Chapter 5

There was much tension in the air as we all got sat down again. Shaun and I sat closest to Dr Abbey, who was at the head of the table, with out 'parents' opposite us with Ash and Audrey at the other and and Foxy standing in a corner off to the side. Apparently she'd been shaken up by the alarm and so one of the interns had fixed her up with another dose of 'Space Lobster Juice' and now she was back to being the Foxy we all knew and utterly feared. Dr Abbey re-arranged her papers as if this was a full-blown conference that could spell the end of the world. At that moment, I had no idea how true that was.

"Okay, looks like we're ready to start." She glanced around each of us in turn. "This is rumour control. Here are the facts: As you're aware, Stacy and Michael Mason are joining us today. Back in 2014, during the Rising, they lost their son Phillip. Once that happened, Mason's Law was passed banning the ownership of any animal over the amplification weight. In connection to this, their adoptive daughter, Georgia Mason, developed Retinal KA. As you all know, there's recently been evidence that reservoir conditions can actually cause resistance to amplification; a study I head up in this very illegal lab. My own dog, Joe, had five separate reservoir conditions, all induced by me."

"Yeah, where is that walking hairy earthquake?" Shaun asked. That was when I also realised I hadn't seen him the entire time we'd been here. That was when I remembered what she'd said the last time we'd had to visit, when my body was diligently ignoring every single function it was supposed to perform. In that second, I knew the answer even before she replied, all trace of light gone from her eyes to the degree that she could almost have been amplifying herself.

"Joe passed away just over a year ago. He fell asleep one day and didn't wake up. His reservoir conditions stopped him from amplifying as I knew they would. And that's where you two come in. The Masons are here to document a study that I believe it's time for the world to know. Over the next month or so, I'm getting another dog. And I'm going to IVF it myself the same way I did Joe. Thank you, kids, for bringing me what I need to do it."

"Wait, that's what was in the cylinder?" Shaun asked, scratching his head. "I don't understand."

"Really?" Ash piped up drily from the head of the table. "I thought you two did it so much you'd know everything there was to know." The glares from the Masons deepened to an almost laser focus as Foxy spoke up from her corner. They clearly didn't approve and we clearly didn't care.

"When a mommy doggy and a daddy doggy love each other very much..." I was watching Shaun closely and pinpointed the moment it visibly clicked in his brain.

"So we brought you... What? Genetic material?"

"Exactly!" Dr Abbey grinned. It suited her. "I have a friend in Connecticut who breeds dogs under a license. But he's only allowed to breed one litter every four years. When he does, he'll fix the dogs before re-homing them so that there's no chance they'll have pups. It's all legal and above board. But what do you do with the canine reproductive organs that are just lying around? Well, you sell them on the black market! Obviously!"

"Wait, so we brought you a set of dog nuts?" Shaun's expression took on a faint note of horror.

"And a set of ovaries, I'm willing to wager." I grinned at him smugly. "Unless you've managed to devise a way a man can have kids without female assistance while out in that skinning shed of yours." The look on his face was priceless. That remark also did a good job of shutting him up, which meant Dr Abbey could continue.

"Give the young lady a prize!" she cheered. "So basically, the Masons are here to document my process of using IVF to get myself another dog. Now on to Ash and Audrey. I brought them here because it's safe to return to America again and Ash was chomping at the bit to get out of Ireland. Again. This place is a starting refuge for them while they try and get back on their feet. While they're here, they'll be helping out with another event as well. One I've been planning with Shaun for quite a while now. We'll be sorting it out as soon as After the End Times get here. They're coming for a catch-up but they're all as excited as the rest of us. They're just a bit delayed while that Indian friend of theirs travels over from Britain, so he'd excommunicado right now."

"What event is this?" I asked, unable to hide my confusion and slight nervousness. I trusted Shaun with my life and had on several occasions, but the fact he'd been planning something with the obviously slightly crazy doctor without my knowledge scared the living crap out of me.

"Oh, you're not going to know." Foxy flashed me a grin that was not reassuring. "Not until it's time. Trust me. You'll like it." I did not trust her!

"Which brings us on to the rather serious news." Dr Abbey carried on determinedly. I admired that. "All of that is on hold until we get business here sorted out. Now you're all aware of the biohazard alarm from earlier. George and Shaun were attacked on their way here by what at first appeared to be a new type of zombie. I instructed them to bring it to the lab for study since it looked different and only too late did I realise the danger it posed. This particular zombie is no different from your average kind, other than the fact it somehow ended up on their van roof and I really want to know how that happened by the way. Anyway, the reason for the difference in appearance is not due to mutation, it's due to cause of death. Has anyone ever heard of the Y Pestis virus?" I instantly saw Audrey go rigid. All the colour drained from her face. My stomach did a backflip as I started to comprehend the severity of this. The look on her face was unmistakeable. It was something I'd only ever really seen on people in outbreak situations. Abject terror is an impossible thing to hide.

"Y Pestis? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm certain of it." Dr Abbey nodded. "I have a team in HAZMAT suits running tests from a very safe distance and any equipment they use will be destroyed and buried afterwards." They carried on swapping remarks like old long-time science colleagues and I could see this conversation was completely going over Mom's head.

"I'm sorry, can you explain for those of us that aren't in the science circle?" she asked as she turned to Dad. "Michael, do you know what they're saying?" Dad didn't respond. He'd gone just as pale as Audrey. "Michael?" Mom looked him up and down. It was no good. He wasn't going to move until he was ready.

"Y Pestis is the medical name for a disease that killed off a third of the world way back in the 1300s." Audrey told us. Her position shifted and somehow I knew Ash had grabbed her hand under the table. "That zombie didn't look different because it was a new type! It had bubonic plague!" The revelation hit like a punch. I swear that in that moment, I would have given anything to un-learn those words.

"He stalks through the ravine, the shelter just off to the side proving less and less inviting as the rain proceeds to get heavier. The gun sits heavy in his hands as he stares at the old abandoned shack. He knows the creature lies inside, waiting for him. He should call someone to back him up, yet his phone is soaked through and useless. Putting it in some rice won't fix this.

He is cold from the rain, weakened from his injuries and exhausted from the fight he went through just to get this far. He should call someone, but has no means to. There is only one reason life could have conspired against him like this: This score is for him to settle and him alone. That is the way of the world. Darkness prowls among us all, and now it lies in wait for him. And when Darkness finds you, you will face it alone."

From Internal Madness, a story by Audrey Liqiu Wen.

February 22 2046.