by A. Giacomi
I guess it is time to mosey on out and make an appearance. I know Alex is already inside. She has been texting me asking, “Where are you?” and “Are you close yet?”
I have no idea why Mr. and Mrs. Brenner called me here today. I want to turn the car back on and drive away.
I turn up the music on my iPod instead and try to calm my nerves. Entering this house means revisiting all my feelings for Eve. Just as I am beginning to move on, they are pulling me back in. Why can’t they just tell me what they want over the phone?
My palms are sweating, and I keep rubbing them on my jeans.
“Okay, Cam, it’s go time. Just get your ass to the front door and see what they want.”
I know talking to myself really doesn’t seem all that healthy, but I do it often, and for whatever reason, it helps me keep my cool. I finish listening to my Rolling Stones song before making my move. It seems like bad luck to leave in the middle of a song, especially when it is rock royalty.
As I get out of my car and begin towards the house, I keep telling myself that I owe this to Eve. She will want me to check in on her parents. I feel a little guilty that I haven’t done it more frequently. I’ve been avoiding them for almost two years, and none of it is their fault. It is me. I am hiding, but I guess I can’t avoid the past forever.
Alex and I used the staged “fire” on campus as a cover for Eve’s disappearance. It was an easy alibi to use because it was one that CSIS had already crafted in order to conceal the existence of zombies. I still remember Mrs. Brenner’s screams when I called and told her that Eve had been one of the ones caught in the blaze.
My legs wobble beneath me as I think about what I did to her family, of what Eve forced me to do. The lies and the pain are excruciating. I can’t help thinking, Fuck you, Eve, for making us all suffer, but that is just me being bitter again. I still ask myself from time to time why we were so easy to leave behind. Why was I so easy to leave behind?
I knock on their door and hear barking on the other side. As the door opens, Winston races towards me and attacks me with excitement. I kneel to receive his kisses.
“Good boy, Winston. I missed you.”
I get up to meet Mr. Brenner. “Hi, sir. How are you?”
He doesn’t crack his usual smile; I guess he is a little pissed off that I haven’t made an appearance in awhile.
“I’m okay, Cam. Please come in. We’re sitting in the living room. Want anything to drink?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m good, thanks.”
I make my way into the living room, and Alex is sitting next to Mrs. Brenner, who is looking a little worse for wear. She looks so skinny and pale. My heart sinks as I begin to understand our meeting here.
Mrs. Brenner’s smile glimmers as she greets me. “Oh, Cam, it’s so good to see you. Please have a seat.”
As I hug her, I can feel her bones through her loose-fitting clothing. I try to be gentle with my embrace. Mr. Brenner joins me on the sofa facing Alex and Mrs. Brenner. Winston also joins us, planting himself by my feet.
“Now, Cam, I have already told Alex the news, and I thought you should know too.”
Mrs. Brenner takes a deep breath before continuing. Alex doesn’t make eye contact with me. She seems like she’s barely holding it together herself.
“I don’t want to keep you in suspense, so I’m just going to spill it out real quick here. I went and saw my doctor a few months ago, and unfortunately, my cancer is back, and it has spread.”
I bite the insides of my cheek and try not to let any tears fall. I want to be strong.
“What forms of treatment have they offered you, Mrs. Brenner?”
She smiles, but it’s a little dimmer this time.
“Well, they suggested chemo, and that’s what I’ve been doing, but they told me before the treatments started that it most likely wouldn’t do anything.”
I don’t understand. “So what other treatments can they offer?”
Mrs. Brenner goes quiet, so I turn to Mr. Brenner, and he simply shakes his head. I know the answer in my head, but I refuse to believe it. I need someone to say it out loud.
“Mrs. Brenner, there has to be something else. Did you get a second opinion? They have so many experimental drugs right now. Maybe you would be a candidate for some?”
Mrs. Brenner smiles through her tears, and even though she looks sorrowful, her smile still beams just like it always has. She signals with her finger that I should come closer. I kneel in front of her, waiting for a reply. She ever so gently takes my hands into hers.
“Cam, honey, this is it. There is nothing else they can do for me. I am lucky that I get to say goodbye. Everyone has to go someday, and I accept this exit. It’s better than some other options out there, I guess. I mean, I’ve really been blessed. I had survived it once already, but now it’s my time, you know?”
I feel my eyes drying up and stinging; they are wide open in shock. There is nothing I can possibly say to this. I’m not ready to say goodbye. This is a lot to digest. I think what shocks me further is this woman’s undying positivity. Her daughter “died,” and she is slowly dying too. She will be forced to leave the people she loves, and she feels lucky?
I feel a huge pain in my stomach when I ask my next question. “How long?”
I look into her kind eyes as she answers, “Three months, maybe six if chemo can hold it off a bit.”
I embrace her as she sobs. I feel her tears drenching my shirt, and I hold her, feeling emotionally obliterated by the news.
Eventually, Mrs. Brenner breaks the silence. “Okay, everyone, that’s enough sadness for one day. I have some things for you both.”
Mrs. Brenner pulls out a bag from behind the sofa.
“Alex, this is for you. It’s some of Eve’s things that I want you to have. There’s no need for me to hold onto them since I will be seeing her soon anyway.”
The mere mention of an afterlife makes me jitter. Alex looks just as uncomfortable.
Alex slowly takes a few pictures out of the bag. She giggles as she looks at them. She shows me one picture of the three of us back in high school. We were such nerds in our superhero tee shirts. The next thing Alex pulls out is Eve’s favourite teddy bear. Alex hugs it tightly. I bet it still smells of her, but I resist the urge to sniff it.
“Mrs. Brenner, I can’t take this. It’s been hers since she was little.”
Mrs. Brenner refuses to take it back. “I know that, and I hope it brings you as much comfort as it brought me.”
Now it is my turn. I’m not sure I am ready to see what Mrs. Brenner has for me, and I’m not sure I want a part of Eve laying around as a painful reminder either.
Mrs. Brenner pulls a small envelope out of her pocket and hands it to me. It says, “For: Cam,” on the front.
“Now, Cam, I haven’t opened it since it was addressed to you. I found it sitting in one of her drawers when I was clearing out her clothing for Goodwill last year. I’ve been very curious to see what it is, so go ahead, open it.”
I open it very slowly. There is no note, only something small in the corner of the envelope. I shake it out into my hand. It is a red stone.
Alex and I stare at each other in silence.
Mr. Brenner chimes in. “A rock? What is the rock about?”
I can tell they are waiting for an explanation, but I can’t very well tell them that among other mysterious powers, this rock may or may not ward off zombies. It may also have other powers that we are still unaware of.
I quickly think up a lie. “Oh right, I gave this to Eve when we went on a school trip to Ottawa. I told her it was the prettiest rock I had ever seen. I guess she wanted to return it to me for luck. We always thought it was a good luck stone. Silly, right?”
Mrs. Brenner pats my thigh. “No, that’s not silly. It’s important to have beliefs. I
t’s those beliefs that get you through so many strange things in life. Well, I certainly hope it brings you much luck in the future, Cameron Jackson.”
I smile at her. I like the sound of my full name. She says it so affectionately, and it reminds me of Eve. She would always tease me and call me Mr. Cameron Jackson. I recall this memory fondly; I still miss her most days.
Mrs. Brenner asks us to stay for dinner, but Alex and I make up an excuse so we can leave. Alex and I need to talk, and today has already been too heavy, but I promise Mrs. Brenner that I will return next week for a dinner date. That makes her happy, and it makes me feel better knowing that this is not goodbye, not just yet.
Alex and I get into the car and drive off. We don’t speak until I stop the car at our favourite park, the one we always visited with Eve. The last time I was here was that day Eve got hit by a car. I replay the strange incident in my head as I look around the familiar space. Once I finish rummaging around in my thoughts, I pull the rock out of my pocket and hold it out so we can both look at it. It is such a stunning red; it seems to have a glow about it.
“Al, why do you think she left me this? When did she even get this? Didn’t Dr. August always have it on him?”
Alex looks too petrified to touch it. “Maybe he gave it to her? Maybe she wants us to guard it? But we don’t even know what it does...hmmm.”
I shrug as I look at it. “Do you think we can find her using this? Maybe she wants us to find her and this is…”
Alex places her finger to my lips. “Shh, I think you’re getting ahead of yourself, Cam. She wanted to leave to protect us, remember? And the rock might protect us from something, just like it protected Dr. August. She wouldn’t want us to find her. Trust me, Cam. If you’d heard the way she spoke that night she left, you would know that she’s never coming back.”
I shove her finger away. “You mean she wouldn’t want to know her mother is dying? I think she’d want to know, Al. Maybe this thing is a way to contact her in case of an emergency?”
I speak into the rock as if it were a microphone. “Hello? Hello? Eve?”
I stop after a few more tries. Well, that made me feel like a total idiot.
“Cam, snap out of it! That rock’s not going to lead you to her. The fact that she left it for you means that she had been planning to leave for awhile. She was always going to leave, Cam. She had already made up her mind.”
Alex’s words cut deep, but she is right. Eve decided to leave long before we knew about it. She didn’t need our permission, and I’m positive that given the chance, she would have just disappeared without any explanation. This rock proves she was planning this. I feel like a fool. Why did she bother to start anything with me if she knew she was leaving?
I think Alex can read the hurt on my face. She grabs me and hugs me tightly.
“Cam, I’m so sorry. I just want you deal with reality. These are the facts. She did love you, though. I know she did!”
I laugh. “Love me? Yeah right! I’m not sure we meant anything to each other.”
Alex looks at me, confused. “Don’t act like you wouldn’t take her back in a second if she reappeared right now. You love her too. Don’t play macho with me. I know you better.”
“You see, that’s the funny thing, Al. Love isn’t enough, is it? To keep two people together forever, it takes a lot more. It takes respect, patience, sacrifice, and trust. Eve didn’t respect me enough to tell me the truth, so it’s over. Do I love her? Yes. Would it ever work? No. I see that now. All those years I spent waiting for her to see me as more than a friend were wasted because we were never meant to be anyway.”
Alex looks away. I can tell she’s upset.
“Cam, you don’t mean that.”
Just as she’s about to continue yelling at me, the stone begins to glow brightly. It looks as though it is on fire. We quit arguing and watch it in stunned silence. What is this thing? Eve clearly wanted us to have it, but why? We are so consumed with watching the stone that we become oblivious to what is going on around us.
When I look up, there is an odd fog in the air. It was a clear night only a moment ago. I can see the moon, but now white clouds surround our car.
I drop the stone behind me when I see some dark figures through the windshield. They are surrounding the car. I can’t make out what they look like, but their eyes burn like fire.
Before I can start the car, they are on top of us. One is banging on the roof of the car. I can see dents forming with each loud bang. Another one smashes Alex’s window, and glass goes flying everywhere. She’s screaming and trying to fight the figure off of her. I try to help, but it drags her out of the passenger side window before I can grab hold of her.
My last resort is the red stone Eve left me. It better have some sort of magic! I try to reach for the rock; I can see it glowing in the back seat. I stretch my arms as far as they will go, and I am just inches from it.
“Come on, rock. If you have any way of protecting us, now is the time!”
As I’m reaching for it, I notice a face in the rear window. I freeze as I stare up at the familiar face through the glass.
“Eve?”
She looks vicious, almost evil, and she doesn’t seem to recognize me. She gives a sly grin, and black ooze pours out of her mouth. I hear Alex’s frightened screams in the distance, but I am powerless to stop it. I can only stare as Eve punches through the glass and grabs me by the collar.
I look into her fiery eyes. “Eve, what have they done to you?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
A Note of Gratitude from the Author
I would like to first and foremost thank CHBB Publishing for giving a debut author this incredible opportunity to bring Eve Brenner into your homes. Without their support and tireless work, none of this would have been possible.
A special shout out to fellow authors Stephen Kozeniewski, my unofficial consigliere, Jeremiah Israel, my rock star muse, and Elise Walters, my spirit animal. Thank you for your support, you blurbs and kinds words. It means the world to me that such talented authors took the time to read my newbie book, and heck, they actually liked it! (So much yay!)
I know this next thank you is uncommon, but not unheard of; the fans are the ones that truly get wheels moving! I must thank all my twitter followers from the bottom of my heart. I didn’t forget about you, and you know who you are! The ones who were there from the beginning, helping to promote me and my blog. My very loyal followers, you helped make this dream come true in more ways than you can understand. Thank you for your support, kind words, and re-tweets. PZ loves you guys!
The next set of thank you’s are for my family. They have been encouraging me and my artistic endeavors since my very first sketch, very first poem, very first dream. I would like to thank my mother, who is my biggest cheerleader. There is nothing that woman wouldn’t do for her kids, and she is the kindest angel you will ever meet. A bonafide superhero with no cape.
My younger brother has always told me I was talented, even when I didn’t believe it. He helped create www.poeticzombie.com and has become my advisor in many ways. He is very keen and social media savvy, so I thank him for pushing me out of my comfort zone and into social media where I can meet other brilliant minds who might also enjoy my work and geek out with me.
I want to thank my husband, who spent many nights comforting me as I sent out endless queries for my book. Those nail-biting days without answers could only be managed with the support of someone far less worried than me. Thank you for being carefree and confident when I couldn’t be.
I want to thank my little son, who inspires me every day. He inspired me to bring my books to the public. I thought to myself, How could I one day ask this child to go for his dreams if I couldn’t do the same? So here I am, little guy. Momma wrote a book!
To my extended family, thank you so much for your support and love.
It feels good knowing you have my back always! Without you guys in my corner, I’m not sure where I’d be.
To my friends who supported this book before I ever wrote it. You guys support my madness no matter what it is. You never cease to amaze me with your loyalty, love, and sage advice.
Much love to you all. Hope you continue to enjoy The Zombie Girl Saga.
A.Giacomi
A.Giacomi is the author of the wildly entertaining Zombie Girl Saga. She is an educator, writer, and artist from Toronto, Canada. She is a zombie enthusiast, a wife, and mother to two small human children.
For more on A.Giacomi visit her on:
Twitter @thepoeticzombie
Facebook A.Giacomi
or her official Blog WWW.POETICZOMBIE.COM
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