To Kill a Cactus - Namaste part 4

Namaste part 3: HERE

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Bruno was conducting the experiment, he had attached a tube to our rat friends' cage, to see if they could be unzombified. So far it was going well, even a low concentration gas already turned the zombie-rats to their regular form. A week had gone by and they were still their happy friendly selves.

"I can't believe it's working," Bruno said while petting Chad, his favourite rat out of the group. Although, he claimed that he didn't pick favourites.

Chad was laying on his back and enjoying the strokes, they had clearly bonded. Probably because Bruno had been giving him some extra crumbles.

"Yeah, I can't believe you're giving all the crumbs to Chad and none to Benedict, here," I answered while petting the other rat in my lap.

"Why don't you give Benedict some crumbs then, if you're picking favourites," Bruno argued and pulled the rat closer to his chest as if he was afraid that I would attack the poor animal.

"How could I, if you ate all the bagels," I answered pointing at the empty bagel basket.

"Wake up, Paithoon!!" said Bruno right by my ear, "Wake up!!"

I jolted up from my bed realising that all of that had been a dream. One thing hadn't changed though, the bagel basket was already empty.

"Great, you're up. Today's the big day, the gas is ready for human testing. Come on, now, the higher ups are going to oversee our progress and then with the press of a button the gas will go through the sewage system everywhere around the town. Isn't it exciting, I wonder who will get to push the button," Bruno said so quickly my brain could barely follow it.

"Yeah, umm...great," I mumbled while trying to go back to sleep.

"Come on, it's an exciting day," Bruno whispered and pulled me up from my nest.

"We still need clearance, they might want more testing," I answered, finally starting to clear my head.

"We will get it, the work you've done has been amazing, it's remarkable, you'll be famous and maybe you'll let some of that fame shine upon me as well...oh, I just realised, Chad and Benedict and the other rats will be famous as well. Don't forget to mention them in your grand speech, after you have saved the world," Bruno was so excited, the words simply flew out of his mind and he was pacing back and forth occasionally stopping to bounce up and down as if on an imaginary trampoline.

"Yeah, maybe you can do the speech part if it should get to that, not really my area of expertise, I'll just stay in the lab. But for now, first things first, let's get everything ready and I hope you saved me a bagel," I said while making my way to the kitchen area where the empty food basket was waiting for me.

"Actually, I did," Bruno said with a huge grin on his face.

We stepped into the kitchen only to find the rats nibbling away on the last bagel.

"Guess they got here before you did..." Bruno shrugged and picked up Chad to give him a belly rub.

"Oh, well," I couldn't be angry at the rats, they were almost like a family to me at that point. Benedict, Frida, Flushie and Jenny were all happily eating their breakfast and I opted for a simple mug of tea, I wasn't particularly hungry anyway. The thought of having to present the gas I had invented, made my stomach turn. So far only Bruno had seen what it could do, what if a fresh pair of eyes would find faults in it, we could not.

My eyes were fixed on the clock, we had half an hour left, so I calmed my nerves by tiding the already clean lab space we had. I knew I should've been excited, but a part of me just felt so nervous about the outcome, like it couldn't of have been real. 

When I felt like I couldn't lift piles of paper and polished lab equipment around anymore, I just sat down and tried to calm my nerves with some meditative breathing. All was going to be as it should be - at least that's what I repeated to myself.

"They're here!" Bruno squealed with excitement and got his place ready by the desk, still holding Chad.

Two men and a woman stepped in, dressed in all black, wearing sunglasses and dark gloves, almost all of their skin was covered and through the sunglasses, I couldn't even tell where they were looking, but I could feel their gaze scanning the entire laboratory.

"We were told you have progressed," the woman said in a calm low voice.

"Umm, yes...we...we have this gas and it can undo the zombie thing, I mean the cure, the disease cure thingy...the thing we were working on, that thingy," Bruno muttered, I could see him nervously stroking Chad.

"You have a gas that can undo the undead?" the woman repeated.

"Yes, it works and we have connected it to the sewage, it's really fast and easy, these rats, they were all cured. And here is the paperwork and if all is good, it's pretty much good enough to be used. All you need is to push the button on the automatic system and a high enough dosage will be released, to at least cure everyone in this town." Bruno continued with more confidence.

The woman grabbed the papers and quickly went over the neatly written equations. She nodded slowly to herself, slightly rising one of her eyebrows, I could feel the tension building, waiting for her to say something.

"It's correct, do it," the woman said with a bitter voice as if she was upset about something.

I could see the expression going from happy to confused to happy again on Bruno's face as he stepped closer to push the button. 

"No, you fool, that button must never be pushed," the woman slapped him across his face with a force that made Bruno nearly stumble over.

"What?" was all I could say before one of the men bent my arms behind my back and tied them up. I tried to pull myself away, but I was barely capable of moving.

Bruno had been pushed to the floor, he had dropped Chad and the rat was trying to bite the man who was holding him down, but he just pushed the little rat away. Bruno's face was turning red from trying to get away.

"What are you doing, we did as you asked!" he muttered with tears in his eyes.

"Yes, good job, now we know who to eliminate," the woman stepped lightly to the first man holding on to Bruno and handed him a syringe, then he gave another one to the man behind me. I noticed that she didn't even look at me, but something about her seemed oddly familiar. 

Before I could contemplate about it any longer, I heard Bruno shout out in agony as the first man pressed the syringe to his neck. He was wiggling on the floor, his eyes on the back of his head. Chad was frantically trying to get to him, but halfway across the room something in the rat's eyes changed and as if he knew, he turned around, went to the button and pressed his whole body weight on it.

I couldn't believe my eyes, I could feel the syringe being pressed against my neck, the needle piercing my skin, but yet I was happy, Chad did it. He saved the world. And then it was back to darkness.

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