Chapter 5

Dr. Moran reached over to turn off the alarm clock that had been ringing in his ear for over five minutes. The flashing red lights told him that it was 4:06 a.m. Rolling out of his small, standard issue bed, Moran prepared himself for the following day that he was forced to live. He walked over to the only door that led to his room and flipped the light switch that was mounted next to it. A series of halogen lights flicked to life, showing the entire room that he slept in.

The room was very plain with one, single bed that had white sheets and white covers. Next to the bed there was a single nightstand that held his glasses, a lamp, and the alarm clock that was the only way for him to know what time of the day it was. The walls were an off white, the color that most hospitals used, and the floor was white tile. There were doors on opposite sides of the room, one to get in from the rest of the silo, and one to get into his private laboratory.

He slept with is clothes on, so he didn't have to worry about getting dress. His outfit was composed of a pair of black slacks with suspenders that held them up and a white, short sleeved collared shirt. His coat was kept in the lab.

He wiped the sleep from his eyes and because his room didn't have a bathroom, he'd have to wait to see if he was presentable to the rest of the group for the day. All of the barracks had restrooms except for his, because the room that he slept in was never meant to be sleeping quarters. He'd insisted on the room for the privacy and the fact that it was next to door to his lab.

Stumbling to the door that led to the lab, Moran continued to wipe his eyes free of the blur that kept his vision impaired. He reached out for the blood red handle that stood out from the rest of the room and walked in. He was met by moans and groans the instant he walked in.

"Hush now, I'm only here to help", he said to the darkness. Using cognitive mapping, he reached out for the light switch and flicked it up.

With the curtain of shadows lifted, the room became completely visible, as did the reanimated monsters that stood in the room. The two, new subjects were tied down to separate operating tables with leather restraints. Both bodies were completely nude, but the male's body was cut in several different places. Their bodies fought futilely against the restraints as Moran made his way around the room.

The male's torso had an incision from the bottom of the sternum to the top of the abdomen. The skin had been spread apart and held in place with hooks, so that all of the organs were fully visible. Nothing inside of the open man moved, yet his body seemed to still be active. He hissed at Moran as his arms and legs pulled against the straps that held him down.

The female was completely untouched, but was still strapped down. She too seemed very anxious to get Moran close enough to attack, but he wouldn't let that happen. He looked over the nude body a few times before laying his hand on her bare stomach. She pulled her head up in an attempt to bite him, but he arm was too far away. He rubbed his hand over the slick and soft flesh and a small smile came to his face. A rather large scream from the monster shook Moran from his thoughts and he made a "tisk" noise.

The room looked like any other operating room, including the tools, the stands, the lights, the containers of gas, and lockers. There was a separate door in the corner of the room that led deeper into his lab. He headed for it, being sure to stay far enough away from the reanimated people. He walked through the door and the lights were already on.

"Hello, Bub, Christina." He said to two 'people' that stood looking at him in the center of the room. Bub, the closer of the two, had begun rotting and it showed on his face. Large pockets of puss formed in groups on his left side and large scraps and cuts on his right. It was obvious by his appearance that he was one of the monsters but his actions would say other wise. He was very docile and stood very still as Moran entered the room. He wasn't wearing any restraints and didn't need them either. He wore a white t-shirt with holes all through it and a pair of blue jeans with no shoes.

Christina was just as dead and docile as Bub, but she wasn't as decayed. She was wearing a short, black skirt and a white bra. Blood was smeared down her stomach and there were large bite marks up and down her inner thigh. Her blond hair was a tangled mass and her blue eyes had turned almost white.

"Hello honey." Moran said to Christina. "Bub, go face the wall." He commanded.

Bub looked at Dr. Moran for a second, processing the information, before he walked over to the far corner and put his nose to it.

Nicole couldn't sleep the entire night, so she finally gave up around 4:30. There wasn't a clock in their room and being that they couldn't see the sunlight, she had to guess the time. She hopped off of the top bunk that Terry and her shared with a slight thud on the till floor. Standing still for a few moments just to make sure that she hadn't waken anyone, she let out the breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding, and then walked out of the barracks.

The silo was just as eerie as the mall had been at night. Living in a world where the dead rise, she'd become fairly brave and so she headed down the long corridor. She'd passed the restroom/shower on the way to their barracks the first time they'd come in, so it was just a matter of finding it. After a few days of a boat, she really, really wanted a shower.

After a few yards she found the door that was labeled in green, "restroom". She pushed the door with no handle to find steam come pouring out. She fought through the cloud of water and walked in farther. She could hear the water running and figured that she was surely the only one up that early so someone must have left it on from the night before.

She passed several urinals and even more stalls before finding the showers. Standing in a waterfall of hot water was Scott. His naked body was well built and wet, letting the short red hair cling to his head. The water poured down him like a beautiful fountain that left Nicole speechless. He obviously hadn't noticed her because she kept watching as he bathed himself.

"Nicole?" Terry's voice sounded out from behind her. A mixture of pain, anger, and curiosity rode heavy in his voice, even over the sound of the running water.

She spun around to see that he still had that cute sleepy look in his that she'd seen hundreds of times, but this time there was something new to it. He looked wounded. By this time Scott had heard them, turned off the water, and wrapped a towel around his body.

"What's going on here?" He asked. There was a smile on his face as he said it and Terry couldn't fight the anger that was riding up his body. His hands began to shake and all he could do to stop it was to clench his fists.

He walked out onto the slick floor in with a quickness to him that showed his rage.

"Terry, please don't!" Nicole said. "I was just going to take a shower and found him here. I wasn't looking, I promise!" It was too late.

Terry took an untrained swing at Scott that went out and around. Being on the defense, Scott put his opposing arm up and stopped Terry in his place. He then brought his strong arm up and landed a punch to Terry's gut, taking the air out of his lungs. Terry fell to the wet floor and hit his head hard enough that it cut. Blood mixed with the water as he fought to get any air back into his lungs.

"You jerk!" Nicole yelled at Scott. "You didn't have to hurt him!"

Looking like the victim, Scott held his hands up as if he surrendered and started to walk out. "He swung at me", he said it with regret in his voice. He walked out of the restroom without another word as Nicole tended to the injured Terry.

"Get away from me", Terry managed to whisper out through the pain.

"What?" Nicole seemed surprised. "I hadn't been standing there for long, and I was just about to turn around and leave. I love you Terry", she pleaded with him.

"I know how long you were there. I wasn't asleep when you got up. Now, I said get away from me."

She knew that there wasn't anything that she could say that would make it better so she turned around and walked out, leaving Terry in a fetal position on the wet floor.