The car broke down a few blocks before we reached the prison. The zombies were closing in on the car so we had to ditch it. We reached a mall and locked the door. The others were scared that they will get eaten. I saw a window where they had fake zombie costumes from days that the government denied the zombies were real. I had a crazy idea which I shared with the girls. They seemed apprehensive but decided that they needed to reach their family sooner rather than later. I killed a zombie and rubbed the blood and guts on the girls and walked to the prison. I was someone they left alone so I didn't bother to lather the stuff on me. We covered the bags with plastic and started to walk. Those things didn't bother us at all. We managed to walk without a hassle. There was someone at the gate that saw us coming and actually opened the gate for us. We walked in and was greeted by the residents. I saw my brother was one of them. He was surprised to see me as he seemed to have made up his mind that I was amongst the dead. From his expression he had preached it to mom as I heard them argue about the authenticity of the conversation she had with me. According to him mom has seen too much dead so she has decided that I had to be alive. This is her cooping mechanism. When he saw me he swore and mom smacked him in the back of his head. Mom ran as fast as she could to grab me and hug me tightly as did the parents of the others. They hugged their kids too. Annie stood perfectly still in tears. I explained what had happened with Annie's mom and she quickly hugged Annie like she was her daughter as well. Annie stared mom for a moment and hugged her tightly. When the hugging was over we were taken to the mess hall where we gave our food supply to the cook. The head of this new residential came forward with questions. He wanted to know why I didn't lather myself with blood and guts to walk around. I smiled as I explained that I have rare illness that made me unpleasant to these things so whenever our paths cross they make a path for me. I explained that it is called bad blood. He gave me permission to roam and asked me to be careful. I assured him that I would.
Mom explained that since recent events she had turned from detective to prison security. I gave her a hug and asked where the hospital wing was. She gave me a look and pointed out where it was. I walked there and sensed my brother was behind me. He stared at me so I couldn't go and grab a blood bag. I asked him why he was here. He said he is here to make sure I didn't do anything that would compromise everyone. I sensed where the blood bag was and walked towards the medic sitting near the bed and gave him my supply of meds. This convinced him to tell Shaw to get out. He refused to budge, "The last time I saw you in the boarding school you looked a little sick but not anymore. Now you look robust." I smiled, "My new meds did the trick. So what is with the third degree?" The man behind him walked forth and he said, "Under the law laid out by the governor due to recent events I hear by declare you a member of the US army." I laughed and said, "I would rather jump out the window since it is better than join you people. I rather die than be a soldier. I was listening when the governor gave the orders. He said the ones with medical issues and other mental health issues are exempted. If there are those who want to join the army willing they can join. So as a thanks for their willingness these people are deputized into the army. But those who don't want join are free to refuse. And there will be no forcing anyone since this is how mutiny begins. So take your desire to enlist people elsewhere." He was sweating bullets as I explained the rules. Shaw gave me a look that says that he only interested in bits and pieces of the conversation that favors him while ignoring the rest. Since I know the law he decided not push it. He realized that as determined as he is to recruit me I am even more motivated not to join. I made it clear that even of he puts a gun to my head my answer is still going to be no. This infuriated my brother so much that he punched the wall. By this time the medic had had enough so he called security and they had to leave. The moment he did I swipe a blood bag and tucked it under my t-shirt.
I made my way to the bathroom and there was another soldier. He stared at me as though he is surprised to see a survivor and stepped aside. I walked in and searched the place for peeping toms before I drank the blood bag. I waited a moment to see the memory of the engineer's blood. I absorbed his knowledge and stood up to observe my surroundings. Then I quietly threw the bag out the window towards the zombies. They gobbled it the moment it touched the floor. I quickly took a shower and changed my clothes. When I got out there were a few men in military uniform waiting for me. I tried to walk past them but they blocked my path. I turned around and walked in the opposite direction. They finally grabbed my arm and I kicked the person in the groin. He swore badly and one of them said that this is not how it should be done. So the others took a hint and took a few steps back and raised their hands to say they mean me no harm. I told them that my answer to their desire to recruit me is going to remain no till death comes to claim me and walked away. So they should try their luck with someone else.
The girls and my mom walked out of the corridor and asked what happened. One of the soldiers told them it was nothing and asked them to move along. I screamed mom as loud as possible and she charged at them. They took a step back when mom told them who I was. I told her what they had done and what I had done. She smiled at me for my bravery and Sonja asked me if I could wait with them while they take a shower to clean off the zombie guts in case someone would have any ideas and sneak in. I walked away with her as mom yelled at them for their rude behavior. They apologized halfheartedly but she seems to think their apology is bogus. So in the end they left to find out what they were supposed to do for the day.
When they were fully sanitized of the gross blood Irene made sure the coast was clear. It was ok till we reached the stairs where a short fat man in military garb introduced himself as Colonel Jenkins. He said that he was waiting for me. He apparently was in charge of getting supplies and getting fresh specimens for examination and other classified stuff. He was losing men and he was very pleased to hear about me. But he wasn't happy when he heard that I want to stay a civilian. He said that with the current situation it is best if he decides what is best for me. So effective immediately he declared me officially military property. I laughed as I told him to go fly a kite. He has no right to decide what happens to me since he didn't give birth to me. I am not on his grandma's last will and testament. He gave me a look that said that he breaks rules all day long and believes that his life's achievements have earned him the right to do so. I gave him the middle finger as a sign of retaliation. Quickly mom put my hand down. She faced him and gave him a piece of her mind. She told him that she is happy to inform the governor about their secret experiments that will most likely demote him and also earn him the death penalty. He took a step back as though he was saying that mom had won the first round. I walked away with my mother and Sonja holding my hand. We walked towards the mess hall since I can smell the mouthwatering scent of lunch.
The mess hall was packed with people. Each one lining up to eat whatever was offered to them by the cook. When it was our turn she gave us a little bit extra since we came back with something other than MREs. I happily chuckled and ate my food. The moment we were done the military approached me and mom told them to leave me alone. So did my friends and the others in the mess hall. They had heard and seen first hand the specimen collection so they had decided unanimously that they won't join the army. After the people had given them an earful they were forced to leave so they can forage whatever they could. The entire they walked towards the door they kept looking back at me repeatedly like whatever happens next is my fault. Shaw stared at me too but I smirked. When they left everyone cheered with joy. I waited till Annie was done before I head towards the roof.
I sat down to enjoy the view when Alice came and sat next to me. She wanted to know why I didn't want to go with the army and I told them that they were the reason Windsor got attacked. I don't want to help them since they are not looking to reverse what is going but weaponize it. So I made it clear that I want no part of the problem. Alice's mom sat next to me and she said Alice told her about me. She was skeptical till she saw me escort the others safely. She accepted that there good guys and bad guys even with she calls my kind. She wanted to know which era I had turned into this unknown being and what made me go to school. She wanted to know if there were others that can do what I can. She was hoping I would change my mind and go with the military. Till she realized that I hated them before this had happened and she wanted to know why. So I introduced her to my mother and explained of the nightmare called her ex-husband. She seemed to think that mom was someone who was paid to say that I was her kid so we did a DNA test to prove this was my mother. She saw the results and apologized profusely. I explained that my reasons of not joining the army are my own. When she had accepted that I was of this century I will happily explain why I hate the military. I only explained about my mother's life with Shaw's dad and my dad. How the military had changed my brother who was an pain in the butt to cold hearted killer just like his father. I made it clear that my brother will murder my mother one day. He will join his father's path of abuse. Mom was sad that I felt that way about Shaw. Alice's mom was skeptical till I pulled mom close. I showed Alice's mom the scars that Shaw's dad inflicted on mom's arm. She had callouses all over her arm. Alice's mom was sad that we had to go through with such pain. She had to accept what I said with a grain of salt.
She asked me how I became this thing. Mom retorted that she should give it a rest. She was pissed that Alice's mom was adamant on being a nuisance. I decided to rip the band aid and just show her. She was shocked at first but she made peace with it. I explained how it happened and mom asked me if I could anything else. I told her I can hear what is going on all over the building. I told them the military are trying to convince the governor to move us all elsewhere. It is a missile silo where they will have complete and total control. They will decide what happens there and the governor will have no authority to overrule them. The governor seems to sense their deceitfulness so he made it clear that since we are safe here he won't permit it. I also told her that experiments that are going on in the basement.
I heard a distinct bang. I ran to where I had heard it. I saw that the generator had blown up. People ran with buckets and a few fire extinguishers to douse the fire. After they doused the fire I jumped down and landed on my feet. I walked into assess the situation. I knew the military was pushing the people to say they should move. I shook my head to say these guys would stoop so low and Sonja figured it out. She started cursing the military and Annie joined her in the banter. Alice's mom Jessica asked them to wait till they had proof and so did my mom. I checked it for damage and found out it was deliberately tampered with. The swearing resumed this time with the adults firing questions at us wanting to know how we had figured it out while they were clueless. We ignored them as we said bad words. There was nobody that noticed our vernacular so we didn't get a watch your language speech.
I asked permission to get the items required to fix it. The warden allowed me so I ran fast as I could to collect whatever I could to repair it. After much searching I found an identical generators that could easily replace the busted one. I hauled it into a truck and brought it back. I patched it and restored electricity. I heard people cheering. I sat down to admire my work. I saw mom in the corner of my eye and she was pleased with my actions. Alice's mom was surprised and sad that she was brainwashed into thinking all non humans are bad. I asked where the library was so I can chill and the warden gave me directions. My friends followed close behind me.
When the military arrived they were shocked that we still had power. I am sure those in the international space station would see that they were responsible for the sabotage. The warden relayed this to the governor. He asked that the soldiers move elsewhere if they want to do experiments. He asked me how they figured the military was bad. The warden kindly explained that the soldiers had blown up the generator and I fixed it. The governor asked the soldiers to leave this property along with their experiments. They made faces and tantrums but the governor's order came absolute and so they reluctantly left. In their haste they left their weapons in the armory in the basement. I found out the place was flooded which means they would have a hard time getting those weapons to begin with. As the military convoy left I asked the warden to check the place for explosives since they like to wreck the places they are evicted from. I explained the level of sour grapes these guys are.
The warden pursed his lips to say it was a bad idea. But Daisy started to talk about what happened to Ravencroft and Windsor. The warden wanted to argue but he only agreed for the search only because these guys blew up the generator. People were sent in groups to check floor by floor. They had to search every room top to bottom. We found a few explosives here and they were about to blow up. Since we knew nothing about defusing bombs so we threw them towards the zombies. It blew up a clothing store, half a parking lot and a food truck. I saw that the military were using binoculars to observe what was happening in our direction. They seem to hop into their vehicles when they saw the zombies heading in their direction. The thing is I heard them say distinctly that when they have moved the experiments they are coming for me. They won't let anyone come in their way. I knew our problems had just began.