by P. S. Power
The woman looked at the table top, her face lean and pale, but not un-pretty. She chewed her lower lip for a while before going on, then looked at Donald who nodded and took over.
"We don't know who gave the order to release the plague, but there is a group that went missing at the right time. It is almost certainly one of them, if not a group consensus. The names would mean little to you, but they are some of the most brilliant people to have ever walked the planet.
After the release of the plague, which is a highly modified nano particulate that attaches itself to naturally existing viral and bacterial agents, causing specific biological modifications using Mitochondrial DNA as a power source, essentially turning the normal fauna of the human body's parasitical system into a factory for the production of half-living machines. The rest of our people took a vote and chose to flee. Moving to an alternate dimension, leaving only a handful of us here to try and stop this. There are ten of us left in all. Four of them children. We traveled in family groups, after we discovered a way to undo the main operating mechanism of the plague."
No one said anything after that for a long time. It was like it wasn't real. After all, while Jake couldn't understand most of what the zombie plague really was, he got the idea that they were claiming to have a cure. Or at least a way to stop it. It would be too much to ask for the thing to bring the dead back to life, but if it could be shut off even, that would be a huge step forward.
"Like how all the dead just dropped yesterday?"
Hal nodded, which got dirty looks from his parents.
"I was observing you as you fought them and decided to lend what aid I could from hiding. I didn't know who you were then, but suspected that you were not unkind people. I had a capsule of the... shut-down compound, on me. It took about an hour to work, since it needed time to spread, but it works well. We've been using it where we could... But..."
Jake got it, he didn't even need that part explained. There were only ten of them and that meant two to four different family groups most likely. They just couldn't cover the area needed. But the House had people and contacts with the cousin races, including the Teleporters. It would still be an incredible task, but if they could shut down the zombies like that...
He nodded rapidly, not ready to believe it all yet.
"We need a test, a demonstration, before we commit fully to spreading this for you. How much can you make and what materials will you need for it?"
Donald spread his hands, but Sara looked wide eyed suddenly, as if things were moving faster than she thought they might.
"You'll aid us in this? It was the wrongdoing of our people that caused it, the effort to undo it should be ours."
He nodded again.
"Yep. That sounds totally fair, having you people do it all. But we don't have time for you to travel the whole world. We have more resources and can get way more people in for this. I think almost everyone in the world will be willing to help. It will take everyone, but it sure beats doing it one undead walker at a time."
The Technologists all went silent then, looking at one another, including Hal in the mix, as if they didn't know what to say to that, or didn't really believe Jake could pull it off. That part was strange, since it was one of those things that anyone could have gotten done if they wanted. Who wouldn't want this?
Well, maybe the people that had started it, but those freaks could go and screw themselves. Jake wanted it done and so did every other person in the room. The next room too, from the murmuring coming from that direction. It got a little loud, but he kept himself from pulling his nine. After all, if this really worked like they said they might be able to go back to normal speaking soon. He didn't know if that would ever really work for him, but some of the others might be able to make the switch back to normal speaking tones.
Sara looked at each person in turn.
"We can outfit every person here with enough of the... compound to affect a three hundred mile area. That isn't as much as it may seem at first, but we can manufacture more, with some simple materials. Sulfur and iron being the hardest to find. Carbon is simpler, but it will take the aid of others to gather these things quickly enough."
She said it like it was an impossible task, but if they could get out from under the zombies and that struggle, they could do a whole lot more than they were at the moment.
It was nearly half an hour later that dinner was served which had Cam and Sammi coming back, both seeming a little grim, especially compared to the half festive mood of the others. No one was singing or dancing, but that was only because doing that would have had them shot out of habit. People smiled though as they ate and Heather nearly tackled Sammi as soon as she saw her.
"It's happened! They came! I didn't know when it would happen, or if... Well, we made it. I mean, there is other bad stuff, and we still have those cannibals to deal with and lots of work, but this is it. They came Sammi. They came... Oh." She looked pained suddenly and looked down at the floor, where a puddle of water was growing at her feet.
At first Jake wondered if her bladder had let go due to excitement, but Sammi didn't need time to figure it out, smiling instead.
"Your water broke. Wonderful. Let's go and set you up in the birthing room. Now, who came?"
Jake shorthanded it for her, since it looked like they were about to be busy for a bit. Her and Lois at any rate.
"Um, non-exploding Technologists with a way to stop the zombies. We can explain later, but right now we need the leaders of the other groups, if possible. Cam, could you see to that? We need everyone that can come now. Start with Morris, he'll know what to do."
It took a few minutes for the girl to blink out, but Donald stood and walked across the room to where she'd been. It was hard to see his expression in the dark, but Jake decided to kick his ass if the man said anything about the evil "Scaliwagga" or whatever derogatory term his people had for Cam's. Instead the man just reached out into the air, his breath becoming a little louder in the near dark of the candle lit space.
"You have one of the Travelers?" He sounded like all his people always did though, not derisive at all. Just a little cold and logical.
Jake liked that way better.
"We don't just have one, we have all of them. The Teleporters, which you call Travelers I guess, which is a good name for them, the Bawdri, the Valkyries, the Comtrices... Really we have most of the other groups that are left. We can even probably get the U.S. Military and maybe some other groups in on this. Cam, the girl that just left, is going to try and set that up now. I don't suppose you and Sara will be up for a demonstration in the morning? I'd prefer sooner, but I'm not going out into the dark to hunt zombies on purpose. Not if I can help it."
For some reason the man chuckled, keeping his voice low. Sara did as well, which sounded happy enough. It was a little manic though, and hers broke with a soft sob after a few seconds. Her next words explained it though.
"We didn't think... you really are the one from their fables, aren't you? The Very Good Man come to save the world. We didn't think... Our projections didn't show you as more than a regular person. One in the right place perhaps, but not... Nothing like this."
He didn't announce that it was because he wasn't who they thought. That didn't matter at all, not if the work got done. The world didn't need him, just a figurehead to rally around. If he could keep that role up for just a while longer, maybe it would work? Maybe it could even if he didn't.
The room was distracted by Morris showing up on the front porch, running in after knocking a little tune. It wasn't really coming through the door though, just Teleporting from the other side, so that he didn't have to wait for it to be unlocked.
"Is it true?" He spoke in a slightly breathless tone, looking like he was about to be a father or something.
"We have a way to stop this nightmare?"
Jake nodded, but made his words more reasonable.
"Maybe. We need to test it for ourselves, and it will take work to make it h
appen, even if the compound does what we've been told it can. If it does though... then yes. We could, just possibly, actually have a shot." Or not, if it fell through. He didn't want to get anyone too excited, just in case, since that would probably have more than one person putting a gun to their head if the promise of freedom from the undead fell through.
Jake could see himself joining them, to tell the truth, so it was better to be a little extra calm about it. Not just for him, who honestly believed that Hal had done exactly what he said, taking out all the dead in the area. That had been witnessed. Inside he felt like it was real at least, but if it wasn't, if it was just a trick or something...
That would be deadly. In more ways than one.
Over the next fifteen minutes the room filled with all the leaders of every group Morris and his people could find. It was more than Jake figured on, being nearly eighty people in all now. One of them was familiar to him though. The tall bearded Denari fellow. The man was silent though. They all were.
"I'll let Sara and Donald here tell their story." They added a few more details when asked by various people, but it was essentially the same. The truth normally was.
Some of their people were murdering a-holes that had killed most of the people in the world, even though they had good intentions. There had to have been another way, but what that was no one could figure out. It was a hard thing to swallow, but Jake knew they couldn't get caught up in revenge. If they did that then they'd lose too much time. He didn't wait for anyone to mention that aspect of things before shutting it down. It meant interrupting the Bawdri leader, Darian, and not letting him work up a hot-headed rant for the next two hours, but it had to be done.
Even if that would kill time until they could go out and test the stuff.
"The first task needs to be making certain this compound works. I believe I've seen it in action, and it seems effective, but I want to make certain of that fact. We'll do that first thing in the morning. Then, if that works we need to set up a manufacturing and distribution network. I know that some people will want to go after the ones responsible for this, and I agree with that. But it can't be our prime occupation for now. Stop the zombies first, and we free up everyone to help with the rest." He waited to be shouted down, but for once in his life people just regarded him calmly.
Darian smiled, which looked slightly sad.
"I agree. Even if we face alternate attack, we must deal with the greatest threat to the world first. Might I suggest we spread word of these people and try to find them however? I know that I would sleep better if they were... apprehended." He said the last word slowly as if he was being diplomatic.
Shaking his head Jake didn't let it go.
"No. We don't arrest them. They don't get a fair trial. We find the ones responsible, make reasonably certain we have them all and then kill them, so they can't harm anyone ever again. We're talking about the worst mass murders ever here. Mercy is a good thing Darian, but we can't afford it in this case. Humanity may actually cease to exist, which was the plan these people had, I think. It isn't about right or wrong, or even revenge. There are just some things you aren't allowed to do and we need to make certain that these people don't get the chance to finish the job."
People were staring at him again, but then something odd started happening. One by one, around the room, people started saying one single word.
"Agreed."
It was all of them too. It should have been a touching moment, but it wasn't, even though they meant it as a show of support for him. Jake teared up though, feeling like he was going to cry. That was fine though. Most of them couldn't see his face after all. Just the Bawdri and possible one or two of the other groups had night vision like that. As long as they didn't mention it...
"Why are you crying sir?"
It came from the far corner, a voice he didn't recognize at all. A man's voice, but sibilant and strange at the same time. After a few moments a hand touched his shoulder. From the scent it was Sammi.
That he could recognize her in a room full of people by how she smelled was just weird, but it was the truth. He knew who it was. The tiny hand squeezed gently as the tears fell.
"It's because he's The Very Good Man and having to order the deaths of people. I'm so sorry Jake. I... you shouldn't even have to be here. Maybe we could take him somewhere else now, let him rest or..."
He just chuckled. There was no place else that was better. Not for him. Fake figurehead or not, it was clear that these people had decided to need him and that meant standing up for them, no matter how hard it got.
"I'll be fine. We'll leave from here in ten hours. Head into town and run the test? Will that work Sara?"
The woman cleared her throat but sounded positive enough.
"That will be fine. We've been releasing a constant stream as we've traveled, and each place we do that in should be rendered safe. If we go carefully we won't encounter any of the animated. I don't know if the closest town is a good test zone however. Our path in, plus the release here should have made those areas free of the dead from now on. How far is it to this place?"
Jake shrugged.
"About fifteen miles."
"Ah. Well, we should do it again, but another place might make a more dramatic test zone. Each capsule will clear things to about seventeen and a half miles away, so we have overlap there already."
They decided to do that, then also do the next town over, which hadn't been cleared at all and was probably crawling with the things. Cam walked to him, pushing on his arm to get his attention.
"By the shopping mall?"
"Sounds like a plan to me. Do you think you can get us all there?"
She did something, which he couldn't see, but Sammi could. That reminded him to nudge her a little. She was supposed to be busy after all.
"She stuck out her tongue. Very immature of her. I think it means she believes herself equal to the task."
Jake rolled his eyes.
"Pregnant girl in the basement? Shouldn't you be there playing mid-wife or something?"
That got a low murmur from about a third of the people there, but a snort from the Bawdri Princess.
"What? Do you think she's going to have it right now? If she manages to have it tomorrow sometime it will be a miracle. It's her first and she isn't a huge girl. I..." She put an arm around him, as if he might need to be held up or something. Like he was weak.
She was playing to the crowd, trying to make him out as some kind of sympathetic character. It was actually a good plan.
"She... there's a good chance that the child won't make it. Heather might not either. We don't have a hospital here and she's been through a lot. Malnutrition, stress... I don't want this to come as a shock to you later..."
As if he hadn't figured that out already? They'd do what they could though. It was all there was for now.
It seemed strange to him, but not one, but four different people offered their help then, the Grand Comtrice he recognized in the dark, which made sense. Her ability was a kind of blood magic after all. People bled during childbirth. He wasn't certain if it had to be her blood or not, but she was also old and probably had experience. Darian also moved along with them, as if he might be of some use in the situation. He could see in the dark if nothing else and was probably the oldest person on the planet, so he likely could manage something.
After that most of the people went home, a bed was found for the Linster family and everyone settled for the night. Jake dozed a bit, not truly sleeping, but there were no problems at all. He got up early and pulled on Colleen's arm until she got up, Vicki already being out and about herself. It wasn't light yet, but he decided not to bother with forge work that day. They kind of had other things to do.
Which, it seemed, involved all the House's cleaning teams. That made sense, being that they'd want to be in on this if it worked and could act as back-up if it didn't, but it was Tipper that rousted them all from bed. She'd cut her hair again, so it stuck up in a mannish b
ristle on the top. She had on a white snow suit though, over her cleaning outfit. They met in the living room, but her face was grim, instead of happy. At first he wondered if the Linster family had run away or died, but that wasn't it. She was just taking it on herself to lay things out. All of the other Vals and T'srith came in for it too.
"Look, I know this sounds like it might save us all, but it also means, after today, that we're going onto a real war footing. From this moment on we don't let Jake or any of the other leaders out of our sight. We may all have to die for this, regardless of what happens. The worst case scenario here is also our best hope. If this thing works and I know we all want that more than anything, then these... I don't know what to call them. Our enemies? Then they have to try and kill us before we end their play. That means we need to scramble people. We need to hide the new operation and spread it out as many ways as possible. I know that I don't rule here, we can take a vote or something, but doing anything less is insane."
Jake just agreed with her.
"We need to hunt them down and fast, but also spread this compound, if it works. If it doesn't I'm going to need all of you to help keep morale up. Taking hope away would be too much for a lot of people here. I can count on you all?"
The voice from behind him was familiar, Morton, Morris's son.
"Of course Ba-Dehist. No matter what comes, you can count on us all." It sounded good when he said it, and even though half of the people in the room hated him just for being, they all went along with it.
What were they going to say though? They kind of had to go along with it, at least in theory. He was all they had for the moment, as feeble a thing as that was.
The next few hours took forever, with Sara going along with Jake and Cam to release the capsule, which was literally what it sounded like. I tiny pill sized thing she pinched with her fingers to break open. They stood on the roof of the shopping mall, since it was as high as they could get in the area.
"It will take some hours, but the individual nanites can move through the air somewhat. Not fast, but within twenty four hours they will saturate the full area. In four this entire town will be secured. It takes about three hours after contact with a single element for the dead to cease being animated. If we had specimens here, this close to the release point, it would happen much faster. Less than half an hour." It was said academically, then she added something that seemed a total afterthought.
