Waking Up Dead

time…”

“You’ve had two years now,” Luke said. “Granted, alone in the wilderness but how much more do you need?”

Sebastian shrugged. “It’s not a time issue anymore. It’s about the missing ingredient.”

“Which is what?”

Jackson swiveled in her seat and nodded slowly. “Luke’s got a point, Seb, and I’ve been dying to know myself. We won’t tell Nancy you told us.”

“This is so school yard,” Pete growled. “For fuck’s sake, I’ll tell you myself. Seb needs a live one.”

“A what?”

“He needs someone recently infected. Like within a few hours. Right, Doc?”

Sebastian muttered something unintelligible before shuffling forward so that his face was between the two front seats. “It’s not as bad as it sounds,” he said. “We discovered in the beginning, before everyone got eaten or bitten or died, that the body makes antibodies in the very early hours of infection.”

“Right.”

“I need to harvest those,” Sebastian continued, his enthusiasm clearly overtaking his previous desire to keep quiet. “They’re not enough on their own. We tried that back then. The virus depresses the immune system at first, but then sends it into overload. By the time antibodies are made, the virus has taken hold and they make no difference because of the immune response. It actually uses our own immune system against us.” He scowled, as if personally offended that the virus could do that. “The antibodies need to be combined with other things,” he added. “And I think I’ve isolated what—that’s what I spent two years doing, playing around with immune suppressants. But it’s all theoretical because I don’t have any antibodies now.”

“So you need a fresh zombie,” Luke said slowly.

“Yes, only there aren’t any of those anymore.”

“Because the zombies eat you as soon as they get you. No one has a chance to be infected anymore.”

“Exactly. It’s a real quandary.”

Luke scowled out at the landscape around them, wondering how many hungry zombies were close by and whether Sebastian would put up a fight if one tried to eat him, Jackson, Jay, or Pete. Maybe not. It would fit his plans perfectly. “So you’re trying something else?”

“It probably won’t work.” Sebastian sighed. “Because I really need those antibodies.”

A nasty thought hit him then and before he could even consider the wisdom of his actions Luke braked, hard. The truck came to a juddering halt and exclamations filled the air. Luke turned in his seat to see Sebastian half sprawled across Pete.

“What did you see, Luke?” Jackson whispered. “Zombies? Burrows?”

“No.” He took just a moment to cup her face and look into her very green eyes. They showed no fear. Just resolve. “Nothing like that.”

“What gives, man?” Pete pushed Sebastian off and the doctor mumbled something before squeezing back into position.

Luke ignored him and the querying glance of the silent Jay, locking eyes on Sebastian only. “You dare touch her,” he said, and he knew his voice was deadly.

Sebastian gaped “What?”

“You even think of infecting her, and I will find you and slice you up bit by bit. Don’t even consider allowing your thoughts to drift in that direction.”

“Luke.” Jackson gasped. “He wouldn’t.”

“We have no idea what he’d do,” Luke said. “We barely know him.”

Sebastian spluttered and leaned forward. “That’s an outrageous thing to suggest. Jackson helps me. I need her, but not like that. I’d never knowingly infect anyone.”

“You sure about that?”

“Of course!

Jackson laid a hand on his arm and tugged him around. “I do know him, Luke. He’s a good guy and he wouldn’t dare. Besides I’d slice him up myself before he even got the chance.” She swirled Mandy in the air to make her point, and Luke saw the doctor swallow.

“Let’s all calm down,” Pete said slowly. “Luke, get moving. We’ve got a zombie in the trunk and who knows if there are more prowling about, or waiting underground, for that matter.”

Luke scowled but did as Pete asked. They shot down the road, and he tried to grab at some calm. The thought had come out of nowhere really and was probably stupid. But who knew what went through the mind of these science types? The doctor was odd and Luke didn’t trust him not to block out everything in his attempt to find his cure. After all, Luke knew a thing or two about single-mindedness, didn’t he? He saw it every day with Jackson.

“I’d never infect anyone, Luke,” Sebastian insisted after a few minutes. “There are so few of us, I’d never do anything to harm anyone. I’m trying to save people. I want to make them well again. It’s been over two years and every day I wake up and it’s all I think about.”

His tone was earnest and Luke shifted again, feeling a slight twinge of guilt.

“There is no one else,” Sebastian continued. “No one who can do this. It’s just us now. We’re the last hope.”

“We are,” Pete said.

“I need Jackson’s help,” he added. “And yours, and Pete’s, everyone’s really. But if we do this. If we find a way to pull it off…”

He trailed off and silence filled the car. Luke knew what they were all thinking. They were imagining a world without zombies. A world where Sebastian’s cure could bring everyone back… And then out of nowhere Luke thought of Lily. The zombie whose husband sat just a few feet away. He thought about what it would mean for her, for the redheaded zombie in the back, for the tens of thousands everywhere. And lastly what it would mean for him and Jackson. No need to be on guard, no need to worry. Normality. A normal world. And he sighed as he said the next words, because part of him didn’t want to, part of him still didn’t believe it, and was unable to imagine it actually happening. But he said the damn words anyway.

“Then we’ll help. We’ll do whatever it takes.”

Jackson found his hand with hers and squeezed. “Whatever it takes.

…

Strapping the zombie onto the table was going to take some effort, and Jackson tried to work it all out in her mind. They could carry her in of course, she was superlight, but it took time to arrange all the restraints and she was starting to rouse now, low snarls leaving her lips, muffled groans sounding.

“Can we drug her again?” she asked, but Sebastian shook his head.

“No. That stuff I shot her with was ketamine. It used to be used on horses. I gave her enough for five. But any more and it’ll do weird things to her. I need her normal for work tomorrow.”

“We need to be quick then,” she said. “In and strapped up ASAP.” She turned to the others, who were waiting patiently for instructions. “Jay, do a security sweep of the outer perimeter, check for holes in the ground especially. Luke, Pete you take her. I’ll lead the way in and take care of any issues. Seb, you’re with me.”

The men raised their eyebrows but complied. The thought crossed Jackson’s mind that if the zombies had done anything worthwhile, it was to finally remove the last vestiges of sexism. In the world of the dead, or rather the thought-they-were-dead-but-really-they’re-alive—and especially in this camp—everyone was valued for what they could bring to the table. Gender, color, sexual preference didn’t come into the equation

Jay turned to them and pointed to the back of the building. “If there’s an issue, I’ll holler out, okay?”

They were the first words he’d spoken and Jackson nodded. “Make sure you do.”

She gestured Sebastian forward, pulling the multiuse key from her pocket as they moved. It didn’t take long to open up the door, check the main room of the shack, and open up the smaller room. Once inside, her gaze went straight to Two-h-ee. He was lying on his side in the cage they’d placed him in and from the lack of snarls, growls, or moans he’d finally passed on. She tilted her head to get a good look at him and was almost glad to see his features relaxed slightly now. He wouldn’t be screaming anymore at least.

“Jackson?” Sebastian laid a hand across her arm, halting her.

She turned to look at the doctor, who had, despite what Luke said, become a friend to her over the last few