We are in the middle of the forest. He holds me with his arm and he pushes me forward, although I do no longer feel my legs.
"Come on darling," he says to me, "we must go forward. The Refuge is near, I can feel it!"
The Refuge. A place of safety against the undead. A place where the Medocorilians survivors can prosper. By Corilia’s Grace, I hope that it is true!
"When I think these damned zombies appeared five years ago...," continues Colin, my husband. "It seems like an eternity."
"That is true. Our world has changed so much since then."
Medocorilia, our planet. For the believers, this world is born from the love of the god Medo and the goddess Corilia. For the unbelievers, however, it exists thanks to the crystals of Sera, strange stones discovered by the researcher of the same name. They emit a strange energy that would have created life.
My name is Elrica and, like many Medocorilians before me, I try to survive with my husband. I have blond hair, blue-green eyes and rosy skin. My husband has black hair and bluish skin. This strange color is due to a genetic manipulation made by his rich parents. His family are Modified. Normally, the Modified and the Naturals do not frequent each other, and they marry even less. Colin and I are an exception. Honestly, surviving would be so much easier if I did not get pregnant almost a year ago, but it's too late to regret the past. No matter what happens, I must protect my child.
Suddenly Colin abruptly stops walking and I restrain myself from collapsing to the ground. A zombie. Just in front of us. He looks at us with interest.
"Elrica..." Colin whispers to me. "Can you run?"
Why is he asking me that? His pistol is empty. He is not going to face this thing with his bare hands! Will he...?
"Elrica!" His voice is more aggressive, but also nervous. "Tell me you can run, I’m begging you."
"Y... yes..." I whisper to him. "I can run, but your Vitality is..."
"So go!!! RUN!!!"
Before I can tell him not to do that, he pounces on the zombie. After a short struggle, the zombie falls and doesn't get up again. I can't believe it. Colin has killed him and with his fists!
He was about to come back to me when other zombies arrive. He yells at me to flee and, while seeing the undead devour him, adrenaline takes over and I run.
I continue running and I arrive in front of a fortified village. I wonder if this is the Refuge. However, the information that Colin had received by radio spoke of a city, not a village. Besides, I cannot see guards on the walls. Being afraid of being attacked by other undead, I go knock at the big iron gate. Nobody answers me. I scream for someone to let me in then the door opens gently on a gray, rotting face. I refrain from screaming. By Medo, it's a zombie!!!
"Good morning!" The undead says to me. "How happy I am to see you! Do you want to enter the Community?"
I remain speechless. A talking zombie. I've seen some very strange things in my life, but that's a first.
"Come, come!" He said to me, while taking my arm.
Without resisting, I let myself be led behind the iron door, inside the walls. The talking zombie closes the door behind him while thanking me.
"The Voice was right! You have Trust. It's good."
I want to ask him what he means by that when he leads me, silently, to the village square.
Along the way, I discover with horror that its only inhabitants are all undead. Men, women, but no children in sight.
"Uh... where are we exactly?" do I ask to the zombie, hesitating a little.
"At the Community, of course!" He replied with a smile. "Didn't I tell you already?"
"Y...yes, of course..." do I reply, "but... what is the Community?"
He is about to answer me when an angry group of male zombies arrives at the main square. The zombie standing in the middle seems to be the leader. He is better dressed than the others and his eyes seem to burn with rage.
"CRAZY!" He screams, and the other zombies stiffen. "What does that mean? A Living One, here in the Community?"
"Sa... Sacha!" Crazy reply (is Crazy really his name?). "She’s the one the Voice has spoken about!"
"You and your accursed voice!" says Sacha. "A Living One... Well, that's not a big deal. We didn't have any fresh meat in a long time."
No... they aren’t going to...!
"Of course," he continues, "there will not be enough for everyone, but..."
"NOOOOOOO!"
Sacha fells silent when he hears me scream.
"You... You can't do that!"
"Why not?" does he ask me. "We are Entre-Deux, the children of Veralin! The fate of the Living Ones does not concern us!"
"Because…"
What could I say to him? My life and my child's life are at stake.
"I am pregnant! You cannot eat me!"
"Pre...gnant?"
Sacha doesn't seem to understand what I meant.
"I'm bearing a child!"
"A baby!" says Crazy, all excited. "She's going to have a baby!"
Hearing the word "baby", all the zombie women of the village come to lend me a hand. Their voices are a strange cacophony of supplication and anger.
"The Great Veralin would NEVER authorize such a butchery!" says a voice.
"Are you as cruel as the Living Ones, Sacha?" asks another voice.
"PLEASE, PLEASE, NOT THAT, HAVE MERCY!" screams a third voice.
"Eating a baby... it's barbarism!" replies a fourth voice.
"I understand now why Miller had left us..." says a fifth voice, pensive.
Sacha has to call everyone to order, before making a public speech to all the inhabitants of the village. They are three hundred, top.
During his speech, he explains that he wants to follow Veralin’s Will - is he their god? - but I am a Living One.
"The Living Ones and the zombies have always been our enemies. The Community exists for us to live in peace, far away from danger. This woman, if she stays here, could get us into trouble... but she's a Mother, a child-bearer, and if Our Veralin wants her to live, well... As the leader of this village, since Miller left us, I must make difficult decisions. Should I let this Living woman live or should she die and feed some of us?"
I silently pray Medo for Sacha to let me live.
"My decision is as follows: For the next 10 hours, she’ll have to prove her worth. Is she worthy of living among us? It will depend on her Trust. That will be all."
I sigh with relief. I am alive and, if I can prove my worth, I will get out of this tight situation.
As the undead move away from Sacha to return to their daily tasks, he comes to me.
"I would be a pathetic leader if I wouldn't give you a helping hand at first, so..."
He explains everything I need to know to prove my worth, before returning home.
The Entre-Deux
The Community’s inhabitants, zombies who still possess a conscience, and the "children of Veralin". The name Entre-Deux had been chosen by Veralin himself and its origin would come from "entre les deux, between Medocorilian and zombie". The Entre-Deux hate to be called zombies, zeds or undead. Some remember their past lives, others don't.
The Community
An isolated village and a haven of safety for the Entre-Deux. It would have been founded by the second generation of intelligent zombies.
Veralin
The very first Entre-Deux and the only member of the first generation. Although he died four years ago, all Entre-Deux worship him as a god, denying both Medo and Corilia. A rumor has been circulating for some long time that said some Entre-Deux hear his Voice... Sacha don’t believe it.
Miller
The former Community’s leader. Sacha didn’t like him. According to him, Miller was "too much alive". He was more concerned with the world of the Living Ones than his own kind. One day, and without giving his reasons, he left the Community. Nobody has seen him since.
Living Ones
The term that the Entre-Deux use to describe the unzombified Medocorilians.
Trust
According to Sacha, from now on, I must "accumulate it" to prove my worth. It's a kind of mystic force, a bond of trust between me and the Entre-Deux.
10 hours remaining…
Now that I am alone, I explore the village. It makes me feel really strange to see these zomb... sorry, these Entre-Deux live there. If their skins were not gray or green, in addition to the nauseating odor, it would be easy to confuse them with Naturals Medocorilians. Some Modified have green skin.
I was watching a weather vane on a green roof when a female voice speaks to me.
"H...Hello."
I turn slightly to see a young red-haired and gray-skinned Entre-Deux, wearing a maid uniform. She seems nervous.
"Flower... is my name... and you're Elsa, correct?"
"What? Elsa?"
"That’s... That’s not your name?" Flower asks me, surprised. "Crazy told everyone that you call yourself Elsa."
I remain speechless. First of all, how did he say that to everyone in such a short time? Then, how did he know about Elsa?
"It's my last name, I am Elrica Elsa."
My husband's name was Colin Seewater.
"Ohhhhhh..."
Flower seems a bit confused.
"A last name, do you know what it is?"
She mumbles an "no". Flower is not even her real name.
"I forgot... what was my name... before my rebirth as Entre-Deux. Uh... so... I have to call you... Elrica?"
Suddenly, two Entre-Deux pass close to us and they greet me. They call me "Miss Elsa". I sigh with discouragement.
"No. If everyone calls me Elsa, Elsa it will be!"
Flower seems reassured by my words. She then asks me if I'm hungry.
"Yes, I'm starving!"
I am also very tired, but I cannot afford to rest now.
"I have some bread at home." Flower says to me. "I’ll go get it!"
She leaves me and she comes back quickly with three slices of bread. They are a bit stained but I eat them without complaining.
"It must feel good. I have not eaten for a long time now..."
Flower becomes pensive and I feel a little nervous. She has not eaten for a long time and, for the Entre-Deux, I'm a big, moving piece of meat.
I stay with Flower and she talks about her day. I hardly listen to her because a strange building catches my attention. I say goodbye to Flower and I go to the building. It looks like an abandoned church.
8 hours remaining...
Arriving in front of the church, an Entre-Deux with brown hair and green skin addresses me. He says he's called Teo and he is a doctor.
"Anyway, if my old memories from the time I was alive do not deceive me. Did you know that Our Good Veralin was also a doctor? Uh... Since you're expecting a child, I was wondering if..."
"If what?" I ask him.
"If you agree to be examined. For... For the baby, of course."
I agree to be examined by Teo. He goes to get some material from his home and the examination is done at the church. Although I do not believe in Him, I ask Teo if he will not offend Veralin by examining me in this sacred place.
"Not at all. He honors all those helping the Vitalia."
The Vitalia. Vitality. Life itself.
The examination lasts 2 hours and, despite all that I have been through, my health is not too bad, but Teo is worried about my baby.
"Your baby will be born soon, very soon, and..."
He dives into a long silence, before leaving apologetically. I am alone again.
6 hours remaining...
I leave the church and I bump into Crazy.
"Hello again!" He tells me. "Your Trust seems good."
"I'm sorry?"
"The Voice told me that. It had also told me about you... and Miller. Miller, who left us to look for Jack. Jack, the survivor. Jack, the Future of Medocorilia!"
I don't know if I have to interrupt him. This Entre-Deux seems to have lost is mind…
"Jack, Miller... you, Elsa... your Trust..."
Crazy suddenly becomes silent, then begins to ramble. He describes unknown worlds, mysterious technologies, and strange people.
"Alice Lorange… Heather… Kurosawa… Alex… Aimé… Rowan and the others. They are all lost, far away from their worlds. They are forced to travel between the Rifts, hoping to find their way home... You…! Elsa, do you think I'm mad? Sacha always says I'm crazy. That's why everyone calls me that."
I tell him he's not crazy, only a bit strange. Crazy smiles at me.
"Miller thought the same thing. He has already told me that he believes the Voice I hear is Veralin’s. I do not know if it's true."
"Didn't you ask it? To the Voice, I mean."
"Oh yes! TONS of times but it never answered me."
After telling me that, he leaves me and Flower comes back to see me. She tells me that she wants to go for a walk in the forest.
"Going outside the village?" do I ask her. "Is this really a good idea?"
"Sacha doesn’t want us to leave, except for hunting, but I think it is stupid!"
"Hunting... Medocori...?"
"Yes and no. When we can, we feed on animal meat, but it is rare and rarer. Do you want to come with me?"
I want to refuse as I feel safer behind the fortifications of the village, but Flower gives me such a begging gaze that I feel compelled to accept her request.
We are leaving the village for the forest…
3 hours remaining...
We've been walking for 3 good hours now. No zombies in sight. I can't prevent myself from looking at Flower's uniform.
"Say, Flower, your uniform..."
"That? These are clothes, right?"
"Not quite. It's a maid's uniform."
"Maid?"
"Yes. It must have been your former profession."
"Perhaps…"
"Flower! I'm sure that if you focus a little bit you could remember who you were before!"
"No, I already tried, it's a waste of time."
"No! You can't give up! I know... I'm sure... I'm sure you can remember something!"
Flower looks at me, surprised.
"I will help you!"
I tell her about the different tasks that a maid in the household must perform, the importance of the uniform, the income etc. All this information seems to work on her memory. Suddenly, Flower screams, and I ask her what's happening.
"I... I remember a name. Evangeline. I do not know if it's my name or someone else's but..."
"It's a good start!" I reply with a smile.
We keep on walking for a bit, then I tell Flower it might be time to go back.
"I would like to continue, but my time is almost up..."
"Of course." Flower says. "'Prove your worth to us' or..."
Suddenly, I feel bad, and my body falls on the ground.
"ELSA!!!"
"I... My waters broke. The baby will arrive!"
"Hold on, I can carry you to the village."
With an overpowered strength, Flower lifts me up.
"It's going to be alright..."
She starts running.
We were almost at the Community when a group of zombies blocks our way.
"OUT OF THE WAY!!!" yells Flower, this pushes the zeds even further to attack us. "Well, if that is what you want..."
She gently puts me on the ground before rushing towards the undead.
The zombies are all defeated. Flower carries me again and we go back to the village. While running to Sacha's house, she screams that I will give birth. All Entre-Deux cease their activities in tandem and Teo rushes to help us with the childbirth.
??? hours remaining
I wake up in a bed and my vision is blurry. My memories are confused. I remember that Flower brought me to Sacha's house. Teo was there... and my baby. I gave birth!
"Where is my baby?"
No answer.
"Is someone there? I want to know where my child is."
Still nothing. I scream with all my strength and I think I heard a cry. Suddenly, I see the fuzzy silhouette of an Entre-Deux.
"Elsa."
"Sa... Sacha? Is that you?"
"Yes. Your time is up. Your Trust will now decide your fate."
"I do not care about that! Where is my baby?"
"She is fine. She is with Flower."
"'She'? It's a girl?"
Sacha tells me "yes." My heart is filled with joy, but I quickly become tense.
My sight comes back and Sacha has a benevolent gaze.
"Your Trust is at the top." says Sacha. "You are worthy to live among us."
"Huh? Wha...?"
"You heard me well. You and your child are welcome to the Community."
I breathe a great sigh of relief. I got out of this tough situation. I'm going to live with my child among the Entre-Deux!
1 month later...
I walk with my little Sophie in my arms when Crazy comes to see me. He's all excited.
"The Voice told me that Miller will be here soon! He’s with Jack!"
"Wow! Really?"
"Come on, come on!"
He goes to the entrance of the village and I follow him.