Zombie Queen

3 Years Later, Again

3 years later, again

What now? That had been her question, years ago when she had first been bitten. The answer, it turned out, was nothing either of them could ever have predicted.

She had died sixteen times since that day. She had died painful, merciless deaths at the hands of humans who used to be her friends, and each time she came back, her condition was a little bit worse. Skin had started flaking, peeling from her body to reveal soft, red tissue beneath. Hair had begun to fall out in matted clumps, and a bone jutted out from her elbow. By all definitions, she should be dead- was dead, by any technical standard- yet she still got up every time. Her physical condition deteriorated until she was beyond recognition, but she was still, inexplicably, alive.

The hunger that had been so maddening at first had become a regular, tolerable part of day to day life. With each passing month, she grew less attached to her body and whatever skin happened to remain on it. Things were mostly bearable, now, but they hadn't always been.

Those first few months had been the worst- twelve of her sixteen total deaths had occurred in that time, when the world's population was still mostly human, and the general masses didn't know what to do besides stab and shoot. There had been no organization in those times, and the streets had been a chaotic blood-bath. She couldn't exactly blame them. Probably, she would have done the same thing in their position. But still, it stung every time she tried to plead or reason with someone, but all they could do was yell at her like she was some deranged monster.

It was much worse for Carl, though. She tried not to feel too much self-pity, as she remembered all that her best friend had gone through. He had died twenty-seven times now, and many of his deaths had been noble self-sacrifices defending her. She loved him. He wasn't nearly so pretty to look at anymore, but she still loved him. She loved him even more, if anything, for the brave, selfless way he had stuck by her side. For all the times he had fought for her when he really should have bolted away. He wasn't quite the same light-hearted, care-free boy that had stolen her heart in a different lifetime, but she loved him in a different way now. In a dependant, grateful, desperate way they loved each other. Clung onto each other, supported each other through pain and hunger as every day had been a battle. Hidden with each other as their city had been stormed by the army, protected each other and kept each other fed as much as they could.

Things really weren't so bad, now. The humans had built themselves a little sanctum, a city with large, impenetrable walls looming all around it. It was meant to keep them out, keep those inside safe, yet the zombie population still grew everyday. More and more often, a someone would be found to be infected within the city and they would be instantly exiled. Thrown over the city walls and left to die by those who used to be their friends, their neighbours, their family. Pushed to their doom by people who were supposed to love them. They would fall, twisting and shrieking in the air, and then they would land and be stunned to realise that they were still alive.

What followed would usually be an awkward, but highly entertaining for her, struggle as they were forced to accept their new reality. Some screamed and cried and refused to believe it, but most were simply, amusingly puzzled. They would scratch their heads in bewilderment, stare with wide eyes at their bloodied palms and whisper, 'I'm... Still alive?' Their dazed confusion usually didn't last long, though. It was with great satisfaction that someone would announce to them that they were now one of the zombies. They had little choice but to accept.

Most often, what followed then would be heart-felt apologies. Many of the humans-turned-infected had been dedicated zombie killers- after all, that profession was the one most likely to lead to getting bitten- and they were overcome with an awkward embarrassment when forced to face the ones they had killed. It always gave Jess a bitter self-satisfaction to watch that part, to see how their former enemies grovelled at their feet as they realised they weren't so different after all. Nobody ever wasted sympathy on the zombies until they became one of them. Nobody ever believed it could happen to them until it did.