Chapter 3

Saturday morning, Jack Harris is at home watching The Walking Dead with his wife, Annie.

His thoughts however, are less focused on the episode that's being shown and more on the state of a hypothetical situation of a real life zombie apocalypse.

It'll most definitely never happen, but just the thought bothers him more and more over the years and not less like he thought back then.

"Annie?" He says to his wife, who's resting her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah Jack?"

"If there ever WAS a zombie apo-"

"HOLD THAT THOUGHT!" Interrupts Annie as she takes a moment to sit up straight.

"We've had this conversation many times before! What do I always say!?"

Jack sighs before giving his answer. "If you ever turn into a zombie, blowing your head off will be doing you a big favor."

"That's it! I love you." Said Annie before kissing her husband on the cheek.

Jack starts to speak again. "It's just… I don't think that's gonna be our only option like we first thought. You remember that movie I showed you? Shaun of the Dead? At the end of the movie, there are all these…"

Jack found himself unexpectedly cut off however by the cute voice of his five year old stepdaughter, Jing.

"What're you guys watching?" She asks while lying on her stomach looking up at the T.V. with a smile on her face.

"AAAHH!" Annie and Jack scream in unison as Annie pushes Jack aside while grabbing the remote and changing the channel. (Narrowly skipping that one scene in The Walking Dead where Sam couldn't stand looking at the zombies anymore and ends up getting eaten.)

Jing keeps looking at the T.V.

"The winner… gets to have their creation as a set up piece in a star studded party celebrating one of today's hottest talents. And walks away with ten thousand dollars!

This is… Operation Dessert Storm!"

"Haha. We were just looking for the Food Network, Jing!" Said Annie.

"Operation Dessert Storm?" Said Jing. "Is that supposed to be a pun or something?"

Jack looks at his stepdaughter. "We'll explain it to you when you're ol-"

Something on the T.V. then catches his attention.

"Hey look, Annie! Those look like the pancakes we got when we vacationed in New York!"

Annie remembered that vacation she had with Jack vividly. They were dating for six months when they decided to spend the weekend at the Big Apple for their half year anniversary.

The pancakes at the hotel they stayed at were a sight to see. Fresh strawberries and house made cream layered between pancakes that were so fluffy, they were like little, edible pillows.

This gave Annie an idea. Maybe she can recreate it right in the kitchen.

"Um… that reminds me, Jack." She says to her husband as she stands up from the couch. "I gotta… get out and pick up a few things."

"Okay sweetie." Said Jack, nodding in agreement. "You can count on me to hold down the fort."

"Good…" Annie then out of nowhere gives Jack a serious look. "Because I don't want a repeat of what happened LAST time I left you in charge."

Jack feels cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck as he tries to maintain his smile.

"You can count on me."

Annie's facial expression turns back to normal. "Okay."

"Yeah, at that point, Clyde and I were CONVINCED that a zombie apocalypse was happening!"

It's been seven days since Lincoln arrived in Oakdale for the first time. Since then he and Duncan both agreed to see each other once a week every Saturday, leaving Lincoln some time to spend with his friends back in Royal Woods.

They're currently at a convenience store looking at some snacks and drinks with their bike and scooter parked outside.

"You serious?" Said Duncan. "There was NOBODY out on the streets telling you to go to the mall?"

"Yeah." Said Lincoln, nodding at Duncan as he jogs his memory on what happened that day. "One thing led to another and we ended up mistaking our dads for zombies. We hurt them when they were only trying to help us."

"Wow." Said Duncan, amazed at what the eleven year old kid had to go through. "I think my dad would have done the same thing. Risking his own safety to bring me to a safe place to hide from a horrible storm."

Lincoln puts his hands on his hips. "Well… the way I see it, I think my dad didn't want to repeat the mistake he made before when… he and the rest of my family locked…"

He then stops himself from talking. Is he really going to talk about that horrible incident that happened to him so long ago? He still has those unpleasant memories, but he wishes to forget about them rather than talk them out.

Duncan gives Lincoln a concerned look. "Huh? Locked? Locked what?"

Lincoln shakes his head. "Just… forget it man. It was all the way back in 2017… and it was… partially… my fault."

He steals a glance at the fourth wall as he says the last part of the sentence.

"Come to think of it…" He continues as he taps his chin with his fingers. "I was eleven years old back in 2017, and I'm STILL eleven in 2020!"

Duncan gives a light chuckle. "Don't worry about it, buddy! I stopped questioning everyone's aging a LONG time ago!"

Lincoln tries to speak. "But I could have sworn-"

Duncan interrupts him while giving a more serious look. "A long… LONG time ago!"

Lincoln raises his hands up. "Sure, okay, whatever you say!"

Duncan paid for their snacks and drinks then they exited out of the store. He looks at his newest friend again.

"Hey, I'm sorry that I scared you like that back there, but there are just some things that you just don't talk about with your friends during these times of- HOLY CRAP!"

Lincoln looks away from Duncan and looks in front of him. "Hey, watch your lang-holy crap."

They both take in the fact that during the time they were in the convenience store, somebody stole the wheels off of Lincoln's bike and Duncan's scooter.

Duncan drops all his stuff and falls to his knees. "What happened to our freaking wheels!?"

While on her way to the supermarket, Annie sings along to the radio.

"My name is Luka… I live on the second floor."

Something then catches the corner of her eye.

Her red haired son, Duncan, is hanging out with a kid with white hair.

"Is that Duncan!?" She said as she squinted her eyes. "I better stop and say hello."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Shouted Duncan as he held up his now wheelless scooter. "Wouldn't it just be easier if the thief just stole the whole scooter!? Why'd he steal just the wheels!?"

Lincoln scratches his chin. "Hmmm. Clue number one: the thief has a liking to wheels."

Duncan looks at his friend. "Lincoln, what are you talking about?"

"I'm trying to think like my favorite superhero: Ace Savvy! The invincible crime fighting detective."

Duncan raises an eyebrow. He's never heard of Ace Savvy before. "So… is this Ace Savvy guy anything like-"

*HONK HONK*

"HEY DUNCAN!"

As he hears his mother's voice, Duncan freezes in place. He finds himself nowhere near ready to introduce Lincoln to his parents as his mind goes a million miles a minute while he sees his mom step out of her car.

Lincoln moves closer to Duncan. "Is that your mom?"

Duncan nods. Annie then notices the white haired kid next to her son.

"So… uh… you're hanging out with elementary schoolers now?"

Duncan groans. "UGH… no… wait… kinda…" He faces Lincoln. "Help me out here!"

"Gladly." Said Lincoln. "My name is Lincoln Loud, I've been Duncan's friend for about a week now. His team beat my team online and it was by chance we were able to meet."

Annie smiles at Lincoln. "Well… it's good to see that my son is making more REAL friends… not those fake ones people make all the time on Face… WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SCOOTER!?"

Duncan looks at his scooter. "Lincoln and I were at the convenience store and somebody stole them."

Lincoln then smiles. "I just see this as an opportunity to brush up on my detective skills."

That caught Annie's attention. "Detective skills!?"

Duncan puts his face in his hands. "Oh no."

Annie chuckles. "You know, I ASPIRE to be a detective one day! How about I help you with this case!"

Duncan argues back. "And how exactly do you plan to CATCH this thief!"

Lincoln nods at Annie. "Whoever this thief is, they couldn't have gone far!"

Having the whole mercado to himself, Bobby Santiago is mopping the floor while singing along to a song playing on his phone.

"In the heights!

I buy my coffee and I go!

I buy my coffee and set my sights!

On only what I need to know!"

He quickly puts down his mop into the bucket and picks up a tabletop picture of a blond girl in her late teens holding a rose. He holds it up to the ceiling as he dances a little.

"In the heights!

Money is tight but even so…

When the lights go down I blast my-"

*ZAP*

With the sudden amount of light in the room, Bobby screams out in terror. "AAAHH!"

Then he slips and falls onto the wet floor. "OW!"

In his moment of pain however, a voice that he knows by heart speaks out to him.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, boo-boo bear!"

He quickly stands up, wanting to face the girl in front of him.

"BABE!" He shouts out before giving her a quick hug.

The girl that he is hugging is none other than Lori Loud, the oldest of the Loud siblings.

"How did you get here!? One moment, everything is normal and then BOOM, you're here!"

Lori smiles at her boyfriend. "Oh, boo-boo bear. Only the miracle of science and technology is what led me to you."

Bobby chuckles nervously, not understanding what she meant. "Heh heh. What?"

"Teleportation." Lori clarified. "I learned Lisa's secret and used it to meet you. Isn't that great!?"

Bobby then scratches the back of his head. "I don't know, babe. It seems kinda… dangerous."

Lori argues back. "Bobby, would you rather wait a three hour drive to see me in person or be able to see me at any time with teleportation?"

"You make a good point babe." Said Bobby, putting his fears aside. "You ARE able to go back any time you want, right?"

"It's literally not a problem." Said Lori. "Take me to the rest of your family. They GOTTA know about this! Especially… you know who!"

This confused Bobby. "No… I don't know."

"Well…" Said Lori, noticing the music playing on Bobby's phone.

"That's because you ain't got no skills."

She gently laughs while touching him on the nose.

"Hardee-har." Said Bobby, finishing off the joke.

In Oakdale, Duncan can be seen retrieving his stolen scooter wheels from a nearby lemonade stand.

The child, who'll be without a name, sits on the curb with his face in his hands, regretting his actions.

"They got you because you said you've been out here all day but then they saw the ice cubes in your pitcher. It's like... unusually warm today."

The kid looks up from the ground. "I... didn't think the whole thing through."

With the case closed, Lincoln, Duncan, and Annie are now on the driveway in front of the Harris residence. With the bike and scooter restored back to normal.

"Well Lincoln, it's been fun having to do some crime busting, but even I need a break once in a while." Said Annie.

"It was nice to meet you Mrs. Harris." Said Lincoln. "I enjoy spending time with Duncan too. He's a GREAT listener!"

Before Duncan can return Lincoln's compliment, a sudden flash of light causes everyone to shield their eyes.

"AAAHH! What was that!?" Said Annie. Her motherly instincts starting to kick in.

Opening his eyes, Lincoln sees something he hoped he wouldn't see in Oakdale.

His older sister, Luna, has teleported along with Lisa.

"BRO!" Shouted Luna. "You keep disappearing on everybody! What gives!?"

Lincoln looks at Lisa. "Sorry elder brother." She apologizes. "I guess when it comes to keeping secrets… I couldn't lie to save my life."

Duncan takes a step forward. "Whoa… You're the… sister who's the same age as me!"

Luna raises an eyebrow. "Who's this guy?" She questions her brother.

"This would be Duncan. He's my newest friend." Said Lincoln.

"Newest friend, huh?" Said Luna as she put her hands on her hips, looking him up and down. "Well… I'm sure Clyde won't mind a little downtime."

The name caught Duncan's attention. "Huh? Clyde?"

"He's my best friend. I'll introduce you one day." Said Lincoln.

Standing there awkwardly listening to the conversation, Annie slowly crosses her arms.

"So… Teleportation… It's REAL now…"

She then sees the front door of her house open, her husband then staring directly at her.

"Annie! Are you and Duncan alright!? I heard a noise!"

"Everything's just fine, Jack!" Annie shouts back. "Why don't you come out and talk to Duncan's new friends!"

Jack's face then lit up. "My beautiful boy has some new friends!?"

Just then, Duncan put two and two together. Lincoln's older sister looks like a punk rocker and the garage has a lot of stuff that someone like her would indulge in for literally days.

He whispers to Lincoln. "Lincoln, whatever you do, don't let your sisters into dad's garage. There's a lot of old music stuff there."

"Got it." Lincoln nods. He then faces Luna. "Luna, whatever you do, don't try to go into that guys garage."

"Huh? What? Why? What's in his garage?" Said Luna, looking more curious than angry.

"What's in my garage!?" Happily said Jack as he claps his hands together. "I thought you'd never ask!"

Realizing his mistake, Lincoln facepalms. "Dang it. I'm such an idiot."

"What!?" Said Duncan, who couldn't believe what Lincoln said. "No. Don't say that. You're not an idiot."

Lincoln keeps looking at the grass below him.

"I am."

Okay, that was chapter three.

One thing I gotta get out of the way right away is that yes, I had to include a mention of 'No Such Luck' here. It just seemed like a requirement on my end.

Another thing I want to say is that since none of you shared even one of my easter eggs in the first chapter, I might as well give you one from this one:

I was referencing Ty Burrell's role in the 2004 movie, Dawn of the Dead.

Steve Marcus: If I ever turn into one of those things, do me a favor: blow my fucking head off.

Also, originally I was going to reference an Encyclopedia Brown case, then I realized that made a continuity error that involves dates, so I looked around and switched over to Family Guy instead. It was the best I can do since I wanted Lincoln and Annie to work together for a little bit in this chapter.

Alright, I think I said all I needed to say. Let me know what you all think of the story so far in the reviews. I'm always looking forward to making my story better so all of you can enjoy it more.

Until next time! Bye!