2:Become a zombie
1883 Words
Three days later, Emilia awoke in the rain.
It took her a moment to realize that she had lost her memories. Not all of them, though—she still remembered her name, Emilia, and that she was a doctor. She recalled needing to go to the Bronx. But why? The question gnawed at her mind, yet no answers came.
Tick-tock, tick-tock. It took her a while to realize the sound was coming from her own hair, dripping water. She desperately wanted to look, but her neck felt stiff and unyielding. When she tried to move, her joints creaked like old machinery.
Slowly, she raised her hand, and in the dim light, she saw her skin—not just bruised and discolored, but rotting flesh was falling away, revealing glimpses of stark, white bone. Strangely, she felt no fear; she accepted her condition with an eerie calm.
The sight around her was one of devastation. A newspaper fluttered by, and she strained her neck to catch a glimpse of the words. It referred to people like her as “zombies.”
But I was a doctor! How did I become a zombie?
Looking down at a puddle, she intended to see her reflection. However, as she leaned closer, “c***k!” one of her eyeballs fell out!
“Ah… no… oh… my… God… what… the… hell…”
Before she could finish her thought, she clamped her mouth shut in shock. Why was everything so slow now? Not just her movements but her speech as well. She tried to smile, but the effort made her muscles feel even more rigid.
What had happened to her? What was she supposed to do now in this desolate world?
Turning around, Emilia decided to ask other zombies if they were like her.
After slowly shuffling a couple of steps, she felt like she had forgotten something important.
Oh no! My eyeball!
She hurriedly turned back, though her “hurry” looked more like a slow-motion shuffle to anyone watching.
Returning to the puddle, she struggled to crouch down, reaching out with great effort until she finally retrieved her eyeball. It took a while, but she managed to stuff it back into its socket.
Looking down again, she realized with dismay that it was in upside down.
Oh well, it didn’t really matter; having that eye felt almost the same as not having it.
So, with a glaring white eyeball precariously in place, she slowly made her way toward another zombie nearby.
This one was dressed in simple clothes, covered in blood. If it weren’t for the long hair, Emilia wouldn’t have been able to tell whether it was male or female.
“Um… excuse me…” she attempted to communicate.
She had read in that newspaper that zombies like them were known to eat people! They had to have their heads chopped off to die! She didn’t want to die! Zombies had the right to survive too!
It took her an eternity to sputter out four words, and the effort was maddening.
But the woman just kept walking, bumping into her and pushing forward, seemingly oblivious to Emilia’s presence.
Frustration bubbled within her; she felt like dancing around in exasperation, yet the other zombie continued to ignore her.
“Please… don’t… bump… into me!” If this kept up, she felt like she might fall apart.
Was this woman an i***t? She couldn't even figure out how to go around!
Fine, if she wouldn’t turn, then I will.
Emilia tried to ask a few more zombies, but none of them gave her any response. The last one was particularly menacing, attempting to bite her!
But seeing how slow the creature moved, it was almost laughable. It thought it could attack her?
With a smirk of disdain, she sidestepped and, in slow motion, lifted her leg to kick the zombie, sending it sprawling face-first onto the ground in a dramatic fall.
“Ha… ha… ha…” Emilia chuckled heartily, reveling in the moment.
It had been an impulsive act, but that foolish zombie had brought it upon itself. To her surprise, several other zombies around her suddenly seemed to exhibit signs of submission!
What the heck was this? Was she actually sensing their emotions? Well, if they could even be said to have “feelings” at all.
But Emilia had no intention of recruiting any zombie minions. Since communication with them was impossible, she decided to leave this place and head toward the Bronx.
It was such a long distance, and at her pace of barely five meters in ten minutes, she wondered how long it would take to get there.
But even at that slow pace, she refused to give up.
There were important, very important people waiting for her there.
With that thought, a spark of determination ignited within her. She would press on, no matter how long it took!
Emilia quickly assessed her surroundings and decided to bypass the hospital ruins, opting for the main road instead. After all, she was a zombie now, and other zombies shouldn’t attack her.
As she reached the corner of the hospital, she suddenly spotted a group of people approaching!
Oh my God, they nearly scared her to death! She ducked back into the shadows, terrified to show herself.
These humans were out to kill her!
Despite her slow movements, she instinctively protected her neck, hiding in the darkness as she watched them closely.
The group appeared to be young, with one man in a tactical jacket leading them, barking orders as they moved forward.
“Quick! Before too many people show up, we need to grab the supplies here! Once the military arrives, we won’t stand a chance against those with guns!” Bark commanded the others.
But the pale-faced members of his group hesitated. “Bark, there are only eight of us! This is a hospital, and there are thousands of zombies! Going in there is a death sentence!”
“Doesn’t matter! This is the apocalypse! Do you have any idea how valuable medication is? If we don’t stock up now, we won’t survive the next injury! These zombies are just waking up, moving slowly. We can take them out, no problem!” Bark said with a fierce determination.
Among the group, a girl looked as if she were on the verge of tears. “I just can’t bring myself to do it… They were just like us a few days ago, human…”
The standoff was unbearable, and Emilia felt her frustration growing.
Are you going in or not? I’ve got to get to the Bronx!
They were taking too long; they were less efficient than she was as a zombie!
As time dragged on and the group remained at a standstill, Emilia sensed something was off.
Since waking up, she had realized she had lost her sense of smell, meaning she couldn’t detect the stench of rotting flesh or corpses. But now, she caught a whiff of something delicious—like her favorite meals, her beloved perfumes... no, it was a thousand times more enticing!
It was the smell of blood.
Even though she had no saliva left, she couldn’t help but swallow reflexively.
Other zombies nearby were drawn in by the scent of the group, slowly converging toward their location.
Emilia questioned herself: Should she join them?
Though she felt a flicker of understanding—killing was wrong—it was clear that they would kill her too! They needed food, just as she did! She had been hungry for days!
The group was still at an impasse, but they suddenly felt the shift in the air. Turning around, they were taken aback by the sight of so many zombies!
When had this happened?
Bark kicked one of his companions hard. “Shut up with your whining! Get inside quickly! Do you want to be eaten by zombies or what?”
Finally, the others fell in line behind Bark, no longer daring to resist.
But the zombies, with blood in their eyes, couldn’t contain their hunger at the sight of such a meaty feast. They quickly surrounded the group.
Emilia couldn’t help but smirk, feeling a strange sense of pride. There were so many of them; surely, this would last a while.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a glinting surgical knife. Despite the rain over the past few days, the blade remained sharp and bright.
Following the tide of zombies, she joined in the assault on the humans.
It was clear that these people had some skills; they wielded their weapons with precision, targeting the zombies' heads. They were faster and smarter than the undead, but sheer numbers were a formidable advantage.
Eventually, fatigue would take its toll. Emilia watched in horror as one person was overwhelmed, devoured by dozens of zombies.
She froze mid-step.
A flicker of her remaining sanity whispered: Did she want to become like that?
No, she didn’t, but she felt completely unable to control herself.
She craved blood with an insatiable hunger; without it, she might even perish!
Shaking off her rational thoughts, she gripped the surgical knife tightly, reassuring herself that at least she wouldn’t bite them. If she didn’t, they wouldn’t turn into zombies… would they?
“Bark, we need to retreat! We can’t hold out any longer!”
The remaining survivors regretted underestimating the zombies. The hospital was absolutely off-limits now; the streets were flooded with the undead, all surging toward them. If they didn’t leave soon, they might never escape.
As he spoke, he caught sight of Emilia charging forward, wielding a shovel, aiming to take her head off.
Emilia had been prepared, ducking just in time to avoid the swing.
The man hadn’t expected a zombie to evade him, and panic gripped him. “Bark! We need to get out of here! The zombies have evolved!”
Emilia’s ears buzzed with a maddening chant: Blood, blood, I want blood…
Just then, a zombie lunged from behind and sank its teeth into the man’s neck!
She watched as he struggled for a moment before going limp.
Bark finally understood; they couldn’t stay here any longer. The group began an urgent push to break free.
But the zombies were closing in, overwhelming them, and escape seemed impossible!
If Emilia could speak, she would have laughed triumphantly, taunting, “You think you can run? You won’t escape! You’re all my food! Hahaha…”
But before she could indulge in her victory, a thunderous roar cut through the chaos. Initially mistaking it for another earthquake, she turned to see an armored vehicle barreling toward them!
She couldn’t make out the driver’s face, but instinctively, she dropped to the ground, surrendering to her primal instincts. With a thud, her body hit the pavement as she played dead.
As expected, when the armored vehicle came to a halt, the sound of gunfire erupted around her!
Rat-a-tat-tat! In no time, the surrounding zombies were mowed down, leaving nothing but silence in their wake.
When the gunfire ceased, a cold voice echoed through the air. “You should leave. Stay away from places like this in the future.”
Emilia lay still, her heart racing, caught between fear and an unsettling thrill. This new development could change everything.
- Writer
