Seven Un-Dead

Chapter 4

Jan was left alone with his thoughts, which was not safe. He'd then go on to discover that one of his ideas would actually lead to having one leg amputated or his eyebrows burned off. He remembered that day. The day he'd never forget. The day he dreaded and did not want to go back to. The day his eyebrows burned off. Of course, they grew back. Jan raised his hand and brushed his finger along the brows, checking if they were still intact. He could feel his finger brush along that particular bit of skin that did not allow the hair to grow on. That was the scar he gained during the experiment. He wasn't a scientist, which was supported by the fact that he burned his eyebrows off.

There was a knock on the door. Jan's head shot up, looking at who it was. The door was pushed open. There stood Nat, a plate of sunny eggs, bacon and toast, and a pair of cutlery in her hand. The food was freshly made, judging by the enchanting smell coming from it.

"I know you just arrived but we made you and Eugenio some breakfast." She said, slowly stepping into the room. Jan stood up and took hold of the plate. He haven't ate a breakfast this good looking and filling in almost a year now.

"Where did you get bacon from?" Jan asked, obviously impressed.

"Secret." Nat raised her shoulders and tapped the side of her nose. Yes, of course it would be hard to get bacon in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. The shops weren't stocked up in a while and most were... Well... Abandoned. People left everything behind, their businesses and homes, to escape the zombies. Nobody would care about their possessions, they would care about their lives. Leaving all belongings behind, they'd take their families into safer locations. Shops weren't kept well, zombies normally raided them, which resulted in most shops being left abandoned and trashed. You'd have to have your own cattle and farm to survive. So getting bacon was quite a big deal. You had to kill a pig to retrieve bacon, which meant one less animal for the farm.

"Those were the last six pieces. I gave three to Eugenio and three to you," Nat explained, snapping Jan out of his thoughts. "The others probably hate me for this but, honestly, you two deserve a nice breakfast."

Jan stared down at the plate. He wanted to just ignore Nat and start eating it. Until now, he wasn't aware of his hunger. Jan's stomach rumbled, a clear sign of how hungry he was. Immediately, he took hold of the fork and cut off a piece of the bacon and ate it. He almost forgot the taste of bacon by now. The boy reached for another bite.

"Who cooked this?" Jan asked, his mouth full of bacon.

"Me." Nat answered, a small smile spreading on her lips.

"Thanks." Was the only thing Jan said before going back to the food. Nat shook her head and walked back to the main room of the base.

Meanwhile, Eugenio was walking around the base. He was already filled up with the well cooked breakfast and now felt good enough to go explore around. This base wasn't as big as he'd expected. He found quite a few locked doors and he did not dare ask anyone where they led. As he was nearing the end of the journey, slowly approaching his room, he heard a silent laugh come from the room right to his left. Curious of who was laughing, Eugenio came near the door. He pressed his ear against the wood and listened out. The voice turned out to be Maya but Eugenio had no idea who she was talking to. Everyone was in the main base apart from him, Jan and obviously Maya.

"Baby, I promise that I'll be there tomorrow." The voice of a boy said. It sounded like a recording or more like a Skype call rather than a live speaking voice.

"You promised me that you'd be here today." Maya said in a hushed tone. She clearly was doing her best to keep the conversation silent and secretive. So far, she was failing with the secret part.

"Maya, trust me on this one." The boy's voice said again. Eugenio could have swore he heard that voice before. Maybe he even talked to that person but be just couldn't match the voice to any face he knew.

"Do you promise?" Maya asked. For a second or two, it was silent. Eugenio thought that maybe she'd sensed him here and stopped the conversation but that thought was corrupted when the boy's voice came again.

"Yes. I promise I will be there tomorrow."

Once again, silence. Then Maya's voice rung again.

"I need you here. You know I love you."

"I love you too. I need you just as much as you need me." The boy replied, this time his voice seemed more far away and distant. There was a cracking sound at the end. The next piece of speech was complete clicks and cracks.

There was an unintelligible voice speaking, with cracks and squeaks in between, along with Maya's gasps in the background. Then gunshots commenced. They seemed to come from the computer, from which the boy was probably speaking from.

"Don't leave me, please." Maya begged in a whisper. Maybe Eugenio couldn't see her but it was clear that she was in tears.

"I have to go. I love you, Maya." The boy croaked out and the sound of a call hangup could be heard. Then silence, followed by wailing and sobbing.

"Seweryn..." Maya whispered, her voice cracking from the tears. "My poor Sew."

Eugenio moved out of the way as soon as he heard footsteps approaching the door. He carried on walking to his room, pretending that he'd never heard that conversation and that he just casually passed Maya's room. Just as he was about to open his door, out onto the corridor stepped Maya. She looked around, giving Eugenio a sad glance, and then walked into the main room.