The Last Plague

Chapter Twenty-Five: Phase Two

"Come over here, sit. I have a chair for you." Henry said pointing at a chair at the far end of the table; at the opposite end from where they were. "The first thing we have to do is get a zombie. You know where we can find one?" he asked me, as if I knew.

"You're so funny," I told him sarcastically. If I ever escaped this, I'd look back and laugh at how I treated him considering the situation I was in. I was acting like a childish preschooler.

"I would expect you'd treat me with more respect considering who the cards are dealt to," he said, glaring at me, obviously angry at how I was acting.

I sat there, taking a hint. I wouldn't make any more comments making him angry, I'd keep my mouth shut. I don't think he'd appreciate many more comments from me, and he seemed like he was considering shooting me more and more. As they talked on the opposite side of the table I was looking around me. Trying to find any way to hide, maybe even escape. There wasn't much around me, just some type of glass equipment and some small tables. Beneath the tables wasn't an option, they were all hollow underneath. They had four legs reaching down to the floor, then emptiness inside of them. After evaluating my options I realized there wasn't a point in trying to escape, so I tuned into their conversation.

"In the valley we could set traps to capture zombies. They'd be in cages that would be transportable, of course, we'd have to leave the hill to get them. If we did an area scan we should be able to get the crate without issues, any zombies coming would be killed quickly and we'd get back on the hill soon. What do you think? Got any other ideas?" Doctor Rachel said to Henry, giving an occasional glance in my direction. Except she wasn't looking at me, she was looking behind me. The way she looked though, she seemed to be trying to get me to see something I couldn't, as a code in a way.

I looked behind me, not bothering to hide the fact I was doing it at all. I saw a small dresser with several drawers, the top one with a keyhole in it. I looked on top of the dresser and saw a pair of keys. One of the keys seemed to fit inside of the drawer lock, but I didn't dare move.

After a few more minutes of them talking, they stopped and looked at me. Henry looked at me, "You'll be spending some time in jail. What we're going to do is—"

"I know; I know, I heard everything y'all said." I interrupted, still not caring.

"Okay then," he said back to me, completely ignoring how I said it. "You're spending some time in jail, until we get the zombie, of course. Then we get to let you out of prison, and finally start phase two. Have fun in prison as you await having a brain-numb slimy freak bite you!" he shouted at me, even though he was right in front of me.

Henry was making me angry, everything he had been saying only continued the process of my growing anger. He acted like he was excited for me to get bit, completely betraying me. I even had thought he was dead before we met. Which brought me to thinking about Xavier. Was he part of all this? Xavier had made it sound like Henry was a nice guy, not to mention making him sound like he died. I wasn't sure what to think of him, I knew what to think of Henry though.

Henry walked up to me, then stopped a few feet in front of me. He pointed his gun up, "You know what you need to do."

I knew what I needed to do, walk out and go to my jail cell; I wanted to attack him and escape him. I thought about making my move right then and there, but who knew what Rachel was carrying. I walked out, into the elevator, and into my cell. It was as simple as can be, I didn't bother trying to escape. Joshua was sitting at his desk. He seemed to be bored, he wasn't doing anything. Henry put me in the cell, then walked out. I sat there, for what could be weeks, and worried about what would happen. You're going to get bit, by a creature too, my thoughts would remind me, unwillingly.

"You seem like you have quite a bit on your mind. Care to share?" Joshua asked me, still sounding kind as he always had before to me.

Then it hit me, Joshua may not be in on this. He may be able to stop Henry's and Rachel's plan of getting me bit. I may not get bit after all. My thoughts came to the ingenious conclusion. I decided to share with him, hoping he wasn't with them. "As a matter of fact, yes, I would care to share," I said, hoping not to sound like a little girl.

"It's about time we got to talk," he said, in his deep voice reminding me of the country; even though he didn't have anything like a country accent.

"You know Henry and Rachel?" I asked him, obviously knowing the answer.

"Yes, I know them. What is it about them?" He leaned forward in his chair as if that would make any difference in how he could hear me.

"As we speak, they are trying to capture a creature. They—"

"By creature, you mean zombie right?" He interrupted, I was sure he knew the answer.

"Yes, by 'creature', I do mean zombie," I told him, feeling uncomfortable even saying the word. "Henry and Rachel are trying to capture one, as we speak."

"Why would they do that?" He interrupted, his voice got deeper, slower, more menacing.

"They want to lock me in a cage, and let one bite me. They are—"

"I know," he said to me softly, still in his menacing tone. "I know they are going to let one bite you, everyone knows that. What's the problem with that?" he asked, only sounding more cruel and heartless as he spoke. He started giving me an unbreakable glare.

I was speechless. Everyone knows that. The words shattered my hopes. I wasn't home, I wasn't safe. No matter where I went, or what I did, I just couldn't escape. Everyone was against me in the world, no, not everyone. Bethany and Nick. Their names felt like a knife into my back. I hadn't even thought of them while I was here. After the base was magically destroyed and I was kicked down the hole. After I was taken by Oran into this place. Was I ever to be rescued? My mind began to tell me I was going to be stolen from place to place, never being safe from anyone. Everyone would be my enemy, never to be trusted.

After a few days of laying in prison, doing absolutely nothing but thinking, they came back. I almost was glad to see them; laying in prison wasn't how I wanted to spend my life. I quickly remembered I was only part of their experiment. The feeling of dread came over me, I wasn't prepared for what was coming. Today's the day you'll get bit by a creature. My thoughts told me. Everything, including my own mind, seemed to be against me.

"Alright," Henry began as he closed the door behind him. "Come with us, let's begin phase two." He asked Joshua to open up my cell, and he asked me to walk out, still holding up the gun.

I walked out, the gun pointed at my back. We went into the apartment building, traveled up to the top floor. As we walked in I saw it. They had actually captured a creature. I was moaning and pounding its head against the glass; like it enjoyed pain. Do they even feel pain? I asked myself, then wondered if they did. The creature continues its attack on the glass, trying to get out. Its eyes were locked onto mine, staring into me. Its eyes seemed to have a small amount of life still left in them, a small amount of sanity.

"We are ready," Henry said with a smirk on his face. What we'll do, is make a small but into the glass. We are going to put a rubber-like material around that hole and you'll reach your arm in. After you have been bit, you can pull out your arm. The rubbery material will close, and the zombie won't be able to get out. We will then give you the drugs to neutralize most of the pain, and you should fall asleep soon," he finished. Slowly breaking a hole in the glass.

The hole was finished. The rubber was placed around it. Rachel pulled up a chair in front of the hole. The creature was attacking where they were making the hole, but it was too small to get through. Its slime didn't seem as active as what I had seen before. I knew what to do. I sat in the chair, stared at the hole, and shoved it in my arm.

I'd totally be freaking out in this situation. Like, a 100% breakdown. How he stayed calm is something I'll never figure out. Getting bit by a zombie? Are these people crazy? I remember he wrote, "If she would do that to herself, what would stop her from doing to other people?" And he was right.

~Trina