(Warning: Cringey Content, Zombie Prejudice, Zombie acts of Violence/Gore)

(Previously: The Driver tightens his lips and then corrects, “Well, he’s not technically a zombie.” The guard looks at him in a way that the Driver shrugs and lets it go.)

I open my eyes peacefully, the nap benefitting my poor exhausted brain. I sit up flushed when I remember what it was I was about to do before I passed out. I look around me quickly to see that I’m in some sort of lab. I was literally thrown in a corner. It’s bustling way more than I expected for a lab. But again I was basing my knowledge of labs on what I’d seen in movies. It’s so busy that I’m afraid to get up in case I get run into. After looking around for a while I start discerning the leaders, or bosses from the workers. ‘I wonder if they have interns? For secret zombie-making institutes? Unlikely probably,’ I smirk, shaking my head.

“Hey! Intern!” Somebody yells in my general direction. “Where are my files? I told you to get them thirty-five minutes ago!” I look around wide-eyed before realizing that he really was talking to me. 'The irony.'

“Uh, I’m not an intern here.” I say. ‘What the heck is going on?’ The man stops like he hadn’t thought ahead enough of what to say in case I wasn’t an intern.

“Then what are you doing here?” He asks finally. I start to stand up, then notice an alarmingly bright dart laying on the ground, picking it up I show it to him.

“I dunno, just got here.” He makes an, ‘Ah.’ Expression and storms off to harass the next most intern looking person in the room. They're even carrying a tray of coffees. I hug the walls and circle the lab to see that multiple tables have obvious test subjects sitting on them and each table had at least six or seven scientists around the table writing things down, jabbing subjects with needles, or talking with them. Vials and folders and information boards were everywhere. Wide eyed and overwhelmed I leave the room and go down the hallway quickly. ‘Can I just leave?’

“Excuse me.” Someone very similarly-looking to me but skinnier and with glasses rushes by with paperwork. His glasses have a piece of tape holding one of the arms together. I kept going and blinking, realize in the brief flash that I saw his face that it was also pretty bruised. ‘No, I can’t.’ I think and push myself forward. ‘I have to worry about what happened to the zombie and Dilan, first.’ I only get a few more steps before I hear a commotion and turn to see a flurry of papers and a very angry man standing above the cowering intern. Just to prove he was extra douchey he pours his hot coffee out on his victim. I grit my teeth and storm back into the lab.

Nobody is looking, nobody cares, I’m shorter than the man but significantly bigger than the intern. I don’t know what I was thinking, maybe all this unrealistic crap happening made me do something equally uncharacteristic and heroic because I punch the douchebag across the face. Kicking him backwards away from me I yell something stupid. The man turns his face back to me and I realize very quickly with a chill why nobody had done anything to stop him from acting out. The lab is silent now and some people are openly watching. 

Red eyes blink and the man snorts, “Did you really just do that?” He asks. I hesitate and then grabbing the intern by the arm, pick him up, having him stand behind me. The man stands up brushing himself off, “Okay, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you really did just get here but what you’re currently protecting behind you,” he points and I actually glance in fear of the unknown. “Isn’t human, nor is it innocent either. The reason it’s here is because of crimes committed that put it on death-row. We don’t believe in wasting resources though, so now it’ll work a low position job for the rest of its life.” I look back again and it keeps its head down looking away.

“That still doesn’t excuse you smacking him around, he’d probably do his job better if he wasn’t limping around in pain.” I retort back.

The man opens his mouth and laughs. “You’re kidding me right?” He takes a step forward and reaches for the intern.

I block the man again when I see the intern flinch, “I’m serious.” I say firmly. “You’re just making excuses to be a dick.” I see the man’s amusement fade and knowing I pushed my luck too far decide to just finish sinking the ship, “You don’t look like you’re fully human either, does that mean I can push you around?”

“Enough,” A scientist says as the man goes in to kill me. “You,” he says pointing to the intern, “pick up those files and leave them at mister Renaldo’s desk.” The intern scrambles to obey and disappears quickly. “Mister Renaldo we need you over here, I understand you are a very important man, but if you cause a scene and interrupt our work again,” the scientist’s face is stone cold, “We won’t hesitate to terminate you.” The red eyed man bares his human-like teeth in anger and walks briskly over to the table the scientist came from.

Then the scientist turns to me. He eminantes power and authority. I feel myself looking away without thinking and then force myself to hold eye contact. “Interesting,” He smirks. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He says smoothly offering a hand tranquilly. Adrenaline courses through me as I shake it gently. “Would you care to explain to me in your words, how you got here today?” The scientist asks moving out of the way of housekeeping towards an office. I follow quickly, still feeling incredibly at unease around this man.

“Like the whole thing or…?” I start, looking behind me as the lab slowly starts bustling again, but I’m able to catch a better glimpse of the experiments. Human-like, butt-naked probably unless they were wearing skin colored clothing and different levels of restrained some not at all and one trying to rip everyone’s throats out whilst being hindered by a collar and wrist-shackles chained to the floor.

I sit down quickly in the chair when the scientist gestures, “All of it.”

“Oh well.” I surprisingly still have my journal and I pull it out. “Do you mind if I write it down, I’m better at-”

“Not at all, take your time, I’ll even have the rag doll bring you a coffee.”

“Rag-” I start but he leaves and closes the door. I stare at it for a second and then breathing out slowly, feeling nervous sweat trickle down my body, I start writing from where I left off. 

The door opens making me jump but it’s the intern. He has a small smile but doesn’t look at me. I don’t know what to do, tense as he places the coffee mug down on a coaster. He looks over my shoulder a little at what I was writing. It was the part about the zombie and I cover it a little with my hand. Not insulted he goes to leave then whispers, “Thank you.” I open and close my mouth since he sounded so sweet but then he’s gone. I continue writing, sipping nervously on the coffee and just as I finish the scientist comes back in.  

“Done?” He asks.

“Yes.” I answer as he walks around to his chair and sits.

Pulling the notebook towards himself as he spins it around, “Good handwriting.” He comments immediately. I nod. After reading for a while he pauses and looks up, raising an eyebrow. I sweat, what if I got it all wrong and I sounded crazy talking about zombies. “You… are probably a little too honest.” He says after he finishes. “But I find the interactions between specimen zero and you interesting and I’d like to study them further.”

“Do I really have an option?” I ask with a small humorless tweak of the corner of my mouth.

“No.” The scientist smiles amused, “But I already have the feeling that going back to your mundane life would be impossible for you.” I nod knowing it’s true.

“So,” I breathe, “What do you want me to do?”

The scientist folds his hands bringing them to his lips, “For now, I want to see how much leverage I have over you.”

“What do you-” I realize immediately, “You don’t need to do that,” I say quickly hands out. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt and I don’t want to get hurt either, I’m good.” The scientist lifts his hand from some sort of intercom, I guess.

“You seem to be intelligent,” He says, “Common sense should already be telling you that we as an organization have done some questionable things and that the world can’t know about them.”

“I understand,” I say.

“And we won’t hesitate to kill you if you become a problem or useless,” He finishes.

I shake a little as I say, “I understand.”

“But…” the scientist says, spreading his hands, “I like your attitude so I’ll let you know, if you keep it up and be useful I won’t mind spoiling you, and giving you things you want.” He tilts his head and I look to where he was gesturing and then tense up when I see the intern they refer to as Rag-Doll bustling around anxiously. I look down quickly, ‘I don’t want something like that, I want…’ “Dilan is one of the experiments now unfortunately.” The scientist continues before I can tell him that he was mistaken. ‘Why didn’t I tell him he was mistaken right away?’

“What do you mean unfortunately?” I ask hesitantly.

“Not all the zombies are like specimen zero, I’ll cut to the chase, he’s gone,” the scientist points to his head. “Though I am interested to see if we can restore his cognitive abilities, we’ve never had a reason to try before now.”

I realize my mouth is slightly open and swallow, “Okay.” I croak. The scientist watches my face for a minute.

“Hmm, anywho, follow me.” He stands up and closes my journal, handing it back to me. I exit the office after him and struggle not to glance at Rag-Doll who pauses and watches anxiously for a moment before getting wacked over the head with a folder which he embarrassedly takes from the person he left hanging.

The scientist walks in complete silence through the building going just slow enough for me to have to consciously walk slower and then have time to glance around corners and through windows. One particularly long hallway connecting buildings looked out into an outdoor training area. I slow down watching men spar and work out, quickly realizing they’re superhuman since the feats were beyond human. All of them are built large and tall like how you’d expect super soldiers to be. As I’m staring at the only one still wearing a shirt it looks like he rips his sparring partner's throat out. I stop.

The man wipes his mouth and then as though he could sense he was being watched turns to look at the window. I startle and move on quickly, his eyes follow me until I’m out of sight. I didn’t like the way they narrowed. I really didn’t like the way the rest of his group, without a single word from him, looked up at the same time until a wall blocked me from all of their views. My neck tingles like they can still see me, or like they’re still watching even though I know they’re not, that they can’t be. I let out a little shudder, “Who were they?”

“Our guards?” The scientist clarifies, “They’ve been injected with part of the “zombie” serum, the part that makes you faster, stronger, feral.” He smiles in a way that was more creepy than consoling, “The one you were looking at would probably accidentally kill you while trying to be gentle. It's funny, you don’t come across as the type to like men but you haven’t been able to keep your eyes off them since you woke up.”

I sputter but then clarify, “I can look, doesn’t mean,” I stutter, “The guard is terrifying, what do you mean he’d try to be gentle? With me?” The scientist scans his badge entering the next building and immediately gets flanked by two guards who he whispers something to. I stiffen when eyes look at me, then they escort us deeper into the building, no longer clean, bright, and sunny. This building felt like death and danger.

“You’re going to be easy to reward at least,” the scientist continues like he wasn’t walking past terrifying cruelty and like he couldn’t hear the screams. I edge closer to the scientist and the guards just in case. We enter a large lab-like room almost identical to the other one but this one was quieter and the scientists scarier or gaunt with stress and exhaustion. The much different specimens here are all kept in cages. Except one. Calmly sitting on a table letting someone treat his face and wounds. I recognize him immediately with his greasy black hair that needs a good washing. He doesn’t move when the scientist and I draw closer.

I start to worry and then the doctor treating him ignores me and tells the scientist, “We had to sedate him because he was going berserk over something when he got back.”

The scientist gestures to me, “Meet something.”

The doctor looks at me with surprise and then goes, “Why does he look a little like..” Then he waves his hand, never mind. “So it’s your fault I’m going to spend the rest of the day stitching up employees?” He glares.

“I didn't have claws last time I checked.” I respond lightly.

“You know what I mean.” The doctor huffs.

I glance at the scientist, “I suppose whoever separated me from him is to blame for anyone wounded.”

“That would be me.” The Driver says, arms folded, leaning against a table behind me, ‘When did he get there?’ I think. “You needed proper medical attention, not whatever this sad excuse over here has to offer.” He gestures to the sad-excuse who angrily gestures at the Driver who grins viciously, enjoying how easy the doctor was to torment. I look down at myself and realize that it wasn’t just the sleep that made me feel as good as new, it was because I literally was. No shoulder problems and my bite wound is wrapped and painless. I gently touch my leg, no pain there either.

The zombie has been looking at me blankly for a while now I realize and I can see him trying to recognize me, knowing he should but being too confused and out of it to do anything but stare. ‘Poor zombie.’ I think. I reach out a little and touch his hand, he looks down and seems to have a little light come back to his eyes before it fades again and he continues staring at nothing. 

The Scientist and Driver talk to each other for a minute and the doctor continues working and glaring at me, then the Driver walks over. I look up as he puts his hand on my back guiding me towards a cage. “Wh-” I start. “It’s his.” He answers, jerking  his head back to the zombie. “Oh.” Is all I can manage before I’m shoved into the cell and the door is locked behind me. There’s a bed and a toilet. The bed has neither blankets nor pillows. ‘Great.’ I watch the Driver and Scientist leave before I can ask the head scientist for at least a blanket.