Zombie Rehab (3 page)

Chapter 5

Institute, WV

A
s Henry and Tori were passing through the gates, he thought about John, the old security guard from the day care. He liked John; the man’s soothing demeanor always gave him a sense of security, and his sense of humor was unprecedented as well. Things were different now. The guards were many and their protocol more severe. The guards were a bunch of overzealous thugs, sort of like the TSA at the airports, but entirely redneck.

As they made their way through the second gate, one of the men, brandishing a WHS badge on his uniform, stopped beside Tori and motioned for her to roll the window down.

“I’m gonna need you to step out of the car, Miss.”“I don’t think so,” Tori retorted, pinching her red blouse together at the neckline.

The young man’s chin jutted out. He leered inside and said, “I’ve got my orders. Now you can get out, or you can sit in the car the rest of the day. Don’t worry, I won’t bite. It’ll just take a second.

Henry noticed in his mirrors that more of the guards were gathering around the car. A swagger was in every step as they rubbed on the handles of the guns on their hips. There never was much traffic coming in and out of the complex. It was only natural the bored men would overreact at the sight of a pretty girl. Still, Henry wasn’t much for compassion these days. Besides, the look on Tori’s face told him she was about to freak out. Something about the man reminded him of his brother, Jimmy, who he hoped he would never see again. He never heard what happened after that night. The leering man was licking his lips like he was about to be fed a barbeque pork chop, and it was more than Henry could stand.

Henry pulled out his phone and texted a message.

“Come on, Lady,” the guard urged. “Don’t make me use any force, but I will if I have to.”

Tori remained rigid and silent.
She’s gonna freak out.

“Looks like she’s got something to hide, fellas,” the guard said as two other guards began to close in. “Looks like we better pat them both down.” He pulled out his night stick and stuck the nose of it inside the window. “You two better get out … now.”

“You’re making a mistake … uh,” Henry put on his glasses as he searched for the name tag on the man’s shirt “ … Toby. Yes Toby, you’re making a big mistake. You see, we’ve passed all of your little checks, and if you don’t let us in you’re going to be going home.”

“Is that so? Well, Mister, let me tell you something. I could use the day off, but I ain’t going anywhere, not until I search you and this pretty little lady right here. Now, you’ll do as I say unless you want me to call my uncle, from the local police department, and have you hauled in.” The men snickered. “And I’ll take her into my personal custody,” He licked his lips. “ …and keep a real close eye on her.”

“Toby, do you realize how big of an idiot you are?”

“I suggest you keep your big mouth shut, or I’m gonna take this baton upside your head.”

Henry sent out another text message.

“Have it your way, Toby, but I tried to warn you.”

Toby laughed and said, “Thanks. Now get out of the car—both of you!”

Henry just shook his head and waited.
Come on. What’s going on? Is everyone asleep in there?

There was a loud clicking sound coming from an outdoor speaker overhead.

“TOBY. YOU’RE FIRED. PACK YOUR SHIT AND GO! AND IF THE REST OF YOU MAKE ASSES OUT OF YOURSELVES, YOU’LL BE HEADING BACK TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT OFFICE AS WELL!”

CLICK

Toby looked like someone just shot his dog as the last gate rattled open and Henry drove through.

“You okay?” Henry said to Tori, rubbing her knee.

“Yes, I think. But, poor Toby. Who else on earth is going to give that slob a job?”

“Ha! Ha-Haa! Well, it won’t be long before they have the zombies working the gates.”

Tori was holding her stomach as she giggled and said, “Oh don’t say that, please don’t say that. WHS Security guards: Better … Faster … Smarter ... than plain ole people.”

The jokes were just what they needed before the uneasiness settled in. Henry let the car roll to a stop about thirty yards south of the gate they just left. Ahead was the complex, a roughshod campus of cracked pavement, red brick buildings, and long rows of gray warehouses running along the edge of the interior wall as far as the eye could see. Just ahead was a six story office building that towered over the rest of the campus. The parking lot surrounding the building was vacant except for about a dozen cars.

Henry pushed down on the accelerator and let the car slowly roll over the road towards the back of the complex. He used to come here often, to the complex, back when it was a thriving center for the rehabilitation of many folks in the community. The patients came from all over to be trained by a dutiful staff and refit to function and prosper within society. There was a boarded up entrance to a gymnasium where he used to play basketball games, swim, and even bowl. He remembered the cafeteria, the way it had been, thriving with happy faces and hungry people enjoying a hot meal. They had made the best pizza and homemade biscuits there. Now, the patios where he and his friends used to eat were overgrown with vines creeping up over the walls.

“What a waste,” he said.

“What do you mean, Honey?” Tori asked.

“Aw, it’s just that I used to come here as a kid, with my mom. It was awesome, like a giant playground. It’s just a shame seeing it decaying like this. I mean, you see that rickety gazebo over there?” He pointed up the road to an overgrown patch of grass where a wooden gazebo had collapsed inside on itself.

Tori patted his arm. “I see it, Sugar, I see it just fine. You okay?”

Henry’s tongue clove to the roof of his mouth as he fought back his tears.

“I had an uncle; he stayed here. I mean as a patient; he needed help. It was my mom’s brother. Anyway, he had some problems, some had ones with drugs and alcohol and Lord knows what else. Well, he and I, we …” he voice trailed off.

“It’s okay, you can tell me. Just let it out.”

The warmth of her soft hand gave him the strength he needed.

“We built it. It took two weeks, but we did it. It was one of the best days of my life when we all sat in there and ate. Mom made the best ham salad sandwiches and lemonade. The folks in the cafeteria even brought us some cookies and ice cream.” He wiped the tears from his eyes. “It was just a great day … for all of us.”

Jimmy had been there, too, but he didn’t want to say it. He could only assume Tori figured so much. It was hard to believe that his life, once so simple and perfect, had turned into what it was now.

“Well Henry, it’s a shame,” Tori remarked, patting his knee as they stared at the gazebo.

“I know. I guess … I guess we just didn’t do a very good job.”

Tori burst out into laughter, and it wasn’t long before he followed suit. One thing that the pair had managed to survive on the past few months was a sense of humor. If they couldn’t find a way to laugh, at least once a day, they wouldn’t have made it this long.

“Funny, why haven’t you ever told me that before?”

“I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t want to think about it. I guess I needed to share that with someone, someone special that is.” He squeezed her hand.

“Oh Henry, give me a kiss.”

He pressed his lips against hers, and within seconds his sadness was washed away with elation. He didn’t care who saw, either, but the complex was like a graveyard, and besides, they were both adults.

HONK!
They both jumped as Tori pinned him back against the steering wheel.

“Geez, that scared the poop out of me,” Tori said. “Wow Henry, you really surprised me with that kiss, too. It was one of your better ones; I’ll say that, but we’re gonna have to go.”

“Why? I mean, no one will know. I’m trying to be more adventurous here,” he said, pulling her back towards him.

“I know, and I appreciate it. I’m sure I’ll regret it, too, but I think I just peed myself, so we need to go.”

Henry pushed his glasses back up on his face, blushing, and said, “Oh, okay.”

He put the car back in gear and took a deep breath. He wasn’t even sure what he was doing right now as it was almost like he was having an out of body experience. He needed to get his head back on straight; he was beginning to feel like he was falling apart.
What am I doing?

Tori was fixing her lipstick in the mirror when she asked, “So, if you don’t mind me asking, what ever happened to your uncle?”

“Uh … well, a few years before the zombies came they released him, and we never saw or heard from him again.”

“That’s sad. What do you think happened?”

“He used to talk about going to Korea a lot. Maybe he went there. I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.

“Did you ever try to look him up?”

“Sure, a few times, but no luck.”

“Does it bother you?” she asked.

Henry stopped the car.

“Er … no, but I’ll tell you what does.”

“What,” she said as she checked her lips in the mirror.

“Zombies walking around on the loose like human beings. Roll up your window, Tori. Roll it up!”

Tori gasped as she pressed the window button.

Stupefied, Henry watched two zombies lumbering his way. One was pushing a lawnmower. The other was dragging a rake.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Chapter 6

Washington, D.C.

J
ack lifted his custom laptop and flipped open the screen, bringing the monitor to life. It was one of the perks of the WHS, the latest in computer technology. His busy fingers tapped on the screen as he began loading up data files of information that only a handful of people in the entire world had ever seen.

“What are you doing, Jack? Are you doing to give me a PowerPoint presentation? You know I hate those things. Remember the last time … I think the Senators Grose and Sears were about to die in the middle of your presentation. I still don’t know who all of these people are that read and write bills all day long.”

Jack laughed at the remark as a spark awakened behind his green eyes. “Yeah right. Those guys don’t read or write those bills. Some old man told me that once, not so long ago.”

“Ha, ha … you remember that, do you? How old were you, twelve? I could’ve sworn you weren’t listening.”

“Oh, I was listening alright. And I was ten.”

Don reached over and scruffed up the thick brown hair on his head. The older man was smiling as his gray eyes set themselves on the images on the screen. “I hope you don’t want me to read all of that. My glasses are in the car, after all. Speaking of which … you want some coffee or something? I can have my driver bring over my Thermos. He’s really good at that.”

Jack gave him a funny look and said, “How many Thermoses do you have in there?”

“As many as I tell him to prepare.”

“You really are a piece of work, Uncle Don.

“I am, aren’t I? Now show me what you got,” he said, waving his arm up in the air. His armed escort made his way over from the car, Thermos in hand. Don closed the black case to his own custom computer, took the canister, twisted off the cup top, and filled it up.

Jack could see the steam rising from the hot beverage from the corner of his eye and said, “Gee, you even filled it yourself. Impressive. You aren’t getting soft on me, are you?”

“Some things, a man has to do for himself.”

“Huh … Hey Oliver, you wouldn’t happen to have any Mountain Dew in there, would you?”

The man remained stone-faced as he stared out into the horizon, still enjoying his smoke.

Don dismissed the man with a nod saying, “Thanks Oliver, and don’t pay my nephew any mind. He doesn’t understand war-horses like us. Feel free to help yourself; by the way. It’s getting chilly out here.” Don took a sip and followed it up with a refreshing sigh. “Okay, get on with it. What’s the latest?”

“First, it’s not a PowerPoint presentation, even though I do have one, but this isn’t that. It’s just some data I wanted to pull up to refresh my memory in case you insisted on seeing some numbers for yourself.”

“Nope, I’ll let you handle the numbers. I stopped keeping track of those little things about ten trillion dollars ago. Just give me the results, the testing, or whatever you geeks refer to it as.”

Jack shifted in his seat as he cleared his throat and said, “Since the acquisition of the XT Formula we’ve opened six new research facilities across the country, all of which are well concealed from the general public … well, from just about everyone, really. Now these are all separate and apart from the day-care facilities, one focusing on one area, and some on the others. One facility in particular is manufacturing the formula, while the others are primarily focused on using the formula for zombie rehabilitation.”

“Zombie Rehabilitation, hah. Our employers sure come up with awfully clever ways of naming their experiments.”

“You don’t approve?” Jack asked.

“It doesn’t matter if I approve or not. I just think it’s silly. I mean, when the WHS was created I thought it was the biggest joke in the world. It was crazy enough that the world was turned upside down by zombies, but now you have a group of people trying to sell it to the public as a good thing. And the people are buying it. I’m even buying it, because I have to. I never believed in any of it to begin with.”

Jack gave him a curious look and said, “Any of what, exactly?”

Don’s face turned a little bit pale as his eyes darted away. He took another drink of coffee. Don started to cough, and one followed louder than the last until finally the fit stopped.

“You okay?” Jack said, patting his uncle on the back.

“Fine, fine, just getting chilly, I guess. Damn, I spilled my coffee,” Don said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping the liquid off his expensive computer case. “Ah, it’ll be fine; it’s leather.”

Jack had the feeling his uncle was trying to avoid his stare, and had changed the subject as his last question seemed to have struck a nerve. A very sinister feeling rose inside him. He wanted to know everything about the zombies. He had put in his time, and he deserved to know. Had his uncle known about the outbreak before it happened? His gut was telling him yes, but Don’s expression was a de facto no. Over the years it had always seemed like there was something dark that hung over his uncle’s head after the outbreak. He wanted to know what that was. As a senior advisor in Washington for decades, he knew that his uncle knew things, things that only the world’s most powerful men and women may or may not know. He wanted to press the issue.
He’s getting old. He’s gotta tell me more.

“Now where were we, Jack?”

“Well, you said ‘I never believed in any of it to begin with,’ and I asked, ‘Any of what?’ And you were about to say …”

Don refilled his cup and said, “Oh, I see what you’re hinting at. Easy Jack, what I meant was when they first reported the zombie outbreak in Washington, I didn’t believe a word of it. I’m almost eighty. I’ve seen things happen in my lifetime that I never could have imagined as a child. About ten or twenty years ago, I began to believe that just about anything could happen. Cell phones, computers, the Internet. But zombies?” I said. “You’ve got to be kidding me. To an old Catholic warrior like me, it might as well have been the apocalypse.”

The words seemed sincere enough, but the pitch in his uncle’s voice wasn’t as convincing as it normally was. Jack paid closer attention.

“Now the both of us work for a company that is a caretaker for zombies. Taking care of my parents before they passed away was one thing, but taking care of over a million zombies … mindless, useless and dangerous? It’s beyond conceivable. It’s frightening.”

Jack sat at his uncle’s side, letting the falling sun warm his face with the last breaths of day. It wasn’t so long ago when he wondered if he would ever enjoy another sunset again as he reflected on all of the chaos that struck those many years ago. Now, his life couldn’t be any better. He had the zombies to thank for that.
Old people never see the beauty in it.

“Beautiful evening isn’t it?” his uncle said.

“Sure is. You know, this might sound strange, but on days like this I think about Nate McDaniel and how he saved the world.”

His uncle nodded and said, “With Zombie Dew of all the ridiculous things.”

“Well, if you think that is ridiculous, wait until I tell you what they are using the XT Formula for now!”

“Let me guess, they’re going to have zombies counting ballots next.”