Dead Instinct

               By Hannah “Dr. Sad” Foster

         The doctor was sitting at the desk looking at the formula scrawled on the small slit of paper. This was supposed to be the chemical compound that would restore the zombies to their former human selves. All the subjects had been cured only for a short while but became irate after three days. It only restored higher brain function at an alarming rate. The cure had failed, and now it had been taken by the government and mass-produced as a gas. While they were taking it the doctor tried telling them their plan wasn't going to work, but they didn't listen. He had received and e-mail from them explaining how there were only a few days before they would engulf the countryside with the gas. He desperately tried to warn them against it. He looked at the computer screen when he received a reply to his pleas. "You’re delusional. We tested it two days ago on one of the monsters, and they're doing fine. Don't worry, we have the situation under control." they weren't going to listen. Everyone was doomed. He walked over to a cabinet with different wines, whiskeys and bourbon. At least when they came for him he would be too drunk to care.

      "Die motherfucker!" the man with the green jacket yelled as he pointed the .44 magnum at the zombie girls head and pulled the trigger. With a loud blast the head vanished in a mahogany spray of blood, skin, brain and bone. He shot her at point-blank range. Three of the zombies suddenly became increasingly sadistic and tore the woman next to the man to pieces. The man yelled as he dropped the gun and tried to pry the undead off his wife, but they wouldn't let go. Finally they lost interest in the torn up corpse and began to flee. The man picked up his gun and began to fire rapidly at the escaping walking-dead but they all got out of sight, and he has yet to find them in the dark woods.

         "Uuuuunnngghhh" The cold woman said. She was tired and her husband next to her knew that they couldn't keep running forever. "Gguurrgh" he replied and they collapsed under a tree, and dosed off. They were woken up by people laughing loudly somewhere nearby. The rest of the cold ones had wandered off while they were asleep. They got up and followed the sound to a couple who looked like they were cold but they smelled like the warm. They were pale and thin. The man was scruffy with a black tank top and a torn up pair of jeans with a pair of converse that had once been black but had turned brown with dirt and age. The woman had on the same outfit the man had except her tank top was blue. The cold ones were becoming hungry again. They walked slowly to the warm ones that looked like cold ones when they noticed a strange smell in the air. It was bittersweet and musky, and when they got closer they saw the blue pipe sitting on the ground next to the warm scented ones who had seemed to have fallen asleep. The cold ones got closer and the woman opened her eyes. "Jerry look! They look sick!" she said. The smell in the air became intoxicating. "We should lay off the grass," the man answered "'Cuz I don't see anything" he finished. "Open your eyes Jer." she said. He opened his eyes. "Whoa they are sick, want some pot?" he asked. "nuuurrrrgghk" the cold man replied falling on Jerry and biting into his neck. The woman instantly became sober and tried to get up and get away but the cold woman caught her, tearing off a chunk of her shoulder in her teeth. The woman screamed a high-pitched, ear shattering scream. Then she didn't scream anymore, and everything was silent, until there was a mechanism flying above them, and 3 foot tall canisters were thrown from it. They hit the ground with heavy thuds and rolled. Shortly after they exploded in a sudden flurry of yellowish gas. It was, for some odd reason, pleasing to the cold ones. They breathed deep and there was a sudden chill in the back of their skulls. Suddenly, everything began to make sense.

  "We are all so hungry but the warm ones keep fighting. You would think hunting would be fun but when you just have your teeth and your hands and they have shotguns chainsaws and shit like that the thoughts just not as fun. But we have to eat. They killed my daughter, I'll fucking slaughter the green jacket jackass with the gun that shot her in the head. She only became cold a few weeks ago. Now she can't move anymore..."

  "They can only shoot so many of us at once. Are there other cold ones we can travel with? We can find food faster if we have a bigger group. I think that's what the warm ones have been doing. We should find more cold ones." the cold man thought. "Hwhuuurrgh" he said to the cold woman. They began to wander toward a city nearby. They didn't know if there were warm ones in the city but it looked familiar to the cold woman. "juuurrrh" she said. It seems familiar because the city was where she turned cold around three months ago. They saw a burning car with nobody inside. Then the bullets came and everything went black.

Men with Surgical masks with bright lights appeared and they started digging sharp metal things into the cold ones' skin. "Wrrraaaarrgh!" they cried in pain. The warm ones didn't treat cold ones like human anymore. They didn't treat them like living things either. Long weeks went by and the torment continued. Eventually the cold woman stopped moving forever and she didn't open her eyes anymore. She wasn't coming back. Ever. The cold man knew he had to get out as soon as he could. He sees the warm man with a surgical mask come nearer. And nearer. And soon, he comes too near and the cold man rips out his lung. "Son of a bitch!" the warm man squeals out in vain. The cold man breaks out of his restrains and tears the warm man apart in an epic fashion and they fall to the floor limply as the cold man has his first meal in weeks. He's free now; all he needs to do is find the way out. He wanders through halls with doors on either side with signs that to his astonishment he is able to read. He can remember what sounds the letters are supposed to make when said. "Examination" the nearest door is labeled. He tries to say it himself but his tongue is too limp. "Esaminasuuu..." is all he can mutter. He pushes the door and it opens, while a horrid smell is emitting from the room. And lying there on the metal table is the remains of the cold woman. "Wiiii...we...ewen...” She didn't respond. "rrrrrgh...RRRRRGH... RRRAAARRggH!!" now the cold man will stop at nothing to brutally slaughter every last warm one he sees until the entire planet exists only to house the cold ones. He sees a bright green neon sign nearby with an arrow that says "exit" and heads for it. "Stay right where you are motherfucker!" there's a warm one with a gun behind him. "Or die and burn!" he warm one has a cold wretched bloodlust in his eyes. "We’re... Aready...dead...” the cold man says. And runs straight for the man with a gun. "If this kills me at least I'll be with Wendy again…" the cold man thought to himself. ”At least I'll be with her..."

 The doctor looked at the screen:  

Days since outbreak 358

Zombie population: 45,287, 842 and rising

Project evaluation: FAILURE

Status: Terminated

Execute command EX425?

      Y/N

      Y

Self destruct initiating...

4:59.... 4:58.... 4:57....... 3:56.......

2:35........ 1:27....... 0:25......