Steampunk Zombie

A loud snapping sound whipped down the hallway. Adrian and Rebecca lifted their arms as a flash of bright light crackled to life. The passage was lit by numerous white bulbs, illuminating the figure that had spoken with a raspy cackle.

“We’re not looking to stay,” Adrian said, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden light. He lowered his arm to gaze at the man.

“Then what are you looking for?” he asked with thinly raised eyebrows.

“Did you make these things?” Rebecca said, jabbing her thumb towards the window to her left. “Did the infection start here?”

The man’s face softened. His round shoulders relaxed and he looked at Rebecca as though he was genuinely excited to have someone to hold a conversation with. He appeared to be a man most commonly found hard at work, with a long overcoat shadowing a leather apron and a belt of thingamajigs.

“No,” he shook his head. “No, I just expanded upon them a little. I wish I had been the first creator, but alas fate would have me ill equipped to do so.”

The man took a few steps forward so that he was peering through the window with adoration. His brown eyes sparkled with a glowing reflection from the liquids sloshing around the modified creatures’ exterior. A loving smile stretched his fleshy lips.

“I think they’re kind of pretty – in a sad and cadaverous way,” sighed the man. “Kind of makes you wonder why they are the way they are. You can see the wretchedness in their eyes.”

Adrian and Rebecca cast each other a look of apprehension. Adrian’s jaw tightened and his fingers clenched into his palms. His face darkened and he stared at the man with a hardened expression. It was Rebecca who found the man’s unusualness to be intriguing.

“Are you looking for a cure?” she wondered.

“No. Are you?” the man asked, turning his head to look at the two as though this were a typical conversation about the weather.

“Not really,” stammered Rebecca, somewhat caught off guard by his insouciance.

“I’m more interested in what they are; not how they got that way.”

“And…what are they?” Adrian spoke up.

The man stroked the glass of the window before turning to Adrian with a smile so large it showed nearly every tooth that the man had. “My friends,” he cooed.

Adrian’s nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. “We should get going,” he said upon exhale.

It seemed that playing with electricity had shocked the man one too many times, leaving him with blackened fingertips, singed eyebrows, and the inability to discern fantasy from reality. Neither Adrian nor Rebecca could pin point the man’s true hair color. It sprung from his head in a zippy bouffant.

“Oh, wait!” he said, raising his hand as he stepped into the middle of the hallway and blocking the cousins’ path. “Please stay for dinner. I can’t cook; but if I can make a dead man conduct electricity, I’m sure I can make a dead cow taste delicious.”

“We should check on the horses,” Adrian insisted.

“Are they the brown and gray duo? I saw them grazing together not far from here. They seem to know to stay away from the fence. Smart pair. They’ll be fine.”

“I suppose dinner wouldn’t hurt,” stated Rebecca. Adrian scowled in her direction.

“Wonderful!” squealed the man. He clasped his hands together and walked towards Adrian and Rebecca. “I’m going to talk to you as though you’re my friends and act as though I’ve known you for a very long time.”

“Great,” Adrian muttered under his breath.

“I’m Doctor Obadiah Lafayette Washington. And you are?”

“Rebecca. This is my cousin, Adrian,” the woman answered.

“Oh family!” he cried. “I do love family. Not much of that left these days.”

Adrian tightened his lips and strained his head forward as he snapped a look in Rebecca’s direction. The woman rolled her eyes as the doctor stepped between them. He continued down the hall towards a winding staircase. He beckoned the cousins after him.

The upper two floors of the old manor were just as busy as the main floor. If anything, the building looked more like a collection of unusual and bizarre things. There seemed to be no common theme. Each artifact left Adrian and Rebecca turning their heads as the doctor led them down hallway after hallway. He eventually came to a stop between a green door on one side and a purple door on the other.

“I’ll let you two get washed up. It’s gross outside. Everything you need to get ready for dinner is inside your rooms,” stated the doctor.

“Um, Doctor Washington –” Rebecca said.

“Oh, no,” he tsked. “You must say the entire name – Doctor Obadiah Lafayette Washington – otherwise how am I supposed to know it’s me you’re talking to?”

“Right…” Rebecca’s voice faded as though she had forgotten what she was about to ask.

“How do you have clothes for both a man and a woman?” Adrian filled the void.

“This house has fifteen rooms. It used to once be a very lively place.”

“Where did everyone go?” Rebecca found her voice.

The doctor turned his head each time one of the cousins spoke. He moved his neck back and forth as to give each one his undivided attention. He was such a peculiar human being.

“Here and there, I suppose,” he sighed. “I didn’t bother to ask before they took of screaming.”

It was the last thing he said before turning around and walking back down the hallway. Adrian and Rebecca were left to watch him waddle away – talking to himself, naturally. Adrian’s head turned like the slowly ticking hands of a grandfather clock. He looked at his cousin as though he had just run into a talking horse.

“We should go. Right now,” Adrian stated.

“But what about dinner?” Rebecca pouted.

“It’s probably poisoned,” frowned Adrian.

“Or it’s a perfectly normal meal and he’s just an unusual man,” countered Rebecca.

“Why do you have to be so trusting?” Adrian huffed.

“Why do you have to be so cynical?” Rebecca scoffed.

“I’d trust a black man before this kook,” stated Adrian.

“Well I didn’t see any black men so you have fun trusting no one,” Rebecca snorted before she walked into the room on the right and slamming the green door behind her.

Adrian closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips down his face. He threw his head back and stared up at the tall ceiling before giving in and walking into the room behind the purple door. The room was so busy and cluttered that it instantly brought a headache to Adrian’s temple.

There was a fireplace so large that Adrian could have stood inside it with room still at the ends of his outstretched fingertips. Bookshelves lined the walls. They were so tall that Adrian would have needed a ladder to reach the top. The four towering posts of the wooden bed were covered with velvet, hunter green shades. The mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door was cracked and the bottom was covered in a black film as though it had been caught in a fire.

Adrian followed the edge of the fireplace to another door. This one was a common wood with a few nicks and scratches taken out of the finish. He pushed the door open to reveal a bathroom. He found a brass button along the wall and pushed it. The same snapping noise from the hallway echoed in the room before it was consumed with light.

Adrian’s brows rose in mild astonishment at how beautifully decorated the room was. It looked nothing like the rest of the house with its ivory floors and bare walls. Two of the walls were nothing but mirrors. The tub was a large rectangular basin like the Greek spas Adrian had read about. Even the dead flowers in the corners still held a matching attractiveness.

Although his stubbornness wanted him to grab his cousin and leave the manor without any more delay, the thought of a steaming hot bath tempted Adrian enough into submission. He threw his clothes to the ground and turned the golden faucet on. Even the water smelled like roses. Adrian instantly felt his muscles relaxing as he lowered himself into the bubbling water.

If there was one thing Adrian hated to be wrong about, it was a person’s character. He hadn’t always been the brooding soul who hated people the way his younger cousin made him out to be. He had Bernard Snapp to thank for that.

Calvin had been a slave; his grandfather’s slave. Bernard used to go to his daughter’s Sunday dinners. Calvin would go with him; not to partake in the meals, but to do everything a slave did when accompanying their master into town. It had never been clear to Adrian why his grandfather always brought a brown boy instead of a brown man with him, but Adrian was glad that he did.

Adrian, Rebecca, Gideon, Jake, and Elizabeth were all close in age. Calvin was, too. They grew up together; and when the white adults weren’t looking, Adrian, Rebecca, and Calvin would slip away to the barn to play games. Everything changed when Adrian was nineteen, Rebecca was sixteen, and Calvin was seventeen.

Adrian’s eyelashes fluttered together and his face winced as he recalled the sound that the leather had made after the tenth time Bernard had brought it across Calvin’s back. His skin had split, making the whip grow wet with blood and torn flesh. Calvin’s muscle had broken through the raw lashes. He clenched his teeth and cried out in agony every time Bernard cracked the belt.

“I’ll teach ya to touch what ain’t yours, boy!” Bernard had barked. “I should get a good penny for ya before the afternoon!”

It hadn’t been Calvin’s fault, but Adrian never said a word to anyone. He stood in the yard with the rest of his family, watching in silence as Bernard beat the black teen into unconsciousness. The sun had set a blood red that day.

“Adrian?” a faint voice followed a light knock and drifted into the bedroom.

The man’s inhale was loud and shaky. He widened his tired eyelids and pushed against the tub. He had fallen asleep, once again becoming victim to haunting memories. He looked down at his fingertips. They had grown wrinkled like prunes.

“Adrian?” Rebecca said again, this time closer. The bathroom door was slightly ajar, allowing his cousin’s soft voice to reach his ears.

“Yeah, I’m almost done,” Adrian said, hurriedly.

He stood in the square bath, water sliding off his body and falling into the cloudy pool around his legs. He reached for a towel and wrapped it around his torso before shaking his body. He left the serene bathroom for the chaos that was the bedroom. Rebecca waited by the vanity as Adrian went to the wardrobe.

“Some would question whether you were the female,” Rebecca smirked as she looked down at her nails.

Adrian dropped the cream towel – hidden behind the door of the wardrobe – and started looking through the clothes. He settled on a simple pair of black striped trousers and a sheer, white dress shirt. It was loose around his hardened frame.

“As long as I die looking prettier than you,” simpered Adrian.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and pushed away from the wall. “Always having the last word.”

Adrian looked at himself in the mirror before nodding in satisfaction. He closed the door and walked towards his cousin. He lowered his face close to hers before lifting his lips coyly and adding a defiant “Yep. Always.”

Adrian took the lead as he brushed past the woman into the hallway. Rebecca followed close behind with folded arms. Her attire was also billowy and simple: an elegant brown sugar corset atop a white cotton camisole and paired with a fawn swirl skirt. Her brown hair hung freely down her back.

Adrian and Rebecca took their time looking for the dining hall. Each room they stepped into looked more like a museum than the last. Rebecca took interest in every trinket found while Adrian was left to tap his fingers against his elbows and shuffle to the next door. They eventually picked up the scent of roasted meat and followed it into a long, narrow hall. The wooden table sat low to the ground, with nine chairs surrounding it. The cushions were brightly sewn, but stiff against Adrian and Rebecca’s backside.

The doctor beamed proudly over his meal. He ushered the cousins into the seats on either side of him. He said nothing as he tucked a napkin into the collar of his shirt. Adrian poked at the unfamiliar hunk of meat sitting on a bed of cabbage. Rebecca took the first bite. Adrian waited for her to swallow before doing the same.

“So, Doctor Obadiah Lafayette Washington,” began Rebecca. “Those things outside are your friends?”

The round man shook his head and brought his napkin to the corner of his lips as he worked to hastily swallow the bite in his mouth. His raised a hand after doing so and stammered, “No, no. Mustn’t speak during dinner. It’s rude.”

Rebecca was taken back by the man’s odd rule. She cast a look at Adrian who appeared equally perplexed. The doctor on the other hand continued to shove forkfuls of food down his esophagus.

There was nothing more said after that. And there was nothing more said by the doctor for the rest of the night, aside from a quick, “Solitude helps me think.” After dinner was done, the plates were cleared, and the doctor was excused. Adrian and Rebecca were left to escort themselves back to their rooms, puzzled and slightly affronted.

Adrian and Rebecca paused outside their respective doors. The sun had set, leaving Rebecca’s room dark and Adrian’s tinted by the green glow from the yard just below. The lights in the hallways were beginning to dim, as though they were on a timer and the electricity was starting to wane.

“Those are his friends. This used to be a lively place. He loves family. And yet he likes that no one is here?” questioned Adrian with pursed lips. “Seems rather inconsistent.”

“He’s a mad scientist. His whole life is based on contradictions,” shrugged Rebecca.

“We’re leaving tomorrow. No more delays. No more curiosities explored, understood?” Adrian said, sternly.

Rebecca dropped her shoulders like a disappointed child. “You’re not very fun to travel with,” she sighed.

“This isn’t supposed to be fun,” stated Adrian.

“Why are we going to Charleston, Adrian?” Rebecca said.

“You know why.”

“Do I?”

Adrian peered at his cousin from across the hallway. Her face was calm and her eyes were sleepy. She stood with an amount of patience that Adrian didn’t expect her to have. He released a long and weathered breath of air.

“Goodnight, Rebecca.”

“…Goodnight, Adrian.”

And the two doors were slowly closed till morning.