Everything seemed to be there as far as Ted knew, but he based his anatomy knowledge on the game Operation. The more the doctor cut into the Zombie the worse the smell got, and the more putrid liquids oozed out. Ted knew his breakfast would eventually reappear.

"Oh this is interesting, get a close up if you can." John reluctantly moved in.

"Seems the original cause of death was not the Zombie virus. See all these little growths? This guy had very advanced cancer. He must have risen after he died. Class please make a note to find the primary cause of death if possible."

Ted breathed through his mouth to try and avoid the putrid odour coming from the Zombie. He watched in horror as the doctor took a bone saw and cut the top of the skull off to examine the brain. The doctor then placed a small metal chip in the brain. The chip, about a quarter inch in size and thinner than a paperclip, had a small green light.

After the doctor placed the chip where he wanted it, he popped the skull cap back on, turning it left and right until in its proper position. Then he grabbed a tube of plumbing epoxy and lathered it onto the cut marks, after which he stapled it in place.

"Excuse me, doctor Mengles what did you just do?"

Ted had not seen anything this gruesome during the war. His therapy bill was going to sky rocket.

"That, mister Brock, is an explosive tracking device. When we reintegrate the Zombies back into society we want to be able to keep tabs on them. Make sure they don't go places they shouldn't. If they do we press a button and the small bit of explosive is enough to kill them, but not a risk to humans."

"What kind of places are you protecting?" Ted wanted to take out a notebook and write some of this down, he felt like his life depended on it.

"Schools, hospitals, restaurants, places of where contamination is a risk. It's protocol, nothing to worry about."

Ted looked over at John when he noticed the camera light wavering. The doctor was performing a check on retinal attachment by removing the eyes. John looked pale, and Ted hoped he didn't pass out, he couldn't carry the damn camera and be the star. Looking back at the eyes being removed, he felt his knees get weak.

Ted turned his head and threw up on John's feet when the doctor removed several feet of the intestinal tract and emptied it onto a table. Several things fell out including fingers, toes, several eyes, brain matter, and partially chewed up rodents.

"Last lesson of the day, Zombies will eat anything."

The doctor finished by sewing the Y incision shut, filling it with more plumbing epoxy, and then stapling it for good measure. The doctor also filled the pre-existing holes with something from a tub. The Zombie seemed to be totally unaware of what had been done to it.

Ted regained his composure and looked into the tub, he wanted to stick his finger in it but resisted the urge.

"Excuse me doctor, what are you using to patch up the Zombie?"

The doctor grabbed the tub. "This is a special blend I created. It's a mix of dry wall spackle, super glue, and plumbing epoxy. It is the best sealant so far, though it needs touching up every few months."

"Great thanks for explaining." Ted plastered the fake smile on his face.

"Well that's all for here, you can move on to Phase Three. Class, see you tomorrow for virus cultivation and brain slicing."

Ted watched as men came in and got the Zombie back on its feet. The Zombie shambled ahead of them, exiting through a back door. Ted pushed John ahead of him, and they went down another gore infested hallway. The floor less sticky, but the scent significantly worse.

Ted started to worry. He didn't want to know what could possibly smell worse than a dissected Zombie. They got to a large door with no markings, just a latch and a small window. A bloody hand print smeared across it. Ted noted it the freshness of it. The men opened the door and were greeted by a stern looking woman in glasses.

"Bring it in." The men took in the Zombie, and secured it to a chair in the middle of the room.

As soon as they were done they quickly exited the room through a back door. John went in next, followed by Ted. Ted reached a hand out to introduce himself, but pulled it back when he saw her gloves.

Ted tried to use his winning smile on the woman. She stood about five foot seven, gorgeous, and unnaturally skinny. She maintained the scowl on her face, and her jerky movements indicated her discomfort with the intrusion.

The large and dirty room looked like it might have been a cafeteria at one point. Coolers with lids half on were strewn all about. Each one labeled with a different animal name.

Then Ted spotted the table, several different coloured piles of rancid meat on it. The stench enough to make Ted vomit immediately.

"Breathe through your mouth. It won't help much, but there's less chance you'll choke on your own barf." The woman smiled briefly, then put the scowl back in place.

Ted and John transformed into mouth breathers in half a second, immediately realizing she had told them truth, and it didn't make a difference. They both spent a few moments dry heaving in the corner.

"I'm doctor Rexic, call me Anna. I'm the nutritionist in charge of Phase Three."

"A nutritionist? How is that really necessary? I thought Zombies ate people."

Ted immediately regretted the breath he had to take in order to speak. He made a mental note to stop asking questions.

"Well, yes, but a Zombie will eat anything when it's hungry enough. What I to do here is make sure their nutritional needs are met so when they are reintegrated back into society, they won't eat people." She let out an uneasy laugh. Ted and John just stared at her.

Anna stood by the table of various meats in different stages of decomposition. Flies hovered, and maggots wiggled.

Ted watched as John moved in with the camera to get a shot of the buffet from hell. Ted stayed put.

"You see, even Zombies have preferences. For example, the one I had in here before liked dead rats, but wouldn't touch dead mice. My job is to find out what a particular Zombie likes and train them to eat it."

Anna inspected the selection and grabbed a handful of something foul. She held out her hand approaching the Zombie as one would a feral dog they were trying to befriend. When she stood about two feet in front of it, she tossed the food into its open mouth. The Zombie seemed to like it and open its maw for more. Anna repeated this with four other samples.

Ted watched as the Zombie asked for more, by leaning forward and moaning, for the first and third piles of meat the Anna had given to it, though samples two and four were rejected outright. Ted watched Anna make notes on her clipboard then make a small tag which she pinned to the collar of the Zombie's jumpsuit.

Ted felt like he had created a documentary from hell. Anna was like some sort of demented mama bird to these things. The whole process horrific and he would bet his paycheck she got off on this somehow. No normal woman would think of this as a good idea, nor a positive way to spend ones time.

"Well, this one prefers rancid road kill of the armadillo variety, and raccoon. Now we train him to only eat those particular foods, thus making him safe to people. As an added benefit, it will also help keep our streets clean."

Anna attempted a smile, and Ted wished she would go back to scowling at him.

"So what you're saying is a Zombie can be trained not to eat people? Wow, what does your husband think of your work?" Ted mentally patted himself on the shoulder for being smooth.

"Yes, this would make Zombies safe. As for my husband, he's supportive of my work. He's the reason I do this, he fell victim to the virus during the war, but I refuse to give up on him."

Ted tried to act nonchalant with this new information. John visibly shivered and took a step back from Anna. Ted looked over the woman one more time. Why were all the good ones taken?

Just then the Zombie tried to get loose from its restraints. Anna remained calm, but Ted was pretty sure he just shit his pants. Even neutered, these things were scary as hell.

Blood spurt out of the sockets in its mouth and yellowish puss oozed out of the suture marks the autopsy doctor had left. Ted reached the end of his rope. What was wrong with this Zombie? Did Ted find a defective one to follow, or were the psychos working here making it up as they went? His union would be hearing from him as soon as he got home. Was there a Phase Four? How much more of this would he have to endure? Would she ask him to sample to food? Did she eat with her husband?

"Now I know you are anxious to get to Phase Four, our final phase and see how all this hard work pays off. You won't follow this particular Zombie any longer because he needs to be trained with road kill treats, but you'll see the end product, and why our work here is so important."

Anna motioned to an exit in the back and Ted took three long strides to reach it, John on his tail. He opened the door to a cleaner hallway and noticed a significant improvement in the air quality. As they left the room, they could hear Anna cooing to the Zombie about being a good boy eating all his armadillo.

They could only go in one direction, so both men walked down the hall side by side. Ted with his hand on the gun.

"Ted, what do you think Phase Four is?"

Ted cleared his throat. "I have no idea, but I don't think it can be much worse than what we've seen."

Ted kept pace with John, slow. Ted expected something to jump out every time he took a step.

"Why do you think they didn't send us with a guard this time?"

Ted noticed John kept looking over his shoulder.

"John I have no idea, most likely because we're totally safe here. Now quit whatever it is you're doing, it's making me nuts."

"Right, be calm in a building full of Zombies."

They arrived at the end of the hall and stood in front of yet another door. This one free of blood, and the number four written across it. Ted knocked and took six steps back. No way he would just open it to see what lurked inside.

A moment later the door opened and they were staring into the face of a Zombie. Ted screamed pulled his gun a bit causing it to point upwards. Then a rush of adrenaline made him apply just enough pressure to the trigger. He shot a hole through his favourite suit and blew off his left earlobe. John wet his pants and threw the camera at the Zombie.

"Whoa, guys. Relax. He's harmless." An older gentleman stood there in a three piece suit.

Ted held his ear tears running down his face. John stood awkwardly in an attempt to cover his groin.

"What the hell is this place? Are you all insane? Is it part of the job description, my viewers might ask."

The man in the suit picked up John's camera handing it back to him.

"I'm sorry, we thought it would be a nice surprise if you got to witness the amount of progress when you got here."

Ted cradled his ear.

"A warning would have been appreciated." Ted tried not to sound whiny.

"My apologies, I'm Terry Hutchings and this is the Phase Four. We thought if you saw trained Zombies doing simple tasks, such as answering a door, you would understand the value of the work we do here."

At that moment Ted noticed the Zombie wore a clean shirt and pair of jeans, had no teeth, and seemed indifferent to their presence. The Zombie backed into the room, and John hesitantly entered. Ted noticed John walking like he had shit his pants. He smiled internally.

"Mister Brock is that blood? I thought I heard a gunshot but wasn't certain. It happens so often." Terry chuckled, but Ted and John just stared at him.

"I feel safe. I'm a news anchor you know. We do this kind of thing all the time. I don't have a gun. I cut my ear on something in the hallway."

"Okay mister Brock, we need to see to your ear and hide the blood. These Zombies have been on the wagon for weeks now and don't need to be tempted at this crucial time in their rehabilitation."

As they sped through the large auditorium like room, they noticed several Zombies opening panels with knobs over and over again, washing dishes, throwing newspapers papers, washing cars, and bagging groceries. Ted found it very very creepy. When the Zombies stopped and looked at him in a hungry manner, he moved quicker.

They exited the room and went into Terry's office. They watched as he locked it. There were twenty-three dead bolts, five chains, and a bar he jammed into place. Ted raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing. John zoomed in on it.

Terry handed Ted some wet paper towels and motioned him to a sink in the corner. As Ted bent his head he tried to regain some of his professionalism and conduct the interview.

"So, mister Hutchings, what exactly do you see in the future for these Zombies once they are reintegrated?"

"We see all sorts of great things for them. The ones like you just saw that can be trained can help with small jobs here and there. Of course they would be prohibited from working with kids, and the food industry."

"Why is that?"

Ted rinsed his ear one last time and then held some paper towels to it as he stood.

"It's a safety precaution to keep them away from kids. All sorts of things can happen. As for the food industry, well it is a matter of hygiene. Zombies are decaying, and no amount of chemical intervention will stop the process. The last thing you want is to order a salad and find a finger or an eye in it. The repercussions would be catastrophic for what we're trying to do here."

"Right, of course, makes sense. All this looks fantastic, but what about the ones you can't reintegrate, or fall off the wagon?" Ted positioned himself between Terry's desk and the other door.

"We're working very hard to ensure that doesn't happen. I'm positive within the year we'll be able to safely reintegrate all of the living dead back into society."

"Really? All of them? Weren't there millions? 'Seems like an awful lot."

"It is, but if they are safe and pose no threat, then where is the problem?"

"Why don't you two take a seat and we can discuss the work we are doing here."

Ted's ear throbbed, and his pants were full of shit, so taking a seat, not something he wanted to do. In fact when he got home he planned on bathing in antiseptic.

"Mister Hutchings, we can see the good work you're doing here. I promise to air what we taped today so the whole world will see how hard you're working to make Zombies safe so they pose no threat when reintegrated into society."

"Are you sure mister Brock? I thought there would at least be an interview?"

"It isn't necessary, we have enough footage. Great meeting you, and the work you're doing here is fantastic. I wish you the best of luck. We'll just be on our way."

John was out the door and halfway to the car by the time Ted felt mister Hutchings grab him.

"Mister Brock, we had a deal. We paid you a lot of money to get some good press." Ted shifted uncomfortably.

"I promise you'll get good press off of this. I want a promotion and the bleeding heart liberals love this kind of stuff. I however, am not a liberal and think this place is a carnival of horrors."

"I don't care what you think it is as long as you sell it as a rehabilitation center doing good work. Are we clear? Wouldn't want anything happening to you would we?" Ted made an audible gulping noise.

"You don't scare me." The quiver of his voice made his statement unconvincing.

"I may not, but I know my Zombies do."

"Why do you want them reintegrated back into society so badly anyways?" Hutchings grabbed Ted tighter and held him close as he spoke into his ear.

"That really is no concern of yours, although I would recommend you learn how to properly fire your gun. Now you go and put on a good show. Oh, and for the love of God, change your shorts. You smell worse than one of them."

Ted ran out of the room as fast as possible. He headed for the news van and barely made it inside before John started to drive away. Ted cleared his throat.

"I need to stop at home and change." John looked out the window.

"Me too, roll down your window." Ted rolled down his window, but looked at John.

"You should also have the van cleaned before we take it back in."

Ted was uncomfortable with the silence. He felt as if he should say something.

"Well, interesting experience, should get some good ratings with the footage."