Where the heck is Pronto? That's what they constantly worried about. If he was nowhere to be seen across the Caverns, there's a 25% chance of him suddenly becoming so good at hiding that he was untraceable but the remaining 75% is that he was among the herd of seekers.
"Twist. Twist. Twist!" He was quickly aroused by Eli's powerful nudge. He worried too much about things, but he was not supposed to panic, especially at times when this is his life and everyone else's lives are on the line. Apparently now he was left alone with Eli and Twist in Wild Spores. Everyone else had split. They managed to hide beside the hideout (which was now being swarmed with them seekers) but Jun managed to do a ninja roll which got on the other twos' nerves. Seriously, Twist? At a time like this? Eli hissed. I'm not joking around! He shot back. Then a seeker showed up out of nowhere! They bolted and ran to the back of the hideout. This is bad! Eli thought. This is really, really bad! Burpy and Joo-Joo sensed his fear, and so did the others and Loki, the Thugglet slug, the former ghoul who was healed by Doc before the game started. When the coast was clear, they bolted found the same hole that ensnared Pronto.
But nobody knew it held a deadly secret. All they was was the perfect hiding spot. They headed for it. Eli was skeptical, though. He refused to trust it, but a very excited Twist went straight in. When his scream reached their ears, Jun yelped, "NOPE!!!" while a pale and petrified Eli exclaimed, "I knew that thing was untrustable!" And both of them ran off with Loki and the rest of his arsenal. Later Eli tripped and fell while running which resulted in both Infurnuses flying out of his bandoleer and a bunch of slugs from the nearby mushroom falling on him. They recovered as quickly but Eli was not able to run as fast as Jun due to the pain of the injury.
Meanwhile, the sisters were walking along the empty Undertow Cavern. (insert creepy piano thriller music here...) All they heard was silence, other than the chirping of the Aquabeek slugs breaking the surface and enjoying a good swim, not knowing the terror that was to come. Bella saw an empty cave lit by Phosphoro slugs and she invited her sister to come in as they saw it as the perfect hiding spot. But Bella was wrong. She realized this as the seekers swarmed around her, and her scream was loud enough to send the Aquabeeks diving for cover. Trixie bolted and hid in a cupboard-shaped carving on the side of the rock. And just in time. The zombies dragged her sister away and one even pounced on the ground just right in front of her hiding spot! As she watched with an open mouth, she managed to keep her cool by staying quiet and whispering to her slugs to stay quiet too. Then the danger passed. When that happened, she snuck out and ran out into a different cavern.
Meanwhile the duo who just lost their friend kept running. If you were watching them run like mad, you can say they can outrun a Hoverbug at velocity. Then they collapsed in the Desert, exhausted and nearly out of steam. It was tough work, outrunning a possible seeker. At least now the just recently zombified Twist was in the middle of nowhere, probably looking for Pronto. Then the duo happened to see the Power Trips running towards them with a devastating report. "Trixie's sister was captured," Marcus said, breathless. "She was in Undertow Cavern." Fav, the sister, continued. They were relieved to know that Trixie was okay. That's a relief. He thought. Red Hook, however,saw only the most beautiful hiding spot in all of SlugTerra. Oh, Guardian Slugs! He squealed. The tallest skyscraper in all of SlugTerra! Only the best hiding spot in a time like this! I bet nobody will find me here! And just like that, he was gone. Kord and Grendall had problems eluding the Seekers in the Hideout. When they were surrounded, both cave trolls were captured and joined the herd. Fire and Ice fought and fought. Shockwire tried to break them apart, but before they knew it, they were captured because they stood still for a long time and refused to pay attention to the zombies crowding them. The King was trapped in his own palace. The triplets found the same skyscraper that snared Red Hook. Pretty soon, the group of slingers who joined were decimated to just Eli, Junjie and Trixie.
The siren went off again. "How time flies!" Trixie sighed when she heard it. What are the chances are Eli's back at the hideout alive? She entered the hideout at about the same time he and Junjie came in. The boys were petrified when they saw her. "Keep your distance!" They cautioned. "Are you a zombie?" They asked. "Well, do I look like a zombie?!" They complained because she was so pale. She glared. "There's not much sun down here in SlugTerra, y'know." Then she asked the question they dreaded so badly. "Are we the only survivors left?" Before they could answer, Red Hook and Bella came in through the garage door. Trix was terrified but had enough stamina to hide under a table but the boys accidentally dropped a pot which came down crashing. Jun had that Dammit, I screwed it face while the colors drained from Eli's face. Luckily for them, the danger passed quickly while they had their answer.
"Okay, that answers things. Fire and Ice, maybe. The King, maybe. Bella, definitely." Eli started the list. "Twist was for sure turned into a zombie," Twist cut in. "Red Hook, yes," Trix continued. "Hmm, the Power Trips, yes, the Hooligang, yes..." Another thought jumped in Jun's mind. "Pronto. Where in the 99 Caverns is Pronto? He's been gone for like nearly the whole game." Trixie answered it. "Either Eli was right, he's the very first one to be turned to a zombie ("Money's on Pronto, he's gonna be the first one to turn into a zombie") or somebody suddenly became good at hiding." They concluded, "I think we're already the final three, so here's my idea." Eli proposed. "We hide ourselves right in front of where the zombies can see us." The other two were concerned. "Eli, please, that's so insane!" Jun protested. "I wasn't finished. We hide ourselves in front of the zombies but we camouflage ourselves." They were confused until Jun translated it quickly. "Oh, I get it!" He excitedly answered. "We hide ourselves in front of where we can be seen but we camouflage ourselves so that we look like the zombies!" Eli praised him for having his message translated correctly. This was too much for Trix, who was washing her hands over the matter. "I'm not doing that." She declared. "No, no way that's ever going to happen." Dana and Bella searched the hideout again. While the boys hid in Eli's room, Trixie bolted out the front door, screaming, "I'M OUT OF HERE SLUGTERRANS!" The duo left behind had to laugh. Why? "She's screaming so loud, if them seekers weren't wearing earplugs, they might have found her..." Why not? They were right. After all, the danger in the house had passed, so they creeped downstairs and actually got to work with their plans and ignoring the problems but being alert of unsolicited entrances.
Meanwhile, Trixie, outside, had problems of her own...including the battle in her head.
"I'M OUT OF HERE SLUGTERRANS!" What was I thinking? I mean, Eli's idea is completely stupid! Us looking like freaking zombies? Ugh, over my dead bloody body! No way that was gonna happen...wait a second! A hole just beside a mushroom. Perfect hiding spot! Please, please, please, don't ever tell the boys. I'm gonna win this game! Wait, are you sure that's trustworthy? What if that's why Pronto's been gone the whole time! And you saw your sister! So no, please, no! Oh, why not? Not like anyone will find me here, that's all. I'm telling you, that hole is dangerous. What if not only Pronto but others were ensnared in this thing? Um, excuse me? We have to hide or else we're doomed! So I'm gonna go down here and...AHH! Nope, I was wrong! No, no, nooooooo!
Sadly, nobody heard her screaming. She was too far from the hideout for the boys to find out that they were now the final two. They just went on working in the kitchen, but first things first, they went to get the makeup. Eli dashed to his room to get the powder while Jun reached for the bottle of ketchup back in the kitchen. They decided to lure the sweet-toothed seekers with delicious treats. A cake and a candy arm would do. They set it up and started baking. They grabbed the ingredients and were in a rush that they nearly underbaked the cake. Burpy had to go to the couch to keep himself from blowing it at them. Pretty soon a seeker came in unexpectedly. They were so shocked. Jun even had to leap over the table and nearly knocked over Eli's freshly-frosted cake. Burpy dug himself a hiding spot under the couch cushions (which was so fluffy he felt like he was in heaven)
Eli saw Jun leap over the table and whisper-yelled at him because he said "you've been running all over the Caverns with me so if those dirty shoes of yours got on my cake, you're screwed." Then the danger passed. They made sure they were okay, put on the finishing touches...just as the idiot siren went off. "No!" They groaned. "We were so close! We're not finished yet!" They were done with the treats, but they hadn't even put on the makeup! Quickly, they painted their faces and went outside. They went outside and blended in well. But Eli nearly blew it when he saw Trixie. He did blow it up when, walking backwards, he tripped and groaned. And they surrounded him, thus Junjie was declared winner. Eli felt bad but hey, this was his last day in the 99 Caverns. Might as well give it to him.
That night, as Jun got packing, Eli sat down on the couch only to feel a tiny bump. He stopped. Another last prank from him? He thought. He stood and inspected the cushion, expecting a rock. He got only Burpy. "What in the world?!" He shrieked. "What...how long have you been here?" He asked. Burpy gave him that look that said is the zombie apocalypse over? Well, turned out it was, so, very heartbroken, he went off to find Joo-Joo and say goodbye. Trixie shouted from the kitchen, "Almost forgot something!" She grabbed her camera, pulled the whole Shane Gang in for a group photo, had it printed, and wrote on it The Shane Gang: Memories from the 99 Caverns. While Junjie was sleeping, Eli did him a favor and snuck it in his pack.
Some few years later...
I just got home. The other members of the Shane Gang had left for the West. I wonder if there's something they left. I started unpacking when a photo fell out of my backpack. It was us, with "The Shane Gang: Memories from the 99 Caverns" written on it, in Trixie's handwriting. At the back of it was a letter.
Dear Junjie,
I snuck this picture of us in your pack so that you'll remember us in your return to the Eastern Caverns. As much as I hate to see us go, everything has to come to an end. So I hope the memories we spent together will be stored safely in your heart. And I'm going to miss having you and two Infurnuses at home. Burpy was never happier as long as Joo-Joo was around. I hope he'll get over it as soon. Myself, I don't know. I can't wait for either our next visit to the East or your next visit to the West.
Love,
Eli Shane
And with that letter was the medal I had won for winning the zombie apocalypse event. My eyes are now in tears (mine too, I'm listening to the song "Feel the Light" by Jennifer Lopez while writing this) as I put on the medal. I suddenly feel Eli's arms wrap around my shoulders.
I will never forget the Shane Gang or the memories I spent with them back in the 99 Caverns. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go comfort Joo-Joo.
XOXO
Junjie "The Eastern Champion"