WalkerZ - A Zombie Apocalypse Story

Chapter 3 - Lab Rats and Zombie Kisses

The young woman's fork stopped in mid-air, eyes widening as she caught sight of Merryn striding toward her with a blade in her hand. As Merryn opened her mouth to say something a pistol halted the conversation.

Merryn looked down the gun barrel from a few metres away, sheathed the bayonet, keeping her movements slow and careful, and raised both hands.

"I mean you no harm."

"I've heard that before," she muttered, her eyes not leaving Merryn's. "What do you want?"

"I want to get you out of here, to a safe place."

"Here's safe. For me at least. For you, not so safe."

"What do you mean?"

As she held the gun steady in her right hand, her left pulled back the sleeve behind it. A double set of angry-looking tooth marks marred the otherwise smooth skin of her right arm and Merryn gasped in horror, one hand flying to her mouth to choke off the noise.

"I'm one of them now," she said. "No longer human."

"But you were spotted by one of my colleagues when he was on patrol. A zombie bite usually means you've not got long before you turn."

"The drone last week?"

Merryn nodded.

"I wondered who that belonged to. No one comes in here, too many walkers. I was chased in here by a pack of men who wanted to have some fun with me. I ran faster than they did." The young woman sat down again and placed the pistol on the table. "A few escaped, but the ones who didn't..." She shrugged. "Their screams didn't last long once they'd run into the walkers outside. I made it up a ladder onto the roof and dropped in through a skylight. Got bitten, grabbed the guy's gun, and shot him. Then I passed out for a while and high-tailed it in here when I woke up. The rest of the walkers appear to be outside and I've been eating my way through the stores in the kitchen over there."

She waved a hand at the double doors at the rear of the dining hall. "Help yourself if you want something to eat."

A short time later, the two of them sat in companionable silence, weapons on the table, but food taking priority over conversation as a growing pile of wrappers and plates appeared in front of them. Merryn sat back and belched and her dinner companion chuckled.

"What's your name?" asked Merryn.

"Hope."

"I'm Merryn. I work for what's left of the army as a scout. My captain wants me to bring you back to our base up near Exeter."

"Why?"

"Two reasons: you got bitten but you have survived, and we can provide you with a safe place to live."

"They want to make me into a lab rat?"

"I won't let them do that, but they'd want to talk to you and take some blood samples."

Hope shuddered. "I hate needles, which is a bit sad really given what I was doing at university." She pointed to the emblem on her hoodie.

Merryn smiled. "Medical student eh? But I'm with you on the needle thing, I can't say I'm that fond of them myself. They will want to check you over, but there are beds there, as well as food, hot showers, medical staff, and a fence to keep out the deadheads."

"Okay, sounds good. But how do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. I guess you have to weigh up your options, but I promise you I won't make you come with me if you don't want to."

Hope sat back in her seat, her eyes distant as she stared out of the long line of windows. The shambling form of a long-dead corporal staggered past the cafeteria in a rotting uniform and she watched him progress slowly on a shattered ankle, the bleached bones sticking out of the side of his left leg.