My name is Kaleb Reed, but I go by Lin to my colleagues and friends, due to the fact that I used to be called “Little Lin” when my sister was still around. I was used it more than my real name and most didn’t know me by Kaleb, except for Jacob and Danny, who were the only ones who asked me when I was brought to the military base. When I said I preferred “Lin”, they made it known by everyone else that my name was Lin. The higher-ups gave me a new last name: Genesis (a reference to being the first one of my kind).
I was undead.
But, don’t be too quick to judge.
I had normal skin that was a deep tan color, long hair that was dark brown, and the build of most people my age (twenty-one).
The only thing that defined me as an undead being were my eyes, which were pale and lifeless (unless they moved, of course). To people who hadn’t met me before, it was alarming to see because they were the kind of eyes you’d see before your death.
I was fairly harmless unless provoked enough to get on my bad side.
I wasn’t prone to getting into fights because no one really ever tested me, except for Jacob, who didn’t mind getting on my nerves whenever he could. When we fought, he either gained a new bite mark or I lost my voice for the next few days from yelling. Sometimes, it was both.
The night after meeting Andreas was gonna be one of those nights.
I had gone into his room through his window, which I wasn’t allowed to do, but I did it anyways. Although he picked at me, we were very close, and he was the only person I could go and see almost all the time.
He lived in the military house while I lived in the doctor house, so it was a bit of a jog to even get there.
Jacob was getting dressed in his night clothes as I lied down in his bed. As he turned to me, he pressed his knee into the bed and kissed me on the cheek carefully.
“What brings you to my humble neck of the woods?” he inquired, wrapping his arm around me and dropping me back against the sheets.
“The same thing that brings me every night,” I smiled. He moved my hair from my face and kissed my neck.
“I was just about to go get something to eat. It’s a lot of work getting sprayed with scalding hot water for an hour.”
“You can go eat; I’ll just stay here and wait for you.”
“Do you want me to get you something to eat?”
“No, I’m good.”
“Alright, I’ll be back in a bit.” He left the room, so I traveled around the dorm to see if I could find a book to read while I was waiting. I had read all of them, so I gave up and lied back down.
He came back within a half an hour and brought me a little pouch with two cookies in it before jumping into the bed and digging his face into his pillows. I heard him sigh heavily and watched him roll over to face me.
“Lin,” he groaned.
“Yeah?”
“Danny took over the case with Andreas.” I scowled at him.
“What? Why?”
“I’m not really sure. Please don’t be mad.” I was mad.
“I wasn’t even asked or anything! I didn’t even do anything wrong!”
“Well, Danny is above both of us in the ranking system, so we don’t have any say in it anyways.”
“Jacob, how could you just let him take the case away from me?! I thought you were on my side with these things!”
“I didn’t get much of a choice either, Lin! Do you think I just wanted to be casted aside, too?! You’ve done more than me and you aren’t even certified!” We were both sitting up now and angry. Angry at Danny and angry at each other.
“I took that stupid test! I am certified!”
“Do you know how much college people like me had to go through to get where you are?! And, I’m just a nurse! Stop complaining about it!”
“I know what I need to know! And, Andreas’ case was given to me! Not Daniel Fricking Cole!”
“You just aren’t qualified enough to take care of her! Get over it!” I nailed him and screamed, making him ram into me. We slammed against the floor and struck each other until he secured me in a headlock, pushing me down towards the floor. I snarled and bit into his arm, making him yell out in pain and get away from me. He sat back against the bed and elevated it to eyeball it.
I felt horrible instantly and wiped my mouth off on my shirt as I got up off the floor. There was a bang on the door that made it swing open. A woman and two men came in, asking what was going on frantically.
“Can someone get me a medical kit?” Jacob laughed, finding humor that I had bit him. This was probably the fourth time in the last six months that we had gotten into an argument that turned into what it turned into. “Zombie boy bit me again.” The woman grabbed a medical kit and helped him dress the wound carefully.
As if the situation couldn’t get any worse, the commander decided to waltz in. The woman dragged me to the corner and hid me behind her while one of the men stood at an angle as extra precaution.
The commander was a jerk (to put in lighter terms) and hated me with a burning passion for no real reason other than the fact that I was what I was.
“What’s going on in here?” he demanded, stepping in and inspecting the room.
“I fell and cut my arm open on my pocket knife,” Jacob lied, showing the bandaged up arm as he moved back up onto the bed..
“You should be more careful next time.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You know that thing of yours might have parasites, right? That thing you brought here three years ago.”
“Lin doesn’t have parasites. I am given his medical reports every week, just like anyone else who asks.” I angrily breathed out as the commander was trying to speak nonsense.
“Well, those things could be partially wrong. I’m sure they don’t test the contents of his stomach every week.”
“We’d all have parasites if your theory was even remotely correct. I spend almost every day with Lin, and he’d be sick if he had anything wrong with him. Do you have a medical degree?”
“No, I’ve been in the military for a long time. I don’t need a degree in medical bullshit to tell me that monster is a diseased freak of nature.”
“I can report you for harassment. It’s not your place to talk about Lin and the fact that you’re here, slandering his name, just means there’s more reason to report you.” Jacob stood up. “Lin is government property and it’s treason to disrespect the government’s decisions and interfere with a doctor’s work. Lin is a patient as much as a doctor, so do you want me to report you for treason?” The commander grumbled and left the room. Jacob asked his comrades to leave, thanking them for their help, and closed the door, locking it and lying in bed.
I stood up straight, walked upto the bed, and dropped down on him.
“I’m sorry I bit you again,” I breathed against his chest. He moved my hair and put it up in a bun for me.
“It’s okay. It only hurts at first; I’m fine now.” He slid his hands up the back of my shirt and felt my skin gently with his cold fingers. “Maybe this one will scar.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I think it is.” We kissed and fell asleep.
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