Zombie Girl (The Zombie Girl Saga Book 1)

by A. Giacomi

Cam hugs Eve closer as she sobs even harder.

  “What happened, Eve? Tell us everything,” Cam says in between her sobs.

  As Eve unfolds from her fetal position, I can see that she’s covered in bloodstains. I can’t help becoming paranoid; did anyone else see her like this? God, I hope not, or we will all be in a lot of trouble soon.

  “I went hiking on my favourite trail to clear my head. Then this couple showed up…”

  She goes silent for a moment. I can tell she is reliving it as she tells us what happened. Eve’s eyes are closed tight as she continues.

  “I was so hungry. I kept hoping they would leave, but they wanted to make conversation. Then it got really weird. They wanted me to make out with them, like something out of a messed up porno…and that gave me an excuse to get closer. I couldn’t fight it. I had to eat. It’s like something took over. Guys, I’m a monster. If there is no cure for this, I can’t go on.”

  She stops there. I know she is going to say she wants it to be over, she wants to die, but she doesn’t continue because I’m sure she remembers that she can heal. Killing her will be impossible, which makes her all the more frightening.

  Here is my best friend aching in front of me, and I am torn as to whether I should run or hug her.

  “Eve, I think it’s best you stay away from people right now. Maybe we can ask Dr. August if there is a more secure place for you to be.”

  She looks at me, a little hurt by my mention of quarantining her, but it is the best thing I can think of. Eve shakes her head furiously. “No, no, we need to go home. I need to check something out.”

  Cam is standing now, looking all sorts of confused. “Eve, you need to stay here so Dr. August can run his tests. You can’t leave right now.”

  I nod my head in agreement. Eve looks at both of us desperately. “You don’t understand. We have to go home or a lot of people might be in danger.”

  She really has our attention now.

  “I haven’t quite told you everything yet. I black out after a feed, and when I woke up to those mutilated bodies, they actually came back to life.”

  I cover my mouth in horror, and Cam simply sits down in a chair, stunned.

  “Eve, you know what this means, don’t you?”

  “Yes, it means I can spread the virus. I had to smash their skulls in to make sure they were dead and wouldn’t come back and infect others.”

  My palms are a bit sweaty as I ask the next question. “What did you do with the bodies, Eve?”

  Eve paces back and forth a bit before replying, “I left them under a tree, and I hoped the cops would think some animal attacked them.”

  She looks directly at Cam when she says this. She fidgets and stands awkwardly. This is Eve’s attempt at confessing something to him. She always fidgets in the same manner when she has bad news to share. She looks at him pleadingly, and Cam looks back very confused; he is searching his mind and starting to put things together.

  When the pieces come together, he stands up with a slight look of disbelief on his face. “Eve, you didn’t?” he says in a soft voice, almost as if he is about to crack apart.

  Eve goes to hug Cam as an apology, and he shoves her away violently.

  I’m startled by the unexpected rage and jump a bit.

  “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry…please…I didn’t mean to…I didn’t know…”

  Eve is barely managing to put sentences together. I just stare as a stunned voyeur as their strange conversation continues.

  Cam’s voice becomes more serious and angry. “Say it, Eve! Say what you did! Say it now! I want to hear it!”

  Eve keeps repeating that she is so sorry as she sobs on the floor. Cam’s next action is most shocking. He pounces on Eve, wrapping his hands around her throat. Without thinking, I run to them and try to peel him off of her. “Stop, Cam! This won’t help anyone.”

  He shoves me away with the same force that he used on Eve, and I bump my head on the edge of the bed on my way down. Ouch, that really hurt. I place my hand where my head is throbbing and then bring the hand towards my face to see a bit of blood. It isn’t too bad, so I try to get up. Cam is still choking Eve. She is making strange straining sounds, trying to get air that won’t come.

  I’m screaming at this point. “Cam, stop! Stop! Stop!” He eventually looks over at me and sees my fear. This makes him stop. His anger has gotten the best of him. I have never seen him this way.

  I crawl over to Eve’s very still body. Her eyes are wide open, but she doesn’t seem to be breathing.

  “Oh shit, what have I done?” Cam looks at the bruises forming on Eve’s neck.

  I push him back. “She can heal, remember? Just wait. She’ll be okay in a minute or two.”

  We watch in silence, waiting for Eve to come back to us. It seems to be taking forever, and I begin to panic.

  Cam is inconsolable and huddles into a corner of the room. If she doesn’t come back, Cam will surely kill himself.

  “Come on, Eve, wake up!” I shake her a bit. I can’t check for a pulse because Dr. August said that she no longer has a heartbeat. How am I going to know if she’ll come back or not? I am freaking out now.

  “Eve! Eve! Wake up! Don’t be an asshole! You need to wake up now!” I continue shaking her.

  Nothing works. I begin shaking with fear. Maybe this is it? I give up and sit on my bed. Cam and I are staring at Eve’s body from opposite ends of the room, and I’m sure we are wearing the same expression.

  I put my head in my hands and shed a few tears. The room is spinning. I feel as though I can’t get any air. Then Cam says, “Oh my God, Alex, look!”

  Eve has risen, well slightly. She is sitting up, looking straight at the wall with no expression or further movement. This looks like something out of The Exorcist. Will her head start spinning next?

  Cam looks horrified as Eve’s head jerks towards him. She rises so quickly and unnaturally. In seconds, she has a hand on Cam’s throat and has him in the air. Oh shit, this is it; she is going to kill us both now. I run over to Eve and place my hand on her shoulder. She growls, but I stay put. “Eve, please don’t hurt Cam. He’s your friend. He loves you. Eve, you’re going to kill him. Stop please.”

  It is that last part that brings her out of her daze. She doesn’t want to kill. She puts Cam down and seems slightly more human as she sorrowfully utters, “I don’t want hurt anyone. I don’t want anyone to die.”

  She falls to the floor looking exhausted. This time, I embrace her. My guess is that she’s exhausted from healing herself, so I tuck her into bed and deal with Cam.

  “What the hell were you thinking, dumbass?”

  He doesn’t really answer my question; he just looks pitiful.

  “Do you think Eve really killed my father?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know, Cam. It’s possible. She loves you so much that she would kill for you anyway. So maybe the virus acts on her impulses too.”

  “I’m not sure I can forgive that, Al. That changes everything.”

  I can understand that. How do you forgive such a huge crime?

  “You can worry about that later. Right now we have a bigger problem. What if Eve did attack your dad and he has come back as a zombie? Everyone in town could be in danger. Did you hear anything back about the autopsy?”

  Cam shakes his head. “No, nothing yet. I wonder what’s taking so long.”

  He is slow on the uptake these days. “Cam, come on! If his body ‘disappeared,’ I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to know about it. They could be hunting down dear daddy zombie right now. Eve’s right. We need to go home and find out what’s going on before it’s too late. We will also know if Eve did it or not. If your dad stayed dead, then Eve is clear, and you can decide if she has anything to even be forgiven for. Okay?”

  Cam nods. “I’m going to pack. We’ll leave in th
e morning.” He leaves, and all I can think about is the fact that I’m stuck sleeping next to the zombie girl.

  I crawl into my bed and pray for sleep. I look over at the peacefully sleeping Eve and whisper, “Please don’t eat my face off while I’m sleeping. Okay, buddy? That would be great…Thanks.”

  I reluctantly close my eyes and at some point fall into a deep slumber.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  EVE

  When I open my eyes the next morning, I am slightly disappointed that I woke up at all. I did terrible things, and now my friends are afraid of me, maybe even hate me. I look over at Alex sleeping. She’s curled up with her hands and blonde hair covering her face. It looks like she is trying to make herself invisible like her hair is an invisibility cloak or something.

  I throw the bed sheets off me and pick up the phone. I want to talk to Dr. August so badly; he is the only one who understands what I am going through. I guess I am done being angry with him. He doesn’t want any of this, after all; he is just as trapped as I am. I just pray CSIS won’t find out about me. I’m sure Dr. August won’t willingly say anything, but when someone threatens or tortures you, sometimes you crack.

  I dial his number. The phone rings and rings, but he doesn’t answer. The answering machine comes on, and I decide to leave a message after the beep.

  “Hey, Dr. August. It’s Eve. I really need to talk to you when I get back. I’m heading home for a few days to visit my family. Talk to you soon.”

  I really want to tell Dr. August the truth, but an answering machine isn’t the place to do it. I don’t even know if CSIS will be listening in or not, so I think I will be cautious.

  I hang up the phone and look back over at Alex. Crapola, still sleeping.

  I want to talk to someone, but I guess it can wait until Alex wakes up. I lie down on my bed and stare at the ceiling, which traditionally has a picture of Spider-man. I have had a poster of Spidey above my bed since I was eight years old. The poster changes, updates, according to new comics and movies, but always Spider-man. It makes me feel safe to know that Spidey is looking out for me, and it just continued into my adulthood.

  “Hey, Spidey,” I whisper. “How did you deal with being different? I know you didn’t eat people or anything, but you weren’t always admired either. WWSD? What would Spidey do? What if this is me forever? Maybe I can be a superhero and just eat bad guys?”

  I chuckle. I must sound so stupid. I suppose if Spider-man answered back, he would say, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

  Yeah, I have some power alright, but I have no idea how I am ever going to control it. Maybe I can have a secret lair that I can hide away in. If I stay away from people, then they might have a chance of staying alive.

  Alex quickly saves me from my inner discussion by greeting me, “Good morning, Eve. You feel more like yourself today?”

  I nod. “Actually, I feel great, and all I have to do is eat people to feel this alive again,”

  I say it too casually, and Alex gives me a raised eyebrow.

  Alex comes over to me very slowly. She looks like she wants to hug me, but she is being very cautious because of last night, I’m sure.

  “I won’t bite you, Alex. I promise. I’m not the least bit hungry. I had two dinners last night.”

  She gives me a brief smirk and then embraces me. The hug feels great; it’s nice to know someone cares about me, even if I don’t deserve it.

  “I’m so sorry about last night, Al. If I could control this, it would be so much easier, but it’s like the virus takes over. It’s stronger than I am.”

  She shushes me. “Eve, I need you to be strong and not sulky, okay? We won’t make it through this if you don’t try and fight against the virus. It doesn’t have to win. I’m afraid that if you give up and let the virus run things, there will be nothing left of my best friend.”

  “I will try, Al, I promise.” But what causes a deeper ache is Cam. “Al, do you think Cam’s ever going to speak to me again?”

  She shrugs, which isn’t very comforting. I want to scream.

  I am going to lose him, aren’t I?

  Cam and I never dated because I never wanted to lose him as a friend. If we ever broke up, that would be it. I didn’t really care for the whole awkward breakup and then the “do we stay friends after” discussion. In most cases, the relationship ends badly, and no one wants anything to do with the other person afterward. I don’t want Cam to ever be out of my life. Maybe that is love? A fairly stupid and cowardly way to show it, but still love. It doesn’t matter now if Cam never wants to speak to me again. No point in pouring my heart out if it is only going to be one sided.

  ***

  Alex and I start packing our things, which takes me about five minutes, but Alex the perfectionist needs about an hour. I bite my nails each time she perfectly folds a shirt and then takes it apart to re-fold when she notices it isn’t perfect enough.

  Oh my, God, that is annoying!

  There is a knock on the door, and I freeze. I know it will be Cam, and I’m not sure if I am ready to face him. I look at Alex and signal with my head that she should head over and open it. When the door flies open, it’s Cam, just as I suspected. He doesn’t acknowledge me, and why should he?

  “I’m all packed. I will meet you two by the car.” And with that brief statement, he is gone.

  His voice sounded wounded. If I could take back everything, I would. I would have never gone into that damn tomb.

  I stand by the door, tapping my foot as I stare at Alex inspecting the items in her suitcase ever so carefully. “Can you hurry up, please? We need to move. People in danger, remember?”

  She rolls her eyes. “Yes, I remember!” She slams her suitcase shut. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Shoot, I pissed her off. Can’t win for trying, can I?

  We head downstairs and pass Claire on the way. She gives us a fake smile as she passes, and I fight the urge to shove her down the stairs.

  Once we arrive at the car, Cam is sitting on the concrete with his back leaning against the side of the car. He looks so tired; I’m sure he hasn’t slept at all. He stands when he notices our approach and looks at me briefly. The quick glance looks painful, and he has to look away quickly.

  “I’m going to sit in the back. I’m exhausted and just need my space right now,” he says.

  Alex and I both nod. I’m not going to argue with him in this state, not even playfully.

  ***

  The whole way home is awkward. If it was still beating, I’m sure my heart would be aching from the distance growing between us. Our friendship is slowly changing, and I feel Cam and Alex slipping away from me. They are fighting to hold onto who I was and are terrified of what I have become.

  We listen to the radio to fill the silence. I like radio better than CDs or hooking up my iPod. Something about it feels like the songs are speaking to me or narrating my current state. We hear The Cranberries sing “Zombie,” The Cardigans sing “Lovefool,” and then “the song” comes on.

  Oh, for the love of God! Not that song!

  The one song that always seems to play when I’m at my lowest of lows. Daniel Powter begins singing “You Had A Bad Day.” How did he always know? In this case, it’s been a bad couple of months, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it. I can’t help but start singing along; it just sums up my sorrow. I am shocked when Alex joins in. She smiles at me, and we both sing harder together. Some sort of healing washes over us. Are we having fun? It has been so long since I’ve been my same silly self, and Alex is enjoying it too.

  As we belt out the tune, I glance back at Cam, who is still sleeping. I wish he will wake up and join in or give us his classic eyebrow raise of disapproval.

  After the song is over, I place my head on Alex’s shoulder for a long while as she drives. I love her so much that I think I
will die if I ever lose her. I guess I should stop using that word. Dying isn’t really part of my vocabulary anymore.

  ***

  When we arrive at my house, I grab my bag out of Alex’s trunk and wait outside of the car for Cam to join me. It is raining, and he is taking his sweet time getting out, perhaps getting me soaked as punishment. I stare back in the window. “Well? You coming?”

  Cam doesn’t even glance at me when he shakes his head.

  Alex turns to look at me and says, “He’s going to stay with me, Eve.”

  “Oh,” is all I can muster to say, and then I turn to walk towards my front door so they can’t see the tears welling up in my eyes.

  Alex yells out of the car window, “We’ll call you later to discuss what to do next.”

  I don’t turn around, but I wave her off, showing that I understand.

  I walk through my front door, and my dad is the first to greet me.

  “Oh hey, honey. We weren’t expecting you until later.”

  I hug him. “There wasn’t much traffic, and we didn’t stop for food or anything, so it was really quick.” I give him a fake smile.

  He places his arm around me and leads me to the kitchen. I can smell cookies. My mom always bakes when she knows I’m coming home.

  “Hey, Mom.” I give her a quick peck on the cheek as she whisks some batter.

  “Hey, honey, how was the trip back? The weather has been awful, and I was worried the roads would be so slow, but here you are…and early! I’m not even done baking yet. So sorry! I wanted to have it all ready when you arrived.”

  She gives a little pout as she says this. She’s adorable when she does this, and I give her a smile because I can’t help it.

  “Don’t worry, Mom. I have plenty of time to enjoy some cookies.” I don’t have the heart to tell her that I’m not really hungry, well not for cookies anyway.

  “Hey Dad, where’s Winston?”

  Dad has taken out the paper and started to read it at the kitchen table, his daily ritual. He shrugs, looking up from his paper. “I don’t know. He was here a minute ago.”