I wake up in an old industrial kitchen...
'But I thought I was already awake... how did I get here?'
I look to realize I am slumped quite uncomfortably in a corner against a cabinet, with Finn nestled sweetly in my lap.
'I thought I was in containment... what is going on here?'
There is madness around me. People moving swiftly and quietly fashioning crude weapons from kitchenware, cabinetry, and furniture.
I can hear the groaning in the not so distance halls.
'These are the hippies... I am still underground... but where is Tom?'
I sit up to get a better view but an stopped short by the unbelievable agony in my head and neck.
'Fuck, it must have been part of the sickness, a delirious day dream. I am still sick, and no one has told me what is wrong with me yet, or how I got sick. Will I die this way?'
A teenager I have never seen before sees that I am awake and calls for Tom, just as I begin to vomit from the pain in my head. I slump back to the floor, holding Finn tightly, and watch as a man tears the legs off of chairs, and alters a blender and a wire whisk into something nightmarish. I begin drifting....
The teenage girl is in my face now, "You mustn't fall asleep, there is going to be a battle, we need you to be awake now, for your baby!"
But all I can do is stare and nod... and the nodding makes me wretch again. This headache is literally crippling me.
'battle? what the hell is this underground hippie yapping about???'
And then i hear the groaning again, and I know they're coming for us. And I cannot even lift a finger to defend myself or my precious child.
'How long have I been like this?'
I drift....
Tom and the old bearded hippie are talking to me now. The hippie is Sage, the teenager is Jasmine. They are going to give me a shot... it might help... it might not. But we are cornered and we have to fight, so if the shot doesn't work, I have to hide. I need to protect my Finn, so I will have to stay quiet. Not even a peep, so that they won't hear us, and come for us.
'Oh God... where are you?'
'OUCH!'
I guess that was the shot.
Tom is telling me he loves me, and he will fight for us. He is telling me he needs me to wake up now, and get better. I can hear the tension, and fear in his voice. I can hear the tears welling up in his voice. I wish I could talk to him, tell him I love him too. Say goodbye...
a moment passes.... nothing changes.
and another.
and another.
and another.
Then my eyes are open and I can see, and the waves of pain seem less, so I sit up. I look at Tom, and he laughs and hugs me with tears in his eyes. He clutches me to him as if I might fall, and I weakly clutch back, crying with the relief of he pain, and the joy of reunion. Team Curry is back in action.
We are interrupted by Sage "I hate to break up the reunion, but we have a battle to prepare for, and we need both of your help."
I turn to Sage, accusingly, "When this shit is over I need you to tell me exactly what was in that shot, and why you didn't give it me days ago." With each moment, it seems, my vision is clearer, my head is lighter, and the pain is less powerful.
He responded, "We did, right away, and you improved. You were near death when we found you. We hoped your body would do the rest with time, but we no longer have any time. We had a limited supply of the serum, and have given you the last of it. I'm glad it has helped you, but now if one of us gets sick from the virus, we will surely perish." His face looked grave, and stoic. "But we can worry about that after we get out of here..."
I say, sheepishly, "I don't mean to sound ungrateful. Thank you for helping me. Now can someone tell me what we're doing about those zombies? They're getting closer."
And Tom starts to fill me in on the battle that is to come, and our strategy...