Dashiiiii... Dashiiiiiii... Dashiiiiiiiiii.... Dashi! Dashi awoke with a scream. Staring down at her, was Heather. She had her hands rested on Dashi's shoulders. Heather let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you would never wake up!" she cried.
"Why? How long was I asleep for?" Dashi let out a moan. She sat up and looked around her. She was in a unfamiliar, dark room. Dashi looked at Heather with confusion.
"A couple hours," replied Heather. She removed her hands from Dashi's shoulders and sat down at the edge of the bed. "You probably have a lot of questions. Don't worry, I'm here to answer all of them."
Dashi raised her eyebrows. "Alright then. Where are we? And how the hell did we get here?"
A sigh left Heather's mouth. "We're in a cabin in the woods. How you got here, well... I received a call last night. The person on the other line told me to bring you here. When everyone went to sleep, I shot you with a tranquilizer dart. Then I broke into a car near the mansion, put you in the back set, and brought you here."
"Who called you?" Dashi asked. She suddenly heard footsteps entering the room. Dashi turned to see a short, older man entering the room. He had white hair, glasses, and a suit with a blue bow tie. He smiled at Dashi.
"Why, I did. My name is Professor Inkling Rivers. I'm Heather's father," the man said. He placed a hand on Dashi's shoulder. "Don't worry. You and your friends are safe here." Dashi's eyes narrowed in confusion. The Professor let out a sigh. "Follow me, girls."
Heather helped Dashi stand. Together, the three walked through the halls of the dark cabin that led to a kitchen. There, Dashi saw a younger girl, Shellington, and Tweak sitting at a round table. Tweak stood to her feet and ran to Dashi. "Oh, Dashi, we were so worried," she said, putting her arms around Dashi's waist.
"Well, I'm okay now," Dashi laughed. When the two pulled away, Dashi gasped. "Wait a second! Are you..."
"Yes, she's pregnant," Heather interrupted. Dashi stared at Tweak with shock for a moment. Heather then put an arm around Dashi's back. "Let's sit down, shall we?"
The Professor motioned for Dashi to sit in a chair beside him. She did so and Heather took a seat beside her. "This is Emily, my other daughter," the Professor said, pointing to the younger girl. She smiled and waved.
"Now, dad, why don't you explain the vision you had to our guests," suggested Heather.
Dashi blinked. "Wait... Vision? Are you some sort of a psychic?"
A smile formed on the Professor's wrinkled lips. "I somewhat am - except I don't tell people their future. I have visions every now and then. A couple of nights ago, I had a dream explaining some of the mysteries of this zombie apocalypse. In my vision, it said I needed to contact Heather and ask her to bring her leader, the pregnant girl, and a man with brown hair."
"So, what mysteries did your vision explain, Professor Inkling?" asked Shellington.
The Professor closed his eyes. "Carter Mason, Barnacles Wilson's assistant, started a zombie apocalypse by creating a potion and giving it to a man with the name of Cedric Hathaway. When Cedric became a zombie, he began biting people, and those people bit people, creating a zombie apocalypse. Your group was formed and you've been surviving through this for three months. However, one of your members was bitten a month ago. His name was Kwazii Young. Before he turned, he got Tweak Harrell pregnant. On a different note, a young girl tricked you into believing she was an orphan, when she was really the daughter of Carter Mason. Her name is Tominnow Mason. You threw her out, leaving her with Carter Mason who beat her and starved her. Right now, she is in the attic of your mansion, being treated by Tunip Bjorgman, the younger brother of Shellington Bjorgman."
"Wait a minute," interrupted Shellington. "My brother is helping that little liar? Oh, when I get home, he's going to -"
"Mr. Bjorgman," Professor Inkling interrupted, "you don't understand. Tominnow needs to be treated by Tunip. She needs to fall in love with him and only him. If she does, she won't only regain her powers, but also Carter Mason will die."
A smile grew on Tweak's lips. "Wait, really? So, does that mean everything will go back to normal? All the zombies will return to humans?"
Professor Inkling shook his head. "Not necessarily, my dear. Everything will remain the same. Although, with him alive and in control, there's no way to bring the zombies back to their human form. But if Mr. Mason were to die, the zombies would be off their leashes, meaning we could find a cerium to turn the zombies back into humans."
I could be with Kwazii again... Tweak thought. She was now grinning.
A sigh left the Professor's mouth. "Now, Tweak, I know what you're thinking. There is a chance you can't be with your beloved Mr. Young. See, when the zombie potion was created, Carter wrote along with it a prophecy. You know of Mr and Miss Young's special ability, correct?"
Tweak nodded her head. Dashi and Shellington exchanged glances. "What special ability?" questioned Dashi.
"In the prophecy, Carter wrote in a set of twins. One would be turned to a zombie while one remained human. And at 12:00 to 12:10 in the afternoon, the zombie twin's brain will begin to function like a human's, and the two will be able to speak telepathically," explained Professor Inkling. Both Dashi and Shellington's eyes were wide with surprise. The Professor continued, "Kwazii and Kate Young are the twins used in that prophecy. Carter also wrote that due to this special ability, Mr. Young will be half human and half zombie, making him what Mr. Mason calls - 'The Chosen One'. The point of 'The Chosen One' is to resurrect 'The Bloodless'."
"So... this 'Bloodless' is dead, but he will be resurrected by Kwazii because he's 'The Chosen One'? Is that what you're implying?" Dashi asked.
Professor Inkling nodded. "Indeed it is. However, the vision would not tell me who 'The Bloodless' is. All the vision told me is he will be used to take down the thing standing in the way of Carter's happy ending."
"And what's standing in the way?" questioned Shellington.
The Professor let out a sigh. "Well... That's why I wanted you here, Mr. Bjorgman. You're what's standing in Carter's way."
Many gasps were heard. Shellington's eyes widened with fear. "M - Me...? That's impossible. Unless..." His eyes moved to Dashi.
"You are correct, Mr. Bjorgman," Professor Inkling said. "Dashi Smith, the leader of your group, is Carter Mason's happy ending."
Dashi almost chocked. "Wha - What!? How could I be his happy ending!? I'm half his age! I don't even love him!"
Professor Inkling shook his head. "He doesn't care whether you love him or not. All he wants is to marry you. You see, when he first laid eyes on you, he fell in love with you. He had no idea how he'd be able to get you. Then, he remembered a promise he made a close friend long ago. He would create a zombie apocalypse. So, he made a potion and forced the innocent Cedric Hathaway to drink it."
"That's just sick! You don't turn innocent human beings into zombies just to get the woman you love," Shellington growled. He rubbed his temples and let out a sigh. "Who was this friend he promised?"
The Professor sighed again. "Mr. Bjorgman, I know you're not going to like my answer. This friend was Kyle Bjorgman." Shellington's eyes filled with tears. He lowered his head and Emily patted his back. "Kyle dated and married Amanda Thompson. Soon, they were expecting their first child... a son. A little while after he was born, Kyle and his friends went out and got high on alcohol. After that night, Kyle was never the same. He got addicted to alcohol and started beating Amanda and his son, Shellington Bjorgman. One night, Kyle raped Amanda and she was again pregnant with another son. She named him Tunip Bjorgman. One day, when Tunip was 4 and Shellington 18, Kyle went mad and killed Amanda. When he realized what he had done, he killed his own self. Shellington took care of Tunip until a little while later. Shellington formed his own group and the female of the group, Tweak Harrell, took over his spot for caring for young Tunip. Zombies broke into their cabin one day, and they fortunately escaped and found a mansion. There, lived Barnacles Wilson, Dashi Smith, and Peso Garcia. Later on, they decided they would be a group and fight against the zombies together."
Dashi looked over at Shellington. He was silently crying. Emily kept patting his back and reassuring him. "That's why you lied about your past," Dashi whispered to him. She wanted to hug him, tell him it would be okay, but she didn't.
"Before Kyle died, he asked an old friend of his, Carter Mason, if he would start a zombie apocalypse, so that all the people who wronged him would be brought to justice. Carter wasn't going to, but when he found a good reason to, he did," the Professor explained.
"Is there m - more?" Shellington asked. His voice cracked from crying.
The Professor nodded his head. "When Carter wrote his prophecy, he did not add an ending. Why? My vision did not tell me. But I do know he wants Shellington Bjorgman and Tominnow Mason dead, The Chosen One's baby, and Dashi Smith as his wife."
"Why does he want Tominnow dead?" asked Shellington.
"Well, with her gone, she won't be able to fall in love. If she doesn't fall in love, then Carter won't die. That's why he wants her dead. If he kills you, then he could have Dashi all to himself," Professor Inkling said.
Shellington shook his head. "I still do not get it, though! Dashi and I aren't even together, which means I'm not standing in the way. He could... have her all to himself... for all I care." He lowered his head and let out a sigh. Dashi knew he was lying, however, due to the way he ended his sentence.
Professor Inkling made a clicking sound with his tongue. "You are standing in the way, Mr. Bjorgman, whether you are with Ms. Smith or not. You may not know it, but Dashi still loves you, causing you to be in the way of Carter Mason's happy ending."
For a moment, the room was silent. Shellington slowly looked at Dashi with a small smile. "You... still love me?" Dashi ignored him and lowered her head.
"She does, Mr. Bjorgman, but she continues to deny it," said the Professor. Dashi looked up at him with confusion. "Yes, I can read minds, too. I know you 3 are overflowing with denial at the moment. Dashi doesn't want to believe she still loves Shellington and that she's Carter's happy ending. Tweak doesn't want to believe her beloved Mr. Young can resurrect a dead man because he is 'The Chosen One'. Shellington doesn't want to believe it was his father who developed the idea of the zombie apocalypse."
Heather let out a groan. "Forget the mind reading stuff, dad. Just tell us how we can stop Carter."
Professor Inkling let out a sigh and closed his eyes tighter. "Tomorrow, at exactly 7:49 a.m., Shellington Bjorgman will stand in front of the mansion he is currently living in, ready to battle The Chosen One and The Bloodless. However, he will not succeed, because The Bloodless will bite him. Next week, on Tuesday, at 11:13 p.m., The Chosen One will break into Tweak Harrell's bedroom. The vision I am having does not tell me what happens next, but for some reason, Tweak is not taken." Finally, Professor Inkling opened his eyes, and let out a sigh. "That is all I can tell you for now."
"Wait," said Shellington. "What happens to me after this... Bloodless bites me?"
"My vision does not say," Professor Inkling sighed.
Dashi rested a hand on Shellington's shoulder. "Don't worry. If you turn, we'll make sure Tominnow falls in love and kills Carter, we'll find the cerium to turn you back." Shellington smiled at her.
"I suggest you 4 leave before your other friends get suspicious. Heather, bring Emily with you. She is not safe here," the Professor said.
"What about you?" Heather asked.
The Professor winked. "Don't you worry about me. I'll be in bed having more visions."
Heather smiled and stood. She turned to the others. "Come on. Let's get out of here. When we return to the mansion, Emily and I will explain everything to the others. You 3 need to prepare for what's coming."
Author's Note: This chapter took FOREVER to write. ;-; oh well! I think it's one of my favorite chapters yet! I think I made some of the things Professor Inkling said a bit too obvious in previous chapters... Speaking of Professor Inkling, I finally introduced him to the story! He's Heather's father! :)