Godead

XLIV

Back in Connecticut, Blair slowly opened her eyes. She quietly blinked, looking around as she realized she was still in Flood's lab. She stood completely naked, wrists chained to a wall with her arms above her head. She looked up, trying in vain to escape the chains that bound her.

"You're awake," Flood said eerily from nearby.

"...What? What's going on?! Untie me!" Blair replied.

"Oh, no, my dear. It's a fortunate turn of events, me meeting you. It's not often I encounter such rare beauty," Flood said, eyeing Blair's nudity as the light reflected off his glasses. "But aside from that, I've been in need of another healthy test subject."

"Damn you! I won't be your damn guinea pig!" Blair protested.

"Oh, but you will!" Flood replied. "You see, Doctor Crenshaw wasn't suitable as a normal specimen. Because of the peculiarities I mentioned, she might be considered a 'special case'. You, however, are a totally normal human, and I've been needing just that to test something I've been working on."

"...And what might that be?" Blair asked hesitantly.

"...A cure," Flood replied with a smile.

"What?" Blair asked in surprise. "You mean... a cure for the virus?"

"Indeed. It's something I've been working on for weeks, now. With the data I've collected from numerous tests done on my colleagues, I believe I've worked out an antidote for the Paleface Virus. It's more like a vaccine, however, as it requires consumption before contracting the virus," Flood explained.

"And you wish to try it on me?" Blair asked.

"Precisely," Flood replied. "But fear not. It's still in it's early stages, and requires more time to get the kinks worked out. In the meantime, however, I cannot allow an armed stranger like yourself to wander the lab. You will remain locked up for awhile, both for my peace of mind, as well as a... lovely diversion," the shady man said, staring at Blair's sizable breasts. The policewoman cringed, realizing she was at the mad scientist's mercy.

Back at Michelle's place, Claude and Zoe sat quietly in the attic, Claude cradling Zoe from behind as the two sat at the nook overlooking the yard. The two sat in silence, Claude kissing Zoe's neck as the girl warmly smiled.

"Claude...," she said softly. "What are we going to do? Stay like this forever?"

"...I don't know," Claude replied. "We have enough food to last awhile, but when it runs out, I suppose we'll have to look for more."

"What if there are other survivors? Maybe we should leave here and search for them?"

"No. We have a good thing going here. This house is remote, and has held up fairly well despite the barricaded patio. Even if there are other survivors, who's to say they'd be friendly? At this point, they might try to kill us and take our belongings for themselves," Claude said.

"...Yeah. I guess you're right," Zoe replied, the two kissing before returning their gaze to the yard.

Just then, they noticed a lone woman running from the woods. They sat up, watching as she ran across the field toward the house. Moments later, they spotted a horde of zombies limping after her, following her as she ran toward the front entrance.

"Help! Help!" Elsa screamed. Claude and Zoe looked to each other in shock.

"What should we do?" Zoe asked.

"She's alone. We have to help her," Claude replied.

The two stood up, hurrying downstairs to the first floor. Claude grabbed a machete he'd found in the attic as Zoe held a carving knife she'd taken from the kitchen. As Elsa banged on the door, Claude unchained the lock and opened it up.

"Get in! Quick!" he exclaimed. Elsa hurried inside as Claude slammed the door shut behind her. He locked it back up, soon looking to the woman along with Zoe.

"Who are you?" Zoe asked.

"My... my name's Elsa," she said, out of breath. "I came from the nearby town of Calbury."

"Calbury? There's a town near here?" Claude asked.

"Yes... or at least I think it's nearby. I ran so far, though, it could be a hundred miles away," Elsa replied.

"Was the town overrun by zombies?" Zoe asked.

"Yes. We took cover in the church weeks ago, but then some weird girl with wings appeared and began slaughtering everybody!" Elsa explained frightfully.

"...Wings?" Claude asked warily.

"Yeah. These odd, thin little wings, almost like a cricket's," Elsa said. Slowly, Claude and Zoe looked to each other.

"...Abby," Zoe said.

"...Yeah. Sure sounds like her," Claude replied.

"You know her?" Elsa asked.

"Yes," Claude replied, turning to the woman. "Elsa, please take us to this town of yours. We need to find Abby at all costs."

"What? Are you kidding?! I barely got out of there alive!"

"It's alright. We know Abby, and know she'd never harm Zoe or myself. She's not in her right mind, and we need to talk to her before she kills more innocent people," Claude said. Elsa stood motionless, slowly shaking her head.

"...That's just suicide," she said.

"You don't have to come when we speak with her. Just lead us to the town and we'll do the rest," Claude said.

"Claude, are you sure this is such a good idea? You seem awfully confident Abby won't harm us, yet she nearly slammed you through a wall the last time we saw her," Zoe said.

"...It's alright. I'm sure if we talk to her, we can convince her to come back to us. Right now, it sounds like she's reverted to her old ways. She needs someone to bring her back to her senses," Claude said.

"Well if you're that determined to get yourself killed, I'll show you to Calbury. As soon as we're there, though, I'm outta there," Elsa said.

"Thank you, Elsa," Claude replied, the three looking outside as they prepared to leave the house.