CYOB: Young Zombie Love

This is the final chapter in one branch of NPW’s Choose Your Own Blogventure series, and it picks up where Noelle’s chapter ends. To start the blogventure from the beginning, go here. Depending on which choices you make at the end of each section, you could end up back here or at one of the eleven other endings. Possibly, your brains will be eaten by cranky corpses. Happy Halloween!

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“We fight!” Annelise exclaimed, “Zombies versus vampires! Who’s with me?”

The zombies were silent. No one moved, save for Mr. Feldman, whose left eye spontaneously popped out of its socket and rolled away. “Damn … ” he muttered, silencing himself before Annelise could look his way.

“Who’s with me?” Annelise repeated, desperation edging her voice.

Mrs. Streeter fiddled with her hair net, while Mr. Sumps pretended to be engrossed by a bird. Tommy’s eyes met Annelise’s, and he winked. “Girl, you so fine,” he said, attempting a pimp-lean and falling into the aisle.

“What is wrong with you people? Why aren’t you …” Annelise was interrupted by Jenny, who had boarded the bus with a tray of 20 raw strip steaks.

“Here you guys are!” Jenny was exasperated. “I’ve been looking everywhere! Are you coming back inside or what?”

Annelise caught hold of the tray. “HEY!” Jenny yelled.

“Everyone! Grab a steak! Aim for their hearts!” In a panic, Annelise began flinging steaks at the vampires surrounding the bus, her wild throws missing their targets.

Mr. Sumps rolled his eyes and leaned down to Tommy, still flailing on the floor. “She’s a pretty girl, Son, but she’s not too bright.” With a heroic lunge, Tommy got himself upright, hoping Annelise wouldn’t notice he’d broken off his foot in the process.

“Young lady! You stop throwing food this instant!” Mrs. Streeter barreled down the aisle, grabbing Annelise by the ear and steering her into the nearest seat. “I didn’t put up with this nonsense at Harry Cooper Elementary School and I will not put up with it now!”

Annelise burst into tears. “I don’t understand,” she wailed. Tommy tried to go to her, but his missing foot caused him to fall to the floor again where he found himself staring into Mr. Feldman’s dislocated eye. “The vampires … My father … Why aren’t you helping me? They killed my …” Annelise’s sobs overtook her.

Mrs. Streeter started to rub Annelise’s back, stopping only when her hand fell off. “Oh, honey. Your father will be fine. After all, you have the talisman.”

The vampire who’d bitten Dr. Ansel retrieved the talisman from under the bus. Passing his pale arm through the window, he handed it to Mrs. Streeter. “Thank you, Stanley. That was very considerate.”

“Stanley?” Annelise looked up. “You know him?”

“Of course! All the undead know each other,” Mr. Sumps explained. “What’s more, we all like each other. That’s why we don’t fight. Fighting is for the living.”

“But he … Stanley said he would kill us. And he killed my father!”

“Yeah,” Stanley exhaled slowly, “Jenny was running around with your steaks and wouldn’t take our orders. I get cranky when I’m hungry and Dr. Ansel … well, did you read that shit he wrote?” Stanley was turning pink, and the others watched as he brought himself under control. “But I still shouldn’t have killed him. My bad.”

“Stanley hasn’t been undead for very long,” Mrs. Streeter whispered to Annelise. “He’ll learn.” She handed Annelise the talisman. “Now,” she addressed the group, “who’s hungry?” Everyone was indeed very hungry, and zombies and vampires alike headed back towards the diner, led by Jenny.

“Come on, Annelise,” said Tommy. “Reanimate your dad and come have some dinner.” Annelise looked at Tommy, noticing how cute he was despite all the shedding.

“You know,” she smiled, “Dad’s had a big day. It wouldn’t hurt him to stay dead a little bit longer.” As they walked across the parking lot, Annelise shyly took Tommy’s hand. “You can reattach it later,” she whispered.

While the zombies and vampires talked and laughed over their pie and coffee, the strange wolves loped out of the darkness in their odd, half-upright gait, sniffing at the forgotten pieces of raw steak. Under the full moon, they settled in around the bus, gnawing at the bloody meat and waiting for the peaceful ones to return.
 
 

                                                                                         THE END