CHAPTER 23: Up North

It had been an hour since Annika's death. I was sitting in the lounge, with a bag packed with things that I'd need to tackle the harsh conditions of Zombonto . . . er, Toronto. When I had finished packing, I headed out of the room and I found Roosevelta, who screamed as I carried Annika's corpse.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she gasped.

"Look, I need you to not tell Peater where I've gone. Just tell him that I had to head over to Bloor for some unfinished business." I hissed.

"Why? Are you conspiring with some . . . some heinous zombie gang?" Roosevelta asked, her flowers turning from red to blue.

"No!" I answered.

"Well, I'll just stand here and plug my ears until you tell me where you're going!" Roosevelta sniffed.

Jesus Christ, son of God! If only Roosie wasn't so damn nosy!

"I . . . fine! I'm going to Humber Summit to bury Annika, and visit my dead twin siblings. I don't know how long I'll be gone." I confessed.

"No! Peater will whip me until he knows where you disappeared to!" Roosevelta exclaimed.

I sighed. Peater had his heart set on me, and he'd probably become very violent if he found out that I had left. And if I came back, no matter how many injuries I had sustained, he'd probably slit my throat and leave it at that.

"Please, Roosie. Don't squeal." I pleaded.

"Fine, fine, don't badger me any longer!" Roosevelta huffed. I decided to find Peater.

I found Ash lecturing Peater in his office.
". . . see? Peater, you can understand how these little mistakes can kill. So . . . we must avoid these things. I'm rather glad that you brought this up." Ash finished.

"Umm . . . Peater? Can I talk to you?" I asked as I went up to Peater.

"Uh . . . sure. What about?" Peater turned away and looked at me.

"Uh, do you mind if I left for a little while?" I asked.

"Wh-what? Where the hell are you going?" Peater sputtered.

"Oh ― I beg of you, don't say that you're going on one of those suicide missions, because if I find out that that's what you've been up to, I'll kill you!"

"Nah, I'm just heading over to Bloor to tackle some . . . stuff." I assured him.

I decided not to tell anybody else about my plans for tonight. Using my intense knowledge of Toronto, and all of its streets and buildings, I snuck out of the building with Annika's corpse in one leaf and my canvas bag in another. I walked the longest kilometres, and I soon found myself facing a sign that said, 'Humber College, Three km.' By this time, it was dawn. Confidence giving me a burst of energy, I started walking a bit faster towards Humber Summit's graveyard, while recalling what happened with Adolf Hitler and that English soldier.

After what seemed like decades of running through battleground, and nearly tripping and getting shot ten times, Adolf Hitler had finally collapsed, and he was knocked out cold.

The graveyard was getting closer and closer. In my mind, I continued the weird story.

Hitler woke up, and found that he was actually alive. When he stood up, he saw an English soldier looking straight I the eye, rifle poised to kill. Hitler gasped; he knew that his life was going to end soon . . .

But lo and behold! The soldier didn't pull the trigger; he put down his rifle and ran away. Fast.

Lord knows, maybe I might find myself in one of these situations.

Finally, a rusty gate was looming forbiddingly over me. Sucking in a deep breath, I kicked it open, only to be greeted by eerie creaks. I could hear the whispers of the deceased souls. I finally found Annika's father's grave. Grabbing a shovel that was lying nearby, I dug a hole beside it and laid Annika inside it. Piling dirt on top, I found a wooden plank, and using the knife I carried in my bag, I carved:

Here lies Annika Aviora, the girl-plant who gave her life to protect the unprepared, and the girl who was a carbon copy of Jesus Christ.

May she go down in history, and may God praise her in Heaven.

When I had finished carving the epitaph, I looked around to fund Adria and Alana's graves. When I found their headstones, the other gravestones paled in comparison. On Adria's grave, I found a carving of a windswept Peashooter, reaching out for God's hand. On Alana's grave, I saw an engraving of Alana with a fiery halo around her head. She had two fireballs in her leaves, and she looked ready to protect those who were weak both spiritually and physically. I smiled and found two flowers and laid them at the foot of each headstone. I stood back, looking satisfied. I thought about the Parliament building in Ottawa, and thought about its sad tale.

"Notice how in the library, it feels happy, while the rest of the building is stone cold and forbidding. The old Parliament building was made of wood, but it burned. It was replaced by stone. The library was saved, and damn good thing, or else there'd be no other reminders of idyllic times, before the tragedy of the fire."

I'm kind of like Old Mother Parliament herself. Before Adria and Alana died, I was just like that wooden building, all happy. But now I'm stone cold, and the only happy part that remains is my heart. Just then, I heard a malicious voice behind me.

"Well, Old Mother Parliament's sister in arms is about to join all of those deceased souls!"

I looked up and saw the exact same Imp looking at me.

"Try!" I snarled.

The Imp wordlessly charged at me, but I jumped and kicked his head off. Afraid of the fact that there'd be more zombies to deal with, I ran. I ran as fast as I could, out of that place and back to downtown.

What the hell was that all about?