The Apocalypse Brides Promise

Chapter 10

"Ready as ever..." I had muttered. I traced the blade down the male's chest, making a deep incision. "Huh... Most of the bodily functions are decomposed... It's a wonder how these things even managed-" I heard a low groan from the male, but that was the little bit of air still escaping his decomposing lungs. "Lungs deteriorated the quickest in this one..."

"It seems like the stomach of this one was the first intestine to go..." I heard 13 mutter. Both her and I reached for our notepads, softly chuckling afterwards.

I grabbed my notepad, jotting down a few things.

Sample #1

Sex: Male

Likely turned a couple days prior just as the virus(?) began to spread.

First bodily function to go: The virus(?) seems to take over the muscle and shut down the brain. That means that the person likely lost all bodily control and had to feel as his brain slowly shut down and his heart stop beating.

Due to the lack of a heart beat, there is no blood flow, that results in the pale color of these specimen.

-Shot in the head, a single shot, dead on impact.

In this specimen in particular, it appears the virus(?) might control the brain like a parasite.

Setting down my notepad, I walk back over to the specimen. I made a deep decision into its skull, grabbing a saw from some tools to finish cutting it open. The brain seemed to still be intact, so I sliced a chunk from it, placing it under a microscope.

As I looked at it, there was nothing out of place. No unwanted bacteria, no parasites, no sign of anything. I did this with each chunk of the brain, finding nothing.

I walked back over to my notepad after wiping my gloved hands on a towel. I hummed softly, tapping the pencil against the desk.

There is no sign of parasitic infestation within the Specimen's brain. Not even the parts that had traces of bullet left in it showed that the specimen had a parasite.

Then again, this is only specimen #1... We're going to need more data to find what's going on and hopefully find a cure to end this mess.

-Survivor 12.

I sat the notepad down and I grabbed one of those small test tubes. I took a sample of some tissue that still remained within the undead being, using tweezers to gather it. Once I had it collected, I placed a small cork into the tube to ceal it off.

I placed it back into the container that held the other test tubes and brought them over to a small freezer. There I can store findings, hopefully slowing the decomposition enough to where I can study each of the findings well.

"How are you doing, 13?"

"Well... I must say that this thing smells horrible. Most of her innards are already mushy and rotten."

"Maybe it spreads and decomposes faster in different genders... That or it's where you kinda... Went berserk and shot everything to pieces." I laughed softly, looking at her.

"I was scared..."

"I know, darling... But listen. I was there, you can always run to me when you need help or if a zombie gets back up."

"I... I know..." 13 whispered. I watched as she made an incision in the female's forehead, so to save her from an unnecessary walk, I grabbed the saw, washed what had gotten on it from my specimen off, and I handed it to her. She smiled and began to saw away at the skull. I examined it for a moment.

"Screamer. Lungs, throat, and jaw are intact. That kinda explains the quicker decomposition of other functions."

"That's what I thought she was." 13 whispered.

I glanced at her notepad to see what she had written, humming as I read it over. At one point, I stopped to fix a spelling mistake. I heard 13 giggle, so I turned to face her.

"What?" I ask.

"Correcting my grammar on some notes I jotted down-"

"I-I don't want anyone in the future to have misconceptions-" I stuttered. 13 giggled and went back to her examination. I rubbed the back of my head, looking away. I'm honestly glad we're wearing this suits or that contact would've been a bad move. Of course, I know better, and I wouldn't have done that without wearing the suit, so-...

I walked back over to my specimen, and I grabbed a pair of pliers, ripping a tooth from his jaw. I sat that to the side for a moment, long enough to make a light incision in the throat and examine it. "Mine's not a screamer. I assume that he was a normal zombie then. Nothing special about him."

Grabbing the notepad, I jotted down one more quick note.

Specimen #1 is a 'normal' zombie. He possess no special abilities.

I glanced up when 13 called me to attention. "Yes?"

"Her ankle is broke." She pointed to her specimen's body with a pencil before jotting something down. I walked over, staring at the bone that was poking through the skin.

"It broke on impact with the ground after she was shot... While she was still a living human being, I say she likely had low Vitamin D. Even after becoming undead, most of the bones are still strong and harder to break."

"That seems logical..."

"Yes, but... We still have no idea what's causing it. It spreads so easily, but there are no signs that the infection is from a virus/bacteria/ or a parasite."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out... We just need to find someone who's more skilled in science then we are." 13 spoke, looking up at me. I sigh quietly, looking off to the side.

"Where's the nearest science facility?"

"Why?"

"I need to check for survivors... And I may just be able to find some information we need. And if I do, that'll be great for us! We'll have a professional scientist on our side... Hell, there might only be a newbie left when we show up there... But that's a start..." I spoke softly. 13 put her stuff down and looked at me softly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Look, I know you want to go out and save people, but you don't have to do it alone. You're reckless when you go into an adrenaline rush. And that recklessness can get you killed... Wait for a little bit. Save some adventure for tomorrow. For tonight, let's learn what we can about these specimens, and maybe try to get a few hours of sleep."

I placed my hand on top of hers, squeezing it slightly. "This is how I knew you were the one... I knew since the day I brought the apocalypse up in middle school." I smile. She looked off to the side.

"Time to get back to work?"

"Time to get back to work."

I went back over to the specimen I was studying, doing another quick scan. Bones were intact, yet his body continued to be eaten away by the virus, causing mass decomposition.

"This is nothing like a virus if I'm being honest..." I spoke up.

"Well... For right now, that's all we can call it..." 13 replied.

"You're right..." I mumble.

"Hey... I say we pack up for tonight. We both need some rest."

"Agreed."