The Parallax Effect

Chapter Eight: When the Dead Walk the Earth

Benji nodded, focusing back on the book in his lap.

"Is it all right if I talk with you for a second?"

Again, Benji only answered with a nod, leading Valon to sit on the couch opposite him.

The common room where they sat was comfortable enough. Just below the hero's rooms, sat a communal floor, fitted with a kitchenette, a sitting room, and a few other accommodations for the heroes when they were feeling lonely.

"I wanted to ask about your brother. And I don't mean to pry, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

Benji looked up from his book and sucked his teeth, thinking. How much could he tell Valon without it being both an invasion of Wendell's privacy and without giving away their plans?

"He's mostly okay. He's had a rough life and I guess the villain attack was just the straw that broke the camel's back. He's better now that we've talked and he's gotten it out of his system. "

"I'm glad he's doing better. Let him know that my offer still stands, I'm always here if he needs help."

"I'll do that."

Valon nodded, placing his hands on his knees and standing up. "Oh, just a quick question... Does Wendell live alone now that you're not there? I want to make sure he's safe and has access to people if he needs it."

"Yeah, he lives alone, besides the cats."

"He told me about them, I'd like to meet them sometime if that's okay. And he doesn't have a partner or other siblings or anything?"

"Nope, he's no contact with his family, and he is single if that's what you're asking."

Valon's face flushed a bit as he realized what Benji thought he was asking. He chuckled awkwardly as he fumbled with his hands. "That's not what I meant, but okay. Anyway, I have some meetings I need to attend in a couple of minutes. I'll see you around."

"See you later." With that, Valon departed, leaving Benji alone again.

He tried to read his book again, he really did. He just couldn't get into it. Slamming the book closed, he set it on the side table and stood up. He stretched and walked to the elevator, planning on going outside for a walk, possibly to Under to check on some friends he had made. And make sure everything with Dusty was going okay.

On his way out of the building, he bumped shoulders with a man, slightly taller than him and with a blond buzz cut. "Watch it, kid."

Benji looked into Chad's eyes, his lips curling down into a frown, "Prick." He said the word under his breath, making Chad turn around slowly, deliberately.

"What?"

"I didn't say anything, Caterwaul."

"Sure."

Benji walked away without another word, not wanting to start another fight with Chad. He didn't want to waste the energy on someone that didn't deserve it.

Every time he talked with Chad, it made him wonder why he was even a hero? His ability was all but useless in most scenarios. What use was a loud noise when it wasn't controlled very well? Whenever working with the "hero" all of H.A.U.N.T had to wear ear plugs so he didn't rupture their ear drums. He wasn't smart like Valon or Wendell. He wasn't useful like Sei and Quincy. He wasn't even a medic like Benji. He was there for a paycheck. That and it was easier to get laid when he had a reputation as a hero.

Not that Benji had any experience with that. Nor did he want any experience with it either.

He made his way to an entrance to Under, stopping at a nearby coffee shop and ordering a drink for both him and Dusty. Once he was down there he found her fairly quickly; she was sitting in a rather secluded park, meditating. Most likely preparing herself for the mental, physical, and emotional strain of reviving almost sixty dead people.

"Everything all right?"

Dusty's eyes flew open and her head whipped around to Benji. "What?"

"I asked if you were all right."

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

Benji smiled softly, "That's good." He paused, letting the silence drag for a second. "I got you a coffee."

"How's Wendell?"

They spoke at the same time, neither hearing what the other said. Benji smiled, sheepishly as he handed her the coffee cup and said again, "I got you a coffee"

"Ah, thanks."

"No problem. I thought you might need it." Dusty smiled awkwardly as another silence filled the air. "What were you going to say?"

"I just asked how Wendell was."

"Oh, well, he's good. He's still pretty shaken up from yesterday, but he's doing better now that he's let it all out."

"Good. Good. Has he said anything about what his plans are? Because I don't think he's going to want to do much for a while. And I'm not going to be able to do much for at least a week."

"He didn't have any ideas, but I told him it'd probably be best if he stepped back for a while and let everyone else do all the work."

Dusty thought about it for a minute, her head tilted and her tongue running along her teeth. "I think that's probably smart. He's been kind of scary recently." She shuddered.

"Are you almost prepared, ma'am?" A new voice interrupted their conversation.

Dusty looked over at the man standing nearby. His hair was graying, his face pale and his eyes a piercing blue. He was a mortician working under Wendell, Benji recalled.

"I think so. Let's go." She downed the rest of her coffee and handed the empty cup back to Benji.

The mortician, Dr. Andrey Gusev, led Dusty away from Benji, who stalled for a second thinking. He'd only seen Dusty bring the dead back to life a few times. And every time, it was a process that gave him nightmares. It was a disturbing thing to witness. It was unnatural seeing a lifeless body-oftentimes disfigured-come back to life, just sit up, perfectly fine and healthy.

And yet...

Benji walked after the two figures.

He felt something in his chest tighten as they walked into the room with white walls, the interior filled with sterile tables full of bodies.

There were some who barely looked dead. They were just laying there, peacefully, like they were going to wake up at any moment. Some of the others, however, were just remains. Some didn't even look like they had been human.

Benji heard Dusty take a deep breath and looked over at her. "All right. I'm going to start now."

She closed her eyes, breathed in once again, and the room began to darken. The fluorescent lights overhead dimmed and the shadows grew and seemed to writhe. To distort and twist into unknown objects, looking as if they were reaching, clawing for Benji. A buzzing filled his ears and his body froze, his heart beating faster. The buzzing morphed, slowly, almost imperceptibly, into a moaning, then a screeching. It was as if a thousand souls were wailing, crying out as they were torn apart.

The din lasted only a second more before all sound cut out, leaving Benji's ears ringing. His head felt light, and his breathing was shallow. He leaned against a nearby wall and tried to catch his breath. But it escaped him as he watched the bodies of the deceased rise.

Sixty people, all of whom had been corpses just a moment ago. Every single one moved, breathed, shifted, awakened from an eternal sleep.