Chapter 4
We broke into a run without even thinking. The rooms became a blur as we raced past them. When I'd first been cloned, I had none of my usual stamina. Thanks to many mid-day jogs and some intense extracurricular activities between Shaun and I, I'd slowly built myself back up to form. Now, a sprint like this was nothing for me. We didn't know what had happened or what had triggered the alarm, but we both knew there was a high probability of an outbreak. Dr Abbey had an armoury. Shaun had seen it before. He'd told me about when he and Becks had saved her from a hoard of her own infected nerds with a box of grenades. A grenade from the same box had been what killed Becks right in front of us.
"Where's the armoury in this new lab?" I asked Shaun as I dropped back into his wake to follow him. Dr Abbey had moved her lab here since Shaun and Becks had saved her. The first time I'd visited, we'd been up against the clock and hadn't had time for a proper tour. The second time, I'd been too sick to be shown around. Shaun, on the other hand, had been out hunting zombie deer with Foxy. If anyone knew where the ordinance was kept, it was him.
"Follow me!" The tone of his running changed as he visibly ran through the mental map in his head to try and pinpoint it in accordance with our current position. In fact he was so busy doing that, he almost cannoned into Dr Abbey as she emerged from one of the labs.
"Whoa there!" She held up her hands, stopping us. "Where do you two think you're going?"
"What do you mean?" I demanded. "There's probably an outbreak!" The expression on Dr Abbey's face shifted to annoyance.
"Georgia, I'd thank you not to try and tell me my own alarm system, especially when you're wrong. That's not the outbreak alarm. It means there's a biohazard. It trips all the time and the fact that we've just brought what is potentially a new type of zombie into the lab can't have helped things. Everyone just chill out, loosen your sphincters a bit, drop some mud if you need to, there's absolutely nothing wrong here. We'll check in with Jill, shut the alarm off and all will be right with the world." So she had a separate alarm for outbreaks than she did for other bio hazards. And presumably there was also a fire alarm too. Actually, it made a lot of sense. It stopped people from thinking they had to evacuate the building when she would need all hands on deck.
"Okay." Shaun nodded, one hand on the spot where his gun would be had he not surrendered it for decontamination. "Still, I hope you'll forgive our caution." Dr Abbey nodded as she turned and led us to the source of the alarm. When we reached it, we saw Jill in the room along with a bunch of other interns working to set up a sealed biohazard bubble. Dr Abbey noticed too and signalled for us to stay outside while she went in.
"Jill, what the hell is going on?" she demanded as she stepped into the room. "Turn this shit off!" Jill turned to her, panic clear in her eyes. The last thing any of us expected was for her to start screeching at Dr Abbey loud enough that it almost drowned out the alarm.
"Get out! Get out! You need a mask in here!" That was when the door slammed shut. With that, we lost any way of hearing into the room. There was nothing but the shrill blaring of the alarms. We could see Jill making frantic hand motions at Dr Abbey and while I couldn't see her lips to read them, I was guessing she was saying things the likes of which employees only ever dream of getting to say to their bosses. And it was working. In no time at all, Dr Abbey had grabbed a mask and was gloved up, helping to secure the biohazard bubble into place. There was another figure inside the bubble wearing a proper HAZMAT suit! People do not wear those for pleasure. I couldn't see their face through the visor, but they kept glancing nervously at the corpse on the table. I could tell it was our zombie. What the hell had we brought into Dr Abbey's lab?
It took a very long time for them to make any kind of contact with us and shut the alarm off. They triple-checked everything before making sure it was secure one last time. The whole time they acted as though the twice-dead zombie was going to get back up and attack. That was only half the reason they had guns. There had been reports of headshots missing vital sections of the brain and the zombies being able to get up yet again. But at its very core, you can't take out Kellis-Amberlee with an M-16. It's a virus. You can't headshot a virus.
Eventually, Dr Abbey made her way over to an intercom built into the wall. I've had a phobia of those things ever since I woke up in a CDC facility and they only spoke to me through one while hiding behind a one-way mirror. For some reason, this wasn't so bad Maybe because I could actually see her?
"Okay guys, I think we've contained the situation now. Shaun, head to my office and wait for me there. My other guests should have headed there too, I told them to head there in the event of a biohazard. Foxy will be there to do introductions where needed. Sorry about leaving you hanging. I need to head for a thorough decontamination. I should be along in about an hour and a half to debrief everyone and bring everyone up to speed. George, we need you to head to the lab you saw me coming out of and wait for me outside the door. I'll have Not-Daisy meet with you shortly." The intercom only went one way, so there was nothing we could do but nod and flash thumbs-up. We were going along with this one way or another. With nothing better to do, we turned and started walking.
"What do you think she meant by 'other' guests?" I wondered aloud. "And who the hell is 'Not-Daisy'?" That wasn't the question I wanted to ask, though. For the first time in either of my lives, I was too afraid to ask the real question on my mind. I was too afraid to say what I wanted to: What had we truly invited into Dr Abbey's lab? What had we exposed ourselves to?
We reached the door to the lab where we'd bumped into Dr Abbey. I leaned against the wall and began to wait. I didn't know what was waiting for me, but Dr Abbey and her scientist buddies had saved my life on at least two occasions so far. Three if you counted the fact I was resurrected in the first place and now had another chance at a satisfactory ending with Shaun. I was willing to trust them. That's why it hurt me so much to push Shaun away when he went to kiss me.
"No." I held up a hand, stopping him. "Whatever that thing was carrying, she clearly thinks there's a chance I've been exposed too. We can't risk formite contact."
"Well then we might as well stay together." Shaun reasoned. "That thing grabbed your hair. I touched your hair when I blindfolded you. I'm already exposed. If you're screwed, so am I." It made sense, but my head was in too much of a spin to realise that. I was totally thrown off balance and had no idea what was going on right at that moment. It was all too much to process.
"Look, she clearly has a plan. Let's just go along with it." I told him. "Go and meet these other guests. I'll be along as soon as I can." For a few seconds, he stared at me like I'd grown a second head. Eventually, he relented. He knew I wasn't going to budge.
"God, you are bleeding cool by the minute here." I stifled a laugh. That was a line he'd used just before we found we'd been accepted for the Ryman campaign, the event ended my life and then began it anew. He sauntered off down the corridor just as an intern walked over to me. As soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one Dr Abbey had been referring to. She definitely looked like her name should be Daisy.
"Are you Georgia?" she asked. I nodded in response. "I'm Zelda." Zelda? Huh. Well, I was way off then. "Follow me please." She led me down the hall to another room and pushed the door open. Inside, I saw some scissors, a basin, some citrus lotion and some bleach all laid out on a grey sheet. Dr Abbey had clearly remembered my phobia of white. That was good. Canada was great but when it started snowing I wanted no part in it. Still, the colour of the sheet didn't make me any less nervous about the stuff that was on it. What the hell was going on?
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" I asked.
"Definitely." Her nod made my heart drop. That basically sealed the deal. "Dr Abbey expressed concern that you'd been exposed to something dangerous. She'll explain herself properly later. She said your hair got grabbed by that zombie you brought in so I'm going to take a few small hair cuttings to see if anything survived the decontamination and then we're going to re-decon your hair. This is a stronger bleach so there's no chance you'll have any live particulates left over after this. Now, which rough area of your hair got grabbed? We'll start there and work outwards." I sat down on the stool and pointed. She instantly got to work, barely taking any off. After that, there was the re-wash. She was right. It was definitely a stronger bleach. Luckily the citrus lotion was strong enough to counteract it. Just. Afterwards, there was an unbranded packet of brown hair dye stuffed into my hands. All in all, it took about an hour and a half before she'd finally let me go out there.
"And we're definitely getting answers once Dr Abbey joins us?" I asked as I wrapped the towel around my head.
"Yeah." Zelda nodded. "Head to her office and get yourself comfortable. She'll be along once she gets decontaminated."
"Should be done by now, shouldn't it?" I must have showed my confusion on my face because her concern only deepened.
"No, she's going through it a few times over for this. Probably irrational, but we never know. I'm going to get the hair cuttings under the microscope and check you're clean, too. Just keep that towel around your head until we can be sure you're all clear." I nodded and thanked her, heading outside. I walked down the hall to Dr Abbey's office. When I got there, Shaun was waiting outside in the hallway.
"You were supposed to be inside." I gave him a quizzical look.
"Couldn't bring myself to do it." He shrugged in a way that made my heart skip a beat. "You're the people person. I'm the person who goes up to people who moan like Karens and poke them with sticks and golf clubs and stuff." Well, I couldn't argue with his logic.
"Okay." I grinned, taking his hand. "Let's head in." So we did. We pushed the door open and headed into the office, totally unprepared to see exactly who was inside.
"Well, if it isn't the errant children." Our mother, Stacy Mason, glared at us over her interlaced fingers like the world's most judgemental vulture. Beside her sat our dad, Michael Mason. He didn't look to pleased to see us either. I suppose it made sense. From the stories Shaun had told me, he hadn't parted on the best terms with them and I could see Mom's arm still had a bit of a kink in it from the CDC raid. Still, they didn't look surprised. I guess they'd been caught wind of my resurrection. They were big figures in the news. It would take more than going to ground to keep something like this off their radar.
"How's it going, Mom?" I asked, walking in and gripping Shaun's hand tighter. I didn't care what they thought. I was through hiding the truth from the people who raised us. "What in God's name are you doing here?" That was when I also noticed the woman in the sundress sitting on the other couch. Dr Abbey must have moved another one in to accommodate extra guests.
"Ash?" Shaun perked up as soon as he saw her. "Oh my god! You're alive! Damn, it's been a while. When we heard about Governor Killburn and the fact you and your team disappeared, we'd feared the worst. Especially after you disappeared mid-journey. I'm so sorry about Mat." The woman's expression instantly soured. This is why Shaun was never considered a people person.
"Well, if it isn't the undying heroes of the blogging community. Or one of them anyway. And it looks like he's accompanied by Geordi- Fucking- La Forge" Her voice dripped sarcasm. Okay, was everyone here on a hate campaign against us now? Because if so, knowing would be helpful. Aislinn North, an Irish Irwin whose impractical taste in field clothes and instinctive caution that was only borne from a youth dealing with zombie sheep, was glaring at us just as fiercely as the Masons. That was when I noticed something: she was alone.
"Y'know, I was expecting a bouquet, flowers of some kind, maybe?" Shaun nudged me with a grin. "Something?" That was when he spotted the same thing I had. "Wait... Where's Ben and Audrey?" That was when Ash's face softened. Her defensive walls completely broke.
"Audrey was parking the car and got locked out by the biohazard alarm. She's waiting for someone to let her in. Ben..." Her gaze took on a defeated note and dropped to the floor. "Ben didn't make it." It was like a sledgehammer had hit me in the chest. This time, it wasn't due to multiple organ failure. I hadn't known Ben that well, but I'd worked with him in the past. I'd even helped him do the research necessary to get Ash out of the insane asylum her parents had committed her to and given him the contacts to arrange his marriage to her so she could gain citizenship. He'd been a fierce, fierce friend to anyone who stuck by him and one of the few genuine people left on this foetid Earth.
"No..." My voice was little more than a gasp as I turned around, determined to try and fight back the urge to sob. "Oh fuck, no..."
"Somebody's going to pay." Shaun's voice was dangerously low. "Somebody is going to fucking pay!"
"I didn't know you cared." Ash was glaring at us from under her hairline. I didn't know what was going on with her, but I intended to find out. I was about to say something when Dr Abbey burst in like a gust of wind, completely dishevelled in a way that only someone who'd been truly terrified could be. There was another woman with her who I recognised from her vlogs as Audrey.
"Okay!" She cast a glance around the room, making sure everyone was present. "You're all here and I just ran into Foxy who actually got waylaid by the alarm too. She's now gone to rest. She was dead on her feet. Too much of that going around these days." She held off as if waiting for us to laugh. No one did. Suddenly, her face was all business again. "Okay. You've got questions. Now it's time for some answers."
"Oh great, the Masons are here! Just when I thought this day couldn't get worse.
Don't get me wrong, I love that George is up and about again. The death of Georgia Mason, golden girl of the blogging world, shocked the entire planet. I think even the zombies were stunned when she died. But she's back now. That's good. That doesn't mean I want them around. I don't hold her resurrection against her. Not for a second. But feckin' Christ does it ever remind me of what I lost. I lost Mat, I lost Ben and I lost my entire family. Audrey is it. She's all I got left.
In my own way, I've died twice already. I'm not afraid of death anymore."
From If We Don't Move It Can't See Us, the personal files of Aislinn North.
June 3 2046.