Stan almost shed a tear as he watched Claire get all emotional. The moment she was angry with him, his sadness became much more obvious by the frown. Why didn't I think this through? Why did I have to add to people's pain? It were those very thoughts which kept him from resisting the backhand to his face, not even bothering to look her straight in the eye while she spoke out in a rage.
''There is a reason people are either living or dead...because that is the 'circle of life'. How could you do this to me?'' She'd then collapse to the ground at Stan's feet in tears once more. ''I should of died, or at least stayed that way...At least I wouldn't have to remember what those...those monsters did to me!'' She'd then hug Stan's leg in tears. ''I am sorry I didn't mean to hit you!'' She'd then get to her feet and ran behind the car still crying though only muffled sobs were heard.
Isaiah could only watch from where he was. Sure, he could have gotten in the way of the backhand, but what good would it have done? Holy ****. A woman's fury sure is scary, sometimes.
Stan turned his head slightly to listen to Derek. To hear him made the scientist feel a little better about the situation. Still, there were mixed feelings inside him as he listened to the older man.
''Thank you...but if she is truly..undead that means I failed her father a long time ago doesn't it? I-I think at least...'' He'd then frown, looking away he'd wipe his tears away and place his glasses back on, wiping the mud from his cheeks also then turned around again, his hands in his trouser pockets. ''I-I'll take her in Stan, I would love to very much. But she will have a nickname like Jellybean has.'' He'd then laugh but suddenly he'd stand then with his hands over face and sobbed like a father losing his daughter, even is this was not so in a sense it was...after all...he didn't get the chance to protect her.
''I'm sorry, Stan. A bit much as you can understand.'' He'd then breathe out looking to the sky for a moment's pause of his emotions then back to Stan with a soft smile. ''As I was saying, I'd love to Clover into our family, at least then I can do some right for you, I can't imagine how hard it is to see these things day in, day out. I would like to be a some what...partner in this project, especially when it involves people like Clover, they need a place to stay. It was be the least I could do for the second chance you gave me, to keep Claire's father's promise.'' He'd then smile to Stan more brightly, his face still blushed from the crying though then he'd turn to the car and Claire came back out once more, her face blushed with redness also but her expression was blank though her eyes smiled. ''Yes...Thank you Stan, sorry..again.'' She'd then bow in sync with Derek.
She'd then clear her throat. ''So, where is Clover...technically, she would be my younger sister.'' She'd giggle.
Stan smiled slightly, this time. "It's okay, Claire. Don't worry about it. As for the matter at hand, Lu is over at my place, beneath Transiport. I built an underground place where I practically live and carry out Project Undead. Most of the entrances are hidden doors at the graveyard, though there are some elevators at the laboratory which lead to different areas down there. Of course, there are security systems which allow only people that are recognized by them to enter or exit. I'll scan your eyes and hands so all three of you will be recognized by those systems. I do that with every undead person and anyone else I know I can trust."
The young scientist picked up the device from earlier prior to rapidly typing to configure it to scan mode. He next used it to scan the eyes and hands of Claire, Derek, and, reluctantly, Vari. With the scanning out of the way, the scientist proceeded with typing in the proper codes as swiftly as possible.
----
Arthur listened to Andy as she spoke, speechless due to the fact he could not find the words to explain his feelings. However, he understood, and already forgave her. To show it, he walked up to her while extending his arms to embrace her. All the while, a small, closed-mouth grin remained on his face. The ace soccer player then proceeded with the hug as soon as he was sure she was looking straight at him.
----
Harry stood silently while being hugged. He knew things were busy, but mainly with research whenever there was not a visit from one of the undead. Either way, he found it refreshing and pleasant that Lu would take such an interest in Stan, let alone compliment him. Guiding her to the air hockey set, Harry said to her, "He'll be mad at me for this, but... Accessing Voice Journals! Accessing Voice Journals!" Almost instantly, the littel robot held still while a series of beeps and whistles came out of him while accessing all the voice journal entries Stan entered into him.
----
Meanwhile, Stan just got finished with the configuration. "All right, you three now have access to the place where Project Undead occurs. Let me just contact my robot, Harry Ironhead, and tell him we will be having visitors, soon." When he had Harry on screen, though, he saw him sounding a series of beeps and whistles that only the scientist could decipher. "What the...? Harry! I told you those voice journal entries I entered into you were only for your ears! Lu doesn't need to know what I said in there!" No response from the robot. In resignation, Stan turned the volume up so everyone with him could hear. "All four of you might as well listen in on this, as well, since I think I know which entry he is going to playback: the motive I had for Project Undead. You are all involved in it, anyway, so I might as well let you hear it. Harry's that determined to play back the entry."
----
As if on cue, Harry halted his sounds for a moment, breaking the silence with, "Entry recorded two years, two months ago! Playback initiating!" The little robot turned around to look at Lu as the built in voice journal played the entry Stan recorded with his actual voice, which went as follows:
March 25, 2012
It is two months exactly before I graduate. I've already made some of the basic things for the underground area where Project Undead is to take place, with Harry's help. However, we're just not strong enough to do all of the heavy work in regards to the construction before we can set everything else in motion. Thankfully, I know someone who just might be the key to that problem. He's six years older than, but I did meet him at the local card store, where I play most of my Magic: the Gathering duels. We have a friendly rivalry there, him almost always beating me at the game. I enjoy those times, though. Anyway, the man's name is Isaiah Gorilla. He's a college student who is earning a degree to become a full-time gym teacher, and he preferably wants to teach children.
Red hair, short, and surprisingly strong. You would not think he had such strength if you were to concentrate soley on his height. I saw that in motion while heading to the local coffeeshop as we laughed at how lousy I was during our last Magic: the Gathering duel against each other. A couple thugs thought that because of our appearence, neither of us would be unable to resist them as they demanded our wallets. Boy, did they underestimate Isaiah! He quite literally overpowered both those guys before even a minute passed! Perhaps, I can convince him to help with the project. Not only is he strong, but he seems to be rather logical, as well. I could use a voice of reason at my side in case I try and do something stupid, as far as social matters go, anyway.
Why am I even attempting to bring people back to life? Well... I feel as if it is not right for any of those people that are in my age range to die in their prime, without a chance to even fulfill their lives, find their special someones, settle down, start families of their own, etcetera. And even if they do not marry and have children, maybe they would find companionship through adoption or something, maybe even spend a lot of time with nieces, nephews, or other people they care about. Who knows? There are just too many things left unfulfilled for them that that... well, you get the point. I know what it's like to be unable to accomplish those dreams. I mean, sure, I made some rather impressive inventions in my life, but that's not the same. It just... does not give me the happiness I thought it would.
That is not to say I did not come close to my dream of finding my special someone. There was a girl I started going out with Freshman year, whose name I wish to keep anonymous. She was smart, fun to be around, and, in my mind, gorgeous. Of course, as time went by, she became, well, I won't talk about that. All I will say is that the relationship did not end well, by Sophomore year. I was devastated the day of the break up, tears nearly coming out of my eyes as I sat somewhere to think on what just happened. A friend came by and asked what happened. I explained it to him, plus what led to it. As I did, I broke out crying.
I decided, from that point on, I would not allow myself to get too atatched to anyone. That determination to avoid that was the whole reason I ended up frequently using voice imitations, even coming up with other voices to come off as crazier than I actually was. Of course, that still leaves me kind off coo-coo, I'll admit. As I think on the people close are mentioned in the obituaries on the Transiport Star, the town's newspaper, and see that some of them died single, I'm reminded of my own experiences with being alone. What if they were destined to find their future spouse, then were cheated out of the chance at that when killed by weapons or disease or cancer? What about their families that now grieve for them? What about the dead ones that were in a relationship, whose lovers had high hopes of spending the rest of their lives with them? The thought of all that haunts my mind.
One night, while I slept, nightmares crept to me where I saw people dying before my eyes while people who cared about them, or even those that would have met them, shouted out in agony, tears streaming out of their eyelids. The moment I couldn't take it anymore, I shot right up, wide awake, shouting for the whole dream to stop. That was the night i decided to do something about all this. I will bring people back to life, give them a second chance at fulfilling their dreams and finding love, whether it be the romantic type or not. This is the reason for Project Undead, and nobody, not even the police who would suspect me being the one taking the dead bodies, will prevent me from trying to achieve this.
For that reason, only the people I trust the most will knwo of the whole thing. I certainly cannot trust Michael, who is not an ambitious politician looking for glory for himself. To think I even looked up to him as he taught me all he knew about technology, even giving me his own laboratory for me to use for making my inventions! He's become too arrogant to trust, now. Whatever he does, these days, has an ulterior motive to it. He'll no doubt try and do something about Project Undead to get more publicity and praise from the crowd, something that could make the future unead's lives miserable. Well, I've got news for him: that's not going to happen.
This is Stan Ben Frank, ending entry.
----
By the time the playback ended, Stan's tears burst out, his voice cracking as he stated, "Well, now you guys know." He took a deep breath before recovering his voice, lowering the volume, and speaking to Harry via the device he had, still in communication mode. "Harry, we will have company over to visit our home, soon. I found a family that is more than willing to take Lu in as one of their own. Do you mind preparing the lobby with snacks, drinks, and other things for our guests?"
"No problem! No problem!"
"Thank you! We'll be right over!" With that, Stan turned the device off prior to placing it in his backpack. "I'll show you one of the entrances once we reach the graveyard. Once inside, I'll take you to the lobby, where Harry will be preparing everything for your visit."
Isaiah rolled his eyes. "Let's just hope his hyperness does not screw thngs up."
"Trust me, it won't. He always gets the job done. You should know that by now, Isaiah."
"Yeah, but I always get that feeling, anyway."
----
Back at the underground location of Project Undead, Harry looked up enthusiatically at Lucky while asking, "Wanna help? Wanna help?"