The Risen

Chapter 5: The Truth Comes Out

        She is not gonna take this well, I think.

        I take a deep breath. I close my eyes, thinking of the right way to tell her what happened. That's when I realize there is no right way to tell Grandma. Because what happened is so screwed up, it shouldn't even be possible. I mean, bringing people back to life? Even though it's the year 2043, I wouldn't have expected to have a break through this big. Especially not from my dad, no matter how good of a chemist he is. 

        "Grandma, you're not going to believe me. Please don't send me to a mental institution when I tell you what really happened," I say, opening my eyes. 

        Grandma just looks puzzled.

     I sigh and continue, "My dad was, as you know, working for the government. His newest assignment was to try to bring people back to life. He succeeded, but the man who was the experiment," at this Grandma looks horrified, "was not capable of moving, because his muscles didn't work. My dad made a chemical mixture and fed it to the experiment. This gave the experiment super human strength. It also turned him into a monster who only had one thought: kill. Which eventually, he did. Dad died, fighting his own creation. I knocked out the experiment with a frying pan and brought my father back to life. I gave him the mixture that made it so he could use his muscles again. I had hoped it wouldn't turn him into a killing machine. I was wrong. My own father tried to kill me. That was when Mom saved me and drove us here," I conclude. "Sorry for lying."

        My throat constricts and it is hard to swallow. Tears itch my eyes. I angrily wipe them away. I will not cry.

        "Oh, Holli," Grandma says. She holds out her arms, and I run into them. She strokes my hair. I can not hold back the tears anymore. I let them go.

        Grandma sits me on the bean bag. She goes upstairs, where she bangs around in the kitchen for a while before bringing me a mug of hot chocolate with cool whip and tons of marshmallows. Even though it's summer, I accept. She tells me chocolate chip cookies are coming soon. 

        The smell of warm chocolate wafts through the air, entering my nostils. I inhale deeply. Not long after, Grandma returns with a plate of four hot cookies on it.

        "Thank you," I say hoarsly. Grandma nods and leaves after giving me another hug. She goes back into the kitchen.

        I eat all of the cookies. I don't care that they burn my tongue. The warm chocolate gushes into my mouth, and I lose myself in the flavor.  

        I glance over at Mom. She seems to have cried herself to sleep.

        I wonder why in all the songs we sing at church, the lyrics say there's pain in the night but joy in the morning. For me, it is the exact opposite. At night, I can excape into my dreams and run away from my life if only for a little while. The morning is the real horror. I have to face myself, the things I have done, and now, the fact that my father is.........

        A zombie. I make the connection between the undead on T.V. shows and my brought-back-to-life dad. He no longer counts as a human being. Not with his way of thinking. He has one thought process: humans are evil. Kill them. Turn them into one of us, and then use the humans-turned-zombies to kill more humans until they are no more.