MUTATION: ZOMBIES AMONG US

Chapter 2: Wallace

     We stood in the midst of dead zombies, having lost no man dead among us. Erik smirked and exclaimed," That was so easy!".
     " Yeah!", exclaimed Frank," It wasn't that bad after all".
     " Our adventure is far from over", said Musa," Lets see who lives behind these walls".
     " I'm seeing someone approaching the gates", said Lukeman.
     Lukeman was right. Someone was approaching the gates. We held our guns and walked towards the gates. We finally got a better view of the figure. A brown male Mexican with a rough black hair, wearing grey jeans, black shoes with no socks, a blue shirt and a lab coat on top. He staggered towards the gates like a weak man, took hold of them, looked at us and asked," Are you the ones that killed those zombies outside?".
     " Yes", replied Musa," And we would like to know what's your name?".
     " Wallace", said the man in a cold voice," My name is Wallace".
     " Are there any other survivors Wallace?".
     " I wished there were. They all died one by one".
     " Were they killed by the zombies?".
     " Only two of them were. The rest turned their backs against one another and killed themselves. I wouldn't so must blame them for that. Food and water ran out so soon and there was a wave of zombies preventing us from finding food".
     " I'm truly sorry for your loss. Are you a scientist if I may ask?".
     " Yes, I am".
     " Good", said Musa who then looks at me," We have another scientist here by the name of Joe Benson".
     " Nice to meet you Joe", said Wallace. Then he said," Where are my manners? Please, come inside, will you?".
     He opened the gates and welcomed us in. We entered the place and observed the perimeter. Two hospital vans were parked in front of the building and only one was stained with blood. There was a dry fountain between the vans with dust and leaves all over it. On the top was the head of someone. There were also a few trees here, most of them dying from the lack of water.
     " Who's head is that?", I asked Wallace as he lead us to the house.
     " A zombie's head. One of our men had shot it at the neck with a shotgun. The head must have landed there", replied Wallace.
     " Why are there hospital vans here?", asked Lukeman.
     " A man named Edward and his children all fell sick on the same day. His wife worried about their health all the time. He was a very good friend of mine. I could even go as far as saying he was my brother from another mother", laughed Wallace. The laughter however turned into a mournful tone," While his children had one sickness or the other, he had lung cancer. The very day he and his children died was the day our world became unsafe. He told me before he died that he had seen in his dream a savage world where friends became monsters and eat the ones they love. The vans here were meant to carry them back to the hospital. Unfortunately, that never happened".
     When Wallace talked about Edward's dream, Musa had looked at me with an unpleasant look and looked away. I understood what that meant.
     " Please, make yourself at home. We have no food or water, unless you folks have among you".
     " We do have Wallace", said Musa.
     " You do?".
     " Yes. Lukeman, give him something to eat".
     Lukeman brought out part of the meat they had remained and gave it to Wallace. He took the meat, thanked them and left. Later that night, we found places where we could sleep, and of course, Musa got the king size bed of Edward all to himself. Me and Blue were lying down in our bed which was in one of the guest's room. Blue said his prayers and drifted off to sleep. I was still awake, thinking about what Wallace had said earlier, when I heard the door opening slowly. I looked up to see Wallace asking me to come. I followed him, curious to know why he was calling me. We came to his room where he closed the door behind us quietly.
     " Sit down Blue", said Wallace," I want to show you something".
     I sat down on the bed and waited as he said. He brought out a wooden chest from a cupboard filled with clothes and sat beside me.
     " Since we're both scientists, I think it would be best if I showed you my life's work".
     " Okay", I said.
     He opened the chest and brought out two head bands with some type of equipment attached to them and a small device.
     " I call these the Mind Heal", said Wallace.
     " What do they do?", I asked, suddenly interested.
     " They are meant to transfer minds between two people if one is injured. For example, if I'm injured and you're not, and then we switch minds, my wounds would heal because of your mind. Your body would look weak because you transferred a weak mind into your body. If we swap back our minds, then both of us would be healed and restored to health".
     " Wow. Does it also work between a sick person and a healthy one?".
     " No, it won't. It would only work between an injured person and someone who isn't injured".
     " This is really impressive Wallace. Does it really work?".
     " If it doesn't, I would have called you out in the first place".
     " To be honest I'm truly impressed".
     " Thanks Joe".
     " May I ask a question?".
     " Sure, feel free to do so".
     " When did the outbreak started in Mexico?".
     " September 30th".
     I was shocked. That was the same day the virus was spread in Washington.
     " Anything wrong Joe?".
     " Nothing Wallace. I'll be going now. I need to get some sleep".
      " Okay. Make sure you close the door behind you when you leave".
     " Okay Wallace. Good night".
     " Good night Joe".
     I left the room and shut the door behind me. As I walked back to my room, I couldn't stop thinking about how the virus had spread so fast. Was someone behind it? Or did the virus spread that fast? More unanswered questions still followed me as I laid my head for a good night sleep.