Fairies Versus Zombies [COMPLETED]

8

As the light shifted from lilac to midnight purple, wasps lined the corpses up in rows, bite-squishing the heads of any that moved. Inside the wasps' new nest, Queen Maya sucked the brains out of the heads of dead fairies and gnawed through their soft bellies to seek out the still-warm organs inside. Chloe sought out Den. She saw Jessica sitting deep in a huckleberry bush, holding Gretchen tightly to her chest, sobbing. Gretchen patted Jessica's wet cheeks.

"Mother," Jessica was saying through her tears. "I'm so sorry, Mother."

Chloe found Den sitting with Shaun on a nearby branch. Shaun wrapped Den's knee with cloth. Chloe knelt beside Den. Den will have to do now. She's gone. I do love him. Shaun looked from her to Den, sighed, and dug a gooseberry tart out of his medic bag. Hilda's not around to make those anymore. This is one of the last gooseberry tarts for a while. Shaun took a bite. Chewed. Grinned. Patted Chloe's gnarled hand.

"I lost some of my wounded," Shaun said. "I better go find them." He flew away. Den and Chloe sat alone.

"How's it going, Royal Jelly?" Den wiggled his eyebrows and Chloe groaned.

"It's still me," Chloe said in a thousand voices. "And them," she conceded. Den heaved himself to standing and winced. Chloe handed him her scepter to use as a crutch. The Hatchery's birthsong finished in a majestic series of jubilant cadences.

The door to The Hatchery lay ajar. Chloe tensed and brushed it open. She peeked inside, then relaxed. The Hatchery was full of new parents, each set holding babies. Den limped inside and Chloe followed. Thousands of baby fairies cracked their egg shells. Newborn cries filled the warm, pink air.

In incubator E-8, four baby girls stretched tiny fists and wailed.

"Our lineage is made manifest," crowed all thousand of Chloe's voices, and Den started. Chloe patted his arm. "Don't worry dear. Marriages have survived greater upsets than this." Den laughed, then bent to look at the four infants. He'll do, the thousand voices thought. He's no paragon, but he'll do just fine.

In the forest beyond, Shaun and his team of medics tended the wounded, the ones they could find, at least.

In the back of The Hatchery, something heavy fell. A moan filtered through the air. Chloe whirled to face the noise. It was Sabrina, buxom as ever, but broken, holding her head at an unnatural angle. Her loose jaw quivered softly in the shadows.

"Queensblood, my love," Den said. He gazed at Sabrina with real sorrow. He reached out to Sabrina, then stopped. Chloe gasped. That's why he was so sorry earlier. Behind Sabrina, row after row of deadings appeared, emerging from deep within The Hatchery. Their wings buzzed.

[Author's Note: If you liked this chapter, please consider giving it a vote. ACK! That's the end. OH MY GOD, it's a story! Let's throw popcorn in the air as if it's confetti!]