Author's Note:
The horror continues! But before we get to the next chapter, I'm going to respond to some of the reviews you guys left!
Guest: Yeah, I didn't know that before I started writing this story! But the Zoey we all know and love has red hair, dyed or not.
TheChrisanthemum: Glad you liked Fang so much! I hope Zeke also lives up to your expectations! You're right about the characters though. Unfortunately, with almost thirty characters in this story, there's bound to be some characters that won't get much focus before their untimely deaths. There's even one character that's going to have one scene before not showing up again. It is what it is. And I'm glad you enjoyed my Danger Zone character cameos.
Kyle Eaton: This next chapter is another character introduction character, so not a whole lot of action. But I hope you like it anyway.
Flashlight237: Yeah, those casts had some OPness to them. Rest assured that much of their supernatural and unrealistic powers and abilities will be removed for the purposes of this story. So no bulletproof hair from Anne Maria, no animal entrancing singing from Ella, and no teleportation from Dawn.
I think that's about it. Enjoy!
"Here you go." Mike tossed Zoey an extra helmet. "We'll take my scooter."
Zoey fastened the helmet around her head and got on the back of Mike's scooter, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
"Uh…maybe it'd be better if you put your arms around my waist?" Mike suggested.
Zoey turned red. "Oh! Sorry!" She switched her arms to wrap around his waist.
"Hang on," Mike advised as he started his scooter and began to pull out of his driveway. Zoey squeezed him tight as they began their journey through the town.
"Pahkitew Island was founded a few decades ago," Mike explained as he drove. "It means "explosion" in Cree. Story goes that the founders called the island "Pahkitew" due to the explosions caused by the miners under the employ of Milton Global Group. Legend says that the old mining tunnels run under Milton Manor."
"Milton Manor?"
"It's the mansion clear out on the other side of town," Mike explained. "Don't get your hopes up though; no one ever gets invited there. Plus, the Milton's are snobs. Well, mostly—the jury's still out on Dakota."
They pulled to a stop at a stop sign. Before Mike could continue you, someone popped up from the bushes. It was a purple haired boy wearing all gray clothes. He also carried with him what looked like a modified squirt gun. Which was pointed at himself.
"Mwahahahaha!" he yelled. "Time to evil!"
Zoey let out a yelp, falling off the scooter. The boy pulled the trigger on his weapon, spraying something orange all over himself due to the barrel being pointed at him.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" the boy yelled in pain, falling back into the bushes.
Mike helped Zoey to her feet. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I think." Zoey held her racing chest. "Who was that?"
"Oh, that's just Max," Mike explained. "He calls himself an evil genius. But he's harmless."
"Harmless? Harmless?!" Max popped back out from the bushes. "I am the most evil being on the planet! I am far from harmless!"
Mike rolled his eyes. "You still got hot sauce on your face, Max."
Max screamed again. "Ahhh! Sidekick! I demand that you wipe this burning liquid from my face at once!"
A girl with red hair and glasses then appeared with a towel and an eyeroll of her own. "Yes, Max."
"And that's Scarlett," Mike told Zoey as they started off again. "She's the brains behind Max's 'evil' inventions. Don't really know why she helps him out though. I can tell she hates it."
"Are all the people here like that?" Zoey asked.
"Like Max? No. He's one of the crazier people on the island. It's best just to ignore him, as hard as that may be."
They rode on, passing by more houses before entering the main town, passing by restaurants and businesses. Many of these buildings had a logo reading "MILTON GLOBAL."
"How much of the island is controlled by Milton?" Zoey asked.
"Pretty much the entire thing," Mike answered. "The Miltons are the richest people here. Just about everything you see somehow is owned by them."
"Oh. Wow."
"They're a decent company though. They make some good stuff."
"How big is the island?"
"Pretty big, all things considered. We're the biggest island in the chain."
At they pulled to a stoplight, Zoey turned her head and happened to see someone lurking in the alley. However, the shadows were obscuring him from sight.
"Who's that?" Zoey asked.
"Who?" Mike turned his head to look. But the figure was gone.
"There was someone in the alley," Zoey told him. "I don't know where he went."
"It might've been Dawn."
"Dawn?"
"Moonchild. A little creepy. She tends to appear and disappear without warning. But she's a nice girl."
Zoey heard him, but her eyes were still on the alley. Because the figure she had seen down there she was fairly sure wasn't a girl.
She wasn't even sure if it was human.
Zoey's stomach was growling by the time Mike had finished showing her around town. He seemed to sense her hunger. "Don't worry," he said as he pulled to a stop outside a mall. "The food court at Milton Mall is the best place on the island for teens like us to hang out and get together."
"Milton Mall?" Zoey repeated. "Is everything on the island named after the Miltons?"
Mike laughed. "Trust me—once you meet Dakota, you'll understand."
The two of them got off the scooter and headed for the mall. When Mike opened the doors, Zoey was blinded by the bright lights flashing from the ceiling. Shielding her eyes briefly, she followed Mike through the mall, taking care to avoid getting hit by the other patrons of the mall while keeping up with her companion.
"Haven't been in many malls, have you?" Mike guessed.
"Not really," Zoey admitted. "Our old town wasn't very big."
"Must be a big change then, coming here."
"A little."
The two continued making their way through the mall until they reached a balcony overlooking the food court. Down there, Zoey could see over a dozen food stands from the best and weirdest restaurant chains ever, including Petting Zoo Barbeque, Jiminy's Beaks and Feet, Darwin's Food Safari, and The Big Squeeze.
Mike pointed down to one table at the corner of the food court. "There they are."
Zoey looked in the direction he was pointing. "Those ones over there with the girl in a lemon hat?"
"No, those guys over there." Zoey followed his finger, finding the table he was indicating, which was occupied by six people: five boys and one girl.
"Come on, I'll introduce you." Mikey tugged on Zoey's arm. Zoey, however, wasn't moving as worry started to set in.
"Do you think they'll like me?" she asked. "What if they hate me? What if this flower's too big? What if—"
"Hey, hey, take it easy." Mike took her hands and calmed her down. "They're all nice guys. I'm sure they'll like you."
Zoey took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's go down there."
They took the escalator down to the food court and headed to the table. Most of the others there didn't seem to notice their approach. The bulky guy in a hoodie seemed to be jotting stuff down in a notebook, the fat boy was busy on a game console, and the girl was trying to dry off what appeared to be a lemonade stain off her top.
The dark-skinned skinny kid, however, noticed their approach. "Hey, Mike!" he called as he and Zoey got closer. "Who's your friend?"
"Hey guys," Mike responded. "This is Zoey. She just moved here."
Zoey waved shyly. "Uh…hi."
One of the other boys, a kid in an orange vest and white long-sleeved shirt, grabbed her arm and pulled it close, examining it closely. "Uh…what are you doing?" Zoey asked.
"Looking for bite marks," the boy replied. "Can't be too careful when you're running from zombies."
"Uh…great?"
"Shawn, I've told you a thousand times now," the skinny guy told him, pushing his glasses up. "Zombies don't exist. It's a scientific impossibility."
"Or a government coverup," Shawn countered. "I'm telling you, Cameron, they're out there somewhere."
"Anyway, the big guy over there is B," Mike continued, nodding at the big guy in the hoodie. B acknowledged Zoey with a simple smile and a finger snap point.
"And this over here is—"
The tall muscular boy with a crew cut stood up and gripped Zoey's hand, shaking it tightly. "Brick McArthur. It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
"The game guy there is Sam," Mike went on. Sam, still engrossed in his game, didn't make any sort of comment. "And that's Samey—Sammy. Sorry," Mike apologized as the girl flinched.
"It's okay, Mike," Samey said quietly. "It's not like I can change my nickname now."
"Don't let your sister get you down," Mike told her. "She's just—"
"A complete and total bitch who would sell you out to the zombies to get ahead?" Shawn interrupted.
"Shawn, you'd sell us out to zombies if it meant you could survive," Mike said.
"Not Jasmine though. I'd never sell her out."
Sam finally looked up from his game. "Dude, you two aren't even dating yet. Maybe wait until you know she likes you back before making plans on surviving the apocalypse."
"There's not going to be a zombie apocalypse," Cameron insisted. "Zombies don't exist."
"Guys," Mike interjected. "Slow down a little. Zoey's getting a little lost."
Zoey blushed. "Sorry," she apologized, taking one of the empty seats.
"I'll give some context," Cameron explained. "Sammy's got an evil twin named Amy, Jasmine is the girl that Shawn likes, and Shawn's afraid of zombies."
"They're out there, man!" Shawn insisted, looking around wearily. "I know it!"
"Uh…right." Zoey peered over at B. "What are you working on?"
B held his notebook up, showing a complex design for some sort of device. "Um…what is it supposed to be?" she asked.
"Don't expect any answers from him," Mike spoke. "B doesn't talk. He's never talked as long as I've known him." B just shrugged sheepishly.
"So, Zoey, what kind of things do you like to do?" Mike asked.
"Oh! Well, I like movies," Zoey answered, briefly startled by the question. "Like Total Action 2."
"You like action movies?" Mike asked. "Wow. If you like ultimate kickboxing, I may have to marry you."
Zoey giggled.
"Uh oh." Cameron's gaze turned to the other side of the food court. "It's Jo's group. And they're coming this way."
Zoey looked over to see a muscular looking girl and a group of others heading menacingly towards them, including another girl that looked exactly like Samey. "Well, if it isn't the dork squad," the girl said with a snort. "Let's see…Private Leaky, Silent Treatment, String Bean, Game Junkie, Zombie Nut, Spareamy, Five Brains, and…oh look, looks like there's someone new here."
"What do you want, Jo?" Mike asked, looking unhappy.
"Just coming to see if you were invited to the party this weekend," Jo said. "Not that I think anyone would invite losers like you or anything."
"There's a party this weekend?" Sam asked.
The girl that looked like Samey (who must have been Amy) snorted, taking a sip from her lemonade. "Of course there's a party this weekend. But I wouldn't expect any friends of Samey to understand that."
"Yeah," the dark-skinned jock in the football jersey agreed. "You're all sha-losers."
"Now hold on." Brick stood up. "You can't talk to us like that."
Jo grabbed his hand and began to squeeze. Brick yelled in pain as she let him go.
"You don't talk to us like that," Jo told him. "Remember your place."
"Hey! Take it easy!" Zoey spoke up.
Jo gave her a dark look. "If I were you, new girl, I'd ditch these losers. All they'll do is keep you down. You should ditch them."
Zoey crossed her arms determinedly. "I'll take them over jerks any day."
Jo scowled. "Have it your way." With that, she and the other two with her turned and left. As she walked away, Amy casually threw her lemonade cup at Samey, splattering her with more lemonade.
"Clean that up for me, Samey," she sneered over her shoulder. Samey just let out a deep, whimpering sigh.
"Thanks, Zoey," Mike thanked her. "Those guys are just bullies."
Zoey kept her arms crossed, watching the three leave. "I hate bullies," she commented.
"Well, Jo, Amy, and Lightning aren't the only ones you have to watch out for," Shawn warned. "Sugar isn't as sweet as her name implies. And Scott's a manipulative little bastard. Steer clear from him."
"Uh…okaaaay then." Zoey's stomach rumbled again. "I'm going to go get some food, if that's okay."
"Sure." Mike waved her off. "See you in a minute?"
Zoey smiled. "Totally."
"So, she seems nice," Cameron commented as Zoey walked away.
"Yeah," Mike sighed. "Zoey. Sweet girl."
"Does she know about your condition?"
Mike gave him a look. "No. And I don't want you telling her either. I know how bad you are at keeping secrets."
"Relax, Mike," Cameron told him. "I won't tell her. But you should."
"The genius is right, Mike," Brick agreed. "You should tell her the truth."
"I will, I will," Mike insisted, looking back at Zoey's retreating form. "I just hope my condition doesn't ruin everything for me again."
"She seems like a nice girl," Shawn noted. "I'm sure she'll understand."
Mike only hoped that Shawn was right. The last time his…condition had messed things up, the girl had left the island entirely. Though he'd gotten better control over it…he was still concerned that it would ruin everything for him. Again.
Alive: Amy, Anne Maria, B, Beardo, Brick, Cameron, Dakota, Dave, Dawn, Ella, Ezekiel, Jasmine, Jo, Lightning, Max, Mike, Rodney, Sam, Samey, Scarlett, Scott, Shawn, Sky, Sugar, Topher, Zoey
Dead: No one (for now)
And there you have it. A bunch of characters have been introduced. More will show up before we get to the main event-and by main event, I mean when people start dying.
All the restaurants in the food court were the reward restaurants from Pahkitew Island. Except one-which ties into another cameo hidden there. I'll let y'all figure this cameo out yourselves, though-I'm very interested in seeing who figures it out.
I decided to go back at rewatch some Total Drama in order to get reacquainted with these characters and remember certain lines that I could adapt for this story. The good news is that I could go back and watch ROTI (which wasn't that bad, all things considered). Of course, that also meant I had to endure Pahkitew Island again. And some All Stars too. Yay. Promptly afterwards, I went back to save my soul and watched good old classic TDI.
Well, I think that's about it. Make sure you hit that favorite/follow button to stay informed on updates, and don't forget to drop a review to let me know how I'm doing. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, reminding you to never split up in a horror movie. Ciao!