It didn't take Danny and the group long to return to the house. The streets were mostly empty thanks to the bell and any that were around and got too close Danny would just cut them down with his sword. Yes, they all had guns but Danny didn't want to risk the loud gunfire bringing the dead on top of them. As they speed walked back to the house Danny was going over the plan in his mind.

He was worried that having all these zombies in Bikini Bottom had changed everything.

He wanted to let Bucky and the others know what had happened, make sure the boat was ready, find and rescue the kids, and get the hell out of there. When they reached the house, they all headed straight to the shed. They had expected the guys to be back there still working on the boat. When they got to the shed, however, the door was closed with a long shovel stuck between the handles.

At first, they thought that the others had sealed themselves inside the house when the city was overrun.

Then, as they were making their way towards the house, something inside the shed started banging on the door and they could hear muffled shouts and curses. Danny immediately recognized the voice of Bucky and he rushed to open the doors. But when he pulled the shovel out of the door handles Bucky suddenly barged through them and tackled Danny to the floor.

The man raised his fist to punch the teen in the face but it took him a second to realize who it was.

"Get off!" Danny grunted as he pushed Bucky off and Spongebob helped him up. After dusting himself off Danny looked in the shed and paled when he saw the boat was gone. It was just Bucky, Dinkleburg, and Kwan inside. "What the fuck happened here?" He asked and that was when he saw Bucky had a black eye.

"They fucked us!" Bucky snarled.

"What?! Who?"

"That guy with his crew of sick people!" Kwan cried. "They took the boat, they're gone."

"Studwell didn't have the children so where are they?" Dinkleburg asked.

"With someone else, we're going after them," Sandy replied and Danny gave her a small smile, glad they were on the same page on this.

"Fuck, just... Jesus." Bucky groaned as he rubbed his black eye. Danny hoped he didn't have a concussion. That was a nasty black eye so that meant he was hit hard. "They kicked the shit out of me and tossed me in here." He explained when he saw Danny staring.

"Kicked the shit out of both of us..." Kwan muttered and that's when they saw he was also covered in a few bruises. Danny couldn't believe that the cancer patients did this. He guessed they were tired of living underground and were waiting for the right moment to snatch the boat from under them. It was an unforgivable act. Studwell knew that the city was going to be filled with the infected and didn't warn them and then he stole their only hope for escape, knowing that they had children with them.

Studwell was going to need a good doctor if Danny ever found him again.

But the teen wondered if he should have let Studwell take the kids. Yeah, they would have still tried to steal the boat but if they did take it then maybe the kids would be safe. Danny was quick to shake those thoughts away though. There was no point in dwelling on the past right now. Studwell didn't have the kids and he and his crew were probably long gone so they didn't matter anymore.

The only thing that mattered now was finding their missing group members and getting out of there.

"How are you doing with... everything happening there?" Dinkleburg asked, awkwardly gesturing to Danny's bitten arm.

"We were going to cut it off, but Danny objected," Sandy replied with a small frown, Danny didn't want to start an argument so he stayed quiet. Sandy rolled her eyes and turned to the others. "Patrick, can ya go over tha fence and let us into tha backyard? We shouldn't be out in tha open." She said and he nodded and climbed over. While they waited, the others filled Bucky, Kwan, and Dinkleburg in on what happened at the hospital.

"This is not happening; everything is so fucked up!" Bucky started growling in frustration. "The kids are still out there; so we get them and then what?!"

"We get tha fuck out of cities! I'm done with cities! I say we go into tha countryside and make a go of it." Sandy answered but Dinkleburg shook his head at that plan.

"I don't want to go back out there again."

"Then don't; go yer own way." She hissed.

"You're all every man for himself until you and your village idiot need something!" Bucky snapped, getting right in her face.

"Ya wouldn't have a boat ta lose without us, so shove it!"

"The countryside seems like a good idea to me." Kwan finally squeaked.

"Nobody asked you." Dinkleburg snapped, but Kwan glared at him.

"You just did."

"Don't get smart with me, boy."

"Chill out guys," Spongebob said, growing more and more nervous at how loud they were all getting, but he was ignored.

"Do you forget we had a boat?!" Bucky exclaimed and that's when Danny chose to step in. Everyone had to keep it together. Nothing had changed, at least not immediately. They would stay the course and they couldn't turn on each other now. As much as Bucky would hate it, Sandy was right. The boat was a pipe dream. They would still go after the kids and then they all would get out of Bikini Bottom and rethink their entire plan.

"Bucky, you can worry about the boat after; you can scour the goddamn coast looking for them." He told the angry man and surprisingly that managed to calm him down somewhat.

"I'll make those bastards wish the cancer had got them." He muttered and Danny nodded in agreement, silently relieved that his intervention had worked. That it until...

"Yeah, chill out, Bucky." Kwan opened his mouth and Danny resisted the urge to facepalm. Just like that the fires of Bucky's rage reigniated and he looked ready to break every bone in the larger teen's body. By some miracle, that was the moment Patrick managed to open the door of the shed leading into the backyard.

"We can do this in the yard." Spongebob sighed and, despite the tension, everyone but Danny and Spongebob entered the backyard. Once the others were out of earshot, he turned to the dark-haired teen. "What do we do without a boat?" He asked and Danny thought about it for a moment. That wasn't the last boat in America. He thought the idea was sound before and it might sound now.

The mainland was probably done and they have no idea what else was out there.

Yet the more he thought about it the more he wasn't sure. Boats, towns, and hopes seemed like impossible things now, and people ended up dead chasing impossible things. It might be better than getting eaten alone out there but there had to be other options. They could try and find a small town, maybe one that hadn't been ripped up too badly. At some point, people were going to have to start rebuilding, and he wanted his friends to be a part of that.

There were only a few places he could think to find of place like that and his mind was made up.

"Get to the countryside." He said and Spongebob smiled liking that plan. "We've fucked around with cities and coastlines and boats too long; take the kids out there and live as safe as you can, okay?" He all but pleaded with his friend. Spongebob nodded but then his expression hardened and he placed a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"Look, I agree with you; I think out in the countryside is the safest place to be right now, but you're not dead yet buddy, so put a pin in that, okay?" He frowned and Danny nodded, but he had his doubts. They were talking long-term, but Danny knew he didn't have long. He saw how quickly Chester had deteriorated after getting bitten. Danny knew he would be lucky to see tomorrow morning.

With that, they entered the backyard.

When they got there, they were both annoyed to see Bucky and Kwan were arguing again.

"Where the hell do you get off?"

"I'm just saying we should all chill, not just you." Kwan tried to ease the tension, but it seemed just the sound of his voice pissed Bucky and Dinkleberg off.

"Chill?!" He spat. "Danny's bitten and God knows how long he has left, the kids are who the fuck knows, and we're robbed of the only hope we've had!"

"This isn't my fault."

"I can't point to one thing that's happened that isn't somehow your fault or Dash's!" Bucky snarled and Kwan looked like he was about to argue before Dinkleburg stepped forward and stared at the jock with cold, dead eyes.

"Danny should've left you in Atlantis; at least Dash saw how useless he was." He stated and Kwan was frozen for a moment before his whole body suddenly started vibrating with pent-up fury and pain.

"FUCK YOU!" He suddenly bellowed so loud and with such emotion, that it stunned everyone, especially Bucky and Dinkleburg. "I'm so, so, so sorry about Chester and I know I fucked up, but stop pushing me around wishing I was dead! At least you know how he died!" He yelled before his eyes filled with tears. "You've said goodbye, I never got to see my family... Your family is gone, but at least you had them to lose; I never made it home and they could be alive or dead or infected or worse and I don't know! So give me a fucking break!" He cried as he finally ran out of breath.

Silence filled the yard.

Bucky and Dinkleburg were staring at him, but there was no malice in their eyes. They were filled with pity and regret. Dinkleburg opened his mouth to speak but his words died in his throat when they heard the familiar growls. They all turned and watched in horror as a herd approached the house through the boat house. They must have lost interest in the bell and were drawn here by all the yelling.

Danny quickly shut the boathouse doors and used Studwell's trick with the shovel to keep it shut.

"In the house!" Spongebob ordered and they all made for the safety of the house. They ran through the back door and locked it behind them. The group all looked at the door, thinking that the infected shouldn't be able to get into the backyard. A loud crash and the sounds of growls and hisses proved them wrong though. The group had to secure this place.

"Sandy! Dinkleburg! Get on the windows in the front room and check the boards." Danny ordered.

"Got it." She nodded and they ran out of the kitchen.

"Bucky! Patrick! Look for weapons! Gather anything you can find!"

"Will do!" Patrick replied and they started tearing open every cupboard and drawer in reach.

"Kwan! Move anything you can up against the doors and windows." He ordered and the other teen nodded before taking off to the living room. Danny then turned to Spongebob, but the blond man was staring at something with a wide-eyed, shocked look on his face. Danny was about to ask what was wrong when Sponge suddenly took off running towards the front doors.

Danny, at first, was confused until he saw that the doors were wide open and a herb was about to enter the house.

"FRONT DOORS!" Danny screamed and when they saw what he meant the others dropped what they were doing and rushed to help Spongebob. Danny started to run but fell on his back as an infected reached through the pet door and grabbed his leg. He repeatedly kicked the pet door with his other leg until the zombie's arm was severed. He quickly got up. Everyone else was holding the front doors closed as the infected reached through.

Danny quickly pulled out his sword and chopped off the hands and the group pushed the doors all the way closed.

"Now what?" Patrick asked fearfully and they all looked to Danny. He raised a finger to his lips and shushed them.

"We have to hide and find a way out." He said and the others seemed to agree with that plan. This place was secure. Hopefully, soon the herd would lose interest and move on. They just had to be patient and then get going. All of a sudden, a zombie's arm crashed through a nearby window, completely shattering it. More of the infected climbed through the windows and others managed to break down the door.

"Fuck! New plan! Get upstairs!" Danny shouted and everyone but Danny ran upstairs. He was going to buy them some time and raised his sword. He was saddened, however, when he saw the first zombie to approach him was an undead Mrs. Puff. She had somehow found her way back to the house from Atlantis. Though he felt bad for the former teacher, he pushed those feelings aside and stabbed her in the head, melting her into goo.

After slicing a few more bodies, Danny ran upstairs to join the others.

He found them on the top floor in a far hallway. When joined up with them Bucky pushed a desk into the hallway to slow the infected down.

"What do we do now?!" Kwan cried.

"We take a fucking stand." Bucky snarled and everyone gathered at the end of the hallway with their weapons drawn.

"We can't let ourselves get trapped," Danny warned as they braced and Bucky nodded.

"Let's get as many as we can and when we see an opening, we go for it; how many bullets y'all have?"

"Three," Sandy said.

"Five," Danny added.

"Four." Dinkleburg and Spongebob replied.

"Two," Kwan muttered.

"Y'all know where to aim." Sandy glared as they heard the infected approaching. The first zombie arrived and Danny was the one to shoot it in the head, killing it. More approached the group and everyone fired at them, eventually running out of ammo.

"I'm out!" Spongebob cried.

"Me too!" Bucky hissed.

"Fuck, where do we go?!" Kwan exclaimed as the herd slowly started filling the hallway. Danny looked at his sword, but he knew it would be useless. If he went in there swinging he would be overpowered in a matter of moments. That was when he noticed the attic door right above them. He pulled the string and opened the attic door. Everyone rushed up into the safety of the attic with Danny being the last to open up and close the attic door behind him.

"That could've gone better." Bucky groaned as they all took this as a moment to catch their breath.

"Everyone okay?"

"He's still bitten." Bucky frowned as he stared at Danny.

"Shut up." The teen hissed as he started leaning against the wall.

"Okay, let's get out of here and keep moving," Spongebob told them, but the group didn't look convinced, except Bucky.

"Kid's right; we gotta keep moving." He said. "Think there's any chance we get the kids and catch up to those goddamn thieves?"

"Well, we're not going out through this window," Kwan said as he finished examining the said window. It had no latches, no roof access, and it was thirty feet straight down. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"Check the floor for any other access like a vent or anything," Sandy instructed but Bucky didn't like that idea.

"Or we wait for the house to clear out and stick to the high ground." He suggested and he and Sandy entered a staring contest. After a few moments, they turned to Danny as he was their usual tie-breaker. When they did, however, their anger at each other suddenly faded into concern. Danny was still leaning against the wall but now he was ghostly pale, sweating buckets, and was gasping for breath.

"Whoa, Danny, you okay?" Patrick asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm-I'm gonna... have to... just..." Danny gurgled as he tried to stand up only for his legs to buckle under his weight and he collapsed. He could faintly hear the others crying his name but he blacked out before he hit the floor...