by Crist, J. D.
Robert monitored her closely, and she was still herself the next day. Robert wrote that despite them trying to hide what happened, the General found out and wanted more tests run on Sylvia to determine what made her immune.
Robert ran the testing himself, comparing it to the prisoners that still roamed in their cells. He noted a genetic marker in Sylvia and the prisoner that the other nine did not have. Sylvia's marker was extremely rare, while the marker the prisoner had was probably held by at least thirty percent of the population. He reported his findings to the General, who seemed displeased that there was nothing exactly in common with either. Robert wrote that he was then cuffed and forced to watch as Sylvia's arm was thrust into the cells through the feeding door. One of the dead clamped down on her arm, and he wrote that her scream would haunt him forever. It was different than when they fed on the prisoner though, after one bite, the dead backed away and left her arm alone. The General pulled her arm out and ordered her to be put into containment to be monitored.
Robert again volunteered and watched over Sylvia as best he could. He believed it wouldn't be long until her soul left this world, and he did not want her to be alone. However, days passed, Sylvia's bite began to heal, and she showed no signs of the infection. Robert thought it a miracle and wrote that he could not wait to help her escape this place. The General was not nearly as pleased by her recovery. Robert noted that if the bite were not enough to help her move to the next stage, the General would help her. Robert watched as the General shot Sylvia in the heart. Robert wrote that he stayed with his friend and intended to put her to rest even if her body rose again, no matter what it cost him. However, after days her body laid still in her cell. The General ordered Robert to find out what made her immune to the disease despite the gas and the bite. Robert wrote that he said it might be that they worked so closely with the chemical that they had developed an immunity, though he doubted it. It was then that the General took him to the other lab and showed him the other scientists. All of them in cells, all with milky white eyes.
Robert wrote that their part was done, and the General had turned them. He must have done it while Robert was trying to take care of Sylvia. The date on the last journal entry was months after all of these events. Emily looked around the room before starting it, knowing that whatever Robert had to say would explain about her, about why she was immune. She braced herself and began to read the words, taking her time to let them all sink in. Robert wrote that two different genetic markers allowed the subjects to remain immune to the gas. The marker in subject one, the prisoner, only made him resistant to the initial gas release, but the chemical was able to be spread through the saliva of an infected subject. If bitten, the subject with this genetic marker would not be immune and suffer the full effect. Subject two, Sylvia, was resistant to the chemical makeup regardless of the delivery form. Robert estimated that less than one percent of the population would possess this marker.
Robert then began to speak informally, and his words no longer read like a report. He told of his plan to escape his prison before he was forced to join the others. His plans to take his own life behind him, and now he plans to save the human race. He believed that he could find a way to share the immunity of those who possessed the same marker as Sylvia with others. He just needed more time to do it. He knew there was no way he could save everyone but perhaps he could save enough to set the world back on course. He planned to slow things down by setting off one of the canisters as he left. He intended that none of them would make it out alive, and whoever was funding them would have difficulty putting the pieces together. Robert hoped that this would give him enough time to make the immunity work and find a place safe for those who were immune before the light would hit the sky.
Emily finished the book, and the stiffness in her back told her that she had been sitting here for hours. Her head felt like it could explode with all the information she had. She was immune because of a rare genetic thing, and it was likely that her family did not share it. Emily reached down and rubbed her stomach, realizing that her child was not likely to have it either. While this news was heavy on her mind and heart, she had to push it aside for facts. Robert had said that it took weeks of no stimulation for the dead to go dormant, and stimulation is what woke them up. Her moving through the town as she had the last few days had got them moving again, and she could not wait for weeks for them to go back to sleep. Emily walked to the bedroom window and looked down. A few of the dead were beginning to wander, but they would not be going still anytime soon. The days of having it easy working her way through this town were over, and she knew it.
Her best chance was to stay up here and be quiet for the night. If they didn't see signs of movement or hear her, they would begin to roam, and that would give her an opening to put them down. She was sure there were more walking around now as she thought back to the dead she had seen just sitting and laying on her way to the dumpsite. She had not realized until now that when she went down that same road today, none of them were where she had last seen them. They were all awake now and looking for a meal, and she was the only one in town. Emily reached down and picked up the duffle bag from the floor inside. She found a few of the provisions she packed back at the truck. At the sound of the wrapper, Marley stood and walked over to the bed. Emily shared the food with him and felt sorry that she would not let him outside tonight.
While it was not ideal, she put up the toilet seat and knew that if he were thirsty, he would not care. She could only hope that if he could not hold it, he would do his business on the bathroom floor. She had no idea how she would get the carpet clean if he did it in here. She didn't bother showering or dressing for bed because she feared the sound would somehow travel down to the dead now marching in front of her house. She crawled under the blankets and pulled the photo album out of the duffle bag. There was still just enough light coming through the window to see them, and she didn't want to waste a moment of it. She turned through the pages, looking at her family's faces one at a time. She tried hard to remember everything about them and imagine that they were right there with her.
After some time, the sun was gone, and she could no longer see the pictures. Emily closed the photo album and reached to return it to the duffle bag. As she slid it in, she touched something in the bag. She reached in and grabbed her cell phone. She had nearly forgotten about it since coming here. She had always made sure it was charged in the SUV, and it felt like her last chance to find her family. She pressed the button on the side, and the screen stayed dark. The battery was dead. Emily considered putting them both back in the bag but then placed them both on the nightstand and the bag back on the floor. Packing them up again felt like she was saying she was ready to run. Emily had no intentions of giving up this place. She was now unpacked and would be taking it back. Emily slid down under the covers and felt Marley climb up to join her on the bed. These dead bastards had no idea who they were messing with, but they would in the morning.
Chapter 19
Emily woke the following day with a clear mind and was pleased to find that Marley was still lying beside her. She climbed out of bed, checked the bedroom and bathroom for any accidents, and found none. She quickly used the bathroom herself but did not risk the noise of flushing the toilet. When she walked back into the bedroom, Marley was awake, and his eyes were pleading for help. The poor pup could not break the no potty in the house rule and looked like he would rather explode than go on the floor. Emily motioned for him to be quiet and opened the bedroom door. Together they slipped through the house, keeping an eye out in case the dead found a way in while they slept. All of the doors were still secure, and it was just her and Marley. Emily unlocked the back door and scanned the yard. The gate was still closed, and the yard was empty. Emily stepped aside and allowed Marley to run out the door. She watched, scanning the fence for signs that anything was moving. Marley was quick, but the look on his face when he returned was of pure relief.
Emily opened a wate
r bottle in the cabinet, filled his water bowl, and gave him a small serving of food as quietly as she could. She grabbed herself a cup of applesauce as her breakfast and ate quickly. Once they had both ate she moved around the house, looking out each window to get an idea of where the dead had gone. Most had wandered away from the house, but there were still four in the front yard, all children. Emily did not get her normal feelings of sorrow or regret this time; it was either the dead or her baby, and the dead had to go. She decided she would start with the ones closest to her, and after she put them down, she would return here to regroup. This was going to be a long day, but if she pulled it off, most of the dead would be gone, and she would be very close to being free of this crap.
Emily checked to ensure she still had the knife on her waist and grabbed the crowbar. She unlocked the door and opened it as slowly as she could, stepping out into the morning air. The first one was just in front of the front steps, a little brown-haired boy. Emily moved across the porch as quickly as she could and caught the boy in the head. He went limp and fell to the ground. A glance at the other two and Emily saw they did not realize what was happening yet. She moved for the closest one next, a blond girl who she took down with no fuss. When she turned to the last, it was clear that he figured out what was going on. Emily rushed the boy, and her crowbar found its mark. Emily knew that Marley's silence meant those on the street were not moving in. She made her way back to the front door and closed it behind Marley. She took a few deep breaths and looked back outside.
A few of the adults had started to make their way back to the house. Emily wasn't sure if it was her dropping the three in the front yard or if they were just wandering. She waited and watched as they started to pass the yard, but the bodies on the ground seemed to catch their attention. They must have thought there was a chance that they were live people as the four of them wandered into the yard. But as they drew closer to the children, they lost interest and began to roam the yard. Emily waited until they were far enough apart that she thought she could time it right. She opened the door once more and started hitting them with the crowbar. The first two were easy, but the third was a bit tougher than she expected. The man was a good bit taller than her, and Emily could not get the crowbar to hit the skull with enough power. She thought quickly on her feet, though, and instead smashed the man in the knees, causing him to fall over. Once he was on the ground, she stabbed him with the hunting knife. Knowing that this kill took too long, Emily rushed to her feet and looked for the fourth. It was then that she saw Marley had pinned the thing to the ground and was trying to avoid letting it bite him, all without making a sound. Emily ran towards him and stabbed the man in the head.
As she pulled out the knife, Marley let out a low growl. Emily didn't need to look to know that they were drawing attention. She ran back towards the door and shut it behind Marley. Emily leaned the crowbar against the wall and immediately started to check Marley for a bite mark. She was pretty sure that dogs would not share the genetic marker that made her immune. She finished checking and found nothing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his fur. Emily could not lose him now; he was all she had. After she gathered herself, she stood back up and grabbed the crowbar; it was time to get back to work. Emily looked back out the window to see that she was right. They had drawn quite a bit of attention, and the front yard was beginning to fill. Two of them were on the porch and in arms reach of the door.
Emily knew that the plan was not the smartest, but it was the only one she had. She signaled for Marley to sit and, after several deep breaths, opened the door. She had planned to stab at least one of the men in the head before closing the door, but she had not seen the child through the window. She could have been no more than four and was right in front of the door. Emily hesitated for less than a second and stabbed the brain of the child. She moved fast and was able to get one of the men before retreating inside. Emily locked the door and looked down at Marley, who had remained seated but was not happy about it. While it did not go exactly as she had wanted, her plan had worked. Emily watched out the window for a few minutes while the dead wandered around and began to settle down. Emily considered trying to keep reusing her door trick, but it would take a while, and she had learned that she could not see everything in front of the door.
By her count, there were still twenty-eight adults and eleven children out there, and the last thing she needed was for them to get in here. She would need to wait a while for them to settle down and kill those she could before they got riled up again. After a few hours, they had begun to spread out once again. Emily started with those in the yard first. None wandered into the yard after her first outing, so she was forced to go out into the street for the next group. Instead of rushing back inside, she waited and watched. Only a few had noticed her, so she moved quickly to take them out before running back inside. Her second trip was a success as five more adults, and two more children were put to rest. While this was not plan A, it was a much faster way of dealing with the deadly problem. Emily watched out the window and waited for a few hours as the dead began to settle down once more.
Emily continued this process until the sun began to set. She was careful not to go too far from the house and not to try to rush the kills. Marley followed her every time she went out and did his best to get the dead's attention if she caught the attention of too many. Emily no longer noticed details about the dead such as if they were men or women or their hair color. She simply kept her count of adults and children. As the sun began to set, she knew that there was no more she could do today. Trying to hunt them in the dark would be a suicide mission. As she closed the door for the last time that night, she glanced back at the few that were further up the main street. She knew that she would have to find them, but for tonight, they would get away. Emily walked to the downstairs bathroom and began to wash the blood and muck from herself. She quickly did the math in her head, and once she dried off, she headed to the study. She grabbed her journal and opened it to the next blank page. She marked the date and began to write down all of the information she had learned about how the flash came to be, her immunity, and how she had woken the dead. She wrote about her day fighting them and trying to reclaim the city. The final line simply read, "10 adults and seven children remain."
Once she finished, she returned the book to the shelf and headed to the kitchen. She quickly filled Marley's bowls and set to making herself supper. She was going to enjoy the comforts she had earned here and wasn't going to let the few remaining dead stop her. The image of the bodies that now covered the yard and road by her house flashed into her mind. She did not feel pity for them, though. She was beyond that point. She knew that it would take her hours to haul them all over to the dumpsite. She could not feel the fear of making noise inside anymore. She had put so many to rest that the ones that remained seemed very few and not scary. If she could handle that many, then she could take the last few if they came knocking. Once dinner was finished and the dishes washed, she opened the back door for Marley. The warm winter snap seemed to be ending, something she had noticed while she was working. The air was growing colder by the minute, and it was official that January was nearly here.
Marley was quick and seemed not to enjoy the cold wrapping around him. They had already seen a few days of freezing temperatures, but they had always bounced back to being decent. Emily knew from living in this area her whole life what the signs were that the cold was here to stay, and this was it. They would not see another nice day until February. She could only hope that this winter would be kind, snow would be okay, but she did not know how she would even begin to handle an ice storm if it happened. Emily closed and locked the back door and headed up to her room. She went straight to the bathroom and peeled off the clothes she had been wearing for two days. Looking at the blood and muck she had splattered on them, she knew they would need to be washed tonight, or she would be looking at those stains forever. She got herself cleaned up in the shower and dresse
d in a t-shirt to take the laundry back downstairs. She felt fine until she started going down the basement stairs. She suddenly felt dizzy, and her vision began to blur. She immediately let go of the basket and heard it land at the bottom of the stairs. Emily grabbed desperately for the handrail to steady herself. As she held the wood, she immediately lowered herself to sit on the step.
.
Emily sat there for what seemed like forever, waiting for the world to stop spinning around her. When it had finally stopped, she remained still, afraid that it would start again. Marley was lying at the top of the stairs, watching her with concern. Emily knew that she could not stay here forever. She forced herself back up onto her feet and down the last of the stairs. Anyone else would have gone to lay on the couch, but she was determined to do what she had set out to in the first place. She put the clothes in the washer and, once it was started, slowly walked back up the stairs. As she made her way through the living room, she decided to head into the study. She went straight to the shelf with the medical information and began looking through the spines. Emily pulled out the one that brought her in here and then headed upstairs with Marley once again. She closed and locked the bedroom door and climbed into bed. She then turned on the lamp on the nightstand and opened the book.