Zombie X

by S. G. Harkness

It is another long night, and I have a bottle of whiskey with me as I relax on the couch. I’m smashed out of my mind, and I feel like vomiting. I hear a noise coming from the outside of my house. I stagger to take a look outside. A zombie is scavenging the area once more. It looks like that same stupid zombie from the other night. It must just come out at dark around here. I wonder where zombies hide during the daytime. This zombie is pissing me off, and I won’t be able to sleep with this fool around my home. I need to stand up to zombies. I slap my own face a couple of times to help psych myself up. I need to sober up fast, but there is not a lot I can do about that. I need to get into attack mode, so I slap my face again. I grab my rifle, the bottle of whiskey, and I open the front door. Being wasted makes me want to do strange things. I know zombies don't talk, but I'm so pissed off that I just want to express what I'm feeling. I just want to let it know how sick I am of zombies. I should tell it how much I hate it, before I blast it to bits. I slowly take several steps and approach it.

  “Hey! Yes, you! I’m sick of seeing your kind! You're truly disgusting! Go find another area to spread your filth!”

  I would usually pass out from drinking so much, but I’ve gotten used to all the late-night drinking sessions. I take one last chug out of the whiskey bottle, and I throw the bottle at the zombie. The bottle shatters on the ground beside the zombie. The zombie suddenly stops and stands up. It looks around and slowly turns in my direction. It looks right at me. I giggle at it. There’s something different about this zombie. It doesn’t appear as grotesque as the other zombies. It's such an unusual thing. It’s kind of handsome for a young dead guy. It’s really tall and athletic as a quarterback. Its hair is dark and short. Its eyes are sky blue, with traces of blood red. It wears dirty pants, steel toe shoes, and a torn long sleeve shirt. It has a cool tattoo on its left hand. The tattoo is still visible considering the discoloration of its dead skin. It has several ear piercings on one ear. What the heck am I thinking? Drinking is really screwing with my head. I must be going crazy again. It’s a zombie!

  I’m wasted, and I think that I’m seeing things. I need to wake the fuck up right now. I take a deep breath. The zombie has all kinds of cuts on the face. It has a small chunk of skin torn from its neck. I’m not sure why the dead walk the earth, but I have theories. This was such a bad idea. I always seem to pick the wrong nights to get hammered. It growls and approaches me with its arms raised. I raise my rifle, and I’m ready to shoot it in the head, but my rifle jams! The zombie doesn’t run, but it walks very fast. I walk backwards, and I quickly make my way to the front door. I’m nauseous, and I feel my legs wobble. I trip and fall, hitting the ground hard. My rifle flies—out of my hands! I stand up and quickly limp to the front door. I manage to get inside my house, but the zombie catches up to the front door. I try to push the front door closed, but the zombie is too strong. The zombie shoves the front door open, and I fall to the floor! It growls at me, and it grabs me while I’m on the floor!

  “Get your creepy hands off me!”

  I try to hold it back with both arms, but it tries to take a bite out of my neck! It opens its slimy mouth and moves closer! I can’t hold it back any longer since it’s too strong for me! I scream at the top of my lungs as it makes its way to my neck with its slimy mouth open!

  The zombie licks the side of my face, and I can’t force it off me! I try to catch my breath, and I have a moment of relief since I realize that the zombie is not trying to kill me. It seems to enjoy the taste of my skin, but it has no intention of eating my flesh, and the zombie feels warm. It finally gets off of me, stands up, looks down at me, and groans. I wipe the filth off my face, and it truly smells like crap. I think I’ve encountered a retarded zombie! Holy shit, right?

  I stand up, slowly, and my ankle hurts badly! I point outside to show it that there’s plenty of dead flesh for it to eat, but it looks back at me with an evil smile. It comes towards me again, but I began backing slowly away, and it probably won't kill me since it would have killed me by now. It backs me into a corner, yet I won’t try to stop it because I don’t want to get it mad. I just want to know what it wants.

  This zombie must have feelings. It hisses at me, grabs me, forces me to face the wall, and it leans on me from behind, and I’m afraid to turn around and face it. I take deep breaths to try to calm down. This zombie can think for itself, but this whole thing is going way too far. I can’t believe what is happening. I must be dreaming right now. This is so crazy. We do the unthinkable! I continue to try to calm myself down, but it’s not easy to calm down.

  I’ve never been used this good before, and I love this unusual experience. As long as I don`t have to look at it in the face, it’s all good. It’s fast for a dead guy, and it has a lot of energy. I turn to face it, and the dead guy looks at me with a nasty smile as it comes closer to me. I don't bother to resist its advances as it comes closer to my face, and I notice how foul its mouth is. This is a huge turn off. The dead guy has extremely bad hygiene, but it’s not like a dentist can do anything. Its breath is exceptionally foul, and it smells like someone shit in its mouth!

  The dead guy’s mouth is crusty with a couple of boils and cuts around it. It opens its mouth, as if it wants to kiss me. The inside of its mouth looks rotten. The inside of its mouth looks blue, black, and slimy. It puts its face close to mine, and it groans as it comes closer to my lips. Its lips touch mine, and I move aside to vomit! The vomit rushes out of my mouth, and I get chunks of vomit in my nose. I continue to vomit, and I seriously feel like shit. The dead guy makes its way to where I puked, and it has the nerve to pick up my thick yellow vomit. The dead guy starts to eat—my puke! I go to another corner and start to vomit again! This is truly sickening. I’m furious at the dead guy!

  “No! No! No! That’s not food! Stop that! You’re disgusting! Stop it!”

  What the heck am I thinking? I’m arguing with a dead guy! I’m tired of calling it a dead guy. Hours have passed by since my encounter with this dead guy. It stands above me as I sit on the couch. I’m baffled by my experience. The dead guy is lucky that I’m wasted since I don’t know how I would have reacted if I were sober. It took advantage of me while I was under the influence, and I’m still processing everything that happened. I think I’m done with drinking for a while. I don’t even know how to classify this dead guy.

  The dead guy is some sort of being. I’m not sure if it really is a zombie. Zombies don’t do the things it does. The dead guy looks similar to a zombie, but I don’t want to call the dead guy a zombie. I think the dead guy is human enough that the dead guy deserves a name. I will start off by acknowledging the dead guy as a person. I wonder what I should name him. There are many names that I can think of. The dead guy is dozens of levels up from the average zombie. It seems to have some personality. I take a deep breath. He is clever. Some things are still functioning inside him. He might still be in the process of slowly becoming a full-blown zombie. It shouldn’t be hard to come up with a name for him.

  “You certainly know how to please a girl. Obviously, you don’t speak. Well, what’s your name? Can you at least spell it out for me? No, I guess you can’t. You need a name. I’m not sure what to call you. Don’t worry, I will think of something. I don’t see your I.D. with you. Your pockets are all empty. Well, you seem pretty normal for a dead guy. It’s true. Compared to some people I knew, you seem normal to me. Do you know what normal means? That’s it! I know what I should call you. I’m going to call you Norman.”

  Norman looks at me and groans. He stinks like ass. I should try to wash him up. I wonder if that will help. I should find a fresh scented body spray for Norman.

  “I know you understand me in there. Why else would you do me? You seemed to enjoy it. What is up with that evil smile of yours? It’s kind of creepy.”

  He gets closer to me, and he’s trying to kiss me, but he’s a little too aggressive. I demand him to stop, but he overpowers me. He opens his mouth, and his tongue looks like frog skin. He forces his
mouth on mine, and I have no choice, but to go along with it. Who knows what will happen if I try to stop Norman because he’s obviously a total freak. Being kissed by Norman is everyone's worst nightmare. I love doing the unthinkable with him, but kissing him is another story. I try not to vomit. I show Norman to the couch. I try to get him to sit down on the couch, so I take his hand and bring him down with me. It's certainly not an easy task. He is about to sit, but then moves back up. He sits down with me after a few tries.

  He looks at me and growls. I wonder what will happen next. I think he's just phenomenal. There’s no way he’s going to eat me. We seem to have an instant connection. The chemistry is powerful, and I want to keep Norman safe. I’ve never encountered anything like Norman. I consider him a true friend. I want Norman to be my partner in crime. In the new world, pickings are slim. I wonder how often he needs to eat. I’m sure he can survive a while without feasting on people. It’s very late, and I’m exhausted. Norman probably doesn’t need to catch some Z's. The first night together should be a learning experience. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day. I should sleep and get my strength back. I rest on the couch.

  Norman stands next to me while I’m on the couch. He starts hissing and growling. I tell him to shut the fuck up, and I tell him that I’m not dead. I explain to him that I need to rest as he stands above me. He is like a bodyguard. I hope he stays silent because I want to be able to finally get some sleep. I finally close my eyes, but Norman continues to rumble, and he just seems to annoy me when I shut my eyes. I beg Norman to shut the fuck up, and he seems to understand me. I finally get Norman to shut the fuck up, so I can finally sleep in peace.

  Episode 9

  It’s the next morning, and it’s storming outside. Norman is still standing above me. I absolutely love the sight of him. He's like my guardian angel. He doesn’t budge as he stares at me and groans like a dog. I get up and find something to eat. I think I will have a can of peaches for breakfast. I offer Norman some, but he won’t take it, and he just looks at me funny. I guess Norman just likes to consume human flesh. Norman is a carnivore. I open the front door to get some air, and I notice some dead bodies on the street that Norman might want. I show Norman the dead bodies.

  “Look at all the dead bodies, Norman. Look at all that flesh for you. There’s a bunch of yummy jerky out there. They are entirely for you, Norman. It’s breakfast time, Norman. You need to eat something, sweetheart. I bet you want to sink your teeth into all of that yummy looking flesh. Aren’t you hungry?”

  Norman growls and he won’t budge. Norman must want some fresh meat to eat. He doesn`t seem to want the dead bodies that are outside. It’s likely because they are already very chewed up. Even Norman seems to have some standards. If he wants fresh meat, then I will have to help him with that. I will have to go hunting for animals. I wonder if animals will satisfy his hunger. I wonder if Norman prefers raw human flesh. I can’t exactly run around killing innocent people for Norman. That's just plain crazy. I need a very good reason to start killing people so that Norman can eat like a king. I’m still not sure what he actually desires. Norman starts walking around the house as I sit in the living room. He has nothing better to do with himself.

  An hour of sitting around feels like forever. There is not much to do in the new world. I can hear the noise coming from outside. I look through my window. I see a couple of boys outside. They seem like a pair of goons. They possess long hair, and they wear caps put on backwards. They both carry baseball bats and they seem like bad news. They are checking out the dead bodies near my house. They stand around and seem interested in the houses around them. They seem to have a sudden interest in my house as they talk to each other. I know that they will try to break in. They continue to talk and point around at the other houses.

  They begin to make their way to my house so I should greet them instead of getting into a hostile situation. I open the front door for them, and I make sure the door is open slightly so that we’re able to speak to each other. They’re shocked to see me. I notice the resemblance of the two boys.

  “You two guys seem like you’re a long way from home. Are you staying in one of the houses around here?”

  “Holy smokes! How long have you been living around here? I’m Stew, by the way, and this is my brother Ken. The world can’t get any worse than this. We’ve been exploring the area for survivors. We heard different stories about what’s going on, and we don’t know what to think. The corpses that are walking around the city are famished. Our sister was killed by one of the dead. They tore her body up good. We were definitely outnumbered. There was not much we could do about that. They all deserve death.”

  If these two guys see Norman, it will be over for Norman. They might even kill me for having him. I have to get rid of these two before it’s too late. Norman doesn’t stand a chance. He’s helpless without my protection.

  “Nice to meet you guys. I’m April. I’m sorry to hear about your sister. I have so many theories about the world. I'm not actually sure why this is happening. I’m staying in this house for now. You should both find a home and stay safe. It's not very pleasant to be outside. I suggest you find a place to stay before it gets dark. Well, I should probably get going.”

  I attempt to close the door, but Stew stops me with his baseball bat. He seriously pisses me off. He holds the door open.

  “Hold up a second, there are no corpses walking around right now, so it’s safe outside. What could you possibly be doing that is so important?” Stew asks.

  “I just don’t think anyone should be walking outside at any time of the day, so you should stay indoors. You’re holding my door up with your bat, do you mind?”

  Ken steps in front of Stew and makes his way closer to my door.

  “Slow down beautiful sister, this isn’t your home. Remember, this is everyone's home. The world we all once knew is gone, and we're all trying to survive out here. We are truly all in this thing together, and we want to see what you have inside because we need supplies as much as you do. We should all be working together. We should share everything. I’m sure you can give us something,” Ken says.

  Ken is a clever little shit, and he’s the first one I want to kill since I don’t like smart asses. I have no idea where Norman is, and I wonder where Norman wandered off to. I feel so tense right now, but I have to play it smart, and I have to act as if nothing is up.

  “Everything is cool. I just don’t see why you guys care so much about coming inside my house. I don't know you guys at all. There are dozens of unsearched houses surrounding you. I haven’t searched them yet, but I’m sure those houses have a lot of supplies. I can still spare some food since I have some canned food that you guys can take. I will go out after to search some houses. I just got here yesterday, and there’s not that much inside, but the big houses should have a lot of stuff that you can use.”

  “Sounds like a plan. We are so down for that,” Stew says.

  “Cool, let’s go!” I say.

  “Wait a moment, and just slow down a second. We want to see what this house has inside first because it must be something special since you're living in it. Step aside beautiful sister, we want to see the inside,” Ken says.

  Ken’s intelligence level is going to get him killed. They have no idea what’s inside, and if they find Norman, things will get very ugly.

  I step aside to let them in the house since I really have no choice. I don’t want them to have to force their way inside. I look around to see if Norman is around, but I don’t see him anywhere. I question where he’s hiding as my heart races. The brothers look around the living room, and I quickly close the front door.

  “If you don’t mind, we prefer that the front door stays open because it smells like someone died in here. It smells horrible,” Ken says.

  “That is a sick smell dude. How do you live here with that sick ass smell? You should open the windows, and get some air in here. You don’t want to make yourself sick. I wonder why it smells
so bad in here,” Stew says.

  “Well, I’m sure every house has a bad smell, especially with all the dead bodies everywhere. The smell was already here when I arrived, and it is just a total mystery,” I say.

  “Let’s check out the kitchen, dude. There must be loads of food in there,” Stew says.

  “I bet that’s where she hides her stash. Let’s check it out,” Ken says.

  The brothers make their way to the kitchen as I slowly follow behind them, and I have no idea where Norman is. The brothers are checking out the kitchen, going through the food supply, and I don’t care about what they take. I just want them out of my house because I can’t let them discover Norman. Stew and his brother Ken are pushing their luck.

  “Look at all this stash! She has been holding out on us, dude. I say we take half of it, man. This stuff is gold!” Stew says.

  “Take whatever you want. I have too much food here,” I say.

  They continue to ravage my kitchen. I just want them to go away, and I have a hunch where Norman might be. I don’t think he’s upstairs because I left the basement door open, so he must be wandering in the basement. I have a plan, and I can’t let the brothers leave since they might give away my location. Norman must be starving, and I wonder if the brothers would satisfy his hunger for human flesh. I can’t let my guard down again. A girl has to do what a girl has to do. I’m sure Norman would enjoy eating the flesh off the bones of Stew and Ken. There’s only one way to find out. The brothers seem to be having the time of their lives.

  “This is awesome! I wonder what else she is hiding. You must have a lot more stuff around here. We have a camp not too far away from here,” Stew says.

  “You should pack up and come with us. We can move all this stuff out of here. Our camp is much safer, but we didn’t want to tell you sooner because we’re just cautious,” Ken says.

  “I just remembered something that I forgot to tell you guys. I found a load of supplies down in the basement, and I bet you guys are going to love everything down there. I bet your camp will appreciate it too. Therefore, I think that I will consider checking out your camp. There is a lot of stuff in the basement so go ahead and check it out,” I say.