I AM NOT A THREAT!
NOW
Things changed rapidly after their first football win of the season. As the team, led by Zed, continued to win, all the anti-zombie protocols were done away with. They even got rid of the fence keeping them separate and the metal detectors, as well as the basement classroom. Now, zombies were integrated into every class period and were even given lockers to keep their things in.
Zed was eating up all the attention, absolutely stoked to have so many people loving him for his talent. In fact, any lunch table with Zed was now the most sought-after table to sit at in the cafeteria, much to Bucky's annoyance. All his spotlight had been transferred to Zed and the other zombies, which had been his greatest fear when they were let into the school.
Carson loved the development. Now, Seabrook's reputation was even better, as it seemed like Zed would be leading them to a perfect season. A perfect football team and perfect cheer squad was all the town could ask for.
She found herself splitting her time equally between her constantly angry brother and her new zombie friends. Now, for instance, she was sitting with Bucky in the cafeteria, giving Zed the space to meet more people — and there were a lot of people that now wanted to meet him. Even Eliza was getting attention, currently having two different football players at her side, both with flirty expressions on their faces that had Carson snickering. She was hoping Eliza would turn them down in a way that was particularly embarrassing for them.
Her brother remained mostly quiet in his anger, but when Addison stood from her table next to them with clear intent to go talk to Zed, Bucky stood furiously, taking deep breaths. He marched after Addison and stopped her. With a heavy sigh, Carson got up to join him, not wanting Bucky to be too harsh on their cousin.
"You're either pro-cheerleader or pro-zombie. Decide now," Bucky said, finally giving Addison the ultimatum she'd been dreading.
Addison's smile dropped instantly. "Wait, what? You don't know how hard—"
"What's it gonna be?" Bucky asked, crossing his arms.
"Bu - but Carson—"
"Don't bring her into this. I'm dealing with Carson," he said sharply. Carson simply raised an eyebrow, not a fan of being brought into this conversation.
"I... I wanna be a cheerleader," Addison replied, her voice shaky. "That's all I ever wanted."
"Good," he said, smirking happily. Then he pulled Carson back to their table before she got any ideas of standing up for Addison.
To make things worse for the wig-wearing girl, Zed spotted her across the room and waved excitedly. "Hey, Addison!"
In response, she turned on her heel and fled the cafeteria entirely, tears in her eyes. Zed dropped his waving arm sadly, not going after this time.
Bucky watched the interaction happily. "This zombie trend will pass. They're not gonna win another football game."
Carson eyed Bucky skeptically. "Just keep telling yourself that, I guess."
"Well, until they lose, you should stay away—"
Bucky was cut off by Zed trying the same thing as he did with Addison, calling Carson's name across the cafeteria. And to his delight, she instantly got back up from her table and grabbed her tray to join him. Her brother acted quickly, grabbing her elbow and turning her back to the zombie table.
"Don't," he said sharply.
"You don't tell me what to do, Bucky," she said, narrowing her eyes.
"I will kick you off the team," he said, lowering his voice a little. He didn't want the other members of the squad to hear the threat that Carson knew was empty. "Or I'll find a way to make you stop."
In response, Carson's eyes flashed red before fading back to their normal blue color. It had Bucky loosening his hold on her. "You can't make me do anything, Bucky. No one can. Now, I will see you at practice after school, okay?"
It took him a few moments before he fully released her. Carson had never used her powers on him in a bad way — and she wasn't actually planning to, as her threats were as empty as his. But Bucky knew the things she could do, as he'd grown up watching her perform cool tricks around the house. So, if she felt so inclined, Carson could go into his head and change every single opinion he had on zombies to resolve this conflict. He was just lucky she considered that an inhumane use of her magic.
"Fine," he muttered, turning his head away. "But it better not affect your performance or take priority over the championship."
Carson scoffed lightly. "Nothing could take priority over another trophy."
She couldn't get another word out of her brother, who was clearly displeased with her. While it wasn't a full-on argument, the zombies had finally driven a permanent wedge between the siblings. Carson tried to ignore the small part of her that was upset and made her way to the zombie table.
With a smile, Carson sat next to Zed and across from Eliza, who was eying her.
"Where's Bonz?" Carson questioned, seeing the apple on her tray and thinking of him.
"He's getting fitted for a marching band uniform," Zed said with a grin. "He's super excited."
"That's awesome. I've been hearing about his musical talent, so he's got a lot of expectations to live up to," she noted.
"Why are you here?" Eliza suddenly asked very bluntly. Zed quietly hissed her name under his breath at her rudeness.
"Uh, because Zed asked me," she said, shrugging.
"No, I mean, why did Bucky let you sit down? He already stopped Addison," Eliza said, glancing at the cheer captain. "He's not happy about it, but you said something to him to get him to leave you alone. I wanna know why your brother isn't forcing you to stop talking to us like with your cousin."
Carson shrugged casually. "Maybe he just knows I want to be my own person."
Eliza narrowed her eyes, not believing it for a second. Bucky didn't want people to "be their own person" — he wanted them to be like him. "Or maybe it's that he can't stop you, for whatever reason."
"You sound crazy, Eliza," Zed said, chuckling. But Eliza and Carson didn't laugh and instead were staring each other down, which he was oblivious to. "Obviously, he just has a soft spot for his little sister."
"Yeah," Carson said, leaning back in her chair casually while still watching Eliza. "I'm just exploiting his soft spot for me."
But the curious look on Eliza's face told her that she didn't believe it for a second — and the zombie was dying to know the truth.
Unfortunately for Carson, she wouldn't have to wait long.
☽
Bucky's prediction that the football team wouldn't win another game was laughably incorrect. Now that Zed had proved himself, his teammates were actually helping out during the games, meaning they won each game with even higher scores. Every week, they made the front page of the newspaper, celebrating the new win.
During each game, Bucky led the squad in the most basic cheers, and never once was there a cheer for zombies or Zed. The only ones to actually cheer for the quarterback were Carson, who didn't fear her brother's wrath, and Bree, who was just on the sideline as a stand-in without pom poms. Carson hadn't really interacted with Bree much, but she liked that she was making an effort to include Zed. And at the very least, the crowd was cheering for the zombie.
The football season seemed to fly by quickly — funny how winning made it not seem like a drag. Well, it was a drag to Bucky, as people were spending their time talking about football instead of cheerleading. Carson would try to cheer him up and remind him that their championship wasn't until after the football season ended, meaning that all the attention would be back on them in a few weeks, but it was never enough to melt the chip on his shoulder.
Carson watched her brother watch Zed by the lockers, wondering if he'd blow up any time soon. If looks could kill, Zed would surely be dead — not undead. Finally, he got fed up and shut his locker, prepared to walk away from the scene of Zed surrounded by fans. But as he turned, Bucky almost ran into a student holding up a piece of paper and pen.
"Look, I am in no mood for autog—"
Bucky stopped himself when the boy walked right past him and went for the zombie of the hour. "Hey, Zed!" he called, making Carson wince.
Carson pat her brother on the shoulder gently before also walking to the table Zed was sitting at. He finished signing the boy's autograph and gave a high five to a girl passing by.
"Okay. I'm off to computer club," Eliza said as Carson arrived. She had an odd, almost confused expression on her face. "Me. I think I might be happy?"
"Have fun," Carson said, laughing. "But not too much. Wouldn't want you to catch this thing called 'joy'."
Eliza rolled her eyes playfully — not sarcastically, for once. Then she was off to the meeting in the computer lab, which she was finally allowed into.
"Gerzar buza gar," Bonzo said to Carson, giving her a hug before going off on his own too.
"Have fun in cooking class," Carson told him. "Don't eat your assignment before the teacher can taste it again."
The instructions had Bonzo pouting, but he'd listen as he went to class. Then Zed and Carson went over to the zombie's locker, passing a few students on the way.
"Hey, zombie chic! I like it," Zed said, noticing some of the students that were wearing darker colors. Then he went in for high-fives from them all. "Gimme some. Boom! Boom! There it is."
"Someone's loving the attention," Carson told him, laughing a little. "Pretty soon, I think you'll have a van with your face on it."
"One can dream," he joked.
His laughter died down, though, as Addison passed with the Aceys. They were keeping her from looking at him, making sure she kept walking. And as they reached Bucky, he led them away angrily. Zed sighed over the fact she was still ignoring him and opened his locker, only for silver confetti to explode from it, startling him. Carson smiled, knowing what it was.
A note fell out, which she picked up off the ground and handed to Zed to read. "Cheering for you on the inside. XO, Addison," he recited, his mood brightening a bit. "How'd she get in my locker?"
"Must have been magic," she said vaguely. Really, when Addison asked if Carson knew of a way to get a note to Zed, she lied and said she knew Zed's locker combination. In reality, she simply used her magic to open it and rig the confetti to fly out.
Zed chuckled cluelessly and folded up the note, putting it in his backpack with the rest of his books. "Hey, so, there's this thing called a zombie bash tonight. You'd totally dig it — there's dancing and singing. I thought, uh, maybe you'd want to go with me," he said a bit shyly. "Like a, uh, like a date, maybe?"
Alarm bells were going off in Carson's head — bells that were saying Zed wasn't the guy she was supposed to go on her first real date with. Her head always seemed to swim anytime someone asked her out, like her brain couldn't stand the idea of a romantic setting with anyone.
"It does sound fun," she said hesitantly. Carson then smiled softly at him. "But I've got to help Bucky and the Aceys work on our routine for the competition tonight."
"Oh," was all he said, his mood dampening. "I get that."
"Maybe you could try asking Addison," she said as casually as she could. Was it bad that she was trying to nudge him toward her cousin and away from her? Addison was sweet and kind, and on some levels, also understood how judgmental people could be when it came to being different, as she'd been wearing a wig all her life. Maybe they could work out if Bucky would calm down.
"She'd never say yes," Zed assumed, shaking his head. "She won't even smile at me in the hallway anymore."
"That's because Bucky is in the hallway. Zombietown in the middle of the night is the last place he'd be," Carson pointed out, leaning against the lockers as he finished with his last books. "I know she hates not cheering for you, especially with how great you're doing."
"Yeah, but you're cheering," he pointed out.
"Because Bucky's not gonna kick me off the squad," she reminded him. "For me, I do cheer because I like to compete and win — I can do that with a lot of sports. But Addy, like, eats, sleeps, and breathes cheer. Always has since we were little. There's not another option for her."
"I get how important it is," he said softly. "It just... sucks being someone's second choice."
Carson cleared her throat and looked away from Zed, pretending not to notice how he gazed at her fondly — too fondly. "Well, I know she'll choose to go to the zombie bash with you if you do ask."
"Because she's not busy making the routine tonight?" he asked, knowing deep down that it was just an excuse.
"Yeah," she said, feeling a little bad. "C'mon. I'll help you figure out a way to ask her without Bucky seeing."
By the end of the class period, they had a solid plan, which included Bonzo and some origami. After the football game — which Seabrook won, of course — Bucky and the Aceys stormed to the cheer tent, not wanting to stay and celebrate the win.
Bonzo took the time to sneak over to Addison and Carson, whistling a high-pitched tune as he did. Carson grinned as he moved the note folded like a bird and landed it on Addison's shoulder, who was quite confused as she took it. Before leaving, Bonzo gave her a sideways hug, making her grin, before he rushed off.
As Addison looked at Carson questioningly, she didn't give anything away and instead stood next to her to read over her shoulder.
"Ready to break every rule in the book? Meet me at the barrier. 7 pm tonight. ZED." Addison looked nervous for a moment. "I could get in so much trouble."
"Does that mean you're in?" she asked, grinning.
Addison nodded with a smile. "I'm in," she said. Then her smile dropped a little. "Are, uh, were you invited too?"
"Nope. Just you and Zed," Carson said, leaving out that he asked her first. "I'll be home with Bucky and his lovely company."
"Great!" she said instantly. But then she stumbled over her words, not meaning to say that. "I mean, not that I don't want to spend time with you! You're great! I - I just, well, and Zed - but I thought maybe he and you - or..."
"Breathe, Addy," Carson said, smirking.
Addison did as told to calm down. Then she smiled sheepishly. "I guess I just thought... maybe Zed had a thing for you.
Deciding not to lie to her, Carson said, "He did." Addison's face fell at her confession. "But I'm not interested in being any more than friends. I know for a fact, though, that he also has a thing for you. So don't get bummed out. This isn't cheer tryouts or a competition to find out who can do the most cartwheels in a row. You don't have to worry about me being... well, me about it."
A relieved sigh left Addison's lips. It was hard being related to someone like Carson at times, so it really was comforting to hear her say aloud that she had no intentions of pursuing Zed. "Thanks, Carson," she said, finally letting herself be happy about it. Then she grabbed her cousin's hands excitedly. "Now, you have to help me pick out my outfit."
☽
THEN
"Hey, Princess, I got a surprise," Wyatt said as soon as Carson entered their clearing.
Carson rolled her eyes instantly before even setting eyes on him. It'd been weeks since the costume incident, and she was back to wearing warm sweaters and pajama pants every time she came out to the Forbidden Forest. Despite this, Wyatt never let go of the nickname.
"Do you want me to hit you again?" she asked, heading to the boulder.
"That'd be fun to watch, so sure."
Carson looked up at the new voice. Up on the boulder, Wyatt wasn't alone. There was a girl with dark skin and pretty curly hair. Like Wyatt, she had a white strand in her hair, pointed ears, and she too had grown in her fangs.
"Oh," was all Carson said, unsure who this new wolf was. Her only guesses were Wynter or his sister Willa, as they were the only two wolves he ever talked about. She felt a little shy and also conflicted because now she had to share her time with Wyatt.
"Meet my sister," Wyatt introduced, a bit nervous. His mate was meeting his sister, so he needed this to go well. He couldn't stand having them hate each other.
"Nice to meet you, Willa," Carson said while climbing onto the boulder. She smiled at the wolf, who was dressed in the same kind of fur as her brother, so it was obviously a pack thing. "I'm Carson!"
"You smell odd," Willa said, tilting her head and studying her. "Not like a wolf or a human."
"Willa," Wyatt hissed, elbowing her. "Don't tell her she smells bad."
"She said odd, not bad!" Carson said, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him playfully.
"Yeah," Willa said, smirking at her brother. "I can't believe you think she smells bad. You're not supposed to be mean to your mat—"
Wyatt quickly slammed his hand over Willa's mouth before she could say the word 'mate' in front of Carson. He still hadn't told her about that. There wasn't a need to when they were just kids. Wyatt would tell Carson when they were older and something would actually come from it.
Willa rolled her eyes and shoved her brother off. "You're annoying," she said flatly.
"Right?" Carson asked, glad someone understood. "I thought he was an idiot for the first three meetings — and still kinda do, sometimes."
"Nah, he's an idiot all the time," Willa told her, grinning and showing off her fangs.
"I'm feeling attacked," Wyatt muttered, crossing his arms and pouting.
Carson raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're the one that brought us together."
"Actually, she followed me," he mumbled. "I need to work on my stealth."
"You need to work on a lot of things," his sister teased. "Like recovering from hard falls."
Wyatt looked at her in confusion, not noticing the look she shared with Carson. "Hard falls? What are you talking ab — hey!"
In sync, Willa and Carson reached out to push him off the boulder, watching him fall the four and a half feet to the ground — Wyatt measured it to make sure they wouldn't be doing permanent damage any time he or Carson shoved each other off. "This is abuse," he grumbled.
Carson giggled and jumped off the rock, landing next to him. "You knocked me off on Tuesday." Then she sat next to him in the grass, shoulders brushing.
"That wasn't abuse then," he declared. "You were making bad werewolf jokes!"
"How bad?" Willa asked curiously. Now that she was alone, she laid on her stomach on the boulder, taking up all the room and looking down at them.
Wyatt was already groaning in anticipation as Carson grinned. "What do you call a sleeping werewolf?" Willa cringed, not wanting to dignify it with an answer. "An unaware-wolf!"
"He's right," Willa said with a grimace. "I would've pushed you off too.
☽
NOW
The day of the homecoming football game had finally arrived, and all of Seabrook was waiting in anticipation. Carson didn't see much of her cousin or her brother after classes let out, which was a bit odd to her. Had she seen them, she'd know Bucky was scheming with the Aceys, and Addison was on an odd date with Zed who used his Z-band to make him appear human to please her parents.
And while Carson never spotted them, she did do a double take on the way to the cheer tent to get ready. Because on the way to the football locker room was Zed — a black-haired and regular skin-toned Zed who was fiddling with his Z-band.
"Um, Zed?" she questioned, one of her pom poms slipping from her hand in shock.
Zed looked up like a deer in headlights, realizing he'd been caught, but he didn't change back to his normal appearance just yet. After jogging over to her, he smiled a bit awkwardly. "Hey, uh, Carson. C-Dog. Car Salesman," he rattled off.
"Don't call me Car Salesman," she said flatly, looking at him with a frown. "Why do you look like that?"
He grinned and held his arms out. "Pretty bitchin' right? I totally fit in at the fro-yo place with Addy earlier. No one knew, and we could just be ourselves."
"Yourselves?" she asked, scoffing. "Zed, this is not you. This is—"
"Human—"
"Wrong," Carson said, talking over him. She bent over and picked her pom pom up. "Zed, there's nothing wrong with you the way that you are. You shouldn't have to change your appearance — you're already amazing."
It made him scoff. "Says the beautiful, perfect, popular human with nothing to be ashamed of."
Carson rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I am perfect, but not because everyone else deemed it so. It's because I like myself, and I wish people like you and Addison could see how much there is to love about yourselves too."
"Really? So, you love this, then?" Zed asked. Then he reached forward, grabbing Carson's hair and starting her. He was gentle as he did so, but still didn't let her pull away. It wasn't long before he managed to find the strand of white hair that Carson had pinned up at the back of her head. "Tell me why you don't show this off every day?"
"How do you even know about that?" Carson asked, stepping away. The white hair slipped through his fingers, and she pushed it over her shoulders where it was concealed with her red hair.
"Addison told me," he admitted. "Knowing you have something similar makes her feel better about her own hair."
"Well, for starters, she has no right to tell people my business," she said sharply. She didn't appreciate Addison airing out her secrets — thank god she didn't know about her being a witch. "And second, I don't hide it because I'm ashamed of it. I do because Bucky and my parents want me to. You have no idea what they've done for me, so the least I can do is tuck some hair back for their reputation."
The Buchanans took her in when her parents died. They kept her even after finding out about her magic. They even encouraged her to use it so long as it was in the safety of the house where no one could see and report her to the Z-Patrol. For all that, Carson wasn't offended when Bucky helped her learn hairstyles that kept the white hidden.
Zed looked down at his feet, suddenly feeling bad about his human act. "I'm sorry for pulling your hair."
As she spoke, Carson stepped closer again and grabbed his left arm, looking at his Z-band. "Make it up to me by never doing this again," she told him. Then Carson swiped at his Z-band until his appearance returned to normal, green hair and all. "There. You look much better now."
"Thanks," he said softly.
"Now, go win a homecoming game," she instructed before going to the cheerleading tent.
Once there, she readjusted her hair and tied a green ribbon in it, as the hot pink ones never looked great with her hair color. The entire time, she kept an eye on Bucky. He had a smirk on his face the whole time, looking as if he was planning something. And when Bucky was planning, nothing good could come from it. Any time she asked him about it, though, he acted innocent.
Bucky Buchanan was never innocent.
To get her mind off her brother, Carson went over to Addison. It wasn't the time to berate her for telling Zed about her hair, as Bree was sitting in front of her, letting Addison pull her hair into a ponytail. "Take your pom poms out there today, Bree," Addison said, grinning.
"But she's not a starter."
"But I'm not a starter."
Carson and Bree spoke in sync. No, Carson didn't have a problem with Bree and knew she was a good cheerleader, but she hadn't been practicing every single routine with them. She only knew the basic cheers for the sidelines.
"Who says?" Addison asked, shrugging. "It's time things changed around here."
Carson narrowed her eyes. Sure, she was all for societal change and getting rid of discrimination. But cheerleading had rules, and only when those rules were followed was the squad good enough to win trophies at competitions. If they just let anyone on the team that wanted on, then they'd be horrible. At the thought of losing because Addison wanted to just make sure everyone was happy and having a good time, Carson walked away from her too. She'd about had all she could have of her family members for the day.
At least she didn't have to talk to them during the game. It was certainly the toughest for the Mighty Shrimp. They were facing off against the Eastbrook Eels again, and as the end of the game drew near, Seabrook was losing by five points with only three seconds on the clock.
"Well, it's been a season to remember, and it all comes down to the final seconds of this year's Homecoming game," the announcer said. "Unbelievable. The Mighty Shrimp are down by five. They called their final time out."
During the time out, Addison decided to act out and lead a chant. "Gimme a 'zom'!"
The crowd loudly repeated back. "Zom!"
"Addison," Bucky said in a warning tone, moving closer to her.
Addison hardly looked at him. "Give me a 'bie'!"
"Bie!"
Bucky got in her face and swirled his hand around to silence her. "You are way too good of a cheerleader to throw your life away, Addison."
"I'm cheering for a change, Bucky," she said, pushing him back slightly as she said his name. Carson couldn't help but snicker as she finally stood up to him. Then Addison got back in formation.
"Don't do it," he warned.
"Gimme a 'zom'!"
"Zom!"
"Addison!" he snapped.
Yet again, she ignored him. "Give me a 'bie'!"
"Bie!"
"I'm warning you," Bucky muttered.
"What does that spell?" Addison asked the crowd.
The people jumped up and down as they shouted, "Zombies!"
Bucky shook his head in disbelief. "Last chance."
Addison took a shaky breath before continuing. "What does that spell?"
"You're off the team, you freak!" Bucky yelled, somewhat muffled by the screaming crowd. He was breathing deeply and glaring at her.
Bree quickly ran next to Addison to face the crowd. "Go, zombies! Go, Zed!" she shouted, making them cheer.
"You're off the squad, too!" Bucky said angrily.
Bree just grinned and hugged Addison tightly. Then they continued to lead cheers for Zed, and none of the others joined in. Bucky was glaring at them all, daring them to lift their pom poms. When Carson sighed heavily, his gaze fell on her.
"Don't," he said, voice barely above a whisper.
Carson shook her head and took a step back. "Buck, you know you can barely do the floor routine at the competition next week without Addison. And without me? It's not happening."
"I will do it," Bucky threatened. "I'll kick you off the team."
She only shrugged. "I'll find a new team. Basketball's fun — volleyball too."
The siblings stared each other down, each cheerleader watching them carefully. It wasn't until the Seabrook players yelled 'break' and parted from their huddle up that the showdown ended. And Carson launched into a series of tumbles before landing in a split. "Our zombie can't be beat! We won't accept defeat!"
Instead of kicking her off the squad, Bucky stormed over to the side of the bleachers to check on the Aceys, who had Eliza's computer. Now more than ever, he needed everyone, his sister included, to see what kind of monster Zed actually was.
"Fifty yards to go, and three seconds on the clock. The Mighty Shrimp need one touchdown to win," the announcer summarized now that the timeout was over.
Everyone watched with bated breath as the clock started again. And when Carson looked at Zed and saw his arms weren't covered in dark veins, she realized he was playing without his extra strength. Whether it was by design or because his Z-band wasn't cooperating after going full human, she didn't know.
But even without it, Zed zoomed past the last five yards, dodging and jumping over Eastbrook players left and right. A horde of players finally managed to tackle him, but not before he fell past the last yard line at the end zone just as the buzzer sounded. The ref threw his hands up, awarding the points to Seabrook.
"Touchdown! And Seabrook wins the game!"
Everyone was shouting excitedly and hugging those next to them, unable to believe Seabrook had a perfect season. They hadn't won a game since Carson was born, so it was pretty exciting as she, Addison, and Bree celebrated together.
But then the excitement disappeared as the pile of players on top of Zed were suddenly thrown off, landing several feet back. As the zombie got to his feet and ripped off his helmet, people realized he'd completely zombie'd-out. The Z-alarm blared loudly, alerting the crowd, who began to freak out.
It didn't help that Eliza and Bonzo's Z-bands were also malfunctioning in the stands. Everyone was running, screaming from the bleachers and field, not caring who they trampled on the way.
It was then that Carson found her brother along with the Aceys. "Yeah. My plan's working. I thought of everything," Bucky said, pleased that people were finally scared.
Carson grabbed his arm angrily. "What plan? What the fuck did you do?"
"Don't worry about it," he said, shaking her off.
"Great," Lacey said, sounding a bit nervous. "So, how do we stop the monster from eating our brains?"
They all looked at the field and saw Zed slowly coming toward the people, looking quite hungry. He didn't even recognize them.
Bucky swallowed thickly. "Didn't think of that." Then he took off running, leaving them all behind.
"Bucky!" Carson shouted angrily, trying to follow after him.
While running, several people bumped into her and got her turned around. There was no way to spot Bucky, who was lost from her sight. She couldn't find Addison either to make sure she was safe. Through all the shrieking and the Z-alarm, she heard Lacey screaming from the left.
Bonzo had a tight grip on her ponytail and another hand on her arm, with clear intentions to kill and eat her. And Eliza had Tracey pinned to the fence as Stacey continued to run.
"Help!" Lacey cried, tears streaming down her face.
Against her self-preservation instincts, Carson ran forward and jumped on Bonzo's back, trying to get him off her.
But zombies were strong. Really strong.
He grabbed Carson and threw her off of him like a ragdoll. With the Z-Patrol still not here, she had no choice as she saw Eliza's mouth nearing Tracey's neck.
Carson's eyes glowed red as she threw out a hand. A red mist traveled from her fingertips and toward the two zombies. "Get off them!" she shouted, using her magic to lift the zombies. Her magic threw Bonzo and Eliza back so that there was no one near them. The red mist continued to circle around them, keeping them in place as Carson stood up, holding her pounding head.
But she zeroed in on their glitching Z-bands. "Reparare," she muttered to repair the technology. The Z-bands reactivated, and Bonzo and Eliza quickly returned to their normal selves. Just in time too, as the Z-Patrol arrived, grabbing the zombies and slapping cuffs on them.
"No," Carson said, stepping forward. "They're fine now — hey!"
Her arms were suddenly forced behind her back as one of the officers grabbed her. "I've got the witch!" the one behind her said, clamping a tight pair of cuffs around her wrists. "Taking her in for threat assessment."
"Threat asses — what?" she asked with wide eyes. Carson tried to pull her hands free but couldn't. Instead, she craned her head to try and look at the officer. In addition to his face, she also saw people in the stands looking down at her in shock and fear, having seen her use her magic. Her magic that saved the Aceys from being dinner, she wanted to scream out.
As the guards dragged Carson and the zombies toward their containment van, the crowd began booing them. She couldn't help but scoff at their change of attitude. Then the last officer who detained Zed dragged him from under the bleachers.
"Threat neutralized. Bringing them in," he said into his walkie-talkie.
Addison came running after Zed helplessly. "Hey! Hey! Gus! Hey, these are my friends," she yelled.
Eliza looked at her with tears in her eyes. "We don't have human friends," she spat.
Addison's father, the chief of the Z-Patrol, shook his head at his daughter. "We told you, Addy. Zombies are not safe. Give them an inch—"
"And they'll bite your face off," Mayor Wells finished for him.
"They'll bite your face off!" he exclaimed.
"Hey!" Zevon snapped, glaring at them. "That's my son you're talking about!"
"I suggest you move along, Mr. Necrodopolis," Principal Lee snapped. "I'll make sure they look after him. I'm sorry."
It was then that Bucky came out from under the bleachers where Zed nearly killed him. And he saw his sister in handcuffs, angry tears streaming down her face. "Wait," he said, stepping closer. "What's — Carson, why are — get those handcuffs off my sister!"
Mr. Wells glared at him. "Your sister—"
"Your niece!" Bucky snapped as a reminder that she was family.
"—is a witch," he said, spitting the word. "We will call your parents with an update after a threat assessment has been completed."
"I am not a threat!" Carson said, scoffing.
"Didn't look like that as you took out two full-strength zombies," the guard restraining her said. "God knows what you could do to one of us."
Then he forcefully pushed her to the containment van along with the others. As they were taken away, Addison continued after Zed, thinking her pleading would free him.
"Zed, please!"
Zed sighed sadly and looked back at her. "Addy, I'm sorry. Maybe they're right. Maybe we shouldn't be together."
"What? No! No, don't say that! Just stop!" she shouted.
Carson narrowed her eyes at both of them. "We're about to be locked up, and you're worried about your relationship?" she asked in disbelief, anger over the whole situation taking over. "They aren't going to stop taking us because you had a couple of tears in your eyes, Addison. How naive are you?"
As they were being loaded into the van, the crowd continued to boo. Realizing that she was getting nowhere with the officers, Addison addressed them. "Hey! You did this to him! All of you. He was your monster! You made him feel like he had to risk his life to belong because you couldn't deal with someone different, but you had no problem using him to win your stupid game."
Addison turned away from them and continued to cry as if she was the one in handcuffs for how she was born. Then she made the sudden decision to rip her wig off, revealing her choppy, snow-white hair to the crowd. Carson wasn't sure what Addison had been expecting, but the crowd began booing her as well.
"How was that meant to help this situation?" Carson asked herself. She was far too upset for any kind of sweet sentiment about Addison finally showing the world who she was. She looked back at the officer shoving her along. "Are you gonna let me go now because of that?" she asked sarcastically.
The officer only rolled his eyes before shoving her all the way into the van, not caring that she scraped her shin on the edge of it. She cursed under her breath before sitting on the thin bench lining the inside of the van. Bonzo and Eliza were looking at her, and a moment later, Zed joined them. A guard slammed the door closed so forcefully that the vehicle shook, and then they were alone.
Carson managed to turn her head and look out the tinted window, spotting Bucky on his own and wiping a few tears away. As the van drove off and they left the football field behind, some of Carson's anger faded — now she was just sad. Her shoulders sagged and she leaned against the side of the van tiredly, unable to believe that after so long, her magic secret was out.
The first to break the silence was Bonzo. "Bir garzitch?" he asked softly, asking if she was a witch.
"Yeah," Carson replied quietly. "Bim garzitch." Then her eyes traveled to Eliza, who was watching her with a surprised expression. "You said you wanted to know why Bucky couldn't intimidate me."
She let out a breathy laugh, too distraught to be actually amused. "Now I know."
"Now you know."