by Pam Jernigan
“God promised never to flood the earth again,” Pip said wryly. “Never said nothing about a zombie apocalypse. Don’t you worry though; He’ll fix it.”
Curt frowned at Pip, and she looked down at her plate, seeming to shrink in on herself a bit.
God was gonna fix this mess? Yeah, not holding my breath. Still not a reason to be rude to the farmer girl.
“My sister thinks God has a plan,” Karen offered, without much thought. Katrina’s faith had been hit hard today. Well, crap. It was the one thing she’d never wanted to destroy. Bright side, if she made it back - when she made it back - Katrina would take it as evidence of divine intervention. So there was that.
“I don’t know where they came from,” Curt declared. “God, aliens, mutation, whatever. Doesn’t matter. Anyway, no, we’re in this camp because we didn’t like the way things were going in the city.”
Ricardo nodded. “My unit was based here; that was the start of it. The place was defensible, and it seemed like we’d have more freedom here.”
Seemed like? Come to think of it, how did military men end up working for a civilian scientist?
“Didn’t want to be stuck in a box,” Nick added.
“Plus which, Dr. Borsa needed the freedom for his research.” Curt said. “The guy’s brilliant.”
“He’s going to fix this,” Suzette added. “Not God.”
Nick smiled, eyes darting to Pip. “Could be both. How do you know God’s not using the doc?”
“Whatever,” Curt said, in a tone of finality. “The doc’s gonna find a cure.” The others nodded agreement, with varying degrees of faith and enthusiasm.
Ricardo added, “And we don’t exactly mind the idea of helping to save the world, you know?”
She tilted her head to acknowledge the point. “Yeah, I’d like that too. But do you seriously go out and hunt the Mindless? On purpose?” That had been obvious but still wasn’t understandable. “Isn’t that, like, insanely dangerous?”
Ricardo smiled. “We ambush them, not the other way around. Not like they’re smart enough to duck. Plus,” he waved a handful of leather. “We’ve got good gloves. So if we do our jobs right, there’s no problem.”
“If you say so.” Men. She caught Pip suppressing a smile and wondered if it was for the same reason. “Well, thanks for rescuing me.”
“Yeah, about that,” Nick picked up the conversational ball. “What’s that story?”
Karen shrugged, studying the remnants of food on her plate. “My group got attacked. Two killed.” She swallowed hard, not allowing herself to react to that yet. Later. “Three of us got away, but… we got separated.” And that was about all she wanted to say about that. All she could manage without bursting into tears.
Curt looked at her sideways.
“You were Outside all by yourself?” Pip said, wide-eyed. “Good thing our guys found you before you were attacked again.”
“Well, almost,” Curt said. “We found her in a bunch of Mindless. One of them was right on top of her.” He turned more towards her. “I was surprised you weren’t more torn up.”
Karen shrugged, uncomfortable. “I think I would have been, if you hadn’t shown up. I really don’t understand how it all happened,” she added honestly.
Curt nodded. “Something weird happened, for sure. Didn’t you say one of them captured you? Do you remember which one? Doc’s gonna want to examine that one first.”
Examine?
Suzette frowned. “Curt, don’t talk about autopsies over food.”
He raised his hands in laughing surrender. “Wasn’t gonna! Just wondered if Karen could pick it out of a line-up.” He glanced at Karen. “Think you could?”
Karen poked her fork at the remnants of her dinner. Of course she could remember him; she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forget him. She could almost see his narrow face hovering in front of her as he struggled to say ‘protect’. Pick him out? Yeah, she could. “I… I don’t know. But I’d… rather not think about it for a while. If that’s okay.”
Suzette nodded. “That’s fine.” She rose, apparently more than ready to get the conversation off of Karen, and the others followed, scraping their plates into a compost bin and putting them in a semi-neat stack near the kitchen door.
Karen silently followed their example, waiting for Curt to do the same. “I need to get home,” she said quietly, glancing up to catch his reaction.
“Yeah, sure. Don’t you worry.” He looked away, evading her eyes. “We’ll get you home. Promise.”
That was not entirely reassuring, but she had no leverage. “So now what?”
“Well, I think they said you ought to rest.”
She shook her head. “I’m too wired up to rest, just yet. I’ve got a little time before the pain pills wear off, and I’m curious. Why don’t you show me around?”
“Love to,” he answered with a smile. “I’ll give you the overview, anyway.”
#
The tour turned out to be mostly him pointing out a door, identifying the garden shed, barn and some of the nearer fields. “Now, we need to go down this hallway, past the medic station and some of the storage rooms.” As they came to a intersection, he added, “Your room is right down that way.”
Karen limped after him. To Curt’s evident satisfaction, they were met halfway by an older man, short and chubby. “So, Karen, meet Dr. Borsa.”
“Nice to meet you,” Karen said. She shook his hand, sizing him up. His hair was sparse, but what he had was a pale gray and overdue for a cut. Judging by that and the stain on the front of the man’s lab coat, she figured he wasn’t that interested in personal grooming. The science was, no doubt, far more important to him. She only hoped there was someone around to remind him to bathe every once in a while. At the moment, though, he looked clean enough. Not to mention, well-fed. Somebody’s been getting extra helpings.
“He’s the one who’s going to save the world,” Curt continued, with a definite note of pride in his voice.
The doctor shook his head, smiling gently. “I hope to, Curt, but there’s still a lot of work to do.” He turned to her and his smile widened. “And who is this lovely lady?”
Curt flushed under the gentle reproof, and hurried to say, “Oh, Dr. Borsa, this is Karen. We found her with that group of Mindless earlier.”
The doctor’s gaze on her sharpened. “Is that so? How did that happen, young lady?”
She shrugged. “I really don’t know. One of them had… captured me, I guess. Carried me.”
Borsa’s eyes narrowed. “Fascinating. You’ll have to tell me which it was; that seems like a good place to start studying this batch of specimens.”
“Um, yeah.” She shifted her weight, looking away.
“Excellent,” the doctor said. “My lab is near the end of the building, for several reasons. Has she seen the rest of the camp, Curt?”
Curt nodded, eager to please. “I gave her the grand tour. Except for your lab, of course.”
“Very good.” Borsa smiled approvingly, and Curt stood a little straighter.
By force of will, Karen did not roll her eyes. Her opinion of Curt, never very high, was definitely slipping. Which didn’t matter in the slightest because she wasn’t staying. She focused on the doctor. “So, you know a lot about the Mindless?”
He nodded. “No one knows more than I do.”
Someone’s really impressed with himself. On the other hand, he could be right, and it ain’t bragging if you can do it. Maybe he could help her. “Do they ever… you know… talk? At all? Like, interact with each other, or… anyone?”
Borsa shook his head. “No, they don’t speak. The damage to the brain precludes it.”
“Because earlier, it almost seemed…” her voice trailed off.
“I understand that it might seem that way,” Borsa said kindly, waving away her proto-suggestion. “But it’s quite impossible.”
Patronize much?
“I’m sure I heard some words…”
“No doubt, but it was a stressful situation.” He smiled and patted her arm.
She laced her fingers together so they wouldn’t curl into fists. Keep the hands to yourself, buster. She took a deep breath, aware that she was more than usually cranky. Not a good time to pursue an argument. “Well, maybe I was imagining things.”
“I’ve never heard them do more than grunt and groan,” he continued. “They haven’t got enough higher brain function to think, let alone speak.”
Oh, really? “How long have you been studying them?”
Curt grinned. “He was one of the originals, back before everything went to sh-.”
The doctor looked pained. “Yes, thank you, Curt, I believe I can take it from here.”
Curt took the dismissal cheerfully enough. “See you tomorrow, Karen?”
She smiled blandly. “I expect so. Not planning to leave overnight.”
Both the men laughed at that, which was more irritating than anything; she hadn’t really meant it as a joke. It wasn’t as if she liked being stuck here.
Curt waved and wandered off. Karen turned back to the doctor and smiled politely. “So, how about a tour and some history?”
“Ah, yes. Come right this way - my lab, as I said, is at the end of the building. No traffic that way, you see.”
Yeah, she could see how this guy wouldn’t want to have neighbors. It probably worked out well for everyone; she wouldn’t want to be too close to him, either. The doctor turned and motioned for her to walk with him. She caught up with him and kept pace. “Some history…” the doctor mused. “I assume you know the fundamentals. Seven years ago, the Middle East melted down, the economy started to collapse, and then the Mindless appeared and began to spread. We were unprepared for them.”
She nodded. “That’s when I lost my dad.”
“My sympathies, my dear,” he offered.
She appreciated him making an effort to pretend he cared. “Things didn’t go so well there for a while. So where did they originally come from, anyway? Did we ever find out?”
The doctor looked down as they walked, and his voice went a little flat. “No one knows. There was an early outbreak around here, but I don’t believe we were the only area. At any rate, that’s when I began my research.”
“And what research is that?”
“Ah, well, I have a doctorate in biochemistry and a background in medicine, so I wanted to know what, exactly, was going on inside those monsters.”
Biochemistry sounded a lot like biology, didn’t it? Jake would love to talk to him.
“Some people say it’s just a natural evolution,” Borsa continued, “but I don’t think evolution would go in that direction.” He seemed testy, maybe even personally insulted by the idea.
She wasn’t so sure; from a Darwinian perspective, the Mindless were doing pretty good. But she didn’t think it would be helpful to say so. “One would hope not.”
“At any rate, I began by studying the corpses.”
That gave her a queasy feeling. “Autopsies, really?”
“Necropsies, technically.”
“And what are those?”
“That’s the term for an autopsy-like exam performed on an animal, instead of a human. It was necessary to investigate which areas of the brain are affected. There are usually lesions to the temporal lobe, for instance, and that’s one reason they no longer… But there’s only so much you can learn from the dead. I’ve made great strides since setting up this camp, though. Well, we needed a place to retreat, somewhere we could defend, and this was available.” He looked around with obvious pride. “Here, there’s no one to interfere. I can finally do what needs to be done, with live subjects.”
Well, that doesn’t sound creepy. Much. “So, um, would you be willing to share your findings? I know some people back in the city who are trying to figure this out, too.”
He frowned briefly. “I’m not certain they would be interested.”
“Brilliant scientist like you, I’m sure they would be,” she fished further.
“They wouldn’t approve of my methods,” he said. “Now, I must show you my lab.” They turned the corner, and Karen saw a long stretch of beige, walls and carpet both. Or maybe dingy white, hard to tell. The walls were uninterrupted by any doors, she noted. Also entirely free from decoration, and only sparingly supplied with lights. It felt stark and cold.
“Down the hall and to the left,” the doctor directed, as if there were any other choices at this point.
She limped down the hallway, regretting having asked for this tour. Okay, last stop, then she was giving up and going to bed. “So, what have you learned?”
“It appears to be a virus that attacks the brain chemistry.” He was speaking more quickly now. “Blocks most of the serotonin, limits the dopamine… those are neurotransmitters that we all have in our brains, you know.”
Yes, she knew that. Jake had been known to go on about them for hours at a time; he claimed he needed to talk out his theories. Luckily, all that was required of her was the occasional head nod or encouraging noise.
Borsa didn’t even seem to need that much, waving a hand dismissively. “Well, it’s all very technical but there are physical signs of what’s going on. It seems to be almost a delusional state, inducing lethargy, loss of language, and the inability to suppress hunger or aggression. Have you ever gone a long period without sleep? Extended insomnia makes it difficult to think, blurs the judgment, slows the reflexes. It’s rather like that, only much worse, of course.”
“Um, yeah.” Yeah, she could relate. “So how can we wake them up? I mean, this sounds like a job for coffee.”
Borsa half-smiled, briefly. “Not that simple, I’m afraid. As I was saying, it generally requires direct contact to spread; either that or contaminated water, but after Pittsburgh fell, of course, everyone became very careful with their filtration systems.”
Karen nodded. “My mom works at the purification station.” Like, all the time.
“Also, the infection affects the central nervous system, affecting their neural responses. Pain doesn’t register with them.”
Karen winced, almost envying them that. Almost.
“They have accelerated healing abilities, though; I’ve been working on analyzing that. And I must make it clear, they are not dead,” he insisted, his voice turning irritated. Obviously he’d had that conversation before. “They are not zombies. Regardless of what the popular press wanted to say at the time.”
He stopped and took a moment to compose himself. “Excuse me, bit of a sore subject. They’re still alive. Brain-damaged, you might say, and the damage appears to be permanent - not that we’ve done long term studies. I’m attempting to find a way to-” he paused for a moment, then continued, his tone slightly higher. “An efficient way of either, well, curing or pacifying them.”
She wondered what he’d been about to say. “Seems like very important work,” she said, trying to sound impressed. “Maybe you could come up with a vaccine or something.”
“Mmm. I’ve been making good progress. Further down here,” the doctor continued, reaching the end of the corridor, “is the entrance to my lab.” He turned to look at her, smiling proudly, and gestured for her to go ahead of him. “This is what the boys like to call our cattle pen.”
Karen stepped past him, then stopped dead, the pain in her ankle forgotten.
CHAPTER SIX
There was, indeed, a holding pen of sorts, containing seven or eight of the Mindless. Karen shivered in remembered fear. They surged towards the near side of the pen, one of them right up against the door that was - she hoped - securely locked. Eyes vacant, faces blank, trying to walk through the bars. They didn’t seem to know there were any. The hallway was filled with their grunts and groans as they kept pressing up against the bars, reaching out towards her.
She took a deep breath, releasing it in a slow quavery stream
. They’re contained. They can’t hurt me. It’s okay.
The cage protruded into the room by a foot or two, but seemed to be at least six feet deep. She frowned as she realized that behind the Mindless, she could see the outdoors, dimly lit by the overhead lights; the pen had apparently been built into the wall. It was hard to tell, but it had to be sticking out on both sides. Probably more so on the far side. No wonder the air had been feeling cooler.
“You’d said that one of the monsters had captured you,” Borsa commented casually. “I’d rather like to study it. Which one was it?”
Same one that talked to me - but you said I was imagining that, so gosh, maybe I hallucinated the whole thing. “I’m not certain,” she said, softly.
“Perhaps you could remember the clothing it was wearing? That’s often a useful way to identify them.”
Off to the side, she saw a familiar sweatshirt, and glanced that way. Sweatshirt boy was standing a little apart from the others, looking right at her. Really seeing her. She felt… she didn’t know, but it wasn’t fear. She cocked her head, regarding him. He was different. Obviously. “Um, yeah. Let me think.”
“They get agitated when people are here,” Dr. Borsa said, slipping past her, moving all the way into the lab. She followed, cautiously. The opening was wide enough to allow them to stay well back from the outthrust arms. Borsa stopped a good three feet from the monsters at the bars. She moved further away from the cage, and he turned to face her. “We don’t always have any of them in here. It’s my own design for a holding pen. The specimens are loaded in through the door on the far side, so I don’t have sweaty soldiers in here contaminating my lab. Then when I need to pull one for an experiment, there’s another door on this side.”
“The doors are locked, right?” She watched over his shoulder in fascination as the grunting and groaning and flailing around began to diminish.
“Oh, of course,” Borsa said. “Not that it takes more than basic child-proofing, really.”
“Seems efficient, having a pass-through cage,” she commented, semi-randomly. The Mindless appeared to be losing interest in the good doctor. Karen decided she totally sympathized with them there. They were milling around now, no longer trying to walk through steel bars. Sweatshirt boy was still in the same place, though, looking at her. His face scrunched in what almost looked like concern.
