Mysteries of the Forgotten...

Intro

The Forgotten, that’s exactly what we were. After all in some sense aren’t we all? Just someone lost in the crowd, hidden by all the other thousands of faces. We believed it was better to be invisible and out of the way then noticed and possibly remembered for the worst of things. We were easily forgotten…perhaps too easy…

The name is Rose, Rose Alice Night to be in fact. Personally I cannot say much for myself, just pretty much average. Well at least enough to blend, just the way I like it. I always kept my hair long and dark, good for hiding in most situations. Stuck to my jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers, mainly because anything flashy would get you noticed around here. I took the smart classes but refused to raise my hand or have teachers call out my name in the fear of being labeled a “nerd” or a “dork”, fortunately I had all my classes with my perfect equivalent Gwen. We had been friends since we were children. That is pretty much when we decided to stay under the radar; we figured it was for the best. Gwen had skin ever so fair, with perfectly flowing chocolate brown hair which hid her unmistakable crystal blue eyes. She blew me out of the water that much I can say. However, as bold as she may seem she hid herself well standing next to me. Invisible was our best game, we protected each other and ourselves best that way.

We live in a small city named Burnet, Arkansas. It always seemed so normal in Burnet; there were small sports game which the whole town participated in watching, everyone waved and smiled at each other when they passed, and of course the stories of hidden secrets which no one seemed to believe, they were far too gruesome to be factual. I had been born and raised here yet somehow I never seemed to notice the sudden disappearances of citizens like myself who attempted to go their lives unnoticed and cautious…at least not till Gwen was “forgotten”…


Audrey’s Invitation
Though Gwen and I pretty much kept to ourselves we had one really close friend by the name of Audrey. Audrey used to watch me and Gwen when we were children and now that she’s already graduated high school and gone on to start her new life as adult. She was even planning to get married, this I discovered from her phone call one cold November afternoon. She called to inform me that the wedding would be held at a small church located in her old home town. Audrey was pleased to hear that I was coming, so pleased in fact that she suggested me and Gwen as her bride’s maids. This left me ecstatic, I had never been a bride’s maid let alone the fact it was for one of my close friends and I’d have Gwen by my side the whole time. I told Audrey we’d be glad to and said I’d call up Gwen and tell her of the news immediately. As soon as the conversation wit Audrey ended I quickly called Gwen.
   “Hey, you’ll never guess who just called me,” I exclaimed most energetically.
   “Who,” she questioned with voice which sounded as if she had just awoken from a deep sleep.
    “Audrey, she’s getting married in a few weeks, she asked if we would like being her honorary bride’s maids”
   “That’s amazing, but can we talk about this tomorrow, I don’t feel well” she mumbled very unenthusiastically.
   “Uhhm, sure I guess I will talk to you about it tomorrow at school,” I replied curiously
   “Thanks, Rose”
   “No problem, you just get better, okay?”
   “Will do, well I’m going to take a nap, see you tomorrow” and with that statement she hung up


The Wedding
The day of Audrey’s wedding finally arrived, me a Gwen were both full of excitement. I can still remember how beautiful Audrey looked with her auburn hair curled and styled to perfection, and her long, flowing, satin dress that even with her pale skin made her resemble royalty.   I still remember how she took mine and Gwen’s faces into her hands, while kissing our foreheads and thanking us for coming. She said we looked gorgeous in our light blue gowns that stretched to the floor and our hair twirled in pined to expose our faces. I can even still hear the last words I heard Gwen speak to me…at least with her alive…”today shall be grand”

Gwen and I weren’t to talk till the reception, of which was held next door at Olive Garden. We stood there threw the whole ceremony silent as can be, almost crying when Audrey and her soon to be husband read their vows for one another. Once the wedding ended I was instructed to help Audrey change dresses, thus forcing me to leave Gwen at the alter as the rest of the chapel headed next door. I quickly helped Audrey, I had to find Gwen I had stood behind her for a little over an hour and couldn’t say a word, and it was killing me. As Audrey finished her final touches on herself I left to go on a search for my dearest friend.

I headed straight out of the chapel paying no attention to anything except my way out. Once I reached the reception I searched the crowd for Gwen or at least someone who would know her whereabouts, but I had no luck. ‘Wait what about Audrey’ I thought ‘maybe Audrey has bummed into her since I left the dressing room’. I finally found Audrey in the large crowd of people.
   “Have you seen Gwen at all?” I question cautiously
   “Who is Gwen?”  She said confused.
   “Uhhm, your other bride’s maid, remember?”  I replied uneasily.
   “I don’t know of any Gwen, besides you were the only bride’s maid Rose,” now she was beginning to look at me as if I were insane, I didn’t much like the feeing the stare gave me
   “Oh yeah, I fooled you didn’t I Audrey, I was only kidding,” I giggle fakely, “oh I think I left something in the dressing room” I mention as I turn to leave.


What’s Left in Lipstick
I hurried as fast as I could in heels, back to the chapel, and pushed open one the large, heavy doors. As I passed the set of French doors which concealed the section of the church designated for service purposes only, I noticed something. A puddle mixture of something glowing green and a deep red, I did a double take but dismissed it completely. ‘Perhaps someone at the wedding knocked over something, or maybe just got sick’ I thought and went on my way down the hallway.

I reached the door of our dressing room, it was just a plain white painted, brick wall room, with three mirrors, their vanities, and dividers to ensure each one of us would have our privacy while getting ready. Gwen’s was and mine were on the same wall, with hers on the end. As I walked toward the back of the room where I expected her to be, my foot rolled across something on the floor. I took a step back and looked down to see Gwen’s favorite lipstick rolling slowly away, missing its lid. I bent down to grab it before it rolled completely out of reach. Examining the end of the end of the lipstick I noticed it was rough as if used for an alternative purpose. Looking up I noticed something in Gwen’s mirror, a reflection of the back wall. Someone had sketched words backward on the wall so they could be read in the mirror. The wall read:

Kidnapping? Not
Murdering? No
Testing secretly
Destroying all you know
Ruining families
And homes for sure
Killing the innocent just to rise again
And all for a cure
Who you may ask
Their name holds no fame
Its seems though they took me away
Just before you came
-GEC

It was Gwen’s hand writing….a message such as this raised the greatest questions, where was Gwen? Who had taken my best friend, and why? How could everyone so easily forget her? Also, what was that odd spill I noticed earlier?


The Morning After
I managed to make it threw the rest of the reception; I just played the invisible card. I stayed unnoticed and out of the way of any possible conversations or questions. I still hadn’t come up with much as to where Gwen had gone, till no questions answered. However, when I finally got home about 10 o’ clock last night I heard some strange noises outside my house. I thought at first maybe it was our dog, and then I went to let him and noticed he was curled up the fire and everyone else in my house was asleep. It seemed as though something was something clawing and moaning at the wall under my window. Perhaps it was just my imagination after all the confusion last night.

I went to open my window and let in the cool air as I finished getting ready for school, a note sat on the sill. The note was also from Gwen..

Watch out Rose...they know...
-GEC

That was all it said, ‘how had she managed to get it up her?’ I wondered to myself. I pushed away the uneasy feeling it gave me. ‘Maybe Gwen is just playing a trick on me or something’ I assured myself, though deep down I knew Gwen never joked around…


Moans in the Dark
When I was finally ready I decided to head towards school, taking the same path I took everyday, which included passing the entrance to the old abandon tunnels that ran below the small town. As the seconds pass I get more of the feeling that I am being watched, maybe even followed. Every so many seconds I peak over my shoulder to notice nothing, yet out of the corner of my eye I swear I can see a figure lurking in the shadows of the dull day. Whatever it is moves slow and steady, dragging along in no hurry to catch up to me. Therefore, I let the idea slip from my mind.

As I pass the old boarded up entrance of the abandoned tunnels I hear familiar noises, the moaning, and the scratching, just like last night. I drop my books as my eyes go wide, I become entranced and forced to crawl threw the hole on all the boards that guard trespassers from entering the tunnels. Once in the tunnels the noises grow suddenly louder, I walk toward them. When I hear a noise behind me….someone is coming, and I don’t know where to hide….


Cold as the Dead
A recognizable hand takes hold of me pulling me into a darker split off tunnel unseen by the naked eye. They felt cold, like ice, as if they were dead or maybe worse, as their hands slid further around me.

      “Shh,” a moaning voice whispers in my ear.
   
I don’t squirm in the grasp of who ever has me, for some reason I feel safe, and protected, as if they have no intention to hurt me. Then I see a man in a white coat splattered in the same glowing green and dark red substance I saw on the floor of the church. I turn to hide my face in who ever had hold of me, that’s when I noticed perhaps the worst…..
   
It was Gwen….my jaw fell as well as a couple tears. I couldn’t move, I was frozen from the sight of her. Her eyes glazed over, no longer their gorgeous shade of crystal blue, her skin pale and with a slight grey tint, her lips pale blue, and worst of all injection holes all over her arms and neck. She was dead that was clear, but how could she still function? She cringed down to her nears grasping her stomach letting out silent moans of hunger. I reached out for her hand hopefully o question this horrendous situation, but her stares killed me to the core.


In the Name of a Cure
Once I found my words Gwen led me somewhere safe deep with in the tunnels. She explained exactly what it was that she had learned and what happened at the wedding. Turns out as soon as I left to search for her these people named “the finders” went for Audrey; they erased her memory completely of Gwen and went straight after Gwen. Once they found Gwen they tried injecting her with this odd injection, they said it wouldn’t hurt, that it was just a prick. However, Gwen doesn’t go down without a fight and managed to stab a few of “the finders” with whatever objects she could find in the front rows of the pews. Turns put “the finders” are also zombies, ones sent out in dark cloaks to hide them from the sun so they can find those who are easily forgotten, just as they were once before.

    “This explains the reason for the substance left behind in the chapel, but what of the messages?” I ask in concern, “and who is that man?”
    “They call him Dr. Death Defy; he is attempting to supposedly find a cure for the zombie virus”
    “So he’s a good guy, right?”
    “Most certainly not, he does horrible experiments on us Rose, he could permanently kill me,” she said sorrowfully.

She continued explaining to me on the topic of how this all came about. Turns out the stories were all true; there really was a Dr. Death Defy, his son and himself had been turned into zombies in the early 1800’s when the zombie outbreak here had been covered up and the town was lit afire thus earning the name Burnet, the Dr. and his son hid in the tunnels where they knew the fire wouldn’t reach. They made it threw the worst, now the question was…the cure… he kept his son locked away somewhere in the tunnels, for the yearn of brains became to much for the poor boy and was considered dangerous to all. Dr. Death Defy would take his own blood and inject each on of his test victims. Dr. Death Defy decided he’d take his pick of the easily forgotten living for his tests to discover a cure, then he’d cure them all and they would never have to suffer a dead living again.


A Simple Solution
I knew I myself wouldn’t be able to find the cure for my dearest friend as tragic as it was but I had to put an end to Dr. Death Defy before he ended me. The worst part would be killing all the rest, the innocent people who deserved to live under the radar, but they must finally be put to rest. I told Gwen I’d be back soon, I said I knew how to end it though I had no specific cure, and for that simple failure I did apologize.
She hugged me tightly whispering “it won’t be the last,” I hugged her back hoping her words rained true.

I went home so I could prepare and wait for everyone to finally fall asleep, as I passed my books I had dropped on my way in to the tunnels I lifted them and dusted them off. Once I finally reached the door of my house I took a deep breathe and walked in.
     “Why aren’t you at school Rose?” My mother questioned.
     “I have a headache, but don’t worry my friend said she’d call me later with my homework,” I quickly rebuttaled.
     “Okay,” she said continuing with her work in the entre room as I hurried up the stares to my room ready to plot the night.

I took a nap so my mother wouldn’t become suspicious of my activities, and that way I’d be perfectly aware of what was happening during my arsenal. I awoke to my alarm clock blinking the numbers on my wall of the time 10:30…game time. I pulled together some old, dark clothes and threw them on, while grabbing extras for Gwen, just in case. I threw the clothes into an old duffle bag I had in the back of my closet, then I slipped on my solid black high top sneakers.

I snuck down the stares; I knew exactly where my dads kept his guns incase of an emergency. He taught  me and my sibling how to shoot if we happened to be a situation where we need to use one, I grabbed whatever kind of cold metal I could get my fingers on, and I slipped a few throwing knives, my brothers had, into my pockets. Then I was out the door.


Goodbye Dr. Death Defy
I was in front of the entrance to the tunnels, Gwen stood just inside all I had to do was aim for the head of all the other zombies, and keep my best friend safe. I dropped the duffle bag in the dust and slipped out two hand guns and a handful of bullets into my pockets, and then I grabbed two shot guns with straps on them for your shoulder which crossed over my torso, and finally an assault riffle with a bayonet on the end. I zipped up the bag and tossed it to the side of the tunnel in the darkness, and slid into the tunnels where Gwen stood in the darkness waiting for me.

I motioned for her to hide as I threw something to ensure I’d be noticed. The doctor hurried down toward me moaning something couldn’t understand, I ran toward him aiming sharply when my finger tightened on the trigger. His head exploded splattering green and red all through the darkness. Now that he was done it seemed I was almost finished, I went for the moans echoing down the tunnels, at the end I found the remaining zombies chained or caged, I found a few gallons of gasoline of which I doused over them quickly connecting each trail. I shot one round with a hand gun and lit them afire as I trailed more gasoline behind me knowing the tunnels would blow soon…knowing the sun would rise soon…knowing Gwen would die soon.

I ran to the entrance of which for me was considered a fast getaway at the moment.  I called out for Gwen, and received no response. The fire was coming, and I couldn’t let her burn, zombie or not. Then I saw her hutched over near the hole which I had crawled threw, I lent her my hand.
   “Gwen we must go, we have to leave now, I refuse to let you end this way,” I say frantically.
   “I must Rose, it’s the only way to seal my fate,” she dropped my hand.
   “Come on ‘it won’t be the last’ remember?”
   Gwen grabbed my hand then as I scrambled out of the tunnels and hurried for my duffle bag she shuffled to cover as I followed. She held on tight as the explosion from the tunnel roared threw the dawning air, breaking threw the thick fog.
   “Rose, now this will be my end, take your pistol and aim carefully, blow off my head….there’s no way I’d rather it be. I’m sorry I have to go like this but dear this is the end of the forgotten.”


The End!