BEYOND THE DEAD ZONE | COMPLETE

Twenty-Three |

Twenty-Three |

We write the memories we want to remember. That's what I think anyways. We can take an experience and reject it or project it into whatever we wish to remember. An instance of this was when I was eight years old I remember Rose and I went to the beach. I remember this memory being a good one, I remember us being happy and playing in the sand and then I remember Rose dragging me away from the beach. What I didn't remember (told to me by Dad years later) was that a zombie had washed up on the beach and Rose did a wonderful job projecting me then killing the zombie at just ten years old. I don't remember her white bathing suit being soaked with blood but I do remember her wearing a red and white polka dot suit.

There was no polka dots.

But it's funny, I'd valued that memory of Rose so much that I'd cut it to shape the memory I wished to save. It made me wonder how many other memories I'd shaped and cut to allude myself into a better past.

"What does Bio Gen want from me?" I asked looking over at the man.

I sat on the table, staring at the vessel of Eric Maxwell, watching him move mechanically through the glass tube. I don't remember sitting down on the table but here I was. I think it was the utter shock of things. We both had the same virus but I was functioning and I know for sure I'd never had any hunger for flesh.

Yet here we were.

"We want to understand why and how you function," he hummed, "What makes you special? What makes you more functioning than Maxwell and how did your virus occur?"

I could feel tears prick in my eyes and I shook my head, "I don't know. Rose—"

"Your sister came here seeking answers too," he cut in, "Which we gave her. Gladly. We are sympathetic to those in the dome and it is unfortunate that the ecosystem we've created within it has not been sustainable. However, that's all the contact we had with her. She'd previous left without us making any genetic mutations to her. When we scanned her, she did appear to be an illicit, not bonded with the L. Delta."

I felt numb, "W-what does that mean then?"

"I suppose she had turned on the way back to her homestead."

"How?" I demanded, "How did Maria and Kat turn?"

He shifted his tie, "An unfortunate circumstance. Maria came to us extremely unwell—they both were. We were hoping they'd bond with L. Delta however, they escaped our facilities which is why we had the grit and lock installed."

"You used them."

"We had their consent," he corrected, "Eero there is no cure without brave people to help us advance our efforts. We've had good people from here who are infected too. We do not know how to fix them. But you are proof that it can be done. I'm asking, no, begging you. Help us."

I pressed my hand to my chest, my heartbeat throbbed under my skin. There was still so much I didn't understand I was more than aware that I was being emotionally manipulated. However, that still stood that I had no fucking idea where they stood on the ethical standard and if they are being honest and did not infect Rose then how did she? The virus came from here.

There was one start at least.

"I want to see them," I said slowly.

He blinked, "Pardon?"

"I have no idea what the truth is," I murmured, staring at him with determination, "and my willingness to help you could save or destroy the world depending on your intent. We both know I'm on a quest to discover how my sister died and you are using that to manipulate me. That's a given, however I'm not someone easily convinced. I want to know the truth—which means I need to know all aspects of the truth. So, let's start with your side. I want to meet every person you've infected with the Delta strand, and I want to know why they were infected. After that, I won't promise my help, but I will promise my fair assessment."

He stared at me for a long while, "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," I replied.

A ghost smirk crossed his face, "Perhaps if there were more people like you..."

"What if's don't work for me," I interrupted him coldly, "They won't bring Rose back and they won't fix the world that's already been destroyed. Will you allow me to assess?"

"Right, of course," he coughed awkwardly, "Please, follow me."

I slid off the table and glanced at the form in the vessel one last time before following him out of the door and down the hall. I squeezed my fingers together tightly to try and hold back the way my body shook. I was doing the right thing, this is just the start to the truth.

For Rose I would find the truth, no matter what.

"Sometimes the memory we make hurts less than the truth."

I ignored Rose's voice in my mind.