Devyn sat at the council table, organizing her papers. She avoided eye contact with each council member as they entered the packed room. Anyone who arrived on time would be shockingly out of luck today.  The chairs filled thirty minutes before the meeting started. Devyn could see a small crowd in the hall, waiting for the menu to begin.

Joy sat in the front row next to Hahn. Well, a concealed Hahn. He currently wore a pair of blue contacts to hide his vibrant red eyes. The man had proven himself countless times over the last 72 hours. Providing Devyn with data and assisting her with the analysis.

"I want to hire you," Devyn gushed at the end, making him blush.

"Let's just see what happens first," Hahn replied. "Did you want the papers on the ZT treatment?"

Devyn nodded, "yes, but only a copy. I want you to keep all of this safe. Just in case."

Hahn nodded grimly. "Understood."

Devyn jumped slightly when the chair beside her moved. She looked up to see Leroy smiling down at her.

"I guess we get to sit beside each other today," Leroy said. "It must be my lucky day."

"I'm sure it is," Devyn replied, looking down the row to see the rest of the council members avoiding her gaze. Traitors. "Should we get this thing started?"

Leroy pressed his lips together and motioned for her to stand. "It is your show. We are just here to watch and keep our mouths shut."

Devyn suppressed her snort at his passive-aggressive comment and stood up. "Thank you, everyone, for coming. We are—"

"I can't hear you!" A male voice screamed in the back.

"Sorry," Devyn said, louder this time.

"Still, can't hear you!" The voice screamed again.

Devyn turned to the rest of the council. Omar immediately stood and ran over to the side. He turned on some speakers and grabbed a microphone.

"I got this, just in case," he whispered, handing her the microphone. "I thought today might be packed."

Devyn smiled her thanks. "Can you hear me now?" She asked into the microphone. A small cheer sounded across the back rows and into the hall. "Good, now, as I was saying, thank you all for coming out. Today is an important discussion regarding the findings of the exhibition in the forest. Each member will discuss what has been reported to them, and then I will finish with some data collected by members on the exhibition. So, with that, would Councilwoman Ivory like to begin?"

Over the next few hours, council members provided second-hand reports of what their person saw in the forest. Devyn knew it would be better for the actual people to come up, but no layperson wanted to be on display, especially after the hospital fire.

Joy let out a low yawn in the front row. She knew how it would go with these reports. Ivory started on about the P.U. and undead individuals being subhuman. Ivory talked about how they ate raw remains they found on the forest floor. She almost laughed when Tanya added some false information about making them eat rats and bunnies raw.  

Kevin almost snatched the microphone from Tanya when she finished.  His account ranged from angry at Ivory and Tanya's bias to factual.  So, in all, it entertained Joy.

Timothy's account was intriguing, and Phil's was fair. Omar read a detailed letter about almost everything they did. Joy startled herself when a drop of drool fell on her arm. Must have fallen asleep during that one, she thought.

Joanna countered some of Tanya's report on eating habits by mentioning how the food reserve in the town mysteriously disappeared, which could have impacted P.U. behavior. Once Joanna sat down, all eyes turned to Leroy.

"Well," he said, standing up and taking the microphone. "These are some interesting accounts. My man in the forest didn't have much to say. He said the undead and P.U. played nice with us and reminded me that it was only for a few days. Then, he went on to say how one of the members snuck off in the middle of the night, leaving them stranded with only one car. Isn't that funny? Why would someone need to sneak away from a peaceful exhibition? No harm was done. I wonder if that person snuck off to set fire to the hospital."

Devyn gasped, and the crowd began to buzz. Joy glared at him from the front row while Hahn placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"Don't give him anything," Hahn hissed into her ear.

"I know, I know," Leroy drawled. "Y'all are wondering why would good ole trustworthy Leroy bring something like this up. I only do it because I care about humanity.  And, I want to make sure humans are protected from people who want to hurt us." Leroy stood for a moment longer with the mic before turning to Devyn. "Councilwoman," he said, handing the mic to her.

"Well," Devyn drawled. "That is an interesting turn." She moved the papers in front of her to quickly reference them if needed. "The member of the exhibition left because an undead person gave us something, a single dose of the ZT treatment created by a P3.  This treatment can help stall the decomposition of undead flesh. The undead person reported that this treatment slows the progression of the ZT virus in infected persons."

Gasps and chatter filled the room as Leroy shifted in his chair. Devyn glanced down at him with a smirk before continuing.

"Over the past few days," she announced, trying to quiet the room. "I've been working to understand what is in this treatment and analyze further blood samples gathered during the exhibition."

"I knew it," Leroy muttered under his breath.

Devyn ignored him and continued. "Of the P.U. individuals studied, we determined that 95% of them were unlikely to spread the virus. The risk of ZT spread could be lower if infected individuals receive treatment," Devyn finished with a sigh and turned to Tanya.  "To counter Councilwoman Tanya's claim, none of the infected individuals reported wanting to eat humans or craving raw meat to my person. No violent tendencies were reported. Overall, they did not pose a significant risk to individuals not infected by the ZT virus. Thus, I move to discontinue the laws prohibiting individuals categorized as P.U. and categorize them as human.  Thus, protecting them from actions that threaten their safety."

Kevin stood, "I second it."

Timothy raised his hand, "I agree. Let us move to a vote."

Joy clinched Hahn's hand as the council proceeded to vote. It passed with a vote of 6 to 3. A mixture of cheers and boos rang through the air.  Tanya didn't bother to hide the glare she sent Omar.

"Moving on to undead individuals," Devyn pressed on. "Data collected showed that the infection range in these individuals can be transmitted. We are currently working on using the ZT treatment to see if we can suppress the viral load in these individuals so it cannot be transmitted," Devyn paused and licked her lips. "This requires further research. I propose that we consider setting up a camp outside the wall for undead individuals to be studied and receive this treatment. Once the viral load is within a prescribed range, they will gain limited access to the city."

"You want to kill us all!" A female voice cried from the crowd.

Devyn held up her hand. "No, I do not. We are now at a different phase. If we can learn how to live with the ZT virus, we can open up trade channels and thrive as we did before. There is an opportunity to—sir; you need to sit down. Sir—"

Joy watched with everyone as a tall, burly man raised his hand to reveal a gun. Three rounds sounded before someone tackled the man to the ground. She wanted to move but remained frozen in her chair.

The room erupted into screams and chaos. Joy felt Hahn grab her arm as he rushed to the stage. She stumbled onto it and gasped back a round of tears.  Devyn coughed up blood while Hahn kept telling her not to move.  

How could she, with all of this blood around her? Joy thought.

"We need to stop the bleeding," he yelled at her.

Joy started to rip at the hem of her skirt. Before she could hand it to him, Kevin and Timothy had offered their jackets. Joy looked over her shoulder to see Leroy watching.

"I guess there won't be a vote today," Leroy sighed.

Timothy punched him, sending Leroy toppling out of his chair.  Kevin placed a foot on Leroy's chest and pointed a gun at his head.

"Don't move," Kevin hissed.

Joy looked back to Hahn as he tried to stop the bleeding. She grabbed onto Devyn's hand and leaned down.

"Girl," she hissed. "You better stay strong, okay? We need you to stay strong."

Joy felt a slight pressure on her hand before it went limp. She bet back a round of sobs.  The stage shook as people ran around.

"Make room for them," Hahn said into a mic.

A few minutes later, they transported Devyn to a hospital.

The next few days blurred together. Jim arrived at some point with Paige. They listened to the doctors talk about the different surgeries Devyn went through, and they waited. Lots of waiting. Joy knew she should do something other than sit in the hospital and sleep on the uncomfortable spare beds, but she was afraid to leave. What if Devyn woke up?

News slowly trickled into the hospital. The Council removed Leroy after Central raided his house and found evidence that tied him to PoL and the shooter.

The Council reconvened two days after the incident. Joanna finished reading Devyn's report for the Council behind closed doors. Shockingly, they passed a motion to study ways to incorporate the undead back into society with a vote of 5 to 2. Ivory and Tanya left, saying the vote shouldn't have counted. Omar gladly read back his notes to the public, verifying they agreed.

A week after the incident, Devyn's body gave out. Joy thought she cried when she lost her parents. This time was different. She cried so hard her body wouldn't stop heaving to the point where she didn't know if she could breathe. Thankfully, Jim wrapped his arms around her and did the same.

There would be no future memories with Devyn Palmer, but her legacy continued. The motion that passed on the day of her death would lead to studies that helped pass legislation to protect undead individuals and allow them to re-enter society.  These were known as The Palmer Acts. It would set a precedence for other cities around what once was the United States. And it started the evolution of what their new reality could become.

***

The last line in Devyn Palmer's speech:

We are human. The blood might be slightly different, but the drive to live is the same.

***

Chapter WC: 1,798

Total WC: 21,999