Chapter 16

My Ma taught me it is wrong to hate. I try to temper

my anger when faced with various situations. But this motherfucker right here

is really trying my patience.

"Cyrus?!" said T and I simultaneously.

"Damn! Why won't you die?" asked T snarkily.

"Oh, this fucker has jokes. Well look around asshole,

we outnumber you. There are six of us and only five of you," said Cyrus.

"Now Cyrus, you know me. Have I ever engaged in a

situation without being prepared?" I bluffed. "I'm like a goddamned boy scout.

You know, 'Be prepared!' You remember the Raiders, don't you? Do you think I'd

travel without them watching my back? One hand signal and your head explodes!"

He began looking around nervously. He looked at me and

then T.

"You're bluffing!' he shouted.

"Right now, one or both of the twins has you lined up

in their sights. If I nod, you die," I said. "Do you want to risk that it is a

bluff? Should I nod?"

"Fuck you! You waltz into our territory and think you

can bullshit a bullshitter?" he yelled. Suddenly a shot hit right by his foot.

"That, my former friend, is the only warning you will

receive," I said with more confidence. Now all his men were looking around too.

"Before you go Cyrus. We were told you were a DC. What happened?"

"Fuck you Marvin!' he shouted," I ain't telling you

shit! Poppa's Pride has a long memory and an even longer reach. We will meet

again!"

Cyrus and his men exited the gate of the community and

disappeared in the wooded area. I signaled for Naomi to join us as we made our

way to the bus. It was past time to get the hell out of here.

On the drive back, things were really quiet. Too quiet

for my liking.

"What's on everyone's mind?" I asked. Everyone looked

at one another before T broke the silence.

"Well bro, I think that we were not adequately manned

for this trip," said T. "We can't just take off on vacations like we did before

this shit happened."

I had only seen T this serious one time before. When

Ma died.

"T, I never meant to place any of you in harm's way,"

I said.

"When that penguin guy took Naomi, I promised her I'd

never let anything like that ever happen to her again. And there we were,

helpless to do anything as that asshole got the drop on us," he said. "Had it

not been for my baby, who knows what would have happened?"

"T, I think you're being a little hard on Doc," said

Naomi. "I mean we all flubbed on this "trip." You were supposed to be with me

watching my back for strangers and DCs. Where were you?"

"Babe, I made a mistake," he said.

"That's my point. We all made some today," said Naomi.

"Look I apologize for today," I said. "But Naomi that

was one hell of a shot."

"Not really. Remember when I said we all made

mistakes?" she asked. "Well, I was aiming for his gun!"

Joshua and Jamie burst into laughter, followed by

Naomi and Em and then me. T sat there trying not to laugh, but it was

infectious and before long, we were all laughing together. As we proceeded back

we came across a neighborhood with quite a few DCs pawing at a shed. I surmised

that someone or something was inside. We all formed up with our hand to hand

gear.

I saw that Em had bestowed her knives to Jamie in lieu

of her Hanzo. Naomi wasn't quite used to the hand to hand yet, so she and T

remained on the bus. We made quick work of the DCs surrounding the shed.

Jamie's hand to hand skills were coming along nicely as she dispatched the DCs

in her immediate vicinity. I knocked on the shed door.

"Is anyone in there?" I asked in a whispered shout.

"Be quiet. They could be the dead," said a voice

inside.

"Since when does the dead talk?" came another voice.

"How do you know it's not some super geek ready to

pounce on us the moment you open the door?" said the first voice. "Or one of

those Pride guys again?"

I looked at Em, Joshua and Jamie.

"It's okay. We're here to help," said Jamie.

"Hey, that sounded like a girl," said the first voice.

We heard movement in the shed and then slowly the door

opened. Inside were two teenage boys and a huge man, who was bigger than Henry.

They had a short-wave radio setup and a camping stove and a few crates of MREs.

In the corner of the shed were six bedrolls, a few rifles and a pile of comic

books.

"Who are you people?" asked the guy belonging to the

second voice we heard.

It has been my experience that the guy who does the

talking is the ipso-facto leader.

"I'm Dr. Marvin Harris, this is my wife Emelia, my son

Joshua and his girlfriend Jamie," I said.

"Wait a minute! You're THE Dr. Marvin Harris? The one

who developed the Proto-Enzyme treatments?" he asked.

"You've heard of me?" I asked.

"Heard of you?" he asked as he leaped forward and

hugged me.

Em looked at me with a confused look, but I was

equally confused.

"You don't remember me Doc?" he asked. "Let me refresh

your memory. It was 2006 and you were called in to consult on a drowning

victim. A little boy who was believed to be brain damaged due to lack of

oxygen. You saved my life Doc!" he said.

"Eli?!" I exclaimed. "Elijah Grey?!"

"In the flesh, Doc," he said.

"Who is this kid, dad?" asked Joshua.

"Eli, here, was one of the first patients to receive

my treatment with Proto-Enzymes. The treatment regrew his damaged brain tissue

and allowed him to regain consciousness." I said.

"Doc, it did more than that," he said. "The treatment

elevated my IQ to genius levels. I've studied as much of your work as I could

and have patterned my professional life after yours."

"Professional life?" I asked.

"You're talking to one of the youngest professors in

the history of the University of Georgia, Go Bull Dogs!" he said.

"But you're what...15, 16?" I asked

"I just celebrated my 17th birthday." he said. "But I

received my doctorate in Molecular Biology when I was 13, my doctorate in

Neural Biology when I was 14 and began teaching when I was 15."

"Wow! You must really be smart," said Jamie to the

dismay of Joshua.

"Well, what are you doing here in this shed?" I asked.

"I had a lab but was run out by some guys calling

themselves Poppa's Pride or some nonsense," he said. "I've been trying to

understand the effects of the bites of the dead and the transformations. I want

to find a cure."

I lowered my head. Partly due to shame and partly due

to his loose grasp of the concepts of death and mitosis.

"Look Eli, a cure won't do anyone any good," I said. "Once

the cells begin to decay and mitosis sets in, there is no way to reverse the

effects. That tissue and those cells are dead, never to live again."

"No, Doc," he said. "I'm talking about a cure for us.

If you die regardless of being bit or scratched, you turn into one of those

things. Chatter on the boards were saying that a contaminated flu vaccination

that originated in this area was the cause of the outbreak, but I have my own

opinions about that theory."

"Please, postulate professor," I instructed.

"Well, due to the rate of the spread and the

incubation period and some of the test results I received from the CDC, there

had to be a Patient Zero."

"Wait, the CDC is still active?" I asked.

"No! I thought everyone knew. The CDC was overrun," he

said. "The staff panicked and left the facility unsecure."

"What's a Patient Zero," asked Jamie.

"Joshua, you want to take this one?" I asked,

attempting to give him an opportunity to show what he'd learned.

"A Patient Zero is the first person to contract an

ailment at the beginning of an epidemic. Sometimes antibodies are created in

that individual that could be useful in creating a cure," said Joshua.

"Wow, babe, you're smart like they are," said Jamie.

Joshua hugged her and mouthed, "thank you!" to me.

"Sorry girl, but no one is as smart as Dr. Harris,"

said Eli. "Right Doc. I'll bet you're close to a cure by now?"

"Nothing could be further from the truth," I said. "It's

a different world out there now. One of survival at any cost. I don't have the

luxury to shut myself off in a lab. I, we, have a community with people who

depend on us. We'd like to offer you sanctuary."

"Do you have room for three more in addition to us?"

asked one of the young men with Eli.

"And you are?..." I asked.

"I'm Joseph Johnson, but everybody calls me JoJo," he

said.

"And you?" I asked the rather large man.

"I'm Tank," he said.

"Tank?" I asked.

"Tank!" he said.

"Tank was one of my earlier patients," whispered Eli. "He

doesn't speak much, but he's smart and strong as a…well, Tank."

"What was his prognosis?" I asked.

"Slowed mental acuity, social and mental retardation,"

whispered Tank as he interrupted our conversation. "I had issues with meeting

people and dealing with social settings. I'd rather just exercise and read

comic books now."

"Wow! That is the most I've ever heard him speak in

quite a while. He must like you, Doc," said JoJo. "In case you all are

wondering, Tank is my little brother and we're Eli's cousins."

"Little?..." began Joshua. "That guy is at least 6'2"

tall and every bit of 280 lbs."

"Yeah, but he's only 12," said JoJo.

Em, Joshua, Jamie and I looked at each other in a

stunned and puzzled silence.

"I'm sure there's an interesting story there, but for

now I'll just say, 'Welcome to our community'," I said.

"Doc, a word please?" asked Eli as he motioned me away

from the others. "I know you noticed the other bedrolls in the shed. We had

others with us. Girls, which the Pride took. We're getting them back." I nodded

in agreement and we joined the others.

We walked back to the bus and introductions were made

to T and Naomi. We all got back into the bus and continued on our way back

towards Atlanta. Eli and I conversed on many different neurological

disciplines, while Joshua attempted to keep up. Jamie, Em and Naomi were sleep

while T drove the bus. Tank and JoJo were playing 'I Spy.'

"Really Eli, what's Tank's story?" I asked.

"Not here doc. When we're someplace more secluded," he

said.

"Well, as we discussed earlier, we have to bag you," I

reminded him.

"Give me a moment with Tank first, okay Doc?" he

asked.

He walked over to Tank, leaned over and whispered

something in his ear. He stood up and said, "To your happy place!" and Tank was

out like a light.

"Suggestive hypnosis, it did wonders during his

treatment," said Eli. "He doesn't do well in the dark yet and you don't want

him to get moody."

Joshua and I bagged the young men and we continued on

to the ARC. But if Eli is as smart as he says he is, I'm sure he can pinpoint

our location even blindfolded.

Once we arrived and got everyone situated, I cleared

the Med Bay and Eli, Joshua and I were alone.

"Doc, there is something I need to tell you about

Tank," he confessed. "Tank has been bitten."

"What the hell, Eli?!" I yelled. "Why would you let me

bring him in here if he's going to change?"

"You're not hearing me Doc," he said. "Tank was bitten

a few times. The first time a few months ago, and then again last month and

then yesterday."

"Are you saying that Tank is a DC?" I asked.

"What's a DC?" he retorted.

"That's what we call them, as in the DeCeased or dead

carcasses," I explained. "Wait, he can't be a DC. I heard him talk."

"He's not a DC. He is immune to their bites," said Eli.