The second bottle of red wine breathed amongst the quartet as they stood in the kitchen. Joy and Devyn started the first bottle while Jim and Paige showered. It seemed too early to walk away from the house. Joy didn't know what she would say if stopped by a random guy. Would she get more phone calls tomorrow saying they knew what she helped cover up? Would they be waiting for her when she got home? What about Tony?

"Shit," Joy whispered, making three heads turn to her. "We forgot about Tony."

Paige's eyebrows furrowed together, "Who is Tony?"

"Our coworker," Devyn supplied before drinking her wine. "We were supposed to go to the meeting with him."

"He's going to go by the house. What if Protectors are there waiting for me?" Joy's eyes became large as her hands clutched the wine. "What if they take out their revenge on him? I need to warn him. I need to—"

Jim placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "They won't know about anything for a while. For all those asshats know, the hit went down as expected because I was home alone. You both are here in shock and trying to clean up the scene before trying to find me."

"Why wouldn't we call someone?" Devyn asked.

"Because there would be a note here telling you not to. No one speaks of it when someone is taken," Paige whispered.

Joy shook her head. "Someone would notice. They can't just make people disappear."

Paige smirked. "They made my whole family disappear."

Jim sighed and poured more wine into his glass. "We have time. They would have taken my body to the woods or pit to be burned. That takes some time."

Joy forced her eyes shut. She did not want to know more, but the damn wine and her curiosity won out. "What is the pit?" She finally spits out.

Paige let out a harsh laugh. "It's where they burn the people they need to disappear. They took my family and me there a few years ago. That air is so fuckin' toxic. It literally burned my throat when I climbed out of there to escape."

"Shit," Devyn whispered.

"Yeah, but I got this super sexy voice now, right?" Paige sarcastically shrugged. "Assholes."

The other three nodded, and the group drank together.

Outside, the sky changed to blues and pinks. Grackles huddled along the phone line poles like a black feathered doomsday cult, watching the quartet.

"We should call someone from the battalion to help move the bodies," Paige said.

"The battalion?" Joy looked between Jim and Paige in confusion.

"Red Eyed Battalion," Jim supplied, avoiding Devyn's gaze. "We're working to help provide people with failed vaccinations a safe life. It is really—"

A thud sounded upstairs, making everyone pause. The tinkling of thousands of kitty litter pellets met their ears, followed by an undead groan. Joy dropped her wine glass first, followed by Devyn. Jim glared at his sister before placing his wine down on the counter.

"I—I," Paige gasped, placing her wine down. "Fuck! Guys, sorry. My bad, I got this."

"Your bad," Joy hissed. "Is that a—"

Devyn's hands went into the bag on her belt. "I'm going to need a blood sample. Do you think we could just sedate it? I would love to get an active brain scan on this—"

"Are you really going to be a nerd right now?" Jim sighed and rolled his eyes before going over to a cupboard. He pulled out a machete and handed it to Paige. "I like this one."

"Awe," Paige almost cooed. "Did you name it?"

Joy placed both her hands on the table as the sound of heavy steps and falling kitty litter got closer. "May I remind everyone there is an undead upstairs?"

Paige shrugged. "After the initial shock, it isn't that bad. We all went to training for this, right?"

The red-eyed woman tested the weight of the machete and took a few broad strokes. Paige then started a short warm-up routine as the heavy steps continued towards the stairs. Joy's eyebrows went together, and she motioned towards the woman as Paige began to mutter and hum, "Here zombie-zombie-zombie. Here we go."

"Yeah," Joy drawled, scrunching up her face. "But, I don't really use those skills often. I'm more in the records department than the let's get bloody department. I mean, I would wear a completely different outfit to be a manga hero."

Devyn placed two covered needles and four empty collection tubes on the counter. She looked up at Joy with a smile. "Can you help me find some alcohol wipes? Paige, please keep the brain intact."

Joy let out a large sigh as she started to help her friend. Devyn let out a triumphant scream a few seconds later and started to sanitize her make-shift work area.

A cough sounded at the top of the stairs, followed by the tinkling sound of litter falling along the wood stairs. Joy turned to Jim with a scrunched nose. He shrugged and crossed his arms to lean back against the counter.

"Fuck me," a gravelly male voice said at the top of the stairs.

"He has some cognitive function," Devyn sang to herself while performing a small dance. Her eyes narrowed as she pointed a finger at Paige. "Do not harm that brain. I need to scan it."

"How did this guy even become undead?" Joy asked. "Am I the only person unnerved and confused? I mean, what if that bubba covered in kitty litter over there changes?"

Paige sighed. "Well—"

"The red-eyed chick bit me," the gruff voice said at the top of the stairs. "I got her in a choke-hold, and she bit me."

Paige nodded and shrugged. "Yeah, but this is better than me dying, right?"

The undead man took a few steps down the stairs before peaking around the corner. His pudgy round face transformed into a smile as he made eye contact with Jim.

"See, the vaccination doesn't work, and I get a second chance at killing you," the undead man smirked.

More of his large body came into view. He was probably about six feet tall with a burly physique that made Joy want to give him a hug. Well, if he wasn't an undead who could infect her or possibly eat her GI tract.

Jim laughed, "I thought that was you, Tim."

Tim's chuckled response turned into a hacking cough. Kitty litter shot across the floor.

"Who the fuck thought about kitty litter?" Tim asked. "It is annoying. I can feel it in my lungs."

"Yeah, annoying, right?" Paige smiled while doing a couple of twists. "You know, I'm excited we get another go at this. I don't have to kill you if you want us to take you out to the settlement they're building. It is a really cool place. Lots of talking undead like you. Some even have dogs."

Joy gasped, "they have dogs?"

"Yeah, super cool about it. They don't even eat them unless there is a low on raw meat from the forest," Paige nodded. "Right, Jim?"

Jim nodded, not taking his eyes off Tim as the man walked to the bottom of the stairs. "Yeah, it's cool."

Devyn snorted as she put on a pair of gloves. She prepped the first needle and vile as Tim took his last step to reach the ground floor.

Tim shook his head and turned it to the side to get kitty litter from his ears. "Sorry, not sure if I heard correctly. You want me to join an undead colony?"

"Yep," Paige nodded. "It's that, or I kill you now. Devyn would then study your blood and brain."

"Either way, I want to study your blood and brain. It's just that one has you with your brain being active and the other doesn't," Devyn corrected.

Joy took a step back from Tim as he crossed his arms and smiled.

"You know, I'm not much a follower," he said.

Joy snorted, making him glare at her.

"What?" Tim asked.

Joy shrugged and motioned from him to his dead comrade covered in kitty litter. "Weren't you both part of the Protectors of the Living?"

"Yeah, so? We were rebels that went against the—"

Joy scoffed and held her hand up for him to stop talking. "Dude, you terrorized families and killed them. There is nothing rebellious about it."

Tim shook his head. "No," he started. "We protected the living, so things like what I am now didn't happen."

Devyn shook her head as Joy laughed. Paige moved into a ready stance in case Tim made a move towards them.

"You happened because you obviously didn't get the vaccine," Joy stated. "The rest of your idealism is just to cover up your stupid fears."

Tim coughed, and another round of kitty litter flew across the room. He glared at Joy. "Then, just kill me."

The room became silent.

"I mean it," Tim hissed. "Kill me! If you don't, I am going to kill you. I mean, at any moment, my ability to control my body could snap. I'll become a monster."

He pounded a fist against his chest, and a tear ran down his face.

"Monster is a bit harsh," Paige stated with a scrunched nose.

Tim shook his head. "Do you not see what I am now? Fuck!"

Devyn tilted her head to the side while observing him.

"What?" Tim hissed at her. "I'm not—"

"You are obviously someone still on the human spectrum," Devyn started, smiling. "From what I can see, your cognitive capabilities are working. You have not shown a need to feed on us, which means some inhibition is intact. That bite infected you, but it seems the viral load only had enough potency to keep you in an undead state. Well, based on my initial observations," Devyn finished hurriedly. "I will need to get more data."

Tim's eyebrows furrowed together. He considered the information for a moment while pressing his lips together.

"I don't feel the need to eat you," he stated slowly. "I'm hungry for something raw, but it doesn't feel like it has to be human. I'm—"

"Able to make choices," Devyn finished in glee, clapping her hands. "Really!  You don't seem like an immediate danger to those living without the infection. I would think—"

Jim cut his sister off, "I think he has heard enough for the moment. Basically, Tim, you don't have to die here. You are undead but still human. The teachings by the Protectors got this part wrong."

Tim sighed. He nodded a few times in agreement. Tom's bottom lip went between his teeth while thinking. A short burst of air released from his mouth as he began to laugh.

"Shit," he muttered, dropping to the ground. Tears began to stream down his face as soft cries shook his body.

Devyn turned to Jim, who shook his head. Paige pressed her lips together. She placed the machete on the counter and grabbed a rag that looked partially clean off the counter. Paige took a few steps forward and held it out to Tim.

Tears streaked down the man's round face as he looked up at the offer. He nodded his head and took the rag.

"I—I, I will go," he nodded after a moment.

"Good," Paige smiled. "I hate to see another human die. Plus, you can drive us out in the truck."

Tim nodded.

"Well, after I get some blood samples and a brain scan, right?" Devyn cut in. "This would be helpful with providing evidence to—"

Tim laughed and leaned his head back against the wall. "Yeah, yeah, nerd. I'll do it. You can get the blood now."

Devyn clapped her hands together and quickly went to Tim's side. "You are going to feel a little prick."

***

Paige reached forward and adjusted the camera to focus on her better.

"Hello," she forced a smile. "My name is Paige, and I am here to discuss," she stepped aside to reveal a wall of weapons. "Weapons! Uhm, the Red Eyed Battalion would like all of its members to feel at ease choosing the correct weapon and feel like the weapon is an extension of their personality. Do you like fire? Here is a flame thrower! Do you like, uh-chopping things? Look at this knife!"

Paige smiled at the camera for a few seconds while holding up a chopping knife. "I mean, it doesn't look like much. But it's great for self-defense. You never know when one of those PoL asses will try to grab you."

Paige stopped and looked down at the knife in her hands, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Stay safe out there, everyone. Don't forget your self-defense lessons because these weapons won't matter if you don't remember your basic training. And, don't give up the fight. We will be considered human soon!"

***

Chapter WC: 2,082

Overall WC: 10,099