Chapter 21: Blame Game

Suddenly a flood of rapid gunfire erupted from outside the room, followed by shouting and panic. Without even thinking twice, Danny grabbed his sword and ran out into the madness, panicking for Jimmy and Timmy's safety. He ran into the open and saw his group desperately trying to take cover and thankfully Jimmy and Timmy were hiding behind the RV with Chester, Tootie, and Mrs. Dinkleberg. The others were also behind cover, closer to the gate.

They were shooting at their attackers, but it didn't look good.

The bandits had finally infiltrated the motel. Danny looked back into the room and saw Vicky climbing out the bathroom window, out of sight. Before he could chase after her, however, the gunfire suddenly stopped and Danny looked back to see that one of the bandits had managed to grab Chester and hold him at gunpoint. The bandit leader motioned for the group to lower their guns, which they did. The bandits quickly lined everyone up on their knees with their hands behind their heads, guns pointed right at them.

Only Danny was left standing alone, his sword drawn to defend himself, not that it would do much good against a dozen guns.

"YOU MADE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIVES!" The bandit leader roared.

"Take it easy," Danny said calmly. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why?! WHY?!" The leader laughed. "Because we gotta, that's why!"

"What will it take to reach a deal?" The teen asked.

"About twice as much as you've been giving us!" The leader snapped and that's when Danny realized; that was why the bandits hadn't been giving them any trouble the past few weeks, someone from the group must have made a deal with them and had given them some supplies.

"You got it." Danny nodded quickly, trying to save the lives of his group.

"Is that so?" The leader smirked. "Well...I suppose we oughta hash out some terms, then!" He laughed; only to suddenly get shot in the head, dead. Danny turned his head and was shocked to see Vicky standing there, rifle raised, having thinking she had run away after climbing out of the window. She must have just snuck around the back of the motor inn. The death of their leader flung the bandits into disarray, allowing their hostages to run away to safety.

Valerie grabbed her pistol and shot down two bandits before the gun ran out of ammo and she ran away.

Danny picked up one of the dead bandits' pistol and shot two other bandits to save Kwan as the remaining bandits started to climb over the wall. Danny tried to shoot the bandit, but he missed and the made it to the other side and whistled, alerting the other bandits to run out of the woods. More bandits fire at them and two of them moved the dumpsters from the gate as Danny hid behind the RV.

"Get back there! Smoke him out!" One of the bandits shouted. Not too far away Dash and Kwan, who were hiding behind a pile of furniture, tried to run over to the black and white-haired teen when a bandit suddenly fired at him but missed, hitting the window behind him. Both jocks quickly dived to the ground and returned to their previous hiding spot. Just then Bucky, who was holding a rifle, ran out of a motel room and joined Danny.

"We gotta get out of here!" The blonde man shouted.

"No shit!" Danny snapped as Bucky handed him the rifle.

"Get those bastards! Cover our people and get them to the RV!" He ordered before entering the RV. Danny quickly looked around for the others and saw Dash and Kwan were still crouched behind the furniture with Valerie and SpongeBob. Danny quickly shot several of the bandits, clearing the way for the four of them to run over to the RV.

"Man, you saved our asses!" Dash panted.

"Get inside!" Danny shouted and the four of them got into the RV as the bandits successfully moved the dumpster away from the gate. Danny desperately looked around for the others and saw the Dinklebergs and the kids crouched behind some furniture a little further away from the RV. They tried to move but were pinned down by heavy gunfire. Before Danny could think of a quick escape plan however, his stomach dropped when he heard a familiar growling.

All the shouting and gunfire had attracted a herb of infected straight out of the forest and they started to attack the bandits.

As the bandits hopelessly tried to escape the infected and kill Danny's group, the teen could hear the Dinklebergs desperately trying to calm the children down as they cried and panicked. Danny shot more bandits while the others tried to kill and avoid the infected, allowing the couple and kids to escape.

"Danny!" Timmy and Jimmy cried as the hugged the teen.

"Get inside the RV! It's gonna be okay, go!" He ordered and practically threw the boys into the RV with Tootie and Mr. Dinkleberg close behind. As Mrs. Dinkleberg and tried to run to Danny, however, a stray infected who had managed to weave past the bandits suddenly knocked them over and tried to bite them. Thinking quickly, Mrs. Dinkleberg swiftly pulled the boy to his feet and pushed him to Danny, who dragged the boy into the RV with the others.

Once Chester was safe Danny ran back out to save Mrs. Dinkleberg.

But he was too late. Within seconds the infected had grabbed her again and pulled the woman down to the ground, ripping into her skin with its teeth, spraying crimson blood everywhere. Hearing his wife's screams and seeing her attack through the RV windows, Mr. Dinkleberg tried to run to her aid but was quickly grabbed and subdued by SpongeBob and Kwan. Danny looked away from the gruesome scene and saw Vicky is still firing at the bandits from the balcony.

"Vicky! Get in the RV!" He shouted.

"Screw her! Let her stay!" Bucky snapped, still trying to start up the RV.

"No!" Tootie sobbed. Not willing to lose anyone else today, Valerie jumped out of the RV and drew her pistol. Crouching at the other end of the RV, she fired at the bandits as Danny did the same. At last, Bucky got the RV working and Valerie ran back inside.

"Vicky! Last chance! Get down here!" Danny roared as he backed up to the RV door.

"Shit." She hissed before running down and got into the RV just as Bucky drove away, killing several infected and breaking through the fence. After Danny locked the RV door, SpongeBob and Kwan finally released Mr. Dinkleberg. The now widow sobbed as he stumbled to the back of the vehicle and stared out the window at his wife's final resting place as they drove further away...


After the motor inn was no longer in sight, everyone went quiet, aside from Mr. Dinkleberg's sobs, and took seats in the RV, still trying to process what had just happened. In the space of about an hour, they had lost their home, most of their supplies, and one of their own. The only supplies they had now where what they had on their person or what Bucky had packed away in the RV. No one dared say a word, choosing instead to seat in silence.

While Bucky was driving, his son Chester was curled up in the front seat next to him, covered in ectoplasm.

SpongeBob, Mr. Dinkleberg, Dash, and Kwan were sat at the back, the latter with his head in his hands. Valerie was on her knees checking on the other three children as Vicky angrily paced around. Just then, Chester let out a pained groan and he curled further into himself.

"Jesus, are you, okay son?!" Bucky asked fearfully, constantly looking back and forth between his son and the road. That seemed to undo some kind of spell as everyone quickly found their voices again.

"Oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit," Dash muttered to himself before looking up at the others. "I'm sorry."

"Calm down." SpongeBob soothed as he rubbed comforting circles into the teen's back.

"We just lost everything," Vicky growled.

"Well, we're lucky as shit to have this RV!" Bucky called from behind the wheel.

"Somebody in here caused this." The red-haired girl hissed as her wild eyes scanned the group.

"Settle down back there; the bandits have had our number for weeks!" Bucky reminded them impatiently.

"This is different, somebody was working with them." She replied, shocking the others. "Whoever it was was slipping them our meds, they didn't get their last package, so they attacked!

"That's nuts!" Kwan exclaimed.

"Danny found a bag of supplies hidden outside the wall!" Vicky argued and turned to the dark-haired teen.

"It's true." Danny sighed.

"So, Valerie, is there something you wanna say?" Vicky asked coldly to which she only scoffed at as Danny noticed an odd glint in the red-haired girl's eyes. "We have to get it out of you, then?"

"Back off." She warned.

"You're in no position to make demands." Vicky huffed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're just pointing fingers," SpongeBob called from the back.

"I didn't just come up with this, I've had my suspicions for days now!"

"Probably not the best time, Vicky!" Bucky glared.

"If not now, when? Look at what just happened!" She shouted.

"Valerie's trustworthy, she's not a traitor, Vicky," Danny argued, gaining a smile from the accused girl; something Vicky noticed immediately.

"She can fight her own battles; unless there's something going on here that implicates you both." She scowled.

"Don't be ridiculous." Valerie sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Why her? This seems like a stab in the dark, Vicky." Danny added.

"She's always SO eager to see what supplies we found, she never talks about her family, she could be related to those bastards, for all we know!"

"Whoa, my family's not a bunch of meth-riddled forest people!" Valerie shouted.

"You're not saying it wasn't you." She glared

"It wasn't ME!"

"Like, look, maybe we should, uh, vote, or something like that." Kwan nervously suggested.

"Vote? What?" Vicky laughed cruelly.

"Just, look, Valerie's a stand-up gal and maybe this was all just a mistake," Dash added.

"We need to look at the facts," SpongeBob stated calmly. "Let's calm down, we'll eat and we'll deal with it."

"Yeah, let's do that." Jimmy agreed.

"Stop waving the finger at everybody," Danny told the angry teen. "We know something's going on and we can get to the bottom of it if we keep our heads."

"I know what we found." She snarled.

"Nobody was stealing ANYTHING!" Dash cried.

"Was it both of you? Were all three of you in on it?" She suddenly asked the jocks. "I've seen you three together was it all three of you?!"

"Look, just let me out." Kwan pleaded. "We didn't do it, but I don't like this; I don't like where it's headed!" He cried but Vicky ignored his pleads and walked right over to him and leaned into his sweating face.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't have anything to do with it." She glared.

"Lay off of him," Danny warned and went to pull her away from the Asain teen. Before anyone could do anything, however, the RV suddenly ran over something heavy that then got caught beneath it. Bucky let out a curse as the RV rocked slightly.

"What's going on up there?!" SpongeBob cried out as he gripped his seat tightly.

"I hit something, we gotta stop!" Bucky called as he began to slow the RV down and pulled over at the side of the road.

"Alright, well, we can deal with this now, then," Vicky smirked as she looked back and forth between Valerie, Dash, and Kwan.

"Bucky, is it safe?" Danny asked.

"Should be." The man replied as he got out of the driver's seat.

"Everybody out," Vicky ordered and everyone but the four children exited the RV. SpongeBob crouched down in front of the RV and saw a large infected man caught beneath the front wheels.

"Bucky, the RV has some surface damage but there's an infected trapped underneath." He said.

"Goddamn it, everyone, keep your eyes peeled," Bucky said as he went round to the front of the vehicle and he tried to pull the infected out, only to curse when he saw it was ripped in half. While Bucky was dealing with the infected, the rest of the teenagers and adults gathered around near the door where Jimmy, Timmy, and Tootie were watching them.

"You know what, we shouldn't just kick you out, we should hear what everybody thinks." Vicky jeered at the three accused.

"I think you should chill out," Danny warned.

"I'm not gonna take this." Valerie hissed. "You can push everyone else around but you can't push me around!"

"I'm really sorry you feel that way." She replied with an icy tone. "I'm starting to think maybe it really was all three of you."

"No!" Dash defended.

"Dash, you have no other options here." Vicky huffed in annoyance. "You or Kwan can tell me it was someone else and then everything will be right as rain; don't you think so too, Danny?"

"I'm not doing this." Danny glared as he crossed his arms.

"Come on, Danny, you're the one who found them, you can't just abstain." The red-haired girl scowled.

"Fuck all that; this is nuts." He exclaimed. "We're out here in the open on the side of the road!"

"Okay, fine, then, Bucky?" Vicky asked the man, who was still trying to get the Infected free without getting bitten.

"I don't know! Fuck! Just stop, would ya?!" He shouted in irritation.

"We don't need all these VOTES! What do I have to do for you to TRUST me? I'll do ANYTHING! I'll- I'll do watches for months!" Kwan offered in desperation.

"Ha, the HELL you will." She scoffed.

"I'll get more food, more medicine, anything!" Dash pleaded.

"You think any of that is good now?!"

"JUST LET US STAY, PLEASE! GOD, PLEASE!" Kwan cried as he and Dash practically feel to their knees begging.

"You're pathetic, look at you." Vicky jeered as SpongeBob and Valerie pulled the jocks back to their feet. "Do we need any more evidence than this?!"

"Evidence or not, this isn't any way to treat one of us!" SpongeBob argued.

"Bucky!" She shouted, ignoring the others' protests. "What's it gonna be?"

"Just gimme a damn minute!"

"You three have until that infected is dealt with to give me a name." She warned.

"Stop this! You're going crazy!" Valerie exclaimed.

"This is about trust, and I've never trusted you." She snarled at the dark-skinned teen.

"I did it." Danny suddenly lied, hoping it would take all the pressure off the others.

"What?" Vicky scoffed in disbelief. "I think you're capable of being a real piece of shit, but I know it wasn't you, not with those two in your life." She said and looked at Jimmy, Timmy, and Tootie, who were all now standing at the doorway of the RV. Finally, Bucky managed to pull the infected out from under the front wheels.

"Please, let's just get back in the RV." Mr. Dinkleberg whimpered, barely above a whisper.

"That's not happening." Vicky glared.

"I can't handle this!" SpongeBob exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and made to get back into the RV with the kids and Mr. Dinkleberg.

"You think you're some tough bitch, don't you?" Valerie suddenly said, glaring daggers at Vicky. "Like nothing can hurt you, but you're just a scared little girl, get the fuck over it; take a page from Danny's book and try helping somebody for once." She mocked as Bucky stomped on the infected's head, killing it. He then approached the group.

"Now, what the fuck's the problem?" He angrily asked them.

*BANG*

Before anyone could fathom what had just happened, Valerie Grey suddenly collapsed, dead, to the forest ground, a gaping bullet hole in her cheek. The kids started screaming at the sight of the blood gushing from her face as the adults looked up and were horrified to see a literal smoking gun in Vicky's hand. Instant Danny grabbed her wrists and pushed her against the side of the RV.

"DROP IT!" He roared, scaring Vicky to death. She had never seen the boy so angry in the few months she had been with him. Shaking, she quickly let the gun fall from her hand onto the ground.

"CHRIST! GET IN!" Bucky shouted. "We're leaving this crazy bitch!"

"NO PLEASE!" Tootie sobbed as Jimmy and Timmy stopped her from running out the safety of the RV. Danny looked at the small girl and his heart ached for her, it really did. He knew Vicky was dangerously unstable, but Tootie needed her. There was no way he would allow that little girl to lose the only blood-relative she had alive in this world.

"Just get in." He sighed as he slowly let go of her wrist. "We'll figure out what to do with you."

"That's a bad idea, Danny!" Bucky warned. "She's a murderer, for shit's sake!"

"I'm a murderer?! You've had Danny with you this whole time!" She cried and Danny's blood went cold.

"What are you talking about?" Bucky asked.

"He didn't tell you?" She glared. "His family are the cause of all of this! The Fentons were experimenting on ghosts and they must have gotten free and invaded the world!" She explained, shocking everyone. "Where did you think Valerie got all her anti-ghost weapons?! She raided the Fentons' lab! His family has more blood on their heads than any of us combined!"

"Is that true?" Bucky glared at the boy in question.

"I- I don't know." He admitted sadly. "Yes my parents were experimenting with ghosts but before all of this happened we got into a huge fight and they attacked me; my big sister and two best friends helped me escape town and just as I got into Dimmsdale all this shit happened!"

"I knew I recognized you from somewhere!" Kwan gasped.

"You're Danny Fenton! The Fentons' missing son! You used to go to our school! What happened to your hair dude?" Dash exclaimed.

"Fucking hell, were you ever gonna get around to telling me that?!" Bucky shouted. "You've got two kids with you! I've let you look after my son!"

"Danny isn't responsible for his parents' actions!" SpongeBob defended his young friend. "And let's not forget that he's saved our lives time and time again! If he really was a monster don't you think he'd have left Timmy and Jimmy back in Dimmsdale?" He added and everyone froze in thought. After a few moments of silent debate, Bucky sighed.

"To hell with it." He growled. "I don't want to hear it, from either of you; just get in." He glared at Vicky and Danny before climbing back into the RV. Danny gave Valerie a sad look before joining the others...