What if R and Julie hadn't met outside the city? What if R had been captured, and taken into the fortified city of the Living? A different version of the R/Julie story, one where they meet in her world, not his.

Isaac Marion owns Warm Bodies. I just enjoy playing with the characters.

A Dark Negative of Love

Chapter 18 – the Tunnel

The General looked up, and I flattened myself against the wall, pressing my head and back onto the wood in an effort to hide. He was suspicious. I had to leave.

After watching him follow General Steiger back towards the city center, I began to work out my escape route from the city. However painful, it was time for me to go, and leave Julie with her own kind, the Living.

Pushing back the pain of my feelings at part from Julie, I focused on working on my exit plan. I started to stumble towards the gate, but realized the guards wouldn't just let me outside to go for an evening stroll. I had to find some other way out of the city. As unobtrusively as possible, I started walking the perimeter of the dome, trying to see where the exits were. I didn't expect to simply find an opening in the wall somewhere, as General Steiger seemed too methodical and intelligent to allow such a simple exit. But I needed to find some way out. Something, anything. I was getting desperate.

As I walked, I remembered that Perry's father had been working on a tunnel to the other dome. There might be something at the construction site. If the two domes were being linked, maybe work was being done in both directions, and there would be a construction site opening in this dome as well.

It took a while, but I finally found the gated entrance. It was clear work hadn't been done on the project in a while, as there was grass growing under the heavy equipment parked around the construction site. Pushing open the gate, I crept behind it, and then pushed it back so that it was almost closed. It was dark inside, but I thought I could hear rustlings below. Strange – the Living couldn't work in dark areas.

I carefully started down the tunnel, which was still mid-way through construction.

Initially, there were finished-looked floors, walls and ceilings. Work lamps had been strung on hooks along the walls. They weren't permanent, but the area would have been brightly lit when the lights were illuminated, allowing the construction crew to do their job.

The furtherer I got into the tunnel, the less work had been done. Gradually, the finished walls and ceilings gave way to beams and support structures, and wooden slats or bars lined the ground, instead of a paved walkway. Small pieces of construction equipment, including light bulldozers, drills, and other earthmoving equipment were parked against the muddy walls.

Suddenly I saw movement ahead. I stopped, and a shadowy group started towards me, a familiar figure in front. I reached up to turn on one of the lamps, and saw that it was M. After the pain of leaving Julie behind, I felt a rush of relief at seeing my friend. These returning emotions had me on a roller coaster, and it was a bumpy ride.

Once I recovered, I saw that he had a lot of the others from the airport. None of them looked good, as they all had what appeared to be recent injuries and torn clothing.

I walked forward to meet him. "You…again!" I said, and leaned forward to hug him. He was startled, but tried to respond, clapping me clumsily on my back.

"You keep…finding me….stalker!" I exclaimed.

M choked at this greeting, making a noise that was almost a laugh, but not quite. After gazing at one another for a few minutes, hands on each other's' shoulders, M finally began to speak seriously.

"Bad…out there…Boneys…massed," he stammered out. Then he gestured to the group behind him. Looking again, I realized there were a lot more than I had first noticed. Some must have been walking more slowly and were only just catching up.

"How?" I gestured to the tunnel.

M tapped his finger to his head. This time he actually smiled. "Escape…Boneys. Tunnel worker…" he pointed, and a Dead wearing a hard hat nodded to me. "He knew…entrance…"

"Cave-in?" I said. The man nodded again. "Closed…now?" I asked. The Dead nodded. "Good..."

I stared at M. "We're…different…aren't we? Changing…"

M nodded. "It's… her," he told me seriously.

I nodded my agreement. Apparently, Julie's influence was spreading.

Then he said, "Has…friend? Brown…hair…"

I almost laughed. That was M. He had somehow seen Nora.

"Beau-ti-ful…" M stretched out the word, letting it roll across his tongue. Now I did laugh.

But since they were down here, I knew I couldn't leave. I would have to go back and find Julie and Nora, and possibly face Julie's Dad, General Grigio. "Be…back. Wait?"

M nodded.

As I started to walk off, I turned back again. "Be…safe," I called out. They all nodded and I made my way back to the entrance.

With a new sense of purpose, I walked back to the guest housing. When I opened the door to our room, Nora and Julie were already inside, and they jumped up as I entered, visibly relieved to see me.

Julie rushed to me, gathering me into a hug. She leaned back, looking me over, noticing the mud on my shoes and pant cuffs. "We missed you! Where did you go?"

"Food…booze…" I rubbed my stomach ruefully.

"Wait. Are you saying you got sick?" demanded Nora.

I nodded, and then continued. "Plus…your Dad?...and dog…"

Julie and Nora both gasped. "He saw you?"

"No…Steiger came…but dog…followed me…" I paused, frustrated that despite all my progress, my speech was still so stilted.

They exchanged glances.

Julie took a deep breath. "Dad's gone overboard. I mean, tonight…Well, Rosy's here, fortunately, but he and Steiger are with Dad now. They've both known him for years..."

I could tell she was holding back tears, so I patted her leg gently.

That seemed to calm her down sufficiently so that she could continue. "Steiger called him into HQ. I had been comparing notes with Rosy, and when I came in, I heard Steiger telling him how the Boneys were massing outside. And Dad seemed…excited! I mean, he sounded as if he admired them. He actually said, 'They are so organized. They move in unison, and form orderly rows. I passed groups of them on the way in. They were lined up perfectly along the road. I almost felt they were about to salute me!'

Rosy actually asked him, 'But surely you're not saying you admire them, are you?'

And Dad answered, 'Well no, of course not. It's just that my job would be so much easier sometimes if the Living acted more like the Dead, that's all'.

I saw Rosy and Steiger exchange glances, and then I made my excuses, said good-bye, and came back here."

Here she paused and looked at me accusingly, then the burst out with the tears she had been trying to hold back.

"And when we got back, you were missing! We didn't know what had happened! For all I know, Dad had gotten to you! Don't you ever do that to me again."

I was stunned to hear her say that, and as I leaned in to comfort her, I looked over her head at Nora. Our eyes met as we both tried to comfort our crying friend.

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