The Last Plague

Chapter Twenty: Special

We need to figure why you have that ability; why you aren't a zombie. Those words repeated in my head all night; I didn't sleep a second. We need to figure why you have that ability; why you aren't a zombie. It drove me crazy, I wanted to know immediately what he meant by that. We need to figure why you have that ability; why you aren't a zombie. I stayed up all night trying to find a book to read, anything to do that would stop my mind from repeating those words. We need to figure why you have that ability; why you aren't a zombie. I had no success.

Morning came relentlessly, even with the sunrise that seemed prolonged. I stood up and brushed off my clothes by habit. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, waiting for Xavier to show up. He came to the door after a few minutes, and I walked into the elevator with him. I leaned on the side of it for support.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked, seeming sarcastic as he scanned me.

I wanted to tell him I hadn't slept at all, but then I remembered his warning. He told me I'd have a sleepless night, and here I was. "I didn't sleep too well, it takes a while to get comfy in new places," I lied, hoping he didn't call my bluff. I felt too tired to push for more information on the immune thing.

"Well, I'm sorry about that," he responded, not catching my lie.

I lay against the elevator wall and rubbed my eyes. Of course, I wanted to push for more information, but the exhaustion was too overwhelming. When we got to the bottom, Xavier led me toward the restaurant. He took a seat and glanced at a watch I hadn't noticed before. It was golden, with silver hands. It looked more expensive than his leather jacket. He noticed me glancing at it and smiled. "You like it? I found it at an abandoned jewel shop. The glass around it was almost impossible to break, but I wanted it." He lifted it up and smiled wider. "This thing costs thousands of dollars, and I got it for a couple blisters." He laughed at his joke.

I only half-listened to the story, and waited for the food to come. After a few minutes, the food came, and it woke me up. I looked at Xavier intently for a moment, then asked, "What did you mean about me not being a zombie?"

After a long pause, he sighed. "I can't tell you yet, because I don't know. We will be able to find out soon." He started speaking quieter, "After some tests."

"What tests, what do you mean?" I asked him angrily.

"Well, we can't really just know everything instantly. Honestly, we don't know why you're immune. But hey, it's gotta be pretty cool knowing the truth."

At that very moment, I decided to keep it a secret. I didn't want to be different; I didn't want to stand out; I didn't want to be classified as "special" or "test-subject." I started to talk, but another man came to our table. He was older, maybe in his fifties, and wore a simple brown suit. He seemed bored and looked like he'd rather be doing anything else. He had a pair of glasses in his shirt pocket, but seemed like he didn't need them.

"I know you're probably wondering what my name is," he said, completely irrelevant to what I was wondering. "It's Henry Cain, and I'm assuming you have heard of me from Xavier. You have, right?" He glanced at Xavier.

"As a matter of fact, I—"

"I was just about to mention you to him!" Xavier exclaimed, cutting me off.

Henry shot Xavier a look. Xavier just shrugged back.

"Well, I guess we can be introduced in person. I'll be the doctor working on the tests with you. I've been a professor for several years." He started giving a long list of accomplishments.

I tuned him out, then waited for his mouth to stop moving. I nodded occasionally as I waited for him to be done. I finished eating my food as he talked, waiting for his mouth to stop moving.