Alex was drawing the Plants in his room while Freddy took a short nap in his room and Josie sat in her room to do whatever she was doing; she didn't really specify.
After a while, Alex heard some noise coming from her room. Curious, he left his room and snuck towards hers. He quietly opened the door and took a peek inside.
He saw Josie on the bed, looking at what appeared to be a photo album. It wasn't something he had ever seen in the house before.
"Hello?" Alex called out. Josie suddenly looked up from the album with shock.
"Oh, hi," she said nervously. "You scared me."
"Sorry."
"It's fine..."
More awkward silence.
"So, what are you looking at?" Alex asked.
"It's nothing..."
"Then is there a problem with letting me see?"
"...I guess not..."
Alex then walked to the bed and took the album from Josie. He instantly saw pictures of her and her parents together all over the page. There were some from when Josie was in the musical, when they went to Florida for spring break, and even some from her 17th birthday party.
He flipped the page and saw pictures from many years ago. There were a few from them in Dallas when she was 10, and even one of her at Chuck-E-Cheese when she was 5.
"Where'd this come from?" Alex asked her.
"From my house," she replied quietly. "When I was on patrol, I went to my house and took it."
"I didn't know you went back to your house!"
"Well, I didn't see a reason in mentioning it."
Alex then looked back at the album and looked at more pictures.
"Hey, I didn't know your parents had tattoos!" He suddenly told her.
He then pointed to a picture from when the Deacons went to Wisconsin Dells 3 years ago. Sure enough, both of her parents had matching tattoos on their shoulders of a white rose.
"Yeah, they got those on their honeymoon," Josie explained. "I think the white was to show the purity of their love and the roses were their love itself. I'm not entirely sure."
"Well, they look pretty cool."
"Thanks."
"I could never get a tattoo. I hate needles!"
"I'd only get one if it was symbolic to me, like my parents'."
"I suppose so."
They then looked through the photos together. Alex had seen some of these before, but others were new to him, including one of Josie dressed as a kitten for Halloween. She looked about 9.
"Do you think they're still alive?" Josie suddenly asked. Alex looked at her with confusion.
"Who? Your parents?" He asked. She slowly nodded in response.
"I...I'm not sure," he finally replied. "There's no proof that they are OR aren't."
"That's what's bugging me..."
Alex then reached over and hugged her tightly. She started shaking, as if she was about to cry.
"Well, whether they're alive or not, they'd want you to survive. They love you."
"I know...and I love them."
"Then that's all that matters."
"Maybe you're right..."
ERT! ERT! ERT!
The two then got off the bed and went downstairs. They found the couch empty as they passed it. Sure enough, Crazy Dave was in the basement, right in front of the laptop.
"How long have you been up?" Josie asked.
"Long enough to make THAT!" Dave replied while pointing at the work bench.
Sitting on the bench was what appeared to be a watermelon with eyes, eyebrows, and a giant basket sticking out of it.
"That's Melon-Pult," Dave continued. "He'll launch giant watermelons at the zombies! They'll do heavy damage, making it our most powerful, non-explosive Plant!"
"That'll be perfect for stopping those giant zombies!" Alex said excitedly.
"What giant zombies?" Crazy Dave asked.
"We'll explain later," Josie told him. "Just plant!"
Dave then turned towards the laptop and began to work his scientific magic.
He began the basic setup of Sunflowers in the back column, as well as the arrangement of Cabbage-Pults, Kernel-Pults, and Umbrella Leaves after that as more Regular and Cone Head Zombies approached.
Soon, over 400 sunawatts were saved up, which was more than enough for a Melon-Pult. When a Catapult Zombie rolled onto the screen, Dave decided to try the new addition to the Pult family.
While the Catapult was caked with butter, Crazy Dave replaced the Cabbage-Pult in the row with a Melon-Pult. The Plant immediately launched a massive watermelon across the roof and onto the Catapult Zombie! After another hit, it was totally destroyed.
Soon, Bucket Heads and Ladder Zombies showed up, as well as a Jack-In-The-Box Zombie. Fortunately, he had enough sunawatts to add a few Magnet-Shrooms and Coffee Beans to weaken them.
After more Catapults came out, the Cabbage-Pults in the rows were slowly but surely replaced by Melon-Pults. The fact that the melons hurt zombies AROUND the intended zombie victim helped a lot, especially when there was a whole column of them.
Finally, when it felt like it was close to the end of the wave, the roof began to shake again.
"Oh, no...!" Alex gasped. "It's back!"
"THIS is what we were talking about, Crazy Dave!" Josie explained to the lunatic.
Suddenly, they all looked at the TV and, sure enough, there was another giant zombie creature on the roof, as well as a small zombie on its back.
"Hey, I feel like I've seen something like that before!" Dave gasped. "I can't remember where, though..."
"Just kill it!" Alex told him. "Figure out what it is later!"
Dave then nodded and quickly planted another Melon-Pult to replace the Kernel-Pult in the same row as the giant zombie. It was doing more damage, but it still wasn't doing enough to kill it quickly enough.
The giant then grabbed the little zombie from its back and chucked it at the Plants! Luckily, though, the force of the watermelons killed it quickly.
After more hits, they could tell the giant was getting more damaged; bruises appeared on his head and arms. But it still seemed it have more than enough life left in it.
POWIE! Crazy Dave then planted a Cherry Bomb and the giant roared and collapsed on the roof, shaking the whole house. After that, there were no more zombies.
"That was close!" Alex gasped. "Those things are tough!"
"And scary!" Josie commented.
"But, luckily, we managed to stop it!" Dave pointed out.
They all then heard footsteps running down the stairs. Sure enough, it was Freddy, who seemed really alert.
"Are we good now?!" He asked in a panic. Alex just sighed.
"Yes, we are," he replied.
"Ok, good! Sorry, I was just really tired. The shaking finally woke me up."
"Well, at least we're safe," Josie told them. "All we need are explosives to stop those giant zombies."
"Which I swear I've seen before..." Dave mumbled. "I'll have to look through some things to figure out where."
"In the meantime," Sunflower cut in, "how about I make us some dinner?"
"That'd be wonderful!" Alex told the Plant.
"You know, we've had quite a rough last few days," Sunflower continued. "How about I make something fancier?"
"Like what?" Josie asked.
"I don't know... Maybe some roasted, glazed ham?"
"That'd be fantastic!"
"I'll make it happen, then!"
Josie then took the Plant upstairs to prepare for their meal.
"I'll need to check some of my old files for anything of importance," Dave told the boys. "Hopefully we can find something."
"Yeah, hopefully," Alex replied.
* * *
Dr. Zomboss sat on his chair in deep and total concentration. He was really running out of any and all ideas. Even his Gargantuars were being stopped by the humans! If he wanted those brains, he'd need to try even harder. But how...?
Then, an idea hit him. An idea that just might end this once and for all. And idea that would certainly get him those brains. Because it's like the saying goes: "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."
"Minion!" Zomboss shouted to the zombie. "Get me some paper and a pen!"
"Why, Master?" Minion replied.
"I want to send those humans a message giving them a chance to surrender."
"...Do you really think that'll work?"
"I can only hope."
Minion then sighed and gave his master a piece of paper and an ink pen. After thinking about what to say, Zomboss finally wrote this message:
"Homeowners,
You have failed to submit to our rightful claim. Be advised that unless you comply, we will be forced to take extreme action. Please remit your home and brains to us forthwith.
Sincerely, Dr. Edgar Zomboss"
"Here!" Zomboss shouted to Minion. "Take this and deliever it to the humans' home!"
"Yes, Master..."
Minion then ran out of the room with the note. Zomboss looked at the live feed of the house and smiled.
'You have no choice but to surrender now,' he thought. 'Once you see what I have planned, you'll want nothing more than to give up.'
* * *
"Hey, check it out!" Crazy Dave gasped as he looked at his laptop.
"What is it?" Alex asked.
"I found out where I've seen those things before!"
"Where?!" Freddy asked.
Dave then turned the laptop around and revealed what appeared to be a drawing of the giant zombie they had been seeing, but not exactly. This one was smaller and less muscular. It also appeared to be more human-looking as apposed to zombie-looking. Right next to it was what appeared to be the smaller zombie that appeared with the giant one, but it, too, looked more human-like.
"Where'd you find this?" Alex asked.
"One of my notes in college," Dave explained.
"You went to college?" Freddy asked.
"They don't just give away botany and mutation degrees to ANYBODY. Anyway, one of my lectures in genetic mutation had this in the presentation. I think you can agree it shares an uncanny resemblance to our giant zombie friend!"
"It certainly does," Alex said with a nod. "Do you know who made this drawing?" Dave shook his head in response.
"Not even the professor knew," Dave replied. "Apparently he was known only as 'Dr. Z'. Must've wanted to remain anonymous."
"Interesting..."
"According to the drawing, these things are called 'Gargantuars'", he said while referring to the giant, "and the small ones are called 'Imps'".
"Well, those are quite the names," Freddy said with a nod.
"So, do you suppose this 'Dr. Z' has something to do with the zombies?" Alex asked.
"I'm not sure," Crazy Dave admitted. "But we can't deny it's a possibility."
"Well, hopefully we can find out," Freddy replied.
ERT! ERT! ERT!
They all looked at the TV and saw yet another zombie sprinting, but this one was on the roof. Like the others, it ran into the middle of the roof, stopped, dropped what appeared to be a note, and then ran off.
"How are we supposed to get THAT one?" Alex asked.
"Why bother?" Freddy asked in response. "We know it'll just say something like 'We're gunna get you' or 'We're not zombies; we're your long-lost cousins'."
"Huh. Good point," Alex replied. "Let's just leave that one up there. It's not like there could be anything that important on it, anyway."
"Hey, boys!" Sunflower called down. "Dinner's ready!"
They all then ran up the stairs and into the kitchen. In the room they saw Sunflower, Peashooter, and Josie all by the counter, looking at them. On the table was an arrangement of plates and silverware around the chairs. In the center was a beautiful cooked ham with what appeared to be mashed potatoes and corn. It all looked and smelled delicious!
"And one more thing," Sunflower told them. She appeared to be holding a bottle of wine!
"Um, we're too young to drink that," Alex told her.
"Who's going to stop you?" she replied. "It's a fancy dinner; it deserves a fancy drink!"
Alex turned to his brother, who shrugged in response. He could see Josie next to Sunflower with a giant smile. Was this HER idea?
"Let's just eat," Dave told them. "We deserve this meal!"
They all agreed and sat at the table. Alex hadn't had anything as fancy as cooked ham in a long time. He was definitely looking forward to this!
Sunflower came around and poured the wine into the glasses and Peashooter came and sliced and served the ham and sides. Before they could start eating their meal, they heard clanking. Alex looked up and saw Crazy Dave standing up and hitting his wine glass with his fork.
"I'd like to make a toast," he said to them all. He then raised his glass in the air. "To all of us working together and making it through the worst the zombie apocalypse has had to offer!"
Alex, as well as his friend and brother, raised their glasses, as well, with giant smiles.
"Cheers!" Alex told them all.
They then clanked their glasses together and took a sip of their wine. Alex tried his best to hide the fact he thought it tasted horrible.
The meal itself tasted incredible. The ham wasn't too dry, the potatoes weren't too soft, and the corn wasn't too sweet. It all tasted too perfect. During the meal, many conversations were had, including what their favorite meals were, how much they miss having meals like this constantly, and how this was definitely better than the food at school.
Finally, the food was consumed and they all felt satisfied. The only thing left of the meal was the bones of the ham and a few spoonfuls of corn. They'd all be surprised if they would eat anything else for the next few days!
"Well, we better get ready for another big zombie attack," Dave told them. "I'm surprised they haven't attacked again already during the meal."
"Well, let's consider that a blessing," Josie said as she picked her teeth with a toothpick.
"Let's get down there anyway, just in case," Alex told them. "If they're sticking to their regular pattern, it should be the last attack of the day."
They all agreed and got up to head down. The sun was just about to go down, ending another day. Hopefully the zombies would be easier to conquer this time, if they even attacked.