ZOMBIE – The Golden Shell Saga

Note: ZOMBIE: The Golden Shell Saga contains mild horror themes. 

So if you happen to stumble upon this blog, I will be writing something… new. Something special. Something original.

ZOMBIE – The Golden Shell Saga

The story is not in script style. I’ve tried that and it looked a little… messy. I like to describe things in my story.

Prologue: Curiousity is Deadly

The streets of Steamworks Island were, for once, full of Poptropicans.

It was a terrific spring morning, and it seemed that everyone was about. Of course, after their long hibernation, about a hundred years or so, everyone was full of energy. It effected the little poptropicans most – bubbling through them like they’d just eaten a chocolate bar. They ran in and out of the chaos – the poptropicans selling whatever they could to get some money. There were rug stalls, coconut ice stalls, clothing stalls, hat stalls… and then there were the buskers: the poptropican playing a piece on the flute, the poptropican banging away at the drums, even the poptropican blowing huge blue bubbles.

But it was a scene of joy. In fact, tourists from all around were flocking in to see the island full of life after a hundred years.

There was only one person who didn’t stop. That was Red Ernest Catfish.

He ran through the crowd at full tilt, pushing little poptropicans aside and knocking over rugs, hats, and coconut ice. Poptropicans waved their fists at him as he passed. But Mr Catfish could not stop.

He entered the doors to a tall apartment block and sprinted up the stairs. When he reached room 4, he took out his keys, unlocked the door and flung himself into the room. Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, the rushed poptropican made a beeline for the desk, where he began going through the papers. Then… there it was! Mr Catfish grabbed his notebook and flipped to a certain page. Phew. The sketch was still safe…

One year later…

There was deafening applause as Operation Catfish touched down onto the surface of the planet Eibmoz. PASI (Poptropica Aeronautics and Space Institute) went wild.

Soft drink cans were thrown at windows. Poptropicans danced on desktops. And Red Ernest Catfish stood up to shake the hand of the President.

But they weren’t the only ones. On planet Mars, a poptropican in a pink spacesuit with holes for two pink ears approached the rover. He laughed.

“Thanks, PASI. I think I might hitch a ride back to Poptropica. Oh. And I might bring along some… friends of mine…”

TO BE CONTINUED…

Chapter One: Golden Shell

CRASH!

The load of dirty plates, cups and crockery seemed to fall in slow motion. One second they were balenced in the arms of Golden Chloe Shell, the next, lying in a pile of broken shards.

Chloe closed her eyes and waited for the explosion.

“WHAT IS GOING ON IN THERE!!!???”

Angry Robert Chicken, or Angry Bob as the employees at the 24 Carrot King Diner like to call him, appeared at the door of the kitchen in an instant. Angry Bob looked rather like a large round apple. He had thick gray hair with a bald patch and small, dark eyes; shark eyes.

“I’m sorry Bob they just slipped from my hands and then-‘ Chloe tried to stop herself babbling, but she didn’t need to say any more. The damage had already been done.

“YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!!! THEY WERE MY BEST SET OF PLATES AND NOW, NOW YOU’VE RUINED THEM!!!’

The other staff members were now staring at Chloe Shell and Angry Bob.

“AND LOOK AT THIS!!! I GOT THOSE CUPS IMPORTED FROM EARLY POPTROPICA!!!” Bob looked like he was going to explode.

Chloe fought back tears. It was clear she was out. She had been sacked from a few jobs before, and really she should have expected this, but she couldn’t bare it. Cooking was the only thing she was good at, and she was sure word would get around and no one would ever hire her again.

“YOU’RE FIRED!!!” screamed Bob, “NOW GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!!”

Chloe didn’t need to be told twice. She ran from the diner and into the main road, heading for the old, abandoned Carrot Cake factory. The factory had been abandoned years ago, 2009 actually. Sometime during the Great Carrot Crisis. It was Golden Chloe Shell’s favorite place to hang out; quiet, undisturbed, and cool.

When she reached the factory, the wind had picked up, and Chloe was shivering. She looked out across the disgusting, polluted sea. Out there were more adventures than she could’ve dreamed of. She couldn’t afford to go overseas; her family, and many other families in 24 Carrot were very poor.

“What are you doing, Golden Chloe Shell?” came a voice. The voice had a ridiculous fake accent. Someone threw her a white jumper.

Chloe looked up, ‘Well, Trusty Michael Moon, I’m thinking about the messy end to my latest job,” she dropped the accent, “how was Twisted Thicket?”

Trusty Moon smiled, “It was great, actually. I hear the smorgasbord is looking for jobs. You interested?”

“No. I can never keep a job for more than five minutes.”

“Yes you-“

Michael was drowned out by a sound not unlike a jumbo jet. Something huge rushed across the sky.

“Yikes!” Chloe blocked her ears, “what was that???”

*

AT PASI…

“Something’s wrong,” said Red Ernest Catfish, “it’s… oh my gosh! It’s Operation Catfish! It’s somehow come back to poptropica! And… oh my! It’s about to land!”

The poptropicans turned to their monitors and gasped. The sight they saw was too much.

Then something worse happened.

“ATTENTION PASI!” screamed a high-pitched voice, screaming through the speakers attached to the wall, “I HAVE THE BUILDING SECURED AND LOCKED. I HAVE AGENTS READY TO ATTACK IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTION. YOU WILL LAND OPERATION CATFISH SAFELY OFF 24 CARROT BAY. YOU WILL DO AS I SAY… OR ELSE!!!”

Then came the laughter. The high pitched, evil laughter. Then silence.

Chapter Two: The Zombie Teacher

BEEP BEEP BEEP

“OK, I’m awake, you can stop now,” moaned Golden Chloe Shell. She slapped a hand on top of her alarm clock and at once the beeping stopped. Chloe lay there for a minute, looking at the maze of cracks that spread across her bedroom ceiling.

Then she remembered. School.

“Great,” Chloe mumbled, “school.”

Chloe didn’t know how she had survived school for this long. To her, school meant doom. Simple as that. She was something like the least popular kid there – even the teachers seemed to hate her. Trusty Michael Moon, on the other hand, was one of the most well liked students. He was perfect – good at almost everything.

“Breakfast, Chloe!” called her mother, Orange Gloria Shell. Chloe slid out of bed and made her way downstairs.

Her little sister, Neat Zoe Shell, was tucking into a bowl of cornflakes. Cornflakes! Chloe hadn’t had any of them for weeks. Her family simply couldn’t afford them. Her father used to work at the Carrot Farm, but it had closed down and he’d had to move away to Counterfeit Island to work, where he earned a small salary at a little Cafe. Gloria, on the other hand, devoted her life to looking after the kids, and so now it was up to Chloe to pay the bills. She was only fourteen, but the economy was so bad in 24 Carrot that kids thirteen and up could apply for a job.

“Morning mum, morning Zoe,” said Chloe, reaching for the box of cornflakes. To her dissapointment, it was empty.

“Good morning Chloe,” said Gloria brightly, “sorry, there’s nothing left. You’re going to have to pick something up on the way to school.”

“OK mum,” mumbled Chloe. And thanks heaps Zoe.

After Chloe had gotten ready for school, her mum handed her a five credit note.

“Have a good day!’ she said, kissing Chloe goodbye.

24 Carrot High wasn’t too far away from Chloe’s house – it was just behind the old theatre. She picked up a sushi roll and hurried down the lane.

Chloe felt depressed as she stepped inside the shabby building, but nevertheless plastered a fake smile on her face as she went to find her locker. Inside, she fished around until she found her science kit.

“Hey Chloe!” someone cried.

Chloe smiled without turning around, “Heading off to guitar, Moon?”

Trusty Michael Moon laughed, “Heading off the science, Shell?”

Chloe laughed and the fake smile instantly became a real one. Michael knew exactly how to cheer her up.

Humming to herself, Chloe set off to science class. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all. She liked the teacher, Mr Flyer. He was the only teacher that seemed to like her, aside from the slightly weird food tech teacher Miss Dolphin. But then again, Miss Dolphin liked everyone.

When Chloe walked into the science lab, she found it packed with students testing out their newest projects. Liquids fizzed and balloons popped, students chattered, and pencils sketched diograms on paper.

Mr Flyer entered behind Chloe, carrying a jug of some black liquid, “Good morning class!” he exclaimed, “good to see you all working on your projects!”

Almosr no one looked up: they were all too preocupied with their experiments-

Chloe blinked. Was it her imagination, or was something wrong with Mr Flyer? His eyes were… yellow. Or were they? Chloe shook her head. She was imagining things, as usual. But she couldn’t help noticing her teachers shirt was all dirty and slimy. Perhaps he’s been working on a new project, she though.

It wasn’t until halfway through the lesson that she noticed something was afoot.

The potion fizzed as Chloe added the bicarbonate of soda. She smiled as the red water went all bubbly. She loved science.

“Ah, Chloe. You seem to be having fun.’

“Yes, Mr Flyer, I’m-“

OK, thought Chloe, that is freaky. I don’t think I got enough sleep last night.

“That’s excellent. You’re at the ideal halfway stage,” Mr Flyer remarked, as if nothing was wrong, “see how the food colouring is making that pattern? It looks almost like… brains…”

Chloe was freaked out as her teacher moved on. She had to get out of here. Fast.

She put up her hand, “I need to go to the toilet, Mr Flyer.”

“OK, Chloe, you may go.”

Chloe bolted from the classroom. She sprinted along the corridors until she got to to the girls toilets, were she promptly collapsed against a wall. There was either something wrong with her or My Flyer. And most likely it was her.

That’s it, she thought to herself, I’m staying here all afternoon.

But she’d only been there for a few minutes when she heard a scream. And running feet.

Chloe flew to the door, “What the-“

A crowd of children were sprinting past, making a beeline for the exit. And there, running after them… no, it couldn’t be…

“CHLOE, MOVE!!!”

Chloe was pulled into the crowd by a girl in her class, Magic Charlotte Rider.

“What’s going on, Charlotte,” cried Chloe as they ran.

Charlotte looked around and screamed, “IT DOESN’T MATTER! GO! GO!”

“BRAINS!”

There was no mistaking that voice.

It was Mr Flyer.

Chloe’s scream didn’t stop until she was inside her house.

“Chloe!” cried her mum, “what-“

“It’s My Flyer! He’s a zombie!!!”

Dun Dun DUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Chapter Three: the ghost town

It was cold that morning. Chloe shivered as she toasted some stale bread and turned on the TV. As usual, it showed nothing but static.

“Looks like you’ll have to get the gossip from Charlie,” a voice said behind Chloe. She jumped.

“Oh hey, mom. I’m gonna have to do some deliveries today anyway.”

A look of concern crossed Gloria’s face, as it always did when her daughter talked about leaving the house.

“Oh, I don’t know, Chloe. Make sure you arm yourself.”

Chloe took a knife everywhere she went – all the better to protect herself. 24 Carrot had been sealed off from the rest of Poptropica – all communications down, their cries for help ignored. Yes, there was a zombie plague going around. That was all Chloe knew, and even now she was reading between the lines only. The only news that reached the Shell family was from the shopkeeper Charlie, who supplied them with tools and gossip in return of the carrots Gloria was growing on the roof.

There was no word from Mr Shell. Gloria often broke down and cried, saying through her tears that she would never see her husband again. Chloe wasn’t so sure either, but it was her job to stay positive – for her family.

At nine ‘O’ clock, she said goodbye to Gloria and Zoe, took a small bag of carrots and other vegetables, and armed herself with her knife. She was ready.

After a quick look around the house, Chloe climbed up the chimney and looked around. There was no one in sight, not even a zombie. No one knew what happened to the people who had been infected. It was like they just… dissapeared. Still, it was good to be on your guard. With people going missing, it was safe to assume that there were zombies lurking around.

Her hand ready to seize her knife, Chloe leapt into action. She was familiar with the route to Charlie’s – climbing through the branches of the trees. Jumping down onto the diner roof. It was so strange – just weeks ago she had worked here. She thought about Angry Bob and the rest of the employees. Where were they now? Had they been turned into zombies? Or were they hidden inside their homes right now?

Chloe reached the risky part of her journey. There was no way she could climb onto the roof of the cinema, so she had no choice but to drop down. Biting her lip, she jumped.

No one saw as she slipped around the side of Charlie’s old Supplies Store. 

Smiling to herself, Chloe clambered onto the roof and slipped down the heating vent. In a matter of seconds, she was standing in the shop.

“Chloe!” Charlie was arranging screwdrivers on the counter, “how are you?”

“I’m fine thanks, Charlie,” Chloe said.

“What’ve you got for me today?” the cheerful shopkeeper asked happily.

“Just some carrots,” replied Chloe, “sorry. The weather’s been awful lately.”

“Tell me about it,” said Charlie as she took the carrots from the girl, “oh, Chloe, that reminds me. I have something for you.”

Chloe watched as she dissapeared behind the counter. Charlie resurfaced and slapped a strange tool-like contraption onto the desk, “A woman dropped by with it. Said it was a special delivery for you.”

Special delivery? For Chloe? What?

“Are you sure she meant me, Charlie?” Chloe asked.

Charlie nodded, “Golden Chloe Shell. Unless there’s someone else-“

“What is it?” Chloe interupted.

Charlie shrugged, “Don’t know.”

Chloe tooked the strange object and climbed into the vent.

“Oh, Chloe.”

“Hmm?”

“Keep it with you.”

Chloe nodded.

Back out onto the street, she neared the old factory. Usually, she and Michael met by the old chimney, but today he wasn’t there. Chloe was about to leave when something caught her eye.

It was something silver in the water – shining bright in the sunlight. It was quite far from the bay, but there was something… familiar about it.

Chloe shook her head as she turned and began the walk to Michael’s house. Well, not the walk – the climb. Smith Avenue was line by large oak trees, the leaves dancing in the slight breeze. When they had been younger, Chloe and Michael had climbed the trees for fun. Now, they climbed the tree’s because they had to – it was best not to walk on the road.

The branches were slightly slippery from all the rain, but it wasn’t difficult for Chloe to climb across them and land on Michael’s roof.

“Chloe?”

Chloe looked down to see Michael on the balcony below.

“Uh huh?”

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Who else would it be?” Chloe asked.

“No one.”

Michael was a bad liar, and everything about his voice showed he was keeping something from her. Chloe shrugged. It wasn’t her buisiness if anyone else visited Michael, was it?”

Still, she had a weird feeling in her stomach as she rummaged around in her bag.

“Got some stuff for you,” she said.

“I’m coming up,” Michael put his hands on the edge of the roof and hoisted himself up to stand next to Chloe.

Michael had some eggs from the Moon family’s chickens. Chloe traded him three carrots and a handfull of small strawberries for four eggs.

“See you later, Chloe,” Michael said, smiling.

“Yeah, you too.”

Chloe swung herself down from the roof and noticed that the sky was darker. Angry stormclouds were beginning to form in the sky.

“Better get outta here fast,” she said aloud.

But as she jumped through the trees, she saw a flash of white. She turned, puzzled.

There was nothing there.

Still, as she made her way down Smith Avenue, she got the distinct feeling that she was being watched.

She was.

 Chapter Four: The Bunny’s Plan

At PASI…

The pink figure pacing back and forth before the computers was a blur to Red Catfish as he looked on from his position on the floor. He dared not move a muscle – if the man in the rabbit suit realized that he was conscious, he was dead meat.

BLURRY DR HARE

After PASI had aided the bunny in his mission to land the ship, he had, to cut a long story short, sealed the building and kidnapped the workers – and the president himself – inside. “Don’t want my little adventure getting out there, do we?” were the exact words of the evil rabbit.

At the moment, Dr Hare was rubbing his… paws together in an evil way. A sly grin had spread onto the bunny’s… furry face. He clapped his paws together and someone entered the room.

It took all of Catfish’s willpower not to gasp.

Felicity! What had they done to her?

The former office worker, now captive of a certain pink rabbit, was wearing a set of ears – rabbit ears. Her once deep blue eyes (such an amazing blue) now had many different colors swirling around and around.

Oh dear.

Green Felicity Crush, of all people!

“Servant, make me some coffee,” the bunny requested – no, demanded – in a threatening voice. Felicity nodded stiffly and made her way across the office like a robot.

A few minutes later, a delicious smell was coming from the kitchenette in the next room. Felicity came back and gave Dr Hare a fair-sized mug of the stuff, along with a large-sized amount of praise. Hearing how good-looking, smart, evil, and furry he was made the bunny giggle with pleasure.

Catfish was going to vomit.

He watched as Dr Hare took a sniff of the coffee and then a sip. His eyes closed and he sighed in contentment. Seriously? His grand plan was to drink some coffee?

After drinking a little, an even larger smirk worked its way onto Dr Hare’s face. He took a small vial from his desk and poured a little into the drink. Catfish frowned.

A few seconds later, the bunny laughed gleefully and clapped his hands once more. Felicity re-entered the room.

“Play the tape. I need to add on to it.”

His servant nodded and seconds later PASI’s screens flickered. For the second time in the past ten minutes, Catfish gasped.

A tape was coming on.

“Evil, smart, good-looking and furry? I love it,” Dr Hare grinned to himself as his own face appeared onscreen.

“Greetings to the citizens of Poptropica. You may have noticed my troops by now.”

Catfish nearly fainted as he saw the sight onscreen.

A decomposing poptropican with green skin was shown. Its eyes were yellow and its clothes were ripped and slimy. Its teeth were yellow and some were missing.

The screen flicked back to Dr Hare.

“Yes, I have introduced the Zombie Plague to Poptropica. It is spreading already. Who knows who has caught it? Your employees. Your friends. Your family.”

The word “family” was dramatically echoed, to give it full spookiness.

“You cannot defeat me. I, Dr Hare, am the greatest of all. With my band of zombie helpers, I will rule Poptropica!”

What was with all the evil laughter? Catfish thought to himself.

The bunny could be a bit too dramatic for his own good. But one thing in the tape made it clear the people of Poptropica were doomed.

The zombies.

 I’ve nearly finished setting up the story! Now we know what Dr Hare’s plan is… to rule Poptropica. Again. O.o

Felicity will be appearing again as multiple poptropicans throughout the saga. Her username is: User1454. Who knows – her costume may just give you a sneak peak of an upcoming chapter!