by Jack Wallen
Gerand was now following Amelia, listening intently.
“It’s not just his behavior – his musculature seems to have changed.”
The young girl stopped, suddenly, and turned to face Gerand.
“Chris,” Amelia paused and stared deep into the well of Gerand’s eyes. “Chris seems to be evolving.”
The color flushed from Gerand’s face.
“That’s impossible. You are fully aware evolution does not work in such a way. This better not be some sick joke.”
Gerand walked past the young girl to the examination room. As soon as he put his face to the glass in the center of the door, a bloody hand slapped against the other side. Gerand jumped back and covered his mouth to suppress a scream.
As he regained his composure, a pair of blood-red eyes peered at him from within the examination room. The skin around the eyes was nearly translucent, with rivers of blue-tinted veins wrapping around the orbs and across the forehead.
Their eyes met.
The lips of the beast peeled back to reveal teeth cracked from the gnashing pressure of the over-sized jaw muscles. Finally, the zombie released a scream that rattled the walls holding him back from tearing into the flesh of the living.
“Jesus Christ,” Gerand mumbled.
“I think it’s too late for prayer,” Amelia added, before she posed the obvious questions. “What should we do with him?”
Gerand remained silent as he continued his stare-down with what was once Chris. When he finally broke his silence, his voice was detached, caught between madness and sorrow. “We have to keep him viable for now. Someone is coming who must see this evol – this change.”
The moaning outside the lab rose and fell. Gerand turned to the assistant.
“We can’t allow him to continue this noise. I’m afraid he’s attracting the attention of the other…” Gerand’s voice drifted off.
“Zombies?” Amelia finished the thought.
“Yes. I’m afraid so. We need to sedate that thing.”
Amelia’s eyes doubled in size and her jaw dropped open in shock. “How? We can’t send someone in that room – they’ll be killed.”
Gerand pursed his lips and closed his eyes.
“As ashamed as I am to admit this, we borrowed more than just the idea of the virus from Josef Mengele.”
Without saying another word, Gerand marched to one of the computer consoles and tapped out a few commands. When he stood, a click and a hiss issued from the examination room.
“The room is now filling up with an experimental gas I created to temporarily paralyze the creature. No one knows about this little experiment but me. If the Burgess found out I created the means to paralyze these creatures, he’d have me thrown in that room. The gas won’t kill the zombie because, well, it’s already dead. The paralysis should buy us a few hours of silence. By then Godwin will have arrived and, hopefully, will have the answers we so desperately need.”
Amelia covered her mouth with her hand. “What have you done?” Her voice spilled from between her fingers.
“I don’t understand – ”
“A gas chamber. You put a gas chamber in a building dedicated to the furthering of science. That…thing is the very antithesis of science.”
“I know.” Gerand lowered his head, his voice leaden with shame. “Look, I hate what I have done, but we don’t have time for lamentations.” Gerand turned and stared deep in to the heart of Amelia’s eyes. “Can I trust you?”
The young woman tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Where is this going?”
“Just answer the question. Can I trust you?”
“For what purpose?”
“Do you remember what you were told about this research?”
Amelia nodded.
“Recite it for me.”
“The Zero Day Collective’s primary function is to challenge the evolution of the human race in order to ensure the species will withstand the inevitable challenges of biological warfare as well as harsher climates brought about by man’s negative influence.”
“It’s all a lie.” Gerand whispered.
“What do you mean, a lie?”
The chemical fog in the examination room faded to reveal the zombified Chris lying, motionless, on the floor. Once the doctor was convinced the undead monster was harmless, he lead Amelia to his office and locked the door behind them.
“This isn’t some way to get me to…” Amelia stared with wide eyes.
“Don’t be foolish.” Gerand’s voice remained a breathy whisper. “Listen carefully. The Zero Day Collective intends on picking up where the Third Reich left off. Burgess’ primary agenda is The Great Cleansing. His plan is to unleash the undead on Germany to avenge the death of his mother. I am fairly certain his agenda does not end there.”
“I don’t understand.”
Gerand stepped near to his door and listened. After only a few seconds, he turned back to his captive audience.
“I stumbled upon a communication Burgess had with one of the other Zero Day Collective board members. It seems they are using Germany as little more than a large-scale testing ground for the work we’ve done here. After they have secured a cure for the Mengele Virus, they will infect entire planet. The cure will then be sold to anyone willing to pay the price.”
“No. This can’t be all about money.”
“You’re right; it’s not. It’s about power. Whoever holds the key to that kingdom, will be the single most powerful man on the planet. Burgess intends to be that man. With that power, there is no telling what someone as twisted as Burgess will do. He is bringing in one of the most brilliant minds on the planet to help set his plan in motion. The physicist in question, Dr. Lindsay Godwin, has no idea what Burgess is doing. I intend on making sure Godwin knows and I need your help.”
Amelia’s breath grew short and quick. “What do you think I can do? I’m just – ”
“All I need you to do is be my eyes and ears while I work with Godwin. He’ll inevitably wind up in our lab to work with the subjects. I need you to make sure no one grows suspicious of me. I’m not convinced Burgess doesn’t have a mole among us.”
“Is that it?”
Gerand slowly shook his head and then pulled a small box from behind his desk.
“No. I believe I have developed a vaccination for the virus. I want to test this on you and me. In case the worst happens, we need to be able to survive this, otherwise our species doesn’t stand a chance.”
Gerand opened the box, pulled out a small glass vial, and held it to the light.
“I haven’t told anyone else about this.” Gerand spoke as he opened two syringes and filled them with the clear liquid. “I have also uploaded the formula for this vaccine, as well as the formula for what I believe will be a powerful weapon against the undead, to an account I have within the Center for Disease Control. Should either of us make it, and find someone that could put those formulas to good use, we’ll both know where they are.”
Gerand held up his hands and gestured for Amelia to draw near. She hesitated.
“Please, you have to believe me. This is all very real and very dangerous. I cannot help you if you’re not willing to trust me.”
Amelia didn’t budge.
“Fine,” Gerand snipped as he rolled up his sleeve, injected the needle deep into the meat of his arm, and depressed the plunger. “Satisfied? Can you trust me now?”
The moment stood still. Amelia stared deep into the hollow of Gerand’s eyes to discern a deeper truth. Both doctor and assistant breathed in and exhaled in unison.
Once it was clear Gerand wasn’t about to fall into apoplectic fits of zombie-ism, Amelia stepped forward and held out her arm.
Her eyes followed the plunger as it forced the cool liquid into her system. A tiny shudder followed the flow up her arm and into her chest.
“My heart.” Amelia looked to Gerand, her eyes filled with fear.
“It’s okay. There’s a stimulant in the vaccine th
at speeds up your heart rate to ensure the vaccine spreads quickly enough. Just breathe.”
The assistant’s breath came in ragged gasps.
“I can’t – Oh my God, I – ” She grabbed her chest and heaved in tiny, quick gasps of air.
“You’re hyperventilating.”
Gerand scrambled around his office until he came up with a small paper sack.
“I know it sounds cliché, but breathe into this.” He held the sack to the girl. “Trust me.”
Her desperate hand snatched the bag from the doctor and placed the open end to her mouth. After a few deep sucks, her breathing returned to normal. Her eyes closed and her shoulders released the pent-up stress.
“Good girl. Feeling better?”
Amelia nodded.
“I promise you, there is nothing in the vaccination you need to fear.” Gerand placed a caring hand on her shoulder. “Your heart will return to normal and everything will be fine.”
Once the paper bag was removed from her mouth, Amelia took in a deep, cleansing breath.
“Thank you.”
“I want you to keep this with you at all times.” Gerand handed the young woman a small two-way radio. “Burgess has initiated a lock-down protocol, which means there are no cell signals. These radios will allow us to continue communicating with one another. You see anything suspicious, you let me know. You hear anything that could be construed as a threat, you radio me immediately. I will do the same for you. We work together, we’ll survive together. Above everything else, you mustn’t tell anyone you have been vaccinated or that you are working with me. As far as everyone within the walls of this city, you are nothing more than a lab assistant, who was forced into working for the Zero Day Collective the same way everyone else was. Is that clear? If anyone finds out what we are doing, Burgess will know and we will be killed – or worse.”
Amelia nodded.
“Now, go and be one with the other drones.” Gerand forced a smile at his cohort in crime. She returned the smile, with a nervous twitch, and was out the door.
The silence returned. Gerand closed his eyes and took it in.
Chapter 27
There was ugliness in the air – not the stink of death or the horror associated with the living dead, but something much, much worse. The stink was that of politics and power, business decisions made in back alleys that carry with them dire consequences for the greater good. Everything I had filmed, to this point, smacked of the superficial. Now, I was dealing with a different level of truth.
When it came to the super-rich and mega-powerful, no trust could ever be afforded. These men and women knew their decisions broke systems, promises, and lives. To make matters worse, they didn’t care. There was ever only one care – profit. And no matter how you slather this shit sandwich in condiments, it still stank of filth.
What I wanted to do was run back to Sonja and hide us away from the machinations of the Zero Day Collective until this reign of terror subsided. My id and super-ego were at war with the decision to do what was best for me and/or mankind. I knew my id would lose. I was never a selfish man. At the moment, however, I wanted to be. I wanted to salute Freud, tuck my tail between my legs, and run for a cover that might well not exist. Instead, I was going to be true to my art and shove my camera up the ass of anyone capable of handing me the only thing that really mattered now – truth.
“I found something you need to see.” After a long welcome back hug, Sonja jumped back to her console and was tapping her keyboard like a woman possessed.
“There’s a bank of cameras within the lab whose feed was neatly tucked away on a server with no hostname. I stumbled upon the IP address and got curious. It seems the biologist has more information than he lead us to believe. But more importantly, he has this… ”
Sonja tapped the Enter key and a recording played back. The recording was Gerand in his office with a young woman.
No. I believe I have developed a vaccination for the virus. I want to test this on you and me – in case the worst happens, we need to be able to survive this, otherwise our species doesn’t stand a chance.
“Oh my God. He has…” I started as Gerand rolled up his sleeve and jammed the needle deep into the flesh of his bicep.
“A vaccine,” Sonja finished my thought.
Hello, smoking gun.
“We have to make our way to that lab and – ”
Sonja shook her head.
“No. We have to stay put.”
I started to protest, but was cut short when Sonja pointed at her monitor. “Take a look out there.”
Sonja tapped out a few commands and her main monitor slowly cycled through the cameras around the area.
“Shit! Where did they all come from?”
The streets were infested with the walking dead.
“How did I not see them on my way back here?”
Sonja pulled up a map of the area. I had forgotten the lab and our booth were located on the outskirts of the town.
“Gerand also mentioned a physicist, Dr. Lindsay Godwin. Apparently, Burgess is flying him in now to take care of their little problem. I did a bit of research. It seems Godwin has been working with Dr. Joy Daniel Michaels on some super cure.”
“As in?” I questioned.
“As in the cure for cancer – and nearly every other sickness on the planet. I can’t help but think their work will soon become part of The Great Cleansing. Malcolm, we’re not superheroes. I say we do what we do best and keep filming. When we make it out of here, the world is going to need to know what went on. If there are cameras in the lab, I’m sure I can track them down as well as cameras in every damned building in this city. All I need to do is locate a feed inside the headquarters and we’ll have every second of damning footage we need.”
“Sonja, you’re brilliant. But I’m not convinced we shouldn’t contact Gerand for that vaccine.”
“You’re crazy. I’m not letting anyone shoot me up with an untested vaccine for…for…what? Zombie-ism? Jesus, Malcolm, do you hear how insane that is? What we really need to do is pack up what footage we have and get the hell out of here. Now! We need to get the digital copies of what we’ve filmed to the authorities. Neither of us is equipped to handle this sort of thing.”
She was right. We had to get out before the desire for brain overtook our instincts. Besides, we already had enough footage to put Burgess away for life.
“Pack it up sister. We’re getting the fuck out of Dodge.”
Sonja wasted no time. She began unplugging external drives and shutting down laptops. After one backpack was filled with drives, she handed the heavy pack over to me. I shouldered the bag and helped her shut it all down.
“You don’t think Burgess will know we’re not filming, do you?”
Sonja looked up at me with a devilish smile. “We’re still filming. The main cameras are all rolling.” The evil smile grew wider still. “I’m now streaming the feed to a server of my own. If anything goes down while we’re on our way out, we’ll capture it as well.”
“So there’s no way – ”
“Unless Burgess actually comes into this building, he’ll never know we’re not here. As for the man-powered cameras, I’ve sent word to them as well. Most of them are already looking for a way out. If someone finds a chink in the armor of the wall around the town, they’ll radio me and we’ll be free.”
“We should make a pit stop by the lab, on the way out.” I challenged.
“Why? What good will that do us?”
“Gerand isn’t playing their game. He deserves to know what’s happening and what’s coming.”
Sonja glared at me as if snakes sprouted from my eyeballs and sang a rousing Hello my baby, hello my darlin’, hello my rag time gal! “How do we know he’s not playing us?”
I’d heard enough. I grabbed Sonja by the shoulders and insisted she face me.
“I’m not going to live my life like that. Gerand has given us no reason to think he’s nothing more than a pup
pet for Burgess. I have to think there is good left in this festering world. Not everything has succumbed to darkness and greed.”
Sonja wilted for a second. When her backbone re-solidified, I assumed my plan would be shot straight to Hell.
“Fine,” Sonja surprised me. “We’ll make a pit stop at the lab. But once you fill Gerand in, we’re out of here.”
I nodded and turned to make my way to the door. I grabbed the thick, industrial, door knob. The metal was colder than it should have been. The chill danced through my fingers and up my arm. My brain hiccuped. Of all the gruesome fiction I had created – it was reality that threatened to undo my senses. I had always known monsters were real – but that assumption was based on an interpretation of artistic versus corporate culture. It was the cliché of nearly every modern zombie film – the monolith of business melting the minds of every unwitting day jobber. Millions of enterprising lemmings shambling around in suits and shiny shoes, completely oblivious to the thrall to which they’d succumbed.
Instead, it was truth that threatened my perception of sanity.
Zombies.
My brain insisted the fallacy of their existence upon my eyes. My eyes, however, insisted my brain shut the hell up, before it becomes nothing more than tartare for an undead connoisseur.
I pressed my ear to the door and looked back to Sonja. A simple shake of the head gave her the all clear and my hand tentatively opened the gateway to insanity.
Caught in the midst of a beautiful starlit night, the official soundtrack to horror greeted us. The sound scape seemed to pour in from everywhere.
“Jesus, Malcolm. Maybe we should – ”
“We’re doing exactly as planned. Just…I don’t know…think of it as a large herd of cattle.”
“Undead cattle with undead mad cow disease.”
I wanted to laugh at Sonja’s odd little joke, but giving credence to madness wasn’t exactly going to save our asses at the moment. Instead, I drove us onward.
“Follow me.”
For a very brief second, I thought about jumping into the car and just driving across the little burg and through the wall. The last thing we needed was to alert Burgess to our plan. I had no idea how far the leader of a group hell-bent on bringing back old-school Nazi values could be trusted. Would he send some cadre of professional hit men after us to ensure his little secret wasn’t spilled into the waters of the public domain? Though the idea of me getting shot down by a trained firing squad made me want to curl up in the nearest, darkest closet – the thought of getting this information into the hands of the authorities over-wrote that directive. We had a mission and that mission was, as much as it shocks me to admit it, to save the world.