Chapter 16: Alliances

“Run! Faster! We have company!” Clint yelled, looking back to see the horde of undead running towards them, Margo running in front of them.

As if they had instantaneously had the same idea, the tired, worn-out group of old friends picked Dale up and threw him onto their shoulders, picking up speed towards the Humvee in the distance. They rapidly closed the distance while the undead seemed to be gaining on them.

They opened the back and tossed Dale in, hoping that they would not cause further injury in doing so. Not wanting to risk being caught, everyone piled in on one side of the Humvee and pulled the doors closed. Jules squirmed into the passenger seat while Clint locked the door behind him. He checked to make sure that everyone was in the vehicle: Jules was in the passenger, Dale was in the backseat, passenger side, and Lizzie was behind Clint holding Dale’s hand. He turned to Jules, who was holding a key. He threw the key at Clint without saying a word.

Clint caught the key and started the vehicle. He could not believe the luck that they were having. He floored it, plowing through the undead, but avoiding Margo. Though she had become a monster, he still loved her. She was a friend; how could he even think about plowing her undead self, down? Maybe it might have been what Margo wanted, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was still holding onto the hope that there would be a cure, and he could bring Margo back.

No one said a word, understanding how tense the situation was. Bodies flung themselves onto the vehicle, smashing their faces into the windshields and leaving behind streaks of blood and the occasional loose limb. The road became incredibly “bumpy” as Clint drove like a madman through the hundreds of undead.

“How are we going to leave?” Jules asked.

“I’ll figure that out soon enough,” Clint answered. He sped towards the gate, praying that it was open, but knowing that there was no way that it was. When he rounded the corner and came to the straight away leading to the gate, he was surprised to find that it was open. As he neared, he saw an undead in the control booth, and a horde of them lined up in the gate.

“That explains why it’s open,” he mumbled to himself.

“Do you think that it’s a trap?” Jules asked.

“Definitely.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

Clint furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his teeth, his knuckles growing white on the steering wheel. “I’m not going to stop.”

“Hold on, everyone!” Jules called back, grabbing the “oh crap” bar above him.

Everyone closed their eyes as the Humvee sped into the final stretch. There was a large bang and several bumps, then nothing. Everyone kept their eyes closed, anticipating more, but it remained silent, except for the soothing hum of the vehicle over the road.

Clint, having never shut his eyes, exhaled deeply.

Jules opened one eye and stared in awe. There was not a single undead in the streets ahead of them. “Wow,” he said, breathless.

Dale and Lizzie opened their eyes and stopped squeezing the other’s hand.

“When you don’t have a horde of death chasing you, when there hasn’t been a single vehicle running for several years, when the majority of factories are no longer operating, the world is quite beautiful, isn’t it?”

Clint commented, staring at the beautiful display of stars in front of him.

“It’s like we’re back out there,” Dale commented.

“It got lonely sometimes,” Jules continued, “but you must admit that it was gorgeous. Seeing the world as it is now, I wouldn’t mind taking another ten years in space.”

Lizzie unbuckled. “I’m going to open up the top to get a better view.”

“Only if you let me get up there with you!” Dale protested jokingly.

Lizzie kissed his forehead. “Of course.”

“Where were the keys? It’s odd that a military base would leave the keys in the vehicle,” Clint asked while Lizzie was busy with the hatch.

Well, keep in mind it was a military base completely operated by the undead. It was in the glove box,” Jules replied with a smirk.

Lizzie pushed open the hatch and stood up. Sticking her head through the hole, she screamed. A pair of legs stuck through the gap with her.

“Margo!?” Jules cried in shock and fear as she climbed into the vehicle and down in Lizzie’s seat.

“You guys need to turn around,” she said.

“Why don’t you just kill us yourself?” Lizzie cried, slapping the undead Margo in the face, and climbing down next to Dale. It was a tight fit, but she wanted to be as far away from the monster as she could be.

“Kill you? Oh, right. Because I went all psycho murderer on everyone when Cory Heights showed up. You don’t have to worry! I’m the same ol’ Margo. I overpowered Cory and tried to catch up to you guys. I forgot that leading a horde of zombies to help us would be intimidating…”

“How are we supposed to trust you?” Dale said, wrapping his arm around Lizzie. If anything happened, he would do anything to protect Lizzie.

“You can’t really. There is nothing I can do to convince you to trust me. All I know is that there is going to be war. And you guys are caught in the middle of it. We have two psychopaths trying to turn everyone into the undead with this stupid parasite, and one who wants to be a—”

“Did you say parasite?” Lizzie asked.

“Yeah, it’s a parasite,” Margo replied. “Why?”

“Jessup, this changes everything!” Lizzie exclaimed, laughing excitedly.

“This completely changes how I study it! How do you know?”

“The hive minds. Cory has been working on it for years… Not to mention the fact that you slowly begin to understand more and more about the parasite as you host it.”

“This explains so much! If we can get to a lab, I may be able to formulate a cure and—”

“Liz, I know how great and exciting that is, but we seriously need to turn around. Our only chance of survival is Charon,” Margo said.

“Why Charon? And who is Charon?” Clint asked. “You mean the ferryman that takes the dead capable of paying into the Underworld? You are telling me, that of all the religious systems out there, the Greeks had it figured out?”

“As much as I would love to meet Cerberus, as I am sure that pup is nothing but a bundle of love,” Margo started. “No. He just enjoys Greek mythology. He renamed himself that. Suits him well. We may have to start a side of our own, though. I’m not sure where he stands. Brun is with him, though I can sense a resentment towards Brun and his methods. That tells me that there is at least some good in him. He can be trusted, I think.”

“Who is Brun?” Jules asked.

“Nasty, foul creature hell-bent on killing everyone and everything.”

“Living and undead?”

“Living and undead,” Margo confirmed.

“And this Cory guy,” Clint asked. “What’s up with him? Clearly something is off.”

“He wants to create a utopia.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Dale replied.

Margo looked at him and said, “Until you take into consideration the fact that everyone has a free will. For utopia to be created, he would have to control everyone himself. Or with another. He couldn’t convince me, and he knows that Charon is hopeless. He will probably get Brun’s help, though that may be more to his detriment than anything…” she trailed off, thinking. “It would be a personal utopia, not a utopia for everyone.”

“I see,” Clint replied, slowing the Humvee down. He turned it around and began to drive in the direction Margo had pointed him in.

“Sometimes, I wish we had just died in space,” Margo mumbled

“Nonsense!” Dale said. “Without us, this world might have ended up in shambles long ago. I mean, with Mycrovitch and the others… Margo, do you not see your importance in all of this? Not to mention the fact that I wouldn’t have been able to reunite with Lizzie.”

He smiled up at her and pulled her into a hug.

“Sure, I’m horribly ill, but the love of my life was the one who has nursed me back to health. Though, it would be nice, sugar, if you could, ya'know, not stop nursing me back to health… Doctors' orders were for me to be in bed still when Margo went all crazy on us.”

“That’s right,” Lizzie said, staring longingly into his eyes. “Doctor’s orders were for you to stay in bed.”

“Oh, get a room!”

“I think that you’re just jealous, Jules,” Margo said with a snicker. “Exit right.”

“Oh, okay,” Clint replied. “Didn’t realize you knew the area.”

“I don’t. But several hundred people who have died do. I know where I am going. I just figured that you guys would like to avoid the military base if possible.”

“You would be correct… Unless you think you could control the horde again.”

“I’m not sure. I honestly have no idea how I overpowered Cory… I’m just glad I did.”

“What was he trying to get from you?” Jules asked.

“Yeah, Margo! Details! We need details!” Lizzie exclaimed.

“Well, after I ran out like a wild animal…”

*****

“So, what will it be?” Cory said, his horde of zombies completely encapsulating the duo. “I can make them climb up here without even thinking about it. You have no escape!” He pulled his weapon up further, aiming it directly at Margo’s chest. “Are you for me? Or are you against me?”

Margo saw a small group emerge from one of the bases. They looked at her, then at the Humvee in the distance. They stared at Margo for a second before they began limping towards the Humvee far in front of them. If she ran now, she may be able to intercept them before they left.

“Will you bloody choose!” Cory screamed.

Margo wiped the blood from her nose and smirked. She kicked the weapon out of his hand, then jumped up and kicked him in the chest, using his body to propel herself over the wall and into the horde of undead below. The undead below caught her, and she took off in a sprint towards the Humvee, the horde following closely behind her. She was going to use them as a blockade while she had them under control.

Cory fell on the other side of the wall, the horde below catching him and jumping on top of him. “GET OFF OF ME, YOU FOUL CREATURES!” he called. “GET OFF OF ME!”

The undead would not listen. He scrambled to find his weapon, but he could not move beneath the weight of all the undead on top of him.

Margo continued her sprint towards the Humvee. She noticed that Clint had looked back. She waved at him, but he turned his head too quickly.

He picked Dale’s legs off the ground and threw them onto his shoulders, the others readjusting their grips on him so that they could hold him over their head and pick up speed. They closed the distance to the Humvee faster than Margo would have thought possible. Jules and Clint stuffed Dale through the rear door and to the other side. Lizzie followed, checked to make sure that Dale was okay, and closed the door behind her. Jules and Clint raced through the front door, stumbling over each other as they got in at the same time. Clint, still incapable of sitting and hanging half out the door, shut the door behind him.

After a few seconds, the horde was surrounding the vehicle. The lights turned on, the engine roared, and without a moment’s hesitation, Clint sped off, turning the vehicle to head straight for Margo. Time seemed to slow down as the Humvee drove past Margo. The undead behind her lifted her up by the foot and tossed her into the air. She landed on the roof of the vehicle and hung on for dear life as the undead flew past her, having been hit by the vehicle. She was happy that this Humvee had a turret mount. It made hanging onto the roof far easier. If only it had a turret, she thought to herself. That would have come in handy later.

As they neared the gate, she noticed a horde of undead standing in the way. She had told the operator to open it, but she had not told any of them to stand in the way of escape.

The Humvee continued to gain speed as it neared the gate. Margo watched in horror as the vehicle plowed through the horde like nothing. Fire shot from the right. Had Margo not been behind the turret, she would have been killed.

Cory screamed in frustration when he realized his efforts were futile. He was rapidly left behind with an entire horde of the undead that he could command.

“Margo,” a voice called to her. She instantly recognized it.

“I’m coming, Charon.”

*****

“Can’t believe you had been holding on for so long.”

“I didn’t really have a choice, Jules,” Margo said, playfully punching him in the arm.

“I have a question,” Lizzie said. “Is your neck still in pain? You know, from the accident that killed you?”

“It actually healed me. It was a lengthy process, but the parasite fixed me up. That is why I can run so fast, I think. It improves the host. Or, at least, it tries to. I don’t know if it does that for the non-sentient, but I know that it does it for me. Little wounds that would heal in a day take an hour to heal, if that puts anything in perspective.”

“Interesting,” Lizzie said, writing it down.

“I don’t know if we will have enough gas to make it to wherever we need to go,” Clint said.

“Most likely not. Charon is going to meet us in the middle. Hive mind,” Margo said, tapping the side of her head. “It comes in handy.”

*****

“Brun.”

*****

The group pulled over at an old Wal-Mart to gather supplies. The gas tank was near-empty at this point. Knowing that they were going to have to walk for several miles before reaching the planned meeting point with Charon, they decided that gathering some food, medical supplies, and weaponry was the only logical step before continuing their journey.

“You know, Margo,” Clint said, throwing a backpack over his shoulder, “you don’t really look dead anymore.”

Margo grabbed a cup of noodles off a shelf and stuffed it in her pack.

“It’s the parasite. I think that it has become perfectly symbiotic with me. Usually that would destroy a host, as it has done in the past, but I think that it has evolved enough from its original form to not be detrimental to my health. I don’t feel like there is anything wrong. Along with the parasite came a better understanding of my body and how it works. So, unless the parasite is hiding something from me, I’m perfectly fine.”

“You can sense stuff like that now?”

“Yeah. It’s wild, isn’t it? I feel more alive than ever thanks to this thing. I’m kind of dreading a cure if there is one. How do you cure something of a parasite, I wonder, without removing it? This parasite must have somehow combined itself into my DNA or something.”

Lizzie entered the aisle in front of Margo as soon as she had finished speaking, toting a little red wagon with two backpacks on it, each so full of equipment that the zipper had popped open when she tried to close them.

“I don’t know if we will have enough room for all of that equipment, Elizabeth,” Clint said. “We are trying to save room for food.”

“I need this for research. I have no idea where we are going, or what equipment we will have, so I need to be prepared to use the stone-age stuff I found here. Besides, we don’t have that much farther to go on foot before we meet with Charon.”

Clint looked at Margo.

“Don’t look at—oh, right. Give me a sec,” Margo closed her eyes and furrowed her brows.

“There is a decent looking lab a few miles from where we will be going. With a little bit of renovation and a few well-armed human guards, it would be perfect for any research you will need. Probably. Still, I'd say to bring some equipment you have now. Few undead hang around labs. I have no idea how it would hold up now.”

Jules cleared his throat behind the trio. Everyone turned to look at him. He had one backpack on each shoulder and a gun, which he did not have before, hanging from his hip.

“I found some food. And some weapons. Don’t know if you guys want any, but I went ahead and grabbed a new pistol for myself. This Wal-Mart had a decent selection of handguns, oddly enough. I was expecting to walk out of here with a rifle, but I couldn’t pass on the pistol.”

“They started selling more types of weapons while you guys were in space, then they increased the amount sold when the world went apocalyptic. But, yeah, once monopolies were legalized in America, Wal-Mart tried to become the only store that anyone needed. Let’s be honest here, they really were the only store anyone ever shopped at before the legalization of monopolies,” Lizzie said, trying to determine if she wanted to test her luck with the pack of Twinkies that expired several years ago.

“How much walking are we going to have to do before we meet up with Charon?” Clint asked.

“Quite a bit. Twenty miles or so.”

“I say we ditch Dale,” Jules said. If he can’t carry his own weight, he shouldn’t be allowed to come with us. Besides, all he does is slow us dow—” Jules was cut off by Lizzie slapping him.

“How dare you!”

“Kidding! Kidding! I was going to suggest using a cart to toss him in.” Jules rubbed his face. “Wow. I have never been hit like that by anyone… Remind me not to mess with you.”

Clint put his hand on his forehead. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that!? We have been putting everything in backpacks when we could have been using carts this whole time…”

“I was going to ask why you decided to go with backpacks instead of carts, but I decided against it.”

“Are we ready?” Clint asked.

“Yeah,” Lizzie answered. “I’m sure that Dale is ready to get out of that Humvee too.”

“Well, let’s go get some carts, I guess.”

“You northerners are weird,” Jules said when they arrived at the cart storage area. “It’s a buggy.”

Everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at him. “A buggy? That has to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard,” Lizzie said.

“What is this? The 1960’s?” Margo asked.

“You won’t catch me dead calling a cart a buggy,” Clint added, tossing his backpacks into a cart.

Jules shook his head. “You guys are acting like ‘buggy’ is the most absurd thing that you have ever heard… If we are being honest here, ‘cart’ is the more stupid of the two.”

Clint glared at him. “Really? Between ‘cart’ and ‘buggy,’ you think that cart is the stupid one?” Clint shook his head, pulling the cart out of the storage bay and grabbing a second.

“Would you guys just shut up already? And, for the record, it’s a cart.”

The group spun on their heels, startled to find three men pointing guns at them. “Now, if you would be so kind as to remove all of your weapons and place’ em on the floor and give me the keys to your vehicle out there, we can avoid any bloodshed, and I’ll just be grabbing your carts. Me ‘n’ the boys’ll get out of your hair, and you can scram."

Clint looked the man up and down. His gun was held impressively steadily, and it was aimed directly at him. He was wearing camouflage cargo pants, combat boots with a knife sticking out of the side, and torn, slightly bloodied, and worn with age leather jacket. A backpack hung from his shoulder. His buddies wore grey cargo pants and trench coats. They also wore backpacks, but they looked to be empty except for a bat that was stuck out of one, and a machete sticking out of the other.

“I don’t think so,” Margo finally said. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

“Okay then,” he said. “You’s have no idea who you’re messing with, sweetheart. Now I suggest you guys do as I said, ’else the pretty one gets it.” He pointed the gun at Margo.

Margo started laughing.

The man furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s so funny, eh? Do you think death is funny? You think that this is a joke?”

“Like I said,” Margo replied, wiping a tear from her eyes, “you have no idea who you’re messing with.”

“This woulda been much easier had I just shot you guys from the start. But I was tryin’ to be nice.” The man pulled the trigger.

Margo stumbled back and held her stomach. “I’m already dead, dummy,” she said, quickly grabbing Jule’s gun from his thigh and shooting the three men before they had time to react.

She turned around, grabbed one of the full carts, and began walking outside. She turned around at the door. “Are you guys just going to stand there and stare, or…?”

Clint shook his head. “Are you in pain at all?”

The rest of the group broke out of their shocked trance and joined Margo in leaving the building.

“Oh, yeah. A lot of pain. But I’ll get over it.”

The Humvee was parked in front of the door. They figured that there would not be much traffic, and that they were safe to leave their vehicle parked there. Clint tapped on the window. After a few moments, the door slowly opened. “Took you guys long enough,” Dale said with a smile. “You don’t plan on putting me in that, do you?”

“Do you have any better ideas, Dale?”

“No, not really…”

“Well, then, quit complaining,” Clint said, putting an arm around Dale’s back and another under his leg. “Jules, I’m going to need some help.”

*****

Brun was a brute of a man. For being an undead, he was unbelievably strong. He looked as though he could lift a cow with his pinky.

Cory looked him up and down. It was intimidating to see someone so brutish up close. He knew that, if he wanted to, Brun could easily overpower Cory and rip him limb from limb. There was nothing his symbiotic parasite could do to stop it.

“Please, take a seat,” Cory said with an uneasy smirk and a gesture towards a chair. “We will have a meal set before us soon, but, for now, let’s talk business, shall we?”

The wooden chair groaned beneath Brun’s weight. “What is this place?”

“An old military base that I borrowed from the living. But that is unimportant. What is your goal? I think that we both know that war is approaching, and I think that you and I could work something out…”

An undead, dressed in a black tuxedo, poured a glass of wine for Brun.

Cory took a drink of his wine. It was odd having a meal fitting for a living king when he knew that it wasn't quite as fulfilling for his undead self. The undead craves flesh. Not necessarily human flesh, though it is not opposed to cannibalism, but, more than anything, it wanted to consume flesh.

“Death,” Brun replied, sniffing the wine, then placing it back down on the table distastefully.

“I can’t tell if you’re an idiot or a bloody genius,” Cory mumbled to himself. “What are your plans after death?”

“I don’t believe in an afterlife.”

Cory chuckled. “No, after you have killed everyone. Then what?”

Brun smiled evilly. “Destruction.”

Perhaps this was not the best idea, Cory thought. “What if I told you that you and I could create Utopia?” After he finished asking this, a door opened. Two undead, pulled a cart into the room with two plates filled with food. A three-pound steak sat on each, along with some potatoes, and some freshly baked and buttered bread. A hot cup of tea was set on the table along with the plates. The undead left the room.

Cory picked up his fork, his hands shaking as he tried to keep civil in eating his food. He started with the potatoes, though his eyes kept wandering towards the juicy slice of steak that sat before him. He stuffed the perfectly buttered, salted, and peppered potatoes into his mouth, and closed his eyes, trying to savor something that he once thought was delicious. Just as mother used to make it, he thought. If only I still had a taste for it. If only it satisfied my insatiable hunger.

“Everything is fresh, Brun. Freshly made. This hive mind is nice. It makes things like farming, cooking, and much more so much easier to do.”

Cory finally looked up from his meal to see Brun attacking his steak like a savage. Using his hands to eat it and taking pig-like bites. It was disgusting, and it went against every table manner that Cory’s mother had taught him. The steak did look good though….

He reached for it with his hand, but stopped short, horrified with himself. He picked up a knife and fork and cut himself a piece of meat. He ate it slowly, savoring each bite. The one thing that could satisfy him: flesh.

“Now, back on subject,” he said, swallowing. He began to eat the other parts of the meal now that he had a taste of the meat. “Utopia. Life could be perfect. Just imagine everyone living in perfect unity. No disputes. Just… peace.”

“Communism never works,” Brun replied with a full mouth.

“Commu—I never said anything about Communism!”

“You know what I think?” Brun asked. He slammed his massive fist on the table, almost making the table collapse on itself and exclaimed, “DEATH!”

Cory glared at Brun. “I am starting to think that we aren’t on the same page. I think we need to accept this reality: drag everyone down with us. Then, with me on the throne, and if you accept my offer, you as well, we could create utopia!”

“Impossible!” Brun said. “People will get in the way.”

“You forget, Brun, that we can control those who try to diverge.”

“And how will this system work, Cory?”

“The hive mind! We can work them like little worker bees but give them a false sense of this being what perfection is. But you and I? We will be free! Free to do whatever we please!”

“I can do as I please now.” Brun stood up. “You know that they are beginning to think for themselves now, right? Communication is better. This will be harder than you have wagered.”

“You aren’t as much of a brute as I supposed you to be.”

Scoffing, Brun replied, “Not all brutes have a poor way of speaking or have no thought processes. I’m just a violent man with violent intentions. It is finally time for humanity to end. If you don’t think so, well, I think that we can still work together for now, and we can battle it out after the war is finished.” To himself, Brun said, assuming any of us survive his war.

“I don’t know if this alliance is in my best interest.”

“Sure, it is,” Brun replied. “Both of us wish for death in some way. We both want all the living, dead. We can agree on that and figure out the rest later. Perhaps, all that is needed is some persuasion. I accept your offer. Let us fight this war together. Charon and Margo have no chance.”

*****

Charon shook Margo’s hand. “Welcome to my humble community,” he said with a bow.

“We 'come,” an undead grunted next to him. “I em Frehri’”

“Nice to meet you, Frederick,” Margo replied, extending her hand. Fred accepted it with a smile.

“Fred here is a good friend of mine. He was one of the first of the undead that I noticed to be developing speech. If you think this is bad, you should have heard him when he first started speaking. Isn’t that right, Fred?” he nudged him with his elbow jovially, and the two of them started laughing.

“Oh yah, I wuh so bah’.”

“He seems like a really cool guy,” Clint said to Jules. “I know we have only been with him for a few hours, but I’m getting some good vibes from him.”

“I made some mistakes in my past,” Charon said, looking directly at Clint. “When I was given a second chance, I didn’t want to screw it up.”

“So, what’s your plan, Charon?” Clint asked.

“I renamed myself to Charon, as I believe Margo has mentioned to you guys, because I want to be the bridge between two worlds.” He motioned for everyone to follow him.

“Lizzie, if you will follow, Fred, he will bring you to the lab. Feel free to come back later to join us for dinner. Some of the undead have kindly offered to cook for us. Marshall and Tyler, can you please help carry Dale for Lizzie? And, Lizzie, there are two living that I have set up in the lab that are there to help if any of the undead get any ideas.”

Marshall and Tyler, two undead that had just so happened to walk by as the group started walking forward, saluted, and grabbed Dale.

“And, guys, please come back to town afterwards.”

They nodded and kept walking.

“Frank is not the most articulate of the bunch, but he is getting better.”

“Are you controlling them?” Clint asked.

“No. I am a good ruler, or so they think. They respect me. As Cory has shared, and as Margo has told you, the parasite is mutating to better fit our bodies. It has reached a point where it can mutate without killing the host. This parasite is the next step in human evolution, my friends!”

The community was nice. It was like a flash to the past. People talked with each other in front of their houses, smiles were on everyone’s faces. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone was neighborly.

“When put into a community, the hive mind is a beautiful thing. It brings the community to another level. Everyone knows everyone, and it just gives a real sense of unity. Everyone knows everyone else’s needs, and people are willing to give their hand and help. You can almost feel the love radiating from everyone. Of course, you still have the town grump, like Greg over there,” Charon waved to an older looking undead sitting on his porch reading a book. He rolled his eyes and waved back.

“But even he is a pretty nice guy.”

Charon turned down a dead-end street with the largest house in the community at the end.

“Is that your place?” Clint asked, his respect for Charon beginning to dwindle. He claims that he doesn’t control them, and yet he still has the largest house in the entire community.

“No, no. This is my house,” he said, stopping in front of a humble little cabin.

“I apologize for doubting you,” Clint replied.

“After you, Margo,” Charon said with a smile.

“Thank you.”

The four walked into the cabin. Immediately, the smell of food entered their nostrils, followed by the smell of the wood that surrounded them.

“I was going to build this myself, but Greg knew a few people who were willing to lend a hand in building it. It was finished last week, which is why it still smells so great. But, please, take a seat. Make yourself feel at home! I’ll be right back. Are you guys thirsty at all?”

“Yeah, actually, I could go for some water,” Jules said.

Charon smiled, stepping through the door into the kitchen.

The cabin was beautiful. A rug was set in the middle of the living room, where they were seated, and a coffee table was set on top of it. Two leather La-Z-Boys sat in each corner, facing away from the window that looked out at the street in front of the house. A matching leather couch was placed on the wall farthest from the window, a leg’s length away from the coffee table. There was a bookshelf where, in most living rooms, there would have been a television. It was filled with classics, though it was clear to see from his collection that Charon was particularly fond of reading mythology of all kinds. There was some Greek, some Roman, some Norse, and a little bit of Egyptian.

The living room was set up to be the first room you walked into when you entered the cabin. Entering the cabin, the door to the kitchen was on the right, and directly ahead was a set of stairs.

It did not take long for Charon to come back into the room. He held a tray of food and a couple glasses of water. “Appetizers, anyone? A ham sandwich for the lady, and I brought you two some apples if you would like one. Margo probably hasn't had a filling meal in quite some time. The craving for meat is insane!”

Margo accepted her sandwich gratefully.

“Meat craving?” Clint asked.

“Yeah, I forgot to tell you guys about that. We have an insatiable craving for meat of some kind. No matter what we eat, we can’t be satisfied until we have eaten some meat.”

“I wish you had told me that before I let you ride in a Humvee with us,” Clint replied, looking Margo up and down as if she were going to pounce on him at any second. “So, Charon, what do you want to see? What are your plans for now, for the future?”

“I want to live peacefully. But we all know that isn’t going to happen, is it? So, my desire is for freedom. Keeping everyone free. Freedom, really, is the only option. It just makes sense. And look around my small community! Look at how much everyone cares for others! You never saw anything like that before the parasite infected us. Neighborly neighbors, smiling faces… It’s beautiful.”

“What do you think about curing it?”

“It would be sad to see it go. Humanity has grown so much because of this, and to take back all the progress that we have made. That would be sad. A return to the way things were… This hive mind, truly, it does more good than harm. Society has never seen brighter days.”

Clint thought for a moment. “Are you going to force the living to kill themselves and become the undead?”

“No. I think that we can live together in harmony. I have several people living here. The ones who had enough foresight to hide when Brun came through town, anyway. I knew that he was a brutish, violent man, but I did not see the destruction that he caused coming… I thought that we would talk, get to understand how the other thought, then split ways… It was stupid of me to invite him here.”

“And yet you invited Margo…”

“Yes, but I knew what Margo believed. We have been talking for quite some time. You know, we really have been given a chance to start over the world completely. We can find better sources of power that don’t cause pollution, for one thing. This town is completely hydro-powered.

“There is a river not far from here. The brightest minds have come together and have been able to share their ideas in a way never before possible. Science and technology are about to experience a dramatic advancement, not to mention health practices, though with our near invulnerability and self-healing, we really don’t have to worry too much about it. All I can see from accepting the parasite and living in peace, living and undead, is good. Better science, better hospitals, better community.”

“War is coming,” Margo chimed in. “Our options are to join Brun, who wants to kill everything; join Cory, who wants to kill the living and control the rest; or join Charon and live together like brothers.”

“Charon, you are a good man,” Clint said. “You took your second chance at life and turned it into something amazing. Hearing you describe what life will be like when the war is complete makes me want to join you and see this near perfect society spring up. I’m in,” Clint said, shaking his hand. “When war does come, I will be standing next to your side.”

“It will be interesting to see what war is like between four sentients and a horde of confused undead that don’t know whom to follow,” Jules added.

“Margo, may I speak with you in private?”

Margo nodded and followed Charon upstairs.

“Have you noticed what I have?”

“What’s that?”

“Cory… there is something not right with him. I think he's slowly going insane.”

“While we were fighting, he mentioned something about being in a constant battle between the voices in his head and his own will… I don’t have that voice in my head. Do you get that?”

Charon shook his head. “No, I don’t. We both know that he and Brun are working together… Brun might break him.”

“I haven’t paid much attention to Cory in that way, really. I have had a lot on my mind lately, between getting to my friends, then coming to you. I have spent a lot of my time thinking about the coming war more than anything.”

Margo looked into Charon’s eyes. They seemed to twinkle in the dim lighting of the upper room.

“Sorry for staring,” Charon said. “You’re beautiful.”

Margo broke eye contact, embarrassed.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything. I think dinner is about ready. I’ll ask someone to bring Lizzie something to eat, since she will be staying with Dale at the lab all night.”

*****

Cory sat on the side of his bed, resting his head in his hands.

The voices, he thought to himself. Why can’t I get rid of the voices!?

Kill him while he sleeps, Cory. Brun will never see you coming.

NO! I can’t! He could easily overpower me…

But you have better control over the parasite, Cory. Coooory….

“GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!” he screamed, picking up a lamp and shattering it against his head.

You can control every single undead with the snap of your fingers, Cory. Need I remind you that you can make them all do your bidding? Why wait for war to break out when you could just send them all to attack everyone now?

Blood began dripping down his temple. He put his hand on it, then pulled it away. He examined his hand, now wet and red with blood.

I can do it for you, Cory. Give in, Cory. Accept me, Cory. Stop fighting me, Cory. You are becoming weak. The voice laughed. I can make you strong again. Stop fighting me!

Cory rubbed his bloodied hand all over his face.

“Give in,” he said with a smile.

Written By: CalebPinnow