Not Dead Yet

The End ... Kinda

"This place is huge," Zoey murmurs.

"Yes, it is," Dr. Hammond responds from the head of the group. "There are only a handful of us left to do research. There used to be so much more."

"And you said you lost your military presence not long ago?" Yvette inquires.

"Yesterday," says Dr. Hammond, throwing her a glance over his shoulder. "They went out on a scouting mission, looking for food. They haven't come back. I fear that the horde you saw outside is responsible for that."

Francis glances down at Zoey. "So, it's up to us to protect the guys in charge of putting an end to this?"

Zoey chuckles dryly. "No pressure."

Francis shakes his head. "Nah. None at all."

"But you're close to finding a vaccine, right?" Louis asks. "I mean, this will all be over soon, right?"

Dr. Hammond stops and so does the group. He turns to face Louis, a forlorn expression on his face. "Son, I hope so. I really do. I can't make you any promises, though. And if I fail, remember that I'm only human."

Zoey feels another twinge of pity for the man. He turns around and begins walking again. He finally leads them into a meeting room of sorts, with a long mahogany table and plush leather seats. There's a sink, refrigerator, and a vending area. The vending machines are empty, of course.

"Here. You all can rest here. There are couches in the lounge area where you can catch some sleep. There are even showers in the bathrooms, although, the water is cold. We're trying to conserve as much energy as possible, you see, for the tests we must conduct."

He gestures toward two closed doors marked as Women and Men. He walks around the table, touching each chair in an absentminded way. He gestures toward the cabinets.

"I believe there's some food, but not much. We've tried to ration it, especially since our last scouting mission ... um ... failed."

"We have food," Yvette says quietly. "If we need more, we can go out for it."

Dr. Hammond turns to face them, the same forlorn expression on his face. "Good. Yes, that's good. Well," he looks to his group of white-coated followers, "let's return to our work. I'm eager to see what Dr. Fairchild discovered." He looks back at Zoey, Francis, Yvette, and Louis. "We'll gather around noon to debrief you, if that suits."

They all nod. All except Francis, who is still glaring. Zoey takes his hand, giving it a squeeze. He grunts and squeezes back. Yvette hands over a backpack containing her brother's work to Dr. Hammond. He thanks her effusively, the sad smile never quite reaching his eyes. 

After the group of scientists leave, Francis pulls out a chair and falls into it. Zoey rubs his shoulders, looking around. Yvette moves to inspect the cabinets. Louis opens the Men's restroom door and peeks inside.

"Um, guys," Louis says, looking over his shoulder into the room. "I'm going to take a shower."

Francis chuckles. "You do that, Louie. Gotta smell good for the lil lady, huh?"

Zoey pokes him between the shoulder blades.

"Ow! Hey!"

"It wouldn't hurt for you to take a shower," she tells him, giggling.

Louis shakes his head and disappears into the bathroom. Yvette turns to them, her face somber.

"There really isn't much food left. We might have to go back out."

Zoey shrugs as she moves to sit in a chair next to Francis, who is grumbling about not being able to help it if he had zombie guts smeared all over his vest. "If we do, we do. I'm thinking about taking a shower myself. I know if we go out, we'll just get nasty again, but I really need to wash last night off of me."