Our Undead (33 page)

Margaret:
HEY!

The man turns and before he
has a chance to spout even a syllable, he feels the cold steel of
Margaret's blade inside of his abdomen. For a moment the two
strangers lock eyes. He looks absolutely confused and dumbfounded
seeing this young human girl in front of him. She twists the blade,
and the metal baseball bat falls from the man's hand to the
department store floor. The scruffy man follows soon after when
Margaret shrugs him off of the knife. He hits the ground before the
bat finishes rattling around, and Margaret picks it back up. He
tries to beg for his life, but nothing comes out except sputtering
and dribbles of blood. She stands above him, raises the bat and
brings it down on his head with the might of someone trying to win
the big prize at the fair. All it takes is that one good hit to
bring his body to stillness.

Margaret huffs in relief
and tosses the bat to the side. She had saved Abe from his second
end, and she feels quite pleased about it. She looks down at what
she has done, and then at Abe still feeding on the fatter hooligan.
The zombie takes a moment to look back at her with his usual
deadpan gaze, still chewing on a bloody piece of something or
other, thoroughly enjoying his first true zombie meal in a while.
She nods at him with half a smile cracked, letting him know that
everything is going to be all right.

Billy arrives by her side
and looks down at the man with his dented head and reddened
midsection. He says nothing when he and Margaret make eye contact.
Margaret simply shrugs, and they both watch Abe as he continues to
consume Tully.

<><><>

The next morning, Margaret
wakes up on one of the three beach loungers that her and Billy
dragged over to their made up entertainment area to sleep on. The
first thing she sees is Abe stretched out across the bright yellow
lounger to her left, looking up at the ceiling. She remembers the
night before, having to physically manipulate him into laying down
on it. She's well aware that he doesn't need to sleep or even lie
down, but as she has been getting more comfortable with him, it
feels weird having him stand over her while she sleeps. Besides,
she also knows that he is trainable, so she figures she might as
well get him used to the normal human idiosyncrasies.

To her right, she sees the
empty light blue lounger that Billy is supposed to be in. She rubs
her eyes into focus and sees that he is sitting just beyond it in
his beanbag chair playing Inhabitant Devil 6 again. She decides to
join him, gets up and plops herself down on the bean chair next to
him. He says nothing to her and never takes his eyes off the
game.

Margaret:
Been up long?… Is that a silly question?

Billy:
Actually, I didn't sleep too well.

Margaret:
How come?

Billy:
I
don't know. Don't worry about it.

Margaret:
What do you mean, "Don't worry about it"?

Billy:
It's not important.

Margaret:
What? So we're keeping secrets now?

Billy:
No,
it's just not important, okay?

Margaret:
You know what I think? I think that if it wasn't important,
you'd be able to tell me.

Billy stays quiet, ignoring
her pitiful attempt at reverse psychology, and Margaret watches him
put a bullet right between the eyes of one of the zombies in the
game.

Margaret:
Is it because of what happened last night? I told you, it's
okay. Don't be embarrassed. It happens to a lot of guys. We can
always find other ways to satisfy each other.

He remains unresponsive to
her badly timed joke.

Margaret:
Sorry. Okay, seriously. I'm being serious now, okay? I had to
do it. You know I had to. In any other situation, I would never do
anything like that…
obviously
. You know I would
never do anything like that, right? Not under normal circumstances.
I'm not a fucking murderer. You know that, right?

Billy continues playing. By
now, she is completely used to doing most of the talking. He
doesn't say much, but he is usually listening anyway, so she
continues.

Margaret:
Its just… look at this world we live in. If it wasn't them, I
swear to you it would've been us.

Billy pauses the game and
looks down at the controller.

Billy:
Was
it hard?

Margaret:
Was what hard?

Billy:
Killing that man… Was it hard for you?

She reflects for a moment,
and then gives her response.

Margaret:
No, not really. I just reacted.

Billy:
And
you're fine with that?

Margaret:
Hey, it was either him or Abe.

Billy finally looks up from
the controller and into Margaret's eyes.

Billy:
And
that's just it. Things are all backwards. I've always wanted this,
for a zombie outbreak to happen. I would fantasize about it all the
time, prepare for it, research, look for the signs of it actually
happening, and then it did… and… I was ready. I'm like your regular
Ashley Williams without the guns or chainsaw for an arm. I trained
to be like a young black Tallahassee… from Zombieland, but now look
what I've been reduced to. What
we've
been reduced to. I have
this… undead devourer of men as my ally, and I'm expected to
help
him
slaughter
humans
?! As frumpy looking as
those guys seemed or acted, they were still living and breathing
human beings. It's just…

Margaret:
Hey look here Billy; having to kill those guys last night
hasn't reduced
you
to anything. It was all me.

Billy:
But
I-

Margaret:
Shh! It's society's fault that we've both been reduced to
this kind of life. You need to know that you're not expected to do
anything that you don't want to do. I would never try to make you.
I don't even think I could if I wanted to, but please, try to
understand that I had to do it. Those guys meant nothing to me. Abe
is… well, he's become a sort of… a friend. I've let too many
friends go.

Billy:
It's just a little hard to understand…

Margaret:
But isn't all of this hard to understand?!
(sighs)
Back in
that cabin, when I was by myself and ready to die, something in me
changed. I had just seen my mother mercilessly killed, and although
I didn't see it with my own eyes, I knew my father was gone too.
Abe got himself stuck and I had a lot of time to think. While I was
watching him, studying him, something registered in my mind, that
the world had changed, and things were never going to be the same
again. I felt that, swallowed it, and it hurt for a moment, but
I've never been one to just keel over and die. My father would
never allow it. I may not have all the “know-how”, but I'm pretty
damn smart. I know how to adapt, and I'm going to do whatever it
takes to survive. My first mistake was reverting back into their
sweet little girl, when I should have been protecting my parents.
I'm not going to let anyone… or any
thing (gestures to Abe)
I care
about be taken away again. That goes for him… and now, that goes
for you too.

Billy:
I…
appreciate that.

Margaret:
It's cool… but you're just as smart as I am, Billy. No…
you're smarter than I am, but you need to realize that this is not
a game. It's not some fantasy come to life. This is real, and
zombies are
not
the only dangerous things wandering around out there. If
anything, humans are more of a threat. They are just as, if not
more desperate than the walkers, and they can
think…
most times
irrationally.

Billy:
(sighs)
You may have a
point.

Margaret:
I do. Trust me. It's not something I wanted to do, it was
something I
had
to do. I felt it in my gut, and my gut is the only thing I
plan on following from now on. I suggest you do the
same.

Margaret notices Billy's
body revert back to it's relaxed state, which is it's standard, and
in turn, she lets her own body loosen up. He sits back, getting
comfortable in his bean chair, and Margaret swears she can see a
tiny smile on his face. She's glad that Billy sees things her way.
Inside, she knew he would. The two of them have a connection unlike
any she has ever had before, and it makes her glad that he was able
to open up to her. To her, it's a milestone in their unconventional
relationship. Billy looks up at the paused screen but doesn't
continue playing.

Billy:
You
know who you remind me of?

Margaret:
Who?

Billy:
Alice.

Margaret:
…in… wonderland?

Billy:
Psh, no. From the Inhabitant Devil movies. Although, I've
read that they
did
actually get that codename from the Lewis Carroll
novels.

Margaret:
Okay. Why do I remind you of this girl?

Billy:
Have you never seen an Inhabitant Devil
movie?

Margaret:
No?… Maybe?

Billy:
Wow… Alice is the hero in those movies. She's basically a
biological weapon, a super soldier gone renegade. She could pretty
much take on a whole army of the undead if she wanted to. She's
another slayer that I've looked up to during my years as a
fanatic.

Margaret:
Sounds flattering, but I could never take on an army of the
undead. Ten of those suckers are hard enough.

Billy:
You're right, you probably couldn't, but she had special
super human powers; so don't feel bad about that. Besides, the fact
that you both fight zombies is only half the reason that you remind
me of her. The other half is your heart. You both have a resolve
about you, and it carries you through the hardest of times. I still
don't know how I feel about what happened last night, but I trust
you, and as long as I am able, I'll have your back
too.

Margaret:
I'm really glad to hear that.

Margaret offers Billy her
hand and he takes it. They share a handshake that sincerely
solidifies their partnership. Feeling that there is nothing left to
be said, Billy releases Margaret's hand, un-pauses the game and
continues playing.

Margaret:
Hey, can I play with you?

Billy:
I
don't know.
Can
you?

Margaret:
What are you, the grammar police?

Billy:
Sorry, my foster mom used to do that to me all the time. I
guess the habit kinda rubbed off.

Margaret:
(scoffs)
Okay, okay.
Maaay
I play with
you?

Billy:
Heh, sure. Grab a controller.

She does, and the two of
them play Inhabitant Devil 6 into the afternoon. It takes Margaret
a while to get used to it, but Billy is patient with all of her
fumbling and questions. They share a ton of laughs at the many
mistakes and unexpected scares, until their bellies tell them it's
time to eat. They make themselves a ton of sandwiches, and then
play again until nightfall.

When they become tired,
they lay themselves down on their individual loungers, and each
says their goodnight to the other. Oddly, on this night it doesn't
take too long for Billy to drift off to sleep. Margaret can tell,
because she would usually keep him up by asking a bunch of
ridiculous questions like, what he wanted to be when he grew up, or
what super powers he would want if he could have any three in the
world. Tonight, when she asks him how many jellybeans he thinks she
can fit into Abe's mouth before he spits them up, he answers with a
soft grunt followed by a snore. Still wide-awake, she flips on to
her right side and offers the same question to Abe. Margaret tries
to get an answer from his eyes, but she finds nothing revealing in
them, so she returns to lying on her back and staring at the
distance ceiling.

Twenty minutes go by, and
she still can't seem to get to sleep. It's even confusing to her.
Her mind is racing with nothing important, and she loves to
sleep.

Margaret:
Ugh, silly games.