Our Undead (57 page)

Erika:
Looking for their friend. What's it to ya?

<><><>

Holden arrives at the
entrance of Doctor Alyster's lab and enters the code on the control
panel. The doors buzz open, and he walks inside. Everything in here
is brighter than usual with the lights turned on. Holden notices
clearly for first the time the cramped bookshelves and scattered
papers all over the floor, and all of the unused tables. Half of
the place looks as though it has been abandoned, like evidence of
the cluttered and forgetful half of the good doctor's personality.
Holden is, however, unbothered by the mess. Something else has
caught his attention, that being, how quiet the lab is. Even when
it was just he and the old man, he could hear Doctor Alyster
messing about or coughing in the back end of the lab as he walked
through it. The only thing he can hear now is something that sounds
like a person walking around on a slushy day. Undisturbed, Holden
walks further into the lab, in through the center column of
bookshelves that leads to the back area where Alyster does his
work. It doesn't take too long for him to see the mess that had
been made during his absence.

Passed his disorderly desk
and high table, where Fausta the mouse had lived, the examining
area of Alyster's lab has come under some serious distress. First,
Holden notices the blood. The one bed that is still standing up
straight, has blood trickled all over the top of it. The other one
has been knocked over, with the wheels facing Holden and the
mattress, away. While approaching, Holden picks up and looks at a
pair of forceps. He puts it back down on the tray of tools
carelessly, but the unbalanced plate of steel topples over and
makes an unwelcome clanging noise when it hits the laboratory
floor. It's more annoying to Holden than anything, but to his
fortune, the noise reveals to him that he is truly not alone in
this lab.

When the tin tray and tools
fall to the floor, the squishing sound he has been following
suddenly stops. This allows Holden to discern that it was coming
from behind the fallen hospital bed. He stands in wait, staring at
the bed and ready for whatever is behind it to reveal itself.
Seconds later, he thinks he sees something trying to peer over the
top of it, then realizes that it is actually the top of someone’s
head.

Holden:
Hey! What the hell happened here!? Where is Doctor
Alyster?!

The shy individual does not
answer Holden's questions but continues to watch him discreetly
from behind the fallen hospital bed. Both the hidden person's eyes
are revealed now. Holden knows these eyes. He's seen them before,
most of them recently. The eyes of the undead.

He proceeds forward to
investigate, and his first step triggers the transformed soldier's
body to spring over the mattress and zombie trot straight for him.
Holden stops and waits for it to come to him. He patiently watches
it gradually getting closer and closer, wearing his normal stone
cold expression, the complete opposite of the bloodied, craving one
that is only a few more steps away from the waiting
giant.

When it comes within reach,
Holden steps forward and grabs it by the neck with his left paw. He
lifts it into the air like nothing and holds it there for a moment.
The infected soldier spits, chokes and sputters, waving it's limbs
all about while still trying to get a bite out of Holden; but to no
avail. Holden's size keeps him out of reach, and his grip keeps the
zombie locked in an undeviating dangle.

Having seen enough, Holden
reaches for his handgun with his free hand. He tightens his grip
around the infected soldier's neck, and then thrusts him forward.
The zombified body flies several feet away and crashes to the
floor, sliding into the legs of the hospital bed it had hopped
over. It gets to its feet quickly and heads right back for Holden.
This time, instead of waiting, Holden puts a bullet right
in-between the zombie's eyes. It's head whips back, and its body
becomes still before it drops to the floor.

That's one thing taken care
of. All is silent again, but there is still no sign of Doctor
Alyster. Holden decides to move further inside. He walks past the
corpse he just put down and comes to the bed that it had been
hiding behind. He looks at what is on the other side and discovers
that he had interrupted the infected man in the middle of a meal.
This half devoured man looks like a soldier as well. He doesn't
have much of the bottom of his face or meat on his chest left, and
he isn't wearing a shirt either, but both his shaved head and the
pants are a dead give away.

Still no sign of the
doctor, Holden turns around and heads for the exit. He stops one
more time before leaving the examination area and remembers that he
needs to report to the General. He reaches for his communicator and
is about to make contact, when he hears a something whispering. He
can't make out what it is, but he knows that whatever the thing may
be is close. He walks back over to where the fallen soldiers lay,
but stops half way and looks to his left. There, sitting on the
floor with his back resting against the legs of the bed that is
standing is Doctor Alyster. He doesn't look good at all. It's
obvious to Holden that the old man is done for, but he goes to him
anyway. After all, as long as he is alive, Holden is still the
doctor's assistant.

The hissing sound is the
labored breathing of the old man. He weakly looks up at Holden when
he comes to a stand in front of him.

Dr. Alyster:
I… fainted. I shought zhat I vas already
dead.

Holden:
Is
there anything else I can do for you?

Dr. Alyster:
Heh,..
(coughs)
… suj great loyalty from
suj a dark man…. Blind loyalty… they were right about you… You…
Bring me the system controller.

Holden knows where this is.
He shuffles some papers around on the dying man's desk, and soon
sees the rectangular screen like apparatus among the confusion. He
picks it up and brings it to the doctor. Alyster takes it and taps
it on with his bloody index finger. When the bright screen comes
on, he continues pressing images and leaving red finger prints all
over the face of the controller until he gets to the screen he is
looking for and looks back up at Holden.

Dr. Alyster:
Give Feleidah zhe formula, und get as far away from zhis
compound as you can. You have until I die. Vhen zhat happens zhe
compound vill… self-destruct.

Holden:
But why?!

Dr. Alyster:
(coughs)
Miene… little
friend.

Holden knows exactly who
the doctor is talking about. The doctor was a fool for allowing the
mouse to escape, but he realizes the hell that may very well be
already released upon everyone who lives in these facilities.
Rather than risk any of the infected getting to the surface, the
best thing to do would be to destroy everything, wiping out both
the clean and infected without prejudice.

Dr. Alyster:
Go! Leave now!
Vit haste. Zhere
is no time for pride. I vill try to stay conscious for as long as
possible.

Holden takes one last look
at the dying old man, and then leaves him in his laboratory to die
in the way he sees fit. Holden expects the man won't survive the
next ten minutes, so when he exits the lab, he starts into a
jog.

<><><>

At that moment, inside of
Cafeteria D, a little brown ball of fur makes its way into the
chef's kitchen. It runs about the sides along the edges of the
walls, inconspicuous and unnoticed by the cafeteria staff. Its
slender, dark tail follows it along as it slips behind two stacks
of bagged flour. It squeezes its way through the two stacks and
pokes its little head out to survey the kitchen floor. One lonely
chef is in the back by herself, mixing a bowl of lime green icing
for the dessert cakes that follow dinner. She wears a black apron
over a white t-shirt, low cut sneakers and tight black pants that
go down to just above her ankles. The exposed flesh peaks the
little rodent's interest, and it darts out from between the bags of
flour, straight for it.

Heather:
Ouch!

She feels a sharp stinging
on her right ankle and hops up. She looks down and sees the dark
fur ball nibbling on something.

Heather:
Aaahhh!!! Mouse!!!

Her reflexes cause her to
kick it, and she sends the infected Fausta sliding across the floor
into a wall. The little mouse shakes off the head trauma and makes
a lightning quick escape out the door, into the cafeteria dining
hall. One of the girl's coworkers, a young man about her age named
Brent, rushes in to see what all the screaming is about.

Brent:
Hey, is everything all right in here?

Heather:
A frigging mouse!
It bit me,
right on my ankle!

Brent:
A mouse?
Is that even possible?
I guess… We
are
underground. Lemme see.

The young girl shows her
ankle to her coworker. A small chunk of skin about the size of a
mouse's mouth-full is missing from the side of the girl's foot. The
guy grimaces at the sight of it.

Brent:
Jesus… A
mouse
did that?!

Heather:
Yea! It was big and black and
gross!
I kicked it. How the hell
did it get in here!?

Brent:
Urg, I don't know… You
kicked
it?

Heather:
Yea. Dammit. I have to get this washed.

Brent:
Where is it now?

Heather:
It ran somewhere.

Brent:
Aw,
man. That's disgusting.

Heather:
Hey relax, guy. Take over. I'll be back.

Brent:
Are
you sure you don't need help?

Heather:
Yea, I'm cool.

The girl walks away from
her coworker with a soft limp, out of the kitchen and into the back
halls in the staff's quarters. The hall is relatively empty with
dinner already in progress, taking up all of the staff's attention.
The girl walks past the staff's empty lunchroom, and then passed
the staff kitchen. Another one of her coworkers is inside just
getting up from the table. She spots the injured girl and stops
her.

Paula:
Whoa, what happened?

Heather:
We've got an infestation.

Paula:
Of what??

Heather:
Rodents, girl. Relax.

Paula:
Are you serious?
That's
disgusting.

Heather:
I'm going to the washroom.

Paula:
Take some gauze and stuff. Here, girl. I'll help
you.

The injured girl continues
to the washroom while her friend grabs the portable first aid kit
off of their kitchen fridge's top, along with a bunch of paper
towels straight off the roll. She rushes behind to catch
up.

The bitten girl bursts
through the door of the female washroom first and heads for the
sinks. The second girl comes in soon after she turns on the tap
water. Heather adjusts the hot and cold water to make a comfortable
lukewarm mixture while her friend comes up with the paper towels
and kit.

Paula:
Here, wet these and clean it.

Heather takes the whole
bunch of paper towel from her co-worker and shoves it under the
warm water. She lifts her right foot on to the counter and starts
dabbing her bite wound with the wet paper. It absorbs the blood
quickly, and soon she is just holding a ball of bloody wet paper
towel. Her helpful friend opens up the first-aid kit, takes out a
bunch of gauze and gives them to her friend.

Paula:
Here… So there's a mouse in there? I don't wanna go in there
if there's a mouse in there.

Heather:
Don't worry. It's not in there anymore. I kicked it, and it
ran out.

Paula:
Out
where? Into the dining hall? Ooooo, that's not
good.

Heather:
Whatever. If more people see it, more will complain, and
it'll get dealt with faster.

Paula:
That thing got you good.

Heather:
Sss… Yea.

She wipes the cut off with
some of the gauze, and the blood finally starts to clear up. They
can both clearly see the space where the mouse had taken out a
decent piece of skin.

Paula:
Put
some antiseptic cream on it.

She hands her a tube of
cream from the kit, and the icing mixer opens it up. She squeezes
some of the healing jelly out on to her finger and rubs it into her
laceration. When she finishes applying the balm, she brings her
foot down from off the counter.