Chapter Title: Zombie Goo Rats
Series Title: Unlikely Brothers
POV: None - Dialogue only story
Ages in this chapter: Tanner (16) Dashen (22)
Chapter Summary: Dashen is bitten by a diseased swamp rat and is sent to the quarantine center.
"Tanner, listen. We don't have much time. They're sending me to the quarantine center."
"Maybe... maybe you should go."
"Are you serious?"
"Look at your arm. Stop trying to hide it. I know you're infected."
"I'm infected? Tanner, there is no such thing as zombie rats. The stupid rat that bit me was just a plain old swamp rat."
"I don't know, Dash, it had cloudy white eyes."
"It was covered in white goo."
"It was staggering around too."
"I broke it's leg when I stepped on it trying to run away from it."
"You screamed like a little girl, Dash. That part was funny. It was funny until it bit you and infected you of course. Oh, it moaned too. Didn't you hear it?"
"That was me moaning from the pain of it biting me, dummy."
"It looks nasty. Bloody and ick! What happens if it was a zombie rat?"
"Tanner, stop talking please."
"Okay then, if it wasn't a zombie rat, why are they taking you to the quarantine center?"
"Because despite your weird mood today - and please don't watch anymore horror holo-films before bed - the regular rat population is carrying a contagious disease right now. That makes them infectious, not zombies. You're only immune because you talk to the damn things."
"Dash, I do not talk to rats."
"You told it to run away!"
"Did it listen?"
"I really should strangle you, little brother."
"After you go to the quarantine center and get better. You need to go, Dash. I'd rather not have you dead or in zombie form."
"For the last time, I am not dying nor am I turning into a zombie. There are no recorded deaths from the rat disease."
"They should really name it something other than the rat disease. Maybe they could name it after you! Dashen's Zombie Rat Syndrome."
"No, no and no! And I am not going to the quarantine center for a simple swamp rat bite."
"But you should."
"But I'm not."
"But you should."
"But I'm not."
"But you, GAH! Stop it! Okay, Tanner, here is what will be happening. I will go home, clean the wound, bandage it and all will be fine tomorrow."
"I don't think so. Look at your arm now. It's turning purple. That is infection. Zombie or not. You have Rat Disease, Dash."
"Okay, we'll that does look a little wrong, right? I mean human arms aren't usually purple or spilling out puss. Ah, um, Tanner, help me to the quarantine center, will you?"
"I think the rat is following us."
"Please don't tell me that. Talk to it, tell it to go away. And if you tell me one more time that you can't talk to animals..."
"I can't talk to them, Dash. Watch your step, don't fall! I can communicate with them - some of them - some of the time. I can convey feelings and emotions and sometimes get them to see what I want them to do."
"Good, you have an emotional support rat following us to the quarantine center where they will lock me up and treat me for being bitten and infected by an emotional support rat. Great. Perfect. This will look good for my future."
"Emotional support rat?"
"Shut up."
"Here's the quarantine center, look, Healer Quin is there waiting. She must have known you were coming."
"You told her."
"How? When? You were with me the entire time before and after you got bit."
"Then the rat told her."
"Dashen. Now you're just being moronic."
"Beats being an idiot."
"You are that too, according to Colton, but he's not here and you need to get better. Purple is not a good color on you."
"And it hurts. It's hot. Why is my arm so hot? Am I going to burst into flames? It's so hot! Tanner, don't even think about leaving me. You're immune, you can come with me inside."
"Dash, I'm not immune. It didn't bite me so I don't have it, but I could get it from you if you don't stop flinging your arm around like that."
"It's on fire!"
"It's not on fire, just feels like it. Come on, go inside. I'll see if they will let me in later to visit. Or not, wait... all right, I guess I'm going in with you, apparently whether or not I touched your arm is irrelevant. I've been within inches of you and the rat, so I get to join you for quarantine. Oh good. I was worried I'd have a quiet evening at home to meditate."
"I'm gonna meditate your ass if you don't stop talking about nothing. You and your zombie rat did this to me. Now my arm is on fire and is about to fall off and it's your fault."
"Your arm is being cleaned by a healer, Dashen. If you'd pay attention. Now an injection of something green and now wrapped. See how easy that was? And now what? A pain killer hypospray. Okay, and three days of bed rest here in the Center. Then you can be released. Well, we can be released. I'm just here for moral support it seems. Other than the OW!"
"Ha! You and your runny mouth. Take that hypo of green stuff and shove it, little brother."
"It's a vaccine, Dash."
"I'm already sick, isn't it a little late for that?"
"Your green stuff was different than my green stuff. Yours was for the existing infection. You can't get the vaccine until you are clear of infection."
"Great, Tanner. You would know all this random crap. How and why do you know it is my question?"
"I'm listening to what the healer is telling us."
"What healer?"
"The one that has been working on your arm since you walked in here."
"Oh, huh. Musta missed that. M'head feels kinda funny anyway. Think I should maybe lay down."
"Wow, you're going fast. It's all right, Dash, I'm here with you."
"Huh? Who? Mouse? No... rat. No wait. Seems wrong."
"Mouse is me, rat is what bit you. Remember?"
"Not really. Who, where... oh I feel bad. Tanner."
"Here, Dash. I've got your hand in mine. Squeeze if you can. You'll wake up feeling better. Maybe. I mean once your arm isn't purple and foaming anymore."
"Better not leave me, damn it. Zombie swamp rats might get me."
"There's no such thing as zombie rats, Dash, remember? You already told me that."
"Yeah. Sure. M'kay. Tanner... m'arm, still there?"
"It's still there and will be tomorrow. Stop fighting, Dash. Close your eyes and breathe. I'll make sure the zombie rats don't get you while you sleep."
"But you jus'said..."
"Just kidding, big brother. Sleep now."
—
"Tanner, look, my arm! It's still there. And most importantly, it's not on fire anymore. It's a miracle."
"Probably more important that it's still attached to your body rather than the fire thing, but I'm good with both."
"Quarantine center still?"
"Yup. Another two days so the infection can clear. And then you stay away from the swamp rats."
"You talk to them for me?"
"Dash."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. No rat talking. I see you have a bed too. Did your arm turn purple?"
"I didn't tick off any rats so I never got bit, remember? And I had enough sense to not get near your infection."
"Smart ass little brother."
"I'm here as a precaution."
"More likely to make sure that I behave."
"Well, that too."
"What's the plan then on how to eliminate all the zombie rats to stop this stuff from spreading?"
"No idea. From what I hear, it seems that only the rats testing positive are the ones with the cloudy goo on their eyes."
"Zombie Goo Rats?"
"No, Dash, they are... yeah, I should get the healers to sedate you for the next two days."
"You'd be bored. No wait, you enjoy boredom."
"I could meditate in peace."
"Stare at walls."
"Dash, if I was allowed to touch you right now, I'd punch you in the face."
"If we were home, you'd fling furniture at my face. All in all, I think I'm good, thanks. But just so I know, I didn't foam at the mouth or anything, did I? Overnight I mean?"
"Nah. Though you did at one point proclaim to be the King of Kaolin. Thankfully I was either the only one that heard it or the only one who paid any mind to it. And seeing as how Kaolin is just a city and has no king, well, I let you have your fun."
"If you took images of that with your data-pad, I will kill you."
"Eh, you'll try, big brother, but you may never know all the secrets I hold when it comes to you."
"Tanner."
"Dashen."
"Come a little closer so I can strangle you with my good arm. Fratricide is probably frowned on around here, but I can bury you far enough underground for no one to see."
"The zombie goo rats will find me. Then I'd have them at my beck and call."
"You can't talk to them, remember?"
"No, but I can influence them. They might enjoy gnawing on your skinny legs."
"I'd disown you if I could."
"Too late, we're apparently attached at the hip. So said Healer Quin when she stuck me in here with you. She called us irrationally interdependent with each other and had no time to deal with me outside the Center worrying about you and you inside the Center worrying about me - once your proclamations about being a king subsided of course."
"Eh, she's probably right. She's also been talking to Colton too much. He used those same exact irrationally interdependent words on me the other day. Face it, Mouse, those two are in cahoots and we have no chance against either of them."
"I think they like us though. Well, Quin tolerates us. Colton loves us, but might also opt to feed us to a Rancor at the same time. It's a win-win-lose situation. Could be worse."
"Yeah, we could've been bitten by zombie rats."
"Zombie goo rats, Dash."
"Maybe if we pester Quin enough, she'll send us home early. We could quarantine at home."
"Nope. I pleaded that cause already. She shot me down."
"Damn, Tanner. She's immune to your everybody loves me abilities."
"Well, I didn't try any Force stuff on her. She told me if I did, she'd feed my toes to the rats. I thought it best that my toes remain attached to my feet."
"Good call."
"I thought so."
"All right then, Mouse, it's me and you and two days in the Quarantine Center surrounded by the sick, the healing, the healers, and not a damn thing more. This should be exciting."
"You have me. I have you. We might survive."
"Yeah, I suppose we will."
END
