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“Hey, you good?” Charlotte asked, before taking a seat next to Jimmy. She brushed her hair backward as she slowly settled. Jimmy was not crying, at least that is what he wanted others to think. Charlotte could underlyingly see drips of tears dripping down his hands.
“I don’t know what he said but.” She spoke, before taking one more breath and swallowing.
“We will get past this. We will survive this apocalypse.” She said assertively. Jimmy wasn’t convinced at all; What's the point of surviving when there’s no one to go to? She walked away in disappointment that her words of encouragement didn’t encourage him. Jimmy has been left aside, as the rest prepared to flee. Norman invited Steven to come with him outside to possibly find a vehicle.
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“Good luck you two.” Commander Taylor stated as they walked outside as silently as an FBI looking for the forbidden files. The once very dark sky was now grayish. Norman was holding his Nerf rifle that Ethan had selected and Steven got his Nerf shotgun out and Elijah got his less impressive slipper out.
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“You look that side, I look this side,” Norman commanded. Without hesitation, Steven turned and quickly crossed the road. Door to door, Steven was currently checking the vehicles with high expectations. Cross-fingers, hope there’s a tank nearby. One, two, five, ten… After over ten searches, his hopes were not crushed but significantly lowered.
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“Anything?” Norman shouted across the road. Steven looked up and shook his head in disappointment, before approaching the final vehicle in sight. The vehicle was a light-brown colored 4-seater pickup truck. Not a cool-as tank, but it's at least something. The blinds on the side windows are downed, but Steven could see a nice, green glow beneath it. He pulled the handle towards the driver's seat. To his surprise, it was unlocked.
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Suddenly a zombie was sitting dead on the driver’s seat. It was wearing a half-torn brown suit. Unlike other zombies, this one had a glow, a green glow. Norman quickly took notice of it and fired a few bullets at it. Despite the special appearance, it got knocked back like other normal zombies. One, two, three, four… On the fifth shot, the zombie took one final swing backward, before slowly kneeling and falling down. The zombie turned into ashes within seconds, and a green, glowing large leaf hovered in the air gently as it navigated downwards.
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Steven picked up the leaf and stared at it. I had seen this before.He quickly recalls the exact same shape and glows from the leaf that they found on the way to the warehouse. It was the magic leaf; the leaf that turned eyeless plants into plants with eyes. The leaf that allowed the plants to act and defend against the undead.
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“Hey? Is that vehicle working?” Norman shouted to Steven from across the street. He walked towards the abandoned pickup truck where Steven was staring intensely at the leaf. Steven jumped frightened at the realization that someone was behind his back. Before his instincts turn into kill mode, he realized that it was Norman and took a deep breath before explaining the leaf to Norman. Norman was shocked and confused at first but slowly understood as Steven explained.
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“Wow! Let’s take this back to the others; we might be able to use it to get more defenses. Hop in the pickup truck with me, we will drive it close to the building.” Steven shoved the green growing leaf into his pocket.
“Yes. Also umm. What did you discuss with Jimmy? I had been his neighbor and friend for 4 years now, and yet I had never seen him act like this before.” Steven questioned while trying not to ruin the already ruined mood that Norman had with the others.
“Since you have been with him for 4 years, I think I can tell you, but please don’t tell the others,” Norman spoke assertively and seriously, as he told Steven about the mission and Jimmy’s parents.
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The 20-second ride was awfully quiet, ever since Steven heard Norman’s story, he felt sad and pitiful towards them both; they both lost someone close to them, yet they never really got compensation or got comforted. Yet all this time, he complained to Jimmy about his parents and always used them as excuses, when Jimmy suffered it worse and just kept quiet. They parked the car right in front of the back door, and the others loaded up the truck.
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Thoughts floated around his head. After a while, he made a decision. “I have to go talk to him,” Steven said assertively, before going back into the store and heading toward Jimmy.
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“Hey, I heard what happened to your parents, I’m sorry,” Steven spoke while facing Jimmy, who was sitting on the floor with a face like he got just a merit on his science test, and by any asian standards, that’s not good. Jimmy quickly realized Steven’s existence and looked up at the standing figure. He looked sad and pitiful for a second, before turning back mad.
“Did that stupid guy tell you, I clearly told him not to share anything,” Jimmy said with a half-mad expression.
“Yes, but I don’t think that it was his fault. His uncle died too.”
“Well, I think it's his fault.”
“No. If you really wanted to blame someone, blame the driver.”
“I blame them all. And I had blamed his uncle and that uncle’s family all these years and shall continue to blame them. I will get my revenge!”
“If you want to get revenge, you have to survive first. Get a grip of yourself and let's survive this Apocalypse.”
“Why would I want to survive? Even after I got my revenge, what’s the point? As there is no one waiting for me at home after all.”
“Jimmy, I had been with you for years, have you ever considered me as someone who thinks that you are important? Have you ever thought about how your friends would feel if you are gone? Don’t you ever feel us as someone important and worth surviving for!” Steven raised his voice a bit too much, he thinks. Jimmy stopped. He stood up and looked blankly through Steven, as there was no one there.I have my friends.
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The garden door that leads to the outside blew open. They were communicating too loud before realizing that zombies had been slowly breaking the door. Boom! The zombies ran full maniacally toward them. Steven quickly realized and pushed Jimmy beside him. The zombie that was about to hit and attack Jimmy knocked himself onto the wall. Steven looked at the zombie for a sec in disbelief.Zombies weren't that fast at all before. Yes. They were way slower before.Steven hovered to the side in an attempt to find his shotgun, but it was too late, the zombies had completely surrounded them. They walked slowly towards them. Oh, shoot. Flum! Steven quickly turned behind where the sounds of flame were heard. Apparently, the fast zombie that he knocked out stood back up again, but it appears that Jimmy had woken up from his depression too.
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“You are right, let’s survive this first,” Jimmy said assertively, before turning back to face the rest of the zombies in front of them after making sure that the fast zombie with glasses had been completely burned into ashes. They kicked and punched the zombies while slowly moving backward. Bonk! It was no use, the crowd was too dense, denser than last time. They had their backs against the wall now. In no time, they would become one of them if they didn’t come up with a solution before then. They can’t shout for help, that would only lure more zombies. Steven rumbled and fiddled in his pocket in an attempt to find something useful, and in fact, he did find something useful. It was the green, glowing leaf. He forgot to give it to the others for a look with his dense and many complicated thoughts just now.
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Jimmy took notice of the leaf and found a plant next to them. The other plants were way too far from them, so even though the plant seemed to have just been taken out from an oven, he grabbed the leaf from Steven’s palm and placed it in that half-burnt pea plant pot.
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Lights and particles danced around the plant for a second, before the plant was awakened. Eyes and a large round mouth popped out from the pea plant, just like last time. But Steven noticed something unusual about this one; It was red-orangey.
“Pea-shooter! Help us out here please!” He asked while kicking the zombies. The plant smiled and wiggled around for a while, before starting to shoot fireballs.
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Bish! Bish! The fireballs directly hit the zombies. The shots seemed useless at first, but after a couple more shots, flames were shot up and surrounded the zombies from head to toe.
“Brains!” The zombie in front pleaded in a pitiful and sad manner for one last time, before it turned completely into ashes. Whoa. In less than a minute, the room was completely cleared of zombies.
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Jimmy grabbed the half-empty water bottle and spilled some water on the plant. With their new plant friend, they quickly jogged out of the room and closed the door that separates the garden and the rest of the store.
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“Are you okay? Look, I’m sorry for…”Norman tried to apologize and reason with Jimmy, but Jimmy spoke up before he could finish talking.
“We shall continue this after we survive,” Jimmy spoke as he turned back to grab some leftover small stuff up the pickup.
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After a while, the pickup was fully loaded and modified to fit them all in; with an extended backspace and a strong and sharp-looking cow catcher to barge through zombies. Jules re-explained the plan to them all, about getting to the airport to get their private jet To America.
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They are ready to get to safety and advance. With their new help, they had everything they need; food, water, weapons, and other important needs. Steven looked at the slowly brightening sky with Jimmy, who was more confident and received the survival drive that he needed. The now brave and confident Elijah commanded his friends in pleasure: “Fellas, prepare the Pea shooters!”
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…
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The 11 kids sat in the back of the old pickup truck with their Nerf rifles and weapons out as the driver navigated through the deserted streets of the city. The sun was rising, and the sky was pink and orange, a beautiful contrast to the chaos that had ensued just hours prior.
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The streets that used to be filled with panicked people were now dead silent. Norman drove the pickup truck at a relatively decent speed since driving too fast would mean too loud, and too loud means zombies. Zombies mean fight, fight means lose bullets, lose bullets means exhausted plants, exhausted plants mean, well you get the point (They’re screwed).
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“Turn right.” Jules assisted Norman with the direction and route that is the safest with the thermal sensor that she built from radars and thermal goggles attached to the vehicle. This machine was kinetically connected to her laptop through a small chip with some government tech attached underneath. Norman, looking determined to get to the airport, weaved in and out of abandoned cars and debris. The two were focusing on transportation at the front with Chloe, who managed to squeeze in with them.
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In the back, the group is quiet, each lost in their own complicated thoughts while trying to not lure in any threats with their sound. Liam sat nervously at the extended back trunk facing the back. He looked out to the open, isolated streets as they drove past with his hands fidgeting with the straps of his backpack. Bob, on the other hand, sat at the front of the back trunk, looking behind him where the sunrise was exposed. Since it is not a great time to get car sick during a zombie apocalypse. Steven doesn’t feel like chatting too after being told of Norman’s and Jimmy’s horrifying past. He just sat stoically, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger. He held the shotgun in his lap, loaded and at the ready. Charlotte patted and chilled with the plants. She invited Luxury, but Luxury insisted on sitting on the opposite side as if she was trying to avoid the plants.
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As they neared the airport, the group’s anxiety began to rise. They could see smoke rising from a distance, and the sound of gunfire echoed in the air. Norman took a deep breath, his hands tightening on the steering wheel.
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“There might be people in front, should we save them too?” Liam asked with his head turned to be looking inside, directly towards the rest of the group, with his calm demeanor belying the fear in his voice.
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“We will save them if we can, we will see when we get closer, right Norman?” Luxury responded with an ask for confirmation from the driver.
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Norman nodded firmly. “Yes, we will see if that’s everyone’s best option.”
As they drove closer to the airport, they began to encounter more and more of the undead. Most of them were sluggish and slow, but there are some which were fast and hard to get rid of, like the one with glasses and a newspaper. Also, there were so many of them that the group was forced to drive through them, feeling the thump of bodies against the undercarriage of the truck.
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With every passing minute, the group grew more tense, their eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger. They were quickly running out of bullets in their rounds and reloading while the air-soft bullets inside a large box in the middle were decreasing speedily. They will run out of bullets sooner or later. Xander quickly realized this and questioned, but the question was quickly put down with one simple answer from Jules; we just have to quickly get to the airport, we have no choice. They were concentrating hard, as they were all keenly aware of the fact that one wrong move could mean the end of all of them. Throughout the ride, they found no survivors by the time they got past the gunshots and smoke. The places all seem deserted, but it was clear that there had been battles recently. The air was thick with the scent of smoke and gunpowder, and the ground was littered with debris. It seemed that they have lost the battle and possibly had been turned into zombies. Finally, they arrived at the airport, and Norman skidded to a stop in front of the entrance.
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“Okay, everyone out,” Norman said, as he climbed out of the pickup truck. Bob, Liam, Oliver, and Charlotte took the supplies out and held it tightly in front of them, while the others got their weapons and slowly scanned the area cautiously. They moved quickly, their eyes peeled for any sign of danger.
After a few minutes of walking, they reached a door that leads to the runway. Outside, they could see a small, private jet that seemed to be fueling up halfway before badness happened. With her key, the commander twisted it and the door was flung wide open. Unexpectedly, there were no zombies anywhere to be seen around the aircraft.
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The group exchanged a quick glance, and then moved quickly towards the runway. As they ran, they could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on them. They were so close to escaping this nightmare, but they knew that danger was far from over. Elijah got to the plane first and hovered the rest on. On the plane, Norman quickly got behind the controls, his hands moving rapidly across the switches and dials before getting joined by Chloe, who sat in the co-pilot’s seat. The rest piled in behind him, their hearts racing with anticipation. “Umm, did I tell anyone that I have air sickness?” Elijah whispered.
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“Come on, come on! Yes!” Norman proudly spoke while trying to keep his noise down in excitement. To their luck, the jet had plenty of fuel left.
With a roar, the engines came to life, and the plane began to move. The group held on tight, their eyes fixed on the runway ahead. They could see that the undead had begun to gather at the edge of the runway, their eyes fixed on the plane as it slowly began to taxi to the main runway. At first, only slow zombies maneuver toward the aircraft. But after just a few quick seconds, faster and faster zombies dashed towards the jet. They thought that they could make it, but the zombies started to knock against the window, hard.
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“They will break the window at this rate!” Xander screamed.101Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWf6IymP8wz
“Yeah, this is not good, how long are we gonna be on the ground taxiing before we reach the takeoff runway?” Steven questioned the pilot. But his response is not good.
“We need half more minutes, we won’t make it in time!” Norman spoke in panic. They looked out at the gathering zombies. Anyone can tell with their common sense that they won’t make it in time. They won’t have time to take off and won’t be able to make it To America consequently.
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“Open the plane door!” Oliver shouted.
“What! Why!” Steven shouted back in panic.
“Just do it gosh,” Oliver shoutedly replied. The sound of the engines of the plane is now very loud, as it makes one final turn to the runway. Jules looked at the zombies outside of the window, to the long runway, and back to Oliver. She looked him in the eye; she could feel his strong unyielding determination. She pulled open the door and zombies started crawling in the plane. With his new lightsaber, Noah went to the front and started to push and block zombies out of the plane. Oliver took one deep breath and took off his backpack. Oliver jumped out of the plane. Yes. He jumped out of the plane.
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“What the! What are you doing!” Noah shouted. A zombie went right next to him without him realizing it since he was distracted. Charlotte quickly noticed it and called the plant to shoot the zombie.
“Don’t make my sacrifice go in vain, fellas. I will see you again before the world becomes a new world!” The zombies slowly piled on top of Oliver, and the plane engine roared even louder as it was about to take off. Jules looked and observed the situation for a quick moment, before shutting the door tight. The high schoolers seem shocked and sad at the same time. Luxury dropped to the floor. Steven, Bob, Xander, and Jimmy sat down on the seat with blank expressions on their faces. Charlotte teared up a little.
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“Damn it!” Noah spoke in disappointment as he chucked his lightsaber on the ground.
“Guys, let's not let his sacrifice go in vain,” Ethan spoke, as he stood tall in front of the plane.
“Yeah guys, he had a point, let's survive this. Don’t make his sacrifice go in vain. It’s the best we can do for him.” Liam said, trying to reassure everyone. Everyone looked out the window as the plane was finally lifted into the air. In the distance, they could see and hear a small explosion go off.
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Elijah looked at the group who was not cheered up and thought for a moment, before shouting one final statement to hopefully cheer up everyone.
“Lads, hope is ahoy, and America is AHOY!”
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