CHAPTER 71: A Whirl of Whirls

Not even a heartbeat after Zomboss jabbed the needle into my skin, I was consumed by an interminably increasing sea of whiteness right in my face. Shortly after, I briefly saw Peater running, Elias following close behind him.

You've been abandoned, young missy! Cast off! Deserted!

. . .

So many have said that this would come to take place, you know.

. . .

It's happened! Oh, dearie me, you really should have kept your faith in Ash!

. . .

Might as well let Zomboss finish you off right where you sit!

Odd, mocking voices began to fill my head, each making the vile truth sink in more and more: Peater left me at the worst moment possible. For fractions of seconds, more and more images flashed in front of my head, and the odd thing was that I remembered each of these events as if they actually happened, even though I had a tiny lingering feeling that they did not happen. They made another truth slowly seep in: Peater was on the dark side.

Second by second, I tried to work this out, but it only made the world spin, and whatever was in that needle work faster and faster.

Finally, that entity in the needle and the powers that be made me black out.

I awoke face down in a pool of what I was positively sure was my own blood. My leaves were tightly bound together with rough rope.

"You're awake, silly girl. Good thing, because I have some very important questions to ask you!" I heard that irrefutable voice exclaim as I lifted my face, only to see that green face staring at me, with a pitiless smile on the owner's mouth.

Dripping in blood, I looked at Zomboss straight in the eye and let out a low growl.

"Ask what you want, but if you're getting this information so that you can harm those that I love, there will be serious ramifications coming from me! Have I made myself clear as window glass? Because I can wage war with you until I am sure and certain that you completely understand what I just said!" I yelled, my voice echoing through the huge, empty chamber that we were in.

"What a nice speech you've made, dear! Problem is that first of all, I don't care, and I am not affected. Second, I am not willing and able to take time out of my packed out schedule just so that we could have a brawl. Besides . . . aren't we already at war here in Ontario?" Zomboss replied slickly.

I glanced down, and I saw a huge wound on my chest that had long since stopped bleeding.

"You can consider yourself very lucky that I am bound and weak, because had I the energy or the time, you'd be dead, Edgar George Zomboss. You'd be torn apart right in Nathan Phillips Square, and I'd use your ruts as compost for some plant who actually deserves to be in the Don Jail!" I snarled.

"Oh, well I'm so scared that I might as well drag you right into the heart of this . . . this . . . whatever you may call it! You're paying for not allowing me to have world domination, you annoying, insufferable rat!" Zomboss huffed as he grabbed me by the neck and hauled me into a tunnel that seemed to come to no end.

At last, at long last, we were in a room with a desk, a chair in the middle of the dark floor, a trapdoor on the floor, and various torture instruments hanging from the ceiling. Zomboss began to snicker and giggle as he chained me to the chair and grabbed a long, black rod form the ceiling.

"Now for the questions. Number one: Where is the CPR base?" he asked smoothly. "Now mind ― this can be as easy as you want it to be . . . but then again, it can be as hard as you make it, Maccabaeus girl."

I stared into his eyes, and blinked once.

"Dunno." was all I said.

I then felt like someone was probing the innermost sections of my mind, so I countered by making myself as bleak and as impassive as I could be.

"Well, then. Strike one!" Zomboss growled as he used the pole in his hand to strike my head as hard as he could. Seeing that I had no skull to be broken, all his pole did was cause blood to start trickling.

"My, my. Well, allow me to be more specific in my interrogation. In what areas are the CPR headquarters and their affiliated bases situated?"

I put a leaf on my chin in an attempt to mock-think.

"Oh, well . . . turns out that my answer is 'Not telling.'" I declared.

"Oh, for the love of brains!" Zomboss roared, before scratching me across the face with an overgrown, curving fingernail that had bits of mould and mildew caking the edges.

"NOW TELL ME WHERE, ON THE HELL OF THE EARTH, THOSE DAMNED BASES ARE LOCATED, OR I'LL MURDER THE ONES YOU LOVE! I'LL ANNIHILATE YOU AND YOUR STINKING RACE FROM THE FACE OF THIS STUPID NATION, YOU HEAR?" Zomboss shouted, his eyes popping out of their sockets as they reddened, along with his oversized brain.

"My answer is no, Edgar George Zomboss! It doesn't matter how much you say that you're getting the information just for the hell of it! But realize that I am not fooled at all! How do I know that you are simply lying? Because you've used this kind of information to hurt me, and other plants who don't deserve the treatment that they're getting from you! You might think that I've forgotten all the times that you've tried to use the whereabouts of certain bases to hurt my family and the ones I love, but you are gravely mistaken. Realize that it takes one incident to recognize a killer, Zomboss. The number of plants you have killed in cold blood, murdered, and outright torn apart makes Adolf Hitler look like . . . like a poor, pitiable man who was outright innocent! You'd think that all these other terrorist attacks were parties thrown for merriment and happiness! So you think twice before you even dream about wrestling a word out of me, because I am not about to leave this unforgiving planet without saving Ontario, without saving Canada! So I have three words to say to you, and they are knock it off, and I very highly recommend that you cut out your nonsense and cut it out now if you know what's best for you and the herd of brainless sheep you call an army!" I lectured loudly, putting every single ounce of emotion, passion, hatred and anger into my words, which made them come out more powerful than I could ever imagine.

For just over half a minute, there was a ringing silence between the enemy and I. We stared into each other's eyes, wishing misfortune with every second that passed. Even if I managed to live as long as Madra Magia Dionne did, I would carry the next moment with me as I aged and aged.

Because for just twenty seconds, Zomboss looked scared. Afraid. Terrified.

Gone was that evil smirk; it had been replaced with a doleful frown. The power-mad glint was gone from his red pupils, only to be replaced by an odd dullness that was outshined by the powerful death stare that permeated from my aquamarine eyes. For those incalculable moments, it looked as if Zomboss was having flashbacks. This guess was proved to be correct when I had successfully penetrated his mind.

"I-I'm so sorry, Mr. Boyar . . ."

. . .

"I'll sentence you to death, you son of a dog!"

. . .

"Oh, you stupid boy! If you think you can take over the world, you're wrong!"

After those few seconds, the evil shine had returned to Zomboss' eyes with a vengeance. It had returned in a way that seemed to scream, "I'm back here to stay!"

He pasted the smirk back onto his face, but that didn't hide the fear and the sadness that was dominant in the seconds before. With a roar of frustration, he had grabbed a bucket of salt and dunked it onto my head. I closed my eyes and did my best not to squirm as my skin was dissolved into nothingness by the salt. Blood began to trickle and get into my eyes as the salt did its cruel work. Next, Zomboss had dunked a whole bottle of water onto my head, which froze. I was glad for this change in plan, because had the salt been there any longer, I'd be a wreck. Finally, he grabbed a match and lit my chair ablaze. Finally, I felt the flames lick the back of my stem mercilessly, which made me grip my chair . . .

. . . And strangely enough, the chair had broken apart, thanks to my ice.

"You goddamned idjit! I've tried dissolving you with salt, I've tried to blind you with water, and I've just failed to burn you alive! What more can I do with you?" Zomboss howled.

After staring me down in an attempt to send me into hysterics, he grabbed my leaf and dragged me into the corner with the trapdoor. Flinging the door open with his foot, he shoved me in, and ended up toppling in after me. We landed on a carpet of dust, which billowed up in clouds of fine grains of dirt.

"Welcome to the prison of this zombie base. Here, I expect you to completely lose hope and take your own life." Zomboss huffed.

I wiped the blood from my eyes for the tenth time thus far as the undead Nazi-like man dragged me into a pathetic little cell that had a window that allowed me to see most of the TEA's bases.

"Now die, you pathetic little worm of God, and hope that none of my men come and take your life themselves!" Zomboss yelled.

"And my army is not a herd of brainless sheep!"

Rolling his eyes and muttering some derogatory curses under his breath, he had slammed the door behind him. Click, turn, and his footsteps were slowly fading away into silence. I leaned on the wall and slumped down onto the floor, depressed and downcast. Peater and Elias were probably far, far away in Burlington, or Mississauga, and I was possibly not even a blush on their cheeks or a twinkle in their eyes. I closed my eyes and let the darkest truth known to my life sink in.

For the first time in forever, I had completely lost hope.

A FEW WEEKS LATER . . .

MAY 12, 2014

I had absolutely no idea what exactly possessed me to not attempt to kill myself by jumping out the window or something as stupid as that. But whatever it was, it was still prevalent, even as I woke up on the lumpy mattress in a corner, wanting nothing more than to catch something like AIDS or lung cancer, only to have it kill me within seconds.

But alas, it was not so.

Today seemed to be brought rolling in with an air of new hope and vengeance from our side of the resistance.

I stretched, and thought a little about the last few events that had occurred before I was taken hostage. Zomboss torturing me with salt and heat, me belittling the evil man with just a few words and a powerful stare . . . it was a whirl of whirls. But there was the lingering feeling that Zomboss would really eradicate the whole plant race from the whole nation, all thanks to me.

"Well, I'm not standing for it! I'm getting the hell out of this world!" I yelled at nobody in particular.

I then ran over to the window, ready to ram it with my head, when I saw it.

I saw a whole crackload of plants ― big and strong ones from Mosspark Armoury, nimble and ever-moving from Union Station, and high jumpers and fast shooters from Osgood Hall.

They were there.

For me.

" . . . Peater . . ."

Why did you do this?!

And that is a wrap for this chapter! Over 2000 words . . . wow!