Land of the Undying

by Dave Willmarth

  They stopped at their indoor garden on the 15th floor and grabbed the pallet dolly. Mace was going to plug in the grow light, but Shari said there was no need. The seeds would need a week or two to germinate.

  Back on the elevator they continued to the lobby level. After a couple minutes of checking to make sure everything was clear outside, they split up. Mace went upstairs to get three bags of soil from the conference room, while Shari started pulling the fake trees out of three of the big planters in the lobby.

  When Mace returned to the lobby, Shari had cleared all but one of the trees, and was struggling with the last one. “Heavier than it looks!” She grunted. Mace helped her lift the plastic tree out and set it on the floor.

  They took the dolly over to the garage door to carry the three trees. They put their helmets on, lowered the visors, and Mace opened the door, checking carefully for any sign of movement. Then he and Shari walked over to where they’d set the trees.

  Mace warned “Inspect every inch. They looked clean at the store, but we drove a good ways with them out in the open yesterday.” Shari nodded her head and moved to the avocado tree. Mace took the orange tree. He inspected every leaf, turning each of them over to check the underside. He pulled one off and tore it in half to check to see if there was any dead fiber inside. It ‘bled’ a healthy looking greenish juice. Then he used a knife and poked around in the soil inside the pot, turning it over to look for any kind of bugs or worms.

  Finding nothing, he was about to move on to the banana tree, when Shari gasped and fell backward onto her butt. She was waving a hand in front of her helmet. “A fly! A fly was on the banana tree! It just took off and flew right at me!” she shouted.

  Mace’s gut clenched. This was among his worst fears. Something as tiny as a fly, contaminated with the zombie particles, getting inside his gear and touching his skin. That would be all it took to kill him. He froze, watching Shari scoot backward on her butt, still waving at the air with one hand. He couldn’t see the fly, but she obviously did.

  “Don’t just stand there! Help me kill this thing!” She shouted at him, breaking his paralysis. He stepped forward, looking for the flying death-bringer. When he got within a step of Shari, who was now on her knees with both hands in the air ready to strike, he spotted the fly. It was on top of her helmet. The thing was walking around in an erratic pattern like… well, like a fly would do.

  “Hold still” he said “It’s on top of your helmet. I’ll get it.” Mace very slowly took a half step closer and raised his right hand. Not taking his eyes off the fly, he added “This might hurt a little”.

  “Just kill it!” Shari hissed beneath her visor.

  Mace’s hand shot forward and down with adrenaline-fueled speed, the glove smacking against Shari’s helmet with a solid thwap. When he pulled his hand away, he was rewarded with the sight of the dead insect’s corpse smashed on the helmet. Holding up his glove, he saw a splatter of blue blood.

  “Shit!” he showed the glove to Shari. “I got it. But the blood is blue. Contaminated.” His heart was racing. Where there was one fly, there were usually more. He began to look around frantically.

  Shari grabbed his glove, pulling it close to her visor. “Wait” she said. When he continued his panicked search, she grabbed his helmet. “Stop. I... I think we might be okay.” She said. This got his full attention. “What? How?” He asked.

  “Look at the color. Yes, the blood is blue. But it’s not the ‘radioactive neon’ blue like you see on the zombies. And normal flies have blue blood. Lots of insects do. Our blood contains hemoglobin, and while it looks blue inside our veins, it turns red when exposed to oxygen. Flies, most arachnids and invertebrates have hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin. Turns blue when exposed to oxygen.” She had been holding his head, staring through their two visors into his eyes and speaking as calmly as she could.

  When Mace took a deep breath and she saw the panic leave his eyes… she smacked him on top of his helmet. Hard. “Now we’re even” she grinned at him.

  “How… the hell do you know all of that? And are you SURE?” He asked.

  “Med school, remember? I’ve had like nine semesters of chemistry classes. You think they just teach us how to cut people apart and sew them back together?” she answered. “Plus, I’m a friggin genius. I know lots of useless shit.” She grinned at him again. Then, lowering her helmet toward him, she said “Pick it off and show it to me.”

  Mace obediently used his thumb and forefinger to take hold of the dead insect as gently as possible. Dumping it into his palm, he showed it to Shari.

  After about half a minute, she mumbled “I don’t see any of the usual burn marks. Its eyes would be black no matter what…”

  She looked up at him. “I can’t be positive, but I think we’re good. I don’t think it was a zombie-fly. Or, if it was, it only just got contaminated. It wouldn’t take long for something this size to turn. And this one would have been born less than a month ago. If it was born in the garden shop, and those plants weren’t contaminated…”

  Mace realized she was working hard to keep him calm. She was used to this. She’d survived months outside, and had probably run into this many times. He was probably overreacting, he knew. But he’d lived out the zombiepocalypse in relative safety. He’d had months of sleeping and eating safely, with just a few hours of terror-filled trips outside. He felt foolish.

  “I’m sorry. I overreacted.” Mace apologized. “I must seem like a coward to you.” He looked at his feet.

  “Did you not see me doing the ass-scoot’n boogie a minute ago?” She laughed. “I freaked out, too. It’s instinct. I just have knowledge that you don’t.”

  Willing to accept her kind justification, Mace moved on. “There might be more of them. Should be more. Flies run in… packs. Swarms. Whatever. Don’t they?”

  Shari shook her head. “They are mostly solitary. You don’t see them 90% of their lives. Only when they are attracted to something on or near you. And whatever it is attracts lots of them, so it looks like a swarm. But yeah, there could be more.” She admitted.

  Mace immediately voted they leave the trees and go back inside. Shari was adamant that they needed the trees to survive. She began to inspect the banana tree again. Not finding anything, she went back to the avocado tree. The entire time, Mace was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with a convincing argument to burn the trees where they sat. He pictured dumping gas from one of Bertha’s cans on them, then tossing a match. Eyeing the garage floor, he noticed several pools of oil from leaking cars. He was going to need a fire extinguisher…

  “Fire extinguisher!” he exclaimed, causing an already nervous Shari to jump. She turned on him and asked “What the hell, dude?”

  “We can use a fire extinguisher to scare off any bugs. It won’t hurt the trees, right?”

  Shari nodded her head. “No, short blasts won’t hurt them. It’s a good idea, actually. Next time try not to scare the crap out of me, though. Okay?”

  Mace was already moving. There were several large extinguishers mounted on the pillars around the garage. He grabbed the closest and ran with it back to Shari and the trees. They placed the three trees right next to the building entry door, and Shari picked up the extinguisher. “I’ll blast the trees, then use short blasts to keep a cloud around you and the door while you move them inside.”

  Mace nodded. He took a deep breath right before Shari pulled the trigger. She blasted each tree, then the air around them as Mace lifted the trees one by one and set them inside on the dolly. Shari gave one long extended blast, waving the chemical spray back and forth as she backed through the door, and Mace pulled it closed.

  Shari set down the extinguisher, and the two of them silently scanned the air around them. Seeing nothing, Shari said “I think we’re okay.”

  Just to be sure, Mace started inspecting the trees one more time. Shari leaned down and helped. When both of them had gone over all three trees thoroughly, Mace relaxed. “Okay, let�
��s plant these bad boys, and get downstairs. I’ve had enough topside adventure for the day.” He said.

  Shari agreed wholeheartedly, and they got to work. Both of them, in unspoken agreement, left their helmets on. Shari emptied a bag of soil into each planter, then Mace lifted the tree out of its pot and carefully placed it in a planter. Shari dumped the soil from the tree’s pot around the base, covering the roots and packing it down gently. These little trees didn’t need to worry about wind, or bears with an itch, pushing them over, so the shallow planters would be fine.

  When they were done, Shari took one of the watering cans and gave each tree a good dose. “We should find a spray bottle. Need to wet the leaves once in a while. That goes for all the plants.” She said. Mace nodded enthusiastically, ready to agree to anything that would take them back downstairs.

  When they’d reached the corridor outside their quarters, Shari said “Take off your clothes.”

  Mace nearly stumbled as he came to a stop. “What?”

  “Take off your clothes. We’ll need to wash everything. The chemical from the extinguisher might degrade the fabric.” She stated.

  “Oh, right. I thought you were… right.” Mace stammered as he removed his helmet, then began to take off his body armor. Shari stood watching him for a while as he pulled off piece after piece. When he’d removed his shirt, he noticed she wasn’t doing the same.

  “Uhh… don’t your clothes need washing, too?” he asked.

  “Yup. I was just enjoying the show. Was waiting to see how far you’d go.” She winked at him. “I’ll undress in my room like a civilized person.” She turned and stepped into her room, closing the door behind her.

  Mace found himself blushing. He stepped into his room, took off his pants and stepped into the shower. Just in case a critter had gotten into his hair somehow. When he was done, he threw on some sweats and a hoodie, and gathered up his outdoor clothes. He walked to the laundry room and tossed them into one of the washers. Once it was going, he walked back to the security office. He wanted to work some more on getting Peabody online. Shari’s door was still closed as he passed by it.

  He was just finishing a fix for a bug he found in Peabody’s code when Shari stuck her head in the door. She was wearing a pair of the fuzzy bunny scrubs she’d found at the clinic. “It’s getting close to lunchtime. I already switched your laundry to the dryer. Then folded it. You can thank me by cooking lunch.”

  He got up and walked with her to the kitchen. She sat on a stool at the counter while he stepped into the pantry. “And what is m’lady in the mood for today?” He called out.

  “Sushi. I haven’t had good sushi in forever.” She answered. “But I’ll settle for something with a little flavor. That’s not beef jerky.”

  Mace set down the bag of jerky in his hand with a smile. He perused the shelves, then decided on a premade pasta salad. Bacon and ranch flavored. One could never go wrong with bacon. He stopped at the fridge to grab an industrial-sized jar of Miracle Whip on his way back. Filling a pot with water, he dumped the packet of pasta into it, and set it on a burner. Then he found a mixing bowl and scooped a large spoonful of the mayo into it. Then he opened the seasoning pack that came with the pasta, and mixed them together.

  He sat next to Shari as they waited for the pasta to cook. The box said it needed to boil for about ten minutes. She asked him what he’d been working on. “You were zoned out. I called your name three different times and you didn’t even hear me.”

  “Ah. Sorry. I get that way when I’m coding. I go a little ‘Rain Man’ and zone out. I was working on finishing Peabody’s install so I can activate him and start testing.”

  Shari asked “And he’s going to… what? Run this place?”

  “Among other things.” Mace replied. “He’ll be able to operate all the building’s automated systems. Security cameras, lights, elevators, power regulation, and all of that.”

  Shari looked suspiciously at him. “And he won’t go all ‘HAL 9000’ on us? Lock us in, or out? Fill the place with halon gas and suffocate us?”

  Mace smiled. “Well, he probably would have, before I got into his code. I’m fixing all that.”

  She punched him in the shoulder. “Not funny! Are there… cameras in our quarters? I don’t think I could sleep with him watching me.” She shuddered.

  “Not that I know of. And I’ve been through most of the wiring in both our quarters as I set up the pods.” Mace answered. “But I can check again if you like.”

  Mace went on to explain to her all the potential uses for Peabody, including turning the grow lights on and off. He thought he could even find a device that would allow the AI to water the corn for them. He could be their organizer, reminding them of appointments they set, or waking them in the mornings. Shari scowled at the personal alarm clock part.

  Mace rose and went back to the stove. He turned off the burner and poured the pasta into a colander in the sink. Then he ran cold water over it until it was well chilled. Dumping the now cold pasta into the mixing bowl, he blended it with the seasoning mixture.

  Shari set the table, and Mace spooned half the pasta onto each plate. Shari took an experimental forkful and tasted it. “Mmmm… bacon!” She said. “This is actually pretty good.”

  Mace agreed, as he swallowed his first bite. “Fast and easy. Used to make this quite a bit in my dorm room.”

  Shari was already on her fourth or fifth mouthful. “Remind me to grab more of these when we hit the store again. They should last a long time. We should get more mayo, too. It’s got a long shelf life, if we put it in the walk-in.”

  They ate mostly in silence, enjoying the bacon flavor and the texture of the pasta. Mace got up to get them each a glass of water. The quiet meal was calming, giving him some time to think.

  As they were cleaning up, Mace washing the plates and Shari drying, he asked “How much?”

  She gave him a confused look. “How much what?”

  “How much were you enjoying the show, earlier?” He grinned at her.

  “Ha! Well, let’s see. I’d give it a six out of ten. I mean, you only took your shirt off. And there wasn’t any booty-shaking or anything. But what I saw, I liked.” she looked him in the eyes.

  Mace took a deep breath. “Okay, Shari. Here’s the thing. I’ve been trying to be a gentleman since you got here. I mean, I’ve flirted a little, and I think you have too. But I don’t want you to think I’m some sex-crazed psycho that you’ve trapped yourself down here with.”

  She continued to look at him, her face a blank mask. “But…?” She prompted him.

  “Well, as you can clearly see, I’m kind of a geek.; I’ve never been good at reading women. But I’m pretty sure you’ve been hinting that you’re… open to more than flirting. I mean, I hope you have. Otherwise I’m a complete idiot.” He found himself blushing as he blurted out the words.

  Shari stepped closer to him. Raising up on her toes, she gave him a soft, short kiss on the lips. Then she stepped back. When he began to step forward to return the gesture, she held up a hand to stop him.

  “You’re not a complete idiot. But it took you long enough. I decided the first night that you were doable. I was beginning to doubt that you were interested.” She said.

  “Oh, I’m most certainly and emphatically interested.” He said, trying again for a repeat kiss. She stopped him again, this time with a hand on his chest.

  “Down boy. I’m not gonna just drop n mount you right here on the kitchen floor. We’ve only known each other a few days. Let’s… get to know each other better before we take that step. I mean, if it turns out badly, this is a very small place to share.”

  Mace grimaced. He’d had that same thought, sort of. He’d been focused on her rejecting his advances, not some future break-up scenario. He stepped back half a step. “I can live with that. Now that I know for sure. That you like me, I mean.” He clamped his mouth shut to keep from rambling on. Then changed the subject. “If you’ll excuse me, I think
I’ll grab a cold shower and go play with Peabody some more.”

  He started to step away, but she took hold of his hand and held him back. “What? No goodbye kiss?” she looked up at him.

  He didn’t need to be asked twice. He stepped into her, pulling her close and kissing her passionately. When he let her go, she gasped slightly for breath. “Goodness. I guess you are interested after all.” She grinned at him.

  “Well, you ARE the last woman on earth, as far as I know.” he teased. “Let’s just pretend I was playing hard to get.”

  Shari laughed and stepped past him, headed for the door. “Just for that, you’re gonna learn a whole new meaning of ‘hard to get’, dork. You’re gonna have to work to earn this.” He noticed there was significant extra sway to her backside as she crossed the room. He didn’t mind one bit.

  He went back to working on Peabody’s code. There were still a dozen or so fixes he needed to make. He’d altered the base code to customize it for his purposes. After Shari’s ‘HAL 9000’ comment, he also wanted to add some safeguards. Just in case.

  After a couple more hours of work in the security room, he decided to take a break and get back into the game. He stepped into his quarters and closed the door. He didn’t pause to decide whether to lock it this time. He just removed his clothes and stepped into the pod.

  *****

  Shari didn’t look back as she walked across the kitchen. She could feel Mace’s eyes on her. His gaze was almost electric, sending tingles up her spine. She smiled to herself as she put a little extra wiggle in her step for him.

  Give him something to think about. This is going to be a LOT of fun!

  She made a mental note to pick up something a little sexy to wear next time they went out. And to grab condoms. She wasn’t ready to even think about bringing a child into this world. With that thought in her head, she went to her bag full of drugs from the clinic. Rummaging around, she found what she was looking for.

  Looking at the pod in her quarters, she decided to get back in game. With Mace gaining ten levels, she needed to try and level as quickly as she could herself. She closed her door, undressed, and climbed into the pod.