by Tahnee Fritz
As soon as his screaming fades and he is lifeless in my grip, I let him fall to the ground and turn to the other two. Ryder is currently holding off the female zombie. Her hands are clutching the collar of his hoodie while his arms block her from biting into him. I wipe the blood from my mouth and get to my feet. I stomp angrily across the concrete and reach out for the zombie. I take a handful of her nasty, brown hair and yank her away from Ryder. She growls at me, her arms still reaching out for her meal as I fling her to the ground.
“Bridget?” I hear a shocked Ryder say from behind me.
The zombie quickly gets to her feet and glares at me. Hatred burns in her black eyes and she lunges at me. She digs her nails into my back and I can feel them breaking the skin. It doesn’t hurt, just like when Rose scratched my face last night. Nothing but an annoyance and I can deal with that. This one tries throwing me to the ground. She’s able to grab my hoody and swing me away from her a bit. I stumble, but never do I fall. Her hungry eyes focus again on Ryder. I’m sure she’s peeling him apart right now with those black orbs. She takes a heavy step toward him, falling almost on top of him. I’m right there to catch her and drag her away.
A loud scream escapes her throat, filling my ears as I stand in her way. If there was a way for me to tell her that I’m about to make this all better, I’d be doing that right now. I could speak to her, she’d never understand the words coming out of my mouth, but I could try. That sounds foolish and it’s easier to jump the gun and go for what I want. I let her rush me again, coming within inches of taking me down. With a swift move, I lift my leg and kick her in the stomach, causing her to double over.
That raspy breathing, the sound that has haunted my dreams for so long, is about to be ended in this woman. I kneel down beside her and she quickly starts clawing at me again, trying to push me away from her. She swings her arms at me and I grab one of them and bite down hard. Her blood fills my mouth, dripping down my chin, staining my shirt and hoodie even more. She claws at my grip on her arm, unable to make a sound after the kick she took to the gut. I can see her in the corner of my eye as I take the dead life away from her. Slowly, very slowly, I can see it fading from her eyes and she falls face first to the ground. I let go of her arm and wipe the blood from my chin.
Another one down, but my monster still remains.
I pull myself to my feet and turn around. There’s one last zombie standing over Ryder. There’s something familiar about this one. I’ve seen him before, back at the wall. This is the hesitant zombie that chose to walk away instead of eating us. I let him live and this is the thanks I get. I glare into those black, lifeless eyes that aren’t paying any attention to the fresh meat on the ground. Instead, all of his attention is on me. This one isn’t like the other two.
He’s hesitating.
Maybe he can understand me. Maybe the hesitant ones are different. I move toward him, stepping between the zombie and Ryder. I can feel a small part of the human me returning to my brain so I can gain some sort of control over my body. The zombie doesn’t move or try to attack. He just stands there and I’m about to do something crazy. It might not be as crazy as biting a zombie to gain sustenance, but still crazy in my opinion.
“I can fix you.” I say to him. “I can make you human again.”
I see his black eyes dart to the woman lying on the ground. Any moment now and we should hear two gasps for air. They’ll be human and by the look on his face, I think he knows.
“Let me cure you.” I say.
He lumbers up to me, closing the space between us. I’m not sure what this thing is doing to be honest. He’s not really giving me a sign or coming out and telling me. He stands within an inch from my face and cocks his head to the side. I start to wonder if he remembers me from back at the wall. If he does, he might be slightly grateful I spared him. Then, he looks down at my arm and I feel a tight grip on my wrist. I feel his fingers tightly wrap themselves around me and lift my arm to his mouth.
This time, I do feel the pain as he chomps his teeth down against my hand. The skin breaks instantly and I even feel the veins bursting and blood flowing out. I tighten my eyes and clench my teeth. The pain is searing and I don’t understand why. I’ve gotten scratched by these things and felt nothing, but this bite is the one thing to bring me pain. Maybe it has something to with the zombie taking my blood for once and not the opposite.
I don’t like it.
A few seconds pass and the tightness and pain in my hand eases as the zombie releases his jaw and falls. I take a breath and open my eyes to check out my hand. There’s a jagged cut on it with red blood oozing out. I wipe some of it away and can see the wound healing itself already.
“Bridget.” I hear a whispered voice from behind me.
My head snaps back to reality and my mind belongs to me again. I’m no longer trying to control my hunger for the flesh and blood of a zombie. I turn around and look to the ground where Ryder is still sitting. His eyes are open wide. I guess he’s not used to seeing a dead girl like me.
Past him, I see the shadows of people moving in toward us. Their guns are raised and pointed at me. This would be the perfect time to run, but I can’t. My feet won’t let me move and I know I need to stay. Not just for the fact that Ryder is lying at my feet, but I need to be here to prove to the people that I am the cure this planet has been looking for.
“What the hell is going on out here?” I recognize Adam’s voice and see him running out of the house he disappeared inside a few minutes ago.
He runs to the street and heads my way. His eyes widen as he sees the three zombies unmoving on the ground. A few others are gathering to get a look at the mess I’ve created. Carter is amongst them and he pushes his way through in order to get to Ryder.
“Bridget? That was you?” he sounds surprised.
I shrug, “Yeah, it was me.”
“What the hell?” he says.
A loud gasp escapes the throat of the first man I took down. Everyone’s eyes dart in his direction and so do mine. I see him coughing, gathering whatever air his lungs will allow him. George runs to the scene and quickly gets to the man’s side, helping him sit up so he can breathe easier. I see his eyes flutter open and I smile when the brown hue comes to view.
“What the hell is going on?” Adam asks.
I turn to him and say, “I cured him. I don’t know how and I definitely don’t know why, but I cured them all.”
The woman’s gasp comes next and Rose rushes to her side, “They’re changing back to human.” She says as she kneels beside the woman. “The same thing happened to me when Bridget bit me last night.”
The few people in the crowd are astonished as they stare at the people on the ground. Both of them are opening their eyes and seeing the world as a human again. The guns slowly lower and I think they realize I’m not a threat to them.
“Where am I?” the man asks as he looks around.
A few more people move closer, answering whatever questions he may have. Others join Rose in assisting with the woman and Greg, George’s father, goes to the third one’s side and waits for the gasp that comes from his throat the second Greg’s knees hit the ground.
I stare at each one of them. The human color back in their eyes and faces all because of me. I’m just as amazed as when Rose first opened her eyes. It doesn’t feel like I did anything at all, but I brought them back. I am the miracle Rose keeps insisting I am.
“Bridge?” Ryder’s voice catches me and I turn to face him.
Carter helps him to his feet and the two of them stand together, staring at me, “Hi.” I say.
Ryder smiles and I can see tears building in his eyes, “I thought I’d never see you again.”
I nod, “Same here. I guess I have a lot of explaining to do.”
“Damn right you do. What are you?” he asks.
I shrug, “No clue.”
“Your eyes are different now. They’re beautiful.”
I smile, “Just one of the per
ks of this.”
“Glad to see you’re still yourself, Bridget. You might have blood dripping from your face, but it’s good to see you.” Carter chimes in.
Embarrassed, I quickly wipe the rest of the blood from my chin on the sleeve of my hoodie and pass Ryder a smile. He can’t stay away from me forever and he limps the few, short steps to throw his arms around me. I can’t protest being this close to him, no matter how wonderful his flesh might smell. The monster in my stomach has gone away and is allowing me to wrap my arms around the man I love.
I hold onto him, gripping the back of his shirt with a clenched fist. The warmth of his body is the only place I truly feel safe. Even now, after changing into whatever I am, in his arms is the only place I want to be. The world cannot hurt me in the small bubble he forms around the two of us.
He pulls himself away from me and I know exactly what he wants to do now. He closes his eyes and moves in for the kiss. I don’t know what would happen to him if he got the taste of whatever is on my lips. Not only the zombie blood that’s most likely left behind, but the poison in my own blood. I can’t let the same thing that changed me, turn him into something of the same caliber. I can’t let him go through that pain.
It kills me to do this, but I put my hand on his chest and stop him from coming closer. I feel his heart beating in his chest and it needs to stay that way.
“You can’t kiss me.” I say, quietly.
“Why?” he argues.
“I can’t destroy your life.” I reply. “I don’t want you to feel the pain I felt when I changed into this.”
He sighs and nods his head in understanding, “This is going to suck.”
“I know, but I can’t hurt you.” I say.
“I understand.” Ryder says, quietly.
“Bridget?” Adam interrupts our little reunion and the two of us turn to face him. “You really cured them?”
I nod, “I did.”
He raises his eyebrows and nods his head, “You need to come with me.”
* * *
Adam took me to the same house I saw him walking out of right after he missed my little battle with the zombies. Ryder and Carter came with us as well. I wouldn’t have gone with the man if they weren’t by my side. In this world, you can never be too safe, even when you’re something like me. We left George and Rose in the street with the newly cured humans and disappeared with Adam into the small, white house.
The front door creaks open and the place smells dusty. There’s a fire going in the fireplace on the far wall of the living room. It’s not the first thing I notice when I enter the house. That happens to be the boxes of ammo and the many weapons being cleaned and loaded by a few people who apparently didn’t want to attend the party outside. All of their eyes turn toward us when we walk into the room. A dark skinned woman with short black hair, goes on full alert the second our eyes meet. She pulls a gun out and aims at me.
“I saw what this one did outside. Why would you bring her here.” She asks.
“She’s not a threat to us, guys. She might be the most valuable asset to this planet.” Adam states and leads us further into the house.
The woman reluctantly lowers her gun and steps aside. This allows us to enter the kitchen. A dinghy, white room with dust layered on everything. There are still dirty dishes in the sink and the smell of mold consumes the place. We move to a wooden door, which Adam unlocks and pulls open. It leads to the basement and he descends down the stairs. Carter follows first, then me, and Ryder comes down last.
It’s darker down here than in the rest of the house. The small windows at the top of the walls are boarded up, hiding any trace of sunlight that could possibly come into this room. A few lamps are spread about the place to give off enough light for the others to see. There are two men down here. A tall, skinny man who looks like he hasn’t eaten anything in weeks and a shorter man with a long beard and dark hair. He’s sitting on an old bar stool in front of a long black sheet. This is where we come to our stop.
I stare ahead of me with awe written all over my face. I’ve seen curtains like this before. They’re meant to hide something and the last time I encountered one of these, the result from removing the curtain ruined my life. I sniff the air, trying not to focus on the humans I’m trapped down here with. I can’t let myself drool over them. Outside of their scent, I catch a hint of something that doesn’t belong. Something that isn’t alive anymore, yet doesn’t smell dead enough to be a zombie.
I really don’t like this.
“What’s going on, Adam? You’ve never brought others down here.” The bearded man says. “Especially ones with eyes like hers.”
Adam steps in front of me to block any sort of attack this man might want to throw at me and replies, “She’s here to help us, Michael. Now grab that end and let’s get this sheet down.”
This man, Michael, stares at me for what seems like the longest minute ever. His eyes are telling me something, telling me not to trust him. He doesn’t appear to be someone who would associate himself with the likes of a person like me. I hope I’m wrong and my intuition is fooling me right now, but I think I’ll keep an eye on him until I figure him out for sure.
He nods and gets off the stool. Both he and Adam grab ends of the black sheet and yank it down from the nails holding it to the ceiling. They toss the sheet to the side and quickly step away from what’s in this corner of the room.
Just as I figured, a vamp in a cage.
This cage is better welded in the corners and the door looks more secure than the last time I saw something like this. There’s a small cot in there with the vamp, not like she needs it. She’s standing inches from the bars, staring out at all of us. She’s young, maybe fifteen or sixteen and she’s shorter than me. Her hair is long, blonde, and faded matching the haze covering her eyes. Her clothes aren’t torn or bloody like some of the others I’ve seen. She actually looks human, despite the paleness of her skin.
“This is my daughter, Katie.” Adam’s voice sounds hoarse and sad. “She was bit about six months ago and I couldn’t bring myself to kill her. I took her just before she changed and locked her in this cage.”
I step forward, keeping my eyes on the vamp, “How do you feed her?”
Adam lifts a sleeve of his jacket, revealing a few scars on his forearm, “I’m not a horrible person. I rely only on myself to keep her alive instead of giving her other means.”
“Does she know who you are?” Carter asks from behind us.
Adam shakes his head, “I don’t think she does. I’ve told her time and time again that I’m her father and she uses that to taunt me. She gets me to think that she’s not a vampire anymore and I want to let her out. That’s why Michael is down here, to make sure I never do that.”
This would be the hardest thing a father could ever do. Watch his daughter live as a vampire, bleeding himself so she could stay alive. My father would never do such a thing. He wouldn’t allow us to suffer. If he were here today and saw me get bit by both of those things, he would’ve ended things before I had the chance to run away. It actually might be a good thing he’s not here right now. The world wouldn’t have its cure for the zombies.
Adam turns to me, his eyes are sad and full of tears, “Bridget, I wasn’t lying when I met you this morning. I like you and even more now that I saw what you did out there. You brought those people back to life. You made their hearts beat again.”
“You still wanted to kill me though.” I reply.
“Yes, this is true but,” he takes a deep breath, “after witnessing a miracle, killing you is the last thing I’d ever dream of. You are a new hope for the humans.”
I shrug, “Not the first time I’ve heard this today.”
“That’s why I’m asking you to cure my daughter.”
He didn’t need to ask for me to know what he brought me down here for. He saw how those people came back after I bit them, it’s only natural for him to assume I can cure a vamp just the same. There’s just one
problem with his assumption.
“I don’t know if I can.” I reply.
“You have to.” Adam pleads.
“Look, I honestly didn’t even know I could cure those zombies. When I attacked Rose last night, it wasn’t because I knew I could change her back, it was because I was hungry. Killing George or his sister wasn’t an option and the zombie was the next thing around with the right ingredients to calm my stomach. Seeing her wake up as a human was just a perk of the game.” I say, “I don’t think I can risk the same thing with your daughter not knowing what will happen. I don’t know if she’ll wake up a human or if we’ll both die.”
He nods, “I get that you don’t want to risk it, we can cut your arm and let her drink your blood for herself. These vamps don’t turn down blood.”
I run my fingers through my hair and say, “The zombies don’t detect me as being alive. They don’t want anything to do with me. I highly doubt a vamp will be any different.”
He turns his watery eyes to his daughter, letting a few tears drift to his cheeks. I know how I said my father would’ve killed me if he saw me change into something like this. I also know, if there was the possibility of a cure staring him right in the face, he’d do what it takes to make me human again. Even if that meant risking my life and losing me anyway. If my mother were here, she’d want me to do this. Helping people was one of her things and she hated seeing someone sad.
“I’m not promising I’ll bring her back. I’m not even going to promise she’ll be alive after she gets a dose of whatever is in my blood. But I’ll do it.” I say, “I’ll try to make her human again.”
Adam smiles and turns to me, “Thank you so much for this. I’ll get a knife and we’ll try getting her to drink your blood first.”
I shake my head, “That will take too long and I know she won’t go for it. I’ll actually prove that to you right now.”
I walk away from them, approaching the bars of the cage. The vamp on the other side stays put and glares at me. Both of us sniff the air when I’m close enough to her. She smells different than the zombies. The salt on her skin smells sweeter as well as the blood underneath. My body can’t tell the difference and wants to try a taste regardless of what happens to either of us.
