Would You Love a Monsterman

by ChiefPam

I lean back against the Jeep, slowly assimilating that we made it. Well, not Marcus or the other corpses. I hope they're okay. But it's not like skeletons can shoot them in the head, right? As far as I know, that's the only way to keep a corpse down permanently. Dad's telling his men not to shoot the corpses. So I think my work here is done. R thinks so too, and says as much.

"Good. In that case, let's go home," I say, thinking longingly of a hot shower and my big four-poster bed. "My place, I mean. I want to go to bed."

R looks at me funny, and I realize what I just said. "To sleep," I hastily add. "You can stay at my place for now, okay?"

He nods, looking more relieved than anything.

My dad is walking over towards me, and grabs me into another hug. I hug back, a little bemused by the display of affection.

"Welcome home," he says in my ear.

I smile and hug him a little tighter. "Good to be back."

I pull back and smile at R. "Not that the last few days haven't been interesting. Yesterday was great, actually."

My dad raises an eyebrow in silent question.

"We took a rain day and just hung out in a house. Probably shouldn't have; it gave the camp guys time to catch up with us, but it was really nice to just have a quiet day."

Dad looks pained. "I sent patrols out looking for you, for days."

I wince. Hadn't really thought about it from his perspective. "Yeah, sorry about that."

He shakes his head, dismissing it. "You're back safe; that's all that matters."

"And your patrols did find me - well, I found them, but close enough. You saved me, Dad. Saved us both."

"Julie!"

I barely turn in time to catch Nora as she launches herself at me. I stagger backwards and she springs back. "You're back! You're alive! I was so scared when that zombie took you…"

I grin. "I'm fine. Thanks to the zombie." I gesture to R, next to me, and enjoy her look of shock. He's ducking his head, again, looking down.

"Oh my god. Is that him?" She backs up.

"Yeah." And I'm too far away from him, I think. I step closer and put an arm around his waist. After a startled second, I feel his arm come around my shoulders. "And he's not a zombie anymore. Nora, I'd like to introduce you to R."

R says a quiet "Hi." He's still not as good talking to other people as he is with me. But he'll get better.

She looks around at all the soldiers moving about purposefully. "How did you get him in here?"

"In the jeep. They know he's alive; he glows on their thermal sensors now. Oh, I have such a story to tell you. Come on, I'll tell you while we walk; I want to go home."

Nora nods assent, and I tug on R's waist to get him started walking in the right direction.

"I heard some stuff, already," Nora says. "About Dr. Borsa's camp, and them wanting to use you as a hostage or something, but the zombie part? Not mentioned."

"The short version is, R saved my life. A lot."

"And she saved mine," R adds.

"So, let me see if I understand this properly," Nora says, looking sideways at R as we leave the warehouse. "You were dead."

"Ye..yes," R agrees.

"And you attacked our salvage group."

He winces, then nods. "We... we were hungry."

"He didn't attack me, Nora."

"And why not?"

R shrugs. "Not sure I can explain, but when I saw her... I just wanted to keep her safe."

"He was staring at me," I chip in. "I had run out of ammo, most everybody was dead. I thought you were dead, honestly. So when he came towards me I was certain I was dead, too, but..." I smile up at R. "He said my name. And then he made the others think I was already dead, so they didn't kill me."

"Cool," Nora breathes out. "How?"

"Put some blood on my face, which, yuck. But he saved my life."

"Yeah, and dragged you out of there. So that's when the guys at the camp rescued you?"

I make a rude noise. "They didn't do it on purpose, they thought I was dead, too. When I talked to them, I could tell they didn't like my dad, or the city, so I didn't tell them my real name. I think they were going to bring me back, but then somehow they found out who I was." I look up at R.

"I heard them," he says, speaking as steadily as he can. He's getting better all the time, really. "They were out and saw the patrols searching for Julie, and heard what happened. So they figured out… who she was. Wanted to use her as leverage."

"But before they could, skeletons attacked the camp. A lot of them. And I hid amongst the corpses, with R."

Nora's looking at me like I'm insane. "Whoa, back the truck up, I think you missed a few steps there."

"Oh, right. Well, the camp guys put all the corpses in this, like, cage. I happened to get close to it, and you know what this guy said?"

"Your name," R interjects.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, he said my name, first, but then he asked me if I was okay. Like it really mattered to him. Does that sound like a zombie to you?"

Nora's eyes are getting wider. "No, not really."

"So…" I shrug, enjoying the weight of R's arm on my shoulders. "I talked to him a little. And then the people there weren't very nice, and I ended up talking to him again the next day." I shrug. "R was sweet, concerned about me. He was nicer than anybody else there. He told me about himself. Definitely not what I was expecting. And he told me why he'd put the blood on my face. So when the skeletons showed up, all I could think was that he'd hid me once already. I knew I wouldn't stand a chance otherwise."

Nora shudders, but I can tell she's fascinated. "No, you wouldn't And what did the other corpses do about this?"

"R told them to leave me alone," I say. "And they did."

Her eyebrow raises. "Really?"

"Yeah."

She looks at R. "Do they usually do what you tell them to?"

R shakes his head. "Don't usually tell them anything. Didn't usually talk."

"All I know is, a bunch of hungry zombies were looking at me like I was something they'd never ever seen before, just because I was holding onto R. After that, they weren't the least bit aggressive. Before then, yeah, but when they saw us together... it was weird, Nora, I can't explain it, but something happened."

"So, if you came back to life," Nora says, looking at R. "What about the rest of them?"

"Well, we don't know yet. Maybe."

R smiles. "But we have hope."

Julie lives in a really big house. I have to admit I'm feeling tired. Julie leads me up the stairs and into a colorful room with a big bed. "Come on," she says. "I need to sleep and I want you to be my pillow."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise, remembering the prior night when I didn't think she wanted me to be in the same room with her. This time, yeah, there's a physical aspect of it - I'm glad that's working again - but still, what really gets me is the trust. That she wants to be that close to me.

She changes into sleep wear. There's not much large enough for me to wear but she gives me a clean t-shirt and steals one of her dad's pairs of boxer shorts. That makes me feel a lot better, considering how filthy my clothes are. I mean, you try wearing the same set of clothing for years at a time. While being a messy eater. I don't need to think about that right now.

She crawls into the bed and holds the covers open for me. I take a moment just to admire the sight in front of me. One more impossibility in a day full of them.

Her expression turns impatient, then softens to a smile. "Yeah, I know, we're moving fast, but I just want to sleep, R, okay? No funny business," she adds, laughing.

I smile and climb in with her. I lie on my back, not knowing what else to do, and she curls up to my side, with her head on my shoulder. I tentatively put an arm around her. She snuggles a little closer, yawning. "Go to sleep, R," Julie says softly.

I have no intention of sleeping. I don't think I know how. And just lying there with Julie in my arms is amazing. Especially as her breathing slows and she relaxes further against me. So trusting. So beautiful. So… the world gets fuzzy, and my thoughts wander.

I open my eyes to see a bright meadow. What? Where's Julie?

"She's right where you left her, champ," a familiar voice says, and I turn to see… Perry. I've seen his memories from his perspective, but this is different. "You're dreaming."

I look around, taking in details of a place that I know I've never seen before. "How is this possible?"

He shrugs. "Don't know, don't care. How is it possible for a corpse to get the girl?"

Apprehension grips me. What if it was all a dream? How would I even know?

He studies me. "Don't worry. She wants you. Took her forever to sleep with me. Of course, that was back in high school, and, well, you've met her dad."

This feels very unreal. "Yeah."

"He's scary even when you're alive to start with, trust me. Saving Julie's life was a good strategy, though."

"It… wasn't a strategy."

His expression softens a little. "Yeah, I know. I had a feeling about you, when I first saw you. Why do you think I didn't shoot you in the head?"

That floors me. "You… missed on purpose?"

He scoffs. "Dude, I was up on the counter and you were totally focused on going after her. You really think I couldn't have hit you from that distance?"

"I never thought about it."

"Yeah, thinking's not your best thing," he says. "Seriously, though. Ponder it sometime. Or not; just trust me. I could have taken you out. But I saw how you were looking at her, and… I was so tired."

I look at him. He does seem more relaxed than I remember. Less grief-stricken and over-burdened.

"Not that I didn't regret it," he adds, grinning. "Briefly. You were pretty efficient at killing me, though, so thanks for that."

This is the most bizarre conversation ever. "Uh, yeah. I always tried to be…"

"You were a very considerate zombie," he says, smirking. "You didn't have to steal my watch, though!"

I look down. "Hey, it was a nice watch."

"Yeah." He sobers. "R - I'm not going to be hanging around. So before I go…"

"How are you even here?"

He shrugs. "How did you see my memories? Oh, and by the way, you missed some really good ones. If you know what I mean. I guess you'll have to make your own. Julie seems to want to help out with that. Anyway … take care of her, okay?"

This, I have no trouble with. "I will. I promise."

"She might miss me sometimes," Perry says, looking wistful. "Tell her I'm okay. I was ready to go."

Words are sticking in my throat, not in the usual can't-enunciate way, either. "Okay. Thanks."

"Thanks, yourself. You took care of my girl when I couldn't. You'll do alright now."

"I hope so," I say. I remember something, vaguely, and think now would be an appropriate time. I extend my hand towards him.

He looks, then reaches out to shake my hand. "It's been a trip. Bye." He hesitates, dropping my hand, then says softly, "If you don't mind… tell Julie I loved her, and I'm sorry I was such a dickhead for the last year. The thing with my dad just really messed me up. I know she knows that; she was way too understanding, but… just tell her I'm sorry. She deserved better." He looks me up and down. I look down to see the familiar hoodie and jeans. "You'll do."

"I'll tell her," I say, my voice sounding strange in my own ears.

"Oh, by the way… when I was wandering around in your brain, I saw your memories, too. Even the ones you can't get to anymore. I don't think you want to, either. Some of 'em aren't pretty."

I have no trouble believing that. "Can you tell me my name?"

"I could," he says, then grins. "But I'm not going to. You never liked it anyway." He turns, giving me a little wave. "Okay, then, I'm out."

I just watch him walk away, and as he gets a few feet away I start to be able to see apple trees right through him as he fades away.

I have no idea what that was. When I ate his brain, I got to see his memories, but I never expected any of him to come with it. I guess it makes sense. Electrical energy in the brain or something? I don't know.

I look up at the blue sky that goes on forever and it almost feels like I'm flying…

I wake up to find Julie curled up next to me. I'm on my side, with her in front of me, and apparently my arms wanted to be around her. Her back feels amazing, flush against my front. I pull my head back, just a little, the better to appreciate the sight, then decide it's better to close my eyes and lean in close. My every dream has come true, so unexpectedly.

Speaking of which… I had a dream? I guess that's what that was. Julie said Marcus had done it, and I'd been jealous, but now… I just lay there savoring the experience. It was so unreal to talk to Perry.

It fits what I saw in his memories. Maybe I just want to be forgiven, but thinking back, he's right. The dream version, I mean. He could have killed me. If he had… the others would have killed him, probably, and gotten Julie as well.

I flinch at the thought of her being harmed, and hold her a little bit tighter. She stirs, and slowly rolls onto her back, staying near. She smiles sleepily up at me and my heart contracts.

"Good morning."

"Good morning."

"So, how'd you sleep?"

"I actually slept," I tell her, still kind of amazed about the fact.

"Good. You know, I think it might be raining today."

I look around; her window is covered and I don't hear anything. "Not sure."

She smiles slowly, rolling onto her side to face me, and runs an hand over my arm. "Well, it might be. So, you know, I was thinking we could just stay here all day long…" She leans in to kiss me, and I return the kiss with clumsy enthusiasm.

Kissing while standing up was amazing. Kissing while lying down - kissing while alive - is so much better. I'll give her Perry's message later; right now I have other things to focus on.

to be continued... One more chapter ought to do it :) Brigid, I appreciate you sticking with me on this one! I hope Comet Moon sees this part...