(A/N: The sword/shield combo pros and cons was recommended by Vernon Hediger)
You now returned to the warehouse, Ulrich was working on his swordsmanship. "Hey guys!" Jeremie yelled. Peter, who had Max Brooks' book on his face, while sleeping woke up.
"What?" Peter muttered, rubbing his eye. "I just read some disadvantages to the sword and shield combination."
"Like…" Ulrich asked. "For example, if you buy a sword from an ad on a website, like the kind on actually, that say "Battle Ready" are good for plays and renaissance fairs, and will break in mid-battle. Single handed swords might not have the power to sever a head, and two handed swords, you won't be able to use a shield or open a door."
"Now, on to the fun stuff," Peter said, sitting up. "Release the new subject!" Odd called out, making you all jump a mile and a half.
"ODD!" Peter yelled, "We all agreed we would announced when we entered a room!" Just then the a voice rang, chuckling, "Guys it the girls don't shoot!" The three girls walked into the room where in skintight HAZMATS suits.
The boys blushed slightly. Ulrich cleared his throat and said, "Yeah, h-here's another tip, always keep communication, you don't want to get jumpy/trigger-happy and blow or cut, and bash in an ally's head ."
"Anyway, release the new subject." Eleanor called. Peter walked up and pushed a cart with a large, rusted metal can.
There was a key pad and a little window, showing a green-yellow colored mist. You were about to open it canister via keypad, but Peter grabbed you're wrist. "I wouldn't, not in this room, not now."
Jeremie put on a baggy HAZMAT suit and attached the helmet. Aleita also put on a helmet. The two pushed the cart into a HAZMAT room, and closed the sealed door.
The fans turned on instantly. "Now," Jeremie said via communicator in the helmet, "We're going to do one of the most dangerous things imaginable, ready Pete?"
Peter was behind some weird looking gun, the hole where the nozzle went through was also sealed. He put on a head set and said, "Ready you two,"
Aleita broke the glass over the keypad and hit the keys. The light near the keypad went from red to green. The two ran strait to the door. The tack opened up and a badly decayed corpse popped out and stepped out of the tank.
"BRAINS!" the monster yelled. "Peter now!" Aleita yelled. You hear the gun charge, fire, and the stiff fell down.
The two sprinted out of the door and slammed it shut, while Ulrich locked it remotely.
"This is 2-4-5 Trioxin," Eleanor stated. "The gas brings the dead back, and can turn the living into the dead." Peter said.
Jeremie took it upon himself to put in details. "It was created by the U.S. government as an herbicide, to kill marijuana. But when they used it, it made dead human bodies, that were buried under there or something, started to twitch like they were alive. Well they were. So the U.S. government has shipped it away to a base. But someone found it, multiple time and caused new outbreaks.
"Then the U.S. tried to make a way to tame them for military uses, which is why that gun Peter used is here," Jeremie gestured to the gun.
"But since the gun only temporarily stuns them, they tried to use and exoskeleton, with a little lever, that when pulls down, stuns them. This failed too. So the U.S. made a weaker version, called Trioxin-5, so that way if they get out of hand, they could be easy to kill."
(A/N: The back-story has been explained in the films)
"Now remember everything we told you?" Yumi asked. You nodded. "Well forget it all, metaphorically."
You looked at the characters confused. "2-4-5 Trioxin zombies are juggernauts, knocking their heads off will only create a living body and head. The severed parts of the body will continue to move about, searching for human brains. Hey Peter, why do they eat brains?"
Peter then answered, "Some attributes is the sole thing that give gratitude while their bodies begin do molder on a cellular level."
Odd then stated, rolling his eyes, "Laymen terms please?" Jeremie simplified, "It's the only pleasure they have that eases the pain of decaying."
"Now, the gas that makes them, is at its most powerful when it's in gas form. A human can become a Trioxin zombie by inhaling the gas which slowly kills/reanimates them simultaneously, or being bitten." Aleita stated.
"Here are the only ways to kill them, either by burning them to ashes, or electrocute them. Electrocution is more recommended though, since the fire makes a smoke, which can be inhaled and cause that person to zombify." Odd stated.
Peter then stated, "And if that's not bad enough, if there are clouds in the sky, it'll absorb the smoke and create Trioxin laced rain, while it's not strong enough to zombify the living, only feeling a burning if it hits you, but is still potent enough to reanimate corpses in the ground."
Aleita then stated, "The major differences between these ghouls and the others we dealt with is that they're intelligent, capable of speech (even though it's mainly about eating the brains of the people they're talking to) even with a decent amount of tissues decayed and can use tools. They can even recollect things from their past life, the best example is towards the end of Return of the Living Dead 3.
"Trioxin zombies in general can run at human speed and can do anything physically a human can do, if they aren't badly decayed, like running, jumping, climbing (note, the other zombies could climb, but with great difficulty), and even driving vehicles.
" Now here is the difference between the two versions of Trioxin. 2-4-5 Trioxin create juggernaut zombies, while Trioxin-5 creates ghouls so weak, it makes Solanum look tough."
Eleanor's cell rang. "Hello? Wha- ok. Don't worry hon., we'll be there." She closed the phone.
"Who was it?" you asked. "A kid who need our services." Odd then asked, "Why did you call him hon.?" Peter then answered, "So they fell calm." "That and it's a little boy."
Yumi responded, "Poor kid, this could traumatize him
"Loads of 2-4-5 Trioxin has been reported in the north eastern U.S. area." Eleanor continued.
"Hiroki, Milly, Johnny, we're going to do a mission so dangerous, we need to play Weird Al just to enjoy it. We'll be back in a bit!" Yumi called.
So you and the others had to listen to Weird Al…and Peter yelling "America!" at random points.
That is until Yumi yelled, "WE GET IT! YOU'RE AMERICAN! AND PATRIOTIC! JUST PLEASE….SHUT UP!"
Then Peter just muttered, "AMERICA!" to himself. When they finally reached the city they were already starting to see Trioxin rain clouds emerge from the darkness. Peter then said his first normal volumed word, "Dear god!"
"BRAINS!" yelled a zombie Yumi hit while driving (it was on the window shield) Yumi then yelled, "Crap!" Yumi slammed on the brake and sent the decaying monster flying.
When Yumi stopped the car, you all grabbed you're appropriate weapons and some guns. "Remember all the crap we told you a head of time, it'll save you're life here, and in your home universe."
You all saw a safe house, built similar to a bomb shelter. "Oh yeah, bomb shelters are awesome places to hide, they hold tons of supplies, and since they can hold back bombs, zombies no problem." Odd explained.
Jeremie then ordered, "Peter, Eleanor, get into the shelter, and protect those people with your lives."
Peter and Eleanor saluted him and said, "Yes sir!" The duo ran and knocked on the door, and started planning ways to prove they were human, (or in Eleanor's case half-human).
You and the others started to run into the forest and looking for those canisters. The dark clouds began to drop the rain.
As you've been told, the rain caused a painful burning on any exposed skin.
Jeremie took a gadget, similar to the one Peter had the last How to Survive… story.
"The Trioxin is still a long way away." Jeremie said, shaking his head.
After about another hour of walking you finally said, "Ok, is it just me, or has their been no zombie issues?"
Aleita then said, "They probably found brains to eat." Yumi then pointed and said, "Look! A house, Jeremie trace the call!"
Jeremie took out his laptop, and hacked into Eleanor's phone.
"Yes, that's the house where the call was made." You then asked out of genuine curiosity, "Hey Jeremie, how do always manage to get an internet signal, no matter where you go?"
"Uh….um…..magic."
You and the others stormed the house. No sign of the undead. Aleita's phone vibrated in her pocket. "Hello? Yeah we're at the house. What, you mean that the person's family is there. OK, we'll try not get eaten and zombified. Ok, bye."
"Who was that?" you asked. "Peter, the boy's family is at the bomb shelter. Let's get him." You and the others crept up the stairs and looked for the boy. "Nothing yet." Ulrich whispered.
The looked around the corner to see a decaying corpses, with only a few scrapes of skin and muscle on its bones, trying to force open a door. It would pull it open a few centimeters, only for it to forced close by a person inside the room.
Ulrich aimed his pistol and fired several rounds into the monster's head. The zombie moaned slightly in pain, turned around, saw you all and screamed "BRAINS!" Aleita fired her shot gun, sending it flying over the railing.
Jeremie was about to knock on the door, but Aleita stopped him. "He needs a mother figure for now."
Aleita knocked on the door. "Hello, is anyone there." The door opened, a small boy about six years of age. "Don't worry we're the people you called, a couple of friends of ours are with your parents." Jeremie went down stairs. Smoke went up from the ground.
Jeremie sprinted upstairs and said, "Yeah, so I just sliced off the body into pieces, shoved them into bags, crammed the bags into a garbage barrel and lit the bags on fire, so I recommend we get the he…heck out of here." Jeremie said, watching his language in front of the child.
Yumi carried the boy, as Jeremie lead the group. As soon as the door opened, a large mob of zombies were outside.
"Get their BRAINS!" a zombie yelled. The boy yelled and buried his face into Yumi's shoulder.
Jeremie slammed the door and locked it with the door lock and chain lock.
"OK, we can't get out that way." Odd said. Jeremie asked the boy, "Where did you find the canister of 2-4-5 Trioxin? The gas that made these monsters?" "In the back yard, a man who was fixing the pipes broke it with his shoovel."
The group could guess he said shovel, and ran outside. The tank was still there, leaking out gas. "There's the tank." Jeremie said, " Now to destroy it…"
Jeremie's cell vibrated. He put it speaker phone, "Hello?" Jeremie asked.
"Guys!" The voice, Peter's, rang, "The U.S. Secretary of Defense has ordered a full out bombing of that area!"
"What, but I thought they couldn't bomb a Trioxin infected area without a full evacuation!" Jeremie responded. "He's a politician Jeremie, I doubt he got his job from being truthful. This is why Dad never voted."
"OK, so how long do we have?" Odd asked. "About thirty minutes." Eleanor said. "That's not enough time!" Yumi yelled. The boy asked, "Are we going to be eaten?" Yumi looked at him, patted his back and said, "Don't worry hon., we're not going to get eaten."
"Get yourselves and the boy here, before the bombs go!" Peter said, hanging up.
A couple of zombies sprinted from behind the house and yelled, "The brains are over here!"
"We forgot to mention, they work in a community, telling others where to get brain, rather then taking them for themselves."
Aleita fired the shotgun and sent the duo of zombies flying. "Run." Jeremie whispered, trying not to attract the other zombies.
You and the others started to run. After just fifteen minutes you hear something dropping, and loud noises.
"Crap! They're already dropping bombs!" Jeremie yelled.
"Speed up!" Yumi yelled. After a few more minutes you finally made it to the bomb shelter. "Wow, that was shorter then when we came here." you said.
You enter the building and reunited the boy with his family.
You and the others regrouped with Peter and Eleanor. "So you're magic was back and you shortened the path?" Aleita asked.
"I couldn't have you guys kick it. If you die Lyoko498 will get more threats then he did when he made Artemis Fowl: Old Friend.
Cutaway:
Lyoko498 was on his laptop, logged on and saw a message was in his inbox.
"Huh, no name."
He clicked it and read it.
"If you continue to write Artemis Fowl: Old Friend, then I'll cut you up so bad, you'd, you'd wish I no cut you up so bad."
"Oh crap those cockroaches know who I am!"
End Cutaway
(A/N: No I was never threatened by anyone for Artemis Fowl: Old Friend…especially not cockroaches…yet.)
"After about an hour of the land being bombed, everyone was finally able to leave the shelter.
Again the group walked you to the dimensional "curtains". "Well this was fun, we got a lot more done then the last time," Jeremie said.
"Maybe if Lyoko498 can think of another thing, we might have another How to Survive a… story." Peter said.
The group waved by as you returned to reality.
The End