Brain Dead

by Alice Carina

  I flinched when something touched my shoulder, and it was only then that I turned around. I fully expected a hungry zombie to be waiting for me, with rotting flesh and teeth ready to rip flesh from bone. I wasn't exactly happy about dying - dying was obviously very bad, especially when it was death by zombies and very painful - but I couldn't bring myself to care.

  Instead of rotting flesh, I found a dirt covered boy who was looking rather perplexed. He raised a single eyebrow at me as he crossed his arms over his chest. Next to him was a dog that was even more dirt-covered. I couldn't even see the white under the dirt as the dog panted and stuck its tongue out.

  "Why are you crying?" Jake demanded, looking me up and down, annoyance clear on his face.

  I didn't pause to think. I just jumped forward and wrapped my arms around him. I started crying again, this time from shock... and relief. I was probably squeezing too hard, as I heard him gasp for breath. Instead of releasing him like I should have, I tightened my hold and buried my head against his neck. He was warm and soft, and I had never felt so relieved in my life.

  Jake stood there, letting me hold him for a few minutes. After we had been standing there for more than ten minutes, I heard the dog growl. I jumped away from Jake and glared at the dog. I was tempted to ignore its threat and hug Jake again, but one look at the boy and I knew that wasn't going to happen.

  "Are you done?" he asked coldly.

  I stared at him, remembering the pain I had felt when I had thought he was gone. I nodded silently, hoping he would say something comforting, but knowing that would never happen.

  "Why are you crying?" he asked again.

  I couldn't answer for a moment, and even when I could, I wasn't sure what to say. "I thought you were dead." Simple, but that was exactly what I thought.

  "Well, I'm not." Wow, he was so talented at stating the obvious.

  "I thought I was alone."

  Jake didn't say anything for a moment. "Everyone is alone in the apocalypse. There's just the people they're with for a while."

  "It was my fault."

  "I would love to agree with you - and there are plenty of things that are your fault - but I can't see how you caused me to... err... 'die'," he snorted, looking at me as if I was too incompetent to kill someone.

  "I'm sorry."

  "Of course you are," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Well, I'm done here; I'm going home."

  "Can I... I... I can come with you, right?" I wasn't sure whether I would be welcome after I had been so useless.

  "Do what you want, but if you're coming, you need to find the dog food."

  I grinned at that, following him as he walked away, the dog trotting along beside me.

  Jake glanced back at us, muttering "Great, now there's two of them" with a shake of his head as he led the way back.

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter twelve: moving

  Jake's POV

  It was getting colder, and yet I was feeling TOO warm. And what could be the cause? Why, it would have to be the two warm bodies snuggled up close next to me. Matt was lying with his head buried against my neck and his arms wrapped around my waist. Lucky was lying in front of me, my arms around his neck. I was warm on both sides.

  Unfortunately for them, I was an early bird, and if they chose to sleep so close, they could deal with being woken up. So, I let go of Lucky and stood up, making Matt fall to the floor, hard. The loud thump, followed by the groan made me feel a lot better as I left the room. My smile didn't go away until I made it to the rooftop and spotted the zombies on the street below.

  It took only a glance to know that the zombies had begun to notice our presence in the apartment building. It wasn't too noticeable yet, but they had begun to gather in the street around us. There was no doubt in my mind that soon they would begin to attack the building.

  I guess it was time to move.

  Moving wasn't fun, and it was filled with danger, but it was more dangerous to stay. I had seen people who decided to hole up in a police station, or a hospital, believing it to be safer inside than outside - which was right - and believing it too dangerous to move. It was safe to say that it didn't end well. Ever.

  It was better to get it over and done with, so I went back down to the room to tell Matt. Instead of sleeping or moving around looking for breakfast, I found him on the floor where I had left him, with a very unhappy look on his face.

  "Why am I on the floor?" he asked slowly.

  "Why indeed?" I replied. "Anyway, pack your stuff."

  I have never seen anyone look as distressed as he looked at that moment. The only time I had seen him look that upset was when he had thought I was dead. I seriously thought he would start crying again. Oh, please spare me from the waterworks!

  "Please don't leave me," he whispered. "I'll do anything, just don't make me go!"

  What was he talking about? Oh, wait. He thought I was telling him to get lost? "I meant, the zombies figured out we are here, so we have to move."

  "Oh."

  "So, go pack your stuff, and the food while your at it."

  "Oh."

  He really needed to work on his vocabulary. I mean, I know it's the end of the world and all, but he's more than old enough to have finished school. So he should know how to talk, and he should know more words than 'oh'. For someone who was older than me, he was pretty pathetic and childlike.

  "Well, get to work." Why was I stuck with this useless child who couldn't even do anything without being told?

  "Okay." I could practically see the tail behind him, and it was wagging frantically.

  Matt was actually quite useful when it came to packing. While I kept an eye on the zombies, just in case they weren't in the passive stage of the hunt like I thought they were, he began gathering everything we needed. After an hour, I came to check on him, and found him sitting beside six perfectly packed duffel bags.

  He had been surprisingly efficient, even keeping the weight to a minimum. We might even be able to move everything in one trip carrying three bags each. That was probably a good idea considering how many of the undead were gathered in the street outside. The sooner we were gone, the better.

  Lucky was sitting next to the bag farthest from Matt, but the moment I walked in the door, he ran over, wagging his tail and sniffing my hands. This was something that I had noticed; Lucky didn't like Matt, and I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. I thought that they would get along, but instead they fought for my attention, showing nothing but dislike for each other.

  "You ready to go?" I asked as I picked up one of the bags.

  Matt jumped up, pulling two bags onto his left arm before picking up two more with his right. And who said chivalry was dead? I picked up the other bag, not even mentioning the fact that I was completely capable of carrying three bags. There was no way I was going to carry more bags than I had to. Instead, I kept an arm free so that if anything happened, I could grab Lucky's collar.

  It was strange leaving the place I had called home for so long, with two new companions that I definitely hadn't had when I had first moved there. It was always difficult moving, not because you became attached to the old home, but because the new home you chose might not be as good as the last.

  I had already thought ahead, and on a map I had taken from a news agency I had passed a few home changes back, I had marked out three new potential homes. Each were close enough to food and water supply that they could easily house us for the next few weeks. The only problem was choosing the one with the least amount of zombies around it. Unfortunately, that would mean going there in person to check it out.

  Matt and Lucky followed after me obediently, unconcerned by the zombies in the streets. I didn't hear a single word of complaint, or even a question as to where we were going. This entirely misplaced trust was quite useful as I led them to our first destination; a department store.

  It only took a minute for me to be absolutely certain that this place would be fine. There were plenty of zombies in the
street, even more than the front of the apartment had, but from the way they were moving, no one had stayed in the store for weeks at least, and every door was at least closed, if not locked. Thus, the entire store was sealed, and safe for us to stay in.

  "Okay, here will do." This way, the other spots I had picked were still available for the next move. Perfect.

  This, however, caused some discontent in the masses. "What are you talking about?" Matt said in confusion. "There are even more zombies than where we came from!"

  "This place is safer." I didn't particularly feel like elaborating, especially when the answer was so obvious to me.

  "How can it be safer?!"

  "If you don't want to come, you don't have to." That shut him up. It was clear he wasn't happy about this at all, but he said nothing as we circled around, moving through the street a block away, before moving from roof to roof back to the store.

  The store was dark, but there was no movement as far as we could see. One benefit to having Lucky around was that he was a good guard dog when it came to zombies; he could smell them from a mile away, and when he did notice them he wouldn't shut up about it.

  For now, we were safe.

  Chapter thirteen

  Chapter thirteen: thief

  We probably wouldn't have noticed the missing food at all - it just wasn't that much - if it hadn't been for my insistence on numbering the water bottles. It turns out paranoia does have its uses. Especially when there is suddenly a gap between bottles 16 and 19. Two bottles had vanished, and Matt wouldn't have dared to touch them without permission. So, someone was stealing food. Or water, at least.

  I told Matt, but instead of trying to look for someone in a store that size, when they might not even be there during the day, we decided to wait for them to mess up. All it would take was a little push, and anyone would make a mistake. So we started guarding our supplies. Nothing too noticeable, just gathering it together and keeping it close by. Even the quietest thief wouldn't be able to get past us, and definitely not with Lucky with us.

  It didn't take long at all for our trap to catch the thief. The first night after we decided to guard the food, we woke up to a soft growl from Lucky. I opened my eyes, and after glancing around, I could see the silhouette nearby. Slowly and carefully, I reached for the flashlight by my side.

  As the light hit the intruder, I could see the young girl, probably my age, before she flinched from the sudden light and shielded her face with her arm. She ducked out of sight, returning to the darkness. I switched off the flashlight before I stood up to follow her. I closed my eyes for a minute to let them adjust, then began to chase the thief.

  Matt scrambled after me, stumbling in the darkness, while Lucky raced ahead, slowing only enough for us to catch up. As I ran past the wall, I reached out for the light switch, and flicked the switch. The whole store lit up, making it a lot easier to run without bumping into walls and tripping over.

  The girl was running to the emergency exit, which was not a good move on her part. I had already disabled the fire alarm, so there was no chance of it alerting the zombies to our hiding place, but that didn't mean it was safe. From what I had seen, the emergency staircase leading to the outside could be filled with the undead; the outside door had been left open.

  The only thing stopping them from infesting the store was that the doors on the inside had closed automatically, while the outside door was propped open by what looked like a dead zombie. There was a pool of dark liquid around it, so I figured it had had its head bashed to pieces, leaving the blood and brains splattered around its neck.

  I saw the girl pull open the emergency door, and I felt torn between telling her how stupid she was, and wondering how exactly she had been coming here so often without realizing it was dangerous. I was right behind her as she stepped through the door, but I skidded to a halt in front of it.

  "Lucky, stop!" I yelled, and waited for the dog to reappear before letting the emergency exit close.

  I stepped back and watched the door, just waiting. Matt came and stood next to me, looking confused, but not bothering to ask. Matt had started to get used to my strange actions, and my 'freaky, stalkerish knowledge of the walking dead'. We waited for something to happen, whether it was the absence of the echoing footsteps or Lucky growling at zombies on the other side of the door.

  "What are we waiting for?" Matt asked when there was silence.

  "Wait for it," I replied, because I was certain that the girl would not leave unscathed.

  I was right. Less than ten seconds later, a scream echoed through the staircase, followed by desperate footsteps, growing louder by the second. It only took a minute before there was a desperate banging on the emergency door. I motioned towards the door, raising my eyebrows.

  "See?" I said, a smug smile on my face.

  Matt ignored me as he ran to open the door. The girl ran past him, not even waiting to check if he closed the door. Even from where I stood, I could see the zombies approaching the door. There had to be at least a dozen of them, but they were far enough away that I was confused by the girl's panic. What was the point of panicking? Either you'd get eaten by the zombies or not. Most probably not when they were so slow in chasing people.

  Matt slammed the door closed, and as one we turned to look at the girl, who was standing on the other side of the room, her back pressed against the wall. I patted Lucky's head as the dog began to growl, probably irritated by the scent of the zombies on the other side of the emergency exit. He fell quiet, but it was clear he was still upset, with his ears back and his tail still.

  "Hello," Matt said to the girl. "There's no need to be afraid. You're safe."

  "For now," I added helpfully.

  Matt glared at me. "Anyway, would you care to tell us why you were here at all?"

  The girl stared at us, then stepped forward, flicking short blonde hair out of her blue eyes. "My name is Milly," she said carefully, her eyes full of distrust. "How come you didn't follow me?"

  "'Cause zombies are bad." I couldn't help it; it was just so obvious.

  Now there was two sets of eyes glaring at me. "How did you know there were zombies there? I've known about this place longer than you, and I didn't know."

  This time even Matt looked at me questioningly. "The door leading outside is open. You can see it from the roof. Duh. Open doors usually lead to zombies coming inside."

  The blank stares I was getting were beginning to irritate me to no end. It was like they had never so much as thought about how zombies managed to find people. Could it really be that I was the only one who noticed these things? No way! Even stupid people like Matt had to notice this stuff. Sure, they didn't notice their behavior before attacking, but they had to of at least noticed that zombies walked through doors all the time, just because people liked to hide on the other side of them.

  "So, you guys aren't going to attack me for stealing your food?" Milly asked.

  "Too much trouble. Besides, mr 'I need to save everyone' over there is in charge of gathering the food," I pointed at Matt, accusation clear in my voice. "And he's probably thinking how fantastic it is to find another survivor."

  Milly looked confused, but she shrugged. "Then it's alright if I stay with you guys? Good," she said, not bothering to wait for an answer. "Now, first things first; I gotta warn ya about the other group."

  "Other group?" Matt asked, ignoring the insults, and Milly's arrogance.

  "Yeah, a couple of blocks away, there's a shopping centre with a really large group of survivors." Why did this sound so familiar? "They're really dangerous because their leader is a religious fanatic, and all the others are devout believers. They're really messed up. I'm lucky to be alive after meeting them!"

  "We'll keep that in mind," I replied with disinterest. Crazy survivors? That was nothing new.

  Milly seemed annoyed at our lack of surprise. "What's wrong with you people? It's like you don't see the danger around you? Not to mention there's a horde heading this way!
What do you say to that?"

  "Good."

  More of the blank stares. "What?!" they demanded simultaneously.

  "Hordes usually only form after surrounding their prey. If they're moving, they've probably fed recently; so they're less dangerous. Besides, they'll probably go after the larger group of survivors before us. There's nothing to worry about. I'm Jake, by the way. This is Lucky," I said, pointing to the border collie. "And that's Matt. Nice to meet you."

  More blank stares.

  "Huh?"

  This was going to take a while to get used to.

  Chapter fourteen

  Chapter fourteen: fanatic

  One positive of having Milly around was that she knew more than Matt about zombies and other survivors. The negatives were endless, which meant there was a serious murderous impulse in the rest of us. Even Lucky didn't like her. Especially not after she stepped on his tail.

  We kind of got used to having her around, but she was still extremely unhelpful, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was an extra pair of hands when Matt went scavenging for food, I probably would have murdered her. If somebody else didn't beat me to it, that is. And I think Matt was first in line for it since he had to deal with her all day while I kept watch on the streets.

  Matt and Milly didn't believe me when I said that I could understand the way zombies thought, mostly because they claimed that zombies didn't think. Most people would think that, but if they didn't use their brains, then why did they die when their was damage to the brain or the spinal chord was severed. That could only mean they needed the brain to move. And that implied that the brain DID function, just not the same as before.

  It was as I was sitting on the roof, watching the zombies, that I noticed something interesting. Despite the fact that the zombies knew that humans had passed through the department store, thanks to Milly's stunt, only a handful of zombies had been stopping to check it out.

  From what I could see, most of the zombies were slowly drifting towards something that would grab their attention; a large group of survivors. And from the direction they were moving, it looked like a horde was gathering to attack the religious group nearby. With the numbers that were moving, I doubted their group would be a problem for us anytime soon. But just in case...