MUTATION: ZOMBIES AMONG US

Chapter 14: Not all Dreams come true

     Once in our base I eavesdropped on General Max' discussion with my father, right outside his office. My father had been ordered to meet him after he had submitted the request for Project M. At that times, my relationship with Max was strict and formal, but many at times, he behaved like a loving brother towards me. My dad was trembling when he appeared before the general. Although he knew this was inevitable, James had looked forward to it as this was the only way his dreams would be fulfilled.
     " You called for me sir", stated James as he appeared before Max.
     " Ah, Mr. Benson, right on time. Have a seat", replied Max as he gestured a seat for James to sit.
     " I prefer standing sir".
     Max looked at him, sighed and said," Fine. Have it your way". He brought out a file, tossed in across the table seperating them and started the conversation",The real reason why I called you is because of your request to commence Project M. Would you mind telling me what this is about?".
     " It's about the chance to enhance our soldiers beyond their potential, making them stronger, smarter, faster and possess more skills than an average human being. The project will be first carried out on animals until we conclude that it would be effective on humans. It would involve altering our genes until they unlock various hidden patterns embedded in every human being. Sir, this is revolutionary and would be of benefit to the country".
     Max paused for a long time and later asked," May I ask you a question?".
     " You may sir", replied my dad eagerly.
     " Suppose our enemy found out about this, perfected it while we are still testing it, and release an all out assault on our base. Would we survive?".
     James swallowed hard as he knew where this was heading to," If it's a surprise attack, we wouldn't recover. If we are warned before hand, we might find a way to defend".
     " In that case, it's a no from me"., concluded Max.
     " B-But why would you use one assumption to condemn the project totally?".
     " When considering new ideas, it's best to know if it will have an adverse effect on our nation".
     " Well um, I can assure you that as long as we can control it, it won't have a negative effect on our people".
     " And what if we can't?".
     " Then...".
     " Enough", said General Max with finality," A scientist who creates something that is harmful to the people is not deemed to be one".
     " W-What do you mean by that sir?", asked a startled James.
     " I can't call you a scientist, Mr. Benson, not to talk of even being a professional one to begin with. I'm sorry to say this but, it's a no from me. You may now leave my office".
     My dad stood there for sometime, defeated by the words of the general. He later picked up the file he had cherished and walked away like a failure. I had followed him and cheered him up the best way I could, making him see reasons to not quit his job.
     Later that day, Max himself came to my office unannounced and called me out. I obeyed without hesitation and met him outside my office.
     " I know you eavesdropped on our conversation boy", said Max.
     " I'm sorry sir", I apologised.
     " No need for the apology Joe. I just want you to understand something".
     " I'm all ears sir".
     He then came close and whispered into my right ear," Not all dreams are meant to come true".
     " Huh? Why do you say so sir?", I asked curiously.
     He sighed and answered," That's because sometimes, our greatest dreams, might actually be others' worst nightmares".
     I gave it a thorough thought before saying," So in other words...".
     " Not all dreams are ment to come true son", he said with a smile and patted me on the back with his left hand. He then took his leave while leaving me to wonder on what he said.
     I wondered why these memories came in moments when I needed them most. Was it some sort of sign? I knew not. That memory faded away as I slowly opened my eyes and found myself in a hospital bed. I saw blood flowing into my right arm through a transparent tube and I concluded that I must have lost a lot of blood. I had a white apron worn and the Jesus necklace still worn over my neck. My head was killing me with pain as I squeezed my eyes in response and held it with my left hand. When I remembered the Jet raid, I checked for injuries with both hands and found one on my right thigh and the other on the left side of my stomach.
     " Glad to see you awake", said Wallace as he entered the room with some food," I was starting to wonder when you would wake up".
     " How did we get here?", I asked.
     " Blue carried ya while I helped Lukeman. We managed to find this hospital and rushed the both of you in. While I treated you guys, Blue ravaged the whole place and killed every zombie he could find. A true hunter indeed".
     I smiled at the thought of Blue risking his life to cleanse the hospital. I then asked Wallace," How long have we been here?".
     " A week. Lukeman woke up four days earlier and went out the next day with Blue to look for food and ammunition. They grabbed all they could and brought them back. We won't be staying here for long as we got only a week more supplies for everyone, including you. And sorry to tell you that we have rationed it", replied Wallace as he gave me the food and sat on a iron chair beside me.
     " Whose blood is that?", I asked as I pointed to the blood flowing inside me.
     " Blue's. Luckily for you his blood type is 'O', so he donated his blood right away. Umm, there's something I've gotta tell you Joe".
     " What's that?", I asked before feasting on my food.
     " You're a real hero man. If you weren't there, we'd been dead by now. I don't know how you did it, but you looked so cool when facing that Jet head on. You have the traits of a leader, so we all will be following you from now on".
     " Come on Wallace. Any of you guys could have done the same for me".
     " He's right", said Lukeman as he and Blue came into my room," I've never seen someone so daring than you Joe. You are indeed more qualified than anyone I've ever seen".
     " Me too", commented Blue.
     " Fine, if you all insist".
     " By the way, I've wanted to as you this question", said Lukeman.
     " What question?".
     " We found this in your hand after you collapsed",  said Lukeman as he handed me the torn page of the King James Bible," You took this from Erik, right?".
     " Yes... I did".
     Lukeman sighed and continued," He marked second Timothy Four-Seven with his own blood. Do you know what this means?".
     " He told me that it was my mission statement".
     " Wait are you telling me that Erik was alive?", asked Wallace.
     " Yeah, he was", I replied with a sad tone.
     " And what did he say to you?", asked Blue.
     I sighed and wiped off a tear from my right eye. I looked at the others and said," Before I tell you, I have something that I want to share with you all. After I fainted from switching minds with the Crusher, I saw a horrible dream where everyone of you died, non survived. The two soldiers who died had deaths very similar to the ones in my dream. And Erik confirmed it by stating that all of you will die, one by one".
     Silence hit the atmosphere as they all took in deep breaths and wrestled with their own thoughts. I sighed and continued," My father never intended to cause this Mayhem upon our world. He was a committed scientist devoted to discovery and its implementations. Project M was the greatest of all his dreams, but like General Max once said,' Not all dreams are meant to come true'.
     " If that's the case, then yours won't come true either", said Blue.
     The three of us looked at him and thought about his words. He looked back at us and continued," I once told you to stop living in fear and start living in faith. If we let ourselves believe in death, then we don't deserve to live in the first place. As long as we take our stand, and fight against our enemy, even death will be an honour, rather than a disgrace. So even if I die, I won't die because I believed in your dream Joe, I'll still live on, because there will still be others who will fight in my place. So non of us should be afraid of death, because we define faith".
     We all nodded our heads in approval, and for the first time in my life, I actually saw Lukeman shedding tears and hugging Blue, while Wallace cried as well and hugged the duo. I smiled as a tear escaped my left eye also. But even though I was encouraged by his words, the thought of them all dying alarmed me.
     I asked Blue and Lukeman to excuse Wallace and I for some minutes. While they left, I told Wallace if he found any petri-dish on my trousers before removing my clothes to put on the apron.
     " Yes I did", he replied," But it was broken into pieces, and I wondered whose blood was in there".
     " It was mine", I confirmed.
     " Huh?! Why was your blood there?".
     " I can't tell you for now. What I want you to do is to take a sample and run a series of tests on it. Whatever you find, let me know. Don't tell the others yet, I'll do so myself".
     He hesitated for a while before saying," Okay Joe. But you'll have to recover first before we begin your request".
     " Okay then. I know I'll get well soon, so you must start immediately alright?".
     " Sure thing boss", he said with a smiled and departed from my room.
     Boss, I thought, he said it so casually as if I really deserve it. I only did what I know was right, because I know that they would do the same for me. Anyway, I just pray that my predictions are correct. I hope that the answers to this apocalypse lies in my veins.