Chapter 6 – The Zombie in the Fridge

Setsuna took off her glasses and rubbed her temples. She must have been reading for too long, the words were getting blurry now.

Thud. He was slamming against the fridge door again.

Setsuna got up and went over to her mice cage. With a long tong, she picked one out and dropped it through the hole on top of the fridge. He accepted it happily and devoured it within seconds.

He looked up with his empty eyes and stared at Setsuna.

She placed one hand on the glass door and stared back. "So, humanity might survive after all. One day, maybe I can save you too. You don't have to be a monster that much longer."

An abrupt knock came from the door and then it was pushed open. Minako came in with a bloodied Usagi.

Excited to see new people in the lab, the zombie in the fridge started to claw at the glass again, begging for more food. Usagi turned and let out a loud yelp.

"What happened?" Setsuna put on her glasses and bent down to look at the wound.

"She was fighting off a zombie and that scratch might come from it. Do you think she will turn?" Minako paced around the room.

Setsuna got out the med kit and started to dress the wound. "I doubt it. If a bite doesn't turn her, then a scratch probably won't. Ami and I can run another blood test later."

"What have you guys find so far? The two of you have been so mysterious about this, holding up here for days and not tell us anything. That is not okay!" Minako raised her voice, causing the zombie to jump again in the fridge. "Ah, keep a leash on your pet. I don't understand why you put him on display while the others are down in the cellar."

"We will tell you once we have the answer. It is all speculation at this point and we don't want to get everyone's hopes up." Setsuna answered calmly. "As for him, he is special."

"Whatever. I will be on the roof if you need me." Minako waved and left the lab.

"Thanks, Setsuna." Usagi smiled at her. "Do you really think I will be okay? I don't mind locking me up in that room again until this clears."

Setsuna merely shook her head as she continued to tend to the wound. Usagi looked away from her arm, feeling woozy from seeing all the blood. Her eyes fell on the restless zombie instead.

"Who is he? He's someone you know, isn't he?"

He had quiet down again but he seemed to be watching the both of them.

"When it all happened, he and I survived together for a while until he was killed. We worked together at the infectious disease center." Setsuna replied in an even voice, but a slight quiver betrayed her emotions.

Usagi nodded. Leaning closer, she squinted her eyes. "Chiba...Mamoru. Is that his name?"

A sad smile flashed across Setsuna's face. "He loved that lab coat, so I didn't have the heart to take it off of him. He said it reminded him why his work was important. When the apocalypse hit, everyone else left to look for their families. I was abandoned as a baby so I had no reason to go out there. Neither did he." Setsuna replaced the scissors in the medkit, stood back and looked at the finished dressing, before nodding to herself, satisfied. "I'm not Dr. Mizuno, but this should hold."

" What about his family?" Usagi stood up and walked closer to the fridge. She put a hand on the door and Mamoru raised his hand to meet hers.

"He was an orphan. His parents died in a car accident years ago. Mamoru was hell bent on keeping up with the research and hoping that we could find the cure for this disease. We worked non-stop." Setsuna walked over to the shelf and pulled out a thick binder. "In the early days, we knew nothing. How did it spread? What were the symptoms? What can the zombies do? Did they retain any intelligence? Memories? Everything we know now, we owe it to him."

Usagi flipped through the pages and tears ran down her face. The last few pages were smeared with blood. On the last page, it was an entry by him. "Keep going, Setsuna. Use my body for research after I turn. Love, Mamoru."

Setsuna leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. "It happened so fast...I couldn't get to him in time. After he was bitten, he made his way back and chained himself to the wall. Each day, he made entries about his symptoms and physiological changes. He lasted a few days and then before he turned, he got himself secured into that fridge. Mamoru knew he was dying but he still made sure that I would be safe in the lab and that I could continue to observe and study him."

"How did you move the fridge here?" Usagi stepped closer to the fridge and started to sway her head side to side, fascinated as Mamoru mirrored her movement.

"A lot of convincing, I was out scavenging for food when I ran into trouble. Michiru and Haruka saved me and brought me here. I had to convince them to steal a truck and to help me move him here. I told them it was for science, but that was just the half truth. I just….I just needed him."

Usagi got up and pulled Setsuna into a hug. "I am so sorry you had to go through that."

Stunned, Setsuna initially stiffened. Then, her body softened and she returned the hug. When Mamoru died, she didn't cry. The love of her life was snuffed out by a single bite. She didn't have the time or luxury to have emotions. Work needed to be done. Humanity needed saving. As she felt Usagi's warmth wrapped around her, she finally allowed herself to feel. For the first time, Setsuna allowed herself to grieve. She sobbed and sobbed as Usagi held on to her…...


A.N.

Apologies to any Mamoru fans that might be reading this, I had to turn someone into a zombie. At least, I gave him a heroic death, no?