22. Chapter 21: Velma to the Rescue (1/2)

chapter 21: velma to the rescue

after shaina spoke, the zombies didn't flinch or hesitate; in an instant they surged towards us, some tripping and bumping clumsily against each other as they ran, and others rushing quickly as they gazed at us ravenously. before i could even process what to do next, i felt a sharp pain shooting down my back and staggered to the ground as a zombie began to beat me with his fists. i rolled onto my back and shielded myself with my hands, but before the zombie could strike me again, i saw fred tackle him, and they began to wrestle on the pavement as they struggled to overpower each other.

"daphne, run!" fred yelped. "i'll take care of these clowns!"

i hesitated, not wanting to abandon freddy as he kicked the zombie in the groin and stood to

awl with two more zombies who were advancing towards him quickly, but i knew with my ankle injury that i wouldn't be able to help, and if anything, i would only hold fred back if he continued trying to protect me. but as i scoped out the scene around me, all i saw were zombies loping towards us from all directions, and i knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before they descended upon me. regardless, i dragged myself away from freddy and the zombies, crawling away as quickly and discreetly as possible.

but apparently i wasn't discreet enough, because as i was wriggling away as fred fought off the zombies, i saw shaina raise the speaker to her lips, speaking inaudibly as she gestured towards me. not even a second later, a zombie approached me, placing his feet directly in my path and impeding any chance of escape.

"prepare…to…die!" he hissed, and before i could scream or beg or cry, his

awny hands locked around my hips, and he hoisted me high above his head and tossed me in the air, as if i were a feather. i sailed through the sky and past the fingertips of zombies as they reached up to grab me before i stopped, crashing into a glass window pane, and i slid onto the ground, my cheek smashing against the cold pavement so hard that i could see bursts of blue and white light crackle and dance before my eyes.

"like, zoinks! daph, are you okay?!"

wearily, i rose my head and gazed up towards shaggy, who was blinking at me from behind the glass cage; apparently, the zombie had tossed me right into the glass cage that contained my friends.

velma and scooby rushed to stand beside shaggy, and they joined him in eyeing me sympathetically. velma pressed her palm against the glass window, and i tiredly raised my own palm in response, aligning it against the outline of her hand. the physical and literal barrier between us made me feel as though a gaping hole was tearing through my chest.

"ohhh daph, it pains me to watch you and freddy being destroyed while we stand by helplessly!" velma cried, her eyes moist with tears. "are you okay?"

"ughh, i think i'm mostly fine," i grunted. "but i'm not sure how much longer either of us will last, and i'm not getting too far with this ankle injury!"

"i know this may be an unreasonable request, but you need to see if you can somehow open or

eak this glass cage and set us free," velma spoke hurriedly, her eyes darting between me and shaina as she spoke. "i have had a significant amount of time to think during our time being captured, and i may have finally figured out how to reverse the microchips and stop shaina before it's too late! but we need to get out of here in order to help you."

before i could even respond, i heard shaina bellow, "she is over there, by her friends – get her!"

i jerked my head up in time to see a throng of zombies glaring at me, and for a moment we had a stare down as my eyes absorbed the dozens and dozens of zombies soaking me in and studying me, staring at me with contempt as if i was a cockroach that couldn't be exterminated, but then they started running, moving together as a cohesive unit, a gaggle of limbs and mouths and blue beady eyes as they surged towards me, looking bloodthirsty and purposeful and vengeful.

as i watched the zombies scurry towards me, an idea clicked in my mind.

"velma, shaggy, scooby, stand back!" i commanded, hoisting myself off the ground and leaning against the smooth glass panel for balance. "i think i know a way to get you guys out of there, but be prepared to take cover!"

before any of them had a chance to pry the plan out of me or protest, i took a few steps towards the zombies as they rushed forward to meet me. i staggered as my ankle burned and flared, but i hobbled forward regardless, fighting against the burning pain. i spread my arms wide and cocked my head, emitting what i hoped appeared to be a cocky, arrogant swagger, and yelled, "come and get me then, morons!" the zombies grumbled and screeched as if retorting in response, and i grinned as they doubled their gait: enraging them was my exact intent.

somewhere in the distance i could hear fred yelling and crying and begging me to stop, and i think i heard shaggy and scooby echoing him as velma implored me to consider a different way, but i tried to block all of them out because i knew i would lose my resolve if i

oke my gaze as i watched the zombies come closer and closer, so close that i could clearly see their chipped, yellowed fingernails and feel their sticky warm

eath tickle my nostrils, and at the last conceivable moment before they could smash into me, i dropped my arms and plunged to the ground, tucking myself into a ball and rolling out of the way of the stampede as dozens and dozens of zombies slammed into the glass cage.

"noooo! you idiots!" shaina screamed. "what were you thinking!?"as shaina continued to squawk and berate the zombies i held my

eath, watching the zombies piling up as they collided into each other and continued to smash and press up against the glass window pane. after the last zombie flew into the back of the zombie ahead of him i watched, and for a moment everything was still: not a single zombie moved, and i didn't even blink as i gazed at the glass cage. then, i saw the faintest outline of a crack, and i couldn't stop the grin that was spreading across my face as i watched the crack begin to snake along the surface of the window,

anching off into other cracks so that it looked as though an intricate spider web was etched onto the glass cage, and then all at once there was a loud shattering sound as clear glass pieces rained down like snowflakes, plummeting towards the zombies and shaggy and velma and scooby.

the smile was wiped off my face as i watched the glass shards rain onto my friends, who had thankfully taken my warning and covered their heads with their arms, but still crumpled to the ground, unconscious as glass pieces drizzled all around them. a sharp, metallic taste coated the roof of my mouth as i realized that i may have freed my friends, but it came with a price.

i tensed as i felt a hand rest upon my shoulder, and looked up to see fred, who's face had paled as he stared at the disintegrated glass cage: he undoubtedly shared my concern for velma and shaggy and scooby.

fred pulled me to my feet as i called out for velma and shaggy and scooby, but it was hard to tell if they were okay beneath the rubble and the zombies' bodies strewn along the ground. fred pulled me against his chest comfortingly as i felt my body growing heavy and numb.

"this is enough!" shaina screeched, eyeing fred and i as we huddled together. "i have exactly five minutes before the full moon is high in the sky, and i can not be late in harnessing these citizens as zombies forever! i am going to eliminate you both now! seize them!"

i fleetingly wondered who shaina was barking orders at since her zombie minions were sprawled out all over the pavement, but suddenly i felt a strong hand wrenching me away roughly from fred. as two tree stump like arms locked around my torso, effectively securing my hands at my sides, i gazed up into the face of the silver haired ponytail guy who had tried to hurt fred and i in the cabin. my eyes widened as i saw fred being similarly contained by the bald man.

shaina stalked towards fred and me slowly and deliberately, as if she were a lioness who had honed in on her prey. in one swift motion she extracted a knife from the back pocket of her jeans, and she smiled menacingly as she drew closer and closer to me.

fred struggled and fought against the bald man vigorously, even kicking and digging his heels into the man's shins, but the bald man didn't even flinch. fred screamed, "shaina, leave daphne out of this! it's me that you want – leave her alone!"

shaina pretended to wipe a fake tear from her cheek. "awww, poor freddy. isn't that so sweet? unfortunately, you are wrong – out of all five of you annoying

ats, i have wanted ms. blake dead and gone the most."

shaina thrusted her face inches away from mine, and our gazes locked as she spoke, spittle flying from her mouth and landing on my cheeks as she exclaimed, "i have been waiting to see you die since the day i moved here and i figured out fred loved you. it's a shame your dorky friend velma and your clownish friends shaggy and scooby had to go first, but if it's any consolation, you will be joining them in just a few seconds."

shaina reached for her back pocket and retrieved a giant butcher knife. my heart began hammering in my chest, and my mouth dried up as i eyed the knife. the blade in shaina's hand threw a glint of light from the full moon, which hung over us ominously, a stark reminder of the impending doom that awaited the rest of coolsville momentarily. my ears began ringing with the sound of fred's pleas and screams and shaina's throaty laughter.

shaina pointed her finger at fred and barked, "tony, keep fred still and make sure he is watching this; in fact, force his eyeballs open if you must! i want him to see every second of this before he is killed next."

and then without warning shaina turned to me and hit me, her palm smacking against my right cheek, and i felt my face fracture in a supernova of pain below my eye. she hits me again, this time on the other cheek, and i blinked through a sheet of tears, and when i could finally see clearly, i saw her leveling the knife in my face, waving it around with a smile.