Experiment Undead

Patricia shakes her head, ‘Well, that was something I never thought I’d see, but we can’t waste any time,’ she stares at the two dead soldiers. ‘What do we do with the bodies? We have to hide them,’ she says.

The stacked-up bags of rice gain my attention. I grab Wakely’s arm, ‘Grab a limb each,’ I say to them, ‘We can hide them behind here.’

We place Wakely behind the rice, and James enters the tent as soon as we lower Smudge’s body.

His eyes widen, ‘What the hell is going on? Are they dead!?’

‘Hi, James,’ I smile, drop Smudge’s arm and skip over to him.

He blinks a few times looking between the bodies and me in bewilderment.

I tilt my head, ‘Oh, you mean Wakely and Smudge? Don’t worry about them,’ I smile.

‘They’re dead!’ he growls as he walks closer to inspect their bodies.

James cringes as he sees the stab wounds to the head and realises they have turned.

‘How the hell did they get infected?’ he asks.

‘Well, I needed to test my theory out, and because Smudge is an ass and that piece of crap, Wakely, hurt Payton. I decided to try it on them,’ I beam.

James stares at Payton, ‘You’re hurt? Are you okay?’ he asks her.

Payton hugs herself and looks down, ‘I’ll be fine,’ she mumbles.

James nods and makes eye contact again, ‘I don’t understand. What was your theory?’ he asks.

‘Lyewood brought three dead lambs for us to cook. One of them was infected with the virus. I wanted to know if eating contaminated meat would also pass the virus on to humans, and after roughly ten minutes, they fell to the ground and turned.’

‘And then you stabbed them in the head?’ James adds.

‘Yup,’ I say, popping the p.

He looks up at the women, and they nod their heads simultaneously.

‘Oh, and don’t worry. I packed the glass bottles, too,’ I say, reaching for the bag.

James facepalms himself, and his hand slides down his face to his chin, ‘Okay, it will be dark in about half an hour. Let’s feed as many soldiers as possible and kill them once they’ve turned. Penny, while they’re occupied eating. You will return to this tent, take the bag, and meet back with Nate,’ James says as he takes the knives from Wakely and Smudge’s belts.

He hands one to Payton and the other to Sandy, ‘You will have to flirt with the soldiers, lure them out of sight, and kill them. It’s the only way we can do this without the other soldiers catching on,’ he says.

Sandy looks at James, her face twisting, ‘I’m pretty sure half the soldiers know I’m a lesbian. They would know something is up,’ she says.

James raises his eyebrow, ‘Flirt with the female soldiers then,’ he says.

‘I’m pretty sure they’re all straight, sir,’ she says, blushing.

‘Fine,’ he says, taking her knife back, he gives it to Patricia, ‘You do it then,’ he says.

Patricia gapes at him, ‘I’m a married woman, sir!’

James stares at her, ‘Does it bloody matter? You’re not actually going to cheat on your husband. You’re just going to flatter your eyes at the soldiers, have them follow you and stab them,’ he says.

Patricia nods but doesn’t reply.

James walks with us as we carry the trays out. We serve the soldiers closest to the tent and then half the soldiers guarding the reserve. Payton and Patricia flirt with the male soldiers and lure them away successfully.

I elbow James, ‘The females will turn in front of everyone. You will have to lure them away,’ I whisper.

James nods, ‘I guess I have no choice,’ he says, immediately walking over to the two females who’ve just finished their food.

He takes their bowls and says something I can’t hear, but the women laugh and follow him toward the cooking tent.

I keep walking toward the recreation reserve. The smell is horrendous. I’m mortified as I see hundreds of people, including women, teens and children, fenced in on the small oval. There’s no shelter at all, no tables, chairs or activities. Hundreds of people huddled together crying, covered in dirt, faecal matter and urine. Children nearby cough, some around my age. A feeling of dread is in the pit of my stomach and spreads through my entire body as I observe all the people.

As it quickly darkens, the floodlights flash on. I cover my eyes from the glare. I can’t watch it anymore. I need to help free these people now.

As I head to the tent to grab the bag and meet with Nate and Todd, I hear a familiar and desperate voice behind me, ‘Penny, Penny! Is that you?’ I see dirty long red hair flicking around through the crowd of people being shoved aside by her.

‘Carrie?’ I reply, looking through the link-wired fence.

She slams against it, her fingers gripping the wire, ‘It is you. You have to get me out of here,’ she squeals and says in a baby-like voice, shaking the fence.

‘Stop it, Carrie, don’t draw attention to us. If you’re here, then Jane, Liam and the others must be with you too?’ I ask eagerly.

Carrie scrunches her face in anger, ‘Those bastards abandoned me. After we fled in the vehicles and the bomb dropped, I fell off the back of the ute. They never stopped or came looking for me. I walked for miles alone for three days until soldiers approached me, who I thought would rescue me. Instead, they threw me in this literal shithole,’ she says, glaring at the soldiers, scoffing down soup.

‘I have to go, but you’ll be out soon. I promise,’ I say to Carrie.

‘Wait! You can’t leave me here. Please take me with you. Tell the guards we’re sisters or something. Just get me out of here. I can’t stand another minute,’ she begs and falls to her knees.

A couple of guards, waiting for their meals, looks towards us, ‘Carrie, cut it out, damn it. I’m going to free you tonight,’ I whisper in a deep firm voice.

As I turn, she grabs the back of my hoody, ‘Let me go,’ I shriek.

Without warning, one of the soldiers slams the butt of his rifle into the chain-link fence. Carrie recoils from the impact, her body doubling over in pain as she clutches her stomach. The soldier sneers at her, relishing the cruelty of his actions. But Carrie isn’t one to be silenced. She straightens up, her eyes blazing with fury as she stares down the soldier. ‘You piece of shit!’ she yells, her voice laced with venom.

I turn and run before she causes a commotion, only for me to bump into another soldier as he takes a bowl of soup from Patricia’s tray. The soup falls to the ground, along with the tray. Patricia has a panicked look as it splatters across the soldier’s feet.

‘I’m so sorry, sir,’ I say as he turns to face me.

My eyes widen in terror as the soldier towers over me, his imposing figure casting a shadow over my small frame. He glares down at me, his brown eyes burning with fury. His face is rugged, with a few days’ worth of stubble covering his jawline.

I can see that he’s different from the other soldiers, with a more elaborate uniform and several medals pinned to his coat. But before I can even process this information, he grabs me by the scruff of my neck, his grip cutting off my air supply. I feel myself being lifted off the ground, my feet dangling helplessly in the air.

Panic sets in as I struggle to break free from his grasp. I try to pry his fingers away from my neck with both hands, but his grip is too strong. I can feel my vision beginning to blur as the lack of air takes its toll.

‘You’ll get me a fresh bowl and serve it to me directly, and you will scrub my shoes clean, you little mutt,’ he growls, his voice low and menacing. With a sudden flick of his wrist, he releases his grip on my neck, sending me tumbling to the ground.

I gasp for air, my hands shaking as I try to steady myself. The soldier stands over me with a smug expression as he watches me struggle to regain my footing. My neck is sore and tender, and I can feel the bruises already forming.

With a trembling voice, I manage to stutter out a response. ‘Y-yes, sir,’ I say, my eyes darting to Lyewood as the soldier gestures for him to follow me.

Lyewood watches as I ladle the soup into a bowl, ‘Man, you’re dead meat, kid. Don’t be surprised if Commander Bryant has you put in the campgrounds with the others,’ he laughs.

I swear my heart stopped when he mentioned Commander Bryant’s name. No, no, no, no. Penny, you idiot. No wonder he was dressed like that. He’s the darn commander.

‘You better hurry up,’ Lyewood smirks, ‘He doesn’t like waiting,’ he adds.

As I’m about to walk out of the tent, I notice the foot of a soldier sticking out from behind the bags of rice. I know straight away it’s one of the female soldiers James lured in here earlier. I quickly exit the tent before Lyewood notices.

‘Where do I find the commander?’ I ask him, looking around.

‘This way,’ he says and leads me to a little house that probably belongs to someone being held in the camp.

I stand at the front door of the house. I can feel my hands trembling slightly. Lyewood nudges me hard in the back with his rifle, causing me to hit my forehead on the front door.

‘You dick!’ I yell at him.

‘Hurry up and get in there. I’m not going to stand at the door all day,’ he snaps.

I enter the house angry at Lyewood, muttering profanities under my breath as I walk up to a dark wooden dining table and place the bowl down in front of Commander Bryant at the head of the table where he sits.

‘My shoes,’ he says, glaring at me.

I look down at his wet shoes and nod, ‘I’ll check the laundry for cleaning items,’ I say to him.

He nods.

Lyewood tries to follow me, ‘Lyewood, get me some whisky,’ Commander Bryant orders.

‘But Commander, I need to watch the girl,’ he says.

The commander stands, slamming his hand on the table—the liquid in his soup ripples.

‘It’s a damn little girl, Lyewood. Don’t be such a fool. What is she going to do, huh? Throw a dustpan and brush at me?’ he says.

If only he knew, I smile to myself.

Lyewood reddens, ‘Yes, Commander,’ he says, leaving the house.

I find the laundry and open a cupboard. There are some cleaning cloths and spray bottles. I grab the lemon-scented spray and a cloth, then return to Commander Bryant.

He impatiently taps his fingers on the table. I crouch at his feet, spray his shoes and quietly rub them clean and dry. I can feel his eyes burning into me. I stand and step back, keeping my eyes down. I need to get back to the tent and meet back with Nate.

‘This house is becoming filthy,’ Commander Bryant says aggressively, ‘You will clean it, and you can start now. No breaks, no sleeping, and no returning to the kitchen tent until this place is spotless,’ he adds sharply.

‘Yes, sir,’ I reply quietly.

As I exit the room, Lyewood enters with a sealed bottle of whisky.

He opens it and pours it into a tumbler.

‘You’re dismissed,’ Commander Bryant says to Lyewood, ‘And leave the whiskey bottle.’

Lyewood looks at me leaving the room, ‘I’ll return her to her food-serving duties,’ he says.

‘No, leave her and go,’ Commander Bryant says.

‘Yes, Commander,’ Lyewood says, leaving the house to resume his post outside.

I need to find a way to sneak out of this house. I quickly check the windows in the bedrooms. The only one I can open is in the main bedroom.

‘I don’t hear any cleaning,’ the Commander shouts.

I quickly grab the feather duster from the laundry and return to the dining area. I hold it up, ‘I was dusting, sir. That’s why you couldn’t hear me,’ I say to him, walking over to the bookshelf and dust.

He doesn’t reply. Instead opens a wooden box in front of him, pulls out a cigar and lights it.

I’m not sure if he’s had any soup yet. I approach closer and dust a vase on a small table whilst discreetly looking at his bowl. It’s still full, but then I watch from my peripheral vision as Commander Bryant sips his whiskey, places the spoon in his bowl of soup, and stirs it around, making no effort to look at me.

A gunshot rings outside in the distance, but I think nothing of it, nor does the commander. It’s probably the wolves. Maybe they’re attacking again now it’s nightfall.

I watch the commander scoops soup onto his spoon and raises it to his lips. I hold my breath in anticipation as he’s about to eat it, but then the spoon stops before it touches his lips. His eyes raise, and he catches me staring and stares back at me in thought. He places the spoon back in the bowl without tasting it. I remind myself to breathe.

‘If you think you’ll get any of this after you carelessly wasted the servings earlier. I can assure you that will not be happening, as well as no servings of food tomorrow,’ he smiles smugly at me.

‘Y-yes, sir. I’ll go tidy the bedrooms, sir,’ I reply and leave the room, grateful that part of my punishment is starvation.

I purposely make noise, moving things around, so he thinks I’m cleaning. Hoping he’s had his soup by now, I enter the main bedroom.

The front door swings open with a loud creak, ‘Commander Bryant, something has happened!’ I hear Lyewood says frantically.

‘What is it?’ Commander Bryant shouts, annoyed.

I place my ear against the wall to hear the conversation more clearly.

‘One of the soldiers was infected. We had to shoot him. We can’t find any bite marks on him. The other soldiers said he was fine moments before he fell to the ground and turned.’

‘If he had no bite marks, then how did he turn?’ Commander Bryant asks.

‘We don’t know for sure, Commander, but some of the soldiers are panicking and now wearing gas masks in case the virus is airborne,’ Lyewood says.

Screams and multiple gunshots erupt outside.

Another soldier runs inside the house, ‘Commander, some of the soldiers are missing, and more have just become infected,’ he says, breathless.

I hear the Commander’s boots thudding from the dining area to the front door.

I run back to the window and push it open. At least half a dozen soulless soldiers are roaming the area, while a few others are on the ground in seizures.

It’s so loud outside that I don’t hear the commander’s boots behind me as I climb out. He grabs me by my hair and yanks me back inside the room. I shuffle back until I’m against the wall and have nowhere else to move.

His eyes are of the devil, deadly and sinister. He roughly grabs my arm and twists it behind my back. He holds it there while his other hand grips my shoulder painfully. He forces me to walk forward and takes me out the front door.

I gulp when he kicks my leg, forcing me onto my knees and holding my head over a dropped bowl of soup.

‘How did you do it? What did you put in the food?’ he asks in a dire tone.

I stay silent and breathe calmly despite my mind being off the chart.

‘We’re going to do this the hard way, are we?’ he snarls and shoves me back inside the house.

I attempt to hit him and wriggle myself free. He has a tight hold of my wrists. I want to grab my knives or gun, but I can’t. He slams me down on a chair.

‘Lyewood,’ he shouts, ‘hold her arms down,’ he orders.

Lyewood marches inside and stands behind the chair, and holds my arms.

Commander Bryant tries to pry my mouth open while reaching for the bowl of soup with the other hand. He brings the bowl to my mouth.

‘No, no, no!’ I shout, wriggling my head to make it harder for the commander.

‘Keep still, you little brat,’ he yells.

He looks at Lyewood, ‘It has to be the food. We will find out once we’ve shoved it down her throat,’ he says.

Due to Lyewood’s sweaty hands, I wriggle my right hand free and slap the soup away from my face, which causes it to fly back onto the table and spill everywhere.

I see the back of the commander’s hand about to strike me across the face. I duck, quickly grab the knife tucked in my boot and swing it at the Commander.

The commander locks his widened eyes with mine. We breathe heavily but remain silent. My knife has lodged in his cheek, and I haven’t let go of it.

The commander slowly raises his hands, ‘Let go of the knife, little girl,’ he says nervously.

The floorboard creaks behind me, ‘My name is Penny, Penny Toughin, and if Lyewood comes any closer, I’ll lodge this knife further where the sun don’t shine,’ I warn him.

The commander gives Lyewood a look to step back, and he obeys.

My eyes narrow as I bravely stare into the face of the wicked commander, ‘I infected your soldiers. I fed them infected lamb meat in the soup,’ I openly confess to him, returning the smug smile.

His eyes squint, and then he begins to laugh but stops as the knife cuts him slightly further, ‘You’re just a kid, a child,’ he says.

I hear Lyewood sneaking closer behind me even though the boards aren’t creaking. I can hear the subtle taps as he takes slow, careful steps. I place my free hand on my hip, ready to grab my gun.

‘I’m not just a child, Commander Bryant,’ my smile widens, ‘I’m your worst nightmare,’ I tell him and slash the knife down to his mouth.

He cries out in pain and stumbles back, falling onto the ground as I grab my gun, swiftly turn and pull the trigger.

My eyes are now locked with Lyewood’s. His hands are over mine, holding the gun between us against his stomach. He blinks a few times, and his breath hits my face as blood seeps from his mouth. I feel his fingers slide from my hand. The next sound he makes is a thud to the ground.

I turn back to face Commander Bryant on the ground holding the open flap of his face in distress, ‘My face, my face,’ he cries out in horror.

He removes his hands and looks down at the blood, ‘What have you done to me? I will make you pay for this,’ he shouts.

I step back in shock as the skin from the bottom half of his jawline and bottom lip droops down, exposing his teeth and gum, where I had sliced through from the top of his cheek all the way to the corner of his mouth. It’s a most gruesome sight.

James storms inside the house, ‘Penny?’ he shouts.

‘I’m in here,’ I shout back.

James races into the room and looks at the knife I have in one hand and the gun I hold in the other. Then looks between Lyewood lying dead on the ground and Commander Bryant with his face slashed open, ‘What the fuck, Penny? This wasn’t part of the plan,’ James growls.