ZUMA STOOD IN the lane as he grabbed the bowling ball. Behind him was Yulia, Scuba, Evan, and Gabby. Jess couldn't make it cause she had to do stuff with her dad about the store. Zuma took a deep breath and released the ball.

Strike.

Yulia and Scuba cheered for him while Evan just booed him. "Boo!"

Zuma flipped him off as he went over to him and smacked him on the head.

Evan gave him an offended look as he smacked his back. Zuma turned around and gave him a glare.

"Okay! Okay! Evan go before someone gets hurt." Gabby said, lightly shoving Evan towards the lane.

"I'm getting something to eat." Zuma called out.

"Wait, let me come with you." Yulia said, getting up from her seat.

Zuma froze as he blush very hard. He looked over at Scuba who gave him a thumbs up.

Scuba knows how much his brother likes Yulia. How he would get so shy around her. And Zuma isn't a shy person.

Zuma and Yulia arrived where they were serving food. Every now and then, he would look at Yulia. Whenever she would look back, he would turn around with blush on his face.

They both waited for the food. They sat down at a bench. No one said anything to each other.

Zuma's leg bounced up and down rapidly. Yulia must've noticed because Zuma felt a hand on his leg. His leg calmed down.

"Yulia." He said as she gave her his attention. Zuma looked directly at her eyes.

"There's something I have to tell you."

"Okay..What's up?"

Zuma took a deep breath. "Yulia. I like you. Like, I really really really like you. I've liked you since middle school. I just didn't know how to tell you. Whenever you're around me, I feel like I can't breathe. You're always on my mind. Even in the bathroom. I just wanted to say that, I'm in love with you."

Yulia just stared at him. She was in shock. She had no idea that Zuma Dybing, the brother of Scuba Dybing, has a crush on her.

"I know that you probably like my brother—"

"I don't like your brother." She interrupted as he gave her a confused yet warm look.

"Y-You don't." He stuttered as she laughed.

"No. I—" She stopped herself as she looked at the ground. Blush grew on her face.

"Yulia?" He called out as she looked back up at him.

"I was waiting for you to say that." She said. She wasn't hiding her blush anymore.

"Say what? Your name?" Zuma asked, half-jokingly. Yulia rolled her eyes but she was smirking.

"I'm talking about your love confession." She said as she scooted closer next to him.

"Oh? How come?"

"Because I'm in love with you too."

Zuma stayed quiet. His face was red, his heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to pop out, he swear he could feel sweat coming down his face.

"Really?" He asked, making sure she wasn't lying.

"Yea." She said, laughing at how he was reacting.

Zuma laughed too. He looked down at her lips. He placed his hand on her cheek and leaned in. Zuma's lips ended meeting hers.

Meanwhile back at the bowling alley, Scuba, Evan, and Gabby were watching them the whole time.

Gabby got on Evan's back as they screamed in excitement. "Yeahhh!"

Zuma and Yulia quickly broke apart and saw their friends acting like idiots.

Scuba clapped his hands as Zuma rolled his eyes. "That's my baby brother!"

Zuma and Yulia both laughed.

Zuma couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. He couldn't do anything. He held her close to his arms. He placed multiple kisses on her head. But he knew, she wouldn't do anything. Her lifeless body just laying on him. He couldn't save her.

A tear fell down from his face. He was crying. For the first time, Zuma was crying. Zuma broke down and cried on her head.

Scuba and Jess were watching the whole time. Scuba shedded a tear. Jess covered her mouth, trying not to cry.

Scuba slowly walked over to Zuma. He bent down as he tried to get him to move but Zuma wouldn't budge.

The trio heard a bunch of footsteps coming from the front door. It was the police. Scuba backed up and saw the figures.

"Over here!" Jess yelled out as the officers, including the sheriff came.

They froze once they saw Zuma crying with Yulia in his arms.

Eric slowly walked over and puts his hand on Zuma's shoulder. Zuma never took his eyes off her.

"Zuma." He said, trying to get him off Yulia.

"Get the fuck off me!" Zuma exclaimed as cried some more.

Zuma looked at Eric. "This wouldn't have happened if you were fucking doing your job!!"

Zuma went by to crying on her head. Eric sighed as he looked over at Scuba.

Scuba walked over to Zuma. He bent down and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Zuma. You have to let her go." Scuba said as Zuma shook his head rapidly.

"I can't." Zuma said. His voice cracked.

Eric went to Yulia, pulling her off of him. Zuma saw red. "Don't touch her!"

Scuba pulled him back as they fell on the ground. Zuma tried to get out of his grasp but he couldn't do it.

"No!" Zuma screamed. He screamed so loud. This made Scuba, Jess, and even Eric's heart break.

Zuma caved in and hugged Scuba tightly. Scuba hugged just as tight.

"It's okay. It's okay." He whispered in his brothers ear as Zuma's cries got quieter.

Zuma just lost the love of his life.

Now, he's incomplete.

Zuma locked himself in the bathroom. His eyes were red and foggy from the tears. He looked at himself in the mirror and only saw loneliness. Emptiness. Darkness. He started shaking uncontrollably, pinching his skin with his fingers.

The tears were stained on his shirt, and on his face. His mind kept replaying Yulia's death. He ran to her but he ran to late. When they took Yulia from him, Eric gave Zuma the necklace that he gave her.

That made him break. Remembering the day he first got her that. The day hell broke loose. The day he almost died due to a gun shot wound.

He held the necklace in his hand, forcing himself not to cry again. He put the necklace in front of his face and gave it a kiss.

He sniffled, putting the necklace in his pocket. He glanced at himself in the mirror again before he left the bathroom.

He overheard the others talking about catching John Carver during the parade.

"What would Zuma think?" Kathleen asked, making Zuma frown.

"He's not in the right headspace right now." Kathleen speaks again. Zuma held the urge to roll his eyes.

"He doesn't have to be part of the plan." Scuba said. "He's been through too much."

After hearing that, Zuma decided to walk into the living room. "I'm in."

Everyone looked over at him. Some had sadness in their faces and others had confusion.

"Are you sure?" Scuba asked, making sure.

"That sick fuck murdered my girlfriend right in front of me. He kidnapped Evan and Gabby. This is our chance to burn the fucker to the ground. When we catch him, I'm gonna fucking kill him." Zuma said as he looked around the group.

He met eyes with the sheriff who looked down. He then met eyes with Scuba and Jess who shook their heads.

"Tomorrow, John Carver is gonna go down."

Zuma had his outfit for the parade and Zuma hated it. He looked stupid. The clothes were making him uncomfortable, but that's not important right now. The priority is trapping John Carver, and avenging Yulia.

He looked at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath. He opened his phone and saw texts and calls from Ryan and Bobby. He doesn't know why he has their numbers. Mainly Bobby's.

He looked at the wallpaper on his phone. It was him and Yulia. They went to a Photo Booth when they went out on a date.

The top picture was Zuma and Yulia just smiling at the camera.

The middle picture was Zuma giving a kiss on Yulia's head. She smiled widely with her eyes closed.

The bottom picture was them kissing. Zuma had his hands on her cheeks and she had hers on his arms.

Zuma almost started crying but didn't once Scuba and Jess came over.

"How are you feeling Z?" Scuba asked.

"Like all I can think about is murder." Zuma said as he spaced out.

Scuba and Jess looked at each other in worry.

"I'm alright." Zuma said, trying to get positive but it's not working.

"We're going to get him." Jess said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I promise."

Zuma sadly smiled in return.

"Can we please get this shit over with. I wanna get the fuck out of this outfit. It's hideous and it's itchy." Zuma said, pulling on his clothes.

Scuba and Jess both chuckled at his comment, glad to see him being his semi-self.

They walked to the float, with Scuba in the lead. He turned back to the two. "Y'all ready?"

"No."

"Fuck no."

"Good. Me neither." Scuba agreed. "Let's do this."

They started walking onto the float. Zuma sat next to Scuba, bouncing his leg up and down.

"If you're not up to the plan, you can always back out." Scuba said in a soft tone.

"I'm good." Zuma said, looking at his brother. "I promise."

Scuba shook his head as he put his hand on his shoulder. "I love you baby bro."

"I love you too." Zuma said as he gave him a sad smile. He pulled Scuba in for a hug as Scuba hugged back tightly.

"Hey." The sound of Jess's voice made them break apart. She said as she sat on the other side of Zuma.

Zuma just stared at her and threw himself on her in a hug. She was surprised but she hugged back.

"Just wanted to do that just in case." Zuma said, breaking apart from the hug.

"Let's fucking do this."

They were riding on the float in front of the town. They all smiled and waved at the crowd. They all looked around, trying to find the killer. There were a whole bunch of people wearing pilgrim masks and it made Zuma's skin crawl. It could be anyone.

Out of nowhere, a guy with a pilgrim mask and a sign. A bunch of people came on the road.

"Down with RightMart!"

"Down with RightMart!"

"Down with RightMart!"

Zuma rolled his eyes. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

"What the hell is going on down there?" Jess's father asked.

"It's Mitch." Jess replied to her dad, looking back at him.

"Get off the parade route! Get off!" One of the officers yelled out as he pushed off the protesters.

Zuma groaned as he looked in front of him. He looked at the guy in the mascot.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" He heard him say.

"Happy Thanksgiv—" He could finish before getting his head chopped off.

The town screamed. Zuma covered his mouth to keep him from barfing.

He felt the float move forward too hard. The boat from inside the float slid forward. Kathleen, Scuba, and Zuma fell out the float.

Zuma groaned as he slowly got up. He felt his head and realized that his head was bleeding.

He looked over and saw Kathleen on the ground so he went to help her up.

"Thanks." She thanked.

"Don't mention it."

Zuma and Kathleen, along with Scuba and Jess ran into the police jeep. Zuma sat in between Scuba and Jess.

The officer went to the to the front to drive but collapses on the ground. Soon after, a flash bomb gets thrown into the car.

"Cover your ear!" Zuma yelled out as they all covered their ears.

The figure walked in the car and shot all of them with sleeping darts.

Zuma felt very tired and he slowly began falling asleep.

   Zuma's eyesight was blurry as he started to wake up. He couldn't see that much but all he saw at the moment was people tied up in chairs and a table. Zuma felt his hands tied. He tried breaking free but he didn't have the strength to do so.

   Zuma's eyesight got better and saw Gabby crying. He looked over and saw Evan.

   "Z-Zuma." Gabby called out as Zuma tried getting out again.

   "Gabby. Evan." Zuma called out as he looked at his brother and Jess.

   "Zuma!" Evan exclaimed as he struggled to get loose.

   Zuma tried his best to get out but he couldn't. He heard a noise and there he was.

   John Carver.

   "Gather around." He said, walking towards them. "Gather around the table everyone."

   "Dinner is served." John said as he lifted the sheet off. It was someone's body. Zuma and the others screamed.

   "What the fuck is that?! What the fuck?!" Evan cursed out.

   "Now is that any way to thank Kathleen? She's been cooking all day." He said as he revealed her head on the table.

   Zuma felt like barfing but he kept it in. Jess's father didn't. He just barfed on himself.

   "Let's start off the dinner with a cheer." He said, stabbing Amy, the cheerleader's neck. Blood started flowing out of her neck.

   John put a cup near her neck and the blood went into the cup. "Fresh from my wine refrigerator. She'll pair nicely with Kathleen."

   "You might want to let that breathe."

   John walked over to Jess's father. "So nice to all be together again on Thanksgiving."

   "And joining us." He put a knife to Jess's father's throat. "Thomas Wright."

   "Dad!"

   "Who missed last year's fun sitting in his mansion." He walked away and went near Zuma.

   "Why hello Zuma. I'm such a big fan of you." He said as Zuma scoffed.

   "Fuck you." Zuma got out as John shook his head in disbelief.

   "Is that any way to treat a person?" John taunted as Zuma rolled his eyes.

   "Now." John said, grabbing the phone. "We're all going to go around the table, and say what we're thankful for."

   "You're on live, so choose your words wisely." He said as he went behind Evan. "Evan."

   "No. No. Evan!" Zuma exclaimed as Gabby called out to her boyfriend.

   "Most appropriate that you go first. You see, it was your video that inspired me to create my own." John said, grabbing the hammer like thing.

   "No! Evan!" Gabby exclaimed as she looked at Zuma.

   "Let him fucking go!" Zuma demanded in anger.

   John removed the cloth from Evan's mouth.

   "Help! Help!" Evan cried out. "We're in an old house!"

   John grabbed him by the hair and forcefully pushed it in the table.

   "Let him go! Let him go!" Scuba demanded.

   "Get ready Evan." He taunted.

   "Please don't kill me!" Evan begged as Zuma squeezed his eyes shut.

   "You're about to go viral. You're going to break the internet." John said before swinging his weapon.

   It landed on Evan's head. The blood splattered on Zuma's face. Gabby screamed. John swung the Evan again.

   "No one appreciates subtly anymore. To go viral, you really need to hit people over the head. Right Evan?" John said, swinging two more times on Evan.

   Zuma just blanked out. Evan was his best friend. Before and after their affair. He wanted all of this to be a dream. He would wake up and Yulia and laying right next to him. He wanted Evan and him to complain about Evan's hair. But this wasn't a dream.

   It was a nightmare.

   He didn't realize that that Scuba had attacked John Carver. Zuma snapped back to reality and saw it. Scuba and Jess were free. John had grabbed his axe.

   "Go! Go! Go!" Gabby repeated as Scuba and Jess ran out of the room.

   "Get the fuck out of here! Go!" Zuma yelled out as he started to move.

   He put his foot on the table and pushed himself on the ground. The chair broke. Zuma had got the chance to get out. He threw the rope on the ground and removed the cloth from his mouth.

   He went to Gabby and untied her, then went to Thomas and untied him.

   He met eyes with Gabby as she threw herself on him. Zuma hugged back tightly.

   "We need to go to the hospital." Zuma said as he grabbed her arm. Thomas went behind them.

   Zuma stopped once he saw Scuba on the ground.

   "Scuba!" He says, crouching down to him. His arm was fucked up.

   "Is it bad?" Scuba asked as Zuma looked at his arm.

   "No." He lied.

   Zuma and the others arrived at the hospital. Zuma hasn't been checked out yet. He wanted them to check out the others before him.

   He sat with Gabby and Scuba. Zuma was fiddling with his fingers. Thomas was talking to the nurses.

   "I gotta go after him." Zuma blurted out as the two looked at him like he was crazy.

   "You're fucking with us right?" Scuba asked in disbelief.

   "No. Jess is out there. And so is he." Zuma said, looking back and forth between the two.

   "Zuma, you probably have a fucking concussion. Your arms are messed up. You're gonna get yourself killed!" Gabby exclaimed as she held onto Evan's jacket.

   "This fucker won't go away unless I make him. I need to do this." Zuma said, trying to convince them

   "Zuma." They both said in unison.

   "For Yulia and Evan." He said and that made them quiet.

   Gabby leaned in. "Make that fucker pay."

   Zuma smirked as he got up and left the hospital.

   Zuma had found John, Jess and Bobby. He was hiding behind some old boxes. Zuma couldn't believe his eyes. John Carver was Eric Newlon.

   Zuma's blood boiled. He was faking the entire time. He killed Yulia. He killed Evan. Fuck it.

   Zuma ran into him and tackled him on the ground. Eric yelped in pain as he dropped his axe.

   "Zuma!" Jess called out as Zuma started punching him over and over.

   Eric lunged at him and started hitting him over and over again. Eric grabbed him and stabbed him in the stomach. Zuma hissed in pain.

   "Are you ready to join Yulia?!" Eric asked, cackling.

   Zuma then remembered what he had in his pocket. It was the knife McCarty gave him.

   Zuma stabbed him in the neck. Eric's eyes widen as blood starting spilling out of his mouth.

   "I said I was gonna fucking kill you." Zuma whispered as he pulled back, making Eric flop on the ground.

   "Zuma! Get on!" Jess exclaimed as Zuma ran to her. He hopped on the truck as Jess had a shotgun. She shit the giant turkey balloon which made the warehouse explode.

   Zuma looked over at Bobby who was driving. "What's up man?"

   "What's up?"

   Zuma never thought he would say this. "Thank you. You're not a douchebag like that after all. Bobby just laughed.

   Zuma started to get weak as he collapsed.

   Zuma woke up in the hospital. His head was hurting like a bitch. He looked over on his left and saw Gabby sleeping with Evan's jacket on. He looked on his right and saw Scuba and Jess sleeping in their chairs as well.

   "Wake the hell up!" Zuma exclaimed as they all shot up.

   "Zuma!" They all exclaimed as Zuma chuckled.

   "What's up?" He asked, half-jokingly.

   "You risked your life for me." Jess said. "Why?"

   "Because I already lost two important people in my life. I wasn't trying to loose more." Zuma said as Gabby sadly smiled.

   "Quick question." Zuma said.

   "What is it?" Scuba asked.

   "Can we get Chinese food?" Zuma asked while smiling.

   They others rolled their eyes and smiled.

   "You know, I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese food." Gabby said as Zuma bit his bottom lip.

   "Okay. We can get Chinese food." Scuba said.

   "Yes!" Zuma cheered as they all laughed.

   They may have lost people but they knew that someday...

   They're gonna be okay.

End Of Chapter