A Dark Day: Part VI

I let her go and have her choose her own destiny. For a moment she has a look on her face like she's going to do something stupid but then that quickly turns to the realization that she would die if she did. Deep down even the most confident and strong willed individual is scared to die. I remember being five years old and me and my dad going into town to get sour gummy straws. He was the bravest and strongest man I've ever known. There was nothing that he was afraid of. We crossed the street back to the car that day and all I heard were tires squealing and felt a shove that threw me right across the street. When I looked back I saw my dad, on the floor and laying in a pool of blood. I ran to him and the look on his face is one that I would never forget. My dad, the bravest and strongest man I had ever known was scared, scared of death. He said nothing at all. The look was enough. Even being five years old I just knew that everyone was vulnerable. No one was stronger than death. Slowly but surely I looked on as my fathers light went out.
The woman throws me the keys. She made the smart choice. I unlock all my chains and walk over to her. "Come on" I tell her as I help her to her feet. I take her over to the table she was at earlier. There is a decomposed arm on the table with pins and needles in it. Looks like she was doing some tests. I grab a few gauzes and some tape out of the cabinet above and apply them to her wound. She's as good as new now, well as good as a woman with her ear chopped off can get. "They are getting smarter" she tells me as we walk out of the room cautiously. "What the hell are you talking about?" I ask. "The Pastor has been studying them since the outbreak first became apparent. They are getting smarter. They retain a bit of their old life apparently and build on that. Its like muscle memory, if you do things a certain amount of times then you'll never forget how to do them. This is exactly what's happening here but on a larger scale. Didn't you notice that they were suddenly gone when you decided to investigate the area outside of your trailer? They were stalking you, just like an animal stalks its prey. They were waiting and in hiding until you were your most vulnerable." She explains. I still don't understand how that could happen. I look at her confused but intrigued. "How long have you been in that trailer?" She asks me. "For about 14 days I think" I tell her. "That's 12 days too long. They know you, your habits, your patterns. You're lucky you're still alive right now." She says.

A Dark Day: Part V

With my eyes closed shut I can still feel how close the person is. I can feel a hand being waved in front of my face and a nudge to my side with a foot. I open my eyes slightly and suddenly become aware and alert when I see a scalpel in the hand of the person standing over me. I have to "play dead" so to speak. At least for the moment. I can hear the jingle of keys so I'm guessing I'm going to be moved somewhere. My left hand becomes free from the chains and that's when I make my move. I open my eyes and within that instant I grab the scalpel from the persons other hand. In the same motion I yank on the persons arm realize I'm looking at a woman. I pull her close to me and put the blade to her neck. "What the fuck do you want with me?!" I ask her with a low growl in my voice. "We are studying them. We need to put a stop to these things." She tells me. I press the blade harder to her neck and a small amount of blood comes exposes itself. "Let me loose" I demand with the same low growl in my voice. "The Pastor wouldn't be pleased if I did that. We need living tissue to complete the study and well, your the only survivor we've seen in 24 days." She explains. "I don't give a fuck who The Pastor is but you better let me loose or I'll slice your neck wide open! From ear to fucking ear!" I exclaimed as I pressed a little harder into her neck. "Go ahead and do it." She said ever so calmly as she throws the keys to the chains across the room. "My death would be minuscule compared to all the people we could save." This woman is completely insane! She knows just as well as I do that there is no one else left around these parts. Who knows if the rest of the world is the same way? I'm not going to let these people use me as a damn lab rat. I just need to get to those keys. "Are you going to get me those keys?" She nods her head no. "Your not afraid to die are you?" She nods her head no again. "I'm going to make you hurt then." I wrap the chain that's connected to my right hand around her neck. "Are you scared?" I ask her. She nods her head no once more. In one quick motion I slice her left ear right off her head. So quick that it looked like a magic trick. Blood starts to pour out like a running faucet all over me and all I can hear is her screams. I let a few minutes go by then I tell her "I'm sure your no stranger to surgery and blood loss. Your probably feeling kind of dizzy right about now from the blood loss. If you get me those keys then I can help you stop the bleeding. If not then you won't make it out of her alive even if I let you go. Take your pick."