Crossing the Line

"**Crossing the Line**" is the fourth chapter in MrPotassiumK's **Loud House: Infection of the Dead**.

## Synopsis

Conflict grows within the group as David picks up six mysterious survivors. Lori and David fight back against threats. Lynn and Clyde grow closer.

## Plot

**Part 1: Red Arrow**

In a flashback, Tim watches a 7-year-old Vonda practice shooting a bow. It is implied Tim is preparing Vonda for the apocalypse. In the present day, Vonda thanks Lori for bringing Tim's tapes along with her and explains that he was well-known in Ann Arbor.

Previously, the group have been calling the roamers "rotters," and it is only now that they have decided on the name "roamer" since that's what Tim has been calling them. The group take their first stop in Ohio, where Vonda gives her second bow to Lynn, who shows off her archery skills. However, they're not as good as Vonda's, who surpasses Lynn by a mile.

When spotting Carol and Tad talking to each other, Becky confronts Carol, harassing her. It is revealed that Becky and Tad were dating, but have recently broken up. Becky claims to not have feelings for Tad anymore, however, her actions show otherwise. David believes Becky and Dana are causing trouble already, though Lori claims responsibility for them. David wants to discuss leadership with Lori, but Lori wants to avoid talking about it, insisting they lead their own group members.

Lynn's guilt consumes her as Clyde wonders what is happening to his parents. She breaks down and confesses to Clyde that his parents are dead. Clyde gets an asthma attack as a result, and recovers after Lori hands him his inhaler. Clyde feels betrayed by both Lynn and Lincoln.

In another flashback, Tim explains to an 8-year-old Vonda that she needs to learn to work with others because there may come a day where she needs the help from other people. In the present day, Vonda wakes up, remembering what happened in Ann Arbor in Day 5. It is revealed that the riots that took place that day killed her aunt.

Rusty's friends try to convince him to eat, though Rusty is too depressed to eat anything. Rusty then wonders why Lori only returned with Lucy and not his brother, Rocky. He believes Lori may prioritize her family over the rest of the group.

**Part 2: Strangers**

On the road to Cleveland, the group spot a dead body belonging to a boy. David believes the boy was killed by heat. He feels guilty about not having come earlier. This influences his decision to bring in six survivors when the group drive outside of Cleveland. The leader of this small group, Carlos, introduces himself and the others: Angel, Adriel, Esteban, D, and Wavehead. Carlos's group immediately start causing trouble when they demand food and sexually harass Missy. Wavehead then convinces his group to relax.

Lori, noticing Leni's grief, asks Leni to organize the pictures into a photo album. She then notices Carlos attempting to contact the group members in Vanzilla. Carlos's group continue to sexually harass more of the group members, including Lynn and Lori. Once nighttime arrives, David prepares to send Carlos's group off, but Bobby and Francisco convince him to let Carlos's group stay since the darkness would only lead to them getting killed. As Carlos's group stay for the night, David stays awake and keeps watch for the first time, being distrustful of Carlos and his group.

In a flashback, David's wife, Sandy, says her goodbyes to David and their son, Seth, as she leaves for a mission for General Black. Before Seth leaves for Miami, he accepts David's offer to watch a show. In the present day, while David is zoned out, Carlos's group, save for D and Wavehead, attempt to steal the weapons without waking anyone up. However, Lori is up, though she starts a conversation with David. She worries that after she rescues her family, she may never return to Royal Woods. She then hears a noise from the RV, prompting her and David to check. They find Carlos and his people awake and search them. Carlos accuses David and Lori of racial profiling, but Lori argues they have been causing trouble all day. David finds nothing on them except a knife, though it's not enough to punish them. He lets them go back to the RV, though not before Carlos tells David that he wanted to be a Marine like him. David is convinced and lets Carlos back inside, feeling a bit more pity for him. Meanwhile, Vonda is awake, keeping a knife close to her. After everything settles, she falls asleep.

In a flashback, Tim explains to a 9-year-old Vonda that she shouldn't hang out with toxic friends. She should surround herself with people who are right for her.

**Part 3: Raided**

After Vonda wakes up, she reveals to the group what states she has visited. The group are optimistic, wanting to visit New York City if possible. In the meantime, David tells Carlos's group to leave. When they are about to leave, Lincoln and Lynn visit the RV to talk with Clyde, in hopes of being forgiven. Just then, Carlos, Esteban, Angel, and Adriel hold the group at gunpoint. David attempts to reach for his gun before Carlos fires off a shot, nearly hitting him. Becky, upon hearing the gunshot, runs into the RV with her Glock 17 pistol. Tad and Dana follow her, though they themselves get held up by Carlos and his gun. Becky puts up no resistance as Carlos asks her to drop the gun. Carlos then orders David to hand over their crate of guns. Esteban walks David out of the RV. Wavehead and D protest Carlos's actions, but then find themselves on the other side of Carlos's gun barrel. Carlos plans on killing the entire group, but not before he and his people rape some of the female members of the group. Richard stands up to Carlos, running to him. Missy uses this as a chance to hit Carlos, attempting to disarm him before Angel steps in, stomping her.

Outside of the RV, David tries to stall. Esteban pulls him out of Chunk's van and leaves him in the ground before walking over to Leni. He plans on raping Leni and killing Bobby, who Esteban assumes to be her boyfriend. At the same time, Carlos tries to shoot Richard with the RV shotgun, but nothing comes out. Richard uses this chance to tackle Carlos. This distracts Angel and Adriel as they attempt to shoot Richard, but are unable to get a clear shot. Lori grabs the Glock 17 that Becky dropped and fires it at Angel and Adriel, killing the two of them. Esteban hears the gunshots and is then killed by David in his moment of distraction. Carlos tries to make a run for it, though he is shot a couple times in the leg by Lori, preventing him from running any further. In a desperate attempt to ask for forgiveness, he is shot in the head by David. The group are shocked by David's sudden kill.

David walks back into the RV, aiming his gun at Wavehead and D. They both beg for mercy. Missy and Lori convince David to not shoot them by telling them that they tried to stand up for the group. D reveals that he is not a saint, but that he wouldn't kill nor rape anyone. He then tells David that Wavehead is the only decent person in the group. David decides to spare both of them and immediately puts them to work on removing the bodies from the RV. Missy tries to convince David to let them come along in the trip, emphasizing the need for more people if they are to rescue the hostages in Houlton. David then asks Lori for her opinion.

Having convinced David to let them come to the trip, Lori takes the blame when Rusty gets angry. Rusty believes D and Wavehead shouldn't come due to the risk it poses. However, Clyde then comes to Lori's defense, saying they shouldn't be cowards. He then snaps at Rusty, telling him that he is not the only one dealing with grief.

Becky, Dana, and Tad thank Lori for saving their lives. Although Lori is glad they're alive, she feels like she messed up by killing people in front of her family. She makes it clear to Lincoln and Lynn that they should never enjoy killing someone.

Clyde asks Lynn to join him in the RV. Francisco agrees to go to Vanzilla with Lincoln. Suddenly, a zombified Angel makes itself known, which Richard puts down. Lori believes Angel was infected, and to not take any chances, Richard stabs the head of every single one of the deceased members in the ground. As the group leave the area, Carol takes oxycodone pills, receiving judgment from Sergei about it.

**Part 4: Losing Ourselves**

Clyde apologizes to Lynn about getting angry at her. He tells her that life is too short to hold grudges. Clyde believes that he may die soon since he doesn't think weak people will survive, but Lynn promises to protect him. The two then flirt with each other, causing the two to become closer.

The group take a break to eat. David, Richard, and Missy discuss leadership. David is convinced he should be the leader because he believes Lori will not able to handle the stress of losing anyone from her family. In the meantime, Francisco spooks Lynn and then bombards her with questions about her and Clyde. He then talks to Clyde alone in the RV. He is convinced Clyde likes Lynn and tells him to stay away from him. However, Clyde refuses, knowing Francisco's plan. Francisco gets angry and strikes Clyde, beating him. Clyde struggles to fight him off before some of the group catch Francisco in the act. Francisco lets go of Clyde, then runs away, ashamed of himself. Lisa attempts to treat Clyde, but looks for painkillers first. She asks Carol, who lies to her and tells her that she doesn't have painkillers, when in reality she has oxycodone pills.

In a flashback, Vonda watches Ann Arbor burn down as riots and roamers consume the city. In the present day, Francisco beats himself up while Lincoln tries to get him to explain why he beat up Clyde. Just like Clyde, he refuses to tell him or Lynn why he beat Clyde up.

The group arrive at the Pennsylvania-New York border, where two toll collectors, Kevin and Madison, ask for passes from the group. When David reveals he has none, the two toll collectors turn the group away. David is upset as this means the group will have to take the longer route to Albany. However, David doesn't want to fight their decision as he believes the toll collectors are actually Piranhas, a gang local to the Hudson area in New York state.

The group backtrack. While they do, Francisco admits to Lincoln why he beat Clyde: he was jealous. Lincoln tells Francisco that he has ruined his chances with Lynn, but he still thinks Clyde will forgive him. Francisco questions if the world is already making him lose his mind. As the group continues to backtrack, they come across a horde of roamers in the distance. They have to once again move towards the border, and possibly move off-track to avoid the toll collectors and the horde.

Meanwhile, Tad tells Lori how he, Becky, and Dana survived the chaos in Ann Arbor. He reveals a college student named Devin led them to safety when they were trapped at a building on campus. However, Devin was killed in the process.

The next day, the horde catches up to the group. However, Vonda is missing. The group sound the horn, which brings Vonda out of the woods. The group members fight off the roamers as Vonda returns to the vehicles. The group then leaves, being nearly swallowed by the horde. Vonda explains that she was hunting on her own because the longer trip would have forced the group to ration even more of their food. David tells Vonda that she isn't an outsider and that she has to consult the group whenever she does anything.

With the horde on their back, the group arrive at the border once again, where Kevin and Madison turn away the group once again. David then leads the group around and around once more to speed through the tolls. Kevin and Madison attempt to shoot David's RV, though Richard and Missy fire at them. The RV then strikes Kevin, killing him. Madison moves out of the way but not before Lori purposely turns Vanzilla a bit to crush Madison against the toll booth, severely injuring her. The horde then catches up to Kevin and Madison, consuming them. A traumatized group drive away from the border and further into New York.

In a flashback, Tad, Becky, and Dana arrive outside of Vonda's house. Vonda lets them in and introduces herself.

## Deaths

* Angel
* Esteban
* Adriel
* Carlos
* Kevin
* Madison *(Alive)*

## Trivia

* First appearance of Tim Crowley. *(Flashback)*
* First appearance of Wavehead.
* First appearance of D.
* First appearance of Sandy Jones. *(Flashback)*
* First appearance of Seth Jones. *(Flashback)*
* First (and last) appearance of Carlos.
* First (and last) appearance of Angel.
* First (and last) appearance of Esteban.
* First (and last) appearance of Adriel.
* First (and last) appearance of Kevin.
* First (and last) appearance of Madison. *(Alive)*
* First mention of the Piranhas.
* The chapter's original title was "Borderline".
* The end credits song is *The End of the World* by Rob Dickinson.
* The title of the chapter, **"Crossing the Line"**, refers to the group crossing the border between Pennsylvania and New York.
	+ It also refers to the group "crossing a line" in terms of their morality, with instances such as Lori killing Madison, Francisco beating up Clyde, and more.
	+ Lori also states, "Bobby... did I... did I just *cross the line* there?".
* The title of Part 1, **"Red Arrow"**, refers to the color of Vonda's arrows. It also symbolizes the blood that stains the arrow tips when Vonda uses them on roamers and people.
* The title of Part 2, **"Strangers"**, refers to Carlos's group, who are strangers to the main group.
* The title of Part 3, **"Raided"**, refers to Carlos's group conducting a raid on the main group, wanting to steal their weapons.
* The title of Part 4, **"Losing Ourselves"**, refers to David's quote where he states, "People lose the people they love... they start *losing themselves*."
	+ It turns out only the mere threat of losing their loved ones is enough to make the group members lose their humanity, with Francisco feeling that Clyde is taking Lynn away from her and Lori's family being threatened by Madison.