by Tahnee Fritz
“Why?”
“So I can thank you.” She smiles a little wider, “You brought me back from something so evil and I can try to be myself again.”
“Are you starting to remember things?”
She shrugs, “While I was sleeping, I got short visions of things. I was in all of them and I think they might be memories. They seem so familiar and wonderful. I was happy as a human and I want to be happy again. I want to see more of what my life was and I want to remember. I just don’t know how.”
“I wish I could help you, but I don’t know how to bring your memory back either. I didn’t even know I could cure anything with how I am.” I say.
“It’s a miracle that you can. People will love this and be grateful for the gift you give to the world.” She says.
“I hope you’re right.” I say.
“I have faith that I am.”
“You believe in God?” I ask.
She nods, “For some reason, I know that I do. I feel that faith was one of the strongest parts of my previous life that I can remember and God seems to play a big part of it. Do you believe?”
Not sure how I should answer this. The last time I told someone I didn’t believe in God, she kind of yelled at me. I know this girl doesn’t really remember too much about her life, but she believes God is a big part of it. Who am I to make her see otherwise.
“Not really, no.” that’s how you answer that question.
She looks puzzled now, “Why?”
“Well, if there were a god out there, why would he put me through so much pain? Why would he take away everyone I love and leave me standing here as something I don’t want to be? Why would he let my life go to hell?” I say, not really meaning to get a little testy about it.
She opens her mouth to speak and I can see her lips quivering, apparently I said too much of the wrong thing, “You’re here for a reason, Bridget. You might think it’s something horrible, but it’s something great.”
Not another word is spoken and she doesn’t give me the chance to respond. She spins around and walks back to the campfire. Way to go, Bridget. You managed to make the human you saved hate you. I can only hope she sticks around to be the proof we need in order for George’s plan to work. It’ll still be hard to get people to believe us even with this girl, but she might be able to convince them. As long as she stops hating me long enough to do so.
* * *
Morning’s here. Midmorning actually. We’ve been walking for a while and we’re very close to George’s village. We found a beaten path that he says will take us right to it. The woods are starting to grow thin. The girl, who George decided to call Rose because of the color of her hair, hasn’t said much. The few words she did say, were strictly to George or Kelly and she hasn’t so much as glanced my way. I even tried to apologize and she simply smiled and kept moving. Maybe that’s her way of accepting it, I don’t know. If this new life gave me the ability to read minds, I might have an answer.
George leads us out of the woods and the beaten path takes us to a broken street. Cracks and potholes have taken over the concrete giving way to small trees and grass to grow through. I catch the scent of life not far away. A lot of life actually and my mouth begins to water. The hunger is starting to boil in my stomach and it knows there’s fresh meat and blood up ahead. I hope it also knows that I’m not giving into it. I’ll starve before I let that happen.
Other than the scent, I can hear the human life. People talking and a few kids are laughing. It’s faint and I can’t quite make out what’s being said, but I can hear it if I focus. Those people are happy, I can tell by how they talk about life and hunting and friendship. The closer we get to them, the louder the voices and the happiness seem to get, and the more my nervous hands begin to shake.
Old houses come into view on either side of the road. Some are in shambles and one is completely burnt to the ground. There’s an ashy square of where it used to be along with a few burnt support beams sticking out of the ground. Most of the houses are boarded up and locked down completely. Until we get to the end of the road, a cul-de-sac, and these houses are all in decent shape. Boards cover the windows with enough of a slit in the wood for people to see through in case of danger. Dusty cars are parked in some of the driveways and even a few on the street. This place is nothing other than an old neighborhood on the outskirts of a rundown city. Not a city like Des Moines. This is a smaller one that failed.
We walk to the middle of the cul-de-sac and a few men with guns look our way. Their weapons have my mind wondering about which one will notice I’m not human first and pull the trigger. George nudges my shoulder and passes me a reassuring look when he notices how tense I am.
“The one with the hat is my father. He’s reasonable and he’s the one we want to talk to first.” The man he’s talking about is tall with a brown hat on his head. “The one with the black jacket sort of runs this place, Adam. He’s not as reasonable and doesn’t really like visitors.”
“That’s comforting.” I say.
“Don’t worry.” George states. “My dad will help us get them to understand.”
Kelly darts past us and runs straight for her father. I watch as she instantly wraps her arms around him and squeezes him in a tight embrace.
“I’m sure he can, but we have to get him to believe us first.” I say to George.
“Just have some faith, Bridget.” Rose states.
The man in the black coat approaches us. The rifle propped against his shoulder looks intimidating. Definitely something that could kill me in an instant. He’s taller than George and his grey beard tells me he’s older, like my father’s age. His eyes pass over the three of us, ogling Rose, who didn’t get very clean in the small pond we found. He skips over George and his eyes stop at me. Rose might have blood on her sweater, but I’m the one who doesn’t look human anymore. My hoody is torn at the sleeve and there’s blood stains on it as well as my jeans. The shades covering my eyes don’t help me much. They kind of make it look like I’m trying to hide something.
“Who are your friends, George?” Adam’s deep voice is intimidating. “You know we don’t like visitors. Explain.”
George motions to the two of us girls and says, “ This is Rose and Bridget, I met them yesterday. Bridget saved me from a zombie, so I figured I’d let them come with me after that.”
“How? I don’t see a gun.” Adam asks, his eyes glaring at me.
By now, many other people in the village have swarmed around us. Men, women, a few teens and children, all circle around. A few watch from the lawns in front of the houses and I can feel myself fighting the urge to end the pain in my stomach. Their skin looks appetizing, I can practically taste it already. I can smell the blood flowing through their veins and I only need one of them to satisfy my needs. One measly human will do, but I know I can’t do that. I need to ignore those thoughts and focus.
“I’m just that awesome.” I say, feeling smug and forcing down my hungry thoughts.
He steps closer to me and tries peering through the sunglasses to see my eyes. Good thing they’re pretty dark. I’d hate for him to see the metallic silver of my eyes right now. The way this guy looks at me and with how many guns I see in the hands of the inhabitants of this village, I wouldn’t last very long if the news about my non-humanness came out.
“Bridget, huh?” he questions.
I nod, “That’s right.”
“What’s with the sunglasses? Not a lot of people wear them anymore.” He says, still trying to see my eyes.
I shrug, “Sun hurts my eyes and I like to make a fashion statement.”
This Adam fellow, moves his eyes over the rest of my body. Probably noticing the blood on my clothes. He takes a glance at Rose and sees the same thing.
“Is there a reason for all the blood?” he asks.
“Tough life on the road.” I reply.
He nods, “That it is. How long are the two of you planning on staying?”
Jeez, th
is guy must really enjoy playing twenty questions or something. He won’t leave me alone with all of this nonsense. Why can’t the people here be like everywhere else and let us get on our way without going through an interrogation?
George steps toward me and says, “They’re just here for a few days. Rest up and get some supplies for the road. Then they’ll be on their way.”
“Supplies? You two have nothing to trade for anything we have here. What makes you think we’d give anything up for you?” Adam asks, glaring at me.
I could tell him I have the greatest gift the world could ever ask for in order to shut him up. I think that should grant me all the gold in the world. I just don’t see that working right now and it could get me killed faster.
I look him in the eye and say, “Figured we’d just wing it and hope for the best.”
Adam takes a step back from me and smiles, “I like you. You’re a smart ass, something this world doesn’t have enough of anymore. Stay for a few days and we’ll take care of ya. George can show you around.”
“Thank you.” Rose says, with a cute smile.
The village goes back to their business, some are still passing us awkward stares. Adam walks away and joins his buddies in whatever they have going on. I take a moment to look around the rest of the place. There are only houses and a few sheds in the backyards of some, no businesses or shops. Gardens have been planted outside the houses. The corn has all been harvested as well as the other fruits and vegetables. There’s a large chain-link fence surrounding a grassy lot. A few cows and five horses reside there with plenty of hay to eat and water to drink. This place seems like a nice, homey place to live.
All of the houses are boarded up and the people here have taken the necessary precautions in case vamps or zombies show up. Most of them have weapons and some have even booby trapped the lawn in front of the houses with metal stakes sticking out of the ground. Zombies are pretty dumb and would run right into those things without taking a second glance. I even spot a few, metal bear traps barely showing in the grass of one house. That would catch a vampire if it weren’t paying attention.
I turn back to George. He’s staring at the only man left in our immediate vicinity. His father. They look almost exactly alike. Same blue eyes, same pointed nose, his dad is just a hair taller than he is, but definitely a spot on match. Kelly must take after her mother. Right now she’s busy talking with the other girls around her age, ignoring the rest of us.
“You and your sister leave for three weeks and make me think you’re dead.” His father says, anger to his tone.
“I’m sorry, there was something I needed to do.” George replies.
“I hope it was worth it.”
George nods and says, “Can we talk somewhere in private? I have something really important to tell you.”
His father sighs, “Yeah, we’ll go to the house. After you tell me who these two girls are and why they’re both covered in blood.”
George shakes his head, “That’s kinda why we need the privacy, dad.”
His father raises an eyebrow and glances to both me and Rose. I can’t tell what he’s thinking as his eyes pass me over, but he doesn’t appear to be a bad guy. Maybe he’ll be another person in this town I can trust.
“Fine, follow me.” He says, then turns around and leads the way.
The wind blows through the air, sending all sorts of smells up my nose. Most of them are human and the blood flowing through their veins. It is tempting and I could use another meal, but they’re humans and I am vowing never to eat or drink a single one of them.
There is another scent that gets my attention. Something familiar, something I haven’t had the privilege of smelling for what seems like ages. It’s not a dead smell or another rabbit or animal. This aroma is much better. It might be faint, but it’s enough to get me to stop following the others.
I sniff the air again, only to make sure my mind isn’t playing another trick on me. The scent is gone this time and I find myself losing hope in everything all over again. Just thinking there was a chance he’d be here, looking for me, that made things worth so much more. But, I got my hopes up. My nose got my hopes up. I’ll never see Ryder again and sooner or later. I’ll have to accept that.
“Bridget, you coming?” George calls to me and my feet start moving again.
* * *
“I don’t understand.” George’s father stares at the three of us with a look of extreme confusion on his face.
We spent the last couple of hours trying to get him to comprehend the situation we’re all in right now. It took a while to tell my side of the story and that seemed to put him on edge. The gun hasn’t left his hand since I told him I was bitten. Made him even more nervous once we were able to prove that Rose used to be a zombie and I magically brought her back to life with just one bite. So far, he hasn’t killed either of us, but there’s still plenty of time for that to happen.
Right now, he’s sitting on the other side of an old dining room table with George sitting next to him. Rose sits in a chair across from him while I stand and lean against the faded white wall in the dining room. There are a couple of lit candles on the table, enough for us to see since the windows are completely boarded up. Not that I need any help with seeing in the darkness. Already proved to myself that I’m great in that department.
“What don’t you get? We told you everything.” George states.
“I don’t know. I just don’t get how any of this could be true.” His father replies. “This girl, both of these girls look human, I don’t get how you expect me to believe something without any proof.”
“We have proof, the blood on Rose’s sweatshirt and the bite marks on her wrist. She’s healing like a human would heal. Isn’t that enough?” George retorts.
His father shakes his head, “I’m sorry, but a little bit of blood and a few marks doesn’t tell me that she used to be a zombie. It makes me nervous as hell with these strange stories and I don’t feel comfortable with them around. But, if you think you can get the rest of the world to believe you have the cure for one of the problems in the world, you’ll need something else. Something no one has ever seen before. Just stating that you have a young woman who claims to be the cure for this, isn’t enough. You can’t even get me to believe what you’re saying.”
George lets out a sigh of despair and stares at his hands on the table. I had a feeling it would take a lot to get someone to believe us. This does seem pretty farfetched and will have the tendency to not be taken seriously. But, his father is right. The world will need strong evidence in order to even give me the chance to show them that I cured a zombie. Other than biting another beast of the undead, which isn’t exactly a smart thing to do right now, there is one thing I can do to show him I’m not human anymore.
I pull the chair out next to Rose and sit down. His father looks at me and tries to give me a sympathetic smile. He clearly wants to hear nothing more unless it’s something that shows him we aren’t lying. I lift my hands and grab the sunglasses from my face. Slowly, I take them off and set them on the table. My eyes are the proof he might be searching for and I’m thinking I probably should have done this in the first place.
“Holy hell.” He whispers as he stares at me.
I can see perfectly in this darkness and the look on his face is priceless. His mouth is agape and his eyes are wide open in shock. He’s never seen eyes like mine before and he might never see something like them again.
“Is this proof enough?” I ask.
He takes a deep breath and says, “They’re amazing and beautiful. This is why you wear the sunglasses? To hide your eyes from the world?”
I nod in agreement, “Not just to hide them. The sun burns the hell out of them during the day, I have no choice but to wear them.”
“Wow,” he says, “So, you really aren’t a human anymore?”
I shake my head, “I guess not.”
He runs a hand through his hair and leans closer, still star
ing at my eyes, “If you’re not human, do you have a heartbeat?”
Again, I shake my head, “You can check if you want.” I offer him my wrist to feel for a pulse.
He sets the gun on the table and hesitantly presses two fingers to my wrist. With all that’s left of my heart, I wish a beat would be found right now. The look on his face tells me he didn’t find one either. He takes his hand away, quickly, and gives me another confusing look.
“You were bit by a vampire and a zombie.” He says in disbelief, “What the hell are you?”
I shrug, “I haven’t figured that out yet.”
“She’s something wonderful.” Rose chimes in, “She saved my life and I wish I could prove more to you that she really did. She’s the thing that can save the rest of the world.”
George’s father turns his gaze to Rose and smiles, “If she really brought you back, why don’t you remember anything? Why can’t you remember your name?”
Rose shrugs, “I don’t know. I keep getting more and more images flashing through my mind, giving me some things that I feel really happened. I see an older woman. She has red hair just like mine and I think she’s my mother, but I don’t know for sure. There’s nothing more to tell me who she is and why I keep thinking of her. I wish there was something to tell me what my visions mean and give me some direction of who I used to be. I only know who I am right now and I know it’s only been a day, but I know I’m human again. I can live the life I was meant to have. The life God gave me.”
There she goes with that religious talk again.
“Dad, you have to believe us. I wouldn’t be begging you this much if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. I swear to you, Bridget holds the cure for the zombies.” George says in his most pleading sounding voice he has.
His father passes his eyes between the three of us, landing on me. I can tell his trying to believe us, trying to put the pieces of our messed up little puzzle together. He knows I’m not human any longer and that’s a big piece that fits in with this. Again, this would be so much easier to prove if I had another zombie around to give this man a live-action view of how it works. That isn’t something I’d really look forward to, no matter how hungry I am right now. However, once you get past the rotting flesh smell and the fact that you’re eating an undead creature, it’s not half bad.