Dom & Sy [Malicious Lullaby and I]

[Shenanigans]

Driving down the road to his home the radio was blasting. Widows down with cool wind blowing Dominik Merek’s hair. It was summer early evenings like these he would miss since in the fall he would be going away to college. His parents wanted him to stay in town going to the small community college but Dom had bigger dreams. Understanding his parents congratulated him for getting in to Harvard, he worked all his school years for such an education. His younger sister begged him not to leave but he promised her, he would come visit on holidays and vacations.

It seemed all was settled and his time to make his own path was only a few days away. He had been hanging out with a couple of his friends before they moved a lot farther away than an hour (with out traffic of course). His hands were on the steering wheel head bobbing. Finally deciding the wind was bugging him he rolled up the window. His town was small with a lot of rural two lane roads surrounding the area. Flipping the station so the infomercials would stop he looked down for a moment. Before popping his head back up noticing he was about five minutes from his house.

Turning around a bend is when it happened. His eyes dilated as he saw a car swerve in to his lane. Trying to avoid the SUV compared to his smaller more gas friendly car as his parents put it, the truck slammed in to the side of his vehicle. He could hear the great crunching noise and screeching tires, the song on the radio was don’t fear the reaper before the car stopped all together. Moving his head around he tried to see if he was flipped over. But with the airbag in his face he couldn’t see much of anything. Dom’s whole body hurt and trying to find the seat belt to let him out was proving a challenge. He wasn’t even sure why he was functioning at the moment but figured it was the adrenaline pumping through his body.

Hearing a male voice call out he tried to speak but it hurt. Coughing he gave up trying to find the seat belt clip. Then the mans face poked in to his now shattered window. He was talking a hundred miles per hour and Dom could see the cell phone up to his ear. Trying to focus he found he was having a hard time, the blackness quickly surrounding him before his eyes closed.

Soon everything was becoming clear but this wasn’t the place he was before. Blinking he could see a white ceiling, his eyes dancing around to everything in the room he knew he was in the hospital. The last thing he remembered was the crash, but everything before that seemed lost. Dom knew he had parents but couldn’t remember their names. Thankfully the bracelet on his arm said Dominik Merek, or else he wouldn’t have even known his own name. Turning over on his side he wondered how long he had been here. It was then he noticed no machines were making noise; he was in a hospital wasn’t he?

Picking up the clicker he pushed the button to ring the nurse. Perhaps he didn’t need the machines on; possibly they might have known when he was waking up. Yet it didn’t make sense because he had a brain monitor connected to his head still. Pulling off the sticky clips, he sat up taking a better look. His door was shut and the blinds to his room were closed. It seemed the hospital’s power was off since even his heart monitor was dead. The IV bag normally full of fluid was empty, so he slowly pulled out the needle stuck in his forearm. Ringing for a nurse one more time he hoped this was just a bad dream. He waited a coupled minutes but he didn’t hear any noise outside his room. Gathering up himself up, he only had a hospital gown on, but not seeing anything else to wear he would just have to wing it.

Opening the door he crept out slowly looking in to the hallway first before moving his whole body. It looked deserted, as if everyone in the hospital was abducted. Some papers were on the floor but besides that every thing was quiet. Moving to the nurse’s station he wanted to at least know where he was. Not full comprehending his had no real idea who he was besides his name. Seeing a paper with stationary it informed him he was at Boston medical. Still not knowing how or why he was admitted (although he was pretty sure it had something to do with the accident he kept remembering) he began to pad once more down the hall. His feet wee bare and made a small smacking sound as he walked down a hall trying to find someone, anyone.

 

[Malicious Lullaby]

“We need to make a medicine run.”
“Gather three others to go with me.”
“You’re not going Sy.”
“Like hell I am not.”
“Sy—“
“No, just because you’re my boyfriend and I even still dig you, does not mean you can tell me what to do just to ‘protect’ me. I am not the same person and you know that.”
“Sy…”
“Don’t ‘Sy’ me.” Then he pouted and she frowned. “Oh don’t you dare spring that pout on me. Don’t. You. D—“ he kissed her to shut her up and she smiled into it. A year of devastation and because she had him, her absolute rock, she was able to smile. Some days it felt normal, like the world wasn’t in the ruins of an all out apocalypse that consumed most of the human race and turned them into ravenous living undead with brains and human flesh on the mind. Some days, it felt like none of it had happened and she’d wake up eager to wake her parents because it was the state of the day. Then she remembered it wasn’t normal and there was nothing normal about the way they were living now. No parents, no supervision, no structure or balance or any real kind of sense of discipline because they had to survive. It was them, teenagers and some children, all banded together like a family to make it through these tough days. For Sy, if it hadn’t been for her boyfriend Ivan, she might be amongst the rest of her family and his, walking with no life in her eyes, her skin decaying, her clothes ripped and mutilated flesh and blood dripping from her mouth and teeth as she looked for her the next of her craving; a live human.

She lost her parents to what they called ‘The Plague.’ They developed headaches one day, common symptoms of The Plague. They knew about it since some territories had claimed people were turning into flesh eating monsters but it had been contained. Obviously it wasn’t enough because they got free and started ravaging the world. All it took was one bite or even a common flu turning into something more deadly. Her parents got sick and it turned them a couple of days later. She came home to find them feasting on their pet dog. She ran to find Ivan and his parents succumbed to it. They narrowly got out of there and with his sister. She was scarred and still was to this day but it turned her into a natural born killer; she was one of their best because it was where she channeled her anger and her fear by killing the very things she hated and feared.

It seemed everyone in their neighborhood lost their parents first. Some of their friends turned as well, even little children. It was a nightmare but rather than cower in fear for days, they worked hard and rallied together the best they could. The surviving children and teenagers in their suburban neighborhood turned an entire cul-de-sac into this big neighborhood tower. A big garage where the roundabout road used to be and connected all six houses so it would be one hug thing with a large wall and barrier around it made of brick and then they painted concrete over it to make it harder to pound against since there would be a double layer of something hard. Since it had been built, no zombie had been able to break into the mighty fortress. They tried and each time, their sniper towers shot them down and the bodies were burnt to prevent further contamination.

Wounds were treated immediately to prevent infection because all it took was one wound for the airborne disease to get into and a person would become the undead within a couple of days. They only lost two in the entire year and that was because the two kids were asthmatic. Because they knew that in a couple of days they would not be themselves, they asked for a double mercy killing. Kill them once for the turn and then kill them again before they were a full-fledged zombie so that they could properly die a human first and not a zombie.

They were fully stocked with supplies. Plenty of bottled water, jugs and gallons, plenty of food and even more plenty of ammo since they started making their own. Now they just needed to go into town every so often to make supply runs. That day, they needed medicines and anything else they could find to stock up on, just in case. They were mostly inside all the time. There was a small little backyard for the younger kids to play around in but mostly, it was safer to stay inside. All the windows were boarded up and there was no give away of any kind of life in the neighborhood so not to tip off any lingering zombie.

“Fine, how about this,” Ivan suggested when his lips parted from hers. “I go with you and Clark can stay back.”
“You have yourself a deal.” She kissed his cheek and then scampered off to get ready; which meant to wear the appropriate clothing and get armored.

They all piled into the heavy artillery truck; basically a four by four geared up with the best defense to plow over any unwanted zombie, bars on the windows and it being nearly impossible for a zombie to try and break in while it was running. They drove to Boston Medical, the hospital that was abandoned last because of the patients recovering that occupied it. It was like one by one, they succumbed to The Plague or they recovered or were picked off as the next meal. As far as they were concerned, they didn’t know of any survivors. They hadn’t had to find medicine at the actual hospital since it all happened, as they looted it from drugstores and pharmacies. Today, they knew that the hospital was well abandoned. That meant the good stuff was free to loot.

Brandeis and her older brother Marcus kept watch outside the truck with their guns ready and eyes scanning. They were two of the best snipers and because of them, no zombie infiltrated their home. Meanwhile, Sy, Ivan and Ivan’s sister, Haley, walked into the hospital. They split up to go in search for medicine. Haley on the right wing, Sy down the middle and Ivan down the left wing. All of a sudden though, as she walked, she heard something. Footsteps and they didn’t sound like hers or even Ivan or Haley’s. It was like whoever was coming near was wearing no shoes or something.

Bringing up her rifle, she walked slowly and scanned the entire corridor. She turned a corner and saw a figure in the slight darkness of the hall coming towards her. She held the figure at gunpoint, keeping the rifle pointed and even configured the red laser pointer on her target. She held her weapon with steady hands and walking slowly but at the same time, wanting the person to take a couple more steps into the light. “Who’s there? Show yourself and I won’t kill you!”

 

[Shenanigans]

Dom walked down a couple of the corridors but he was winded quickly. He wasn’t sure how long he had been in the hospital, or unable to move. His actions felt sluggish as if his brain was moving at a faster pace than his body could keep up with. Taking in a breath, he braced himself against a wall feeling as if he was going to pass out. Looking back he hadn’t been going that long maybe five minutes at best. A small cramp was sprouting on his side, but Dom knew he had to find someone to see what the hell was going on with this vacant looking hospital.

Sucking in more air he pushed himself off the wall, taking off once more at a slower pace. Wanting nothing more than to just lay down for a minute or eternity depending when he body recovered. Seeing a metal looking door he walked over, not even sure what his actual face looked like. It was distorted but he could make himself out well enough. His face seemed fine but a big discolored bruise was on his face. raising a brow he wondered what had happened to him. Thinking now he should have found his chart to give him more information. Then again he didn’t think the whole place would have been deserted. Dom didn’t want to back track, but if it meant finding out more of his identity shouldn’t he?

Deciding he would have time to go back later, this place didn’t seem like it was going anywhere soon. He trailed on down another corridor he still hadn’t seen any form of life. Checking a couple rooms the beds were unmade but he hadn’t seen anyone. Wondering if they were roaming around the hospital like he was. Walking on but only a few paces he noticed a red dot on himself. Trying to see what it was, the dot currently on his chest was now on his hand where he was checking. Looking up he then heard a female voice yelling at him. ‘Kill him?’ He thought to himself, the message was clear but his brain was having a hard time comprehending, why? It only took seconds for his brain to catch up; the laser was from a gun she was going to shoot him!

“No! Please don’t shoot, I have no idea what is going on!” Moving his body in to a more lit area around him, so she could see his face. Squinting because he really couldn’t see her all to well either. “I just woke up, are you a nurse?” Doubting that she was, but maybe she would know what happened to everyone. This girl in front of him was now a lifeline if she didn’t put a bullet through his chest first. His heart was racing, and hands were automatically put up to show her he didn’t have anything in his hands. It then made him wonder if he should have a weapon in his hands, if something was running around the hospital for her to have a gun. Checking his wristband again for his name that was now up in the air, “I’m Dominik Merek, a patient at this hospital.”

 

[Malicious Lullaby]

She was so incredibly stunned. There he was, a human who seemed to have no idea where he was, why he was there or what happened. Chances are he had no idea what happened to the world and what devastated it. Ivan and Haley rounded to where Sy was and they saw her pointing her rifle at some guy in a hospital gown and they both started thinking the same thing. The moment he came into good light, they all could see he was not affected by The Plague and he was still very much human. Just incredibly confused.

“Sy, drop your rifle.” Ivan ordered, glancing to his girlfriend. She was still weary.
Haley stepped forward and put her hand on the top of her rifle and forcibly lowered it. “Dammit Sy, you can’t keep letting that happen. You could have actually killed an innocent soul.”

For a moment she had no idea what they were talking about. She had been seeing only red, like she was being riddled with really bad memories. It was one of the reasons that Ivan didn’t let her come out too much when they needed to loot so far away from home. It still affected her; losing her parents. He was there that day and watched her not only kill her parents but also a part of herself. She was never the same. Even when she managed to recuperate enough to show a smile, be optimistic about the fact they even survived a year and hardly lost any of their group, every now and then she relapsed. Especially when faced in actual danger. Sometimes it happened. Sometimes it didn’t.

“Oh my god…” She took in a deep breath but it came out shaky. Haley took her rifle and Ivan put his arm around her and took her away. He leaned her against the wall and let her slide down against it. He pushed her head down between her knees gently so her breathing would regulate and when it did, he felt resistance and let go. He helped her up and cupped her cheeks. “He’s human. He’s innocent. It’s okay…”
Sy nodded her head and she swallowed hard. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Shh, it’s okay.”

Haley walked over to the guy who called himself Dominik Merek and she assessed him. She walked around him to make sure he wasn’t hiding any horrific scars, signs of The Plague or any other abnormalities that could prove he posed a threat. “He’s clean.” She called over to her brother. She moved so she stood directly in front of him and nodded her head. “Come on. How about we get out of here and you can see our home. There’s more of us. We’ll also brief you in on what’s going on because something tells me you don’t know.”

“Hales, come on.” Ivan called out to her. On their way out, Haley and Ivan grabbed boxes of medicine, whatever they could get before piling into the truck. Strapped in and ready to go, Ivan drove back to the fortress and upon being sighted, the large garage door opened to allow the imposing vehicle in. Everything shut, bolted down and the occupants vacated the truck. Ivan took Sy into the house and Hales brought the guy who called himself Dominik Merek inside as well. People gathered around but when they saw the new face, they stepped back to give room, just in case.

“Who’s this?” Brandeis finally asked. She had been wise to hold her tongue. They had been out too long as it is when they all finally emerged from the hospital. It was easier to hold her tongue then but now that they were back in safety, she could ask.
Hales looked at her. “This is Dominik Merek. He was in the hospital. Probably before it was abandoned, he was a patient there.”

“He looks like a ghost, or like he just woke up.” Marcus chimed in, crossing his broad arms over his chest.

Soon all eyes were on Dominik, even Sy’s. “He doesn’t know what’s happened. We have to tell him.” Sy spoke softly. Hales walked over to Domink and she gently pushed him back to sit down on the couch.
“Trust me, you’re going to want to sit down for this.”

People went back to their business when it was clear that he was not a flesh eating monster. Even Marcus and Brandeis minded their own business. They all probably figured it was intimidating to have so many eyes on one person who had no idea what was going on. Only Sy, Ivan and Haley remained around him. Sy sat down and she looked at him. Then she began telling the story. Ivan and Haley chipped in to tell him the entire ordeal and when it was all said and done, they just looked at him.

 

[Shenanigans]

He watched as the others gathered around this girl with a gun, trying to calm her down enough so she wouldn’t shoot him. Another girl pulling the gun down toward the grounds so she wouldn’t shoot. It was still unclear to him what was actually going on either in this hospital or the world. His mind was racing on what could actually be so bad that these kids about his age were going around to hospitals. The worst thoughts came to him, maybe a nuclear war broke out or some sort of virus that was killing people, never in a million years would he have guessed a Zombie apocalypse.

At this point Dom noticed the girl who had the gun was coming back to reality and the other who moved the gun toward the ground took it away from her completely. He still had his hands in the air because the others still had guns yet nothing was pointed at him now. Watching the first girl being led over to the wall going through something he didn’t understand. A male was right by her side trying to help and he guess it was her boyfriend or a brother, possibly a brother figure that was helping her breath.

It was then the other girl who had probably saved his life came over and gave him a full body inspection. Not touching him but he felt violated enough even though she hadn’t put her hands on him. Announcing to the others that he was ‘clean’ what ever that meant. Dom was just glad he wasn’t a threat they thought he might be. Taking in a breath he finally lowered his hands to his side unsure of what he was going to do next. Maybe they would just leave him here to fend for himself, but another turn to his twisted day he was having happened. The girl who was inspecting him told him to in a way follow, they weren’t just going to leave him, and they were going to tell him something. By the way she looked it was written all over her face what ever it was, it wasn’t good.

He finally heard the male call the girl who saved him be called Hales, possibly for Hayley, he would have to personally thank her later. He followed the lot out and noticed they were grabbing medicine, what ever was happening Hospitals were vacant and not attended to from what he could tell. It made him wonder why he was just left for dead and not transported to a more appropriate place where he could be watched.

On the ride back it was silent no one talked and everyone seemed to be on high alert. He tried to look out the window but he was shoved so far to the back it was impossible. The truck they were in was practically bolted shut to keep what ever was outside, out. It wasn’t until they got back to there base camp and inside a house one of the newest faces from the truck actually spoke. Before he had a chance to look at his wristband again to remember his name Hales spoke for him. Another man speaking up saying he looked like a ghost. Dom touched his face wondering what he had looked like. He had only seen himself in a metal door but not properly in a mirror.

Everyone seemed to be speaking in cryptic words, what the hell was going on? Where were everyone’s parents, why did his own parents if he had any left him at the hospital to potentially die? Why was he even in the hospital in the first place and why couldn’t he even remember his own name?! At this point he was being ushered down on the couch his legs burning from not being used so much he gratefully sat though the news he was about to receive was something that wasn’t going to be good. Noticing before anyone spoke most of the people cleared out maybe not wanting to see his reaction if it was over the top.

Once the huge mystery was reviled he just sat there unable to process what happened. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had just woken up that day or his mind was in such shock to hear everything like this all at once. Looking at them his eyes seemed to be waiting for them to laugh and tell him it was a joke but nothing like that came. “I don’t even know what to say.” Began before letting his back actually hit the couch he was sitting on. “I know I should be more shocked but I barely remember who I am. With out this bracelet on my arm I couldn’t have even told you my name. I can’t even mourn for my parents if I have any because I can’t remember what they look like or their names.” Looking at the three in front of him, knowing he should be sad but what for? For people he couldn’t even remember and memories that had been taken from him? Dom had felt more lost and confused than anything.

 

[Malicious Lullaby]

Sy didn’t know what was worse; his relatively calm reaction to the understanding of this new world they all lived in or the fact he didn’t remember himself or his family to really feel anything. She thought him lucky. She’d given anything not to remember the day she killed her parents for her own survival over theirs. It had to be done because the moment The Plague took them, they were no longer her parents; they were cold-blooded, flesh-hungry monsters who saw an uninfected human as a meal. Ivan told her that her parents would thank her for ending their agony of living out their days as foul monsters and she tried to believe him but she’d carry that guilt with her always.

There was silence among the small chatter of the others in the room who weren’t listening on or paying attention to the newcomer any longer. Sy, Hales and Ivan weren’t exactly sure what to say or do or how to offer comfort for someone who was so confused. Ivan took Haley’s arm and he steered her away. While he did that, Sy looked at him and then back at Dom, deciding to sit down beside him. “Perhaps…with time, you might remember. If you choose to. If not, you’re surrounded by people here who have lost enough to want to embrace the possibilities of this new world.” Despite everything, her tone was light. “This street used to be a cul-de-sac of about six homes. After The Plague broke out, the teens of those houses worked with us to create entry ways and passageways to connect all six houses. Mine was among them. After we lost our parents first, we worked together to maintain a rather peaceful existence amongst severe chaos and tragedy.” She offered a small smile. “Two of us have passed on before The Plague could take real effect but the rest of us survive stronger than before. That’s what being human is all about, right? Adaptability? You can do the same. If you’re not too freaked out about it, that is.”

Meanwhile, Ivan was a few steps away with his sister and he looked at her. “What do you think? We can use him. Marcus and Brandeis are always looking for more people wanting to learn to shoot and hone their craft. He’s an asset. His lack of memory allows for him to have zero attachment to anyone or anything.”

“Ivan, come on now, don’t already think of him as bait. He’s a lost and confused guy who just woke up from whatever situation he was in the hospital. He has no memory, doesn’t mean we should exploit that.”

Ivan chuckled. “You think the worst of me, little sister. No, I’m just saying he can be a huge asset. Marcus and Brandeis have been surveying the wall and they deduce we need to build an extra layer to make it even more impenetrable. The amount of bodies they’re shooting down are increasing. They might be savages but the infected know that we’re here and they’re determined, even if we keep shooting them down. It’s only a matter of time.”

Haley looked shocked and she looked around and then at him. “Does anyone else know?”
“No, we decided to keep it quiet for now, so not to raise alarm. But we have to let everyone know. We need our best hands to build a thicker wall.”
“Where will we get the resources?”
”We’re stock-piled in larder, bricks and cement.”
“We need to get to work fast Ivan, we can’t afford to lose more people.”
“We’ve lost two.”
”And our numbers have reduced to eighteen. Nineteen if you count Dominik.”
“It’s enough.”
”For now. Until what? We’re reduced to breeding to keep on going?”
Ivan smiled, refraining from laughing. “You make it seem like we need to reproduce to keep our population alive.”
Haley sighed, not finding his amusement at all amusing. “We might have to Ivan. We don’t know any other survivors but the ones here and it’s not like it is increasing.”
“Haley, we’re kids. Sure, most of us are over the age sixteen but we’re still kids.”
She gave him an obvious look. “We stopped being kids the moment we all lost our parents. Sy’s not the only one who had to kill their parents, just one of the few who hasn’t fully recuperated from it.”

Ivan sighed and he glanced over to Sy who was so animated almost, in talking to their newcomer. It was strange how she could go from panic attack to wistful so quickly. He looked at his sister and sighed. “We need to tell people about the wall.”
“We will. Let’s let this guy settle in first and observe him to see what his strengths are. In the mean time, Marcus and Brandeis can sniper the infected and we can rally our best.”