I watch as Kate, my new partner in survival, settles down to an uncomfortable sleep on the thin mattress in my home. Her face screws up as she falls asleep, the way Tim's used to. Tim. He's out there. I smile a little, the chance was small yes, but any chance was enough for me now. I look up into the hole in the ceiling. The moon shines brightly through and fills the room in a ghostly light. My skin looks even more deathly than before. I don't know how Tim will react to the new me. Not only do I look horrendous, I feel different, harsh and I have this sudden urge to rip the slightly snoring girl opposite me into several pieces and dine on her brain. I swallow, trying to suppress the monster that's trying to break through. I stand up, brushing the concrete dust off my hands. I decide the only good thing to do is to distract myself and go for a walk.
I climb out into the humid air and fill my lungs as much as I can with the smell of the sea, smoke and rotting flesh. A groan comes from the street. A pack of the dead trudge down the road, almost in sync. I turn my head and walk along the bare roof of the building and climb down the dodgy scaffolding to the level bellow.
My feet kick a bucket across the floor as I drop through the window. I cough the dust from my lungs and gaze around. It would've been a nice place if it was ever finished. Plastic sheets hang from light strips, wires stick out from the unpainted walls and a thick layer of dust and grime covers the floor but it feels nice. I cross the corridor into a more finished room. Furniture sits still unfinished in the corner. I realise that this must have been a new set of apartments of some kind. A kitchen is to my right and I'm tempted to see if the taps will work. If I'm thirsty I can't imagine how Kate feels. But as I walk closer I see that there are no taps, only holes where they will go. I groan and lean against the side, listening to the waves crash against the shore in the distance. I close my eyes and breathe in deep. A smell tickles at my nose. The smell of flames.
I climb back to the roof and look around the town. My new eyesight picks out a flicker of light about a mile away. A shadow moves across the glow. I crouch on the edge and watch the two figures move around their little camp. Then they start to chuck things into the flames. I peer across the landscape, trying to see what the shapes are. A hand, a leg, a whole torso. I swallow the bile that creeps up my throat. They're burning bodies. The smell is awful and I cover my nose to try and block the stomach churning smoke away. I continue to watch them though, trying to convince myself that what they were doing was right. Suddenly the flames go out and I loose the two body burners. Then it starts to rain, hard. I look up, feeling the grime wash away from my face with each drop. I smile, relieved to feel something other than dry heat or warm blood on my skin. I run over to the hole and shout down to Kate.
"Hey! Kate! Wake up!" She opens her eyes slowly.
"Wha?"
"Come up. It's raining!" I give her a hand climbing up the make shift stairs as she's still half asleep. She giggles and starts twirling around. I laugh as we start dancing in the water that pools on the flat roof. We both stop and open our mouths, drinking the fresh water from the sky. For a second I look at her. I see the pulse beating under her skin. I swallow hard and grit my teeth. Forcing myself not to give in. No. I'm not like that. I'm not one of them. But the urge is too strong and I have to run back down to get away from her.
"Abbey?" She calls after me and looks down on me. I'm sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. Hitting my head in time with my heartbeat to try and control my ragged breathing. "Are you okay?" She starts to move but I raise my hand.
"Don't." I growl. She gasps, moving back.
"Abbey?" She asks again, on the edge of tears. I breathe in and out, trying not to hear her frantic heart or her blood rushing through her veins. I close my eyes and start to hum as loudly as I can, trying to drown the noise out. By the time I've gained control, Kate's gone. I climb as quickly as I can and look around. I hear quick steps coming from the street. I see her running to the cost. I close my eyes.
"Come on zombie powers, don't fail me now." I jump and land feet first on the tarmac. With all my bones intact I run after her. "Kate!" I shout. But she doesn't turn. "Kate I'm sorry! I'm okay now! Kate!" She stops and turns to look at me. I stop a few feet away. "I'm sorry I scared you. It's I'm not used to... this yet." She nods but as she walks towards me a zombie appears out of nowhere and tackles her. She screams as the thing starts to claw at her.
"HELP!" I jump on the back of the dead woman and this knocks her to the ground. I hold her down but she's strong. I don't think, I just act as I wrench the screaming head away from the half eaten body. Kate shrieks as I hold the now unmoving skull in my hands. I throw it to the ground and quickly stand up, trying not to be sick. I turn to her.
"You okay?" She nods. She has a few scratches but that shouldn't change her. Her eyes are stuck on the corpse. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She still doesn't move. Thankfully it's still raining and the suns coming up so I can wash up and there will be light for us to move. "It'll be okay Kate. I promise."