Our Undead

by Theo Vigo

  Margaret: I'm… sorr-

  Sharp: Wait! Shut up! Shut your mouth for a second!

  Sharp's abrupt, and frankly, rude interruption throws Margaret off. The shock from it causes her initial grip to be restored. She waits as commanded.

  Sharp: Do you hear that?!

  She listens. It's faint, but there is definitely something there, a high-pitched sound tolling above the rushes of the leftover avalanches. Before long, it becomes even clearer, the sound of someone calling their names out. Seconds later, and the voice becomes recognizable to both of them as Erika Blaze's.

  Sharp: Oh, thank fuck… Ugh…. BLAAAAZE!!! WE'RE OVER HERE!!!!

  Erika: (in the distance) Denver!? Where?! Keep calling out to me!

  Sharp: OVER HERE!!! … Hey, you back there. You wanna help me out?

  He calls Margaret out for being silent when she is unquestionably the one in a better position to be hollering. She looks up and is about to yell for Erika, when a shadow casts over her head in the same moment. It's Erika's mocha chocolate face eclipsing the already dimming sky. She looks worried, but with shades of relief as she flings off her duffel bag and bends down over top them.

  Erika: MATTHEW, THEY'RE OVER HERE!!! You guys all right? Here, take my hand.

  She reaches down for Margaret, who first passes up her forearm crutches. Erika tosses them aside and takes Margaret's arm next. She pulls the girl up, and Margaret crawls over to her crutches. Next, Erika pulls Sharp up. She struggles a little with this one, seeing as how he is a full-grown man with a duffel bag full of weaponry. Not to mention how tired she is, herself, but she eventually gets him up and over the edge. When she knows he is safe again, she lets herself go and drops to the ground, totally spent.

  Erika: (huffing) What the hell happened?

  Sharp: Well… The scenery was so breathtaking. We thought we'd hang out for a bit.

  Erika: When are you gonna learn that "breathtaking" doesn't always mean "good"?

  Sharp: Never!… (exhales) Thanks, E.B.

  Erika: Don't mention it… Actually, mention it. Mention it a lot.

  Sharp: Aw, I'm pretty sure you'll take care of that just fine.

  Erika: Heh, yea… Like remember that time I saved you and Matty in Bolivia?

  Sharp: Erika, please-

  Kerrick: You saved him. I was in the process of saving him. I didn't need saving.

  Erika: You guys were free falling into that lava pit. If I didn't-

  Kerrick: Soooooo, what the heck happened here? Where'd you find these two?

  Kerrick swings off and sets down his own bag of guns, then sits playfully down beside Erika, cutting in before she can finish her story. He is awfully tired himself. After what had just happened, a little sit down won't hurt. Margaret doesn't sit too far off from them. She listens to the team members joking with each other, and it kind of makes her sick to her stomach. How could they be joking around after what just happened? They sit there self-centeredly pecking at each other, competing selfishly when they had solved absolutely nothing. And they wouldn't solve anything, either. They are useless.

  Erika: I found these two hanging off the edge.

  Kerrick: Enjoying the view?

  Sharp: Yes. Exactly that.

  Kerrick: It is sorta beautiful… In a… dreary type of.. nightmarey, sad sorta way.

  They all look out over the boundless crater. It stretches as far as they can see, outdistancing the darkening horizon where a few stars have already begun to share their glitter. The dust has disappeared for the most part, but a dirty cloud floats far overhead. It stretches the entire length and width of the crater, making the scenery dimmer than it would normally be. The floor of the crater is lined with rubble of all shapes and sizes, a barren bedrock.

  Kerrick: Take that, Grand Canyon.

  Erika: The Grand Canyon? This isn't a canyon, you wonderful genius. It's more like… a big hole.

  Kerrick: Holes poke through to the other side. It's more like a…

  Sharp: A gravel pit. A very big gravel pit.

  Kerrick: Yes! Good one… Oh, why hello there. Nice to see.. some of you.

  Kerrick turns his and everyone else's attention to the group of people coming toward them. Professor Gwen and Billy are in front. He is still having some trouble walking and still has one arm slung over the professor's shoulder for assistance. Behind them are Holden and General Feleider. Neither of which look nearly as tired as the rest. When they reconnect, Billy withdraws from Gwen's shoulder and sits down beside Margaret who is preoccupied with thought and uninvolved. He asks her if she is okay, and she does him the favor of nodding. The professor opts to sit down as well, but a little closer to the others.

  Kerrick: Come back to see if we're okay? How sweet of you.

  Holden: We came back to figure out what to do next.

  Sharp: What, you're not smart enough to figure it out for yourself? Can't hack it out there without us, uh?

  Holden: I'm not the one who couldn't outrun a little earthquake.

  Sharp: Oh, yea?! Well, you can-

  Feleider: ACTUALLY, we know exactly what we're going to do next. There's another base located in the Nevada deserts. It's our best choice.

  Sharp: How could you even think about going to another base? You're a traitor. If you think you're secret is safe with us, you've got another thing coming, Feleider.

  Feleider: That, I will deal with when the time comes. For now, we have a better chance of surviving if we travel as one.

  Erika: He's right. Besides, this is not the place to start an argument. We'll figure things out as we go, but we have to keep our heads cool. If you children don't behave and work as a team when we're in the thick of those goofs, we might as well just shoot each other right now. We'll be as good as dead. Can we do this? Can you guys work as a team again? For now?

  They all look around at each other doubtfully, but come to agree with Erika's terms.

  Kerrick: Yep.

  Gwen: Yes.

  Feleider: Yes.

  Sharp: All right.

  Holden nods.

  Erika: Good. Nevada is due south. There's only one problem.

  Kerrick: Hmmm, might you be referring to the thousand mile long gravel pit sitting in our way?

  Erika: (sighs) Yes. We'll have to go around it. It's going to take forever, but we have no choice.

  Kerrick: There's no going through it.

  Erika: So, that's it then. We're going to Nevada.

  With everyone on the same page, their plan is set. They will go to the neighboring underground compound in Nevada. Sat off to the side, Billy has been listening the whole time, although, not participating. The mention of travelling to Nevada reignites his ambitions of making it to California. When they were underground he had come to terms with putting his aspirations on hold. There was no telling how long they would be down there, or what would happen to them next, but now it has become possible again. As grim as things are, it gives him something to look forward to once more.

  Billy: So we're going to Nevada. Looks like we might be able to see Hollywood after all, hey Margaret? … Margaret?

  He turns to her, but she is no longer sitting beside him. Looking every which way, he spots her. She is up on her crutches, walking due north, the opposite direction from which they should be heading, away from the great pit, away from the group, and away from California.

  Billy: HEY!

  She doesn't answer. Her heart has become so heavy… It looks like he'll have to delay seeing Hollywood for a while longer. He has no idea where she could be going, or if she even has a plan, but it doesn't matter. Without saying a word to the others, who are now watching them both, he gets up and jogs over to meet Margaret. Or tries to jog. His legs are still weak, and his jog looks more like a hasty hobble or zombie trot. Nevertheless, he eventually catches up to his friend. The rest watch them slowly get further and further away, neither one looking back.

  Gwen: Where do they think they're going? We should stop them!

&nb
sp; Sharp: No... They'll be all right.

  Kerrick: (scoffs) How do you figure that?!

  Sharp: …They made it this far… Let them go.

  Erika: Fine, but we should get going ourselves, before the sun is completely set. Are we good to go?

  Sharp: Ugh… Yea, let's move out.

  Sharp, Erika, Kerrick and Professor Gwen get lethargically back up to their feet. They all dust themselves off, and the three super soldiers get their duffel bags back on.

  Kerrick: Great! Time to gun down some goofs. Can't wait to put these babies to work.

  Erika: You're really sick you know that? Really sick. A real head case.

  Kerrick: A real sexy head case… that you wanna make sweet sweet love to.

  Erika: Whoa, do I look brain-dead?! Do I look like a goof to you? Keep it in your dreams, pal.

  Kerrick: Speaking of my dreams. Last night you were wearing this delicious piece of lingerie, all white and lacy. I was tied to a bed and-

  Erika: Wait! Just stop right there.

  Kerrick: But you haven't even heard the best part!

  Kerrick and Erika get to walking ahead of the others, flirtatiously teasing each other back and forth as they go. Sharp throws an untrusting glare at both Holden and Feleider before beginning to walk, himself. The two traitors follow soon after, leaving the professor behind. Gwen stays back for a moment. She takes one more look at Margaret and Billy, the remarkable young ones. They are soon so far gone, she can barely make them out against the blending horizon. She wonders what will become of them and hopes Sharp's presumption holds true. When she can no longer see them, she turns back to her group and starts behind General Feleider and the members of the Mav-Elite. Together, but set apart, the group of six work there way eastward along the rim of the crater into their own personal unknown. Only God knows what waits for them on their journey, but then again, maybe it's in the Devil's hands.

  Approximately forty-five minutes have passed since General Feleider sent the converted version of Eternity across the globe. In the first five, medical scientists who have given their pledge of allegiance to The Conditioning, men and women just like Doctor Alyster, received the plans and made the appropriate adjustments to the parasite in their respective labs. At twenty-five minutes, thousands of cases containing the upgraded parasite were privately delivered to medical offices, schools and hospitals, received by undercover units and integrated briskly and smoothly into the system. At forty-five minutes, hundreds have already been injected with this false vaccine, and by the top of the hour thousands more would be infected.

  Another wave is about to begin, a wave of tidal proportions that would put the "Crater Lake Contagion" to utter shame. As it is well known by those informed, Doctor Alyster was never given a sufficient amount of time to perfect the formula. What results the new imperfect Eternity will induce upon the planet is up for debate, but one thing is for certain, a global conditioning is about to occur.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I was born in Toronto, Canada, in October of 1986 and became an enthusiast of words and music at quite an early age. First was the music. I loved (still love) listening to all kinds and began to write my own. After years of that, I came to realize that lyrics are one of my favourite parts when it comes to musical pieces. Around my college years, my love of words blossomed and I began reading a lot more. I began undertaking my own personal projects and wrote my first screenplay, as well as my first (unfinished) novel series.

  I would like to thank you very much again for reading Our Undead: Abe. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review at your favorite online retailer where this EBook is sold.

  I welcome contact from my readers!

  My Thoughts: @aSeasonalMind on Twitter

  My Interested: @aSeasonalMind on Tumblr

  My Music: @aSeasonalMind on Youtube

  Our Undead Series on Facebook and Twitter

  More FREE music: aSeasonalMind 46-Track Mixtape Download

  --Theo Vigo