Soldier Dream

Come, Cereza

Cereza, carrying a decapitated zombie head by it's hair, strode over the pavement as though there was no shattered glass gleaming in the moonlight, no blood stains sunk into the pale stone and concrete, and no bodily remains. Her helmet hung low over her eyes, hiding the fury that burned within them. The fact that she'd actually thrown the zombie head after she'd cut it off and kicked it showed just how angry the usually stoic woman was. She'd torn out some of its hair doing it, and the texture of grease and blood matted hair was disgusting.

Outside the compound they called home, she ripped a decaying head off one of the pikes and let it drop on the ground, angling the new head, its replacement, so its' soft jaw was ready to be impaled. With a deep push and a grunt the soft, gunky flesh sunk onto the pike, the top of it's head bulging as the sharp edge of the metal rushed up to meet it. It pierced with a crack and a spattering noise. She cracked her neck and watched the other soldiers do the same. The stench of fresh death would keep away the filthy creatures for a while longer.

She shouted up for the gate to be opened and flexed her aching muscles while the gates were. She strode through, a woman with a mission, and ignored the guards that were check listing who was still alive, leaving it for one of the others to tell them she was still alive, much to Doctor Berry's disgust.

Into the compound she went, passing by the receptionist and heading to his office. Her gun weighed heavily in her hand, but the good news was it wouldn't be doing so for long. After this quick conversation, there was little to be said and done. Either Doctor Berry would have a bullet wound in his shoulder to explain (perhaps two of three) or he would have a bullet wound in his head that she herself would have to explain to the furious crowd of the living. She knocked loudly on his office door and rolled her shoulders.  She would heft it down with her shoulder if she had to.

"Doctor Berry," she said loudly, clearly, and sharply, "you can let me in, or I can break down the door."

She let in promptly enough. She sat down on a plastic blue chair on the opposite side of his desk, yanking back her helmet.

"You seem very bruised," Doctor Berry commented, tilting his head. His hand tapped on the desk in short spastic rhythm as though he was bored.

"Really?" She spat, tapping her gun with her hand, "I wonder why that could be."

"Mmm?"

He opened a draw in his desk and withdrew something. Blocked by the front of the desk, she couldn't make out what it was.

"Well, I must say I'd rather you let go of the gun," he said carefully, "I imagine it must look bad to the people looking down on us from that shiny camera over there."

She didn't take the bait. Her teeth gritted and she raised the gun, aiming for his shoulder, and in the same movement, he raised a gun of his own. It shone in the light as though it had never even been used.

"Someone like you doesn't do the dirty work," Cereza said, warningly. "Are you sure you could handle putting a bullet through someone?"

"It won't come to that."

Her teeth actually squeaked from being gritted so hard. Her fingers clenched around the trigger, preparing to fire.

"You seem very certain."

"I am. I wanted to tell you first. The results have come in for the Abdima chain- we know what we did wrong. Now, we can correct the problem and have them hunt down the undead with little problem. Of course, the Abdima batch currently alive will be a different matter. We're going to train them via a shock collar, just like a dog."

He smiled slightly, "and as it happens, we'd like someone with experience to get up close and person-"

"Personally close with those claws? No thank you. I had enough of those already."

"I'm not done. We want a real test drive with the Abdima. With you, we'll do it outside of this compound. Without, inside. If we do end up doing this inside, people will likely get hurt," he shrugged as though he didn't care, "and it will be your fault for not going out with them."

"This is black mail."

"This is business. This is how we save the world from devastation."