by Mason King
“It’s been crazy,” Jake came up behind Hunter and began talking, “At first no one knew what was going’ on. Like none of these jackasses ever seen The Walking Dead before. Soon as they started talkin’ bout’ what was happenin’ I knew.”
Hunter listened then asked, “Have they said where this came from?”
“Yeah man, they said some asshole let it loose at the airport. They said you did it at first.” With that Jake shot him a mischievous smile. “Like that’d ever happen. They must think yer smarter than ya are.” Jake slapped him on the back. “They stopped with that purty quickly though. Said they have someone in custody who’s confessed. Guy said there was a couple of em’ involved. I don’t think their all that worried bout it at the moment, though honestly. Bigger fish ta fry, ya’know?”
“You aren’t worried about the fact that they thought it was me?”
“Hell nah. I know better’n that. Don’t know how you became a suspect, but don’t care. We look out for our own.”
Hunter thanked Jake profusely, “Thanks so much, man. We’re going to have to go ahead and get back to the girls soon…but we needed some gear to make sure we could barricade in there and be safe.” Hunter finished, shaking hands with the man.
“You always been a good friend to me, Hunt. Anything I can do, you feel free to let me know, ya hear? Speaking of the girls, how’s Ali doing?” Jake asked, for the first time showing a little bit of unease.
“She’s…we’re not sure. She was exposed to…something. Frank’s daughter and one of her professors are trying to figure it out…”
Jake winced noticeably before shutting his eyes for several long seconds, as if letting himself absorb this information.
“You have my number. Let me know that she’s okay, alright?” Jake responded once he finally re-opened his eyes, his expression that of a lost child.
Hunter clapped his friend on the bag and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze, “I will, man. Promise.”
With that, Hunter and Frank made their way back out of the cellar door and Jake shut the door behind them, the clicking of all the locks following shortly behind.
Hunter and Frank wordlessly walked back to the Jeep. Once inside, Frank turned to Hunter to ask about Jake’s reaction to hearing about Allison.
Hunter started the car and started driving before finally confessing, “Al’s Pawn stands for Allison. Allison is Jakes ex-wife.”
***
Diana was starting to worry. They had been gone a long time, and Allison was not looking good. Her eyes were completely white and she had stopped wandering around the room. Allison had gone from pacing the room to getting down on her hands and knees and looking around. The Dr. and Kendall both seemed worried. They had yet to express anything to Diana yet, but Diana could tell.
They had both picked up the pace of their work, and were constantly checking on Allison. Diana was doing her best to keep busy. At first while the guys had been gone she’d stayed around where her daughter was working. As the anxiety of watching them worry about Allison kicked in, however, she decided she wanted to make herself useful. Diana had already made two rounds inside the building to every door and window to ensure they were locked and that nothing or no one could have gotten in.
She decided that she may as well do this at least once an hour to keep them all safe, as a mother would. As she continued her rounds, there was a distinct scratching coming from the far end of the first floor. It was coming from the same door that Hunter’s Jeep had been parked in front of before they left. Diana gripped Allison’s gun and made sure to flick the safety of the Glock to where it was open and ready. She cocked the gun, sliding a bullet in to the chamber and took a deep breath.
Diana started walking slowly to the door. The scratching was continuing to get louder and more frequent, with some intermittent bangs thrown in there as well. She knew what she was going to see when she looked out the window, but her breath still caught in her throat as she looked a Zombie straight into its wholly white eyes for first time. What truly freaked her out, in that moment, was the fact that she saw comprehension in the Zombie’s face when it laid its own eyes on her.
That Zombie knew that she was there, and he knew that she was alive. The scratches became fervent then and the door really started to move on its’ hinges. Diana did her best to look around him but he was blocking the entire window. She was terrified that if he continued what he was doing he was going to rip the door right out of its’ frame and leave them completely exposed to the outside.
Diana quickly went in to the classroom to the right of the door and looked out the window on the very end of the building. She could see the Zombie trying to work its way inside, but she didn’t see any other Zombie’s around. Diana walked back into the hallway and looked towards the door. Without thinking too heavily in to what she was about to do, she unlocked the door knob. Reaching up and hesitating only a second, she turned the dead bolt and taking a huge step back; raising the gun directly in front of her and put her finger on the trigger.
The Zombie was a lot quicker, and smarter, than she anticipated. The door swung wide and the Zombie was in front of her in seconds, reaching towards her with his exposed, scratched and bitten arms. He was making a low grumbling noise in his throat and his jaw was constantly working up and down as if he was wanting to talk but nothing could come out. She fired a shot but her aim was completely off and she was only able to hit his shoulder.
While this threw him backwards, it only took him a moment before he regained his composure and came at her again. Diana’s nerves caused her to shake and as she tried to fire another shot, the force of the gun along with her having lost her center caused her arm to jerk up with its recoil.
The Zombie took that moment of weakness and he grabbed her wrist that was holding her gun, pointing it away from him and using his other hand to grab her by the throat. Diana instinctively gasped but panicked when no air was welcomed in to her lungs. She dropped the gun and used both hands to try and get this Thing’s hand off of her throat. She scratched at him but the Zombie simply continued working his jaw, the grumbling noise getting more prominent as his face inched closer and closer to hers.
If she didn’t know any better, she’d have sworn he was enjoying this. She could feel herself starting to lose consciousness through lack of oxygen, so she took one of her hands and put it on his forehead, trying to prevent his mouth from reaching her face. Right as Diana was about to lose all control and pass out, the Zombie was suddenly ripped off of her and she fell to the ground, gasping for air.
Frank had the zombie by the back of his head, and swiftly stuck a large hunting knife in to the Zombie’s temple until it went straight through the other side. It’s unnaturally white eyes rolled into the back of its head as Frank pulled the knife back out and pushed the Zombie outside the door.
Frank quickly scooped up his wife and pulled her in to his arms as Hunter locked the door behind them. Diana said Franks name several times before the adrenaline ran out of her and she passed out; her body’s way of coping with what it had just been through.
While Frank tended to his unconscious wife, Hunter quickly locked the door behind him and ran to the basement to check on Allison.
***
“Doctor, she’s really starting to freak me out…I have no clue what’s happening within her
mind at this point.”
Kendall had gone back to watching Allison intently.
Allison had stumbled across a scalpel that had been discarded and forgotten under one of the tables towards the back of the room. Allison had studied it for a while, she even ran it over her index finger, drawing blood.
She had stared at her blood for an uncomfortably long time before she, to Kendall’s dismay, licked her finger. It was then that Kendall had seen an emotion aside from sadness and anger since Allison was exposed. Kendall could have sworn it was ecstasy. Allison had that look on her face after licking her own blood that Kendall usually had after gorging on
her favorite dessert. This had sent shivers down Kendall’s spine that were unequivocal to anything she had experienced so far.
Shortly after, Allison had started circling the room, running the scalpel along the glass as a child does with a stick on a chain-link fence. It was unnerving. Allison had done this for close to an hour and a half and just several minutes ago had stopped and taken the scalpel to the Badge scanner. This fact was extremely troubling to Kendall.
“Doctor…I am trying not to be presumptuous, but I don’t think that whatever she was exposed to affects their brains as much as we originally thought, or as much as the media has hyped up in regards to, quote unquote, Zombies.” Kendall ended and looked towards Dr. Lattimore for his thoughts.
“I fear you’re correct. She seems to be contemplating. She’s calculated in her movements; the only physical difference we’ve seen in her is her eyes. Maybe it’s time to attempt contact.”
For the first time since Hunter had spoken to Allison, Dr. Lattimore flipped the switch on the speaker system to communicate with the woman inside. A low grumbling filled the room, causing Kendall and Dr. Lattimore to exchange a look. They hadn’t realized Allison had been making sounds.
“Allison.” Dr. Lattimore began, wanting to get her attention. Allison turned her head slowly to face him. Upon making eye contact, the grumbling started to turn into a growl, and Allison’s jaw began to work itself up and down. She slowly made her way until she was standing directly in front of the Doctor. After several long seconds of the two watching one another, neither speaking, Allison suddenly reached up with both hands and banged loudly on the glass, causing both Kendall and Dr. Lattimore to jump.
“Allison. Can you speak?” But the doctor’s question fell on deaf ears as Allison began banging repeatedly on the glass with a force that seemed impossible for a young woman of Allison’s petite size.
Kendal heard a knock coming from behind her and turned to see Hunter’s face pressed against the small glass window of the door. He looked at Kendall for only a moment before his attention was on Allison. His face fell upon seeing her continuously banging on the door. Kendall gave him a sympathetic look, before she turned her attention back to Dr. Lattimore.
“Doctor. I think it’s time we open the door. You and I are fine and have shown no symptoms. Had we been exposed to anything airborne, we would have started showing symptoms since being in that room with Allison hours ago. And let’s be honest, we’ve learned absolutely nothing. This strain is…it’s unlike anything that has yet to be seen within our knowledge of bio-chemical understanding. Allison is still in her containment room and I think it’s time the rest of us discussed our, and Allison’s’, options.”
The Doctor, who had already turned down this request twice, finally surrendered. Dr. Lattimore was brilliant, but he was also one stubborn old man. He hadn’t been ready to admit defeat yet, but it was clear that they had gotten nowhere in several hours. The doctor took what samples they had and carefully put them back in the case they had while telling Kendall that he thought she was right.
That was all Kendall needed, she quickly walked over to the door and began peeling the duct tape off the door. Hunter started as she did and once the door was open Hunter rushed in and wrapped Kendall in a hug. This caught her off guard, but she hugged him tightly back. Once they parted Hunter put each of his hands on each of Kendall’s shoulder and began to talk quickly.
“Things are getting bad out there. Fast. Frank and I hit a few bumps on our way back that I’ll tell you about later, but I think it’s safe to say we need to start thinking about other options than staying here.”
Diana and Frank walked in the room, Diana still looking a little off balance. Kendall went to her parents to greet them, and at that moment Dr. Lattimore pulled Hunter to the side.
“Hunter. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but I think it’s time we discuss options on what needs to be done with your fiancé’…” he trailed off, his sad eyes looking at Allison before falling to the floor.
Hunter looked at Allison and for the first time, he started to feel disconnected from her. Her chocolate brown eyes had turned to a solid white. Her normally shiny, bouncy blonde hair was limp and lifeless. Worst of all, there was a look upon her face that was unlike any expression Hunter had ever seen come across his beloveds face. Her face was locked on to his, but her lips were curled up in a menacing grin.
She pressed her forehead flush against the glass and proceeded to poke the tip of the scalpel directly in to the badge scanner. Hunter walked closer to the glass, against the protests of his companions. He traced his hand across the glass, where her face was met on the other side. Hunter let several tears flow from his eyes before he turned around and looked at everyone in the room.
“You’re sure? There’s absolutely nothing that we can do for her?”
“Aside from risking letting her out, no. Hunter, I’m so sorry…” The doctor trailed off before Kendall came up beside him and put her hand on his shoulder.
“We tried, Hunter. I promise you, we tired. But with having so little information and not even knowing what we are looking at or looking for…” Kendall put her hands over her mouth, suppressing a sob.
No, you can’t be upset, Kendall reasoned with herself. He’s about to lose his fiancé’. This is not about you.
But Hunter realized she needed some comfort and came up and wrapped her in his arms.
“It’s okay. I know you did all you could.” He cradled the back of her head and rubbed her back, letting her cry on his shoulder as he, himself, continued to let the tears flow. In that moment, it was easier to comfort Kendall than for him to let himself feel sorry for Allison or Himself. It gave him something else to focus on.
As Hunter and Kendall were doing their best to comfort one another, Diana suddenly let out a sharp gasp from the doorway. Hunter and Kendall both turned towards her before looking at what her horrified expression was focused on.
Behind them, not 5 feet away, was the door separating themselves and Allison. Her scalpel was stuck in the badge scanner at an awkward angle and the door was slowly sliding open.
“No. NO!” Hunter screamed, seeing Frank pull his gun out of his holster. Hunter quickly moved himself directly in front of the sliding door so the only person Allison could possibly get to would be him.
“Hunter!” Kendall screamed from behind him, but Dr. Lattimore quickly grabbed a hold of her to prevent her from making any moves forward.
Allison started walking slowly towards Hunter, her eyes locked on his. Hunter started talking to her.
“Allison, baby. It’s me.” She continued moving closer, causing Hunter to take one step back, getting his center of gravity set. The rumbling in her throat started escalating.
“Hunter, please!” Now it was Dr. Lattimore begging his attention.
Frank, who still had his gun in his hand, stepped towards Hunter. Without taking his eyes off of Hunter and Allison, he told Diana to get Kendall out of the room and head towards the Jeep.
Kendall protested but Diana was able to steer her only daughter out of the room and, for now, out of harm’s way.
Allison was within arm’s reach of Hunter now, and he quickly pinned her wrist to her sides with his hands. She tried to squirm away, and Hunter realized that her strength had easily doubled from what he knew her normal strength had been. His mind quickly flashed to episodes of them wrestling together and he easily pinning her beneath him, but he quickly shook them as fast as they’d appeared.
He knew, deep down, that the woman whose wrists he now held was not the same woman he had pledged to marry. His eyes quickly darted to the sparkling diamond her left ring finger.
“I’m sorry, Allison.” At her name her eyes flicked to meet his for a second, and her strength in fighting back faltered. A spark of hope went through Hunter’s heart. She knows who I am!
That hope was fleeting. Allison quickly snapped her teeth at Hunter. She co
ntinued to attempt to wriggle her arms free but her she was trying to get her mouth as close to Hunter as possible.
Hunter shot a quick look to Frank and nodded his head almost imperceptibly before turning back to Allison. “I’m sorry.” He said again, “I will always love you, Allison. I promise.”
And with that, Hunter let go of his fiancé’s hands and took a large step to the side, closing his eyes.
No sooner had his eyelids shut did he hear the gunshot ring through his ears, causing hunter to collapse. The gunshot might as well have gone straight through his heart. The pain would be the same.
He tried to fight it, but he couldn’t help opening his eyes to see Allison laying on the floor awkwardly. Her hair, the hair that tickled his chin and chest when they would lay in bed together, was now fanned across her face, hiding what she looked like. Hunter was grateful for that, for a moment he was able to pretend maybe she was just sleeping.
Dr. Lattimore and Frank grabbed Hunter on either side and hoisted him up by his arms. His body felt limp, like he would never be able to move or do anything ever again. He let the two men drag him out of the room and up the stairs.
Before he knew it he was riding in the backseat of the Jeep while Frank drove. Kendall was on one side of him staring out the window and Dr. Lattimore was on his other side, frantically writing in his stupid notepad.
He tuned in to Frank explaining to the passengers everything they had been able to get while they were out earlier, but Hunter no longer cared.
“…thought it may be smart to find a building with additional supplies available to us. We have more than enough to get us through for a few days if not a week or more.”
“Why don’t we go to Costco?” Kendall said, sounding as though she could not care either way. She didn’t even look away from staring out the window as she offered her idea.