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Ep 11. Left Behind

11/18/22

Mushroom and Dynamite are in the school hallway, slowly backing away from the horde of assimilated objects. Dynamite is holding onto Mushroom's arm. Looking down at Dynamite, Mushroom quietly says, Run.
Mushroom and Dynamite run away from the school building, up the grassy hill and into the field.
As they stop to catch their breath Mushroom asks, Dynamite, are you ok? Dynamite coughs up a rock before gagging and wheezing as he asks, What, what happened to the people?
Mushroom puts a hand on his shoulder, saying, Breathe. Dynamite lets out a huff, and Mushroom says, I don't know what happened. But they didn't follow us. Or chase us. Dynamite leans in to hug her, asking, Huh wuh? Really?
Dynamite says, They looked like bugs, not in a good way like you, but, and he trails off. Mushroom is quiet for a few moments, then says, Let's get out of here. The next panel shows them both walking down a path, with Dynamite typing something on his phone. His phone buzzes as he raises it to his ear, looking worried. Mushroom watches him.
Mushroom looks over at a house as they pass by the mailbox. Dynamite shouts, Come on! His phone screen shows that he was calling his mom, and that she isn't picking up. Mushroom calls his name and he looks over, shaking with tears in his eyes. As they both look towards the house, with its front door open and no car in the driveway, Mushroom asks, Isn't this your house?
Dynamite asks, Why is my, and the garage, as the next two panels show first the front door and then the garage wide open. A wide shot shows both Mushroom and Dynamite staring at the house, with Dynamite trailing off, My, Parents.
Mushroom narrows her eyes, saying, Let's go to my house. In the next panel they've arrived to Mushroom's house, a mossy stone cottage with a thatched roof. Dynamite says, I don't know how you guys can live on the edge of Middle Ring with no fence. Mushroom says, My dad said that if an Outer Ring monster really wanted to eat us, a fence wouldn't stop them.
Mushroom pushes the door open, calling out, Dad? The house appears to be empty, so Mushroom tells Dynamite, He's, probably on his way home from center ring. They go to Mushroom's room, where she says, Sorry, I haven't cleaned in a while. Dynamite sobs into her bed.
Looking towards her with tears rolling down his face, Dynamite says, Your bed, it's made out of rocks. Mushroom says, Don't worry, I can share them. Right away Dynamite grabs two big pawfuls of rocks, shoving them right into his mouth while still crying. Mushroom thinks, That reminds me, what am I going to feed you? He's a carnivore. Looking back at Dynamite, Mushroom says, If my dad isn't here by tomorrow, let's uh, go to, the store? Dynamite, not crying anymore, asks, Uh, Would it be safe? He checks his phone again and sees there's no signal. Mushroom says, Maybe we can find help.
Holding the back of Dynamite's head, Mushroom says, We'll be okay. They fall asleep holding each other and wake up the next morning cuddling. Mushroom gets up to check the house, dragging a sleepy Dynamite with her as she says, He's not here. They leave the house to head back towards town, with Dynamite complaining, Is this worth some eggs? Mushroom keeps an arm around his shoulders.
The next panel shows them standing in front of a store. Mushroom asks, Why isn't anyone around? Dynamite says, Maybe they're scared of us, hehe. Mushroom asks, Well how do we get in the store if nobody opened it? In sync, they both look at a loose brick on the floor. The next panel shows them both in the store, with Dynamite grabbing a carton of eggs from the fridge. Mushroom says, I just think it's strange. Wouldn't the store at least be looted by now? She thinks, Where is everybody? They both go to sit outside the store, Mushroom thinking to herself as Dynamite scarfs down whole raw eggs.
Memories of Mushroom's dad, Cattail, playing with her and spending time with her as a kid are in the background as Mushroom, looking suspicious, thinks, You would never, right?
Suddenly, Dynamite says, Oh hey, there's service here. Wiping the egg yolk around his mouth with his paw, he pulls up his phone to read the news. Mushroom looks at him and asks, What does the news say? As she sees how freaked out Dynamite looks, she gets more serious.
Suddenly Dynamite drops his phone. It bounces off the street with a clack and lands in the grass, screen now cracked. As Mushroom calls out, Dynamite? Dynamite! the screen shows a news article titled, Order for Rings to be abandoned issued. Quotes from the article say, It's too dangerous to send any help, and, We've shut off train routes passing through the region.
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