Our Undead

by Theo Vigo

  Billy: Seriously?!

  Margaret: Ha ha, yes. Trust me. It was… surprisingly very passionate. Girls like that.

  Billy: Oh…

  Margaret: Billy, are you blushing over there?

  Billy: No…

  Margaret: Hah! I think you are. You can turn around now.

  Billy turns around to face Margaret who is fully changed and looks the way Billy is used to seeing her, except that she's squeaky clean and her right pant leg is a little tight due to the cast. She even has her pink bandana tied up around her forehead, bangs hanging daintily over the front of it. Smiling at him, she looks as cute as ever.

  Margaret: I don't want anything to change between us either. To me, nothing has. All we did was kiss. We both enjoyed it, and we both don't expect anything more from it each other. Let's just say… if it happens again, it happens again. No pressure?

  Billy: (sigh) I'm glad we're on the same page.

  Margaret raises her hand in invitation and Billy meets her in the middle for a high-five of understanding. It lasts longer than a regular high-five, with their hands clasped together, suspended in midair. In both of their minds, they think about the night before, one last time before putting it to sleep and moving forward, Margaret thinking about the chivalry of it all and Billy, the coming-of-age. Slowly, they both bring their hands down and out from in front of each other.

  Billy: Uh.. so what do you want to do now?

  Margaret: I wanna know what they're doing with Abe.

  Billy: That's what I thought you'd say. We can wander around this place, but I have no idea where he is or how we'd get to him.

  Margaret: Let the adventure continue.

  She smiles at him, excited and eager to do some exploring of this compound that is so unfamiliar to them. Her forearm crutches lay on the floor beside the bed from the night before. Billy picks them up and gives them to her.

  <><><>

  Billy pokes his head out of Professor Gwen's room first, making sure the coast is clear for reasons unknown even to himself. If they're going to get in trouble for being there, it's gonna happen whether they like it or not. Especially since he decides to bring his bow and knapsack full of arrows with him. The best thing they can do is to act as if everything is normal, just a couple of teenaged government workers walking the halls. Easy. Simple. Not really. He exits, holding the door open for Margaret, beginning to think that this may not end well after all. Hopefully, they can find Gwen quickly. Margaret comes swinging out on her special crutches.

  The hallway is much brighter than the room and completely barren. Looking both to the left and right, each path seems to stretch on forever before hitting any sort of turn.

  Margaret: Maybe we should go this way. That's where we came from when Professor Gwen dropped us off last night, isn't it?

  Billy: Yea. Sure, let's go.

  Billy starts walking, getting ahead of Margaret. She looks at the bow hanging from his knapsack and laughs.

  Margaret: Why are you bringing all of that?

  Billy: I haven't been separate from my things in weeks, in ever, really. I'm not gonna just leave them anywhere. The two of us were asleep, and look what happened. Abe's gone missing. I'm not gonna let that happen to my stuff.

  Margaret: A little paranoid, aren't we?

  Billy: No. You'll see… I'll leave my belongings alone when I trust this place a little more.

  Margaret: Fair enough. All right, wait up.

  Twenty minutes of walking time passes by, and Billy and Margaret still don't seem to be getting anywhere. All of the corridors look the same. No matter which turn they choose to make, the scenery always turns out to be identical. All of the offices and labs are hidden behind resilient walls of opaque white. It makes for quite a boring walk, but both travellers try to see it more as peaceful.

  Hope springs forth when the foot traffic in the halls increases. It doesn't go up by much. They see a few professional looking people, but they are far and few in between. Most of them are travelling by themselves, and not one of them look up or pay the teens any mind.

  Margaret: I hope we're going the right way. You think we should ask the next person we see for directions?

  Billy: We could, but why rattle the cage?

  Margaret: Who cares? If we do get in trouble, we'll probably just get a little scolding, and then get taken to where we're supposed to be, which will most likely be the very place we're trying so hard to find.

  Billy: We're not looking for the Containment Centre.

  Margaret: Yea, right. Gwen would never let that happen to us.

  Billy: Aw, maybe you're right. Sure, we can ask the next person if we're heading in the right direction.

  Margaret: Sweet. Don't worry. I'll do all the talking.

  They walk on, waiting for the next person to come by, but no one appears for a while. They pass the time with some conversation.

  Billy: It feels like everyone's disappeared again. Maybe we took a wrong turn, started heading backwards?

  Margaret: We couldn't have… I really hope we didn't.

  Billy: Me too. I feel like I'm missing everything.

  Margaret: Missing everything? What could you possibly be missing?

  Billy: Confrontation. Today is going to have a lot of it. It's probably already happening. That soldier, Sharp, is probably already at the General's neck, grilling him on what's going on. I bet Gwen is with them too. Last night, I told her to let Sharp deal with it, but I'm sure she'll want to be there when he does. She's got a lot of questions, and she's pretty desperate for the answers.

  Margaret: It seems like she works so hard and for such a noble cause. It's sad to think that someone might be pulling the wool over her eyes… But I don't care about the details right now. I just want to make sure that Abe is okay.

  Billy: Might be? Someone's definitely pulling the wool over her eyes. How can you not want to know exactly what's going on?

  Margaret: Unless it directly concerns Abe, I couldn't care less. The only important things to me now are the people who are close to me. That's it. Everything else is just extra, and it's stressful, and sometimes I really hate hearing about it.

  Billy: But all of this does affect Abe directly. It affects us all directly, so you should be concerned with what's going on… shouldn't you?

  Margaret: It reminds me of how my parents loved to watch the six o'clock news. It would really piss me off whenever I walked through the living room and saw it on the television, because there's nothing on that program except reports that attempt to put fear into people. I would always ask myself, "Why do we need to know this stuff?!" In my head of course. I've tried multiple times to talk to my parents about it, but they were convinced that news was beneficial to them.

  Billy: But it is. It let's people know what's going on in the world. What if there was a meteor heading for the planet and we had ten days to live? You would find that out by watching the news.

  Margaret: Ugh, what a bad example. Not only is that depressing, but I'm sure the news would find a way to make it even more depressing. They'd probably tell us how we're going to be washed away by tidal waves, and how our skin will boil as it approaches and… just a bunch of other stuff no one wants to hear. No one actually wants to hear what’s on the news. They have no choice. They just watch it and absorb whatever is reported. It poisons minds worse than violent cartoons. Haven't you ever heard that saying? The devil is in the details.

  Billy: I don't know if I agree. I mean, I can see your point on what is being reported on, but you can't criticize them for that. The world is in bad shape. And I don't think the devil is in the details… It might even be more accurate to say that... God is in the details.

  Margaret: Psh, I guess it depends on what the details are. The details on the news are, for the most part, horrible. You can't tell me there isn’t an infinite amount of inspiring stories out there, happier things to report on that aren't so depressing. Like, things that would uplift people instead of frighten them. Maybe if t
here were, the world would be in better shape. Then, maybe all of this wouldn't be happening. No, I just wanna know if Abe is okay.

  Billy: Or maybe we'd be unaware of it happening right under our noses… But I see your point. I wanna know if he's okay, too.

  Margaret: We will, if someone shows up. Maybe you're right. Maybe we took a wrong turn. Should we go back?

  Billy: Uh, let's just go a little further. I think we're in "Block-H", so this way should have us back-pedaling the alphabet.

  Margaret: Heh, back-pedaling the alphabet. Okay.

  Billy: What?!

  Margaret flashes a cheeky grin at Billy, and they continue on. As far as they can see down the stretch of concourse, not one person is in sight. Everything has gone completely quiet again, as it had been when they were closer to the professor's room.

  Margaret: (talking low) Hey, do you hear that?

  Billy: Yep.

  Margaret: (scoffs) Of course, you heard it. How silly of me for asking.

  Billy: Sounds like someone's having a conversation… but.. I don't hear a second person.

  The voice grows louder as they draw nearer to the approaching corner. When they get to it, Billy is the first to step out, but when he sees what is around the corner, he jumps back behind its cover. He holds Margaret back from proceeding.

  Billy: Shh.. It's him, the General.

  Margaret: Did he see you?

  Billy: No. He has his back turned to us. He's talking to someone on a phone, or a walkie, or something. He's pretty far away.

  Billy cautiously peeks around the corner to get another look, then brings his head back behind it. The General looks back behind his shoulder, sensing something there, but continues with his conversation when he doesn't see anyone. Billy looks at Margaret, and in place of her words, her facial expression asks him, "What's going on?" Not knowing what answer to give her, he shrugs. Then he puts his right index finger to his lips, and with the same finger, taps its respective ear, letting her know that they should keep quiet and see if they can hear what he's saying.

  Billy leans into but doesn't pass the corner's edge. He brings all of his focus and attention to his ears, and slowly but surely the humming buzz that is Feleider's voice in the distance, becomes distinct syllables and words.

  Feleider: Yes, sir… Today. Doctor Alyster will have the formula ready to be distributed before nightfall. Yes. I assure you that E-TE12 will be ready. I-…

  Billy takes another peek around the corner and sees Feleider angrily push his communicator off and slip it into his pocket. He stands there for a moment and again, gets a feeling that someone is watching him. He turns around, but the hall is just as deserted as it always is in Block-H. He decides to disregard his instincts again and walks off down the hall away from the hiding couple.

  Margaret: Could you hear what he was saying?

  Billy: He was saying something about a formula being ready before nightfall. E-T-E-12. He really is into some behind the curtain type stuff. Jesus, I knew it… Doctor Alyster, huh?… We gotta tell someone.

  Margaret: We don't even know what that thing is. He could've been talking about a cure.

  Billy: Aw.. maybe,… but it didn't feel like it.

  Margaret: We'll ask Gwen about it… What was it? ET-12?

  Billy: No, E-T-E-12.

  Margaret: Yea, we'll just mention it to her. See if she knows anything about it. Come, let's just keep going.

  Billy: Yea. Okay.

  The two of them continue in the direction they were heading, hoping to get closer to anyone with a familiar face. Both of them look left down the big corridor where Feleider had been but see no sign of the man. Just then, Billy's head is met with a brick wall, or what feels like a brick wall. Regardless, it stops him abruptly in his tracks and sends him straight to the floor, his tailbone taking most of the impact. When he looks up, he sees he is completely in the shadow of a very large man, looking down and towering over him in a dark and menacing manner. Billy rubs his rear end with purpose, trying to numb the throbbing pang.

  Holden: You should watch where you're walking. You might run into something bigger than you and get hurt.

  Billy: Ugh… Sorry.

  Holden neglects to help him up and continues on his way, walking around the two teens, looking Margaret dead in the eyes as he does. She isn't foolish enough to say anything, but she keeps her eyes locked on his, unabashed until he has completely passed them. She looks back and sees that the giant man heads down the same path General Feleider had gone down. Balanced on one foot and a crutch, she offers Billy a helping hand. He politely declines and gets up to his feet by himself.

  Margaret: Who the hell was that?

  Billy: I don't know. He was dressed like Matthew Kerrick and Denver Sharp… and-

  Margaret: Erika Blaze.

  Billy: Yea.

  Margaret: How's your butt? Shall we continue?

  Billy: It hurts, but I can walk.

  The two of them push forward, hoping to soon find some type of reassurance in the day that so far has been lacking. With his sore behind, Billy limps along, looking almost like Margaret.

  Margaret: You're such a copycat.

  Billy: Hush.

  <><><>

  The old Doctor Alyster is in his lab by himself looking down at a dead Fausta the mouse. Her pure white coat has become a muddy, greyish, black, and her body, frail, lying in the corner of her glass home. Alyster nudges the mouse's small soft body with a little plastic poker, but nothing happens, not that he expected anything to. Suddenly, he hears the mechanical door to his lab slide open and spins around expecting to see Holden.

  Dr. Alyster: Ah, it's just you. (coughs) Vhere is zhat boy vit miene lunch?

  Feleider: You don't have time to be thinking about food. Why have you yet to call me for testing soldiers?

  Dr. Alyster: What is zhe point? It is not ready.

  Feleider: It has to be ready!

  Dr. Alyster: You, look und see for yourself. See vhat happened to Fausta.

  Feleider: Fausta?! What's a Fausta?

  Dr. Alyster: Zhe mouse!

  Feleider: What mouse!?

  Dr. Alyster: Zhis mouse, you-

  The doctor points deliberately at the glass case the dead mouse is supposed to be resting in, but when he turns his head to show the General how visually impaired he is, he comes to find that the mouse has vanished.

  Dr. Alyster: Fausta?

  He looks in and around the case, but he sees no sign of the dead mouse anywhere.

  Feleider: Listen to me. I've been doing my part in this. I've been dodging questions for weeks, avoiding people and putting up with that professor's crap! This morning that impertinent boy from your assistant's team tried to strong-arm me into giving up information. It was obvious he had no idea what he was talking about or what he was looking to get out of me, but that's not the point. This won't end. They'll keep pressing me for information for no reason other than the fact that something feels off to them. And not only them, The Sir just bit my ear off because we're so behind schedule. I don't give a fuck if the parasite is perfect or not. I will be sending two clean soldiers to you within the hour, and I expect them to have E-TE12 inside of them within the next two.

  After he finishes ranting, he turns and makes his way out of the lab. Doctor Alyster doesn't pay him any mind, even though every word said has sunk in. He would test the two soldiers Feleider promised him, even if the parasite isn't perfect. If that is what they want, that is what he will do. It wouldn't stop him from perfecting E-TE12 anyhow. It would be much better after this, after he gets all their little chores out of the way. He would finish it without all of the pressure and background noise. That would be fun, but for now he has to find Fausta, the mouse that wasn't so dead after all.

  Feleider: And turn some lights on in here! Make this place look a little more welcoming for your guests!

  As he gets to the door, the automatic sensors pick up his body, and the doors slide open. A colossal figure blocks hi
s path from getting to the other side. It is Holden. The two proud men stare each other down for a brief moment, and then Feleider steps aside to let Holden enter. Victorious in their stationary game of chicken, the dominant soldier walks past Feleider without passing him a glance, all the while feeling the General's eyes burning the side of his face. Eventually, Holden is too deep inside of the lab to see anymore, and General Feleider goes on his way. Before the door closes completely, he is followed out of Alyster's lab by a little greyish black ball of fur with a long dark tail.

  Holden walks up to Doctor Alyster without saying a word and slightly surprises the old man, who is still searching intently around the high desk for his missing mouse.

  Dr. Alyster: Oh, it's you zhis time.

  Holden opens the breast of his vest, takes two out and tosses the plastic wrapped sandwiches on to the desk. The doctor doesn't even notice that they are there. Holden finds this most strange. Usually, the doctor would be all over him, asking him where his food is and what took him so long. Holden lets his curiosity get the better of him.