Godead

LXVII

As the others looked on in shock, Claude stepped forward, looking down at the bubbling lump of flesh Debra was reduced to.

"...Wow. What a horrible way to die," Claude said. "Still, you killed her in one shot. What happened to her? What was that bullet all about, anyhow?" Flood grinned, adjusting his glasses as he turned to the boy.

"An informed question," the scientist replied. "You see, that bullet was laced with the prototype of a virus vaccine I've been working on. As you can see, however, I have yet to fully work the kinks out." As Debra's remains sizzled, Caroline gagged as the stench of boiling flesh filled the air. Reed then stepped forward.

"Interesting. So you managed to create a bullet that throws the targets DNA into disarray," he said.

"Indeed. Though to be honest, that was an unintended consequence. Like I said, it was made to be a cure for the virus, and in truth, it could still very well be. Just not in children and other transformed specimens," Flood replied, pushing his glasses up.

"So... you actually think shooting one of those things into a zombie will revert it back to human?" Caroline asked.

"Precisely," Flood replied, briefly looking her over with appraising eyes.

As the five spoke in the streets of Berkfield, Blair, Amanda, and Marcus finally arrived in Florida, pulling up to the house Blair once shared with Claude and Abby. The three left the vehicle, looking over the house with concern.

"This it?" Marcus asked.

"...Yeah. This was the house Claude and I used to take shelter in," Blair replied, the three noticing the door wide open as zombies mindlessly roamed the interior of the house.

"Looks like it's been ransacked," Amanda said.

"Claude...," Blair said with concern, the three soon heading up to the door.

As they went inside, the zombies turned their attention to them and groaned. As Marcus raised his gun sideways, Blair stopped him.

"Don't," she said. "Save your ammo. Amanda can handle this."

As Blair spoke, Amanda raised her tail, slicing and dicing the zombies with elegant swipes. As the last of the creatures was slain, Blair worriedly looked around.

"...Zoe! Claude!" she cried, frantically searching the house for the girl and boy.

"Blair...," Amanda said with concern, noticing how worried she was about them.

The three went upstairs, finding it in shambles with no sign of Claude anywhere in sight. The three returned downstairs, looking to the barricaded patio that was now destroyed.

"Looks like the zombies done forced they way in through the patio," Marcus said.

"Indeed. They must have stormed through the glass doors. Looks like Claude and the others tried barricading the place, but it doesn't appear to have worked for very long," Amanda said.

"...Yeah," Blair said, folding her arms as she bit her bottom lip. "...Damn. I should have known that patio would be trouble. That's where Debra broke through and kidnapped Misty to start with. Oh, I should never have left the two of them, especially alone with that maniac Abby. What was I thinking?!" As Blair stood filled with worry, Amanda and Marcus turned to her.

"Don't say that, Blair. If you hadn't have left, the two of us would never have met," Amanda said.

"Jeah. An' I prolly woulda never made it outta Raleigh alive," Marcus replied. Blair turned to them.

"Amanda... Marcus...," she replied gently.

"Look on the bright side. The zombies wrecked the place, but there's no signs of Claude or Zoe anywhere in sight. They must have escaped alive," Amanda said. Blair paused.

"...Maybe you're right. But where could they possibly have gone? I didn't know Zoe that well, and as far as I know, Claude didn't know how to drive. He once offered to, though, after I'd been driving through the night for several hours...," Blair said, thinking back to Claude with a light blush.

"Is there anywhere nearby where he or Zoe coulda fled to?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know, but we might as well have a look around. Maybe there's another house or town nearby that the two of them escaped to," Blair replied, the three soon leaving the house before returning to the car.

Back in Berkfield, Flood and Reed conversed back and forth near the hood of Flood's fancy car, trading science talk over all that was going on. As the two traded theories, Caroline quietly stood next to Reuben, folding her arms as she listened to her father and Flood from a distance. As she briefly trembled, Claude slowly moved over to her.

"You okay?" he asked gently. Caroline turned to him, blinking before looking around.

"...I don't know. It's just... this is all so hard to believe," Caroline replied.

"I know. When this all began, I was sleeping on a park bench under a tree. Sometimes, I think I'll wake up, and discover this was all just a bad dream," Claude explained. He then reached in his pocket, smiling as he looked down at a pack of cigarettes.

"You smoke?" Caroline asked.

"...No. But something tells me we won't live for terribly much longer. Might as well," he said, taking one out before lighting it. "Want one?" Caroline paused, smiling soon after.

"...Sure," she said, taking one from Claude's hand. Claude then leaned over, lighting Caroline's cigarette as she looked in his eyes.

"...Thanks, sugar," she said with a wink.

"It's no problem. To be honest, these were Zoe's cigarettes. She died not long before we found you guys," Claude said somberly.

"I see," Caroline replied, detecting the sorrow in his voice. "Did you... care for Zoe?" Claude briefly paused.

"...Yes," he replied. "We lost our virginity to each other. In fact, it was the day before she was killed."

"...How did she die?" Caroline asked. Suddenly, Claude paused, cringing as he clenched his fists.

"...Abby killed her," he replied with restrained anger.