Do you like zombies?

 

 Well.. whether you want to read it or not … whether I finish it or not… whether it’s any good or not… here is the start of my zombie story.

Please to enjoy.

Tentative title: Of the Fittest

"Take off all your clothes.”

His words bit through the shadows that were surrounding him. She trembled, staring hard into the black that surrounded her, the heart in her chest beating a cataclysmic rhythm to the song of fear that had been looping through her mind for as long as she could remember. Time had ceased to have meaning and the simple act of counting days had blurred into a haze of never ending terror.

 

She obviously wasn’t moving fast enough because a hand tugged at her shirt roughly from behind sending her into a blind fit. She pulled away as a scream escaped her throat. It echoed along the ceiling and seemed to scream back at her. She flinched and jerked to her right, stumbling into the wall only to ricochet off and tumble back to the ground. She looked up, her eyes darting around the room trying to make sense of the moving shadows that seemed like monsters looming and pacing in front of her.

 

“Please…” Her voice whispered out as she tucked her head down between her knees and covered her neck with her hands. She had surrendered herself to whatever was next. Her will to fight had simply drained out of her and she had nothing left.

 

“What are you doing?” A woman’s voice came from the shadows at the far end of the room. A light bobbed in their direction, highlighting the faces of the three men and glinting off of the barrels of their guns, pointed with clear intent at the small woman on the floor. “Who is that. Why didn’t you call me?” The light moved closer, holding steady on the woman who lay trembling and silent. As she got closer, one of the men turned on his own light, attached to the hard hat fixed to his head.

 

“She came from the south perimeter. We… needed to check her.”

 

“You should have called me, it’s a woman… step back.” She kneeled down and with her free hand she reached out to touch the shoulder of the girl. A squeak escaped her throat as their skin touched but she didn’t move or react further. Shock had definitely taken hold. It was obvious that she had used all the will she had left to make it that far.

 

“It’s ok. You’re in a safe place. My name is Leslie. I’m going to help you. We have to make sure you’re ok before we can bring you any further, do you understand?”

As she spoke, the girl seemed to stiffen. Her head slowly lifted and her brown eyes peered through the tufts of matted hair that had fallen over her face. She nodded slowly, a glimmer of hope seemed to seep into her eyes as she began to focus on the friendly face that was looking down at her.

 

“Good, good. So tell me, what’s your name?” Leslie said as she helped the girl stand and glared at the men who took several steps away.

 

“Maria…” the girl whispered. Her limbs went limp as Leslie gingerly pulledher shirt over her head and tossed it lightly to the ground to the side. Her skin was dirty, smudged with dirt and filth that made it evident she had been hiding in some sort of filthy place to endure the hell that had surrounded her. Leslie smiled as she let the light of her flashlight slowly cover each inch of skin, searching for  any sign of injury.

 

“That’s a lovely name Maria. Don’t be worried, I have to make sure you haven’t been hurt before you got here. Many people depend on us and we have to do this for everyone who comes in from the outside. I have to be checked every time I go out and come back. Once we clear you, you’ll be safe.”

 

“I want to be safe…” Maria mumbled as she fumbled with her pants and pulled them off of her gaunt waist. The skin was stretched tight over her bones, her ribs and hips seeming to jut out like a skeleton that was trying to break free. Her breath shuddered as Maria softely touched her to turn her towards the light. She looked up as Leslie stepped back without a word.

 

“Maria…” Leslies voice held a soft tremble, a sadness that seemed to overtake the warmth that had been there in the beginning. “Where did you come from?”

 

Maria looked down at her knee. The flashlight had paused there and was illuminated the bright patch of blood that had flowed down from the strip of exposed flesh and along her leg.

 

“The city. I came from the city… I ran and hid… I… I … I saw your signs. I followed them. I was very careful until… the park there. I got… surprised… I fell… My leg… it’s from my fall…”

 

“You have to be honest with me…”

 

Maria shook her head with conviction. “I know what you think, but it was only a moment. They only grabbed me for a moment. But I got away, you see! They only grabbed me. I fell when this happened, but they didn’t get to me! I promise you.”

 

Leslie stepped back another few feet and her eyes closed. With a deliberate click, she turned off the flashlight and turned away.

 

Panic erupted from Maria’s throat. “I fell, it’s from a fall. They didn’t get me! They didn’t touch me! I just fell! I just….”

Her mouth stopped moving as a shot rang out. The acrid smell of gunpowder stung her eyes as she turned towards one of the men who had been standing silently around her. Without another word she fell, her last thought pondering how red her blood was, when it came directly from her heart.

 

Leslie turned back once as the body seemed to seep into the puddle of blood that had already pooled around it.<span style=”font-size: 8pt”>

 

“Get rid of it…” She walked from the room quickly, hiding the tears that slid down her cheeks.