(Anne Marshall belongs to AquaDestinysEmbrace!)

(I DO NOT own The Walking Dead, Code Lyoko or any kind of names or brands that appear in this story. I do own all OCs unless specifically named as they appear above this message.)

(Thanks to AquaDestinysEmbrace for helping out a lot on this chapter!)

It was now two days after Josh's arrival at the farm. Nerves were still a bit shot, but the Lyoko Warriors had far more important things on their minds than that psychopath.

During the last 48 hours, and despite still recovering from her gunshot wound, both Aelita and Jeremie were hard at work at trying to triangulate wherever the missing people from Kadic Academy could have gone. Luckily there was a few gas station maps of the State of Georgia laying around several of the vehicles in the camp, so setting all of them out at Hershel's dining room table the two teens were able to use those to get a really good sense of the areas around the farm.

There was a mix between genuine logic and pure guesswork in Jeremie and Aelita's studying of these maps but they were confident that they had a faily good idea of where the people from Kadic could have gone after that mess back in Atlanta. The area where Yumi found Tamiya's necklace was a huge help in helping the geniuses track. An actual organized search effort was born and the teens were anxious to head out to try and find their lost friends and teachers, with Yumi being especially anxious to try and find her little brother Hiroki. However, the Lyoko Warriors were aware that if they did find the people from Kadic alive, then to join with them they'd likely have to separate from Rick's group and leave the farm.

There was simply too many mouths to feed as it was, and if they added another ten or fifteen then people were definitely going to start starving here. But luckily that was a decision which didn't have to be made just yet. It was a decision to be made only after they found the people from Kadic Academy.

In any event, the teens were ready to head out and search for their lost friends at a moment's notice.

At the camp, Ulrich was inside of the RV and he was using a sharpening stone to keep his katana razor sharp. Odd and Yumi were with him and they were likewise maintaining their weapons, with Yumi cleaning the parts of her AR-15 rifle and Odd trying to do something involving the hammer of his revolver. Even he wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but here's hoping he didn't accidentally blow his own brains out, let alone Ulrich's or Yumi's. The two boys couldn't help but notice that Yumi had a deep frown on her face as she worked on the parts of her rifle.

She looked pissed. Really pissed. Hell, Yumi's looked pissed off ever since the incident with Josh at the camp just two days earlier.

"You okay, Yumes...?" Ulrich asked his girlfriend. The Japanese teen didn't answer him and she just kept focusing on her gun. Ulrich asked her once more if she was okay but again she was silent. Finally, Yumi's anger overtook her and she slammed her fist down on the table before Ulrich could ask a third time. Both he and Odd were stunned by this and they practically jumped a few feet in the air from surprise.

"Yumi...?" Odd asked, feeling a little concerned.

The two boys noticed that Yumi's fist remained balled up as it rested on the table where she had hit it. Even two days after she met him she was still infuriated at the captive Josh Harrington. It was bad enough that he used her trust and manipulated her into getting into the farm, but saying all of that shit to Miranda? To Aelita and Chase? Causing Anne to have a full-blown panic attack? It was unforgivable... and she felt like a fucking idiot.

"I can't believe I was dumb enough to trust that guy's word!" Yumi growled to herself. The two realized that Yumi felt she was to blame for everything that happened, as she was the one who led him back to the farm.

"Hey, Yumi... it's not your fault..." Ulrich began to say to her.

"Yeah, how were you supposed to know that the guy's insane?" Odd added in an attempt to show her reason.

Yumi tried her hardest to not blame herself. She tried to tell herself that it wasn't her fault... but she couldn't. In her mind, all that had happened with Josh and the others the other day was all because of her being stupid and careless. If she had the opportunity to do it over again, she'd have left Josh for the walkers without a second thought. From what she's heard of him, that kind of fate was exactly what he deserved...

"I should have asked him more questions! Pressed him some more!" Yumi cursed herself angrily. "If I did, then maybe I could have-"

Ulrich interrupted her before she could finish. "Yumi, you did what you could. There wasn't anything which could've told you that Josh was completely crazy... let alone that he ever had any history with Anne, Dylan and Chase. It's just a massive coincidence that he did." he reasoned to her.

Yumi clenched her fist again, looking like she was about to hit the table for a second time. Luckily for Yumi's already-sore hand she didn't do that, and she remained silent at the words of her boyfriend and one of her friends. Yumi truly appreciated what Ulrich and Odd were trying to do for her, but in her mind it was all in vain... She had brought that piece of shit into the safety of their home and it could've been avoided had she been smarter.

"How the hell am I supposed to face everyone when they know I'm the one who led him here? Especially Anne? Or even Miranda?" Yumi asked the two boys next to her. "You both were there. You heard what that monster said to them..."

"You face them all just as you always have." Ulrich told her, placing his hand on top of hers. "They don't blame you at all, Yumi... None of us do." he promised his love.

Though Ulrich tried his best to comfort Yumi, it was pretty clear to him and Odd that she just wasn't budging. Her feeling of sheer guilt and shame was just much to strong to overcome for the moment. Maybe later she'll calm down and realize that what had happened wasn't her fault at all, but for now she just needed to work through the feelings on her own...

Silently, Yumi returned to working on her AR-15 rifle as if nothing was discussed. Odd and Ulrich were concerned for Yumi but they both reluctantly went back to maintaining their weapons as well. Yumi didn't say another word to the two the rest of the time they were in the RV together.

The sooner that bastard Josh leaves the farm and never comes back, the better...

Anne was in her wheelchair and she was sitting in Hershel's living room, silently staring out the front window as she thought about things.

Ever since Josh had arrived on the farm she was a nervous wreck. She's had trouble sleeping, she's had trouble eating, and she wouldn't dare leave the farmhouse even if someone offered to be with her. She wouldn't even go out onto the front porch! She hadn't felt this afraid since when she was a kid...

With a sigh, Anne wheeled away from the window and she went to find something to do. Going upstairs obviously wasn't an option since she wanted to respect the family's privacy (the wheelchair Hershel and Carlos were making her use during her recovery obviously wasn't helpful either). There was no more internet or television for obvious reasons, and all of the comics which she owned she had already read through a million times each. The bandana-clad teen went to the other side of the living room. She began examining some of Hershel's old family photos hanging on a wall. His family certainly looked happy before this outbreak began...

There was a photo of when Maggie graduated from her high school, there was a picture of Beth blowing out the candles on her cake during her eleventh birthday, another Hershel and his second wife Annette on their wedding day-

"Sup?"

Anne practically jumped ten feet in the air after she heard the voice of Rebecca. The British teen had silently crept up behind Anne when she wasn't looking and now the poor wheelchair-clad girl appeared as though she had a stroke. Rebecca had to bite her lip to stifle a laugh. Anne, meanwhile, had to work on calming her poor startled heart.

"JESUS, 'BECCA! I ALMOST HAD A HEART ATTACK!!!" Anne exclaimed as she checked her own pulse.

The British teen snorted at her friend's reaction. "Sorry, Anne..." Rebecca chuckled to her friend.

After another minute or two, Anne finally started to calm herself down as much as she could. Rebecca sat down on the couch and relaxed a bit, watching as her friend went to look out the window again. Rebecca knew that Anne was still very concerned about Josh and his presence here on the farm, but hopefully that monster will be gone sooner rather than later. Rebecca watched as Anne went back to examining the family pictures on the wall. It was clear to her that Anne was very troubled at the moment.

Finally, the British girl decided to speak to her. "Anne... are you okay?" Rebecca softly asked.

Anne went silent and she shut her eyes tightly. So many horrible memories of Josh were burnt into her psyche and they will likely never go away. "...No. I'm not..." she mumbled out a reply.

"Do you... want to talk about it?"

The brown haired girl clenched a fist, then turned her wheelchair around to face Rebecca. "The odds that I'd run into him again..." Anne muttered in utter disbelief about what had happened. "God, just what are the fucking odds of that happening, 'Becca...? We're in the middle of a global pandemic with probably millions of people dead all across the planet... and somehow I run into him in the middle of all of it?"

Anne balled up one of her fists as she continued to speak. "After the world started ending, I thought I'd never have to see him again. I thought he got eaten alive somewhere like how he deserved... but I was wrong. He's back again and he's exactly the same as he was before..."

Rebecca felt quite a lot of pity for her friend. She herself was pretty shocked that he and Anne met again in spite of all of this mess humanity found itself dealing with, and she was shocked at seeing what he did or said to many of her friends as soon as he had arrived to the farm. It certainly wasn't hard to see why Josh was so hated by Anne, Chase and Dylan... and quite a lot of other people now too.

It especially wasn't hard to see it after what he did with her personally. Rebecca wanted to slap Josh as hard as she could just from remembering how he had grabbed her like that. Thank God that Dylan was there to punch that prick before he could try and touch anything else...

"Anne, it's gonna be okay..." Rebecca assured her, trying to make her feel better. "Josh won't be on the farm forever. As soon as we get a chance to do so, we're gonna take him many miles away and we're going to kick him out. He won't ever be a problem for you ever again..."

"... he'll just find his way back to the farm, though." Anne murmured, looking out the window with a deep frown. "That evil bastard just loves causing pain to whoever he wants. And when he wants to cause pain, he will do it."

"We won't let him go near you again, Anne. He won't cause more pain. You've got quite a lot of friends that are willing to protect you now." Rebecca assured once more.

Anne was silent as she contemplated her friend's words. After several moments, the bandana-clad teen finally spoke. "... thank you, 'Becca... But if he decides to try and hurt anyone else, be ready. He's a sadistic son of a bitch."

Rebecca nodded. "I'll be ready, Anne. All of us will be ready too if he tries anything." she promised. "He won't ever hurt you or anyone else ever again."

The brown haired girl returned the nod as she finally began to feel a little bit more at ease about this situation. Anne was still deeply worried about Josh Harrington being here on the farm and in her life again, but it didn't seem so bad now that she's got the Lyoko Warriors and everyone else at the camp to back her up. Maybe things will be alright for her and her friends after all...

Rebecca was happy that Anne knew she was protected from Josh. She had more chores to do with the others around the camp, so she bid Anne farewell and she gave her a hug, being careful not to hurt her shoulder. After that, the British teen left the farmhouse and started back for the camp so she could get to work.

As she walked, Rebecca noticed some dark storm clouds off in the distance. Soon, she began to feel the winds coming from that storm. She remembered that Patrick and Verity were out there on patrol.

She hoped they'd get back home before the storm could hit them...

A few miles from the farm, Patrick and Verity had taken a well-earned break from their exhausting patrol. The couple were now just simply laying down on a field of grass and looking up into the sky together, watching the clouds high above and pointing out shapes in them as they rolled overhead. In both their minds it should have been a childish activity, but it was still pretty fun. Considering that they and their friends were lucky enough to find Hershel's farm, they felt very appreciative to be able to just sit back and look up at the clouds together from time to time.

Even if this was a bit stupid, both of them were still enjoying themselves a lot. Patrick and Verity would often go and look at the clouds together at the playground of their school when they were little kids living in Baltimore. Doing this brought back some good memories for them both.

Verity smiled, pointing up at a cloud off in the distance. "Right there! A cloud that looks like a dog... See it?"

"Oh yeah, definitely." Patrick nodded as he made out the shape of the animal up there. He then pointed at another cloud. "Oh, hey, look there. I think I see a turtle."

The raven-haired girl smiled as she saw a turtle in the clouds. "Nice..."

Verity suddenly tapped Patrick on his shoulder, then she pointed up at a cloud which was rolling right over their heads. Verity told him that she thought the cloud looked a lot like the Hermitage back home in Paris. Patrick personally didn't think that it looked anything like the Schaeffer Family's old home, but he still agreed with his girlfriend just to make her feel a bit proud of herself for noticing it. It worked since Verity beamed with pride in herself.

A few minutes later, Patrick tapped her arm and pointed up at a cloud which he said looked like an X-Wing from Star Wars. Verity thought it was more like a horse, but-

*THWACK!*

A bolt of lightning hitting a tree on the other side of the field startled the teens and made them get back up onto their feet. Patrick and Verity saw that behind them there was a huge storm coming. It looked big, terrifying, and it was coming right towards them.

The couple immediately ran in the direction of the farm but the storm quickly overtook their area. The two Lyoko Warriors yelped and flinched as heavy hail landed on top of them, followed by what could only be described as a flood of rain. More lightning hit trees in different parts of the field, the explosion-like noises nearly bursting Patrick and Verity's poor eardrums as they ran as fast as they could. It was almost like God himself was trying to kill them for some reason!

As they ran through this biblical-level storm, Verity and Patrick realized that they would never make the three mile distance back to Hershel's Farm in a storm as bad as this. There had to be another form of shelter somewhere deep in the woods around their field. The two teens desperately turned off into the trees nearby and kept running. The teens both hoped and prayed that there was some building somewhere which they could hide inside until the storm blows over.

Verity desperately held her jacket over her head like an umbrella, trying to keep the hail from hitting even more of her. It wasn't working well.

"Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!!!" Verity exclaimed to her boyfriend. "This is bad, baby! Do you see a building anywhere?! Anything that we can hide in?!"

Patrick studied his surroundings as best as he could, though with the hail and the rain it was very hard for him to see.

After a few moments though, Patrick saw something off in the distance that didn't look like a mess of trees. He recognized it to be some kind of old shack, though hopefully it still had its roof intact. Who knew what was inside that shack but anywhere was better than being stuck out here.

"Over there! Follow me!" Patrick pointed at the structure. He took his girlfriend's hand and held it tight as they ran.

Verity and Patrick rushed through the forest towards the shack, the closest thing they had to salvation right now. The earth below their feet had now become very muddy by the rain, which unfortunately slowed them considerably as they tried not to let their shoes get swallowed up. As they approached the shack they saw it had no light emitting from the inside, but they also saw that its roof and the single window it had were both intact. No light meant no living people inside hopefully, and the intact roof and window meant that this shack was now the best shelter they could find for the duration of this incredibly terrible storm.

When they got to the door they found it was thankfully unlocked. They opened it and hurried inside the shack, shutting the door behind them. They were in pitch darkness but at least now they were out of the rain and the hail.

Patrick was being very careful not to bump into something as he started searching for any kind of light source. "Shit... You feel anything, Ver?"

"No, nothing..." Verity replied, hoping and praying to the Lord above that there wasn't any walkers in here with them.

The couple continued searching for anything that could give them light. Finally, just as Verity's hand set on what she could only guess was a kerosene lamp, she heard a very loud crash come from somewhere on the other side of the shack. Like a person bumping into something very large and very heavy.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!" she heard Patrick shout in pain.

Verity flipped the thimble on the kerosene lamp's burner. Light immediately filled the cabin once the lamp's wick began to burn, though Verity cringed when she saw Patrick. Her boyfriend was cussing up a storm and holding onto his left shin, having banged it right into something pretty hard while he was fumbling around in the dark. It hurt like hell and it was certainly going to leave him a nasty bruise as a souvenir.

"... I found the light." Verity told him, sheepishly.

Patrick shot his girlfriend a look, though he calmed down after a few more moments of nursing his hurt shin. The newfound light allowed him and Verity to see a few more kerosene lamps scattered in the shack, so the couple went to turn those on as well. The couple's new surroundings surprised them.

The thing that Patrick had bumped his leg into turned out to be a large copper machine that had pipes connecting it to a pair of wooden barrels. Near the machine was several shelves holding dozens upon dozens of mason jars filled with a clear liquid. Patrick and Verity weren't idiots, they both recognized pretty quickly that this shack was some kind of abandoned moonshine still. Some people back at the farm might actually like to know about this place, people like Nick or Daryl for instance...

Along with the moonshine still, the teens saw an old bed, a wood burner, and even a pantry. Verity went to check a can of green beans in the pantry but alas she discovered they expired back in 1987, so that meant no dinner for either of them tonight. This shack must've been here for quite a long time it seemed.

"A moonshine still..." Patrick commented as he went to examine the still. "You think Hershel's responsible for all of this?" he wondered to his girlfriend.

"Doubt it. We're a few miles from his farm. I'm thinking someone might've worked here without his permission." Verity guessed with a shrug.

The sounds of the high winds outside, the hail, and another distant bolt of thunder reminded the two that they were going to be stuck inside this shack, maybe even for quite a while. It wouldn't be fun hiding in here, but at least they won't have to be out there where they could get beaten up by the hail or sucked up to Oz by a twister. Besides, it wasn't often these days that they could find time with only each other for company, so maybe being stuck here together could end up being more pleasant than they think?

Suddenly remembering that he had a lighter in his pocket this entire time but had forgotten it like an idiot, Patrick gathered up some stuff in the cabin to throw in the wood burner so he and Verity could warm up and dry themselves off a bit. He also broke up an old wooden chair so they could burn its wood. As he did that, Verity went to sit on the surprisingly-comfy bed to try and relax.

Hopefully the storm will pass by sooner or later...

Josh tiredly baked under the sun as he remained tied up to the tree, watching a heavy storm roll by a few miles off in the distance and imagining what the rain would feel like on his exhausted, burning skin. For the last two days Josh had been restrained against this tree and he was convinced that he was going to lose his mind very, very soon. He still hadn't eaten much and he was only given just enough water to keep from dehydration.

The sun, the hunger, the thirst... Miranda... and he still couldn't get out of these fucking chains!

Why the fuck was those assholes keeping him there?! Wouldn't a bullet be better by this point...?

...No. ...No, snap out of it! ...You've gotta find a way out of this mess!

...That freak needs to be punished...

The tied-up psychopath took a deep breath and tried his hardest to calm himself down. Panicking wasn't going to help him get out of this situation... With a defeated sigh, Josh simply leaned his head back against the tree and shut his eyes. He had to stay calm... He'll get out of this situation sooner or later, right? Maybe he'll get some help from-

"Well, look who's decided to wake up..."

Josh turned his head to see that Jennifer was walking over towards him with a bottle of water in one hand and a bowl of stew in the other. The psychopath's stomach growled at the sight and smell of the delicious food, and he licked his dry lips at the sight of the water bottle which was so cold that the plastic shell was frosted. The water would be so refreshing to drink under this blazing sun...

Jennifer stopped just out of reach from Josh and she glanced him up and down, taking in how he looked.

"You look like shit..." Jennifer bluntly told the bully.

"I feel like shit..." Josh corrected her with a tired tone of voice.

The Texan nodded and she pulled up an old chair which Miranda had hauled out there as she was having a 'session' with Josh the previous night. Sitting in the chair, Jennifer relaxed a bit and she readied a fork. Josh's eyes slowly widened and his stomach growled with desire as he watched Jennifer take a few bites of the delicious stew in her lap. The teen closed her eyes and savored the flavor, partly because she truly loved it and partly to give Josh a taste of his own medicine. She was gonna enjoy tormenting this psychopath for what he's done to her friends...

"Mmmm..." Jennifer hummed with pleasure as she took another bite.

Josh couldn't look away from the meal in Jennifer's hands. He hadn't eaten in days... However, there was something else that he saw which looked damn delicious... His severe hunger not withstanding, Josh managed to get himself a really great view of Jennifer's rack from where he was positioned and he didn't dare look away. Josh's eyes practically popped out of his skull as he stared and he grew a sudden newfound jealousy for whatever guy she was with.

For being a total freak, that bitch Anne certainly had some very fuckable-looking friends...

Jennifer swallowed another bite of her stew before she notice Josh eye-goggling her body. She was about to slap him in the face when she realized she could use this to her advantage, so with a smirk Jennifer stood up. With the meal in hand she sauntered over towards Josh with movements that emphasized her hips and waist, making that teenage psychopath nearly drool from sheer... well, it was hunger. At least of a sort.

"Like what you see, Josh?" Jennifer asked in a sultry tone of voice.

"You know I do..." Josh grinned, visibly aroused. God, why did that girl's East Texan accent sound so wonderful to the ear...?

Jennifer chuckled as she leaned her face close to Josh's, causing him to close his eyes as he was certain he was going to receive a French kiss from this sexy broad. But when he didn't feel anything touch his lips or enter his mouth he felt confused and he opened his eyes. Before he could ask Jennifer why she didn't French him, he realized that the Texan was dumping out every last remaining drop of her stew onto the ground just out of the reach of his foot.

Even worse, Jennifer unscrewed the cap to her bottle of water. Her smile fell as she looked him in the eyes and dumped out the bottle of water onto the ground as well. Nearly every last drop of the water fell out onto the dirt as Josh watched, and just to add insult to injury Jennifer made sure to take a swig of it for herself. Needless to say, Josh was infuriated. Now he had no food or water! Even worse, he couldn't even use this bitch!

"You're not my type, psycho." was all Jennifer said, throwing the empty bowl down at the psychopath's feet.

"You fucking whore!" Josh roared as he desperately struggled to break out of his chains. "The second I get out of these chains I'm gonna come after you! You hear me?! I'm gonna fuck you up you cunt!"

Jennifer simply winked at the psycho before she began to walk back over to the camp, leaving the thrashing psychopath to the rage which was consuming him. As she walked away from the screams she noticed that Chase had actually been watching the scene from another tree which was close by. The one-handed boy had a bemused expression on his face due to everything he had seen Jennifer do to his, Anne, and Dylan's old enemy.

"'Like what you see', huh?" Chase said with amusement as his girlfriend approached. Jennifer snorted a little before she and Chase broke out laughing together.

The couple locked hands and they began to head back to the camp, leaving an infuriated Josh and his very loud screams behind. Luckily Josh's screams didn't last very long since Shane had stormed over to him and shouted right in his face to, quote: "SHUT THE FUCK UP!", as he was worried Josh would draw the attention of walkers in the area. Needless to say, Josh was terrified enough by Shane to immediately shut the fuck up.

Shane was satisfied with the newfound silence and then he went right back to whatever he was doing before after he was sure the captive would be quiet. He wasn't sure how long Josh was going to be on the farm but that psycho was certainly going to be quiet for the duration of his stay.

Back at the moonshine shack, Verity and Patrick continued staving off boredom as best as they possibly could.

For the last few hours that storm has kept hitting their area really hard. It showed no real signs of letting up just yet, and both Patrick and Verity were beginning to feel a little anxious about their situation. Right now, they tried not to think about how long they could be in here, and they were keeping themselves occupied by playing games of tic tac toe in the dirt floor below them. So far, Verity's won seven games while Patrick's won five.

The couple also passed their time by trying to exercise, or by reading the wallpaper which was made out of hundreds of old newspapers from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. But reading about Sputnik going into space or Elvis Presley joining the army was something that people like Aelita, Chase, Jeremie or maybe Dylan might enjoy more than Verity and Patrick ever would. History wasn't really either of their cups of tea.

After he won another game of tic tac toe against Verity, Patrick brushed the ground to clear it for a new game. But by then, Verity had become incredibly bored of playing that and she was desperate to find a new source of entertainment. Patrick was bored too, but he wasn't sure what else there was in the shack that could keep them entertained for what will likely be the next several hours.

But Verity was desperate, and she knew there was at least one other thing here worth trying at least...

As Patrick set up a new tic tac toe board, Verity wordlessly walked over to the shelves holding the jars of moonshine. A few moments went by and then Patrick suddenly heard some very loud coughing from his girlfriend. When Patrick turned and saw Verity with one of the jars in her hands, he realized what she had done and he hurried over to make sure that she was okay. "What the hell are you doing?!" Patrick gasped as he snatched the jar out of her hands.

Verity coughed several more times as she tried to formulate words. Finally, she spoke, "I'm bored! I'm so, so bored!" she exclaimed. "And if I have to stay for a minute longer in this stupid fucking shack with nothing to do then I'm gonna go completely NUTS, Patrick!"

"So you're just gonna drink random jars of moonshine?! You don't even know what's in it! Doesn't that shit make you go blind or something?!"

"Fuck if I know!"

Before Patrick knew it, Verity had suddenly snatched the jaw back from his hand and she took an even bigger gulp out of it. The poor girl's eyes widened and her free hand went up to her throat, her face reddening badly as she started to cough even more violently from the strong burning sensation.

Patrick was stunned that Verity would even try something this stupid. But then, as his girlfriend hunched over and struggled not to puke, she held out the jar towards him and offered to let him join in on the 'fun.' Patrick looked at the jar and he hesitated for several moments, wondering to himself whether this stuff was even safe to consume or not judging on how Verity reacted to it.

Reluctantly, Patrick reached out and he took the jar, deciding to relent and join in on the drinking while also hoping that he and Verity wouldn't go too crazy.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Now on her eighth or ninth glass of moonshine, Verity was jumping on the bed and she was dancing to some imaginary music she kept in her impressive mental playlist. Her "singalong" was mostly just some quiet slurring which would barely count as English even if she was sober.

Having abandoned their games of tic tac toe long ago, the two teens were now just trying to find new stuff to do. All of the moonshine really helped stave off their boredom. Maybe drinking a lot of it wasn't so bad... right?

On the floor next to the bed, an equally drunken Patrick was busy using a stick to draw some stuff all over the dirt on the ground. His caricatures of Yumi riding Godzilla like a horse, Jeremie with his face replaced with the face of Albert Einstein, and Odd drooling at the sight of his old flame Samantha Knight in a bikini left a quite a lot to be desired when it came to the finer details, but it was of no concern to him. Drunken Patrick seemed to like drawing anything that was coming to mind. Drunken Patrick could definitely pretty much maybe might yes be another da Vinci if he put his mind to it... well, at least that's what he thought.

Soon, Verity noticed the drawings on the ground. She giggled at the one of Odd and Samantha as she stopped dancing. "N- Naughty, naughty boy!" Verity giggled loudly from a sense of drunken amusement as she walked to the edge of the bed, and this was a girl who practically never giggled. "Ooh, hey, try and draw 'Lita in a bikini! I always tried to get her to try one on but she wouldn't budge! It's a shame since Yumi and I think she'd look really cute in one..."

Patrick grinned up at his girl after she said that. "So you have a crush on the princess, huh? Is that what I'm taking from this?" he asked, teasingly.

Verity's eyes widened as her cheeks flared a deep red. "W- Wha-?! No! No, I- I don't think of Aelita like that at all..." she awkwardly denied her idiot boyfriend's implications, not daring to even meet his gaze. God, was it getting warm in here all of a sudden?

The raven haired girl continued to blush furiously at Patrick's claims of her having a crush on Aelita, one of her all-time closest friends and a woman whom Verity personally admired very much. After just a few more moments of enduring that stupid, stupid, stupid grin on Patrick's pretty face, Verity cracked and she finally broke out into giggling once more. She was acting like a little kid who just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

It was hard for her to speak when she was giggling like this, but the drunken girl pressed on as best as she could.

"I- It's just, well, uh..." Verity trailed off, then her giggling grew even louder. "... honestly, have you seen Aelita's hair, Patrick?! It looks sooooooooooo soft to the touch!" she started to gush. "It's so fluffy and big and pink, and that lucky son of a bitch Jeremie gets to pet her hair whenever he wants! It's not fair!" Verity's giggling ceased and she started pouting with jealousy as she talked about Jeremie.

A surprised Patrick blinked at what he heard. "... so ... you just like Aelita's hair?" In all the years that the two have known Aelita, Patrick's never once heard her talk about their friend's pink hair like this. The phrase 'A drunk woman's words, a sober woman's thoughts' suddenly popped up in his mind.

"What sane student at Kadic Academy didn't like Aelita's hair?!" Verity gawked at his surprised reaction. "I'd go out and murder a man just to brush her hair once! Why does Jeremie deserve all the luck and not me?! It's fucking bullshit, Patrick! It's massively bullshit! It's... communist..." she spat vindictively before taking another greedy swig of her moonshine. After that, she drunkenly and loudly said, "FUCK YOU, JEREMIE BELPOIS!!!"

Before Patrick could urge her to calm down about Jeremie getting to pet Aelita's amazingly soft hair instead of her, Verity's foot suddenly slipped off the side of the bed. The drunk girl began to fall off, but thankfully a quick reaction from Patrick ensured that he could catch her before she could fall down on the ground. Verity's glass of moonshine plunked on the dirt under them and its contents emptied out to be absorbed by the earth.

As Patrick set Verity back down, he kept his hands on her waist and she kept her hands on his shoulders. The couple then fell silent as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, suddenly feeling enamored by each other's presence. Verity and Patrick forgot about everything else and they now simply focused solely on each other...

... definitely each other.

Verity and Patrick's lips had slammed together for a heated kiss within seconds, their tongues fighting very hard for dominance. As the couple started making out, Patrick lifted up Verity by her ass and he walked her across the shack to press her body very firmly against a wall, making the raven-haired girl whine in his mouth and also squirm from a sensation of pure drunken delight. Verity wasn't sure if it was because of all that moonshine making her head spin or not, but the semi-rough treatment from Patrick was driving her all kinds of crazy right now...

Patrick placed Verity on her feet again after a few minutes. Verity's hands trembled from sheer excitement as she worked on unbuttoning her beau's shirt, quickly leaning down to plant a kiss on the scar on his abdomen after it was exposed to her. Patrick's breath grew heavy from lust as he began working on getting her pants off. After the shirt and the pants were tossed away to a dark corner of the shack, the two pounced onto each other like there was no tomorrow. The rest of their clothing were all done away with in a few moments.

The drunk couple's hands explored each other. Verity's whole body shook with delight as she and Patrick got the rest of each other's clothes off, her hand sliding between his legs to make sure that he was good and ready for her. Feeling her hand on his most private of parts, Patrick stifled his moan by leaving hickies all over Verity's neck, making his girl moan loudly for so much more.

Both of their heads were swimming thanks to the moonshine. The inhibitions which they both normally followed for each other had been thrown straight out the window.

Right now, all they could comprehend was that they needed each other.

"F- Fuck, Patrick! Oh God!" Verity gasped and groaned as she felt Patrick's teeth sink down in juuuuust the right spot on her neck. Anamused Patrick chuckled as he watched how Verity reacted to what he was doing to her. She was cute as hell when she was like this. He wanted to see even more of it.

Not to be out done by her boyfriend, Verity growled and she pushed him off of her, making him fall down onto the bed behind them. Patrick didn't even get a chance to blink before Verity jumped on top of him and pulled him in for another heated kiss. The two wrestled around on the bed before Patrick asserted his dominance by taking Verity's wrists and pinning them down against the mattress, causing her to giggle loudly as she wrapped her legs around his back. Before she could tell him to keep going, the couple heard a banging noise which startled them for a moment.

The couple looked to a window and saw that a walker had found them, though it was a weak creature and its banging against the window held nowhere near enough strength to break through the glass. Normally, Patrick and Verity would both be worried to see one of the walkers. But right now, the threat of getting bit or scratched was the least of their concerns. In fact, the couple even pointed at the undead man on the other side of the window and they both laughed at him. They mocked that threat of death.

Once the hilarity of the scene went away, the two drunken lovebirds went back to focusing what they were doing - each other.

After breaking their kiss, Verity and Patrick locked eyes with each other as they prepared to go all the way for the first time in their lives. A silent consent was shared between these two breathless drunken fools before this could go any further. Once it was clear that both of them were more than willing to keep going, Patrick and Verity locked hands, and only one slow, loving, and caring thrust was enough to turn these two Lyoko Warriors into a man and a woman.

The two kept going as they ignored the walker who kept banging the window. Right now, Patrick and Verity were enjoying themselves in this shack, their own little world. All that existed for them at this moment was the love that they held for each other. No concerns, no complaints, no ails of any kind. Just the sheer love and devotion for the girl who he treasured and for the boy who she cherished. Tonight, they were linked as one.

Their first time may have been foolish. It may have been when they were incredibly drunk... But there was more than enough love shared between them.

... having gotten so caught up in their fun, Patrick and Verity totally forgot about the condom which he kept in his wallet just in case...

Early the next morning, life was resuming as well as it could over at Hershel's Farm. Though they weren't hit by the storm, high winds blew through the property and a great many things were thrown all over the place. Tree branches, folding chairs, trash - all sorts of stuff like that.

Like almost everyone else around the farm, Kyra and Charles were busy helping each other clean up some of the mess made by the winds yesterday. The Canadian and Aussie friends were out by the back of the property and they were using a burn pile to dispose of any trash or branches that everyone needed gone. It was very hard work and its lasted hours so far, but the two teens were managing as best as they could. Kyra and Charles were just happy to spend any time together these days.

After throwing some more branches into the fire in the burn pit, Kyra saw two figures approaching the farm from the treeline. She recognized them immediately as Verity and Patrick, who the group was close to sending out a search party for since they didn't come back at all last night. Judging by how bad their appearances were, it was clear that both teens must've had a really crazy experience out there when the storm hit.

With Charles right behind her, Kyra ran to meet her two friends as they came back to the farm. She was so happy to see them safe and sound!

"Ver, Patrick, there you are!" Kyra smiled as she engulfed the two teens in a hug. "Where were you guys?! We were all worried sick! We thought that both of you were in-"

Verity cut off her friend by placing her finger on her lips, gently but insistently pushing her back to break the hug. Right now, her head and Patrick's head were banging like a semi truck was running them over. Their bodies ached to the bone, their eyes could barely stay open, and they both desperately, desperately needed some aspirin and a long sleep in a cool dark room. As happy as she was to see Kyra again, she just couldn't deal with any extended conversation right now.

" ... No words ..." Verity tiredly whispered to her Canadian friend. "... No words for the moment, my sweet friend of the beautiful Maple Leaf Land ..."

Blinking with confusion, Kyra felt Verity affectionately pat her on the cheek before she and Patrick resumed their trek. As the two walked away from them, Kyra looked over at Charles but he just shrugged in response, feeling just as confused as she did. That was... strange.

As Patrick and Verity approached Dale's RV, they both relished the idea of sleeping in its back bedroom. Its windows were covered by thick blankets, so there was no light that would bother them. They just wanted to plop down on that bed and sleep themselves into a near-fatal coma. Their memories of what happened the previous night were very fuzzy, (strangely, Patrick just couldn't get the image of Yumi riding on top of Godzilla out of his mind. He had no clue where that image came from or why his brain would think of something that stupid.), but right now they were both just too tired to even try to remember.

But judging by how incredibly sore Verity and Patrick felt in some certain places, along with all those hickies on both of their necks, they both had a pretty decent idea about what they did together last night. And that's not even mentioning any of the scratches and bite marks here and there on both their bodies...

Verity heard some giggles come from the campsite as she and Patrick got to the RV close by. The hungover girl looked to see that the giggles were coming from Aelita, who seemed to be enjoying herself very much as Jeremie affectionately pet her hair while they relaxed listened to music on an MP3 player together. For some reason, Verity just couldn't look away even after Patrick opened the RV's door for her. She felt... jealous.

After a moment or two, Verity suddenly began walking towards the camp. "... oh, fuck it." Patrick heard his girlfriend mumble to herself.

As Patrick watched from afar, Verity approached the two supergeniuses from behind. Wordlessly, Verity reached down to gently pull out the earbuds that the two were sharing, one that was in Aelita's ear and the other in Jeremie's. Having gotten their attention, Einstein and the Princess then turned to look at their friend. They were happy to see that Verity and Patrick were back but they also wondered what she might want right now. Verity made the first move before either of them could ask.

"... hey, 'Lita? Promise you won't get mad at me for doing this ...?"

Before Aelita could ask what Verity meant by that question, Verity had already set her hands on her friend's pink hair and she began to brush it like there was no tomorrow. Soon, she started massaging the pinkette's scalp too. Though Aelita was feeling incredibly confused by what was happening right now, she didn't try to stop Verity since... well... she had to admit to herself that it was a fantastic head massage.

Jeremie was simply bewildered into silence as he watched Verity brush Aelita's hair, seeing that both girls were enjoying this very much. For a moment or two, Jeremie could have sworn that Aelita was biting her lip, and that her eyes eyes had even rolled into the back of her head. What brought all of this on?

"Ohhhhhh myyyyyy gooooodddddddd, Verrrrrrrrr..." Aelita mumbled, nearly purring from delight as she relished every last second of this incredible head massage.

Verity beamed with pride as she brushed Aelita's hair and massaged her scalp, having finally accomplished one of the main goals on her bucket list. Finally, at long last, Verity Clinton knew exactly how soft Aelita Schaeffer's gorgeous pink hair really felt. Verity felt so happy about finally doing this that she didn't even notice any of the other people who were watching them right now, all very confused. Though Verity did hear some of them speak:

"... nope, not even going to ask why." she heard Chase sigh.

"... what the fuck?" she heard Anne ask.

"... that's kinda hot." she heard Miranda comment.

"... this is interesting." she heard Jennifer say.

"... I want some of that." she heard Yumi mumble.

"... wait, what did you say?" she heard Ulrich ask Yumi.

After a few more minutes, Verity stopped brushing Aelita's hair even though she wished she could do it all day. Aelita looked a bit lost now that the massage had ended. As Aelita, Jeremie, and the others who were currently in the camp watched her, Verity walked back over to the RV without saying a word to any of them. That was fun while it lasted, but now she again wanted to sleep.

Having to punch Patrick hard in the stomach for making a stupid joke, (The idiot said to her: "So, can you do that again and can I video tape it next time?"), Verity walked up into the RV and she headed straight for the bedroom. After Patrick recovered from the punch only moments later, he followed her inside. The two teens plopped down on the bed in the back bedroom and almost immediately they fell asleep together.

Hopefully their heads will hurt less whenever they finally wake up.

An hour later, Odd woke up in the place that he fell asleep in. The RV's bed was always the comfiest in the whole camp...

Odd tried to sit up so he could get back outside, but he found himself weighed down by... people?

Looking to his left, Odd was greeted with the sight and sound of a snoring Patrick. Looking to his right, Odd was greeted with a similar sight from a snoring Verity. It seemed that his friends had not only made it back to the farm but had also inadvertently fallen asleep right on top of him without even noticing.

Already feeling super claustrophobic, Odd tried to wiggle his way out from under the sleeping couple. Unfortunately, they wouldn't budge. He couldn't even try to tap them to wake them up since his arms and legs were all pinned under their bodies. And since Odd knew exactly how grouchy Verity could be if rudely awakened, he didn't want to risk losing his life by yelling for her and Patrick to wake up. An angry Verity was almost scarier than an army of walkers.

Odd sweatdropped as he hoped and prayed that someone could help him out of this mess. But with everyone busy out there helping clean up the farm, he knew that it could be hours before someone came into the RV. Maybe even all day.

With no options available, a desperate Odd meekly muttered one word:

"... help?"