by Gayle Katz
“We were protecting you and ourselves until we could get help.”
“Is that how you see it? As protection? You were protecting me all those years ago? How do you feel now that you’re the one infected?”
“H-How could you do that? You’re evil.”
“That’s right. Get angry. The virus feeds on extreme emotion. The madder you get, the faster the sickness will progress.”
My body is cramping up. I try to reach for the additional bottles of sports drink.
“Nuh-uh,” she shakes her finger at me as she steps on mine.
“We’re in luck!” John exclaims as he picks up the walkie-talkie to contact Jack. “The military just responded on the radio. It looks like they’re searching the area for survivors. They’ll be hitting this neighborhood soon.”
“That’s great news. When will they be here?” Jack sounds tired, but still determined.
That’s definitely Jack’s voice. I can hear him. He’s still alive.
“They didn’t say when. Just soon,” John continues.
“I’ll keep a lookout for them from the roof.”
“Sounds good.”
“How’s Jane?”
“Not good. She’s getting worse.”
“Has she been drinking?”
“Ummm.”
“John. C’mon, man. We’ve got help on the way now. Make sure she drinks the sports drink. Pour it down her throat if you have to. That’s the only way she’s going to make it until help arrives.”
“I’m on it.”
John comes back over to the two of us sitting on the floor.
“Mallory, why don’t you get up? Let me take over. I’ll make sure she drinks, OK?”
“Sure thing,” she backs up and takes out a small, silver pistol from her pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Finishing what I started. You shouldn’t have gotten in the way. Sorry. Nothing personal,” she shrugs.
BANG!
Chapter 22
________________________________________
My whole body jumps. My heart beats faster. As I’m losing my vision, my hearing increases in sensitivity. The gunshot is so loud; I have to cover my ears. I also hear scratching and clawing coming from above. I guess I’m not the only one who heard the gunshot.
John falls to the ground. He’s bleeding, but still alive and moving.
The walkie-talkie makes noises. It’s Jack!
“John! Pick up! What happened? What’s that noise?” the walkie-talkie blares.
Laura goes over to the desk and picks up the walkie-talkie.
“Jack. It’s Laura.”
“Laura?”
“Yes. That’s my real name. Do you remember me?”
“Where’s John? Put John on.”
“He can’t talk right now,” she says into the walkie-talkie, stooping down to face John on the floor, “Can you?”
John’s mouth is moving, but I can’t hear him. He doesn’t say anything.
“Put him on the line.”
“No, I don’t think so. That’s not possible.”
Laura pulls the trigger and shoots John again so Jack can hear.
“I asked you a question, Jack. Do you remember me?”
“Of course I do, but how—?”
“How did I get out of the tunnel? Why aren’t I dead? Those are great questions. Ask your army pals. Ask them what they did to me. How they found me. I’d like to know too.
“I don’t remember much, but I do recall being poked and prodded by needles. Many times. It was awful. I was frightened, but no one cared about me. I was stripped naked, strapped to a table. People peering down at me like I wasn’t even a person, a human being. I was just a specimen to them. A zombie. An animal. The lights in my face were so bright. I couldn’t see anything. The people doing all those horrible things to me were just shadowy figures. I couldn’t even see a face. It was degrading and I was afraid.”
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Laura.”
“Shut up. You don’t care. You’re not sorry. You only care about yourself and her.”
“That’s not true. Tell me more. I want to know what happened to you.”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes. Tell me.”
“I don’t even know everything.”
“Then tell me what you do know. Maybe I... we can help you figure out what happened. Fill in the blanks so you have some answers.”
“You would do that for me?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“I’ll tell you what I’ve pieced together over the years. They eventually let me go, but after all the tests, experiments and drugs, I couldn’t function. They gave me someone else’s name and hauled me off to some hospital where a guy in a white coat kept talking to me. Asking me what I remembered about my past. If I had nightmares and how many times I woke up in a pool of my own sweat. How I was feeling. I don’t know if it was the medication or the fact that someone was finally listening to me after all that time of being ignored, but I began to feel better. Laura was dead... or so they thought. I was Mallory. At least that’s what everyone was calling me. After a while, they set me up with a job, an apartment, and that’s how I met Jason.
“But even with the new name and new job, my life was going nowhere. I was in a rut. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I hated myself. I felt disgusting. Jason and I had this on again, off again relationship and he treated me poorly, but he gave me a job when no one else would, so I felt like I owed him. Crossing paths with you and Jane again was purely a coincidence.
“When I saw Jason tied up, changing into a zombie, fighting to get free, something in me snapped. It wasn’t until that moment that I started to remember bits and pieces of what happened to me before, when I was still Laura. I knew he was dangerous, but I didn’t care. I felt compelled to set him free. Do you know what it’s like to be restrained? It’s painful, awful and that’s exactly what you did to me. You left me alone. I was afraid. The darkness enveloped me. I was so afraid.”
“I’m so sorry, Laura. We tried to help you.”
“No you didn’t. You didn’t help me. You didn’t care. You didn’t think about me. You and your little girlfriend here left me for dead. You did that to me. You ruined my life.”
“We were going to come back, but the military made us leave.”
“You could have tried harder.”
“We didn’t have a choice.”
“Turning into one of those things was worse than horrible. I would have rather died.”
“I know. I understand.”
“No. No you don’t, but Jane understands now,” she looks at me and smiles. “Don’t you?”
“Don’t do this, Laura.”
“I’ll do whatever I want to do. See? I’m the one in control this time. Not you.”
“C’mon on, Laura. You can still have a real life. Don’t throw it away because of something that happened in the past.”
“A real life? Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t even recognize what a normal life looks like. Screw you. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
“I’m begging you, Laura. We can help you now. Don’t let her turn. Don’t do it.”
As they talk, I slowly crawl over to the stash of sports drinks in the corner of the basement. I’m only halfway over to them when Laura sees me.
“Nuh-uh-uh. Where are you going?” she says as she shoots into the stash multiple times, destroying my last chance to hold on to myself. The liquid splashes all over the floor and runs into my hands and my knees. The sound of the bullets echo in my ears, but I’m not afraid anymore. I try to hang on to what is left of my humanity. I don’t want it to slip away, so I continue over to the massacred mess of plastic bottles. I search and find one still intact. I unscrew the cap. With my last ounce of strength I put the bottle opening to my lips and drink what I can. Laura comes over, kicks me, and the bottle out of my hand. I’m dazed and lying face down on the floor. I can feel the r
est of the liquid pooling around me.
I can hear Jack yelling, “Laura! What are you doing?”
I turn my head and see her walking away. Laura goes back to the radio.
“What am I doing? Leaving her to wither and die like she left me all those years ago!”
“Please. Laura. Don’t.”
“Sorry, Jack.”
Laura stops talking to Jack, drops the radio, and doesn’t respond further. She’s pacing back and forth. John still isn’t moving. I fear he’s dead. Zombies continue to scratch at the door. How did things go so wrong? I can’t let her win. We’ve come too far.
So frustrated and angry. The rage is building inside me. I can feel my blood running hot in my veins and... in my mouth. I hear a piercing scream. It’s Laura. I’m biting her neck. Can’t stop. I can feel her blood dripping down my face and off my chin. She’s bleeding from her neck. I step back for a moment and look at her. She tries to get away, but I grab her and chomp down on her arm. She falls to the floor grabbing her arm. I get on top of her. My fists are holding on to her tight. She tries to push me away. I don’t let her move. I was tired before, but now I feel stronger and I’m ravenous. I bite into her flesh again and again and warm blood spurts on my face and drips onto the floor. So good. I savor the taste. Mmmm.
I hear something strange and look up. I think I hear gunfire, but I can’t tear myself away from destroying Laura and feeding on her. She can’t win. And she tastes so good. Mmmm. Her flesh is a little chewy, but her hot blood helps it go down smooth.
As I’m enjoying my meal, she stops screaming and there’s silence. I look back down and see she isn’t moving anymore. She’s not pushing me away. The clawing at the door stops too and, for a moment, there’s nothing except peace. The rush of biting into her gets me dizzy. I feel calm. Serene, even.
And then someone or something breaks the door down. There’s a bright light and a group of people come rushing down the stairs. They may have guns, but I can’t see clearly enough to know for sure.
I go to chomp down and take another bite, but before my teeth reach her, I feel a burning sensation in my shoulder. It radiates throughout my body. I grab my arm and it’s slippery with blood. My blood. I fall over. I’m lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling. I can’t move.
“There you are, Laura,” a new, but familiar voice says over the woman next to me. “We’ve been looking for you.”
Then that same someone is standing in front of me. The person stoops down. He moves my head from the left to the right, looking me over.
“Aw shit. This isn’t good. She looks like crap.”
Who is he’s talking to?
“Coast is clear, Jack. C’mon down,” the voice says into the walkie-talkie.
“At least she’s still alive, but he’s not going to like this, not one bit. Give me another shot of I475. Let’s see if we can clean her up a little before he gets down here,” he continues. He reaches out and grabs my arm. He rolls up my sleeve and removes the duct tape. One of his colleagues hands him a clear vial with a needle on the end.
“I guess the duct tape didn’t help her this time around,” his colleague jokes.
“That’s not funny. Remember this is a human being we’re talking about. I know her,” the man replies.
“Sorry, Sir.”
“This may hurt, but in your condition, you may not notice a thing,” he says to me.
I can’t move, but I catch a glimpse of my arm. There’s a needle in it. I see him push down on the plunger and inject me with the unknown liquid. I still can’t move. He wraps my arm up. Immediately, I start to feel sick and vomit to my right. I look up and see Jack coming toward me. I vomit again. I’m exhausted.
Still lying on the floor, I manage to mumble, “Jack,” and then everything goes black.
Chapter 23
________________________________________
Two Weeks Later
I open my eyes. I’m in a brightly lit hospital room. I see Jack slouched in a chair next to my bed, asleep and unshaven. As I try to sit up, I can’t move. I notice I’m confined to the bed. I’m strapped down, connected to a bunch of machines, and I have tubes in me. I feel like someone’s failed science experiment.
“What’s going on?” I say aloud, waking him up. “Jack? Jack! Get these things off of me.”
“You’re awake. Stop struggling for a moment,” he smiles. “How do you feel?”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel good. I just woke up and I can’t move.”
“It’s for your own protection… and ours. The restraints were necessary so that we could pump you full of the inoculant. We almost lost you. It was the only thing that saved you. It prevented you from turning. At least that’s what they’re telling me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“The last thing I remember is being at the station. We were in the meeting with the car dealership guy and then nothing. I can’t remember anything else. What happened? How did I get here?”
“A lot has happened between then and now. Just know that the doctors are predicting you’ll make a full recovery.”
“Full recovery from what?”
Jack just looks at me.
“Before we get to that, I want to ask you a question.”
“What question?”
“Will you marry me?”
A smile spreads over my face.
“Yes! Of course! Yes! I’d like to kiss you, but ummm... do you think you can untie me now?”
“Oh right! Let me grab Chris first. He’ll be able to explain what happened and untie you. I’ll ask him if he can get a doctor and unhook you from these machines too.”
“Please tell me what happened, Jack. I need to know.”
Jack comes over and kisses me.
“Chris knows more about what happened. I’ll be right back, OK?”
“OK.”
Jack leaves my hospital room and I feel alone and empty. Why can’t I remember what happened to me? I’m uneasy and not sure what Chris is going to say. Moments later, Jack returns with Chris at his side.
“Chris?”
“Hi, Jane. How are you feeling?”
“I don’t know. Anxious. Uncomfortable. How am I supposed to feel strapped down like this?”
“Not good, I would imagine, but you definitely look better and you’re responsive, so I think we can remedy that.”
Chris and Jack come over and start to untie my restraints. “How does that feel? Any better?”
I grab my sore wrists and my shoulder spikes with pain.
“Ow! My shoulder is killing me, but yes. I feel much better. Thank you. So why is my shoulder hurting like a son of a bitch?”
“That’s normal from a gunshot wound,” Chris says.
“Someone shot me?”
“Yeah. We’ll get to that in a minute.”
“How about getting these tubes and hoses outta me now too?”
“I just spoke to the doctor. He says we have to leave them in for now. They’re pumping medicine into your body to help fight the infection.”
“I’m still sick?”
“Yes, but you’re on the mend.”
“What happened? I don’t remember.”
Chris pulls up a chair. “That’s a long story. I’ll tell you the basics for now so you don’t feel so out of the loop, but then you have to relax and get better, OK? Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Here’s what we think we know. Laura was infected with the zombie virus back at Scarlet Peak.”
“Laura? She’s alive?”
“Barely, but yes. And I guess you know her now as Mallory.”
“I knew she looked familiar.”
“When the bomb dropped on campus, the virus and being tucked away in that tunnel kept her alive. We eventually found her, crazed and out of her mind. We tried to develop a cure and treat her, or so we thought. After the treatments, we did our best to get her re-assimilated
back into society.
“She shacked up with Jason Hamilton, the car dealership guy. Looking back, the virus didn’t leave her body. We ended her treatment too soon. All those smart people in the lab thought we killed the virus, when really it just went into remission. We believe she was intimate with Jason and must have infected him with the virus through bodily fluids. From what we can tell, the virus then laid dormant until Jason was electrocuted at your TV station. That electric current was strong enough to activate the zombie virus. Jason may have been infected for years, but didn’t know it. No one did. He bit you. You were in the process of turning into a zombie.”
Chris gently touches my arm and points at the slowly healing bite mark. I look at it too.
“I was turning into a zombie? But I’m not now? I’m fine?”
“Yeah, cheer up. That’s all behind you now. We found you because someone was signaling for help on the radio. When we found you in the basement, you were on top of Laura, biting her. You were... rabid. We couldn’t get you off of her so that’s when we shot you. That’s why your shoulder hurts.”
I touch my shoulder again.
“Laura? Did I kill her?”
“No. She’s alive, but she’s been through a lot and she’s caused a lot of death and pain. We’re gonna make sure she gets the proper care she needs. We’re not going to make the same mistakes we made before. I’m not sure if Jack told you, but she killed John.”
I cover my mouth with my hand and look at Jack.
“Listen, guys. I like you. Here’s my personal cell number. Once Jane completes her treatment here and life gets back to normal, call me and let me know how you’re doing. I’d like to know that you’re okay and if you’re not, I want to know about that too.”
“Thanks, Chris.”
He smiles, shakes Jack’s hand, and touches me on my good shoulder before leaving us.
“Why do these bad things keep happening? Good people continue to get hurt and die because of me.”
“That’s not the reason why Chris told you what happened.”
“But.”