Zombie Queen

Later Still

Later still

Even looking at the absurd display, Jess couldn’t believe it was really happening. Her plans to breach the city, the army of zombies who now awaited at her command, the title people kept using for her- Zombie Queen... It all seemed like some delirious dream. One from which she would soon wake up from to see Carl, all grim but sturdy just like he always was, safe in their little supermarket. But she had better start believing this was real if she intended on actually doing it.

Her two closest companions- who had become something like her second-in-command- were already at the top of the wall. They were Carl and the crazy older man who had made this possible, and both of their equally ruined faces gazed down at her from above. Not that she could see them very well in the distant heights. It was pitch black, and the darkness of the night had been their cover that was the staple of the plan. Come when they least expect it. Attack them when their guard is down.

Despite being the recognized leader of the movement, much of the planning had actually been done by her subordinates. They were almost entirely made up of trained army men, after all, and they had formed a calculated, detailed plan with scary eagerness. So much thought had gone into this, and much of the past week had been spent waiting for the optimal conditions. For the moon to wane down so that its light would be less blinding, less of an instant give away. They were to attack under night, and the goal was to keep knowledge of the invasion from spreading too quickly. They had the advantages of both sheer surprise and endless undeath, but they were still greatly outnumbered.

The plan was to drop in, as stealthily as a hoard of starving zombies were able, then to quietly scour the city, biting any and every human they could find until the world became infected. A new age would start, one where zombies and men were not separated, but instead all would be united by universal infection. The suffering of the undying would be shared by all, as equals. It was a fine plan, and although it turned out Queens didn’t need to do much of the critical thinking, there were still some things that were required of her as a leader.

Jess swallowed that increasingly familiar lump in her throat as she stared up at the mass of zombies before her. What she had envisioned as an orderly ascent up the wall had actually turned out to be a grotesque mass of bodies, starting thick at the bottom and becoming thinner at the top. The many at the bottom already shook with the exertion of holding up the few at the top, and throughout the uncanny tower, random limbs stuck out at all angles. Essentially, it was a ladder made of zombies, leading all the way over the wall and into the city. One that she was supposed to climb.

‘Even in the case of zombies, the main role of a leader is to appear to lead,’ Carl had offered his thoughtful insights just a few hours before, when she had been in a nervous sweat over the prospect of being the first one in. ‘Men need a figure to follow, but don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.’ He had placed a scarred, bony hand on her shoulder which still, even after all this time, sent a surge of warmth through her body. As usual, she had allowed herself to be reassured by him. Her daunting task was to climb the wall, be a symbol of hope for those that would very soon follow her. Still, the idea of being the first one to land terrified her. She had never even taken the fall from the other side of the city wall, and though all the army men assured her it was safe, she couldn’t help the creeping doubts.

‘Come, my Queen,’ a zombie at the bottom panted under the weight, ‘it’s time! Up!’

It was time. Hundreds of zombies had gathered here to support her ascent, and she wasn’t about to throw their efforts to waste just because of some selfish doubts. A leader has to be strong. She has to think with the mind of the many, not the individual. She has to show no fear, lest she spark fear in her followers and crumble the very foundations of her plan. A leader must take the first steps if she expects anyone to follow after.