Infected Kingdom

Chapter 12

The cabin had a chemical smell that reminded me of the dentist's office. It made my skin crawl. Glancing around, I saw that it was somewhat simple. There was a door off to the side, that I assume lead to the cage. Long the walls there were books, pictures, even some bottles of medicine. in the center of the room was a table with straps. If someone were to lay down on it, the straps would be for their legs and arms. Then by the bookshelf, there was a couch. On the far side, there was another cage, with a zombie, or an Insane in it. A deep growl came from him when he saw us. 

"Don't mind him. That's my husband, Edgar." Dr. Evelyn explained with a smile that was too carefree.

Freezing, I glanced at Gavin and Chase to see that even they were uncomfortable by that sentence too.  Last I checked, till death do us part, is a part of wedding vows. Edgar seems about as dead as a zombie can get and Dr. Evelyn is very much alive.

"You married to a zombie?" I questioned, hearing chuckles from her and the King.

"My husband is an Insane." She corrected, as if that was different, before grabbing my arm and pulling me to the cage.

I tried digging my heels to stop her, but she was surprisingly strong. I felt my fear increase as she stopped us in front of the cage. Edgar moves forwards and wrapped his arms around the bars. I'm sure zombies can't do that. The parts of his eyes that were supposed to be white were black and his pupils were golden. He let out a gurgled growl, before reaching through the bars to swipe at me. He actually moved faster than a human. I barely had time to react. Stumbling back, I grunted as my back hit the table.

"Evelyn, that thing's unstable." Gavin growled, as I felt his hand on my back as he steadied me, "We already know enough about Insane. Why are you experimenting on them? They're a threat to the Kingdom."

"We have so much more to learn about them." She explained with a smile, before she backed up to the cage.

Full fear hit me as I took out my machete. I was ready to lunge, when Edgar wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to the cage. The only thing that stopped me was the King holding a handout. He mouthed for me to watch, so I did, though I was ready to kill Evelyn when he bit her. He didn't bite her though. Instead, he seemed to give a soft purring sound as he nuzzled against her hair. That's definitely weird.

"We already know they recognize certain individuals, just from their actions around the person. However, it's like they're more human around that person. They feel love, jealousy, anger." Evelyn laughed, seeming proud of her discovery.

"Okay, but I take it not all of them have loved ones in this Kingdom. Gavin told me that they respond to only one person. It would be impossible to find that person while keeping this place a secret. Not to mention there's the matter of what they eat, because I doubt, they'll just go vegan if you ask them nicely." I listed, "Oh and let's not forget the uproar this will probably cause if anyone else finds out, that you're letting zombies, I mean Insane stay within the walls."

"They would understand if this meant that their loved ones could come back." The King pointed out, before holding up my wallet, "I would think you of all people would want your loved ones to come back if that was possible."

Horrified, I immediately lunged for my wallet. He only held it out of my reach and even moved away from me. Furious, I went after him. Trying repeatedly and failing repeatedly to get my wallet back.

"Give me back that wallet!" I don't care if you a self-proclaimed king! I will kill anyone for taking that." I swore, pointing my machete at him.

He didn't seem threatened by it though, instead he had that stupid smirk that Gavin gets. I was ready to cut it off his face, but I felt arms wrap around me. Pinning my own arms to my side. Kicked and wiggling to get away, I turned my head to glare at Gavin. A glare of his own matching me.

"They look so young, Skylar. What maybe, six and ten?" He hummed, pulling the pictures and looking at them, "I will admit the girl looks like you. Are you actually older than you look? Are these your kids?"

"That's none of your damn business!" I screamed, "Give them back!"

The smile was wiped off his face when Evelyn snatched it from him, "Your Majesty, that's not a good way to get someone to work."

"Just asking questions." He grinned, as I took my wallet back from her.

Shaking Gavin off, I glared at him, before heading towards the door. Pausing for a second, I put the pictures back in and turned to the King.

"You say that I'll come around to staying here, but so far, you haven't given me a real reason to trust you. Both these experiments and you stealing my property makes me want to stay less."

I could see the troubled look on Gavin's and Evelyn's faces. Chase looked like he didn't know what to do as he looked between us all. Sending another glare to the King, I opened the door to leave.

"You start here in the morning." He called, making me roll my eyes before I slammed the door shut.

They can't seriously expect this to work. One of those things already got out and was nearly in town. If it bit anyone or if anyone saw it, there would be chaos. I've seen plenty of communities fall from uprising against the leaders and from the undead. Rose and Cassie don't deserve that. They already seem happy here. If another one of those things gets out, that happiness will be over. We'll have to leave before winter comes. However, that King can't be trusted.  Looking up at the house, I sighed at the difficult choice I had to make.