Our Undead (53 page)

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 his 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.

Holden:
What are you looking for?

Dr. Alyster:
(coughs)
It appears zhat zhe
compound might be subject to a rodent
infestation.

Holden looks into the glass
cage and sees that the mouse that was in there when he had left for
lunch thirty minutes ago is now gone.

Holden:
Fausta has gone missing.

Dr. Alyster:
Yes, but zhat is not zhe vorst part. Vhile you vere gone, our
little friend passed away.

Holden:
She died?

Dr. Alyster:
Yes, but it seems not quite.

Holden:
What do you mean?

Dr. Alyster:
I mean, one minute she vas laying zhere, breathless,
(coughs)
und zhe
next she vas gone.

Holden:
Do
you mean to tell me that there is a little goof mouse running
around this compound?

Dr. Alyster:
Hopefully not. Hopefully, it has not left zhis room yet.
Hopefully, she is not a goof, as you call zhem. Just… keep your eye
out for her, und vatch your step… Do vhat Feleidah says und put zhe
lights on. Zhere vill be vork to be done soon. I need miene
energy…
(coughs)
Ah! Warm-cuts.

Doctor Alyster puts an end
to his searching for now and takes the two sandwiches that Holden
had thrown down on the high desk for him. He brings them over to
his work desk, where he sits down and begins unwrapping the first
of them. Holden stares at him, disturbed a touch by how calm the
doctor is acting about there possibly being an infected mouse on
the loose. Perhaps he
is
completely insane, but it doesn't matter. If
anything happens it will be nothing Holden can't handle. He starts
toward the entrance of the lab where the main light switch is so
that he can turn it on.

Dr. Alyster:
Vait!
Cahm
heer.

Holden turns back and walks
over to Doctor Alyster's messy desk. The doctor holds his sandwich
in one hand, a bite already taken out of it, while pushing aside
and searching under papers for something lost on his desk top. He
eventually finds what he is looking for and picks it up, holding a
thumb drive out for Holden to take away from him.

Holden:
What is this?

Dr. Alyster:
All of zhe modifications I have made on E-TE12 thus far are
on zhis thumb drive. Take it und keep it safe. If testing goes vell
vit zhe soldiers later, you vill give zhis to Feleidah, und he vill
send it to Zhe Sir, as you all call him.

Holden takes it out of the
doctor's hand and looks at the puny piece of plastic, before
stashing it safely into his inside vest pocket.

Dr. Alyster:
Miene boy, zhe lights.
(coughs)

As his assistant, Holden follows Doctor Alyster's
orders and goes to turn on the lights.

UNEXPECT THE EXPECTED

Margaret:
AAARGH!

Billy:
Ha
ha, relax. How can you be so tired after we slept through half the
day? It's only been about forty-five minutes, and we've been
through so much worse than this. Check the sign. It says we're in
Block-F. We were in H, so we must be getting closer, right? That
guy we asked said that we're heading the right
way.

Margaret:
He should have called us an escort, but noooo. Nobody cares
that there are two random people walking around. What kind of place
is this when the security is so lax? It took forty-five minutes to
get from Block-H to F, and we're trying to get to A… That's gonna
take… like
seven
hours
! Perhaps, it may have slipped
your mind, but I have a broken ankle here.

Billy:
At
least the halls aren't as scarce. It's like the farther down the
alphabet you go, the more deserted and lonely this place gets. I'd
hate to see what Block-Z looks like. Actually,… it might be pretty
cool.

Margaret:
Of course, you would think that. You and your details. It's
too bad no one cares that we're here.

In Block-F there are many
more people walking around, but they can tell the people aren't
civilian because of the way that they are dressed, doctors being in
all white and VIPs in expensive suits, security officers with basic
armor and guns, and even a few soldiers. Any person they see has
some kind of defining uniform on.

Margaret:
(groans)
I wonder how Abe is
doing… I'm starting to get really hungry.

Unknown:
Hey, you two!

From behind, they hear
someone call out at them. They turn around and see Erika Blaze
coming straight for them in a four-person cart. They split up to
get out of her way, Billy sidestepping to the left and Margaret to
the right. Erika comes to a full stop in-between them.

Erika:
You
must be looking to break your other leg, huh? You know, there's a
pedestrian walking lane for a reason.

Billy and Margaret look up
at a sign that states clearly that they have been walking in the
driving lane.

Margaret:
Sorry. We've been walking for so long, and you're the first
person we've seen driving since we started.

Erika:
Yea, they don't drive much 'round these parts. Wait, how long
have you been walking?

Margaret:
We left the professor's room almost an hour
ago.

Erika:
Jesus, I haven't even been to Block-H yet. No one really goes
that far into this place, except the doctors when they have to
sleep, but they don't do
that
very much. Hey, should you
be walking so much? You took a pretty bad break only
yesterday.

Margaret:
I'm fine. I couldn't stay in the room all day, anyway. I
would starve, and Abe wasn't in the room when we woke up. We're
looking for Professor Gwen. We think she probably took him. We
hope.

Billy:
Would you by any chance know where she is?

Erika:
Not
exactly, but I'm sure that she must be in the main lab in
Block-A.

Billy:
You
think you might be able to give us a ride? I mean, if you're not
busy, of course.

Erika:
I
was just cruising, but sure, I'll take you to A. Can we stop at the
cafeteria fi-

Margaret:
Yes!

Erika:
O..K… Hop in then, let's go.

Billy and Margaret get on
to the cart. Billy gets in the back seat behind Erika, where he has
to sit facing the rear, while Margaret gets in the passenger seat.
They both start spouting off a bunch of comments about how excited
they are to be going to the cafeteria and how glad they are that
she showed up when she did. She knows they mean well, but the two
of their little voices yapping away becomes too much, too quick,
and she tells them to quiet down. They settle and Erika breathes a
sigh of relief before putting the cart into motion.

The cafeteria in Block-A is
quite packed, even though lunch had been served hours before. Most
of the compound's population lives in Block-A. Its cafeteria has
the best food, and it never closes. People are always hustling
through it to get a snack or midday meal, even between their main
breakfast, lunch and dinner servings. Margaret, Billy and Erika
make their way to the back of the lunch line. Though injured,
Margaret is well ahead of the pack.

Margaret:
I'm gonna get like, five hamburgers. You know how long it's
been since I've had a hamburger?!

Billy:
About a month?

Margaret:
Feels like longer…

Billy and Erika share a
giggle behind Margaret's back, although they understand where she's
coming from. Even though it has only been going on for about a
month, the infection has been hard on everybody. They can't fault
her for craving a juicy burger. They've been a rare commodity in
the last four weeks.

Billy:
That actually sounds amazing. That was one thing we never got
to eat when we were in the department store. Might've been
nice.

Margaret:
Might've been
awesome.

Erika:
You
guys held up in a department store?

Billy:
Yea. We had it all to ourselves. Can you believe
it?

Erika:
Hardly.

Billy:
I
don't blame you, but it was great. Didn't last too long
though.

Erika:
Why
not? Goofs, huh?

Billy:
Eventually, but before them were-

Margaret shoots Billy a
vicious cut-eye. He was just about to tell Erika about the
criminals they encountered and how she sacrificed them, clearly an
inappropriate topic of conversation.

Billy:
…
uh..
*ahem*
…

Erika:
What? What happened?

Billy:
…
the.. um…

Unknown:
Tebious?!
Oh, my God!!
TEBIOUS!!!!

A woman's voice comes
callng from somewhere inside the cafeteria, coincidentally and
quite conveniently. It gives Billy a chance to put a hasty end to
his misguided conversation with Erika, but the name sounds all to
familiar to him, as does the voice, and when he sees who is
beckoning his true appellation, his heart nearly quits on the
spot.

A middle-aged woman is
already in motion, walking directly to where Billy, Margaret and
Erika stand in the lunch line. Any perceptive individual can see
that this Caucasian woman is in her late thirties or early forties,
but the same individual could not disregard how youthfully and
gracefully she carries her four decades. Her face is happy and sad
at the same time. It isn't quite crying, but there is a subtle hint
of distress mixed with some relief.

Margaret is absolutely
shocked when the woman throws her arms around Billy and lifts him
off the ground in an enthusiastically passionate bear hug; bow and
arrows, knapsack and all. She bounces him up and down and swings
him back and forth, repeating his name over and over again.
Margaret can tell by the look on Billy's face that he is just as
shocked as she is, but not nearly as amused. Her trapped friend
looks more distraught than anything.

The fun isn't over, as yet
another surprise makes it's appearance in the form of a middle aged
man. The man looks to be of Hispanic descent and makes his way
hastily over to the already hugging pair. His face also sports
looks of disbelief, but nothing much more than that. When he gets
to Billy, the woman, and the rest in line, Billy is placed back
down to his feet. The woman takes a step back to give the man his
turn.