Sorry for the late update. Still healing from the concussion. Hope you guys enjoy! And thank you so much for your reviews! :D
Guest: I'm honored that my story is one of the best you've come across! Thank you so much! However, if I may pose the question: are these creatures truly zombies? ;)
.: 8 :.
When Bubbles awoke the next morning, she was surprised to see the curtains open with light filtering throughout her bedroom. Blossom and Buttercup's beds were still made, but the sound of cartoons echoed from downstairs and the banging of pots and pans in the kitchen sent the blonde scrambling to get out of bed, tripping over her own two feet as she stumbled down the stairs. Sure enough, her ears weren't wrong; Blossom sat on the couch with a book in her lap while Buttercup lounged on the floor with a bowl of cereal, eyes glued to the show currently blaring on the screen. The eldest Utonium child offered her a warm smile.
"Good morning, sleepyhead."
"Blossom!" Bubbles practically pounced on her sister, jumping onto the couch and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug that earned a few protests from the redhead. "I missed you guys so much!"
"What do you mean, you missed us? You just saw us last night, silly."
The blonde pulled back. "You were gone and there were these creatures and I was so scared and everyone was gone and—"
Blossom placed a finger over her mouth to silence her. "Bubbles, everything is okay. You're okay. It was just a bad dream."
The blonde deflated at her sister's words. It couldn't have been a dream; it was way too vivid and frightening.
"But it was so real! Everything was wrong, all of Townsville was empty and—"
The redhead regarded her with concern. "I promise you, it was just a nightmare. You're home and you're safe, and in a little while we're going out shopping, remember?"
Bubbles struggled to remember ever having made plans to go out, but suddenly she couldn't remember anything. What had she been so worried about? And why did she have this inkling that she was forgetting something? Whatever it was, she was sure she would have remembered it if it was important.
"Did you seriously forget that we're meeting Robin at the mall?" Buttercup piped up, lifting a spoonful of cheerios to her mouth. "Sounds like someone partied too hard last night."
Blossom pinched the bridge of her nose at Buttercup's statement and Bubbles huffed indignantly. "I did not! I'm just having an off-day, that's all."
Buttercup was about to retort when the Professor's gentle voice called out, "Breakfast is ready!"
All three girls bounded into the kitchen—correction, Bubbles and Buttercup bounded in; Blossom, ever the elegant lady, strode in after them—to find four plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, buttered toast, and glasses of orange juice waiting for them on the table. The Professor was at the sink drying his hands off with a paper towel and he greeted his daughters with a warm smile.
"I hope everyone's hungry," he said, chuckling. "I made enough food to feed an army."
"Aw man, I didn't know you were making bacon!" Buttercup cried indignantly, pouting at the empty bowl of cereal in her hands.
"I told you not to fill up on cereal," Blossom chided, and the noirette rolled her eyes. She plucked a strip of bacon from the plate and popped it into her mouth to spite her older sister, who only shook her head in response.
As they all sat down to eat, Bubbles couldn't ignore the bad feeling that remained in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why, but even though this was a typical morning in the Utonium house, something felt off. There was something nagging at the back of her mind, but what was it? What was she trying to remember and why couldn't she pinpoint what it was? She wanted to ponder the thought further but her father tapped her on the shoulder, making her jump in surprise.
"Are you feeling alright, honey?" he asked, concern lacing his tone. "You haven't touched your food."
Sure enough, the plate in front of Bubbles was undisturbed. She didn't know why, but she couldn't remember making herself a plate; had the Professor done that for her? Geez, what was going on with her memory lately? It was starting to worry her..
"I'm okay," she forced out. "Just not hungry, I guess."
"Yeah, well, your loss is my gain." Buttercup reached over and snatched two strips of bacon from Bubbles' plate before the girl could protest. Buttercup grinned, showing off a mouth full of half-chewed food and let out a loud exaggerated "Hom nom nom!" which immediately earned her a scolding from both Blossom and their father.
"Ew! Come on, Buttercup, that's gross!"
"Buttercup Utonium, you know better than that. Close your mouth and chew properly."
The noirette rolled her eyes again, but smiled when she saw Bubbles trying not to laugh. She sent a wink in Bubbles' direction and the blonde realized Buttercup was trying to cheer her up from whatever was bothering her. She offered her an appreciative smile of her own and breakfast continued without any further shenanigans.
After everyone finished eating, the girls helped clear the table. Blossom excused herself to go upstairs while Buttercup returned to her spot in front of the television. For some reason, seeing her sisters walk away made Bubbles want to cry but before she could ponder why she felt so upset, the Professor interrupted her thoughts once more.
"Bubbles, could you help me wash the dishes?" His kind voice banished any sad feelings she had and she quickly nodded, grabbing a few paper towels while he set to work on washing the dirtied plates. Twenty minutes later and they were finished, her father thanking her for her help, and it was then that Blossom descended the stairs sporting light makeup, cute black flats, and a pink dress with a white cardigan.
Buttercup entered the kitchen next after grabbing her car keys and tossing them in the air before catching them, spinning the key ring around her finger.
"Mall time! Who wants to ride shotgun?"
Both of her sisters groaned in reply.
Getting to the mall was a blur. All of Townsville was bustling and full of its usual happy tenants, but Bubbles still felt like something was wrong. A nagging feeling of 'don't go into the city' kept popping up, but she didn't understand why. Everyone in Townsville was friendly for the most part, so there was no reason to fear the city. And then there was that moment when they passed a stop sign that turned onto another part of the neighborhood... She felt an overwhelming amount of worry and sadness, but she just couldn't figure out why. Had she ever even been down that street? Why on earth would she feel so upset if she'd never been there in the first place? And she didn't know anyone in that side of the outskirts, so why...?
Maybe she was just being dumb.
Once Buttercup parked the car, they entered the mall and headed towards the food court where Robin was supposedly waiting. Bubbles was surprised to find the mall completely empty; usually on weekends it was packed to the point of ridiculousness. Did they ever have trouble finding parking in the past? God, why couldn't she remember anything?!
"There's Robin," Blossom pointed out. Sure enough, the brunette was up ahead at one of the food court counters. Blossom and Buttercup approached the girl but Bubbles hung back, her instincts screaming against going any further. She watched as her sisters tried to get Robin's attention, but Bubbles hoped the girl wouldn't turn around. She had a feeling that once she did, something bad would happen.
"Robin? Hey, girl, what's wrong?" Buttercup asked, placing a hand on the motionless girl's shoulder. Bubbles chewed her lip as Robin slowly turned around, bracing herself for a horrific scene, but their childhood friend simply turned, her doe eyes looking slightly lost.
"Oh, hey guys. Sorry, I was spacing out."
They immediately fell into easy conversation, but Bubbles couldn't hear them. Their voices sounded muted and warbled, like they were underwater. She was about to approach them to see if her ears were failing her when a cry of pain rose up behind her. Bubbles turned around to see a blonde boy about her age struggling against a sickly-looking man above him. Bubbles' heart began to thunder in her chest when she saw bloody smears around the man's mouth, his eyes glowing a threatening red as he snapped his teeth viciously at the boy who was using all his strength to keep him away from his neck.
Boomer.
It all came rushing back the moment she realized who that boy was and she tried to yell for her sisters, but no noises escaped her throat. It was like someone put her voice on mute, and at the worst time possible, too. Blossom, Buttercup, and Robin happily kept up their conversation, even laughing with each other, as if Bubbles wasn't standing by witnessing her friend getting overpowered by an infected.
She tried to run over to him but it was like walking through water. Any movement she made was agonizingly slow and she watched in horror as the infected finally succeeded in its mission to bite Boomer, pinning his arms above his head and sinking its teeth into the boy's neck. The life slowly faded from his eyes and his mouth remained open in a silent scream, the infected man ripping into his throat as if it were his last meal.
A clawed hand dug into her shoulder and Bubbles whirled on her heel, only to see the first infected man she'd ever encountered. She tried to scream, to warn her sisters and Robin, to let out one last noise to let the world know how terrified she was to die like Boomer had, but her voice failed her again. It was then that the man's red-stained maw opened impossibly wide, red eyes glowing like lit cigarettes and boring into Bubbles' own icy-blue orbs as his sharp teeth came closer and closer, and just as he was about to swallow Bubbles whole—
She jolted awake to find her bedroom dark, no sliver of sunlight brightening her room and no echoes of old sitcoms coming from downstairs. Her heart thundered in her chest and her cheeks were wet with tears. She wanted to cry at her mind's cruel visions; she missed her family terribly and if anything ever happened to Boomer... Bubbles sniffled and wiped her eyes, fighting the fresh wave of tears that stung the corners of her vision, but she couldn't focus on her anguish for long.
Knock, knock, knock.
She froze and tuned into the silence around her, wondering where the strange knocking was coming from. Front door? The back door in the kitchen? Basement? She was slightly afraid to go downstairs and check. What if it was one of those monsters?
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock... Knock-knock.
...Okay, so she was pretty sure the infected couldn't tap out a little tune like that. Maybe it was Boomer? But it was still night, wasn't it?
Slowly, she crawled out of bed and grabbed Buttercup's metal baseball bat. Bubbles shuddered to think she might have to use the blunt object to protect herself—she didn't like the idea of causing harm to anything or anyone regardless of their intentions towards her—but began to tiptoe downstairs, the knocking noises coming from the front door. Sunlight streamed through the glass of the kitchen door and she took slight comfort in knowing she'd made it through another night. Upon reaching the living room, she crept towards the front door and looked through the peephole. Relief flooded her at the sight of a familiar blonde male waiting patiently on her doorstep.
Boomer.
She placed the bat aside and unlocked the door, opening it just a crack. Her cheerful friend was, as always, bouncing on his heels.
"Good morning!" He beamed. Then, finally noticing her messy hair and pajamas, his smile dimmed. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
The nightmare came back to her full-force and she immediately pulled him into a hug, tears threatening to overflow. Boomer didn't hug her back right away, as he was surprised at the sudden physical contact, but he patted her back awkwardly once he realized she was crying. He helped her sit down with him on the stoop and kept an arm around her as she cried, rubbing her shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was thick and watery. "I just h-had the worst dre-dream."
"What was it about?" he asked. Bubbles recounted the nightmare for him and his expression morphed into one of shock, then resolution.
"It was just a dream," Boomer assured her. "I'm okay, you're okay, and your family is okay. Nothing more to it."
"It was so real," she sniffled. "I thought... I thought that everything was back to normal, but then I forgot you, and I knew I forgot you, and then..."
Fresh tears threatened to fall when she remembered his lifeless eyes, mouth hanging open in a mute, eternal scream. The thought of losing him was too much to bear, and so she buried her face in her hands as more sobs wracked her body. Boomer slung an arm around her shoulders.
"But that was just a dream. In reality, you're here. With me." He offered her a smile and she tried to return it, but it resembled a grimace.
"Besides, do you really think you could forget my ugly mug that easily?"
Bubbles snorted and lightly shoved him. "You're not ugly."
"What if I wanna be ugly?" He screwed up his face and Bubbles couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her.
"Boomer, really?"
He laughed. "Just messing with ya. But seriously... Dreams are just dreams. There's no way I would ever let some infected freak kill me. Not without giving them a proper ass-kicking first, anyway."
Bubbles looked down at her hands, turning them over and examining the pale skin. He was right... It was just a dream, wasn't it? They were both still alive, still real, and everything would be okay. He was always the one telling her to stay positive, after all... It was about time she take his advice.
"Feel any better?"
She returned her gaze to his and was touched to find him regarding her with genuine concern. Blush painted her cheeks and she nodded.
"Yeah. I'm sorry that I got so worked up."
Boomer reached up to pinch her nose but she knew what he was going to do and ducked away from his grasp. He laughed.
"You're catching on to my shenanigans, I see. In all seriousness, don't apologize; we all have bad dreams and honestly, what are friends for? Just know that everything's okay, you and I are safe, and nothing's gonna happen. Not if I have anything to say about it."
Even so, she hated crying in front of other people. Bubbles wasn't a tough girl like Buttercup, who practically never cried, but she still didn't like others seeing her so vulnerable.
"If you're interested," he offered. "I think it's going to be super hot out today and I was going to go for a swim at the community pool. They opened it before the infection hit, so it should be okay. If not, they probably have loads of chlorine there that we could use if the water is a little gross. Do you want to come with me? Might be fun."
"Aren't you tired?" she asked. "You had to stay up and take watch last night, right? You must be exhausted."
"Nah. Brick relieved me around four, so I was able to doze off for a few hours. Plus, I had coffee, so I'm good to go. Only if you feel up to hanging out, though."
Another day of hanging out with Boomer? Count me in.
"Definitely. I'll go get changed and meet you by the stop sign."
He beamed. "Sounds like a plan, man."
"Geronimoooo!"
Boomer sprinted towards the pool before doing a cannonball, the miraculously crystal-clear water splashing everywhere from the impact. A few drops landed on Bubbles and she was surprised to find the water was warm. Then again, for the past few days they had been going through a heat wave. It shouldn't have been so surprising that the pool water felt like a bathtub.
When Boomer resurfaced, he shook the water out of his hair. "Woo! This is great!"
Bubbles padded softly towards the edge of the pool and spread her towel over the concrete. Once she was satisfied, she toed off her flip-flops and sat down, dipping her feet into the warm water. It did feel pretty nice, even if it was still like sticking her feet into a bath...
"Are you coming in?" her goofy companion asked. He laid back on the water and allowed it to carry him, looking as carefree and happy as ever.
"Maybe in a bit," she replied softly. She swung her legs in the water, enjoying the feel of its warmth. The skies were clear and blue today, the sun baking down on Townsville as it had the past few days, but the humidity had reached its peak today. The air was completely damp and it made her miss air conditioning.
Boomer took a deep breath before going under the water. Bubbles watched him swim around for a bit before he turned his attention back to her.
"You sure you don't wanna come in? You're seriously missing out."
She hummed in response. simply enjoying the summer afternoon. "Maybe in a bit," she repeated, and Boomer pouted. Suddenly, however, a devilish look crossed his features and he grinned evilly.
"What?" she asked. He began to wade towards her.
"You said that before, you know. That you'd join me in a bit."
"I will, I'm just being lazy." She kicked her foot upwards before letting it fall back against the water, creating a splash. Boomer continued stalking towards her, that grin only growing more and more evil the closer he got.
Realization dawned on her. Buttercup had dragged her into the pool a few times during their youth, so she knew where this was heading. She immediately pulled her legs out of the water and Boomer laughed.
"That won't save you."
She giggled and stood, backing away from the pool edge. "Bet you can't catch me!"
"Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong! You're getting in this pool one way or another!"
With that, he swam towards the shallow end and headed for the steps that led out of the pool. As soon as he was free from the water's grasp, he took off towards her and she laughed, running away from him. He began running in the opposite direction to try to catch her that way, and instead they stared at each other from either side of the pool, neither moving.
"One way or another," Boomer said, pacing along the edge of the pool, eyes glinting with mischief.
"Gotta catch me first," she reminded, winking at him. The action caused him to blush, but it could have been the hot weather turning his skin pink. It was, after all, close to one-hundred degrees outside.
Boomer suddenly sprinted around the right edge of the pool, so Bubbles took off towards the left. They circled the pool once, Boomer chasing after her, before he suddenly stumbled and fell, scraping his knee.
"Crap!"
He hissed and nursed the injury with his hand, wincing a few times. Bubbles scrambled towards him.
"Oh my God, are you okay? Your knee—"
He grinned and lifted his hand, revealing unblemished skin.
"Gotcha!"
Bubbles squealed as he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, letting out an exaggerated, maniacal laugh. She laughed as well and began to weakly pummel his back with her fists.
"Hey, let me go!"
"Let you go? Well, if you insist~" He lifted her up and Bubbles' eyes widened.
"No, wait, don't—"
She hit the water before she could finish her sentence. She squeezed her eyes shut as her nose immediately filled up and she coughed, clawing her way back up to the surface for air. She choked and coughed, desperate to clear her burning lungs and nose, and was grateful when she finally managed to breathe again. Boomer dove into the deep end and swam towards her, that mischievous glint still lurking in his blue eyes once he resurfaced.
"You cheated," Bubbles accused in a hoarse voice, and he laughed. She was coming to love that sound. Boomer had a great laugh and his smile was so bright that it rivaled the sun. It was a cheesy comparison, but he was a bright, cheery person and she was really starting to like that about him.
"I did no such thing, m'lady."
"Jerk." She splashed at him and he chuckled.
"You know you love me."
Yeah, I do. Platonically, of course.
"You were right, though," she admitted, laying back against the water. "This does feel pretty great."
"Told you so."
They both relaxed in the pool for some time, lazily watching the clouds drift by in the sky. It was nice to just sit in the water. Boomer proposed a game of Marco-Polo at one point and they played two games of it. She caught him once by jumping onto his back and wrapping her arms around him, which made him laugh and dunk them both underwater. It was fun to pretend the world was normal, that they were just two people enjoying the summertime, even if it was only for an afternoon.
When they were tired, Bubbles laid out on her towel and sunbathed for a bit. Between the heat and exerting energy trying to run from Boomer, she was exhausted. She nearly fell asleep when she heard Boomer jump back into the pool after he reapplied sunscreen. When the heat got to be a bit too much, she joined him again. While he practiced doing handstands in the shallow end, she leaned her head back to re-wet her hair.
Bubbles wasn't sure how it happened or why, but she looked up at one of the nearby houses. She was about to return her gaze to the crystal-clear water before her when she noticed the dark shape standing in one of the windows. Red pinpricks were watching her and Boomer with an unreadable expression, but the fact that something was watching them sent a chill down her spine. Whatever pretense she'd been under, that perhaps this afternoon they were safe and enjoying a sliver of normalcy, was thrown out the metaphorical window and reality seeped back in.
"Bubbles?"
It took Boomer placing a hand on her shoulder for her to finally snap out of whatever trance she'd been in. A violent shiver tore through her and he instantly withdrew his hand.
"Whoa, sorry, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, sorry," she replied, rubbing her hands over her arms. They were covered in goosebumps, but not because of the water or the breeze that had picked up. "Did you see that?"
"See what?"
When she looked back at the window, there was nothing there. Had she simply imagined the figure? No, that couldn't be right... Someone had been standing there before.
"I thought I saw someone standing there," she admitted, pointing to the window in question. Boomer followed her gaze and frowned.
"Really? Well, what exactly did you see?"
"Red eyes staring at us. It looked like someone or something was watching us."
"They must've been checking out the gun show." He flexed his biceps and kissed one, making her laugh.
"Come on, Boomer, I'm being serious here!"
"I know, I know." He laid back on the water. "Well, if someone or something was watching us, they're gone now. What a weirdo."
"You don't think maybe..." She bit her lip, not wanting to finish the thought, but forced herself to continue, "The neighborhood has a few infected hiding in the houses?"
"I would have seen them roaming about during the nighttime," Boomer assured. "I sit up in our attic where the telescope is situated and I can tell you, I could see every part of the neighborhood if I wanted to. I've never seen any infected stay out here; they always flock to the city. Maybe if there is someone in there, they're human and they just wanna yell at us for running around the pool when it says 'no running.'"
It still amazed her at how carefree he was. Bubbles could've sworn she'd seen red eyes, but maybe it was her imagination. Maybe there was another person out there, or maybe it had been light reflecting off of something red. "I guess.."
She looked back at the window but nothing had changed. No one was there and Bubbles was left to wonder if perhaps Boomer was beginning to think she didn't have all her marbles. The thought bothered her; she hoped he didn't view her as some crazy, paranoid person.
"The weather looks like it's going to turn south," he remarked, and he was right. The afternoon sun was currently hidden by a few gray clouds. With every breeze that wafted through, the trees showed the backs of their leaves, indicating a coming thunderstorm. Sure enough, a soft clap of thunder rumbled in the distance.
Wordlessly, Bubbles and Boomer exited the pool and wrapped themselves in their towels. Bubbles dried herself off as best as she could before pulling on her T-shirt and shorts again. Boomer threw on the sleeveless hoodie he'd brought, both beginning to head towards Bubbles' house.
As they walked, a few raindrops pelted them, a warning of the storm to come. The humidity had reached an unbearable level and the breezes were becoming more frequent. The skies grew darker with more rain clouds and Bubbles realized she didn't want to sit through the storm alone. Especially not after that nightmare... She felt her eyes water at the thought of her time with Boomer coming to an end.
"Hey, Boomer?"
He turned to her and offered a warm smile, an action that made her feel fuzzy inside.
"Do you think that, um... We could have that sleepover tonight?"
His smile turned into a huge grin. "Hell yeah! Your house or mine?"
She chewed her lip. While it would be safer to be at his house, there was still a part of her that wanted to wait things out for her sisters.
"Oh, actually..." Boomer tilted his head slightly in thought. "Now that I think about it, when we talked about having a sleepover, we did say we'd have it at your place. Are you cool with that or would you prefer to be with me and my brothers? We do have electricity so we could watch a movie or play video games, but then again, that would take away the fun of telling scary stories in the dark... What do you think?"
"Can we have it at my place?" Her voice sounded so meek that if Buttercup were here, she'd probably make fun of her.
"Of course!" Boomer clapped a hand on her shoulder. "This is gonna be so awesome! I hope you don't mind, I just need to run home quick to pick up some stuff."
"Sure. I'll get everything ready here and I'll see you soon." They reached her house and they parted ways. Boomer bounded off for his own house while she went inside, retrieving two top-sheets from the linen closet. She grabbed her pillow and an extra one for Boomer. She brought them downstairs and placed them on the couch before entering the kitchen to grab her trusty flashlight.
Bubbles managed to take a quick—albeit freezing—shower to wash the smell of pool-water off. She just managed to set the flashlight upright on the living room coffee table to give the room some light when a tell-tale knock interrupted her.
She let Boomer in and was surprised to see him carrying a bunch of candy. A small backpack was slung over his left shoulder.
"Operation sleepover is a-go." He grinned. "Figured we could make s'mores. I brought a lighter to toast the marshmallows and it probably won't be the same as a campfire, but it's something."
"Sounds good to me." She offered a smile of her own. "Think I could steal some chocolate off you?"
"Help yourself, girl, it's why I brought it. I'm gonna get started on building us a pillow fort." Then, after a pause, "Is that okay?"
"Of course, by all means. Build the best pillow fort you can."
Bubbles grabbed a Hershey bar and nibbled on it as Boomer set to work.
