by Gayle Katz
Unfortunately, I’m not sure if there’s anything else I can learn tonight from their clandestine rendezvous without giving myself away. I duck down, keep my head low, carefully scooch back down the hallway, through the office door I left open, and lie back down on the couch. Beside the obvious romantic interlude, what were they doing in there? What’s their plan? I guess there’s always tomorrow. Yeah. I’ll find out then.
Chapter 4
________________________________________
The office door slams open. Scared, I sit up and stare at the entrance, waiting for whatever opened the door to show itself. Their smell precedes them, but soon I see a handful of zombies stumble and crawl their way in. I get off the couch and start searching the desk for something, anything to protect myself. I find a letter opener and jump on top of the desk to put as much space as possible between me and the five zombies in the room.
Frozen and waiting for them to make the next move, a strange thought enters my mind. I notice the zombies aren’t making noises. They seem reserved and orderly in front of me. A calm feeling overtakes me and somehow, I don’t know why, the threat of them hurting me vanishes.
When I look at the first one, all I can hear in my mind is one word repeating over and over. “Help.”
Turning to look at the second zombie in the row, I can see her thoughts, or what’s left of them. She’s in bed with her husband when she notices he’s not feeling well. She puts her hand on his forehead. She knows her hands are cold most of the time, but there’s no denying he’s sweating profusely and burning up.
“Honey, let me get you some water and an ice pack to help you cool down, all right? If you don’t feel better soon, we may have to take you to the emergency room.”
“No doctors. I’ll be fine. It’s probably just some 24-hour bug.”
As she leaves the bedroom, goes downstairs to the kitchen, and returns with water and the ice pack, he’s still lying in bed. But now he’s not conscious anymore. His body is twitching. She runs over and tries to revive him, when his eyes pop open. “Larry! Larry! You scared me! What’s wrong?” she says.
He doesn’t utter a word in response and instead lunges forward to bite her arm. Despite the late hour, her reflexes are sharp. She backs off the bed and runs for the door, but in the time it takes for her to open it, he bites her neck five or six times, turning her into one of the undead even faster.
When I look at the other three, I feel them trying to communicate with me. So many thoughts entering my brain at once, I feel confused, overwhelmed, and frustrated. What am I supposed to do with these thoughts?
I shake my head. “What’s going on? What are you doing?” I shout at them. “Why are you here telling me your stories? What do you want from me?”
Closing my eyes, I try to concentrate on communicating with them, hearing what they have to say. The others have their own stories. A postal worker infected when delivering mail to a family on his mail route. A teacher bitten by a child in her classroom. I can’t take these voices in my head all at once. How do I shut them out?
As I try to focus on calming my mind, the zombies in front of me get agitated and start reaching for me. Despite the darkness, I can hear their jaws chomping and I know exactly what they’re after.
Above them, still standing on the desk, I prepare to fight. With my newly found letter opener weapon in hand, I don’t want to kill these zombies, unless they force me. I want to cure them. Despite my empathy, they’re getting unruly. One of them bolts forward and tries to bite me in the calf. As I go to stab my attacker in the head, the handful of zombies stop, turn around, and leave the room.
Stunned and still standing on the desk, I quickly jump off and close the door behind them. Then I grab the chair behind the desk and prop it under the doorknob so no one else can enter the room without my permission.
Stressed out, I walk around the room until I get tired enough to close my eyes.
***
A hand covers my mouth and a man’s voice whispers into my ear. “Shhh.”
Startled out of sleep, I squirm, make a muffled noise, and try to get a look at the person holding me, but the darkness envelops him and conceals his face.
“Shhh. Relax. I’m one of the good guys. I’m here to help, OK? Do you understand?”
I respond with a muffled, “uh-huh.”
“If I take my hand away from your mouth, you won’t scream?”
I shake my head, “uh-uh.”
He removes his hand from my mouth. Before he says anything, I blurt out questions. “Who are you? What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“My name is the Vulture. Damar told me to find you.”
I haven’t heard those names in a while. I search my brain. Damar was my only friend in this strange land. When I last saw him, he was leading the resistance against this organization and needed intel. Yeah. Yeah, this must be Damar’s man on the inside. I remember him now. This is the guy Damar spoke about one of the last times I saw him.
“You work for Damar, right? If memory serves, you’re his eyes and ears in here.”
“Yes.”
“If you’re here to break out me, I can’t leave now. I still have to find out what’s going on here. If there’s a new cure, I have to find that out, too. The world needs the cure!”
“I know. I can help. Here,” he says, extending his hand revealing what looks like an earbud.
I take it from him and look it over. “What’s this?”
“Squeeze it and put it in your ear. This way we can communicate. You’ll be able to hear me, but no one else will. And I’ll be able to hear everything happening with you. Just be sure not to talk to me directly when someone else is with you or if you think someone is watching you.”
“Uhhh. Someone is watching all the time.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s true. That’s how I found you. Anyway, just do your best to get a feeling for your surroundings before you talk.”
“OK.”
“And don’t take it out of your ear, ever. That’s a surefire way to lose it or have it confiscated.”
“Got it.”
“Good. I’ve gotta go. Don’t want to get caught, but I’ll be in touch soon,” he says.
“Hey, how did you get in here anyway? The door is blocked.”
“There are other ways to travel through the complex besides doors.”
As he turns away to leave, I grab him by the arm. “Thanks.”
“Nothing to thank me for, at least not yet. Plus, any friend of Damar’s is a friend of mine.”
I unhook my hand from his arm and he quietly disappears into the darkness.
Chapter 5
________________________________________
Years of evading zombies has turned me into a light sleeper, so when I hear the office doorknob jiggle, my eyes pop open and my heart stops. I sit up, listening and looking for hints of what’s to come. Then there’s a light knock on the door. Zombies don’t knock on doors, they bang on them incessantly until they break them down and crash through them. Chill out.
“Jane? Are you up?” I hear Ben’s low voice on the other side of the door.
“Yeah,” I reply in my scratchy morning voice.
“We thought you might like some breakfast.”
“We?”
“Yes. Brie is with me. Is that OK? Can we come in?” Ben asks.
“Sure. I guess so,” I say, getting up to remove the chair barrier.
“Good. Good,” he says as I open the door. He strolls in with Brie behind him. “We brought you some bacon and eggs. We have a lot of work to do today, so you’ll need to keep your strength up.” He walks over, sets the tray down on the desk, and looks over at me. “You should eat it while it’s still hot.”
Still standing by the doorway, I reply with a nod and a partial smile, grateful for the sustenance.
He turns to face me. “Eat and then Brie will show you where you can shower, change your clothes, and brush your teeth.”
I turn to look at Brie. This Brie has two arms, same as yesterday, and she’s standing by the couch, staring at me. There’s something unusual in her eyes, but I can’t put my finger on it. And I also don’t want to get caught staring.
He continues talking. “How did you sleep? I know the couch isn’t the most comfortable, but it has to be better than the cells and slabs you’ve been sleeping on lately, yes?”
“Uh-huh. You’re right about that. It is,” I reply as I walk over to the desk. I sit down behind it and pull the tray close, inspecting the food with the given utensils.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not taking any chances. How do I know you haven’t tainted my food with something?”
“We haven’t.”
“Right. And why exactly should I believe you?”
Ben turns around, looks at the tray of food, and reaches for the fork. “May I?” he asks. I nod and he takes the fork out of my hand, scoops up some eggs, and puts it into his mouth. He also snags a strip of bacon and munches on it. “Does that help to allay your fears?” Chewing, he replaces the fork on to the tray.
Waiting for a moment, just in case my paranoia is valid, I watch him finish chewing and swallow the food. “For now,” I say, stabbing a mound of egg, and bringing it to my mouth. At the same time, I pick up a strip of bacon to stuff in my mouth. “I’m starving,” I manage to say with a mouth full of food.
“I can see that. If you want anything else, let me know. We have a cook on staff who isn’t half bad.”
“Nah. This should hold me,” I say, shoving more bacon and eggs into my mouth. Even though I haven’t finished chewing the previous breakfast foods still swirling around in my yap, it doesn’t prevent me from putting in more. I don’t get to eat too often anymore, so when I do, I take full advantage. “Tastes pretty good.”
“I’m glad.”
As I continue eating, I see Ben smile. He seems genuinely happy. I can only guess it’s a feeling of satisfaction. His efforts to make me comfortable are starting to pay off. The general vibe I get from him now seems so different than when we were at school, but I can’t let my guard down. He looks sincere, but he could just be a good actor lulling me into some false sense of security. I won’t fall for it.
I turn my head and look at Brie. She’s still staring at me and hasn’t said a word. Does she know what I was doing last night? Does she know I was watching her and Malik together? Do I mention her seemingly nefarious escapade with Malik to Ben? Well, whatever they were doing seems bad, but there’s nothing to report just yet as I couldn’t hear anything, so how would I really know? Do I confront her now or wait until I have concrete proof of her supposed deception? And when is the right moment to make the truth known to help me get the hell out of here?
The conversation slows and Ben speaks to break the silence. “OK. Well, I’ll leave you to finish your food, and then Brie will show you around the facility so you can clean up a bit. Why don’t you come to the lab when you’re ready?”
Brie and I nod in agreement as we watch Ben leave.
Almost finished breakfast, I pick up the hot tea that was also on the tray. It’s still warm, but not steaming anymore so I take a sip, trying not to burn my tongue. It’s not that hot now, so I gulp the rest down and put the empty mug back on the tray.
“Ready for the tour of the facilities?” Brie finally speaks.
“You seem nicer this morning. Not as snarky as you were yesterday,” I say, sneaking the knife from the tray into my back pocket and hiding it under my shirt. Despite being in the same room with Brie looking straight at me at times, I was able to tug at my shirt normally to make it look like I was simply adjusting it to lay better.
“Well, Ben told me to be on my best behavior, so I’m trying. Are you ready?”
”Yeah. Lead the way.”
Brie walks down the corridor, and I follow her, eager to learn as much as I can about this place. She stops in front of a door labeled only ‘Testing.’
“What’s in here?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
We walk into what looks like a detention area, complete with a padded floor and tall fencing surrounding a small group of zombies. As soon as they see us, the screeching starts and they quickly approach the border of the fencing trying to reach us. I back away.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“It’s our testing area.”
“Testing what? I don’t understand.”
“It’s a place where we can demonstrate any new technology we develop. We didn’t know if finding a real cure was even possible, so we developed a device that would make people invisible to zombies. Wanna try it?”
“Uhhh. Sure. You first, though.”
“We’ll do it together.” Brie opens a cabinet on the far wall and removes what looks like two keychains with round spheres covered in a grippy, textured rubber. She hands one to me. “Here. You can either clip it to your clothes or hold the end in your hand.” She walks away from me and heads toward the door to the fencing. I hold the keychain-like device in my hand, but decide to put it back in the cabinet, and move toward the exit, just in case she’s lying or mistaken and her device is a dud.
“You’re going in there without a weapon?”
“I don’t need one. Just watch.”
She unlatches the lock, enters the zombie holding area, and closes the door behind her. She walks straight into the zombie crowd, just like she’s mingling at a party, and the zombies don’t even notice her.
“I’m invisible. At least to them I am.”
“Then why are they still making so many horrible noises?”
“Because they still sense a human. Do you still have the device I gave you?”
“No, I put it back.”
“Well go get it and come in here to see for yourself.”
I pick the device back up from the cabinet and hold it in my hand. The zombies quiet down. “How do I know this is gonna work for me? How do I know this isn’t a trick to get me in there?” I ask.
I hear a noise in my ear and look around. “Shhh. It’s just me, the Vulture. Act natural. Listen, Brie is a liar when it comes to most things, but she’s telling the truth on this one. That device does work to repel zombies. It’s like you’re not even there.”
“Fine. I’ll prove it to you,” Brie says. “Toss me your device and then I’ll give you this one.”
We make the switch, and nothing changes. She’s still invisible to them. I approach the door, but my hand shakes.
“I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”
“That’s fine if you’re scared.”
“I’m not scared. I’m just not going to deliberately put myself in harm’s way like it’s a game.”
“It’s research, not a game. Whatever,” she says, exiting the zombie area, grabbing the device from me, and locking them back up in the cabinet. “We’ve also been manipulating the zombie virus, trying to see if there are aspects of it that we can harness and use to our advantage. Come on,” Brie says, waving me out of the room so she can lock it behind us.
“Shouldn’t we focus on curing and then destroying the virus instead of playing with it? That’s how this disaster started.”
“Nothing is all bad,” she says, turning the corner back in the hallway. “If we don’t take the time to learn about and experiment with the virus now, we might not get another chance. For example, if we take individual strands of zombie DNA and implant certain ones into humans, think about the potential. If done correctly, we can create people so strong, nothing can kill them.”
We stop in front of a room with what looks like a boxing ring inside. Two muscled men are fighting. Each has sections of his body covered in blood and bruises, but they keep going. They’re not even wearing gloves or helmets. After watching them fight for a moment or two thinking they might need a break, the men keep pummeling each other nonstop.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a strapping woman is sparing with a punching bag. She’s
throwing punches so fast, it’s difficult to see her fists flying. At some point, the bag can’t take her punishment anymore. The force of her fist knocks the bag off of the ceiling hook, crashing into the wall, splitting open and pouring its sandy innards onto the floor.
“See? Isn’t this amazing? The zombie plague started as a genetic mutation. Now, after studying it and experimenting, we’re finally able to harness the good from it.”
“This is good?”
“Of course. We’re making inroads in so many fields of study: biology, physiology… The applications are only limited by small minds.” Brie pauses for a moment. “OK, on to the last leg of the tour.”
“What’s that?”
“The bathroom, of course. You smell like you need a shower.”
“Sounds good to me. I’d love to take a shower. I feel so funky.” When was the last time I took a shower? I can’t remember, but I can smell myself. I stink and that makes me feel so uncomfortable. It’s just personal preference, but whenever I have contact with zombies, I have to take a shower immediately afterward or else the putrid stench gets into everything. It gets tangled in my hair, stuck up my nose, and it buries itself into every pore along the surface of my body. It’s like getting sprayed by a skunk, only so much worse.
“Follow me,” she says. She turns around to get back to the main corridor.
I jog to catch up with her. Walking side by side down the hallway, I try to make small talk. “How’s the new arm? I guess that’s part of the good you mentioned.”
“I love it, and yes, as I showed you, our research has really paid off. I can feel everything is finally coming together.”