Our Undead (38 page)

Billy:
Try
to take your mind off of it. A couple more days and we were going
to be travelling this road again anyway. We only lost two days
there. It's nothing, really.

Margaret:
(mouth full)
Maybe to you. You
can't wait to get to California. If it were up to you we probably
wouldn't have even stayed as long as we did.

She swallows and takes
another big spoon full.

Billy:
Actually, I was having a pretty great time. It was relaxing.
It was fun. I could've stayed a couple more days easily, maybe even
a little longer. I'm kind of sad that I didn't get to beat
Inhabitant Devil 6. I was so close. I probably would've beaten it
too, but… uhmm..

Margaret:
But what?

Billy:
Aww, nothing.

Margaret:
What?! What are you talking about? What were you gonna
say?

Billy:
Well, you played that one night, and… I kinda had to wait for
you to stop sucking up the place.

Margaret:
(mouth full)
What?! Excuse
me?!

Billy:
You
were just kinda.. really bad at that game.

Margaret:
(mouth still full)
Ha, ha! Hey,
shut up! You should've seen me last night, before we had to leave!
I was kicking mutated zombie ass!… No, seriously, I
was!

Billy:
Oh,
I'm sure you were. I'm sure… but now we'll never know because…
you'll never be able to prove it.

Margaret:
Not for a while maybe. I swear I was getting better though… I
was. Heh,.. jerk.

He half thinks she's
telling the truth, but Billy doesn't respond to her call to belief.
He just watches her as she continues to eat, content to hear her
laughing again. The mood had been lightened, but there is one thing
that still bothers him.

Billy:
You
know, there was something weird though…

Margaret:
What?

Billy:
That one female.

Margaret:
In the game? Which one?

Billy:
No.
I'm talking about in the horde of zombies that attacked us last
night. There was this one particular female that was more
aggressive than the others. That scream. That piercing scream. It
was her. You didn't notice?

Margaret:
Oh, I know the scream. How could I not? But no, I didn't see
her.

Billy:
It
was the oddest thing. It was like she was leading
them.

Margaret:
Leading them? To who? Us? Why would
they...?

Billy:
I
don't know. I don't even know if that's the case, but it definitely
looks like she was on the top of their hierarchy… if they have
one.

Margaret:
Scary. She's like that witch from Right 4 Death
2.

Billy:
Heh, I guess, but without the hiding and crying… just…
completely and outright vicious.

Margaret:
…and with skills in leadership, apparently. She's like, 'The
Zombie Witch'… No, no… she's… 'The Queen of the Zombies'. It's a
little longer, but it has a better ring to it, don't you
think?

Billy:
Yea… It does...

Margaret's words put Billy
into a state of shock. She smiles and continues eating, happy to
have blown Billy's mind with the witty name she had come up with
for their possible stalker. However, it wasn't the silly but catchy
name that put Billy into his own mind, it was her consenting of the
fact that "The Queen of the Zombies" might possibly have
leadership skills
. If
Abe was able to learn, then why not any other, or
all
of the undead? Who's
to say they couldn't communicate within their… circle? If they
could, the trio might be in trouble.

But Billy keeps his
thoughts to himself. Even though it might be best for them to keep
moving, assuming they are actually being hunted, he chooses to not
hurry Margaret's meal to let her rest. Instead of continuing, the
two of them stay seated across from each other and talk about the
future. Billy tells Margaret of all of the places he wants to see
in California, the rises and dips of San Francisco, the magnificent
wilderness of Yosemite National Park, to walk along and see the
stunning sites of Newport Beach and the Balboa Peninsula, and last
but not least explore the mysteries of Universal Studios Hollywood.
To see all the magnificent props, characters and scenes from his
favorite movies, this is what he wants to do most of
all.

Margaret tells him that she
has been to Universal Studios, and she expects it might still be a
mysterious place, just not in the way that Billy is hoping, less
magical. As a matter of fact, none of those places are probably
going to be like anything he is expecting, especially if California
is as overrun as Oregon. The only one that might still be worth
visiting would be the national park.

All of these things, Billy
has already thought of. He knows he won't get to see things as they
once were, with crowds of other people that would be feeling the
same excitement and joyful satisfaction to be there as he would. He
knows that Universal will most likely be vacant with no lights on,
no long lines, and no working attractions, but none of that
matters. He's been a loner for most of his life, but in turn he was
given a powerful imagination to offset the solitude. Not only that,
but he had been very privileged after he left the orphanage. His
parents would give him any material thing he desired, and he soon
came to find that most of the toys and gadgets got tiresome, and
fast. It taught him not to want as much and be content with the
little things that he personally enjoys, like zombies and movies.
Even if California ends up wiped of all of it's life, Billy assures
Margaret that he'll appreciate just being there. That's all he
wants.

Margaret:
Wow, man. You're so Zen. I wish more kids were like you when
I was your age…… Actually, I wish more guys
my
age were like you. Most of
them still act like they're your age.. or.. how someone your age is
"supposed" to act. Fifteen year olds… Fifteen year olds with cars,
that's all they are.

Billy:
That's a shame… I guess.

Margaret:
It really is. Not that it matters anymore cause you know,
them being dead and all. But I tell ya, I was dating this guy named
Evan a couple of months before all this shit went down. He wasn't
the brightest guy. Mmm, he was an idiot really, like, a serious
airhead of a male. Heh, my dad hated him, but I couldn't blame him.
Evan would just say the most stupid things, and I knew he was a
dope, but… I used to sneak him into the house at night sometimes
anyway. See the thing is, when he opened his mouth, you wanted to
slap it shut, but then
there were moments
like those sneaky nights, where he couldn't talk because we had to
be quiet, or because his mouth was busy doing something else. You
know? Like, for what he lacked in intellect, he over compensated
for as a lover. Ugh, those nights were some of the best nights of
my life. It might've been the having to keep quiet part, or the
sneaking around that made things so exciting, but I've never gone
over again the way he used to bring me over. Ugh, I'm getting the
shakes just thinking about it.

As the foster child of rich
parents, Billy had access to almost anything he wanted. Anything he
could think to ask for, his parents would most likely get for him,
but this topic of sexuality is one that he is less than experienced
with. He had read up on it, sure. When he got into high school he
would research things on the Internet like dating advice columns,
Kama Sutra and tantric sex, listen to relationship gurus. Although
educating him quite well in some aspects of psychology, all of
those things never equated to him actually putting what he'd
learned into practice. How could he, when to everyone else, crushes
included, he was a socially inept outsider?

Margaret:
I had to ditch him eventually, of course, before I got
too
hooked. It
was literally like a drug, the sex I mean. Maybe the adventurous,
sneaky part of it too, but I don't think so. I'd snuck a couple of
other guys into my room before him, and they were never able to do
for me what Evan used to do. Oh gaaawd, what I would do to feel
that… release again. Maybe it would take me out of this funk. Lift
my spirits. Make me forget about this place for a good couple of
hours.

Billy doesn't know what to
say. He most certainly doesn't want to be the one to give Margaret
her.. "release", but is she trying to insinuate something? He
uncomfortably clears his throat.

Margaret:
Mmm? Oh gosh! Not from you, Billy. No offence, and I mean, I
know I'm only two years older than you, but I don't know. Fifteen
feels a little too young. Plus, you look like you're twelve. That
would just be weird. No offence. You're a cute guy. I just... think
I'm past that phase.

Billy:
No
offence taken.

Margaret:
(sighs)
What I really need is
the touch of a man…. or an "Almost Man", like my dad used to call
some of the guys I dated. Ha ha. Evan was twenty-two.
"You should stop wasting your time with those
almost men,"
Dad would
say
, "Focus on becoming a successful
young woman, and then find yourself a
rea
l man."
He was right, but God, what I wouldn't do for an
"Almost Man" right now… But hey, what about you?

Billy:
What
about
me?

Margaret:
Was there a little lady in your life?

Billy:
Hah! No way.

Margaret:
What do you mean? Why do you say it like that? I wasn't lying
when I said you were cute.

Billy:
Girls and I… we just never meshed well… the chemistry… the
chemistry was never right.

Margaret:
How so?

Billy:
I
don't know. I was never cool. You know how the whole.. student body
system of social acceptance works.

Margaret:
Uhh, yea… Wait.. Oh, no… So that means… Are you a
virgin?

Billy's feigning confidence
and silence is a dead give-away.

Margaret:
Aaaaaaaw. Billy, that's okay… Actually, it kinda sucks. I
mean, if you're chances were low back then, imagine how low they
are now with this whole…
zombie
apocalypse
thing.

Billy:
Yea… sucks, I guess. But it's not really a concern of mine.
It's really not a big deal.

Margaret:
Spoken like a true virgin. Sex can be so grea--…
(sighs)
You know
what? It's okay. Maybe it's best that you don't know what you're
missing. And you know what else? If it's supposed to happen, it'll
happen. You should just be proud that you're more of a man than
those "Almost Men" my dad hated so much.

Billy:
Yea, right. At least "Almost Men" get girlfriends, and
they're not.. uh… You know...

Margaret:
Yeeeeeea, but… they're all hit and miss. Even Evan may have
been good in bed, but he was dimwitted in every other aspect. And
just the same, some guys I've been with have great personalities
but are horrible under the sheets. It's crazy, like, some of these
guys don't even know where to stick… Uh, you know… But
you
,.. You're
gonna skip the "Almost Man" phase completely and become a
real
man straight
out of your teens. Maybe sooner… cause you're such a
smart-ass.

Billy:
Heh, why thank you very much Miss.. I do appreciate
that.

Margaret:
Oh my, and he's so damn polite… But I must say that I do
appreciate
you
for letting me rest my weary bones, kind sir. We've been here
for almost an hour. I'm ready to go now, if you are. All this talk
about the birds and the bees is killing me. The walk will help me
get my mind off of it. I'd rather just be irritated, than
horny
and
irritated. Know what I'm sayin'?!

Billy:
Heh… Not really, but yea. I'm ready.

Margaret:
Ha ha. Geez. K, let's hit it.

A revitalized Margaret hops
up to her feet, picks up her knapsack and slings it over one
shoulder. Billy is about to get up, putting his palms to the ground
for leverage, but instead, he watches her from his seated position
as she gets herself ready. Maybe it was the topic they had just
finished discussing, or perhaps it's the heat getting to his head,
but for first the time, Billy notices the way the soiled skin on
Margaret's face glistens in the natural light. He notices the
smooth lengths of her arms and the crest of her chest, her
cleavage, all glistening from the humidity and stained with the
grime of their expedition. It isn't at all hard for him to think
back to the night just past, when Margaret's skin was fresh and
snow white, when she would clean herself at night and come back to
where he was playing video games, smelling like baby powder and
sweet cherries.