T-minus 7 days to DEADLINE.: seanan

T-minus 7 days to DEADLINE.

Allentown, Pennsylvania. July 26th, 2014.

The people outside the prison could pretend that the dead weren't walking if they wanted to. That sort of bullshit was the province of the free. Once you were behind bars, counting on other people to bring you food, water, hell, to let you go to the bathroom like a human being...you couldn't lie to yourself. And the dead were walking.

So far, there hadn't been any outbreaks in Brandon's wing, but he knew better than to attribute that to anything beyond pure dumb luck. Whatever caused some people to get sick and die and then get up again without being bitten just hadn't found a way inside the building. It would. All it needed was a little more time, and it would.

Brandon was sitting on his bed and staring at his hands, wondering if he'd ever see Hazel again, when the door of his cell slid open. He raised his head, and found himself looking at one of the prison guards—one of the only guards who was still bothering to show up for work.

"You've got a visitor, Majors," said the guard, and gestured roughly for him to stand. Brandon had learned the virtue of obedience. It was practically the first lesson that the prison taught. He stood, moving quickly to avoid a reprimand. Never doing anything to earn a reprimand, that was the second lesson.

There had been other lessons since then. None of them had been pleasant ones.

The guard led Brandon through the halls without a word. Some of the prisoners shouted threats or profanity as they passed; Brandon's role in the Mayday Army was well-known, and was the reason he was given his own cell, and not allowed to mingle with the general prison population. As the situation got worse, his future looked more and more bleak. Outside the prison, he would probably have already been lynched. As if it was his fault somehow? That bastard Kellis was the one who built the bug. He should be the one getting the blame, not Brandon—

The guard led him around the corner to the visiting room. There were only two men standing there. One was the warden. The other was a slim, dark-haired man Brandon felt like he should recognize. Something about him was familiar.

"Brandon Majors?" asked the man.

"Yes?" Maybe he was from the governor. Maybe he had come to pardon Brandon, and take him away from all this; maybe he understood that it wasn't his fault—

"My name is Alexander Kellis."

Hope died. Brandon stared at him. "I...you...oh, God."

Alexander looked at Brandon—the little ringleader who had managed to bring about the end of the world, the one whose name was already dropping out of the news, to be replaced by Alexander's own—and said, very quietly, "I wanted to meet you. I wanted to look you in the eye while I told you that this is all your fault. History may blame it on me, but neither of us is going to be there to see it, and right here, right now, today, this is all your fault. You destroyed my life's work. You killed the man I loved. You may very well have brought about the end of the world. So I have just one question for you."

"What?" whispered Brandon.

"Was it worth it?" After five minutes passed with no answer, Dr. Kellis turned to the warden. "Thank you. I'd like to go now." They walked away, leaving Brandon standing frozen next to the guard.

That night, Brandon's cell was somehow left unlocked. The next morning, he would be found dead in the hall. None of the other inmates saw what happened. At least, that's what they said, and this one time, the warden chose to believe them. It wasn't his fault, after all.

***

Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes...

When will you Rise?

notalwaysweak

May 24 2011, 12:39:14 UTC 6 years ago

New comment

Oh, Alexander, I want to give you all of the hugs.

Sucked in, Brandon. You had it coming.

As for remaining calm? Haha, nooo.

beccastareyes

May 24 2011, 12:45:40 UTC 6 years ago

Oh, Alexander, I want to give you all of the hugs.

Same here.

As for remaining calm? Haha, nooo.

Well, it's good advice when dealing with a crisis, but not always possible. 'The dead have risen' isn't exactly something one drills for.

6 years ago

cleothyla

fluffworld

May 24 2011, 12:55:06 UTC 6 years ago

I have just ordered my copy.
*squee*

fullcontactmuse

May 24 2011, 13:10:30 UTC 6 years ago

Marvelous! I can't wait for my copy to arrive!

admnaismith

May 24 2011, 13:36:04 UTC 6 years ago

That night, Brandon's cell was somehow left unlocked. The next morning, he would be found dead in the hall.

Yep. About what he had coming. BIH, Brandon.

At least he won't be getting up and doing even more harm.

paradisacorbasi

May 24 2011, 16:40:23 UTC 6 years ago

...BIH?

trialia

May 24 2011, 13:40:41 UTC 6 years ago

Ohhhhh.

Just preordered ♥

seanan_mcguire

June 14 2011, 20:19:38 UTC 6 years ago

Yay!

archangelbeth

May 24 2011, 15:02:56 UTC 6 years ago

I almost, almost sympathized with the little twerp, for a moment. But then he went into the "not myyyy fault" thing.

Poor Dr Kellis. I hope he got some tiny satisfaction or closure frm that.

cflute

May 25 2011, 00:03:01 UTC 6 years ago

That's why the "it wasn't his fault" [the warden's], at the end, is such exquisite irony.

drcpunk

childinthegrave

May 24 2011, 15:04:02 UTC 6 years ago

justice has been serrrrveeddd.

i love how this and some of the other bits take place in allentown lol. i get all aflutter when things are close to me, makes it feel more ~real~

Neighborhoods

mrshoneybee247

May 24 2011, 20:12:54 UTC 6 years ago

We live in "the shadow of the Mouse" and the other night we noticed all kinds of creepy places in Fantasyland where zombies would lurk. My Amazing Hubby (6.3 and 250lb)told me I needed to stop pointing them all out - I was giving him the heebie jeebies! God I hope I'm not at a Goofy place when the Rising starts!

talis_kimberley

May 24 2011, 15:11:14 UTC 6 years ago

Dear godlings, Seanan, you're writing this to the strains of me singing silly Vivaldi filk? That's *truly* twisted, my friend. And I am so sending you some new listening material.

*Reminds myself I don't even like zombies. Or horror much. Yes, alright, so I bawled my eyes out at 'Feed' and let all needful jobs go hang while I finished reading it. Even so; even so.*

kyburg

May 24 2011, 16:41:56 UTC 6 years ago

Come sit next to me. Same here!

(And Brandon got off easy, you ask me.)

May 24 2011, 16:30:55 UTC 6 years ago

Dear god, I think this was the most chilling piece yet.

May 24 2011, 16:41:25 UTC 6 years ago

Wow. Poor Alexander. Yes, I want him to have all the hugs. I want to pluck him out of that 'verse and bring him to another one where he can find his John and live happily ever after again.

And I wish Brandon's death had been ... lingering. Does that make me a terrible person?

lyssabard

May 24 2011, 18:28:05 UTC 6 years ago

I think I agree 100% with everything you said. So, if you are terrible, you are certainly not alone.
(No, definitely did not suffer enough. *snort*)

tygerversionx

May 24 2011, 20:02:34 UTC 6 years ago

Really?

I might have read it too fast, but what WASN'T said about his death leaves me thinking there's a lot of room in there for ... possible lingering.

Perhaps I watched OZ too much.

lysystratae

shiyiya

druidspell

May 24 2011, 21:51:24 UTC 6 years ago

I love all of these, and love them more and more as we get closer to book day, but I have to say that my favorite part is the news broadcast being repeated: Please return to your homes. Please remain calm. This is not a drill. If you have been infected, please contact authorities immediately. If you have not been infected, please remain calm. This is not a drill. Please return to your homes... To me, that's the most chilling part of all this, the complete lack of helpful response from traditional news and government. (It's also what I find most realistic--your virology honestly goes completely over my head, but the journalism and politics are right up my alley.)
Can't wait to buy on book day!

May 25 2011, 00:34:34 UTC 6 years ago

I'm pleasantly surprised that Alexander Kellis hasn't been taken out by a lynch mob. Or is he being kept under guard in a research facility so that he can try to help figure out the impact?

Maybe there will be an answer in the next few days. Somehow I feel like I won't necessarily like it, though.

Also, I was surprised that Brandon actually thought about Hazel.