by Jack Wallen
The distance was minimal – at least in comparison to the wall. The house bumped up against the golf course, so it made perfect sense for either a BMW or a Hummer to be relaxing in the driveway.
Sonja and I hobbled our way to the machine. The sounds of the wretched beasts were growing in both number and intensity. Out of some morbid curiosity, I wanted to chance a look back; find out how many and how close the zombies were. Fortunately, the better part of caution took control and I just continued hopping forward. With each step I took, the pain lessened.
Together, we hit the street leading up to the driveway. As we did, a zombie gang of four peeked their heads around the corner of the house. When the sound and smell of fresh meat hit their senses, they let out a moan and started shambling toward the buffet. The newest members of the dance were closer to the Hummer than us. This was getting awkward. Before my brain could wrap itself around the idea of becoming human tartare, Sonja pulled out her piece and unloaded four shots.
“You owe me an explanation.” I gasped as the fourth zombie went down.
“Not until we’re both out of there safely.”
We reached the vehicle. Sonja grabbed the handle and we both heaved a heavy sigh of relief when Murphy’s sense for hate-filled irony looked the other way and failed to apply its law to the locks on the Hummer doors. Sonja yanked the passenger-side door open and helped to hoist me up. Once tucked inside, I locked the door and watched as Sonja made her way around. Just as she reached for the door, one of the monsters came out of nowhere and pulled her away.
I screamed. My voice bounced around the inside of the Hummer.
Sonja placed the gun between her and the zombie and fired. The shot went wide. The zombie forced Sonja to the ground and wrapped its deadly fingers around her head.
Another shot was fired – it too went wide.
Sonja’s head was lifted up and then forced to the pavement below.
The pistol came up and fired blindly.
Sonja’s head again hit the pavement.
The pistol came up…only this time it fell from her grip.
Again, Sonja’s head smacked pavement.
At that moment, everything drifted down into slow motion. The zombie flipped Sonja over and forced two fingers from each hand into her skull and pulled. Bits of gore and blood shot out in all directions. One large chunk hit the Hummer’s windshield and stuck.
I watched as the piece of Sonja slowly slid down the glass.
Tears streamed down my cheeks and bile shot up my throat.
The coup de grace came when the zombie dug two fingers into the gaping hole in Sonja’s skull, pulled out a bit of gray matter, and sucked it into its rotting mouth.
Sonja was being devoured, from the inside out, by the undead. She was gone.
The emotional tidal wave hit me by surprise.
“No!!!!!” I screamed out.
The zombie’s head jerked back, looked my way, and stood.
Chapter 30
The door to the office sealed out the clatter and rattle of the lab. Gerand sat behind his cluttered desk, his fingers steepled under his chin. Godwin glanced about the office. Missing were the typical trappings of a biologist at the top of his field. The room was sparse – save for the chaos on the desk, an overflowing trash can, and a small safe.
Gerand nodded for Godwin to sit on the only other piece of furniture – a cold, industrial-looking desk chair. The physicists complied.
Once seated, the two men stared at one another like two Vulcans playing a championship match of three dimensional chess. A shift and click in the ventilation system of the building was the only sound.
Finally, Godwin sucked in a sharp breath and spoke. “What is this plan you have?”
Gerand closed his eyes and inhaled. “At this very moment, The Zero Day Collective cannot be stopped. Their plan is already in motion and it extends well beyond the walls of this tiny town. That doesn’t mean we have to allow The Great Cleansing to succeed.”
Godwin sat up a bit straighter in his chair. “Just so we are perfectly clear, young man, I have no intention of following through with their demands. I am a man of scientific integrity and will not sacrifice my moral obligation to uphold the singular truth of science. Am I fascinated by the molecular dilemma you face? Yes. Am I willing to enter into this dark abyss and aid in restructuring the DNA of the damned? No, I am not. This is a horror story, not reality. I would advise you to stand up and walk out of this building as I am about to do.”
“Doctor Godwin – Lindsay,” Gerand attempted to appeal on a personal level. “I realize there are not only multiple laws being broken, but the very foundation of science is threatened by the mere existence of this virus. But if you do not help me, the Zero Day Collective will never be stopped.”
Godwin furrowed his brow and clenched his jaw. “I do not understand. If I help you, their goal is achieved – at which point we could not stop them. Your logic is flawed.”
“No, sir. If we refuse to help them, we die; here and now. Of that, there is no question. We are the only two scientists on the planet with a deep enough understanding of what is going on to be able to stop this madness. If we die, everything we know about the Zero Day Collective dies with us.”
Godwin considered Gerand’s argument for a moment. “Yes, but if we help them, they have their completed virus – in hand. Once they have that, how do we know we would not be tossed out like special relativity’s second postulate? And how do I know this is not a ruse in an attempt to woo me over?”
“Lindsay, I’ve been communicating with you. You know all of this is true.”
“Yes, we have been communicating – but those communiqués could have been sent by anyone. Or, you could simply be a plant by the Collective to gain my trust. Other than my wife, I trust only one human on this planet, and she has nothing to do with this nightmare.”
“There’s your reason – your wife. If you don’t work with me on this, they will certainly kill her.”
In that infinitesimal moment, Godwin realized he’d lost. There was no choice, no matter how hard he worked at hiding his emotions and his fears, he couldn’t allow anything to happen to his wife. And no matter how much energy he put behind resolving his ethical and moral dilemma, there was no greater power than that of his commitment to the two women in his life.
“Fine. This plan of yours.”
“When this experiment completes, the Zero Day Collective will be relocating to Germany. When they do, they will take you with them to continue your work. I plan on escaping with something I have developed to help level the playing field.”
With that, Gerand pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it over to Godwin. As Godwin scanned through the writing on the handout, his eyebrows jumped up and down and his mouth filled with “hmmms” and “oh mys”.
“This is quite brilliant, doctor. I do believe this will work – at least temporarily.”
“Which is still better than nothing,” Gerand added. “All I have to do is get this into the hands of the right person and the Zero Day Collective, and their undead army, wouldn’t stand a chance. That chemical design you hold in your hand…” Gerand tossed a very serious glance over the desk and into Godwin’s lap. “Doctor Godwin…I am going to need your help with this. You need to convince John Burgess you have not only jumped onto their band wagon, but convince them you need me to help re-synthesize the sequence so the DNA of the subjects can be re-designed to better suit their needs. I’m fairly certain that, together, you and I could pull this off. You convince them I am on your side, and once we’re all out of here (and the Collective believes we are both heading to Germany) you will let me go and I will round up the necessary vigilantes to take the collective down.”
Godwin considered the idea. As he thought, his head began shaking back and forth.
“I am sorry, Richard, but I do not see how this helps me out. I must return to my work. If I have heard you correctly, your plan has me remaining under the Zero Day Collec
tive’s rule with no hope of escape. That will not do for me.”
“You’re in a precarious position, Lindsay. If you do not do as they say, your wife dies. If you play along with them until I can gather everything I need to realize this formula,” Gerand pulled the handout away from Godwin, “the Collective will be rendered powerless. Without their undead army beside them, they are nothing.”
Godwin gave thought to the Gerand’s suggestion. “There is only one other thing in this world I hold dear – the Heizer Sequence. I will not jeopardize my life’s work. Though it seems the sequence is the most logical means for resolving your battle with entropy, I do not want to lead Mr. Burgess into thinking my work is his. The only way I can agree to this is if we can devise another solution…one that has nothing to do with the Heizer Sequence.”
Gerand let the words sink in as he watched the brilliant mind of Lindsay Godwin go to work. Godwin stood and stared about the room.
“There was a study just a few years ago regarding the effects of electro-magnetic pulses on the tissue of the brain. It was postulated that an EMP attack would have degenerative effects on the brain cells. If we could generate a strong enough EMP pulse, it might be possible to bring about the entropy you so desire.”
Godwin stopped and nodded at Gerand. “Yes, that is our solution. I assume you know the fundamentals of electro-magnetic pulses?”
Gerand nodded.
“And I assume you know how to construct an EMP generator?”
Gerand shook his head.
“And you call yourself a scientist.” Godwin mumbled as he picked up a pad of paper and scratched out a list. “These are the specific components we will need. Round up everything on this list. We will build an EMP cannon and blast those bastards to an early grave. This is not a military-grade EMP device, so it will not eradicate everything electronic. It should just be strong enough to effect the already weakened tissue cells of those monsters. Just enough to push them off entropy’s cliff.”
With a wicked smile, Godwin handed Gerand the list.
As Gerand stood and extended his hand to Godwin, a thunderous sound vibrated the walls.
“Good God, what is happening?”
Gerand opened the door to his office to find most of the lab geeks frozen in their tracks and looking about like scared rats.
“That is the undead horde in search of their next meal.” Gerand spoke as he stepped outside his office. Godwin followed and made his way to one of the walls of the lab.
When Godwin stood next to the wall, he reached out his hand and laid his palm on the cold, metal surface. The vibrations of each pound traveled up his arm, to his neck, and into his skull.
“How many of those beasts are out there?”
One of the lab assistants approached Godwin.
“The original population was four hundred and eleven. We cannot account for all of the subjects that were killed pre-amplification…”
“Amplification?” Godwin questioned.
“Before the virus took hold,” Gerand answered.
“Our best estimate is around three hundred and eighty. According to the external cameras near this building, at least twenty-five of them are currently surrounding the lab.”
“I do not much like those odds.” Godwin turned to Gerand. “Neither do I,” replied Gerand. He waved over a nearby technician and handed him the Do-It-Yourself EMP parts list Godwin had jotted down. “Find these materials and suitable detonation spot – you have 15 minutes.”
Godwin continued, “Would it not make sense if we culled the herd a bit before we had to rely on the EMP canon? Besides, a primitive device will be limited in application. We may get two or three shots off at best. The fewer groups we have to fire upon, the better our chances of survival.”
Gerand knew Godwin was right – he just didn’t like the idea of going against Burgess. One of the provisions in the contract stated specifically that Gerand was to not interfere with the natural selection of the project. Do no undead harm was the Apocalyptic Hippocratic Oath.
To hell with that, though Gerand as he stepped over to a secured locker and placed the palm of his hand on a Plexiglas plate. After a second the two doors of the locker hissed open to reveal a small store of weapons. Gerand turned to face the workers in the lab.
“Anyone with the skills to fire a weapon, line up. Only the serious need apply.”
Within seconds, the line to ‘weapon up’ was full. Brave souls crawled out of the wood work. To some, the accepting of arms was simply have something else to do. For others it was more in the line of duty. Regardless of why, it quickly became apparent there were plenty of soldiers among the lab geeks.
“We are going to be heading into dangerous territory. What must be done is simple – the zombies surrounding the lab must be killed. Once that is complete, we will focus on the second phase of,” Gerand pause for a moment to consider a catchy name for the task at hand. “T-Minus Zero”.
Gerand knew the name of the film that was never to be was an apt title for dropping the zombie population to zero. The innumerable lies told to make The Great Cleansing happen was remarkable. The idea that so many had to die to sate the needs of so few shouldn’t have surprised Gerand. It was the selfish nature of mankind – and would never change.
“Once you have your weapon, stand in line at the exit. I’ll release the lock and we’ll flood the outside area. Get enough distance from the building and, once everyone is clear, shoot to kill. Anyone not arming themselves, drop to the floor of the lab and remain there until the shots are silenced.”
Gerand counted twelve ‘soldiers’, each nervously twitching out of their skin. With the last of the weapons in hand, the exit was unsealed and the men and women rushed out. The rising moan of the damned was a disturbing and horrific symphony. Well before the ‘soldiers’ could get into place, and the door to the lab re-sealed, the first shot was fired. Gerand grabbed Godwin and hit the floor.
“Why are they shooting already?”
“What’s happening?”
The cries of the lab geeks on the floor were drowned out by rifle fire and zombie moans.
“I am not so sure this plan was well thought out.” Godwin whispered into Gerand’s ear.
A stray bullet thunked against the door to the lab. The deep metallic sound at least gave those within the assurance that, so long as the exit was sealed, they were safe from harm.
“Can someone get a look at how it’s going?” One of the technicians called out.
“No!” Gerand whispered a scream, “Stay on the floor or risk getting shot!”
The sounds of the undead slowly overtook that of weaponry. Finally, the last shot was fired and was replaced by a lonely scream.
Moments passed.
Moments filled with a dreadful silence.
“What’s going on?”
Gerand started to slowly make his way to a kneeling position. “Everyone remain calm and on the ground. I’m going to sneak a look outside and see what is happening.” He didn’t stand – he crawled to a location underneath one of the few windows in the lab. With his back against the wall, Gerand slowly, silently stood. After closing his eyes and saying a silent prayer, Gerand spun on his heels and peeked his head out the window.
“Oh my God,” Gerand stuttered with a low and frightened voice.
“What is it?” Godwin prodded.
“You don’t want to know.”
Godwin ignored the warning, stood, and made his way to the nearest windows. What he saw threatened to chase him back into the womb of his long-lost mother. Every shooter was down. The undead were feasting on flesh and organ. Godwin turned away from the sickening sight and slid down the wall as he whispered; “This cannot be happening, this cannot be happening.”
One by one, the zombies finished their meal and returned to the walls of the lab to demand both entry and dessert.
“What do we do?” Godwin turned to Gerand, his eyes blood-shot and wide.
“We have no more weapons,�
�� Gerand replied.
Godwin shook his head. “That’s not true. We have the formula you showed me earlier.”
“No. We can’t. It’s too soon. Burgess can’t know about it…not yet.”
Godwin made his way to Gerand’s side. “My good man, if we do not make it out of here alive, there will be no other chance for your secret weapon to make a difference. Use it now and it will look like your virus did nothing more than what it was supposed to do.”
Gerand offered no reply.
“This might be our only chance to get out. If we make it, you will have the opportunity…”
“Doctor Godwin, the weapon isn’t ready. It’s mostly just theoretical.”
“Young man, I saw your notes. The formula is perfect. It will work.”
One of the assistants approached the two beautiful minds.
“Doctors,” the young male began. “We’ve located most of the necessary materials. As for the location, according to the city blueprints, there is a fairly sizable metal pipe sticking out of the ground near the center of the town. It’s embedded into what looks like the blow-off for an underground water tank. It’s solid and could serve the exact purpose you need. We’re only missing the copper wire.”
“That is brilliant young man,” Godwin’s mind was revving up.
“Cooper wire is easy – there’s a HVAC store just a few blocks down. I’m sure they’ll have copper tubing.” The assistant nodded quickly and hurried away.
Gerand spoke up. “If you’re talking about the pipe near the water sculpture – the EMP pulse created by a pipe that size could possibly blow all electrical devices within a mile radius. You don’t think Burgess will get suspicious?”
“Doctor, you told me he placed it squarely on your shoulders to ensure this experiment succeeds. The only route to success is the ultimate demise of the walking dead. Is that correct? What if the only possible solution to that dilemma is the EMP cannon? There is no reason they need to know of any ulterior motive attached to the plan. As far as they are concerned, you are following through with your end of the bargain. If they do not like your methods, they can prescribe a solution better suited to their needs in the next round. By then, however, you will have escaped and can locate the sufficient means to pull off your coup d’état.”
