First iZombie fanfic, although I guess there aren't many so it's most people's first time. Tell me what you think, I'm just pulling out all the interesting character traits because I love all the possibilities.
You really tend to appreciate life more when you're dead. The last brain I ate caused me to dye my hair blue and sing karaoke at a bar. I promised I will never do that again.
I bleached my hair the morning before I knew I'd get more brains. It's the only time where I made an effort to look like a zombie. Blue- why blue? And why did I keep it even after the effects of my brains- their brains- had worn off? Bad decision.
"Earth to Liv," Ravi said, waving his hand in front of my face. I looked up with a start. "Brains? Lunch? Yum?"
"Oh," I said. "So who am I eating?"
"You get to be in high school again! I sure hope this one doesn't dye their hair every day," Ravi said. "She was found in the woods barefoot with a rather nasty looking bulletwound."
"Jane Doe?"
"No," Ravi said. "Rowan Lee. Her parents didn't come in to id her, but they reported her missing this morning."
"And you found her-"
"Last night. Don't worry, the weather kept her fresh. Are you-" he gestured with a gloved hand towards the head of the victim.
"We'd better check the color of her roots first," I joked. I felt the hunger start in as I opened up her head carefully, then took out my next meal. I must have been hungrier than I thought, because my hands were trembling as I weighed it and took it into the other room to microwave it.
"Wow, that looks delicious," Ravi said sarcastically as I shoveled food into my mouth.
"32 days," I said. They tasted horrible, but it felt so good. "I don't think I've ever gone that long before."
Ravi looked at me, concerned, then flipped through a few medical papers. I felt the familiar sensation of my body zoning out. My mind focused on a single prick of memory that resided in my stomach.
It's an address book- a lady peers through it, flipping a few pages. "Would this work?"
"He can't come on the third. The fifth would work."
When the memories fades, I take a deep breath and turn to Ravi. "She wasn't alone when she went out there. If she got lost, wandered off, somehow, then was killed two days later-"
"She wasn't alone, as in there was a murderer, or-"
"Friends," I said quickly. "I think. She mentioned a 'he.'"
"Who now?" Clive said, walking through the door. I swallowed, consciously aware of what had just gone down my throat.
"Rowan had friends that she was with before she died," I said. "She mentioned a he."
"Hmm," Clive said. "The parents didn't mention a boyfriend."
"Well, did you ask?" Ravi said. "Like they'd just volunteer that. Hi, yes, my dead kid had a boyfriend, thanks for all the work that you do. Want some tea?"
"Time for a visit," Clive said. "Come on, Liv." I looked at Ravi and he gave me a thumbs up.
"When did you know she was missing?" Clive asked, leaning forward intently.
"When Bryan called me and asked if she was there," Mrs. Lee said. "He didn't know where she was either. She was with her other friend- A- anna. They were filming in the woods on the fifth, and she stayed over with Anna that night. I guess she went for a walk, and- well, you know the rest."
"And Bryan was..." Clive trailed off.
"A friend from school. So was Anna. Is that-?"
"We'll have to talk with them about what happened too. Do you have a way to contact them?"
"I can get you their addresses and numbers. Anything I can do, just ask."
"Liv, ringing any bells?" So far, I had gotten nothing. Even the house didn't jog my memories. Well, her memories.
"Can I see her bedroom?" I asked.
"Of course. I'm sorry for the mess," Mrs. Lee said.
"Not a problem," Clive said. There was a cage of stick bugs to the right of the door, a fish tank directly in front of us, a rather large space on the dresser filled with small statues and various plants, and the smell of lavender and two other indiscernible plants . That something else was on the verge of triggering a memory.
"That plant," I said, curious. "What is it?"
"I don't know," Mrs. Lee said. "That's it, though." Several different plants were hanging on a hook.
"Where did she get it?"
"Probably the woods where she took her friends," she said. "She went there a lot."
"Liv?" Clive said.
"That smell," I said. I had finally realized that the scent wasn't triggering Rowan's memories, it was triggering my own. There had been little pieces of plant on her jacket- a rather specific combination of plants. I sniffed at the plants, quite aware of how weird it was. Two of them were oddly familiar.
"Clive, where was she found?"
"On one of the main roads. Right smack in the middle. A jogger found her body."
"She must've been dragged," I mused. Unless she rolled around in those plants while she was alive, I doubt she would have picked up that scent.
"To the scene of the crime?" Clive asked.