Part 8 (1/2)

”Hunger doesn't drive you?” he questioned her aloud not expecting a response. ”So than why do you attack people?”

He had seen them on numerous occasions with what appeared to be human body parts that have been chewed on and eaten. This could not be explained as mere hunger if she would not eat any other food. Fortunately though, he had never seen one attack a living person, but he couldn't help to wonder what such an attack would tell him; on a scientific level that is.

His father never had the chance to understand why Sam had awoken from death. Jonathan hypothesized that perhaps it was caused by the contact with Greg's fresh blood cells that were certainly spilled while Brian beat him. He continued to write in his own journal regarding the research he was doing.

Perhaps the chemical needs to attach itself to living cells, he wrote in his journal. That wouldn't explain how these dead have managed for so long without fresh tissue, though.

Dozens of theories were produced by Jonathan in his attempts to understand what was causing this not only to happen, but to continue to happen. He wasn't sure how long a chemical reaction could last with nothing to feed it. Nothing of it made sense, so he went back to researching his new friend by the shed.

After doing some research in a medical book, he used a small hammer to test the girl's reflexes in her knees and elbows. She only continued to struggle to reach him. He tested her ability to hear by sneaking around and making noised in different areas of the yard. All of which she reacted to as anyone would.

By sneaking up close to her he gathered enough data to claim that her sense of smell was heightened. This struck him as peculiar since her own body stunk horribly of decay. Her breath had the awful smell of rotten eggs and vomit. Jonathan wasn't sure how she could smell anything over that.

With a little more research, he ran a series of simple tests. The simplest of these was checking her pulse, which none was found. He checked for a heartbeat using a stethoscope his father had in a medical bag in the bas.e.m.e.nt. No heartbeat could be found either. Using a blood pressure cuff that he also found in the medical bag, he found she had no blood pressure.

Strangely, she was breathing; however, it was almost too slow to notice. Air was pulled in through her nose and exhaled from her mouth. This made sense of her ability to smell him, as well as their ability to make noises, but he doubted that she was actually consuming oxygen from this. He made a note to examine her lungs.

”I'm no doctor,” he read aloud as he wrote in his notes. ”But in a clinical sense, this woman is dead. As expected.”

One morning he made the decision to test the pain tolerance that they have. She didn't seem to be bothered by being dragged over a wall and dropped nine feet. She also didn't seem to care about being bound to a shed. Jonathan's curiosity grew as he wondered if there was any way to discourage them.

Jonathan walked out of the garage door and toward the girl by the shed. She made attempts to reach him when she saw him coming. He concluded that they had no memory of anything. The girl always reacted in the same way upon seeing him. Day after day she made attempts to reach him. After he disappeared through the door she would go docile again, as if she forgot he was even there. She also did not seem to understand that she was bound.

In his right hand was a pair of orange handled scissor. He looked down at her feet. She still wore only one battered and dirty shoe. He couldn't tell if her sock was pink or just stained with blood. Jonathan also wondered what had happened to the other sock and shoe, quickly dismissed the thought, and knelt down beside her.

The scissors were sharp, but it still took plenty of effort to cut through the bone. She gave no indication of feeling any pain. She also didn't seem to be concerned by the loss of her toe. She continued to wiggle and jerk in her vain attempt to move.

Holding the toe close to his face, Jonathan examined it. The little amount of blood that oozed out of the wound was thick and black, resembling a dark maple syrup. He brought the toe even closer to his face. The smell from the inside was putrid. He took the toe inside to examine it further with a microscope.

As usual, after Jonathan walked out of sight, she sniffed the air gently. Pulling on her chains was useless, but she didn't know that, and she continued to do it anyway. Just over an hour after Jonathan entered his home, the girl calmed down.

Having successfully extracted a sample of the thick blood Jonathan concluded that there was no cellular activity. He believed that the white blood cells were destroyed by the chemical as it took over the body. The blood stream carried the contamination to the rest of the body, spreading the infection quickly.

From a sample of the flesh he had taken from the toe, he discovered that there was almost no decay in the fresh wound. The external layers of skin rotted, and the blood was thick and clumpy, but Jonathan's findings led him to believe that if he was to dissect the girl, most of her vital organs and muscle would be in fairly decent condition.

The chemical was supposed to react with the cells in the skin in an attempt to regenerate the damaged tissue. What it appeared to actually do, however, was form a bond with the cells and completely take over the body, using the cells as an initial energy source. From this point on the chemical contaminant becomes self-sustaining. Even though the flesh rots, the cells are being kept alive.

This left him with more questions. With most of the tissue being dead and dry, what was keeping them going, he asked himself. He would need to take a closer look at the muscle tissue. Not needing precision cuts, he grabbed a knife from the counter and heading back outside. The commotion on the streets instantly grabbed his attention.

He ran around to the front yard hoping to be able to see what was going on through the gate, but he was too far away. Running up to the wall next to the gate he propped the ladder back up and climbed to the top. In the distance he could see a man running from a horde of the undead. The man looked tired.

”Over here!” Jonathan shouted, waving his arms. ”Over here!” This second yell was enough for the man to notice him.

Jonathan jumped from the ladder and ran to the garage for the rope. He made it back and flung one end over the wall as he climbed back up the ladder. As the man approached Jonathan pointed to the rope. The man grabbed hold and began hoisting himself up, but he was too heavy for Jonathan to hold onto.

”Hold on one sec!” he yelled over the wall. Jonathan tied the rope around his waist and braced himself against the wall with his feet. ”Try it now,” he hollered. The weight of the man wasn't incredible, but it was enough to cause his back and knees to hurt. He walked up the wall two steps in an attempt to increase his leverage.

The brown skin of the man's hand appeared over the wall, followed shortly by the other hand. As the man pulled his body up to the top of the wall Jonathan's weight took over. The man fell, his wet body landing on top of Jonathan, who had the air pushed violently from his lungs.

Before he had time to catch his breath, however, he was lifted off ground. The undead on the other side of the wall were pulling on the rope in an attempt to catch their pry. The man stood up next to Jonathan, who was trying to scream but still couldn't find his breath, and pulled out a pocket knife from his pack. The force of Jonathan falling back to the ground after the rope separated knocked the wind out of him again.

The man waited a moment, trying to catch his own breath before saying, ”I'm Guillermo. I'm with others. Are you ok?”

Jonathan lifted his head up off the ground, painfully nodded, and allowed his head to fall back to the soft gra.s.s. He was in pain but comfortable. Still catching his breath, Jonathan stared off into the cool blue sky.

Chapter 13.

Arms came through the large gate, causing Guillermo to jump to his feet. Most of these arms were missing flesh. Skin, muscle, and veins hung from the bones. Some were missing fingers while other had no hands, just bone and flesh.

The bone in one arm had deep scratches in it from being chewed on. The arm's dead owner pressed his face into the opening so hard that the skin around his right eye tore away and stuck to the iron gate.

”They cannot get in,” Jonathan said calmly. ”My father made sure of that.” He watched them with interest.

”Now that I think of it, I remember when they put this gate in. I was working on a lawn two houses away from here. The Henderson's lawn,” Guillermo said, pointing slightly west. Jonathan shook his head to confirm he knew the Henderson's. ”People thought it was a bit excessive. Guess they were wrong.”

”My name is Jonathan by the way. Come inside. I will see if there are some clean clothes for you. I mean no offense, sir, but you smell rancid. I may need a change of clothes myself.” He looked down at the slimy water on his own s.h.i.+rt that came from Guillermo falling on top of him. ”How long have you been out there?”

”Only an hour or so maybe,” Guillermo said while laughing at the boy's friendly jab. ”I jumped a wall to escape some of the devils that were chasing me. Splas.h.!.+ Fell in a swimming pool that was home to one or two of aem for a long time.”

”That's gross. What about the others? You said there are more of you?” Jonathan led the way through the garage and into the house.

”Yeah. There are two other men, a young lady, and three little kids. Also a man and his wife are living in a house not far from here, but I don't know if they are going to be with us or not.”

”Well you can clean up, eat, and rest. Are you supposed to signal them or go back for them?” He showed Guillermo to his father's dresser and closet. ”Take whatever will fit.”

”Gracias. I will go back for them and bring them here if that won't be a problem with your father.” He looked through the nice suits in the closet and tried to find something a little more comfortable. ”Will he be ok with me taking one of these outfits?”

”I am not sure where my father is. I doubt he made it, and please, bring your friends. I may need help,” Jonathan said on his way out of the room.

Guillermo showered for the first time in a year. He could never bring himself to waste much of the water he could find, so he only washed the important areas. The clothes he put on were just a little too long and a little too tight. He made modifications to the outfit, and after he dressed he went to find Jonathan. He called for him, but there was no answer. Stepping out of the front of the garage he noticed the horde was settling down at the gate, but he didn't see Jonathan anywhere.

He turned back to the garage and noticed the door leading out of the back. As he walked through this back door he saw the dead woman standing in the yard. Before turning back to look for a weapon, he heard Jonathan.

”It is alright. She is tied up.” Jonathan stood just feet away, holding what appeared to be a large slice of meat in one hand and a knife in the other. ”It is muscle from the dead girl,” he said as he noticed Guillermo's disgusted, yet confused look.

”Why do you have a dead girl in your back yard? Why do you have her muscle in your hand, if I may ask?” Guillermo seemed slightly disturbed, and he began to worry that his hospitable host may be the cannibal they believed Deacon to be. Feeling he sounded rude, Guillermo said, ”I'm sorry. I shouldn't ask such questions. It is your home.”

”It is not a problem Guillermo. I am doing research. I have to understand them in order to beat them. When do you plan on leaving?”

”Soon, very soon,” Guillermo said hurriedly. ”I should go before it gets dark. Then we will make our way back in the morning if the conditions are manageable.”

”That works. I will keep an eye out for you. Maybe I can slide a ladder down to the other side of the wall when I see you coming back. I placed a fresh pack with supplies in the garage. There should be enough food to feed you all for a few days in case you cannot make the trip right away.”

”Gracias again.” Guillermo's worries began to slip away. ”Be careful with that thing.” He nodded to the dead girl. ”I'll have little ones with me, so please be watching.”