Hey guys! This is the first ever fanfiction that I am currently working on! As you guys can see, this is largely inspired by AMC's The Walking Dead. Now, before I started this story, I thought about making this a long series. After finishing this chapter, I kept that thought, and I am excited to keep this going as long as I can, because frankly, I have many ideas that I want to use for this story. Although this story is inspired by The Walking Dead, I will not take a lot of materials from it. In fact, I want to take a more original approach to the zombie apocalypse story. However, that doesn't mean that there won't be similarities here and there! Sometimes, I love placing references, not only to the show, but other pieces of media (such as The Last of Us)! Ideas and opinions are always appreciated. Each chapter is not going to be short, so sit back and relax, because this is going to be a very long series. Enjoy!
(Updated as of 7/18/19)
*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE LOUD HOUSE. THE LOUD HOUSE BELONGS TO NICKELODEON.*
P.S. Arc 1 will consist of Chapters 1-10.
Arc 1
Lori opened her blue eyes, constricting her pupils as she looked at the cloudy skies. She placed her right palm on her right temple and wiped the blood away from her face, catching her breath as she stood up, dusting her shorts before picking up her revolver and hatchet from the ground.
The house was guarded by a spiked barricade like many of the neighboring houses were as well. The homemade tunnel between Lori's house and the house next door were riddled with bullets and burn marks. The battered and burned flag remained waving in the air as the smell of gunpowder and smoke littered the air while gunshots roared in the distance.
Lori limped toward the house. She lifted her foot above a corpse, then her other foot over the puddle of blood beneath it. She walked on the stairs, holding on to the rough wooden rails while she groaned.
She slid the steel door open and entered her home. The sunlight passed through the windows, revealing someone on the couch. Lori raised her revolver slowly.
"How'd you get in here?"
No response. Lori walked closer to the unknown intruder, when suddenly, it turned around. Lori placed her revolver back into her holster.
The intruder growled at her, exposing its missing upper-right limb. Lori glared at its eyes and lifted her hatchet. She swung it at the living corpse and splattered its brains into the couch.
Lori moved the corpse aside and sat in her seat at the couch. She exhaled and looked at the living room TV. She grabbed the remote and attempted to turn the TV on. The shattered screen, however, remained off, only reflecting a desperate woman on the couch and the dead body next to her.
Another dead body roamed near the house, limping on the ramp that led to the porch in front of the house. It created a shadow as it stood in front of the window.
Lori continued to stare at the TV. She saw the reflection on the screen. A tear formed in her left eye. The roamer in the reflection walked alongside the window, eventually making it to the door while Lori's eye shed a tear, sorrowful enough to hold the memories of the tragic years in her past.
Chapter 1: The Fall of Michigan
I - The Day Royal Woods Fell
Tension around the world was at an all-time high. With the growing threat of nuclear and chemical warfare, it seemed that the extinction of humanity was near. But all it took was one infection and all hell broke loose: The Apocalypse. Doomsday. End Times. It was the day the dead roamed the entire world. The global population dropped rapidly as the infection spread around the world. The infection slowly made its way in the northern parts of the Western Hemisphere. After the infection reached the tame towns of Michigan to the icy and chilly areas in northern Canada, the infection has touched the entire globe.
A finger continued to press the keys on a typewriter.
Every day, a number of survivors suffer a gruesome fate at the hand of the dead ones or through the hands of the living. And only a handful of us survived. The next generation and the future ones to come will wonder how we felt about the whole experience. From beginning to now, this is our story.
PRESENT
-Day 1-
Distractions are what let people's guards down. Unprepared. Vulnerable. A warm and bright June morning in Royal Woods served as a great distraction for the civilians who fell for the illusion that nothing terrible would come. And these civilians included the Loud family.
It was the middle of the week. The Louds were at school, with the exception of Lily and Lynn, who did not skip school, but rather, were fighting an illness.
"Ugh, so weird. I haven't been sick since last year, with that flu going rampant in the house! Why now?" said Lynn with a stuffy nose, as she lay down on the couch. "There better be something good to watch right now or so help me!"
She untied her dark brown ponytail and let it fall loose into the couch as she grabbed the remote. Just seconds after switching the channel, the screen went from showing highlights of a college football game at the University of Michigan to a breaking news segment.
"We are recording the following footage from our Channel 4 helicopter. What you're witnessing now is an aerial view of the city of Flint as the necrosis influenza outbreak begins to infect its residents, prompting the local police to respond as well as FEMA. They are met with protest by some of the residents as the scene begins to unfold in violence. A warning to our viewers, some of the events you may witness could be extremely graphic."
Lynn coughed into her sleeve before turning her eyes back onto the TV screen.
"This is Katherine Mulligan reporting at you live in Flint, Michigan at Route 475."
"Ugh, I hate this bitch."
"As you can see, there are FEMA workers entering the school ahead of us where a presumed attack from people coming back to life has occurred, and they are attempting to quarantine the place. Riot police continue to stand outside as protestors confront them, demanding that the government solve this crisis without violence. It's important to note that the necrosis influenza has resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties around the world."
"Woah! Sucks to be them."
"There appears to be a couple more protestors joining–"
A scream was heard through the television followed by a gunshot.
"Oh my God! One of the protestors is showing violent symptoms and is unresponsive to gunshots! Oh my... that man is definitely dead. Both of them actually. But one of them is eating people!"
More gunshots popped.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! There are more of them! A whole swarm of them! I have to–!"
The feed cut back to the helicopter as the aerial view showed dozens of the infected surrounding the police and the protestors. Lynn held on to her box of tissues as she tried closing her jaws.
"Jesus..."
The American flag waved in front of the Royal Woods Elementary School as the streets remained empty of traffic. Inside the school, some of the hallways and classrooms were vacant as there was a scramble among the faculty members to find substitute teachers.
"I think you can convince your parents to buy us tickets to Comic-Con this year," said Lincoln. And if you convince my parents, then we'll both be able to go!"
"Why me?" asked Clyde.
"My parents always say 'yes' to you. You'll see. And you know what else you'll see? The trailer for the new Ace Savvy movie! Ah, so excited!"
Lincoln and Clyde looked around the hallways as they walked to their lockers. The lack of students killed their excitement.
"Hey, Clyde, don't you think it's strange how so many of our classmates are absent?"
"Yeah! And now that I think about it, some of our teachers didn't come to work today!"
"Why is that?"
"I don't know. Let's ask Girl Jordan over here."
Lincoln and Clyde approached their female classmate and friend, who stood by her own lockers.
"Hey, Girl Jordan," said Lincoln.
"No need for that extra name," she said. "Boy Jordan hasn't been here in days. No one's seen him or heard from him. So, I guess I'm the only Jordan in the school now."
"Yeah, we were about to ask you about that. Do you know anything about what might've happened to all the kids who aren't here? Is there like a cut day or a party or something?"
"There are cut days?" gasped Clyde.
"Yes, but it already passed by like last week," said Girl Jordan. "You know about that outbreak going around?"
Lincoln and Clyde nodded.
"There's rumors going around that it got through our border security and is spreading around Michigan. Mayor wants to act like nothing's happening. My parents are acting like there's nothing to worry about. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't even be here. Infection of the dead's here, guys."
"Why do they call it that?" asked Clyde.
"'Cause it makes the dead come back to life. I don't know if fighting zombies are like a fantasy for you guys but I won't be having fun. As soon as I get home, I'm putting barbed wire around it. And... I hate barbed wire."
Girl Jordan closed her lockers and waved goodbye at the boys. Lincoln and Clyde looked at each other, their heart rates rising, their palms sweating, their pupils contracting.
"Zombies?" they both whispered.
In the Royal Woods High School, most of the students and teachers were absent as well, causing the students in the school to wander the halls, looking for their friends to hang out with. Leni walked around the halls, looking for her older sister. Her worried eyes looked at the posters in the walls promoting the prom dance approaching soon. She then looked at the other side of the wall and saw papers taped on it showing the schedule of the finals coming next week. She looked back ahead and saw pictures being taken of the seniors by the school photographers. Her eyes smiled.
Lori held her purse on one arm and stood by Whitney's locker, unaware that Leni was walking towards her. Though the day was nothing out of the ordinary– yet– her blonde hair was wavy down to her jaws, shiny and golden as if she were ready for a classy party. Though she wore no lipstick, her black eyeliner streaked perfectly under her blue eyeshadow, matching the color of her tank top, her flats, and her eyes.
"And so I chose to go to a college in New York, so I could be my boyfriend! But… I still feel like I should've gone with Becky on the field trip…"
Leni passed Lori before turning around, nudging her sister's back.
"Psst. Lori. Do you remember where the bathroom is?" she whispered, interrupting Lori's conversation with her friends.
"Come with me," sighed Lori, walking away from Whitney's locker.
Lori and Leni walked inside the girl's restroom, finding all the stalls empty. The walls on the stalls had posters advertising the sale of yearbooks. Leni walked inside a stall and closed it as Lori stood by a sink, staring into the mirror.
"Your makeup looks great today!" said Leni through the stall.
"What makeup? I mean, besides my eyeliner, eyeshadow, highlights, a little blush, and lip gloss. Eh, maybe I do have a bit of makeup. But yeah, I look pretty, don't I? If I could look this pretty during prom night, then I could beat that rat, Carol Pingrey, and literally become prom queen!
Splashing noises inside the stall continued to fill the silence of the restroom.
"You sure will!" said Leni. "I wish I knew how to use makeup like you!"
"Like you need any," said Lori. "You already look beautiful. Literally too beautiful for makeup."
"Awe, thanks, Lori."
Leni came out of the stalls, her arms open for a hug.
"Maybe wash your hands first?" said Lori.
Both girls came out of the restroom, ready to skip yet another class without a teacher. Lori stretched her arms and smiled. She really couldn't wait to graduate and go to college.
"I'm going to miss you, you know," said Leni. "I can't believe you're going to move in a few months."
"At least you're going to have our room all to yourself. You'd be the first girl in our family to have a room all to their–"
Suddenly, from across the hallway to their right, they heard a bloodcurdling scream. Both girls looked at the end of the hall, where other students ran away from, screaming and yelling and shouting and crying. The students moved and pushed Lori and Leni away as they continued to run away. Lori looked at the group of students before looking back at the end of the hall, taking a step closer. And closer.
"Lori, what are you–?"
"Just stay there!" said Lori.
Lori took one more step closer. Then, a classmate leaped from another hallway into the lockers, placing his face against them while huffing and groaning as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes opened widely as he moved his face away from the lockers, turning toward Lori and Leni, revealing an oval-shaped wound with puncture marks on the edges.
"Louds... help me. Help me!"
Then, their English teacher pounced on the student against the lockers. He had pale skin, blood on his fingers, blood on his mouth, blood on his shirt collar, disheveled hair, and golden eyes. And he bit into the back of the student's neck, causing blood to squirt out.
Lori and Leni both screamed in horror as the student screamed in pain. The teacher grabbed the student's arms and pulled him away from the lockers, causing the sisters to observe the student's anguished face.
"Run, Leni! RUN!" yelled Lori.
Lori and Leni ran away from the hall, moving towards the stairwell at the opposite end of the hall. Lori grabbed Leni's hand and opened the doors to the stairwell, taking a glance back. The student begged her to help.
"Don't go! Please! Don't leave me, Lori!"
Lori looked away and closed the door before running down the stairs with Leni, who closed her ears with her hands. Lori looked at her and felt more anxious to get her sister out of the building.
They arrived at the ground floor where she found crowds of students flooding out of the building as the security guards tried to deescalate the panic. As a hand tapped Lori's shoulder, she yelped and flinched before turning around. It was a frightened Luan.
"Oh, thank goodness," sighed Lori. "Are you okay? Did anything happen to you?"
"Yes, I'm okay!" exclaimed Luan. "Nothing happened to me– it was my classmates! Some of them were biting each other, eating each other like a bunch of cannibals!"
"Just like in that video that's been going around... why the hell did the news literally not say anything about it coming to Michigan?"
"I don't know but we have to get outta here! Where's Luna?"
"Ahh damn it!" grumbled the bus driver. "Busted wheel. Hold on, people, looks like we got ourselves a flat tire! For the second damn time today…"
Luna connected her headphones to her phone and played a song from Mick Swagger as she looked out the city bus.
"Dammit, why did I have to wake up late today?" whispered Luna. "Stupid alarm. Well, screw it. Just go with the flow. No need to stress about timin'. Like Mick Swagger himself said. Or something like that."
Her eyes grew worried again as she turned on her phone. She opened up her contacts and found her crush's name. She gulped as she opened up her messages with Sam. Her fingers hovered above the digital keyboard, though she didn't have it in her to text her.
"What if I just make it more awkward with her?" Luna thought to herself. "Maybe we'll talk about the whole love letter thing when she comes back from her Toronto trip."
Suddenly, a scream coming from the front of the bus caught Luna's attention as she flinched. She stood up while taking out her headphones, looking at the front window. Then, the bus driver was slammed against the window, screaming for help.
The passengers on the bus screamed and hopped off the back exit when a pale and bloody walking corpse entered the bus. Luna felt her heart skip a beat as the growls from the corpse sent chills up her spine. She hopped off the exit and looked around frantically. She quickly jogged away from the exit and along the bus, looking up and through the window, watching the corpse staring at her with its golden eyes.
"What the hell is that?" whimpered Luna.
She jogged to the front of the bus and saw the driver with a massive gash where his eyes and nose are supposed to be at. The driver still moved his arms as if he was struggling to ask for help.
Goosebumps. Luna felt goosebumps across her arms. She was speechless. Her eyes were fixated on his face. And her eyes began to bubble up as she felt a shortness of breath.
The growl from the walking corpse snapped her out of her stupor. She quickly looked around and ran towards the toolbox. She opened it and grabbed a black crowbar, longer than her arm. After grabbing her crowbar, she quickly ran in the direction of her house, everything around her becoming blurry.
After getting through the large group of students in the front door, Lori, Leni, and Luan went inside Vanzilla. Lori started the van and drove quickly away from her high school and headed to Royal Woods Elementary School. Luckily for her, the school was only a couple minutes away.
"What do you mean he's not picking up?" exclaimed Lori.
"He's not tapping the answer button on his phone– that's what I mean by he's not picking up!" yelled Luan.
"Call someone else! Lisa, maybe! Call her! Call Lisa!"
"Stop barking orders at me! I already tried calling her!"
"And?"
"She told me to not interrupt her education!"
"Guys, calm down..." said Leni.
The van pulled up in front of the school, finding a lack of parked cars. The three sisters quickly left the van and ran inside the school, preparing to warn the security guards. But there were no security guards.
The sisters quickly ran across the hallway. They split up, each looking for a different sibling. Lori ran inside Mrs. Johnson's room.
"Everyone, you have to leave! Now! Lincoln and Clyde, come with me!"
Lincoln, Clyde, Girl Jordan, and Penelope looked at Lori. The other seats were empty.
"L-L-L-Lori?" stuttered Clyde until he bled from his nose and fell unconscious.
"Why? What happened?" Lincoln nervously asked. "Lori, you're scaring me."
He's never seen Lori so distressed before.
"Lori Loud!" gasped Mrs. Johnson. "Long time no see! What are you doing barging in my classroom like this?"
"The stories are true. There are people eating other people like zombies! Yes, I'm being serious! All of you need to leave! I know it's hard to believe but–"
"I believe it," said Mrs. Johnson as she packed up her stuff into her purse. "I'm getting the hell outta here. Thank you. Nice to see you again, Lori. Class dismissed!"
"Does this mean no homework?" asked Penelope.
"Time to barricade my house," said Girl Jordan before running out of the class.
"What?" gasped Lincoln.
"Lincoln, Just look for Lola, Lana, Lucy, and Lisa!" Lori demanded as she grabbed and picked up Clyde.
Leni ran across the hallways with the kindergarten classes.
"Monsters outside! Monsters!"
The kids ran as Lisa slowly came out.
"Second eldest sibling. Where are the others?" asked Lisa.
Leni put no thought into the fact that Lisa believed her, and just dragged Lisa outside to Vanzilla.
"Looks like the necrosis influenza virus finally reached the township of Royal Woods," said Lisa. "Not ideal."
Meanwhile, Luan found Lola and Lana in the hallways after Leni's warnings created panic throughout the whole school.
"Thank goodness, you guys are safe. We gotta leave. Now!" said Luan without cracking a single joke.
Lola and Lana noticed this, and listened to her. They ran outside and found Leni and Lisa inside Vanzilla.
Lori and Lincoln were now looking for Lucy, whose black hair and pale skin should be very distinguishing from any of the kids in the school. However, she just couldn't be found.
Running was painful. Flashbacks were gruesome. After what seemed to be hours and hours, Luna finally stopped running. She stopped outside of her house and vomited in the yard. She just couldn't believe that a human sank his teeth into the bus driver's face and tore it apart. Except, it wasn't human. It appeared too dead to be a human.
Realizing that she left her keys in her backpack, she knocked on the door loudly.
"Luna? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at sch–" said Lynn before she got interrupted by Luna.
"Lynn! The most fucked up thing just happened! A dead man just ate my bus driver's face off and I had to fucking book it! I know, I know, it sounds like bullshit! But you shoulda' seen his face! It was–"
Luna was getting ready to throw up again.
The emergency broadcast system blared on the TV, interrupting the breaking news that had interrupted the sports channel. Each alarm caused their hairs to raise as both girls stared at the TV.
"THIS FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT. CIVIL AUTHORITIES HAVE ISSUED A WARNING FOR ALL COUNTIES IN MICHIGAN. AT 7:50 A.M., WAYNE COUNTY HAVE ISSUED A REPORT OF AN OUTBREAK OF THE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS NECROSIS INFLUENZA VIRUS. THE REPORT CLAIMS THAT SYMPTOMS OF THE AFFECTED INCLUDE NAUSEA, FEVER, BLOOD LOSS, LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, AND DEATH. THE REPORT ALSO CLAIMS THAT THE AFFECTED WILL ACT IN AGGRESSIVE AND DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR. CIVILIANS ARE ADVISED TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES OR SEEK A NEARBY SAFE-ZONE AND TO AVOID ANY INTERACTIONS WITH THE AFFECTED UNTIL THE SITUATION IS DEALT WITH. STAY TUNED FOR FURTHER DETAIL AS THEY FOLLOW."
Luna and Lynn held each other's hands, not caring how gross they each felt. They found comfort with each other.
Panic continued to ensue in the elementary school. After the emergency alert broadcast, teachers and faculty members were convinced that they weren't safe. Students ran across the hallways. Some tried calling their parents or older siblings. Some tried looking for their friends or relatives.
The Louds grew more desperate as they were unable to find Lucy among the chaos. Lori tried stopping one of the students to ask where Lucy was, but they all kept running away.
"Lincoln!" yelled a female voice.
Lincoln turned around and smiled widely.
"Ronnie Anne! And Lucy! Thank goodness!"
Lincoln wrapped his arms around Ronnie Anne and Lucy.
"Nice to see you too, Lame-O."
"You must have been so scared for me, Lincoln," said Lucy.
Lori turned around and felt ecstatic as she gasped.
"Boo-Boo Bear! You're here!"
She ran up to Bobby, who walked next to his sister and hugged him. She quickly kissed him on the lips.
"Bobby, how– what are you doing in Royal Woods?" asked Lori softly.
Bobby prepared to answer before being interrupted by Ronnie Anne.
"We need to leave! NOW!" yelled Ronnie Anne, pointing at the windows.
The Louds and Santiagos looked outside of the windows and saw groups of roaming corpses in the far distance. Lori picked up Clyde and ran toward the closest exit. Bobby, Ronnie Anne, Leni, Luan, Lincoln, Lucy, Lana, Lola, and Lisa followed. They all dashed out of the school and into Vanzilla, jumping into their respective seats with Bobby sitting in the passenger seat and Ronnie Anne and an unconscious Clyde sitting next to Lincoln.
Lori set the gear stick out of parking and pressed her foot on the gas pedal. She tried to figure out where to go. Her parent's workplaces were not an option as they were at Lily's future daycare center. Going back to the high school for Luna wouldn't have been wise either. Luan tried calling her, but no one picked up. Lori sighed.
The van headed home.
"Yeah, he's going to be in our house," said Lincoln into his phone. "Great. See you in a few."
Lincoln put away his phone and looked at Lori.
"Clyde's dads are coming to our house."
"And Mom and Dad?"
"They're not picking up."
After more than a couple minutes, Vanzilla parked in the garage of the Loud residence. At the same time, another car came, parking in front of the house. The McBrides, along with Lynn Sr., Rita, and Lily, came out of the car. Lily giggled as she felt the breeze of the air rub against her face as Rita carried her.
"Here you go, Mr. McBride," said Lori, handing Clyde to one of his dads. "He saw me and fell unconscious. I'm sorry about that."
"No worries, Lori," said Howard. "We know about his infatuation with you. Just go home and relax."
"I'm glad you kids are safe," said Lynn Sr. "Now, what is this I hear about a virus going around? What's going on?"
"Calm down," said Rita. "Let's just go inside and barricade our home. Sorry, guys, but we're going to have to stay here for a while until they tell us it's safe to go out."
Rita opened the door and found Lynn and Luna inside. Both Lynn and Luna sighed in relief along with the rest of the family. Luna was safe.
"Home sweet home," sighed Lincoln. "So Ronnie Anne, I've been wondering. What are you doing here? Not that I don't want you to be here, but why did you come back?"
"Is that really your primary concern now, Lincoln?"
"Well, we are safe."
"Okay. Bobby and I decided to visit you guys after our mom gave us plane tickets, which was weird 'cause we coulda' just drove here. So we came here yesterday 'cause only the international flights were canceled, so domestic flights were okay! However, the guards kept us waiting in the airport for some reason, and it took us a day to finally leave. After that, Bobby and I headed to a hotel, when we saw what was on the news. We immediately took a taxi and we were about to head to your house, but of course, I completely forgot that you guys still had school, so we took a taxi to your school. Bobby wanted to go to Lori's school, but he wanted to stay with me until I finally made sure you guys were safe. But now…"
Ronnie Anne's voice starts breaking.
"Now I'm scared for my family. What if the… infection… already got to them? You see what the infection is doing to those people out there?"
"They're turning into... zombies," said Lincoln.
The families were all left in shock as they came to the realization that the infected were dead people bitten by other dead people. That's what they were. Zombies.
"What if they couldn't escape the massive horde of zombies that are probably taking over my city?" whimpered Ronnie Anne. "What if they are de–?"
"Ronnie, I wouldn't worry about that. They are probably on their way here, to make sure you guys are safe," interrupted Lincoln.
"Thanks, Lame-O, but I'm still worried about them."
"It's okay, Nini, Lincoln is right. Abuela said that if anything were to happen, she and the others would come here," said Bobby rubbing her sister's head.
Ronnie Anne felt relaxed now.
"Kids! I can't imagine what you guys went through out there…!" Rita started sobbing.
"Mom. Mom, it's okay," whispered Lori. "We're all safe. That is what matters the most. As long as we all stick together, we'll be safe."
"You're right, honey," said Rita, wiping her tears. "You're right."
"Let's just stay together and pay attention to the TV. They might tell us how to stay safe from these zombies."
They stayed inside all day to night time, keeping the TV on, where a reporter reported the news from Detroit. Lori went to turn off all the lights and Bobby followed her with a lit candle in his hands. Rita and Lynn Sr. went to grab all the blankets and turn on the fans. Lucy looked outside at all the corpses wandering in the streets.
"Sigh," she said to herself.
Leni watched Lily sleep. Lynn was fast asleep in her bed. Lincoln and Ronnie Anne slept on the couch. Luan was trying her hardest to tell jokes to Luna but she seems to have lost her sense of humor. Luna just looked at the ceiling on her bed, wide awake, thinking about the bus driver. Lisa read her biology books and studied the zombies' movements outside. Howard and Harold slept in Rita and Lynn Sr.'s room along with Clyde. Lana was in the basement looking for tools and weapons to help fight off the zombies. Lola awaited Lana by the door, looking very frightened.
"Lana, please hurry up. I wanna go to sleep," whispered Lola loudly.
"In a second, Lola," whispered back Lana. "I'm just grabbing my tools and some stuff we can use to fight off the zombies! It would be so cool if we can smash some zombie brains!"
"Eww, Lana, gross! Just get your butt up here already!"
Lana went up the basement stairs and walked with Lola, upstairs to their room. It started raining outside. The Louds, McBrides, and the Santiagos were finally asleep.
The schools were overrun by the zombies who were once students and teachers who failed to escape the school on time. The streets, however, were not completely overrun by zombies yet.
Outside, riot police forces were deployed across town. They struggled to distinguish the newly-turned zombies from the living in the darkness. People threw up in the streets before falling unconscious, before succumbing to the necrosis flu. The infection spread in every house of the town, killing some people, or rather the part that made them people. Phone lines were shut down as many utility poles collapsed in the chaos of the dawn of the infection. Vehicles were abandoned on the roads. Stores were looted, and people started forming protests against the police for killing the "people". Other people who were prepared for an incoming apocalypse grabbed their guns and boarded up their windows. Helicopters were flying above the towns, shining a light at groups of zombies to guide the police in their futile manhunt. And then there were people who hid in the safety of their homes. Like the Louds.
-Day 2-
The morning was partially foggy as the second day of the global apocalypse approached. The police were outside, telling civilians to evacuate to the safe shelters in Detroit. However, there were many people protesting against them, asking them why they still haven't done anything about the schools. There were also people moving the corpses away from the streets and tossing them into a fire. For many hours, it seemed stable though tense in the town.
With supplies already running low in the house, Lori and Bobby offered to run to the nearest supermarket and grab whatever they could find. Many stores and markets were abandoned by their owners since their stores were looted, but the couple still wanted to give it a chance. They grabbed their backpacks and drove Vanzilla to the supermarket.
The shelves rattled as Lori rummaged through empty cans and packages.
"Hmm, do we really want canned tuna?," asked Lori.
"Babe, we need as much food as we can get. So, yes, we do want the canned tuna," responded Bobby.
"Ugh. This world sucks already. This is about to be the worst week ever."
"It won't be so bad. It's just survivin' a little bit and that's it. Things should eventually go back to normal, right?"
Lori shook her head.
"Who am I kidding?" said Bobby. "It's zombies! World's never going to be the same. We'll never be the same. We could die any day now!"
"Boo-Boo Bear! Don't think like that! I depend on you for hope. As long as we're together, then we won't change. I need to believe that!"
Bobby sighed and took a deep breath.
"All I need is you," said Bobby. "My world's fine with you. I'll cherish every moment we have together, even in the worst of times."
Lori blushed.
"I love you, you know that, right? How did I end up with someone as handsome and caring as you?"
Bobby chuckled softly as Lori grabbed his shirt, kissing him. She released her lips against his as she looked up at him with half-closed eyes.
"You know, if any day could be our last... might as well enjoy every second of our life, right?"
Bobby nodded his head as Lori kissed him again, both lovebirds dropping to the ground slowly.
"Babe, what if someone walks in?" whispered Bobby.
"I locked the doors," said Lori, now sitting on Bobby's lap. "We have this moment to ourselves. And just in case you feel a bit unprotected... I got some pills in my bag. So just... relax."
She bit her lips softly as she removed his boyfriend's shirt while softly grinding against him. She then slowly removed her own shirt and bra while Bobby couldn't hold his smile. He then placed his fingers on his girlfriend's head and caressed her. Lori giggled before leaning toward his face, kissing him as they moaned softly.
Dusk started to settle in, and Lori and Bobby were ready to go home with backpacks full of food. Lori leaned her head at Bobby's shoulders, smiling widely as they held each other's hand. They glanced at each other, giggling.
"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" giggled Lori.
"You make me happy, that's all."
Suddenly, loud bang noises were fired outside. Lori and Bobby stopped smiling and looked outside, slowly opening the curtains. The riot police were opening fire on the protesters. And then the couple watched as the protestors fired back. One of the bullets flew through the window, hitting a shelf a couple aisles away from the couple.
"Babe, let's go!" exclaimed Bobby.
Lori and Bobby unlocked the entrance door and quickly ran towards Vanzilla. More gunshots popped from the rioters, who were now throwing Molotov at the riot police and nearby buildings.
As Lori headed home, she and Bobby observed the fires spreading through the houses. A couple bodies lay near one of the burning homes. The couple watched in sorrow as a couple rioters jumped over the bodies, waving posters and yelling freely. Then, one of the bodies slowly rose from the ground.
"Oh god, that's a–" gasped Lori.
"Yup. Just focus on the road, babe."
As the town fell into deep turmoil, the couple arrived home and went inside the house.
"It's not safe out there!" exclaimed Lori.
"There were people shooting, firing their guns everywhere!" exclaimed Bobby.
A helicopter was recording what was happening in Royal Woods and it showed the dead protesters and police officers coming back to life. The families were astounded by what they were seeing on television.
"How did that even happen? They weren't even bit or dead from the infection," asked Lori as she watched the zombies wander in the live footage.
Rita looked at Lynn Jr. very worriedly. Bobby and Lori held each other as they continued to watch the news.
The zombies started attacking people, and one zombie pressed his jaws against a guy's arm and ripped it off before the recording was cut by the news station.
"Alright kids," said Lynn Sr. "Go up to your room. Lynn Jr., stay here on the couch, your mother and I will find some medicine for you."
Lynn sighed as her parents walked into the kitchen. She then leaped out of the couch and behind a wall to eavesdrop on her parents.
"What if she's infected with that zombie virus?" whispered Lynn Sr.
"We'll have to ask Lisa to run her tests or something," said Rita.
"And if she has the virus?"
"I don't know, honey. I really don't know. Please, don't think about that. She's strong. She can fight off the infection."
Lynn ran away from the wall and leaped back into her couch. She coughed and groaned as yellow fluids stained her sleeves.
She became anxious and frightened. A footstep behind her caused her to gasp and flinch back as she was ready to karate chop her unsuspecting victim.
"Woah, it's just me," said Clyde.
Lynn sighed again. He noticed that Lynn was shaking and nervously rubbing her hands.
"What's the problem, Lynn?"
"Nothing. I'm fine. Go to sleep," responded Lynn with a nervous voice.
"I can see that you're not fine. Why don't you tell me what's going on? Maybe I can help you."
"I told you, nothing happened. I'm fine. Please leave me alone."
"Lynn… you're tearing up."
Lynn didn't seem to notice, but now that she realized her tears were running down her cheeks, she felt embarrassed.
"Clyde, go away! Can't you see that I'm going to die and turn into a freakin' zombie and eat you alive?!"
"Lynn, what are you talking about? A simple stuffy nose and a cough and a fever won't kill you. Besides, you're already getting better."
Lynn seemed to relax, and nodded at Clyde.
"Can you watch me– just until I fall asleep?"
"Of course I can. Close your eyes and relax."
"Good. If I turn, I want you to whack me to death."
"Lynn..."
"Kidding. Night."
"Night."
The streets were on fire, and the bodies of many people were on the ground. The zombies started taking over Royal Woods. Gunshots can be heard throughout the night, attracting zombies. Once again, it rained.
-Day 3-
Zombies roamed around certain areas out in the street, and the fog got stronger. The fires went out, and the electricity seemed to go out, as flicking the light switch did nothing to turn the lights on. Lucy peeked outside.
"There are many of our undead friends in the streets. We can't stay here or else they will trap us in our own home until we starve. And we can't just leave the house because the zombies will go after us and start chomping us," said Lucy.
"We have to seek safe shelter in Detroit. Staying here is just asking to die," said Lincoln.
"Yeah!" agreed Ronnie Anne. "Plus, my family is probably on their way to Detroit if they think we're there in the safe shelters."
"She's right," said Lana, holding a shovel while bringing a bag downstairs. "I know that you're all worried about being attacked outside, but guess what! Mama Lana brought some tools and weapons that we can all use."
She dropped the bag, and opened it to reveal the many objects they can use to impale, cut, or smash zombie brains with.
"Lana, where did you find these things?" asked Rita.
"In the basement. Now everyone, grab your weapons!"
Lucy quickly grabbed the shiny black shovel with a sharp tip. Bobby grabbed a red ax with the silver blade. Lincoln grabbed a yellow and black sledgehammer. Clyde moved to grab a weapon, but his dads held him back. Harold grabbed a hammer and handed another one to Howard. Lana grabbed the heavy wrench which she always had on her anyways. Lynn Sr. grabbed the ice pick. Luan grabbed a pry bar. Ronnie Anne grabbed a small pickaxe. Lola, Lisa, and Leni refused to grab a weapon. Lori went to her room to grab her golf clubs. She returned with a couple golf clubs and handed one to Rita and Clyde. Clyde didn't even seem to notice Lori's presence due to his immense fright of everything going around him. His fear overpowered his love. Lynn went to her room and grabbed a baseball bat. Luna just kept the crowbar that she got from the bus driver's toolbox. Leni grabbed Lily since Rita had to carry her golf club.
"Looks like we're going to Detroit, kids," said Rita.
"What about Charles, Geo, Cliff, and Walt? We're just going to leave them here?" asked Lana.
"We're going to free Walt and Cliff, since they can live on their own. We're giving Geo and Charles to Mr. Grouse," said Lynn Sr.
"What about my pets?" asked Lana.
"They can live on their own too. Lucy and Luan, you guys have to release Fangs and Gary. I'm sorry but we can't stay here longer, and they can't come with us."
They understood and they proceeded to release their pets. Now they had to face a challenge. They had to clear the street in front of the house so Lynn Sr. could drive them all of them safely to Detroit.
"Okay, kids, everyone stay inside the car and cover your eyes. Howard, Harold, your mom, and I got this," said Lynn Sr. frighteningly.
They all raced to Vanzilla, and now Lori was the boss. Lynn Sr. quickly ran to Mr. Grouse's house and let Geo and Charles get inside. Lori looked at the approaching zombies.
"Guys, there is no way we are all going to stay here. Some of us are going to help," said Lori with a stern voice.
She looked around to see who was fully prepared and able to help her and the adults.
"Luna! Lynn! Lincoln! Lucy! And of course, you too, Boo-Boo Bear," yelled Lori except at the last part. "Are you guys ready?"
"YEAH!" they all screamed.
"Now, let's kick some ass!" yelled Luna.
The parents struggled to kill the zombies as they were only beating up their bodies and pushing them away.
"No, dudes, you gotta kill them like this..." said Luna.
She walked up to a zombie and swung her crowbar on one of their heads, crushing the zombie's skull and brain, squirting blood everywhere. The parents watched in shock as they saw their rockstar girl kill her first zombie.
"Remember, guys, these people are literally dead already! So do not hesitate to kill them again!" yelled Lori as she swung her golf club on two zombies, smashing their brains inside.
The adults listened, and reluctantly killed the zombies, watching Vanzilla each time blood and brain bits came off the zombies. Most of the kids closed their eyes, with the exception of Ronnie Anne and Lana. Lana thought it was very awesome that her family were slaughtering zombies. However, Ronnie Anne was watching Bobby and Lincoln with fear on her face. Bobby was swinging the ax with only the thought of protecting his sister, and his girlfriend and her family. Lincoln realized that killing zombies was not a game. He truly did have to try and hit them in the head in return for his life. Lynn was swinging her baseball bat left, right, up and down crazily, killing a decent amount of zombies. After two minutes of killing zombies in the streets, they finally made space for Vanzilla to escape to Detroit. Rita entered the house, and came out with a towel to clean all the weapons. Then, they all entered Vanzilla.
"Awesome," said Lana.
"No, not awesome. That was scary as he...ck," said Lincoln. "Lana, this is not a game. I almost peed myself!"
"Sorry. I'm just happy that you killed those monsters."
They drove away from Franklin Avenue and headed to Detroit. There were many destroyed, burnt, crushed, and abandoned cars on the road, so although they were close to the city, they had to drive very slowly around the cars. However, the fuel for the van was running out, prompting Lynn Sr. to stop by a gas station.
He stepped outside and asked Bobby to come with him. It was a bit strange as he would've normally asked his wife to accompany her.
"So, Bobby, why don't you come with me and help me grab some gasoline?" asked Lynn Sr.
"Uhh sure, why not, Mr. Loud?," said Bobby as they both headed for the pump.
Now that the kids were in Vanzilla, and they were far away enough to not be heard, Lynn Sr. put his hand on Bobby's shoulder.
"Look, Bobby. I know what I'm about to ask you is going to be a huge responsibility, but I can trust you. You and Lori both love each other so darn much, that you guys are inseparable. That's why I wanted to ask you if you can promise to take care of her for as long as you two live. Not just physically– I mean, be there for her in the worst of times to protect her mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Remind her what she's surviving for. And never, ever let her get in way over her head. Because let's be honest– she can kick ass. But she needs your protection. Either from those things out there... or from herself."
"Mr. Loud? Why ask now? I mean of course I will always be with her and take care of her, but why ask me this now?"
"Well, to be honest, I know I'm not going to survive very long in this hellish world, but I have hope for you and my beautiful daughter," said Lynn Sr. trying to hold his tears back.
"Mr. Loud… please don't say that. You gotta stay here for your daughter. You gotta fight for her as long as you live too."
"I know, I know, but just promise me that, will you?"
"I promise. I promise I will protect her and love her for as long as I live."
"Thanks, son."
Lynn Sr. and Bobby grabbed a small tank of gasoline and refilled the van with gas. They went back inside the van.
"What happens when the zombies eat me? Will I taste funny to them? Hehehe...get it?" laughed Luan nervously.
It was a truly dark time that Luan was just having trouble cracking a joke. Lynn Sr. continued to drive for half an hour, until he slowed down and joined traffic. The Louds heard the sound of a helicopter, and saw the skyline of the city.