Brie and her friends sat side by side in cold leather chairs, cloth bags over their heads and hands cuffed behind them (Becky had her remaining hand tied to the seat). They had been told not to talk, and frankly they weren’t going to oppose the armed goons who were currently holding them captive. How long had they waited? It was hard to tell. It was probably only a few hours, but it had felt both an age and an instant since that door had been kicked down. They had been in no state to escape or resist-the mysterious soldiers had bagged them on the spot and led them into a waiting vehicle. After that everything was a blur of anxious waiting, with the occasional barked order. It was morally crushing. Just when it seemed as if a little order had been established, control had been wrestled away from them. It had seemed as if they had conquered the undead city; now they were prisoners.

Brie didn’t hear the stiletto footsteps echoing through the room, but she did hear a confident, feminine voice speaking to the guards. Then the bag was removed, revealing an impossibly white room, about the size of a large office. In front of her, a large black chair sat behind a desk, facing away from her. Besides a few stray pieces of paper, the only thing on the desk was a keyboard and no visible screen. Everything gave the impression hard and unyielding-even the florescent lights seemed to buzz aggressively.

“So sorry for the wait, girls. Had to get all the dull stuff out of the way before I could see you.”

The voice came from behind the chair. Brie looked around at her friends, who were doing the same. Brie spoke first.

“Who…who are you? Where are we?”

“What do you want?”

“Are you going to kill us?”

The chair laughed in a very practiced, swaying slightly.

“Kill you? Oh, sweety, I wouldn’t worry about that…”

The chair turned, revealing what could only be described as the smuggest woman Brie had ever seen. Peroxide blond hair crowned a tanned face that was grinning from ear to ear, eyebrows raised and eyes gleaming. She wore a very expensive looking white suit jacket with a grey shirt, fitted to perfection. She wore a smart grey skirt that showed plenty of leg. Their captor clasped her hands to her face and leaned forward, examining the trio at her leisure. She didn’t seem as disgusted as Brie initially thought she would find them. Brie shifted a little in her chair. The increased sexual appetite she had been feeling was still lingering, despite everything. Being naked in front of a clothed stranger that wasn’t a zombie was a new thrill, and she prayed to god that the strange woman wasn’t paying attention to her arousal. If she did notice, she didn’t let on.

“My name is Karen Korkorov. CEO of the Parasol Corporation. Heard of us?” It was a rhetorical question, of course. Parasol beauty products were well known across the world. Korkorov continued.

“We’ve been dabbling our hands in a few pies for the last two decades. A little chemical engineering here, a little biological experimenting there…all working towards the biggest prize of them all. My dream. You want to know what my dream is? A world where we don’t worry about winkles. A world where your hair is always this fabulous. A world where sagging tits are a thing of the past…” She stood up at this point, and started to slowly orbit her own desk.

“You want to…stop aging?” Asked Brie, carefully. “As in, you want to live forever?”
“Exactly! A noble goal, we can all agree. But sometimes…sometimes sacrifices have to be made. By test subjects. We’ve had a few…hiccups…”

Korkorov pressed a few buttons on her keyboard. From her desk, 3-D images appeared, showing various “test subjects”. Or what was left of them. Most were horrifically disfigured in some way-faces melted off, organs on the outside rather than in, bones sticking through the skin, and so on.

“Believe it or not, the physical malfunctions were the easiest thing to fix. The real problem was that whenever we thought we had a solution, the subject would go mad. Often violent. Like, super violent.”

The images changed to a woman in a green gown ripping out the throat of some unfortunate guard, a crazed look in her milky eyes. It seemed…familiar.

“The last batch was a real disappointment. Physical abnormalities down by almost 95% and incredible durability, but not only did it drive test subjects insane, it was actually contagious. Can you believe it? We had some “redundancies” in the science department after that, believe me-“

“Woah woah woah woah” said Becky suddenly. “You’re not saying…the zombies…You caused that?!”

“Well…yeah. Kind of. Personally I’d hold the science bay more at fault-“

“You crazy bitch! Do you know how many people have died because of this?” Snarled the redhead.

“Do you know how much this is going to cost Parasol to cover up? This could set us back decades! We’re all victims here.” Becky opened her mouth like a thoughtful goldfish, then closed it, seeing that this was not a woman who could be argued with. Besides, the room still had guards in it.

“How did it infect the city?” Asked Michelle.

“We believe one of the scientists we were going to…”let go” off…decided to take everyone down with him. Humans are the real monsters, and all that. Can I get back to my speech now, pretty please? Hmm?” Seeing that she was no longer being interrupted, Korkorov smiled and stood ominously stood in front of the three girls.
“Yes…a big setback…until our satellites picked up you, my dear.” She put a finger to Brie’s face and lifted her head, staring into her eyes. Brie started back. Korkorov looked like someone had explained the concept of friendliness to her once, long ago, and poorly at that. Her eyes were black as coal.

“Yes, you may have fooled those poor dears running around causing mayhem outside…but not me. Oh I could tell something was afoot the minute you were pointed out to me.”

“Really? How?” Asked Brie, genuinely curious.

“Because real zombies don’t hide down alleys and tuck their guts back into their bellies.”

“Oh.”

“Also all the sex. I mean, wow. You guys are into some real freaky shit.”

“You…seen that…” murmured Brie, blushing madly.

“Yes. Maybe a side effect unique to yourselves. We’ll get to that in due time, don’t you worry.” Said Korkov smoothly, smiling as she said it.

“The real question that needs to be asked is…how did you know?”

“…Sorry?”

“Oh don’t play coy. I know that you must have figured out that you were functionally immortal, and could therefore fake a disguise. You even kept your skullcap, knowing that your other parts could be replaced easier. We kept that, by the way, don’t say we’re not good to you.” She added, waving her hand at a goon who was holding a clear plastic bag with said skullcap inside of it.

“Er, thanks.”

“Did you keep my skin?” asked Michelle.

“Yes, yes, it’s all there. I’m asking the questions here. How did you know? Are you a scientist? How come we’ve never heard of you? Talk!”

“I-I…uh-“

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know. Only a complete idiot would cut themselves open like you did without knowing they would be fine.”

“But-“

“I mean, that would be the worst plan in the entire history of terrible plans.”

“…It worked, didn’t it?”

“Eh? You mean…don’t tell me you really didn’t know?” Brie nodded, feeling like she was being very unfairly criticized. The plan was risky, but it had worked after all. Korkorov stared at her, bug-eyed. Then shook her head and shrugged.

“Hmph. That brain is clearly ornamental, then.” She poked it with a finger, then wiped it down Brie’s face, before turning away. Which was just as well, because Brie could feel the damp patch building between her legs.

“Nevermind. The important thing is that you’re here. We’ll be taking blood tests, tissue samples, stool and urine, whatever it takes to find out why you three managed to retain your sanity in a city of lunatics. Guards, take them to the cells.” Brie’s handcuffs were unlocked, and soon all three girls were being led to an exit.

“Oh, before you go, actually…let me just check something real quick.” Said Korkorov, walking calmly towards them. “Turn the redhead around.” They did so. She started Becky in the face, smiling that distant smile.

“We don’t need all three of you.”

Then, in one quick motion, she plunged her arm into Becky’s chest, holding her heart in her hand.

Then she ripped Becky’s heart out.

She raised the still beating organ triumphantly over her head, blood falling onto her pale face. Becky started in shock, gasping, as her friends screamed in horror. She looked down at her chest silently, then back up at her own heart. Then back down to her chest. Then the heart again.
“…Bitch.”
Kokorov laughed.

“Hah! Not only have you all kept your sanity, you’re actually immortal! Well, so far. We’ve got a lot of testing to do. I for one can’t wait to get started. Think I’ll hang on to this for now though.” She squeezed the heart a few times, getting more blood on everyone’s face. “Thanks for the heart to heart, guys, hahaha! Laters!”

The image of the CEO holding the heart high, like some newborn Aztec priest, stayed with all three girls for a long time.