Free Zombie Day Care by Craig Halloran

three days ago?”
    His stepfather was nodding.
    “ Who … Jill and Jean?”
    Stanley pointed and said, “This one is Jean.”
    “ But I thought they were dying.”
    “ Well, being such, I thought they would be a better subject. I did both. Same results.”
    It was significant. Brain activity on a zombie was almost obsolete, and now there was something. As a scientist, Henry couldn’t control his excitement. This was a big deal. All of these years in the facility had been spent dealing with children. Their brains were more apt to learn and absorb information. They relied more on instincts and had a stronger survival mode. Zombie children reacted to stimulus more often than adults. Their minds hadn’t been polluted and their brain cells were still an incubator of growth. The zombie children shed the most light for hope of a cure.
    “ So how come they are still dying?” he asked with avid curiosity.
    “ There is only so much XT and it was a small dose at that. It lasted a day. The girls … began walking again.”
    He pulled on his dad’s shoulder and said, “Does anyone else know?”
    “ Nah, I kept them down here.” Stanley’s smile widened. “Think about it son, with this breakthrough we can get back our funding. Maybe get a huge promotion.”
    “ What about Louie? Is he on it?”
    “ One dose, every other day. Look at his brain pattern.”
    Stanley toggled between the screens and opened another file. One fourth of the subject’s brain above the lower stem was a rainbow of color.
    “ Wow!” he exclaimed.
    They clasped each other’s shoulders. Things were getting better.
    But someone else did know. The cameras above had caught it all. He had been watching all along. Jimmy knew everything and the gold mine of knowledge would soon be his.

CHAPTER 15
     
     
    Her tummy grumbled as she entered the break room. All of the excitement from Henry’s return flustered her. Bathed in the white refrigerator light, Tori rummaged through the shelves. Pulling out a box of pizza, she grabbed a roll of paper towels from the break room counter top. Opening the box she let out a disappointing moan. Hawaiian? Oh … there’s a piece of sausage. She stuffed it in her mouth, chewing with a shrug. What the heck.
    “ Girls got to eat,” she muttered, placing three slices on a plate inside the microwave and hitting the PIZZA button. As happy as she was Henry was back, she felt blue. So much had happened since he was gone and she didn’t tell him. Rudy and Stanley told her it would ruin his trip, but not telling him seemed to have ruined it all anyway. She wished she could have just been with him. On a cruise, something she had never taken before. Oh, what she would do for him on the open sea. His kind eyes and handsome face soothed her soul like no other man; even his serious demeanor didn’t dissuade her efforts.
    “ Henry needs us girls,” she said, hoisting her bra straps as she produced a tube of nail polish tucked inside a cabinet door.
    She checked her teeth on the rectangular mirror she had taped inside of a cabinet door and shot herself a wink. She pulled out a chair, took a seat and began recoating her long black nails. She had just finished applying the last coat when the microwave chimed. She got up, took out the steaming pizza and tossed it onto the table. The strong smell of the pizza caused her stomach to groan again.
    The room was quiet as she turned her back to the doorway and reached back inside the fridge. She felt eyes were burning on her lower back. Someone was there. She looked back over her shoulder hoping to see Henry, but only a black television monitor greeted her concerned glare. Back inside the fridge, the two liters of leftover birthday soda was all she had to choose from. The one that read ‘diet’ got the honor. She froze before she pulled the bottle free. Her nerves were on edge, and all she could hear was the refrigerator’s hum.
    “ Who’s there!” she yelled, turning with the bottle