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“Eye of newt,” Kam asked, holding out his hand.
Azura obliged, handing him a single, small eyeball. He took the tiny organ and dropped it in the cauldron in front of him.
“Pixie dust.”
She handed him a vial of glowing dust, which he sprinkled into the cauldron.
“And finally, slitherbeast snot.”
Azura handed Kam a jar full of a dark purple goo. He unscrewed the top and poured the contents into the cauldron slowly. It stopped for a moment due to its high viscosity, but that was nothing a few quick taps couldn’t fix. The mixture started to bubble shaking the entire cauldron vigorously.
Azura and Kam braced themselves for a goopy explosion, but to their surprise and relief, the mixture stabilized and the shaking ceased. The teens looked into the cauldron to inspect its contents: It was a shimmering mix of purples. Kam placed the lid onto the cauldron before removing his gloves and goggles.
“Thanks for helping me with my abomination project,” Kam thanked his cousin. “Those notes from your grandpa really helped.”
“Yeah, no one knows more about abominations than grandpa Al,” Azura boasted, “good thing the abomination homeroom was free.”
“Pfft, a human controlling an abomination,” a snarky feminine voice mocked from the door. Azura and Kam turned around to see Fiona, the biggest pain in their necks, with her usual gaggle of groupies. “Utterly ridiculous.”
“Ugh, what do you want, Fiona,” Azura groaned as the vampire and her fan club let themselves in.
“I just so happened to be in the neighborhood when I overheard you two talking about the human making an abomination,” Fiona said before turning her attention to Kam. “How exactly are you gonna control it without magic?”
The cousins had had enough of the bloodsucker’s taunting, so Kam pulled out a piece of paper and scribbling a glyph on it. He then pressed down on the glyph with his thumb like it were a TV remote.
“Abomination, rise.”
The lid of the cauldron popped open, and out of it emerged a tall abomination. The creature made its way over to Kam and Azura and knelt before them. The cousins looked at Fiona, smirking smugly.
Fiona scoffed. “So it can follow basic commands. Big whoop.”
Kam pressed down on the glyph again. “Abomination, do a flip.” The goopy homunculus then did a perfect backflip.
Fiona was starting to get a little frustrated, which Azura took as a sign to really lay it on thick. She swiped the glyph from Kam’s hand. She knew it would be showing off, but she wasn’t gonna pass up a chance to knock the vampire princess down a few pegs.
“Abomination, juggle.”
The abomination took three handfuls of itself and shaped them into balls, juggling them with great ease.
“And finally, abomination,” why don’t you sing us a little something?”
The abomination took the globs it was juggling, molding and reshaping them into a cane and a top hat. It then rested the cane under it’s arms and took off into a kick line.
“Hello my baby! Hello my honey! Hello my ragtime gal! Send me a kiss by wire, baby my heart’s on fire,” the goopy servant sang in perfect pitch, “if you refuse me, honey you’ll lose me, then you’ll be left alone! Oh baby telephone, and tell me I’m your own!”
The abomination retreated back into its cauldron, placing the lid back on as well. Azura glanced back at Fiona, the young vampiress was grinding her fangs, her groupies clapped at the abomination’s talent. A quick and furious glare shut the girls up.
“That good enough for you,” Azura gloated.
Fiona growled furiously, her fangs turning black and her irises blood red, a telltale sign she was furious. She turned back to her groupies, “WE’RE LEAVING!”
Fiona stormed out of the abomination homeroom, her fan girls following behind closely. As soon as the girls left, Azura abandoned all semblance of composure and started laughing hysterically. “Oh man, that felt so good!”
“Don’t you think that was a little much,” Kam asked, “I’m not fond of her either, but showing off like that kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
“It’s fine, dude, you saw how she turned tail and ran. Id say we’re good for now.”
The two then walked out of the Abomination homeroom, but Kam still felt troubled. “I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s gonna come back to bite us.”
Before the door could shut and lock, a foot wedged itself in. Fiona and her cronies let themselves back in. The vampiress was still fuming from earlier, the others were concerned and slightly frightened.
“Cocky peasants,” she grumbled as she walked over to Kam’s cauldron, “I’ll show them.”
“Umm, Ms. Fiona,” a lamia girl asked, “are you sure this is a good idea?”
“BE QUIET,” the young vampire snapped back, “an example needs to be made of those two. They’ll see what happens when they look down on Fiona Von Orlok!”
She removed the lid from the cauldron, eyeing the contents of the container with such discontent. How was she gonna sabotage that human filth’s project, she hadn’t the foggiest idea. She may have been in the potions track, but that didn’t exactly translate to abomination creation.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a slurping sound. She turned her head a full 180° and and observed the source of the sound. One of her groupies, a goblin girl with short dark hair to be exact, was sipping on a box of apple blood. That’s when the idea struck her.
She snatched the apple blood out of the girl’s hands and poured it into the cauldron. Once the carton was drained, she dropped that inside too for good measure. Fiona dusted off her hands, proud of her work.
“There, that oughta show those plebeians who’s in charge. Now let’s get out of here.”
The vampire and her groupies retreated. As the door slammed shut behind them, the cauldron started to shake. They had no idea what was brewing.
***
Abomination class had finally begun. Azura and Kam sat at their desks with their classmates as the abomination professor addressed the class. He was a small bird like demon with greenish gray hair carried around by his own abomination.
“Now now, students, it’s time to present your abomination assignments,” he announced, earning a few disappointed sighs. “Who would like to go first?”
No one raised their hands. The Professor had a reputation of being a stickler when it came to abominations, he expected nothing less than perfection. Yet in spite of his high expectations and discerning eye, he was fooled by a human smearing herself with abomination goo. Nevertheless, the students weren’t all too enthusiastic about having their hard work and self esteem be ripped asunder by the diminutive demon.
The abomination professor eyed the students, crossing his arms in disappointment. “Really? No one wants to volunteer?”
A hand then timidly shot up, much to the instructor’s delight. “Ahh, Mr. Noceda, please come up and present your abomination.”
Kam got up from his seat and dragged his cauldron over. He then pulled out a glyph and pressed down on it.
“Abomination, rise.”
The lid flew off of the cauldron, and Kam’s abomination rose out of it, but there was something off about it. Its color somehow changed from varying shades of purple to blood red. Kam and Azura were caught off guard, but the abominations professor was impressed.
“Ooh, such a unique color palette,” he applauded. “Let’s get a better look at it.”
The professor adjusted his glasses, moving closer to the goopy servant. The abomination looked down at him slowly, eyeing the diminutive demon intensely. In an instant the abomination bent down and big the Professor on the neck.
The students gasped, the professor screamed in pain, causing his own abomination to drop him. Kam’s abomination somehow moved of it’s own free will, and even worse, it committed an act of violence against a witch. Panicking, Kam pressed down on the glyph again, trying to rein it in.
“Abomination, cower!”
The feral homunculus faced its creator, ignoring his orders. The creature then lumbered over to him. Kam stepped back, trying to keep his distance. He continuously pressed on the glyph, but it wasn’t working.
“Abomination, stop! Cease! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!”
The abomination backed Kam against the wall. It was about to take a bite out of him, but Azura rushed in and hit the creature in the face with her chair, splattering its head against the wall. The body then fell to the ground lifeless, and melted into a pile of goo.
“What happened,” Azura asked her cousin.
“I don’t know,”the boy replied, just as shocked and confused as she was. “Something must’ve gone wrong.”
While the cousins were talking, one of their classmates, a centaur, went to check on the abomination professor.
“Sir, are you alright,” he asked timidly, kneeling down to the professor.
The abomination professor didn’t reply, only groaning like he was just getting up from a hangover. The young centaur reached his hand out to the professor, but that proved to be a fatal mistake.
The abomination face the student, the flesh around where he had been bitten melted into blood red abomination goo, and his eyes were black voids, save for a pair of yellow glowing orbs that acted like pupils. It was like he was turning into an abomination.
The infected professor but the centaur’s outstretched hand. The young man screamed in pain, attracting everyone’s attention. He looked down at his bite, only to watch in horror as the flesh of his hand melted into abomination goo. He was then stricken with an excruciating headache, the flesh on the side of his head melted into ooze as well. He reopened his eyes, now matching that of the professor’s.
The infected pair looked at the rest of the students with hungry eyes. They started to shamble over to them. Azura, having seen an abundance of horror movies, knew exactly where this was going.
“EVERYBODY, GET OUT, NOW,” She commanded.
Her classmates all rushed to the door, doing their best to avoid contact with the infected. Azura was the last one out, she turned around and cast a construction spell to make an impenetrable wall over the doorway. With the contagion dealt with for now, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Azura faced the others. “Did anyone else get bitten?”
The students shook their heads. “I got scratched,” a fawn student admitted.
“Okay, everyone else keep an eye on the door and her, I’m hoping it’s only transmitted through bites. I’m gonna go get Principal Bump and see if he can help.”
“I’ll go with you,” Kam said.
The cousins raced off to get their principal. Their classmates stood by the barricade, trying to make sure no one tried to get into the abomination homeroom. However, the scratch on the fawn’s arm started to secrete a blood red ooze.
***
Principal Bump sat in his office, contently filling out some paperwork. While he did somewhat enjoy the antics and chaos a certain group of students caused, he also relished the moments of quiet in between, he was at his most productive during those. He was about to fill out the last piece of paperwork when Azura and Kam burst into the room, causing him to strike his quill across the entire sheet.
The cousins were both trying to tell him something, but they were talking at the exact same time, and in such a panicked state too. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so with a spell circle, he made his students sit down and stop talking.
“Alright, I’m going to remove the spell, and when I do, I want one of you to calmly explain to me what happened. Got it?”
The cousins nodded affirmatively. Bump removed the spell, and Kam stood up to explain the situation.
“Something went wrong with my abomination project,” he said direly, “it wouldn’t listen to my orders, it bit the abomination professor, and it turned him into a—“
“AZOMBINATION,” Azura exclaimed, earning confused looks from Bump and Kam.
“Azombi-what-now,” Kam asked.
“They’re basically abomination zombies, so ‘Azombinations.’”
Principal Bump stood up, now grasping the severity of the situation. “Where is the Abomination Professor now, and did he spread it to anyone else?”
“He infected one of our classmates, but they’re both locked in the abomination homeroom, and I’m pretty sure they can’t get—“
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH,” a loud scream was heard from the halls, interrupting Kam.
Bump and the students looked out into the hallway and gasped. Some students were running around in a panic, they were the lucky ones though, as the other students were attacked by their peers, who had been turned into azombinations. Azura and Kam couldn’t believe it, they thought they had the only two contained. That’s when they remembered their classmate, the fawn who had been scratched, the infection could also be transmitted through scratching.
Acting quickly, Bump made a spell circle on the wall and pressed both hands on it. Magic coursed through the school, within seconds, an impenetrable dome was placed over the entire school. He then rushed over to the intercom.
“Attention, students and faculty! The school is currently under a zombie outbreak! Do your best to recall our ‘zombie virus outbreak’ drills, and make your way to the cafeteria without being bitten or scratched by anyone with red goo on their bodies!”
Just then, a pair of azombinations burst into the office. Bump tried to use abomination magic to make them stop, but it had no effect. Azura and Kam used construction magic to make pillars that pushed the infected away, they didn’t wanna kill them after all.
Bump and the students rushed out of the office and started to make their way to the cafeteria. They hadn’t encountered any azombinations on the way over, it looked like luck was on their side. They were gonna be okay, they were gonna make it. That’s when an azombination jumped at Kam. Bump pushed the boy out of the way and took the full force of the attack, being bitten in the process.
“Principal Bump,” Kam called out.
He tried to go over and help him, but the elderly administrator stopped him. “Don’t come any closer! I’ve already been bitten, I’m as good as gone!”
“But we have to help you,” the young man replied, feeling completely responsible for this predicament.
“If you want to help me, find a cure,” Bump shouted, sounding like he was in agony. “Now… go… before… it’s… too… late!”
The side of his face then melted into red abomination goo, and he stood up and started to lumber over to the kids. Azura grabbed her cousin’s arm.
“Come on, we can’t help him if we’re infected too!”
The two continued their sprint to the cafeteria, following them was a horde of azombinations. They looked ahead, the cafeteria was a few feet away, the cousins picked up the pace. They had finally reached the sanctuary, they tried to open the doors, but they were locked.
“Let us in,” Kam pounded on on the door, “we’re not infected!”
The door opened, and Azura and Kam fell in. The other survivors quickly slammed the door shut and placed various objects against it, creating a barricade. The horde of azombinations banged on the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Azura and Kam breathed a sigh of relief, they were safe… for now.
The cousins looked around, seeing who all was left. Among the uninflected were Lycidia, Tansy, Barbeau, Mieko, Lilith, Fiona, half of her groupies, and a few other students and staff. Upon noticing their friends, the rest of the cousins’ group and Lilith rushed over.
“Azura! Kam!” they called out.
“Aunt Lily, guys,” Azura exclaimed in relief.
Tansy pulled Azura into a hug, peppering her face with kisses. Lycidia hugged Kam as well, causing the boy to blush. Realizing what she was doing, she frantically jumped back, just as red as Kam.
“We were so worried about you two,” Lilith expressed, “what happened out there?”
Kam sighed defeatedly. “It’s all my fault.”
The others gasped, with some of the survivors even looking angry at him. Fiona looked over at them, even her attention was grabbed by the boys confession. Some of the survivors started to slowly close in on them, a few looking like they wanted to hurt him.
“What do you mean,” Lycidia asked.
“My abomination project went haywire and it caused this outbreak,” he exposited. “I don’t know what happened, but something changed in it, it turned into a—“
“Azombination,” Azura interrupted.
“Oh, like an abomination zombie,” Tansy asked.
Back in her little corner, Fiona’s blood ran cold. That apple blood she poured into his abomination couldn’t have caused this, could it? Do her innocent little act of sabotage really create a zombie outbreak?
The other survivors erupted in furious murmurs, some of them blaming him, others calling for him to be thrown out to the azombinations. Kam couldn’t help but feel that they were right, but that was when Lilith, Azura, and their friends stepped in.
“Hey, it was an accident,” Azura shouted, causing the mob to step back, “and fighting isn’t gonna get us anywhere.”
“She’s right,” Lilith agreed, “we need to figure out a way to cure this ‘azombination’ virus.”
“If we can get a sample of the original azombination, I can analyze it and probably develop a cure,” Kam postulated, “but I’ll also need some materials from the potions and alchemy homerooms.”
“So it’s settled,” Azura said, taking command, “we’ll split up into teams; Aunt Lily, Kam and I’ll get that sample, Lycidia, Barbeau, Mieko, you guys go get the equipment to make the cure.”
“Babe, I’m gonna need you to stay here,” she addressed Tansy, “you’re arguably the strongest person in the school, and your alchemy magic is even stronger. So if the azombinations break through, you can fix and improve our defenses.”
“I won’t let you down, sweetie,” Tansy agreed with a kiss on her cheek.
“I’ll go too,” Fiona volunteered, confusing them.
“Why, I thought you hated our guts,” Azura asked, suspicious of the brat’s intentions.
“I do, but if I want to get my school back, you two are gonna need all the help you can get.” Of course she was lying through her fangs. The real reason she wanted to tag along was to remove any evidence of her guilt… however she could do that.
Azura groaned. “Fine, but don’t get in our way.”
Kam walked over to Barbeau and handed him a list. “Here, this is everything I’m gonna need.”
“Thank you, but how are we going to get there,” the aquatic teen asked, “all of our exits are blocked, and we risk being bitten if we try to fight our way through the hordes.”
“Oh, I know a way,” Azura said cheekily.
The half witch pulled out a stick of chalk and drew a large square on the wall before drawing a keyhole in the middle. She then placed the chalk in the center of the keyhole and turned it like a key. The outline of the square glowed before opening like a door. The others gathered around the mysterious passageway, amazed.
“Edalyn’s secret passages,” Lilith said, “these connect all around the school.” She then patted Azura on the head. “Good thinking.”
“Come on, guys,” Azura ordered. The others followed, soon finding themselves in a massive chamber lined with doors.
“How are we gonna find our way around in this place,” Lycidia asked, overwhelmed by the sheer number of doors.
“Mamá and Aunt Eda told me all about this place, and I’ve used it so often that I know it like the back of my hand,” Azura boasted before pointing to a random door. “For example, that door over there leads to girls locker room.”
Wanting to call her bluff, Fiona opened the door just a crack and peaked inside. Much to her surprise, the halfling was correct. “Huh, so that’s how she can take such long showers and not be late for class.”
“Alright, you guys are gonna find the doors to the alchemy and potions home room over there,” Azura pointed Lycidia’s group to their door. “The door to the abomination home room is over here.”
The two groups separated, both heading to their respective destinations. Azura slowly and gently opened the door and peaked inside. The abomination homeroom was still a mess, with splotches from the original azombination smeared on the wall. She scanned the surroundings, the abomination professor was nowhere to be seen, but the centaur was clawing at the barricaded door.
“I think the coast is clear,” she whispered back.
Kam stepped forward with a styrofoam cup he had procured from the cafeteria. He was ready to get that sample. Just then, Lilith swiped the cup from his hand.
“I’ll get the sample, you two stay here.”
Lilith tiptoed into the room, slowly reaching the goo on the walls. Azura, Kam, and Fiona stayed back in the passage, watching for trouble. She gently scraped the cup against the smear, filling it. They did it, they got the sample, and with no hindrances whatsoever.
Lilith started to sneak back to the passage, but something dripped onto her shoulder. She paused to get a look, it was azombination goo. She then looked up and her her heart sank when she saw what was up there. It was the abomination professor, clinging to the ceiling.
The azombified professor dropped down on her. It then hissed at her before biting her shoulder. Lilith let out a pained scream.
“AUNT LILY,” Azura shrieked, getting the attention of the centaur.
The azombination started to lumber over to the passageway. Acting quickly, Lilith tossed the professor at the wall and pushed the other azombination back. She then tossed the sample to Kam.
“Close the door! Quick!!!”
“But what about you,” Azura pleaded.
Lilith groaned as she felt the flesh around her bite melt into azombination goo. “It’s already too late for me! Just get out of here!!!”
Fiona grabbed the door and slammed it shut. Azura tried to stop her, but Kam held her back.
“We can’t risk getting infected too!”
Azura broke free of his grasp and ran over to the door. She was about to open it, but she stopped herself when she heard inhuman moaning in Lilith’s voice. She was too late, her aunt was gone.
She solemnly placed her hand on the door. “We’ll save you, I promise.”
Kam put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Fiona watched, she felt odd though, there was a heavy feeling in her gut. Was this guilt, did she actually feel bad for Azura of all people?
Azura turned around and took a deep breath, composing herself. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”
The trio of students returned to the central chamber, the others soon rejoined them, carrying a load of supplies.
“Alright, I think we got everything,” Lycidia said. “Wait, where’s Ms. Clawthorne?”
Azura and Kam didn’t respond, they gave a solemn look. Lycidia and the others immediately figured out what happened. The young werewolf put down her supplies and went over to Azura, giving her a sympathetic hug.
“I’m so sorry.”
Tears welled up in Azura’s eyes as she reciprocated the hug. Lycidia knew that time was of the essence, but she needed this. She had just lost a close member of her family, possibly forever if they couldn’t find a cure. This was a major loss, but they had to keep going, otherwise Lilith’s sacrifice would’ve been for nothing.
***
Moments later, the teenagers returned to the cafeteria, Tansy raced over to them, relieved they were alright.
“Guys, thank Titan you’re okay! I—“ she then noticed someone was missing. “Wait, where’s Ms. Lily?”
Azura said nothing, she just walked over to a window and sat down. Barbeau stepped forward. “Ms. Clawthorne secured the sample, but I’m afraid she too was infected in the process.”
Tansy gasped, looking over to her melancholic love. The poor witch just gazed out of the window with a guilty expression. As the others set up the equipment, Tansy made her way over to Azura. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend what she was feeling, but she was gonna be there for her girlfriend.
Using an eye dropper, Kam took a small sample of the azombination goo and placed it into the microscope. “Now I’m gonna see if I can find whatever caused the abomination to mutate. It may take a while.”
Fiona watched as the boy analyzed the goo, nervous that they may discover her sabotage. She needed something to calm her nerves, so she went into the kitchen and looked for a bite. To her dismay though, she couldn’t find a single droplet of blood. She thought the cafeteria catered to the dietary needs of all species in the Isles, but it was completely devoid of blood.
She rummaged through the pantries, the refrigerators, and the freezers. The only thing she found that would be even slightly acceptable for her diet was apple blood, but she didn’t car for the beverage, she thought it was too sweet. She was about to leave when she felt her stomach growl, her habit of nervous eating was getting the better of her. Seeing no other alternative, she grabbed a carton and bit into it, sucking the contents out. It was disgustingly sweet, but at the moment, she didn’t care.
While Kam was analyzing the sample, Azura sat by the window, thinking about what she could have done differently, how she could have saved her aunt. She was pulled out of her contemplation by someone clearing their throat.
She looked up to see Tansy. “Mind if I join you?”
Azura nodded, and Tansy took a seat next to her. The two sat in silence for a while, with Azura lost in her thoughts, and Tansy not knowing what to say. Minutes passed before either said a word.
“I should’ve gone in,” Azura finally said, “I could’ve helped her, we could’ve both gotten the sample. I should’ve done something.”
“I know, but Ms. Lilith didn’t wanna risk you getting infected too,” Tansy said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “She knew the risks, and didn’t even want to entertain the idea of you getting infected.”
“But if I had gone in with her—“
“Then you would have both been infected, and we wouldn’t have the sample.” Tansy then moved her hand to Azura’s cheek. “She had confidence that you’d be able to help find a cure, and I know she’s right.”
Azura smiled at her soulmate. “You always know what to say.”
“GUYS! I FOUND IT,” Kam called out, “I found the impurity.”
Azura and the others rushed over, eager to see Kam’s findings. “So what has caused this tragedy,” Mieko asked.
“According to my analysis, the impurity is… apple blood,” Kam exclaimed in shock.
“But neither of us put any apple blood in the vat, how did it—“ Azura was cut off by a loud slurping.
The group looked over to see Fiona polishing off her third carton of apple blood. Fiona glanced back at them all defensively.
“What are you fools looking at?”
All the pieces immediately fell into place, Azura knew who was responsible. “It was you…” she said softly.
“What,” Fiona replied, annoyed, “speak up, mutt.”
Azura stomped over to the vampiress, fuming like a volcano seconds from eruption. She then grabbed her by the collar. “It. Was. YOU!!! WASN’T IT?!!”
“Get your filthy hands off of me,” Fiona hissed, removing Azura’s mitts, “and what are you talking about?!”
“You messed with Kam’s abomination! You caused the outbreak! All of this is on you!”
Fiona crossed her arms. “Alright, fine, I messed with the human’s abomination, but I didn’t think this would happen.”
“You selfish, pompous brat,” Azura screamed. “This is all your fault!!!”
“Hey, you were the ones showing off your ‘perfect’ abomination!”
The others watched, unable to look away. Mieko, however, her attention was drawn to something else. She glanced over at the barricades and noticed they were starting to shake. Her heart sank with fear, she tapped Barbeau’s shoulder.
When he faced her, she pointed over to the barricades. The sahuagin turned pale at the site. “Umm, guys…” He tried to get their attention, but Azura and Fiona were too busy arguing, and the others were too engrossed in the fight.
Annoyed, Barbeau let out a loud whistle, getting everyone’s attention. “WHAT,” Azura and Fiona shouted, both still furious.
Barbeau motioned over to the barricades, but just as they set their sights on it, the azombinations burst through the door. The cafeteria erupted into chaos, with survivors trying desperately to avoid being bitten or scratched. Some would find luck, while others would fall prey to the horde, adding to their numbers.
Azura used construction magic to create pillars jutting out of the ground, pushing her pursuers back. Ordinarily, she would use her sword, but she didn’t want to hurt any of them if they found a cure. They had to get out of there, and she knew just where to go.
The half-witch ran over to the wall and reopened the secret passageway. “EVRYONE, THIS WAY!!!”
The remaining survivors sprinted over and crawled into the passageway. Kam was about to crawl in, but he realized that he didn’t have the sample, or any of the supplies to make the cure. He then ran over to the table and grabbed as much as he could.
He just as he was about to head to the passage, an azombination jumped at him. It looked like this was the end, but before the infected could attack, a wave concentrated sound hit it, knocking it into the wall. He looked over to see that the attack originated from Lycidia.
“Come on, dude,” she exclaimed as she grabbed some of the supplies for Kam, “we gotta get out of here!”
The two sprinted to the passage, Kam crawled in and Lycidia after him, she was the last one in. As she was about to close the door, azombination hands grabbed on and were prying it open. Lycidia tried to stop them, but she just wasn’t enough to match their combined strength.
Kam looked back and saw Lycidia struggling. He set his supplies down and went back to help. The boy latched onto the door and began to pull as well, but they still weren’t enough. If something didn’t help them soon, everyone would become infected, and there’d be no one to make a cure.
That was when Lycidia got an idea. “Kam, I’m gonna hold them off, you close the door and don’t open it no matter what. Okay?”
“WHAT?! NO,” Kam exclaimed. “I can’t do that, you’ll be infected too!”
Lycidia chuckled bittersweetly. “Yeah, but I know that big brain of yours’ll find a cure in no time.”
The werewolf planted a kiss on his cheek, causing the boy to freeze and lose his grip. Lycidia let go as well, azombinations pried the door open and started to flood the passageway. Acting quickly, Lycidia turned into her lycan form and rammed into the incoming horde, forcing them all back. The mindless azombinations’ target changed, now they were all focusing on Lycidia.
Seeing his crush under attack snapped Kam out of his trance, he crawled over to the door and grabbed it. He watched helplessly as Lycidia fought off the azombinations. The lycanthrope tossed the infected around like rag dolls, doing all she could to keep them away from the passage. She then ran back to the door
“Good luck,” she snarled.
She grabbed the door and slammed it shut. Kam slammed his fists on the door desperately. “NO! NO! NO,” he cried, “Lycidia… no…”
He felt the urge to open it back up, to get her and bring her with him, but he knew better. He knew she was a goner, and it broke his heart. She was infected, and if he didn’t find a cure, it would be permanent. He never even got the chance to tell her he loved her.
Kam looked back at his supplies, there was only one course of action: he had to find that cure. He then picked up the supplies and joined the other survivors in the central chamber of the passageways. He looked around and became discouraged when he saw who all was left. It was just Azura, Tansy, Barbeau, Fiona, and himself, they were all that was left.
Azura and Tansy rushed over to Kam, relieved to see he was alright. “Kam, you’re okay,” Azura exclaimed before noticing a particular absence. “Wait, where’s Lycidia?”
Kam looked at them, his expression heartbroken. He said no words, but he didn’t need to, his expression told them everything. Lycidia was gone.
The girls gasped, with Azura taking it especially hard. Tears filled her eyes as she fell to her knees. This plague took her aunt, and it took her best friend, it was just too much to bare. Azura sobbed as Tansy tried to comfort her.
Kam set up his equipment and started to testing the sample. The loss of Lycidia strengthened his resolve, it was all on him now. He had to succeed, he had to find a cure. The fate of the school, nay, the Isles and the human world rested in his hands.
***
Hours had passed, and Kam was still no closer to finding a cure. He had analyzed the sample numerous times, he tested multiple solutions, but none of them yielded the desired outcome. Every test he ran either had no effect, or failed to neutralize the infection. He even played Michael Jackson music to it, but it had no effect, which was especially shocking because it was a known scientific fact that zombies were completely powerless to the King of Pop’s music.
He was just about at his wit’s end, and what’s more, he was running out of the goo sample. Without that, he’d have no way of synthesizing a cure, and he or one of the others would have to go out and get more azombination goo, and that was practically a one-way trip.
There was still a small glimmer of hope though, he had enough goo left for two more tests, and he was about to test his most promising solution yet? This was gonna work, it had to, otherwise they’d all be doomed. His mind raced with visions of what would happen if he failed.
If he couldn’t come up with a cure, then they’d never be able to lower the barrier and leave the school. Parents and guardians would show up, worried about why their kids never came home. When they found the barrier, they’d probably find a way to break through it, only to be greeted by the azombinations. The virus would then spread rapidly across the isles, then to the human world. If that came to pass, it would mean the end of both worlds.
He was just glad the infection seemed to neutralize a witch’s magic, otherwise the azombified bump would’ve lowered the barrier and escaped already. Kam wasn’t gonna let that happen, he took a swig of the orange juice he brought from the cafeteria and filled an eye dropper with his new solution. He then emptied the eye dropper into a Petri dish of azombination goo.
The goo bubbled in response to the solution. Kam watched in anticipation as the goo started to fizz, it looked like the blood red shade was starting to change to purple. Was this it, did he finally find a cure? Apparently not, because the fizzing ceased altogether and the sample reverted back to it’s original shade.
Kam couldn’t believe it, after so much time and effort, nothing. He couldn’t take it anymore, he was furious. How was he gonna cute the outbreak, how was he gonna save everyone, how was he gonna see Lycidia again?
In his frustration, he slammed his fist on the ground, knocking over his carton of orange juice and the cup containing the last azombination sample. The boy gasped, now he had just ruined the last sample, it was over… or was it?
Upon closer inspection, the goo’s color was changing from blood red back to abomination purple. This was it, this was the cure, simple orange juice. He finally found it, albeit accidentally, but still, he found the cure!
“I found it… I found it! I FOUND THE CURE!!!”
Hearing his proclamation, the others went over to him. “You found it,” Barbeau asked.
Kam nodded excitedly. “Yeah, it’s orange juice.”
Fiona raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“Hey, don’t look a gift nuckelavee in the mouth,” Azura said. “Now we’ve just gotta get enough of it and find a way to give it to everyone in the school.”
The group pondered how they could achieve this for a moment, before Mieko had an idea. “The sprinkler system!”
The others, excluding Fiona, exclaimed in agreement. “That’s perfect,” Kam said, “we can raid the kitchen for orange juice, put it in the sprinkler system, and then all we just need to do is pull a fire alarm to set them off across the school!”
The group had a cure, and they had a plan, it looked like this outbreak was finally coming to an end.
***
Barbeau, Mieko, and Tansy snuck through the kitchen, their hands full of crates of orange juice cartons. They had to be careful not to make any noise though, just outside the door was an entire horde of azombinations, and if they attracted their attention, it was all over. They made their way back to the passages, Tansy going in first, Mieko second, and Barbeau bringing up the rear.
Just as he was about to cross the threshold, Barbeau felt an intense pain on his tail. He held back a pained yelp and looked back, his heart sank when he saw what the source was. The others, curious as to why Barbeau stopped, looked back, becoming mortified as well.
Lycidia, now an azombination, had managed to sneak into the kitchen and bit Barbeau on his tail. While she didn’t have herThe azombified werewolf set her sights on Tansy and Mieko. Acting quickly, Barbeau handed the crate of orange juice to Tansy before tackling Lycidia.
“Go! I’ll hold her back!”
Mieko wanted to stay and help her love, but she knew it would be all for nothing, he was already infected. With tears in her eyes, she slammed the door shut. The young tengu started to cry into her hands, Tansy put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, we’ll have him back to normal soon.”
***
Moments later, the small group of survivors had made their way to boiler room in the basement, where the main pipe for the sprinkler system was located. They had just poured the last of the orange juice into the pipe, now all they needed to do was pull a fire alarm to set the sprinklers off. They looked around, but soon made a concerning discovery about the basement.
“Where’s the fire alarm down here,” Kam asked.
“I don’t think there is one down here,” Azura surmised.
“Oh that is stupid,” Fiona fumed.
“So what’re we gonna do now,” Tansy asked.
“It cannot be helped then,” Mieko posited, “one of us most go into the hallways and pull the nearest alarm.”
The group then went silent. None of them wanted to risk being bitten, but they knew one of them had to go. Mieko stepped forward.
“I shall go.”
“Mieko, no” Kam objected, “you don’t have to—“
“The man I loved sacrificed himself for my sake, I must return the favor and save him.” She walked up the stairs to the door and gently opened it just a crack. From what little she could see, the coast was clear. The young tengu then opened the door, but immediately wished she hadn’t. Standing just on the other side was the infected Barbeau, his mask now full of azombination goo.
Mieko screamed as her infected love tackled her, and the two tumbled down the stairs. The others gasped, Kam ran over to check on her.
“Mieko, are you okay?!”
When he reached down to help her up, she responded by biting his hand. Kam reeled back when he saw his friend’s face melting into blood red goo, she was infected, and now so was he.
“KAM,” Azura screamed.
Her cousin then turned to face her, half of his face melted into azombination goo. The infected Barbeau and Mieko stood up behind him, and the trio started to lumber over to the uninflected trio. It looked like there was no other option, they had to fight. Azura grabbed a nearby mop, she didn’t wanna use her sword after all, and Tansy held up her fists.
Fiona, however, could not stop shaking. This was too much for her, she’d never been in a situation like this, and she never wanted to be. She couldn’t take it, so she quickly turned into a bat and flew into the vents, much to the other girl’s dread.
“YOU COWARD,” Azura roared.
While the two girls were distracted by their peers’ desertion, the azombinations pounced, biting them both. Knowing they didn’t have much time left, Azura and Tansy gabbed each other’s hands and gazed into their eyes.
“I… love… you…” they both said before their hands melted into abomination goo.
The infection had taken hold, all our heroes had become mindless azombinations. All hope was lost… or was it?
***
Fiona flew through the vents as fast as her little bat wings could carry her. She had to find a way out of this madhouse. As she flew past grate after grate, she got looks at the state of the school. Every student was infected, lumbering through the halls without thought or direction. The feeling of guilt in her stomach returned. She tried to ignore it, but it only got heavier and heavier the farther she flew.
She finally stopped a minute later, the faces of everyone infected flashed in her mind. These people’s lives were ruined, and it was all because of her. She then let out an annoyed sigh.
“I’m gonna have to do the right thing here, aren’t I?”
She flapped over to the nearest grate and peaked into the hallway. Miraculously, there were no azombinations around, but if the events of the day were anything to go by, that could change in an instant. She then squeezed through the grate and turned back to her usual form.
The vampiress couldn’t believe she was doing this. She snuck through the hall, looking for the nearest fire alarm. To her relief, she found one only five feet away. She tiptoed forward, being careful not to make a sound. She gradually inched closer and closer to the switch. This was it, she was gonna save everyone.
Just then, she felt a painful biting sensation on her hand. She looked over and was shocked to see that she was bitten by the azombified Azura. She quickly pulled her hand back.
“Seriously,” she exclaimed, “where did you even come from?!!” The azombination formerly known as Azura just groaned in response.
Now time was of the essence, she had to get to that switch before the infection took hold. She took off in a mad dash to the switch. With every step, she could feel her mind getting foggier and the flesh around her bite starting to melt into goo, it burned with a heat akin to holy water, and she could feel that heat spreading throughout her body. She powered through the pain though and finally reached the fire alarm.
Fiona grabbed onto the switch with her gooey hand and pulled down. The fire alarms rang out through the school, and the sprinkler systems went off. Every azombination in the school was doused with orange juice, which changed the blood red goo on their bodies to purple before melting away, revealing undamaged skin beneath. Many of those cured were confused as to where they were or what they were doing, others who knew were relieved that the nightmare was over.
Fiona watched as the orange juice cured her of the affliction. She felt a great sense of relief, but also pride in herself. She then looked over to Azura, who was cured as well. The half-witch held her aching head and groaned as she stood up.
“Ugh, what happened?”
“I did it,” Fiona said to herself. “I saved everyone! I’M A HERO!!! I—“
***
“CANNOT BELIEVE THIS,” Fiona screeched.
She held a mop in one hand and a bucket in another. She stood in the abomination homeroom with Principal Bump looking over her, his arms crossed.
“I saved everyone, and as a reward you’re giving me two weeks detention and making me clean up the entire school?!”
“While we are all grateful for what you did, that doesn’t change the fact that you started the outbreak in the first place.” Bump then turned to leave. “I suggest that you get back to work, otherwise you’ll be here all night.”
Fiona growled as the educator left. She saved everyone, and this was how they treated her? It not like she knew that her act of sabotage would start a zombie outbreak.
“Last time I help someone,” she hissed under her breath.
The young vampire then heard someone clear their throat. She looked up to see Azura and her friends standing before her. Now she had to deal with these jerks.
“What do you want?”
“We came to help,” Azura explained, surprising the bloodsucker.
“What?”
Azura rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Look, if I hadn’t shown off, you probably wouldn’t have felt the need to sabotage Kam’s project, so I guess I’m kinda responsible too.”
“And it was my abomination in the first place,” Kam added, “so I guess I’m also liable.”
Fiona then looked over to the others. “Okay, but what about you lot?”
“In spite of past squabbles, you did save us, so I suppose you do deserve some assistance in this endeavor,” Barbeau explained.
“Not me, I think you’re getting what you deserve,” Lycidia spoke interjected, “but I got outvoted on this one.”
Fiona scoffed at the group. “Pfft, I don’t need your pity.” She then turned away from them. “…but… thank you…”
With that unlikely admission of gratitude, the group grabbed cleaning supplies and started helping to clean the entire school. As Azura and Kam started scrubbing the goo and orange juice off the walls, a thought entered the boy’s mind
“Ya know, if this were a horror movie, this’d probably be the part where it’s revealed that at least one azombination didn’t get cured and is lying in wait, setting the groundwork for a sequel.”
“Yep,” Azura agreed, “good thing life isn’t a horror movie.”
However, unbeknownst to any of them, a small blob of azombination goo from Kam’s project had survived and evaded the orange juice spray. It scanned the room, looking for a target before settling on it’s creator. The blob then started to slug it’s way over to the boy, however not having eyes ultimately proved it’s downfall, is it ran right into a puddle of orange juice. The would-be monster let out a tiny squeal as it’s consciousness faded away and it turned inert.
“You hear something,” Lycida asked Kam, having just faintly heard the squeal. Kam shook his head, and the pair went back to work, completely unaware of the potential sequel— I mean, bullet they just dodged.