HEN

Good morning, Colony 7-2! I’m sure you’ll be happy to know that Will still hasn’t turned yet, though he’s not exactly the picture of health.

MASON

You look like someone cosplaying a zombie.

WILL

[joking] Great. Even for a zombie, I don’t look good.

MASON

Well, hold on now. I didn’t say you were an ugly zombie cosplayer. In fact, I’d say you’re pretty easy on the eyes.

HEN

A very handsome zombie cosplayer.

WILL

I’ll take it.

HEN

Anyhow! For this morning’s interview, we have a special guest—Dr. Elora!

DR. ELORA

Wha- Huh?

HEN

Surprise! You’re our special guest this morning, Doctor!

DR. ELORA

Oh, I’m not sure if… That’s probably not a good idea.

MASON

Come on, doc, we just wanna know a little more about you! You’ve been so caring to Will, after all.

WILL

Yeah, this is our way of saying ‘thank you.’

DR. ELORA

Oh! Well… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to answer a few questions.

HEN

That’s the spirit! Let’s start off easy—why don’t you introduce yourself?

DR. ELORA

I’m Dr. Elora, I oversee quarantines and- Well, that’s the main thing.

MASON

(pretending to be intrigued) Fascinating. Do you always take care of quarantine patients personally, or do you have someone else to do that for you?

DR. ELORA

[laughs] Oh, no, I have people for that. When I say ‘oversee,’ I mean from afar.

WILL

Then what makes me different?

DR. ELORA

What?

WILL

You deliver my meals personally, and you check up on me three times a day, not counting the meal times. What makes me different from your other patients?

DR. ELORA

Well, that’s- You’re the first person to get bitten within a colony! I wanted to keep a closer eye on you.

HEN

That makes sense!

MASON

Totally.

WILL

Hey, here’s a fun question to get to know you better: Where are you from? You said you weren’t from our area.

DR. ELORA

Did I?

MASON

Yep!

DR. ELORA

Well, I’m not from anywhere near your area, you’re correct about that. I lived halfway across the country before taking this job.

WILL

Must’ve been one hell of a job offer, taking you to space.

DR. ELORA

It pays well.

MASON

Oh, really? I didn’t think you’d even get paid, it being the zombie apocalypse and all.

HEN

Yeah, I thought you just worked because the colony provides shelter and food away from the zombies.

DR. ELORA

Yes, that’s… that’s what I meant by ‘pay.’

WILL

Oh, of course. How silly of us.

DR. ELORA

Will, are you feeling alright? You haven’t been drinking any of your juice.

WILL

I’m fine, I was just… saving it for last. To wash everything down, you know?

DR. ELORA

Ah, I see. Well, if you don’t have any further questions, I do have other things to attend to.

HEN

That’s fine, it was really nice having you, Dr. Elora!

MASON

We loved hearing more about your job.

DR. ELORA

Of course. Goodbye, everyone.

[door opens and closes]

WILL

I’m surprised we even made it as far as we did.

MASON

I’m surprised she agreed to the interview at all. Got anything else lined up for us, Hen?

HEN

Yes, actually! Let me just make the call…

[call sound]

VOEMO

Hello, this is Voemo from Colony 6-14.

HEN

Hi! This is Hen, the radio host from Colony 7-2!

WILL

And I’m Will.

MASON

And I’m Mason!

VOEMO

I was wondering when you’d call.

MASON

Yeah, we ended up having an unexpected interview so we’re a bit late.

HEN

I hope we didn’t keep you waiting for long!

VOEMO

No, no, it’s no trouble. How are things going over there?

HEN

Pretty well. Our zombie bite problem has yet to become an actual zombie problem. What about your colony?

VOEMO

I’ll admit, things could be better.

WILL

Uh oh.

MASON

That doesn’t sound good. What’s going on?

VOEMO

Well, our food stores are getting dangerously low, and our first harvest—I’m one of the farmers—it won’t be ready for a very long time.

HEN

That’s horrible!

MASON

How does that even happen? Like, how could the person in charge of supplying the food mess up the numbers that badly?

VOEMO

This sounds weird, my friends call it a conspiracy, but…

MASON

Yeah?

VOEMO

Whoever supplied the food to this colony, I don’t think they expected us to make it this long.

HEN

[gasp] You think they wanted you to starve!?

VOEMO

No, no. Just… none of this seems like a permanent solution. There are problems and malfunctions all over the place, and now we’re running low on food? The person in charge of making these colonies, I just don’t think they were planning for the long-term.

HEN

But your colony’s barely been around for a month!

VOEMO

Look, it’s just a theory. Wimofrey thinks it’s silly.

MASON

Wimofrey Wilder!?

VOEMO

Yeah, she’s my- well- [sheepishly] We’re, um, getting to know each other.

WILL

I don’t think I needed to know that.

VOEMO

That’s not what I meant! Just, we met in the mess hall a few days ago, and we have a pseudo-date planned for a week from now.

HEN

A pseudo-date?

VOEMO

I wouldn’t ask her to part with Naomi, of course; we’re just going to hang out in her room and talk, maybe watch a movie, god and baby willing.

MASON

Aw, that sounds nice.

VOEMO

I hope so. How do you know Wimofrey?

MASON

She was a friend of my parents, and then we were in the same survivor group down on Earth. I’d give you the shovel talk, but I don’t know how well the threats would carry over the many, many moon-miles between us. Just treat her well, or I’ll find a way to strike you down.

VOEMO

I’ll take your word for it.

HEN

Sorry to interrupt, but, back to the food problem—should I alert our council? Maybe we could spare some food.

VOEMO

I don’t know, the colonies aren’t really built for cargo transport between each other. And besides, there’s no way your colony’s supply could support both of our colonies at once. At this rate, we might just have to go back to Earth.

WILL

Is that an option?

VOEMO

I don’t know. I think it’ll have to be.

HEN

…I see. Well, it was nice talking to you, Voemo- I hope things turn out okay for 6-14.

VOEMO

As do I. Nice talking to you, Hen and co.

HEN

Bye!

[call ends]

MASON

There’s gotta be a way to contact Earth and tell them 6-14 needs a re-evacuation, right?

HEN

I’m sure the council has some mode of communication with the military still doing evacuations…

MASON

Maybe we can ask Daethie if she shows up again.

WILL

I don’t know, the odds of her escorting another package seem pretty low.

HEN

I’ll try to get an appointment with the council. I’m sure everything will be just fine.