Flip This Zombie - Jesse Petersen [63]
He opened the door in front of him. A dark room greeted us, the silence of it only punctuated by the faint ping of some kind of a machine. He reached in and clicked on the fluorescent lights and then motioned me inside.
I was right. There on the table where we’d left him a couple days before was our first captured zombie. I recognized him from the hash marks on his face where he’d given himself rope burn on our first net. He almost looked like a rotting body with a soccer ball head now. Cute.
The thing was latched down to the table, oozing body covered in a sheet that was spotted with sludge stains. One bare, gray arm was laid out over it, black veins bulging against rotting flesh, and an IV was pressed into his skin. His eyes were open, red and dead, but he was still, not thrashing around or trying to eat or escape.
He didn’t breathe. Well, not in a traditional sense, anyway. He took in a lungful of air about once a minute or maybe ninety seconds. He never exhaled.
“God,” I breathed as I inched closer. “What did you do to it?”
Kevin scurried forward, the thrill and pride in his eyes undeniable. “These are the effects of the special sedative I created.”
My brow furrowed. “I-I thought you said earlier that the zombie we brought in yesterday was the first one you tested it on.”
He turned toward me slightly and there was a fraction of a second of hesitation before he said, “I gave the sedative to this one yesterday after you brought yours in. I wanted to see if I could mimic the same results. My research has really only just begun. I’ll need to test so many things on these specimens.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t fully satisfied with his pat little answers. “So have you given him the curative treatment yet?”
Kevin shook his head. “No, not yet. The sedative seemed an important item to test before I had too many zombies on site. If I’m not able to control them, things could get out of hand far too quickly.”
I shivered as I flashed to the accident. I was starting to recall more and more of it with every passing hour and I sort of wished I could go back to my blank memories. Actually, that feeling when I woke up and thought this entire zombie apocalypse was a dream was pretty good, too. Maybe Kevin could make me a serum for that sometime. If he put it on the market, he could make a mint.
I smiled at him. “Well, I can’t wait to see the results once you start using the cure on them.”
He returned my expression, but there was something troubled in his eyes that I couldn’t help but notice. I tilted my head slightly.
“What is it? You seem worried.”
He shifted. “Do you know me so well already, Sarah?”
Now it was me who shifted. “I don’t know about that. You don’t hide your emotions very well for a scientist.”
He laughed and the tension between us faded a little, thank God.
“It comes from being away from people for so long I’ve forgotten the niceties and politeness involved in everyday interaction,” he explained. “There isn’t anything wrong, per se. I only worry that you may be disappointed once you see the cure at work.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, wary.
He shrugged. “While the guinea pigs did respond well and integrated back into their society after the cure was administered, the human brain is far more complex.”
“Obviously,” I said. “At least in most cases.”
“Indeed.” He chuckled again. “But with those complications that make us so… human, I can’t say for sure that the zombies will fully return to normal. Those who are freshly infected may be perfectly fine. Those who have been gone for a long time may die instantly or even turn into mindless drones. I have no idea what will happen in the long term.”
I reached out to grab his hand and held it for a brief moment. “Kevin, no one is asking