Our Undead (18 page)

Margaret:
Um, sure.

Next, from his bag Billy
withdraws a bonafide hunting knife. It's shiny, smooth silver runs
down it's sides and comes to end at a very distinct point when he
finishes sliding it out of it's sheath. The blade is neither too
big nor too small for the boy. It's just the right size… But then
again, maybe just a bit bigger. He takes it out and slices it
through the top of the package, then down each side. Then pulls
back the square cut of its plastic face revealing its contents.
Inside is a light brown block of …well, food, Margaret guesses. It
doesn't look very appetizing, but she would have to be a fool to
deny food in these days and times. Billy uses his monstrous knife
to cut off two pieces that are exactly the same size. He hands one
of the pieces over to Margaret that is almost the size of her
palm.

Billy:
Um.. Does..
Abe
want any?

Margaret:
What? Oh no, no. He doesn't eat what we
eat.

Billy:
I
thought not.

Billy puts his piece of ER
Bar into his mouth so that he can put his knife and leftover chunk
of ration back into his bag. When he finishes, he takes a seat on
the ground right next to his belongings and takes a healthy bite of
brown stuff.

Billy:
So
what
does
he eat?

Margaret:
I trained him using hares. They're all over these woods. I
even fed him a squirrel once.

Billy:
Mmm… I guess that works.

Margaret:
What do you mean?

Billy:
I've read that zombies only choose to eat animals if they
have to, if they're desperate.

Margaret:
He had no choice back when we were in the cabin, maybe he's
just gotten used to them now.

Billy:
Maybe… How do you like the energy bar?

Margaret notices that she
hasn't even taken a bite yet, too engrossed in the moment. How
could it be, that less than five hours into her travels she has met
up with someone? What are the chances? And such a character as this
Billy Tell kid. Even with everything that has already happened,
this chance meeting is hard to believe. It hasn't really sunk in
for her yet. Her parents truly must be watching over
her.

Margaret:
Oh! It's uh… Well, let's see.

She takes a decent sized
bite and chews the doughy bar for a few seconds. Her face is in
serious thought. The taste of the thing is pretty bland, but after
getting a few bites in and letting the flavors swish around in her
mouth, she begins to taste hints of lemon and vanilla.

Margaret:
Mmm.. This isn't bad. It's like cake that's gone bad, but…
hasn't.

Billy:
That's a pretty good way of putting it.

Margaret looks at the
interesting kid and smiles, then moves in and takes a seat closer
to him. She just
has
to get to know more about him, so she puts her gift of gab to
work, and the two of them begin getting to know more about each
other. Margaret finds out that Billy is actually turning sixteen,
and that his birthday is coming up soon. He had been adopted when
he was four but was left at the agency when he was only months old.
She can't believe he's fifteen. He looks so young.

She finds out why the boy
is so thoroughly prepared. It seems that he has been a zombie
enthusiast since before he can remember. Even before he was
adopted, it was Billy that started the zombie tag game that all the
kids loved to play back in his foster home. When he got adopted his
obsession only grew, because when his foster parents asked what
kind of gifts he wanted, he'd always ask for something pertaining
to zombies. Soon he had a room full of undead collectables and
other zombie themed paraphernalia, which he sadly had to leave
behind when the infection sprang up. But there is one thing, he
assures her, that he could never leave behind and that is his copy
of "The Zombie Survival Guide", by Max Brooks.

Billy:
I
know this thing like the back of my hand, for lack of a better
idiom.

Margaret:
Heh, don't worry. I get it. You
really
know that book. It's your
bible.

Billy:
Exactly.

Billy then inquires about
how exactly Margaret was able to train Abe. She goes into a very
descriptive explanation. Starting from the beginning, about having
to escape her city, the sewers, and finding refuge in the woods in
the form of a cabin. She explains how Abe came in a killed her
mother and father. Billy listens on with not much of any type of
reaction to any of the dramatic points of her experience. It's more
like he's just analyzing her and the facts, instead of being
empathetic. He does, however, offer his condolences for the loss of
her parents. She continues on, telling him how she had twisted her
ankle and had given up, ready to let Abe eat her, but then how he
got stuck and her mind started to come back to her. She came up
with her little training plan, and the rest is history. She
physically gets up and uses Abe as a prop to show Billy how the
training went down, pretending to swing her old whooping club and
dodging as if Abe is still swinging at her.

Margaret:
Now that it's been a few days, I don't know what possessed me
to do it. I'd just lost my parents. I think I lost a little bit of
my mind too.

Billy:
It's okay. This new world we live in requires a little
insanity. And hey, you actually succeeded. You have your own
trained zombie.

Margaret:
Yes, I did… And yes, I do.

Margaret feels a bit of
pride rising inside of her, and an instant rapport is created in
between them as they share their stories. They stay seated and
talking long after they finish their pieces of energy bar, but soon
Margaret starts to notice Billy's body language getting all shifty
and uncomfortable. Soon, she finds out why.

Billy:
Hey, look Margaret, it's been amazing talking with you, but I
should really get moving. I've been keeping to a strict schedule. I
gotta make sure I move at least twenty to fifty miles a
day.

Margaret:
Wow... That's a lot of miles.

Billy:
Yes, it is… So I'd better go.

With that, he gets to his
feet, slings his knapsack over his back and picks up his
bow.

Billy:
I
wish you luck. I hope you get to your destination
safely.

Margaret:
Yea, wherever that may be. Now that I know Portland has
turned to shit, I don't really have a destination to get to safely,
but thanks.

Billy:
Hm.. Well… Take care, nonetheless.

Margaret:
Mmhm.. I'll try my best. You do the same.

Billy nods at Margaret, who
is still sitting down, and she nods back. He then takes a brief
look around to gain his bearings and his attention stops in a
particular line of travel, most likely the direction that he needs
to go in. He gives Margaret one more nod before heading down it,
and she twists her neck watching Billy walk away. She can't help
but feel like she's going to miss him, and she looks down to the
ground in front of her when her head can twist around no
further.

Billy has to walk past Abe
as he leaves, and the two of them lock eyes as he does. He can't
believe that the girl was actually able to tame this beast. That
was something special, something very special. Maybe even too
special to pass up. He walks by Abe, breaking eye contact at the
very last moment but stops three steps after. Margaret hears that
the footsteps have ended early, and she turns all the way around to
see what the hold up is. She sees Billy standing just beyond Abe
with his back still turned. Did he see something? Is he waiting for
something? Three seconds later, Billy turns around. He isn't at all
surprised that Margaret is already staring at him, expecting her to
be.

Billy:
Margaret?

Margaret:
Yep?

Billy:
I
was thinking.

Margaret:
Oh yea?

Billy:
Yes. I was thinking that since you don't really have a
specific place to go, maybe you might want to come with me. It
wouldn't be a problem.

Margaret:
Billy Tell, I thought you would never ask, but… we might slow
you down. Abe isn't the most agile creature, and my ankle is pretty
messed up.

Billy:
Yea, that did cross my mind… We can make it
work.

Excited, Margaret gets to
her feet and makes her way over to Billy, scooping up her duffel
bag along the way.

Margaret:
Cool! Abe, come!

Abe begins walking toward them, and they all leave the little
clearing, on their way to Hollywood, California.

YOUNG HERO

An arrow swishes through
the tree trunks, and swiftly enters the side of a female zombie's
skull. It pauses for a moment due to the shock, then collapses to
the ground. Not too far beyond, another zombie comes into focus. It
turns to look over when it hears it's brethren falling down, but it
doesn't get to for very long, as another arrow swiftly enters its
skull as well. It goes through the same format as the first,
pausing momentarily, then falling over. Margaret, Abe and their new
companion, Billy Tell, are walking through the thicket and trees
toward the fallen targets from about thirty feet away.

Margaret:
Jesus… How'd you learn to shoot so well?

Billy:
My
foster dad's favorite films were the "The Lord of The Rings"
pictures. We watched all three of them successively on the first
three days that I lived with them. A movie for each day. I didn't
mind cause I like movies, and I'd never seen it.

Margaret:
You had never seen The Lord of The Rings?!

Billy:
Nope, but I thought it was cool. Actually, I fell in love
with the Legolas character; his incredible skills with a bow and
arrow, to be more specific. The way he takes out the orcs with his
flawless marksmanship and travels so fast but so soundlessly. It
really stuck in my mind.

Margaret:
I guess it doesn't hurt that the orcs in the movies kinda
look like zombies.

Billy:
Exactly.

They arrive at the site
where the two walkers were sniped, and Billy yanks the first arrow
out of one of the corpses. He takes a small cloth out of his side
pocket and makes sure the arrow tip is clean before placing it back
into the bag with the others. Then he makes his way over to the
next one to repeat the process.

Billy:
My
foster dad couldn't have been happier. I had my first lesson the
day after we watched the last movie.

Margaret:
It sounds like your foster parents spoiled the hell out of
you.

They start walking
again.

Billy:
Yea, they were pretty well off. Foster dad ran a few online
businesses and foster mom worked from home, too. She was into
make-up and other skincare products. I was there only child, so
they spoiled me.

Margaret:
Sounds like you were quite the lucky kid.

Billy:
I
guess so, but it didn't take too long for the thrill and excitement
of adopting me to fade.

Margaret:
What do you mean?

Billy:
Well, later I came to find out that the reason they had to
adopt was because my mother wasn't able to have children of her
own. I guess after having me for a while, the novelty of it wore
off. They still bought things for me, but they didn't offer
anymore. I always had to ask. And we altogether stopped going out
and spending time as a family.

Margaret doesn't know what
to say. She feels like offering some sympathy, but she already
knows that Billy doesn't respond well to that sort of thing. She
has to say something before things get even more awkward, but then
she remembers that 'awkward' is pretty much what Billy is all
about. Perhaps not by choice, but still. She stays
silent.

Billy:
So
does that guy do anything besides follow you
around?

Margaret:
Um. He eats.

Billy:
You
didn't teach him any tricks?

Margaret:
Like what?

Billy:
I
don't know. Fetch?

Margaret:
No... What's the point of teaching a zombie how to play
fetch?