Luke's Diary: An Unlucky Man In A Zombie Apocalypse. Entries 957 - 1157

Entry 1013: Saturday 6th July 2019

Entry 1013
Saturday 6th July 2019

I met with Mike and Cyn in Cowes today and I also received an unexpected visit from Blade. I thought he'd come round to tell me about my new job (even though I told him to communicate through Sci-Fi Cyn), but he came to visit for a completely different reason entirely.

It was nice to have a chat and cuppa with Mike and Sci-Fi Cyn in Sails Café in Cowes without having any heated disagreements. "How are you getting on with your cat?" asked Mike. "It's more Nikki's cat than mine," I said, "She's a vicious little Nazi." "Well, she does talk to you like dirt a bit," said Mike, "But I'm not sure I'd call her a Nazi." "I meant the cat not Nikki," I bluntly said. "Oh," said Mike, "Sorry..." "Can I come round tomorrow and play with your cat?" asked Mike, "I think she's really cute." No," I said with a sense of urgency in my voice, "You can't come round." "Why not?" asked Mike. "Yeah, why not?" asked a suspicious Sci-Fi Cyn. "Err... Well... Err... I...." I said, struggling to find a reason to make sure Mike kept away. I looked at Mike's and Sci-Fi Cyn's faces. They appeared really confused. "Luke, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want Mike to come over and see you," said Sci-Fi Cyn. "No!" I said with urgency in my voice, "Not at all." "Really?" said Sci-Fi Cyn, "It's as if you're trying to keep him away." "Don't you want me to come round?" asked Mike with a sad tone in his voice as he flashed me his puppy dog eyes. "Of course, I do," I said, lying through my teeth, "It's just.... I...." I couldn't think of anything to say and I couldn't tell Mike the truth. It would really upset him and he'd probably want to string Nikki up! "Luke what the Hell is going on?" asked Sci-Fi Cyn. "Can I come round or not?" asked Mike. "No," I said, "No, I'm sorry you can't come round." "Why?" asked Mike. "Yeah, why?" asked a suspicious Sci-Fi Cyn. I stumbled around my words continuing to struggle to find something to say and come up with a believable excuse, when I eventually blurted something out.  "Thrush!" I loudly said. An awkward silence followed. "Thrush?" said Sci-Fi Cyn. "Yeah," I said, "Causing Nikki all sorts of problems." "Yeah, but you've got a cat," said Mike, "Won't that deal with any unwanted birds?" "Not THAT sort of thrush Mike," I said, "A yeast infection. You know? Down there. On her lady bits. She's really embarrassed about it. She keeps itching. She doesn't want anyone round until it's all cleared up." At that point Trudy appeared at the table from behind the counter. "What we talking about?" she asked. "Thrush," said Mike, "Luke's girlfriend's got it." "MIKE!" I loudly exclaimed. "I've had that a few times," said Trudy, "Not nice. Itching, scratching, discharge, rashes. Awful. I looked down at my lady bush and it looked like someone had dropped a pizza on my m*nge." "Oh my God," I said, "That might be one of the most disgusting things you've ever said." "Oi, don't have a go at me," said Trudy, "I'm not the one with an infected f*nny. That's your bird. Tell her to get it seen to. If she leaves it too long, she'll have mushrooms growing down there." "You really are disgusting," I said. "Oh, don't be such a snob," said Trudy, "We've all had an itchy f*nny." "So, when Nikki's infection is all cleared up, I can come round?" asked Mike. "Yeah," I said, once again lying through my teeth. "So, Nikki likes me?" said Mike. "Yeah, of course she does," I said, "She thinks you're great." "Really?" said Mike, "I thought you were keeping me away because Nikki didn't like me and didn't want you to see me or something." "No, not at all," I said, lying through my teeth again, "Nikki thinks you're great. She'd love to spend more time with you, but what with looking after Leo and all that, it's just hard to find the time. She even said how much fun the three of us would have if we spent more time together. Just let this infection clear up and I'll have a chat with her." I'm playing a dangerous game. Mike's really keen to come round and I can't keep making excuses and putting him off for too long. I need to see if I can bring Nikki round. "Anyway, who do you think it is that killed the utilised infected?" asked Trudy. "God knows," I said, "For all we know it could be you." "Don't be daft," said Trudy, "The infected were stabbed in the eye. Remember my amazing super power; all if I have to do is stand next to an infected and it's head explodes. I reckon Mike's doing it." "Oi, it's not me," said Mike, "Yeah, OK, it's the sort of thing I'd do, but I haven't done it." "Well someone's doing it," said Sci-Fi Cyn, "And you all need to remember that I still work for GRID and if you or anyone of you tell me you've done it, I'll have to tell Jon." "Well none of us are the mysterious killer," I said, "But whoever it is, I hope they don't get caught and I'm glad their actions have made the infected be taken off the beaches and put back in The Hive."

When I got home, I was surprised to find Blade sat in my living room waiting for me. Nikki was sat on the sofa with Leo, and Blade was sat in the armchair. "Oh..." I said, freezing to the spot and looking at Blade with shock and discomfort on my face, "What are you doing here?" "Luke, that's really rude," said Nikki, "Jon just wants to have a chat with you. I'll go make you both some tea." Nikki handed Leo to me and then she went into the kitchen. I waited for Nikki to be out of sight and earshot and then with Leo on my lap, I shuffled down the sofa close to Blade and gave him a furious stare. "What the Hell are you doing here?" I quietly but angrily snapped, "You said you'd tell Sci-Fi Cyn about my new job." "I'm not here about your new job," said Blade. "What?" I said, "You said you'd get me a new job!" "The week isn't over yet, Luke," said Blade, "And to be honest, right now, I've got more important things to deal with." "So, if you're not here to talk about my new job, why are you here?" I quietly asked. "I just have one question for you," said Blade. "OK, go on," I said. "Did you kill the utilised infected?" Blade bluntly asked. "You think it was me who killed them?" I said. "I think it's a possibility," said Blade, "You've made it no secret that you hate the infected and that you disagree with the QCUC proposals." "Yeah, fair enough," I said, "But I didn't kill them. I live in Sandown. The infected were killed in Cowes. I'm not going to go all the way to Cowes in the middle of the night to kill three infected." "So where were you when the utilised infected were killed?" asked Blade. "Here with Nikki," I said, "She'll tell you. Jon, this whole thing is crazy. Come on, you must see that. It wasn't that long ago you were working with me and the others to try and stop these QCUC proposals. You didn't want them as much as us." "Yes, well, things have changed since then," said Blade, "What I want isn't important. It's about what the people on this island want." "The people on this island – most of them anyway, have never had to deal with the infected up close and personal," I said. "They're still allowed a say," said Blade. "It's stupid," I said, "It's like asking someone to vote for a political party without providing them with any information on either party." "Luke, there's no point in going over all this again," said Blade, "Personally, I might not like that the proposals got voted in, but like I say, what I like doesn't matter. I need to do all I can to make this island safe and secure whilst working towards making it a democratic society." "Jon, don't you get it?" I said, "If you let the people on this island carry on thinking that the infected are poorly people that need looking after, you might be establishing some sort of weird democracy, but one that threatens safety and security. Can't you just tell Natasha that we're going back to how things used to be?" "It's too late for that, Luke," said Blade, "Natasha has a lot of support, and we've built The Hive and the walls around the populated areas. If I start cracking the whip not only will islanders be in uproar about me being a dictator and going against democracy, but I'll be making life a lot harder for myself, and I don't need that Luke. Look at me. I'm exhausted. Searching for some mysterious killer of the infected is something I can do without." "Well, it's not me," I said. "You wouldn't tell me if it was you, would you?" said Blade. "Don't suppose I would," I said, "And if I knew who'd killed the infected, I probably wouldn't tell you. As far as I'm concerned, whoever killed those infected has made the island a safer place." "I'm not going to argue with you, Luke," said Blade, "I'm satisfied that you didn't kill the utilised infected. It probably was someone in Cowes. I had to come and ask you though. I hope you understand." Nikki then walked into the living room with some tea. "Thanks Nikki," said Blade, "But I think I'll make a move." "I'll walk you to the door," I said. Nikki placed the cups of tea on the coffee table and I walked Blade to the front door. "Remember to let Cyn know about my new job," I whispered to Blade. He nodded and left.

I returned to the living room and told Nikki that Blade asked me if I'd killed the utilised infected. "Cheeky sod," said Nikki, "You were at home with me." "That's what I told him," I said, "Mind you, I can see why he suspected me. When the infected were placed on the beach I did consider going out there and killing them all." "Well, you can get that idea out of your head right away," said a firm Nikki, "Don't cause any trouble. Me and Leo need you here not locked up in The Isle of Wight Prison for killing infected." "No one should be locked up for killing infected anyway," I said, "Besides, the infected aren't on the beach now are they. They're back in The Hive." "They won't be in there forever," said Nikki, "And when they get let out, I don't want you killing them. Promise me." "OK, OK," I said, "I promise."

I really can see why Blade suspected me, but I'm surprised he thought I'd tell him anything if I knew who the killer was. I'm not going to grass them up. They need a medal. The good news is that the week is nearly over, and all being well I'll get a new job and I can stop lying to Nikki.