Chapter 8: Pill Pandemonium
No one spoke a single word as they drove through the haunted streets of Amity Park. It seemed that the ghosts and infected had either lost their trail or given up, either way, they were grateful. As Kwan kept his eyes on the road Danny could see the tears and pain in them and Valerie still had her gun raised as she watched the world go by out the window, still on edge. Danny looked down at his hands and felt sick to his stomach when he saw that they were both caked blood and ectoplasm.
Suddenly the car jolted to a halt and Danny realized they were back.
"Everyone alright?" Bucky asked when he saw the downcast expression on their faces when they got inside.
"We had some close calls, but Kwan is fine, and...well, yeah...we're okay," Danny explained, not meeting anyone's gaze.
"I've got a few cans of gas for the bus in the trunk of my car," Kwan said.
"Good to hear it." Bucky smiled.
"And things back here?" Valerie asked as she looked around and was relieved to see everyone was still there.
"Still quiet." Mr. Dinkleberg replied.
"Nicky is still in and out over there; she won't survive any more stress." Mrs. Dinkleberg added as Nicky moaned in pain.
"The next order of business is getting those pills out of the pharmacy," Danny stated. Everyone nodded in agreement and continued looking for the key. As he looked around, Danny noticed Kwan was somewhat hiding in the corner. "How are you doing?" The black and white-haired teen asked.
"I'm alive." He muttered.
"Listen, back at the car lot..."
"How can it be that bad so fast?" He whimpered.
"When things are taken away, people do the craziest shit." He explained.
"I'm not giving up, not for anything." Kwan glared before his gaze dropped. "I guess Starr really wanted that gun..."
"Seems like." Danny frowned.
"Why didn't you tell Valerie to just give it to her?"
"People can't give up like that, this will pass."
"I'm with you." Kwan nodded.
"I'm glad to hear it." Danny smiled and left to check on the others and search for the key. He looked over and saw the boys talking to each and it seemed Timmy was annoying Jimmy; Danny laughed a little, it was a good, refreshing thing seeing them act like normal kids in all this horror. He then noticed Valerie staring at him so he went to check on her, after all, Star was as much her friend as Kwan's.
"Story of the century, huh?" He joked, but it didn't get a glimpse of a smile.
"How can you be joking at a time like this." She glared. Danny sighed in defeat and went to see how SpongeBob was doing with guarding the door.
"How are we doing?" He asked the blonde.
"Good, want to go have a look for those keys outside?" He asked with a grin. Danny nodded and they stepped outside...
Thankfully there was a metal gate sealing off the door from the street. They saw just over a dozen infected aimlessly wandering around the streets. Danny examined each and every infected and saw a man trapped under a collapsed, dressed in the uniform of the clinic.
"That guy over there might have the keys," Danny said, pointing him out
"How can you be sure?"
"I used to live around here, that guy is wearing the uniform for this place." He explained. "The keys being on him is as good a bet as we can make."
"I agree, we just need to figure out how to get out there and get them, you wouldn't need long, right?"
"No, just a few seconds; maybe there's a way to distract them and buy me some time." Danny frowned as he looked around the street and saw a store window that was full of TVs. Danny suddenly got an idea and pulled out the TV remote he had found in the back office and aimed it at the TV store, hoping that the power hadn't be cut off. He pressed a few buttons and the TVs across the street turned on.
"Well done." SpongeBob cheered.
"Thank god." He sighed in relief as several zombies instantly flocked towards the static. However, it wasn't enough noise and the infected humans began to wander around again. Danny groaned in annoyance, realizing that they would have to break the glass in order to make the static louder. Danny thought about making a run for it when he saw a brick on the ground just outside the gate. He carefully opened the gate and took the brick.
Before the infected saw him, he threw it at the TV store, shattering the glass, allowing the static sound to become more loud and clear.
As he ran back to the safety of the gate, all the zombies are drawn to the noise. Once he was certain they were all distracted, Danny got up and pulled out his sword, preparing to leave, when SpongeBob suddenly grabbed his wrist in a tight grip.
"Be careful." He pleaded.
"Just keep an eye out, I'm going in," Danny ordered as he stepped outside again. When the zombies didn't acknowledge him, Danny ran to the infected pinned into the telephone pole and knelt in front of him; the infected growled like a rabid dog and clawed at him but was unable to reach him. Luckily for him though the zombie seemed to only be able the top half of its body. Sorrow almost consumed Danny as he looked down at the man.
He knew who this was.
The employee would sometimes sneak him and his friends some candy when his uptight boss wasn't looking and was one of the few people in Amity Park to call Dash Baxter and his gang out when they were caught bullying Danny and his friends. He was a decent man who didn't deserve this terrible fate; no one did. If Danny ever did find his parents and they admitted all this was their fault he wouldn't be responsible for his actions.
With a look of great pain, Danny raised his sword sadly, then stabbed the man in the neck.
The infected man stopped moving and Danny bent down to look for the keys; when suddenly the man growled and clawed at him again. Danny cried out and took a few steps back in surprise, thankful that the creature had missed him by a second. Regretfully, Danny raised his sword again and chopped the head clean off. As the head rolled away, Danny leaned down to get the keys, finding them in the shirt's front pocket. He took the keys and waved them above his head to show SpongeBob.
The blonde man smiled, but when he looked back at the TV store it quickly dropped.
"RUN!" He screamed. Danny turned and saw the infected were no longer distracted by the TVs and had begun making their way toward Danny. The teen ran back to the pharmacy and dove in as SpongeBob shut the gate. He quickly locked it and they ran back inside...
"That was close, way too close." SpongeBob cried as they ran into the clinic, gasping for breath. Danny wanted to reply but they had far more important matters to attend to. He ran over to where Nicky, Tootie, and the Dinklebergs were huddled.
"I've got the keys." He smiled and Tootie looked ready to cry.
"Thank you so much! You're amazing!" The little girl sobbed as she hugged his waist as tightly as she could. Danny warmly smiled at her before turning to Valerie, who nodded in understanding. The two of them entered the office and Danny unlocked and opened the door to the supplies. Satisfied, he and Valerie entered the pharmacy to get Nicky's pills.
As they stepped inside, however, an alarm suddenly went off.
"Shit." Valerie hissed.
"We gotta hurry!" Danny exclaimed. They both ran through the aisles, searching for the pills. After a few seconds of searching, Danny found them and grabbed two bottles. He turned to get back to the others and gasped. Through the windows showing the outside of the store, Danny could see even more infected were being drawn to the alarm and watched in horror as they began pounding on the door and windows.
"I'm gonna get the bus pulled up 'round back!" Bucky exclaimed.
"Do it fast, We've gotta get outta here!" Vicky shouted.
"I don't plan on dilly-dallying." He glared before turning to Mrs. Dinkleberg. "You need to take the kids and Nicky into the office and barricade the living hell outta the backdoor behind me." He ordered and turned to her husband. "When you hear me honking in the alley, start getting people outta here."
"OK." The Dinklebergs said and ran into the office with AJ, Chester, Tootie, Vicky, and Nicky.
"The rest of you need to make sure our defenses stay up 'til then," Bucky said and turned to Kwan. "I better take that ax in case I run into any of 'em on the way to the bus." He explained and the Asian teen tossed the ax to him. Just then, everyone froze when they heard the sound of metal bending and breaking.
"Guys, that door's not locked anymore!" SpongeBob cried.
"Shit! You guys, get on it! I'll get back as fast as I can!" Bucky shouted as he ran off, and Danny, Kwan, and Valerie tried to hold the doors closed. Danny looked around and saw Timmy and Jimmy hadn't gone with the Dinkleberg's.
"Stay away from the windows." He warned them.
"We need help in here! Please hurry!" Mrs. Dinkleberg suddenly shouted in distress from the back office and Kwan ran off to help them, leaving the others holding the doors closed.
"Hey, Danny." SpongeBob suddenly said. "If we don't make it through this, you should know that... I think you're a great guy."
"We WILL make it through this!" Danny shouted as the infected continued pounding into the door and partially opened it, knocking him forward. He rushed back to push the door closed again. Unfortunately, the infected finally managed to push back an empty shelf blocking the window next to SpongeBob and started climbing into the store.
Valerie stepped away from the door, drew her gun.
She quickly shot several zombies that were getting close to them and ran off to shoot down more.
"Jimmy! Timmy! Can you look for something to stick in between the handles? Something real strong, okay?!" Danny cried desperately. They both nodded and ran off to search. By now the infected had partially broken the door open and Danny struggled to push it closed again.
"That window is done for!" SpongeBob cried.
"GO, I'LL BE OK!" Danny shouted and the blonde man ran off, and unfortunately, Danny struggled, even more, to hold the door closed on his own. Just then, Timmy ran up to him, holding the cane they had found in the office. Danny took the cane and shoved it through the handles of the front door. A scream suddenly tore through the air and Danny saw near a boarded-up window, some infected had grabbed onto Jimmy.
Instantly, Danny ran over to the boy and pulled him out of the zombies' grasp.
The infected tried to grab for them again but Valerie quickly shot at the creatures until both boys were clear. As she shot more zombies Bucky came bursting through the back door.
"Let's GO!" He shouted as Vicky entered behind him.
"MOVE IT, TWERPS!" She screeched. As everyone ran for the door, Timmy screamed as a crawling infected grabbed onto him. Danny stabbed his sword through the zombie's head, immobilizing it, and the bucked tooth boy crawled away. Vicky held the door open as everyone ran out; except for Danny, as the orange-haired girl put her hand on his chest to prevent him from leaving.
"You're not coming with us, you son of a bitch!" She shouted.
"What?!" Danny exclaimed before Vicky suddenly punched him and he fell to the floor, his vision fading. He could hear muffled voices but he couldn't make out what they say. He thought back to when he was in that car or... back there when he saw Bucky McBadbat suddenly rush back in and killed the zombie next to Danny with an ax.
The man smiled down at him as he held out his hand.
"I'm not letting somebody else get eaten today." He stated as Danny took his hand and helped him stand up. "Especially a good friend." He smiled. Danny returned he smile and swiftly closed the door behind him as the infected swarmed the store...
