Our Undead (42 page)

Kerrick:
Go get her, kid… cause that guy is as good as dead. That or
heavily brain damaged.

Sharp:
That
was
a pretty nasty fall.

Kerrick:
Even Holden couldn't survive that.

Sharp:
Yea, he could.

Kerrick:
Mmm.. Yea, you're probably right.

Billy skids to a stop and
drops down on the other side of Abe.

Billy:
Is
he okay?... Are
you
okay?

Margaret:
I think he's unconscious. I'm fine. Abe, wake
up!

Billy takes a look at Abe,
and gives him one good pound to the chest with his fist. When he
does, a dry heaving escapes Abe's windpipe, hissing and allowing
his chest to descend.

Kerrick:
Whoa.. Did you just see that?

Sharp:
Yea…

The approaching super
soldiers are bewildered by Billy's resuscitation technique, but it
seems to have worked perfectly. Abe begins breathing again and then
let's out a low groan. His eyes follow, blinking and then
inspecting the two figures above him.

Margaret:
Ha ha! Yes!

Billy:
Phew… Nice.

Sharp and Kerrick watch as
Billy and Margaret sit Abe up and begin helping him to his feet.
Billy does most of the work because of the condition of Margaret's
leg.

Kerrick:
You've gotta be kidding me.

They look on, in disbelief
that anyone could have survived such a fall. Something is
definitely a bit off about it. Sharp focuses hard on them, and the
closer he gets, the more he feels his stomach churn, his gut trying
to tell him something. When the message is finally understood from
about twenty feet away, he makes a quick stop, pulls the Desert
Eagle from his side, and aims it straight at Abe's head.

Sharp:
GET
AWAY FROM THAT THING!

Margaret:
NO! HE'S HARMLESS!

Margaret hops in front of
Abe with her arms spread.

Kerrick:
What's the-

Sharp:
It's a fucking goof, Matt!

Kerrick:
Oh, shit.

Kerrick snaps out his
handgun as well, and the two of them stand in a face-off against
Margaret, Billy, and Abe.

Sharp:
STEP! AWAY!

Margaret:
NO! HE WON'T HURT ANYBODY!

Sharp:
IF
YOU DON'T STEP AWAY RIGHT NOW, I'LL BE FORCED TO
FIRE!

Margaret:
PLEASE, SIR! I SWEAR!

Billy:
IT'S TRUE! LOOK!

Billy walks up, grabs Abe's
chin and cheeks and squishes them together like a baby.

Kerrick:
He ain't acting like any goof I've ever
seen.

Matthew makes a valid
point, so Sharp decides to get a closer look. They continue their
approach but slowly and without taking their aim off of their
target. As they get closer, they begin to see Abe's facial features
come clearer.

Kerrick:
But he sure is a goof… Disgusting.

They stop a couple of
metres away from the trio.

Billy:
See? Just act like everything is normal.

Margaret:
You can start by putting your guns away.

Both men look down at the
mouthy girl that they are meeting face to face for the first time,
cautiously amused.

<><><>

The jet-black helicopter is
soaring back to Sector 333-3 now. The sun is in the process of
setting, and the craft can hardly be seen against the dimming
background. Inside, the cabin is now five bodies full. Margaret and
Billy sit on one side with Abe in between them, and Kerrick sits
across from Billy, facing them in the other row of seats with
Sharp. All the doors and windows of the helicopter have been shut,
so yelling is not necessary in order to be heard. Kerrick and Sharp
can't take their eyes off of the trained goof, and just the same,
Margaret and Billy examine the soldiers. Margaret is the first to
break the silence.

Margaret:
Thank you guys for fixing up my ankle.

Sharp:
Uh…
Yea, you're welcome. It's actually a pretty bad break. You're going
to have to get it properly casted when we get back to the compound,
but bones heal. You'll be fine.

Margaret:
Well, that's good, I guess.

Another awkward silence
fills the air. This time, both Sharp and Margaret try to end
it.

Sharp&Margaret:
Sooo…

Margaret decides to let
Sharp take the lead.

Sharp:
What are your names?

Margaret:
Margaret

Billy:
Billy Tell.

Kerrick:
Heh, like the old folk hero!

Billy:
………

Kerrick:
I
take it that's
your
bow.

Billy:
Yea.

Margaret:
William Tell.
Psh, I knew
it.

Margaret looks over at
Billy and reaches over Abe's belly to smack him on the arm. He
avoids making any eye contact.

Sharp:
So
then, what's your real name?

Billy:
Billy Tell.

Sharp:
Heh, all right... Well, I'm Sharp, Denver Sharp. This is
Kerrick.

Kerrick:
But you can call me Matthew.

Margaret:
It's nice to meet you both… So, where are you taking
us?

Kerrick:
To a secret location. If we tell you we'd have to kill
you.

It throws her off for a
second, but Margaret quickly figures out that this Matthew
character has the same playful personality that she has. After all,
no one could say such a thing with such a cheeky smirk on their
face, could they? She hopes that her intuition is accurate and
wonders what kind of a man his partner is.

Sharp:
Actually, we have no idea. He's being honest when he says
that the location is kept secret. Only the pilots know how to get
there.

Margaret:
So, I guess you guys must not be very
important.

Sharp:
How
so?

Margaret:
They sent only the two of you out here to do God knows what.
Only two of you? It just seems like you guys are kinda…
expendable.

The two super soldiers
share a glance of recognition. It's not hard to understand where
the girl is coming from. Expendable is exactly how they're feel.
Sharp, at least.

Margaret:
What is it that you guys are doing out here,
anyway?

Sharp:
We're on a mission,.. but hold on a minute. We've got some
questions for you. I think the first one should be
obvious.

Margaret stares at the
soldier, in wait and unassuming.

Kerrick:
This guy, right here. What's his deal?

Margaret:
Oh, him? His name is Abe. The short version of the story
goes, I was in a cabin with my mother and father, Abe found us and
killed them, I trained him, we left the cabin, met up with Billy,
and we were on our way to California before… well, you saw what
happened.

Sharp:
You
trained
him… How did you manage that?

Margaret:
How do you train anything? A reward for good behavior and
punishment for bad.. that and
a
lot
of patience, but… I had all the
time I needed.

Kerrick:
What can he do? You say he's not dangerous,
but…

Margaret:
No, not unless you provoke him, and he doesn't do much. He
just listens to me and follows me around… and he's even been
warming up to Billy, but he doesn't really understand everything we
say. Although, he learns something new everyday.

Kerrick:
That's... something else.

Sharp:
It's more than that, and I'll bet my life that Feleider knows
something about it. These… creatures obviously still have some
level of intelligence, and we've been exterminating them left,
right and center. Something didn't feel right before, but now… I
can't wait to get back and blow the lid off of this
thing.

Margaret gets the sense
that these men have been left in the dark to some extent, and she
isn't sure how to respond to Sharp's little outburst of
frustration. She doesn't want to offend, so she keeps her mouth
shut. She does however, think to herself about the upcoming
opportunity her and Billy will have to find out more about this
whole situation, whenever they get to wherever they are
going.

Kerrick:
Heh, you little shit-starter. Don't worry, buddy, we'll
figure everything out in due time, but uh, something still doesn't
feel right with these three. Look at this.. We've been out here for
three days and have
maaaybe
found about ten to twenty goofs. Then, when
we
do
find
some, they're in the thousands, and you guys are at the forefront
of their attention. So I have to ask, what in the hell did the
three of you do to upset the entire goof
populous?!

Margaret:
We have no idea. I mean, we've killed our share of them… or
Billy has, technically. You've set at least a thousand of them of
fire, huh?

The soldiers look over at
the teenage boy who doesn't take his eyes off of the scenery
outside the helicopter. He looks to be quite young, and even though
they are yet to be sure of this age, it's hard to imagine someone
so innocent looking could be so dangerous. Though, he
had
survived this long
with not much more than a bow and arrow.

Sharp:
Are
you trying to tell us that they're after you for
revenge?

Margaret:
We don't know.

Sharp:
Well, I think I know. I think it's him.

Without beating around the
bush, Sharp points directly at Abe, who takes in the man's index
finger with his uninterested eyes. Margaret looks up at Abe as
well, and then down to her wrapped up foot. She shakes her
head.

Margaret:
Naw… I don't think so.

Her answer trips Sharp out.
For her to not even consider it, he can't fight the feeling that
this girl may be hiding something from them. Judging by his
demeanor, it probably wouldn't help much. The boy hasn't said a
word all trip, but Sharp turns his attention to Billy, who is still
looking out the window.

Sharp:
What about you? What do you think?

Billy looks at Sharp, but
only briefly so that he can answer his question. He lets out a sham
sigh.

Billy:
I'm
really tired.

Sharp:
Oh…
Well, that's to be expected, isn't it? With everything you both
have been through, of course, you must be exhausted. We'll be
arriving in about an hour or two, so you guys rest
up.

Margaret:
You're right. We should get some rest… Thank you again… for
everything.

Sharp nods as Margaret
eases into her seat, leans her head against Abe's shoulder and
closes her eyes. It's such an odd thing for Sharp and Kerrick to
see, a human girl lying peacefully against the arm of an infected
man. Sharp can't help but fear for it's future, more importantly
the girl's. He can see that there is some sort of emotional
connection between the two of them, and he knows how ruthless the
scientific type can be when it comes to their research. Hopefully,
they would be nice about it, but the girl and her friend would be
separated soon. This he knows, but for now she would rest. Sharp
decides to follow Billy's lead and takes in the scenery.

<><><>

Margaret has no idea how
much time has passed when she opens her eyes, but the rumbling of
the engine and vibrations under her soar butt, let her know that
she is still in the air inside of a big metal box. Although awake,
she keeps her head rested against Abe's shoulder, when something
strange catches her eye. A strange piece of paper sticks half way
out of Abe's scruffy pant pocket. She takes it out, being careful
not to tear it and flips it over. What she sees, takes her breath
away and makes her eyes water instantly.