Experiment Undead

As I step back into the house we’re temporarily residing in. I notice the hushed voices of the grown-ups. They’re all gathered together, whispering about what happened at the house down the road. Their facial expressions are tense, and their body language is guarded, as if they fear being overheard. I can feel their eyes on me as I walk past and sense their unease.

I hear them murmuring about how abnormal it is for a kid to casually kill a soulless like that, and I can tell they’re wondering if there’s something wrong with me. Their eyebrows are furrowed, and their mouths are turned down in disapproval. It’s like they haven’t realised that this world isn’t normal anymore. I mean, soulless are definitely not normal, yet I’m the one they think is odd. It’s frustrating and makes me want to roll my eyes.

As I enter the living room, I catch Greg and Alice staring at me like I’m some freak show. Their eyes widen in surprise, and their mouths hang open slightly. I feel a surge of anger and frustration, and I know I need to get out of there before I lose my shit. With a huff, I storm off out the back door.

‘Penny,’ Jane calls out after me, concern etched on her face.

‘Leave me alone,’ I yell, my voice cracking with emotion. I can feel my chest heaving with each breath and my fists clenched tightly at my sides. I start running through the long grassy field towards the fenced-off paddock, my arms pumping at my sides.

As I reach the wooden cylinder fence post, I lean against it heavily, trying to catch my breath. The cows moo softly in the background, and I can feel their curious eyes on me. I’ve never been this close to a cow before, and I can’t help but feel a bit intimidated. Slowly, I reach out and tentatively pat the first cow that approaches. Its warm skin feels surprisingly comforting against my palm.

As I continue petting the cows, I feel myself relax. Their peaceful presence is soothing, and I can feel my muscles loosen with each stroke of their soft fur. Deciding they are friendly, I part the parallel wires that connect to the wooden cylinder posts and climb through. The cows follow me as I stroll along, and I can feel their calm energy surrounding me.

As we walk around, I notice that they have no water. Concerned for their well-being, I open the gate and let them out. They wander towards the dam, and I sit close by to watch them drink. Surprisingly for being large animals, their bodies are graceful and fluid. As they finish drinking, they look at me with their big brown eyes and shake their heads to dry their faces.

Leaves and twigs snap behind me. I hear a familiar voice. I turn around to see Kelly standing behind me, a mischievous smile playing across her face.

‘You seem to be the talk of the town, literally,’ she says, her eyebrows raised.

I roll my eyes, ‘No shit.’

Kelly chuckles, ‘You know, Penny, I admire you. You’re a little spitfire that doesn’t take crap from anybody. You’re not a freak. You’re brave, braver than the lot of them. Do you know that?’

‘I know that, but they don’t,’ I reply softly.

‘Well, that’s because you’re a misfit, a black sheep just like me,’ she says, pushing up her thick-rimmed glasses with her index finger.

I’m confused, so I furrow my brow and stare at her. ‘Everyone seems to get along with you. How are you a black sheep?’

‘For now, they get along with me, but I have unique interests and ideas that most people, if not all people, dislike,’ she smirks. ‘No one ever sees eye to eye with my views. I’m just keeping my opinions to myself and observing for now.’

‘Observing?’ I ask, my curiosity piqued.

‘Observing the soulless, their weaknesses and strengths and how they operate. It’s quite fascinating if you think about it. Maybe one day I’ll have the opportunity to create the cure.’

‘You think you could find a cure?’ I ask in surprise, my eyes widening.

‘Maybe. I did research Becky’s work thoroughly. Just imagine the world would be at my feet. I’d be world-renowned,’ she says, her hands on her hips, a proud grin on her face.

Suddenly, her eyes take on an unsettling appearance, and I feel a chill run down my spine. She blinks, and the look is gone as quickly as it came.

‘That, however, won’t occur until we leave this place and locate a laboratory,’ she sighs.

‘Do you think the Safe Holds will have a lab?’ I ask.

‘Well, they would have medical centres of some kind. I’m sure if they know I’m a scientist, they will give me what I need to work on to create a cure,’ she smirks.

I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at her odd tone, and Kelly laughs it off. ‘Anyway, kid, enjoy the sunshine,’ she waves and walks back towards the house.

***

Nate leans over the bonnet of the station wagon, the sun beating down on his back. He mutters as he twists a wrench in his hand, attempting to fix the car’s engine. I climb up the other side of the car, slowly making my way onto the roof, and sit there in silence, watching him work.

After a few minutes, Nate shuts the car’s bonnet and jumps back in fright as I startle him. His chest heaves up and down as he catches his breath. ‘Penny, you scared the shit out of me,’ he says, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

‘Sorry,’ I mutter, feeling guilty for startling him.

‘It’s okay, just don’t do that again,’ Nate replies, his voice still shaky.

‘Okay,’ I shrug.

‘I was just about to test-’ Nate starts to say, but I interrupt him, pointing behind him in the distance. ‘I can see something moving,’ I say, my eyes widening.

Nate turns and pauses for a moment, then grabs the strap of his rifle and swings it over his shoulder.

‘Follow me,’ he says, leading the way towards the shed.

We go to the back of the house and climb onto the bin lid. Nate gestures for me to climb onto the shed roof, and I grip the gutter and pull myself up. Nate follows behind me, making his way towards the highest peak. He lies down, and I lay beside him as he looks through the microscope. He gestures for me to look through the scope. My eye focuses, and I see eight soulless approaching.

‘I did say I’d give you practice,’ Nate smiles, patting me on the back.

‘But don’t you think I’m a freak like the others, not hesitating to kill the soulless?’ I ask, feeling insecure.

‘No, I think you’re amazing, Penny. You have guts. You’re brave and smart. That’s why you’re going to survive this,’ Nate replies, his eyes filled with admiration.

I smile, feeling a surge of confidence, knowing that Nate will always have my back. I focus and aim, shooting at the soulless. It takes eleven shots, but eventually, all eight are down. Nate and I hi-five each other, feeling victorious.

Suddenly, General Maywood and others run outside to see who is shooting and who is being shot. I lay low, hiding so they can’t see me. ‘Everything is fine, General Maywood. There were soulless in the distance. I got rid of them before they could get any closer,’ Nate calls out to calm them down.

‘Oh, I will get Clive, Greg and Alice to spread out and keep post,’ General Maywood says, relieved.

Nate nods and waits until the coast is clear. ‘They’ve gone back inside,’ he whispers, motioning for me to follow him.

We make our way back to the station wagon, and Nate grins. ‘Hop in,’ he says, motioning for me to sit in the front passenger seat.

I watch as he turns the key in the ignition, and the car starts. ‘Yes!’ we both cheer and holler, feeling triumphant, and fist pump each other.

Nate turns to me with a smile on his face. ‘Both vehicles are working now. I need to siphon fuel from other tanks to fill these babies up. Then we can get the hell out of here,’ he says, his eyes shining with excitement.

‘How do you siphon petrol from the other cars?’ I ask, curious.

‘I’ll teach you, but don’t tell your mother,’ he says with a mischievous grin.

I laugh and nod in agreement.

We go to the shed to find a jerry can. Nate rummages through the cupboards and triumphantly pulls one out. We walk to the front yard, where he picks up the garden hose and cuts a length off with his pocket knife.

‘Now, the fun part,’ Nate says with a smile.

He opens the small door at the side of the car and unscrews the inner lid. He takes the hose, slides it inside, and puts his mouth over the other end. I watch as he quickly puts the hose in the opening of the jerry can, filling it up with petrol. Nate hands me the hose, and I repeat the process with the next car.

On the next car, I don’t remove the hose from my mouth in time, and petrol enters my mouth. I cough, gag, and spit it out as Nate laughs and takes the hose, placing it into the jerry can.

‘Good try, Penny. You just gotta be quicker next time,’ he says, still chuckling.

I make a face of disgust. ‘Argh, it tastes so bad,’ I say to him.

He pulls a small bottle of water from his cargo pant pocket and tosses it to me. I catch it and take a swig, letting it slush around my mouth before spitting it out.

We continue to each car until both vehicles reach their highest fuel capacity. Nate checks the fuel gauges and nods in satisfaction.

‘Great, thanks, Penny. Let’s inform the General the cars are good to go,’ he says, patting me on the back with a smile.

As we enter the house, Liam and the other kids are deeply engrossed in a board game, and the rest of the group is lounging around idly. My stomach grumbles in hunger, and I know Nate feels the same as he heads towards General Maywood.

‘General Maywood,’ he says with a determined expression as he approaches her. ‘The ute and station wagon are both up and running.’

‘Very good, Nate. We will leave first thing in the morning,’ she replies with a satisfied smile.

Meanwhile, I am still thinking about food, and my eyes wander to my duffel bag. I quickly rummage through it and pull out two packets of potato chips. I throw one to Nate, who catches it with a grateful expression.

Carrie chimes in, ‘I’ll have some too, please.’

I shoot her a dirty look and say in a stern tone, ‘Get your own food.’

She gasps and looks around at the group with a pained expression, hoping someone will come to her defence. But no one does, and I continue to glare at her.

‘How rude!’ she scowls.

‘Rude, have you done anything to help the group today?’ I ask her in a scathing tone. ‘You’ve been sitting here doing nothing when you could have collected food for everyone from the other houses. Have you even offered anybody a drink of damn water? No, you haven’t, so if anyone is being rude around here, it is you!’

‘Why you little freak-,’

General Maywood interrupts. ‘That’s enough,’ she says sternly.

‘But that little brat…’ Carrie protests.

‘That little brat is right, Carrie,’ General Maywood cuts her off. ‘You haven’t done anything to help and never brought any food from the school when you had ample opportunity to pack as much as possible into your bag. You can go with Todd and collect food from the kitchen next door and the house up from that. Alice is out there on patrol. Get her to go with you in case you come across any soulless.’

Carrie abruptly stands up from her chair and grabs Todd by the arm, dragging him out the front door with her.

I feel a sense of triumph as I munch loudly on my beloved potato chips, knowing I have won this argument.

A few minutes later, Jane enters the front door and into the lounge. She appears unimpressed. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and her lips are pressed tightly together, showing her disapproval.

‘Penny, Carrie has just told me how disrespectful you were to her. I want you to apologise to her this instance,’ she growls, her tone demanding and stern.

I roll my eyes and scoff in annoyance. I cross my arms over my chest and lean back into the couch in a defensive manner.

‘Are you kidding me?’ I retort, my voice laced with frustration.

‘No, Penny, I’m not kidding you.’ Jane’s expression remains unchanged.

‘Carrie wanted my food. I won’t apologise,’ I reply, my voice rising in anger.

‘Penny, she’s an adult and needs to be respected. As your mother, I’m telling you to go and apologise,’ Jane replies sternly.

Nate and General Maywood try to cut in to defend me, but Jane cuts them off, shaking her head. ‘Penny is my child. I don’t need anyone else interfering,’ showing her determination to handle the situation herself.

Anger builds up inside me, and I clench my fists, showing my frustration. I feel like she doesn’t care about my side of the story. I become angry, crush the potato chips in my hand, and throw the crumpled pieces at Jane’s feet in defiance.

‘I hate you!’ I angrily shout at her and flee the room, slamming the door behind me.

I run outside and lay in the station wagon’s backseat, frustrated and hurt. I don’t get Jane. Why should I respect an adult when that adult does not respect me? I pull my knees up to my chest and hug them tightly.

There’s a tap on the window. I look up to see Carrie smiling, showing her smugness. I push the door lock down and stick my finger up at her. Her eyes narrow angrily at my gesture, and she crosses her arms over her chest in annoyance and then walks away back inside the house.

I lie back down and hug my knees until I fall asleep.