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Chapter Text

Quite some time ago…

            “Charlie, hurry up, we’re going to go to the park!”

            That was Maureen Brown calling to her young son Charlie Brown, age 5.  He scurried down the stair, clad in his usual yellow shirt with a black jagged stripe across it.  His baby sister Sally was dressed in a pink dress and bonnet.  She was still in diapers and barely talking.  Charlie Brown came carrying a pail and shovel.

            “I’m ready, mom,” he said, eagerly.  “Is dad at the barber shop right now?”

            “He is, honey,” said Maureen, smiling.  “He’ll meet us back home when he’s off.  Okay let’s go to the park.”

            A bit later, Charlie Brown spotted the sand box at the park.  He made a beeline towards it and placed his pail and shovel down.  He started playing in the sand.  At that moment some other kids came in and joined him.  One obnoxious kid then had an idea.

            “Hey, Mortie,” he said to one of his friends.  “Watch me pour some sand over this new kid’s head!”

            “Aw, come on, Greg, leave him alone, he ain’t bothering nobody!” retorted Mortie.

            “He looks weird!” protested Greg.  “Plus the sand will do some good for him!”  And Greg filled a pail of sand, walked over to where Charlie Brown was playing, and dumped a whole pail of sand on his head.  Greg couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably.

            “GREGORY!!!” gasped his mother.  Maureen, who was pushing Sally on the swing, looked and saw what happened to her son.  She grabbed Sally and went to where the commotion was happening.  Charlie Brown, who had just processed what had happened to him, immediately started crying.  Maureen looked at her son, covered in sand and crying.

            “I am so sorry about what my son did to yours, miss,” said Greg’s mother.  “He will be severely punished when we get home!”

            “Thank you, ma’am,” said Maureen, trying to comfort Charlie Brown.  “Come on, kids.  Let’s go home.”  And Maureen took Charlie Brown’s hand and carried Sally back to their car.  Charlie Brown’s day had been ruined in that one cruel act.

            Later that night, Silas Brown, the father to Charlie and Sally, had come home.  He looked in his son’s room and saw him sniffling as he tried to sleep.  He sighed, wondering why the world was so cruel to his kid.  He went to the master bedroom where Maureen was reading a book.  He got in next to her.

            “I want to do something good for Charlie,” he said to his wife.  “Something that can bring happiness in his life.  While you were still out, I went to this place just outside of town called the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm.  They had a beagle pup for sale.  He was actually bought by another family somewhere in Leeville, but had to be returned.”

            “Si, you’re thinking of getting a dog?” asked Maureen.

            “Already got him, Reenie,” said Silas.  “We pick him up tomorrow.  Now don’t let Charlie know.  I want it to be a surprise.”

            The next day, the Brown family drove out to the country to pick up the new puppy.  Neither Charlie Brown nor Sally knew where they were going.

            “Daddy, where is this place we are heading?” asked Sally.

            “It’s a surprise, sweetie,” said Silas, smiling.  Charlie Brown just looked out the window, with the sand box incident still fresh in his mind.  Soon they pulled up to a farmhouse off the dirt road.  Silas got out the car.

            “I’ll be right back, everyone,” he said, grinning ear to ear.  And he went inside the house.  Maureen looked back at her son, who was still moping around.

            “You okay, baby?” she asked, genuinely concerned.

            “Not really, mom,” sighed Charlie Brown.  “I’m still upset about yesterday.”

            “Poor big brother,” said Sally, who hadn’t grown into trying to use him for her own schemes, yet.  That would come down the road later when she got older.  Soon Silas was coming back with a box in his hands.  He opened up the back door of the car and place the box in between Charlie Brown and Sally.  Both kids looked in and saw a beagle puppy with black ears, black spots on its back and tail.  He looked up at the kids staring at him.

            “His name is Snoopy, kids,” said Silas.  “And Charlie, this is especially for you, son.  A gift from me to you.”

            “Really, dad?!” said Charlie Brown, mood finally changing to happiness.  And he picked up the new puppy out of the box.  Snoopy immediately licked his face.  Charlie Brown then cried, but this time it was out of happiness and joy.

            “I finally have a friend,” he sighed, as he hugged Snoopy.

Present day

Lone Star Motel

Outside of Fort Worth, Texas

Day 59

            “…And that’s how I got to own Snoopy,” said Charlie Brown to Violette, finishing up his flashback.  “And even when he could be as bad as some of the other kids, he would still have my back when it counted.  Case in point, when he helped in dealing with the zombies as of late.”

            “Sacre Bleu, Charles!” said Violette.  “Kids were cruel, no?”

            “They were, babe.  Snoopy made it better, even later with the losing baseball games, not being able to talk to Heather, before it was known that she was a lesbian, he even helped me learn some dance moves.  Next to Linus, Snoopy was my best friend.”  Violette hugged her boyfriend.

            “I will be here for you, Charles.  I will help you get through losing Snoopy.”

            “Thanks, Violette.  You’ve been great.  I love you.”

            “And I you, mon amour.”  The two of them shared a kiss.  They continued to watch some TV in their room before it was Charlie Brown’s turn at watch.

NEXT CHAPTER: VINCE IS BACK!

Chapter Text

1:23 PM

            Lucy was walking around the resort thinking to herself when she ended up at the pool area where everyone else was.  She did bring her bikini to dress into and a towel.  She watched as most of the gang were enjoying themselves.  She saw Schroeder and Frieda in a lounge chair making out hot and heavy.  She grimaced at the scene, until she heard a familiar voice.

            “Lucy?”

            She turned around to see her trucker friend Vince Coolidge standing before her.

            “Vince!” she said, perking up.  She went in to hug him.  “I didn’t know you were in town!”

            “I had no idea you were, as well,” Vince replied.  “So, are you going to join me in the pool?”

            “Just have to change first.”  And Lucy went to the ladies locker room and changed.  After a few minutes she rejoined Vince, now clad in her bikini and they headed for the pool.  Heather and Victoria saw that Vince was there.

            “Vince!” said Victoria.  “Glad to see you again!”

            “Victoria,” said Vince.  “Did you get in contact with your father?”

            “He called me not too long ago.  He told me he was still safe and to follow the directions of Sgt. Armstrong.”

            “Sound advice to me.”  At that moment, Schroeder and Frieda joined the group.  Schroeder still didn’t know if he could trust Vince, so decided to feel him out for himself.

            “Schroeder, Frieda, I don’t think you met my friend Vince,” said Lucy.  “Vince, this is my best friend Frieda, and her boyfriend Schroeder.”

            “Nice to meet you, Vince,” said Frieda.  “Wait a minute.  You were with Lucy back in Wyoming, weren’t you?”

            “I was, Frieda,” said Vince.

            “So, Vince, what brings you here to the Lone Star Motel?” asked Schroeder.

            “My father had a stop in Fort Worth,” Vince replied.  “Just by luck I happen to once again run into this lovely woman.”  And he wrapped his arms around Lucy.  Now it was Schroeder’s turn to grimace at the scene before him.  Lucy took notice.

            “Looks like someone is starting to get jealous,” she thought to herself.

            “So, how long are you here, Vince?” asked Heather.

            “At least for a couple of weeks,” said Vince.  “Dad is taking some time off from the road after this delivery.  He wants to recoup after dealing with those zombies while on the road.”

            “You had to deal with the zombies, as well?!” asked Schroeder.

            “We did,” Vince responded.  “Luckily we didn’t get hurt by them.  I remember what Lucy had said about your friend getting scratched by one of those things and turning slowly.”

            “Sadly, our friend, Charlie Brown’s dog Snoopy was recently killed by one of those things,” said Victoria.  “He’s been pretty quiet lately.”

            “We’re kind of worried about him,” added Heather.

            “He’s probably still grieving right now,” suggested Vince.  “I say give him some space and he’ll come around.”

            “Smart and cute!” cooed Lucy.  Vince blushed.  Franklin had walked in with Peppermint Patty.

            “I see Lucy’s trucker friend is here,” said Franklin to Schroeder.  “You’re not getting jealous again, are you?”

            “Why, pray tell, would I be jealous?” Schroeder retorted.  “I’m not in love with Lucy anyway, so there’s nothing to be jealous about.”

            “Okay, dude,” said Franklin.  “Better get back to your girl, so no one thinks otherwise, though.”  And Schroeder rejoined Frieda and they went to the hot tub.  Lucy and Vince continued to enjoy the water, and Franklin and Peppermint Patty got in with them.

NEXT CHAPTER: MORE MEMORIES

Chapter Text

3:45 PM

            Charlie Brown was on watch for a bit.  Snoopy wasn’t far from his mind, but he knew he still had a job to do pertaining to the zombies.  Lucy came up and joined him on watch for a bit.  He looked over and saw his friend next to him.

            “Heard Vince was here,” he said.

            “He is,” said a glowing Lucy.  “His father is resting for a couple of weeks so I have more time to spend with him.  Right now he’s out running some errands but will be back.  What’s Violette up to?”

            “She’s taking a nap.  Sally is with your brother off doing something together.”

            “Yeah, she and Rerun has gotten closer.  I always thought as much as we all miss Linus, she would never find anyone that wasn’t him.”

            “Yeah.”  Lucy noticed that Charlie Brown had something on his mind.  She probably already knew what it was.

            “Charlie Brown, you miss him, don’t you?”

            “I do, Lucy.  I do.”

            “We all miss Snoopy.  I actually remembered the last fight he had with the cat next door.”

            “Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that.”

Years Earlier

            Linus was running up to the door of Charlie Brown’s house.  He rang the doorbell anxiously.  Sally answered it.

            “Oh, it’s you, Sweet Babboo!” she said, happily.  “Have you come to invite me to the movies?”

            “Aside from the fact that I’m NOT your Sweet Babboo, that’s not what I’m here for!” said a worried Linus.  “I need to see your brother!”

            “Okay,” said Sally.  “Big Brother!  Your friend and my future husband is here!”

            “I am NOT your future ANYTHING!!!” retorted Linus.  Charlie Brown came up.  “Charlie Brown, come quick!  Snoopy and the cat next door!  Big slugfest!”

            “Good grief!” gasped Charlie Brown.  “Where?!”

            “It started in your backyard and it’s at the park now!”

            The kids ran to the park and saw a cloud of chaos on the field.  Charlie Brown gasped at what he saw.

            “GOOD GRIEF!!!” he shrieked.  “My dog and the cat next door fighting!  In front of everyone.”  Lucy walked up and saw the scene unfolding before her eyes.

            “It was inevitable, Charlie Brown,” she said.  “Even that dog of yours can only take so much abuse from that cat.”

            The kids watched as Snoopy and World War II, as the cat was known by, duked it out for what seemed forever.  Usually Snoopy would come out of it scratched up and shaggy, but something extraordinary happened.  Snoopy finally managed to get the upper hand over the cat.

            “Is Snoopy actually defeating the cat?” asked a bewildered Lucy.

            “It looks like it, Lucy!” said Linus.

            And the kids watched in shock as Snoopy dealt World War II the final blow and the cat, who had terrorized the entire neighborhood, who had back-and-forth’s with Snoopy which almost always ended up with the beagle’s doghouse scratched up or almost completely destroyed, who Peppermint Patty once mistook for Snoopy dressed in a cat suit, fell to the ground defeated.  Then Snoopy looked like he was grabbing something out of the cat’s mouth.  The kids were shocked to see what Snoopy had pulled out.  It was Woodstock, who was traumatized by what had just occurred.  Apparently World War II, when Snoopy wasn’t looking, tried to eat Woodstock, and Snoopy had just witnessed that.  Rather than go into “Woe is me” antics and panic, he took on the cat.  He actually did that once before after a major fight he a Woodstock had and Linus told him that the cat had Woodstock.  While he didn’t have him that time, as it was an old yellow glove the cat was playing with, he did try to attack Woodstock this time and was almost successful.  But Snoopy, defending his little buddy’s honor and saving his life, set his own fear of the cat aside to save him.

            “Snoopy was saving Woodstock!” said Linus.

            “It all makes sense now!” added Lucy.

            “Well, this time that cat has gone too far,” stated an angry Charlie Brown.  “My parents have complained about World War II and what he was doing to Snoopy’s house for eons.  I, myself, had to bandage up Snoopy whenever he got into a fight with him, and I’m going to have to do it again today.  I’m calling the proper authorities to file a complaint against that cat!”  And Charlie Brown and a beat Snoopy and Woodstock left with him.

Present Day

            “After that, World War II was taken away from the neighbors,” Charlie Brown said, remembering the crazy day.  “As it turned out, the other neighbors had filed their own complaint against the cat.”

            “So, Snoopy wasn’t the only one who had problems with it, huh?” said Lucy.

            “Nope.  According to Schroeder, he was carrying his piano one day and the cat, without warning and without any provocation, swiped at it and nearly destroyed it!”

            “I remember that, Charlie Brown!  I went over there one day to visit and he told me what had happened.  He was miserable all day.  Didn’t blame him, though.”

            “No doubt about it, Luce, that cat was a menace!  About as much as these zombies we’ve been dealing with.  You know, remembering these memories about Snoopy helps me with coping with his death.  It still hurts, but it makes it much easier.”

            “Well, you already know I’m here for you.”

            “I appreciate that, Lucy.  Well, speaking of Schroeder, it’s his turn at watch now.”

            “I’ll get him for you.”  And Lucy headed back down to find Schroeder.  Charlie Brown watched over the horizon.  There were no zombies in sight, for the moment.

NEXT CHAPTER: THE MOVE IS ON FOR DR. WATTS

Chapter Text

Farmhouse Headquarters

Somewhere in Montana

6:30 PM

            It was the dead of winter in Montana.  The temperatures were not just below freezing, but beyond below freezing.  Not quite sub-zero, but pretty close.  And, yet, at what seemingly was a lonely farmhouse in an unknown rural Montana town, Harold, Kathleen, and Tara, along with Harold’s crew, were loading up crates upon crates of the cloud seeds containing the antidote to Dr. Stein’s tainted serum.  Harold also made sure none of Pettigrew’s goons were in the area.  The clock was ticking and everyone was moving fast.  Around the country, the other compounds where they were manufacturing the seeds also managed to get their stock out before Pettigrew could find it.  Santa Monica was able to get theirs out without Pettigrew knowing which van it was in before they self-destructed the compound, killing Pettigrew’s men and themselves.  All of the military men at the farmhouse were armed and on high alert.  They stayed on watch, wintery weather be damned!

            “How many more crates we have to load?” asked Tara.

            “Only three more, Tara,” Harold replied.  “We’re almost home free!”

            “I wouldn’t go that far,” said Kathleen.  “We still have to deal with Pettigrew.”

            “True, but if he doesn’t know which vans are carrying our stock, nothing can stop us,” said Harold, smiling.  “Plus they look like normal delivery trucks, so they are inconspicuous.”

            “Well we better get this last load in,” said Tara.  And the three of them and the other workers loaded the last three crates into the van, and then immediately closed the van up.  The driver was already behind the wheel ready to leave.  One of the armed soldiers tapped the van twice, and it left for the east coast.  Harold then made a call.

The Pentagon

Washington, Virginia

            The president was walking through the corridors of the Pentagon with Secret Service guards flanking him when a call came on his cell phone.  He saw who it was and answered it.

            “Dr. Watts?” he said.

            “Yes, Mr. President,” said Harold on the other end.  “The seeds are on their way.  The driver all have their clearance badges, as do I.  Anyone who’s with me will be able to cross the Mississippi River barrier.”

            “Good man, doctor.  I heard about Pettigrew’s escape and his men infiltrating the Santa Monica compound.”

            “Luckily the seeds were able to leave before they arrived.  I just hope Pettigrew isn’t on to us here in Montana.”

            “You and your crew should leave now, doctor.  Keep safe.”

            “We will, sir.  I’ll be in touch.”  And Harold hung up his phone, as did the president.

General Pettigrew’s hidden bunker

Somewhere in Idaho

            “Still no word on the delivery vans, sir,” said one rogue soldier to Pettigrew and Jacob Pearson.  “Leopold has been seeking out any information he can find about what they look like, but no luck, thus far.”

            “Thank you, cadet,” said Pettigrew.  “If anything comes up, let me know.”

            “Yes, sir.”  And after a salute, the soldier went about his business.

            “So now what?” asked Jacob.

            “We wait, Jacob,” Pettigrew answered.  “Those vans should turn up soon.  If my calculations are correct, they will be heading to Washington.  And I have some inside men at the Pentagon that will let me know if they see something suspicious or doesn’t look like any usual military vehicles.”

            “That could be any vehicle!”

            “True, but they are top soldiers, so they shouldn’t miss a thing.”  And Pettigrew and Jacobs went back inside the bunker.

NEXT CHAPTER: SNOOPY MEMORIES ROLLS ON

Chapter Text

Lone Star Motel

Outside of Fort Worth, Texas

10:15 PM

            Frieda had just gotten out of the shower.  She put on a pair of low slung shorts and a crop top.  She hopped into bed with Schroeder, who was just clad in his boxers.  He was watching TV with the news about the outbreak.  The reporter was frantic with panic.

            “The amount of these creatures has since doubled in the last month alone!” the reporter said, worried.  “No one knows what is causing this outbreak of what is seemingly the undead!  Religious leaders say that this could be a sign of the end times!”

            “Those fanatics don’t have a goddamned clue about this!” Schroeder retorted.  “No more than us, and we have more information than all of them combined!”  He looked over at Frieda, who seemed in thought about something.  “You okay, babe?”

            “Huh?” said Frieda, snapping to attention.  “Oh, yeah, I’m good, baby.  Was thinking about Snoopy. A lot of folks, even Lucy who was harsher to him, thought I was being too hard on him whenever I wanted him to chase rabbits with me.  After the whole Head Beagle incident, I finally backed off and left him alone, for the most part.”

            “You harboring some guilt over that?”

            “A little.  I even apologized to both him and Charlie Brown for what I did, but a lot of kids didn’t trust me around their own dogs, even though they would go and hunt rabbits unlike Snoopy.  You know I wasn’t trying to be mean to Snoopy or anything; I just wanted him to be more active.”

            “Trust me, I get it, Frieda.  Yeah you went a bit overboard, but your heart was in the right place.”

            “A bit overboard.  Honey, I was Attila the Hun to all dogs!  The final straw didn’t come with the Head Beagle situation, though.  A little while after that, not too long after Snoopy’s own stint as Head Beagle, I learned why he didn’t hunt rabbits so eagerly like other dogs…”

Years earlier…

            Snoopy was waking up and got off the top of his doghouse.  He started to walk somewhere.  Frieda was about to enter the Brown’s yard to try to talk him into hunting rabbits again.  She figured enough time had passed since she reported him to the Head Beagle that she could coerce him, or attempt to.  But, instead of confronting him head on, she decided to follow him from a distance.  Snoopy walked down the sidewalks of the streets in the neighborhood.  Frieda was a safe distance from him that he wouldn’t easily detect someone behind him, though some of the neighborhood kids watched as she followed him, including Violet, Patty, and Lucy, who were enjoying a jump rope session.

            “Why is Frieda following Snoopy?” wondered Violet.

            “You think she learned her lesson after turning him in to the Head Beagle,” added Patty.

            “Yeah,” agreed Lucy.  “While Snoopy is a stupid beagle, even I wouldn’t have turned him in to the Head Beagle.  In fact, I could care less if he hunted rabbits or not.  Though I do agree he needs to be more active, though.”

            Snoopy continued to wherever he was going.  Frieda stayed caught up with him from a distance.  Soon she ended up at a meadow.  She recognized it as somewhere where rabbits like to frolic.  She hid behind a tree to watch what Snoopy would do next.  What she saw shocked her to her core.

            Snoopy was having fun with the rabbits; not chasing them.  They were dancing and doing “Ring Around the Rosie”, among other fun games.  He even handed out carrots for his rabbit friends to eat as snacks.  It all made sense to Frieda at that moment.  This was why he refused to hunt rabbits with her.  The rabbits were his friends and they were his.  He didn’t want to harm them, he wanted to play with them.  She expected to get angry and ball him out, but remembering what happened when she reported him to the Head Beagle and how she was briefly ostracized because of it, she didn’t want to lose her friends permanently.  She slowly walked away from the meadow.  Once back in the neighborhood, she went straight to Charlie Brown’s house and rang the doorbell.  Charlie Brown answered it and saw the curly-haired redhead standing before him.

            “Frieda, how are you?” said Charlie Brown.

            “Charlie Brown,” she began, “I’ll never ask Snoopy to hunt rabbits again.  You have my word.”  And she left, sad and remorseful.  Charlie Brown was confused.

            “Now what brought that on?” he asked himself.

Present Day

            “So that’s why you stopped asking him after a while,” said Schroeder after his girlfriend finished her story.

            “It didn’t seem right to admonish him for doing something he loved,” said Frieda.  “Especially after what had happened before.  Before I reported him, I probably would have gone off on him worse similar to Lucy when she caught Linus petting birds on the head.”

            “I remember that used to drive her insane!” laughed Schroeder.  “When she would come to my house and lean on my piano after that would happen, she would rant and rave about how Linus would embarrass the family and how they would be shunned by society, and a lot of other crazy stuff!  Still I’d take that over the usual ‘marriage talk’ she’d usually dole on me!”

            “Yeah, but anyway, I still harbor some guilt feelings over what I did to Snoopy, just the same.”

            “Babe, Charlie Brown forgiven you, Snoopy forgiven you, everyone in the gang had forgiven you.  You can take heed that you made peace long before Snoopy’s demise recently.

            “Yeah, you’re right, baby.”  Frieda kissed Schroeder passionately.  “I’m starting to get in that mood, dearie.”

            “I don’t know.  Lucy or rerun could be back any moment.”

            “I don’t think so.  Lucy’s hanging out with her friend Vince, and Rerun and Sally are watching a movie in Sally’s room.  We have enough time to ourselves.”

            “In that case, bring your fine ass over here, mama!”  And Frieda and Schroeder began making out hot and heavy.  She whipped her top off down to her bra and they continued to go at it.

NEXT CHAPTER: STEPPING UP

Chapter Text

Day 60

Downtown Fort Worth, Texas

            “CHUCK, FRANKLIN, I NEED ANOTHER ROUND!!!”

            Franklin tossed Peppermint Patty a new magazine for her rifle to take out zombies that had hit Fort Worth.  The gang were surprised by the influx of zombies that had hit the city.  Peppermint Patty loaded her ammo and began shooting them in the head.

            “Nice shot, Double P!” said Charlie Brown.

            “Good job, boo!” cooed Franklin to Peppermint Patty, who blushed.

            “Thanks, daddy!” said Peppermint Patty, blowing a kiss to Franklin.  Charlie Brown had an eyebrow raised.

            “Boo?  Daddy?” he said.

            “Charlie Brown, behind you!” said Franklin.  He turned around to see a muscular zombie headed for him.  Charlie took aim and shot him in the head and the zombie started falling towards him.

            “Shit!” cursed Charlie Brown.  He dived out the way of the giant falling towards him.

            “That one was ginormous!” said Sally.

            “Tell me about it, sis,” said a relieved Charlie Brown.

            In another area, a group of zombies had surrounded Violet, Patty (Swanson), Lucy, Frieda, Heather, and Victoria.  There was no way out.  Violet grabbed a rifle from Lucy, made sure it was loaded, and stepped forward.

            “DUCK, GIRLS!!!” she ordered.  “I’LL HANDLE THESE ASSHOLES!!!”  The girls, Victoria especially, was confused by Violet’s sudden “take charge” attitude, but complied, nonetheless, and ducked down.  Violet immediately started firing on the zombies, hitting each one between the eyes, killing them.

            “Vi, how did you learn to shoot like that,” Patty asked.

            “Franklin’s father has been working with me on firearms,” Violet replied.

            “I have to admit, princess, you did good there,” said an impressed Victoria.  “There may be hope for you yet!”  Violet smiled at the biker.

            “Well, we better find the others,” suggested Lucy.

            “My sentiments exactly,” agreed Heather.  And they went to find where the rest of the gang were.

            Meanwhile, Sgt. Armstrong, armed with a rather large machine gun, was literally blowing the heads of zombies off their bodies with it.  Schroeder, Shermy, and Bruce were helping him by covering him.

            “TAKE IT, YOU UNDEAD SONS OF BITCHES!!!” yelled the sergeant.

            “JESUS CHRIST, THERE’S A LOT OF THEM!” added Shermy.

            “GET TO THE VEHICLES!” ordered the sergeant.  And they headed for their vehicles.  Schroeder got to his RV along with Shermy, just when Violet, Frieda, Patty, Heather, and Victoria all showed up.  Charlie Brown, Violette, Sally, Lucy, and Rerun had made it to Charlie Brown’s car.  Franklin, Peppermint Patty, Finn, and Bruce got the Franklin’s SUV, and Sgt. Armstrong got in his own SUV.  They all took off for somewhere else.

            Inside Schroeder’s RV, Shermy asked, “How many was that?”

            “I lost count after 100,” Schroeder quipped.

            “Well, our heiress here completely redeemed herself today,” said Victoria, placing an arm around Violet.  “She took out quite a few zombies and saved our asses.”

            “It wasn’t nothing,” said Violet.

            “Nothing my ass!” retorted Frieda.  “That was some fancy shooting, Vi!  Victoria’s right, you did great back there!  You should have seen her.  She was a sharpshooter!”

            “Thanks, guys,” said Violet, smiling.  Patty came up and kissed her on the cheek.

            “No, thank you, bestie,” she said, hugging her.

            In Charlie Brown’s car, Violette was looking at her boyfriend with some concern.  She asked, “Charles, are you okay, mon amour?”

            “I’m fine, babe,” said Charlie Brown.  “If you’re worried that I’m still upset over losing Snoopy, I am, but I’ll be okay.  Talking about him and reliving the memories of him does help make it easier.  I’ll never stop missing Snoopy, as much as I miss my parents, but I will be fine.”  Violette kissed him on the cheek as he drove.  Sally looked behind Schroeder’s RV and saw a semi-truck following them.

            “Lucy,” she began, “is your trucker friend joining us?”

            “He is, Sally,” said Lucy.  “I convinced Vince’s father to help us out.  He was done with deliveries, anyway, so he can help with battling the zombies.”

            “We can use the help,” said Charlie Brown.  “Right now, we keep going as far as we can.”  And the Zombie Caravan continued to their next destination, wherever that would be.

END OF BOOK 12