Jimmy started laughing as he watched Weege pulling at the thick mop of black hair on his head, screaming at the monitors
Tsk–Tsk, Weege! You should have paid closer attention. Instead, the frail little geek from Dubai chose to jam on his smart phone, play games, and come to the aid of his ailing counterpart Ronald. Ronald was a cautious master of many things, except his diet. The world’s greatest Big Chug fan, down at last. Squeezing eye drops into Ronald’s drink had sent the man running to the toilet and then all the way home.
His mind seemed to grasp the entire understanding of the universe as he sucked down another can of light beer. Crushing it in his hands, he cut himself.
“Damn!”
He laughed like a hyena. It had all been so easy. Ronald’s leaving allowed him to shut down the elevator, just long enough to switch Louie into another cell. Weege never suspected he had run a separate loop over his security feed, until it was too late. Meanwhile, the zombie boy was safe in an adjacent cell they thought was empty, because of another bogus video feed. Rudy was too lazy to physically go and check, relying on the video cameras instead. Jimmy orchestrated all of this from inside the small security room.
He watched the zombie boy Louie on another screen. The boy was wound up like a kitten, ready to pounce on a ball of yarn. The hefty gray boy circled his cell at alarming speed. He looks like Frankenstein on crack. Jimmy giggled to himself. Now there was only one more thing left to do. Let the little monster loose. He checked the screen monitoring the garage. You ready, brother big shot. How about you, stupid slut and sloppy boy? He hated them all. He couldn’t wait to see them suffer. Still, he wanted to savor it.
The sound of Metal Maiden’s song, ‘Run from the Hills’, began playing inside his pocket, causing him to lurch. He got out his phone, dropped it, cursed, and then answered it.
“Hello,” he said, in a voice as dull as a spoon. He snorted heavily, his glassy eyes intent on the words coming from another side.
“The live feed is down JB 111. We need to see some data. A storm’s hitting your area, so the boss wants it all done now. Execute the plan. Get the data on tapes. Lock it down and get the serum. No one leaves alive but you.”
He felt cold for a moment, shifting in his seat. He swallowed hard as he said, “Uh … yes sir. Uh … did you say no one?”
“That’s right boy. You want to save the world—you got to make some choices. Can you do it?
The voice on the other end was harsh, unfamiliar, maybe foreign, he couldn’t tell.
“Yes … Yes sir.”
“Good, Son. Execute within the hour.” Click
He saw all of their faces on the screens again and swallowed. He didn’t want them all to go, just two.
They don’t like me. They judge me. All of them. Screw em’ all. Now it’s my time.
The hard surfaces in the security room closed in on him, and he felt surrounded by darkness. He snorted heavily again and snorted in another white line.
I can do this. I’m gonna be the next Nate McDaniel.
He typed away at his computer, and watched as the elevator opened in the parking garage. The stunned group stepped inside, but not before Henry looked back at the garage camera. He could swear his brother could see him. Screw you Henry!
CHAPTER 21
The trip back through the hallways and sliding steel doors was agonizing. Red. Green. Red. Green. A wild zombie was on the loose, and fear festered inside all of their bellies as they passed from room to room. Henry had no idea what to expect. Rudy stepped on the backs of his heels again. He shoved the man in front of him. His concerns for his father were heavy, and as far as he understood his friend's blathering, Stanley didn’t know. He had a shotgun now, but no ammo. Jimmy. Shells were in short supply, but there were always some in the weapons locker.
‘We Got the Heat’ began ringing on Rudy’s phone as they stood in the secure corridor just outside of the zombie playroom.
“It’s Weege,” Rudy said, “What’s going on man? Did you find the little zombie turd yet?”
He held the phone up, speaker on. Weege’s foreign dialect was crystal clear and full of excitement.
“I got him! He’s in another cell!”
They all looked at one another in relief, except Henry.
“How’d he get in another cell Weege?”
“I don’t know. My computer froze up, and I noticed I was on a repeating video feed. It had to be Jimmy screwing around again. Just like the last time. He’s — a — bastard!”
That Jimmy was. The last time he forgot to feed the zombies and two people almost died. Jimmy said it was an accident, but Henry knew it wasn’t. Maybe it was drugs, maybe it was intentional, but it was time for Jimmy to go.
“Weege, its Henry, are you sure that Louie is locked up?”
“Yes, I can see it on the screen. He’s a busy little monkey, but he isn’t going anywhere.”
He could feel Tori’s nails digging into his side.
“Have you checked the cages?”
There was a pause. “No — I’m not going down there.”
“Why not? We have to be sure.”
“You go. It's not in my job description.”
Rudy butted in and said, “You’re a stand up guy Weege.”
“I’m alive. I’m staying alive like disco, Baby. This episode is freaking me out. I can’t believe what happened today!”
The sound in Weege’s voice seemed to allude to something else, but Henry wasn’t sure.
“What do you mean?”
“A … just come up here. You need to see for yourself.”
“Why?” Tori said.
“It’s better that way.”
Tori scanned her security pass and the door slid open. A zombie was standing nearby and she let out a screech. The small child didn’t notice, as it shuffled back in the rainbow room mumbling ‘num-num’. Henry took a quick head count and saw all the children except Louie. All here, good. The vivid colors, cartoon screens and classical music were amplified, making him feel like he was inside a carnival’s madhouse. They crept inside, wary of the zombie children whose sunken faces stared on and past them like shadows.
Climbing up the ladder tubes, Rudy had the pleasure of going up last, tongue hanging out like a wild man, behind Tori. She hadn’t noticed.
“Mother of mercy,” he muttered underneath her high heels.
Traipsing over the catwalks, they converged on Weege’s station. The excited man was in his thirties, with big brown eyes and a teenager’s face and build. A thin goatee patch was under his chin. He was sweating and motioning for them to come closer.
“Look! Look! Look!” he cried, pointing to his computer screen.
Henry expected to see a zombie doing cartwheels, but it wasn’t what he expected at all. It was an Internet news site headline. His heart sank as he read it. “Man Who Saved the World Found Dead! Murder! Suicide!” He murmured over the details.
“Nate McDaniel was found dead inside his D.C. condominium at 12:45 EST today. Inside sources saythat Christy Backwater from FNN News was found dead inside the penthouse as well. A pistol and casings were found at Mr. McDaniel’s bedside. The two had last been seen leaving together from her TV studio. The nature of the relationship was not known, but the evidence of drugs, including sex enhancing stimulants, suggests an elitist bootie call gone bad.”
Henry finished the rest to himself. He could feel Tori hugging and sobbing at his side and Rudy patting his back. They didn’t know Nate. But he knew this couldn’t have happened like the news said. His old friend was too smart for that. He looked up and saw Weege pointing a smart phone his way. “What are you doing?”
“I wanted to capture the look on your faces when you saw the news. Very interesting. See — look!”
He held out the picture of their frozen expressions: mouths wide, brows high and shock growing on each face.
“Why don’t you make a poster too, Moron,” Tori said. “I’
m sorry, Baby,” she said, rubbing Henry's back.
He hadn’t heard from Nate in months, other than the occasional text. He never understood what Nate McDaniel went through, but he felt worse than he ever would have imagined somehow. All of Nate’s interviews were disingenuous as far as he was concerned. It all had to be scripted. Maybe he had more to say and someone stopped it.
“Man, Christy Backwater is dead? She was hot! That’s terrible man.” Rudy was sitting down and watching live news casts while munching on Weege’s nacho cheese chips. “Best legs I’d ever seen.”
Tori smacked him in the head.
“Not better than yours … of course … Tori.”
“She’s dead idiot — show some respect!”
“Sorry.”
Henry sat down at another station, and his face was lined with concern and wonder. He hated this place, the zombies and everything. The most popular man in the world was dead. He needed to tell his dad. Crap. What about Jimmy and Louie? He’d forgotten all about that.
“Where’s my phone? Where’s my phone?” He looked at his friends, who were now crammed around Weege’s monitor, fighting for position. Henry headed to his station and there it was, setting on the desk. A few new text messages were there. Tori. Tori. Tori. Nate 1215? Opening it he saw the following letters: CPWWSZH.
It didn’t make any sense, but he knew it was a warning. Jumbles were something they played in college, each trying to top the other. They also used it for other things. It was their own language they created for themselves and some others. If it was indeed serious, he knew he might be in danger.
“What is it, Lover?” Tori said in his ear.
He looked at her saying, “I got a message from Nate this morning. It might be a warning. It might be why he was killed.” He didn’t know why he was telling her this, but now didn’t seem like a time for secrets. Too many changes in the status quo were abounding around him. His mind raced to lock it down. This couldn’t all be randomly happening on the same day. There had to be a reason.
Her voice was excited, “What does it say?”
He showed her the phone.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Let’s ask Weege, he might know — he’s a freak like that.”
He was firm as he pulled her back saying, “No—keep this between us, Tori. I’ll get it. I need them to focus on the next step.”
He could see concern growing on her sweet face. He knew she trusted him and would do anything for him, but her tongue slipped from time to time.
“What is the next step?” she whispered.
“It’s time to lock up the zombies. There has been a breach and I need to tell Dad.”
“Just call him.”
“We tried.” Rudy had sauntered over. “You know he won’t answer. He never does. As for the breech, he won’t report it. He’s too afraid they’ll shut us down.”
He spoke up, “Okay, Weege get over here.” They all gathered. “Let’s lock up the rest of the zombies. We need to gather Dad and Jimmy. I have a bad feeling this place isn’t safe. I’m going to check on Louie. Weege, monitor the floors …”
Henry looked around.
“Is anyone else here?”
“It’s after five, Dude, the rest have rolled, it’s just the night shift,” Rudy said.
“Okay then, you and Tori go down there and latch the cages.”
His friends gave him a funny look.
“Okay, I’ll go with you. You don’t know how to lock them without the security cards. I’ll show you. Let’s go.”
Their footfalls rushed over the platform, across the catwalk and down the ladders. He hated this. Herding the zombies was dangerous because they were stubborn. This was what he needed Ronald for. The burly man would bundle up, round up the children and toss them in. It wasn’t something the rest of them usually had to do.
A simple scratch from a zombie would garner a feverish reaction, but their bites were fatal. There wasn’t anything you could do. He could see the worry on their faces as they donned heavy cotton beige suits and thick padded gloves. There were over a dozen cells along the outer wall, like ones you would see in an animal shelter, but much larger and secure. Tori opened up several of them, side by side. Each hatch had a red light.
Here we go. “You ready Rudy?”
“Yeh, who are we getting first?”
“Peggy. She’s the easiest.”
They surrounded a gaunt little girl who was dressed in a Halloween outfit and appeared to be about five years old. The child stood before a large flat screen television that showed nerdy little kids singing and playing instruments.
“On three, Rudy!” he shouted through a mesh-faced protective mask. His heart was pounding. He’d never done this before. “One … Two … Three!”
Each man locked his hands around the girl’s wrists and stretched her arms taunt. He could feel her little arms pulling back, strong like a small animal, but not strong enough. Her fingers clutched as they dragged her toward the cell, but she wasn’t fighting. They had her inside, let her go, and each rushed back out. Tori scanned the door lock. It turned from red to green. Henry was relieved.
“Here’s how you do the double lock,” he said with a muffled voice.
There was a small concealed handle at the top of the silver cage, like one used to open or close an old window. He spun it around until it clicked.
“You got it Gorgeous!” Tori said.
“I got it Baby!” he winked inside his mask.
“I’m sweating my ass off and I’m still single. Can we get this over with, you two love turds!” Rudy exclaimed.
“Okay Rudy, okay. Tori, be sure to double lock those other cages too, we don’t want the rest accidentally getting out.”
One by one, using the same tactic, they got the other zombie kids inside. The zombies resisted with only the chronic ‘Num-Num’ phrase. Oh, to have a muzzle on them, Henry thought. He’d do anything to never hear those words again. It took about thirty minutes with little Mike, because he wouldn’t let go of the jungle gym. The little boy in Quantum Leap pajamas, provided by Rudy, had been clutching the yellow-coated play set for hours. Henry considered cutting off the boy's fingers, but a screwdriver managed to pry them off.
“Ah … that sucked,” he said, as they all took off their masks and anti-zombie suits.
Everyone’s hair was matted and wet. Rudy was soaked head-to-toe in sweat, but the sight of Tori in damp jeans and a V-neck T-shirt made him sweat more. It made both men gawk. Her eyes enlarged when she looked their way and she made a dash for her lab coat.
“Man, you are one lucky dude. She is smoking.”
The comment didn’t bother him as it felt good for a change, having a woman like that.
“Hey! Hey guys!” It was Weege shouting from above in alarm. “Hey!”
They all walked over and looked up at him. Weege’s dark face was ashen.
Henry yelled up, a smile on his face, “What is it Weege? Did the Pope die too?”
“No! No! It’s Louie! He’s gone again!”
CHAPTER 22
“Nate McDaniel is dead?” Jimmy said, as a hysterical laugh burst from his lips. He never would have known if he hadn’t been watching all the commotion at Weege’s station. Looks of alarm and surprise caught his fancy as he zoomed in another camera to see more. He watched from above the scene. The expressions on their faces excited his flesh. Their suffering brought him joy. He knew his time had come, and it was his turn to be the most famous man in the world.
He checked his recordings on the screens from the security room, and they were all in order. The monitors were saving every image and clip for his purpose. He knew the live feed might go. It happened from time-to-time, and that is why he made a backup recording. The remote area created havoc on communications when the wind and rain came. He could see his stepfather Stanley singing to the undead girls inside the biola
b. As far as he could tell, they weren’t going anywhere.
Jimmy rubbed his nose, snorted, and looked for his brother Henry. Go ahead brain child. Go put up the zombies. I’ve got a surprise for you.
He Googled Nate McDaniel’s and Christy Backwater’s faces on his smart phone. He touched her face on the screen. “Oh yeah, babes like you will soon be mine.”
He finished off another can of beer and pulled up the action in Louie’s cell. He bit his dirty fingernails while twisting his ball cap around before he entered a code. His foot was tapping as he waited. Jimmy had not only helped Stanley give Louie the XT Serum, but he also had been starving the boy. The lack of zombie dew that kept the children docile would build Louie’s hunger for flesh and brains. He saw to it Louie missed his doses. The XT serum sped up the boy’s metabolism as well as other things. That’s what his employers told him to do. That is what he did.
Jimmy looked at another camera feed; he could see them in the zombie suits, jerking the little minions into their holes. He loved doing that. He hated the rotten little fiends. His life could have been perfect if not for them. They took his life, his friends and family in a single day, all but Henry and Stanley, the ones he despised most. It was then that the world of madness consumed him and crushed his soul. He couldn’t cope with all the changes. He survived the only way he could, like a rodent that feeds off others. He considered suicide, but he didn’t want to leave this miserable world for the next. Those were his thoughts back when, but he didn’t remember them anymore, as many memories were a clump of fried brain cells. He just wanted to feel great all the time. He wanted to be the next Nate McDaniel.
He could see them in the kiddy zoo now, and he knew they were talking about him. Stop talking about me. I might show mercy. He pressed RETURN on the keyboard.
“Bye-bye douche bags!”
CHAPTER 23
A familiar sound filled his head. He turned to face it. An opening stood before him and he couldn’t help but pass through. Many colors and objects were beside him, behind him and below him. Everything was spinning, moving and stopping. There was blackness, and there was the light. Something was shuffling below him and humming above him. He heard sounds before him and said, “Numma–Numma.”
Louie didn’t understand where he was or what he was doing. He ran his hands over the cold metal walls of the day care. He could hear voices, but he didn’t understand. He smelled things, but didn’t know what that meant. He needed something, but he didn’t know what it was. He had to find it. Everything was blurry though. The shapes seemed to make sense, but the spectrum of bright colors annoyed him. Somewhere nearby was what he needed. Instinct pressed him that way, as more objects rushed past him. The sounds of voices became louder, and he stopped moving. The hunger was building inside of him as he moved toward the sound. It was food he wanted, and it was near. He just didn’t know what the food was.