.: 9 :.

A chorus of hushed voices and the ever-present hum of generators swirled around the Utonium sisters as they huddled in one of the various tents of the evacuation zone. The thick smell of mud, latex, disinfectant, and even a twinge of body odor hung in the air. Being in the evacuation zone had its perks, as the military took care of everything such as scavenging, scouting out towns and cities for potential survivors and places they could extend the zone to, and keeping the people safe from any infected that tried to wreak havoc on their makeshift living space.

However, for this particular family, staying in the evacuation zone was absolutely maddening. Their freedom was limited, they were constantly hungry from low food rations, not to mention they would fare better if they weren't currently missing one of their own. Bubbles was still out there in Townsville, alone and probably helpless, and they could do nothing but wait for the higher-ups to inform them of the rescue team's status. No word had arrived regarding the team's progress or if they had managed to reach Bubbles and the Utonium family could only pester the authorities for so long before they would be forcefully escorted back to their assigned house.

It didn't help that the only cell phone service they could get was in the center of the zone, far from their temporary home and right where a mix of sweaty, on-edge people were loitering.

"Okay, I just sent at least five texts." Blossom, the oldest of Professor Utonium's triplet daughters, turned her phone off and let out a weary sigh. "It says they're currently sending, but I'm not sure if any of them will go through. Hopefully if four don't make it, one will."

The middle Utonium child, Buttercup, nodded to indicate her acknowledgement while she held her own phone to her ear. After five minutes of silence, an automated voice began informing her that the number she had dialed couldn't be reached, and she furiously mashed her thumb against the 'end call' icon.

"I've tried ten times and I still can't get anything to go through! This is horse shit!"

Buttercup growled and pulled her arm back to hurl the phone at the wall, but Blossom stopped her.

"If you smash that phone, we'll have one less way to reach her. Come on, Buttercup, we've got to keep trying no matter how long it takes."

The noirette sighed and simply tossed the electronic device onto her cot, slumping down beside it. They had been trying to reach their youngest sister ever since they got to the evacuation zone. The one phone call they'd been able to get through had been cut off thanks to the crappy service, and Buttercup knew that her sister managed to get the first two texts after that. However, it had been practically two weeks and there was still no word on what was going on. Was Bubbles still alive out there? Was she just sending texts to a phone who no longer had an owner?

The rescue team had been dispatched the day after the girls managed to get in touch with Bubbles. They should have reached her by now, their small family had high hopes that the team and Bubbles were currently on their way back, but an alarming realization came to light just a few nights ago that made the Utonium family work that much harder to contact their youngest member.

The infected were growing smarter. Instead of just sticking to the city, they were now swarming around the power plants, cell towers, water towers; anywhere and everywhere that the living could use to regain their bearings were highly populated with infected. They no longer mindlessly attacked people they came across; they were intelligent predators with a frightening sense of strategy. They used their heightened senses to their advantage, locating survivors merely by listening, picking up on scents, and then waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It was almost as if they knew that human beings needed these locations and purposely hung around them to prevent them from regaining control over their world.

It was even becoming difficult to get to any of the supermarkets. Almost every grocery store was chock-full of infected purposely laying in wait for desperate survivors to stumble inside. Two of the zones had already been overrun, their stories eerily similar: a few teams ran out to scavenge food and supplies, got turned, then came back with other infected a few days later to turn the rest of the survivors. The amount of remaining evacuation zones was quickly decreasing, and it was only a matter of time before the Utonium family's zone was conquered by those creatures as well.

The Professor was worried sick about his youngest daughter having to fend for herself in a world much crueler than before. What if she ran out of food? What if the infected discovered her? And how was she, after dealing with that nasty flu strain? Was she still sick or was she getting better? What if she was still weak and one of the infected killed her?

He couldn't do much to alleviate his worries because the zone needed every doctor, nurse, and scientist they could find to tend to the sick and the elderly around the clock. Vaccines had already been created to try to combat the infection but nothing was working; once a person was bitten, they were done for.

It was baffling to the scientists and doctors to find that there was nothing that could be administered to prevent or, at the very least, slow down the infection after the initial bite. It was even more bizarre that the infected were becoming increasingly intelligent; did this mean they were regaining a sense of humanity, of rational thought, feeling, perhaps even empathy?

Or were humans about to get kicked off the top of the food chain?

The zone they were located in had a working generator and they had plenty of fuel for it, but sooner or later that would run out, too, and then what would happen? If it weren't for the electrified fences, the zone would have been swarmed long ago. Their situation was quickly becoming worse and the Utonium family, as well as the other people living around them, were growing uneasy.

"Have you heard anything from Bubbles?"

At the sound of her father's weary voice, Buttercup forced down her frustration and picked up her phone again. The Professor was so tired, yet he still tried to put on a brave face for them, even though they were all uncertain of the youngest Utonium girl's fate. It didn't help that with each passing day, their hope continued to dwindle.

"Nothing yet. We're still trying."

He heaved a sigh and sat down next to her, his shoulders slumping with exhaustion.

"Another busy night in the infirmary?" Blossom asked, offering him a water bottle. He accepted it with a soft 'thank you' before twisting the cap off and taking a few sips.

"Mostly research. None of the vaccines are working and everyone is about ready to give up hope for any kind of cure."

Blossom's expression fell and Buttercup simply looked away. In this type of situation, they kept holding out for some kind of sign that things would improve, that perhaps they could finally gain the upper-hand on the infection before it claimed any more people. However, with each passing day, whatever hope they had left kept getting stretched thinner and thinner.

If a cure or preventative measure couldn't be discovered, then what would become of them, of Bubbles? No one wanted to entertain the possibility of the human race losing to an epidemic, and yet with how everything was turning out so far...

"You know, Bubbles is a smart cookie." Blossom was the one who broke the silence. "She may have her ditzy moments, but she's not a stupid girl. I think she's doing okay on her own. There's no way something bad could have happened to her. If I know her, she heeded our warnings and she's probably holed up somewhere safe."

Buttercup decided that was a better thought to have than to consider... No. Bubbles was still alive, and she would continue to hope, pray, and believe that her sister was okay.

"I know she is. She's probably kicking major infected butt right now." Both sisters shared a weak smile, and their father managed a somewhat hopeful expression of his own.

"I'm sure she is," he replied. However, as both girls' gazes remained on him, it was evident that the lines in his face had become more pronounced over the past few weeks. Before the outbreak, the Professor had had only a few lines to indicate his approach to middle age, but now he looked much older, more exhausted. It concerned Blossom and made Buttercup feel sad that her father was practically aging faster from all this worry and hopelessness, but there was nothing they could do except try to be strong for him so that he had two less people to worry about.

Both of his daughters pulled him into a hug and he gladly returned it, wrapping his arms around them and holding them close. During moments like these, he realized how truly lucky he was to be a father, to have three wonderful children who were not only kind and compassionate, but also brave and incredibly strong. He had done his best to be strong for them, yet they were doing all they could to be strong for him, too. He knew that Bubbles wasn't with them right now, but he remained hopeful that she was doing alright. Everyone was worried about her and the state of the world, but everyone was also working together to prolong their survival despite the bleak situation at hand. In that moment, he was proud of them... And proud of Bubbles, too, because she had the same courageous heart as her sisters and he hoped, no, he knew that they would be reunited with her sooner or later. The world may fall into ruins, but he and his daughters would make it, that much he knew.

"I didn't always get to say it often before, but I love you three so much." The Professor's voice cracked halfway through and it was enough for the emotional dam to burst. Blossom was the first to begin sniffling thickly, tears painting wet tracks down her cheeks, and then Buttercup's own vision began to grow watery. The Professor held them as they all began to fall apart, his own expression crumbling with weariness, despair, and even fear. They had been so busy trying to keep themselves together for the sake of their father's well-being that they didn't realize how scared and helpless they felt about everything. If only they could've gotten to Bubbles before they were evacuated, if only Bubbles had been well enough to go to school, where Buttercup could have picked her up and brought her right to the Professor and Blossom... If only the world wasn't in the state it was in right now...

In their own private room, the Utonium family held each other as they cried, hoping the future looked much brighter than it did in that moment. They prayed Bubbles was somewhere safe, if not on her way back to them.

When they had run out of tears, the Professor got up and retrieved a box of tissues, offering them to Blossom and Buttercup who accepted it gratefully. After all three of them managed to put a brave face back on, the Professor wrung his hands as he stood in the doorway.

"I hate to leave you two, but I have to get back," he lamented. "Will you be alright on your own? I won't be back until midnight due to a few new patients being admitted to our medical tent."

Buttercup felt her eyes grow watery again. A childish part of her didn't want her father to leave; she wanted to stay with her family and never let them go, afraid that if she did, even for just a little while, she'd lose them like they might have lost Bubbles, but she didn't have much time to dwell on her feelings. Blossom slung an arm around her sister's shoulders and nodded at Professor Utonium.

"We'll be fine. Don't forget to eat and stay hydrated, okay? We'll see you at midnight and if we hear anything from Bubbles, you'll be the first to know."

He offered a determined nod of his own, disappearing through the thin flaps of the tent's entrance. Blossom let out a shaky sigh before patting Buttercup's back.

"Come on, we have to keep trying to reach Bubbles. Something's gotta give sooner or later."


Bubbles stirred, her stomach feeling marginally better than before when she and Boomer had stuffed themselves full of graham crackers and candy until they could hardly move. She didn't think she'd ever eaten so much s'mores in her life and although it had been delicious, her stomach had felt like it was going to explode. She was also pretty sure she cured herself of liking the campfire treat with how many she ate.

At least she felt better now, though. She sat up and looked around, her senses slowly coming back to her.

It was roughly one in the morning. Bubbles knew the time because she checked her phone and, along with learning what time it was, she was dismayed to find that her battery percentage was getting dangerously low. It wouldn't be long before she would lose the device altogether, along with any contact with her sisters... Or the outside world, for that matter.

Boomer snored softly beside her, his legs tangled in the thin top sheets while his upper half was hidden in the pillow fort he'd made. Bubbles couldn't help but smile at the sight. How was it that someone one year older than her could act like such a child, yet still be so cute while doing so?

Bubbles yawned and settled back down onto her side. The living room carpet wasn't exactly comfortable, but it wasn't the worst place to sleep. Besides, this wasn't her first time spending the night on the floor; Robin Snyder, the girl who lived a few houses down, used to sleep over frequently. She and the Utonium sisters would spend their evenings around the television, some kind of rom-com blaring on the screen while they gorged themselves on pizza, soda, and all the candy they could stomach. They often passed out on the living room floor after their self-induced food comas and woke up the next day having to clean up the mess.

Tonight was no exception. Bubbles and Boomer had had enough candy to cause a stomachache and they didn't have pizza, soda, or a movie to entertain them, but they did have fun telling each other scary stories. Of course, the irony was that they were living in a scary story, but it was fun to pretend they were having a normal sleepover instead of a semi-stakeout. Bubbles was starting to realize that in order to stay sane in this new world, sometimes it was necessary to pretend everything was just as it was before the outbreak.

She closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep, the gentle pit-pat of rain on the roof and windows lulling her back into unconsciousness. She was just about to doze off completely when a new sound caused her eyes to fly open in alarm.

It was heavy breathing. Boomer's breaths were soft and even, as were his snores, but this kind of breathing sounded sickly, like it was all the person could do to inhale and exhale. It was mixed with a guttural kind of noise, mirroring that of an animal's growl but much more disturbing. Wet footsteps trudged through the muddy front lawn of her house and Bubbles' blood ran cold at the realization that there was an infected person outside, only feet away.

Thunder cracked across the night and shook the Utonium house to its core, causing the girl to pull the sheet over her head as the footsteps continued. A nails-on-chalkboard sound started up, as if something was running its claws along the glass of the window.

Bubbles' pulse pounded in her ears and she held her breath, waiting for the infected to move on so she could wake Boomer and tell him there was something outside. The outskirts were no longer safe; the infected were finally here.

When the heavy breathing mercifully moved farther and farther away, Bubbles allowed herself to breathe again. She knew there had to be others out there... Where there was one, there had to be many.

It was at that moment a familiar little blue light began to flash from her phone. She picked it up as quietly as she could and turned it on, rushing to swipe up when she saw who the text was from.

...Make 'text' plural; over fifty unread text messages from both her sisters sat waiting for her, all with different dates on them from the past week. Her inbox was full of voicemails from Buttercup and Bubbles desperately wanted to open them, to hear her sister's voice, but she had to stay as quiet as possible. She decided to look through the text messages, her stomach turning slightly with anxiety as she read the ones that loaded successfully.

Buttercup: 'Are U still home?'

Blossom: 'Bubbles, please text me when you get this.'

Buttercup : 'Bubbles call me, plz.'

Blossom: 'Hey, how are you doing? Did the rescue team get there yet?'

Buttercup: 'Text back if you get this.'

Blossom: 'We lost power. Please call me if you can.'

Buttercup: 'Where R U? How R U? Plz let us know asap. Miss U kiddo.'

Blossom: 'Please call or text us asap.'

Buttercup: 'Things R getting bad out there. Be careful.'

Blossom: 'Are you still home? Please, Bubbles, let me or BC know what's going on. We're worried.'

Buttercup: 'Call/text us when U get this.'

She chewed her lip at Buttercup's text. What exactly was going on outside the zones that constituted her saying that things were getting 'bad'? Things were already hellish and Bubbles was already on edge as it was, so how could things possibly get worse? Besides the obvious, of course...

Her sisters' texts were not alarming—in fact, they only appeared to be trying to get in touch with her and see how she was faring—but sent chills down her spine all the same. Why wasn't her stupid phone working right? If she had gotten these a few days ago, she would have responded immediately! Her family was probably worried sick about her... Were they doing okay themselves? Were they still surviving? How safe were the evacuation zones? She had so many questions and so little answers that she began to get a slight headache from her brain's over-exertion.

She listened for that tell-tale heavy breathing outside. When she couldn't hear anything save for the rain and occasional low rumbles of thunder, she opened a group message that included both her sisters and tapped out 'I'm OK, still home, love you guys, hope to C U soon.' The message claimed it was trying to send, so she clicked her phone off and continued to listen to the sounds of the night, hoping the text managed to reach them.

Another loud burst of thunder rocked the house and she barely suppressed a frightened yelp. However, the thunder was nothing compared to the blood-curdling screeches that rose up in response to the din of the storm. Bubbles knew the infected screamed whenever something caught their interest, if that first infected man she'd encountered was anything to go by, and she wouldn't be concerned but there was one problem.

The screeches were coming from nearby.

Throwing caution to the wind, Bubbles sat up and shook Boomer's leg as hard as she could. He snorted in his sleep and stirred, moving onto his side.

"Boomer," she hissed. "Boomer, wake up!"

He stirred again, though this time, his eyes cracked open. He squinted at Bubbles with confusion.

"Wha...?"

"Boomer, they're here!" she whimpered, her voice barely audible. Miraculously, he understood the panic in her hushed tone and remained quiet, simply sitting up to regard her curiously. The fog of sleep was probably still clouding the part of his mind that would recognize what she meant by 'they.'

Before he could reply, another piercing shriek rang out through the neighborhood. It sounded like it was coming from the area Boomer lived in and his expression morphed into one of terror when he realized this.

"Shit! I need to get home." He kicked the sheet off and went to stand but Bubbles grabbed his arm, her nails digging into the skin painfully. He hissed softly and she loosened her grip, muttering an apology.

"Get your shoes on," he whispered. "We have to go."

"Boomer, if we go outside, they'll kill us!"

"But my brothers—"

"But what about us?"

He faltered. "I have to warn them, Bubbles."

"One of them is keeping watch tonight, right?" she asked, still clinging to his arm. "They'll see the infected and if not, then they'll hear the screams. Butch and Brick are smart, they'll know what to do, but we need to stay quiet and hide right now."

"But—"

"Boomer, please," she pleaded. Hysteria and pure terror threatened to seep into her hushed voice. "Please, for once just listen to me! If anything happened to you and I could have prevented it, I'd never forgive myself. You're my friend and I don't want anything bad to happen to you, so please, please just wait here until morning..."

A sob caught in her throat and he reluctantly sat back down. He surprised Bubbles by pulling her onto his lap, where he wrapped his arms around her and ran a hand through her hair.

"Alright, I'll stay," he assured her. "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, wiping at her eyes. "I know you want to help your brothers and I get it, but right now, with those things out there, it's not safe... A-and I'm scared of losing you, Boomer."

He continued stroking her long golden locks as she regained her composure. When she was finally calm, he let out a sigh.

"You're probably right... About not going out there right now, I mean. It would be stupid of me to just take off, plus if those things see me, there's a chance they'd follow me right to my brothers."

Another horrifying screech pierced the night, many more in response to it, and they both flinched, Bubbles immediately throwing her arms around Boomer as she buried her face in his shoulder. He tightened his hold around her protectively and the action would have made her blush profusely if she wasn't terrified out of her mind right now.

They listened as wet footsteps trekked around outside, not quite next to the living room window as Bubbles heard before, but around nearby houses. It was only when the storm began to ease up and the pouring rain became a gentle drizzle that the infected seemed to retreat back to wherever they came from. No further screeches disturbed the otherwise quiet night.

Bubbles realized she was still clinging onto Boomer and blushed, moving to sit beside him instead of on his lap. She couldn't see it, but he was blushing, too. Neither of them wanted to make things weird, but it had been pleasant to be together even though danger lurked right outside. There was something comforting about not having to be all alone, especially when monsters were right around the corner. Bubbles liked the feel of Boomer's arms around her, and Boomer liked holding her.

But now was not the time for warm fuzzy feelings or crushes. They had a much bigger issue to worry about.

"They're finally in the outskirts," she murmured. "This isn't good."

"We'll have to be extra careful," Boomer agreed, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "Oh man, and to think we were having a great time goofing around yesterday.."

Bubbles' face fell at his words. Their peace had been fleeting and she had taken it for granted. Now there was no guarantee that they could have any sort of escape from their twisted reality. Not when the infected were literally right outside her door...

"Well, then again, maybe it's not all bad," he continued. "Maybe they'll only come out at night, so there's a chance we could still use the community pool every now and then."

"Sure." Bubbles' voice cracked with anguish and he pulled her into a half-hug.

"It'll be alright, Bubbles, we'll figure things out. It's gonna suck to wait for the sun to come up, though. I don't know about you, but I'm shaking right now."

True to his word, his hands were trembling. Bubbles took them into her own and tried to steady them, which only made Boomer blush again.

They didn't speak for the rest of the night, merely sitting together and listening for more sounds of the infected. Occasionally, Bubbles would squeeze his hands gently and he would return the gesture. The action was simple but it was a way for them to communicate 'I'm here' and 'I know, I hear it, too.'

Bubbles dozed off right before the sun came up, her eyes falling closed as she leaned fully against him. Boomer was barely managing to keep his own eyes open when thin lines of sunlight peeked from around the covered windows.

He turned to remark that it was morning at last when he realized Bubbles was asleep, and he took the chance to really look at his companion. Her silken hair spilled around her shoulders like a waterfall of the finest gold. A few freckles dusted across her cheeks and her lips, full and petal-pink, looked perfectly kissable. Boomer knew Bubbles was a pretty girl, but he had never been able to really drink in her beauty like he was now.

He reached over to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She was truly beautiful, a perfect girl who probably never had a problem finding a date when life was normal. She may be overly-cautious and, at times, a bit of a killjoy, but Boomer liked that about her. While he sometimes got his head stuck in the clouds, she always helped him come back down to earth.

And sometimes, if he was lucky, he was able to see glimpses of the carefree, happy girl she had been before the outbreak hardened her. He wanted to see that side of her more often, and he hoped he could continue to be with her, to make her laugh and show her that as harsh as the world might be, there was always a silver lining if you looked hard enough.

Finally, after allowing himself to admire her for a little longer, Boomer knew it was time to wake her. He had to get to Brick and Butch and let them know that the infected were no longer confining themselves to the city; they were going to have to take more precautionary measures and be extra careful. He could practically hear the safety lectures from Brick already.

"Bubbles?" He gently shook her awake and she stirred. The girl slowly opened her eyes, a pair of ice-blue orbs that were still hazy with sleep. Boomer tried not to blush.

She's so freaking adorable.

"We made it through the night," he said. "I have to get home and check on my brothers... Do you want to come with me, or do you want to stay and hold down the fort?"

She yawned. "I'll go with you." Then, upon spotting her cell phone laying where she'd left it last night: "Do you mind if I charge my phone at your house?"

"Not at all, feel free." The outside world was uncharacteristically silent but both of them knew why. What insect or animal would want to make any noise when there were monstrosities on the prowl? At this point, it was survival of the fittest and no creature would want to suffer the same fate those poor folks at City Hall had.

Boomer stood up and stretched, his joints popping as he did so.

"Come on, let's go get ready and then we'll head to my place. If I know my brothers, they'll give us the third degree as soon as we tell them what happened." He made a face, his tongue gliding over his teeth. "And to be honest, I'd really like to get all this grime and sugar off my teeth before Brick hammers me with questions."

Bubbles couldn't agree more, her own mouth feeling gross from eating all that candy last night.

At least the sleepover had been fun before the infected showed up.