We made it to the gate. I had never been so happy to see the military in my life. Pulling up to the big gate and reading the sign welcoming us to Camp Brandt were awesome. My hands were shaking so bad I was losing my grip on the steering wheel. I brought the truck to a stop at the outer gate and a guard waved me forward. The gate opened, they had electricity, outstanding.
“How many?” the guard asked me.
I was put off by the guards in front of him, the ones aiming the M16's at us. “Four.”
“Go inside and stay to the right, a guard will guide you to quarantine.”
“Thank you.”
He motioned me forward and past him. I approached the guards with trepidation; none of them returned my friendly wave or smile. Instead, they trained their weapons on me and watched as I slowly went forward and turned to the right. Fear gripped me. I could not make mistakes with this lot. I tightened my grip on the wheel and followed the path laid out for me. I made it to the area and parked.
I stepped out of the truck to check on my team. They were awfully quiet and I admit I had forgotten about them. I longed to see my brother and kept his image in my head as I drove. Everything else disappeared as I remembered every joke, every story, every laugh I was a party to with him. It would be good being with him.
Charley, Brittany, and Jones had their hands up and were standing in the center of the truck bed. Four guards pointed rifles at them.
“Zee!”
Brittany’s expression worried me. She was afraid they would kill them and so was I. Two guards came behind me. I felt a barrel in the center of my back. It nudged me and I immediately put my hands in the air.
The soldier with the gun in my back shoved it forward. “Move, that way.”
“Zee, I have to tell you—” Brittany began.
“Hey! Get down and march, slowly, no talking. Move!”
“It’s okay, Britt—”
The soldier behind me shoved the barrel deeper into my back, “shut up and march.”
Since they wouldn’t allow me to talk, I tried to calm Brittany with a smile. There was nothing for her to worry about, we made it and we were alive. Still, fright covered her face and that was unusual for her. I glimpsed the others and they too worried. Maybe it was the truck, it was covered in green blood and guts, possibly body parts, maybe that is why they treated us so badly.
It will be all right, Zee. You made it and Simon is waiting. I walked at gunpoint to a cell between the inner and outer gates. It is reasonable for them to quarantine us. I had no problem with it.
The thought then occurred to me that my friends had no one waiting on them as I did. Though it was the army, it is a new world for them and some fear is in order. I hoped they would get over it soon. Good times were ahead.
My guard led me to a door and made me open it. I did and went inside. I found it was not the one-room cell I believed. It was a small room with a metal table and two doors at the far end. An overhead light shined on the table. Now, I was worrying. Images of mad scientists ran through my head.
I stood by the door, not wanting to venture forward to find what awaited me. After a while, a speaker buzzed from the ceiling and I shook. In a split second, Camp Vix appeared in my head and I found myself in the basement cell struggling to keep the wall from moving and throwing me into the clutches of a female zombie.
Words came from the speaker, I didn’t understand any of them. Fear held me. Maybe Brittany was right to be afraid. Maybe she knew they would do this to us.
“Move forward to the head of the table,” the calmer I became the clearer the voice became.
“Hello?”
“Move forward to the head of the table,” said the voice, “please.”
The added incentive made me move. I moved as slow as possible, a zombie could jump out at me at any moment. I reached to my back as casually as I could, my knife felt hard as I ran my hand against its handle. I walked forward a bit faster with more confidence. If a zombie or a maniac jumped out at me, it would be their last jump.
“A doctor will be in to examine you shortly,” said a softer female voice. I suppose its purpose is to put me at ease, it didn’t. I looked for hidden cameras in the ceiling. “Underneath the table are drawers. The top drawer contains bath towels. You will undress and take a shower. The door ahead of you on your left is a shower. When you have finished, the middle drawer contains shirts and the bottom, pants. A doctor will then see you. Please move forward and get a towel.”
“Who is talking?”
“Please move forward and get a towel.”
Sorry, I’m going to be difficult. “I’m not doing anything until you answer me. Who is talking?”
Dead silence.
I worried, but I didn’t budge.
The door to the right opened. Two people in what looked like decontamination getups came into the room. They moved slowly in big bulky suits that carried their own oxygen supply in a small tank on their back.
From between them, two soldiers in camouflaged fatigues appeared. The first, an older soldier with jet-black hair, held a metal nozzle. I traced its end to a long metal tube that turned into a thick white hose, a fire hose. The other held a rifle he pointed directly at me, unflinching.
“You can voluntarily take your shower or these gentlemen will assist you,” said the first man in the contamination suit.
I eyed them all. What I was doing made no sense. Simon was on the other side of the door and I was arguing about taking a shower, something I hadn’t done in who knows when. Brittany’s face came to me and the scared look she had on her face as she left. Something told me to be wary of these people and it wouldn’t let me relax. Immediately, my knife made an appearance. Eyes went wide.
“Private Jolly, hit her.”
The soldier with the hose aimed it at me. The last thing I saw was his evil smile and crooked teeth as water shot at me with a force that knocked me back against a wall and to the floor. I lost consciousness.
I woke on a metal table. I didn’t have to see it. I felt the distinctive cold metal surface. I raised my head to look at my body, fear pumped through my veins, someone had dressed me. I was in a white long sleeve shirt, green pants, and I wore no shoes. If I could move, I would kick myself all over the room for being stupid. Who knows what they did to me while I was out. Did they touch me? I could barely move and managed to tilt my head in a way where I could see down my shirt. I saw a bra, thank god for that. I looked further for marks and didn’t find any.
I shut my eyes tight and tried to go over my body for signs of something, anything. I pictured myself having an out-of-body experience where I floated over my body to examine myself for unusual marks. Try as I may, I felt nothing unusual. I wasn’t sore, so that ruled out them performing an unwilling surgery and implanting me with god knows what. Why did I resist?
Now, I’m unarmed. Maybe I could have kept my knife if I had cooperated.
I struggled to free myself and couldn’t. Strapped to the table with large bands around my waste and legs, I could barely move. Two smaller bands held my arms in two places.
“Hey! Hello!”
I twisted more and then prepared to shout more, I would scream my head off until I went hoarse if necessary.
The door opened. A man in white doctors’ clothing came in carrying a chart on a clipboard. He pulled up a chair and then looked over my body before sitting in his chair.
“My name is Doctor Flitall, I need to ask you a few questions and then we can place you.”
“Place me?”
“One of the others said you were a soldier, is that correct?”
“Untie me.”
After a brief stare down, he undid my arms so I could sit. “I’ll do the rest when we finish.”
“Why?”
“You were armed with a knife and reached for it during your decontamination. We have to protect a whole society, so if you are crazy, we have to restrain you.”
“I’m sane.”
“Name?”
; “Zora Baker. I have a brother, Simon. He should be here, have you seen him?”
He ignored my inquiry and wrote on his clipboard. “Rank?”
“Private, first class, member of the 59th strike team out of Camp Vix, the Screaming Eagles. Simon Baker, have you seen him?”
Again he ignored me. “Any bites or scratches?”
I rolled my eyes. “You should already have the answer to that one.”
He glanced up at my body before writing a new paragraph. I tried to look to see what he wrote, my restraints made it impossible. “Are you going to untie me?”
“No.”
“What?”
The man looked me over and then left. I struggled to free myself and then the man I didn’t want to see came into the room, Dr. Blake.
“Miss Baker,” he said, “let me tell you a key rule at this facility. If you harm any human, execution is automatic for the crime. There is no prison and no defense lawyer. We are all that remains of our society and like our gardens, we root out the weeds. If you cause trouble, we will kill you or throw you out, those are the facts of our new world. Do you understand what I have said to you?”
This man seemed as if he were reading me my rights, as if arrested; only these were new rights for a new world. He glared at me waiting for my response. I thought how easy it would be to remove his glasses and use a piece of it as a weapon to stab him with. I saw it in a movie once. I can’t think of the name of the movie, but it thrilled me.
“Do you understand, Miss Baker?”
“Yes.”
“Good. You will work the gardens during the day and guard duty on the south wall at night. Your supervisor’s name is Glessman, Sandra Glessman.”
He wrote on his clipboard and left the room. Seconds later, a soldier came in and released me. His crooked smile told me I had met him before: the same evil leer, the same yellowed teeth, the man with the fire hose.
As he loosened my straps, my first inclination was to kick him. I thought of the rules and resisted. He had to hurry and leave me, my willpower was fading fast. I gripped the sides of the table tighter than I should have and swung around to sit up. A surprise visitor saved the day.
“Zee!”
Simon ran toward me. I hopped off the table, gave a shove to the man, and ran for my brother—I’ll claim it was the excitement of Simon and apologize, if I got into trouble for it. I owed him one and I like to pay up.
“Simon! My god, Simon!” I knelt down and hugged him too tightly. He gasped for air. He’ll get over it. I needed to hug him a little while longer. I broke my hug and looked at him. My hands flew all over him checking for injuries, checking for growth, just checking. He was with me again and I needed to make sure he was real.
“Hey, Zee. I’m glad you made it, I knew you would. They kept saying you were dead, I knew better and told them so.”
“Yes, you did.” I hugged him again.
“Uh-hem,” the soldier cleared his throat. I looked up and gave him my death look. How dare he interrupt us? Who did he think he was? “I have to take you to the gardens, and you young man, I believe you have a class to attend.”
Simon reddened, he had always been bashful. “Yes, Jolly, I remember.” Simon smiled at him.
“Hurry along, they are waiting for you.”
This soldier had kind words for my brother. It enraged me more. From what he did to me, he was not one of the good guys and had tricked my brother into thinking he was. I wanted to attack him. If not for Simon, I would have.
Simon volunteered a hug, it caught me off guard. My death match with this stranger had taken my focus off him. “I’ll see you later, Zee.” He hugged me again and then he left.
I felt empty. The emptiness had to be filled with something, and this soldier; the one who had hosed me with pleasure, which had probably undressed and dressed me with pleasure, he filled the void nicely. I got to my feet, ready to challenge him.
“Don’t.” He held up a hand to me, anticipating my attack. “Simon has missed you and it would be a shame if you died moments after your reunion. Don’t forget Doctor Blake’s warning, they are true and we follow them to the letter. This way,” he handed me a pair of boots. “No more freebies.”
His look was strong. He caught the move I had made and was giving me a pass. I smiled and took my boots. My choices were to follow him or to attack him for unknown crimes. I played it smart and followed.
He led me out through several buildings to a big house, the garden. As we approached the structure there was no mistaking it for anything other than a greenhouse. The walls had windows of various sizes and shapes throughout. No doubt collected from abandoned houses. A layer of plastic covered the rest and once inside, I would be able to see if the roof was glass or plastic.
The soldier held the door open for me. Why do they always have that sick smile and grubby teeth? His taunts wouldn’t win today. I had my brother and we would never separate again. I gave my best sarcastic smile and went inside. Sure enough, a collection of windows formed the roof. The design, charming and inspirational. I could see myself working here, it would be peaceful.
“You must be Zora.”
I turned in time to greet the approaching hand of a small woman. She wore a blue pantsuit with black flats. Grey hair fell around her shoulders, framing an oval face. I shook her soft hand. “Yes, I’m Zora Baker from Camp Vix.”
“It is so nice to meet you. May I call you, Zora?”
“Fine.”
“Good. I’m Sandra Glessman. Call me Sandy.”
“All right.”
“You can go now, Jolly,” by her tone, she liked him as much as I did. We could be friends. “Come, Zora, let me show you my world.”
Sandy led me around and gave names for everything she pointed to. It all sounded technical so I assume she was a botanist. The garden resembled a football field in size. Most of it tilled into neat rows, though I saw no tiller. She explained how they grew hardy vegetables and told me which grew best and why, I paid no attention. It was good enough being there. I didn’t need to learn how it all worked. Simon was my focus, being with him and keeping him safe.
We went to a new section holding herbs and others for medical purposes. I would be working in the other section, but if I proved myself, this is the advancement that awaited me. Thrilling.
“Excuse me, Sandy,” I interrupted her spiel. “Do you know my brother Simon, Simon Baker?”
“I don’t believe so.”
“I need to find him. He mentioned something about studies or a class he had to attend. Do you know anything about that?”
She crinkled her small face in deep thought. “He might be in a safety class. They teach the older children how to fight and when they’re old enough, they join the army.”
That didn’t set well with me. I was all in favor of him learning how to protect himself, but not forced to join the military.
“What’s wrong, dear? Everyone has a part to play. Survival comes at a price and those that don’t contribute are a drain on us all.”
Sandy must have been reading my mind. It was eerie. “I plan to teach him how to defend himself. Forcing him into service isn’t right.”
Her look of shock told me that neither she nor their system had ever been questioned before. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were saucers. She blinked and they went back to normal. Then she smiled and I had seen enough of those smiles to be on guard. Now, I will watch what I say and keep a lookout for anything suspicious. Her look told me something was wrong. I would get to the bottom of it.
“I’ll walk you to lunch. Perhaps your brother will be there and you can confirm he hasn’t been drafted into slavery.”
Sandy was good. It takes someone of her maturity to throw poisoned darts while facing you with a happy smile. Sandy led the way and I followed. My mother was quite the expert, like a Stepford wife with a blowgun. I knew to be wary of her and it transferred to this fiftyish small woman with gray hair.
This time, I looked
around to gauge my surroundings. The fort was impressive. Camp Brandt had a high wall surrounding it with guards who walked its top, armed with M16's. A central tower, three stories high, was the main attraction. Surrounding it were campers, tents, makeshift houses, and others. The greenhouse garden was against one of the far walls and at the base of the other, an outdoor garden.
We went into a large tent that once inside, transformed into a long cafeteria style room of brick and wood. At least a hundred people were present, talking over one another. The odd thing: over half of them were people of color. And for the first time in ages, I saw human children. They were playing, running around their table instead of eating. Several adults were shouting and demanding they sit, but the children laughed and ran. What a great sight. This was home. I can be a farmer by day and a guard by night, I can do it, I know I can.
“Zee!”
I whirled around and saw him and like before, my heart raced. Simon was waving at me. He shouted my name several times. I left Sandy and went to him. We hugged in front of his table and then he introduced me to his friends. Simon sat at a table of early teens, those aged ten to fourteen. I shook hands with six girls and two boys. I was so happy to see them that I couldn’t remember any of their names.
Simon was about to explain something when Sandy came behind me and tapped me. “We only have a few minutes for lunch, let the children eat. I have more to explain to you.”
“I’ll see you tonight,” said Simon. “We stay on the east side, in the central tower, Miss Sandy will show you.”
“All right, you be good.”
I don’t know why I said it, it felt right to me.
“I will.” Simon looked bashful. I might have gone too far with the parental thing. The girls had grins plastered across their faces.
I left with Miss Sandy. I thought she told me she didn’t know my brother, liar. We are no longer friends.
She led me to a table and she talked the whole time, explaining rules and regulations and the proper way to do things. I tuned it out as best I could. My goal was to get through the day and see Simon tonight.
Lunch blows when the food is crap. My metal tray contained mashed potatoes or its equivalent, a mystery meat that smelled vaguely like chicken, and a piece of cornbread. I should say that the bread was the most appetizing and the smallest item on the tray. I ate part of the meal and returned with her to the garden.
She gave me a break later in the day. She told me to take five—her mistake. In the real world that can mean anything. I took it to mean I had all day. I dropped the hoe and high tailed it out of the garden. I was going to see Simon. My soul purpose in coming to this place was to get him and they think that a short visit would do the trick? No way in hell. I sprinted from the gardens toward the center building.
I stopped when I saw children going into a side door toward the back of the facility. With guards out in front, it was better to go to the rear. I ran after the children. I made it to the side door, it wouldn’t open. I shook the stubborn doorknob with both hands and shook as hard as I could, nothing. I looked for a new way inside; I wasn’t going to be denied access. I found a window at ground level. It was small but if I squeezed hard, I could fit through. I laid flat on the ground and slid toward the window.
Three quick breaths and I exhaled and shoved myself through. I rolled on top of a crate and landed on the floor with a thud. I got up and went to the door. I didn’t feel good, there was a twitching on my right side, no time to worry about it now. I moved forward. I peeked through the door and saw the children. Simon was with them.
I opened the door more and it creaked loudly so I stopped. I would view them from here. I had a feeling something sinister was going on and I was going to get to the bottom of it. I was lied to and that didn’t set well with me. I watched as a row of children, boys and girls, stood in a line. To their right was a table with instruments on it. I studied the faces of the children to figure out what was happening. They looked relatively happy and contented, some of them were a bit antsy like they were waiting for Christmas presents and couldn’t stand still.
At the top of the room were two soldiers and then I saw him, Doctor Blake. Something within me burned, he was evil incarnate. It had nothing to do with him being black. I knew evil when I saw it. He called the first child forward, a boy. Simon was behind him and stepped in front of him. He yelled he was first. The younger boy gave him his position. Doctor Blake smiled. The old man was like a proud parent and I again questioned his relationship with my brother. Why on earth would my brother want to make this man proud of him?
One of the guards opened the door between him and his comrade by pushing a button. The door opened and a zombie came out of it. My heart dropped. Zombies, here in the complex? Zombies in the heart of the securest building here. My knuckles turned white, gripping the door. Normally, I would run into the room and save my brother, I didn’t, I needed to know what was going on. My breathing picked up and I kept watching. Unless Simon was in immediate danger, I would stand down.
Railings were on either side of the door. The zombie couldn’t get to the machine gun-toting guards. They didn’t even look worried, if anything, they looked disgusted. Maybe they knew that person previously. The zombie howled and moved forward. It ran toward Simon with its arms outstretched, drool running down its chin. Before I could move, Simon did. My brother grabbed a machete off the table and with a deadly howl of his own, charged the running zombie. Simon leaped in the air and with one whack, the zombies head rolled across the floor.
Simon stood proud as he faced Blake. He held up his weapon and Blake nodded. At the same time, the children screamed and jumped for joy. Simon went over and picked up the head and threw it in a metal bin and stepped to the side. I looked at his face. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t go to him and hug him and tell him it would be all right. I stood glued to the door watching while my mind raced.
A growl brought me out of it. Another zombie came through the door. The boy who gave Simon his turn was running low at the zombie. He wasn’t as tall as Simon and chose a tactic of taking out the enemy’s height. His machete sliced the zombie’s leg and it fell forward, groaning. The boy came back around and stood over the zombie and with another whack, he beheaded his enemy. More roars went up from the crowd.
The doctor calmed them down and then my hand moved. The door creaked and they heard it. I ran for the exit. As I reached the exit I heard gunfire behind me. I leaped on the crate and pushed myself through and took off running. More gunfire sounded behind me, but I was long gone.
I didn’t stop running until I made it back to the garden’s door. At the door, I came to a screeching halt and lightly turned the doorknob. Sandy stood glaring at me.
“I had to use the bathroom.”
I had no idea how long I had been gone and used the best excuse I could think of. My chest heaved and sweat ran down the side of my face. Sandy looked at me, not buying one word of what I was selling. “Next time, go to the back of the garden, the bathrooms there work nicely.”
“I will. Thank you.”
She scoffed and walked off. I went back to where I had been working and picked up my hoe. I spotted blood on my hand and wiped it off. I assume it came from the window. I worked hard while thinking of the children. Once in a while, Sandy would come by and disappear again. She would not find me missing again. I greeted her with a warm smile on each occasion.
The day went faster than I thought it would and then Sandy led me to my living quarters. Sandy opened the door to a camper and motioned for me to enter. Inside, I found a couch and table, nothing more.
“Does it meet with your approval?” Sandy’s condescending tone was to remind me of my earlier transgression.
“Where will Simon sleep?”
“The Children’s Center. It’s on the bottom floor of the castle. Oh, that’s what we call the central tower. The children live there. You can see him from now until when you go on guard duty tonight.”
“I
want him here with me.” I squared my shoulders and looked as menacing as I could.
Sandy grinned and then chuckled. “I’m scared. The children stay there.” I looked harsher at her. “Even if you cut my throat, he stays where he is. You are only a sister. There are mothers and fathers who have no choice but to accept the arrangement. The children are our future and must be protected. If we fall, they have a chance to survive. Don’t you want to give your brother those extra minutes of precious life? Or would you rather he be exposed in here?” Sandy was on a roll and she knew it. She stepped closer to me, to twist the knife. “Do you really love him, enough to let him live, if you should die?”
She had me. “Of course, I do.” She won and her grin reflected the victory. Round one to Miss Sandy. “May I see him, now?”
“Yes. On the south wall is a giant clock, you have two hours until guard duty. Spend it well.”
“I will.”
Sandy turned and left. I walked through my little home to look it over and then I was out the door. This is a big place and I was anxious, so I broke into a light sprint to get there faster. I didn’t need help finding the castle, it stood in front of me, a beacon for humanity’s safety. I stopped when I came near people, didn’t want them to think an insane person ran amok within their walls or something worse. While walking, I happened to look at the high wall and saw the clock Sandy referred to. According to the clock, the time was 4:30. I have two hours for my visit. That would make my guard duty start around six or seven tonight. I could live with that.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Zombie Zora Page 21