CHAPTER 4

……………………………………………………………………...

Tails pointed to the upper left side of the body's neck, where many purple and yellow imprints of teeth were. Besides that, there was a big hole where the creatures had eaten through him. Draith shook his head. Tails started explaining the incident. "First of all, this particular person was bitten very first in the neck, or so the analysis shows. The creatures always bite the neck first, according to the fact that every body I've seen has been first noted to have a hole in the neck." Ryke looked at the person's eyes, which were closed, then back to the neck. He then nodded.

"So the neck must have something that attracts the zombies." Tails shook his head.

"I don't know, but that might be it." Draith stepped away.

"And the ones that get bitten and survive usually become one!" Ryke stepped away also at Draith's comment. Tails shook his head.

"No. This one won't. its heart is missing." Tails nodded to where the heart and liver would have been. The two others stepped back up. Ryke pointed at the corpse.

"But this one only had its heart, liver, and what looks like half of his damned neck taken. But others have appendixes, spleens, throats, stomachs…" Tails acknowledged this with an 'I know that' kind of nod.

"But, the zombies seem to have different cravings… and I'm working on finding what zombies like what body parts." Draith cocked his head.

"But there are thousands of people! How can you figure what they eat by sitting in here? And, all of them are different! You're just playing with a black hole!" Tails looked at Draith, unimpressed.

"I've done things harder than this, and you know it." Draith shrugged and walked over to a small refrigerator. He opened it and grabbed a Pepsi and walked back over to Tails and Ryke. Ryke pointed out a random object.

"And the zombies are missing their skin, too." Tails shook his head.

"No. I've discovered that when one becomes a zombie, the body system changes it's functions, and the body absorbs most of it's skin for nutritional and structural support. There is, in fact, a very, very thin sheet of skin left, but not enough to cover the veins. For some odd reason, they produce a pale-ish blue layer of skin under the veins and minor muscles." Draith swallowed another drink of Pepsi.

"So that's why they appear to be blue." Tails nodded.

"Yes, but I can't figure out how it works… it seems that these things were created." Draith frowned.

"You sure they're not just aliens?" Tails shook his head and walked over to the control system and pushed a button. The door to the chamber opened and the body slowly inserted itself back into the chamber. Tails then walked over to another body on a table, surrounded by shelves of various test tubes (ya know, like a mad scientist movie, except not as many). There were three injection needles and three different test tubes with different substances inside them next to the body. Ryke gave a look of impression. Tails put on some gloves, a gas mask, and a lab coat that was stained in blood. Draith laughed a little. Tails looked toward him.

"If you think this is funny, you'll conduct the experiment." Draith snickered a little more and Ryke hit him in the shoulder.

"Ow, you bastard!" Ryke looked back at the body.

"Then shut the hell up. Unlike you, I'm interested in what your friend here has to say." Draith looked at Ryke for a minute then turned his attention towards Tails. Tails lifted the goggles and mouth cover on the mask.

"I've been working on a cure to the infection as well." Draith nodded.

"No luck there." Tails agreed with Draith.

"Nope. No luck. But I might have a way to dismantle the bodily system." At this time, Ynaffit walked in the lab. Tails smiled. Ynaffit swished her hair.

"I would kiss and hug you, but I don't want blood all over me." Tails rolled his eyes, then turned to his experiment. He picked up one of the vials that contained a greenish blue substance. He poured it on a fresh, un-bloody patch of skin, and it burned right through. Ynaffit crossed her arms.

"That looks like an acid, pH of higher than normal." Tails shook his head.

"No." He pulled out a large gallon container from under the table. "Windshield Cleaner." Ryke cocked his head. "The zombies all go through a bodily chemical reaction that ensues between the heart and lungs, and a minor fraction of the brain. The heart becomes stronger, much stronger, and can pump blood less furiously, reducing the case of a heart attack. Actually, no, completely eliminating a heart attack." Draith poked the thing's head.

"So, they can't die naturally?" Tails shook his head.

"Yes, they can. The lungs become less useful, being that the skin has been eaten, and the body takes in oxygen through the muscles. Without oxygen, the body immediately starts to use its heart to release oxygen from the blood, so they can basically breathe no matter what. And the part of the brain that undergoes the reaction… it's the part that controls the pain." Ryke looked at Draith, who spoke.

"So they don't feel pain?" Tails looked at the body.

"No. They do. Just… in an unnatural way. I can't figure it out. If the heart and brain still work, there's got to be some sort of way for pain. And their muscles and organs toughen by twenty times the strength of human organs and muscles, making them harder to kill." Tails punched the body, which only made a quiet thunk. Ryke threw his arms up in annoyance.

"Great. We've got painless, hungry, and almost immortal freaks running around trying to wipe us out. So much for a vacation?" Draith laughed as he took another drink of his Pepsi.

"You must really be pissed. Well, sucks for you!" Ryke looked at Draith with a angered face.

"I don't see you showing any agreement to beat these things!" Draith shrugged.

"I kick ass, and you know it. Now that I'm here, they'll be gone in no time!" Ynaffit sighed.

"Draith, you suck. Nobody wants to talk to you." Draith turned to Ynaffit, who smiled.

"Yea. At least I'm not a slut." Ynaffit got pissed / annoyed.

"Oh my, what will I do! Well, at least I'm a slut with a guy." She hugged Tails. Draith threw his Pepsi down.

"THAT'S IT! I'M NOT IN THE MOOD FOR YOUR COMEBACKS TOD-" Tails stepped in front of Draith.

"SHUT THE HELL UP DRAITH! PICK YOUR FUCKING PEPSI UP BEFORE IT STAINS THE FLOOR!" Tails sighed and took to taking the substances and mixing them. Draith shook his head. Ryke, who was laughing his ass off this whole time, walked towards the door.

"I think we should leave, Draith." Draith kicked the towel he had cleaned the Pepsi with and walked out.