Chaz patted the extra concealed pistol he had picked up from his room, and proceeded to enter the vault with a smile for the General.
“Sorry sir, old suspicious habits die hard.”
As Chaz entered the room, the General answered “No need for apologies, but we’re all on the same side here. Don’t forget that Colonel. We all want the same thing.”
As Chaz first entered the vault, he was taken slightly aback. There were two hospital beds in the middle of the room, with a zombie strapped to each bed. They were awake, but docile and hooked up to the same IVs he had seen in the ambulance they recovered days ago. In addition, there were multiple monitoring machines and computer consoles around the beds. Each zombie was hooked up to several of the machines. It wasn’t the freaks strapped to the tables, so much that surprised, it was who was attending to them.
Chaz recognized the medical researcher he had left stranded atop the elevator not so long ago. The General locked the door behind them, and noticed Chaz and the researcher eying each other.
“I understand you two have met before, so I’ll skip the introductions.”
Chaz grinned reaching to shake the researchers hand, as the researcher stepped back. Chaz replied, “Actually General, we only met in passing, I’m afraid I don’t know your friends name.”
“Oh, I see, I suppose I was somewhat mislead then regarding your familiarity. Colonel Chaz Sheperd, meet Dr. Charlie Mitchell. He’s one of my favorite medical researchers here at the facility. He truly understands how we're all one big happy family here, and that we need to work together. There’s no secrets between Charlie and I.”
“That’s good to hear General,” Chaz said, as he reached closer to shake Charlie’s hand. In a quieter voice, he said to Charlie, “The nose is healing up pretty nice.”
Charlie reluctantly shook Chaz’s hand, but his face remained sullen. Chaz smiled regardless, as Charlie turned back to monitoring the two sedated zombies.
“So General, what is it you’ve brought me down to your secret lair to talk about?”
Now it was the Generals turn to force a smile. “I assure you Colonel, nothing so nefarious to deserve the lair moniker. I just thought, I’d introduce you to a few of your old friends here.”
“You don’t mean Charlie do you? I wouldn’t say we’re friends, we just barely met the other day. More like colleagues really.”
“Actually, I was referring to your two traveling companions laying down. We saw you drive by the other day in the truck, and couldn’t help but notice it was one of our vehicles that was overdue for a return. We’d assumed the worst of course, so initially we were quite pleased to see it. But when we saw it was you just driving by, we were disappointed and intrigued. We would have responded earlier, but at the time our hands we’re somewhat full with our uninvited guests outside.”
“I see. Well General, in all honesty we had intended to return your vehicle with the big game prizes inside, but we ran into a little difficulty as well.”
“That’s totally understandable Colonel. No need to explain yourself.” The General moved past Chaz till he was between the zombies beds and leaned back to sit on one. “I was wondering Colonel though about our original team that accompanied the truck and the other vehicles.” The freaks remained docile, despite the Generals proximity.
Looking more solemn, Chaz kept his distance but moved to the other side of the bed where the General sat. “I’m sorry Sir, but everyone we found was dead, including a few more freaks. The were all in a ditch not far from the trucks. It appeared that they got tripped up in their own netting while trying to capture some freaks. I can only assume that some of the others tried to help, but ended up in the ditch as well. We didn’t stay long enough to get a good read on the scene.
“That’s unfortunate. They were all good men that volunteered for that mission. The only good news I suppose, is that none of them had any surviving family.”
“Yes Sir, I suppose that is one way to look at it.”
The General nodded his head in agreement as he got up. He moved around the bed, past Chaz to the back of the vault, and pulled back a divider revealing two human sized glass tanks. They were similar to the tanks that contained patient zero, but slightly different. Instead of many separate tanks containing each body part, these tanks each held one intact zombie. Intact, but very agitated and animated zombies. They were pounding and throwing themselves against the walls of their tanks, but no sound penetrated their walls.
“Have no fear Colonel, the glass is three inches thick. It not only ensures their containment, but keeps things quiet as well. We wouldn’t want to have Charlie here distracted from his important work with all that noise.”
“Why would I be afraid of freaks Sir? I’ve never met one I couldn’t handle." Chaz forced a smile for the General. "While we're talking about Charlie, what exactly is his work here? I assume that’s what you brought me here to discuss.”
“Yes, of course it is. Although, not so much a discussion. More of a demonstration. What we’re attempting to do here, is move things along a little quicker than Dr. Montgomery would advise. As well, perhaps learn a few things along the way. I like to make decisions based on first hand reliable information. I think during your few days here, you may have developed an appreciation for the lack of communication between departments. Rumor has it that you were on a little fact finding mission not so long ago.” At this point Charlie made eye contact with Chaz, and for the first time seemed amused.
Chaz furled his brow, but changed the subject. “I thought, it was just a matter of waiting for Christa’s mutation to mature, and then release her into the wild so to speak. At least once you have a way to control the mutation. That’s Montgomery’s part right? She was giving you a way to control them.”
“Control or extermination. A final decision really hadn’t been made.”
Chaz wondered, how much does the General really know? According to the vice president, extermination was off the table.
The General continued. “We’re about to make history here Colonel. We’re going to be the first humans to witness the zombie mutation process, and live to tell the tale.”
The General nodded to Charlie. Charlie moved to one of the consoles connected to the tank for the zombie on the left, and entered a command on the keyboard. Everyone had their eyes glued to the tank. Nothing appeared to happen at first, but gradually they started seeing changes in the zombie on the left. Her erratic behavior lessened. She momentarily ceased her incessant pounding on the glass. Every once in a while, she would stop and look at the three of them. For a brief moment, Chaz felt as if they had a connection. Like when you look directly into another persons eyes and feel like you know them. Then, it was gone, and she was stark raving mad again. Pounding on the glass and screaming.
Chaz looked at the two of them and said, “It doesn’t seem to be working, she keeps reverting back.”
“Give it time,” Charlie said. “It’s a massive change her body is going through. It’s basically rewriting all her DNA. I’m really not sure how she will end up.”
Gradually over the next half hour or so, they all watched as one zombie nearly beat himself to a bloody pulp trying to get out of his glass prison, while the other became more human like with each passing minute. By the time the half hour was up, she had stopped pounding and screaming altogether. She was awake, but looked exhausted. Slumped back and sitting cross legged in her cell, watching the three of them watching her. Occasionally, her attention would shift to the monitors and machines attached to her cell. Chaz couldn’t be certain, but he thought she was trying to figure them out. Like, she was looking for a way to reason herself out of her prison. She sort of reminded him of Christa, but all grown up.
The General spoke to Charlie. “Is it time? Can we move to the next phase now?”
“I’m not sure,” Charlie replied. “Like I’ve said before, this is all new territory. It would be easier if I had blood tests, but that would take time.”
Chaz worried to himself, that Alex would be waiting. He didn’t have hours to wait before getting Christa out.
Luckily the General was an impatient sort. “I don’t want to wait. I need to be a step ahead of what they’re doing downstairs. Let’s move on. Open her door.”
“Well,” said Chaz, “I guess things are really going to get good now.”
Charlie made a few mouse clicks on the computer, and the electronic bolts holding the glass door released. The General was the first to step forward, and open the door. This seemed to further agitate the reaction of the male imprisoned zombie. His efforts increased so much, that the walls of his cell were now drenched in blood. It was hard to even see him inside.
The girl gingerly stepped outside of her prison. Charlie, and the General stepped back, while Chaz moved towards the girl. She made eye contact with Chaz, but initially never said a word. Then, she spoke.
“I know you,” she said to Chaz.
Chaz had to smile, then looked at the other two briefly and back to the girl. “I don’t think so. We’ve only just met.”
“No,” she said. “We met a few days ago. You were my driver. You got me some medicine, then you drove me and the others.” Her expression changed from one of discovery to one of anger. “Then you deserted me. You left me alone in that truck with the others, and the medicine ran out. That was painful. Why would you do that? Why would you leave us all to suffer like that? We never hurt you.”
Chaz moved a little closer to her. “I’m sorry for that, it was out of my control what happened at the graveyard. I meant to come back for you, but we had some difficulties.”
The girl walked over to the monitoring equipment connected to her tank. Looking over the displays and buttons, she asked, “This is about me, isn’t it. It knows about me, and my body. It’s about the insides of me.” She looked and gestured to Charlie. “You know about me, about who I am. What happened to me? Was I dreaming?”
Charlie was taken aback a first, and didn’t know what to say. Chaz spoke first. “Your cured now. You were sort of sick before, and now you're better.” He looked to Charlie. “Tell her Charlie. Explain to her what she’s going through.”
Charlie regained his composure. “Yes, like he said, but more complicated. Your entire DNA has evolved. Your body has learned to do things you couldn’t do before. We don’t know exactly what yet. We’ll need to do some testing.”
The girl looked back at the tank and the monitors, clearly upset. “No more testing. I’m done with that. You can’t control me any longer. I’m not your prisoner. I’d like to go now.”
Chaz interrupted the conversation. “What’s your name?”
The girl just looked at him, and thought for a moment. “I think it’s Angela.” She looked down for a moment, and closed her eyes. “Yes, it is. They called me Angie.” She then caught glimpse of the other tank, with it’s inside walls smeared with the blood of it’s captive. She moved closer to the tank, and placed her hands on the glass. For the first time, the zombie inside relented his pounding. He watched Angie’s every movement, as she walked around his tank.
“I was like this, wasn’t I?” No one answered. “I know I was. I’m changed now. Even more than the last time.” She motioned to the zombie in the tank. “You did something that allowed me to change. You need to let him change now to. He’s suffering, and that shouldn’t be allowed. It’s not natural.” She moved back towards Charlie. “You know how to do it. You triggered it in me. Do it for him. It’s going to happen eventually anyways. It’s natural.”
Charlie looked to the General. The General shook his head and said, “No, we can’t … we won’t do that. Not today. We have other work to do first. We can’t have a bunch of you changed into this before we understand you better.”
Angie looked to the General. “Your the one in charge here. You have the power, but you don’t really understand what’s happening. You're afraid. Afraid of losing power.”
“That’s ridiculous, I’m not afraid of anything. Certainly not of you. You're just a girl. Why would I be afraid of you?”
“Because, you know that’s a lie. I’m more then you know. I’m more then you understand. He knows.” She motioned to Charlie. “He triggered the change, but soon he won’t be needed. Christa will make the change for all of us.”
Chaz boldly moved towards Angie. “How could you know Christa? You’ve never met.” He looked towards the General and Charlie. “What kind of stunt is this? What does she know about Christa?”
Angie placed a hand on Chaz’s shoulder. “You worry too much. When you and I first met, I saw Christa. But only briefly. She was there when you helped us.”
Charlie, now somewhat concerned said, “General, we need to move on. Angie, don’t touch him,” gesturing to Angie’s hand on Chaz’s shoulder. “This wasn’t part of the experiment. We should move to the next step, before …”
The General interrupted. “That’s enough. I’ll decide when we move on.”
“Move on to what?” Chaz asked. “What more could there possibly be?”
“There’s more Colonel, there’s one more thing you need to see today.”
The General nodded to Charlie, who keyed and clicked some commands into the computer. “It’s time to move on to the next phase Colonel,” said the General. Today is not about demonstrating the power of remarkable mutation. We’ve known about their mutations for years, we just never witnessed or had control over it. Control, is what we’re all about here today. Not just controlling the mutation, but about retaining control after the mutation. Angie here is going to help demonstrate real control.
Chaz felt a weight pressing on his shoulder, as Angie held on to keep her balance. Chaz looked to her, and saw her face go visibly pale, almost ghost like. Then, without warning, her legs buckled and she crumpled to the floor. Chaz kneeled to her side. She was still breathing, but unconscious. “What’s going on? Did you do something to her?” Chaz asked Charlie.
“Charlie, what the hell!” The General said. “You weren’t supposed to kill her, just render her controllable. Do something.”
“I’m cycling the air now General,” Charlie replied, tapping on his keyboard. “I told you this was too early a test. We haven’t had enough time to understand the dosages and the effect it has. Even Montgomery wouldn’t allow this.”
“Montgomery’s a fool. She doesn’t understand what we’re up against. I’m tired of waiting and listening to her damn excuses. Just make this work.”
“The air is fully cycled now, and I’m lowering the levels of the agent by twenty five percent. She should be fine.”
Chaz looked down at Angie, and sure enough, the color was coming back to her face. She started to stir, but still wasn’t strong enough to stand. Chaz helped her into a chair. She could sit up and her eyes were half open, but she was non responsive. Chaz kept one hand on her shoulder to stop her from falling over.
He looked to Charlie and said, “You cycled the air? Why would you need to do that?”
“No need to be concerned,” the General answered. “It’s perfectly safe for humans.”
“What’s perfectly safe for humans? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Why the control agent of course,” Charlie added. “It’s what caused her to pass out. I’ve adjusted the levels now, she’ll be fine in a few minutes.”
“She’ll be fine? She doesn’t look fine to me. She looked fine a few minutes ago. She actually look more than fine. She looked like she was ready to take both of you on and kick your asses. And now, that you’ve got me breathing some kind of chemical, I’m thinking maybe I’ll start kicking ass.”
“It’s safe for humans. The General just told you that.”
“Yea, and you said it was too early for testing. What the hell do you know? You couldn’t even get the dosage right. You nearly killed her. Not to mention, we’re breathing in chemicals you don’t even know how to administer properly.”
“She wouldn’t have died
,” Charlie replied, trying to defend himself. “It only works on the mutation present in the zombies.”
“You know that for sure?” Chaz countered.
Raising his voice, the General ordered, “That’s enough from both of you. She’s not worth fighting over. She’s one of them. She’s no different than that blood soaked bastard in the other tank, or the ones outside, or the kid you brought in Colonel. Their totally expendable and I’ll use them however I have to if it moves us closer to winning this damn war. How could you of all people, forget what’s at stake here Colonel? Your concern for the girl Christa is clouding your judgment.”
Chaz reached behind his back, and felt for the pistol concealed under his shirt. After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away. “I’ve had enough General. I’ve got better things to be doing right now.”
“Actually Colonel, you really don’t. You need to watch the rest of this.” The General walked over to Angie, pushing Chaz to the side. “Angie, stand up.” Angie never moved, so he tried again in a louder voice. “Angie, get up.”
Slowly, Angie lifted herself from the chair and stood. Her eyes were unfocused, like she was staring off into a distance. She was weak and her legs shook, but she remained standing. The General raised his hand and slapped Angie hard across the face. Chaz took a step forward, but the General waved him back.
“Stand your ground Colonel, that’s an order.” They locked eyes for a moment, but Chaz stayed where he was. “Sit down Angie.” This time, Angie lowered herself directly into the chair. Once she was sitting, the General ordered her again, “Angie stand up.” Once she stood up, the General slapped her again. No one in the room budged, but a grin formed on Charlie's face. The General repeated his orders several times, and slapped Angie every time she stood.
Eventually Chaz had enough, and the next time the General raised his hand for a slap, Chaz pulled back his arm. “That’s enough General. You’ve made your point. You’ve managed to turn a mutated freak into your own personnel puppet. Congratulations. What do you plan for an encore?”
Mutation: Parables From The Apocalypse - Dystopian Fiction Page 8