Zombie Theorem: The End Game (6 page)

I stared at his hand. “We do not have to be uncivilized Mr. Welko.” I raised my hand and took his proffered hand, shaking it firmly. “See? That didn’t hurt, did it?”

“Nice to meet you, even in this not-so perfect situation.” I said, as nicely as I could.

“Yes, well, we will see how things can change for you depending how you act and what information you decide to share with us. But this is not the time to start asking those questions. I just wanted to meet with you and go over some quick things. We will let you rest tonight, and then we can start tomorrow.” He opened the files in front of him and slid them over so that I could see them. One had pictures of the General, Colonel Phillips, and Colonel Kuppers. “See, I already know who your leadership is.” I looked over at the other one and read the single sheet of paper. The gist was a letter informing our leadership of my capture and proof of life. It didn’t demand anything or make threats. At the bottom, there was a place for me to sign. He handed me the gold pen. “Just sign the bottom and I can get this to your people. That way they can relax. I am sure your wife Julie would love to know that you are alive.” He gave me that practiced slick smile.

I took the pen and signed it. At the bottom I wrote I was okay and not to worry. He waited for me to put the pen down and I did. He took, it screwed back on the cap, and put it out of my reach. He took the two files and closed them. “I will have that delivered to your base ASAP. That will end our time today.” He turned toward the mirror and made a hand gesture. The door opened and three men came in.

“Please be kind to our guest and show him to his room. Make sure the doctor looks him over, and get him some food. If anyone harms him, I will have all three of you tossed into the pit of infected.” He rose shot his cuffs, and picked up his briefcase. “Till tomorrow then.” He turned and left the room.

I sat there unsure of what had just happened. The guards unlocked my handcuffs from the table and locked them in front of me. They escorted me out of the room, we turned left and continued down a rich blue carpeted hallway and to an elevator. The doors opened swiftly but quietly. The elevator looked like something you would expect to find in a corporate high-rise. I figured we would head down to the basement, but instead they pushed the button for the twentieth floor. The elevator climbed fast and silent. The doors opened onto a hallway with the same plush blue carpet. They walked me down to a door at the end of the hallway and opened it. I walked in and they turned me around and undid my cuffs. “The doctor will be up soon to check on you. There is water in the fridge.” The door closed and I heard it lock.

I turned in a circle and found myself standing in a living room with floor to ceiling windows. To my left was a small kitchen and a door. I walked over and opened the door. It opened onto a room built for a VIP. The bed was California King size with sheets in the high thousand thread count. I made my way to the bathroom and was floored at the sight of it, all marble and gold gleamed at me. I went back to the living room and looked out the window.

I was in Las Vegas overlooking the strip. I could see that Ridder and the Culling Initiative had turned the city into a large prison camp and military compound. I sighed, knowing that there was no way I would be rescued from a place like this. I made way over to the kitchen and retrieved a cold water and sat on the massive leather sofa. I pulled up my shirt and looked down at the yellow and blue bruise on my chest from where the Ridder soldier had kicked me. I probed it with my fingers and hissed at the pain. My scars looked okay, still pink and shiny, and they had not been reopened. I let my shirt fall and took a drink of the cold water and sat back staring outside since the TV that had been in here had been removed.

I closed my eyes tight and thought about Julie and hoped everyone was okay. Last time I’d seen Brian, he’d been unconscious and barely breathing. If he or Julie had died I would tear the Culling initiative and their lackeys, Ridder down and burn it, then salt the ground so nothing could ever grow again. Someone knocked on the door and then it opened. A small man dressed in green scrubs followed by a female dressed in blue scrubs entered the room. He extended his hand to me and introduced himself. “I am Doctor Fieldman, and this is my nurse, Linda Correlia. I was asked to come up and check you out, give you a ‘check-up’, I guess we could call it.”

I decided to be nice and play their game. I extended my hand and shook both of their hands, plastering a smile on my face. “I am Dan Welko, as I am sure you already know. Where shall we start?”

“If you could remove your shirt, please. We will take your vitals.”

I peeled my shirt off with an audible hiss of pain. The nurse gasped in awe. “Oh my goodness, that is one big bruise. Are you able to breathe fine?”

“One of the soldiers thought I wasn’t moving fast enough for him, so he kicked me. I am having difficulties breathing, that is safe to say.” I hissed again when the Doctor slid his hand over the bruise.

“And what about these three wounds on your torso?” He looked a little closer. “Are those bullet wounds?”

“Yeah, another soldier used me for target practice. Took two in the chest and one in the abdomen about a month ago.”

“You lead an exciting life.” The Doctor mumbled as he probed my chest with his fingers. “Seems that you have two cracked ribs. I am just guessing mind you, since I don’t have an X-ray machine here.”

“You are very good, Doctor. They still hurt and worse, now that I got kicked.”

He stopped probing for now and reached into his bag. He came out with a thermometer which he stuck in my mouth and a blood pressure cuff. The nurse took my blood pressure, while the doctor took some of my blood. They took note of their findings and spoke medical jargon to one another as I concentrated on the view from my window.

“Mister Welko, thank you for being such a good patient. I am going to give you a shot of vitamins and another one with a pain killer to help take the pain of these wounds away. I suggest you eat well tonight and get some sleep. You are a very lucky man to be sitting here alive, with the punishment your body has taken.” He gave me the shots and I thanked them as they left.

I went into the bedroom again and checked the closet. I was amazed to find some clothes in my size. What made me laugh, is that they were khaki pants and blue polos. I checked the dresser and found underwear and socks. I decided it was time for a shower. I peeled off the dirt encrusted pants and climbed into the shower. I sat in the hot water for a while, enjoying the heat and privacy. I figured the room was bugged and maybe even had a camera or two in it. The place was plush but still a prison, I had to keep remembering that. I stepped out, dried off, and dressed in the clean clothes.

I wandered back into the living room to find a tray of food on the table in front of the sofa, including a big cup of coffee. Now I know you are thinking wow, this guy is extremely naïve. They are just softening you up before turning the screws on you. I know they are, or at least I expect it. But I might as well enjoy it while I can. I took the top off of the plate and found a mighty T-bone steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus and a Caesar salad. I ate heartily and sat back on the couch, drinking my coffee and staring up at the sky. I started making a list in my head, of the things I knew and the things I didn’t know yet.

Stuff I know; I am in Las Vegas, I have met who I believe to be the high mucky muck in this section of the Culling Initiative Joseph P. Hedley, I know for some reason they are treating me with civility and had me sign a proof of existence letter. Stuff I don’t know; what is going to happen to me, are my loved ones alive, do they know where I am, is there a rescue plan to come get me?

Ok Dan, are we going to answer their questions or fight back?

I watched as the sky grew dark and the lights of the city came on. I yawned and decided I might as well hit the sheets and see what tomorrow would bring when I woke up. I crawled into the massive bed and was out in seconds. I had a dream that night. One that gave me hope but scared me to my foundation.

I woke up on the bench, overlooking the ocean in Oregon again. The beautiful blonde girl from the boat sat next to me. “I am scared. Not for what they may do to me, but what they may get from me. I do not want to tell them anything that can hurt my family.”

She gave me a smile, and reached out, pulling me close to her. “I promise I will be near and I will take you away from the pain. I will help you stay strong. I will not let them take that from you.” She hugged me and I felt her words flow over me like a blanket. “Be strong Dan. Be the man I know you are. Be the man I have seen you be. It’s time to wake up.”

I opened my eyes, looking up at two guards. “We need you to get dressed, your presence has been requested.”

I could tell they were being cordial by order. But there was a distinct hatred for me. I gingerly got off the bed and made my way to the restroom. I dressed and steeled my courage to face what was coming. The guards led me back to the elevator and they pressed the basement button this time. So I guess, my good time was over. We got off the elevator and instead of carpet we walked down grey painted cold concrete. We came to a robust looking metal door, one guard removed a key and unlocked it. The door was opened and I was led into a dimly lit room. A single metal chair sat in the middle of the room over a drain grate.

The guards sat me down and strapped me in using leather straps. They left and closed the door locking it again from the other side. A TV on the wall came to life. My friend good ol’ Joseph P. Hedley, himself came on. “Mr. Welko, I hoped you enjoyed your dinner, care, and room. I have a friend who is going to come in soon. He is going to ask you some questions. If you answer them truthfully, you will go back to your room and have a comfortable existence here. If you lie or don’t answer him, well, he is gonna hurt you. I want to be as cordial as possible and give you a chance at getting through this with no pain and sorrow. But if you finish with this session and we feel that we are not getting what we want, well, you will be sent to the ‘pit of infected’. It’s hard to describe, so let me show you what that is.”

The camera that was on Joseph, swung to the right and then tilted down. A large hole, so big I couldn’t discern the other side, was packed shoulder to shoulder with zombies. Joseph’s voice came over the speakers. “Now, just to show what this means I have arranged a little show. This person was caught stealing, and was tried in our court system and has been found guilty, and was sentenced to the pit.”

The camera tilted up and showed a man dangling from a rope connected to a crane. His hands were clasped above his head and tied to the rope. He looked beyond frightened, his face couldn’t show the emotions he was feeling. The crane could be heard in the background revving its engine. The man was slowly lowered downward until just feet above the heads of the zombies. With their meal so close, they started to move and reach and growl and moan in anticipation. The man screamed and begged to be saved and forgiven. Then the unbelievable happened. The rope let go from the crane and the man fell onto the waiting zombies. The camera zoomed in tight and caught every scream and blood spurt from the zombies as they tore him apart and ate him. I watched and made sure to sear this picture into my mind. I wanted to hate these people with all that I was.

The camera tilted back and showed Joseph. He smiled and winked into the camera. Then the screen went dark and the TV turned off. I sat in silence for an undeterminable amount of time. I knew what was coming next, but I also knew what the woman in my dream had promised. The door then opened slowly and a small unassuming man walked in pushing a cart. He looked up at me and smiled.

“My name is not important, but they do call me the Librarian. I know not a scary name I agree. But the reason they call me that is because I know how and where to find the answers I am looking for. I brought my tools with me, but I am hoping we can just have a little chat.” He left the room and came back with a stool. He placed it in front of me and adjusted it so when he sat, he could look me in the eyes.

He sat down and crossed his legs, removed a notebook from his pocket and showed it to me. “Your notebook is very interesting. But we have a small problem. You write in some kind of short hand or code that we cannot decipher. So, I guess the first question I have for you. What is in this notebook?”

“That’s an easy one, I thought you were going to ask for something hard. I am from the future and that is my sports cheat sheet of winners and losers. I aim to make a killing!” I made sure to say all this with a straight face and no inflection in my voice.

The Librarian smiled and put the notebook back in his pocket. He then reached back and removed something from his cart. He then turned around and showed me a heavy rubber glove. He smiled at me while he put it on.

“My prostate is fine. You don’t need to check it.” I quipped.

He just continued that little smile. He slid the glove on and flexed his fingers. He then backhanded me so hard across the face, that it brought tears to my eyes. He let out a little sad sigh and smiled at me again. “You are in no way as tough as the men that I have broken. I was told to make sure you stayed in one piece and recognizable, so when they filmed you being fed to the infected you would be recognized and that your screams and begging could be heard. They are going to send it to your friends, so they can see that you died a coward. Now, that does mean that I am limited to what I can do to you. But trust me, I can hurt you in ways that will not leave a mark on you. Also, they never said that I couldn’t burn parts of you with my torch.”