Chapter 23
After our second visit to mom, right before the sun goes down we left the laboratory. I don't know how to feel about her story. I was quiet throughout the evening. Jarren tried to talk to me but...I don't know...I feel so empty.
Days passed since mom was bitten. Days turned into weeks. We still visit mom in the lab. Day by day she's getting paler. She's also losing weight. And always she look so tired. She never turned to a zombie, the bitten area has healed. Daily they're taking blood samples from her. She's still being studied and observed. I asked the people looking after her when she'll be free to come back home. All they ever tell me is that once a vaccine and a cure is made, that's only when she's free to go. She looked worse as time goes by. I wasn't the only one to notice this as it's not unnoticeable at all. I voiced my concerns to Lieutenant O'Brien even though I disliked him. All that did was remove the cuffs and her having more food to eat. It got to the point her health became critical for the lack of blood that she required a blood transfusion. It wasn't too hard to look for a donor but the researchers said it would be better if she receive it as seldom as possible. They don't want the "virus" to be diluted. I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to medicine but I call that bullshit.
One month passed since we started mandatory training, our trainings are longer. We're being taught self defense and how to do hand-to-hand combat. When mom learned that we started our combat training in just a month, she looked happy. But her smile looked so weak. She's looking very sickly now and her hair grew long to her neck. She complained of not being able to bath and that she misses reading books. Even though she never sweat in confinement, she still hated not being able to bath regularly. Her hair has gone oily and strands stick together. Despite her current condition, she still manages to joke around.
Finally, one month and three weeks, they've manufactured a vaccine. Jarren and I were excited, mom is finally coming home! But our celebration was cut short when they said further tests has to be done. They'll need to try it to specific number of people to see it's effectivity and possible side effects. What's even worse, they are still yet to make a cure. I wish I can do something to make them stop. Mom isn't looking any better, she's often sleeping when we come visit her because of her low blood supply in her body. They said until they cure her of her state, where she freezes in place during nighttime, they can't let her go. This upsets me so much that I end up venting it out during trainings. The other trainees are getting scared of me. Even Jarren, my brother, is making distance. But the trainers are liking me. In just a month of combat training, I was quickly ascended to firearm training. Jarren hasn't moved up with me, he's still stuck with combat training.
Learning how to assemble and disassemble a gun; learning how to handle it; learning how change and upgrade parts of it; and learning how to aim feels very rewarding. But not all of it is good, my training takes almost all of my time during the day. Meaning, I barely get to see my mom in her none frozen state.
As time goes by, the vaccine is perfected. They produced lots of it. All on field soldiers are vaccinated before all the IW's. Because there's not too many people to get vaccinated in Quezon City shelter yet, the vaccine was then distributed to areas that has been claimed or in process of being claimed. Because of this, most soldiers was dispatched. There were more OW's than the IW's so there were barely any people left. Surprisingly, the Black Blood Squad took this as their break from on field work. With mom's absence, it's Uncle Danin who's taken the leader role as he is the second in command in their group.
For another three months was when a cure has finally been manufactured. Mom was finally treated. But despite being treated, she hasn't still been sent back home. She's still being observed. The cure they've made can only be used on someone who is vaccinated and to someone who hasn't turned yet after being bitten. I asked the BR's how come she still can't leave the lab. They told me that they aren't very sure if It's safe. She could still be a carrier of the disease. They say they still see remnants of the virus in her bodily fluid samples. Until the virus is completely gone, they'll have to keep studying and observing her. This would have infuriated me but seeing my mom finally regaining color, I guess we can put up with this. But I sure do hope that they'll let her go soon.
One day after training, I was on my way to the laboratory to tell mom a good news. I got admitted as a rookie soldier, tomorrow will be my first day as a wall guard. My job is to stay on post, shooting any zombie that shows up 5 meters from my location. I'm not allowed to leave my spot until my 6hour shift ends. When I arrive at my mom's confinement, I saw three men. In my six months of staying here in QC shelter, I've never seen these men before. But when I entered, I saw Jarren talking with them. Mom herself look so happy.
"Oh Nigel! Good timing, come in! Meet my brothers." she beamed. "Here the oldest one is Frodery Ogram, he's the Lieutenant of Cainta. The second one is Lolu Ogram, he's a Farmer. And here is my third brother who's actually the fourth born in the family is Donny Ogram, he's the Sargent of Brgy. Munting Dilaw. Of course, they're all your uncles. They're here to visit me."
I looked at them one by one. Lieutenant or Uncle Frodery is a big bulky guy just like...mom...just taller and bigger. Maybe it's natural for him since he's a man. He appears to me as if he's in is late forties. Uncle Lolu is the tallest of them, he appears to be more or less 5'10 in height. Despite being the tallest, he seem to be the...how do I put this? Softest. Like he's no man...I don't know but at first glance he feels like he's gay. Not like I have problem with gay people, because there's nothing wrong with them. It's just...I feel like he's gay. And then there's Sargent or Uncle Donny. He's the shortest of the three but still taller than my mom. I just realized my mom is really short. She's even shorter than Jarren and he's only 15. Uncle Donny is also the skinniest of them but his body is toned just not as bulky as mom or Uncle Frodery. They all look significantly older than mom...like all of them look older than her for over a decade.
"So is this the other boy you're talking about?" asked Uncle Frodery to mom.
"Mhmm," mom nodded with a big smile on her face.
Uncle Frodery approached me and pat my back, "Welcome to the family, Nigel."
After mom's brothers visit, only Jarren and I were left in the observation room. We sat on the floor like we always do. Like usual, she asked us how our day was. Of course we told her what's up minus the fact that everyone in training besides the trainers are getting scared of me. But knowing what mom's rank is, it's likely someone has reported my behaviour to her because she started lecturing me about it. She told me to make friends and not enemies. I tend to avoid looking at her whenever she lectures me about it. But after she gave me her lectures, our ears pricked up from what she said.
"Pack your things up, tomorrow we're going home to Cainta."