The Last Bastion of the Living: A Futuristic Zombie Novel by Rhiannon Frater

reported for the mission, but her level of discomfort surprised her. She felt as though she were being k ept in the dark about something. T hat some important bit of information was not being divulged.
    The doctor and Mr. Petersen sat across from her. Mr. Petersen folded his arms over his chest, his bland face expressionless while Dr. Curran entered some final notes into her pad.
    “May I ask a question?” Maria asked as she finally grasped what was bothering her.
    “Of course,” Dr. Curran answered, not looking up.
    “This is a safe procedure, this serum…what you ’ re giving me. It ’ s safe for me to take?”
    “ It i s ,” Dr. Curran assured her.
    “And it will make me immune to the Scrags , correct?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then why aren ’ t you giving it to everyone in the city?”
    Dr. Curran lifted her eyes to scrutinize Maria , then folded her hands on the table. “The serum we ’ re giving you and the other voluntee rs requires a healthy body. It ’ s a vaccination that uses a modified version of the Inferi Scourge Plague Virus. You will become very ill for a short period of time before your body builds up a sufficient immunity. You ’ re in superb physical shape whereas many in the city are not. There would be a good chance that a lot of our citizens would succumb to the serum and become Inferi Scourge .”
    “And there is no danger of that happening to me?” Maria asked, rubbing her suddenly damp palms over her knees.
    Dr. Curran stared at Maria for a long moment , then said, “Do you really think we ’ d risk our best soldiers if we were not certain of the serum?”
    Before answering, Maria considered the intensive medical examination to which she had j ust been subjected. “No. I don ’ t.”
    “Precisely , ” Dr. Curran agreed. “ It ’ s much safer for everyone in The Bastion if only a few take the Inferi Scourge Plague serum, clear the valley, and close the gate instead of risking our elderly, infirmed, and our children.”
    The doctor ’ s words made perfect sense. “I understand. When will I be given the vaccine?”
    “Tomorrow, but I would like to take this time to discuss the Inferi Scourge with you.”
    Shifting in her seat, her sore muscles aching, Maria lifted her eyebrows. “Oh?” She ’ d rather return to her quarters and take a shower than discuss the Inferi Scourge , but her curiosity was sparked. “What about the Scrags ?”
    “What do you know about them?” Mr. Petersen asked.
    Maria ’ s mouth quirked into a sardonic smile. “Other than that they want to destroy us?”
    “Exactly,” Dr. Curran answered.
    “Well, I know what I was taught in school...”
    “Which is?” The doctor settled back in her chair and crossed her long legs.
    “That they ’ re the product of the Inferi Scourge Plague Virus that was created by terrorists over a hundred years ago.” Maria took a cue from the doctor ’ s more relaxed posture and slumped slightly in her chair, trying to relax her sore body.
    “Continue,” the doctor urged, “tell me the history.”
    Mr. Petersen didn ’ t appear to blink as he watched Maria.
    Maria switched her gaze back and forth between them. Perhaps this was some sort of test of her cognizance or psychology. She cleared her throat.
    “The first incident was in India. The Inferi Scourge appeared and ravaged the country. Within days the Scrags had the upper hand. Pakistan fired their nuclear arsenal on India claiming that they had to protect themselves. What remained of India ’ s government fired back, and the area was decimated. The world thought that the Scrags had been destroyed, and then they appeared in Israel a few months later. Israel ’ s government initiated a kill order. Anyone infected was immediately destroyed. The Arab nations attempted to invade while Israel was dealing with the Scrags ; Israel used their nuclear arsenal on their enemies.” Maria furrowed her brow, trying to recall the details. “I believe that is when the world