When the zombies broke down my door, I was ready for them. I had my guns, and at least three knives. The only problem was that when they did break down my door, the stagnant smell of shit, piss, and rotting meat was almost too much to stand. I had to look away, and that was when they struck. Pieces of shit. One held me down for her friends to take their pick of bites outta me. I swore that I could hear the one on my chest mutter, "I'm sorry." I only could nod my head, seeing how all the air in my lungs was slowly leaking out. The two other zombies seemed to have made their choice on where to bite me. One of them grunted, and the one on top of me seemed to sigh, but she winked. She spun around and attacked her friends, shouting, in a barely discernable roar, "Leave!" I ran, glad that I was not getting munched on now. In a shower of glass, the one who was on me flew through my window. It looked like she was thrown. On impulse, I grabbed her by her shirt and dragged her to my car. I tossed her into the back seat and ran to my door, shooting the two that came back out of my door. Bastards. I got the car started, the little V-6 engine (I had a V-6 because it was the cheapest on my insurance. It was a 2010 Ford Ranger with dual transmission as in automatic and manual. It was exchanged by a switch built into the dash. It was worth it though. It may be illegal, but it worked.) whining at the amount of gas I needed to have, too much, too soon. I was shocked to see Her crawl from the back into the passenger seat and BUCKLE HERSELF IN! I was always told on the news that the zombies were exceptionally dumb. Well, they were wrong, like the goddamn weatherman. She barked, literally, a command, "Drive!"
"Where, then?"
"Away. From. Here." Alrighty, then. Have it your way, I thought. I stomped on the gas, sending Her and I into the back of the seats. The trucks tires squealed, but they finally caught after I tossed it into 4-wheel drive. Turns out there was a zombie stuck on the bottom of the rear tires from when I pulled up last time. While we were driving, I decided to have a conversation with Her.
"So, you can talk?"
"Yes, I can."
"You have a name?"
"Kathryn, with a K."
So, why aren't you trying to eat me?, to which Kathy blushed.
"As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't. You were the first one to hear me. Then, I knew I couldn't let you be killed and have to suffer what I had to suffer." Her speech, rusty and halting from lack of use, improved to the point that she was talking normally.
"Will you eat me?" Kathryn laughed, a harsh noise.
"No. But I still do need to eat. I think that any kind of meat will suffice for me." Okay, then. At least I wouldn't have to cut chunks off me. I handed her a bag, hoping that she wouldn't rip it open. She didn't, but she did bumble with the zipper until she got used to the new kind of movement. Kathy started to tear into the meat that I had stashed inside. Suddenly becoming embarrassed, she started to take little bites of the steak. After an hour and a half of driving, I pulled the truck off the road, parking in an old driveway that had been overgrown by grass. When we got out of the Ford, I raised my hands and clapped. Kathy quickly glanced at the noise, flinching at the same time. Two other zombies came out of the bushes. Well holy shit, they were the ones that Kathy had fought off me. I unsheathed two of my knives and got into a fighters stance. I slowly moved closer, and then gave a whoop and charged them. I gave the one on the left a full tilt kick straight to the neck and noted with satisfaction when if dropped to the ground, the nerves paralyzed from the neck down. Just like I had taught myself. The other one was caught in the face by the rebound of my attack to his buddy. I buried my knife hilt deep into the last ones chest, sending us both tumbling onto the ground. Which is what I wanted to do, but it ended up on top of me, instead. This brought back memories. The creatures teeth were inches from my next when the mouth in front of me exploded, sending goo everywhere, and yes, into MY mouth. That was bad. I stood up to see Kathy holding one of my 10 mm Berettas in her hands. I smiled, then fell onto the ground. Kathy ran over to me and rolled me over. All I could feel was pain. That was it. I managed to croak out, "Take care of yourself and try to bring me back." But the strangest thing of all was that I felt a sort of wetness on my face. In my half dead state, I asked if it was raining. Kathy assured me that it was, but in the back of my head, I knew that she was crying. For me? How sweet. I didn't want her tears. I wanted to sleep. So sleep I did. I awoke sometime later in the back of my truck, and Kathy was sitting next to me, still crying. I wanted to comfort her, but I couldn't move. I grunted to show I was awake, and she looked up, but didn't look at me. Must have thought there was another zombie around. I grunted again, louder. She looked at me and I blinked. She gasped and knelt at my side.
"Is there anything I can do? Move your eyes up and down for yes, side to side for no, okay?" Up-down. She smiled. "Does it hurt?" Side-side. "Its okay, its what happened to me. Its okay, Rick." My eyes widened.
"Oh, sorry, but I looked in your wallet." She said that sheepishly. I was a little embarrassed too, because the pocket that my wallet was in was extremely close to my crotch. Extremely. I smiled to show that it was okay. "Did you have a wife? Before this happened, I mean." Up-down. "Where is she now?" Side-side. Her face crumbled. "I'm sorry."
"Its. Okay. Kathy." It took me a while to get that out. "How about a son?" I nodded, recovered enough to do so. "What was his name?" "Steven." I managed. By this time, night had set in. It was a little cold, and I mentioned it to Kathy. She slid over to me, laying on her back to match how I was laying. "It'll be okay, Rick." She said as she wrapped her arms around me. Not just to keep me warm, but because she wanted to try and protect me. I felt warm and safe, like a baby in his mothers womb. I snuggled closer to Kathy and wrapped my arms around her, too. We fell asleep like that. It was peaceful.
