That night, Sam had taken the bench next to Danny while Tucker and Jazz took another table entirely. Danny laid on his back and stared at the ceiling sleepily. He'd woken up hours before only to find everyone else fast asleep. His bandages slightly too tight, though he didn't notice before. However, the pressure made the cuts feel somewhat better. He wasn't going to complain, he'd been in worse conditions before. He made himself sit up, armed himself with his rifle and axe, and phased through the barricades on the door. He had a chill down his spine, feeling like he was being watched again. He looked around and found nothing. He shook his head, "I must be paranoid." He said to himself and looked for a convenience store he remembered passing on the way to the McDonald's. For the whole walk, he remained invisible, so the infected would leave him alone. He finally found himself in the Seven-Eleven and looked around for some more first aid, disappointed that they were already running out. He found a plastic grocery bag and began filling when he felt a handgun to the back of his head, "Here for medical supplies?" the voice said.
Danny dropped the bag and hesitantly put his hands up. He dared not turn around.
"Funny, I didn't see you come in." the voice said again, "You're not a normal human." He said, "You remind me of a chameleon, but I sense something else about you." The figure bumped the gun against Danny's head, "Turn around."
Danny turned around hesitantly to find himself staring into the chamber of the handgun. He looked up into the blank, whited-out eyes of the figure, finding that it was the mannequin figure that had been staring at him the night before. His blood ran cold and his breath was caught in this throat.
"Blue." The figure said, "I didn't get a good look at them earlier." He said, his finger was on the trigger and his hand held the handgun firmly to Danny's forehead, "I'm gonna go meet your friends."
Before the trigger was pulled, Danny went intangible and let the bullet pass through his head without any damage, he then grabbed his axe and swung at the arm holding the gun, slicing it clean off. The figure growled and rose a leg to kick Danny, who was now fully exposed and landed his foot on the cuts from the Witch. Danny barked in pain and felt another foot kick him into a pile of boxes and shelves.
The figure stood for a moment and waited to see Danny emerge from the pile. After seeing that he didn't, he smirked to himself and straightened up. Like scales, the figure's skin ruffled and changed shape and color and finally revealed himself as a one-armed Danny Fenton. He stumbled out of the building and made his way toward the McDonald's.
Sam laid on the bench and pulled her eyebrows together. She opened her violet eyes and shielded them from the blinding ray of light that shone through the window. She missed her bedroom curtains already. She got up and found the next bench over empty. "Danny?" she called quietly, assuming Jazz and Tucker were still asleep. She looked around and found that the lobby was dead silent. Jazz and Tucker slept soundly on their own bench. She watched them for a while, "That can't be comfortable." She muttered to herself. She made her way to the kitchen. Empty. The checked both restrooms. Empty. She even found the roof access and assumed Danny might've been sniping. Nothing. However, she heard moans and snarls outside. She approached the edge of the roof and found not a horde- but a swarm of infected surrounding the building. She gasped in horror, not sure as to how long the building will stay standing. Above all, Danny was among the horde, staring dead-eyed toward the building, and looking straight at her.
She froze in fear. In the back on her mind, she heard banging and his voice shouting. She turned around and looked for the noise. She shortly found herself back on the bench she awoke on and panted. Jazz and Tucker had jumped up and helped Danny in. Sam gasped to see Danny stumble in, one side soaked in blood, "D-Danny?" she asked in fear, realizing that only part of it was a dream.
"Danny, what were you doing out there by yourself?" Jazz asked horrified and took off his shirt, Danny growled in pain.
"Medical supplies." He panted.
"Where's your arm?" Sam asked fearfully.
"It was a Hunter, I lost my weapons and couldn't grab the supplies."
"Why didn't you use your powers?" Tucker asked, helping Jazz clean the wound.
"I couldn't…" he groaned, "They weren't working."
"Where's the Hunter?" Sam asked.
"I killed him." He said, starting to wobble side to side. "I managed to drop a couple shelves on him."
Jazz quickly wrapped Danny's shoulder, hands shaking as she treated who she thought was her brother with a missing limb. "Lie down." She carefully guided him down to his back. The three quietly watched him fall asleep. "No offense guys, but my brother's an idiot sometimes."
Sam watched him suspiciously, as did Jazz. Neither of them thought something was right. However, since the apocalypse, nothing was right anymore.
"How did he- a Ghost Kid, manage to lose his entire left arm?" Tucker asked.
"I was thinking the same thing." Jazz said. "But if his powers weren't working…"
"He's fast though." Sam said, "Even if his powers weren't working." Even if his powers weren't working, he might not have been able to escape a Hunter. She didn't want to believe it. She also didn't want to believe that one of her two best friends was missing an arm and would have to live the rest of his life without it.
"Let's… stay here for a bit. At least until he feels well enough to keep going." Jazz broke the silence.
"I agree." Tucker nodded.
"He shouldn't have even been up." Sam shook her head, "What was he thinking?"
"He should've had one of us come along." Tucker sighed.
Sam looked out the window and realized that the sun hadn't even risen just yet. "I'll watch him." She said, "You two go back to sleep." She said.
The two nodded, "Good night, Sam."
Sam sat and watched them go back to their claimed tables and lie back down on the benches. She then looked back over at Danny, unable to help but to stare at his shoulder. She sighed and made herself look away, still thinking that was just a messed-up prank that Danny somehow managed to pull off in order to scare them. She felt a lump in the back of her throat and let out a small sob. She took a deep, shaking breath and let it out slowly.
"Don't cry." Danny's voice said next to her. She looked over at him, all she saw were his lower legs hanging off the edge of the bench. "The Sam I know won't cry."
She managed a smirk, "The Danny I know, though, wouldn't have let something take off his entire arm." She replied.
He sighed. "Right…
"Just… how?" she asked, "How did it happen?"
"The Hunter caught me off guard." He said. "He bit my arm as he pounced on me and just took it off. I didn't expect for it to come off completely."
She furrowed her brows, finding it hard to believe, "Why didn't we hear anything?" she asked.
"I was at the 7-11 close to where that Witch was." He said.
"That's at least half a block from here." she looked away for a moment. "Why didn't you take one of us with you?" she asked.
He was silent for a while.
She sighed, "Please don't worry us like that again." She said, "All things considered, you're lucky to lose just your arm. Things could've been way worse."
He remained silent for a moment, "I'm sorry I worried you guys."
"As long as you're okay." She said. "Jazz decided to stay for a bit while you're recovering. Just until you feel okay enough to keep going."
"Okay." Danny nodded, "A little more sleep and I should be okay." He yawned. "Good night, Sam." He mumbled.
"Good night." She said, not believing he'd be okay to go the next morning. But before she knew it, he was on his feet and walking with the others that next morning, holding her halberd to protect himself. "So, tell me again- why are we going back down here?" She asked.
"The 7-11's packed with medical supplies. It looked like everyone ignored the place." He said.
Sam and Tucker looked at each other unsure. Jazz stood close to Danny's left side. she looked up and froze, "Guys? She asked, horrified.
"What?" Tucker asked, checking his PDA for something.
"Who's that?" she pointed.
Danny looked up and froze to see the real Danny approaching them, armed, and furious.
Sam looked at the Danny with them, then the Danny approaching them. "What the-?"
The one-armed Danny grunted in pain and dropped to his knees, dropping the halberd and grabbing what was left of his shoulder, he looked at his hand and noticed small traces of blood that was printed on his palm. He felt an arm go over his shoulders, "Are you okay?" Sam's voice asked, causing an evil smirk spread over his face, although hidden.
"No! Get away from him!" Danny's voice barked.
The fake Danny grabbed hold of the halberd beside him and hit Sam with the staff part, missing her with the blade. He then turned and sliced at Tucker, only cutting his shirt. When he turned to swing at Jazz, he was met face to face with the true Danny and had the halberd yanked from his hands. He backed away and avoided a swing from the blunt end of the weapon, instead getting shot in his right shoulder. His right arm was now useless. He growled and looked up at whoever had shot him: Tucker. He ran and threw his weight into Tucker's stomach.
Tucker fell backwards and used the shape-shifting zombie's momentum to throw him, finally seeing his true, naked, blank form. He flinched when he saw the zombie's head tilt to the side, a spray of blood and grey matter, and the body collapse to the ground with a dull thud. He turned around, realizing he'd been holding his breath, "What the hell was that?" he asked, almost yelling.
"The thing that was watching me." Danny said firmly and helped Sam to her feet. "We're calling that a Shifter." He said. Sam hugged him and nearly knocked him off balance. He looked at her confused and hugged her back, allowing Jazz to hug him as well. It took him a moment to realize that they were crying. "Guys, I wasn't gone that long." He said.
You're an idiot, Ghost Boy. The PDA said harshly.
Tucker slapped his pocket.
Sam backed away and slapped Danny, "Don't ever leave by yourself like that again!" she sobbed.
"We had no idea that wasn't you." Jazz said, her maternal instincts kicking in.
"Do you really think I'd let some zombie take off my whole arm?" he asked sarcastically and nursed his cheek.
Sam almost slapped him again, but hugged him instead, "Just… please take one of us with you next time." She said.
"Okay." He said.
Tucker pat his shoulder, "So… that other Danny said that the 7-11 was almost packed with medical supplies… was that bullshit too?" he asked.
"Not entirely." Danny held up a backpack that was full, "I had to cram whatever was in there in this bag." He said. "Luckily there was enough space in here."
"So we don't need to go to the 7-11?" Sam asked.
"And run into another Shifter? No." Danny shuddered, "That last one freaked me out." He started walking. The silence bugged Danny, even the PDA was silent. "I'm sorry I worried you guys." He finally said. "I shouldn't have put you guys through that."
Jazz smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "As long as you're okay."
"Yeah, at least you're not really missing an arm." Tucker said.
"Was that thing missing an arm when it attacked you?" Sam asked.
"Not at first." He said, "I took it off because he holding a gun to my head." He confessed.
Tucker squinted, "I've never seen a door like that before."
They all looked forward and found the same door he was staring at, "Let's check it out." Jazz said.
"Race ya." Sam smirked. She chuckled, "Come on, let's go!" she started running, as did the others as fast as they could.
Before long Tucker started gasping and wheezing, "Okay…" he panted, "You win…" he stumbled and leaned against a car to catch his breath. His heart, pounding in his ears was deafening to him. In fact, so deafening, that he didn't notice that the car was armed with an alarm. He froze, finally hearing the alarm and hearing the roar of a horde far off. He looked back the way they'd come from in horror and screamed.
Danny stopped at the doorway, being the second to reach it, and turned around to see the swarm of infected that was heading straight for Tucker. He started running and fired at as many of the zombies as he could, looking down for a second to reload and losing sight of Tucker among the infected. He searched frantically. "Tucker!" he shouted.
Sam was close behind him and shot the infect on the left while Danny took out the infected on the right. She looked over at Jazz, who was helping Danny on his side. She quickly thought for a moment, "Jazz! Take over Danny's spot and shoot on the far right, I'll keep shooting on the far left. Danny, you go in there and find Tucker and get him out of there."
Danny nodded and trusted Sam with her plan. Strapping his rifle to his back and equipping himself with his axe, he ran into the horde and chopped away at anything in his way. Doused in blood, he froze when he saw that Tucker was no longer standing by the car. "Tucker?!" she called.
Jazz butted away an infected and thought for a split second, "I'll be right back." She ran into the room that the door led to and found a jar of the green ooze that attracted the zombies to the Boomer's body. She aimed at a building and threw as hard as she could, sending the jar over the building. She looked back over at the horde and continued to shoot until she noticed that the zombies were running toward the jar of bile that she'd thrown.
Danny stumbled after being bumped harmlessly by the infected that ran passed him in a frenzy. He watched them run around the corner and vanish, some of them, tripping over a limp figure on the road in the middle of the mess. For a moment, he wasn't able to recognize the figure, but the familiar yellow sweater and red beret gave him away, "Tucker…" he gasped and ran to him, "Tucker!"
Sam and Jazz shortly met with them and froze.
Danny rolled Tucker to his back, "Tucker, say something." He commanded. After no response, he gently shook him, "Tucker!"
There was a second roar, a deep, growling bellow as the ground shook violently. The conscious three looked up and saw Dash, inhuman and charging right for them.
"Guys." Danny started, eyes not leaving the lumbering figure, "Get Tucker in that room. It's a safe house, we'll take care of him there."
"But Danny-"
"Go!" he snapped.
The girls picked up Tucker and hurried him inside, "What about you?" Jazz asked.
"Don't worry about me, close the door and lock it." He demanded, "I'll be back." He grabbed his rifle, "Hey Dash! This way!" he shouted and ran in the other way.
Sam watched Danny run off with the Tank following close behind. She sighed, "He's got his powers." She whispered, "He'll be okay." She turned around to see Jazz take care of Tucker. "Is he okay?"
"Unconscious." She answered, "He really needs a hospital."
"Well, it's the apocalypse, we're the best he's got." Sam said.
Jazz sighed, "I know. But he might have a couple broken bones, and we can't really fix broken bones."
Sam knelt by him on his other side, carefully taking off his glasses, barely being held together, "These are shattered." She said.
"If only we can find out what eye doctor he used to go to. We can find his prescription and see if we find something he can use." Jazz suggested.
"It's going to set us back." Sam said. "It would mean we'd have to turn around."
"But if he can't see what he's doing someone's going to get hurt." Jazz said, wrapping one of the road rashes on Tucker's forearm.
Sam nodded, "You're right." She started bandaging the small cuts on Tucker's opposing arm, "We'll let Danny and Tucker figure it out." She said. "Danny… I guess he's the one in charge."
"It makes sense." Jazz agreed. "He's the one with the plans right now. We're following him."
Danny stood backed into a corner, rifle aimed in front of him prepared to shoot. Dash staring him down with a dead-eyed glare. Danny began getting flashbacks of the football player shoving him into lockers, chasing him down the halls of high school, and even threatening his high school career. On this day, Dash chased him down the streets on the city, thrown him at dumpsters and at cars, threw cars and dumpsters at him, and growled before him now to threaten his life. Danny shook his head took a deep breath, "Dash… I can't believe I'm saying this… but I wish we were back in school right now…" he confessed, glancing at the bullet wounds that Danny thought would slow him down. Never had he been so wrong in his life. "When you were throwing Tucker and I into lockers instead of throwing cars at me and sending your cannon fodder to kill Tucker." He panted, "Chasing me down the hall in rage instead of down the street in savagery."
Dash growled lowly, waiting for Danny to make a move, but stayed still.
Danny thought for a while, the scope still focused on Dash's forehead. His finger on the trigger and ready to pull. He couldn't shoot him. He remembered that Dash was a human being at one point. And then he remembered who one of Dash's friends were. Kwan. Kwan wasn't human when he attacked Sam. They didn't think twice when they shot him. It wasn't Kwan anymore. And this wasn't Dash. He felt a gentle bump. He looked back up and saw that the Tank, Dash, had his forehead against the end of the barrel of the rifle. What Danny could see remaining in Dash's blue eyes were locked on him. Danny's heart skipped a beat when there was a sad, long, miserable groan coming from the beast. With every passing minute of hesitation, the groan began to turn into growling. Then the Tank suddenly roared, causing Danny to tense up and shut his eyes. With a loud thud, Danny shuddered and opened his eyes, seeing that he had shot Dash. Trembling, he crawled over the body and stumbled out of the alley. He grunted and pressed his hand to his side where the Witch had gotten him, finding that he began bleeding again. He exhaled sharply, finding a mist in his breath and shiver go down his spine.
**Okay, a bit out-of-character in this chapter, but in the zombie apocalypse, I'd imagine no one is ever truly the same again. Anyway... new infected! That thing staring at Danny called the shifter is a mannequin-like zombie that watches survivors carefully, waits for the right opportunity when one survivor leaves the group, and takes their place by changing their appearance. Pretty smart infected, however, not enough to realize that they should probably kill the survivor they're mimicing. When the other survivors are right in the palm of the Shifter's hand, so to speak, the Shifter kills them. There are two more infected that I came up with along with a couple of friend. Keep an eye out for ones that sound unfamiliar.**