Only the first week of school and I am exhausted. I tried to edit this to the best of my ability but, as always, I apologize if there are any errors I missed.


.: 12 :.

Blossom's eyes flew open at the sound of glass shattering, panicked screams piercing her deep sleep. It took a second for her to realize someone was shaking her and she scrambled to sit up, wide awake at this point as adrenaline and fear began flooding her system.

"Get up!" Buttercup growled. "Hurry, we don't have much time!"

The redhead was already pulling her shoes on as her younger sister hoisted a backpack onto the bed next to her. Buttercup shoved necessities inside, phone included, before zipping it shut and shrugging it on. The world outside of their assigned house was chaos: the sound of screams, shouts, objects being broken, and animalistic, guttural screeches telling the oldest Utonium daughter everything she needed to know.

The infected were here. Their zone, their last stand against these creatures and the last shred of humankind, had finally been overrun.

Blossom grabbed her own backpack and began filling it with any and all supplies she could fit. The sound of a door slamming shut downstairs caused both girls to freeze.

"Girls?" At the Professor's voice, relief flooded through both of them and they quickly finished packing their stuff, all-but sprinting down the hall. When they reached the top of the stairs, they saw the Professor leaning against the banister, blood and debris marring his face, clothes, and hair. He was panting, as if he'd sprinted all the way here from the outer edges of the evacuation zone.

"Are you okay?" Blossom asked, she and her sister immediately racing down to him. He didn't appear to be hurt but she wanted to make sure. "What happened? What's going on out there?!"

"I'm fine," he reassured, still trying to catch his breath. "We were working in the labs when suddenly the power flickered, and then—"

A loud boom rocked the house and they all jumped, Buttercup swearing loudly. The electricity clicked off and more screams tore through the air.

"Quick, we need to get out of here," he urged, and all three of them bolted for the backdoor. However, as soon as Blossom reached it and grabbed the doorknob to open it, something slammed against the other side of the door. She yelped and stumbled backwards, Buttercup catching her before she could trip over her own two feet. The Professor immediately stepped in front of both his daughters in an attempt to protect them, raising a hand behind himself as if to tell them 'stay back, I'll handle this.'

One of the infected, a woman by the looks of it, slammed her palms against the door and grinned maliciously at them through the dirty window, a delighted screech escaping her bloody lips. Her grin revealed abnormally-sharp canines poking out from her upper lip and if Blossom didn't know any better, she'd think the woman was a—

The woman threw herself against the door again, interrupting Blossom's thoughts, the infected female's guttural grunts and growls seeming to echo through the house. The Utonium family hurried back towards the front door and out onto the front lawn, where a new kind of horror greeted them.

The night, which had previously been calm and quiet, was lit up by the flames that were currently consuming the zone's many assigned houses. Thick clouds of smoke billowed up into the sky, shielding the stars from the atrocious events taking place below. Bodies lay strewn about, some burning, some mangled, others intact but covered in blood. Those who managed to survive were trying to outrun packs of infected, the creatures jumping, running, and even screaming victoriously as they hunted every last human being down.

Flickering embers floated through the air and they watched in muted shock as one of the houses that had been completely engulfed in flames caved in on itself, horrified, agonized screams piercing the air until the roof had caved in completely, forever silencing whoever had been trapped inside.

Blossom's pained, frightened expression mirrored Buttercup's and Professor Utonium's. How could their world be reduced to fire and brimstone like this? How was it that just weeks ago, they were planning a family vacation, thinking about their futures, spending money at the mall on clothes and shoes and perfume they didn't need but wanted anyway? They had been so carefree, eager to see what the future held in store, never once thinking that their world could become so dangerous, so full of death and destruction.

How? How could it all have changed into... this?

"Come on!" The Professor was the one to break the frozen stupor that had fallen over his daughters. "Follow me!"

He grabbed their hands and they stumbled before sprinting alongside him, all of them doing their best to maneuver around the bodies, the flames, the wreckage. A few infected spotted them and immediately gave chase, gaining on them easily as they ducked through an alleyway between two houses with burning roofs.

Clawed fingers brushed against Blossom's long hair, ready to grab the silky red strands and yank her backwards when a loud crack filled the air. A beam engulfed in fire fell onto the infected before it could properly grasp Blossom's hair and it let out a strangled gurgle as the wood pinned it to the ground, killing the creature and providing an obstacle for the others that had been following close behind it. Blossom, who had turned at the feel of something almost touching her hair, wanted to vomit at the sight, but Buttercup tugged her along.

"Keep up, Leader Girl, we're almost there!"

When they made it to one of the three main gates, there were no military personnel to stop them or ask if they had the proper authorization to leave the zone. Bodies lay strewn about, mirroring what the Utonium family had seen just fifteen minutes earlier, and a few of the dead looked like they were stirring, ready to rise up and join the infected army that had invaded. Blossom, Buttercup, and Professor Utonium were wheezing for air, their bodies screaming at them for rest, but they couldn't stop now.

Just as they had almost crossed the line that separated zone from outside world, a blur tackled the Professor to the ground. Blossom and Buttercup skidded to a halt as their father fought valiantly to keep the infected from sinking its teeth into his neck.

"Girls!" He grunted. "Run!"

"We're not leaving you here!" Buttercup snapped. At the drop of a hat, she retrieved a pocketknife from her pocket and flipped it open. Before she could join the fray, Blossom held her back, and she let out an anguished cry.

"Let go, Blossom!"

"What if you get bitten, too?" Blossom yelled, struggling to keep her sister in check.

"We can't just leave him!"

"GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" The Professor roared, his tone stunning them as he brought his knee up sharply into the infected's stomach. The creature wheezed, momentarily caught off-guard by the action, and it was just enough time for him to bring both feet up and kick it off him, sending it sprawling backwards. He flashed his daughters a look of pure determination and neither of them liked the sad, resigned look that flickered in his eyes.

"I'll catch up with you, just go! Hurry!"

The infected was back on its feet in an instant and charged towards Professor Utonium, who seemed to anticipate this. Blossom took the opportunity to grab Buttercup's arm and they took off into the suburbs, the cool night air offering little comfort if any. By the looks of it, they were a good four-hour drive from Townsville, the unmistakable towers barely visible in the distance.

Both girls ran until they collapsed to their knees, their legs demanding rest. Buttercup, surprisingly, was the one to burst into a fit of anguished sobs while Blossom fought to keep her own mess of emotions together. The noirette pounded the ground with her fists angrily, snot leaking from her nose as tears trailed filthy tracks down her soot-covered cheeks. Both of them were covered in ash and soot from the fires and they reeked of sweat, but it was better than the smell of burning flesh that was most likely lingering in the ex-evacuation zone.

After Blossom caught her breath, she moved next to Buttercup and pulled her into a hug, trying to comfort her sibling. At first the noirette struggled, trying to hit the redhead and make her let go, but Blossom held firm and eventually Buttercup collapsed against her and sobbed softly.

"Listen, he'll be okay," Blossom tried to assure, patting her back soothingly. "He's strong, remember? The Professor can take care of himself."

"He'll die," Buttercup cried. "We lost Bubbles and now we lost our dad. How long until we die, too?"

"Don't think like that, we don't know any of that for sure." Blossom used her fingers to comb some of the debris out of Buttercup's hair. "Bubbles might still be alive out there and you saw how hard the Professor was fighting. He'll make it out of there in one piece, just like Bubbles will. Just like we all will."

Buttercup wiped at her nose and sniffled thickly. "Why did this have to happen?"

"I don't know." And she didn't know. None of them had any clue why or how the infection had happened. What exactly had those eggheads in Citysville been messing with to cause an epidemic like this? No one, not even the smartest scientists or the wisest doctors, had any inkling as the what could cause people to turn into those things that were currently running around.

Blossom had never seen anything like this before. She had never seen sick people become so aggressive, so angry, bloodthirsty, and inhumanly strong, and she had never seen her sister break down crying like she was now. Professor Utonium, a man with a gentle demeanor and a calm personality, had never been one to physically fight or be firm towards his daughters. Seeing the people she loved change like this made her wonder about Bubbles and even herself. How exactly had the outbreak changed her? Was she still her matter-of-fact self, or was she someone else completely?

Buttercup was always a strong girl, the strongest out of all three Utonium girls. Blossom, being the oldest by a few minutes, always assumed leadership over the three of them when the Professor had to focus on work and she always found herself having to comfort Bubbles, the baby of the family, but never Buttercup. It felt strange to be sitting here with Buttercup bawling her eyes out when usually Buttercup was the one cracking bad jokes or trying to make a fool of herself to get everyone to laugh.

"I'm scared," the noirette admitted. It shook Blossom to her core to hear those two words coming from the toughest person she knew, but she tried not to appear as unnerved as she felt.

"I know. I'm scared, too." Then, after mulling it over for a moment, "Hey. What is it you always said in school?"

"That Taco Tuesday is God's gift to mankind?"

Despite all that had happened within the last two hours, Blossom chuckled. Her chuckles gradually turned into full-blown laughter and soon, Buttercup joined her. It wasn't all that funny but it was one of those moments where you either laugh or cry and after the slice of hell they'd dealt with tonight, laughter seemed to be the better option. If she started crying now, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop and then what use would she be to her sister? If the Professor didn't make it out alive, she and Buttercup would have to lean on each other to survive in this chaotic world and they wouldn't be able to do it if they couldn't hold themselves together.

When Blossom calmed down enough to speak again, wiping away tears that had formed in her eyes (though from laughter or the need to cry, she wasn't sure), she replied, "No, silly, I meant about the Utonium family. You know, when you get all fired up at the Citysville wrestling team for talking smack about Townsville."

"That it'll take more than a couple of cheap shots to take us down?"

"Bingo." The redhead grinned. "It's the same deal with what we're dealing with right now. We may not be as strong as those things but we'll get through this, one way or another. It'll take a lot more than what these creatures can do to take us down."

Buttercup used the sleeve of her hoodie to dry her own eyes. "I said that in school because we were facing people, not monsters. I don't know if it applies now."

"It does," Blossom reassured. She knew she probably wasn't making any sense but tonight's events had left her in shock, her thoughts not working properly. Her fingers idly played with the blades of grass next to where she sat, their cool, soft texture offering a small amount of relief; it was something to focus on other than the screams, shouts, and other noises echoing from the zone. "Everything will be alright, I know it. Let's just wait and see if the Professor shows up. If he doesn't, we'll figure something out. Worst case scenario, we leave and try to find Bubbles."

Neither of them wanted to 'figure something out,' but they couldn't ignore the reality of the situation.

They waited for what felt like an eternity, the faint sounds of crackling fire from the burning zone doing nothing to soothe their anxiety. They were also anticipating the infected to come barreling out of the evacuation zone but were surprised when they didn't hear the tell-tale screeches or guttural noises close by.

It was when she was sure an hour had passed that Blossom began to chew the inside of her cheek worriedly. She was trying to hold herself together for her sister's sake but what if they did lose their father? What if they were the only two Utoniums left? She could put on a brave face for her family, but she wasn't sure how strong she could be if he didn't show up, nor did she know how long she could put up a brave front for Buttercup's sake without having some sort of breakdown of her own.

"Blossom, Buttercup!"

At the sound of their names, they both turned to see the Professor limping towards them, a woman helping to hold him up. They instantly recognized her as Ms. Keane, the head teacher at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten. She was a pleasant woman and a wonderful teacher, and everyone in Townsville knew her not just by her immeasurable kindness, but also by her youthful looks.

However, tonight she looked her age, lines of worry carving themselves into her forehead, a sullen expression on her normally cheerful features. Her eyes, normally full of mirth and kindness, held a haunted look to them. Her short dark hair was slightly singed, a nasty burn evident on her left arm. Upon seeing her former students, she tried to smile.

"Girls! My word, it's so good to see you again!"

The Utonium sisters were instantly at both adults' sides, Buttercup helping the Professor to sit on the ground while Blossom examined Ms. Keane's burn.

"It's good to see you too, Ms. Keane." Blossom offered her a warm smile. "Thank you for helping the Professor."

"Actually, dear, he helped me," the older woman replied, wincing when a slight breeze caressed her wound. "I thought I was done for when one of the infected cornered me, but your father jumped in and saved my life. I don't know how he did it, but here we are."

The Professor himself had quite a few scratches and gashes all over his body, a particularly concerning wound on the outside of his left thigh, the pant leg torn to shreds. Blossom noticed that he kept a hand over the wound, blood staining his fingers, and felt her gut churn with dread at the dark liquid staining the bottom of his once-white dress shirt.

"Were either of you bitten?" Buttercup asked. Both adults shook their heads 'no.' The Professor noticed his eldest daughter eyeing the sizable gash on his leg and smiled weakly.

"It's nothing serious," he assured her, wincing when he was finally situated on the ground. Buttercup tried to apologize, thinking she had accidentally done something to hurt him, but he shook his head, mumbling 'I'm okay, don't worry.'

Ms. Keane, shaking her head at his attempt to be modest, piped up, "When your father was trying to save me, the infected took a few swipes at him."

"They got me pretty good, I probably have a cracked rib, too," he added, after he was comfortably situated. "Those infected sure don't mess around."

"And you're absolutely sure neither of you were bitten?" Buttercup asked, eyes narrowed at this new information. She didn't think the infection could be spread through anything other than a bite, but then again, she didn't think their evacuation zone would be overrun, yet here they were...

Both adults shook their heads. She exhaled through her nose, hoping that they were telling the truth.

Blossom went to take off her backpack to search for the first-aid supplies she'd managed to grab but Ms. Keane stopped her.

"Not here." The teacher's sweet, melodic voice was strangely dark. "We have to find shelter before the infected find us and finish what they started."

"Oh." The redhead hesitated before shrugging her backpack on again. "Right, good idea. Professor, how fast can you walk?"

He winced as she carefully helped him back to his feet. "Not too fast. Oof, this hurts..."

"We'll have to settle for one of the houses in this neighborhood," Buttercup stated. "Come on, I'll scout ahead and make sure there's no infected inside."

With that, Ms. Keane, Blossom, Buttercup, and the Professor headed down the street, smoke and flames still reaching towards the sky behind them as the screams of the living faded into silence.


The cozy little house they were staying in was just east of the street they'd reunited on. The Professor was helped onto the couch where he fell asleep seconds after his head hit one of the throw pillows, and Buttercup made sure the house was safe, covering any and all windows, ensuring all doors were locked or reinforced, while Blossom and Ms. Keane sat with the Professor in the living room.

Blossom did her best to tend to Ms. Keane's burn, but she didn't have any aloe vera, petroleum jelly, or anything of the like to treat the wound. All she had was a few bandages, rubbing alcohol, and some gauze. Judging by how Ms. Keane hissed and fought back tears when any sort of breeze picked up and caressed the burn, wrapping it in gauze was out of the question. She prayed it didn't get infected, for if it did...

She shook that thought away. Best not to think about it.

Blossom had tried to treat the wound on her father's leg but the deep cut had been caked with dried blood, dirt, and ash. She managed to find some towels in the upstairs bathroom, along with a bucket she filled with tap water, and she tried to wash away as much of the muck as she could, then cleaned the wound with rubbing alcohol. It was a good thing the Professor was currently asleep, otherwise she had a feeling he might have screamed; the wound was severe and she had used almost all of the gauze and bandages they had to wrap it, the cut running so deeply all the way from his leg up to his hip that she was shocked she didn't see his pelvis bone peeking through. However, Blossom tried to comfort herself with the fact that she'd done all she could to clean the wound and dress it. It was just a matter of time now; hopefully the wounds would heal on their own.

"Alright," Buttercup said, entering the room. "I covered every window I could and I put some chairs around the doors so that if anything comes in, we'll be alerted."

Blossom wanted to point out the flaws in that plan, like how if something were to bust in, not only would the intruders successfully kill them but it would also wreck the previous owner's dining set, but she was too exhausted to voice her thoughts. Besides, now was not the time to be a know-it-all (and seriously, who cared about furniture right now? As far as they knew, they were the sole survivors of humankind); right now they had the Professor and Ms. Keane to worry about.

And now that she really thought about it, it wasn't like the military personnel had divulged any information to civilians regarding how to protect themselves against these creatures. Buttercup's attempt to keep them safe was all they had at the moment.

Ms. Keane sent an appreciative smile towards Buttercup. "Good thinking, Buttercup. That should buy us a little time to escape should something happen."

The raven-haired girl nodded and came to sit on the coffee table next to Blossom. Ms. Keane, who was on the recliner, leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes, heaving a long sigh.

Each of them were exhausted. With the adrenaline finally leaving their systems, plus with all the running and fighting and panicking from earlier, everyone was ready to pass out for a few hours. In fact, Ms. Keane was asleep within minutes, her somber expression easing into one of peace. Buttercup was fighting to keep her own eyes open, Blossom faring no better.

Both sisters fought to stay awake as long as they could before darkness pulled them under as well and they had no choice but to let go, their minds going mercifully blank.

...At least, that's how it went for Blossom. Buttercup, on the other hand, was jolted awake by her cell phone vibrating in her backpack. She sat up groggily and shrugged it off, digging through it for her phone. When she saw a notification indicating a new text message, she immediately opened it and held her breath while she read Bubbles' text once, twice, then a third time for good measure.

The text was from yesterday evening, so it was fairly recent (which was excellent, considering phone service had been shitty), but Buttercup chewed her bottom lip anxiously when she read 'met a friend, staying with him.'

So Bubbles wasn't alone, but was she safe? Was this mystery 'friend' a good person with good intentions? Or was Bubbles in a world of trouble? Had Bubbles even sent that text or did someone hurt her and steal her phone? Buttercup wished she knew who this mystery person was. She wasn't always as sharp as Blossom, but she was pretty good at reading people. All she'd have to do is get a good look at whoever was with Bubbles and she could tell right away whether they had good intentions or bad.

Still, if this person had hurt Bubbles and stolen her phone, they wouldn't have given specific directions to a specific location, would they? Granted, it might send Bubbles' family on a wild goose chase that led nowhere, but Buttercup tried to think the best. They'd experienced enough horror for one night; she would rather think of her little sister as being safe and sound and with someone who could help her stay alive than to consider the alternative.

And according to Bubbles' text, the infected had made their way into her neighborhood. Buttercup was surprised by that statement; hadn't there already been infected there? Or had they just stuck to the city? She wished she could actually speak to Bubbles and figure out just what exactly was going on there...

Buttercup sat up and began typing out her own response. By the time she hit 'send,' the first streaks of dawn were beginning to peek through the covered windows. After eyeing her phone a few minutes longer, her mind lingering on her sister's fate as well as the potential fate of those sleeping close by to her, she settled back down onto the floor and closed her eyes, her hand resting over her phone on the off-chance that Bubbles got back to her.

When sleep finally came, she did not dream of fire or sickly monsters. Instead, her mind remained merciful and pulled her under a sea of dreamless, soothing darkness.