Thank you for your reviews! Especially you, Q: it's quite an honor to be told my writing flows like a movie cutscene. Thank you so much! I hope you, and all my other lovely readers, continue to enjoy the story!

Keep in mind: everyone is human in this story, NO superpowers. If the PPG did have their powers in this scenario, we wouldn't have much of a story since Bubbles could fly to the evacuation zone and they could easily take down the infected without gaining a single scratch.

No superpowers; all human, all the dangers of a zombie apocalypse.


.: 4 :.

The first day that passed after Bubbles spoke with her sisters was spent cleaning the house while trying to keep as quiet as possible. It wasn't exactly the most entertaining way to pass the time, but it kept her busy. Deafening silence was her only company throughout this time because she was afraid to play music or make any sort of noise; she tried texting Buttercup a few times to see if she could a) get ahold of her sister and b) see if the daytime was safe, but her sister never responded and some of the messages wouldn't send. Bubbles' phone kept losing service so she was on her own, but she comforted herself by remembering Blossom's words: someone was coming for her. She would be reunited with her family in no time; she just had to stay put and pray her rescuers arrived soon.

The second day found Bubbles doing her nails. She didn't really feel like doing it and she was still a little too shaky for the polish to be applied perfectly, but it was better than staring at her cell phone and wondering when or if Buttercup would try to contact her again. After the polish had dried, Bubbles decided to raid Blossom's bookshelf for a story to take her mind off of the current situation at hand. She found a few manga that looked interesting and lost herself in those for a few hours, but she could only read so much before her eyes became strained and she got a headache.

The third and fourth days were lonely. Bubbles put on a few movies and kept them on mute with the subtitles on, but she was slowly becoming starved for social interaction. Seeing the on-screen families hug and fight and get into shenanigans together made her miss her father and sisters. She was starting to wonder if she would ever get to see them again. Her phone lost service completely and now she could no longer send or receive any messages or calls, not that she could before, but at least she had had the option. Now that her phone was practically useless except for its flashlight app, she had no contact with the outside world and no way to know if anything changed. She was truly and utterly alone and being stuck with her thoughts and endless silence 24/7 was starting to wear on her.

On the fifth day, she began to wonder where her rescuers were. Blossom said it would only take them one-to-two days to reach her, right? So where were they? Did something happen to them, were they caught by one of the infected? That thought made her feel guilty; if she hadn't been sick in the first place, she would be with her family right now and there wouldn't be a need for someone to risk coming into the city to find her. Of course, Bubbles hoped other survivors were being rescued, but she hated to think that someone might lose their life trying to rescue her.

Day number six and Bubbles was ready to pull her hair out. She was starting to think that no one was coming for her. She hated being cooped up in the house and she hated not knowing what was going on in the outside world. It didn't help that she was beginning to run dangerously low on food and water. The tap water wasn't exactly ideal to drink and at some point during the night, the power finally went out. When she woke up, she was dismayed to find a majority of the refrigerator's contents spoiled; there hadn't been much food to begin with, but now all she had was a small portion of saltine crackers, a loaf of bread that had a few spots of green mold on it, and a half-full jar of peanut butter (she ran out of jelly on day four; luck was seriously not smiling upon her these days).

Normally their food supply would never get to such a dangerously low level, but with the Professor being as busy as he was along with the girls and their hectic college schedules, no one had had any time to really restock the pantry or fridge. The Professor tried to get to the supermarket before Townsville was hit with this supposed infection, but he never made it back home; if Bubbles wanted to survive, she would have to leave the house and scavenge for food.

Sure enough, it was day seven when Bubbles decided to go outside.


The blonde regarded herself in the mirror with a sense of déjà vu. It was only a few days ago that she stood in front of this same mirror, checking her pigtails and making sure she looked nice for school. A few days ago, that version of her was unaware, unafraid of anything, always finding the bright side of things. Now... Now she was slowly losing hope, terrified and wary of the world around her.

Malph's was the only place she could think to check for food. In terms of an apocalyptic situation, it was likely that other survivors already ransacked the well-known grocery store for supplies but Bubbles figured it was still worth exploring on the off-chance that it remained untouched or still contained some stuff. It was located in the city and she would have to be extra careful, but it was just far enough from where all those creatures liked to roar and roam about that she figured she'd be safe; it was just a matter of getting through the initial few streets. In and out, grab as much as she could carry, and be on her way back home before dusk fell. She emptied her backpack and slipped into a pair of flats to keep her footsteps light and quiet. Her outfit, consisting of a light blue skirt secured around her waist by a small black belt and a thin white sweater, was easy to move in and if Bubbles needed to run or duck down, she wouldn't have to worry about her clothes hindering her in any way.

After much inner-debate, Bubbles decided to take Buttercup's metal baseball bat as a means of protecting herself. She hated the thought of having to use it but it was a good idea to bring some kind of weapon along, plus it offered a sense of security. She had her cell phone in her pocket and kept it on vibrate on the off-chance one of her sisters managed to contact her. It was unlikely that they would, but she would rather have her phone with her just in case. After double-checking to make sure she had everything she needed, she set off towards the grocery store, Buttercup's beloved 'Big Bessie' swinging beside her as she walked.

The journey was, as Bubbles expected, quiet, but she refused to let the eeriness of the world get to her. She was afraid of encountering an infected, but she couldn't help basking in the feel of the sun and enjoying the fresh air, happy to be out of the house even if it was only for a little while. It was nice to see the flowers in full-bloom, to see the small means of life that still remained in the afflicted city. The silence was not something Bubbles enjoyed, but at least her world was still bright and colorful; it was always best to look at the positives.

When she made it to Malph's, the old grocery store looked like it had seen better days. Half of the inside was still lit up but the other half was dark. The windows were shattered, broken glass littering the ground in front of it, and the blonde was horrified to find several maroon, body-shaped splotches around the parking lot. Some of them looked like they'd been there for a while; others looked fresh, the damp patches shining in the sunlight. She saw bloody pulps within a few of them and immediately looked away, her stomach threatening to turn if her gaze lingered on them. Bubbles repressed a shudder and maneuvered around the spots as best she could, hoping whatever caused those bloodstains was no longer in this area and made a mental note to move quickly so that if the culprit was still on the prowl around here, it wouldn't catch her and turn her into another stain on the concrete.

She managed to make it into the half-lit store and hesitated, listening and looking for any signs that the building might be inhabited by the infected. More broken glass decorated the linoleum flooring and a few aisles were obstructed by knocked-over shelves, but she didn't hear any heavy breathing or growling noises. Everything was absolutely still.

So far so good.

Bubbles tried to step over the mess of broken glass and winced when a few stray pieces crunched underneath her shoe. She froze and tuned into her surroundings again, waiting for a sign that something heard her and was going to emerge from the shadows. To her relief, nothing stirred; she exhaled quietly and continued to tiptoe towards one of the upright shelves, delighted to find rows upon rows of canned fruit, canned soup, and some loaves of bread that still looked edible. A few aisles down and she found huge packages of bottled water. Bubbles plucked her house key from her pocket and made quick work of the plastic, carefully adding as many water bottles as she could fit.

She stuffed as much stuff as she could into her backpack and left some money on the counter to satisfy her conscience. She exited the store and winced when she heard a few cans clinking against one another noisily in her bag and tried to walk slower, hoping it would somehow lessen the sound. Buttercup said not to go out at night so Bubbles figured she should be safe during the daytime, but she didn't want to test that theory anytime soon, especially not when she was currently weighed down. Plus, that one infected man had been up and about during the day; who's to say the other infected people were bound to the dark of night? Perhaps they were running around the city as she mulled this over; whatever the case, Bubbles didn't want to stick around and find out.

She continued her journey through the city to get back home and took a slightly different route when she saw something move behind one of the buildings. It didn't look big enough to be human but those things didn't exactly act human, so Bubbles refused to risk it. It was baffling to think that only days ago, she would have had no problem walking through the city, detours or not. Townsville was her home and she knew almost every nook and cranny; now, however, the city was no longer an old friend she'd grown up with. It was a stranger full of dark secrets and she didn't want to learn what other secrets lay in store alongside the one she already discovered.

More splashes of maroon and even black littered the streets and it made Bubbles wish she hadn't eaten anything, her stomach threatening to turn at the brutal-looking bloodstains. She could only assume those things enjoyed fighting each other and picking fights with other living creatures that had the misfortune to cross their path. But it was curious to see splashes of black; did the infection turn their blood that color or was that just old blood from past victims?

When she reached the heart of the city, Bubbles nearly vomited at the sight of so many dead human bodies littering the lawn of what used to be City Hall. People of all ages lay sprawled across the grass, all of them pale and lifeless, their eyes glossed over with death as they stared off into nothingness. Some of them had their eyes closed while others no longer had eyes. Some heads were no longer attached to their bodies, along with some arms, legs... Some torsos were even ripped in half and it was then that Bubbles really wished she hadn't eaten anything.

City Hall was not the only place decorated with corpses. A few of the connected streets were littered with bodies and various disembodied limbs, splashes of blood adorning any and all surfaces. It looked like a massacre had taken place here and Bubbles could only stare in shock, speechless. Her heart hurt for these people; they were all just innocent human beings with lives, families, thoughts, feelings... They didn't deserve whatever horrible fate they got, and she wiped at a few stray tears that began to roll down her cheeks. She wished this was just a nightmare, that way she could wake up and chalk all of this up to playing too many horror games with Buttercup, but no matter how many times Bubbles tried to pinch herself awake, the atrocious scenery around her didn't fade away.

She forced herself to leave the scene and tried to put it out of her mind, instead focusing on getting back home in one piece, but the more she tried to think about other things, the more those lifeless eyes and bloodied, mangled bodies entered her mind. At one point it all became too much and she crumpled to the ground, her body trembling with muted sobs as she cried into her hands. What kind of disease could have caused people to turn on others in such a brutal, violent way? Bubbles didn't understand how an epidemic could breed such frightening aggression. It was even more upsetting to think she came close to joining those poor souls when she encountered that infected man her first time through this new version of Townsville.

When she was able to pull herself back together, she continued on towards the outskirts of Townsville and the sun's position in the sky told her it was a little past noon. Bubbles stopped at a tiny bookstore that had completely-shattered windows and searched for new reading material. She had gone through Blossom's entire collection and decided she might as well get some new books while she was out, especially since she would need something to take her mind off of the traumatic scene she had just come across. She browsed through a few genres and occasionally picked up a book every now and then if the cover grabbed her attention. Bubbles was just beginning to thumb through a manga which was, ironically enough, about people living in a zombie apocalypse, when she heard something outside. She immediately ducked behind one of the shelves and crept towards the register, hoping she had enough time to hide behind the counter before whatever was lurking out there decided to come in.

"Hello?"

Bubbles was shocked to realize the voice was human. Could it really be another person's voice, or were those creatures smarter than they let on? Did they have the ability to mimic voices?

"Hellooo? Anyone in there?"

That was definitely a man's voice, but he sounded young, maybe around her age. Bubbles' pulse pounded in her ears and she wished she could put her heartbeat on mute. Now was definitely not the time for her hearing to be obstructed by anything, let alone the organ beating frantically within her chest.

She remained still and listened as footsteps entered the small convenience store. Whoever was here with her didn't sound like the sickly man she'd encountered the week before and she didn't hear labored, heavy breathing. The shadow that poured in through the front door looked and moved in a human-like manner.

Bubbles peeked around the corner and was surprised to find a young man who was definitely around her age. His ear-length blonde hair was stylishly messy and his skin was sun-kissed as if he spent a lot of time outdoors. His tight blue T-shirt clung to his slender frame and showed off the slight muscle he possessed. He looked around the shop, his gaze sweeping over everything carefully, and Bubbles noticed a heavy-looking backpack slung over his left shoulder. She couldn't see any weapons on him but she knew that didn't mean anything; he probably had a gun or a knife somewhere on him and even though he didn't look like he had bad intentions, she didn't know him so she didn't trust him.

"Hello?" His voice was hushed this time. Bubbles watched as he circled a few of the aisles wearing a curious expression. Each time he moved, she crept closer to the register. Once she managed to get behind the counter, she was barely able to duck down again before he spotted her.

"Please, I don't mean you any harm, I just want to talk."

Bubbles remained where she was and hoped he would take a hint and go away She'd endured enough zombie movies, games, and stories to know that not every human survivor had good intentions. He sighed and approached where she was hiding, leaning over the counter and poking the top of her head. Bubbles let out a startled squeak and scrambled to her feet, regarding him warily as she gripped the metal bat and held it as if she was ready to take a swing.

The boy held up both hands in the universal 'I surrender' gesture. "Whoa, relax, I'm not here to hurt you! My name is Boomer and I'm human, like you."

She didn't care what his name was. "How did you know I was in here?"

"Oh, uh," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry; guess I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that. I saw you walking around and thought you were human, but I wasn't sure so I followed you for a bit. I haven't come across any other survivors so when I saw you and I realized you weren't like those freaks that took over the city, I kinda got excited and wanted to talk to you."

Bubbles chewed her lip anxiously, her grip on the bat relaxing slightly. "Are you part of the rescue team that was sent out?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Rescue team? What are you talking about?"

"One of the evacuation zones sent out a team of men to rescue survivors."

"Oh." Boomer frowned. "No, I'm not. I'm one of the survivors, though, and I can safely say I'd love to be rescued. It sucks not being able to go out much, especially since I used to like going out at night. Now I can't even really go out no matter if it's day or night. Hashtag forever salty."

Bubbles snorted at those last three words and decided he wasn't a threat. She lowered Big Bessie down gently, holding the bat so that it dangled near her leg.

"Where are you from?" she asked, and Boomer brightened, turning to point towards some imaginary house in the distance.

"I'm actually in one of the neighborhoods just outside the city. My brothers and I take turns scavenging for food, which isn't hard, but it gets tricky when we have to go out at night."

This time, she was the one who raised an eyebrow. "It's not safe to go out at night."

"I know, but, well..." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "My brothers and I don't exactly have a great sleep schedule, so we tend to sleep in until, like, two in the afternoon. By the time we're able to drag our lazy butts out of bed, it's getting dark out and we don't exactly have a choice. Old habits die hard, I guess."

"My sister used to be the same way," she remarked, then quickly realized she shouldn't be divulging any sort of information to this stranger. Boomer seemed like a sweet, slightly absentminded person, but it could very well be a front to get her to drop her guard. Years of lectures from Blossom had taught her to never take anyone at face value.

Boomer's eyes widened. "You're with your family, too?"

She nodded even though it couldn't be further than the truth. It was better to have him think she wasn't alone. He smiled.

"Well, that's good! At least you're still with them. My brothers drive me nuts sometimes, but I'd take their company over being by myself any day. I remember a few people who were on their own and they had it rough."

She noticed he spoke in past-tense.

"What happened to them?" She wanted to know.

With a slightly wilted demeanor, Boomer replied, "Some of them tried to go out scavenging or get to the evacuation zones and, well... I never heard from them again. I can only hope they're okay and they made it to wherever they were trying to get to."

"I'm sure they did," Bubbles reassured. "In a situation like this, it's best to stay positive even if things don't look good."

He nodded. "That's the attitude I try to have. What about you, though? I'm surprised you're still in Townsville."

She folded her arms across her chest. "You're one to talk."

Boomer blinked before he laughed. "That's fair. Well, I'll be honest... My brothers and I tried to leave the moment everyone found out people were becoming monsters but we heard that most of the world is overrun with infected, so even if we get out—"

"You'll be facing the same thing, just in unfamiliar territory," Bubbles finished, feeling her gut sink at the news. "So this is an international epidemic."

"'Fraid so."

She let out a tired sigh and leaned against the counter for support. "I was hoping this was all a bad dream or that it would blow over, but it just keeps getting worse. Do you know what caused all of this? Was it a virus?"

The blonde male blew a raspberry, collecting his thoughts. "No one really knows what happened. The only thing that's clear is if you get bitten, you turn into one of them and you lose your mind. Those things are freakishly smart and fast, and they'll attack anything that moves; I heard a few of my neighbors get torn up and it's something that will haunt me until I die... Which, hopefully, won't be anytime soon."

He offered her a sheepish grin and she tried to smile back, but it ended up resembling a grimace.

She wondered how Boomer could hear his neighbors get 'torn up' and not be haunted or changed by it. The mass grave in front of City Hall was burned into her memory and she fully expected to have nightmares centered around the horrific scene for years to come, if she survived that long, anyway. Bubbles liked to think she was a cheerful girl, but after seeing all of those bodies and the blood... She wasn't sure how much longer she could remain optimistic.

"Did you see City Hall?" she asked softly, and Boomer's expression darkened.

"Unfortunately, yeah. It's one of the reasons why my brothers and I try not to come into the city if we don't have to. Better to play it safe and stay in the neighborhood than become an addition to that horror scene."

"When did it happen?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "The massacre at City Hall? I know when shit hit the fan, a lot of the infected began attacking people at City Hall and further downtown. When this all started, there weren't that many bodies lining the streets like there are now, but then once those sickos took over, I think that's when they, uh... You know... Did what they did."

Her eyes widened. "There are more bodies?"

"Yeah... FYI, don't go into Bonsai Gardens; City Hall is nothing compared to what they did there." He shuddered.

A violent shiver rippled through Bubbles even though it was at least eighty-five degrees outside. A flash of concern flickered across the blonde male's face but he didn't say anything more, probably regretting telling her such upsetting news.

Boomer was an odd guy, but Bubbles decided he wasn't necessarily bad, just unusual. He didn't give her the creeps or give off any sort of bad vibes, so... Did that mean she could she trust him?

Whether she could or not, Bubbles could see the store was becoming darker and darker. The more time they spent here, the less safe they were, and Bubbles refused to become a part of the mayor's body-ridden lawn.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere else," she suggested, nodding towards the outside. Boomer looked behind himself and cursed under his breath.

"You're right. Hey, let's head back to the outskirts; it's probably better we walk together anyway since those things don't like it when people are in groups."

She decided that wasn't a terrible idea; she needed to return to the outskirts, anyway, but his words surprised Bubbles. "They don't?"

"Nope." He backed up to let her go first and they took care not to step on any broken glass as they exited the store. "My brothers, Brick and Butch, went out one night to get some first-aid supplies since my dad accidentally cut himself while gardening. They ran into one and it clearly wanted to attack them, but I think it realized it was outnumbered and it took off. Butch is a big dude, too, so I think that also worked in their favor."

Bubbles readjusted her backpack straps before they began the journey towards Boomer's neighborhood. It was slightly comforting to have him with her; Bubbles was a small, thin girl of one-hundred and eight pounds. If anything wanted to mess with her, it wouldn't be difficult to take her down. With Boomer at her side, however, she felt safer; what one person couldn't hear, the other might, and she knew that even though they were still technically strangers, they were both trying to survive in this hostile world. If one of the infected decided to pick a fight, two was better against one, especially if these things were as nasty as Boomer said they were.

As they walked, the sun began to dip further below the horizon and they both kept an ear out for anything that might indicate nearby infected. It didn't take long to reach Boomer's house, a dome-shaped structure with lots of windows that were covered from the inside. A large telescope sat at the top of the house and the lens almost looked like an eye... Or perhaps that was just Bubbles' imagination. She smiled, reminded of the telescope her father kept in their backyard shed.

"Is someone in your family a scientist?"

Boomer followed her gaze before he chuckled.

"Yeah, my dad is. Ever hear of a guy named Dr. M. Jojo?"

The name immediately rung a bell. Dr. M. Jojo was a renowned scientist that had enough brains and skill to rival that of her father's. Professor Utonium had met him several times during the frequent business trips to different conventions around the nation and sometimes, with the way the Professor spoke about him and always tried to remain a step ahead of the fellow scientist, Bubbles wondered if they truly were rivals.

"I have," she replied, then smiled shyly. "Ever hear of Professor Utonium?"

Boomer's eyes lit up. "Dude, don't tell me your dad is the Professor Utonium?"

At her nod, he immediately gushed, "That's so awesome! Oh man, I think Mojo would flip if he knew I was talking to his biggest competitor's daughter."

She cocked her head to the side inquisitively. "Mojo?"

"Dr. Jojo's first name is Mojo," Boomer explained. "We don't call him 'Dad,' we just call him by his first name."

Bubbles immediately nodded her understanding. "My sisters and I call our dad 'Professor' and once we hit college, it felt funny calling our teachers that."

"Let me guess, it's like accidentally calling your teacher 'mom' or 'dad'?"

She giggled. "Exactly."

For the next few seconds, they regarded each other kindly, both pleased to have found a kindred spirit in this otherwise empty world. Bubbles began thinking that if the circumstances were different, she might view Boomer as a potential boyfriend. A few lightning bugs blinked in and out of the creeping darkness, officially indicating night time had arrived, and they both realized their time together had come to an end. It was time for Bubbles to leave.

Or so Boomer thought.

"Hey, I was thinking," he began, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Why don't you and your family come stay with us?"

Bubbles' eyes widened at his offer. "What?"

"It might be safer, you know?" he reasoned. "Like I said earlier, those things don't like large groups of people so if we combined our groups, maybe it would make things easier on us. My brothers can be a pain in the ass, but I'm sure they'd be cool with the idea and we have more than enough room to accommodate you guys."

She blushed and stared at her feet. "That's sweet of you to offer and I appreciate it, but we're okay. My dad is super protective over me and my sisters and I don't think he would like the idea of us moving in with a bunch of guys we don't know too well. Sorry."

Boomer deflated slightly at that, but nodded. "I understand. At least let me walk you home, then."

"Um, th-that's okay," she murmured. While he may be sweet and they may be getting along, it was better that she keep certain pieces of information to herself until she was positive she could fully trust him. "I don't live too far away so I should be fine."

"Are you sure? It may not be far but still, you never know what's out there these days."

She smiled weakly. "Thank you, but I'll be alright. It was nice meeting you, Boomer."

Before she could turn to head back home, he grabbed her hand.

"W-wait!"

She looked back at him expectantly and he let go of her to rub the back of his neck nervously. It seemed to be a habit of his and Bubbles found it to be sort of endearing.

"Can I see you again?" Then, as if realizing his words sounded like an innuendo of some sort, his face grew red and he immediately backtracked. "Wait, I don't mean it like that! Not that you aren't pretty or anything, you're gorgeous, I just mean that, well, you're nice and I don't know of any other survivors, and maybe if you wanted to hang out sometime? Not as a date or anything, just hanging out." At the end of his rant, a sheepish expression overtook his features and Bubbles giggled.

He's such a goober.

"Sure."

Boomer perked up. "Really? Okay, great! I'm sorry for the constant rambling, by the way; I've never been good at talking to people and sometimes my mouth runs faster than my brain can keep up. My brothers say I have a bad case of word-vomit and, well, they're not wrong."

"No need to apologize," Bubbles assured him. Then, after hesitating, "I think it's cute."

He blushed before holding out a hand.

"Friends?"

She knew if Blossom was here, she would advise against a friendship with someone in this new, dangerous world, and Buttercup would probably throttle her for being so stupid, but Boomer didn't seem like a bad guy. A little absent-minded and odd, sure, but he didn't give her bad vibes. Besides, Bubbles was all by herself and was sick of being stuck inside her own head. Blossom did say that someone was coming to pick her up, but that was a week ago when it should have only taken one or two days to reach her. It was likely that something happened to the rescuers and part of her felt guilty; if she hadn't been sick, she would have been able to go to school, the Professor would be home... She and her family would have been able to regroup without worry of leaving anyone behind and they would all be together at the evacuation zone right now, no need for anyone to come rescue her.

But another part of her was slowly coming to accept that she might never get to see her family again. It was possible that she would never again get to hug them or quibble with them or tell them that she loved them. It was an unpleasant thought to consider, but Bubbles couldn't deny the possibility that she or her family might perish before they were able to reunite. She would still hold out hope of seeing them again and she would stay at the house until the rescue team arrived, but for now, maybe forging a friendship wasn't such a bad idea. There was strength in numbers and maybe she and Boomer could look out for each other while surviving in this hellish world.

Finally, after mulling it over for a few minutes more, Bubbles shook his hand and she beamed.

"Friends."