I am Phantom
by Futuramakid
DISCLAIMER:
I own neither DP or I am Legend.
March 15, 2011
He's awake.
Finally.
"Good morning, Vlad," I say to him. I've managed to
make a breakfast of non-perishable goods. Canned ham, jam, and
Spam.
"Sorry for the lack of variety, I really haven't thought
much about food," I apologize, "For a while, I thought I was the
only normal person on Earth."
"It's fine, Phantom. You've gone
through solitary. Just like I have in space..." he begins.
"Oh?"
I ask. This has sparked my curiosity.
"I've been around,
badger," he says. "I met a few alien races out there. One thought
I was some sort of deity... A 'Great Blue', I believe they called it.
I've been craving any real human food for quite a while."
He
quickly scarfed down the meal.
"Get enough?" I ask.
"Yes,"
he says.
"Good," I tell him, "Now, this equipment, where
would it be? The Rockies, here, or back in Wisconsin?"
"It'd
be in the Rockies, with my cloning equipment. That's where I did most
of my experiments relating to biology," Vlad explains.
"Think
you could fly there by night, or will I need to haul out the old
Specter Speeder?" I ask.
"I'd appreciate a small rest from
flight. That was all I had to do, out there in space," he tells me.
I wonder for a moment if he's bluffing. If he just sat feeling sullen
the whole time, and is making this up as he goes along.
"Then we
better get going," I tell him. I go back down into the lab. Though
a bit dirty, the old launch tube is still working.
"Come on
down, Vlad. About time to go," I call. He walks down the stairs
into the lab. He takes a look at the Specter Speeder.
"We're
going in that old thing?" he asks.
"She may be an old bird,
but she can still fly like an eagle," I tell him. I climb into the
driver's seat.
"You don't have a pilot's license!"
"That's
right. I don't."
I grin at him.
"Let me drive!"
he asks.
"No," I say, "I know this thing better than
you."
He is silent. I launch. We go under, then soar above Amity
Park. It is a disquieting image. Abandoned cars all stand still. Not
a single light is on. It is as if the city is entirely dead. All the
cities we pass over are in the same state of stillness.
Finally, we begin approaching Vlad's
rocky mountain lair. It is in near pristine condition. Unsurprising,
considering its relative isolation. I land it on the helipad. We walk
to the door. It is slightly rusted, but swings open upon a good pull.
The silence in the building is comforting. No monsters to worry about
out here. We make our way in. The place is covered in dust and
cobwebs.
"I'll go into the kitchen and get some non-perishable
food. You can pick out the supplies you need, and I'll fly them on
the way back," I explain. He nods.
"That's the kitchen," he
says, pointing to a doorway. I go in. It's pretty nice. Of course it
is, it's Vlad's.
I open the cupboards.
"Soups... some
vegetables... canned meats..." I say to myself, grabbing enough to
last a few months. I go and load it into the speeder, and rejoin
Vlad. He's in his lab, picking over his equipment.
"Electron
microscope... A gestation pod... Solution centrifuge.. And of course
my chemicals..." Vlad says to himself.
"Got it," I say. I
stack it in my arms, "that all?"
"All I can get from here,"
he replies.
"Good. Get to the speeder. I'll fly this back."
He
nods. I go intangible, and take off to the helipad. I see Vlad off
and fly alongside him. We arrive at Amity Park at just about sunset.
The infected are just beginning to become active. Vlad and I get in
just before they can leave their shelters. We get down into the lab
quickly. I help him set up.
"Just out of curiosity, why the
gestation pod?" I ask.
"Controlled conditions. We'll need to
test the cure at some point. For that, we'll need one of them. The
pod is really just life support and vitals," he explains.
"So
how long until we have to get one of them for your test?" I
ask.
"It all depends on how complex my immunity is," he
informs me.
I nod. He leans busy over his
equipment. I walk to the computer, again chronicling the day. After
around 10 hours of intense work, he cries out "Eureka! I've done
it, Phantom! It's working perfectly in our samples!"
"Good.
Now get some sleep. Tomorrow, we go monster trapping," I tell him.
He gets in bed and is out like a light. All that's left is to hope it
works...
