It was now night time. The wreckage was settled and the fire coming from the destroyed turbine started to die out. Arnold's flashbacks began to recede as he regained his mental balance. With one shove and all his might, Arnold removed the core of the pile that kept him pinned down. With various forms of struggle, Arnold was able to regain his feet within the passenger section of the plane. The pain was minor but still impeded Arnold from regaining his full posture. He walked with a limp as he treaded toward the cockpit section, the only part of the plane that did not break off from the main hull. He was first drawn toward the co-pilot seat where his mom was slumped in the chair, her head leaning to the left. Arnold couldn't see any injury and saw her chest moving in and out. She was alive. Arnold looked over to the pilot seat where he saw his father, head resting on the wheel and arms dangling at his side. Arnold could see blood pouring from his ear but no sign of life. Arnold carefully pulled his dad's body back in the chair and looked for breath. He couldn't see movement in his dad's chest. Arnold took two fingers, put them together and placed them on his father's neck, checking for a pulse…

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Hey Zombies

Flight Plan

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Arnold held his father in the most loving embrace possible. Everybody else looked on as the two held each other tightly. Stella moved in and peeled Arnold away and embraced him herself.

"Arnold…Arnold!" Was all Stella could cry out, her eyes in tears as she held her son. Miles had his hands on both Stella's and Arnold's shoulders, uniting his family with a single touch. Phil then walked over and knelt down. Arnold pulled away, his own eyes matted with tears.

"Hey there Shortman." Phil said with a smile.

"Grandpa," Arnold smiled and then hugged him.

Suzie and Bob stood by and watched as Arnold reunited with his family. Suzie began to think of Oscar, knowing that Arnold could very well tell her what had happened, but she was afraid. Bob could sense her hesitation. He knew what she wanted to ask him.

Bob put a gentle hand on her shoulder, leaned in and whispered, "Go ahead Suzie, go ask Arnold what you want to ask him." Suzie looked at Bob, his eyes glowing, emanating with authority, but also a sense of compassion she has never seen in him before. She began to walk forward towards Arnold and his family.

As she walked away, Helga noticed her father and approached him, "Hey Dad." Helga said with a smile and her eyebrows raised, askew, but happy to see her father again.

"Hey you little rascal." Bob said playfully. The two stared at each other for a few seconds and then Helga just collapsed into Bob's torso like a teering Jenga tower, beginning to sob.

"Daddy." Helga said through her moaning sobs.

"It's okay pumpkin, I'm here." Bob said, letting her fatherly side pour out of his eyes and mouth like a waterfall. Everybody else looked on with wholesome smiles and joyous reunion.

Arnold let go of his grandpa and Suzie got in closer, "Suzie." Arnold said with a smile, and then instantly pulled her in for a hug. Suzie returned his embrace with her own, although it was more somber, her arms merely resting against Arnold's body. Arnold could feel the lack of embrace and pulled away to look into her face.

Suzie tried speaking but could only choke out her husband's name, "O…Oscar?" Arnold's smile faded away from his mouth, but still his lips bent slightly upward.

"He didn't die in vain, Suzie. He saved all of us." Arnold said with his very subtle smile. He then turned back to look at Gerald and Charlie.

"That's right Mrs. Kokashka, we wouldn't gotten out of Hillwood alive if it wasn't for Oscar." Gerald said while Charlie nodded in reply.

Suzie nodded, she felt a mixture of emotions. Before all this chaos happened, all Suzie could think of were bad memories of her time with Oscar. After the outbreak and they got separated, Suzie could not stop thinking of the good memories. Suzie didn't know what to think; was it for the best? Or was it really a tragedy?

After the embraces were over and everybody had their composure, Jamie led everybody up and away from the ground floor as the infected spread out through the compound. The door to Victor's office opened. Victor sat in his chair, awaiting his subjects as they all entered the room, of course he was expecting them this way but not as such with his entire torso strapped to the chair with duck tape. The group piled in, Suzie was the last one in as she shut the door. Sid and Charlie escorted the women and the captured Curly over to the couch area and sat down with them. The rest of the boys: Arnold, Miles, Phil, and Bob walked over to the desk where Victor looked upon them with leering eyes. Mucus leaked out of his nose and onto the tape plastered over his mouth. The congestion made him struggle for breath. Miles reached up, pinched the tape end on the back of his neck and subtley took his time peeling it from Victor's mouth. In response, Victor grunted from the pain, but with a condescendence in his grunts, as if he knew Miles was going to slowly peel the tape off.

Miles spun Victor around in the chair until he looked right into his eyes, "Alright Victor, tables have turned. You want to explain to these nice folk what you're up to now? Or are you gonna save your breath until we get to FTi Alpha?" Victor's eyes widened in reply but no sound uttered from his vocal cords.

"We're going to Alpha?" Stella asked. Miles turned towards her and replied.

"If Victor's right, the FTi stations further west would have already executed their protocol to prevent the infection from spreading. Alpha would be at the front, in Nevada. It's our only chance if we can't get in contact with them here."

"Wait, are you telling me there's more places like this shit hole?" Bob asked.

"Dad, you have no idea do you?" Helga said. Bob looked at her with confusion, "Remember the guy who promised you a beeper store if you petitioned to get our neighborhood destroyed?" Helga piped up.

"Yeah, what's he got to do with all this?"

"This is his company now dad, they've become a bigger thing."

"That urban realtor has got military and science branches now?! What kind of world are we living in?" Bob said.

"A ruined one if we don't get moving. For all we know the entire country is overrun and then Victor's gonna have a pandemic situation on his hands." Miles added, "Jamie, is Eduardo's plane good to fly out of here?" Miles asked.

"Should be." Jamie replied.

"Okay, then we go down, we arm ourselves to the teeth, find something to help clear a path in the infected and then make a break for the hangar. Sound good?" Miles said.

"Woah woah dad, easier said than done." Arnold said, "We've got a big group, if we just go for it, there's no knowing who could get left behind."

"I've got an idea, what if we 'accidentally' left this scumbag behind as bait." Bob said, striking Victor's shoulder with an open palm in an aggressive fashion.

"Don't be hasty Bob, we need him to figure out how to fix this." Miles said. He looked back at Arnold, "Okay son, if you've got an idea, tell us now." Miles said, "You've gotten this far, show us what you've got in mind."

Arnold began to think.

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(10 miles outside Pennsylvania)

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The group set up camp the best they could on the side of the road. It was a risk but there was no chance of the infected finding them and being near the road there could be a chance of someone with a car to find them.

Mai guzzled her fruit cup and licked her spoon clean with every scoop. Her father sat next to her, finishing up his ration for the day.

"Mai, we never got a chance to ask, how'd you end up in Pennsylvania?" Eugene asked.

"Oh, I heard on the news about this disease spreading throughout east, I knew father was still living with Arnold and his grandparents so I decided to drive there as quickly as possible." Mai responded.

"You risked your own live even with all the chaos? You realize this wasn't just a case of common cold, we're talking a serious zombie-like disease with critical consequences." Stinky said, straining his dictionary to explain the situation.

"I know it was deadly, but I couldn't sit by and wait days or even months to see if father made it out alive." Mai responded, Tai reached over and grasped her hand, squeezing it tenderly, "I think when that truck drove me off the road was when I started to regret coming back."

"Blossom, you couldn't see it coming. Be glad Gerald was there to find you, if only he and the others were here." Was all Tai could say.

"I know…" Phoebe added, sitting on a ruined suitcase found lying by the side of the road.

"Phoebe, they're out there, all we have to do is keep moving." Harold said.

"Yeah, they're in good hands." Stinky said.

"How do you know that?" Phoebe responded.

"Torvald may have been a hardass when we were kids, but see how everybody else has come around? I'm sure he's had an epiphany at some point. He was our friend just as much as Arnold or the others were." Eugene said, "It's just a matter of when we're all together to figure out the next step."

"What next step?" Harold asked.

"Rebuilding Harold, what do you think?" Stinky said.

"Oh yeah…never thought of rebuilding. I mean, we're only a slice of the United States, who knows how far this has gotten before they were able to stop it. What about the rest of the world? Why don't they come to help us? Take out all the zombies and help us rebuild."

"Harold, you think after all the conflict and wars we've brought on everyone else, you think they really care about us?" Stinky replied.

"I didn't know you were so pessimistic Stinky." Eugene said.

"I hate that 'p' word Eugene. I'd like to think my family and I are realists." Stinky said.

"Remember how I said everybody has 'come around'? You've learned a lot of big words in the last ten years, Stinky." Eugene said with a wink. Stinky just shrugged.

"I am who I am, always and forever."

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(FTi Kappa, Basement level)

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Miles and Bob brought the last of the propane tanks to the hallway outside Victor's office where the group stayed. It took Arnold an hour to finally figure out a plan. The noise outside started dispersing. Shouting, trucks revving up, gunfire, it all began to meld into the grunts and snarls of the infected humans running rampant.

"Alright, one, two, three, four tanks. Perfect." He said, "Jamie, is there a way to the roof?"

"We have sniper lookouts on every building." Jamie replied

"Good, we'd need to hit all the tanks dead on with four shots so we don't grab their attention with gunfire. Are you a good shot Jamie?" Arnold asked.

"I would be, if Curly didn't mess up my arm in our tussle." Jamie said.

"Torvald?"

"I'm an assault gunner Arnold, no patience or skill for sniper fire."

"Dad?"

"Wish I could Arnold…I'd risk all our safety with my age and all those drugs Victor doped me up with…"

Gerald piped in, "What about Charlie?" he said putting his hand on Charlie's shoulder. Charlie just winced in fright.

"Using a kid to blow up propane tanks from a hundred feet away? Isn't that what soldiers are fore?" Bob said.

"Hey, Charlie's the best slingshot gunner I've had the privilege to train. You remember those sessions back at PS 220?" Gerald asked Charlie.

"Barely…I don't even have my slingshot with me, I left it at the house."

"There's nothing to it little man, you just aim, breath and pull the trigger." Jamie said, kneeling down to Charlie's level.

"Jamie, you're gonna let a kid fire a gun?!" Torvald said with shock.

"It's all we've got. If he's a good shot, he's a good shot."

"I'm not a kid anymore Torvald, you think I've been running this entire time when all this started happening?" Charlie piped in.

"That and shoving chocolate down your throat 24/7." Torvald snickered. Charlie snapped and charged right at him.

"Hey hey!" "break it up!" "Guys that's enough" erupted from the crowd.

"STOP!" Arnold finally cried as Bob and Miles tore Torvald and Charlie apart, respectively.

"I'll kill you! You son of a bitch! I'm done with the taunting, I'm not a kid!" Charlie kept screaming and hollering, kicking as Miles held him back, continuing to holler, "Fuck you, I can handle myself, this is ridiculous, I've had it with everybody, fuck all of this!" The cursing only intensified, Charlie had a lot of rage built up in him. Then all of a sudden he stopped, almost like an invisible needle stuck him with sleeping medicine. His voice lowered in intensity, his eyes grew drowsy, dark circles forming under his eyelids and he fell to the floor. Thankfully Miles still held onto him and gently let him fall.

"Charlie? Charlie?" Arnold said, running to his side.

"What happened to him?" Sid asked.

"Just passed out, Charlie, hey buddy, talk to us kid, we need you." Miles said, shaking his shoulder and tapping his cheek.

"Is it the younger kid that passed out?" uttered a voice from the office. Everybody turned towards the door. Miles got back on his feet and walked towards the door. Arnold took his dad's place, checking Charlie's pulse and breath. Miles entered the office and saw Victor, the chair turned with its back towards Miles, Victor looked out onto the compound. All his work was destroyed as he watched the infected roam the compound like little ants five stories off the ground.

"You know what's wrong with him, don't you." Miles said.

"Let's say I have no intelligence on what's not wrong with the kid…" Victor replied with a very snarky attitude. Miles charged him, furious at his mind tricks. Miles spun him around in the chair and got in his face.

"Stop playing games you son of a bitch. What's wrong with him."

"You see the scar on his leg?" Victor said. Miles stayed silent, and looked back out, he could see Arnold still looking over Charlie's unconscious body, "The kid's got a bite. I'd say from the process of the healing tissue, he's had it for three months at least."

"That's impossible, bites would infect the entire body in seconds, there's no way Charlie got bit by an infected" Miles responded.

"Then why is he passed out with that scar turning all green? Why did he fling himself after Corporal Torvald so easily?" Victor replied, again very monotone and condescended. Miles began to speak but only choked on his words, "You wanna know? You're gonna have to do something for me…"

Just then, Arnold, with all the fury, for all the pain this man has caused him, charged into the office and ran right up to Victor where he grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and shook him violently.

"You son of a bitch, stop with the games. Don't you realize what you're doing to us? Do you even care that this little 'accident' of yours could wipe out the entire human race? And you still want to toy with us!" Arnold erupted.

"Son, you've been through so much, you've experienced things you couldn't and continue to not be able to comprehend. What about those images that buzz through your head? How you were able to find your long lost love. Tell me, what helped you get out of that miserable hellhole you people call home."

"It's called Hillwood.." Bob growled, his fists clenched, ready to slug this man into the dirt.

"Arnold…do you have any idea of what's really going on here? Do you even remember what happened to you and your friends all those years ago? Are you understanding me now son?" Victor said. Miles pulled Arnold away from him.

"Don't call him son..you answer to me and leave him alone." Miles said.

"Charlie is not well. He's been bitten and none of you even wonder why he hasn't turned.

"I've thought about it plenty of times." Arnold said.

"Arnold, please." Miles said.

"You wanna find out what's wrong with him, fine. I'm betting you also wanna know why Arnold is a psychic all of a sudden, or why our boy Gerald here can light stuff on fire with his hands…"

"You know about all that?" Arnold said. Miles just stood there in shock, this was all news to him.

"You wanna go to FTi Alpha? That's fine by me, destroy everything I've worked for in all those years. But you gotta make sure I don't get torn to shreds by the bureaucracy there, that is…if they're still alive." Victor said. Miles and the others looked around, making eye contact with one other, completely puzzled.

Arnold looked at Helga who looked at him, assuredly and nodded to him. Arnold smiled ever so slightly, realizing he had everything he's needed, except for one thing, safety.

Then Victor said, "You want to 'save the world'? You're going to need me alive."

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To Be Continued