Louise shoved the smoking barrel of her gun in the old man's face as she pressed his body against the wall lining the interior of the hangar.
"Test subjects? What do you mean 'test subjects'? We didn't risk our lives fighting our way here just to end up as some loony's guinea pigs!" spat Louise.
"Easy, Louise," said James as he fired a few shots out the slowly narrowing gap made by the large metal door as it closed. "If we want answers, we need that man alive. He looks pretty harmless. Let him go."
Louise released her grip on the old man. He dropped down to the ground in a heap. He stood up and brushed the dust off his lab coat. The group visibly relaxed as the heavy metal door closed and sealed behind them.
"It's not like I was going to force anyone to do it. I was only looking for more volunteers," said the old man defensively.
"Volunteers? Volunteers for what? Who are you and what is this place?" asked Mike.
"My mother ... she was a soldier assigned to this base! Is she here?" asked Carly quickly.
The old man shook his head sadly.
"I am afraid there is no one left here but me. All the others are gone, either dead or run away. Even if I knew your mother's name, I couldn't honestly tell you where she went. So many soldiers were transferred into and out of this base during my time here I couldn't possibly have kept track of all of them even if I had the inclination to try. All of the communication equipment here is at your disposal, but I do not think you will have much luck. I have not made contact with anyone else for several months and the network servers went down quite some time ago."
Carly turned and cried on Susan's shoulder.
"It's useless. We will never find her, " sobbed Carly.
Jen gave Carly a warm hug, but the others ignored her.
"You haven't answered my question. Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked Mike.
"Ah, yes. Sorry about that. How rude of me. I have been alone so long I have forgotten my manners. Introductions are in order. I am Dr. Victor Stein. I work in the Bioweapons division of the Armed Forces Research Institute, " said Dr. Stein.
"Let me guess - you were working on a cure, " said Louise sarcastically.
"Don't be ridiculous. Even if we could find a way to reverse the effects of 'zombification', the infected people would still just die from their injuries. I mean, have you seen the people out there? Missing limbs, gaping wounds, some little more than bone and muscle. No, curing the infected would simply be a waste of time and valuable resources...."
"Then what were you doing here, Doc? What was your mission?" asked James.
"Mission? Well, technically I had no mission. I am not in the military. I am a civilian employee contracted to work for the government..."
"Cut the semantics, Doc, " said Mike.
"Sorry, I do ramble on. The isolation really has done a number on my mind. Well, I guess you could say that my mission was survival! The very survival of the human race! " said Dr. Stein.
"Can I kill him now?" asked Louise, holding up the barrel of her gun. "I am sick of his cheap theatrics and innuendo. Just cut to the chase!"
"I am sorry, I did not mean to be obtuse. I was developing a new weapon to defeat the zombies. A living weapon! " said Dr. Stein proudly. Louise cocked her gun and gave him a dirty look. Dr. Stein loudly cleared his throat and continued. "Specifically, a way to improve human beings. The procedure would make them not only resistant to infection, but also more efficient killers of the undead. A sort of 'super' soldier' if you will."
"Sign me up!" said Louise with a smile.
"Really?" asked the doctor hopefully.
"Shut up, Louise. I am guessing it didn't work out very well. Otherwise there would be enhanced soldiers still around protecting this base and he wouldn't need more volunteers to be his test subjects," said James.
Dr. Stein guffawed, clearly insulted by the challenge to his abilities.
"Admittedly, the initial tests were not as successful as I hoped. But my superiors simply did not allow me enough time to adequately prepare. They were always trying to rush my experiments and pushing me to test prematurely. But now that I have had several months alone to work in peace without any interruptions by anxious bureaucrats, I believe I have perfected the process. I just need a human volunteer to finish my project. And, unfortunately, all the soldiers who might have volunteered have left."
"So why didn't you just test it on yourself?" asked Mike.
Dr. Stein gave a loud Harrumph.
"Well, the process is a little more complicated than just pushing a button. It requires a trained scientist to interpret the readings and make any adjustments as needed during the procedure, " said Dr. Stein.
"So basically you were just too scared to try it on yourself? " said Louise.
"Preposterous! The procedure is perfectly safe. It will work this time, I know it! All my calculations are correct. The computer models have all predicted success. I will triumph! I would bet my life on it! " said Dr. Stein enthusiastically. The group stared at him like he was crazy. Doctor Stein realized he was ranting again. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his wild bushy white hair. "Listen, I don't expect anyone to make a decision right now. It is very late and you have undoubtedly had a very long and arduous journey. You must be famished and exhausted. Why don't you have something to eat and get some rest? We can discuss it again in the morning."
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The group ate in silence. Although their meal consisted of MREs, it had been a long time since they had eaten food this nice. And an even longer time since they didn't have to worry about zombies sneaking up on them while their guard was down. By all rights they should have been celebrating. But Dr. Stein's proposal weighed heavy on their minds.
James was the first to break the silence.
"Okay, we are all thinking about it, so we might as talk about it. I, for one, am not going to volunteer for anything. I just don't think it is safe," said James.
"Nothing in this world is safe. It might give us the advantage we need to survive out there, " said Louise.
"Or it could kill you," said Mike.
"Would that really be so bad?" asked Louise.
Jen scoffed.
"I'm serious. I am not suicidal. But maybe it would be better to die peacefully in a hospital bed rather than torn apart and eaten alive by hungry zombies," said Louise.
"Louise! There are children present! They don't need to hear talk like that," said Jen.
"Maybe they do. They aren't kids, you know. They may be young, but they are adults, just like us. But if you keep treating them like babies, that softness will get them killed one day, " said Louise. "Maybe they need what the Doc is offering more than any of us."
"Never!" hissed Susan.
"Okay, that's enough, " yelled James as he slammed his hands down on the table. The room fell silent. "Look, we are all adults here. I think it is up to each of us to make up our own mind about this. I won't try to stop anyone, regardless of what they ultimately decide. But I also don't think anyone should make a rash decision in the middle of the night. I agree with the Doc, on this at least. I think it would be best if we all slept on it and made our choice in the morning. Agreed?"
Everyone silently nodded their heads. With that, the dinner was over. The group cleaned up the dishes, then made their way to the cots Dr. Stein had provided. Although they were all very tired, no one actually slept well that night.