Survival Mode

Chapter Forty - Four

"I found him!" Heather shouted. She immediately began kicking at the cell door. Kwazii, who was inside the cell, went up to her. Fear was evident in his eyes. "Don't worry, Kwazii, we're going to get you out of here," Heather said.

He bit his lower lip. Kwazii almost felt too afraid to ask, but he did. "Tweak... Is she alright? It's been 3 days, and Carter said -"

Heather nodded her head. "Yeah, she's in labor. We came here as soon as possible so we could break you out. Malcolm created a cerium and tested it on a zombie. It worked, Kwazii! As soon as we get you out of here, we'll give you the cerium, and be back in time to see your child be born." Finally, the door opened and Heather grabbed Kwazii's arm. "Come on! Everyone is waiting outside!"

Together, the two ran through the halls of Carter's lair. Thankfully, he was finally dead, thanks to Tominnow falling in love with Tunip. They finally reached the door leading outside. Heather kicked it open and the two exited the lair. Outside, everyone besides Tweak, Dashi, and Tominnow were waiting.

"Quick, Malcolm, the cerium!" cried Heather. Malcolm tossed her the syringe full of green fluid. Heather pointed the needle at Kwazii's neck and smiled at him with sympathy. "This is going to hurt." With that, she inserted the needle into his neck and pressed down on the plunger.

Kwazii began to scream in agony and fell to the floor. His body began shaking as his green flesh turned into regular, tan flesh. After about 5 minutes, the shaking and screaming stopped, and Kwazii stood to his feet. He was completely normal, now; his orangish / auburn hair had returned, so did the color of his blue / gray eyes, and his tan colored flesh was back. A smile formed on his normal, pink lips. "Let's go," he said, beginning to walk away.

"Kwazii?"

He stopped and let out a gasp. When Kwazii turned, he saw Kate behind him. She was crying with a smile on her face. Tears began to collect in Kwazii's own eyes. "Kate," he whispered, "I've missed you so much..." He pulled his twin sister into a tight hug. After a few moments of embracing, the two pulled away. "Now, I need to see my girlfriend. Let's move out!" Kwazii remarked, resuming his walking away. The others followed closely behind.

Meanwhile, at the mansion, Dashi was frantically pacing in the living room. Tominnow sat at the dinning table, a phone in her head. Tweak was laying on a couch in the living room, panting heavily with her eyes closed. Suddenly, the phone rang and Tominnow lifted it to her ear. "Hello?" she said. A smile quickly formed on her lips as she hung up. She turned to look at Dashi. "They found Kwazii and gave him the cerium. They're almost here."

"Thank God," murmured Tweak. She bit her lower lip and looked up at Dashi. "I - I don't think I can do this... Not with Kwazii. I don't want my child growing up like I did... fatherless, motherless, uneducated... And I definitely do not want it falling in love with a idiotic homeless person it gave money to."

A smile formed on Dashi's lips. "Is that how you and Kwazii met? He was homeless and you gave him money?"

Tweak laughed through her pain. "Unfortunately, yes. I always dreamed of meeting the man of my dreams at school, but since I couldn't afford it, I didn't go to school. One day, while walking through town, I saw Kwazii and Kate sitting on the sidewalk together with one of those homeless signs. I felt terrible for them and gave them all I had with me... After awhile, Kwazii showed up on my doorstep one day telling me thanks. He and Kate had raised enough money to purchase an apartment. I asked if he wanted to come inside for coffee, and he did. We talked for hours. When he left, I kissed him on the cheek. That's when I realized I just fell in love with a homeless person." Dashi giggled and a painful smile formed on Tweak's lips. "I went to their apartment the next day and Kwazii asked me out. I agreed, and we began dating. Soon, I realized I was pregnant. I was 4 months along when I lost the baby. But, here I am, 23 years old and pregnant yet again with Kwazii's baby."

"Yep, and Kwazii's baby is about to be born," giggled Dashi. Tweak nodded and moaned. Dashi felt sorry for Tweak. She had been through so much; but, then again, they all had.

Suddenly, the front door opened, and the group entered the mansion. Kwazii appeared and looked around. "Where's my - Tweak!" He quickly ran to her and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

Tweak looked up at him. "What do you think?" Kwazii was stunned. Tweak giggled and placed a hand on his cheek. "Come here." Kwazii smiled and leaned in. Their lips met. Tweak suddenly pulled away and bit her lower lip. "Oh my God... guys, the baby's coming right now!"

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Everyone besides Dashi, Kate, and Kwazii waited in Doctor Wilson's old office. Baby cries suddenly filled the mansion and everyone cheered. Dashi appeared in the room with a smile on her face. "It's a girl!" she shouted. Immediately, everyone rushed downstairs to see the newborn. Shellington and Dashi stayed behind, however. Dashi smiled at him. "Don't you want to see the baby?"

"I will later," he said, putting an arm around her. Shellington let out a sigh and smirked. "Imagine what it would be like to have a kid of our own, Dashi."

She scoffed at him. "In your dreams! After what I just witnessed, I'm not sure if I ever want kids." The two laughed. Dashi let out a sigh and lowered her head. "I miss him, Shell... I miss my dad."

"Hey," he whispered, "it's alright. I sometimes miss my mom. She would do anything to protect Tunip and me."

Dashi smiled at him and kissed his lips. "I love you, Shellington Bjorgman. And to be completely honest with you, one day, I want to be Dashi Bjorgman. But first, remember what I told you last night?"

Shellington groaned and nodded. "We have to take things slow, I know, I know." Dashi laughed and soon, he joined in. "Now, come on. I want to see the baby, now," Shellington remarked. Then, the two went downstairs where everyone was gathered.

Kwazii, who was still at Tweak's side, smiled at her and ran his fingers through her blonde hair. "She has your hair and nose," he pointed out.

"And she has your eyes, lips, and chin," giggled Tweak.

"What are you going to name her?" asked someone. It sounded like Peso.

Tweak looked down at her daughter. "Hmm... She was the last bit of hope I had during the zombie apocalypse. So, I'm going to name her... Hope. Hope Elise Young. Elise was my mother's name," replied Tweak. Everyone clapped around the three.

"Welcome to the world, Hope Elise," Kwazii said, planting a kiss on his newborn daughter's forehead. Suddenly, there was a noise outside. Everyone looked at each other. Tweak held Hope closer to her and Kwazii put an arm around Tweak.

"Wait..." Dashi whispered. She ran outside with Shellington on her tail. She opened the door and let out a gasp. Outside the mansion, was three helicopters.

A man jumped out of one and ran in the direction of the mansion. He extended his hand out for Dashi to shake. "Hello there, I'm Dr. Gordon. I worked at Doctor Wilson's science laboratory. When the zombie apocalypse began, I escaped Burkland. Only a week ago, I arranged a rescue team to find survivors. They found you guys. We're here to take you to New York City. It's a 2 hour flight, and we have enough room for 4 in each helicopter. We had scientists create a cerium to turn the zombies back into humans."

Dashi pointed inside. "We have a scientist. His name is Malcolm Davidson. He created a cerium as well, and it's worked on 2 so far."

"We could use him," Dr. Gordon remarked. "How many survivors do you have?"

Shellington and Dashi looked at each other. "We actually have 12 survivors. We could bring everyone to NYC in one trip," Shellington said.

Dr. Gordon smiled. "Good. I'll alert the team. Gather everyone up and bring them out here. Wheels up in 10 minutes." With that, he walked away.

Dashi immediately wrapped her arms around Shellington's waist. "We're finally safe," she whispered. She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied, a smile on his face. The two entered the mansion and explained the situation to them. Tweak, Kwazii, Hope, and Kate got into one helicopter. Peso, Malcolm, Heather, and Emily in another. In the third, there was Dashi, Shellington, Tunip, and Tominnow. And 10 minutes later, they were in the air, heading for NYC.