Cured [ManxMan]

Chapter Four

Zombies didn't sleep, exactly. Like many herd animals, we were never fully unconscious, always aware enough of our surroundings to hear if anything approached while we rested. I was glad to be able to enter this state of rest, where I was not fully aware of what was happening, where I could forget the pain of the day, if only for a while. And I did not appreciate having my rest disrupted when I had finally been able to escape.

It took a moment to pinpoint what roused me, as when I opened my eyes, I found the room empty. The pain from earlier in the day had faded to a dull ache, though whether the cause was more aid from the humans or if whatever they gave me to cause it had faded from my system, I had no way to know. I was only grateful to be free of the unbelievable pain.

There were voices in the hallway, Kiara greeting Ajay, then a third, unfamiliar voice. I realized I must not have been resting for long, because Kiara said, "Thank you for coming, Matthew." This was the mysterious Matthew, then.

"Of course, I'll always come when you need me, Kiara. What's up? Ajay said you wanted to talk to me about something." I could almost hear the smile in his voice. It was a pleasant change to all the yelling and concerned tones I'd heard from all the other humans so far.

Kiara didn't immediately answer. "I'm not sure how to say this," she said. Her voice cracked, betraying how serious the situation was.

"What is it? What happened?" The smile was gone, and I already found myself missing it. Why did I miss it? Why did I feel like the concern in his tone was out of place? Why did I feel the smile fit him much better?

Ajay was the one to answer, after another too long pause. "I don't know if you're aware, but the team went on a retrieval mission into the city today, and we brought back another test subject for Kiara."

When he didn't continue, Matthew proded, "Okay, so? You do that all the time without calling me in to inform me about it."

"Matt...." Kiara cut off and took a deep breath before continuing. "We recognized him. The two of us, we recognized the zombie they brought back. It... Matthew, it's Topher."

The silence that followed carried a weight I didn't understand, because I didn't know these people, but I didn't have any trouble understanding the emotion in Matthew's voice when he spoke again, the disbelief mixed with horror and pain. "Don't joke about this with me, Kiara, it's not funny."

"It's no joke, Matt. He's right through that door, you can go in and see for yourself." Ajay's voice was steadier than either of his companions', but even he sounded shaken.

There was a sharp intake of breath. "Did you... Kiara, did you give him the cure?"

A moment of hesitation. "I did."

Another long silence followed. For some reason, I wanted to be in the hallway, wanted to see what was happening instead of just listening to it through the door. That urge only grew when the silence was broken by a sob.

"Oh, Mattie." Kiara had sounded sad before, but now she sounded broken, almost as broken as that sob had sounded. Why did the thought that these people I couldn't remember were hurting... hurt me?

"Don't." Mattie—why did that name fit better than Matthew or Matt?—choked out. He took a deep, shaking breath. "You know how I feel about that name." He paused again for another breath, then another, the others giving him time. "Why?" he finally asked. "Why did you... why did you have to drag this out? You know how hard I've tried to put this behind me, why are you dragging it back out again?"

"I can't believe you just said that." Kiara's tone had hardened. "It's Topher, Matt. You would rather we give up on him?"

"Yes." The single word dug hooks into my sternum, dragging a different kind of pain to the surface, one I didn't have the words to explain because I didn't understand it. I didn't know this man, but I was hurt by more than the implication that he would rather me be dead. He sounded broken, years of pain compacted into a single syllable, and the thought of Mattie hurting... I didn't like it. Why did it bother me so much more than hearing Kiara and Ajay upset, when I had known all of them in my previous life?