by Jack Wallen
As soon as the timer was set, Gerand and the passenger rushed back to the hearse and drove off.
The camera focused on the hearse as it left. As soon as the car was out of sight, the focus immediately shifted back to the gurney – which was rocking back and forth. A throaty, raspy moan lurched out of the speakers of the monitor. Half of the audience gasped at the sound, the other drew themselves up in their chairs.
“Oh my God, John, is that what – ”
“In the rotting flesh.”
Burgess stood and cleared his throat.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the Zero Day Collective, I present to you the alpha and the omega, the first of what will become an army of undead soldiers charged with spreading the cure to the one true plague of man. With the release of this monster, the Great Cleansing begins.”
The whole of the audience broke into applause as their eyes were locked on the monitor.
Chapter 8
Finally there was something to film. Why they chose a fixed camera location for the first scene, I have no clue – but at this point, I’ll take anything I can get.
“Sonja, what location are we watching?”
“C-5.” Sonja chimed in instantly.
“Do we have a roaming camera near there?”
“Camera 17. Eddie Mixx…about four blocks over. You want him there?”
“The opening scene is about to unfold and the only camera capturing the scene is fixed? Of course I want Eddie there!”
I scooped up a pair of mic’d headphones attached to a dispatch station. The keypad was clearly marked by camera number. With a tap of the finger, I was piped in directly to Eddie Mixx’s headphones.
“Eddie, I need you…” I had yet to get my bearings on direction. Sonja picked up on my pause and tapped the keys of her tablet. A grid overlay appeared on the map with directional arrows. According to the key, each grid space was measured in yards. “I need you about ninety yards east and twenty yards south and I need it now. There’s a metal cage on a table. I don’t know what’s inside the cage, but I assume it’s big. This is the first scene so we have to make some serious magic. Get over there and give me the best you got.”
“Roger that,” was all Eddie offered back. The lens on his camera filmed grass and concrete flying by. From the sound of Eddie’s breathing, it was clear he wasn’t used to running.
After an extended period of viewing ground cover pass by, Eddie’s voice jerked me out whatever trance I had fallen into.
“I see it. The cage. It’s rocking back and forth. And there’s a sound. Hold on. I’m going to get a close up.”
Eddie stopped long enough to heave his camera back to his shoulder and re-adjust the focus. Once the gurney was perfectly framed and focused, Eddie moved in, a perfect steady cam – just enough movement to make it natural.
Inside the cage, a monster roared as it pushed against the bars. The thing used so much force against the metal, two of its fingers had snapped back at painful angles. Eddie zoomed in on the eyes between the bars.
“Oh my God!” Sonja cried out.
The sour milk eyes glared uselessly back at the camera. The skin covering the face had a translucent sheen with ribbons of blue-tinted veins underneath the parchment-like flesh.
Whatever was in the cage stopped moaning and thrashing about. What it did next startled everyone viewing. The thing within the metal bars sniffed the air. Though its eyes were ruined, its sense of smell was ready for action.
“It knows he’s there. Jesus Christ, what is that supposed to be? Do we have a cast list? Names? Anything? And who did the fucking makeup? It’s amateur!”
“And those contacts – how is she wearing those things. I’ve never seen contact lenses with texture before. Those damn things have to be uncomfortable.”
A soft buzz sounded.
“What was that?” Eddie Mixx whispered.
I couldn’t believe my ears. I hand chose the best camera crew on the planet and the first moment of filming one of the crew makes a newbie mistake. I tapped ‘talk’ on the headset.
“Eddie, what the fuck? You’re filming. You have to stay quiet. Let whatever is going to happen, happen – and without commentary, or you’re out of a job.”
No reply. Smart man.
The buzzing stopped. Eddie stepped back to put the entire gurney in the scene. The cage popped up and then jerked back and forth. The creature inside roared to life again and lashed out at the metal bars. The cage jolted to the side and then tumbled to the ground. The clank of metal was loud enough to indicate a weight to the bars I hadn’t expected for a set piece.
Eddie’s camera work was brilliant. He dropped low to the ground and shot a twisted, awkward angle. The actress sat up on the table, her nose still sniffing at the air.
“God I hope this isn’t indicative of the rest of the actors. If so…we’re fucked.” Sonja rolled her eyes up at me.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s just a red shirt kill for back story. Give it a moment.”
At least that’s what I hoped for. Sonja was right, though. If this was the level of talent we were dealing with, this movie wouldn’t see the light of day. The actress was slow, methodical, and indicating her behavior all over the place.
“Okay, we get you’re a fucking zombie…move this song along bitch!”
A soft chuckle escaped my lips. I liked it when Sonja let her claws out.
Eddie stood and started a slow move around the zombie. His work was always flawless. The man was an artiste to his core. Somehow he even managed to make a C-List Actress look like the Jessica Lange of zombies. The camera began a slow zoom in as he continued walking. The close-up fixated on her eyes and then her mouth.
“Those…” Sonja started.
“…prosthetics are amazing.” I picked up Sonja’s line of thought.
With the grace of George A. Romero’s best extras, the woman slid off the table and landed square on her knees. The ‘thud’ picked up by Eddie’s camera mic indicated there were no kneepads to be had. I winced for the actress. One leg at a time, the woman stood, her body leaning to the right at a strange angle. Something looked almost broken – her back or her legs. When she stood upright, a foley artist’s wet dream ‘crack’ blasted through the speakers.
“How in the Hell did they do that? Are they mixing in real-time sound effects? That’s not possible without some sort of delay. Sonja, verify that we’re live.”
Immediately Sonja scrambled at her console. The tools we had at our disposal were all top of the line. All we were missing was a rendering farm and we could complete this baby in house.
“I’m seeing zero delay. We are one hundred percent live.”
To confuse matters even more, the actress released a thunderous roar. The scream was so loud, the lens on the camera vibrated. Thankfully the noise didn’t faze Eddie one bit. The man had filmed real-time war documentary, he was used to bombs, guns, and the site and smell of death.
Camera 17 moved in closer. The lens was practically in the zombie’s face as it continued to roar and sniff the wind.
Finally, the actress moved. No more standing and sniffing. With one shaky foot in front of another, the zombie marched forward. With each step it seemed the beast grew ever more familiar with the task of locomotion. Her movement finally began to seem realistic.
“Okay, so she’s not all that bad.” I looked down to Sonja with my best ‘What do you think?’ look.
“Yeah, girlfriend is kinda growing on me.”
“Eddie…” I had some directing to take care of. “Don’t let the actress get to close. You do that and it looks like the scene is about her attacking the audience. We’re not about that type of shtick. Keep the frame tight but get some distance.”
Mixx picked up the direction to perfection. At just the right distance, the frame of the shot looked less cheesy. Though I loved me some B-Horror, I intentionally avoided the genre like the plague. Hollywood didn’t take too kindly to the letter “B”. Even Larry Blam
ire’s brilliant homage to the genre had trouble getting love from the ‘Wood. My films tended toward what I called Horr’noir. When you put an artistic, indie feel to anything, critics eat it up – even horror.
Eddie backed away as the zombie actress wobbled her way forward. Both cameraman and actress were in perfect sync.
“God this is looking good now.” I gave Sonja a pat on the shoulder.
Before Sonja would reply, the actress stopped. The look on the zombie’s face was strained – like she’d gone up on her lines or had no idea what to do next with the scene. Eddie made the most of it by zooming back in. When he did, an almost imperceptible vibration could be seen. The vibration grew until her head practically danced on her shoulders. An inhuman roar flew from the actress’s mouth as she grabbed for her head. The vibration intensified until a thick, viscous liquid poured from her eyes and nose.
“Shit! That looks real. How’d they – ”
And before Sonja could finish the question, the actress’s head exploded like a watermelon time bomb. Shards of what had to be foam latex and possibly animal offal flew in three hundred and sixty degrees.
“What just happened? How was that possible live? Get me some fucking answers!”
Eddie’s shaking camera was locked in on the body of the now headless woman on the ground. Dots of dark liquid scattered across his lens.
“Eddie? You okay?”
No reply.
“Mixx, talk to me.”
Through the headset I could hear erratic breathing. It took a moment, but Eddie finally replied.
“What the hell did I just see? I don’t see any wires or pneumatics. That blood…it smells real. How did they…”
Eddie was losing it.
“We’re going to get answers Eddie.”
I slammed the headset down and grabbed my phone.
Chapter 9
John Burgess stared, wide-eyed, at the monitor for section C-5. No one wanted to speak – words simply weren’t there. Everyone stared, in shock and horror, at the cameraman sprayed with the remains of the first test subject.
The entire board was so focused on the monitor, when Burgess’ phone chimed, everyone in the room jumped.
“Hello? Yeah. What? Yes, we saw everything. Of course we knew. It’s all part of the fun, right? Part of our job in this film is to take even you by surprise. This sort of thing is going to happen throughout this process. You better expect the unexpected. I told you this would be like no other project you had ever directed – now you understand that. Animatronics. That’s right, the best money can buy. We spent nearly half a million on each one. Oh indeed, there’s plenty more where that came from. What you just witnessed was nothing compared to the other sites we have to show you. Oh, by the way – the streets will be crawling with extras soon. They’ll be acting like they have no idea what’s going on. That’s part of the shtick. Make sure your crew knows to keep filming. Remember, I’m paying you a king’s ransom to get this film right. You succeed and the rewards will be beyond your imagination. You got it. Tell your crew there will be significant bonuses for all involved once filming is in the can. I’m talking six figures, Malcolm. I did not stutter. No distractions. Focus on the goal and let nothing get in the way. Six figures – that’s right.”
Burgess ended the call and had a look around the room. Indignation and doubt glared hot and hard back at him. The temperature under his collar rose until the skin on his neck was blotchy pink and red.
“Don’t fuck with me. I own each of you and I will have you all for dinner if you so much as cross me.”
“John, calm down.” One of the younger members stood and raised his hands “We’re all in this together. Just tell us what we just watched. Why did that subject – ”
Burgess jumped to his feet, his girth nudging the table forward a few inches.
“ – spontaneously combust? How the fuck would I know? I didn’t make the goddamn thing.” Burgess scooped up the tablet off the table. “And don’t you ever tell me to calm down or I’ll ship you over to the lab so Gerand can prep you for your fucking close up. You got that Mr. DeMille?” Burgess tapped on the tablet display. “Now sit your ass down while I get some answers.”
Another of the monitors fired up to display the lab. Gerand was staring straight into the camera – his face fish eyed in the lens. “Can I help you?”
Burgess burned for a moment, the muscles in his jaws clenching as he chewed on the inside of his over-sized lips.
“I believe you are the one in need of help. Do you realize, Dr. Gerand, the entire population of this town is going to wake before our little surprise is ready for them? If that happens, this experiment has failed entirely. I shouldn’t have to remind you of the consequences should this fail.”
The color instantly flushed from Gerand’s face. He knew. He had to know.
“We’re preparing another subject now. I believe the first failure was an incorrect ratio of the virus and catalyst. It won’t happen again.”
A wicked grin drew itself across Burgess’ face.
“No. It won’t. If it does…the next text subject will be you. Is that clear?”
The biologist swallowed hard and nodded.
“Now, get that second subject ready!” John Burgess slammed his mighty fist onto the table and closed the connection to the lab. He plopped his hefty girth back into the chair, straightened his tie, and addressed his rapt audience.
“Any questions?”
Unblinking wide eyes stared back.
“Good. Shall we get back to our movie?”
Chapter 10
A nervous assistant wheeled the gurney out of Test Room A. A ball gag stopped the muffled cries of the restrained lab tech. As he thrashed against his restraints, tears flowed down his mottled cheeks and tinged and tapped on the metal of the bed.
“Cut his shirt off. He looks like a good physical specimen. Let’s give the camera’s something sexy to gaze upon.” Gerand nodded to one of the female assistants. “Remove the shit.”
The girl complied without hesitation. As she attacked the clothing with a pair of surgical scissors, Gerand prepared the virus. With a nod to the main lab camera, he spoke calmly; the mumbled rage behind the ball gag, a perfect counterpoint. “This time I’ve modified the ratio from 1:3 to 1:2. I am certain it was the higher concentration of rabies that caused the earlier incident. It won’t happen again. It can’t happen again.”
The true completion of Gerand’s last sentence was: Else my life is forfeit.
The memory of Burgess’ initial threats flooded Gerand’s system as he stared into the void of the past.
The ghosts and skeletons in your closet of shame have finally caught up. The photos and records I hold would crush what little soul you have. I own you Gerand.
He could still hear the pompous voice of Burgess tearing at his pride and hope. The memory filled his spine with ice and venom.
Gerand turned to his audience of students and wannabe survivors. “Not one of you is safe from my needle. This experiment continues until I have succeeded in creating a viable medium for the Mengele Virus. If this subject fails, I will choose the next in line.” Gerand took a quick count of the lab technicians in the room. “I have, what, fifteen of you? I will go through each and every one until this works.” The biologist gave a great pause to allow the horror of the situation to sink into the minds and hearts of the young assistants. The moment was bigger than anything he had experienced. A rush of power surged through his system. “I suggest you put your best effort into the remainder of this work.”
Gerand turned back to the young man thrashing about on the gurney. Desperate cries came from the gagged mouth.
“What was this man’s name?”
“We called him Jet.” The squeaky voice of one of the perkier females called out from behind the biologist.
“Well, mate, I want to thank you for doing your part to bring about the Great Cleansing. Thanks to young men like you, the Earth can finally be cured of a p
lague that has littered this planet for nearly a century. But as new life and hope begins, your life ends…here and now.”
Gerand sunk the needle deep into the upper right thigh of Jet. The young man bucked and flailed as much as his bindings would allow.
“Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince: and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! Or, should I say, flights of the undead moan thee to thy grave?”
An ugly silence wafted over the room. The dark vacuum sucked away movement and breath.
The subject broke the silence with a throat-ripping roar. As soon as the monstrous sound faded, the man shuddered and expired.
Sobs and sighs bounced about the lab. Every eye was locked on the gurney – hoping the young man would show some signs of amplification. If not, the line for the ride to Hell grew ever shorter with each tick of the eternal, infernal clock.
“Son of a bitch!” Gerand screamed out, breaking the stiff silence. “Roll that thing out of here and prepare for another.” When he turned to face the crowd, horror-filled eyes met his mad stare.
Before Gerand could complete his thought, a soft, low moan rumbled through the air. The sound ceased and the air was again reclaimed by silence. The room remained still as death.
Again the sensuous moan of the grim reaper danced about. This time, however, the moan did not fade to oblivion. Gerand turned to face the gurney. Slowly, carefully, he made his way to the side of the metal table.
The now familiar, glazed white eyes stared up at him. Pale, blue-hued lips peeled back to reveal the pristine teeth biting through the ball gag. Bits of black rubber bounced from the undead man’s lips and freckled the table. The gag gave way and dropped to the floor. Free from obstruction, the mouth of the beast released a full, throaty moan.
“Stay back. We have no idea what this thing is capable of.” Gerand held up his arms as if to barricade the younger workers from death. “It’s okay. I’m just going to get you out of here and onto the biggest stage imaginable. You’ll be famous, the first successful attempt to reanimate the dead.” Gerand’s voice was soothing, calm.