Our Undead

by Theo Vigo

  Gwen: Erika, if you can just stay with her, make sure she gets taken care of...

  Erika: Hm? Oh, sure. No problem.

  Margaret: What's happening?

  Gwen: You're going to get off here and get your ankle fixed up.

  Margaret: Just me? Where are the rest of you going?

  Gwen: I'm taking your… friend.. to another laboratory where we have the proper tools to tend to his specific needs.

  Gwen tries to be as vague as possible. They may be sitting in the back, but the driver is still within hearing range. Margaret knows, however, that the "friend" Professor Gavine is talking about is Abe.

  Margaret: What are you gonna do? You're not gonna hurt him are you?

  Feeling the fear in Margaret's voice, Gwen brings her voice down to a low whisper and signals for Margaret to do the same.

  Gwen: I couldn't hurt him if I wanted to. The infected are incapable of feeling pain, but-

  Margaret: First of all, how do you know that? Are you infected? I don't want him dismembered, or killed in the name of your research. I don't want one cell on his body tampered with unless it's in an effort to cure him.

  Gwen: I promise you, no harm will come to him. All we're going to do is take some blood samples. We've never come across a specimen quite as docile as your friend. We just want to see if there are any other significant differences between him and the others.

  Margaret: But he won't listen to anyone else except me. He might be uncomfortable with you. God forbid you do something wrong and he lashes out at you, then you'll kill him for sure, and it'll be cause I wasn't there to watch him.

  Gwen is speechless at Margaret's conviction...

  Billy: I'll go... I'll go with them. He listens to me too, for the most part. I know how to handle him. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong.

  Another moment of silence presents itself while Margaret thinks it over. It doesn't take long for her to conclude that Billy would be fit to baby-sit in her place.

  Margaret: Fine… It's okay.

  Gwen: Great. Go ahead and get that ankle casted. You'll feel a lot better when you're finished.

  Margaret: Doubt it.

  Erika hops out of the back first and offers Margaret her arms for support. Margaret takes them and gets herself lifted out of the back, using Erika to help stand as they wait for Gwen and the others to leave.

  Gwen: Don't worry. You can trust me.

  Margaret is inclined to believe the professor, especially since Billy would be going with her. She nods her head, letting Gwen know that it's all right and that she does trust her, for now, then she let's Erika help her into the Care Centre. When he hears that a couple of his passengers have departed, the driver asks if everyone is ready to continue. He has been listening the whole time, not by choice but because of vicinity, and his conversing passengers had made it more than clear to him that there is something strange, quite possibly nonhuman, hiding under that big bed sheet. He may only be a lowly serviceman, but he isn't an imbecile. Gwen tells him that everyone is ready and that he may carry on.

  They arrive at their next stop a few minutes later, pulling up to the double doors with "LD9" labeled overhead. When the truck comes to a full stop, Gwen is the first to get out. She helps Billy with guiding Abe out of the truck as well. With the sheet on his head, his stability is even worse off than usual, and he stumbles in to Gwen, who instinctively catches him in a hug to prevent him from falling. Remembering what is hidden under the sheet, she pushes him away just as fast as she caught him. He goes stumbling off in the opposite direction, but Billy hops out of the truck just in time to keep him from falling yet again.

  Gwen: (huffs) Sorry about that.

  Billy: (sighs) It's all right.

  Gwen addresses the men still sitting in the truck.

  Gwen: Will the two of you be joining us?

  Kerrick: We most definitely will not be joining you. It's time to get something hearty in this stomach of mine. Driver! To the nearest cafeteria!

  Driver: Yes, sir.

  With that, Sharp and Kerrick bid Gwen and Billy farewell, and the truck pulls away from the lab, leaving them at its entrance. Inside of the truck, Kerrick leans his head back against the inside wall and exhales an extended breath, satisfied with his last few days of work. Sharp, on the other hand, does not look quite as unwound.

  Kerrick: And then there were two.

  Sharp: You know what? I'm thinking I'd much rather go and look for that shady General; figure out what this whole thing is actually about.

  Kerrick: D, it's one in the morning. We'll have time for that tomorrow. It's not like the guy is going anywhere. We're trapped underground. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm gonna get some real food and then hit the hay. I suggest you do the same.

  Sharp: (sighs) I guess you're right. I could use a good meal. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep though, with so much on my mind.

  Kerrick: Hey now, it's okay, buddy. One step at a time… A concept that this grunt at the wheel doesn't seem to get. Driver, step on it!

  Matthew Kerrick rubs on his belly and the driver follows his orders. Luckily, the lanes aren't congested with much traffic at this time in the morning.

  <><><>

  Gwen, Billy and Abe walk through the doors into Laboratory D-9. No security men stand at the doors this time and no doctors are around, at least none that can be seen. It's deathly quiet inside. The only sound being that of their feet clicking as they walk deeper into the room.

  Billy: Are we alone in here, professor?

  Gwen: We should be… HELLO!?… Yes, I'd say we are.

  Billy: Good.

  Immediately, Billy pulls the sheet off of Abe's head. The swishing sound turns Gwen around and she gasps, shocked at seeing Abe's hideous features once again. Seeing him for the second time is almost as frightening as seeing him the first, but Gwen quickly settles herself with a calming inhale exhale.

  Gwen: There may not be anyone in here now, but someone could walk through those doors at any moment.

  Billy: I just thought he might like to see where he is.

  Gwen: Hm. Bring him. Follow me.

  The professor leads them behind a set of curtains. Inside are the typical things one might find in a room for hospitalized patients; a modified hospital bed, an empty intravenous stand, a bedside lamp and table, a larger table on the opposite side of the bed and a cupboard above it. Billy closes the privacy curtains behind him after letting Abe in.

  Gwen: Now, can you.. get him to lay down on the bed, face first?

  Billy: Sure.

  Billy goes about laying Abe down by first sitting on the bed himself, then inviting Abe to sit next to him. To Gwen's surprise, Abe walks over to Billy and sits down beside him. When Abe is seated, Billy jumps off the bed and lifts the trained zombie's legs up on to it, turning them so that his legs lay rested along the bottom half of the bed. He then gently lays Abe's torso flat so that the undead man is staring straight up at the ceiling.

  Billy: I'm going to need your help turning him over.

  Gwen: Really? Um, all right.

  Gwen hesitantly reaches for Abe's left arm.

  Billy: Don't worry. He won't do anything.

  Gwen: Heh, sorry. It's just I haven't really handled an infected patient that isn't being held down tightly by five harnesses. I've seen what these things are capable of. Usually, he would already be sedated at this point.

  Billy: He might as well be. He doesn't do much. He hasn't eaten for a couple of days either, almost two days. He's probably a little weak.

  Gwen: If you say so.

  She tentatively takes Abe's arm in her hands while Billy takes the other side.

  Billy: Okay. You go over and I'll go under. Ready? Flip.

  Gwen lifts and pushes Abe's left arm over while Billy pushes his right one under. He winds up laying on his front side. Instinctively, Gwen reaches for the back of Abe's head to adjust and fit it firmly into the bed's head hole, but then abruptly stops, remembering the unconventi
onal amount of freedom Abe possesses. Her hands came just a little too close to the patient's gaping mouth. Billy catches her hesitation and decides to fit Abe's head into the space for her. He picks it up and places it comfortably into the head hole.

  Gwen: (huffs) Thank you.

  Billy: You're welcome.

  The professor turns away and opens up the cabinet above the larger table, taking out a small bottle filled with some kind of clear liquid. Next, she opens up one of the top drawers and takes out an empty syringe, a couple of needles, a long thin plastic tube and a little vial. She attaches the pieces and Billy watches her insert the point of her huge hypodermic needle into the top of the bottle of clear liquid. She withdraws the plunger, sucking the little bottle's contents into the needles barrel, then taps it to make sure there are no air bubbles, then she turns back to begin Abe's study.

  Billy: What is that?

  Gwen: It's just a sedative.

  Billy: To take a blood sample?

  Gwen: Well, I'm actually going to be extracting some of his spinal fluid.

  She pokes the tip of the needle into Abe's neck and pushes the plunger down, emptying it into him. Seconds later, Billy can see Abe's body physically become relaxed, as is someone just let a little bit of air out of a life-sized balloon.

  Billy: Spinal fluid?

  Gwen: Yes. As of this very moment, my associates are studying the cerebrospinal fluid of a couple of our other patients, but none of them are quite like your friend here. Hopefully, by the time I get back to them, they'll have discovered something new about this parasite.

  Billy: A parasite… It was a parasite that caused all of this? Not a blood virus?

  Gwen: If this were a few hours ago, I would be just as shocked as you are.

  Billy: But I thought that it was a chemically made disease… caused by dumping in Crater Lake. I was right. That's all nonsense, isn't it?

  Gwen: Perceptive kid. That story was a cover up, yes. That's where the conspiracy began for you, but what I would now like to know is where this parasite came from, and how it came into existence in the first place. I was unsure before, but upon making this new discovery, it has become abundantly clear to us doctors that we are being lied to.

  Billy: From what I know about viruses and parasites, one destroys and the other… uses?

  Gwen: You're not too far off. In all actuality, a virus is a type of parasite, but the variety of species is in the thousands, probably more. What we need to do is figure out what type we're dealing with and how to counteract its evolution, but that could be difficult.

  Billy: Why is that?

  Gwen: Well,… this parasite isn't exactly normal. I've already seen it through a microscope and…

  Billy: And…

  Gwen: The parasite we found has been.. cybernetically enhanced. Which would mean to say that-

  Billy: It was engineered by man.

  Gwen: Heh, right again, kid.

  Billy: This is nuts. It's like some sort of movie or something. I bet it's some evil genius, who no one ever sees. The person, who ever it is, is probably behind this, and people like us are none the wiser.

  Gwen: The way things are going around here, I wouldn't say that that is too far-fetched. Uh, would you mind pulling your friend's shirt up? I'm going to prepare him for extraction, and I need his back clear.

  Billy does her this favor and pulls Abe's shirt up, exposing his partly disintegrated back. Billy had never seen it before. It looks like a big slab of yellowy-green cottage cheese. Professor Gavine skips injecting Abe with lidocaine, as he can't feel pain anyhow, and goes right on ahead to picking up the larger of the two needles she has readied for him.

  Gwen: Now, I'm going to need you to roll him half way up, and hold him steadily on his side.

  Billy: Like this?

  Billy rolls Abe half way up so that he lies resting on his right arm. Abe's eyes are half open, and Billy can't help but think to himself that this is the first time he has seen Abe asleep. It isn't very attractive. Gwen turns back to Billy after putting on a pair of medical gloves.

  Gwen: Yes. Hand this to me when I ask for it. Now, don't move.

  She gives Billy the little opened vial, which he takes, places down and returns to holding Abe with both hands. Gwen slips the thin tube into the needle and feels along Abe's lower spine for the point of insertion. When she finds it, she pokes the six inch needle into Abe's back and advances it little by little, withdrawing the plastic tube every once in a while as if checking for something. She finally stops when the needle's point has gone deep enough. This time, she slides the stylet from the needle completely.

  Gwen: Okay. Hand me the tube.

  Billy hands it to her, and she holds the opening under the needle. Before long, a cloudy but watery liquid starts trickling out from the needle stuck in Abe's back, like a keg of infected beer. She collects about four millilitres worth of the fluid and then hands the collection tube back to Billy.

  Gwen: Careful.

  Next, she reinserts the stylet into the needle and promptly slides it out. She neglects the regular act of applying pressure with a cotton swab, but it doesn't matter because no blood escapes from the puncture wound.

  Billy: Say, is there a jerk or like, an asshole type commander around here? Some sort of scumbag authority figure you all have to abide by, because I can almost guarantee that he or she is in on it; the conspiracy. Although, it probably won't help you to know anyway.

  Gwen takes off and disposed of her used gloves.

  Gwen: Why wouldn't it help? You can let your friend rest now, and bring down his shirt.

  Billy: It wouldn't help because no matter how much pressure you put on this person in charge, he or she will never give away their position. Why would they?

  Billy's natural talent for impressing grownups works it's magic on Gwen. The image of Feleider's stupid face pops into her head. Billy's description fits him perfectly.

  Gwen: So, if confronting him… or her.. won't help, how would one go about making sure that the truth is given to those who deserve it?

  Billy: Well, you wouldn't be able to get the information by force because this false leader would have the entire army at his disposal, and I doubt he would hesitate to have you arrested and held in containment.

  Gwen: That would not be good.

  Billy: No, it wouldn't. Based on what I can tell, I'd say the best thing for you to do would be to find out everything you possibly can about this new parasite before you confront anyone, and when you do, you should use the information against them in more of a… legislative manner.

  Gwen: Something tells me you know what I'm going to say, but…That would just take too long, wouldn't it?

  Billy: There is something else you can do.

  Gwen: Go on.

  Billy: Confront him…

  Gwen: But you just said-

  Billy: But let the big men I met on the helicopter do it. That guy, Denver Sharp, was pretty hell bent on getting some face time with a man named Feleider.

  Gwen: The General. So you know about him already.

  Billy: I know a little, and I think letting a super soldier handle it would be the best idea. No offence, but he won't be as easy to push around, and if this Feleider does try to have him arrested, I don't think any jail will be able to hold him anyhow.

  Gwen: Ha ha. I like you. Billy, right? You're smart. How old are you?

  She starts putting things away as her and Billy continue conversing.

  Billy: I'm fifteen.

  Gwen: Jesus, you look twelve. It's rare to find a fifteen year old like you around these days, and I mean even before the infection started.

  Billy: I can't really imagine you knowing many fifteen year olds, in the first place.

  Gwen: Hey, don't be smart smart. I have a rather large family, all right?

  Billy: Sorry. It's Margaret. She's kinda rubbed off on me. Um yea, I just like to read, and I watch a lot of movies… zombie ones, in particular.

  Gwen: Heh, I guess
that explains it. Margaret… You're friend, she's quite-

  A loud thump ends their conversation abruptly as some unknown body bursts through the laboratory doors. They hear whoever or whatever it is coming toward them, one footstep after the next, and the swish of privacy curtains being thrust open as the approaching entity seeks to find which one they're hidden behind. Then, a voice barks aloud, giving the creature's identity away.

  Feleider: GAVINE!

  Gwen's face sours, as this time, the curtain her and Billy stand behind is swung open, and General Feleider's grim mug appears on the other side. Billy sees Gwen's body deflate much like Abe's did when she put him under sedation. When he see's the General, he isn't surprised by his appearance at all, fully dressed, complete with metals even at this late hour in the morning. If he had to place a bet, Billy would probably wager that the man never changes his clothes; so proud. Feleider doesn't even look in Billy's direction. His mean eyes are set on Gwen.