Survival Mode

Chapter Forty - Three

With Dashi and Kate, the two ran down a hallway calling Tweak's name. Kate opened one door and gasped. "She's in here!" she called to Dashi. The two ran inside and gasped together. "Tweak..." Kate whispered.

"I - I woke up like this," Tweak whispered. "Carter... he made me drink a potion that put me to sleep... Kwazii told me it was supposed to speed up my pregnancy..."

Dashi let out a sigh. "Kate, grab her. I'm going to search for the others and let them know we found Tweak. Meet me at the entrance in 5 minutes." Kate nodded and ran to Tweak. Dashi quickly ran out of the room and continued running down the hallway.

"Dashi..."

Dashi gasped and stopped. She slowly turned her head and looked inside a room. She nearly screamed, but quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Inside the room, was a man... a very familiar man...

Shellington.

And he was alive.

For a moment, Dashi thought she was seeing things. She rubbed her eyes and opened them, but Shellington was still there. He was smiling at her with tears streaming down his cheeks. "Dashi, it's me," he whispered.

"Oh my God," Dashi cried. She ran inside the room and pulled him into a hug. Tears of her own began to stream down her cheeks. "Michael told me you were dead!"

A chuckle left Shellington's mouth. "When he died, the effects of his bite wore off. I was in a short coma, Dashi. I was never dead." He cupped Dashi's face and looked into her chocolate brown eyes. "Oh God, I love you," he whispered, then pressed his lips to hers. Dashi kissed back. Words could not describe how happy she was.

After they pulled away, Dashi held his hand and led him out of the room. "Come on, everyone's waiting for us at the entrance."

They ran through the hallway leading to the entrance. Everyone was gathered there and ready to leave. Emily, Peso, Kate, Malcolm, and Tweak were just outside when the door slammed shut and was locked. Everyone gasped. Dashi, Shellington, Doctor Wilson, Heather, Tominnow, and Tunip were still inside. "Hello children," a voice called out.

Dashi growled under her breath. "Carter! Stay away from us!" She pulled her sword out from behind her.

Carter appeared out of the darkness with his hands in the air. "Look, no one will get hurt, unless you don't hand over Mr. Bjorgman to me."

"We're not handing him over," Doctor Wilson shouted. "You changed, Carter! You were my assistant! I trusted you! What happened!?"

Carter glared at him. "You wouldn't give me your daughter, that's what happened! I had no other choice, but to create this zombie apocalypse, and get my happy ending!"

"I'm not your happy ending, Carter," said Dashi. She lowered her sword and sighed. "But, if you let them keep Shellington, I will go with you."

He shook his head. "No, I don't want you just yet. First, we have to get our child."

Dashi's eyes widened in fear and she gulped. "Our child!? Are you insane, Carter!? I would never -" she stopped. Dashi's jaw dropped and she turned to look at the closed door. "That's - That's why you want Tweak's baby..."

"Indeed, my dear! You are so smart. I think that's the attribute of yours that I like most... along with your stunning looks. Anyways, Tweak's baby is very important. It will be able to communicate telepathically with anyone. Not only that, but it will also have the ability to control zombies. And also... it is immune to a zombie's bite," Carter explained. "Due to its father being 'The Chosen One', it has all of those abilities. But now, to replace Tominnow, it will be my child."

All of a sudden, Jonathan appeared and grabbed Tominnow. She screamed and struggled against Jonathan's hold on her. "You are sick, Carter," Doctor Wilson growled.

He let out a sigh. "I've always envied you, Barnacles. You were so famous. Now, I will be famous. I am the first man to prove zombies aren't a myth! If I am thrown in jail, I will still be known as an important man. I can do the impossible." Carter suddenly pulled out a gun and aimed it at Tunip. "And if you don't hand over Shellington now, I will just have to shoot his little brother." Tunip froze.

"No!" Tominnow screamed.

"Don't you dare, Carter!" Heather shrieked.

"Tunip, I won't let him hurt you!" Shellington yelled. Carter then pulled the trigger and the bullet aimed for Tunip. Shellington jumped in front of him, when suddenly, Doctor Wilson jumped in front of Shellington! He grunted in agony and fell to the floor.

"Dad!" Dashi cried. She dropped on the floor next to him and began sobbing. "No! Dad!"

Carter clicked his tongue. "You children love each other so much, you'd do anything for each other. That's the problem with love. You should only think about yourself, not others."

Dashi stood to her feet. "You are a filthy, sick, little bastard! You killed the only family I had!" She charged at Carter, but Shellington quickly grabbed her by the waist and held her back. They heard the door unlock.

"Whatever. I didn't care much for Barnacles anyways. Jonathan, take Tominnow to the torturing room," demanded Carter.

"No..." Tunip whispered.

"Tunip!" Tominnow cried. She tried spitting out the words, but they wouldn't come out. Tominnow mouthed them, but no, it still wasn't working. She closed her eyes. She then took a deep breath, let it out, and screamed, "I love you!"

Everything went silent. Everyone froze. Carter began to choke and he slowly fell to the ground. "No..." he moaned. "She's... fallen in love..." Jonathan dropped Tominnow and ran to Carter's side. Tominnow ran into Tunip's arms and hugged him.

"Dashi, we should get out of here," suggested Shellington. She nodded her head and looked at her father one last time.

"Goodbye, daddy," she whispered. Dashi then followed Shellington and the others outside, where everyone was waiting for them.

Meanwhile, Jonathan grabbed Carter's hand. He bit his lower lip, attempting to hold back his tears. "Car - ter..." he whimpered, allowing his tears to fall.

He smiled up at Jonathan. Carter squeezed Jonathan's hand and forced a chuckle. "It'll be okay, little brother... I - I'm glad we finally got the bonding time we needed during this zombie apocalypse."

"Car - ter," Jonathan whimpered again. He wiped away a couple of years. "What am I supposed to do without you? Both mom and dad are gone... The only known family I have left are Tominnow and -"

Carter quickly placed a finger over Jonathan's lips to shush him. "Never allow Tominnow in your life. From the looks of it, she won't want you either. Go to him... He's your only hope..."

Jonathan was confused. "My only hope... for what?"

"Revenge..." With that, Carter fell limp in Jonathan's arms. Jonathan began sobbing loudly as he held onto his older brother. No matter what, Carter, Jonathan thought, I will avenge your death. I will get my own revenge this time...