by Davis, J. Q.
“I didn’t think she was crazy.” Thinking Maddi was crazy was not even a passing thought in my mind.
Estelle continued. “Her parents didn’t want her anymore after what she did. They were disgusted and embarrassed by it, they said. The nerve of some parents. I wouldn’t have just thrown my child away like they did to Maddi. She’s such a sweet little girl.”
“Do you have children?”
Estelle chuckled. She picked up the same doll Maddi was holding and hugged it. “Dear, I’m one hundred and fourteen years old. I have great, great grandchildren.”
I took a seat next to her. “How did you end up here? I mean, how did you meet Dr. Roberson?”
She sighed. “I wasn’t ready to leave this earth. God blessed me with many years, but when I realized that my time could be at any moment, He sent me Dr. Roberson.”
“So, Dr. Roberson found you?” I asked. I was confused.
“Yes. It wasn’t hard to find someone over one hundred years old. People don’t normally live that long. I even did an interview for the newspaper! Anyway, he showed up at my doorstep one day and asked if I wanted to be part of an experiment he was doing. He said that I could possibly live forever. Of course, I agreed. What did I have to lose? My time was coming up.” She tilted her head to the side and stared off in the distance. She was remembering.
“When the time came, when my body was just too old and worn down and couldn’t function on its own anymore, my heart began to give out.”
“So you weren’t…” I was never going to get used to asking someone if they died or not. “You didn’t die?”
She turned back toward me. “Oh yes, dear. You must die first. But when I did, he brought me back to life. You know, I lived my whole life believing that when I died, I’d see a white light. But, I didn’t. It was just darkness. Then he gave me the serum, and there was light again.”
That was a concept I didn’t even think about. I didn’t remember dying, I guess because I was too young. But no one talked about what happened when they actually did die. What did they see before they were revived? I guess it wasn’t a big deal, or else I would have heard about it before Estelle mentioned it.
I also wondered what would happen if you didn’t die before being injected.
“So, you’re okay with living forever?”
“Well…I was. But this world has changed so much. And I have seen so much. There comes a point when you’re just ready to let it all go.”
I knew it! Not everyone wants to live forever. This lady has been around for over one hundred years. She must have been tired. And from what she was telling me, it seemed like she was ready to die now.
Estelle stood up and began to walk toward the door. “Well, I should go. Maddi is waiting.”
“Um, Estelle? You were Dr. Roberson’s third patient. Do you know what happened to the second patient?”
“He died,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yes, but where is he?”
She turned to look at me once more. “No, sweetie. He was injected, but didn’t make it. You will have to ask Dr. Roberson for more details. I’ll see you at dinner.”
I sat on the bed for a moment after she left thinking about what the hell could have happened to the second patient. Who was he? Why did he die? I mean, really die?
I headed over to my room, mentally taking note of all of my questions for Dr. Roberson. I’d just have to ask. There would be no reason for him not to tell me.
Tristen was lying down on my bed looking at his phone. I shut the door behind me before throwing myself on my back next to him.
“How did it go?”
I stared up at the ceiling. “She thinks she can hear her mom calling her name through a seashell.”
“Awe, that’s sweet…and weird.” He turned on his side and rested his head on his hand. He began caressing my cheek as he listened.
“She ate her newborn sister. That’s why she’s here.”
His hand stopped for a moment, probably to take in what I’d just said. “That’s pretty rough.”
I turned to face him. “Tristen, what if I eat you?”
“You’re not, Grace. Why do you keep bringing that up?”
“Because! I’m a Zombrid! I eat people. It’s what I do.”
“No, it’s what you did. And you ate one person,” he exclaimed.
I sighed. “And an arm,” I said under my breath.
“Hey, you’re going to be fine. I mean, you have a bodyguard! He won’t let you eat anyone. And you’re getting the food you need here. You’re going to be okay,” he reassured me.
“I need to find out what happened to the second patient,” I said, staring back up at the ceiling. I was really talking to myself. For some reason, finding out what happened to the second patient and those other patients at the East Cocos facility would make me feel much better about being here. As much as I wanted to feel comfortable, I still had this nagging feeling in my stomach.
Or was it because I was hungry?
Tristen turned my face toward his. His fingers ran through my curls before he found the back of my head and gently forced me to lean in closer to him.
I relaxed my body, kissing his soft lips once he leaned in close enough. The sun was going down, and my room was quickly losing light. We were finally completely alone.
His hand found my hip and he slowly pulled me closer to him. Our mouths opened and closed into each other’s, and I believe that was the moment I realized how much I loved kissing.
A sting in my stomach made me tighten my belly muscles.
No. Not hungry. Not now.
Our legs intertwined, our movements became in sync. I rested my hand on the back of his neck and pushed my body as close to his as I could.
I felt him kick his shoes off the edge of the bed before he got up to untie my Chuck Taylors. I sat up halfway and watched while he slowly slid each shoe off, squeezing my feet when he was done. He looked up at me, bit his bottom lip and grinned.
Another ache shot across my stomach, a little sharper than the one before. I gripped my comforter tight till it passed, making sure he didn’t notice.
I focused my attention on his sexy smirk. My heart began to feel like it was going to jump out of my throat. It was racing at the thought of this moment being THE moment. The moment my innocence card could be given up.
He crawled back onto the bed, grazing his fingertips all the way up from my ankle, to my leg, to my thigh, then to my hip as he gently lay on top of me. He kissed my neck and I closed my eyes, feeling a tingle radiate through my chest. His teeth lightly brushed against my skin. I threw my head back, allowing him more room to do what he had to do.
I bit my lip, but it wasn’t for the euphoric sensation Tristen was causing. The throbbing in my stomach was becoming constant.
His kisses flowed up to my chin, then my jaw, and back to my lips. I allowed my hands to roam free on his back until I found the edge of his shirt. I pulled it up over his head without even thinking, only that it was getting in the way.
His skin was so smooth, and I could feel the muscles in his back…so firm.
A sudden burst of pain emitted from my lower abdomen and my fingernails dug into his skin. A moan escaped my throat from the pain that was becoming too unbearable to hide.
Tristen must have found this sexy or something because he didn’t stop kissing me. He let out a low groan, then found the edge of my shirt and began to pull it up.
This was where I had to stop him.
“Tristen.”
He stopped immediately and looked at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry. I just scratched you.”
He smiled a devilish smile. “Um, Grace…I am totally okay with that.”
I sat up and moved away from him.
“What’s wrong?”
I grabbed onto my stomach and tried to concentrate on his face, but this was proving to be hard. The room was beginning to spin and bile was rising up from deep within. I immedia
tely put my hand over my mouth to somehow stop the gag that was forming in my throat. Suddenly, I could smell a familiar odor. I pulled my hand away and studied my fingernails before smelling them.
A delicious scent entered my nostrils, and I started to shake when I realized what it was. I had just scratched Tristen’s back with this hand.
“Grace, you’re pale. What’s wrong?” he asked, placing a hand on my cheek.
I turned my head away. I didn’t want him to touch me. I wanted him to get away from me. But the sweat was beginning to drip from my scalp. I was getting hungrier by the minute. I needed food, but I couldn’t talk. The hunger was reaching up into my mouth.
Tristen must have realized what was going on and got up to head for the door. A second later Number One was picking me up off the bed and carrying me down the hall.
I rested my head onto his stiff chest. He smelled sharp and clean.
Tristen was following close behind. No shoes, no shirt. A grocery store would not have allowed him in.
The nighttime breeze found its way between me and Number One, and it felt really nice on my clammy skin. Number One kept a straight face. He was on a mission. His pace was steady and fast.
“Tristen, stay outside!”
“But, is she going to be okay?” Tristen asked with obvious concern.
“Yes. Just stay here!” Number One ordered.
I closed my eyes, trying hard to keep from seeing the world twist and turn.
“Is she okay?” There was another voice, but it wasn’t Tristen’s.
“No, she needs food.”
Number One set me down.
“Here, I’ve got her.” It was Ian. I could tell by his accent.
I leaned against him and cradled my face into his neck. I was shivering. I couldn’t keep my teeth from clattering.
I felt a hand on my cheek, but I wasn’t sure who it was.
“Hey, hurry up and bring the food! She’s fading out!”
Chapter 7
The Progression
I opened my eyes. A hand was resting on mine. My eyes traveled from the hand, to the arm, to Tristen sleeping in a chair. I glanced over at my other hand. An IV was taped to it, with a tube going up into the IV bag that was hanging above my head. I was in the Z lab.
I sat up slowly, trying not to wake Tristen. I maneuvered myself out of the bed quietly, taking the white sheet and wrapping it around myself. I was naked under a gray gown, which was tied in the back, but I could feel the cold air on my exposed butt.
The floor was cold too.
Luckily the IV bag was on wheels. I walked over to Tristen who was sitting uncomfortably in the chair. He was passed out, and I didn’t want to wake him.
I watched him for a moment. The sleeve of his t-shirt was slightly rolled up, allowing me to see the tattoo on his arm. I never got to really look at it before, now that I thought it about. The intricately detailed bird rising up from a pool of fire was beautifully drawn, and the colors were vividly bright. I remembered that night at Eric’s apartment, when he shared his story about the phoenix and the love for his grandfather. It made me smile to think that I knew exactly how important that tattoo was to him.
I took another sheet off my bed and covered him with it before kissing his cheek.
How did I get so lucky to find someone who would want a relationship with me after everything I have done? And all the crap that came along with it.
I walked out of my room into an empty, quiet hallway. The lights were dim. It must have been really late at night.
Dr. Roberson came out of a room at the end of the hall. His head was down looking at a folder. I began to walk toward him, pulling my IV stand with me.
He finally looked up and smiled when he saw me. “Grace, what are you doing out of bed? You should be asleep.”
“What happened?”
“Come with me. We’ll go to my office.”
I followed him back into the direction he came from. Once inside his office, I sat down on his couch. He pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and put it into his ears. He sat next to me to listen to my heartbeat.
“How do you feel?”
“I feel fine. Why am I here?”
He pulled the stethoscope out of his ears and wrapped it back around his neck. “Well, you passed out.”
“Why? Am I getting worse?”
“Yes and no.”
Well that wasn’t confusing at all. “What do you mean?”
“You were my first subject, which means that you have had this condition longer than any of the other subjects here. It would appear that your condition is progressing.”
“What do you mean progressing? Are you going to send me to East Cocos?” That word QUARANTINE came to mind.
“So, you heard about that. No, I am not sending you over there. Those subjects are very sick.”
“What happened to them?”
“There was an incident. A minor one. Unfortunately, they were affected. But we are taking good care of them, and they should be healthy enough to come back to this part of the island soon. No need to worry about them. What is wrong with them won’t happen to you.”
An incident?
“So, what’s going to happen to me?” A part of me didn’t want to know the answer to this question. I knew I was getting worse. I could feel it. My appetite was not what it was back home. It’s deeper now. The Need was getting stronger.
“Let me begin by educating you on what is happening in your body. As I’ve explained before, you are experiencing a need for something that you don’t have. Your body is trying to replace the part of you that isn’t alive. When you get hungry, your brain goes into survival mode. Now, you don’t get hungry like I do. You become starved immediately, almost to the point of feeling as though you haven’t eaten in weeks. Your body begins to shut down. The same would happen to a person who was starving to death, only it would take longer for them to expire. This is why you feel terrible when you feel even slight hunger.”
“However, because Serum Z is in your bloodstream, you will never starve to death. Instead, survival mode will kick in. You will come out of what we call the hunger coma and begin frantically searching for what you need.”
“So basically, a zombie who stumbles around in search of human flesh?” There was no way Dr. Roberson could tell me this wasn’t a scene from a zombie movie. I was a zombie. There was no doubt about.
“If you are referring to the movies, then yes. I will agree with you on that. You would pretty much perform the same way they do. But Grace, this is real life. And you know I don’t like the term “zombie”.
I ignored that last comment. “Would my skin start falling off? Like the zombies in the movies? You said I would perform the same way they do. Would I look like them too?” This was a pretty horrifying thought. I could just imagine my skin sloughing off my body, blood gushing out of every orifice. And my hair! If this was anything like how zombies were portrayed in movies, I would pretty much become bald! Maybe I had ambitions to make people look that way for TV, but I sure as hell didn’t want that to happen to me in real life.
Dr. Roberson inhaled before answering. “Yes.”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.
He continued. “Your body would not be capable of healing. The parts that required the nourishment to stay alive would no longer work, causing your body to deteriorate.”
“So once I get what I need, I will go back to normal, right? All of those nonworking parts would start working again.”
“Sadly, no. If you got to this point, then it would be too late for your organs. And once you got into that frenzied state, your mind would no longer function the same as a normal human. All reasoning would be lost, and the only thing that would make sense to you would be to keep nourishing yourself with what you think you need. Unfortunately, we have yet to reverse this from happening.” He sounded disappointed about that.
I looked down at my hands. “Well, what do we do? How do we stop this from happeni
ng?”
“You eat more. And you eat as soon as you feel hungry. It’s as simple as that,” he said plainly.
“That’s it? Won’t it just keep getting worse and worse? Will I have to eat all day long?”
“As long as you get the right quality and quantity, you shouldn’t get any worse than you are. The plan is to up your food intake. We are also going to…play around with what you eat. Maybe serve you something other than boar. We have other sources of food on the island. We’ll see what happens then. But that is why you are here, Grace. This is a research facility. We are researching. We are finding better ways of dealing with your condition. All of the subjects here will eventually get to the point where you are at now, of needing more and better sustenance. But because you were our first subject, and you’ve had Serum Z in your bloodstream longer, you are experiencing it sooner.”
On the morning of my departure, he clarified a lot…like what happened when I died initially and that my “condition” wasn’t a virus or contagious. All of what he was telling me now was more information than I was excepting Dr. Roberson to give me in one night. But since he just mentioned me being his first subject…I mean patient, this was my chance. “What happened to the second patient? The one that was injected after me.”
Dr. Roberson got up from the couch and walked over to his desk. He took off his lab coat and placed it on the back of his computer chair. “He died.”
“Why? Didn’t you inject him?”
“We did. But, he was alive when we injected him. It was part of the research. We wanted to see what capabilities Serum Z had. We wanted to know if it could help someone who was only injured.”
“And it didn’t,” I stated.
“No, it didn’t. He died right after the injection. This is when we learned that a subject must be deceased in order for Serum Z to do what it was originally designed to do. Revive.”
“What happened? Why was he injured?”
Dr. Roberson leaned up against his desk and folded his arms. “Car accident.”
I nodded once and looked away. There was nothing more I could say. I felt bad for the poor guy. He might have been able to live without the serum.
