The Last Kids on Earth and the Zombie Parade

As the group makes their way toward the Entry Tree to confront Thrull and save Quint, they assemble the Weed-B-Gone super soakers. The Wormungulous devours everything in its path, and they quickly make their way to the edge of the forest. The forest itself seems to be leaking darkness, and they can hear chanting as they approach. They slow down and move more quietly, not wanting to alert Thrull to their presence. It is hard to see through the darkness and tangle of trees and vines, but Jack spots Quint, hanging upside down from one of the branches of the Entry Tree.

The energy window between the two longest branches of the Entry Tree is open again. Underneath, Thrull holds the bestiary, which is spewing some kind of evil, magic, energy. He commands the Entry Tree to accept the key and open the door so that Rezzoch can pass into this world. The two long branches of the tree lurch forward and stab into the ground, creating a door frame, and Rezzoch’s voice can be heard booming throughout the forest.

Jack decides it is time to act—he is ready to try to save Quint. June suggests that if he distracts Thrull, she can use the super soakers to save Quint, but Bardle interrupts and offers to talk to Thrull himself. Jack agrees, and the two of them head down from the tree house and head toward Thrull. Bardle’s attempts to reason with Thrull don’t get very far, as Thrull believes he will rule beside Rezzoch. Thrull sends a wave of energy rolling through the earth, which knocks Bardle over. Jack manages to dodge it, and uses this moment to reveal himself. Thrull ignores him and keeps chanting; the ceremony is almost complete.

From above, June blasts music from her newly acquired sound system. This gets Thrull’s attention and distracts him. He fumbles over the final words of the ceremony, delaying its completion. June uses this opportunity to blast the Vine-Thingies holding Quint with Weed-B-Gone. Quint is released and runs toward Jack, while the Wormungulous—and the attached tree house—moves in closer. Quint stops, and just as Thrull is about to insert the key into the door, releasing Rezzoch, he throws a BOOMerang at Thrull’s face.

Quint’s BOOMerang explodes in Thrull’s face. Quint gets away with the bestiary while Thrull crawls around on his knees, dazed in the mud. The almost-opened portal cracks and hisses; Rezzoch lets out one final scream as it closes. Bardle warns that it is not over yet. The portal opens again, long enough for Rezzoch to instruct Thrull to retrieve the key and kill the kids.

This command gives Thrull a second wind, and he begins to cackle with laughter. He says an incantation that Bardle describes as a unification spell. The Vine-Thingies from the Entry Tree begin to swirl around in a kind of tornado. They entwine themselves in such a way that they create a mouth, which then swallows Thrull whole. The tree then changes again, rips up its roots, and takes on a large, anthropomorphic shape and the face of Thrull. Jack names this new adversary Thrull the Tree Beast.

Bardle warns the group that they will not be able to run from Thrull because he is too powerful. He suggests that they regroup with the other monsters at Joe’s Pizza to make a stand. Jack immediately volunteers to take Rover and the bestiary to warn Bardle’s friends of the incoming battle, but Quint wants to do it himself. Jack tells his friends it is too dangerous and that they’ll be safer in the tree house. They are all annoyed by his attempts to do everything himself, and Jack realizes that he needs to trust them because he can’t win this fight alone.

Quint and Bardle take the bestiary and leave on Rover, while Jack, June, and Dirk attempt to buy them time by slowing Thrull down. This proves more difficult than they expected, and Thrull is able to fight them while chasing after the bestiary. June eventually has the idea to shoot the Weed-B-Gone at Thrull’s feet. This seems to have some effect, causing his feet to burn and slowing him down slightly. Nonetheless, Thrull pushes forward and is soon back in Wakefield. He makes his way down Main Street, and Joe’s Pizza comes into view.

There’s no sign of Quint at Joe’s Pizza, so Jack radios him on the walkie-talkie. After a moment of silence, Quint, surrounded by an army of monsters, bursts out of the front door. The monsters begin scaling Thrull the Tree Beast, punching, hacking, and slashing at him. Dirk joins the fight on the ground, while Jack and June attempt to use the super soakers. Thrull unleashes a massive roar, sheds the monsters climbing on him, and heads directly for Jack and June. June tackles Jack out of the way just in time, but the super soakers are destroyed, and the bestiary is knocked free. Quint manages to grab the bestiary, and the monsters begin tossing it around to keep it away from Thrull. June jumps down to help and uses her athleticism to dodge the vines and tree limbs attempting to catch her.

In the tree house, Jack is knocked over and crashes into the Space Marine armor he took from the mall. This gives Jack an idea, and he asks Dirk to help him put it on.

After helping Jack into the Space Marine suit, Dirk chains the remaining barrels of Weed-B-Gone to him. After checking that the chains are locked and secure, and that he has a TNT-branded triple explosive bottle rocket in his pocket, June tosses them the bestiary, and Jack calls for Thrull’s attention. Thrull the Tree Beast scoops Jack up and puts him into his mouth. The barrels of Weed-B-Gone dangle behind Jack, and he manages to toss the bestiary away before he is swallowed. Once he’s inside Thrull, with Weed-B-Gone sloshing about everywhere, he lights the fireworks, causing a massive explosion. Thrull howls in pain and the tree melts away to nothing, leaving only Thrull behind. Jack is rocked by the explosion but survives because of the Space Marine armor.

June jokes that Jack might turn into some kind of swamp monster after being soaked by so much Weed-B-Gone, but realizes they still need to deal with Thrull. When they go to find his body, it’s gone. Bardle tells them that servants of Rezzoch are hard to defeat, but that he won’t dare come around Joe’s Pizza anytime soon.

Quint wants to know more about Rezzoch so that they can defeat him permanently. Bardle claims this will never be the case, because Rezzoch’s servants are relentless. The group contends that they’re up to the challenge.

The Wormungulous disappears beneath the parking lot of Joe’s Pizza, leaving the tree house next door. June is annoyed that it will be stuck there forever now, but Quint is excited that they’ll become regulars at Joe’s Pizza. Everyone rushes inside to celebrate, while Jack takes a moment to ruminate on their victory. He sees Alfred down the street and feels content knowing that he’ll be safe from zombie-eating trees from now on.

Inside Joe’s Pizza, after hours of celebrating, Bardle tells Jack that this is their world now too. He and the other monsters intend to help repair it, which means finding more humans and more monsters.