by A. Giacomi
In two minutes, the finger has fully reattached. It is odd seeing it again and being able to move what wasn’t there just a moment ago. I feel very weak and tell Dr. August I need to lie down. The room is spinning a bit, and I have to close my eyes.
When I open them again, Dr. August has already torn down the plastic tent and is cleaning up the rest of the test area. How long have I been asleep? I rise from the metal table feeling very stiff; it isn’t exactly the most comfortable napping spot.
“Dr. August, can I go now? I’m going to finish off my nap in my room.”
He dusts himself off and walks over to me.
“Are you feeling better? Do you have enough energy? I’m a little worried that we may have starved your body today.”
I rub my head, not quite understanding his meaning.
“Eve, you’ve been healing most of the day, and I’m a little worried that your hunger will reach peak levels since you’re so exhausted. I think you should go have a snack to prevent yourself from attacking people. I hope you still have some hamsters left?”
“Don’t worry, Doc. I’ve got plenty of hamsters to choose from.” I wink at him.
I just want to get back to my bed, so I change as quickly as I can and then bid farewell to Dr. August. He seems very nervous about allowing me to leave but just tells me to be careful. I will see him again in another couple of days for more testing.
I begin walking towards my dorm, staring at my finger in amazement. I want to share this new finding with someone. This makes me think of Cam. I change directions and begin walking towards Cam’s dorm. I may have skipped all the way with a stupid grin on my face; I do get a few looks from people. Stupid love, it makes you act like a complete idiot.
Just as I arrive in front of Cam’s building, who do I see? My favourite person, Claire. She can only be here for one reason, and it makes my blood boil. She sees me and almost snarls. We stare at each other for a little while. I am trying so hard not to attack her, but clearly, Claire doesn’t have the same sort of control. She runs at me, screeching and clawing. She grabs my hair first. Typical girl fight move. When she tries to pin me to the ground, it only makes me angrier. I’m starting to lose my cool. My stomach growls; I think it almost says, “Eat that bitch.”
Claire is yelling and telling me off. I’m just taking the abuse and hoping she leaves before my hunger takes over, but she doesn’t seem the type to back down. I’m calm until she screams, “You stole him from me. He doesn’t love you! He never loved you. We are supposed to be together. If I get rid of you, then there will be nothing to stop us from being together.”
I snap. I can actually feel my eyes glowing red. Claire must see this change because her eyes go wide with terror. She wants to back away, but it is too late. I have her in my grip, and I’m not about to let go. Does she want to get rid of me? She has no idea who or what she is dealing with. It is time to end this little psycho’s reign of mischief.
I grab Claire by the hair and drag her into the nearby gardens. I don’t want any witnesses. She is screaming, but I figure if anyone is around they would have come to save her already. I guess it is my lucky day. I throw Claire down in between some rose bushes. Some thorns nick her arms, and speckles of blood appear. My hunger intensifies at the sight of it. I’m like a bull drawn to a Matador’s cape.
I’m trying to fight the urge to take a bite out of her; maybe I will be satisfied with slapping her around a bit? I smack her face as hard as I can, and this halts her screaming momentarily.
When she recovers from the brief sting, she scowls at me and whispers, “I knew there was something wrong with you. I was right.”
Fear takes hold of me. She knows, and she might tell others.
I have to figure out a way to get rid of her.
I growl in her face, and this makes her eyes grow wide. She maintains eye contact with me, but I can see one of her arms shuffling about in one of the bushes.
What is she up to?
Before I can figure it out, a pair of garden shears come flying at my face, stabbing me in the neck.
The pain is excruciating. I hold the wound with one hand, and Claire gets ready for the next blow. She stabs me in the chest and knocks me on my back. I can’t believe she is winning.
Claire climbs on top of me, grinning like Charles Manson. She holds the shears up, ready for another blow. As she brings her arm down, I grab hold of it and tear into it as hard as my teeth will let me. She lets out a blood-curdling scream, and I continue to chomp at her delicious arm meat.
She drops her garden shears, and now I have the upper hand. She has no way to protect herself. Not from me, I am unstoppable!
I push Claire onto her back and continue tearing at the flesh until I see a big rock. She stares at the rock and then back at me; she knows what I’m about to do. She wants to squirm away, but I have her now. All zombies love brains, but it can be very hard to get at them. I will need to open her skull up like a coconut. I grab the rock and raise it above my head, ready to smash. I feel no guilt; I feel no pity. I only feel my hunger.
CHAPTER FORTY
ALEX
I have been waiting for Eve for what seems like forever. She is supposed to meet me for dinner, well, mostly to watch me eat dinner. I hate eating in front of Eve. It is like eating cake in front of someone on a diet. She can’t have whatever I am having, and I know she wishes she can eat what she used to. Hamsters are definitely not cutting it.
Maybe Eve is with Cam? It is about time those two got together. Although, under the circumstances, I feel Cam should be cautious. A kissing session may lead to a snacking session. I want to believe Eve can control the virus, but I know full well she can’t. Hopefully, she will learn to.
I wander out of the dining hall and start walking towards Dr. August’s office. Perhaps the tests have taken longer than anticipated.
When I get there, Dr. August’s office is locked, and I don’t hear anyone inside. Nope, not here, I guess the testing is over for today. My next stop will be Cam’s dorm. I’m sure she will be there; new lovers are usually inseparable.
As I head towards Cam’s dorm, I hear something. It sounds like a squawking bird at first, but as I approach, I realize someone is screaming.
It’s a ghost town on campus around dinner time; I look around for a sign of anyone at all. I don’t really want to investigate on my own.
The screaming gets louder, and I make the split decision to start sprinting towards the sound. Probably a dumb decision. As I run, I hope that someone will come to my aid in the same way someday. Being a good Samaritan has to count for something, at least grant me some good karma if I’m going to put my safety at risk.
My feet are slapping on the concrete hard. I can’t get there fast enough. I reach the source of the noise. The screaming is coming from the gardens outside of Cam’s residence. I’m frozen for a moment; I’m not sure I want to see what’s happening, and I’m even more terrified that no one can see me once I enter. I will be concealed by foliage and darkness.
I hear another piercing scream. I drop my bag and enter the garden as ready as I am going to be. As I round the corner past the gateway, my eyes flood with disbelief, and the only thing I can get out of my mouth in time is, “Stop!”
She halts, holding a large rock above her head, and turns to look at me. I see her drenched in blood, but the body beneath her is still moving. I can still save her.
The woman staring back at me is not Eve. Her eyes glow a devious red, and the veins in her face are blue and swollen. Her mouth is lion-like with teeth exposed and triumphant. She tilts her head to look at me; there is a cracking sound as she looks at me sideways. It is such an inhuman movement, so grotesque, I have to hold my stomach and tell it to stay with me.
This is what the virus has created. I have to be cautious around my best friend; she may appear vaguely familiar, bu
t her eyes are foreign. She is hell-bent on smashing someone to pieces, and I don’t want that to be me.
She begins to approach me, and I slowly start inching back. I can see the woman on the ground more clearly now. She is trying to crawl away slowly. It’s Claire! I can see that her arm is bloody; I gasp and stare at Eve. “What have you done?”
Eve stares back blankly and snarls at me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Claire backing away as quickly as she can. That coward! I came to save her ass, and her first impulse is to take off when Eve is distracted. What an ungrateful bitch!
“Eve, calm down. It’s me, Alex. I want to help.”
I hold my hands up, showing that I mean her no harm, but that doesn’t soothe her. She’s like an animal ready to pounce on its prey. If I run, I’m dead. If I stay, I’m most likely dead.
Eve comes close to me and sniffs me like I’m a delicious steak dinner. I close my eyes and pray. I know I can’t outrun her or overpower her; all I can do is hope she can fight the virus. I feel her breathing on me; I tremble but refuse to open my eyes. I want to pretend that this is not happening.
Without warning, I am violently shoved to the ground. The wind is knocked out of me from the unexpected fall. I feel Eve pressing on top of me. She growls loudly in my face, and it causes me to open my eyes. I shake as I look into her burning eyes. I miss her baby blues; the unnatural red looks almost as if a fire has been lit inside of her and isn’t quite as friendly as the sapphire eyes she once possessed.
“Eve please, please stop. I’m your friend. Remember? Your best friend. We went to prom together because we couldn’t find dates. We used to sing Madonna songs before bed when we had sleepovers. We got matching haircuts one time because we wished we were sisters.”
I feel Eve’s grip loosening slightly; maybe she is coming around. I continue talking in the hopes she will come back to me.
“I was the first person you told when you found out your mom had cancer, and I was right there with you the whole way. I will never leave you, Eve.”
Eve starts twitching. She takes her hands off me and lifts them to her head, pressing so hard on each side that it seems like she is going to crush her skull. She shakes her head and holds it between both hands. Her inner struggle is anything but easy.
I slip away from her reach and watch her shake and hit her head. Eve grabs her hair, ready to pull it out, and screams into the air with such an ache in her voice that I want to hug her. She starts crying and lays on the ground, wrapping her legs into a fetal position.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. What have I done? I’m sorry.”
Eve keeps repeating her apologies over and over again.
My fear vanishes; all I want to do is comfort her at this point. I rush back over to her and hold her. “Eve, it’s okay. Can you stand?”
She nods in my arms.
“Good, because we need to get out of here. We’re in a lot of trouble, Eve. We need to disappear.”
She understands and gets to her feet quickly. I take her hand and lead her away from the scene of the crime and, unfortunately, away from Cam. We will need to call him later, once we are clear of this place.
Eve and I race to the parking lot where my car is parked. We get in, and I’ve never sped away so quickly in my entire life. I feel better once we’re off campus grounds.
Eve looks like a wreck. She is gnawing at her fingernails, and her eyes are so wide I begin to wonder if she has any eyelids at all. “Eve, did you bite Claire?”
Eve searches her memory for a second before answering. “Yes. I think I did. I tried really hard not to, but she attacked me and the virus took over.”
Eve rubs the blood off her neck with her sleeve. The wound Claire inflicted has already healed. I feel sick to my stomach thinking about what Claire might become.
“Eve, we need to let Dr. August know what happened. Claire is infected now. She’s going to start feeding soon.”
Eve starts cursing, which is not helpful, but I guess she needs to get it out. I try to refocus her. “So what’s the plan?”
She picks up her phone without answering me. “Hi, it’s Eve. Something bad happened after I left your office... I bit someone.”
The other end of the phone is silent for a few seconds. I know Dr. August is freaking out on Eve’s behalf.
“We left. I’m with Alex. Yes, the victim got away.”
I’m not sure what he’s saying, but I can hear his voice rising in horror. He knows as well as we do that Claire will start attacking others, and we can’t even begin to understand how the virus will manifest in her. All the victims of the virus have had very different experiences. If Claire is anywhere near as powerful as Eve, it will be difficult to kill her.
Eve hangs up the phone. “Dr. August said we should stay away for a few days and he will see if he can locate Claire.”
Eve looks distraught, and I know there is nothing I can say to comfort her, so I simply listen to her. “Alex, I think I need to go away permanently. I need to go where no one knows me and where I can’t hurt the people I love. I’ve caused you and Cam nothing but problems since we returned from Egypt. Oh my God, Cam!”
Eve cuts her sob story short and pulls out her phone again. The phone rings, and no one answers. Eve hangs up and tries again, still no answer. Eve throws her phone into the back seat in frustration.
“Al, we need to go back.”
I raise my eyebrows. “No, we’re not going back. You heard Dr. August. We need to hide out. They’ll take you, Eve. They’ll find out!”
“You don’t understand, Al. This is Claire we’re dealing with. Do you remember what Claire wants more than anything?”
I pull over to the side of the road and hit the brakes.
“Oh my God! You don’t think? Shit! Cam!”
Eve has a point. Cam is still Claire’s obsession. He might be safely in the library studying or at the pub with Mark, but we can’t know for sure unless we check it out.
As I drive furiously back to campus, Eve continues to try calling Cam. He won’t pick up his cell phone, and no one answers the phone in his room. Eve and I begin to imagine the worst.
As I reach the parking lot and find my spot, a looming sense of doom takes over. I have a feeling something terrible is going to happen tonight, and unfortunately, I am rarely ever wrong.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
EVE
My legs are on fire, moving as quickly as they can towards Cam’s dorm. He needs to be okay or I will never recover. Why didn’t I stay and track down Claire immediately? Is my own safety that much more important than Cam’s? I don’t care in that moment if anyone learns about my secret; they can cart me off and do experiments on me all they wish as long as Cam is unharmed.
We finally reach the residence and climb the stairs with such ferocity that I fear the steps may shatter beneath our feet. I can’t be bothered to wait for the elevator. I know my legs will be faster. I reach the door before Alex. I knock on the door and wait. I see Alex coming down the hall; she finally catches up, panting.
“Oops, I forgot. Sorry, Al. Didn’t mean to rush ahead.”
Alex waves her hand at me in a don’t-sweat-it gesture and then bends over and holds her knees, trying to catch her breath.
Usually, zombies are these super slow, quickly decaying entities; I don’t know how I lucked out and got the gift of speed and rapid mending.
It’s only been a few seconds, but no one is answering the door. I knock again, much louder, and let Cam know it is us. Still nothing.
“He could be in the shower, I guess.”
Alex can be right. I press my ear against the door and listen in, but I don’t hear any water running. My stomach is in knots; I can tell something is wrong.
“Cam, Cam?” My voice sounds high-pitched and desperate. I can’t wait any longer. I back up against t
he hallway wall on the opposite side of Cam’s door, then with all my might, I run and slam my entire body into it. I make a nice dent in it, but it still refuses to open. I ram the door again, and it bursts open like saloon doors.
I scan the room and see a pair of feet hiding behind Cam’s bed. Oh God! I run to the side of the bed, and I’m not sure I can handle what I will find.
There, I discover Mark’s lifeless body. I kneel beside him in defeat. We are too late.
He’s barely recognizable. His throat has been torn open, and his intestines have been ripped out and left out in the open. Claire also bashed his head in with Cam’s large metal paperweight in the shape of a mummy; the mummy joined Mark in the pool of blood soaking the floor. I guess she watched enough zombie movies to know that you need to destroy the brain in order to stop them from returning from the dead.
Girl is smarter than she looks.
The scene is horrific. I hear Alex gag as she comes up behind me. She covers her mouth to stop herself from screaming or throwing up or both. I want to cry; this is all my fault. Mark was only in the wrong place at the wrong time. My mind continues to race. I imagine Claire bursting into the room as a half-zombie half-human psychopath. The psychopath part has nothing to do with the Azrael Virus; that is all Claire. Perhaps Cam and Mark were here together. Claire might have tried to take Cam, and Mark might have tried to stop her, wrong move. My theory seems plausible, and I share it with Alex.
“I think Claire has him. She wouldn’t kill him. She’d want to keep him, like a pet or love slave or something…”
I’m rambling; I tend to do that when I’m nervous or terrified, but I am wasting time talking out loud. It will be better if we actually do something. While I speak out loud to myself, Alex grabs a bed sheet and places it over Mark.
“I can’t see him like that anymore. He didn’t deserve this. What do we do now? We need to inform the police. Oh God, his poor family. They need to tell his family. He needs a proper burial.”
Alex begins sobbing. I’m about to go over and comfort her, but my phone decides to interrupt us. When I pick up, Dr. August doesn’t even say hi.