Author's Note: This is NOT the "season finale" I was promoting. As I started to write, tons and tons of exposition came storming into my head like a stampede and I wanted to include it all. This chapter will bring a lot of detail into the Hey Arnold universe I've created. It should set off the track for the rest of the series I have planned. So I've decided to split the finale into two parts. Here is part 1. Enjoy
Chapter 5
The zombie waltzed around inside its cell. It stared in all directions trying to figure out where it was. Out of the corner of its eye, came a black suited figure. The creature slammed against the wall, attempting to attack its newfound prey but the glass kept it from doing otherwise. The man was very stout and tall, in a black suit, latex gloves on his hands. His glasses reflected the light from the ceiling. The rays bounced off his glasses and reflected in the glass barrier between him and the captured zombie.
The man stared at his subject for a moment, bringing a hand up to stroke the whiskers on his chin, "Any development?" He asked. To his left sat a white coated male looking at flickering lights on a dim computer screen.
"Nothing but signs of starvation." The scientist responded, "If at all possible, we could give it another dose?"
"No, keep the subject potent. The less chances of finding a cure is more beneficial for us." The man in black responded.
He exited the room, leaving the scientist to continue entering data in on his computer while the zombified human continued to slam against the windows, desperate to attack. The man in black walked down the brightly lit hallway and turned a corner. He walked up to the second door on his left and entered, the letters on the front read "Cell B2".
The man walked inside, pulled out the chair on his side of the table and sat down. He crossed his hands and laid them on the table. Across from the man in black was Miles Shortman, hands cuffed to two rings stuck on the table, "Now, are we finally going to have that talk I've mentioned?" Miles lifted his head and slightly shuffled his cuffed hands.
"You tell me, do I look ready?" Miles said. Then out of nowhere, he lurched forward and spat a big wad on the arms of the man in black.
The man, disgusted yet amused, pulled a white handkerchief from his suit pocket and wiped his arms, "Colonel Shortman, I wish I could be blunter and clear when I say I mean no harm to you or your family. But I don't know how else I can convince you we're doing the right thing."
Miles moved his jaw and grunted in pain, "Death, bringing death to innocent people. Causing chaos around the world because you wanted to gain reputation and make an extra buck?"
"It's more an exploration Miles. Understand its change, evolution of the world as we saw it and changing it to something new." The two sat in silence, "So whatdya say Miles?" The man leaned in closer, "Let's start talking."
Miles looked up at him, and took a breath in, "Fuck. You."
The man scrunched his chin in disappointment and looked off to the side. He leaned straight again, "We'll talk later then. Until then, your wife's keeping our subject company."
Miles instantly snapped, snapping his arms forward and reaching for the man's hairy neck, ready to wring him to death, but the struggle ended up sending him toppling off his chair to the floor, his arms yanked by the chain holding them to the table.
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July 19, 2012 – Two weeks after initial outbreak
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Gerald led Arnold and his group down the candlelit hallway, zombies continued to slam against the front door, but to no avail.
"This is incredible Gerald! You secured this whole school by yourself?" Arnold said in excitement.
"Well not entirely. I had a little help." Gerald said. As they talked, a glasses clad girl with black hair and a blue v-neck came out of one of the classrooms.
"Arnold? Harold?" the girl said with a bright smile.
"There's our brains." Gerald said with a smirk. The girl ran up to Arnold and wrapped him in a vicious hug.
"You had me freaked out! When I saw the chopper over your house go down, my heart dropped! I'm so glad you're alive!" The girl continued to say. She gave tight warm hugs to the rest of Arnold's group.
"Glad to see you made it too Phoebe." Arnold said, his voice heart-warming and comforting for the group.
"Where's our little scout?" Gerald asked.
"Still looking after Hyunh's arm." Phoebe replied. She led the group to the room. Arnold entered and saw Hyunh sitting on top of a desk, one arm down at his side, and the other in the hands of a boy wearing a long light blue shirt, his hair pulled downwards into a bowl. The boy gently set Hyunh's arm down.-
"Arnold! You made it!" The boy said
"I sure did, still going strong, right chocolate boy?" Arnold said.
"Sure am. By the way, the name's Charlie now." The boy replied.
"Giving up the nick name chuck?" Stinky asked.
"No, just finally growing up." Charlie said with a smile.
"Arnold, good to see you again!" said a high pitched voice from the corner. Arnold turned to see Oscar Kokashka sitting against the wall, "I can't believe you made it out of that madness at the boarding house." Oscar said.
"I was lucky, I had a few friends to help me out." Arnold said, looking back to Harold, Stinky, and Eugene.
"Yes! Very lucky! Hard to believe you're still alive!" Hyunh said.
"Good to see you too Mr. Hyunh." Arnold said with a bright smile, he turned back to Gerald, "Is it all of you?" He asked.
"It's just us." Gerald said. Phoebe looked at Gerald with a sense of confusion, almost as if Gerald had hid something in his response. Gerald looked at her and continued to explain.
"Phoebe and I were at the movies down the street when this mess happened, there was nowhere we could go that was empty, till we found PS 220. Went inside and locked it up no questions asked. About a day later, your family Oscar and Hyunh here showed up at the front door and Charlie snuck in from the top, thankfully I didn't have my rifle.
"And you've been here for two weeks?" Eugene piped in.
"With no issues," Gerald bragged, "The school's generators have been keeping us warm, the lights can turn on, albeit a bit dim. And the cafeteria's food is still good, as far as I know." Gerald said, his eyes looking to the side.
"Gee, we should've come here sooner." Stinky joked.
"Come on Arnold. You guys stay here, I'll show Arnold where you'll be bunking." Gerald took Arnold out into the hallway, "You four can stay in room seventeen down there." Gerald pointed.
Arnold stopped him mid walk, "Gerald. Thank you, for everything, you still haven't let me down. Think I've lost count of how many debts I owe you." He said.
"No need Arnold. I've been there through the thick and thin, we were together from start and we will be there together at the finish. You guys are safe here."
"Thanks Gerald." Arnold said. He continued to look into Gerald's eyes, he wanted to ask the million dollar question. Gerald knew it, and he didn't know how to tell him the truth.
"Did you see her?" Arnold spoke.
"I did in fact. During the evacuations a couple choppers went down, I didn't think anybody survived. But two days after the outbreak, she showed up, said she and her dad were in one of the choppers with your parents." Arnold's eyes widened, "Apparently it went down and when she came to, her dad and your parents were gone. No blood, no signs of attack."
"Which could mean-"
"Which could mean anything, Arnold. We can only know in time. Knowing your parents and what they've put up with in San Lorenzo, it's a given they're still alive. Maybe more troops came and picked them up."
"Maybe." Arnold replied sullenly, "But where is she now?" He asked again.
"There's no easy way to say it, she went missing too, about three days ago. There's a hunting lodge about a block away from here, it's our storage for supplies. We usually make a run there about every three days or so, but she made one unscheduled. Went out on her own. She was smart enough to take a walkie with her and we tried to get her back. We communicated for a while but then we started to hear a struggle. Last thing we could get out of her was the name 'Willie'. Before we knew it, she was out of range. No sign of her since."
Arnold drooped his head, collapsing against the wall, he let his back slide down against the wall till he hit the floor. His parents and now the love of his life, missing. Gerald came to his side and slumped down beside him, "Hey, don't worry. It's just like her to do things by her own book."
"It can't be that easy, not for a situation like this. She may be tough, but I've seen her get scared. When Bob had his stroke, she came over and held me for hours, couldn't let go." Arnold responded. Gerald sat there in silence, acknowledging Arnold's pain, "I just wish we could go back to the way things were. I wasn't ready for something like this."
"Ten years is not enough time to get your life back man." said Gerald, "She'll be fine. I know it. For all we know zombies cut her off and she could only run the other way."
"Sure. That's exactly it." Arnold's optimism started to kick in, yet he still remained worried.
"Come on bud, lemme show you something." Gerald patted Arnold on the shoulder and the two stood up. Gerald took Arnold to a flight of stairs and walked up to the second floor of the school. Down the hall, Gerald entered a classroom on the corner, Arnold followed.
"This is the biochemistry room they had. Also the room with the most windows." Gerald said as they walked in.
"More windows means more exposure." Arnold said.
"However, we hardly come in here, the real use for this room is right over there." Gerald pointed to a small brown box on a table next to rotting plants. A small metal rod stuck out from the box and leaned against the large window.
Arnold walked up to it and leaned in, he could hear a gentle hum, "It's a radio?"
"Better, a transmitter. We've had a looping message being transmitted out about ten, fifteen miles at least."
"Does it work?" Arnold asked.
"Well it brought chocolate boy in. As sneaky as he was, we hardly saw him coming. We're just hoping the military guys are still out there looking for survivors. You guys brought the only action we've had since Oscar and Hyunh showed up."
Arnold's eyes widened, he barged out of the room and Gerald followed in hot pursuit, calling after him, "Wait! Arnold where are you going!"
Arnold stormed back into the classroom where Oscar and Hyunh were recuperating, "Mr. Kokashka, where's your wife?"
"She was on the other chopper with your parents Arnold. Why do you ask?" Oscar replied.
Arnold turned back to Gerald, "You said Helga woke up unconscious after the crash right? Did she say anything about Suzie Kokashka?"
Gerald thought for a moment, "Yeah, matter of fact she remembered seeing another woman on the chopper with her, she was gone too when she woke up."
"Four adults missing but the only survivor, a young adult was left behind. It doesn't add up." Arnold said.
"What're you saying man?" Gerald asked.
"I'm saying someone picked up my parents, Mr. Pataki, and Mrs. Kokashka and left Helga for dead." Arnold said, strong determination and suspicion in his voice.
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Miles grunted with pain as he straightened himself in the chair. A throbbing pain shot through his backside and he looked to his left. The two sided mirror reflected his scratched up face. On the other side stood the man in black, his arms crossed behind his back and he observed Miles. He turned around and walked out. He re-entered the cell block and strolled down the hallway. "Hey! Glasses!" said a rough booming voice. The man turned and looked into the cell with the source of the voice, "Ya gonna explain to me why I'm locked in here?"
The man stood straight, "For your protection. We need research subjects."
"Research subjects my ass! I want answers, first chaos erupts on my own street, and next thing I know I'm in a chopper going down, by the time I'm awake, I'm in a god damn cell! Now are you gonna tell me things! Or am I gonna have to stand up and drag you in here with me through these narrow bars." The prisoner growled.
"Mr. Pataki, right? I assure you, this is a controlled environment, we are merely problem solvers figuring out what is happening to our nation. This pandemic as you would call it is something we are trying to solve. All we ask is your patience and cooperation." The man in black said as he continued to stroll down the hallway.
"I've got your cooperation right here." Bob Pataki mumbled as his hand gripped his groin area.
"Wish I was as abrupt as you." A womanly voice uttered. Bob looked toward the cell diagonal from his own.
"Who's there?" Bob asked.
"In time, we will get our answers but at a price, I'm sure of it." The voice said, Bob could sense the feminine tone.
"Come on, cut the Shakespeare and show me your face lady." Bob said. In a moment, the woman scuttled from her sitting spot over to the cell bars and put her face right up to the space between the metal. It was Suzie Kokashka.
"Hey, you look familiar, didn't you live with that Arnie kid Helga was always talking about?"
"I did, my husband and I, yes. God knows what my husband is doing now. Probably thinks I'm already dead and scavenging for his own life." Suzie said bitterly.
"At least you've got hope your husband is still out there…" Bob uttered, his voice turned melancholy and Miriam's beautiful face stuck to his brain's eye. He'd never see her again.
"I'm sorry. What's your name?"
"I'm Bob Pataki." Bob replied.
"Pataki, your daughter's name is Helga right?" Suzie asked.
"That's right."
"Arnold was always talking about her. Pretty sure she was over at least three times a week, for ten years. Don't think Arnold went a second without thinking of her."
"Yeah I remember all the times we had to take care of her dates. Proms, Homecomings. It was a crazy time." Bob said, a small smile erupting on his face.
"That's love for you Bob. Anything you did, you did together." Suzie said.
"Miriam wasn't always like that with me, took us a few years to straighten out but we started doing ok. Can't tell you how much I miss her, with all the chaos happening out there now." Bob said
"I certainly hope Helga and Arnold are doing okay. Better than Oscar I hope." Suzie said.
"Oscar? As in your husband? Oscar Kokashka?"
"Yeah? You remember him?" Suzie asked.
Bob replied, "That bastard owes me twenty bucks!"
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Three days later
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The playground was bare, a large wooden fence bordered the whole field, connecting to the sides of the school. Charlie held his slingshot with tension, his shoulders were broad and raised up so high, almost out of their sockets. Gerald came up to him, "Easy on the tension choco boy. Relax your shoulders and focus on your aim."
"Quit calling me choco boy Gerald. I keep telling you, it's Charlie."
"Ok Chuckie, whatever, hit the target and I'll stop with the name calling." Gerald jested. Charlie took a deep breath and released his grip. The projectile flew across the grass and struck the bottle, shattering the top of it. The remnants topped over off the barrel into the grass. Gerald stood there, stunned as Charlie swung the empty sling in his hand, "Impressive." Gerald uttered.
Charlie pocketed his sling and grabbed the bag of his homemade ammo, airsoft beads glued together into solid pieces with super glue, "How many of those you got left?" Gerald asked.
"This bag and another inside, maybe about a hundred total. We ought to get more bbs on our next trip to the hunting store." Charlie said.
"Yeah maybe." Gerald said, patting Charlie on the shoulder. They entered the scHool, Gerald closed the door behind them and slid the metal rod back between the door handles. Then a noise drew their attention. They started to follow the reverberations of the noise till it led them to the cafeteria. It was like chewing sounds, grunting and gnawing biting noises.
"Wait here." Gerald ordered. Charlie nodded and leaned against the wall, gripping his slingshot tightly. The crunching noises gave Gerald more fear but he courageously approached the door.
All of a sudden, Eugene turned around the corner, "Hey Gerald-question about the truck outsi-" Gerald silenced Eugene before he could talk anymore and beckoned him to go over by Charlie.
Gerald inched closer and closer to the door until his hand could reach the handle. He settled his palm against the metallic door and gave it a good shove. It slid right open, and Gerald peaked inside. He followed the trail of the noise and saw a balding figure at one of the tables. His head moving in quivers, and what looked like crumbs fell to the floor.
"Oscar! What're you doing!" Gerald cried out as he recognized the figure.
Oscar whipped his head around, mouth full of sustenance. Eugene and Charlie came inside and saw the can. It was a large ounce can of trail mix, popped wide open and crumbs all around the table where Oscar sat, "Oscar! What're you doing getting in the supply?" Gerald erupted.
"I'm sorry Gerald. It was tempting after I had lost my ration. I just wanted to get my fill for the day." Oscar said with a conniving chuckle."
"We have to have food for the rest of us Oscar! We were supposed to save everything for another week! How many times have you snuck in here?"
"Only now, this was my only one!" Oscar said instantly, a bit of nervousness in his voice that Gerald could pick up. Oscar than drooped his head a little, "I've been coming in here for the last two days. This is the last trail mix left. This and a bag of rice."
Gerald threw his head back in anger and scrunched his fists against the cafeteria wall, "I'm sorry Gerald. I was only trying to survive."
Gerald instantly got in his face, slamming his hands on the table, "Surviving doesn't mean being a pretentious selfish asshole!" He screamed. Gerald whipped his head back around and stormed out of the room. Eugene and Charlie looked at him disappointedly then followed Gerald out, leaving Oscar sitting in the dim light of the large room. The silence started to fill Oscar's head with a low drumming moan. For a second, Suzie popped into his head.
"Charlie, find Hyunh and look at his arm again. Eugene, what'd you wanna tell me." Gerald said very blatantly.
"I wanted to know if the humvee was good for a run to the hunting shop." Eugene said.
"You don't need me for that, check on it yourself." Gerald snapped. Eugene turned and walked down the other hallway. Charlie followed. Gerald walked into the classroom where Arnold slept to find him rolling up his sleeping bag, "Arnold that Oscar guy is something else. I don't know how you put up with him all your life."
"Took some getting used to Gerald. What'd he do this time?" Arnold asked.
"Turns out, for the last few days he's been going strong on sneaking into our food supply. We only have half a can of trail mix and a pound of rice left." Gerald responded. Arnold stopped and stood up to look at Gerald.
"That can't be."
"Oh but it is brother. We need to do something now or we're gonna have trouble here."
"I would say we're already in trouble." Arnold responded, "Seems like we've got bigger headaches."
"What do you mean?" Gerald asked worriedly.
Arnold lead Gerald down to the basement floor. They walked down the long main corridor and entered the door at the end of it, to an even deeper floor where the furnace and complex maintenance facilities were housed. Gerald looked in pure shock at what Arnold had to show him. Before them were two black boxes, one was purely still and the other was still vibrating and humming.
"We lost one of our backups, it croaked out some time around noon." Arnold said.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Gerald said, rubbing his hands down his face in stress.
"At this rate, we're gonna be out of energy in two days. No heat or light, and all the gas will be burnt out."
"So what do we do?" Gerald said.
"Something crazy I had in mind." Arnold said.
"Oh no Arnold, not another one of your bold plans." Gerald groaned.
"What else are we gonna do? Listen, we've got the humvee and your car out back. Stinky's truck is a block away from the school. We can grab all that we have, take the cars, and head west." Arnold suggested.
"Arnold what on earth makes you think we're not gonna find the same chaos here out west?" Gerald asked frantically.
"It's worth a shot. Maybe they stopped the spread. Maybe there's towns sealed off or quarantined. From what my parents told me, this thing started on the east coast in one of the FTi labs there. Hillwood wasn't even the beginning, by the time it hit us, all the north eastern states had been marked as infected. From there it just kept spreading west. Maybe Future Tech figured something out and they have places for survivors to stay."
"It's insane Arnold, we'd have to drive miles. Who knows how far we can get with the gas we have now."
"It's a chance we'd have to take. Here, we're good as dead, but if we take a chance, and move, we could find others. Helga, Rhonda, Sid, we all had a chance to evacuate, and that's exactly what they did. Let's start our own evacuation."
Gerald stood there, pondering. He clicked his tongue a couple times and looked in a few different directions. "Nine people, three cars, two pistols, a shotgun, and a rifle. Potentially millions of zombies out to eat us and kill all of mankind."
"Exactly." Arnold said, a devious little smile on his face.
"You're a bold kid Arnold. Let's do it."
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To be continued in Part 2 – Chapter 6