Godead

LVIII

As Claude warily opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the ground of Berkfield's library. As he slowly sat up, he heard the faint sound of nearby groans. He turned around, eyes going wide at what was taking place behind him. He rose to his feet, stepping away as he noticed Ryan feasting on Jodie's flesh. As Claude stood up, Ryan noticed him, snarling before also rising to his feet. As the zombie steadily approached, Claude found himself cornered against a wall. As the zombie drew near, a sharp quill suddenly impaled it through the head. As the creature fell to the floor, Claude looked over to a young man standing nearby.

"Reuben!" he said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. You?" Reuben replied.

"I think so. It seems Debra created some sort of mist that knocked us all unconscious," Claude said.

"...How did Ryan turn into a zombie?" Reuben asked. Claude paused.

"...I'm not sure. Maybe he was attacked by one of them while we were out. Or maybe...," Claude said. "He... changed while we were asleep?"

"You mean... like... at random?" Reuben asked hesitantly.

"I don't know, Reuben," Claude replied. "All I know is, we're lucky to be alive. Things are dangerous enough as it is. The last thing we need is to be knocked out cold during all this."

"Yeah. You can say that again," Reuben replied. Just then, Hannah, Jake, and Caroline all started to stir.

"Mmm...," Hannah said.

"Ooh, my head...," Caroline said, hand to her temple.

"...What happened? Where'd Debra and Abby go? And where's Elsa...?" Jake asked, standing up along with the others.

"I don't know. We just came to, ourselves. We made a grim discovery, though...," Claude explained, pointing to Ryan and Jodie.

"Eek!" Hannah shrieked, recoiling from the gory sight.

"What happened to them?!" Jake asked.

"I don't know. Reuben and I were just speculating about that, ourselves. When we regained consciousness, Ryan had turned into a zombie and was feasting on Jodie. Maybe one of them infected him while we were out," Claude said.

"But where would the one that infected him have gone? It wouldn't have just wandered off, would it?" Caroline asked.

"Yeah. Wouldn't it have just stayed and feasted on Ryan like Ryan did to Jodie?" Jake asked. Claude slowly shook his head.

"...I suppose you're right. Maybe he really did change seemingly at random," Claude said worriedly.

Just then, Abby and Debra returned to the scene.

"Yo!" Debra said chipperly.

"Claude! You're awake! Took ya long enough!" Abby teased, sidling up next to him with a cute smile.

As Claude looked on at her, the dream he had while unconscious suddenly returned. He looked to Abby in silence, her smile once more juxtaposing the evil things she'd done.

"...Avenge us!" Lucy's words echoed in Claude's mind. As the boy looked to Abby in silence, she curiously tilted her head at him.

"...Hmm? What's that look for?" she asked. Claude looked to her in silence.

"...It's nothing. I'm just... still woozy from being knocked out," he replied.

"Well that's not surprising. Debra's pollen has made even me feel kinda weird. You! Don't use that sh*t around Claude again! Got it?!" Abby asked angrily, glaring at Debra.

"Yeah, yeah!" Debra replied, folding her arms with a naughty smile. Just then, Claude looked over at her.

"Debra," he said. "What did you do with Misty?" Suddenly, Abby also perked up.

"That's right! You were the last one to be seen with the brat. You dragged her off into the woods, right? Don't tell me you killed her?" Abby asked.

"No way!" Debra replied.

Suddenly, Claude's eyes grew wide.

"You mean... she's still alive?!" he asked.

"Hell if I know!" Debra replied. "Not long after I took her with me, a giant swarm of zombies accosted us in the woods. Misty was around my age, and I thought the two of us could have fun playing hide and seek in the forest. The zombies spoiled our plans, however, and I lost track of Misty amidst the horde." Claude paused in shock, recalling the flip flop he'd found near the tree.

"Misty...," he said with concern.

"So what happened with you two? You were fighting with each other earlier, weren't you?" Hannah asked.

"Nah. We called a truce. Like Claude says, we're stronger if we all stick together!" Abby said.

"We ran into a bunch of weirdos outside, though. There were a lot of them, but they were all so weak and frail, we just slaughtered them!" Debra said with glee.

"Oh?" Jake asked. "Were they armed?"

"Yeah. They all had a bunch of rifles and such," Debra said.

"They were weird, too. One of them called us 'vectors'," Abby said.

"...Vectors?" Claude asked.

"Yeah. They said some guy called Doctor Reed called us that. I don't know what he was talking about," Abby replied.

"Doctor... Reed?!" Caroline asked in shock.

"Do you know him?" Reuben asked.

"Yes! He's...," Caroline replied, briefly hesitating. "My father!"

"Your father?" Abby asked in surprise.

"Yes! I haven't seen him in ages! He's a scientist who works at a facility far west of here. You mean... he's still alive?!" Caroline asked.

"How the heck should we know? All we know is those survivors said some 'Doctor Reed' was callin' us vectors. Whatever that means!" Debra replied.

"Yeah. For all we know, your old man could have been one of the ones we slaughtered!" Abby said cruelly. As Caroline went pale, Claude slowly shook his head.

"We don't know that for sure. We should comb through the bodies to make certain, though," Claude said.

"Hah! Or what's left of 'em, anyway!" Debra said with a grin.

"Yeah! We really tore those maggots apart!" Abby exclaimed, the girls smirking in unison at each other. Claude and the others looked on, disturbed by their evil, cavalier behavior.

"...Would you two mind taking us to the bodies?" Claude asked.

"Of course not, baby! Follow me!" Abby replied, she and Debra leading the others to the site of the massacre.