Class of 2013 - 25

Chapter Twenty Five

Sunday, June the Ninth, and Day Five of our survival, began with a very simple morning. Breakfast was made and served for the total of our survivors, and then we all separated into our various groups to carry out our specified tasks for the day. Chien had gotten together with Sweet the night before and discussed a training regimen for both the current guards, as well as the survivors from Perris High that had no sort of experience with firearms. Neither of them enjoyed the idea of teaching those jocks to use the guns, but after the losses we suffered… there really wasn’t much of a choice. Besides which, while our guts were telling us that they were bad news... we had no sort of evidence to affirm our suspicions. These two things together meant that the jocks were going to be trained.

If anything, at least we might have cannon fodder, despite how horrible that sounded. I doubted the jocks would be good for much else, really, but there was always the chance that with Chien and Sweet training them together they might be worth something at least. They wouldn’t be anywhere near Marine Corps material, but they’d at least be as good as a basic Army infantryman. The guards were fine for the most part, but their training was going to be extended into the realm of base security. That meant they were going to be trained how to properly operate the gates and check vehicles. It was something that he had overlooked considering that we knew zombies were easy to spot, and we doubted we’d have anyone but our own group of survivors driving inside the school. However, after that fiasco with the semi truck, we weren’t taking chances.

The guards would have their armaments changed up as well. Instead of both having a Ruger 10/22, one would be armed with a 10/22, and the other would be armed with a shotgun. The one armed with the rifle would be the one to open the back of any rigs that were brought to our base, and the other would stand a few paces away with the shotgun aimed at the doors. The rifleman would open the doors quickly and move aside as the doors opened, and the shotgun guard would be prepared to fire in the event that we ran into the same problem again. Truth told, I doubted we’d ever have that exact same problem again, but it was always a good idea to have a plan. Even if we didn’t find any more semi-tractor trailers full of zombies, it was good for checking the backs of vans, SUV’s, and other vehicles that could be hauling potential hazards.

Chien would be the one starting their training, as well as grudgingly indulging Novik in his insistence that he be allowed to help train the survivors that had come with him. Meanwhile, Sweet had other matters to attend to; along with Johnny, James, Christine, and William. Today was going to be the first day of Johnny’s recovery – aka, he went cold turkey, starting today. He wasn’t looking forward to the withdrawal, as he’d gone through it a couple times in the past and knew how horrible it could be. Unlike the other times though, this time he would be going through it until it stopped. Weaning him off the opioids simply wasn’t an option, not with how low our morphine supply was. This was our only real chance of getting him off the stuff, and once it started there was no going back.

James, Christine, and William had volunteered to be the guards for the locker room that Johnny would be locked in until it was all over. They would also be the ones that tended to him in matters of food, water, and clothing if the need arose. Sophia, as well as Emily and Ophelia (her and Sweet’s daughters), would be taking care of him in other matters – making sure that he was hygienic, to put it simply. The guard method that was picked was for the three to work in eight hour shifts – eight hours on duty, eight hours off duty, and eight hours of sleep was the plan. They would also be inside with Johnny, rather than outside, considering that the locker room buildings had a door at each end of the building and opened from the inside. Their duty as guards was as much to keep him inside as it was to keep others from bothering him.

James was likely the one that had thought it all through the most, and had brought a deck of playing cards and some poker chips with him, as well as a few other things (including chess and checkers) for entertainment. The cards were his, though had ended up confiscated… along with my poker chips… when we had been caught playing poker at lunch one day. We, of course, weren’t betting for money – and everyone knew it – but considering the school’s rules of ‘no gambling’, we ended up having our things taken away. Sweet had intended to give these items back to us – along with a few more things – after we graduated… but considering that had never happened, now was as good a time as any.

Christine had taken a laptop from the computer lab, figuring that solitaire, minesweeper, chess, and mahjong would be able to keep her busy for hours on end – especially the last one, considering that it was such a pain in the ass to beat. She’d also brought Chinese checkers, in case Johnny wanted to play a few games with her. Apparently it was something they always tried to best one another at, and while he wasn’t sure how well he would do with his mind being warped from withdrawal, he was still ready to take on the challenge that she put forth. As well, despite not knowing how well he might do, Christine was still a bit wary of him. Apparently he beat her more often than she beat him, if only by a slight margin.

William was probably the least prepared to handle the long hours, at least in terms of things he brought for entertainment. All he brought was graph paper and a couple of colored pens – one blue, and one red. Tic-Tac-Toe and that game where you had to draw lines in order to make boxes were the primary games he had in mind – though he was also figuring on the other things being left for him and Johnny as well. Of course, William was mostly going to be taking the graveyard shift, and thus was more likely to be by himself – as Johnny would probably be asleep. That suited him just fine though. Looking after him would be a lot less stressful if he was asleep during that time period.

As for what his sleeping accommodations would be, Sweet had setup a cot in the shower area of the boy’s locker room, and had made sure that it was both aired out, as well as all the shower heads being either covered or closed tight so that they wouldn’t leak. It wasn’t exactly the Roxy, but it was better than nothing. Topping this off of course was the fact that when he went in to sleep – or if the guard ever felt that they were in danger and pushed him in (assuming the possibility that he might lose it as the withdrawal got worse) – the guard was given a lock and key to secure the shower room door, just in case. If he did lose it, there wasn’t much that he could hurt himself on inside the showers, and if he was intent on going to sleep it would make sure that nobody would disturb him all during the night… while ensuring that he could also be let out if he needed to relieve himself.

While they were all focused on Johnny, I found myself heading for Alice’s laboratory. It had only been one night, and I knew that, but I wanted to see if she had learned anything about them at all. I could easily be accused of being anxious to hear news of what the possibilities of these creatures might be, and wouldn’t mind the accusation at all. It was true. I was anxious – both to learn of the possibilities of their bodies, and about what possible weaknesses they might have. Anything that we could learn from their biology would be useful to us, and that meant I wanted to know about it. What I saw upon my arrival though nearly made me laugh, despite what I knew the girl probably had to do to find these things out.

Being that all the adults and near-adults but me had things to get done, Alice and Timothy were essentially left to their own devices – and the end result was somewhat comical. Alice was dressed up in what was obviously a coat from the science lab, as well as some yellow rubber gloves, a facemask, and goggles that were normally issued for use on the target range. Her hair was frazzled from lack of brushing and bathing, and the lab coat hung only about an inch from touching the ground – sweeping it just slightly as she walked. Meanwhile, her brother was wearing a jacket that had probably once belonged to someone in junior high, with… of all things… what looked to be a pillow stuffed up the back of the jacket. It was a mini gender-bent Frankenstein and her assistant! Part of me thought it was one of the strangest things I had ever seen. The rest of me thought that it was pretty cool. There was still some hope for kids after all!

Which of them had come up with the idea, I couldn’t be sure, and I decided not to ask since – it seemed – it was mostly to entertain Timothy… and maybe to distract him from the fact that they were working with an actual zombie. I wasn’t sure if that was wise, but the zombie was restrained and neither of them seemed to be in any danger, so I let it go. Within moments of entering the lab, Alice lead me over to a laptop that she had setup – and just from the way that she moved I could tell that the girl was excited about something. Tapping the spacebar a couple times to bring the machine out of standby mode, the screen soon flashed to life with Word already open. There on the screen were the little mad scientist’s notes, and she eagerly pointed at them – as if demanding that I read. With a nod, I grabbed a nearby chair and sat in front of the laptop, beginning to go over her notes.

1). Details of subject’s exterior condition: skin paled with a slight green pigment over most of the body, with dark brown blotches near any wounds – including initial bite area, and bruising from being struck and bound – and muscles. Eyes seem covered by white and green cataracts, thus disabling subject’s vision. Aside from these details, the subject would appear to have been in perfect health before infection.

2). Note: subject retains a pulse.

3). Primary blood analysis. Initial blood samples from limbs, once viewed under a microscope, reveal the following; three substances are within the body – and will henceforth be classified by their colors: Red, Black, and Green. Red is the standard oxygen carrying red blood cells that are naturally found in great abundance within the human body. Black would appear to be these same cells, but carrying (I assume) a large quantity of carbon dioxide – this phenomenon is also in abundance in these samples. Green might be the source of the contagion, and the strangest of all: see 4.

4). Note: Green would appear to be some sort of mutated strain of colonial cyanobacteria (green algae). How this has happened, I cannot be sure, and I am also currently unsure as to whether or not this is truly the source of the infection, or if this is simply another symptom – yet, it would appear to be the most out of place substance within the subject. Evidence (5 & 6) would also seem to suggest that it has something to do with the other physical changes in the body.

5). Note: Blood samples taken from areas with brown blotches seem at first to be the same color as the sample site, leading me initially to think this would be a fourth substance. However, upon further investigation I discovered that the brown coloration is caused by all three of the other substances being very active in the same location simultaneously. Through watching these samples under the microscope I have been able to deduce that Black is most likely transporting carbon dioxide – for the purpose of supplying Green with the materials needed to undergo the process of photosynthesis. After Black has been depleted of the carbon dioxide, it is then charged by Green with oxygen and becomes Red.

6). Note: the subject continues to breathe, but breathing is very shallow – which is explainable by the fact that the subject may not need to breathe to sustain life. One possible reason for the shallow breathing may be to exhale excess oxygen.

7). Note: these creatures are, in fact, alive – however, their higher brain functions are hampered for some as-yet unknown reason.

8). Secondary blood analysis: blood samples taken from joints reveal only minor amounts of Green, but high amounts of both Red and Black, suggesting that these are transported throughout the body – possibly independent of Green’s presence.

9). Tertiary blood analysis: blood samples taken from near the base of the skull reveal incredibly high activity in this area. Shall take more samples along the spine.

10). Note: blood samples from along the spinal column reveal the same high activity all along the spine. Reason unknown.

11). Theory: if Green somehow really is the contagion, it may be linked in a symbiotic manner to the host’s spine, and thus may be the reanimating agent as well.

12). Theory (in relation to 7): assuming that Green is the contagion and reanimating agent, it is possible that higher brain functions may be hampered due to Green reactivating only the sections of the nervous system that keep the host (and thus this strange symbiotic algal mutation) alive. Simply put, higher brain functions are not active because Green does not need them to survive.

13). Quandary: assuming Green is the contagion and reanimating agent, what has caused Green to mutate from its standard form into this plague? Answer – unknown. No theory is currently available due to lack of evidence. More exact equipment is necessary to study Green in greater detail, in order to provide the necessary scientific evidence for forming a decent theory.

Leaning back in the chair, I was quiet for a moment as I thought over the young genius’ notes. Cyanobacteria… pond scum… it was something that people spent a few dollars to make their pool at home inhospitable to. Yet, here it was, causing the downfall of arguably the most powerful and influential nation on the face of the Earth. It brought forth questions in my mind, though Alice in her notes had already pre-empted me by saying in her notes that she couldn’t come up with any answers about the bacteria and what might have mutated it without first having proper equipment. Of course, there were two questions that still burned at my mind. The first was in regards to whether or not this was truly a bioweapon, or if it could have come about naturally. The second was in regards to its potential for spreading to other nations.

Of course, the spread triggered another thought. The brief amount of time that Chien and I had to look at news feeds on the internet when this all started had revealed that it started around the country at relatively the same time. Could it be a natural occurrence and also happen in so many places at the same time? Could it really be so well timed and so effective if it was just a process of natural mutation? And, if that was so, why hadn’t it happened anywhere else in the world yet… at least as far as we knew? Cyanobacteria was present everywhere but the coldest regions of the planet, and in the tropics it thrived. Why hadn’t this started in the Amazon, or the Caribbean, or out on some Pacific island? Or… had it, and it somehow came back here due to researchers?

It was hard to say what had really caused this sort of dispersal pattern. If it was a terrorist attack or a military strike, it was one of the most effective bio-weapons that a nation had ever developed. If it was a product of natural evolution… it would oddly make sense for our destruction to be brought about by the sea. After all, being that we came from the sea, and the ancient bacteria of the oceans had been around longer than we have – since the first life forms came into existence on our planet – who’s to say that it couldn’t change in some subtle way and bring about our destruction? Symbiotic bacteria already existed within the human digestive system, so why couldn’t some other sort of bacteria have a different type of symbiotic relationship with the human anatomy?

As well, it didn’t seem that the dead were popping out of graves, so there had to be a more natural explanation than the full reanimation of a corpse. Somehow this bacterium had learned to shut us off and restart us, just like a computer system. It just left our higher brain functions in standby mode.

Glancing at the notes again, I noticed that Alice didn’t have any mention of the reported healing factor that James had witnessed.

“Alice…” I said as I turned to look at her, “…have you noticed anything in regards to the healing factor that James mentioned to us?”

She held up a hand, wobbled it a little, and then typed, “Kind of, but not enough yet. It’s faster than a human’s healing, but not fast enough to tell exactly what’s going on. There are brown blotches next to wounds, so there’s high activity there, but so far it’s not clear what that activity is, other than probably that healing taking place due to some unknown process.”

I nodded. “When you figure it out, let me know. That could be incredibly important to furthering our goals, Alice. Do you understand?”

She smiled and gave a small nod. “Of course, mein Herr. Whatever you say, Lieutenant.”

I blinked. “Mein Herr?”

“World War Two movies, Lieutenant.”

“Oh.” I blinked, “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you Frauline?”

“Possibly.” She typed with a little smirk.