Experiment Undead

I spend the next two hours sitting next to Nate, shaving the tips of branches we found into spikes to use as weapons. A contented smile spreads across my face as I relish our comfortable silence. I appreciate how we can spend hours together without saying a word. More than words, how we treated each other said everything. After completing the weapons, I distribute them to Kate and Nancy before settling down next to Nate.

Suddenly, Todd stirs awake, disrupting our peaceful atmosphere. Nate’s expression turns sour as he strides towards Todd, angry as he grabs Todd by the collar and slams him up against a tree. ‘Finally,’ Nate growls through gritted teeth.

Confused and disoriented, Todd attempts to release Nate’s grip, ‘What the hell, Dude?’ he protests. His bewildered gaze roams around, ‘Wait, where are we? Why are we out in the bush? What happened to the house we were in?’

Nate throws Todd to the ground, ‘While you were passed out on drugs, planes arrived and bombed the entire town. You’re lucky your nephew saved your ass because if it were me that found you high, I would have left you there.’

Nate storms off to the car to gather supplies, his movements aggressive and forceful.

Todd looks over at Oscar, who stands beside me. ‘Oscar, I um,’ he starts to say, but Oscar’s glare stops him. ‘Save it. I don’t want to hear it,’ Oscar’s voice is cold as he turns and walks towards the car wreck to retrieve his backpack.

Nate slams the car door shut, his movements forceful and determined as he picks up his backpack and a bagged tent. ‘Everyone get your things. We’re leaving now,’ his voice is firm, leaving no room for argument.

I hurry over to them, swinging my duffel bag over my shoulder. Oscar walks beside me, his face set in determination. Kate and the girls walk with Nate, their expressions worrisome for what lies ahead. Todd trails behind us, alone.

‘Hey, Penny, I never got to thank you for yesterday,’ Oscar says.

Surprised, I turn to face him, my eyebrows raised in curiosity. ‘Thank me for what?’ I ask.

He turns his head to look at me, his expression earnest, ‘The soulless kid. I thought I was going to die. If you hadn’t killed him, I’m sure I wouldn’t be walking beside you now. I would have been bit and become soulless like him.’

My lips curve in a small smile as I shake my head, ‘It was nothing. Besides, if it weren’t for you pushing Nancy out of the way, it would have been her that got bit. It should be her thanking you,’ I smile.

Oscar nods, a small smile playing on his lips as he remembers the moment. ‘She did. Last night after you and your Mum argued and you ran off and locked yourself in the car to sleep, she thanked me then,’ he says as we continue walking.

My smile fades. I watch as Oscar’s expression changes, his brow furrowing with concern. I can feel my body tense as I bring up the painful topic. I drop my gaze to the ground, feeling ashamed of my outburst.

‘I should not have said what I did to Jane. She had many opportunities to send me back into the foster system over the last couple of years, but she never did.’

Oscar’s hand reaches out to touch my shoulder, reassuringly squeezing it. ‘Hey, don’t beat yourself up about it. You were just standing up for yourself. She also didn’t give you a chance to hear your side. She should not have just taken Carrie’s word for it. I don’t trust that redhead one bit. She already seems to have my uncle wrapped around her finger. Before Uncle Todd snuck outside through the night to snort cocaine and smoke pot, I heard her referring to you as a brat.’

I smile, ‘That would have been because she came out to the car to taunt me, but I flipped her the bird, which seemed to piss her off even more,’ we both burst out laughing.

Nate slows his pace, eyebrows raised in curiosity. ‘What could possibly be so funny in the middle of an apocalypse?’ he asks, his head tilting to the side. ‘Penny gave Carrie the finger last night after she got in trouble with her Mum,’ Oscar says.

Nate laughs, ‘Yeah, well, it wasn’t right of Carrie to get Penny in trouble like that. She’s lucky all Penny gave her was the finger because I can assure you, she is capable of much worse,’ he smirks.

‘What do you mean?’ Oscar asks.

Nate and I look at each other, thinking of all the training I’ve had with him, from wielding a knife to using a rifle.

Nate’s smile widens, ‘Oh, you’ll see in time,’ he says, turning back around and walking ahead.

Oscar stares at me as we continue walking, ‘What does he mean by that?’ he asks.

I shrug nonchalantly, feigning confusion. ‘No idea, Oscar. No idea. But since I saved your butt yesterday, you definitely owe me,’ I tell him, a hint of a sly smile creeping onto my lips.

‘I’m sure I will repay you one day,’ he replies, his smile widening.

I mutter under my breath, ‘Probably not.’

Oscar’s eyes narrow at my words, but I quickly cover it up with a playful smile.

‘What did you say?’ he asks, slightly suspicious.

I grin mischievously, sticking my tongue out before breaking into a run. ‘Nothing,’ I shout back, the wind whipping my hair back as I sprint away. Oscar follows closely behind, shouting my name.

Nate’s voice echoes behind us, ‘Don’t go too far ahead!’ But we ignore his warning, caught up in the thrill of the chase.

We pass through the last of the trees to see vast fields. Sheep wander around, grazing, and the wind blows our hair. I glance over at Oscar, noticing a pensive expression on his face.

‘It’s so quiet,’ Oscar says, his voice calm.

I slowly look around, taking in the peaceful scene. In the distance, I can make out a structure, but I’m unsure if it’s a house or a storage shed for hay barrels.

I lightly punch Oscar in the arm, trying to break the sombre mood. ‘Do you see that over there? What is it? A house maybe?’ I ask him.

He looks in the direction I point and squints, ‘It has a shiny tin roof, whatever it is,’ he says.

‘We better wait for the others to catch up,’ I tell him.

Oscar nods and places two fingers on his lips. He whistles loudly like a bird, and then I hear the same whistle in the distance.

‘That’s the nicest whistle I’ve ever heard. Where did you learn to do that?’ I ask him, admiring his skill.

‘Uncle Todd taught me back when we used to go camping. That was him who just whistled back,’ he says, kicking a rock. He frowns and looks at me, ‘I know everyone thinks he is a deadbeat loser and a druggo, but he used to be a pretty cool guy once upon a time.’

I nod, sensing the sadness in his voice. ‘Did something happen to him?’ I ask, concerned.

Oscar sighs and climbs onto a large rock, ’He had been working full-time and earning a lot of money, but then he met this girl, Rena. Uncle Todd suddenly seemed happier than ever. They were together for six months, and he told my dad she was the one and would marry her.

My dad didn’t approve because she always went on lavish spending sprees using Todd’s bank cards. My dad told him he needed to keep an eye on his accounts, but my uncle laughed it off, saying he trusted Rena with his life. He was completely in love and infatuated with her. Rena then told him her mother was living in a worn, torn country where she was born and needed money so her mother could flee. He let her wire money to her mother, but then she kept wiring more each week until all his savings had gone. He was grateful he had already bought her an engagement ring and proposed, but Rena laughed in his face and told him she never loved him and would never marry a broke man.

Uncle Todd was gutted and fell into a deep depression. He became lazy and careless at work and lost his job. Then became a hermit and wouldn’t leave the house for months. He then found out she already had a boyfriend when she started dating him. She had been wiring all the money to his account. Apparently, my uncle wasn’t the first man she scammed out of money. After discovering she had sent all his money to her real boyfriend, he started experimenting with drugs. My dad tried to get him help, but he would always relapse. Then there was the time he overdosed a few months ago and ended up on life support.

When he was released from the hospital, my dad thought it would do him good if he would spend more time with me again, as he used to before that darn leech, Rena, came into his life. Dad said it would give him less opportunity to take drugs if he was occupied with activities.

So each weekend, we would spend it fishing along the river and talk about the old times when we always went camping.’

‘Gee, your dad sounds like he really loved your uncle.’

‘He did. They were incredibly protective of each other. I don’t know why, though. Every time I asked my dad, he didn’t want to talk about it. He just kept saying some things are better off not knowing.’

The crunching of twigs and stones is heard behind us. We turn and smile when we see Nate, Todd, Kate, Nancy and Emma.

Nate narrows his eyes, ‘You’re lucky you whistled when you did because we would’ve lost you both. We weren’t even going in this direction. Next time you stay within eyesight, got it?’ he says to us.

‘Yes, Nate,’ we reply together.

I eye Nate’s rifle and gesture for it. Without hesitation, he swings it off his shoulder and hands it to me, ‘Thanks. There’s some kind of building over there. I’ll be able to see what it is through the scope.’

Nate casually crosses his arms and nods at me while everyone stares at him, flabbergasted for handing me his rifle, but no one dares to say a word to him. Even though Nate is only eighteen, he is the type of guy you look at and know you don’t want to mess with.

I close one eye and peer through the scope with the other, ‘It’s a farmhouse. I can see two horses as well. There might be more around the other side. There could also be survivors living there too?’ I tell them.

‘Or soulless,’ Nate replies.

My shoulders drop as I lower the rifle at his dire words.

He notices my dismay, ‘Or maybe you’re right. There could be survivors there,’ he says to perk me up, ‘But for safety reasons, you can all stay behind me while I go ahead and check it out,’ he says, taking his rifle back.

We watch Nate run ahead, squat, look around and run forward again. He has entered the farm grounds through the bushes, but we’ve lost sight of him.

‘I suppose we wait for his signal, I guess?’ I say to the others.

Emma sits on the ground and hugs Molly tight. Nancy doesn’t look too good.

‘How’s your arm?’ I ask her.

‘It hurts really bad,’ she whimpers.

Kate quickly kneels in front of her, ‘Honey, you should have told me the pain has worsened,’ she says as she inspects her arm.

I stand on my toes to see at the same time Kate gasps. Her entire arm is bruised and swollen. It looks incredibly painful.

‘I knew we had no medicine to help the pain, and I didn’t want to slow everyone down. I’m sorry, Mum,’ she cries.

Kate tries to hug Nancy without touching her arm and comforts her, then Oscar jumps down from the rock, ‘Hey, Nate is waving us over to the farmhouse.’

I hold my hand towards Emma, ‘You can take my hand, and we can run together while your mum helps your sister, okay?’ I say to her.

She smiles and takes my hand. Kate nods in thanks.

Todd approaches Kate and takes her backpack, ‘I’ll carry the bags and walk behind you until you reach the farm safely with your daughter,’ he says.

‘Thank you,’ she replies.

Oscar runs beside Emma and me until we approach Nate. I give him a hopeful gaze, but he slowly shakes his head, ‘Sorry, Penny, no one is here but sheep and horses, but the good news is there’s a generator powering the house,’ he smiles. ‘There’s also food inside, but some of the food in the fridge is starting to spoil, so check the food before you eat it, okay?’ he says.

Excited, we jump up and down, nodding, and run down the small slope towards the house. It’s an old wooden house with a tin roof. There’s a large water tank installed next to the house on the right and a vegetable garden further up from the house.

‘I never thought I’d ever be excited to see vegetables,’ I giggle.

Nate laughs, ‘Me either.’

‘Gross,’ Emma says.

I ruffle her hair, ‘Let’s go inside and check the kitchen. Perhaps we can find something more suitable for you to eat,’ I smile.

‘Like chips? I like chips,’ she says.

‘Me too,’ I smirk.

We enter the house. It has a standard-size lounge room, two bedrooms, a small kitchen and a bathroom.

Floorboards creak behind us, ‘What do you think?’ Nate asks, walking toward us.

‘Are you sure no one’s here? The house is clean, and there’s plenty of food in the cupboard. It doesn’t look like anyone left here in a hurry,’ I point out.

‘It does seem too good to be true. Perhaps the owner is out tending to the farm animals or checking the perimeter for soulless? Let’s make ourselves comfortable anyway. If the owners return in the meantime, I’m sure they’ll understand us needing a place to stay the night,’ he says.

Kate enters the house carrying the bags while Todd carries Nancy crying inside and places her on the couch.

Nate runs over to her and looks at her arm. He scrunches his face as he sees the swelling and bruising have worsened, ‘We’re going to have to stay here longer than we planned. Nancy needs to rest and keep still so her arm can heal properly. I’ll see if I can find some medicine around the house to help the pain,’ he says.

‘Would an ice pack or something in the freezer help?’ I ask.

‘Yes, see what you can find,’ Nate says, leaving the room. Todd follows behind him.

I collect a few snacks to hand out and then inspect the freezer to find a tub of ice cream and large chunks of meat. I pull a piece of meat out to find it’s a lamb’s leg. I look out the window at the sheep up the hill. The owners must farm their own meat here. As I’m about to take the frozen leg into the lounge, I notice Todd and Nate outside the stable, arguing.

Todd angrily puts a small clear bottle against Nate’s chest. It looks like medicine, but I’m not sure. Nate shakes his head, no, but Todd walks away from him towards the house.

‘We don’t have a choice. Nothing else here will help her,’ Todd shouts behind him.

I duck down as he looks up at the kitchen window. I quickly race from the kitchen to the lounge with the snacks and leg of lamb. Kate takes the frozen leg and places it gently against Nancy’s arm. I give the snacks to Emma and Oscar.

Todd enters the lounge, suddenly smiling, ‘Nate has found some pain relief. He’s just preparing it for Nancy,’ he says to Kate.

‘Thank goodness, I don’t think Nancy could bear any more pain,’ she says.

I hear Nate enter the kitchen. I discreetly leave the lounge and return to the kitchen.

‘Todd said you found medicine to help Nancy?’ I ask him.

He reaches for a glass on the shelf and then takes a deep breath, ‘Yeah, I guess,’ he says.

I raise a brow as he half fills the cup with water, pulls the clear bottle from his pocket, and places it beside the drink.

He turns to me, ‘You didn’t see any cordial or anything in the fridge, did you? This will probably taste like shit,’ he says, gesturing to the bottle.

‘Yeah, actually, I think there was some in the fridge,’ I reply.

He walks over to the fridge, opens it and looks in while I walk up to the clear vial, pick it up and read the label.

‘Horse tranquillizer?’ I read.

Nate sighs, ‘It’s all there is. There aren’t even any band-aids on this farm, and my first aid kit only has scissors and distilled water left. Everything else has been used up. Todd found the horse tranquillizer and has tried it before on himself in the past. It will knock Nancy out for a while, but at least she’ll get the rest she needs. Just don’t tell her mother, okay?’ he says with pleading eyes.

‘I don’t want Nancy to be in all this pain. If it’s the only option, I won’t say anything,’ I assure him.

He smiles, ‘Thanks, Penny.’

I follow him into the lounge after he makes the drink. Nancy sculls it quickly.

‘Just a few minutes and the pain will subside,’ Nate assures her.

Sure enough, five minutes go by, and she passes out.