Amoeba (The Experiments) (55 page)

The tiredness, the grogginess, and the early morning irritability had been replaced. The investors moved down into the control room. Chattering and laughing away, drinking their coffee, passing the Danishes and donuts about, but always, always watching the monitor screens on the wall.

Behind them, Greg stood pleased.

Armed with rope, shotguns, handguns, a strapped M-16 to their backs, and enough ammo, both Jake and Cal stood first before the door. Lou, also armed, had Reed draped over his shoulder, and Rickie, hesitant, was there as well.

Jake pulled his gun forward and reached for the door. “Lou, we’ll clear a path. You bolt off for the dining area. There really
aren’t that many.” Jake opened the door. The moans pummeled them.

“Oh my God.” Cal raised her weapon. “What did you just say
, Jake?”

Lou peeked over Jake’s shoulder. The unity circle was mobbed with them
, and sound of the opening door was like their dinner bell. So many of them turned and headed to Cal and Jake’s porch.

Cal stepped out with Jake and raised her weapon. She shuddered. Then she saw Jake peer at her. “Sorry. I had to get that out of the way.”

“Can we proceed? We have to clear a path.”

“Jake. Wait.” Cal grabbed his shot gun. “We can’t just shoot them. We have to shoot them in the head.”

“What?” Jake questioned seeing them move closer. “Cal we . . .”

“Jake
, I saw the movie. They won’t die. You have to shoot them in the head. We have to do all head shots.”

“We do not.”

“Do too.”

“Cal
, we do not.”

“Jake, I’m telling you.”

“And, Cal, I’m telling you.” He raised his weapon and pumped the chamber. “We do not have to shoot . . .” Jake blasted forth with the shotgun, one of them flew back and dropped dead. “See.”

“O
kay, okay, I just thought. . .” Cal started to shoot, taking them out as they moved to the porch.

“Here’s your path.” Jake stepped down as he called to Lou. He could see Paul on the roof of his own porch shooting arrows at the ten or so that reached up trying to grab him. “Tonto’s occupied. Hit it
, Lou.”

Lou slipped behind Cal and Jake, off the porch completely, gave a shove to one of those things that neared him
, and bolted.

“Rickie.” Jake called and fired. “Feel like being a hero
?”

“No
,” Rickie answered.

“Tough.” Jake fired, dropping them like Cal. “Fuck, where are these things all coming from
?” He could see more pouring in from the path.

Cal shot while speaking. “There has to be at least sixty now.”

“At least,” Jake responded, and motioned his head to Judge’s bungalow. About eight encircled his bungalow. “Rickie, go get Judge.”

“No
,” Rickie argued.

“Rickie
, go get him. He’s can’t get away from these things, and if they get in there, they’ll kill him.”

“They’ll kill me
, Sarge.”

“You’re faster than them. Just bolt over there and get him down to the dining building.”

“Will you guys, like, cover me?” Rickie asked.

“Yeah
, sure.” Jake fired.

“O
kay.” Rickie took a deep breath and sprinted from that porch to Judge’s, screaming all the way.

It was like a video game, steady they came, steady was the firing
, and steady they fell.

Jake grinned. “Is this a fuckin blast or what?”

“I can’t believe they threw this at us.” Cal pumped the chamber. “I have to reload.” She stepped back further on the porch. “But it is fun.” She reached for more shells, and as she did she saw it, about fifteen pounding and tearing at Billy’s bungalow. “Oh my God. Jake!”

“What?”

“Billy.”

Jake lowered his weapon to look to his left. “Shit.”

“You know the way he is.”

“Yeah
, I do.” He heard Cal reloading and felt her move by him. Jake snatched her arm and pulled her back. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Getting him.”

“Right. Stay here. As a matter of fact . . .” Jake stepped off the porch, was bumped by one of the zombies, spun his shotgun nailing him in the side of the face, then fired, blasting it back. “Get to the roof, Cal, and we’ll take them out from above.”

Cal nodded
, staying put as a cover for Jake and also for Rickie who was leading Judge from his bungalow.

Running, spinning, firing, Jake made it across the circle to the left and to Billy’s door. He cleared the porch, tossing some of them off, and shooting them. He knocked. “Bill.” No answer
, so Jake tried the knob. Locked. “Billy!” He yelled. “Fuckin door.” Stepping back, Jake barged to the door, shoulder first, cracking it open. He tried to shut it but it swung back open. “Shit. Bill!” Jake called out to Billy who was sleeping on the bed. He raced to the desk, grabbed the chair, and secured it under the door knob. Jake stepped down into the room and turned on the lights. “Billy, get up. Bill. Get up!” He moved to the bed nudging him. “Billy, get up!” Jake shook Billy, who was sound asleep. “Bill, get . . .” Jake’s head jolted to the right when he heard the crash of glass. He moved to the bathroom door, kicked it open, and saw three of those things reaching and trying to get in through the small window. Jake lifted his shotgun, and fired three shots.

Billy
, lying on his stomach, slowly lifted his head with a ‘huh’? He rubbed his eyes. “Jake? What’s going on?”

“Rise and shine
, lover boy.” Jake tossed Billy a pair of pants. “We’re under attack, and you will be breakfast if you don’t move your ass out of this weakened domain.”

“What . . .” Billy grabbed his pants. “What are you talking about
?”

“Would you care to move a little faster
, Billy?” Jake ordered as he walked to the center of the room, lifted his shotgun and poked at the ceiling, opening the hatch. “Let’s go.” He pulled down the ladder.

“Jake
, why are we . . .” Billy spun to the sound of a crack. The chair that held the door was crushed when the door flew open bringing in a stream of eight or nine walking zombie-like people. Billy let out that peep of a female shriek and reached for the rope, hesitating.

“What?” Jake asked him. “Hurry.” He fired at one of them
.

Billy’s eyes shifted. He saw his two fireboxes, closed and secure on the floor. “Just checking.” He flew up the rope.

“Fuckin journalist.” After firing once more Jake, began his ascent up the roped ladder.

At least fifteen had surrounded the bungalow, pounding, but Cal made it like a football player through them, and using her rope, climbed up the side to the roof. Tossing her weapon behind her, she lifted the hatch, attached her rope
, and climbed down half way before dropping to the floor inside. She lifted up slowly to see Larry cowering in a corner.

“Cal.” He stood up. “What are you . . .”

“I’m here to help you, Larry.” She smiled.

“Oh
, God. Thank God. They’re everywhere.”

“I know
,” Cal spoke with compassion. “It’s terrible. Ready?”

“Yes.” Larry moved to the rope and saw her going to the front door. “What are you doing? They’re right out there.”

Cal could hear them banging on the door. “I know.” She lifted her pistol from her waist and shifted back the chamber. “But it’s the only way . . .” Cal turned the door knob and pulled the door open. “For you to die the way you’re supposed to.” Holding out her gun, Cal stepped towards him and fired two sequential shots, hitting Larry in his knees. She ran past him as he screamed and dropped to the floor, and she grabbed onto the rope. Sticking the revolver back in her waist, Cal smiled and hoisted herself up.

“Cal.” Larry tried to get up, his eyes filling with horror as they began to surround him. “Cal
, don’t . . . .” Gut wrenching and agonizing, Larry screamed out long and hard.

Making it to the roof, Cal looked down to see the things swarming in the bungalow below her. Larry could no longer be heard or seen. Only shooting blood gave her the security that all was going well. She lifted up the rope, and slammed the hatch.

On Billy’s roof, Billy tugged on a shooting Jake’s arm. “Jake.”

“What?”

“Look.” Billy pointed to the roof of the bungalow next to his.

“Aw,” Jake said with disgust, lowering his weapon and storming to the edge. “Cal! What the fuck are you doing over there?”

“I’m sorry
, Jake.” Cal tugged on her ear and fired below. “I can’t hear you.”

“I said
, what the . . .” Jake stopped, looked, and then grinned when he saw the line of those things, each of them carrying various body parts ranging from limbs to intestines, chomping on them as they walked from Larry Kale’s bungalow. Jake handed the shotgun to Billy.

“What?” Billy looked at it surprised.

“Time to defend yourself,” Jake said with a wide-eyed happy look, and kept his gaze on Cal. He backed up all the way to the other side of Billy’s roof, took a second, then moved forth with a charging run across that roof. He could hear Billy call out his name as he leaped one leg out over the distance of the two bungalows, landing on Larry’s roof with a drop and a roll.

“Jake.” Cal rushed to him as he stood up. “What are you doing
?”

“Cal.” He grabbed hold of her face and kissed her. “Excellent job
, babe. Excellent.” He kissed her again, only this time he pulled her into him, widening his mouth hard and wide against hers in a deep sexual way.

Cal pulled away with a giggle.

Hard and with a smack, Jake kissed her one more time and reached for his M-16. “Let’s lay them out and get this over with.”

“You got it.” Cal pulled for her M-16 and she moved with him and positioned herself with a one
-leg kneel next to Jake on the roof. “Hey, Jake?” Cal winked. “Sex before we clean up this mess?”

Before firing, Jake looked at her with a smile. “You know it.” He lifted his weapon and hesitated again. “Cal
?”

“Huh?” Cal stopped also.

“Wanna compete for who’s on top?”

“There’s no competition there.” Cal grinned. “Prepare to work your ass off
, Lt. Col. Graison.”

With a loud ‘HA!’ Jake lifted his weapon, and at the same time,
both he and Cal began to fire into what looked like a blanket of walking dead below them.

Larry Kale’s investor slowly left the control room. There was silence and a somber feel, but once he was out the door, the enthusiastic talking continued.

All the investors did the same thing. Eyes stayed pee
led to the monitors, watching the participants, with the exception of Cal and Jake, gathered in the dining building. Seeing the massive amount of dead in the unity circle. And waiting for an explanation for what they had just seen.

But they wouldn’t get one. Not yet. Greg had his plan to inform them eventually, but like one of the participants, maybe two, he wanted
to try to surprise the investors with the discovery of the truth before folding and telling them everything.

Jake pulled the covers up on the bed, not really making it, but covering the disturbed sheets. “Cal, come on.”

Cal came from the bathroom pulling her belt. “Sorry.”

“You ready?” Jake grabbed the weapons and handed her one. He leaned to her and kissed her. “Thank you for tonight.” He kissed her again. “And I want you to know I’ll enjoy every time we’re together until we can’t be anymore.”

Cal looked curiously at him with a chuckle, taking her weapon. “What do you mean? Are you leaving me?”

“God, no.” Jake shook his head. “I mean, I’ll enjoy making, you know, love to you until we can’t anymore.”

“You mean when we’re really old?”

“No, I mean in a month or so, maybe more, depends on you.”

Cal laughed and stopped walking to the door with him. “Why would we not make love after a month or so
?”

“You’ll be showing.” Jake opened the door. “Come on. Let’s go.” He waved to her, pausing to look out at the dead sprawled about. Acting as if it was a ‘nothing’ scene, Jake moved on.

“Jake, it’s possible to make love when you show. You just find different ways the bigger you get.”

“Cal.” Jake spun to her. “Hun, please. No.” He shook his head.

“Jake.” She gasped. “You make it sound like a revolting suggestion.”

“Cal, please. Making love to you is never revolting.” He kissed her. “But, you know, you’ll have that roundness to your stomach.” Jake shook his head.

“Yeah, so?”

“So.” Jake started walking, reaching back and pulling her along. They tromped over the bodies. “The roundness is the baby. Visualize it. It’s like I’m violating you.”

Again Cal gasped. “Violating me? Jake, come on.”

“O
kay, invading the baby’s space.”

“Jake, the only way
you’ll
invade the baby’s space is if you
reach
the baby’s space. And trust me,
you
won’t come close to there.”

Jake stopped
and spun to her. “Was that an insult on my anatomy?”

“No.”

“Yes it was. Why would you insult my anatomy?”

“Jake
,” Cal said his name with a bitter giggle. “I was making a point, not insulting you. You’re being silly. Either that, or you’re trying to cover up for the fact that you just find it a turn off to make love to me when I’m big and pregnant.”

“Why would I be turned off by you
, pregnant or not?” He continued to move across the unity circle. “I think
you’re
the one covering up that you insulted me merely because I was making sure there wasn’t any perversion involved in being with someone who is pregnant.”

“You’re a dick.”

“What!” Jake tossed his hand in the air walking backwards. “Why are you calling me names? Where is this coming from? We’re talking and you’re being so damn female blowing it out of proportion.”

“So now I’m female.”

“Uh, Cal? Yeah.” Jake nodded and tuned back around. “You have been female since I . . .” Jake stopped cold. “Since I . . .” His eyes transfixed on the ground to the body that lay alone off to the side, a younger man.

“Jake?” Cal caught up to him. “We’re arguing babe. Why did you stop?”

“Um . . .” Jake ran his hand down his face still staring at the body, and more so the eyes. The yellow eyes he didn’t notice during the whole episode.

“Jake?”

“Met you,” Jake whispered.

“What?” Cal snickered.

“Oh my God.” Jake closed his eyes.

“Jake
, what’s wrong?” Cal moved beside him, seeing what he kept staring at. “Do you know him?”

Jake’s lips were slightly parted like he wanted to say something but couldn’t. He spun to face Cal, so confused,
with a lost look on his face. His eyes shifted from the ground to Cal, casing her face. “Cal.”

Was Jake frightened? To Cal
, he looked spooked. “Jake, what is it?”

Jake moistened his lips, turned his head, looked at the body and
then back to Cal.

“Jake?”

Jake blinked. “Nothing.” He laid his hand on her back and moved her along. “I’m sorry. Just hit me wrong.”

“You?” Cal asked with shocked. “Wow, Jake
, maybe becoming a father is making you sensitive.”

“Yeah.” Jake seemed to push her toward the grade that led to the dining building. And before descending over it, Jake looked back one more time
at the bodies.