Welcome to the world of Stuffed Haven, where plushies are more than just toys—they’re warriors, protectors, and survivors. In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, KoonKoon, Momo, and their brave band of stuffed animals have one mission: to protect the little ones and keep hope alive. But when whispers of a traitor within their sanctuary emerge, their fragile safety is shattered. Who can they trust? And who is the mysterious ‘Him’ pulling the strings from the shadows?

Join KoonKoon and his friends as they face dangers far greater than their stitched seams and button eyes were ever meant to handle. Adventure, mystery, and heart await in a story that will change the way you see stuffed animals forever.

I am very happy to introduce Nambi, a lovely, friendly bear and a great friend of mine on Instagram.  We are so happy to make her part of our adventure.  Nambi, welcome to the Stuffed Haven Family. You are one of our own and we will always have your back.

Previously on KLC’s The Fluffy Dead…

(See Day 63 : 1200 Hours)

_____________________________________________________________________

KoonKoon and Momo sprang into action. Momo jumped onto the next section of fence and began to ring the many, colored bells one by one. KoonKoon knew the drill. The bells were the last resort— only to be used when things were desperate because the risk of attracting other zombies was too great. KoonKoon hopped into the Jeep and Momo leaped off the fence, satisfied that the zombies were headed towards them, with their parents in between. Momo grabbed a machete from their front weapons cache and jumped onto the back, barely holding onto the bar. 

KoonKoon inched the Jeep forward as silently as possible. Mom and Ron had lured the zombies away from Dean and Cassie, mostly due to their stronger human scent. The zombies were near the entrance of the alleyway, so KoonKoon sped the Jeep up and headed for Dean and Cassie. 

Momo sprang off as they neared the injured stuffed animals. Cassie looked to be in pretty rough shape; her leg was injured badly, her exposed stuffing blowing in the breeze. “Dean let’s get her into the back,” Momo said and the two lowered her gently into the back of the Jeep. 

“Guys get in, I don’t see any more of them, but we shouldn’t risk it”‘, KoonKoon said. The boys scrambled in and KoonKoon drove the Jeep home to Stuffed Haven, just in time to see Mom and Ron take each zombie out. 

“Boys, are you ok? Let me see Dean and Cassie”, his mother exclaimed with worry. 

“Father, you’re going to have to lift Cassie out, her leg looks pretty bad”, Momo said to his dad. 

“Wow Momo, way to make a girl feel good”, KoonKoon said with a wink to Cassie. 

“You know what I meant”, Momo glared then chuckled and punched KoonKoon lightly on the shoulder. 

“Um guys, if you’re done goofing off, I’m kind of bleeding my stuffing here,” Cassie said weakly but with a smile. 

Something was wrong, his mother and Ron could see it on her and Dean’s faces, but KoonKoon and Momo had not noticed. 

Ron carried Cassie into a dimly lit room next to the base room. He laid her down gently on the medical cot. 

“How are you doing sweetheart”, KoonKoon’s mother asked her with loving concern. 

“I’m ok, really … it was just a little … oh it was so terrible”, she said dazedly, as if in shock. 

His mother knew that Cassie would feel a lot more comfortable talking if the boys weren’t present, so she turned around. “Dean you look like you could use some cleaning up too”, she said. “Why don’t you guys go with Ron and get cleaned up, then we need a major debriefing”, she said with a seriousness that never crossed her face, if she could help it. 

“KoonKoon, can you send Madame Chancey in for Cassie, please?” she asked softly.

“On my way”, he replied and then sped out of the room.

“Something went very wrong on the run …”, Cassie started to say. 

“Don’t you want to wait and debrief all the others together?”, she asked Cassie. 

“You don’t understand. It was supposed to be just me and Dean, but something went wrong. “It was …” She cut off as Madame Chancey, the healer walked in and KoonKoon’s mother looked up gravely and said, “You might want to close the door.” 

“How bad is it Cassie”? she asked, doing her best to hide her growing concern. 

Cassie looked as if she’d burst into tears, yet her face contorted in confusion.  It was obvious the news would be devastating.  Cassie began her story with trepidation. 

—————————————————————————————————————————

KoonKoon sat in the Fluffirmary area tending to Dean’s injuries. His wounds were minor for the most part, and he only needed minor fluffpair. Dean had been very quiet and looked as if something was deeply troubling him. “So, what happened out there -“‘, KoonKoon started to ask, then suddenly stopped when his mom stalked across the room and began speaking to Ron in an agitated but muffled whisper. KoonKoon was too far away to hear anything, but his mother looked very worried. She turned around when she saw him looking, but not before he saw the look of shock on Ron’s face first. They both hurried off, back to Cassie, he presumed. What was going on? 

“Dean please report to emergency services, immediately”, the voice came through the com on Dean’s hip. Dean gave a little quiver and then headed off the way his mom and Ron had just disappeared. 

“Momo, what’s going on”? 

“I have no idea, maybe something happened on the run. It was only a two-person mission and Cassie was pretty hurt but they’ll both recover fine. I don’t like this”, Momo said, visibly upset. 

“KoonKoon, Momo, you’re on kitchen duty today”, came a disembodied voice off to the right. Normally the boys would have rolled their eyes and joked about how they would rather be doing anything else, but right now they were glad for the distraction. 

Later that night, after KoonKoon and Momo had finished reading bedtime stories to all the children, his mom and Ron came to them. They beckoned and the boys followed them into the room where Cassie was taken earlier. 

“How is Cassie”, KoonKoon and Momo asked simultaneously. 

“Jinx”, they both said with a laugh. 

“Boys, read the room”‘, KoonKoon’s mom said with a small chuckle. “Cassie will be fine. She just needs to rest; she’s asleep now and Madame Chancey is taking great care of her”. 

“We do, however, have a big problem”, Ron said. “Boys, you need to sit down. Something happened on the run. Dean go ahead and tell the boys your story”. 

Dean cleared his throat and began his story. As he did, the boys saw it all in their heads, clear as a Pensieve. 

______________________________________________________________________

Dean and Cassie entered the superstore stealthily through a narrow gap in the automotive department. They looked to their left and to their right. There didn’t seem to be any threat nearby, but the superstore was huge. They chose this store because most of the entrances had been reasonably secured once they had a go at fortifying it. It didn’t seem like there were many people left in this part of Hemet. 

“Ok, Cassie, let’s head straight to Market and get whatever we can carry back, a quick grab job, then let’s get back,” Dean said in a hushed tone. 

Cassie nodded and they set off, trying to ignore the eerie sense of potential peril that loomed in the dark nothingness surrounding them. They were slow-moving, which was as much due to caution as it was due to their tiny little legs. They often found themselves startled by sudden noises, unsure whether they were real or just a trick of their imagination.

“There isn’t much left, Cassie said as they entered into the secret space. They had hallowed out a space in the shelving, with the help of other team members during the beginning of the evacuation. Most of the panicked masses started to fade out because they had made the mistake of going to the most popular and well-stocked place in town. There were plenty of supplies, yes, but the problem was that everyone had the same idea. Clearly, the Zombie Survival Guide did not sell enough copies. Max Brooks was an absolute genius. 

The hollowed space was almost invisible if you didn’t know it was there. Almost like a perception filter or the Room of Requirement, it was there for them whenever they needed it. They loaded up the sacks they were carrying and headed to the toy aisle. There was a little car waiting, like the Jeep they used to get around on runs. The animals used the car to get around between aisles because the store was so massive, even by human standards. The only opening to the store was just enough to fit the smallest of animals, so they had to carry the sacks back on their own. The car cut travel time between departments down incredibly though. 

They hopped in the car and set off. Soon enough they had reached the first aid aisle and like the other aisle, they had a secret stash here as well. They stepped inside and Cassie was about to set down her bag when someone grabbed her and pulled her backwards. She tried to yelp but there was a hand over her mouth. Dean jumped at once and then stopped. Cassie was released and she turned around. It was just Bobby, an older and mostly grumpy stuffed animal who usually preferred to do his missions alone. Although he was very kind deep down, he didn’t like people to know it, or at least not without a healthy dose of sarcasm. 

“I’m sorry Cassie, Dean but shhhh”, he said, as he indicated that they should listen. 

They both turned, sat down, and listened. At first, they didn’t hear anything but then they heard a mild whispering that eventually formed itself into stifled words. 

“He’s getting restless. He wants to know about the animal camp at the nursery,” came an unfamiliar voice. “He wants more surveillance, and he wants to make the humans pay”. 

Dean and Cassie exchanged worried glances; they were talking about Stuffed Haven, their own base. Who were these guys, he turned to Cassie but stopped when he heard another, softer, voice. 

“Isn’t it enough that we have a spy on the inside? I don’t understand the urgency”, the voice said. 

Dean didn’t need to meet Cassie’s gaze to see the horror these words inspired. A spy in their own camp? He shuddered and was about to turn to the others to strategize an escape when they heard a familiar sound that made their hearts drop in their little stuffed chests. They looked up and sure enough, it was Nambi. She was their beautiful bear friend from London. She must have followed them here from the base. Nambi was almost done with her training but wasn’t cleared for missions yet. She must have been restless; she was always too eager to go on her first run. 

She was about to approach the strange stuffed animals and stopped at the sight of them. 

The strange animals started at her appearance and were caught off guard by her genuine and friendly hello. 

Before they could recover, Dean and Cassie jumped out of hiding and put themselves between Nambi and the strangers.

“Hello,” Dean said calmly. “We don’t know who you are, but clearly you know about us. We don’t want any trouble now. We just want to get our friend and get out of here; we won’t be giving you any problems, we are just going to go”, he said. 

“Wait right there, you’re not going anywhere, we’re just getting to know each other”, growled a grumpy-looking owl. 

“I said we aren’t going to have any trouble, so relax there Hedwig”, Dean said sarcastically, smirking as the owl huffed. “Me and my friends here are going to get our stuff and go”, Dean said and backed away slowly. 

“Dean, why do you aggravate the animal so?”, Cassie asked bemusedly. 

The owl lunged at Dean for the sarcastic remark and Dean fought him off as the other animals on both sides tried to pull the two apart. Bobby grabbed both animals by the ears. “Knock it off you idjits,” Bobby said gruffly to both. 

The owl opened his mouth to retort when a scary noise like a foghorn came out of nowhere. Bobby grabbed Nambi and pulled her into the storage space. A younger little bunny, from the other group jumped in as well, obviously scared. 

“Oh no it’s him”‘ one of the strange animals said, obviously very afraid. One of the strangers bumped the shelf and something huge fell down. It was a humidifier or some sort of similar machine. It was blocking Nambi, Bobby, and the little bunny inside the storage space. All animals tried earnestly to move the blockage, but they could not budge the item. The noise came again, and it was clear that the animal strangers were afraid. 

All of the strangers ran towards the noise, it seemed as if they were propelled by fear of this “He” they had overheard mentioned. 

“No, Chrissa come back, he will be angry!” The cry came from the surly owl. 

He was yelling at another animal who was sprinting away from the others, towards the trapped little bunny. “I can’t leave him, he’s all alone, with these strangers” she cried. 

With a single cry from the first shouter, the owl turned around and scooped Carissa up despite her sobs and cries. 

“We will save your friend”, Cassie yelled. “He is safe here; he will be protected! You have our word”, she yelled as the sobs grew fainter. 

Dean looked over at Cassie and her leg was badly hurt. The machine had fallen on it and the severity of her pain was evident on her face. Dean pulled her free and they called out to their friends. 

“We’re fine”, Nambi yelled after calling out to make sure that Dean and Cassie were fine themselves, first. 

“Alright kids, you need to go and get help. Bring back the others to move this dang blockage. Nambi and this little guy are safe with me,” Bobby called out reassuringly. 

They knew it was true. Bobby was one of the toughest guys they’d ever met, by both human and stuffed animal standards. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Suddenly, the boys felt as if they were pulled out of a tunnel, and they were back in the room at Stuffed Haven. Everyone was speechless and then his mother spoke. 

“These other animals definitely sound troublesome”, she said with a frown. “This HE; did they indicate if he was animal or human?” 

Dean shook his head, “No they just seemed oddly loyal but equally as afraid.  At the same time I got the impression that He doesn’t like unfamiliar humans very much. 

“A spy in Stuffed Haven though? It seems crazy and I can’t think of a single person here who would do anything to hurt the group. We must obviously take this information seriously, but we must ensure that this secret stays with the seven of us. Clearly, none of us is the mole”, KoonKoon’s mother said pensively. 

“Ok boys, you should get some rest, you’re going to need—”, she was cut off as Cassie jolted straight up out of her slumber. 

“Nambi! Oh no Nambi”, she cried out groggy and confused. 

“Cassie it’s ok! Remember she is with Bobby; she is going to be ok. We will get her first thing in the morning”, KoonKoon reassured her. 

“I’m worried about her too Cass but we’ll get them all out safely”, Momo said. 

“Mom, can we have a sleepover in here tonight? I think we’d like to stay with Cassie”, KoonKoon asked and everyone nodded in agreement. She looked at Ron and he gave a nod. 

“Fine with us boys. We thought you’d want that …”, she said and gestured to the other side of the room where there were four sleeping bags set up with pillows and dinner for them all. 

His mom and Ron set Cassie up in the extra padded sleeping bag and then his mom gave her kisses and they both said their good nights and left the room. 

The boys made their way over to their sleeping bags. They each did their best to make Cassie comfortable and they ate their dinner in silence.  The silence built upon itself, almost becoming an entity unto itself.  Cassie couldn’t take it anymore.

“Ok, now it’s time to get serious”, she said. “We need a plan because Nambi we’re coming for you”!!

Curious about what happens next? Stay tuned for the next chapter to find out how KoonKoon, Momo, and the others tackle the dangers ahead!
Have thoughts, questions, or ideas for the story? Leave a comment below—your feedback means the world to us and helps keep our stuffed animal heroes moving forward!