The Crazy Corner (Redone)
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Thread Topic: The Crazy Corner (Redone)
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Undead Carolers: Book One of Zombie Holidays
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Chapter One
I was walking on the track with my friends outside of my school in the middle of nowhere. Honestly, that’s what my school should be called. Middle School of Nowhere. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
But back to the story. My name is Dylan Patterson.
My school is called Savannah Plains Middle School. I live in a small town called Willow Prairie, population 2,513. I have a few friends. Their names are Heather, Chloe, Melissa, Jake, Kai, and Zach. I have nerdy glasses and always wear a hoodie. I have a few acquaintances, but they’re mostly friends of friends. Most people know who I am, but only to ask to copy answers for tests. And that’s all. That’s me, Dylan. Not much, right“Come on, Dylan!” Chloe called. I was trailing behind a little, lost in my thoughts. I jerked my head up to look at her. I gave a slight nod and jogged to catch up with her. She smiled when I arrived at her side. Heather and Melissa were engaged in some conversation about who was dating who. Nothing they said peaked my interest, so I tuned them out.
“You okay, Dylan?” Chloe asked, concerned. I nodded. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”
“About what?” Chloe asked.
“Nothing,” I shook my head. Then, brightening up, I asked her about something I knew she took pride in. “So, how is Cross Country going?”
Chloe smiled. “Great. I’m getting some endurance built up.” I shivered in the chilly air. It was getting near Christmas, but still no snow. An ear-piercing whistle blew through the air. Suddenly, the door leading to the gym burst open and all the boys in athletics dashed out. Right now, my class is athletics. That’s a class where the coaches help you get stronger. The boys came running out at full speed towards the track. Melissa looked over at them, her eyes searching. “What are you looking for?” Heather snapped. “You already have a boyfriend.”
Melissa shook her head. “I’m not looking at them that way. Jeez, Heather.” Then she pointed at someone approaching us. “Hey, look! It’s Zach!”
Zach was running to catch up with us. “Hey,” he said casually.
“Sup,” I nodded.
“Hey, Dylan.” Zach said to me. “Oh, I wanted to tell you something. Kai wanted to ask you if you could help him with his trombone. It’s broken or something.”
I was confused. “Why would he want my help? He knows that I play the French horn.”
Suddenly I felt water on my hair. I turned around to see Kai holding a spray bottle, laughing. “Got you!” Kai shouted. Zach snickered. I looked at him. “Wait, you were in on it?” I growled. “Kai, why are you always doing that?” Kai shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s for my trombone slide, but it annoys you, so that’s what I mostly use it for.” I glared at him and Zach.
“Zach, I thought that you were on my side! I thought that French horns stick together.”
He laughed, then his eyes fixed on something in the distance. “There’s some weird people watching us,” he muttered. I turned around to follow his gaze.
“Oh. Those are just the janitors,” I told him. He narrowed his eyes. “Weirdos.”
The janitors noticed us watching them and stared straight back. We immediately averted our gaze awkwardly. Walking together at the same pace, they approached a big group of people jogging. They talked to them in low tones, so I couldn’t hear them. Suddenly the people turned around to stare at us. Then they started singing. “Jingle bells, jingle bells…” They sang slowly and eerily. “Uh, what are they doing?” Heather asked. “I don’t know,” I whispered.
I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around. “Jake!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in P.E., not athletics.”
Jake shrugged. “They had us come outside today, but then everyone walked away singing Christmas songs. I didn’t want to sing, so I came over here.”
“Oh,” I said. Then I pointed at the singing people. “They started to sing, too.” I examined the gathered people more closely and recognized a few.
“Look, there’s the coaches. They’re singing. Oh, and Rebecca and Lucas, too.” Rebecca was an athletic popular girl, and Lucas was Melissa’s boyfriend.
“Lucas?” Melissa shrieked, then dashed towards him. “No, Melissa!” I called after her, then I groaned and ran after her. Jake appeared next to me, matching my speed. I may be small, but I’m fast. I reached Melissa and pulled her back. I grabbed her arm, pulling with all my strength. But she turned around and pushed me away. I fell back onto the track, hitting my head on it. What was wrong with Melissa? She was never like this. Jake let go of Melissa and came to see if I was okay.
“I’m fine,” I muttered.
But Melissa was already with the singers. Lucas reached for her, and she smiled, thinking he was going in for a hug, but then he grabbed her hair. She screamed and he whispered into her ear. He pulled away after whispering and let go of her hair. She stopped screaming and dropped her flailing arms. Then she slowly turned towards us, singing Silent Night. She and the other singers slowly walked towards us. I scrambled backwards, still on the ground. They advanced on me slowly. Jake’s eyes went blank and he walked towards them, murmuring lyrics to a song. Melissa grabbed him and whispered into his ear. Then he turned towards me, singing Deck the Halls.
“No,” I whimpered, but it was too late. They continued advancing on me. -
I squeezed shut my eyes. They were surely going to infect me next with their songs. Suddenly, there was a hand on my shoulder, pulling me up.
“Come on! Hurry, Dylan, we gotta run!” Zach pulled me away from the carolers. I blinked in surprise. “Thanks.” Then I ran alongside him. My friends were waiting near the gate to exit the track. “Dylan, what happened out there?” Zach asked me. “I don’t know,” I answered. “I just froze up.” We arrived at the gate. Zach nudged me through, then Heather and Kai pushed it closed.
“There,” Kai grunted. “That should hold them.” Chloe was trembling. “Poor Melissa and Jake.” She looked at me. “And almost you, too.” She tilted her head. “What did they do to them?”
I took a deep breath. “They like, infected them by singing, I guess. They’re like zombies now. When Melissa pushed me down, she ran to Lucas, but he grabbed her and sang into her ear. Then she became a zombie. Then Jake acted like he was taken over. He stumbled over there and became one of them. I felt the pull myself. I just wanted to give up. I would have, if Zach hadn’t helped me.” Everyone had gone silent when I finished talking. Heather broke the silence. “So they’re like zombies now.” I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” Kai nodded his head slowly. “They’re undead carolers. They infect us with Christmas songs. The songs make us slow down and give up.” “Yeah,” I said. “You basically summed it up.” Kai chuckled. “We’re in an apocalyptic wasteland.” Everyone else stared at him.
He threw up his hands. “What? We are.” Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out the spray bottle. “I almost forgot. We need this to decontaminate the people who were near the zombies.” He aimed the spray bottle at me and squirted it in my face. He sprayed Zach then put it back into his pocket. “There. Now we’re safe.” I raised my eyebrow and wiped off my face. It was getting really cold outside, and the last thing I needed was my face to freeze.
Zach shook out his hair. “Can you not? I just fixed my hair.” Chloe laughed. “You seriously care about your hair when there’s zombies after us?” Zach shrugged. “Gotta survive in style.”I snorted. “That’s gotta be the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.” Zach turned to me, grinning.
Then he turned serious. “But we really do need to run now.” He gestured towards the gate, where the zombies were getting closer and closer, their outstretched hands reached for us through the fence.
I nodded grimly, then took off running to the horizon.
End Of Chapter One -
Chapter Two
The sun was setting when we finally arrived at my house. Kai and Chloe lived the next street over, but me, Zach, and Heather were all close together, almost in a row. We’d been friends for years. I took a deep breath of relief when I saw that my dad’s SUV was parked outside the house. He must be worried sick. I was due home hours ago. And Brandon, my brother, would probably not even notice that I wasn’t home. His eyes would be glued to the TV. I walked up to the porch. My friends waited behind me. We were checking each of our houses to see if our parents were home. So far we had checked Zach and Heather’s houses, but both houses were empty. I prepared to knock on the door, but it creaked open by itself. I grimaced. Not a good sign. I slowly walked into the house. Everything looked normal.
But then I saw that the TV was on, but my brother was nowhere in sight. Maybe he went to the bathroom. I thought hopefully. But a feeling of dread had settled in my stomach.
I heard a scream from outside. I whipped around and ran outside. Chloe was pointing at something. “What is it?” I gasped. Then I saw. Brandon was being cornered by zombies near the corner of the fence. One of the zombies was my dad. And my sweet neighbor, Mrs. Jenson, was singing Carol of the Bells quietly while she reached for Brandon. Suddenly I heard a yell. Then a whistle. Three boys came running at the zombies at full speed. With a jolt, I recognized them. Hunter Velaquez was a small dark haired boy. Next to him was Lee Henson. He was taller with black curly hair. And lastly was Noah Tyler, who was a small boy wearing a blue jacket.
I knew them from babysitting Brandon at the park.It had been a boring, cloudy day, and Brandon had begged me to go to the park. I finally agreed, after Heather had said she’d come, but at the last minute, she said that she had to do homework. And at that point, it had been too late to back out on Brandon, so I went to the park with him. I sat on a bench and watched him, but I soon grew bored. Then these three boys came over to me and asked if I wanted to play Nintendo with them over at their bench. Apparently, the other person that was supposed to play couldn’t and they had seen me at school beat some of the boys at their own game. So they asked me, and I immediately said yes. After that, every Saturday we met at the park to play. We eventually grew so close we were a well oiled machine, and we competed in a gaming contest. We lost, but we planned to try again.
“Glad to see us?” Hunter called.
I grinned and nodded. Brandon screamed and I jerked my head over to him. Lee had knocked down all the zombies except for my other neighbor, Mr. Peterson. Noah distracted him while Lee grabbed Brandon. Noah was about to knock him down, but I yelled.
“Wait! Don’t hurt him yet. I wanna try something.” Noah nodded and backed away.
“What are you gonna do?” Zach asked me curiously. I shrugged. “Watch.” I struggled to remember Mr. Peterson’s first name. Then I remembered his sister calling him by Jett. That must be his name. I cleared my throat and called.
“Jett! Snap out of it! Stop singing!” He turned towards me and grunted. His blank eyes focused on me.
“Guys,” I whispered. ”I think I’m getting through to him.”Chloe nodded encouragingly. “If it’s really working, maybe we can save the others!” I nodded. “Yeah.” I turned back to Mr. Peterson. “Jett? Your brother and sister miss you. They wish you weren’t a zombie anymore.” His eyes blinked and began to clear. He sighed. I became hopeful. Then he started singing Jingle Bell Rock and ran towards me.
“Run!” I screamed. Everyone ran away. Except Lee. He began to smile dreamily and stood, swaying slightly.
I gasped. “Wait!” I yelled for the rest of them to stop, but they had taken off as fast as they could. “Guess it’s up to me,” I murmured. “Lee, c’mon!” I stayed back. I didn’t wanna get too close.
He turned away from me. My eyes widened. “Lee?” I said tentatively. Then I heard him. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer…” I whipped around and ran for my life.
End of Chapter Two -
Chapter Three
I arrived, panting, to my friends who had gathered in the woods near my neighborhood. “Let's do a headcount,” Heather said.
I opened my mouth to tell her about Lee but then I was overcome by a fit of coughing. “Chloe?” Heather nodded towards Chloe. “Zach?” This continued until she reached me. “Dylan?” She stared at me. “You good?” I nodded weakly and gave a thumbs-up. “Brandon?” She looked towards Brandon. “Ok, he’s here. Blue jacket boy?” She snickered and looked at Noah. “Who, me?” He looked down. “Oh.”
“Hunter? He’s here. Curly?” She looked around when there was no response. “Lee?”
I gained enough breath to say, “He’s gone.”
Heather gasped softly and lowered her head. “Another one gone,” she murmured. Zach looked around at all of us. “We must be the last people left. Only-” his eyes swept over us all. “Only us eight left to survive.” His voice took on a determined tone. “There is only eight of us left. We are the last hope for the world.” “How do you know that the whole world is infected? There’s got to be other groups of people like us surviving,” Kai pointed out.
Zach glared at him. “Can’t you see I’m giving a speech here?” Kai held out his hands. “Fine, then. Carry on.” He raised an eyebrow.
“Anyways. We are the-” He broke off. “Damn it, Kai, you ruined the moment!”
Kai snickered. “That’s tough.”
Zach made a face.
“Shut up!” Chloe snapped. “Are you idiots done?” Her bright blue eyes were shining with anger. Zach and Kai froze, staring at her.
I awkwardly cleared my throat and, to fill the silence, joked, “Well. You finally got them to shut up, which is something I’ve never been able to do.”
Chloe halfheartedly grinned at me. “We should find somewhere to live,” she said softly. “We need somewhere to go should we ever get attacked.”
I nodded. I glanced at everyone else. Heather, leaning against a nearby tree, was looking a bit annoyed that Chloe was taking control. But she nodded quickly, showing her agreement.
Brandon looked up at me. He was short for his age, and could be shy and a bit of a scaredy-cat. Many people, when they see both of us together, are surprised that he’s my brother. With his olive skin and dark hair, and my vampire-like pale skin and light hair, I don’t blame them. “Dylan?” he asked. “Yes, Brandon?” I responded, bending down to his level. “Are we gonna die?”
I was shocked by his question, but I tried to answer as honestly as I could. “Brandon, I don’t know. Right now, we’re trying to find a safe place to live. Okay?”
He nodded slowly, his eyes shining.
“C’mon, guys, we should go now.” Zach said, pointing through a gap in the trees, where a growing hoard of zombies gathered in our neighborhood. Or, I guess, what used to be our neighborhood, before the carolers took over. I agreed and took Brandon’s hand. “We’re going now, okay?” He looked up at me, alarm in his eyes. “But we can’t leave yet!”
I tilted my head. “Why not?”
“We have to get Rusty! He’s in the backyard at our house. And Cozmo.”
I groaned. Rusty was our family dog. Brandon loved him. And Cozmo was our small black kitten. I looked over at the group. “I’m going to go and get Rust and Cozmo.” I told them. Then, remembering something, I added, “And Ezzie.” Ezzie was my bearded dragon, also known as Ezmeralda, a name I came up with myself. Heather nodded. “Of course.” Everybody that vaguely knows me knows I am absolutely obsessed with beardies.
Kai pulled something out of his pocket. “Here, you’ll need this, just in case.” he said solemnly, handing me the spray. “Thanks…?” I said quizzically, accepting the spray and putting it into my pocket.
“Okay, why is everyone acting like Dylan is gonna die?” Zach asked. “She’s just going to get her bearded dragon. Honestly, we should go with her. It’s what friends do. Especially in the apocalypse.”
Kai nodded. “True. Well, in that case, give me back my spray.” I chuckled and handed him back his spray. “Gladly.” “Coast is clear,” Zach said as he peeked around a building. He turned around and nodded to us. Brandon, Noah and Chloe had stayed behind while me, Kai, Zach, Hunter, and Heather went to get my pets, food, and supplies to build our base in the woods.
“Okay,” I said to Hunter and Kai. “You two go to the camping store, find some tents, tarps, firestarters, anything that we need to survive in the woods.” I looked at Heather and Zach. “You guys are in charge of food. Go to the supermarket, find some long-lasting foods. Then meet me at my house, all of you.”
At that, Zach's stomach rumbled. “Good idea,” he said with a grimace.
I slowly walked into my dark house. I looked around inside, but it was deserted. I walked in and started upstairs, where my room was. I opened my door and started upstairs to my room.. I opened up my door. My bearded dragon’s cage was sitting on my desk. Ezzie was inside, undisturbed and basking in her heat lamp. I opened the cage to pet her. Then I closed it and picked up the cage. Carrying it in my arms, my vision slightly blocked, I accidentally walked into my door, hitting my knee. I gave a low grunt. I walked down the stairs and set the cage at the bottom. Then I went back upstairs to look for Cozmo. I found her curled up on my dad’s bed, asleep and oblivious to the world outside. I picked her up and grabbed her cat carrier in the other hand. I walked downstairs. I peeked out of the front door, then started to walk down the steps on the porch.
At the middle step, Cozmo gave a screech and sunk her claws into my shoulder. I dropped the carrier, yelled, tripped and fell head over heels on the remaining steps. I landed on my back at the bottom after falling on my head several times. Dizzy with pain, I looked around and saw something that made my heart sink. A horde of zombies were coming towards me. I thought dimly, “so that’s what made Cozmo freak out.”
I was so shaken and filled with pain that I couldn’t even try to get up. My mind numb, I waited for them to claim me.
I heard running feet and I looked in its direction. I saw a scrawny blond boy running towards the zombies at full speed, a rock in his raised hand. He started to throw the rock and tripped. The rock ricocheted off a flickering streetlight pole, hitting a zombie square in the head. It fell, knocking over two other zombies, who fell in a heap and didn’t get up again. That was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.
End Of Chapter Three -
Renegades: Aspen Uprooted
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Ranks and Wolves
Forestrunners
Alpha (leader) - Echo (grey she-wolf with green eyes)
Beta (second-in-command) - Dakota (white wolf with red ears and amber eyes)
Zeta (lead warrior) - Aspen (brown wolf with green eyes)
Kappa (lead hunter) - Ivy (black she-wolf with white paws and ears with yellow eyes)
Theta (lead medic) - Juniper (grey wolf with yellow eyes)
Delta (messenger) - Almond (red wolf with white paws and green eyes)
Epsilon (guardian) - Breeze (silvery wolf with yellow eyes)
Gamma (elders) - Maple (grey she-wolf with yellow eyes), Flame (red wolf
with silvery eyes)
Eta (warriors) - Flint (black wolf with brown eyes), Timber (brown wolf with yellow eyes), Sky (white she-wolf with light grey eyes), Ash (black wolf with green eyes), Thunder (peach wolf with yellow eyes), Willow (silvery she-wolf with yellow eyes)
Lambda (hunters) - Sage (white she-wolf with black paws and ears and green eyes), Vixen (brown she-wolf with white paws and green eyes), Rocky (brown and peach wolf with yellow eyes), Smoke (grey and white wolf with green eyes), Dawn (tawny and white she-wolf with amber eyes)
Iota (medics) - Misty (blueish-grey she-wolf with green eyes), Fang (black and white wolf with yellow eyes)
Pups -
Ginger (brown and red she-wolf with green eyes) Mother: Dawn, Father: Rocky
Canyon (brown and grey wolf with yellow eyes) Mother: Dawn, Father: Rocky
Arctic (white wolf with amber eyes) Mother: Sky, Father: Smoke
Blizzard (white wolf with green eyes) Mother: Sky, Father: Smoke -
Chapter One
Aspen woke up after a fur-chilling nightmare. He sat up and looked around, but saw that his cave-mates were already gone. The only one left in the cave, other than him, was an obnoxious wolf named Flint. Aspen glared at him. After Flint had scared away a bunch of deer that Aspen had been stalking, Aspen hadn’t forgiven him.
There were six Packs of wolves, the Forestrunners, who lived in the woods, the Darkstalkers, who lived in the swamp, the Icecreepers, who were cold and vicious, and lived in the mountains, the Hilldashers, who lived on the plains, the Lakeswimmers, who were kind and gentle, who lived on the lake, and the Misthunters, who lived supposedly underground. Aspen was a Forestrunner, and his mother was the Alpha. Aspen glared at Flint for a moment longer, then spun around and walked out of the cave. The sun above him shone, and Aspen smiled. He saw his Alpha, Echo, sitting on a rock. She dipped her elegant grey head as Aspen padded out of the cave. The Beta, Dakota, sat beside her, eating a fawn. Aspen jumped onto the rock and sat beside her.
“Hello, Echo,” he said, yawning.
“Good morning.” Echo said, nuzzling Aspen. Dakota twitched his ears, annoyed.
“Leave her alone,” Dakota growled. He stood up, towering over Aspen. Aspen blinked. Echo looked up at Dakota and chuckled, a low rumbling sound deep in her throat.
“Stand down, Dakota. He’s okay. He is my firstborn, a great honor. If something may happen to me, and you become Alpha, Aspen would be a wise choice for the Beta. He is clever, brave, and selfless too.” Echo smiled at Aspen.
Dakota snorted and jumped off the rock. Echo watched him leave, then turned to Aspen. “I have something important to do,” she said. “Today we must travel to the mountains so I can speak to the Icecreepers.”
Aspen cocked his head. “Why?” he asked.
“Because, their Alpha, Tundra, died and I must pay my respects.”
“Oh,” Aspen said. “How did he die?”
“A bear attacked him while he was alone.” Echo replied.
Aspen heard a rustle coming from inside the cave. He turned around and saw a dark wolf-shape lumbering out. It came out into the sunlight, and Aspen recognized it. Flint’s dark eyes flickered around the open field surrounded by huge trees, where the first Forestrunner Alpha had decided that the Forestrunners would live. Flint looked around until his eyes settled on a pretty she-wolf called Vixen. Flint bounded over to Vixen and appeared to speak intently to her, but Aspen couldn’t hear what they were saying. Another she-wolf was walking towards Vixen. Her name was Ivy. Aspen smiled unconsciously. Echo saw him smiling and followed his gaze over to Ivy. Echo stared at Ivy for a moment, then realized that Aspen liked her. Echo twitched her ears and whispered to Aspen, “Go talk to her.” Aspen was surprised and looked at Echo in shock. Then, grinning uncontrollably, he nodded and hopped gracefully off the rock. He padded over to Ivy. Her ears pricked as he got closer and she turned to look at him.
“Hi, Aspen,” she said.
Aspen ducked his head. “Hello, Ivy,” he said formally.
Ivy’s eyes softened. Aspen’s tail began to quiver with hope. “Is Echo okay?” she asked him, a note of concern in her voice.
Aspen sighed. “Yes, she’s fine. She, Dakota and some others are going to the Luna Mountains later.”
“Oh,” Ivy said. “I’m going to-” A howl interrupted her. Aspen spun around to see Echo standing on the rock, her nose pointed to the sky. Dakota was howling next to her. The howl signaled that the Alpha had something important to say.
“I need wolves to travel with Dakota and me to the Luna Mountains to visit the Icecreepers. Their Alpha, Tundra, died.”
Murmurs spread throughout the gathered wolves. A voice called out in disgust, “The Icecreepers wouldn’t come to pay their respects if you died!”
Aspen gasped. That was an extremely rude thing to say straight to the Alpha’s face. He looked around to find the wolf that had yelled that and saw that all the other wolves were glaring at Flint. Of course, it was Flint that yelled that, Aspen thought. Flint looked around at the angry wolves glaring at him, his ears pinned back. A furious she-wolf next to him looked like she was about to bite him. Aspen sighed and hurried over to her and pulled her aside. She spun around, snarling, but then her face relaxed.
“Oh, Aspen, it’s you,” she sighed.
“Who else would it be?” he teased lightly, smiling at his sister, Sage. Sage was Aspen’s sister, but from a different litter that included his younger brothers, Juniper, Almond, and Timber.
Aspen’s littermates, Pine and Basil, died in their first winter, which had been harsh, after being born too weak. He missed Pine and Basil terribly, but he knew it was for the best that they were with the Moondreamer Pack. In the wild, only the strongest survived.
The Moondreamer Pack, who lived far above the living wolves, in the sky, welcomed fallen wolves into their Pack.
“What would you do if you lost Juniper, Almond, and Timber?” Aspen asked suddenly. Sage was confused, but she answered honestly.
“I don’t know, losing my littermates would be devastating.” Then Sage looked up at Aspen. “I’m so sorry. To lose Pine and Basil...”
Aspen shook his head. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “They’re better off with the Moondreamers.”
Sage nodded sadly. Then she looked back up at Echo to hear what she had to say.
“These are the wolves that will travel with me; Sky, Ash, Willow, Timber, Breeze, and Sage.”
The wolves who were called trotted to stand beneath the rock. Sage, her eyes sparkling, bounded off to join the other wolves.
Aspen smiled at her enthusiasm. Echo finished the gathering with a short howl and leaped off the rock. Aspen walked over to her and tilted his head. “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked her.
“Because,” she replied. “With me and Dakota in the mountains, you will be the Alpha until I get back.” -
“Oh. Really?” Aspen became excited. He would be the acting Alpha. What an honor!
“I’m going to go tell Sage!” Aspen told Echo, then ran to where the chosen wolves gathered. Dakota was speaking, so Aspen waited on the edge of the group. Dakota finished with a bark, and the wolves scattered to do whatever Dakota told them to. Sage turned and saw Aspen waiting. She smiled at him, and Aspen motioned with his tail for her to come to him. She padded over to Aspen.
“What is it?” Sage asked him.
“Guess what?” Aspen said, his eyes shining.
“What?” Sage responded.
“I was chosen to be the Alpha while Echo and Dakota are gone!”
Sage nodded. “You’re going to do great! But don’t take Echo’s place! I actually like her as Alpha.” Then, her voice lowered, “I wish that you were Beta, not Dakota.”
Aspen nodded slowly. “Don’t let him hear you. He could punish you.”
“Yeah, but I don’t care. Well, see you later, Aspen. I gotta go!”
Aspen barked a goodbye, and Sage ran to the caves. Aspen looked around the field, wondering what he should do. I guess I’ll go out, he thought. “Echo!” he called. “I’m going for a walk!”
Aspen heard an “Okay”, and started to pad out of the camp when Echo dashed to his side. “Just be back soon, we have to go soon, and I want you to be here when we leave.” Echo said.
“Yep,” Aspen responded, and left the field to clear his head on his walk.
Aspen padded through the forest, listening to chirping birds when he heard a howl full of pain. His ears shot up and he raced towards the sound. He saw a tawny-and-white she-wolf with her ears flattened in pain and her hind foot stuck in a rabbit hole. The she-wolf looked at Aspen with her eyes wide.
“Help me,” she whimpered. “My foot is stuck and it hurts!”
Aspen nodded and ran towards her.
“How do I help?” Aspen said.
“I don’t know,” the she-wolf said. “Pull it, or dig!”
Aspen started digging and accidentally brushed her leg.
She howled in pain. “Be careful.” she yelped.
Aspen began to be more careful and dug a small trench around her injured leg. “Pull it now!” Aspen told the she-wolf.
The she-wolf slowly pulled her leg until it popped out of the hole.
She fell onto the ground in a heap, then lifted her head up and shook it.
“Thanks,” she said. “My name is Stream. Who are you?”
“I’m Aspen, from the Forestrunner Pack.”
Stream’s eyes widened in shock. “Forestrunners? Oh no, my Alpha will be so angry that I spoke to you.”
“No, no. It’s okay. I won’t tell them.” Then Aspen lowered his voice. “My Alpha, Echo, is about to leave with our Beta to go to the Luna Mountains. I am the substitute Alpha while she’s gone.”
“Wow,” Stream commented. “What an honor!”
Aspen nodded proudly. “And, I am the Zeta!”
Stream’s eyes widened even more.
“That’s crazy!” Then Stream sighed. “I’m just a Lambda. My brother is the Zeta, though.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” Aspen told Stream. “Good for your brother. What is his name?”
“Cedar,” Stream responded. “He’s great.”
Then she looked around, panicked. “I need to go! The Hilldasher law states-”
“Wait,” Aspen interrupted. “You’re a Hilldasher?”
Stream nodded. “Yup!”
“I’ve never met a Hilldasher before.”
Stream wrinkled her nose. “Well, now you have. Anyways, I need to go. The Hilldasher law states that we must not interact with any other Pack, unless for formal reasons, like meetings.”
“Or if an Alpha dies.”
Stream nodded. “Yeah, or that. Why did you think of that?”
Aspen stared at Stream. “You don’t know?”
Stream tilted her head. “Know what?”
Aspen sighed. “Tundra, the Icecreeper Alpha died.”
“What?” Stream screeched. “I gotta go tell my Alphas. I don’t think they know yet.” Stream looked around. “Meet me back here tomorrow at dawn,” she told Aspen, then she ran off, limping on her injured leg.
“Wait!” Aspen started to call after her, but she was already gone. Aspen sighed and turned around to go back to camp.
She was nice, Aspen thought as he walked.
“You did what?!?” Echo growled when Aspen told her about helping Stream.
“She was hurt!” Aspen defended himself. “I didn’t even know that she was a Hilldasher until I had helped her.”
Echo sighed. “Just… don't do it again. I trust you to be Alpha while I’m gone, don’t make me regret it.”
Aspen nodded quickly. “I won’t.”
“I’ll be gone for about a day,” Echo told Aspen. “Don’t get into any trouble.” She grinned, then walked to the entrance of the camp. “We are now leaving!” she called. Aspen watched as the chosen wolves, including Sage, followed Echo out of camp. Aspen stared at them until they were out of sight, then turned to address the remaining wolves,
“Okay,” Aspen began awkwardly. Flint, who was in front of the crowd, smirked.
Aspen inhaled sharply. “Flint.” Flint looked up, worried.
Aspen tilted his head. “I need you to take care of the pups.”
“What?” Flint snarled. “I mean, yes, Alpha,” Flint growled and turned around to go to the pup cave.
Aspen smiled. “Now, Ivy.” Ivy looked up. “As Kappa, can you organize some Lambda’s to go hunting?”
“Sure, Aspen,” she replied.
“That’s all,” Aspen finished, and the wolves dispersed.
Aspen looked up. The sky above was darkening. It would be dusk soon. Tomorrow, Aspen would meet Stream. Aspen walked to the cave to go to sleep. He laid down in a dark corner and closed his eyes. As he fell into a dreamless sleep, he couldn’t help but think about how pretty and kind Stream was.
Aspen woke up early. All the other wolves were still in the cave, sleeping away. They wouldn’t be up for at least another hour. Aspen crept out of the cave and looked around cautiously.
Good, he thought. Nobody is awake. He padded out of camp and through the forest. It was eerily quiet. None of the birds were singing, and all the prey was asleep. He arrived at the place were Stream had wanted to meet him, and waited. After a while, Aspen heard footsteps. He looked up quickly. Aspen had forgotten that the forest at night could be dangerous. Bears or mountain-cats could be hunting. Aspen sprang up, his eyes observing everything. Stream came out of the shadows. Aspen relaxed and sat down.
“You’re early,” Stream said.
“And you’re late.” Aspen frowned.
Stream pawed the ground. “My brother really wanted to come. I told him I was going hunting.”
Aspen sighed. “I’m going to get back to camp so late.” he murmured. Stream blinked at him, her eyes laughing.
“So,” Aspen began. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Stream opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
Instead, her eyes widened and focused on something behind Aspen.
Aspen tilted his head confusedly and turned around. Then he gasped and his heart began to beat faster and faster in terror.
“Run!” cried Aspen, and turned around to dash away. But Stream remained frozen in place, staring at the biggest black bear she had ever seen hurtling towards her at full speed. Its beady black eyes were glaring at Stream. She wanted to move, but her muscles refused to respond. Aspen spun around after realizing that Stream wasn’t following him. His eyes widened in fear for his friend.
“Stream!” Aspen howled. Stream was shaken out of her trance just in time to dodge the bear.
“Thanks,” panted Stream.
“Come on, let’s go!” Aspen growled.
Stream nodded and ran after Aspen, who had dashed away. As they were running, Aspen was thinking. That bear must have cubs. That’s why she’s chasing us. Soon, Stream began to run out of breath.
“Aspen,” she murmured. “Can we slow down?”
Aspen sighed, then nodded. He sat down with a thump, his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. They sat in silence, the only sounds were the inhaling and exhaling of air.
Suddenly the bear came barreling out of the trees and knocked Stream over and out of sight.
“Noo!” Aspen screamed, but it was too late. Aspen heard Stream screech, then silence. Dead silence. Aspen waited to hear the bear roar or Stream howl, but there was nothing. Aspen cautiously crept over to where the bear had tackled Stream, and almost fell to his death. He gasped -
-and stumbled backward. There was a hidden ravine, and the bear lay crumpled at the bottom. As Aspen watched, it stood up, its legs shaking, and limped away. Next to where the bear had been laying was Stream. Her dead body was horrible to see, so Aspen looked away. Aspen realized that he could’ve been the one that was at the bottom of the ravine.
“No,” he said out loud. “Why? She didn’t deserve this…” Aspen slowly and carefully climbed down the ravine. As he was climbing down, he tripped on a rock near the bottom. He fell head-first to the bottom with a crash. He lay there for a few moments, dazed until the world stopped spinning. He sat up and gingerly rubbed his head with his paw. Then he shook his head. He muttered, his voice trembling, “I’m okay. I have to be okay.”
He grasped Stream’s scruff with his jaws and carried her limp body up the cliff, trying as hard as he could to keep it from dragging on the ground. When he got to the top he collapsed with exhaustion, and the world faded to black.
End of Chapter One -
Chapter 2
Aspen opened his eyes with a jolt, then snapped them closed after the bright sun blinded him. He heard a gruff voice in his ear.
“Get up,” it growled. Aspen didn’t recognize the voice. He slowly opened his eyes again. He lifted his throbbing head to peer into the face. It was a heavily built cream colored wolf with glaring green eyes. He roughly pulled Aspen onto his weak paws. Aspen was confused. Where am I? He wondered. Then what had happened came rushing back to him. Stream. She was dead. Aspen looked at the wolf with a blank gaze of indifference. A white and grey she-wolf came bounding over to the cream-colored wolf.
“Comet,” she said. “Did he confess yet?”
Comet shook his head. “Not yet. But he will. I’ll make sure of that.”
Comet, Aspen echoed. That’s one of the Hilldasher Alphas! And if that’s Comet… Aspen stared at the she-wolf. That must be the other Alpha, Aura. So that means...I’m in Hilldasher camp!
Aura looked at Aspen with a cold gaze. “You killed Stream. And you’re going to pay. Who are you?”
Aspen avoided her searching eyes. She huffed and turned to a nervous-looking brown and white she-wolf. “Flora!” Aura called. “Do you know who this is?”
Flora nodded hesitantly.
“Well, who is it then?” Comet barked.
“Aspen.” Flora stammered. “Son of Echo, Alpha of the Forestrunners. Zeta. Father, Hawthorn, is deceased; he was former Forestrunner Alpha. His siblings-”
Comet cut her off. “Enough! Get out of my sight.” Comet growled and Flora ran away with a yelp of fright. “Stupid Iota,” Comet muttered. “Anyways. Why did you kill Stream?”
Aspen shook his head slowly. “Didn’t,” he mumbled.
“Why you little-” Comet rose his huge paw as if to strike Aspen, but Aura stopped him. “Don’t,” she said. “We are going to take him to the Forestrunners. He’ll talk once he sees us threatening Echo.” Aura sneered at him. “Won’t you, little rat? Because you care so much about your stupid family.”
Aspen narrowed his eyes. Aura dipped her head to Comet.
“Do it,” she whispered.
Comet grinned maliciously. Then he bent down to grab Aspen’s scruff. Aspen howled in pain as Comet’s sharp teeth sank into his fur. Aspen wiggled free and sprinted away. “After him!” Comet bellowed. Three well-built wolves, one with a torn ear and black fur, one with a blue-grey pelt, and a small white and red wolf with glowing yellow eyes. The blue-grey wolf tried to tackle Aspen, but he dodged and continued running. The red and white wolf grabbed Aspen’s tail with his teeth, and Aspen shook him off with a grunt. The final wolf, who was bigger than the previous two, leaped onto Aspen’s back, bringing him down with a thud. Aspen whined. That had hurt. Aspen was still weak after carrying Stream and running from the bear. The wolf that had taken down Aspen stood up but kept a huge paw on Aspen’s back. Aura and Comet came bounding over to Aspen.
“Nice job, Cedar.” Comet barked.
Aspen’s ears pricked. Cedar? That’s Stream’s brother! He must think that I killed her. He probably hates me. Aspen looked up at Cedar. He growled at Aspen. Aspen whispered, “I didn’t kill Stream.”
Cedar’s emotionless face flickered, showing a flash of grief and disbelief, then hardened. “Silence, scum. When we bring you to the Forestrunners, they’ll kill you. Save your breath.”
Then Cedar bit down on Aspen’s scruff and began to drag him out of the Hilldasher camp. Aura, Comet ran to the front to lead and a few others followed behind Cedar.
This time, Aspen didn’t struggle. As Cedar dragged him, Aspen had a question. “How long was I out?” Aspen asked Cedar.
Cedar blinked but didn’t respond.
“Well?” Aspen asked impatiently.
Cedar huffed then grumbled through Aspen’s scruff, “The rest of the day, the night, and then you woke up this morning. Don’t talk to me again.”
Aspen ignored the last part of what Cedar said and kept talking.
“Wow. That long? Well, since it was more than a day, Echo’ll be back from the mountains by now.” Aspen’s ears drooped. “Aw, she must be so worried. I wonder what the Pack was doing without me? I was supposed to be leading them. I bet Flint got into all sorts of trouble.”
Cedar paused. “You were supposed to be leading them? Of course, you were chosen, you’re the Alpha’s son and Zeta, so you have an advantage over the others.”
Aspen glared at Cedar. “You think I like being the Alpha’s son? Everyone thinks that I have no flaws, and I’m perfect. I have so many responsibilities and expectations. What’s more, my father is dead, and my littermates. And, my new friend, your sister, is now dead, and it should have been me! That stupid bear…” Aspen trailed off, all of his rage spent.
“Wait, what bear?” Cedar asked Aspen.
“The bear that killed Stream.”
Cedar froze. “A bear killed her?”
Aspen nodded. “Yes. We were running away from it when it tackled her into a hidden rav-” Aspen broke off, unable to repeat what had happened.
Cedar’s eyes narrowed in thought. “No. You’re lying. You killed her. Don’t say another word to me, or I’ll kill you.”
Aspen nodded quickly and didn’t say another word the whole trip to Forestrunner camp.
Cedar, Aspen and the others arrived at the Forestrunner camp as Sage and Ivy were walking out of the entrance. Sage gasped when she saw Aspen and ran towards him at full speed.
Comet stepped in front of her and growled. She skidded to a stop and stared at him, alarm in her bright green eyes.
“Aspen?” she asked him, her ears flattened. “Why were they dragging you? Where have you been? Why won’t-”
“Silence!” Aura interrupted. “Lets us into camp. Now.”
Sage looked to Ivy for orders, but Ivy was speechless.
“Well?” Aura asked impatiently.
Ivy blinked, then nodded. “Follow me.” She turned around and padded back into camp. Aura and Comet pushed past Sage and followed Ivy in. Sage stood where they had pushed past, hurt and confusion in her eyes. Cedar walked past her without a second glance. Aspen tried to struggle free and reassure her that it would be okay, that nothing was wrong, but Cedar wouldn’t let go. Aspen threw himself forward with all his strength. Cedar pulled back and Aspen was choked. He gasped and Sage jerked her head towards Aspen. She rushed towards him, but Cedar growled.
“Too close,” he grunted. “Get closer and I’ll bite you.”
Sage flatted her ears and backed away uneasily.
“Aspen, what’s happening?” Sage whimpered. She looked like she was going to howl in distress.
Aspen shook his head. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “Go into camp. Everything’s going to be fine.” Aspen’s stomach squirmed as the lie escaped his mouth. He opened his mouth to say more, but Cedar pulled him away.
“Talking time’s up. Let’s go.”
End of Chapter Two -
Undead Carolers: Book One of Zombie Holidays
-
[b]Chapter Three[b]
I slowly opened my heavy eyelids, then closed them again as a fresh bolt of pain went through my body. I heard a voice. “Dylan. Dylan, wake up.” I opened my eyes and saw a blurry face staring at me. As everything came into focus again, I realized that it belonged to the blond boy who threw the rock. I squinted and realized I knew him as Shawn, a kid who I had in my English and History class.
I blinked at him, then rasped, “Why aren’t you infected?” He snickered. “I have my ways,” then muttered under his breath, “including raiding abandoned houses…” I blinked at him. “So that’s what you were doing near my house. You were gonna raid it!” He looked away. “Maybe.”
I laughed and sat up. I was laying on my couch. My head started to pound; I had sat up too quickly. I groaned and fell backwards.
“Whoa, whoa,” he said. “Relax. You fell pretty hard.” Then, pausing to consider something, he asked, “Are you alone?” I shook my head, then regretted it. “No. There’s seven others. Some of them are in the woods, the others are somewhere around town getting supplies.” “Ah.” he muttered. “Well, could I stay with y’all? The apocalypse gets pretty lonely.” I nodded. “Sure.” I looked outside. It was light, the sun halfway up. “Wait,” I said, alarmed. “How long was I out?” He looked away. “All night.”
I sat straight up. “WHAT?”
Shawn looked taken aback. “Sorry. You were pretty messed up. You needed the break.”
I sighed. “Whatever.”
“I saw some people outside earlier, but they left. I was gonna invite them in, but I didn’t because I didn’t know if I could trust them.”
I sighed again. “Those people were my friends. I told them to meet me here.” I frowned. “They must think I left them.” I put my hand over my mouth and screamed. I fell back onto the couch, staring at the ceiling. Then I looked over at Shawn, who looked awkward. “Well, I guess we should leave, then.” He looked up. “Okay!”
I stood up, wincing as I supported my weight on my foot, which felt sprained. Shawn saw me wincing and his face lit up. “I’ll be right back,” he told me, then ran outside. I huffed and sat back down on the couch. About five minutes later, he came back with a large branch. “Here,” he said, handing it to me.
“Thanks,” I nodded gratefully to him, took the branch in my hands and slowly stood up, using it to support my weight instead of on my foot.
“Better?” Shawn asked.
“Oh yeah,” I said, smiling. I used the branch to walk to the front door, then turned around. “Wait. What did you do with my pets?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “I forgot, I put them into a wagon I found in your garage.” I snickered. “You were really prepared. What, you want to get on my good side, so I’d let you stay with us?”
He nodded, grinning.
“Well, it worked.” I opened up the front door. Waiting there was my dog on a leash attached to the wagon handle, my lizard in her cage, and my cat in her carrier. I looked at him. “How’d you know I was getting my pets?”
He scoffed. “I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid. I saw you putting all your pets outside, and I heard your dog bark outside, so I figured you were trying to save them.” “Ah.” Then, remembering something, I said jokingly, “Nice zombie takeout yesterday.” Shawn blushed. “I’m really clumsy. Honestly, I don’t know how I managed to actually hit him. I’m not really good at throwing things. I play soccer, not baseball. I tripped on my own feet, but then the rock hit that pole! I totally didn’t expect that! And then that zombie knocked over the others! It was awesome,” he finished in one breath. I was staring at him. “Sorry.” he said, grinning. “I talk fast when I’m excited.”
I shrugged. “You’re good.” Then I added, “But seriously, that takeout was pretty epic.” He chuckled. “Okay, let’s go. He grabbed the wagon handle and started pulling. He walked forwards a bit, then looked back at me. “What, aren’t you coming?” he asked. I had been staring at my house. “Yeah,” I said sadly. “I just don’t know when I’ll ever see this place again.”
He nodded understandingly. “Yeah, but we need to go. The zombies already know that people come here often. It’s not safe.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I muttered. “Alright, let’s go.” I limped after Shawn towards the woods at the edge of town.
We had just stepped into the shade of the woods when I heard a screech.
“Dylan!” Heather came sprinting towards us. “You’re alive!” -
She went to hug me then noticed the stick. Her eyes went down to my feet. “Your foot! What happened?” She then saw Shawn. Her nose wrinkled. “Oh.. It’s you.” Shawn raised his head to stare at her. “It’s you. Heather Brooke. Haven’t seen you in a while.” Heather glared at him. “Shawn Bacon.” She turned to me. “Why’d you bring him here?”
By then a few others had come out to stand with us. Noah stared at Shawn and muttered, “Idiot.” Shawn looked towards Noah. “Excuse me?” He took a warning step towards him. I could feel the tension rising around us all. I looked around at everyone and sighed. “Guys, cut it out,” I said quietly. I raised my eyebrows. “Okay?”
“Fine.” Noah spat at Shawn.
Chloe, standing next to Heather, tossed her hair. “Why can’t we all be friends?” she asked impatiently, directing the question to Heather.
Heather shrugged. “I don’t know, why can't we?” she shot back. Chloe made a face, then looked at me. “Dylan! Are you okay? What happened?”
“I fell down stone stairs and hit my head several times.” I answered, slightly embarrassed that something that small took me out. Heather, hearing this, snorted with suppressed laughter. ‘Wait, actually?”
Shawn nodded. “Oh yeah. She was really messed up after. I had to save her.” Heather looked at him, newfound respect in her eyes. “Really? Well, then thanks. You saved Dylan, so I accept you.”
I stifled a yawn as I limped around our makeshift camp. I was on patrol for zombies. Everyone else was asleep. In an hour it would be Noah’s turn. I glanced towards my tent that Zach had set up for me. It was a deep green color with a mesh window. Somehow, they had gotten lucky getting the tents. There was enough for everyone, and some left over. I could stand up completely straight in mine, and stretch my arms all the way out and still not be able to touch the walls or roof. Ezzie’s cage was in my tent on a stand that Heather found, which was pretty smart. A battery-powered heat lamp was sitting on top. Rust was somewhere inside my tent, most likely sound asleep. And I put Cozmo in a separate, smaller tent so she could have it all to herself. Tomorrow, Hunter and Kai would be heading out on an expedition to find more supplies, and hopefully a valuable generator.
I heard a crack of a twig behind me and I whipped around. “Come out!” I yelled fiercely. I heard a whisper the opposite direction and I growled. “I know you’re out there. Come out!” I heard a rustle and threw my stick that I was leaning on towards the sound.
“Ow!” I heard a voice say. Zach came out of the darkness of his tent. “What was that for?” He looked me up and down. “Are you okay? You look pretty tired. And-” he came a little closer. “you’re shaking.” I lifted up my hand. It was, indeed, shaking. I let out a trembling sigh and sank to the ground onto my knees. Zach looked alarmed and ran towards me. “Hey,” he whispered, staring at me. “Are you okay?” I shook my head. “No,” My voice shook. “I’m not okay. I can’t take any more of this zombie stuff.” I looked up at him. “And guess what?” I said, my voice dropping to a whisper. Zach’s eyebrows rose. “What?" he asked, his voice dropping to match mine.
“It’s my fault that everyone was infected.” Zach shook his head rapidly. “No,” he gasped. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yes it it,” I hissed. “Poor Melissa, I could’ve grabbed her, done anything to stop her. And Jake, when I sat there on the track like a coward while they infected him. And I was the one that told Lee to not attack the last zombie. And I’m the only one who has come face to face with a zombie that hasn’t been infected, and why? Because I had to be saved by everyone else!” I finished with a yell. Zach took a step back. “You wouldn’t understand.” My words were laced with resentment. I stood up, grabbed my stick, and stumbled away into the woods. I grabbed a lamp sitting on a box as I walked by. I looked back to see Zach staring back back at me sadly. I growled softly and looked away. ‘He doesn’t understand,’ I thought angrily. ‘Nobody does.’ I snarled and pushed away a loose branch, which came back and smacked me in the face, like all my other problems. As I walked I wondered why I was the only one that the zombies targeted. Yes, some people around me were infected, but weren’t they just in the zombies way coming towards me? I tried to clear my head. I came across a large clearing where there were no trees. I lifted up the lamp to get a better look and saw something. I gasped and ran towards a shed built in the middle of the clearing. It was in perfect shape. I arrived at the porch and peeked through a window. It was slightly dusty, so I couldn’t see inside. I put my hand on the knob and slowly turned. It creaked open. I tiptoed inside and was met with a hand around my throat and a knife pointed at my face.
End of Chapter Four
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