I sighed and entered our clean kitchen. The desks are polished and white, carrying fruit bowls and the microwave. The sink is near the window that never opens. We were going to get that window fixed, but we never did for some reason. Oh well. There are plenty of other windows.
My mom was at the sink, washing the dishes. She seemed relaxed. Probably because I wasn't dead. I cleared my throat. She looked up.
"Hey, Mom," I fiddled with my fingers. "Um… when I was in… Poptropica… Louisa, before she… y'know… said something about Dad… that there was something I didn't know about him, and… he killed her mom on purpose. She… said he was a bad guy."
Mom tensed. "I… well… that's true, Alice. There… are things your father didn't tell you. But he didn't want you to know. Not until you were older, anyway."
"I'm older now," I said, looking up. "Was Dad a bad person?"
Mom started scrubbing a pot. Her fingers were shaking. "Um… er… well… I… he was… I guess you could call it, 'bad person'. But not when you were around! He wasn't bad around us! Never!"
"Mom…" I sighed. "Just tell me. I've gotta know."
Mom sighed deeply. "Your father was a criminal, Alice. He'd been to jail."
The thing I dislike most about Zomberry Island- apart from the zomberries- is how dark it is. Even the starting location is very dark. And bright at the same time, due to all the police cars. It's also similar to my world, and sort of hits 'home base', I guess you could say. Fierce Fox and I approached the police.
They told us that inside of the Fort Savini Tunnel- this giant, brick, garbage-filled tunnel- was blocking out zomberries, since there'd be an outbreak. The police were pretty cowardly, so their director sent Fierce Fox and I to deal with the zomberries. He gave us a flashlight and a clue notebook.
"This will be our only portable light source for a while," I said to Fierce Fox. "Even though it sucks."
"What happened?" Fierce Fox asked as we entered the dark Fort Savini Tunnel. We had to climb over a school bus to get in there. Luckily Poptropican physics made it easy.
"Well, the people of Eastman ate these blueberries and got infected." I explained. "Thanks to this smoothie company. Our job is to cure them and confront the head of the smoothie company. But we'll get to that later." My eyes widened as I leaped over a lorry. "Zomberry! Jump over it." We did just that. The zomberry boggled his crazy eyes at us, rubbing his purple skin. We went deeper into the tunnel, eventually coming to the end. However, zomberries were blocking it. So I picked up a car key, used it on a car, and scared the zomberries away with light. Yes, the zomberries were afraid of light.
We arrived on a street. It's just as dark as the rest of the island, with the occasional street light. Above our heads is an apartment being built. It has many layers, which have things on them such as bricks. Fierce Fox and I scaled to the top, finding a crane. With my instruction, Fierce Fox swapped around some platforms using the crane, so we could reach a lunchbox. In that lunchbox was a subway pass. I grabbed that. Then we headed to the subway.
The subway's like a normal subway. There are train tracks; signs on the walls; posters; security passes. What wasn't so normal was the zomberries. Fierce Fox and I avoided the purple creatures and went through security, using the pass. We came to the train platform which is quite dark. I grabbed a light hanging down from the ceiling, then we headed across the tracks. I bumped into a zomberry, feeling a strong sensation of fear. I ran backwards, away from the zomberries. Fierce Fox stared at me.
"It's what happens when you run into them," I said, shaking my head. "Come on." We headed forward and found the train. Fierce Fox moved a rock from its wheel; it moved forward. Then we exited the subway and headed to a different apartment. This one's actually built, but is crumbling. I fiddled with the fuse and switched some of the lights on. Then, via the roof, we entered the building.
Inside there is just… sad, really. Most doors are boarded up, and there's hardly any light (no surprise there). There are zomberries around, but Fierce Fox and I ignored them. We headed into Dr. Romero's apartment. It looks like no one's been home for a while, due to dust in the corners and the knocked-over lampshade. There's a frame of Albert Einstein and a desk full of scientific equipment.
"Dr. Romero is the scientist," I explained. "He was investigating the outbreak, but got turned into a zomberry himself. We'll meet him later. For now," I pointed to his desk. "Grab that sticky note on his laptop." Fierce Fox obliged. Then we entered Joe Puddy's apartment, which also appears to be abandoned. We scoured the cute little apartment, and picked up two things: a bolt cutter and a note about Joe's diet from his wife. Then we exited that apartment.
"So… has everyone been turned into zomberries?" Fierce Fox asked.
"Funny you should say that," I replied. "We're about to meet our first non-zombie." With that word, we headed to Gamer Guy's apartment.
"Hey, neighbours!" Gamer Guy called. "Come chill!" His apartment's messy and full of spilled food. A bright light was coming from his TV screen, as he was playing a game. Inside a trashcan, there was an empty bottle for something that looked like Mountain Dew; Fierce Fox grabbed the label off of it. We turned to Gamer Guy.
"How are you surviving?" Fierce Fox asked, which is a pretty sensible question.
"Nothing but cheese curls and Valley Rain soda. I am rocking hard, bud!" Gamer Guy answered. Not the best food to eat during an apocalypse. Oh well. I picked up a camera on the stereo system, then we left. We were finished with the apartments, so we exited the building. Fierce Fox followed me to Chinatown, which isn't any better. Most of the shops are covered in caution tape and the lights are turned off. There's a restaurant there called 'A Wok and a Hard Place'. It's connected to a karaoke bar via a line of lights.
Fierce Fox and I entered the karaoke bar. In there, the ground is shaking, and most of the lights aren't on. Though it looks like a cool place to party. Without all the zomberries, of course. However, there was another non-zomberry there: DJ Saturday Nite. She was stuck there, and we needed to rescue her. I shone the flashlight at the disco ball, clearing some zomberries out. Fierce Fox switched the disco lights on; the remaining zomberries left.
"You're a lifesaver!" DJ Saturday Nite cried. We asked her what to do next. "I don't know about you, but it's time for me to boogie. Peace out, zombie fighters!" She ran off.
"Looks like she left her laptop running." Fierce Fox said, gesturing to the DJ 's laptop.
"She also left a note," I said, grabbing such note for our clues. I faced the laptop. "And now we're going to find Doctor Romero's phone." I turned on the laptop, which is way faster than my own laptop. I clicked Find my Phone. Using a note from Dr. Romero's apartment, I signed in. Then, using the program, I tracked down Dr. Romero's phone. It was in an underground bunker. Let's get there.
After a short journey, we arrived at the underground bunker. The zomberries were chasing after us, so we quickly headed inside. Inside's like a laboratory full of building supplies. But we didn't focus on those. Fierce Fox followed me down, nearing some high-tech equipment. In a cage, there was a zomberry. But not just any zomberry.
"Dr. Romero," I said unsteadily. Fierce Fox raised her brow. I pointed to a red telephone near a screen. "Dial his number. It's here." I handed Fierce Fox the number; she raced over to the phone. She rung the number; Dr. Romero's phone buzzed and came out of his pocket. As well as a slip of paper. I picked up both, shaking my head sympathetically at Dr. Romero.
"What now?" Fierce Fox asked.
"We're solving the mystery, though I already know the answer," I replied. "We just gotta do what the island wants." So, using a table, we 'solved' the mystery. Like I expected, blueberries were the cause of the outbreak.
"We've got to make a cure now, right?" Fierce Fox asked.
"Spot on." I replied. The coffee machine (yes, there's a coffee machine) went off, and a cup of coffee was made for us. I grabbed it.
"Uh… Alice…" Fierce Fox spoke up. I heard a moan from nearby us. A bunch of zomberries were there, waving their arms around.
"Where'd they come from!?" I asked. I gulped. "Come on, let's get out of here!" We raced out of the laboratory, the zomberries on our tails. Fierce Fox kept a grip on my arm, so I wouldn't slack behind. We managed to escape the bunker, locking the door behind us. I thought I saw something else, too, but I wasn't sure.
"Was that meant to happen?" Fierce Fox asked, taking a deep breath.
"No," I said, with fear. "No it wasn't." Oh no, I thought. Willy Wonka was right. My troubles aren't over after all.
We stood in front of a crate that said 'DO NOT OPEN UNTIL 2000'. Little bit ahead of 2000, I thought. We were in the wharf, and zomberries were watching us. So, breaking the crate's entrance with bolt cutters, we headed inside. We found it was stuffed: food, movies, posters, CDs. And a non-zomberry.
"I thought the end of the world would come when machines became self-aware," the non-zomberry said. "But zombies? Didn't see that coming."
"How do you survive in here?" Fierce Fox asked.
"Canned food, bottled water, and the companionship of a shadow puppet I call 'Hombre Umbra'." the guy answered.
"That sounds excruciating." Fierce Fox commented. I couldn't help but agree.
"I'll be honest," the guy replied. "I'd do just about anything for a fresh cup of coffee right now."
"Well, get your money out," I replied, holding out the coffee cup. "'Cause we've got a deal."
As well as helping us with some lights, the guy gave us a keycard to the shipyard's computer network. The guy's pretty cool. His light directed us up some crates (there's a lot of crates), and scared off some zomberries. We got to the top, where there's a crane that lifts crates. Using the crane, we picked up a crate of blueberries. It took a little work, since we had to dodge some things, but we pulled through in the end.
Fierce Fox and I jumped down to the crate and headed inside. It was full of blueberries, blueberry juice, and a giant zomberry. Blueberry juice drizzles down his chin and stains his clothing. Fierce Fox dealt with him, while I snatched some blueberries. Using the camera, I took a flash picture, and the zomberry stopped attacking us. He slowly left the crate; we followed him.
We returned to the underground bunker. Or at least the door. There were zomberries in there, and we couldn't touch them.
"Maybe we can coax them out?" Fierce Fox suggested.
"Since when are you the smart one?" I asked, grinning. I frowned. "But how are we going to coax them out?" I gasped. "Hey, we can use us! The zomberries chase after us!" Fierce Fox nodded at that. We opened the sealed bunker door. I could already hear the zomberries moaning. I nodded at Fierce Fox.
"Hey, zomberries!" she taunted. "Up here!" The zomberries approached us, boggling their eyes. We took a few steps back; the zomberries followed. Then, once we'd got them quite a distance away, we rushed back into the bunker. We slammed the door shut.
"The relief," I sighed, feeling my chest deflate in such feeling. "Come on, Fierce Fox." We headed down to Dr. Romero. Next to him is a machine that can make the zomberry cure. We had to do an extremely complicated process to create the cure, it took- just kidding. We had to spin a wheel around. Wow...
Anyway, we created the cure and placed it in a medical gun. The first victim to be cured of their suffering was Dr. Romero. We blasted the antidote at him; he returned to normal.
"You did it!" he cried. "But to make a big enough dose to cure the entire population, we need to make more. Let's get to work!"
"Did you hear that?!" Fierce Fox asked. There was a lot of banging near the door. Well, there already was, but it was getting louder.
"They're coming!" Dr. Romero cried. "Quick! Board up that doorway!"
"I'll deal with them." Fierce Fox said. She raced off to deal with the zomberries. I stared at the cure and sighed. I turned the wheel around, while Dr. Romero stood there and shouted at me to go faster. As 'useful' as that was, Dr. Romero, you could've, uh, at least helped me turn the thing.
"There's too many!" Fierce Fox called from above. "I can't deal with them all!"
"It's okay!" I replied. "I've got the antidote!"
"Quick! Go up and use it!" Dr. Romero cried. He became even more helpful and locked himself in a cage. "I'm just going to hang out in here. You can handle it!" I sighed and shook my head and leaped up to help Fierce Fox. She was sitting on the floor, knocked out. Her skin was turning purple, which sent shivers up my spine. So I faced the zomberries with my antidote, and started firing.
There were quite a lot of zomberries, and my aim wasn't great. I fired all over the place- thankfully I had unlimited antidote. Though I kind of wished Fierce Fox was there. She would've done better. I sighed and continued firing, until roughly twenty or so people were cured. Apparently that's the entire population of Eastman. There's probably more people in my class.
Everyone was cured in the end, including Joe Puddy, Gamer Guy (who got infected- he was annoyed about it ending since he now had to a productive member of society), and a few others. This guy called Samuel Brains came forward. He was special because he was responsible for the outbreak: he owned Berry Delicious Smoothies. Fierce Fox realized this and lashed out at him. Samuel grinned.
"And as an apology," he retaliated. "I'd like to give you all these gift certificates for free smoothies! On the house!"
"Why, I ought to…" Joe Puddy grumbled. However, Samuel left before anyone could do anything.
"Brains!" Gamer Guy cried. He and Joe raced after Samuel.
"Hey, look, that Brains guy dropped something." Dr. Romero said. He picked it up; it was the medallion. And then it was time for the bonus quest. We had to disinfect all these pumps, since they'd been infected by the zomberry syndrome. These zombie-rats kidnapped the crate guy and took him away. So Fierce Fox and I headed down to the sewers, where the zomberry liquid had infected the pipes.
After heading through the dark tunnels that are the sewers, we inserted some antidote into the pipes. The crate guy as a zomberry came to attack, but we shooed him away with steam from a vault. We had to repeat this thrice, until all the pipes were back to normal. The crate guy came and thanked us, and that was the end of the island. But not the end of my troubles, apparently. I needed to find out who'd sent those zomberries, and what they were planning.