Metamorphic

The street was not completely destroyed, but a chaotic roadmap of cracks had caused it to crumble significantly. Without anyone to maintain the roads, mother nature had reasserted herself, and the long dormant flora of Morrison, Colorado had sprung forth from its asphalt shell.

Jamie weaved his way between the tall grass and plants sprouting from the street. Up ahead, he could see the store. It was an old building that had once been a general store around the turn of the twentieth century. It was one of the few shops on Bear Creek Avenue he and Evey had not searched, mostly because they could hear sounds from within the last time they passed by, and they decided to let whatever was in there move on rather than try to kill it. But they did have a chance to peer inside, the sun glinting off of various types of jewelry strewn across the floor and display tables. Maybe the heart-shaped locket was among them. Jamie didn’t hold out much hope that it was there, but he couldn’t just leave that stone unturned.

Jamie had known Evey for about two weeks. Like Jamie, she had come from the ruins of Denver. It was a long journey since travel through the city was so dangerous and staying alive required a fair amount of hiding and evasion. Like all large cities, in contrast to smaller ones like Morrison, the number of mutations roaming the streets was high. Their appetite was voracious, and every living thing was a source of food for them. Even each other. Many people believed that eventually, they would eat each other into extinction if humans managed to evade them long enough.

The fear of contagion from these things was long past if you were vaccinated—but only if you got the shot before the infection set in. Once infected, nothing could stop the change. Your cells had already been altered on the genetic level. The human was dying and the beast was beginning to emerge. Jamie felt fortunate that he managed to get the vaccine while it was still available. Once the system fell completely, access to the vaccine became almost non-existent and was only available in government or military controlled safe zones. The virus had spread too fast for the scientists to keep up. The world was overrun by the infected in a matter of months.

As with any person he encountered, Jamie mentioned the locket when he met Evey. It was always the same questions: Have you seen a silver one? Was it heart-shaped? Was there a cursive S etched on it? Evey answered no to all three. When she asked why it was so important that he find it, he did not give her an answer, because he didn’t really know.

It was Sasha who told him to find it - her last request as a human. He didn’t know what she ultimately became, but he knew he wouldn’t recognize her anymore. He imagined that her auburn hair would be gone, that her green eyes were rendered to cloudy diseased pits in an emaciated face, the skin shrunk over bone like wet paper draped over a dead tree in the rain. The image can to him one night as he drifted off to sleep, and he never could shake it.

It wasn’t a task he pursued to honor Sasha in some way. Why search for her locket if she wouldn’t survive to see it again? Sure, some remnant of her still existed somewhere, but her memory of humanity would have died along with her actual humanity. He pursued the task because of how she phrased the request.

“Find the locket, Jamie,” she said through heavy breaths. “Not for me. For everyone. I love you.”

“For everyone? What does that mean?”

But she didn’t answer. Instead, she suddenly howled at him and grasped his throat, trying to rip it out with her teeth. She had spoken the last words she could muster before the beast emerged. He broke free of her grip and ran, never looking back.

But he remembered.

Lost in the memory, Jamie’s pace slowed. He remembered meeting Sasha on the road. He remembered falling in love with her. He remembered when the sickness begin to take hold, how they rushed to the medical facility in the mountains in hopes of getting a vaccine shot before it was too late, despite news that the facility had been abandoned. He remembered his panic as she lost consciousness along the way. The relief he felt when she emerged from the medical bay, already looking much better. And finally, the devastation when the sickness returned, proving the vaccination had either been ineffective for some reason, or simply given too late. He shook off the memories and moved on.

* * *

Jamie approached the shop, weaving around two cars that had collided just a few feet from the vacant opening where the front door used to be. He stepped over the rubble of what was once a covered porch, no doubt destroyed by the car crash, and stepped inside. The floorboards creaked beneath his feet. The smell of dust, laden with the faded stench or rotting meat, filled the small store. He moved forward carefully, holding his crossbow steady, an arrow notched and ready to fire.

The shop was partially bisected by a wall halfway back, in front of which was a long counter and the broken remains of a computer and cash drawer, emptied of its contents long ago. On either side of the wall was passage to the rest of the store, leading to a back room that was mostly hidden from where he stood. It was silent. Jamie took another step. Then he heard someone, or something, approaching from behind. His whole body became rigid.

“It’s me,” said Evey. “It’s okay.”

Jamie sighed and turned. “Are you kidding me right now? I could’ve killed you.”

Evey laughed softly under her breath. “No you couldn’t. I told you not to come here alone. So, I followed you.”

“I’ve traveled these streets alone for the better part of a month. I got this.”

“I’m sure, but always use backup if you have it and—”

Her words were cut off by a sudden noise. Something in the back room struck the floor. They both froze, their weapons ready - Jamie with his bow and Evey with her machete.

A shuffling sound from the back room came, followed by an exhalation of breath, coarse and sickly. Next came a dragging sound. After a moment, a large shadow moved across a display table mostly picked clean of its contents. All that remained were several jewelry stands and some cheap trinkets no one found worthy of stealing. Underneath the table something glinted. Jamie’s heart leapt. It was a heart-shaped locket. He could see the familiar S etched on its surface.

“The locket,” he said to Evey. “It’s under the table.”

The shadow filled the room until the creature who cast it came into view. It was tall and gaunt, with gray mottled skin, slick with a clear, slimy substance. It had patches of coarse hair on its body in random patterns. Its small head had a distinct canine shape to it. It dragged one deformed leg behind itself. Its thick arms hung loosely at its sides. Its short fingers jerked in tense movements, the claws on its tips clicking against each other. Its twisted mouth let out a tortured cry, like an animal in pain. Its large, bloodshot eyes widened – jet black pupils set inside dark yellow irises. It started breathing heavily and picked up its pace. Saliva streamed out of its mouth as it frantically scrambled forward with its one good leg. It was clearly starving.

“Good,” said Evey. “It’s crippled. This will be easy.”

As if to underscore the inaccuracy of that statement, the creature dropped down to a crouching position and lunged forward like a wild hound, using its strong back leg as a springboard. Its deformed leg hung limp behind it like a misshapen tail.

Jamie and Evey leapt back through the entrance, both landing on their backs as the creature descended toward them, baring its sharp teeth. Jamie fired his crossbow. The arrow shot through the air, but missed its mark, passing just beside the creature’s right flank. Evey was more accurate, managing to slice the creature’s belly as it passed over them. It howled and writhed, slamming headfirst into one of the cars outside the entranceway. The two quickly stood, turning to face the stunned creature. Jamie knocked an arrow and fired off a shot, striking the creature in the back. It howled in pain and tried to stand, but Evey was quicker, wasting no time to take advantage of the creature’s dazed state. She ran forward and swung the machete down toward the beast’s head as it attempted to turn and face it attackers. The blade plunged into its face, bisecting its left eye and the cheek below. A dark yellow fluid gushed from the open wound. It tried to howl, but the buried blade had immobilized its jaw, forcing it to emit a painful, guttural sound from its throat. Its body jerked and convulsed for several seconds, then fell limp, sliding down the rusted front end of the car before collapsing on the broken sidewalk.

Evey stepped back, breathing heavily. She turned her head slightly towards Jamie, who stood just behind her.

“Go get the locket,” she said.

* * *

Jamie opened the locket. Inside, obscuring the photo of Sasha’s parents he had seen a dozen times before, was a folded piece of paper. He opened it. Jamie did not understand what was written on it, but he could tell it was a scientific formula. Behind him, Evey entered the room, holding her dripping machete at her side. She was still breathing heavily, no doubt from the effort it took to dislodge the weapon from the beast’s head.

“I... I think it’s a cure,” said Jamie, without turning.

“Not quite.”

“How do you know that? Do you understand this?”

“Nothing can stop the mutation once the infection takes hold. But the mutation doesn’t have to turn humans into monsters. With this formula, the mutation can be controlled. You won’t be who you once were, but at least you will still be human. The transition will be ugly. Sickness will invade your body and the virus will try to rebel. But in the end, you will still be human.”

Jamie turned, stunned. “How do you know all that?”

“This is why I asked you to find the locket, Jamie.”

Jamie’s jaw dropped. “Sasha?”

“The doctor in the facility gave it to me. The sickness was already invading his body. His mind had started to go. He had enough time and ingredients to create one vaccine, which he gave to me. He said it was too late for it to work on him. He told me what the formula meant, a formula that would have never left the facility if we hadn’t arrived. But then I lost it—”

“On the way back. When we were attacked by that infected woman.”

“Yeah. I never had the chance to tell you. The locket was lost. Hope was lost. I didn’t want to say anything until I found the thing. Why create hope for something that might be lost forever?”

“But the formula worked on you.”

“Yes, though I don’t have all the memories of my old life. But the really important ones remained. The locket. You.”

“So, what now?”

“We stay alive. Until we find a scientist who can recreate this formula.”

Jamie nodded. “Okay. We’ll find someone. We’ll find a way. Together.”

Evey smiled. “Together."

They stood for a long time in that shop, saying nothing—holding the hope for all humanity in a tiny, unassuming heart-shaped locket.