A pale-looking girl gently stepped through the shattered glass of a grocery store door.
Shards cracked and crackled beneath her as she crept inside.
Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the area.
The shelves were broken, the fridges silent, and goods lay scattered across the floor.
Running her fingers over the dust-ridden cans, she carefully manoeuvred the aisles, avoiding any sound that might betray her presence.
She looked at her dusty fingers, then rubbed the dust off her hands.
Her belly growled.
Rubbing her stomach to calm the hunger, she whispered, "Any minute now," and knelt to search the scattered cans for any sustenance.
A flash of red caught her eye.
She reached out and grabbed the object.
"This'll do." She opened her mouth, biting into the can with her fangs and sucking the crimson from the metal in a single, desperate pull.
Throwing the can aside, she wiped her lips and stood up.
She looked around once more for something humanly edible.
"Marcy, what's taking so long?" A voice, sharp and laced with an unnatural chill, sliced through the quiet from outside the door.
"Just give me a minute, ok?" She continued to dig through the cans and bags of goods desperately.
"We don't have time. If we don't move now, he'll pinpoint our exact location!" the man shouted, his voice cracking with urgency.
"Damn it, Simon, just wait a minute," she called back, annoyance clear in her tone.
Before she could finish, Simon's icy fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling and dragging her out of the store.
They stumbled onto the curb where a battered, military-green jeep, its chassis visibly moulded from hardened candy and taffy, sat idling.
"Finally, I thought you'd never come out," "Get in, quickly!" said both Princess Bubblegum and Peppermint Butler, respectively, with Bonnie behind the wheel.
Simon shoved Marceline into the jeep, and they both tumbled inside.
Stepping on the gas, Bonnie floored it, the jeep's candy tires grinding over the oozers that plagued the street.
The sickening, wet sound was constant.
In the back seat, Marciline looked up at the dead green sky for a moment, then turned sharply to Simon.
"Why did you drag me out before I could get you any food? You're gonna starve yourself if you keep act—" "I KNOW—!" Simon snapped, the sudden force of his voice instantly dropping the temperature in the jeep.
Seeing Marcy's scared face, her hands covering her mouth in defense, the chill vanished.
His voice faltered.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" He slowly extended his hand, and when she didn't flinch, he gently pulled her into a hug.
"You're more important than a can of beans," he said, holding her gently, "I wouldn't know what I would do if I lost you again." A single tear slowly rolled down his cheek.
After a brief moment, Marciline relaxed a bit, her hands slowly wrapped around Simon, "I'm sorry, I won't be so reckless next time."
Suddenly, a dark-cloaked figure slammed into the jeep.
The candy chassis groaned, and the car flipped end-over-end before crashing violently onto the road.
"What a heartfelt moment," a voice rang out, hovering above them, strangely familiar yet tinged with a cruel, cold edge.
It laughed, low and maniacal, from the smoke.
"Ice wizard, we meet again," it said as it descended from above.
"I've grown tired of these petty games," he extended his metallic right arm out, "Give me the crown, and I might just spare your lives."
Barely holding on to consciousness, Simon extended his arm out and tried to cast an ice spell to would shield them.
But before the spell could fully form, the figure shot out, clamping around Simon's wrist with his metallic arm.
A sickening CRACK echoed through the silence as the bone snapped.
Simon's defense dissolved into a piercing, agonizing scream as the figure dangled him from his arm.
"Now, for that cursed crown." The agony in Simon's voice was the only thing that could cut through Marceline's dizzying concussion.
Her eyes lazily opened, focusing instantly on the figure towering over Simon.
"S-Simon..." she said as she slowly got up, her body slowly healing her bruised flesh from the crash.
She stood, back slightly bowed, adopting a tired yet lethal stance.
"Cough Cough, Oh, I'm gonna beat your ass now, Finn."
YOU ARE READING
Adventure Time: The Great Decay
FantasyA vampire, a bubble gum princess, a sentient peppermint, and an ice wizard must survive a post-apocalyptic wasteland and stop their corrupted former ally before he finds a magic book that will grant him the power to end all life.
