Day Zero
Chapter 28

Day 102:

“Oh no” Abigail said as she flipped through the photos that she had been taking of Strader’s blood work.

“What is it? You look like you have seen a ghost” James exclaimed.

She remained silent but instead lined up the photos along the table the same way that she had all those days ago when she first discovered the virus.

“Shit,” James muttered as he stood next to her and looked at the photos. “Why isn’t it working?” he inquired.

“I-I don’t know” Abigail replied.

“Does he have any preexisting medical conditions that we don’t know about?” James asked.

“He never said” Abigail replied.

“We need to check that, now.” James said to Abigail being the voice of reason as she was beginning to panic.

“What do we test for?” Abigail asked.

“Everything” James replied.

“What about Riley?” she asked.

“He and Fabiana are running the test with the neurogenesis of his white blood cells, trying to replace a way to get a different blood type to accept Riley’s white blood cells, looks like being a universal donor won’t work in this case” James explained.

Abigail took a deep shaky breath.

∆∆∆

Strader sat on his hospital bed, he felt dizzy and was sweating with what he knew was a fever. He had started feeling a tingling sensation in his left arm. He knew what was happening, he was infected. He closed his heavy eyes.

A knock on the window caught his attention and he looked up to see Abigail standing before at the door holding a piece of paper in her hand. She looked distressed and was when he figured out that she knew. He stood up slowly and walked over to the telephone and picked it up.

“So you figured it out?” he asked.

“Why didn’t you tell us that you had cancer?” she demanded.

“Because I knew that I didn’t have much longer to begin with” Strader answered.

Abigail looked at the man with tears in her eyes. “How long have you known?” she asked.

“Four months” Strader replied.

Abigail put her hand up to cover her mouth, he figured that it was because she was trying to surpass a sob. He felt annoyance at her reaction, he didn’t want sympathy. He knew what he was doing. That was why he volunteered to see if the vaccine would work on those with preexisting medical conditions. It was a worry that the other scientists had to begin with. Agitation, there is another symptom he thought to himself.

“How many symptoms do you have now?” she asked.

“Fever, loosing feeling in my left arm, and dizzy- maybe a little agitation as well” Strader replied calmly.

“All that is missing is the cough, seizure and the like” she said to him.

“I know” Strader replied.

“What do you want us to do?” Abigail asked.

“Tell the kid. Tell everyone. Then let it happen. You need all the help you can get” Strader replied weakly.

“Strader” she began but he cut her off with a cough.

“I know what is going to happen” Strader gasped between breaths.

“It’s happening right now” she said sadly.

Strader looked at the girl as coughs wracked his body. He continued gasping for breath, his eyes closed in pain. He fell down to his hands and knees; he noticed the blood that had come up when he coughed. But he couldn’t focus on that right now, he felt his body convulse as he continued to cough gasping for breath. It felt like there was something slowly crushing his lungs, he could feel his heart pounding rapidly and his head began to throb. He tried in vain to gain to inhale between his coughs but he couldn’t, he took one last gasping breathe before he felt himself fall to the ground. I hope this helps kid was his last thought.

Eyes snapped open. He looked around, feeling the desire to rip to tear to kill running through his veins. He rolled his eyes trying to get a view of his surroundings, he didn’t know where he was, he didn’t care all he wanted was to eat. He wanted meat. He rolled over onto his front at least he figured that was what it was. Then he saw it standing before him. Eyes wide as it stared at him. Feed. He jumped to his feet and ran towards her. He collided with something, and stumbled back furiously. He let out a scream of anger and began to beat against the barrier that kept him from his meal. He saw it jump back in fear and that made him only want it more. He wanted it. He wanted to eat it. He could only imagine how delicious it could be.

Another appeared beside it. It was bigger with more meat, but his predator instincts came to life. This one was bigger maybe harder to kill. He saw the same look on its face as he did the other one. He continued to beat at whatever separated him from his meal first with his hands, then his head.

He paused and continued screaming at the barrier.

∆∆∆

“We have to kill him” Abigail said softly.

“What are you talking about? This is Strader” Riley cried out.

Abigail violently gestured at the zombie that was trying to break through the glass that was the only thing protecting them from the monster that Strader had become. “That is not Strader anymore, I watched him die. He came back to life and then he saw me and has been doing this ever since”

She watched as he turned away from her to look at the zombie that was former Paul Strader. The man gave no indication that he knew who the young man was, all he did was continue to pound against the glass, this time attempting to claw it down.

“You’re right” he replied before turning and walking away.

The others were standing at the end of the hallway. “We saw the whole thing on the camera” Dr. Kennedy explained.

Abigail nodded and paused as Riley walked right past her.

“Where is h-he going?” Fabiana asked.

“He’s getting a gun” Henry answered.

“Oh god” Helen gasped.

“That thing isn’t Strader anymore” Abigail said grimly.

“We have to kill him before he breaks out and gets us. We saw him pounding at the glass, I don’t think he will stop” Yumi said.

“We know that” Benjamin cut himself off. Riley was walking back down the hallway, his jaw was tight and his face pale. His steps were slow but slowly the group parted for him as he continued to walk down the hallway.

They heard the sound of the door opening followed by the sound of three gunshots.