Here comes the next chapter of the story. Just in time for Halloween. Make sure you have some candy with you because here comes another LONG chapter. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter. If you enjoyed, leave a review! If you didn't, then leave a thought to why you didn't. Constructive criticism is always welcome!
(Updated as of 7/18/20)
An owl flew towards the ground in an open field, looking for rabbits. A rabbit came out from its hole, hopping through the grass and leaves in the ground, hoping to find some seeds and vegatables. Suddenly, the owl flew towards the rabbit and grabbed its neck with its sharp beak, and hovered above the grass. Then, the wind began to pick up and suddenly got very strong, which led the owl to fly away, still carrying the rabbit in its beak. A Chinook arrived and slowly landed on the field, blowing all the leaves away. The loading ramp opened and out came twenty parents, but none of them were Lynn Loud Sr. or Rita Loud. The soldiers that accompanied them grabbed them by a chain, which locked around their wrists.
The soldiers and the civilians were watched by someone in the far distance through the night vision scope of an M110 sniper rifle. Hiding inside a treehouse in the backyard of a house, covered by trees, a 45-year old Marine veteran was scouting the park for one specific person. Unfortunately for him, he did not arrive yet. He opened up a can of peaches and scooped up a spoonful of it, when suddenly, he heard explosions about five miles away. He continued to eat his can of peaches before cracking his neck as he heard more helicopters arrive.
Chapter 2: Exodus
I - Not So Safe Shelter
Confusion arose in the bunker. What were the explosions that they felt outside? Each person inside the bunker did not know what happened outside in the safe-zone except for the Louds, the Santiagos, and Clyde.
"Holy shit," whispered Luna as she looked for Sam.
The bunker was lit by large rectangular lightbulbs in the ceiling, revealing the sweat and tears of every minor in the bunker. Luna wiped her arm across her forehead as she squinted, finding a girl with blonde hair among a confused crowd. The girl turned around, her eyes meeting with Luna's, who grew a soft smile before it died quickly. She came up to Luna and hugged her, letting tears fall out of her eyes.
Word spread around quickly in the bunker that parents were slaughtered and the city was bombed by the very same military that protected them in the safe-zone. People were clammering among each other, shouting orders and demands, while others slammed their hands against the steel doors.
"Bobby..." whispered Lori.
Lori's tears swelled in her eyes, letting mascara drip down her face. She placed her face on Bobby's chest, letting all of her mascara run down his shirt, though he did not care. He just held Lori close to him and closed his eyes, letting a tear fall out as Ronnie Anne watched them both with droopy eyes.
Luan had trouble grasping what just happened before hearing a voice call out for her. She turned towards the voice and saw Benny making his way through a crowd of people, trying to shove his way out.
"Luan! Luan. Tell me... tell me what I just heard isn't true. Were our parents...? Your parents? All of our parents? My dad...? He is... isn't he?" Benny asked with wide eyes.
Luan couldn't let a word out. She let out a whimper and cupped her mouth with her hands before breaking down into tears. Benny wrapped his arms around her and started tearing up before looking up into the ceiling. He tried wiping them away, but they still ran down his face.
Lola and Lana cried into Lincoln's stomach as he wheezed and teared up. He sniffled and saw his friends crying in the distance, with the exception of Rusty. He had to stay strong for his little brother and he didn't think all the adults were slaughtered. There was something about the whole situation that made him feel suspicious. Zach also had his suspicions while Liam simply sat against the wall, looking out at the bunker door, while Tabby sat next to him.
Clyde nervously played with his hands, looking down as many thoughts raced across his mind. Some of them were thoughts of denial while others were thoughts of the worst-case scenarios.
Lynn teared up and was comforted by Francisco, who sniffled softly as he heard the soft whimpers of his friend.
Lucy sighed as one tear fell from her face. She quickly wiped it off with the palm of her hands and sighed quietly before looking around. She let out a breath of relief as she noticed no eyes stared at her.
Darcy walked towards Lisa, carrying her stuffed giraffe. Her eyes looked somber and nervous.
"Lisa? Why is everyone sad? What happened?" Darcy asked.
"Oh, uh, nothing. Just go to sleep," responded Lisa.
Darcy lay herself on the floor and placed her head into a backpack. Her eyes closed slowly and her chest slowly rose and fell before she fell into to a light slumber. Lisa looked down and exhaled in frustration.
"How can I explain this to her...?" she said to herself. "The mind of a child her age and her type of sensitivity would not be able to handle such truth."
However, Darcy was not the only confused person in the bunker. Leni and Lily looked around, wondering why everyone was in such a gloomy mood. Lisa, with her eyes closed, let out a defeated sigh and walked over to Lori, pulling on her cargo shorts.
"Eldest sister."
"What is it, Lisa?" asked Lori, wiping the tears off her eyes.
"There's a high likelihood that Darcy might experience night terrors if she sleeps alone."
Lori then faced Lisa before taking a glance at Darcy.
"What– you want me to sleep next to her?" scoffed Lori. "I'm not her mother. I don't even know her. Why don't you go take a nap with her?"
Bobby placed his hands on Lori's shoulders.
"Babe... relax. We may not know that girl, but we do she's a friend of Darcy. We also know she just lost her parents– and she probably doesn't even know that."
"Lisa should've seen this coming? How— Lisa, how did you not see this coming? I thought you were supposed to know everything."
"M-my apologies," whispered Lisa.
"Lori..." whispered Bobby. "Enough. You're angry at the wrong person."
"Oh my god. You're right. You're right. I'm sorry, Lisa. It's such a... stressful time. It's hard not knowing whether Mom and Dad made it out. That is if any parents actually made it out."
Lori pulled Lisa closer to her and hugged her.
"Lie down next to Darcy. I'll be there with you two."
Lori cleared her throat and rubbed her hands over shorts. She walked over to her siblings, who were all standing close together, along with Sam, Benny, and Francisco.
"How are you guys holding up?" asked Lori.
"Not so good, dude," said Luna as Sam rubbed her back.
"This has got to be a joke, right?" asked Luan. "I mean, it's really not funny. It really isn't."
Lori shook her head.
"I don't think it's a joke," she responded.
"These soldiers are gonna pay," hissed Lynn.
"Pay for what? I thought this place was free," said Leni, holding Lily in her arms. "Can someone tell me what's going on? Looking at these people's faces makes me feel upset. Like, poor souls!"
"I'll explain tomorrow, Leni," whispered Lori. "Just get Lily to sleep. Can you do that?"
"Yeah. This floor won't be good for my posture though..."
Leni walked away, taking Lily with her. Lori then crouched, looking eye to eye with her twin sisters.
"You know what's going on, right?" she asked.
"Of course, we're not stupid!" complained Lola.
"There's gotta be somethin' we can do!" exclaimed Lana.
"No, there isn't," said Lincoln. "The best thing we can do is sleep. Tomorrow, we come up with a plan– and we break outta here."
"You seriously expect us to sleep with all this commotion?" asked Lucy. "The silence may be unnerving... but some of us need it to sleep."
"Plus, the lights don't help," said Ronnie Anne. "It's too damn bright. And these people need to shut up!"
Liam ran up to Lincoln, fear in his eyes.
"I can't find Sophie," said Liam. "I ain't got a clue where her behind is sitting at."
"Your little sister?" asked Lincoln.
"Uh huh. I'm eyeing a whole basketful of youngins' in 'ere, but my lil' sis' ain't nowhere to be found. You don't reckon she...?"
"No. No, she's gotta be somewhere around here. Let me help you find her."
Lincoln grabbed Liam's shoulders and walked him around the bunker.
The teenagers and children in the bunker continued to chatter among each other, expressing anger and fear. Curses and commotion filled the room. Lori then turned around and walked over to the bunker door, finding a large power switch with a lightning bolt symbol on it. She turned it off, causing a large uproar in the room as the bright lights faded and were replaced with dim lights. She then turned it back on.
"Guys. Guys! Listen!" yelled Lori.
Lynn grit her teeth before running over to the bunker door.
"SHUT THE HELL UP AND LISTEN!" she screamed.
The commotion quickly faded away. Clyde walked over to the Louds and looked up at Lori, scratching his head softly. Rocky blinked softly before his eyes opened up widely. Carol held her breath.
"Thank you, Lynn," said Lori. "I know we all heard what just happened. We're all upset and angry and scared about it. I know because I feel that way too. And I'm not gonna lecture you to feel otherwise– you have a right to be angry at the soldiers who put us in this situation. But this door? It's going to open soon. And when it does, we have to be ready to fight what's out there. And you know what's out there. How many of you have killed the walking corpses? Raise your hands."
A few hands raised among the crowd. Carol looked next to him, finding Joey raising his hands. Lynn then looked at Francisco, finding him raising his right hand upwards.
"Not too many of you. Many of you are unprepared to fight them. Sure, killing one of the infect may be easy. Just an easy strike to the head, right? Right. But in a group? That's when we really have to watch our behind. The ones who raised their hands know it. It's gonna take a lot of energy. So if we want to have any chance of making it out alive... we all need to sleep. So, please... lower your voice... lie down somewhere... and sleep."
Lori looked at the crowd and turned off the bright lights. The room was dimly lit by low lights in the corner of the bunker. The teenagers and children walked around, each of them looking for empty spots to lie down. Carol frowned as she, Joey, and Chaz walked further into the bunker, away from the Louds.
Lori walked over to Darcy and Lisa, holding Bobby's hand and taking him with her. She knelt down and then placed herself on the floor next to Darcy and Lisa, plopping her head against the metallic floor. Bobby placed himself behind Darcy and Lisa, his head facing Lori as their eyes met contact.
"Listen to your own advice," whispered Bobby. "Try to fall asleep... if you can."
"I'll try... goodnight, Bobby."
Lincoln looked at his sisters, who were already lying down. His lips trembled as he saw Clyde walk into one of the many bathrooms inside the bunker. He lay on the floor, placing a backpack next to him and saving his best friend an empty spot. He then saw Liam standing above him.
"If Sophie ain't here... then that means..."
"She's somewhere out there," said Lincoln.
"Alone," said Liam, his voice breaking. "Prolly cryin' out for ol' brother to rescue her. We gotta go out there."
"We will... tomorrow. Right now, we need to rest. It's too dangerous. Wherever she is, I'm sure she's safe for now. I'm sorry, Liam. We just can't go out."
He then saw Liam placing his own backpack next to Lincoln.
"Mind if I bunk in here?" asked Liam.
"Go ahead," smiled Lincoln. "Make yourself comfortable. If you can."
"I sure will. I'm sure Sophie is with my folks."
Liam lay himself down on the floor.
"It may be frightenin' without our folks in 'ere, but imma' just pretend it's a big sleepover. It's what I gotta think 'bout— 'else I'll lose my mind."
Zach and Tabby walked over to Lincoln. They also placed a couple military backpacks on the floor and lay their heads on it.
"We can sleep here too, right?" asked Zach.
"You're welcome to," said Lincoln.
"Thank you, Linc," said Tabby. "Just one big sleepover, right?"
"Right."
The commotion and chattering died away, leaving only low and indistinct whispers and murmurs to echo around the bunker, being quiet enough for people to sleep.
Rusty blinked before turning over to his side. He quickly stood up and noticed his little brother was not sleeping next to him. He looked around and found a few people standing and walking around. He turned around, trying to look into the dark corners and shadows of the bunker, unable to spot Rocky. He began to exhale in and out quickly, panic setting in.
Suddenly, a flash of light by the buker door caught Rusty's attention. He walked over to the flash of light before stepping on something soft.
"Ouch, dude..." groaned Zach.
"Sorry, man. Go back to sleep," whispered Rusty.
Rusty raised his leg and stepped over the sleeping survivors in the bunkers, avoiding legs and arms.
After a minute of careful walking, Rusty peered into the light again, this time seeing clearer what surrounded the light. He then let out a sigh of relief as he began to walk faster.
"Rocky, man, you can't be scarin' me like that," said Rusty. "What are you doing up? It's like way past your bedtime."
"Bedtime doesn't exist anymore," said Rocky. "It's a thing of the past."
"Well... still, what are you doing up?"
"I don't know if you noticed, but this is serious. We're stuck in here. We're never getting outta here. Unless..."
Rocky then pointed at an icebox next to the door, which had a combination lock with three digits. It currently showed three numbers, all of them being zeros.
"What do you think it's in here?" asked Rocky.
"I don't know– ice?" replied Rusty.
"No, you dummy. I played enough video games to know that this icebox is hiding something. It could hold the key to getting outta here."
"Oh, okay, I got it. Ya know the combination?"
"No. We just gotta try every number there is."
"Dang. That's like a thousand combinations."
Rocky pulled on the lock, which refused to open.
"Nine-hundred ninety-nine now," said Rocky. "It's gonna be a long night."
-Day 11-
The dim lights hummed softly while Rusty and Rocky slept against the bunker door. The icebox was closed while the combination lock was set at a specific number. Suddenly, one of Rusty's loud snore woke him up.
"Wha—? Huh?" groggled Rusty, rubbing his eyes.
Everyone was still asleep. Rusty turned towards his brother and nudged him.
"Hey. Wake up. We gotta tell Lincoln," he whispered.
"Ehh. You tell him," slurred Rocky, yawning as he woke up. "Dang, I still feel tired."
Rusty walked over to Lincoln and tapped him on the shoulders. Lincoln twitched softly before blinking his eyes and yawning. He then looked up and saw Rusty standing over him.
"Hey, Lincoln. Come with me."
"What is it, Rusty?"
"Just come."
Lincoln sighed as Rusty walked away. He stood up and followed his friend, avoiding stepping on the sleeping teenagers and children. He then arrived by the bunker door, standing next to a tired Rocky.
"Look at this icebox," said Rusty. "It's got a combination lock."
"Okay. Does it hold any important?"
"Yes! It holds the key to getting out of here!" whispered Rusty loudly.
"A literal key," added Rocky.
"Oh, you cracked it open?"
Rusty nodded. He placed his fingers on the lock– which stated the numbers 7-3-0– and pulled down on it, causing the lock to click open. Rusty then placed his hand inside the icebox and took out a large metal key.
"Dang!" exclaimed Lincoln, barely keeping his voice down. "Nice, Rusty! Now, we can get outta here!"
"Shh! We have to wait until everyone is up to tell them," said Rusty, inserting the key inside the bunker door lock.
"Oh, alright," said Lincoln. "That's smart. It gives me more time to come up with a plan. Though... you know, I just realized something..."
"What?"
"We coulda' just asked my sister Leni to unlock the bunker door. She knows how to pick locks."
"Dude, really?" groaned Rusty. "Ahh, man! I ruined my sleep trying to open this thing!"
"Me too," said Rocky.
"Sorry, sorry, guys," said Lincoln.
"Alright, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that– for my sake," said Rusty.
Lincoln nodded before turning around, flinching back upon seeing a teenager with a red beanie staring at them, around Luan's age. His eyebrows were raised and his mouth was wide open.
"How much of that did you hear?" asked Lincoln.
"Everyone!" yelled the teen. "Everyone, wake up! WAKE UP!"
"Dude, shut up!" Rusty exclaimed. "Don't tell them about the key!"
"THEY HAVE THE KEY!"
The teenagers and children woke up, all feeling groggy and tired as a low commotion began to build up among the crowd. Some of them threw whatever items they could find at Lincoln, Rusty, and Rocky.
"Hey, we didn't wake you guys up!" yelled Lincoln.
"People are idiots, man," said Rusty.
"Guys, these kids just unlocked the bunker door! We gotta get outta here!"
The commotion grew louder as the teenager with the red beanie ran towards the door.
"Dude, we told you not to tell anyone!"
"I'm not gonna let a bunch of kids tell me what to do," said the teenager. "Please, if you can, kindly fuck off."
The teenger opened up the bunker door, revealing the stairways that led upwards, along with the metallic horizontal door that was secured shut. The teenager ran up the stairs, along with many of the people inside the bunker. They all ran towards the stairs, pushing each other, shoving everyone towards the exit of the bunker.
"Guys, stop!" yelled Lincoln. "We need a plan!"
A teenager and one of Lori's classmates, Joey, opened the horizontal door and dashed out of the bunker with many others. Lincoln looked at his siblings, and saw Lori quickly grabbing her items.
"You're joining them?" asked Lincoln. "Without a plan?"
"We all have to leave," said Lori in a hurried tone. "The dead ones are gonna trap us in here."
Lori walked over to the bunker exit as many of the survivors were freeing themselves from the bottleneck.
"Follow me and try to stick together!" she exclaimed.
"Oh my god, we're following the Queen of No?" groaned Lynn.
"Shut up, Lynn."
Lori and Bobby grabbed Darcy's hands. Leni held Lily tightly as Luna and Sam stood next to each other, walking towards the bunker door. Lincoln and Clyde placed their backs against each others and walked up the stairs while spinning. Liam raised his hands into a fist as he walked up the stairs, prompting Tabby to do the same. Zach felt Rusty being shoved against him while Rocky kept himself low and hidden like Lucy. Lynn and Francisco quickly moved up the stairs, seeing the light peering into their eyes. Ronnie Anne felt herself being shoved next to Lisa as more of the survivors tried to rush out of the bunker. Lana and Lola held each other's hands as they saw the cloudy skies. Luan and Benny were behind them, being the last of the group to get out of the bunker. Their eyes widened as they looked around.
The group saw many walking corpses in the streets. They quickly glanced at Building A, which beared the mark of napalm in the windows and steel frame, but not as badly burnt to a crisp as the other buildings.
Lori looked around as the rotters walked towards the bunker, growling and snarling at the large group of survivors. With the rotters surrounding him, the teenager with the red beanie screamed as one rotter sunk its teeth into his shoulder. Another rotter pulled at his right arm while another clawed into his stomach. He continued to scream, causing more of the rotters to surround him, each of them grasping for a piece of flesh. As screams became mixed with his gargle of blood before a rotter placed its decaying nails into his throat and pulled.
"Oh my god!" screamed one of the teenagers.
"What the–!" screamed a child.
Lori grabbed Darcy and placed her hands over the little girl's eyes as the scream died out. Lola looked away, holding her stomach as Lana chills go down her spine.
"Oh, Christ," groaned Benny as he ran to General Black's station.
"Benny, where are you–?" gasped Luan. "Dang it!"
Luan quickly followed him, realizing that she separated herself from the group.
More of the young survivors screamed as the rotters continued to swarm them, more flesh being ripped apart and spilled into the ground. Some of the bodies lay a couple meters away from the bunker.
Bobby turned around and grabbed Ronnie Anne's hands.
"Come on, keep moving! Hurry, hurry!"
"Where, Bobby, where?"
Some of the teenagers grabbed the items in the ground and beat the rotters away. Some of the rotters poured into the street by Building C where a group of survivors tried to escape. Unfortunately, the rotters had them trapped.
Bobby looked away and at Building A.
"Lori! Over here! There's an opening!"
"Guys!" exclaimed Lori. "Follow Bobby!"
Bobby ran towards Building A, tackling a rotter out of the way. Behind him, the group ran as fast as they could to Building A, and after Lori– who was the behind them all– entered, they all closed the door.
"Oh god," panted Lori.
"That was gnarly," said Rusty, sounding disgusted. "And not in a good way."
"Oh my gosh, that was so scary," said Leni. "Poor them."
"Wait. I only count twenty-one people. Where's Luan and Benny?"
Suddenly, rapid and loud knockings sounded against the door. Bobby looked at Lori and raised his eyebrows.
"What if they're rotters?" asked Lori.
"Zombies don't knock," said Lincoln.
"Alright, fine. Open it up. And stop calling them zombies, Lincoln, this is serious."
Bobby opened the door and saw two of the knockers, who quickly ran inside the building. Then, he saw the rotters facing the door. They growled as they began to stumble towards the entrance, heading towards a large group of potential meals. However, Bobby quickly closed the doors, preventing them from getting inside.
The rotters continued to roam around the buildings. Luan looked out the top windows of the station. She then turned around and looked at Benny.
"Benny! What are we doing here? We should be with the group!"
"I ran here for a reason. Here, take this. This has gotta come in handy," said Benny as he handed her an AK-47.
"What?" yelped Luan. "I don't know how to use this! This is definitely not AK! I mean– not okay!"
Benny grabbed the katana and its scabbard left by General Black in the corner of the room and his German P38 Luger.
"Don't worry. I don't expect you to use it. Just follow my lead."
He opened the basement door and looked for the light switch. Luan followed him downstairs as a rotten stench caused her to instinctively pinch her nose shut with her fingers. She felt a cold breeze run across her arms, raising goosebumps. Then, as soon as Benny turned on the lights, Luan flinched back as she felt her entire body recoil from her chills.
"Oh, Jesus!" gasped Benny. "What the... Christ, what happened to them?"
Luan looked ahead at the corpses in the ground. Her head grew lighter as she felt her face getting green. Her stomach burned before she gagged, vomiting on the stairs. Benny then looked at Luan with a concerned look on his face.
"Come on, let's go. This... I'm sorry, we shouldn't have gone here."
Benny grabbed Luan's hands as she kept on gagging and walked upstairs, closing the door as soon as the two were back at the ground floor. Luan coughed before taking a deep breath. She then wiped away the vomit using her arms.
"W-what do we tell Clyde?" asked Luan.
"Want him to die from a heart attack? We don't tell him. Just... just don't mention that at all. Try to forget it."
Benny raised his head and peeked out the window. Luan glanced at the basement door.
"How am I supposed to forget that?" she whimpered. "Benny..."
Benny continued looking at the rotters roaming around the streets, some knelt down above bodies, stuffing pieces of flesh into their salivating jaws.
"...how are you okay with this?"
Benny turned around and placed both his hands on Luan's shoulders.
"I'm not. I'm not okay with this. I wanna kill that bitchass general for doing that. But right now, I only got one thing in mind. Getting us to safety."
"I'm scared..." whispered Luan. "I can't even think about getting close to General Black– let alone kill him. I'm scared of him and everything else out there."
Benny pulled Luan close to him and hugged her, rubbing her head as she sniffled.
"Do you trust me?" whispered Benny.
Luan slowly pulled her head back and looked at him in the eye, nodding softly. Benny then released her, taking a deep breath.
"I'm going to bust open this door in three seconds. You have to follow me. Ready?" asked Benny.
Luan nodded her head.
"Alright. Three... two... one... zero!"
Benny bust open the door and held the katana in front of him. He saw a rotter turn its head towards him and raised his katana in preparation to swing. Then, he swung the katana sideways, slicing through the rotter's head with ease. The rotter dropped to the ground with a half-missing head.
Luan gasped as she followed Benny, who decapitated another rotter. And another.
"Stay behind me! Not too close though!" Benny yelled.
Luan walked slowly towards Benny, but not too closely, as she realized he was slicing his way into Building A. In the ground, lay the corpses of four kids that she saw in the bunker. She yelped as a rotter grabbed her shoulder. Benny turned around quickly, pushed the walking corpse away, and sliced his forehead off. He grabbed Luan's hand and ran to the entrance of Building A.
"Chaz? Carol?!" gasped Lori in surprise. "Where's Luan and Benny?"
Chaz and Carol looked at each other with their mouths opened in surprise. Then, they looked at Lori.
"I don't know," answered Carol. "I think–"
"I was asking Chaz. Chaz, did you see my sister Luan and her friend?"
"Is Luan the funny one with the braces?" Chaz asked.
Lori nodded.
"Oh, I saw him and her curly-haired friend run into General Black's station. I got no idea what they're doing in there, though."
"Neither do I," replied Lori with growing anger on her face.
"Maybe they got cut off," said Lincoln. "You know, was chaotic out there."
Suddenly, the group heard another knock. Bobby looked at Lori and raised his eyebrows once more.
"Just open it," sighed Lori. "It's probably Joey or one of the other guys."
Bobby went to open the door and was met with many corpses on the floors. Then, he saw Luan rushing inside the building while holding an AK-47, haven't fired it once. Benny walked inside with a katana spilled with blood and drenched curly hair. He had traces of zombie blood in his face, wiping it off with his sleeves. He closed the door.
"Clyde, your..." stuttered Luan as she looked at Benny, who shook his head softly.
"We need to go to the cafeteria now. Who knows how many rotters are lurking there?" Lynn interrupted.
Benny looked around the lobby and found blood-stained footprints. They came from the cafeteria. He walked closer to it as the group followed right behind him. He then turned around, growing a confused look.
"Guys... heh, you guys don't have weapons. I think it's best to stay back."
Luan looked back at Lori who nodded. She sat herself onto a chair and played with her fingers as Benny moved closer to the cafeteria, holding his katana upwards. She then looked at Luan.
"Where the hell did you get that?" asked Lori.
"Oh, uh... General Black's station... you want it?"
"Me?"
"Just take it from my hands," whispered Luan.
Lori grabbed the AK-47 as the sound of rotting flesh being sliced and bodies dropping to the ground caught her attention. Luan was biting her fingers as the group looked around. Lori then caught Carol staring at her, who flinched upon being caught.
"Y-You know how to use that?" asked Carol.
"Yes. I do. And I'm very accurate too."
Carol gulped before Chaz stepped forward.
"Who taught ya'?"
"My Pop-Pops," smiled Lori. "He used to be in the Navy. He taught me a few of his military tricks when I started dating Bobby. I guess he knew my dad was a bit too... sensitive."
"Right, meeting your grandfather was actually scary," said Bobby.
"Oh yeah, I remember when–"
"No, no... no, no, no..." whimpered Benny as he walked back.
"What happened?" asked Luan, walking up to him.
"Oh god," gasped Benny. "Oh no. Oh god, oh god."
"Damn, what's going on?" asked Francisco.
Lori and Bobby ran up to Benny. He turned around, revealing the tears in his eyes as he handed his katana to Bobby before he sobbed onto Luan's chest. She looked at the cafeteria and saw one particular zombie, gasping as she held Benny tighter. It was Benny's father, whose neck had dried blood all over it. His eyes were golden and his skin was pale.
Luan teared up as Bobby walked solemnly towards the rotter. He held the katana high up in the air, and sliced the zombie's head in half before it dropped to the floor. Bobby grabbed a table cloth and covered the corpse. Then, walked back to Benny, reaching out his arms to hand him back the katana, but he kept on crying into Luan's chest. He then looked at Lori who shook her head while mouthing 'no.'
Lori walked into the cafeteria, followed by the group members as she looked around, finding corpses after corpses scaterred around with bullets and cartridges laying next to them. She looked at each body as she walked around the cafeteria. Meanwhile, the group looked down at the rotter with the table cloth on its face.
"Sorry for your loss, dude," Lynn told Benny, though he paid no attention to her.
Lori then looked back at the group.
"It truly is a hard time for Benny," she said. "None of us have been what he's been through. None of us."
"We should look for some food now. Food is very important," he said.
Lincoln placed down a can of peaches before grabbing the can opener. Lynn ripped open an MRE while Chaz handed Leni a Twinkie bar. She blushed while opening the snack. Lynn placed a spoon inside the can of meatloaf and stuffed it in her mouth while Francisco dug inside the same can with his own spoon. Everyone else ate to their heart's desire with the exception of Luan and Benny.
"You should eat something. It's not good to run around with an empty stomach," said Lincoln with his mouth full while wiping it with a napkin.
"I'm not hungry," replied Luan, looking down on the white kitchen floor tiles.
"You know, if you're thinking about what happened to Clyde's dads, please don't tell him. It's better if he thinks they weren't brutally murdered and kept in a basement. Maybe it's better for him to think that his parents were captured instead."
Luan looked at him with a shocked expression. Her eyes were wide and her pupils shrunk looking dead at Lincoln.
"How'd you know that? Did-did you go to the basement when you and Lynn and Lana went to the station?"
"Yeah.
"Did Lana go downstairs too?"
"Yeah."
Luan closed her eyes and begin to think deeply. Was she going to make it to the end? If she couldn't stomach the cruelties of the new world, how can she survive in it? When will her time run out? With this thought, she let out a tear and kept her eyes closed.
Clyde held a small brown bag tightly. Sweat drops formed around his face as he tried eating a granola bar. Liam then shuffled himself next to him.
"Clyde... where ya' think your folks are at?" asked Liam.
"I don't know. But I do know... that some of the adults escaped from this massacre. The amount of dead in this building is not proportional to the amount of living people that were here before today. Our people are still out there."
"That's true, Clyde," said Luna. "Maybe some of the adults ran away. Maybe something went horribly wrong and some of the rotters got inside... and the soldiers just shot anyone they found. Assholes."
"Well, Sophie ain't here. Ya' think she escaped with my folks?" asked Liam.
"Yeah, dude. I bet they're with my 'rents. They're probably waitin' for us at the parking lot."
"Perhaps outside the city," said Lisa. "The city is a major threat to any person who has escaped. The smart option to choose is to go back home and wait for any survivors to come back. I believe Mother and Father are in the highway, waiting for us to find some way to reunite with them. Either that... or the soldiers have taken them to a different location. That's the part I don't want to think about."
"So my lil' sis could be in danger," said Liam.
"Nothing is certain."
"One thing is," said Lori. "We can't stay here forever. The doors won't hold for longer than a day– with the amount of rotters outside. What do you guys think we should do?"
"We could escape this building through the fire escape," proposed Lincoln.
"Isn't the roof literally bombed to bits?" Lori questioned.
"Yeah. The thing is, we don't have to go to the roof. We could just enter in the room in the first floor, and escape through there. It would lead to the back of the building into an alleyway."
"I like this plan. Continue."
"The alleyway leads to the street parallel to the street by Building D. However, if you go the opposite way, there is a short fence. On the other side of the fence is another alleyway that I'm sure leads to another street in Detroit. And if I'm not mistaken, that street leads to Vanzilla, and we can get out of this city!"
The group cheered softly and the people not related to Lincoln complimented his intelligent thinking.
"Wait, wait, wait. What's a Vanzilla?" Sam asked.
"It's the sick van that my dad owns," answered Luna. "The only person who can drive it now is Lori and Bobby."
"I can drive it too," said Chaz.
"I didn't know you had a driver's license," smiled Lori.
"I... have one too," said Carol.
"Shut up, literally no one asked."
Luna raised her eyebrows as she stuffed her hands into her skirt pockets. Bobby sighed as Carol blushed in embarrassment.
"Well, looks like we have a plan!" said Clyde. "Thanks to Lincoln, we can actually look for our parents. Maybe they escaped!"
Lincoln, Lynn, Lana, and Luan all looked at each other with awkward expressions in their faces. Then, Lily broke the silence by giggling and clapping her hands as the group regained their spirits. Benny sighed, and got up.
"Alright, Bobby. You can give me my katana back," said Benny. "All I got is you guys, so I gotta... I gotta protect you guys now."
"Oh, sure man! I'm sure you're pretty badass with this sword!" Bobby said.
"Oh trust me, he is," said Luan. "Without him and his katana, there would be no point in trying to escape. Hahaha! I saw the perfect opportunity for a joke and decided to take a stab at it! Hahaha! Alright, I should cut it out. HAHAHA! I'm on fire right now!"
Luan laughed, which instead of annoying the group, it made them laugh and feel better.
"Bollocks! I completely forgot! We got weapons in Vanzilla, remember?" Luna yelled softly.
Lori smiled and said, "That's it. We're going to leave this building at this instant. But that doesn't mean we're going to leave this city. We are going to come back and take back what's ours– the best we can. And we can literally take more! Who's with me?!"
The group cheered and forgot that they were in an apocalypse. Even Carol, who Lori resented, was clapping and was proud of her for taking on a leadership role.
"Who can shoot a gun in here?" Lori asked. "And I'm not just talking about pulling a trigger."
Benny and Bobby both raised their hand.
"Boo-Boo Bear, I already know you can shoot a gun. I'm asking someone else!" Lori whispered, feeling embarrassed now.
Bobby chuckled nervously and was handed the German Luger P38 by Benny. And sure enough, it had ammo.
"It's okay. I already have a weapon," Benny said smiling slightly.
"Alright," said Lori, cocking her AK-47. "Remember Bobby, save your ammo. Don't spray it!"
"Alright babe. Now, what do we do?" Bobby asked.
"We head to the first floor," replied Lori. "Benny. You're going to slash any rotters that come towards us. Bobby, watch out for all us too and back up Benny when necessary. Lincoln, you are coming with me to lead all of us out of the building. Everyone else, stay close."
She sighed happily, as she was content with being bossy. The group also loved her bossiness as it was now essential for survival. They all followed her upstairs. Lori let Benny upstairs first to kill any rotters that were waiting for them. Benny only saw one rotter who lacked his legs and looked burnt.
"Crawler..." muttered Benny.
He pointed his katana downwards and thrusted it into the rotter's head. Lori and Lincoln went ahead and stood outside a room.
"Lynn, knock down this door," ordered Lori.
Lynn kicked really hard near the door knob. The door fell down and the group members scrambled inside the room. The floor was white and had pieces of debris in the floor. There were mattresses and bags on the floor.
Francisco and Lynn checked inside the bags. Lynn found blankets, clothings, and toys, but nothing the group could use. Francisco found some books in a medium-sized black backpack. He dumped it out and out came Enemy of the State, Sleeping Beauties, The Art of War, and The Graveyard Book. Francisco decided to take the backpack and use it as his own to carry supplies.
Lincoln opened up the window that led to the fire escape. The wind was scorching, and the sun was starting to beat on the city. Lincoln and Lori hopped into the fire escape first. Benny and Bobby came after, and then the rest of the group followed.
"Here's the fence!" Lincoln said while he pointed at a mesh fence about three feet high.
Benny watched the group as they each jumped over the fence. Lori grabbed Darcy, while Lana and Lola hopped on Bobby's back while he climbed over the fence. Benny sliced three stragglers that were moving into the alleyway. He then strapped on the scabbard into his back and slid his katana inside the scabbard. He jumped across the fence and caught up with the rest of the group. In the other alley, they only saw two zombies in the street that led to the mandatory parking zone.
"I got this," said Benny as he unsheathed his katana and killed the rotters. "Believe it or not, I'm actually better with a ninjato sword."
The group smiled and Luan stared at him with a rapidly beating heart.
"Wow," she whispered.
The groul quickly dashed to the parking zone and found many cars.
"Oh crap. My car is right here, but I left my keys in my room," said Chaz.
"Just another reason to return to the buildings," said Lori as she opened the van, with the keys that Lynn Sr. has given to her days before to grab his emergency funny tie.
Lori gave Luna her crowbar, the baseball bat to Lynn, the black shovel to Lucy, the sledgehammer to Lincoln, the heavy wrench to Lana, the small pickaxe to Ronnie Anne, and the pry bar to Luan. She grabbed one of the three golf clubs and gave one to Lola.
"Lori...!" groaned Lola.
"You need to carry a weapon. And I've seen you use one of my golf clubs before, Lola!" Lori scolded.
Lori grabbed the second iron club, and handed it to Clyde, whispering, "Don't be afraid."
Lori, knowing she didn't need the golf club right now, gave her golf club to Francisco.
She handed what was Lynn Sr.'s ice pick to Sam. She handed one of the McBride's hammer to Rusty. Lori handed the other hammer to Liam who showed it off to Tabby. Lori grabbed Bobby's red axe and handed it to Chaz. She also grabbed a flashlight.
"Hey, what about me?" Leni asked.
"You're going to hold Lily. And you're actually going to stay here inside Vanzilla, with the AC on," said Lori.
"W-What about me?" Carol chuckled nervously.
"You? I don't even know why you're still here with us. You can leave the city now."
Carol frowned and looked down. She closed her eyes and started walking away.
"Lori, she doesn't know where her parents are– like all of us," said Lincoln. "Please don't do that to her."
"Yeah, that's kind of harsh, babe," Bobby told Lori.
"Well, I don't want her around flirting with you and making us both feel uncomfortable," said Lori. "She also has no use for the group. She can't contribute! She's literally dead weight!"
Lincoln ran to Carol and stopped her in her tracks.
"Lori," said Bobby. "If she wants to make any advances towards me, I will shut her out. I love you too much to let her destroy our relationship. But you can't punish her like this for something that she did a long time ago."
Lori was surprised that Bobby called her by her name. She wanted to say something else. She wanted to talk about how Carol humiliated her multiple times in front of her friends. She wanted to tell him that it was Carol who ruined her third golf tournament. She wanted to tell him that it was Carol who made up a rumor a few months ago, saying that Lori was cheating on Bobby, almost causing them to break up. However, all this seemed small given the situation they were in.
"Fine," said Lori as she reluctantly walked towards Carol.
Bobby grabbed her arm. Lori looked back with a frown on her face.
"You know I love you right?" Bobby said.
Lori smiled and called out to Carol.
"Fine, my wonderful boyfriend and my wonderful brother convinced me to bring you back. But you are going to listen to everything I say, and no messing around with my boyfriend! Got it?"
Carol nodded her head and wiped her tears as she walked back with the group. The sun rose higher and the air became hotter.
"First thing, first. Leni, you're going to stay inside the van with Lily. I'll turn on the AC for you guys. And remember Leni, no touching anything! Carol, Lisa, Tabby, Zach, Rocky, and Rusty. You guys are staying here inside the van too. We'll be back in an hour or less."
"Aw, no action for us?" asked Rusty.
"We don't have any more weapons," said Lori. "You're safer here."
"Fine. Have fun."
Lori rolled her eyes. Leni, holding Lily, entered the van. Lisa was holding Darcy's hand while they both entered Vanzilla. Rusty opened the door for Rocky and they both entered. Finally, Carol stepped inside the van, and closed the van. Through the windows, she watched as the group grabbed their weapons and headed back into the city.
"Okay. What are we going to do, exactly?" Lucy asked.
"First, we are going back to Building B to retrieve Chaz's car keys," stated Lori. "Next, we loot the building. Then we are going to the other buildings to get our belongings back. Only the useful things that we need. Then, we move on to the warehouses that Mom and Dad talked about. We grab whatever we might find useful and we come back to Vanzilla."
"Sounds like a good plan," said Lincoln.
"Thank you," smiled Lori. "Now, let's go."
The group dashed to the entrance of the city. They noticed the destroyed and melted gates. They saw debris from the buildings that were lying near the entrance. Lincoln looked back at Vanzilla. The wide, but empty street reflected the sunlight and shone on the van. It was the symbol of hope for the group.