A/N –I like to explore what-ifs. I really shouldn't be posting it, though, because I'm doing NaNoWriMo and that starts Saturday. I'm going to have to write quickly to get this one finished. I guess I could consider it training for NaNo. But the story seems to want to be told, and who am I to say no to a good story? Story title is from one of my music videos, btw.
Would You Love a Monsterman
All I can hear is the quiet shuffling of undead feet, with the occasional low groan. I'm shuffling along with the rest of the pack, blood drying on my cheek. Not my blood, though. I haven't been hurt. These creatures around me killed almost my entire salvage team. But I wasn't even injured.
The one I thought was going to kill me… didn't. Not yet. It put the blood on me, and then pulled me up from the floor and into the incurious hoard. It's still nearby; as we walk I can see him at the corner of my eye. Sometimes nearer, sometimes farther away, but always there. Usually staring at me.
Reality seems very unreal, right now. Memories and thoughts pop up and then disappear like soap bubbles.
Fighting with Perry. I'd insulted him. And now he's dead. I didn't see a body but he must be, or he'd have come after me.
Nora, held up in the air. I'd shot the corpse holding her, and they'd both dropped to the floor, out of my view. Nora, hiding under a desk as I was pulled out of there by the corpse holding me.
Dad, any number of times, too preoccupied to pay any attention to me. Would he even notice I was gone? He might be too busy trying to run the city and maintain the uninfected human race a few years longer.
That snow globe. So out of place, in the chaos and violence. Even the corpse had noticed it. It's in his pocket now.
Red hoodie, halfway zipped up, two front pockets. Dirty and stained, over a dirtier t-shirt. There's a new hole in it now. Where I threw the knife.
It had looked so confused. Pulling the knife out of its chest and dropping it on the ground, still coming straight at me.
A sudden loud noise makes me jump. It takes my weary brain a moment to process that it was gunfire. I look up.
Before I can see anything, red hoodie collides with me, and we both fall to the ground. Was it hit? Why would it care, unless it was killed… hope flares for a moment. I wiggle, and its arms tighten around me. It's not just fallen on me, it's holding me. A dead weight on top of me.
More gun fire. The corpse on top of me jerks twice, but doesn't let go. His head is near mine, and he's mumbling something, but I can't tell what.
Silence. The gunfire's stopped. Was it the army? An unfamiliar voice calls something that sounds like "Nets!" which makes no sense. Until I feel another weight land near my cheek. I turn my head and see what looks like a rope.
A sudden thud knocks the corpse to one side. Its arms loosen, and I roll away from it. I squint up towards the sun. Another net falls on me and I flinch. "Hey," I protest, not very loudly. I clear my throat and try again. "I'm not a corpse! Get this thing off me!"
That gains me some attention. A brief exchange and an eye test convince them to help me up. I scramble upright and move away from the captured corpses. It's a small group of human soldiers, quickly but carefully trussing up the zombies. Most of them are snarling, kicking and trying to bite. Not red hoodie, though, I notice. Well, I already knew it wasn't a typical corpse.
I don't recognize these guys. I know everybody in the city, especially the military ones. I didn't think there were any other human settlements around, although there are always rumors. One by one, the corpses are tied up, muzzled, picked up still wiggling, and slung into the bed of a pickup truck.
What kind of military outfit is this?
Once the cargo is loaded, the guy who seems to be the leader comes over to where I'm standing, bewildered. "You guys aren't from the city," I blurt out as he approaches.
"Hey, you alright? I'm Kurt. And yeah, no, not from the city. Not since Grigio took over."
"Yeah, I think I'm fine," I reply. "I'm Julie." After that comment, I'd rather not tell them my last name. "Julie Gray. Thanks for the rescue."
"Nice to meet you, Julie." He flashes a grin at me. "Very nice. Happy to be of service – did not expect a real person in with this group of deadwood." He gestures towards the truck, and I look in that direction. The corpse in the red hoodie has managed to sit up, partially, and is looking around. He turns his head and sees me, and when he meets my eyes his expression changes. Still staring at me.
She turns away when she sees me looking, but I don't mind. It looks like she's okay. Talking to one of the soldiers. I can't hear what they're saying, but it doesn't matter. They'll keep her safe. They have to. She'll be better off with them, anyway. I don't know what I was thinking, trying to take her home with me.
Just… it would have been nice to have some company. But who am I kidding. She was terrified of me; that wasn't ever likely to change. The Living do not make friends with the Dead, and there's a very good reason for that. I'll probably never see her again, now that she has a choice in the matter.
I look away, turning back to Kurt. "So who are you?" I ask.
"Remnants of a military unit," he says, vaguely. "Plus some others. Come on, you can ride in the front of the truck. I'll tell you as we drive."
I'm not certain I believe his entire story. But they are definitely organized and living outside the city walls. And they occasionally go out and capture zombies, because there's a guy in their camp who studies them. Sounds to me like they're all pinning their hopes on him finding a cure. Guess I can't blame them.
I've always hoped for a cure. The way things have been headed, all humans would have ended up either dead or turned, and then all the zombies in the world would starve. The perfect lose-lose scenario.
I realize it's gotten quiet in here, and turn and smile at Kurt. "So, um, can I get a ride back to the city?"
He looks sideways at me. "Yeah, sure. Not anymore today, though. Have to be back to base before dark."
Can't argue with him there. "Right. But, um, tomorrow?"
"Maybe. Have to see if anyone else needs the wheels."
Yeah. That's enthusiastic. "Okay. Thanks."
Their camp is a cluster of buildings surrounded by two rows of high barbed-wire fence. A cluster of buildings and a large cage, near the gate and away from the buildings. Kurt drives the truck in to the camp and parks near the cage. "Stay put," he says, exiting.
Curious, I open my door and step out of the truck, moving around the hood of the vehicle. The soldiers – or whoever they are – are very efficiently pushing the corpses into the… holding pen.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"We keep them here until the doc wants them," Kurt tells me, frowning. "And I told you to stay in the truck."
"Yeah, but I wanted to see," I explain. And I don't take orders from him. "They're untying them?"
"We can't afford to waste the rope," he says. "The cage is sturdy enough. No corpses are going to break out of it. Not that they usually try real hard. And these guys should be quiet enough, looks like they just ate."
"Um, yeah."
"So it'll be days before they start getting hungry again."
The thought makes me a little queasy. "Good to know."
He takes me further into the camp and introduces me to the other occupants. I tell my story and they tell some of their own. They're polite, but not especially friendly. I guess I can't blame them. Having friends just means losing friends, eventually. They give me a room and some clothes to change into.
I thank them and retreat into the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I wet a washcloth and start dabbing at the blood on my cheek. It's dried now, and is harder to remove.
Why on earth? Eating me, I could understand, that's what I expected. Painting me… is inexplicable. Dragging me along is unheard of. Not even the corpse experts in the camp could figure that one out.
I can still see the individual finger marks, and it reminds me of the face that had hovered in front of mine. It was disturbingly calm, just studying me. It was pale, and scarred, and spotted with blood… but not hostile.
Give it up, Julie, I tell myself. There's no point analyzing. Corpses are driven by instinct, by hunger. That one had obviously just eaten…
That thought breaks through the numbness that's gripped me for the past few hours, and I can't help it anymore, I start crying. I put the red-streaked cloth in the sink, and stumble over to the single bed, collapsing into tears.
I guess I'd cried myself to sleep. When I wake up, I go looking for dinner. They don't have too much, so I try not to eat a lot. Everyone except me seems to be busy.
My mind is racing. So many bizarre things happened today. I'm trying to make sense of them – there must be some rhyme or reason, if only I could figure it out. I make an excuse and go outside, pulling my jacket tighter around me in the cool night air. I wander around the perimeter of the camp for a bit, nodding to some guards as I pass, looking out into the night. There are lights every fifty feet or so.
I hope Nora's okay. She's out there, somewhere, all alone. I hope she made it home, or at least found a good place to hole up for the night. It must have been terrifying to realize she was the only remaining survivor, and that she'd have to get back to the city without weapons. No one in the group to watch her back. No group.
I was terrified even when I was with a group, although I was more terrified of my escort than of any stray zombies.
That was such a surreal experience. Surrounded by vicious beasts but unharmed. Part of me is starting to be really curious about that.
A low groaning about scares me to death. But then I realize it's just the captured, caged zombies. I've wandered close to their enclosure. I try to calm myself, breathe deeply – then regret it; they smell awful.
They are contained. I do not need to be afraid. The cage is near the fence, but not touching it. It's not directly under a light, so there are shadowy areas, but I can see that there's room for a person to walk behind it, without getting close enough to be grabbed.
Most of the dead are congregated at the front of the cage, facing the light and warmth of the camp. Facing the food. Shuffling around, emitting the occasional groan. Do they have any idea what's in store for them?
No, of course not. How could they? They don't think, they don't feel. They are unreasoning beasts. They killed five people today.
But they didn't kill me. Why did I live through that attack? I feel like there's an important piece of information, hiding just around the corner of my brain, taunting me. Something I need to understand.
That corpse… it saved my life. There's just no way around that. It did. He did.
"Julie."
I look up at the sound of my name, and find myself staring at the corpse in the red hoodie. He's standing at the back corner of the cage, away from the others. Closer to me. If there weren't bars between us, I'd be terrified all over again… but there are bars. So I'm merely scared.
But… I'm curious, too.
…to be continued…
A/N - I have five chapters written right now, and will probably post once a day. I'd love to see a review, if you have a moment. :)