Dead Hunger IV: Evolution (26 page)

“Look,” Hemp began.
 
“There are two ways to find out what the vapor does.  We track these females and the males with them, and we see what they do.  Or we use my female test subjects – the first place we noticed the variation in vapor color – and we take a sample.  Either way, we monitor you closely, Lisa.  You too, Dave.  We need to make sure you haven’t been permanently altered by the stuff.”

“Altered?” asked Dave, his eyes wide.  “Fucking
altered?
”

Hemp put on a smile that he had no confidence was convincing
, and lay a hand on Dave’s shoulder
.  “It’s the least likely scenario
.  You know me.  I take precautions and I don’t take bloody chances.  I care about both of you like my family, and we will discover what this means for you and for us.  Okay?”

Lisa stood up and Charlie stepped forward to steady her.  “You good, girl?”

“I think so,” said Lisa.  “But I don’t think I want to go back outside
to get to our house.
”

“Let me get you guys some
bedding stuff
,” said Charlie.  “These couches are comfortable as fuckall, according to Taylor.”

“Girl’s got a way with words,” said Dave.

Charlie smiled.  “Gem, Trina and I taught her everything she knows.”

“I’ll update
Flex and Gem in the morning,” said Hemp. 

“
I’ll go get the
pillows and blankets
,” said Charlie.  “Come up if you need something.  But Dave, could you knock first?”

“Speaking of pillows,”
Dave
said with a wink
.

“
Didn’t I hear you were going to California?” asked Hemp.

“
You’ll miss me and you know it,” said Dave, smiling.

*****

“So this shit happens and you don’t w
ake me?” said Flex, incredulous.
  “Me and Gem?  What’s that about?”

Flex  patted Bunsen on the head and poured a cup of coffee.  He walked around the table and sat next to Gem.

“There’s nothing we could’ve done last night, babe,” she said.  “Everyone’s still alive.”

“Hand me that radio, would you?”

Gem reached across the table and slid the radio to Flex. 

He hadn’t spoken with Kev or anyone else, and Whit had told him he’d call.  Kev was important in Concord, and if he was injured or dead, the place could have a meltdown.

“Kev, come in.  Whit?  You read?”

The reply came almost immediately.  “Flex?  Damn, it’s good to hear your voice.”

“Ditto that,” said Flex.  “Where are you?”

“At the State House.”

“How the hell did you manage that?  It was practically under siege last time we were there.”

“Urushiol and WAT-6 played a big part.  I’m just glad we had an enormous supply.  We got lots of volunteers here who weren’t willing to concede a goddamned inch to those bastards.”

“Anybody lost?”

“A few.  All related to timing, except one.”

“Who?”

“
Janine Chambers
.”

Flex thought for a moment.  He’d heard the name but couldn’t pinpoint where.

“Did I know her?” he asked.

Kev came back on.  “Briefly.  She was at the gate when your crew got into town.”

“Shit,” said Flex.  “She must’ve laid low.  Never saw her after that.

“Lots of people were trying to do that.  She went to karaoke over at the ladies’ place sometimes.  But you didn’t, I guess.”

“Hell no.  Not much of a singer.  Ask Trina.  So what’s the plan?  They still coming in?”

“No slowdown, Flex.  A constant stream.  But I’m beginning to wonder where they’re all going.  Seems to be more coming in than we have to kill.”

Hemp walked in the room with Slider on his heels.  Slider walked directly to Bunsen and nosed her face, and was rewarded by a quick face cleaning from his mother.

“Is that Kev?” asked Hemp.

“Yeah,” said Flex.  Got something for him?”

Hemp held out his hand and
Flex
passed him the radio.”

“We have a situation with the females, Kev, and it could be serious.  We need to get the word out, and we need to do it as fast as possible.  Did you ever get the public address system up and running?”

“What is it, Hemp?  What’s going on?”

Hemp looked at his watch.  “It’s 8:30.  If you have messengers, have them get out to the populated areas of the city and tell everyone we’re having a meeting at the State House at 11:00.  Can you do that?”

“Sure, but – ”

“Kev, the females are changing, and they’re doing it fast.  Urushiol may not be effective on most of them.”

“Are you fucking serious?” Kev asked.

“Wow,” said Gem.  “I’ve never heard him use that word since we met him.”

“Kev, I said it was serious.  Now you know how much.  Tell anyone you can, and have them tell their friends and neighbors.  But the ratz are still out there, too, so WAT-6 without exception.  We also need to be making more of it, so if you can, figure out a team for that.”

“Can’t make it any earlier?  My head is spinning.”

“So are our collective heads,” said Hemp.  “The job of fixing this mess just got a lot harder
, but I have lab work to do.  I might be able to come up with more answers before our meeting
.”

“Okay.  We’ll see you at eleven.  I can’t believe this.”

Flex took back the radio.  “Neither can we, Kev.  We’ll get our shit together and see you there.  Be careful.”

“Okay.  Say hi to Gem and Charlie.”

Charlie walked into the room.  “You just did!” she yelled.

“He didn’t hear that,” said Flex.

Charlie walked over and grabbed the radio from Flex.  “You just did!” she yelled again.

“Good.  See you later, Charlie,” said Kev.

“Bye, Kev,” she said, turning to Hemp.  “What’s up, babydoll?”

“Meeting at the State House at eleven,” he said.

“What are you going to tell them?”

“The latest discoveries,” he said.  “They’re more dangerous now.  They’ve become
at least partially
immune to the urushiol.  If the same thing happens with WAT-6, we’re back to square one.”

Gem’s face scrunched up.  “Wait a minute.  The men aren’t immune, so we’re not at square one.”

“No, but if there is some kind of control being exercised over them
by the females
, they’re all more dangerous than before.”

Dave and Lisa stirred on the couch in the adjacent room.  Flex stood and walked over to them, sitting on the edge of Lisa’s sofa.

“How you feelin’ darlin’?”

She looked at him, and he was sickened to see her eyes were blood red
, as Hemp had described to him that morning
.  Not as though she’d been on an all night drinking bender, but as though coated with
zombie
vapor.

A new vapor.

“I’m … I don’t know.  How am I, Flex?”

“I don’t know, girl.  I didn’t see you last night.  Hemp, come here.”

Hemp carried his tea into the room and looked at Lisa.

“Look any worse, Hemp?” asked Dave, who now sat up on his sofa, the blanket over his legs.  His beard was frazzled and his hair stuck out in all directions like a
Barbie Doll whose mop had been abused by a five-year-old hair stylist.

“Doesn’t look any better,” he said.  “How do you feel, Lisa?”

“My eyes feel fine.  My head still feels foggy.”

“Will you come into the lab with me?”

“Are … they in there?”

“They are.  I can cover them if you like.”

Lisa thought for a brief moment, then shook her head.  “No.  This is life.  I’ll deal.”

“Good.”

“How do I look?” asked Dave.

“You look like you could use a fuckin’ comb,” said Flex. 

“You’re hilarious.  I’m glad to see the zombie apocalypse hasn’t affected your sense of humor.”

“Fuck yes, it has,” said Flex.  “You should have known me before.  I was goddamned hilarious, 24/7.”

“He never was,” said Gem, draining her coffee.  “Jesus, are those girls going to sleep all day?”

“You don’t have kids, do you?” said Charlie.  “Ever known any?”

“Now
you’re
hilarious,” said Gem.

“Seriously.  8:30 is like the middle of the night for them, and it doesn’t get any better when they’re teenagers.”

“I’m raising my rugrats on the graveyard shift,” said Gem.  “Turn their little lives upside-down.”

“Holy crap,” said Dave.  “Can you imagine growing up in a world where you never knew a time the dead didn’t walk around and try to eat you?”

“I never thought of that,” said Gem.  “Wow.  Such a bigger deal than the internets.”

“Still fucking with W?” asked Flex.

“Every chance I get
,” said Gem.  “He didn’t give a shit anyway.  I wonder if he’s a zombie.”

“No telling,” said Flex.

“If he is, I’d like to catch him and keep him as a pet.”

“If you do, he sleeps on the porch,” said Flex.

Gem laughed.  “We’ll build him a little White House in the back yard.  Slider will keep him in line.”

Flex shook his head, smiling.
  “Hemp,
why don’t you
get in the lab.  I’m taking a quick shower and getting ready.”

Charlie bit her lower lip and sucked air through her teeth.  “No, you’re not.  Water’s off. 
Right in the middle of
my
shower.”

“
Crap,” said Flex.  “With all this shit, I’ll bet they couldn’t
refuel
the
generators
at
the water pumping station
.”

“We can’t stink worse than our enemy,” said Dave.  “I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.”

“WAT-6,” said Hemp.  “Everyone.  Bring extra and keep track of the time.  People are getting careless, and they’re dying as a result.”

*****

Charlie joined Hemp and Lisa in the lab, where they had left
Blue Eyes
on the autopsy table the evening before.  The smell was atrocious.

“Let’s get these vents open,” said Hemp.

Lisa eyed Red Dress, who again sat on the floor of her small prison.

“She really secure in there?” she asked.

Hemp nodded.  “There’s no way out,” he said.  “Don’t worry, Lisa.”

They busied thems
elves cranking up the hinged vents, and Lisa slid the windows on each side of the rig open for a cross-current breeze.

Charlie went to the cockpit and pushed a button, and the muffled sound of a small engine rumbled to life.

“Fuel’s running low on the gen,” said Charlie.  “Got about two hours, maybe.”

“And that depend
s on how much load I put on it,” said Hemp.
“
Thank goodness
all
my tools are
charged
.”

Charlie walked around the
rolling, stainless table
and peered inside the zombie’s open skull. 
The prone zombie’s
eyes followed Charlie
as she circled
.

To her, it seemed as though the thing’s brain was pulsating.  Probably just her imagination.

Charlie’s eyes moved to
Red Dr
ess, who remained seated.  She did not lean against a wall, and her thrashed legs were extended straight out in front of her. 

The scene
disturbed Charlie for reasons she could not articulate, even in her own mind.  Was
it
actually resting?  As far as they had ever known before, these things did not tire, nor did they have a need for rest.  They were relentless feeding machines without the
need
of
rejuvenation
.

Red Dress’s eyes followed whoever was moving the fastest.  A moment ago it had been Charlie.  Now her eyes followed Lisa
as she walked to stand beside Charlie
.

“What are you going to do with her
, Hemp
?” asked Lisa, not noticing
Red Dress’s gaze
.  “The one on the table.”

“I’ll keep Red Dress alive,” he said.  “I might have to feed her.  I need to monitor any further changes.  As for this one,” he said, walking to stand by the women, “I’m going to remove her brain.  Weigh it, dissect it.  There may be some answers there.”