It's not often you can say you're 'classic' or original, but after the events of the past year I slowly embraced it. I despised the fact that it changed everything about me from my features to my eating habits and eventually ruined every relationship I had. However, there were some benefits to this immortality gig.
The thing is…I'm a zombie.
That's right. I'm a bonafide flesh-eating, brain craving, contagion infested zombie. The flesh-eating isn't as bad as it sounds! As long as I maintained a rigorous diet of poultry, pork, or beef, I could keep the berserk-esque cravings in control. The problem is the hunger. Unfortunately, when a zombie body is mostly dead it no longer feels the involuntary pangs of hunger that a live body uses prompting it to eat…maybe twice a day. Instead, it's an incessant overwhelming need that seeps into every waking moment of my undead life. It's this very same reason I ceased all contact with anyone outside of the supernatural. It's incredibly difficult to pay attention in a conversation when the person is yapping their flushed, succulent, juicy lips….
Ugh. It was a moment of weakness precisely like that I had mistakenly leaned towards my best friend's mouth. Believing I was going to plant a kiss on him, he grasped my shoulders and roughly shook me dissipating whatever hazy spell the hunger had over me. He chastised and reminded me that he had a girlfriend. What he didn't know is I was close to gnawing the lips from his face.
"Hey, Yoko? You have that milky, glazed look to your eyes again. Thinking of brains, pumpkin?" I looked up at my roommate, Miki, the only friend that knew exactly what I was.
"Aw, damn, I did it again." I sheepishly let out a chuckle, but inwardly, I was embarrassed. Normally, when others are lost in thought they fidget, look around even: my body becomes deathly still and my eyes lose color appearing opaque if I decided to contemplate. I appeared rigidly dead.
"Don't sweat it. You won't be able to help it all the time." She placed a cup of tea in front of me. I was zoning out in front of the coffee table of our living room waiting for a phone call from Miki's brother.
I placed the cup to my chin and allowed the steam wafting from the brew to warm my lips. Tea did nothing for me, but I still went through the motions. The taste was the same, but it was off and didn't provide the same satisfaction as it did when I was alive. The only beverage that seemed to have any effect was alcohol, but it no longer warmed by belly or burned on the way down. It took the better part of a day for it to flush out of my system since my body just refuses to process it.
"True, but I don't want to advertise I'm dead to anyone unlucky enough to spot me doing that in public. Or to anyone actually looking for someone like me." I inhaled shallowly, not that I need to breathe…
"As long as you don't walk around during the day, or do anything excessively dumb…you'll be okay." Miki patted the crown of my head and lightly ruffled my white tresses. Another trait of my zombie-ness.
"I hate when you do that." I slipped the white hair over my shoulder and under the collar of my jacket before donning a beanie.
"But you were just starting to wear it out! Us classics have to flaunt it!" She flipped her ink black hair over her shoulder, a fang escaping her toothy grin.
Ah, my roommate was a vampire. And not one of those tropes when a woman gets attacked in the middle of the night by a handsome stranger and mysteriously wakes up different. No, that was my story. She was born into it. Apparently, you couldn't be turned into a vampire. The only way a baby vamp was created was through a vampire- human tryst, or marriage.
"You know I can't walk around like this. Despite being…classic." I mirrored her vernacular with a smirk. Classic was Miki's way of describing old world supes (or supernaturals) and anything that had been around before time was even an idea.
"You're proud. Admit it!" She stomped a foot down on the coffee table like she was claiming it. The teacup rattled slightly.
I snorted before taking a quiet sip from my tea. I didn't hate it…being a zombie, that is. I was insanely strong, fast as hell, and my reflexes were exceptional. I hadn't broken a single coffee mug since I was infected. But…proud? I wasn't proud I had to move out of my home to avoid eating my pets. I loathed that my last conversation with Kazuma ended with me trying to eat his lips off his face.
"You may not be proud yet. But you will be. You're a dying breed, Yoko." .
Miki slumped into the chair with a pouty expression not appreciating my disposition to my situation. Apparently, ghouls were quite rare, and ghouls that managed to retain cognitive abilities were even rarer and dubbed 'zombies' for clarification. Normally, an infected person turned into a ghoul, a groaning husk of decaying wet flesh. However, a zombie, like myself, managed to still look human; although, my hair was silvery white and my skin was pale as ivory. At least, my slate grey eyes managed to stay the same.
My roommate considered this to be a massive improvement to my human features and partially attributed to her not understanding why I wanted to be human again. As an individual born into the supernatural world, she'd never had her entire life ripped away from her. She treated my transition to the supernatural as a trial that I had luckily passed, because most supes, like vampires, were born and not made. Despite knowing her sentiments, I was patient with Miki. She took a dead girl into her home and helped me cope with the hunger and new torrential life. And then, she gave me a hobby, or job, rather. I freelanced as a private investigator between meagerly pretending to be human and sipping my tea.
She waited patiently to pick me up in her black Cadillac as I said goodbye to Kazuma for the last time just so I wouldn't be alone. And sometimes, she even asked about my progress on 'becoming human.'
"Any luck?" She pointed to the battered cell phone beside my tea. As if summoned, the little grey device beeped to life and the default tone played. This one little flip phone was my link to information and leads.
"Maybe!" I scrambled for the phone and flipped it open. "It's Nakajima."
"You seem like you're in a good mood." I could sense the smirk from the other side of the line.
"Cut the crap, Kaito." I heard him laugh.
"An individual matching your description made an appearance downtown, heading towards the park. Seems he's attempting to make another you." Kaito replied matter of factly.
"Why?" It was all I could ask. He'd done this to me exactly a year ago and hadn't shown up since then. Why now?
"I have a theory." Kaito spoke thoughtfully. Of course, he would. Being a cleric and scholar in the supernatural world, Kaito had an answer for the most everything.
"He doesn't know you survived."
"Wait, all this time I thought someone may be looking for me…" I felt like a damn fool wearing a hat every fucking day the past year for nothing.
"It would stand to reason this zombie is trying to create another zombie and succeeded without ever realizing it. Get down here if you want to catch him." The urgency in Kaito's voice was apparent.
"Are you fucking serious?" I snarled. The sound that came out of my mouth was ugly and hoarse.
"Manners, Yoko." Miki piped in from the couch.
"Dead ass." Kaito replied and hung up. The phrasing wasn't lost on me.
"Kaito found him heading for the park. He's going to infect someone." I stuffed my phone into my jacket and shot up from the floor.
"Wait, him him?" Miki plucked her keys from out her purse and followed me out the door.
"Naw, him from the country club. Of course it's fucking him." I scoffed.
Miki just cackled behind me as I strode to the Cadillac.
I wistfully watched brightly dressed twenty-somethings frolic around in their costumes through darkly tinted windows as we pulled up to the downtown park. There was a time Halloween was my favorite day of the year, but now it seemed a depressing reminder of how I ended up in my predicament. I was one of those unaware fools last year.
Miki abruptly parked and we practically scrambled out of the car into the park looking for our query nearly bulldozing a pack of drunk, scantily dressed sailors. The park opened up into a playground and beyond the yard there was a wooded area swallowed up in darkness. A scream erupted from the woods and the group of drunken girls gleefully laughed in response not comprehending what was going on.
Miki and I took off into the woods and the sounds of laughter and reverie ebbed away behind us. Another scream rang out and we corrected our direction instantaneously. Miki moved with precision and every step purposeful. Her golden eyes lightly glowed with determination. I wasn't nearly as graceful, nor quiet, but I used my new found reflexes to quickly adjust my momentum so I wouldn't barrel through the brush.
And then we found it convulsing and hoarsely sobbing in a damp file of leaves futilely grasping the ground towards the lively downtown area. A freshly turned ghoul writhed in pain, it's quickly decaying eyes wildly shifted from the dim light to Miki and then to me. The remnants of her humanity decayed with her flesh and her tanned skin became pallid and yellowing as auburn hair converted into a dull muddy brown. She jerked upward swiping at my leg and ripping her stark white nurse outfit in the process. I had never actually seen a ghoul before and the idea that I could have easily been in her place…
I heard Miki let out a disgusted groan.
"That's the single grossest thing I've ever seen." She disappeared into the wood momentarily and returned with a slab of rock.
"We were too late. We-" I shook my pant leg out of its bony fist as it continued to reach out towards me. I could no longer tell if it was the human inside her pleading for help or the ghoul trying to satiate the hunger.
"Oh no, don't you fucking start. You've had way too long a trip on the self-pity train." Miki cut through my thoughts her voice sharp and frustrated. I couldn't blame her frustration with me since I had moped constantly within the first six months of meeting her.
"I'm not! I was just saying that we should, uh." With a grim expression I pointed to the slab in her hand.
Miki placed the cold slab in my hand her fingers reassuringly wrapping around my own underneath. She held them there as her golden eyes bored into mine.
"You need to do this. While she's still human." She let her hands fall to her side and stepped behind me.
"Me? I can't kill her." I tightly gripped the rock within my grasp concentrating on the damp moss that was covering its surface. Anything but what was in front of me.
"You can and you will. Take responsibility." Miki snarled and her face scrunched into an animalistic sneer.
"I didn't fucking do this to her." I chucked the rock and it lodged itself into the soft ground as if I had thrown a knife.
"Didn't you? If your existence was known, she wouldn't be in this predicament." Miki's eyes flared dangerously in the dim light.
"Then-" Whether I had meant for it to happen this way or not, she was right. The reason this girl was choking back sobs on the ground was because my attacker thought I was dead. I hadn't infected her directly, but if I hadn't been so cowardly and hid myself I might as well have. I spent more time pitying my own situation before thinking of anyone else.
"We have to find him, tonight." I replied with resolve. I dislodged the slab from the ground and held it over the poor creature's shoulders. She had once again found purchase and held on to my pant leg so tightly I thought the fabric would rip away from the seam. She looked up with puss, milky eyes and mouthed, "please."
I let the slab fall combining my weight and the strength of a year old zombie with it. Her head rolled from her shoulders and disintegrated along with the rest of her body.
Miki and I had walked through the woods for what felt like another two hours in silence. We knew we would discuss it later; it was unspoken. I attempted to remain focused on the task at hand, but I couldn't let go of the wriggling thoughts that had wormed its way through my consciousness. Incredible guilt wracked my brain, but also relief…relief that girl ghoul wouldn't have to live the same life I was dealt. I'm sure I would feel more relief after finding the zombie that made me, so no one would ever have to go through any of this again.
For now, we were continuing our search. We had strolled along the main strip of the downtown area and circled back to the park once more without an appearance from a zombie (besides myself, that is.) Miki had skimmed the rooftops checking every nook and alley while I had spied through the windows of every bar, club, and even entered a strip club searching for a white haired man. Now, we were patrolling the woods once more. We were almost a hundred yards from where the entrance was when I realized Miki was no longer dejectedly walking beside me. I turned around and she was looking back out into the center of the woods.
Miki stilled in front of me. Her eyes widened softly and she started walking in the opposite direction.
"I hear a scuffle. By the gazebo!" She took off in a blur and I barely managed to follow the distortion of black and gold that left an after image behind her.
If my heart could beat or race it would as I anxiously dashed behind Miki's retreating form. As I ventured closer my body wanted to turn away and run, but I pushed forward putting momentum behind my legs.
The gazebo was demolished by the time we got there. I noticed a few limbs sticking out of the rubble and splinters from a body underneath. Beyond the gazebo, a sound like an implosion followed by hot wind shook the thickets and devoured everything in a flame. A body soared through the air and landed in a heap behind me. I rushed forward ignoring the flames scorching the ground towards the source of it all. Miki had paused for a moment before following behind.
He was tall with a lanky gait as he walked towards me. His hand was extended ready to unleash another burst of energy as Miki and I closed in on him.
"Look at me, asshole!" I howled. I yanked off my beanie and stuffed it in my jacket and lurched forward. Miki clenched my elbow and yanked me back protectively.
"No, let him see." I ripped my arm out from her hands and looked for any change of expression in the zombie in front of me.
He only stared coldly. His red eyes glinted behind metal framed spectacles from the white flames emitting light in his palm and his mouth curled into a sneer. As the white flare grew, it revealed sharp features and high cheekbones set into an elegant face and finally, the white hair. It was him.
I could feel the flames grow as the hot air wafted around my face and illuminated my form. Did he already know? Did he give a damn?
And suddenly, the flame vanished all at once as his features softened. His countenance transitioned from one of shock, confusion, then finally…recognition.
"You…survived?" He spoke shakily, but it was momentary as he cast a smug smile.
"Depends on your definition of survive. I'm not alive." I responded in a harsh tone.
"Finally, finally." He placed his hand in spindly fingers and shook in laughter. The husky chuckles that arose from his mouth made my hands clench into a fist. Did he think this was amusing?
"Finally? Fuck you." I was disgusted that I was made like this on purpose, that someone took time out of their day to create anything like me.
"Yes. I no longer have to roam the streets on this night trying to find a worthy candidate or someone strong enough to withstand the disease. My search…you've been here all this time." He cradled his head in his fingers mirthfully looking at me from above the silvery frames.
"How long have you been doing this? Why this night…." I wanted to retch, to throw up the tea and steak I had this morning, but I was a zombie. Zombies don't puke.
"Hmm," he placed his fingers thoughtfully to his mouth, "decades at least." He took a step toward me and paused when I scrambled backwards attempting to put space between us.
"Decades. You've been making zombies for decades. Bastard." I was scathing as a felt black seep into my vision and the blue veins on my forehead became pronounced. A sharp pinch from Miki reminded me not to go into berserk zombie mode.
"Ah, beautiful." He gestured to what must have been my veiny, pale primal face. I knew my eyes had transitioned from slate grey to the ugly black that encased the edge of my vision signifying when I needed to get to the nearest piece of meat. This was different…this was rage.
"To be precise, I've been making ghouls, not zombies. And, subsequently killing the failures. I can't stomach letting my mistakes roam around." He clarified rolling the sleeve of his black blazer away from the hand that previously was holding fire.
"This time, you ended my last...failure." He spoke candidly. "I hadn't realized that it was you. I didn't know you were the jealous type."
I sprinted forward trying to claw at him, but stopped short when Miki's arms wrapped around my shoulders grounding me. I tried to struggle out of her grasp my arm slipping out and reaching for the figure in front of me with no luck. Blind rage filled my eyes as I lurched forward, but I became idle as a form emerged from behind aiming a flying kick to the zombies head.
To my dismay, the zombie dodged faster than my eyes could follow and I sucked in an unnecessary gasp of shock. The form soared though the space my zombie attacker was before and barrel rolled back to his feet. He was in the recess of darkness, so I couldn't make out his features.
The zombie stood on the opposite side of the gazebo, the ground emitting a black fog before being engulfed by it and leaving nothing behind. I could hear a chuckle as his form retreated into it.
"Stylish." Miki quipped up from behind me.
"This is not the time!" I turned around now facing her while still encased in her arms.
"I know." Miki sighed and she pulled me in burying her face into my hair.
I felt the black around my eyes abscond and the protruding veins on my forehead lie flat as I stood there dumbfounded for words as to what happened.
"Hey, you ladies, alright?"
I stilled as I heard a familiar deep raucous, hoarse voice and saw Kuwabara Kazuma's handsome face appear from out of the darkness in front of mine. I tried to desperately escape from Miki's embrace, but it was too late. He had glanced down at my face.
At first, there was a moment when he didn't recognize me at all, but he shuddered like he always did when he knew something was amidst. That sixth sense of his had always been a constant whenever we used to hang out at his sister's house. His eyes widened in shock and he rushed forward inspecting my face.
"Yoko…where the hell have you been?!" Kuwabara shrieked.
I dislodged myself from Miki and took off towards downtown. I didn't want to do this. Not now.
Author's note: You can say I was a little inspired by Halloween as I wrote this. I genuinely hope you enjoyed.