.
Zombies!
"Welcome, people, to our annual fundraising Graduate Sleepover," Barkin said into the microphone, quieting down the chatting students in the auditorium. "A group of former students of Middleton High will be spending a weekend in the school. No cells, no computers, no electronics, no internet, nothing but the food in their bags and the clothes on their backs!" The students gasped like it was the most horrific thing they'd ever heard. Barkin turned to the seated participants. "Some of you may not make it, you poor, weak, pathetic generation, but for every hour that passes, the school will donate ten dollars per vote in your respective ballot box to whichever school event you represent! Felix Renton, science club; Josh Maney, jazz band; Bonnie Rockwaller, cheerleading. Ron Stoppable, sports; Tara, field trips; Monique, school dances; and Amelia, school committees and planning!" The students in the auditorium cheered. Grinning, the graduates waved at them all.
"Booyah! This is the bon diggity bomb!" Ron said to Monique.
"You said it," she agreed, grinning excitedly.
"Ugh, whatever. Let's just get this torture over with," Bonnie said, checking her nails.
"Come on, Bonnie, lighten up. It could be fun," Tara prompted, squeezing her friend's arm.
"Yo Ron, Felix, snackage hunt, tonight?" Josh said, pointing at the other two boys.
"Oh yeah. We'll raid the cafeteria and home ec," Felix said, pumping his fist in the air.
"Oh, oh, and the vending machines! And the teacher's lounge!" Ron added.
"Right on," Josh said. "Hey uh, where's Kim?"
"Swamped with homework. Why?" Ron replied, frowning at Mankey somewhat warningly.
"Uh, no reason dude," Josh replied, catching onto the spike of jealousy and turning away from Ron so as not to appear threatening. "Hey Felix, what about Zita?"
"Robot Rumble. She and Justine Flanner made plans," Felix replied.
"They're friends? Zita and Justine?" Ron asked.
"Well, kind of," Felix replied with a smile. "I mean, Justine's sort of stand-offish, but Zita is good at drawing people out, y'know? Hey, what about those friends of yours from Japan?"
"Oh, they went with Master Sensei to a secret cave so they could practice the ancient, mystical arts of the ninja," Ron replied, waving it off. Goodness knew they deserved the break after… well, enough said. The others stared at him blankly, blinking. "Ooh, right. I mean they do martial arts! Yeah, call the teacher Sensei and everything. A real traditional type, oh boy." Monique rolled her eyes hopelessly at the lame excuse for a coverup.
"Are you ready people?" Barkin asked them.
"Yes sir!" they all replied, saluting.
"Then set up! You'll be solo in T minus ten minutes. Move, move, move!" Barkin said. Immediately they scrambled to do so.
KP
It was around sunset when the last of the students and faculty finally left the school, leaving the seven graduates alone. "Guys, this is gonna be so eerie," Josh said, eyes glittering with excitement.
"Yeah! Just like a horror movie," Felix agreed, lingering over Ron and making scary gestures.
"Dude, so not in the mood," Ron said with an unimpressed frown, unaffected.
"You don't scare as easily as you used to," Tara teased Ron, leaning against Josh.
"Considering what they went through not even a couple of months ago, no duh," Bonnie replied. It went utterly silent and Bonnie frowned a bit before realizing her mistake and starting. "Ooh, um, I-I mean..." she began.
"It's fine! I'm totally cool. Totally," Ron cut off. He sounded a bit strained though. Rufus poked out his head, chattering at him in concern. "I'm fine!" Ron insisted.
"You know, it's okay to not be," Josh sympathetically said.
"I'm fine!" Ron insisted. Silence again. Ron let out a slow, slightly shaking breath. "Look, I'm doing mostly okay. It's the other guys I'm worried about. Hirotaka didn't seem the worse for wear at first, but then he started not sleeping well and there were the nightmares... He's dealing, but it's not easy on him, y'know?" Not necessarily for the reasons most of the others here thought, though. Ron's best guess was that guilt was finally starting to eat the guy up. By now Hirotaka had realized the magnitude of what he'd done, and that realization was probably destroying him emotionally even more than being kidnapped and drugged by traffickers was. "Then there's the whole Fukushima thing... I don't even know with him. He seems to be taking it pretty okay, he's stubborn like that, but I mean, he's carrying around a lot of mental baggage right now. The scars aren't all physical, but he'll pull through! Right?"
There was silence. "At least you guys have recovered physically I guess. More or less," Tara said in an attempt to break said silence.
"Girl, it's the emotional recovery that's the concern," Monique said.
"Hey, enough with this depressing stuff. Let's have some fun," Felix said, changing the subject. They were all getting bummed out now. It was time to switch things up.
"Yeah. Let's get this party started," Josh said, smiling.
5:00 AM
Ron lay on his back, arms folded behind his head as he stared up at the roof with bags heavy under his eyes. He hadn't slept at all. His monkey senses kept telling him that something was wrong, but he didn't know what or where the problem could even be. Ugh, he hated not being able to sleep. Hey, maybe he could be adventurous and sneak out to get them all some breakfast for the morning! The others were still fast asleep as far as he could tell, and no one would have to know he'd even left the school. Yeah, he could do that. "Hey Rufus," he whispered, looking over. Rufus was fast asleep, snoring adorably. He smiled a bit and couldn't bring himself to wake the little guy. Getting up, he picked his pet up and slipped the still-sleeping molerat into his pocket.
Quietly he tiptoed his way to the window and began prying it open. "Ron?" a voice asked.
Ron caught his breath, eyes widening, and looked nervously back. Josh was sitting up blinking blearily and frowning curiously at him. "Um, I just, uh, f-fresh air?" Ron said.
Josh raised an eyebrow then smirked a bit in some amusement. "Hey, don't sweat it. Your secret's safe with me," he said. Ron relaxed a bit and smiled before slipping out of the window. Josh sighed and lay back down, pushing the heels of his palms into his eyes. Five in the morning? Seriously? Oh well. Maybe he could catch a few more winks before it got too bright out.
KP
As his footsteps echoed down the empty street, Ron looked uneasily around. It was weirdly quiet. Not even a car in sight. The ones he spotted were just, well, still. And empty. Even if they were in the middle of the road. What, had this part of town been evacuated or something? An unsettled chill raced up his spine and he picked up the pace a bit.
Reaching his house, he entered and called, "Mom, dad, I'm home! Just here to grab some snackage!" No reply. He frowned a bit. "Mom, dad?!" he called again. He waited. Still nothing. "Huh. That's weird," he said, scratching his head in confusion. All of a sudden he heard Hana shrieking wildly! Almost as if she was dying! Ron stiffened and paled, shivers racing up and down his spine. Rufus gasped, jerking awake. "Hana!" Ron cried, racing towards her room. He burst inside only to find her sobbing and weeping and screaming. Worried, he ran to her and picked her up. "Shh, shh, it's okay baby sis. See? Big brother's right here!" Ron cooed, rocking her. She refused to be settled, but a while back Hirotaka had taught him a song that always calmed the baby down without fail. The night he had, Hana had been weeping in Ron's arms. He hadn't been able to soothe her and Hirotaka, hearing his baby sister crying, had come in and told him about the song, then had taken the infant into his arms and sung it to her. Almost immediately Hana had been soothed to sleep. Ron had been awed and asked the ninja to teach it to him, so Hirotaka had done so.
While Ron wasn't much of a singer, he was good enough. Gently he began singing the melody to Hana as he examined her. There didn't seem to be anything wrong. She wasn't wet, she wasn't hurt, but she was still whimpering. He didn't like this. All at once, she shrieked again, pointing. Ron spun around and gasped. There stood his parents, swaying in place. They looked normal enough at first, but their eyes were glazed and they were growling and hissing. Ron gaped in horror. Why did they look like the walking dead? "M-m-m-mom? D-d-d-dad?" he asked, backing away. All at once they shrieked and attacked! Ron screamed in terror and dodged out of the way. "Zombies!" he blurted.
"Zombie, zombie, zombie!" Rufus urgently said, pointing.
Ron dodged a second attack and raced passed his parents and out the door. He fled the house as quickly as possible, holding his baby sister close. His heart pounded out of his chest. He had to find Kim! She was home for the long weekend too, so thank goodness for that. What was even going on here? Zombies? Granted they didn't look dead, but there was definitely something weird happening to his parents! Oh no. What if others were like this? What if Kim was?! He almost panicked and picked up the pace. Hana gurgled in excitement. So innocent and naïve. He wished he could be as oblivious.
He burst into his girlfriend's house without even stopping to wonder why no one was in the kitchen. Both Drs. Possible were early risers. He raced up to KP's bedroom, crying, "Kim!"
Kim jerked awake, gasping. "Ron, what is it?" she immediately demanded, leaping out of bed. "Drakken? Aliens? Giant killer toys?"
"Zombies!" he replied.
She blinked blankly at him. There was silence for a long and awkward moment. "Zombies?" she finally repeated, incredulous. "Are you having nightmares again?"
"No, Kim, seriously, my parents just tried to eat me!" he exclaimed. "I took Hana and ran for my life!"
"Ron, are you feeling okay?" she asked.
"Yes!" he insisted.
"Okay, I'll come check it out, but if this is another hallucination produced by a naco binge, I'm going to open a whole can of cheer-fu on you," she said.
"Cheer-fu? Is that even a word?" he asked.
"Ron!" she shot, grabbing his arm and pulling him downstairs. "Mom, dad, I'll be back in a bit! Going to scare away the boogeyman for Ron."
"Mock if you will, but when the world goes to Hades in a hand-basket you'll see!" Ron said. He guessed it did sound pretty unbelievable, but still!
KP
All at once, there was a vicious scream. The two gasped and spun. Kim's eyes widened. "Mom!" she cried. The woman suddenly lunged at them, murder in her eyes.
"Zombie!" Ron exclaimed. "KP, run!" He grabbed her arm and pulled the shocked girl away.
"But this... she... This isn't happening!" Kim said in shock. Suddenly James leaped out in front of them and grabbed at the two. Rufus, Kim, and Ron screamed and ducked under the attack. Hana started shrieking and crying in fear. Kim seized her boyfriend's arm and dragged him into the garage. She threw him into her car, vaulted over it herself, and got into the driver's seat. Just then the tweebs sprang from the darkness, landing on the vehicle with eyes dull and dangerous. "Jim, Tim!" Kim cried.
"Drive!" Ron ordered, hitting the gas. The twins fell off. Kim screamed and looked quickly back, afraid they were hurt. The two staggered up immediately and began to run after the car along with the Drs. Possible. "Kim, head to the school! Josh, Felix, Monique, Bonnie, Tara, and Amelia are there!" Ron said to her.
"This can't be happening!" she said in shock, gripping the wheel.
"It's happening KP!" Ron said.
Middleton High
Josh yawned, waking up. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. Amelia was awake now. Spotting him, she smiled. "Morning Mankey," she said.
"Hey," he replied, smiling in turn. He looked to where Ron had been and frowned a bit. He wasn't back yet? Weird. Shrugging it off, he looked over at the girls and smiled, crawling across the floor and to Tara's side. Gently he began to shake her. She mumbled tiredly. "Come on, sleepy head. Rise and shine," he teased. He bent and kissed her cheek gently.
Tara's eyes fluttered open and fell on him. A small smile crossed her lips. "Mmm, I like waking up like this," she said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around his neck. She put on a cute pout. "But why so early?" He chuckled and nuzzled her nose with his.
"Ugh, spare us," Bonnie grumbled, awakened by all the activity. Needless to say, she was unimpressed. And grumpy.
"Sorry Bonbon, we didn't mean to wake you," Tara apologized, disentangling herself from her boyfriend.
"Whatever," Bonnie said. She looked around and frowned in confusion. "Where's Stoppable?" she asked.
Tara and Amelia started and looked around as well. They hadn't even noticed he wasn't there. "Huh. That's strange. You don't think he would have given up already, do you?" Tara asked.
"Nah. He might not act like it, but Ron's a pretty tough cookie when he wants to be," Josh said. "He probably just went to scrounge for more food."
Amelia got to her feet. "We should find him and help him out with that," she said, dusting her hands off.
"Whatever. Let's go," Bonnie said, crossing her arms.
KP
Kim and Ron screeched to a stop next to the school. They ran towards it quickly, bursting inside. People were beginning to appear on the streets, and they all had the same look about them. "We have to get as many uninfected as possible together. This has to be the work of a mad scientist," Kim said. By now she'd recovered from the shock and was kicking into mission mode.
"Air-born disease, Kim! Don't you watch the movies?" Ron demanded.
"Ron, zombies weren't even originally created through disease! They were just the walking dead. Literally! Whatever this is, it's not some supernatural phenomenon. It's a mad scientist thing. Has to be," Kim said as they ran through the halls. All at once, they ran into Bonnie, who yelped and fell to the ground.
"Hey, watch it!" Bonnie shot.
"Bonbon, you're okay!" Kim exclaimed in relief.
"Depends on what you call okay. Ouch," she complained as she rubbed her backside and took Kim's outstretched hand, allowing her old cheer captain to help her up.
"Sorry. Huge emergency. Where are the others?" Kim asked.
"Josh, Tara, Amelia, and I went searching for naco boy. We decided to split up to cover more ground. Where have you been, Stoppable?" Bonnie demanded.
"Trying to survive!" Ron replied. Hana gurgled.
"What are you talking about?" Bonnie demanded.
"No time, Bonnie. We have to warn the others," Kim insisted.
"Ugh, fine," she grumbled, sulkily leading them towards the gym where they'd been camped out.
KP
The group listened to Kim and Ron's story in shock and disbelief. The two heroes finished their narration and there was silence and blank stares all around. "Uh, Ron, are you feeling okay man?" Felix finally asked, sounding incredulous.
"What? Yes! Kim saw them too!" Ron insisted, pointing at her.
"Girlfriend, you been studying too hard again?" Monique asked, approaching Kim worriedly.
"Monique!" Kim protested.
"Ugh, I knew they would crack one day," Bonnie said, rolling her eyes. She didn't have time for this nonsense.
"We're serious! Look outside!" Ron insisted, pointing to the window. The others exchanged looks but went to it nonetheless and peered out. The streets were empty.
"Uh, we don't see anything," Tara said.
"What? But-but they were just there!" Ron exclaimed.
"Ooh!" Bonnie angrily said. "How about you two do us a favor and get out of here? Go see, like, a psychiatrist or something."
"But it's true!" Kim exclaimed. "Monique, we're serious!"
"Kim, I wanna believe you, but…" Monique began. She looked out the window at the empty streets. Yeah, she just didn't see it. Turning back to Kim, she said, "Look, as soon as this fundraising thing is done, you and I are goin' to the spa."
"But, but, but…" Kim began.
"Out!" Bonnie shot.
"Sorry Ron, but for once I'm agreeing with Bonnie. You need to chill and sort out… whatever this is," Felix agreed, looking a bit concerned.
"Oh come on! Amelia? Josh? Anyone?" Ron said.
"Are you sure Drakken and Shego aren't behind this? Maybe they spiked you with some sort of hallucinogenic agent," Amelia said in some concern.
"We haven't seen Drakken and Shego for weeks!" Kim protested. "Josh?"
Josh hesitated a bit. "I mean, they seem pretty convinced," he said.
"Seriously Mankey?!" Bonnie demanded.
"Look, I'm just saying the last time no one believed Ron, Middleton ended up under attack by giant Little Diablo toys!" Josh defended, putting his hands up in a pacifying gesture.
"Yes! Thank you!" Ron said.
"Then you go chill with the losers and leave the rest of us to our little fundraising thingymabob," Bonnie said.
"But…" Kim began.
"Come on, Kim, they don't believe us. We'll show them!" Ron said, taking Kim's arm and pulling her out.
KP
Kim and Ron exited the school in defeat, heads hung low. "They-they didn't believe me," Kim said in disbelief.
"Hey, it's not so bad! I mean, welcome to my world," Ron dryly joked.
All of a sudden an explosion rang out, shaking the ground so violently that Kim and Ron were thrown to it with cries of alarm. Quickly they looked back, eyes wide in horror. The high school was billowing smoke and collapsing in on itself! "Monique!" Kim cried, leaping up.
"Felix, Josh!" Ron echoed. They tried to run back but stopped short and shielded their faces when the entire right wing of the school, including the gymnasium, collapsed in on itself!
"No!" Kim exclaimed, reaching towards it.
"What happened?!" Ron exclaimed in horror.
"A boiler or gas line or something must have blown! Amelia, Monique, Bonnie, Tara, Felix, Josh!" Kim shouted, racing towards the rubble.
"The Janitor is a zombie! He did it!" Ron blurted, following her.
"I can't believe I'm actually buying into that theory!" Kim said.
Reaching the rubble, they began frantically digging through it. "Monique, Felix, guys, answer us!" Ron called frantically.
All at once, Kim unearthed a hand. "Monique!" she cried in fear. Quickly she began digging even faster. All at once, the girl's head was released and Monique came up coughing and gasping for breath.
Suddenly a wheelchair broke through the rubble right in front of Ron, Hana, and Rufus! "Bah!" Ron exclaimed, falling back. He gasped right after. Felix was hovering and coughing right in front of them, Bonnie on his lap and choking as well! Bonnie slipped off of Felix and shrieked in horror.
"Bonnie, are you hurt?" Kim quickly asked.
"Worse! My designer pajamas are in ruins!" she wailed. Kim blinked blankly and frowned, unimpressed. Felix landed his chair, rolling his eyes.
"Wh-what happened? Where are the others?" Monique asked weakly, terror in her eyes.
"Zombies made the gas blow up!" Ron said.
"Ron, there are no…!" Monique began. She froze, though, on seeing a crowd of people shambling slowly towards the rubble. "Zombies…" she squeaked, paling. Bonnie and Felix looked curiously over and gasped. Bonnie screamed covering her mouth.
"Oh man, we have to find Amelia, Josh, and Tara and get out of here!" Felix exclaimed.
"What if they didn't make it?" Monique fearfully asked.
"No, Tara can't be gone!" Bonnie insisted. "She's like, my best friend!" And probably her only true one too, but she wasn't admitting that out loud.
"We're not giving up on them! No one's getting left behind," Kim said.
"I don't know if we're gonna have time," Monique tightly said, pointing at the nearing zombies.
"We have to try!" Kim insisted, throwing herself at the rubble and starting to dig again. the others quickly hurried to help.
All of a sudden a hand shoved through the rubble and began to frantically dig. Ron gasped and dove for it, seizing it tight. "Over here!" he called out before starting to frantically dig while at the same time pulling. The others raced over to help, and soon out came Josh, gasping for air and coughing violently. "Josh!" Ron exclaimed.
"T-Tara! She's down there!" Josh said, scrambling out with Ron's help. "I threw myself over her when the school came down." He turned to look down and caught his breath. She wasn't moving! "Tara!" he exclaimed in fear.
Tara stirred a bit and groaned softly before raising her head weakly. "Josh?" she asked, voice hoarse. Josh went to try and get her, but Felix caused his chair to catch him, stopping him from doing so, then sent down another metallic arm to grab Tara and carefully lift her out of the hole. Josh gasped in relief. Thank goodness she was okay! Felix set them both down and Josh grabbed her in a tight hug. "Josh, wh-where's Bonnie? Where's Amelia and Monique and the others?!" Tara asked.
"Tara!" Bonnie exclaimed, running to her and hugging her friend tight.
"Bonbon, you're okay!" Tara said in relief, hugging her back.
"We're not gonna be for long! Where's Amelia?!" Monique demanded.
Just then a pile of rubble was broken through and Amelia scrambled out, screaming in desperation and terror. "Amelia!" Kim exclaimed, racing over with the others.
Amelia, shivering, was obviously trying not to go into shock. Desperately she drew as deep of breaths as she could, trying to calm down. She looked up and around and saw the others were okay, and that helped a bit but she was still freaking out. Hirotaka had taught her some mind tricks not long ago for calming down. She tried them as well and began to get her wits about her. Kim and Bonnie took her arms, helping her stand. "Y-you're all okay?" Amelia fearfully asked.
"Relatively," Josh replied.
"We're running outta time! We've gotta go! They're coming!" Monique screamed, pointing. The others looked quickly over, and those who hadn't seen the zombies already either screamed or gasped, backing quickly away from the figures now starting to climb the rubble.
"Wh-what the heck?!" Josh freaked.
"Oh my gosh, what's happening?!" Tara asked in terror, clinging to his shoulders.
"Run!" Amelia exclaimed.
Quickly they scrambled over the rubble, jumped off the other side, and began running away from the school as fast as they could. "I have to find my mom!" Felix exclaimed.
"Oh no, my parents!" Monique exclaimed.
"My family!" Bonnie cried. She may not have been on great terms with her sisters, but they were still her sisters! If anything happened to them, she didn't know what she would do! Immediately the three broke off from the rest of the crowd.
"Wait, Monique, Felix, Bonnie, we can't spit up! Guys!" Kim called after them.
"We have to go after them!" Josh said.
"Let's go!" Kim agreed.
"Who do we go after first though?!" Tara fearfully asked.
Just then they heard a scream and gasped, shivers racing up and down their spines. "That was Monique!" Kim exclaimed.
"Guess that answers the question then," Amelia said. Immediately they headed toward the scream.
KP
Monique knocked back another two zombies with a long stick she was using as a staff. Oh man, she never would have guessed she'd be grateful to Fukushima of all people, but right now she could have kissed his feet and the ground they tread upon for teaching her some bojutsu. As soon as she gained herself some space, she turned and ran like her life depended on it. Which it totally did.
"This way!" she heard a familiar voice call. Ron!
"Monique?!" she heard Kim shout right after.
"Over here!" Monique shrieked.
She raced around the corner and almost ran right into Kim! They both screamed in surprise, catching one another's arms, then recovered themselves. Kim gasped. "Monique, you're okay!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend. Hana squealed in delight.
"For now, but we gotta go! There's a hoard coming right behind me!" Monique said. Just then said hoard was heard stumbling and clattering down the alley at a faster pace than they had been so far. The group gasped, looking down it, and their eyes widened in horror. The pack was massive and only growing!
"Girl, I'm sorry I bolted. I panicked," Monique said to Kim, the two of them holding each others' hands tightly in fear.
"You weren't the only one," Kim replied.
"Run, I'll slow them down," Ron ordered, shoving Hana into Kim's arms.
"What? Ron…!" Kim began. She gasped as he began to glow blue, tapping into his powers.
"Whoa!" Josh said.
"I think we better do as kid monkey says," Monique said, backing away with Kim. Quickly they and the others turned and fled, leaving Ron to do his thing.
Ron watched the go then turned to the hoard and let out a monkey shriek, attacking them. He ripped through the swarm like a hot knife through butter. They hardly had a chance to scratch at him before he'd taken them out. In moments the zombies were downed. "Booyah!" Ron cheered himself before quickly flying after the others.
KP
Kim, Monique, Josh, Amelia, and Tara had stopped to rest, panting. Hana was laughing and gurgling in excitement. Rufus was collapsed on top of the baby trying to catch his breath. "Taken care of!" Ron suddenly said as he appeared and landed next to them.
"Ron!" Kim exclaimed, hugging him tightly. He held her back, grinning as he canceled his powers.
"We should get out of here before more come," Tara urgently said. "We still have to catch up with Felix and Bonnie!"
"Right," Kim said, reluctantly pulling away from her boyfriend. "Where do we start?"
"By finding a safe place to rest and regroup," Amelia replied.
"But there's no time to rest!" Tara protested.
"We can't go running off blindly either," Amelia said.
"Bueno Nacho!" Ron said.
"So not the time to be thinking of your stomach, Ron!" Monique protested.
"No, no, I think he's onto something. Bueno Nacho security is pretty tight. Ned doesn't kid around with the place," Josh said.
"Ned! Oh man, I hope he's okay!" Ron said.
"I'd worry more about us," Kim replied, pointing towards an oncoming hoard. Quickly they started to run again.
KP
They reached Bueno Nacho in about five minutes and raced inside only to slide to a stop with gasps, paling. It was in ruins! "No!" Monique exclaimed, covering her mouth.
Ron, stunned, sank to his knees. "Th-they ruined Bueno Nacho… NOOOOOOO!" he cried, dramatically raising his fists into the air. Quickly he got up and ran inside, searching the abandoned restaurant for some semblance of normality.
"A hoard must have come through," Kim numbly said, walking inside as well.
"Oh no, I hope nobody was eating here when they did. There's no way they would have gotten out!" Tara said, pale.
"Rufus, where are the nacos?!" Ron exclaimed. Rufus whimpered and came out from under some rubble holding a salsa packet. Ron gasped upon seeing it and tears sprang to his eyes. "Curse you zombie hoards!" he cried, again raising his fists dramatically into the air.
"Ned?" Josh called, carefully picking through the restaurant trying to keep an ear out for any hidden zombies or survivors.
"Ned, where are you?!" Monique shouted, searching the other side.
Ron blinked. Wait, what was he doing? Their friend, acquaintance, whatever Ned was, might be history, and he was mourning the nacos? He hurried to help the others search. "Ned, Ned! Dude, where are you?!" There was silence and soon the group met up in the middle, stress filling their eyes.
"He-he's gone…" Monique said, voice breaking.
"Everyone is gone," Kim replied in shock and denial.
"No... he can't be," Ron numbly said.
All at once, the freezer door creaked slowly open. They gasped, turning quickly fearing an attack. To their shock, though, out poked Ned's anxious and fearful head! "Ned!" they all exclaimed at once, racing towards him and practically dragging him out of the freezer as he gasped. Tightly they hugged him.
"C-can't breathe!" he stammered. The group instantly released him.
"You're alive!" Kim exclaimed.
"Barely!" he replied, terror written on his face. "Wh-when the zombies began attacking I tried to get everyone out, but it was too late! They were already being swarmed! I had to get away, so I slipped into the freezer where they couldn't find me, and believe me, they tried. What's even happening?!" he demanded, starting to tremble as the reality of this whole situation began taking hold of him.
"We only wish we knew," Kim solemnly answered.
KP
The group of seven walked the streets, each armed with some sort of weapon. "Where is everyone?" Monique wondered. "We can't be the only ones left!"
"If I may interject, if Felix ran off, he either went straight home or to the Robot Rumble. That's where Zita and Justine were," Ned said. "He probably went there to try and find them so he could bring them back to his place. He probably thinks they'll be safe there."
"Hmm, good call," Kim said. "We'd better hurry."
"I can bring you right to the rumble," Ned said, leading them toward the newest secret entrance to the 'underground club'. An abandoned subway station. "Be ready for anything," he said, leading them down the stairs toward the dark platform. "We have no idea what to expect down here. Zombies like the dark."
Kim turned on a flashlight apparatus and took the lead. The subway tunnels brought them deep beneath the city. Thus far, it had been uneventful. Ned soon tapped her shoulder and pointed towards a door. Kim aimed the flashlight that way and they all crawled off of the tracks and went to it. Ned quickly got them in looking nervous, and quietly they slipped inside.
Kim flashed the light around. "Hello? Anyone?!" Ned called out as loudly as he dared. He really didn't want to alert any shambling husks to their presence. They heard growling and groaning up ahead, but saw nothing. Swallowing nervously, they grouped up and advanced. "Oh this is bad. This is very, very bad," Ned fearfully said.
"What if they got infected and turned?" Ron asked fearfully.
"Don't say that. You'll jinx it," Monique tightly replied.
"Ned!" a voice suddenly called out. A girl's voice!
Ned gasped. "Justine!" he exclaimed, running ahead of Kim in the direction of the voice. The others followed him quickly. Rounding a corner, Ned ran into someone and cried out in alarm at the same time they did.
Quickly Kim shone the light on the newcomer and sighed in relief. "Justine!" she said.
"Kim, Ron, Monique, Josh, Amelia, Tara, Ned, you're all okay!" Justine exclaimed when she realized who they were.
"Quick, is there anyone else alive down here?" Monique asked.
"Felix and Zita. Follow me," Justine replied, walking off and beckoning for them to follow. She led them straight to the arena. There, next to the pit, were Felix and Zita, holding each other tightly and looking down into it. The others heard the growls coming from inside and made their way to the edge to look down. Below, a group of infected were groaning and moaning, trying to get out.
Josh lowly whistled. "What happened here?" he asked.
Felix and Zita, visibly upset, pulled apart. Felix gasped when he saw Ned, though, eyes filling with relief. "Ned, you're okay!" he exclaimed, rolling up to his friend.
"As okay as can be expected," Ned replied, pushing up his glasses a bit. "Are you?"
"Just fine, all things considered," Felix replied, looking back at the pit. He shuddered. "I got lucky."
"We all did," Zita said. "Justine and I were the first ones here. The others came later. They were acting weird. About halfway through the rumble, they began to shriek and groan and growl and attack us! While we were trying to get away, Felix came and tried to help, but we were starting to get overwhelmed!"
"Then Justine came up with a plan to trap them down in the pit. My wheelchair was the key. We went down inside it, the zombies poured in after us, and just as they were about to attack, I grabbed Zita and Justine and flew us out of there. The zombies can't get out, so for now they're contained, but more might come," Felix finished.
"Then we need to get out ASAP. Come on," Kim said.
"We also need to find any other survivors before it's too late," Tara added, looking nervously around.
"We're with you," Zita and Justine said together.
"Jinx, you owe me a soda," Zita playfully said to Justine.
Justine looked ready to protest, but paused, considering this. "Hmm, meaningless games with no scientific basis? Intriguing. Very well, I'll buy you this 'soda.' If we survive."
"Deal," Zita said, shaking Justine's hand with a smile. Justine blinked, then smirked a little shyly in turn.
KP
The group walked out through the subway, disposing of any infected that came across them and thanking their lucky stars there wasn't another hoard to deal with. Finally, they made it back out onto the streets. The sun was beginning to set by now, and it was getting eerie. "Oh this is so creepy," Justine said, drawing closer to a pleasantly surprised Ned. Felix nudged his friend, smirking teasingly. Ned blushed deeply and gave him a reproachful look.
Zita wrapped her hand around Felix's. "Your wheelchair was malfunctioning. Will it be okay?" she asked, looking down at him.
"With any luck. Don't worry about me, Z. I'll be fine," Felix assured, squeezing her hand.
"I hope so," Zita agreed. "Man, this is just like that video game Left 4 Deceased."
Kim activated her Kimmunicator watch, trying to reach Wade. No answer. Only static. "Come on, come on... Wade, please pick up," she pled. No answer. She stared quietly at the screen then hung her head, turning off the watch. "He's not answering," she said.
"Do-do you think that he's gone?" Ron asked quietly.
She was quiet, staring at the ground. She didn't want to believe that. She wouldn't. But... "He always answers," she replied quietly.
Ron winced a bit. "Hey KP, this isn't your fault," he said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
Kim smiled gratefully at him. "We should keep moving. Someone has to still be alive," she said.
"But where do we go from here?" Tara fearfully asked, clinging to Josh.
"I have to check on my..." Felix began.
Before he could finish, there was a blood-curdling shriek. They all gasped. "Bonnie!" Tara exclaimed in alarm. Immediately the group raced to find her.
Bonnie suddenly tore from a side street, running like heck itself was on her heels. "Run!" she screamed at them, heading their way. They slid to stops and gasped on seeing the hoard that poured out behind her!
"Oh man, they just keep coming!" Ron said. "Take out one and like five more take its place!"
"Come on, let's make for my house," Felix said. "Maybe mom's DIY home defense system kept it safe!"
"Lead the way, dude," Josh replied. Turning, the entire group fled from the charging hoard.