The room grew louder after that was said. People began to protest and obscenities blared through Kyle’s speakers. He was completely enthralled in the broadcast that he found himself yelling, “Shut up,” to the people who wouldn’t let Doctor Greenly speak.
Finally the crowd calmed and Kyle could hear Doctor Greenly’s voice again. “Like I was saying, we injected 5mL, which is about half of a standard syringe, of blood directly into the living subject’s bloodstream. After we injected the blood, the patient lapsed into a coma. A few hours later, he expired. A few moments after that, his eyes re-opened.
“The most interesting things happened with the second and third test subjects. We injected 5mL of the original cadaver’s saliva into one of their bloodstreams and the man expired within the hour. Seconds later, his eyes re-opened. Blood and saliva both carry the cause, but it’s the saliva that’s most toxic. As for the third test subject, we carefully extracted the brain from the second test subject. His body fell limp, just like the original cadaver that we shot through the head. We extracted the brain from the third living subject and attached it to the body of the second subject. For those of you who thought brain transplants were impossible, guess again. We were startled to see that once the human brain was attached to the brain stem of the living corpse, its eyes shot open and began to thrash. The cause lives inside of the human body, but the human body cannot move without the brain.”
“Are there any other ways to incapacitate an infected individual?”
“I don’t like the term infected. There is no evidence that we could see to support that this phenomena is caused by an infection. Yes, it may act like an infection, but we cannot see anything erroneous when we test the blood or saliva. A better term would be, Existing Dead. Let’s just call the victims that from now on until we could definitely identify them.
“But to answer your question, there aren’t many ways to stop one of the Existing Dead. We know that destroying the brain will stop them. We have also experimented with fire and other element-based attacks. Fire did work, but it became hard to keep the subject stationary while it was engulfed in flames. We nearly burned down our lab with this experiment. The average person will collapse within thirty seconds of combustion. It took the subject thirty minutes to an hour before it succumbed to the blaze. This is where the pain factor kicked in. It also brought up more evidence that it cannot be killed. When the Existing Dead was nothing more than a pile of ash, we mixed the dust with water and injected it into another living test subject. Two days past and we had another Existing Dead on our hands. We also tried the effects of freezing temperatures. It took the subject ten minutes to freeze solid in subzero temperatures, and half an hour to thaw to the point of being mobile again.”
“Where did all of these test subjects come from? The people have a right to know.”
“All of our living test subjects were donated by the Nevada State Penitentiary. The subjects were Death Row inmates, all of whom would have been executed within a few years. They were brought to our lab by a military escort.”
“Where is the military through all this? Has the entire country been overrun?”
“The military is currently in the north-eastern seaboard trying to repel the Existing Dead toward California. Half of the country has deserted to the northern region, Canada or further. There are many patches of hot zones throughout the country, with California having the highest percentage of Existing Dead, specifically, San Diego.”
That last comment snapped Kyle out of his trance. “Fuck,” he said over the radio. “It’s the highest populated dead zone and I have to go in it. I just hope you’re still alive, Jasmine. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too,” he said to himself out loud. Kyle took the picture out of his wallet and put it near the speedometer, next to a picture of him and Eddie fishing. The empty feeling returned when he began to cry.
When the first tear fell from his face, a moan followed by a bang thumped at his window. Kyle jumped away and leaned closer to the passenger seat. The creature slapped the glass again. Kyle looked close through his tears and noticed its lips were gnawed off or had rotted away. Its teeth were completely exposed, and it gave Kyle an eternal grin. Kyle had been hoping he’d be able to grieve for his son in peace, but this member of the Existing Dead had decided to interrupt. He was enraged, and wanted to show this rotting corpse pain even if the radio said they couldn’t feel any. Kyle was the kind of guy who loved proving people wrong.
He put the truck in reverse and went back several yards. When the creature was directly in front of him, he popped the truck into drive and raced for it. Kyle hit the body with a sickening thud. He backed up again, running over the creature’s legs. The bones snapped as the tires rolled over them. Kyle backed up until he was able to see the creature struggling to get to its non-existent feet. He slowly moved forward until he was right next to it. He looked around to make sure another one wasn’t going to pop around a corner. The coast was clear; the nearest one he could see was at least two hundred yards away. With the way they walked it could take hours for it to reach him. He got out and climbed into the truck’s bed. Most of his construction tools were still there. He searched until he found a road spike and his sledge hammer. He climbed out and walked toward the immobilized Existing Dead who was lying on its back. He stood the sledge hammer up next to him and with no remorse he lifted the metal road spike over his head. The creature looked at him and began snapping its jaw as Kyle brought the spike down into the creature’s heart. The steel spike stood at attention as it wedged an inch into the paved road. He raised the hammer and brought it crashing down on the spike. He did it again and again until the spike was half way through the asphalt. The creature paid no attention to the spike and continued outstretching its arms toward Kyle.
He walked back into the truck and popped the hood. The engine’s roar grew louder. Kyle searched the back seat and found what he needed. Jumper cables and a small white bottle of paint thinner were now in his hands. He walked to the front of the truck as the creature continued thrashing for him; struggling against the spike in its chest. Kyle opened the bottle of paint thinner and forced the top into the creature’s mouth. The liquid flowed down its throat and spewed out of the opening like an overfilled bottle. The paint thinner drenched the pavement as it tried to moan, but all that came out was a strained gargle. He connected the jumper cables to the truck’s battery and grabbed the other end. He put one of the clamps on the creature’s chest. The end closed but did not attach. It ripped off a chunk of flesh, the loose flab hung from the clamp like bait on a hook. He tried again, but the creature’s skin was too rotten to support the clamp.
Quickly, trying to avoid its mouth, Kyle grabbed the clamps and snapped them onto the creature’s collarbones. He heard the engine hum quietly as they attached. He walked into the truck and rubbed the engine causing twelve volts of electricity to circulate through the Existing Dead’s body. Looking out of the window, Kyle saw the paint thinner slowly igniting and bursting the creature into flames. A foul and disgusting smell began pouring out of the creature. It didn’t bother Kyle, I’ve smelled worse, he thought. The creature’s actions began to slow down as its body fried.