Consequences (Warm Bodies fan fiction)

Chapter 27

R and Julie had gone to sleep only a handful of hours ago, when they were woken suddenly by loud shouts and running from just outside. They sat up, rubbing pieces of sleep from their eyes, and glanced at each other in confusion. They got up, throwing on their clothes again and made sure they looked presentable before leaving the apartment. They peeked out the door and saw no one around, so they stepped further outside. Some people were running toward town square so they followed. They watched in surprise as once again half or more of the city seemed to be gathering in the center. What was going on this time?

Was it too much to ask for a few days of peace without something tragic happening again?

Pushing past people to get to the command central, they found John having a heated conversation with Rosso and a few others. "...Haven't gotten here yet, we have to prepare," John was saying.

"Dad?" Julie walked over to him.

"Julie, good, you're both here," John nodded to them.

"What's going on, dad?" Julie asked seriously, nodding to the others there in greeting.

"We just got a report that... well, a mass of Boneys is forming a few miles from here. It looks like every Boney left in the city. We think they're planning one last attack," he explained.

"We were just gearing up for war. I'm trying to convince your father to let the zombies help us," Rosso added.

"You mean the former dead?" R questioned.

"No, I mean the group of zombies that haven't started to fully heal yet..." Rosso clarified, giving them a sheepish look.

"They're dangerous. Unpredictable. We can't know if they'll suddenly turn on us..." John frowned.

"Isn't it a risk we need to take? Besides, didn't you yourself tell me you discovered the cure on your own? Convinced a corpse to help you?" Rosso challenged.

"Yes, but they were a handful. We're talking about dozens of zombies," John crossed his arm and stared at the floor thoughtfully.

"If they're starting to heal already, maybe this is our chance to spread the cure?" Julie mentioned. "Wouldn't teaming up with them, exposing them to more living, heal them? We should at least try..." she recommended.

John sighed anxiously and massaged his face wearily. They was right, he was just being a coward, falling back to his old ways. "What do you think, R?"

R blinked in surprise. He was asking him for advice? Looking around he saw the look of interest in the others. They wanted to know what he thought too! It was an amazing wonder. "I... I think we should give them the benefit of the doubt. If they're even remotely willing to listen, they'll be willing to heal as well. I would," he shrugged shyly. Rosso smiled in approval and pat the young man's arm reassuringly. He liked this boy, he was a competent young man with a good head on his shoulders.

John nodded. "...Alright," he finally agreed. "Go send word, get them over here if they want to aid us..." John nodded to one of the soldiers there, who ran off to do as he was ordered. He turned to the rest of them. "Get geared up." While R and Julie went to the armory to get prepared, John ordered a handful of scouts to go out and track the Boneys' movements. He then went out to the center to try to reassure the people gathered and give a speech. He wasn't sure how inspiring he could be, especially this early in the morning, if one could call it that, but he'd give it his best.

Meanwhile, Julie and R quickly entered the armory and nodded to the soldiers already geared and leaving. There wasn't time or need to go to separate lockers so they undressed quickly, put on protective equipment, and left. "Hey, mind if I go see if M is around?" R asked quietly, glancing around anxiously.