Chapter 17: Starved For Help

"MOM?!" Vicky and Tootie screamed as their mother collapsed to the cold tile ground and it was then that Danny saw something he never had before. He the true fear and concern in Vicky's eyes. Tootie started sobbing loudly as Mr. Dinkleberg pulled her away from her mother. The red-haired girl almost instantly rushed to Nicky's side and put her hands on either side of the older woman's face.

"Oh, god, she's stopped breathing, I think she's had a heart attack!" Vicky cried as she started performing chest compressions.

"Shit! Is she dead?" Bucky asked in fear.

"She's not dead, somebody help me!" Vicky pleaded.

"Fuck...if she's dead..." Bucky gasped and turned to Danny. "You know what has to happen, Danny; think about it, you saw that poor bastard at the mother inn, how fast he turned."

"What are you saying?!" Vicky growled in a warning tone.

"Vicky, Tootie, I'm sorry, I truly, truly am," Bucky said sympathetically. "But in a few minutes, we're gonna be stuck in a locked room with a dead woman!"

"FUCK YOU! We can bring her back!"

"We'll mourn her later, but right now, we have to keep her from comin' back."

"Noooo!" Tootie sobbed loudly as heavy tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Goddamn it, Bucky! She's not dead!" Vicky roared.

"We can still save her." Mr. Dinkleberg suggested as Vicky furiously continued doing chest compressions.

"I wish we could believe me, I do, but that woman is dead and you BOTH know what happens next," Bucky stated.

"Look, Bucky, back at the drugstore when you all thought I was infected, you gave me the benefit of the doubt, maybe we should do the same now."

"That was different! You weren't infected, but come on, we KNOW Nicky's not gonna make it!" He angrily insisted. "Remember what Dash said, gotta destroy the brain or heart; come on, Danny, you can't be in the middle on this one, you've gotta have my back this time!"

"Goddamn it, Danny! I NEED you! Please help me!" Vicky desperately pleaded, but Danny had already made up his mind.

"Is she breathing at all?" The teen asked as he knelt at Nicky's other side and took over doing chest compressions. If there was even a chance he could save her he was going to take. He wouldn't let another child lose their parents if he could help it.

"No, no I don't think so," Vicky replied, shocked that the boy was helping her.

"Keep checking her pulse!" Danny ordered as he failed to notice Bucky looking at the salt licks on the table behind him.

"Are you stupid?! She's gonna turn! You're putting all of us at risk, you son of a bitch!" Bucky howled at him. Danny ignored the man, however, and continued counting in his head, trying desperately to save the dark-haired woman. All of a sudden, as soon as he counted to five, Bucky grabbed a salt lick and dropped it on Vicky's head, smashing it.

"NOOOOOO!" Vicky and Tootie screamed as their mother's blood and brains painted the

"BUCKY!? WHAT THE FUCK?!" Danny yelled as he stood up and Tootie took his place by her dead mother's side.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I just- it had to be done!" He defended.

"You don't know that!" Danny argued.

"Yes, I do and so do you! I was counting on you!" Bucky snapped before he approached Vicky, who was hugging Nicky's body. Danny growled until he saw Timmy and Jimmy sobbing in the corner, the latter covering his eyes. "I'm sorry," Bucky said to the crying girls as he went to hug them. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now but you-"

"Don't you fucking touch us!" Vicky wailed as she practically bit at his hand.

"Are you okay?" Danny quietly asked the two boys.

"Is it over?" Timmy whimpered.

"I don't know." He admitted. "One of those people might come back any second, we need to find a way outta here." He explained and hugged them both as they sobbed. "Shh... I know, I know, but you gotta be strong right now; I need you to be strong, think about something else...something hopeful."

"Like what?" Timmy sniffed.

"We're gonna get out, right? You found a way out?" Jimmy asked.

"I'm workin' on it." He said as he stood up and the boys sat down with their backs against a box of meat. Danny looked down at them with regretful eyes and turned back to Nicky's body. Deep down he knew it was necessary, but he just wished the kids didn't have to witness that. Tootie especially. The black and white-haired teen became worried at what it was gonna do to her.

"She was still alive, she was still alive..." Vicky wailed into her mother's body as Danny knelt beside her.

"Bucky...he made a bad call." Danny soothed, choosing to ignore the scowl the man sent his way. "It was premature for sure, but...he really WAS trying to keep us all safe."

"Bullshit." She hissed. "He cares about keeping his FAMILY safe; he doesn't give a shit about you and me."

"He puts his family first, sure, just like any parent would." He said calmly. "I'm sorry, Vicky, I truly am; we might not have got along so great, but I know you would do anything to protect the ones you love; but you've got to think about saving your's and Tootie' life, it's what she would've wanted..."

"Please, I need to be alone." She whimpered and Danny obliged, knowing the sisters deserved time to grieve. He saw Bucky glaring daggers at him and went to confront the blonde man.

"I don't wanna hear it, kid." He snapped as Danny stepped up to him. "You think I liked doing what I did? I'm the guy who couldn't bear to watch the family dog get put down, but if we wanna survive this shit, we gotta have the balls to do the hard thing, or at least, one of us's got to."

"You talk a big game, but could you do the 'hard thing' if it was Chester?" Danny challenged.

"It's never gonna come to that, not if I have anything to do with it!"

"I hope you're right." Kwan sighed.

"I know I'm right! I just gotta get to 'em, that's all!"

"Look, if we're gonna survive this shit, we've got to work together," Danny explained. "How do you expect Vicky or Tootie to work with us after what they just saw you do to their Mom?

"If they want to live, they'll work with us." Bucky huffed. Danny glared and turned back to the air conditioner he had seen earlier.

"There should be an air duct behind this unit, maybe big enough for one of us to fit through." He examined.

"Does the air conditioner come off?" Jimmy asked as he walked up to the older men.

"I think I could take it off if I had something to remove the screws," Danny said and looked closely at the screws securing the air conditioner. He attempted to remove the screws with his hand but it was not coming off that way. "If the duct behind the air conditioner is big enough, we might've found our way out of here, but I need something to loosen the screws."

"I got nothing," Kwan replied.

"Hang tight, maybe I can scrounge something," Danny said.

"Wait, back at the motor inn, didn't Vicky say see had some change in her pocket?" Kwan suddenly asked.

"Worth a shot." Danny sighed and walked back over to the grieving sisters.

"Why can't you just leave me alone...?" Vicky droned when she heard him approach, but didn't look up to face him.

"I'm sorry Vicky, but if we're gonna get out of here, we need your help. He explained. "I think I may have found a way out of here but I need something to remove the screws on the air conditioner, back at the motor inn, you mentioned something about keeping coins in your pockets."

"Fucking vulture." She snarled before suddenly throwing two quarters and a dime at him.

Danny flinched as the coins hit him in the face but knew he shouldn't retaliate. Instead, he simply picked the coins up and examined the air conditioner again. All he had to do was remove these screws and get this unit off then they'd have an escape. Without a second thought, he quickly used one of the quarters to unscrew one of the screws.

"You got it?" Kwan asked when they heard the screw drop to the floor.

"Yeah, one more should do it." He replied and unscrewed the second screw. He and Bucky removed the air conditioner unit and place it on the floor.

"Well, there's our way out," Bucky said as they looked down the dark passage.

"We don't know where it leads." Danny pointed out.

"Looks like it'll probably lead right into that back room," Kwan added.

"It's too small for us to fit through." Danny frowned.

"I can do it." Timmy suddenly said. Danny's first instinct was to reject the idea of the young boy crawling through a dark vent and into an unknown area when there were cannibals walking around; but after thinking it over, he realized their only options were either let Timmy risk this or stay there, waiting to be eaten. He took a deep breath and knelt in front of the boy.

"I know you're brave enough, just be careful."

"Don't tell the others, but I'm scared." He admitted quietly.

"Remember the treehouse? You and Jimmy held out there for days."

"And I saved your life!" He smirked.

"That's right!" Danny chuckled and lifted Timmy into the vent. "You're gonna be fine." He promised, not sure if he was trying to reassure Timmy or himself.

"What do I do when I get out?" Timmy asked as he climbed into the vent.

"See if you can get to the other side of that door and open it," Danny instructed. Timmy and everyone listened as he crawled through the vent and got out to the other side, only to suddenly gasps. Danny panicked and tried to climb into the vent after him, but was held back by Bucky and Kwan. After a moment, the buck-toothed boy opened the door to the meat locker. Almost instantly Danny pulled him close and started checking him over.

"Are you okay?! Did anyone see you?!" He cried, heart, pounding with adrenaline.

"No." He replied as he pushed Danny off him. "But there's a man outside." He added with fear and Bucky immediately started to leave.

"Where the hell are you going?" Danny glared.

"What do you care?" He snapped, still angry for the teen not having his back, before running out.

"Bucky!" Danny called out but he was already gone. "We gotta go." He ordered and everyone moved to the exit.

"Leave me alone." Vicky moaned.

"Danny! I can see him!" Kwan whispered, looking out the door.

"It's not safe in here," Danny told her.

"For god's sake, I didn't even get to say goodbye!" She snarled and Danny backed off and turned to the boys and Mr. Dinkleberg.

"Stay here, take care of them, okay?"

"I will." Mr. Dinkleberg nodded and Danny and Kwan exited the meat locker, only to enter a room filled with blood, jars of human meat, and killing devices. They found Bucky hiding near the door that led out into the barn. From where they were Danny could hear the heavy downpour of rain and booming thunder from a strong storm raging outside.

"I told you there was something up with this room!" Bucky hissed when the two teens joined him. "It's a goddamned human slaughterhouse!"

"We'll talk about this later, right now we need to find a way out of here," Danny said as he took a peek out into the barn and saw a silhouette standing guard by the barn doors, but he couldn't tell who it was. He started looking around the room for a weapon. As his eyes scanned the room he looked at the mitre saw felt sick to his stomach. He noticed the open vent and felt the guilt bubble in his chest. He shouldn't have sent Timmy through there.

This room would give anybody nightmares, let alone a child.

At least he and the others were safe in the meat locker, for now anyway. He checked the bloody tub and blood and came to the horrifying conclusion that this is where they butchered people. Danny thought he was going to be sick when he saw a mini cattle prod tossed on the ground near him. He picked it up and pressed the button to turn on the electricity. As he turned it off he saw Bucky partly open the door to the barn and try to creep out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Danny whispered.

"Getting my family back!" He retorted.

"What are you gonna do, walk up and grab his gun?" He scoffed.

"Good a plan as any." Bucky glared before leaving.

"So, what's the plan?" Kwan asked the skinner teen.

"We could probably sneak right up to him before Bucky does something stupid," Danny explained. "Just stick behind me in case anything goes down; when we get to the front, grab his gun."

"Sounds good." Kwan nodded. They two of them crouched down and sneaked a little way into the barn where they found Bucky hiding a few stalls away from the barn doors. Danny finally saw that it was Squidward guarding their only way out. He was sitting on a hay bale at the front entrance, his gun resting on the bale. Bucky, Danny, and Kwan looked at the gun and then each other. They sneaked forward through the barn as quietly as they possibly could.

The storm outside howled and swirled throughout the night.

Completely oblivious to the three men's presence behind him, Squidward grumbled to himself, annoyed at the fact that he had to stand guard out in the rain while his boss and his daughter were cozy and warm in the house. How was he supposed to know that legless brat would wake up? He thought the kid had enough drugs in him to keep him out for the rest of the night. The tall man shivered, wonder how long he was supposed to stay out here.

He looked back up at the house, wondering what Mr. Krabs and Pearl were still talking about.

It seemed pretty simple to him, keep some of them alive for fresh meat, and kill the rest. He knew Mr. Krabs was looking out for him and Pearl, but he had to stop playing favorites. Squidward knew Pearl was his daughter and was pretty smart, but that didn't make her better than him. He heard a thud from back in the of the barn, but he quickly shrugged it off, thinking that it was just the angry girl who was at it against the door again.

He snarled as he thought about that group locked in the meat locker.

Those people were going to ruin everything he and Mr. Krabs had built here. True SpongeBob was with them and he and used to respect each other, but Squidward warned his boss that the simple man wouldn't agree with their actions, but of course, Mr. Krabs and Pearl knew best, or so they said. At least Squidward could have that victory. Just then Mr. Krabs walked up to his employee, stopping the man's train of thought.

"Squidward quit sittin' out in the rain like a damn weirdo." He huffed in annoyance as Danny, Bucky and Kwan quickly hid in the stall. "We can't keep that many people alive and not expect trouble, pick one to keep and kill the rest."

"Can I pick which one to keep alive?" Squidward smirked sickly.

"Not the kids, not enough meat on them to trade." Mr. Krabs replied and with that, the red-haired man walked away. Danny went pale and peeked out to see Squidward stand up and carefully place a beartrap on the ground just outside the barn door. Danny's eyes widened when he suddenly realized that it must have been them that placed that trap in the woods that got Ms. Tetslaff killed, not the bandits. As they slowly crept forward, the cow mooed.

Thankfully Squidward didn't turn around, he was too busy setting up the trap, still smiling.

This was the tall bald man's favorite part. When he would let one think they could just walk right out of the meat locker and to freedom. They never even looked down. Danny watched as Squidward finished setting up the altered bear trap before closing the barn door, trapping them all in the barn with him and moving to the right where Danny couldn't see him.

"They're talking about killing us!" Danny whispered to his companions. "Sick fucker thinks this is a game!"

"No shit." Bucky retorted.

"We'll take him out together," Danny said.

"How?" Kwan asked.

"He doesn't know we're out." The teen reminded. "He's gotta walk past us to get to the meat locker, we can take him out when his back is to us."

"Well, see where that fucker is now," Bucky instructed. Danny nodded and looked out back into the barn. Only to find Squidward standing in front of him, pointing his rifle at right him. Before he could shoot, however, Danny grabbed the gun and moved it away from him as it fired. Being so close to the gun, Danny had to cover his ear after the loud sound hurt his hearing. As he crouched in pain, Squidward reloaded the rifle and aimed his rifle at the boy.

Thinking quickly Kwan opened the stall door, which knocked the rifle out of Squidward hands.

Before the tall man could recover, Bucky stabbed his shoulder with a sickle, making him drop his gun, then stabbed him again in the same place. Squidward fell onto the floor and his left leg was suddenly caught in the trap he had just set up for them. Bucky was about to attack him again, but just then they heard Mrs. Dinkleberg screaming. Thinking for a second that his son might be with her, Bucky ran off into the storm to look for his soon.

Having recovered, Danny picked up a pitchfork and pointed it at the trapped Squidward.

"You see?! You understand now, don't ya?!" Squidward cackled with a large, crazed smile. "You can have me! It's how the world works now! Give part of yourself so others can live!"

"Cannibalism is NOT the answer! Aren't the ghosts and infected killing enough of us?!" Danny shrieked.

"AJ never volunteered to be food!" Kwan added, greatly disgusted.

"That's why you killed that woman in the woods!" Danny gasped in horror. "She was about to spill everything!"

"You weren't ready to hear yet! Had to stop her!" Squidward replied. "You gotta keep me alive, if you kill me, the meat gets tainted! You can't eat it!"

"You're already tainted." Danny snarled, tightening his grip on the pitchfork.

"You ain't gonna kill me, just like you didn't kill that bitch at that camp." He scoffed. "You don't have what it takes! Fucking coward!" He laughed bitterly. Danny bared his teeth angrily and raised the pitchfork. Squidward braced himself for the killing blow but was shocked when Danny instead stabbed the pitchfork into the hay bale behind the deranged man.

"This is NOT how the world works now! You won't make me kill you!" Danny shouted as the others slowly walked out of the meat locker.

"Fuck you, Danny." Vicky snarled when she saw the teen spare his life. "You let Bucky MURDER my mom, but you leave THIS piece of shit alive?! You're a fucking asshole!" She exclaimed, but before Danny could answer, a loud scream sounded over the storm outside.

"That's my wife!" Mr. Dinkleberg cried and tried to run out, only to be stopped by Danny.

"Keep the kids safe, I'll get Chester and Mrs. Dinkleberg!" He ordered and ran out into the dark thundering night. He tried but he couldn't see anyone through the heavy rain as thunder and lightning crashed and boomed through the sky. Danny looked at the house and saw the lights on and shadows moving near the windows. He was about to head up to the house when he heard rustling in the cornfields. He looked over and saw an infected approaching.

Danny was worried that the electric fence, but before he could think about it any longer the infected was suddenly axed by Valerie, who was hidden in the cornfield.

"Valerie!" Danny cried in relief.

"Danny?" She frowned as Dash appeared beside her. "Is everyone okay? When you guys didn't come back I figured something was up and then we heard screams as we were coming up to the house!"

"They attacked us." Danny quickly replied.

"I knew it! I told you we couldn't trust them!" Dash cried.

"Shit, where are the others?" Val asked.

"Nicky's dead; they chopped off AJ's legs and tried to feed them to us!" He cried, the color draining from Dash and Valerie's faces. "They've still got Chester and Mrs. Dinkleberg in the house and I don't know where the fuck Bucky is!"

"Alright, we're coming in to help," Valerie stated but Danny quickly shook his head.

"The main gate's too dangerous, go around the fence and see if there's a back way in, I'll keep looking for Bucky." He instructed. "Do you have a weapon?"

"I don't leave home without it." She smiled as she loaded her gun and turned to the jock. "Dash, stick close and Danny, be careful." She frowned before they both left and Danny snuck up to the house. As he got closer to the front door, he saw at least three silhouettes standing behind the door.

"No, no, please, god, no, NO!" He heard Mrs. Dinkleberg cry from the house.

"Just shut up and he'll be fine!" Pearl snapped.

"Something's up." Mr. Krabs said. "I'm gonna take the boy and check around back."

"No, please, don't take him!" Mrs. Dinkleberg pleaded.

"Settle down," Pearl said. "I don't wanna hurt you." She added as Danny reached the stairs, only to freeze when the teenage girl looked out the screen window in the door. "Squidward? Daddy, is that you? What's going on out there?"

"I left Squidward in the barn, he got what he deserved!" Danny shouted, frightening Pearl.

"Oh, god." She panicked and backed away from the door. Danny reached the front door, only to see that Pearl had taken Mrs. Dinkleberg hostage and was pointing a gun at her head.

"DANNY!" Mrs. Dinkleberg cried.

"Get back! Don't come in here! You just HAD to go snooping around, didn't ya?!" Pearl shrieked.

"Let her go, Pearl!" Danny shouted as he entered the house and she aimed her gun at him.

"Danny, please don't you take another step!"

"Pearl, come on, now, you know you don't wanna do this."

"Just go away and leave us be!" She pleaded as she aimed the gun at her hostage and Danny slowly moved forward. "Stop right there! I mean it!" She snarled and aimed the gun back at him.

"Think about what you're doing, it doesn't have to end like this!"

"I'll kill her, Danny!"

"Don't do this... please..." She sobbed as Pearl tightened her grip around her neck. Danny still slowly moved forward as the lightning flashed. He noticed his sword and Bucky's gun propped up against the wall in the hallway. He looked up the stairs behind the two women when the lightning illuminating what he quickly realized was AJ's arms, trying to grab at Pearl, but being stopped by the wooden railings. He felt a sinking feeling twist in his gut when he saw that the boy was dead and had come back as an infected.

He felt like crying.

AJ was just a little boy who was innocent. He thought there was still a chance to save him, even if it was small. He started to regret letting that bastard Squidward live.

"Stay back! Don't do anything stupid!" Pearl suddenly shouted as she slowly dragged Mrs. Dinkleberg backward and up the stairs, completely oblivious to the threat behind her. Danny's eyes widened as he was suddenly struck with an idea.

"What happened, Pearl? You're obviously really smart! How did it come to this?!"

"Just stop!"

"Pearl, please." Mrs. Dinkleberg sobbed as Danny moved forward again and Pearl walked back a few steps.

"I don't wanna kill you, Danny!"

"Please, don't make this any worse."

"Just stop!" Pearl screamed as Danny continued moving forward, and Pearl aimed the gun at Mrs. Dinkleberg's head again as they backed up the stairs. Just then an infected AJ suddenly latched onto the pale, blonde girl and bit her neck as she screamed bloody murder; Mrs. Dinkleberg quickly broke free and ran to Danny as he grabbed his sword and Bucky's gun, only to realize they had emptied it of bullets.

"They took Chester! Where's my husband?!" She cried desperately, but before he could answer, they heard shouting and gunfire just outside of the farmhouse.

"I said don't move, asshole!" They heard Mr. Krabs shout.

"Don't you fucking hurt him!" Bucky snarled and they both ran outside to see the horrifying sight of Mr. Krabs pointing a rifle at the back of Chester's head and Bucky standing a distance away. "Let him go, goddamn it!"

"That ain't gonna happen!" Mr. Krabs snapped as Danny ran to Bucky's side.

"Don't do anything stupid!" The black and white-haired teen warned until Bucky suddenly rushed forward and the angry red-haired man shot him in the side. Chester screamed as Mrs. Dinkleberd ran to Bucky as he fell on the ground.

"Who the fuck do you people think you are? Look at what you've done!" Mr. Krabs howled over the raging rain and wind.

"You brought this on yourself." Danny spat.

"No! Uh-uh! YOU did this! All we wanted was a little gas to keep ourselves safe!" He shouted when all of a sudden he was shot in the left ear. Danny looked over his shoulder and smiled when he saw Dash and Valerie, with her gun aimed at the psychopath. They must have found another way in. Chester finally managed to break free of the man's grip and ran away. Danny charged Mr. Krabs and they wrestled with the rifle. The teen smashed the rifle into his face, and they fall down the hill and crash through the picket fence at the bottom.

As Danny tried to get up, Mr. Krabs ran over and kicked him in the head, making him fall to the ground.

The older man quickly started up the generator and the electric fence turned on. He dragged Danny by the back collar of his jacket as he struggles against him. Mr. Krabs held back Danny's arms and tried to shove his face into the electric fence. Danny quickly broke free and elbowed Mr. Krabs in the face, knocking him to the ground. Before he had a chance to get back up, however, Danny quickly climbed on top of his chest and started repeatedly punching him in the face as everyone regrouped behind him.

Even with everyone watching him Danny didn't stop, not even when his eyes started glowing a venomous green.

He wanted this man to pay for what he had done to them. For what he did it AJ, to Nicky, to Chester, to Dash, and to all the innocents he and the other two had no doubt eaten since they'd been hiding up here. The others watch him beat the life out of Mr. Krabs in shock, not daring to move, until Valerie suddenly stepped forward.

"Danny, that's enough! He's had enough!" She shouted and Danny froze, his breathing heavy and his heart pounding. He sat there for a few moments before he regained himself and his eyes returned to their natural color as he stood up and backed away.

"Is that all you got, Danny?" Mr. Krabs laughed bitterly. "You ain't shit!"

"IT'S OVER!" Danny shouted as loud as his lungs could manage.

"Fuck you." He panted as he stood up on shaky legs. His face was badly bruised and bloody and he was missing a few of his front teeth. "As soon as Squidward and Pearl get out here, you're all fucked!" He laughed.

Danny, however, said nothing and started to walk away.

"Don't you DARE walk away from me!" He shrieked as he fell to his knees. "Get back here and finish this boy!" He ordered and for a brief second, Danny actually considered it. He wanted to kill him and he was certain the others felt the same way. He could easily grab Valerie's gun and shot him, or stab him with his sword, or throw him into the electric fence or continue beating in his face. But that would be too easy. He wanted that man to suffer but as he looked back at the group, he realized there had been enough death on that farm.

He wasn't about to bloody his own hands and there was no way he was going to make the kids witness any more death and hate.

With a heavy sigh, Danny walked to the group.

"Get back here and fight me like a man, Danny! Danny!" He screamed, but Danny ignored him as the generator suddenly stuttered to a grinding halt.

"They're getting in!" Timmy cried as dozen of infected walked out of the forest and climbed over the fence towards them.

"Let's go..." Danny sighed and the group started to leave as Mr. Krabs weakly called after him. SpongeBob stayed stood where he was for a few seconds, staring at his former boss and friend, trying to figure out what brought the man he once thought so highly of to this point. Just then he heard groaning and looked out up to see an infected Pearl stumbling out of the house and down towards them.

"Goodbye, Mr. Krabs." SpongeBob sniffed sadly before running to catch up to the others, leaving the infected and ghosts to swarm the farm...