded."
Lisa adjusted her glasses. "It's pretty apparent that those zombies have the low intelligence of a rabid canine. They can't even open a door, let alone an air vent."
"Yes, but there's a pretty good chance that some of them might be hanging out in your room." Ryan pointed out. "I'm pretty sure I didn't close the door when I hauled you away."
Being reminded of that, Lisa muttered under her breath but kept her cool. "In that case, you seem to be the most well-suited to fight off the hostiles, should the need arise." she concluded casually, earning a hateful glare from Luan.
"No, he won't!" she grabbed Ryan's arm protectively. "He won't be sticking his neck out for you!"
"Calm yourself, Luan. I'm merely suggesting this because he's clearly the most physically capable among us, if his close relationship with Lynn is any indicator." Lisa reasoned matter-of-factly.
Luan scowled at the last remark.
"I hate it when little smartasses like you start making sense..." Ryan grumbled.
He was part of a group consisting of a scrawny nerd, a meek, insecure girl and a freaking toddler. Obviously, his companions were a bit lacking in raw strength and in fighting skills.
He sighed and looked at Lincoln irritably. Lincoln could tell from the look in his eyes that Ryan was likely thinking something along the lines of "How many times do I need to save your and your sisters' asses from certain death?"
Lincoln didn't say anything and kept himself composed.
"Ryan?" Luan looked at him worriedly. "You can't seriously try to fight those things?"
Ryan smiled confidently. "I already did. Two of them at once."
Luan's lip trembled as she held on to his arm. "You're so brave..." she replied feebly.
Lincoln quietly facepalmed. The last thing he needed to make this situation even worse was romantic drama between those two.
"I guess I am." Ryan shrugged. "I never did let fear get the better of me."
He then looked back at the rest. "Okay, if things are settled now, how about we get going?" he pointed at the vent.
"Let's go." Lincoln nodded simply and jumped on Lynn's bed. He stretched his arms out to remove the vent but it was just out of reach.
Sighing, he looked back at his younger sister.
"C'mon, Lisa. Help me get this open." he told her bluntly. Trying to stay composed, Lisa nodded and let her brother hoist her up.
"Zombies." Ryan muttered to Luan while watching Lisa open the vent. He still had a hard time believing this. "Just when you think you have the world figured out, the world throws you a curveball."
Time travel, hypno rays, zombies, a toddler mad scientist, a boy having the habit of reading comics in his birthday suit? At this point, Ryan was starting to wonder if he should expect an alien attack on the Loud's home next?
Luan didn't answer, as she was in deep thought. She knew any one of them might not make it out of this, so she decided to do something she might not get the chance to do later.
She grabbed his hand and faced him. "Ryan? Before we go...could we do something first?"
"What?" he asked, looking her in the eye.
Luan bit her lip dejectedly, feeling sick. "We might not make it."
Ryan's brow furrowed, knowing she was all too right. "Don't be a buzzkill now, Lu. It ain't over yet." he tried to lift her spirit.
"Come on, guys! Help me up." Lincoln interjected after helping Lisa climb up.
"In a second, Linc." Luan answered sadly while touching Ryan's face, making him nervous. "I just want to do something."
Lincoln stared with wide-eyed horror and disgust, as did Lisa, while Ryan grew as stiff as a board as Luan leaned in to lock lips with him.
But suddenly, Luan felt her stomach twisting and keeled in pain.
"Luan, what's wrong?!" Lincoln rushed to her side.
His voice snapped Ryan out of his trance and he saw Luan clutching her stomach, looking like she was about to vomit. The two helped her sit down on the bed.
"What's with the delay?" Lisa asked above them, holding on to her capsule.
"Luan, what's wrong?" Lincoln asked her again.
"I dunno..." she answered in a strained voice, sweating and contorting "...I feel like my insides want to be my outsides."
She hugged herself, her skin felt like it was ablaze. Luan started whimpering and wheezing.
"What's going on with her?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know." Lincoln answered nervously.
Ryan placed his hand on Luan's shoulder trying to talk to her when he noticed something on her arm. It looked like claw marks.
"Luan? How did you get those scratches?"
"Lana scratched me..." Luan managed to say. Lisa's eyes widened upon hearing that.
Remembering that, Lincoln grew goosebumps. No? It couldn't be. Not her too.
"Scratched you?" Ryan blurted. "But wasn't Lana..." he lost his voice as he was hit with the same realization as Lincoln. They both moved away from her.
"Where are you going?" Luan looked back and forth fearfully.
"You fool! Why did you let her in!" Lisa yelled at her brother. "She's infected, you imbecile!"
"What?" Luan yelped, struggling to stand up. "I can't be!"
She looked at both the boys with tearful, pleading eyes. Both Ryan and Lincoln continued stepping back from her as she grew progressively paler.
Still clutching her stomach, Luan started weeping with terror while closing her eyes shut. "No...please..." she struggled to speak as her throat felt dryer and scratchier "...I don't wanna...I don't wanna..."
She let out an animalistic growl as she kneeled down and started contorting violently. Her head shot up and she looked around with blank eyes.
She rose to her feet and let out a blood-curdling screech that echoed through the room.
Backed up against the wall, Ryan chuckled nervously as Luan glared at him with bared teeth and with acid dripping from a mouth and making small holes on the floor upon impact.
Lincoln was backed against the door, which he knew better than to open.
"Luan, babe." Ryan tried sweet-talking her. "Did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you look with gray, rotting skin? It really brings out your eyes."
Luan hissed at him.
He chuckled uneasily. "And those eyes? Mesmerizing! They make you look...like...eh...a human angler fish?"
Luan growled while Lincoln facepalmed.
Ryan deflated in defeat. "Okay, I admit. That one was pretty bad."
Squealing viciously, Luan charged at him but Ryan grabbed her arms and swung her around, letting her slam into the wall under the air vent.
Lisa scooted fearfully into the shaft, unable to do anything.
"I'd advise not getting bitten!" her voice echoed from the vent, earning her annoyed scowls from the boys.
"Thanks a lot, Einstein!" Lincoln spat bitterly only to freeze as Luan turned her glare towards him.
Yelping, Lincoln threw his walkie-talkie at her and struck her in the face. It only resulted in making her madder.
Ryan whistled to gain her attention and grabbed a hockey stick from the pile. He grasped it with both hands and poked the zombie in her flank.
"Now, Luan. I don't wanna hurt you..." he said nervously as she hissed at him.
Ryan chuckled uneasily. "Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the feelings aren't mutual." he concluded as the zombie charged at him.
Ryan used the hockey stick to strike her in the legs, causing her to topple forward and fall past him into the pile of sports equipment, making it scatter across the floor.
"Come on!" Ryan grabbed Lincoln by the shirt and dragged him towards the bed.
Before he could hoist him up, Luan got up and attacked them. Pushing Lincoln aside, Ryan blocked her attack with the stick and kicked her in the gut.
Lincoln hit the floor as Luan stumbled back and Ryan jumped off the bed. Charging full speed, he struck her with his weapon several times, but no blow seemed to faze her much.
Grabbing the shaft with one hand, Luan chomped down on the head and splintered in her jaws while her drool dripped down into Ryan's hands.
Gagging, Ryan let go of the stick and immediately discarded his gloves, knowing her saliva was likely packed with zombie bacteria.
"A little help, twinkle toes!" he told Lincoln irritably while not daring to look away from Luan, who promptly charged at him. Ryan grabbed her arm and fell on his back while planting his feet into her gut and throwing her over him.
Staggering to his feet, Lincoln jumped back as Luan hit the floor and looked at Lynn's bed.
Getting an idea, Lincoln grabbed the blanket and threw it over Luan as she jumped to her feet.
Lincoln jumped on her back and grabbed her in a headlock as she spun around wildly.
"Find a jumping rope! It's in the pile!" he shouted to Ryan. Ryan rushed and looked through the pile until he found it.
"Ah, good idea, pipsqueak!" he looked back only to see Luan slamming her back and Lincoln into the closet, causing the broken door to fall of.
His body aching, Lincoln slumped to the floor as Luan continued flailing around trying to get the blanket off.
"Catch!" Ryan threw the rope past Luan. Lincoln managed to grab one one of its handles and pulled himself up.
Just as Luan freed her face, the two ran circles around her, prompting her to squeal in distress as she got roped up.
Both pulled on their respective handles and pulled her to the floor before piling on to her and Ryan tied the rope into a neat little bow.
They got up and took a step back as Luan screeched and squirmed around on her belly. She foamed at the mouth and snapped her jaws at the air.
"This is just sick and wrong." Ryan commented uneasily.
Lisa peeked through the vent and sighed with relief. "Pew. You've managed to restrain her!"
"No thanks to you!" an out of breath Lincoln snapped at her.
"Hey! I was guarding the capsule!" Lisa shot back before glancing uneasily at the struggling Luan. "Eh...she can't escape her binds, right?"
"Not to worry, Lizzie. I tie a mean knot." Ryan quipped braggingly as he used what was left of the rope to tie Luan's legs as well, just to be on the safe side.
He sent Lincoln a look of smug superiority. "And you didn't stop to think that a scratch might be infectious too?"
"We were busy running for our lives!" Lincoln responded angrily. "Excuse me for not having the time to stop and contemplate."
"He does bring up a valid point." Lisa spoke up. "We must handle this with caution. A virus can be transferred through a multitude of ways: through saliva, through scratches, even trough the air-
"Are you saying this virus is airborne?!" Lincoln snapped in disbelief.
Ryan shivered and looked at Luan. Not getting a kiss from her suddenly looked a lot more appealing.
Lisa flinched. "I don't know, anything could be possible with an artificially created virus."
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Then we've got no time to lose." he said grimly and faced Lincoln.
"Go through Lynn's junk and fetch us some weapons. I've got a hunch we're gonna need them."
Lincoln gulped but nodded. "And we should probably find something for protection, including germ masks."
"Given Lynn's passion for football, finding protective gear shouldn't be hard." Ryan shrugged and walked over to grab his mask.
He pulled it back on. "Alright, let's get this dwindling party moving!"
"Are we there yet? How long are these vents?" Ryan lamented while crawling in the back of the group with the hockey stick strapped to his back.
"Will you be quiet? I'm trying to find Lisa's room." Lincoln, who was leading the party, retorted.
He was wearing a football helmet and pads along with elbow and knee caps and had his baseball bat strapped to his back.
Lisa, on the other hand, couldn't find any football gear that fit her and could only carry a ping pong racket for a weapon while sandwiched between the boys.
Both of them wore pieces of fabric over their faces as germ masks and Lisa wore a sweatband over her head.
"Maybe you could navigate better without that humongous helmet on your melon blocking your view." Ryan snorted.
"I would prefer not having my brain eaten tonight." Lincoln snarked in return. "You should have gotten one while you had the chance."
Ryan snickered smugly. "Fat chance, I ain't gonna fight zombies like a dork."
"Will you two stop bickering." Lisa complained in a hushed whisper. "You'll expose us."
"And who do we have to thank for this mess?" Ryan asked rhetorically. "I hope for your sake that you can restore Luan, Lucy and Lana back to normal."
Both siblings halted and looked over their shoulders. Lincoln sent Ryan a disapproving glare.
"Wut?" Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "You think I care if the others get cured or perish in battle? I have no emotional investment in them. Especially the blondes."
Lincoln narrowed his eyes but decided not to argue and continued searching for the right vent.
"And you people have the audacity to call me cold." Lisa stated while following him.
"Pfff...don't act like they never got on your nerves, runt." Ryan retorted.
"Fair point." Lisa admitted. "But no more so than the others. In fact, I find the two objects of your desire the most aggravating amongst my immediate kin."
Ryan blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"We're here." Lincoln put his hand up, cutting their conversation short, while looking down a vent.
"Is it safe to come down?" Lisa asked eagerly, trying to get a look herself.
"No." Lincoln shook his head. "Leni and Lola are down there."
Lisa and Ryan soon heard the moaning coming from down below. Lincoln saw the two zombies lumbering through the room and sniffing and searching around like animals looking for food.
Leni knocked down Lisa's chalkboard and then jolted and snarled at it as she heard it crash. Lola was sniffing the table and accidentally knocked down a test tube full of chemicals, causing a small explosion which frightened both zombies and made them squeal and jump around in distress, causing them to break and knock over more lab equipment in the process.
"Those idiots!" Lisa lamented as she scooted next to Lincoln to get a better view. "They'll destroy my lab! We have to act now!"
"No!" Lincoln pushed her back. "We'll wait for them to leave."
"Are you mad, Lincoln!" Lisa snapped at him. "Without a proper laboratory, I won't be able to produce a cure!"
"I have to agree with the mad genius." Ryan chimed in dryly.
Lincoln gulped, evidently scared. "No. It's too risky and there's only three of us!"
"And how can you stop a zombie apocalypse in a non-risky way?" Ryan was leaking with sarcasm.
"I'm thinking about it!"
"Quit being a pansy!" Ryan quickly grew agitated. "Now's not the time to think but to bash some zombie heads!"
Lincoln scowled. "If you want to charge blindly into danger and get yourself killed, be my guest!"
"Will you quit arguing!" Lisa complained when she heard a bumping noise further down the ducts.
Ryan scoffed. "Last time I did that, I saved your unconscious ass from One Eye, and half of your sisters!"
"One Eye?" Ryan's statement confused Lisa, but she had no time to dwell on it as she tried to look past Ryan and noticed a figure creeping in from the darkness. Lisa's blood ran cold.
"Look behind you!" she frantically shook Ryan's arm.
"What?" Ryan stopped as he heard heavy breathing. He quickly turned around and saw a small figure trying to pounce on him.
Ryan pushed Lisa behind him and kicked the zombie back while Lincoln caught the genius.
"You said they couldn't get in here!" Ryan complained as he stabbed the head of his hockey stick into the creature's chest to keep her at bay.
She hissed at them, no eyes were visible but they made out that she was wrapped in black.
"Lucy?" Lisa blurted. "Why, she spends so much time in the air ducts writing poems, entering them must have become a basic instinct for her." she hastily concluded.
"Now you figure!" Lincoln groaned irritably when the vent below them gave way and they found themselves falling.
Hearing their screams, Ryan grabbed Lincoln's foot at the last second while the vent hit Leni on the head. The teen dropped to the floor while Lola dodged a falling racket and saw Lincoln dangling upside down with Lisa holding on to his hand while holding on to the capsule with her other one.
Lisa screamed and lifted her legs up as Lola jumped up trying to reach her. Lincoln pulled his arm up and Lisa stenously climbed up his shirt.
Ryan struggled to hold Lincoln up while using his other hand to push Lucy away with the stick. He was sweating under his mask while the metal edge of the vent was cutting into his arm.
Grunting, he shoved his foot under Lucy's chin and slammed her head into the ceiling. She dropped and Ryan tried pulling Lincoln up with both hands when Lincoln's foot slipped from his shoe.
Lincoln and Lisa fell to the floor, crushing Lola underneath them. Thanks to his helmet, Lincoln suffered no concoction and recovered immediately while Lisa landed on him and quickly jumped to her feet.
They saw Lola twitching on the floor, with her head and right arm detached from her body.
Trying not to hurl, they both backed away as Lola reattached her arm.
Lisa shuddered. "This violates so many laws of nature-"
A hiss cut her off and they saw Leni back on her feet and advancing towards them.
Ryan jumped down and knocked Leni to the floor. "Sorry for dropping in announced!" he quipped while the siblings saw Lucy jumping after him.
"Duck!" Lincoln swung his bat and struck Lucy, slamming her into the closet.
"Eh...thanks." Ryan replied begrudgingly while Leni squealed and struggled beneath him.
Lola was back up and screeching at them. Smirking, Ryan grabbed Leni's long hair and tore her head off.
Lincoln and Lisa gasped as his swung it and threw it into Lola, knocking her into the wall while the decapitated Leni flailed her arms.
"Don't do that!" Lincoln yelled at him in a panic.
"Ah, chill out. They can reattach their limbs, can't they?" Ryan retorted curtly.
"Just get these abominations out of my lab!" a flippant Lisa cut in as Lucy lunged at them. Lincoln struck her with his bat again. Lola got up and pushed Leni's head away only for Lucy to slam into her.
"I got an idea!" Lincoln exclaimed and turned to Ryan. "Grab that blanket!" he pointed at Lisa's bed. Ryan nodded and followed him.
"Don't leave me!" Lisa cried as both Lucy and Lola advanced towards her. A whistle from Ryan diverted their attention.
He and Lincoln had grabbed different ends of the blanket and spread it wide as they ran towards them.
"Don't forget your blankey!" Ryan joked as they engulfed the two diminutive zombies with the sheet and hoisted them up.
Their captives squirmed and thrashed inside the makeshift sack and the boys lowered it to the floor and tied the ends of it into a tight knot.
"That wraps things up with them." Ryan quipped before setting his sights on the headless Leni.
"Oh no, you don't!" he rushed and grabbed her head by its hair before she could reach it and dangled it tauntingly in front of her.
"You want it? Go get it!" Ryan threw it towards the door only for it collide into and bounce off another zombie.
Ryan backed away, only now realizing that he had dropped his hockey stick up in the air ducts, as Lori and Bobby stood under the door frame, moaning and growling.
"Talk about a couple together in death." Ryan joked nervously as he joined Lincoln's side, with the latter raising his bat and Lisa hiding behind him.
"This is so not funny, Taylor!" Lincoln growled irritably.
"Eh, learn to live a little." Ryan retorted curtly while bracing himself for a fight.
"I never would have guessed that you could still hit the dance floor like that." Rita told her husband jubilantly as they drove down the highway in her car from the restaurant they had just dined in, dressed in the fanciest clothes that still fit them.
"To be honest, me too, honey." Lynn Sr. replied while steering the wheel. "I guess something you learn in your youth just never goes away, even in my old age." he joked as him and Rita shared another laugh.
Lynn had no idea how much he had needed a night out like this until he finally did it. He and his wife felt like they were reborn, like they were once again a young and sappy teenage couple without a care in the world.
It brought him immense joy to see Rita happy and laughing again. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen her enjoying herself this much. Same for him for that matter.
"You know, Lynn. This really was a pleasant surprise." Rita admitted. "With your busy schedule and all..."
"Are you kidding me?" Lynn laughed. "If I can squeeze in the free time to go fishing with my buds, spending some much needed quality time with my sweetheart is a given. Besides, I don't want you to feel unappreciated or anything. What with all the hard work you do taking care of the kids, you absolutely deserve some leisure time."
"That's very thoughtful of you, Lynn..." Rita replied warmly before staring off into the distance and sighed.
"Is something wrong, Rita?"
"Well...it's just..." Rita sighed again "...I can't help but worry if Lori can handle watching over the others..."
"Honey, you gotta give her more credit. She's sixteen after all." Lynn countered, trying to keep an optimistic demeanor, though he definitely shared Rita's worries. "Remember when ol'Al first told you that if you wanted some extra cash you had to earn babysitting? You never tried it before but your first gig worked out pretty well in the end?"
"I suppose you're right..." Rita admitted, her smile returning.
"You bet I am, besides, the girls are growing up and they need to learn responsibility. And that will require a push or two"
Rita smiled. While she still wasn't entirely convinced that Lori could handle being in charge, after the night they just had she felt enough good will to give her oldest daughter the benefit of the doubt.
On their way home, she caught a view of the park and suggested to Lynn that they take an evening stroll.
Lynn agreed, but as they parked the car the man excused himself for a minute, saying he had to answer a call from a friend.
In reality, Lynn couldn't quite shake his fear of something being amiss at home that had been gnawing at him all night and used the walkie-talkie his son had secretly lent him to contact him.
With sweat dripping down his forehead. Lynn pressed it against his ear, desperately hoping his worries were unfounded.
"Lincoln? Hey, buddy? Can you hear me?"
Unbeknownst to him, his son's transceiver was lying on the floor next to a zombified Luan, who squirmed her way towards it to inspect it.
She flinched at the static. "Lincoln? You there? Do you read me?"
Luan growled threateningly in response before releasing a loud screech.
"Lincoln?! Is that you? I think we might have bad connection-"
Luan threw up on it and it melted away.
"Lincoln? Hey, Lincoln!" a confused and concerned Lynn shook and then hit the walkie-talkie repedeately after it went silent.
The man swallowed a huge lump. What was that noise? It sounded like some sort of animal?
"Oh, boy..." Lynn shuddered. Something was definitely wrong.
Lori charged at them full speed. Lincoln swung his bat and struck her in the head. She flew back and landed on more lab equipment, breaking it all in the process.
"Huh? That felt kinda cathartic." Lincoln mused.
Lisa screamed and grabbed her face. "No, that's delicate equipment!"
"Will you just start working on your formula!" Ryan lamented as he slipped between Bobby's legs and gave him a good kick to both knees. His legs twisted backward and Bobby collapsed.
"I can't do this under these circumstances!" Lisa screamed while ducking behind Lincoln who slammed his bat into Lori's face again, causing her to knock down some more test tubes, who exploded on impact and created a small fire.
Lisa gasped and rushed to grab a small fire extinguisher and sprayed foam all over the flames. "And I can't do this without a laboratory either!" she yelled angrily.
"Oh, goodie." Ryan rolled his eyes just as Leni screwed her head back on and charged at him, as did Bobby from the other side.
Ryan easily jumped out of the way before the two zombies collided. Ryan grabbed the sack containing Lucy and Lola, and swung it at Bobby. It collided with him and he fell out of the room.
Ryan dodged a swipe from Leni and snatched the fire extinguisher from Lisa before spraying the zombie in the face.
He swiftly kicked her in the gut which sent her tumbling out of the room.
"I took out four, and you're still struggling with one!" Ryan laughed in Lincoln's direction. "I'm ahead, pipsqueak!"
"Just keep them out of here!" Lincoln yelled angrily while swinging his bat at Lori.
"Someone's a sore loser!" Ryan quipped as he sprayed Bobby in the face and bodyslammed him out of the room.
Now there was only Lori left. Lincoln narrowed his eyes and gripped his bat tightly. He swung it at Lori but she grabbed it before it could connect with her face.
Grunting, Lincoln used his helmet to headbutt Lori in the gut and pushed her towards the door with all his might before Lori grasped the door frame with both arms, letting go of the bat.
Acting quickly, Lincoln grabbed it and struck her in the head, causing it to rotate a 180 degree, and she let go. Suppressing a shudder, Lincoln slammed the door shut but quickly found himself pressing his body against it to keep Lori from breaking in.
"Will you start making that cure already!" he yelled at the genius while struggling to keep the zombie out.
Lisa looked petrified. She swallowed a lump and started biting her fingernails. "I can't!" she cried fearfully.
"What do you mean you can't!" Lincoln yelled while keeping Lori from busting in.
"I...I... I've never worked on chemical compounds under such pressure!"
"Just ignore what's going on around you and focus on your science work like you always do!"
"I can't just ignore the imminent threat of death!"
"Oh! For the love of...!" Lincoln growled irritably when something hit him. "I know! Just put on your headphones and listen to some hip hop! That will ease your mind!"
Lisa's eyes widened in horror. "How do you know about that! I never told-"
"JUST DO IT!" a furious Lincoln ordered her. Lisa jolted in fright and snatched her headphones.
She put them on and the music immediately had a soothing effect on her, and she tapped her foot rhythmically.
"Huh? This does help." Lisa smiled, feeling compelled to dance, before noticing Lincoln yelling at her again.
"Oh, right! The cure!" Lisa remembered and grabbed her microscope to analyze the zombie blood.
She quickly became completely immersed working with her chemicals, test tubes and other lab equipment while Lincoln focused all his attention desperately trying to hold Lori out.
In the hall, Ryan sprayed Leni in the face. He dodged Bobby's attack and tried to do the same to him only to find out he was out of ammo.
"Gotta improvise!" he quipped and used the empty container as a club to uppercut Bobby, who stumbled back but grabbed hold of the container while leaning back on the stairs.
Smirking, Ryan let go and let Bobby hit every single stair on his way down.
Ryan winced as he saw him hit the bottom where he lied as twisted mess, whith all of his limbs bending in unatural positions.
Ryan looked around and saw Lori trying to force her way into Lisa's room.
"Must I do everything..." Ryan grumbled and ran up to give her a good kick to the rear. Lori screeched and spun around with a vicious growl.
Ryan stepped back and snickered. "Talk about a bony ass, eh?"
A screech from behind him alerted him of Leni attacking. Ryan dodged her at the last second and she attacked Lori instead and bit her face.
Lori squealed in pain and Ryan laughed hard as the two started fighting, clawing and hissing at each other.
His moment of mirth was shortlived however, as he heard someone running at him. He spun around and saw Lana lunging at him.
Ryan grabbed her by the foot and hoisted her up at arm's length, shuddering as he saw the grotesque state she was in while violently thrashing and snapping her jaws.
He then saw Bobby climbing up the stairs and looked at Lana. "Sorry about this, squirt." he said regretfully before throwing her into Bobby's arms, which caused him to lose balance and fall down the stairs again.
The scuffle between Lori and Leni ended and the two quickly turned their attention back to Ryan, making him gulp.
As they charged at him, Ryan quickly opened the nearest door and used it as a shield. He stumbled back a few steps as the zombies collided with the door, which was followed by a loud thud.
Ryan looked around and saw them lying on the floor and quickly took the opportunity to get to safety.
He bolted into the room but stopped dead in his tracks as he was met with Luan's gruesome face hissing at him as the tied up zombie was up on her feet and awkwardly hopping towards him.
Hearing the other two recovering behind him, Ryan kicked Luan back before slamming the door shut and locking it.
Ryan panted while Luan was squirming and growling on the floor. Ryan stepped back as the other zombies all started banging on the door.
"That little pest better have that damn cure ready!" Ryan growled exasperatedly before the bagging eventually stopped.
His brow furrowing with worry, he cautiously pressed his ear against the door.
Lincoln realized that Lori had suddenly stopped pushing and took a step back, sweating and out of breath.
"The key? Lisa, I need the key-" he stopped as Lisa's headphones flew past him.
"No necessary, I'm finished." Lisa proclaimed while holding a test tube filled with a blue liquid.
Lincoln's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Already?! How!"
"Simple." Lisa stated while pulling out a small dart gun from a drawer. " I merely hyperimmunized the contaminated blood with carefully calculated doses of antibiotics to produce a neutralizing antibody response in-"
"Never mind!" Lincoln rushed up to her anxiously. "Will it work?!"
"I'm confident it will." Lisa replied while injecting half a dozen darts with the cure and loading them into the gun.
"You're confident?" Lincoln blurted.
"Obviously I hadn't had the opportunity to test it." Lisa pointed out the obvious. "I suggest we dart Santiago first. I'm certain no one but Lori and possibly his parents will miss him should there be any side effects."
Lincoln was about to object when they both heard loud pounding on the door, terrifying Lincoln, who rushed and grabbed his bat.
"Not to worry, brother. They lack the intellect to open a door." Lisa reassured him confidently just before they heard a loud crack and the door was rammed open.
"But they can break in through brute force!" Lisa squeaked as Lincoln was slammed against the wall and Lori, Leni, Bobby and Lana all barged in at once.
Lana was the first to lunge at her, leaving Lisa no time to think. Acting on instinct, the shaking genius took aim and shot, managing to dart the tomboy in the neck.
Squealing and gasping, Lana halted and grabbed the dart, barely managing to pull it out before she collapsed to the floor, contorting in pain.
Lisa had no time to worry if the antidote would work as the three teen zombies all tried to grab her. Lisa ran under the table with the zombies' arms following her. Crawling to the other side, she jumped on the small chair she used while working and knocked down her remaining laboratory equipment on her attackers.
Lincoln pushed the door back and stumbled forward grunting in pain when he heard the sound of glass shattering followed immediately by several small explosions.
As smoke consumed the room, Lisa tried to run. Seeing her brother as the smoke cleared, Lisa ran towards him when she was grabbed by the leg and fell down, dropping her gun.
Hearing her scream, Lincoln saw Leni hoisting her up by the leg. Lisa continued screaming as she saw the zombie's blank eyes and bared teeth upside down.
Letting out a furious cry, Lincoln charged and slammed his bat into Leni's face. She fell back and dropped Lisa.
Lincoln managed to catch her but they were immediately tackled and pinned to the floor by Lori and Bobby.
The two screamed in terror as the zombies were ready to chomp down on them when a boxing glove on a spring extended past the doorway and slammed into Bobby's face, knocking him into Lori and the two fell aside.
Lincoln and Lisa pushed themselves up to see Ryan holding and dropping the now limp spring of the boxing glove.
"Now that's a killer right hook, if I do say so myself!" he quipped.
"Quit the jokes and grab the gun!" Lisa ordered him urgently while pointing at it.
"This thing?" Ryan picked it up before seeing Leni trying to ambush them.
"Watch out!" Ryan grabbed the rubber chicken tied to his belt and flung it into Leni's face, blinding her long enough for Lincoln and Lisa to get up and run.
"So, does it work?" Ryan asked quickly as they exited the room.
"I don't know!" Lisa cried while Ryan looked past them to see the zombies following after them.
"Guess we'll see!" Ryan jumped in front of them and took aim.
"No, wait!" Lincoln cried but Ryan already pulled the trigger and darted Leni in the chest, making her halt and squeal in pain.
"Guess a tit's as good of an injection point as any." Ryan joked as the remaining two zombies charged at the trio.
Lori lunged and tackled Ryan to the floor, making him drop the gun. As it slid across the floor Lisa rushed to grab it while Lincoln took on Bobby with his bat.
Ryan squeezed the flower he had placed on his tunic and it released a cloud of gas that engulfed the zombie's face.
Lori let go of him and kneeled up as she grew a rectus grin and laughed in a strained, raspy voice. Ryan got up and kicked her in the face, sending her falling down the stairs.
Lisa jumped and caught the gun only to hear the sound of fabric being torn. Lying on her belly, she looked up and yelped as she saw Lucy and Lola tearing through the sack they were held in.
Lisa scrambled to her feet, clutching the gun, as the two advanced towards her only for Ryan to grab them both by the leg and hoist them up.
"Think you can hit a dangling target?" Ryan joked while keeping the two little zombies at arm's length when he heard Lincoln crying for help.
They saw him being held down by Bobby, with Lincoln pushing the bat into Bobby's mouth to keep him at bay.
At the same time, Ryan noticed Lori climbing up the stairs, still giggling uncontrollably.
Ryan threw Lola at Lori, causing her to fall back down before swinging Lucy at Bobby. He fell back as the goth colided with him and Lincoln scrambled to his feet.
But then Leni staggered towards him and grabbed his arm. Lincoln screamed and Ryan tried rushing towards him when Luan jumped in his way. Ryan jerked back while Lincoln tried to free himself as Leni tried taking a bite out of his arm.
But suddenly she started coughing and gasping and Lincoln felt her grip on his arm weakening. Falling to her knees Leni made one final attempt to bite him before Lincoln pulled his arm free and Leni dropped to the floor.
Ryan grabbed Luan by the neck and sent her tumbling down the stairs, colliding into Lori and Lola.
Ryan and Lisa ran up to Lincoln and helped him up. They all watched in shock and horror as Leni lied on her back, twitching and foaming at the mouth before suddenly going limp.
Lincoln and Lisa gasped in horror when suddenly, Leni transformed back into her human self, right before their very eyes.
"It worked?!" an awestruck Lincoln gasped.
"Of course it worked!" Lisa bosted frantically. "I knew it would work!"
She stopped as Lucy and Bobby came towards them. As the trio stepped back, Ryan grinned and snatched Lisa's gun.
"Which means it's open fire!" he exclaimed and shot. The first dart hit Bobby's knee, causing him to slump to the floor clutching his leg.
He aimed at Lucy next but she dodged the dart and lunged at them. Ryan and Lincoln jerked back in opposite directions and Lucy jumped between them. She landed on all fours and hissed at them.
Ryan took aim and darted her in the arm. Lucy squealed in pain and lunged at them but Lincoln struck her with his back and she tumbled towards the bathroom where she dropped under the sink and started twitching violently as she transformed back to normal.
"That's three down!" Ryan boasted while spinning the gun in his hand.
"Four actually." Lisa corrected him. "That just leaves-"
They heard Lori and Lola squeling from downstairs. The three looked and saw them glaring up at them, with the tied up Luan squirming and growling on the floor behind them.
"Figures, the two biggest monsters last the longest." Ryan snarked as the two zombies charged up the stairs.
"Just hold my hand, twinkle toes!" he told Lincoln exuberantly. Lincoln did so while Lisa grabbed her brother's hand as Ryan pulled them with him and they surfed down the stair rails, ducking from the acid slimeballs that came towards them.
Ryan landed on his feet while Lincoln and Lisa fell on their butts. Lying right in front of them, Luan screeched at them only to receive a painful dart to the rear, making her squeal in distress.
"Oops! I oughta better my aim." Ryan shrugged sheepishly.
The three of them scattered in different directions as Lola and Lori jumped and landed in the middle of the living room.
Lori screeched at Ryan and threw up another slimeball at him. He dodged it and it hit the family picture on the wall, melting half of it.
"Oh, you're in trouble now, Lorene!" Ryan laughed at her.
Grabbing Lisa, Lincoln dodged several slimeballs from Lola. "Just shot, damn it!" he yelled at Ryan.
"Aye aye, Mr. Bossy!" Ryan quipped as he dodged another slimeball from Lori, which burned a hole in the back of the couch, and aimed at Lola, darting her in the back. Lola screeched and quickly collapsed.
"Look out!" Lincoln yelled as Lori grabbed Ryan by the arms and slammed him against the wall. But Ryan managed to jab the gun into her gut and pulled the trigger.
Lori gasped and let go of him. She stumbled back and fell on her back while clutching the dart in her stomach.
Panting, Lincoln let go of Lisa and stood up on wobbly legs. He looked around and saw both Lola and Luan lying unconscious on the floor, back in their human forms.
Lori started gasping, twitching and foaming at the mouth before transforming back to normal and closing her eyes as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Ryan walked up to her and lightly kicked her. Lincoln joined him and kneeled down to test Lori's pulse. Thankfully, it was there and normal. Lisa did the same to Lola and Luan and found them both to still be breathing.
Tearing his germ mask off, Lincoln planted his hands on the floor for support and let out the biggest sigh of relief in his life.
"It's over. It's finally over." his voice cracked as he spoke. Ryan patted him on the shoulder.
"You thought I was gonna let you kick the bucket? Please." he said sarcastically. "Lynn would never speak to me again if I'd let that happen."
Letting out a light groan, Lincoln swatted his hand away and stood up when he heard a car engine and saw car lights from the window.
"It's mom and dad." Lincoln realized and looked around at the unconscious forms of his sisters. "Come on! We have to hurry!"
Lynn Sr. parked his wife's car in front of the house and nervously stepped out, feeling a certain amount of relief seeing that his home was still in one piece.
"Would you look at that? Our house is still standing." Rita commented in a tone that Lynn wasn't quite sure if it was either bewilderment or sardonic humor, or both.
He gulped but then chuckled nervously. "Why, of course, Rita. Were you expecting to find a collapsed pile of ruble?" he asked in a jokey manner.
Rita sent him a deadpan look. "Lynn, that almost happened two months ago if we hadn't called the exterminator in time."
A huge drop of sweat poured down Lynn's forehead. "Ah, yes. Lana's termite farm? You know, we should really give that girl a firm talk about what animals she can keep as pets." he suggested idly.
"Yes, we certainly should...among other things." Rita couldn't disagree there but her eyes were glued on the house. She couldn't shake that feeling that something was wrong.
Something bad had happened while they were gone. They just knew it. They shouldn't have left the kids alone. Both of them had the same thought.
Trying not to let their spouse know about their worries, the two walked up to the front door and Lynn reluctantly opened it.
What they saw...wasn't what they were expecting.
The living room and the kitchen were intact. There was some food and some other stuff like a broken plastic shelf lying across the floor, the family picture was hanging loose and looked half-burned, but otherwise, everything looked A-okay.
The most surprising thing, however, was how most of their daughters, and Bobby, were sitting on the couch or leaning against it while sitting on the floor, holding their heads and moaning and looking around in confusion while the tv was on.
"Where...where am I?" Lori groaned while adjusting her eyesight and was quickly greeted by familiar faces everywhere, all of which looked just as confused as she was.
"Hey? Why am I all tied up?" a dizzy Luan blurted while struggling against her binds.
"Bobby? Leni? Lana? Lola? What's going on?" Lori mumbled in a daze. Her parents exchanged confused glances.
"I feel like I've died and was resurrected." Lucy said monotonously while rubbing her head.
"Ughh...Lori? Where are we?" Bobby droned, also rubbing his head. "Last thing I remember is my sister nagging me to take her to the arcade."
Lori was about to answer, only to realize that her mind was a blank.
Leni chimed in. "Ughhhh...what's going on? My mind is like all fuzzy?"
Despite her confusion, Lori couldn't help but sneer. "And what's new about that?" she snarked before noticing her parents.
"Mom? Dad?" she squinted her eyes.
"Eh, yes? We're back, sweetie." Lynn said with a cocked eyebrow as he and Rita walked inside. A dizzy Lola and Lana staggered to their feet.
"Ughhh...my head feels all woozy." Lana groaned before noticing and gasping at what she was wearing.
"Gross! Why am wearing this stupid, sparkly towel!" the tomboy whined while pulling on the pink fabric.
"It's a dress, you braindead bugger-eater!" Lola snapped at her before realizing how she smelled funny.
"Take that back!" Lana growled at her, but Lola was too busy gasping in horror.
"Why am I wearing your hideous overalls!" Lola cried in disgust, angering Lana even further.
"They aren't ugly! You stole them!" the tomboy accused her.
The princess huffed viciously. "Liar! I'd rather die than touch your stupid hillbilly clothes!"
"Why you!" Lana cried and tackle her. The two rolled out of the room fighting.
"Well, the twins are acting normal." Lynn shrugged before giving Lori a hesitant smile. "So? I hope this wasn't too much of a dilemma for you, Lori? Being in charge of the house?"
"I must admit, I had my doubts." Rita stated while looking around, looking downright impressed. "But looks like you handled the situation well, with only with minimal damage."
"Much, much better than I ever dared to hope for." she added mentally.
"In charge of what?" a puzzled Lori replied.
Rita looked at her oddly. "The house, Lori. We left you in charge while your father and I went out." she said suspiciously.
"You did?" Lori looked confused before shaking her head and grinning nervously. "I mean, of course, you did."
"They did? Cuz I don't remember any of that?" Leni scratched her head. "Actually, I don't remember much of anything after giving mom her gift."
Their parents looked bewildered and Lori bumped her sister in the shoulder. "Well, Leni..." she said awkwardly "...you should probably get some bed rest. That bump on your head sure did a number on you."
Rita eyed her daughter suspiciously. Something seemed off. Her first suspicion was quickly debunked as she detected no smell of alcohol from any of the teens.
When Lynn asked Bobby why he was here, the boy looked confused but Lori claimed that he had helped her babysit.
Rita exchanged glances with her husband, who also seemed a bit suspicious.
"Can someone please untie me? Anyone?" Luan begged, with no one paying attention to her.
"Man, this majorly blows! Some jerk swiped my guitars!" Luna came in complaining, followed by Sam, who was rubbing her aching head. They both halted nervously upon seeing Rita and Lynn.
"Mom? Dad?" the rocker blurted and looked at her sisters and Bobby. Were they busted?
Luna gulped and grinned awkwardly. "Sup? So, did ya enjoy your night out?" she tried to sound chill and exchanged a nervous glance with her friend.
Rita eyed them suspiciously but Lynn released a hearty chuckle. "You bet we did! And I see you girls managed to keep this place in order."
The two rockers sighed inwardly. They weren't busted.
"Well, what did I tell ya, pops?" Luna chuckled awkwardly. "Lori's a born babysitter." she gestured at her sister.
"Eh...thanks, Luna." Lori smiled nervously. She still barely had a clue what was going on, but her gut told her to play along for now.
The sudden amnesia she, Bobby, Leni and who knows who else was currently experiencing would remain a riddle for another day.
Ryan and Lincoln watched them from upstairs.
"Huh? They don't remember jack about being zombies? Figures." Ryan whispered sarcastically.
"Might as well be for the better. No one should remember an experience like that." Lincoln replied forlornly.
"Saves us a butt-load of explaining too." Ryan shrugged before rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "You think Lynn's gonna believe us about any of this?"
Lincoln mumbled irritably and walked away.
"What? Too soon?" Ryan asked him and followed.
They entered Lisa's ravaged room, carefully avoiding all the broken glass and found her looking through a microscope, examining several DNA samples she had managed to take from the girls in a hurry. The damaged body of Fenton was lying on an operating table next to her.
She heard their footsteps. "You're here, I have good news." she spoke up before turning towards them. "I haven't discovered any abnormalities in any of the samples. I can say without any doubt that our siblings have been fully restored to normality." she told them simply.
Lincoln sighed with relief. The nightmare was indeed over.
"Except that they seem to be suffering from some amnesia." Ryan pointed out casually.
"They don't have any recollection of being zombies?" Lisa rubbed her chin and shrugged. "It adds up, considering their minds were literally festering away during their stint as mutated abominations..." she mused.
"Well, isn't that mighty convenient for you." Lincoln spat hatefully. "You nearly caused the end of the world and no one will ever know about it!"
"I'll say." Ryan groaned. "Can you believe it? We saved the world tonight and we'll get zero credit for it? What a load of bullshit."
"We never would have had to save it in the first place if it weren't for this little, karma-dodging idiot!" Lincoln pointed at Lisa, who flinched fearfully.
"Lincoln, let's not get volatile about this. Yes, I've nearly caused a major crisis but we've managed to stop it in the nick of time. No lasting harm was done. All's well that ends well, right?" she smiled nervously.
Lincoln glowered fiercely. "No, it's not! We stopped this one? Well isn't that hunky-dory!" he spat sarcastically. "But what about your next little science experiment? What if we aren't there to stop you from blowing up all of Michigan!"
"Lincoln, it was an unfortunate accident!" Lisa argued. "This serum was never intended to be used on a human being!"
"Yeah, yeah, just how most of your inventions were never meant to be used because they keep spontaneously combusting!"
"Kid, you are, to be quite frank, a menace to society." Ryan added coldly. "Any whacko who can wip up a zombie serum at the drop of a dime oughta be locked up and have the keys thrown away."
"You might be on to something." Lincoln reluctantly agreed, much to Lisa's shock.
"But, brother-"
"Don't give me any buts now!" Lincoln snapped at her with pure contempt.
He leaned down and glared daggers at her. "A loose cannon like you shouldn't be allowed to roam free! We almost lost our family tonight all because of your callous stupidity!"
Lisa shrank and a single tear dropped from her eye.
"Uggh! What in the world did I ever do to deserve a sister like you!?"
Ryan smirked under his mask. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
Lincoln turned towards him and looked hesitant to speak.
"Thanks for helping us." he said simply.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Don't get sentimental now. I had enough mysery for one night."
Lincoln grew irritated but kept his composure. "I mean it. You could have run away but you stayed and helped us. Thanks for that."
"Yeah, sure..." Ryan snarked indifferently and walked off to place one foot on the window.
"Where are you going?" Lincoln asked.
"Home. To take a nap." Ryan turned around exasperatedly. "I had enough insanity for one day."
"Please, just let me have eight hours of sleep before the next disaster, kay?" he snarked before jumping out of the window.
He grabbed hold of a tree branch and swung himself towards a patch of bushes, landing on his feet and disappearing into the night.
Lincoln watched him go before turning back towards his sister, sending her a cold glare.
"Lincoln, please let me explain." Lisa begged him but he simply pushed past her and opened the door.
"There's nothing to explain." he retorted coldly.
"But-"
"But nothing. I don't want to look at you!" with that he slammed the door shut, leaving Lisa alone in her room.
She could do nothing but stand there, deathly silent and hanging her head as more tears escaped from her eyes.
And so the zombie thriller evening comes to an end for the Louds, with only three people walking away remembering it...well, except maybe for all of Lori's classmates who were invited to the party. That might cause some trouble for the three eldest Loud sisters somewhere down the line XD
This tale ended on a bit of a downer and Lisa will undoubtedly be left in a very bad place for a while carrying the knowledge that she almost doomed her family (and the world) but on the plus side this experience will definitely play a huge role in teaching her that her actions can have astronomical consequences. Something that will be important for securing a better future for the family.
