by Gayle Katz
“So, here it is,” said Charlie, holding up the vial. She handed it over to him.
“Thanks. What is it?”
Charlie smirked. “We think it could be zombie-infected blood. It was on a statue in downtown Portland.”
“Yeah, people may be cutting themselves on that,” explained Owen.
Stewart frowned. “Infection doesn’t happen that way. It’s a short time frame from having zombie teeth pierce your skin to contracting the infection from their saliva. If there were zombie saliva or blood outside, its effectiveness would be gone in seconds.”
“Well, Miranda isn’t following the rules either,” said Charlie. “It could be related.”
“Very well,” said Stewart. “I assume you secured the site?” He watched as his students both nodded. “It can wait until tomorrow. I’ll give you the results after school.” He watched as they yawned. “I suggest you both get some rest, as I feel we are getting closer to solving this problem. There might be some more late nights ahead.”
“OK. Thanks, Stewart,” said Charlie, standing up.
“Oh, before I forget, we brought this for testing too.” Owen handed him the donut box. “Goodnight,” said Owen, following Charlie to the door.
Charlie drove him back home, and then headed for her place.
zzz
“Are you still up, Gran?” called out Charlie, as she closed and locked the door behind her.
Gran tiptoed into the room. “Shhh,” she said, nodding towards the couch.
“Why is Zan here?” she whispered.
“She had an argument with her dad, dear. I said she could stay here for a few days while they sort it out.”
“Oh my god,” said Charlie. “Did you call her dad to tell him?”
Gran nodded. “She didn’t want me to, but I had to. I managed to convince him not to bolt over here, but he was rather rude and abrupt with me. He doesn’t like you hanging out together.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “Great, something else to worry about. OK, I’m getting some rest. It’s going to be a long week ahead.”
“OK, dear,” said Gran, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Get some sleep.”
zzz
Charlie got up extra early the next day. She had an appointment at the police station. She washed, dressed, and headed downstairs.
Zan was no longer on the couch.
“She’s already left for school, dear,” said Gran.
“Well, that’s just great. Were you able to talk to her at all?” Charlie poured herself a glass of orange juice from the fridge.
“A bit. She’s unhappy that her dad won’t support her science and math career goals. He wants her to become a musician.”
Charlie laughed. “That’s messed up. Usually, it’s the other way around with parents. You can’t make a living doing creative shit, at least that’s what they usually say.”
Gran chuckled too. “Well, perhaps you can talk to her when you’re in school today.”
Charlie finished her breakfast, and then drove to the police station. She casually walked in.
“Hello, may I help you?” asked the receptionist.
“Yes, I need to speak to Sergeant Bourne about an incident this week.”
“Do you have an appointment?” he asked, looking at his computer.
“No, but you can tell him it’s Charlie Warner to see him.” Charlie confidently strode over to the chairs and sat down.
A few minutes later, Sergeant Bourne came out. “Why, Charlie, how nice to see you again.”
“Not,” she replied. “Is there somewhere private?” she asked.
He nodded to the back. She followed him into one of the interrogation rooms.
“Wow,” he said, impressed. “Nice job. Kill the zombie, escape, take and dispose of the body yourself. We can use someone like you on the police force.”
She smirked. “Right. Unfortunately, the zombie escaped.”
His eyes opened wide. “She did? Damn. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Well, there was something unusual about her. Like, she wasn’t completely turning,” said Charlie.
He nodded. “I noticed that, but the mayor says to kill any and all zombies. Technically, she’d be diagnosed as dead. She had no heartbeat. I checked myself before I tossed her in the cell.”
Charlie perked up. “The mayor knows?”
“Of course,” Sergeant Bourne said. “Can’t keep much from her these days.”
“And yet, you can’t convince the other nine tenths of the police force that zombies are real?” She sat up straight and stared at him.
“Well, everyone has an opinion these days,” he explained.
“Any idea how the zombies are being created?” she asked him.
“I do know it’s not through a bite. Miranda had no bites on her body.”
Charlie decided to let that one go. She just assumed it was part of police protocol to perform strip searches when required.
“Here’s my card. Let me know if you hear anything.”
She picked it up, and then left. She wasn’t entirely certain if she could trust him.
zzz
Black Cat Donuts was closed for the night. Slim eagerly flipped the sign around to say CLOSED.
“Hey, you done there?” called out a female voice from the back.
“Yep, be right there,” he said. He tossed his hat and apron on the counter and went to the back.
Back there were two women waiting. They were both zombies. One woman had her eyes openly glowing green, while the other was obviously wearing contact lenses. Slim mentally made a note that there could be big business in contact lenses for zombies.
“OK, Miranda’s here. Slim is here, and I’m here. I think that’s it,” said the female zombie with contact lenses.
“OK, Jaz. Let’s get started then,” said Slim.
Jaz grabbed some papers from her file folder and started to read from her notes. “Well, not much to report on today. Zombie progression has been slow. We lost Glenn, unfortunately. Sorry, Miranda.”
Miranda’s eyes widened and she grimaced.
“Say, can someone open a window?” asked Slim. “Not all of us are zombies here.”
“You do it,” commanded Jaz.
Slim unwillingly got up to open the small window in the tiny office at the back of the donut shop. Once done, he lingered there, getting fresh air.
“OK, so, someone reported our little stunt outside the shop to the city. The statue is now boarded over.”
“Well, that was stupid anyway,” said Slim.
Miranda raised her eyes. “What about the traditional method of infecting people? Say, like, I don’t know, umm,” she said, pausing. “Like, biting them?”
Jaz shook her head. “That doesn’t work for us. I’ve been telling you, we aren’t like those zombies that infested the greater Portland region back in September.”
“I don’t understand,” said Miranda. “Who made us?”
“Well,” said Slim. “I heard that it was some gang on the other side of the city.”
“Well, thanks to them, we can have total world domination!” said Jaz, cackling eagerly. “We decay at a much slower pace, and still have all our faculties. Right, Miranda?”
“Um, what?” responded Miranda, slowly.
“Well, some of us, anyway.”
“OK, I don’t see the point,” said Slim. “You can’t function as good as a human, so why bother?”
“Well, trouble is that some of us had no choice. Someone injected and infected me. I experimented and discovered that there was a way to directly infect people by injecting them. Look at Miranda here, and Glenn, who is sadly no longer with us.”
“You’re responsible for this?” asked Miranda.
“Sort of,” explained Slim. “She infected the statue outside. You and Glenn leaned against it and infected yourselves.”
“If I could stand up, I’d killll you,” said Miranda. She tried to stand up, with one hand supporting her on the
back of the chair, but then she tumbled forward and fell. Her body dropped to the ground.
Slim rushed forward and checked her pulse and eyes. “She’d dead. I mean, she’s really dead this time.”
“Well, that experiment failed,” said Jaz, visibly irritated.
“So, do you have any idea at all who infected you?” asked Slim.
“No,” she said. I was walking down the street one day and someone came up and stabbed me with something sharp. By the time I got home, I could feel myself turning.”
“OK, well, do you need more deliveries?”
“We can try, I guess,” she said.
“Cause, my guy, he knows how to get zombie parts.”
“Yes, he has been reliable so far. However, I don’t want anyone becoming suspicious, but I want to perform more experiments.”
“Of course,” he said.
“OK, here’s your cash for this week.” She tossed an envelope in his direction. He neatly caught it and headed for the door.
“Say, good job, by the way,” Slim said.
“Good job what?” asked Jaz, confused. She was rubbing her eyes, as they felt uncomfortable with the lenses in.
“For being a zleader. A zleader of nothing.” He laughed as he walked out.
“Oh, asshole!” she said. Soon he was gone. If she didn’t need him, she’d turn him. If she could. But she couldn’t. She needed to find out what kind of virus that gang had created to turn zombies. And, who they were. Were they zombies like her? Was she even a zleader, or did Slim just call her that? She had so many questions.
Chapter 5
________________________________________
Charlie was glad that biology class was first thing on Thursday. She saw Zan and Owen there. Stewart hadn’t arrived yet. She hoped he would arrive early, before the rest of the students arrived.
“Hey, you OK?” Charlie asked Zan.
“Yes, I’m great,” she said. “Parents are so annoying.”
“I hope you can work it out with your dad,” Charlie said.
Zan shrugged. “Thanks for letting me hang at your house for now.”
Charlie smiled.
Stewart entered the class. Owen headed over to his desk.
“Hey, situation,” he whispered, but the girls could hear it.
“Not now, Owen. Later, after our meeting after class.”
Owen dejectedly walked back to his seat.
“Hey, Owen,” said Zan. “My lab got shut down.”
“Really?” he said. “Cause I need more supplies.”
“Too bad,” said Zan. “I’m done. I’m focusing on my schoolwork from now on.”
Charlie had a puzzled expression on her face. “What’s up, guys? I feel like I’m an outsider.”
“Oh nothing,” said Zan. “Just a private project with Stewart.”
“Private project? Why was I left out?”
Owen took a deep breath. “Because, you’d flip out. Besides, you have your own projects.”
“What the hell? I’m a member of this team too!” she said loudly.
“Excuse me, is there a problem at the back?” asked Stewart.
Charlie looked around her. The other students were coming in. That was just great. Now she’d have to wait until after class to find out what everyone was up to.
zzz
The day went quickly. Zan, Charlie, and Owen waited impatiently outside Stewart’s classroom for the other teens to leave. Finally, they were able to enter. Owen closed the door behind them.
“So, what’s this about you guys plotting something behind my back?” asked Charlie.
“Calm down,” said Stewart. “I need you ready to go in case of a zombie sighting.”
“It was nothing,” said Zan. “He basically had me make this substance that would reanimate a dead person’s fingers.”
“What? That actually sounds kind of cool,” said Charlie.
“It is,” said Zan, nodding her head.
“So, what was the purpose of that?” Charlie asked.
“It was so I could bring them to a shop and drop them off,” admitted Owen. “While there are a few zombies roaming around, it wasn’t enough.”
“Wait a minute. The Pawn Shop? I saw you there one night.”
Owen nodded his head.
“So, what’s up?” she asked.
Stewart explained further. “I had a lead that certain people were trying to create a zombie apocalypse.”
“Like, a zleader?”
“There was no indication of that,” he replied. “These people wanted zombie parts, in hopes of creating more zombies.”
“So, they know that biting doesn’t work in this case?” asked Charlie.
“Not if there’s no zleader,” Stewart added.
“Hey, what I’m not certain about is why you would send them fake zombie parts,” said Owen.
“Well, I was hoping for you to make contact, establish some trust. Then, you could ask more questions.” Stewart’s phone warbled so he picked it up.
“Oh right, something I wanted to ask you,” said Owen. “Is it possible to work on a zombie treatment or cure?”
Stewart dropped the phone on his desk. “It’s possible, but not by us. Something like that would have to be done at one of the most advanced labs in the nation. Perhaps at the CDC or something.”
Owen looked disappointed. “It was just a thought.”
“Well, keep on thinking, team.” He stood up. “I’ve just received notification that zombies have collected in a hotel parking lot on the east side of town. It’s time for you to go and take them out.”
Charlie was a bit annoyed that the team hadn’t told her about the ruse, but she was excited that it was time for some zombie slaying.
“Say, any results back from the donut or the red substance?” she asked.
“Oh right,” Stewart said, holding the door open for them. “The donut was just a donut. The red substance was human blood, with what we think is a type of zombie virus not seen before. If it had been infectious, it was long gone by the time the testing occurred. If someone is trying to turn zombies, then this will be a long process.”
“Great,” said Zan. “Maybe I’ll figure out the secret before they do.”
Everyone glared at her.
Charlie was the last to leave the classroom. “What I really want to know is where you got the fingers from?” She took the address from Stewart. “Oh, I know, from your source.”
Stewart smiled. “Don’t worry, they were already dead when the fingers were severed.” He closed the door.
zzz
The group was really excited to be fighting zombies again. It had been a long, quiet month. Charlie parked the car a block away from where they’d been sighted. They walked in on foot. In the distance, the cops blocked off the street. They could hear them tell people there had been a shooting in the region and that they needed to turn around and go home. Other than that, it was quiet.
“Oh, a shooting,” said Owen, freaking out. He started to turn around.
Zan grabbed his arm. “It’s probably Stewart’s contacts. Relax. There is no shooting.”
“Say, how come we don’t have guns to shoot the zombies?” he asked.
“Well, because guns make a ton of noise. We try to keep as low-key as possible,” explained Charlie.
Owen smiled. “Makes sense. Hey, there’s one ahead.” He slowly pulled his dagger out from his belt.
The girls followed.
The first zombie was easy to put down. Three more came at them.
“Where the heck did they come from?” asked Zan, dispatching one while Owen and Charlie did the other one.
“Not sure,” said Charlie. “Oof,” she said, as one raced up to her and jumped on her back. She shook her body, trying to get him off. She rolled, and he rolled with her. But now she was on top of him. She raised her dagger and plunged it into his eye socket. He was quickly dead.
“I’m going to check around the cars,” said Owen.
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“Geez, where is everyone?” said Zan. “Hiding in their rooms?” She peered around the parking lot.
“I’m going to do cleanup,” said Charlie, grabbing onto the zombie’s arms and dragging him near the blue dumpster. “Be careful. Some of these were moving faster than expected.”
All seemed fairly quiet, except for the traffic and the cops in the distance. She paced around, and peered into some of the motel’s windows. Most of them had locked windows and lights off. If anyone was inside, they were hiding. She found it a big joke that no one acknowledged there were zombies in the city, yet obviously there were.
“Help!” called Zan.
Charlie raced in her direction.
“It’s Owen,” said Zan, supporting him with her arms. “He got bitten.”
“What the?” said Charlie. “Where is the zombie?”
“Gone, I got him,” said Zan.
Charlie took her belt off and tied it above his arm. Below, was a distinctive human teeth mark.
“Damn it.” She took out her cell phone and texted Stewart. “Owen got bitten,” it said.
“Will send help,” he texted back.
One minute later, an ambulance was on site.
“Done?” texted Stewart.
“Yes, all zombies in dumpster and ambulance on scene,” Charlie texted back.
“Tx.”
The paramedics applied a dressing to Owen’s arm, and helped him into the ambulance. Zan and Charlie hopped in behind him, both extremely concerned.
By the time the ambulance had taken off, the roadblocks were gone.
Charlie peered out the window and saw Sergeant Bourne on the street. He waved at her.
Chapter 6
________________________________________
The ambulance took them to the nearest hospital just a few blocks away. Charlie and Zan tried to explain to the attendant in the back of the ambulance that a zombie had bitten Owen.
