Godead

XXIV

The mysterious girl stood off in the distance, her black Gothic dress thin and smooth. She rifled through her small camping tent, nails painted black as she reached for some smokes. The young woman stood pale and thin, lighting a cigarette before flinging a spent match into the shrubs. As a twig quietly broke beneath Claude's feet, the girl perked up, suddenly looking back as Claude and Blair took cover.

"...Is someone there?" the girl asked. Claude and Blair stood motionless, remaining silent as the girl warily stepped closer. "...I know you're there. I can see your shadows," she said. The two briefly paused, hesitating before stepping into view.

"...Don't worry. We mean you no harm," Blair said. As she and Claude slowly approached, the girl smiled.

"...Decided to wear clothes today, huh...?" she asked. Blair froze.

"W—What?" she asked tensely.

"I saw you in the woods buck naked yesterday. Nice rack, sister," the girl teased. Blair blinked, suddenly going red.

"Oh! That? I—I was in the middle of... I mean, I had just... well... it's a long story," the policewoman replied awkwardly. Claude then looked to the stranger.

"We're actually looking for a girl who ran off into these woods," he said.

"Misty, right?" the girl asked.

"You know her?" Blair asked.

"No. But I heard you calling her name plenty of times by now," the girl replied.

"...Who are you?" Claude asked.

"Zoe. And you are?"

"I'm Claude."

"And I'm Blair Nightingale, FLPD."

As Zoe learned Blair was a cop, her eyes suddenly went wide.

"Oh, man! It... it's not illegal to stay out here, is it? If it is, I didn't know! Honest!" Zoe said nervously.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to arrest you. I'd say we have bigger concerns at the moment," Blair replied.

"...Like finding that girl?"

"Yes. And staying alive, of course."

"...What do you mean?" Zoe asked. Claude and Blair paused, briefly eyeing the tent before turning to Zoe.

"...Zoe... just how long have you been out here, anyhow...?" Claude asked.

"About two weeks. Why?" she asked.

"...And you... really have no idea what's going on...?" Blair asked hesitantly. Zoe looked on in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, taking a puff of her cigarette.

Claude and Blair stood in silence, soon worriedly looking to each other. They then turned to Zoe, carefully explaining everything that had happened. As the two told their story, Zoe stood motionless, cigarette burning away as it hung from her mouth.

"...Are you... serious?" she asked nervously.

"I'm afraid so," Blair replied. Zoe stared at the two of them in shock.

"...F*ckin' a, man...!" she said in disbelief.

"If you didn't know about the zombies, why have you been staying out here in the woods?" Claude asked.

"...Well... it's kind of a long story. I don't want to bore you with the details," Zoe replied, heading toward her tent along with the others.

"No. It's alright. Go ahead. I'm rather curious, myself," Blair said. Zoe sighed, taking a seat on an old wooden stool near her campsite.

"...Well. I guess it all started when I was little. I was put up for adoption at age four, and hopped from one abusive foster parent to another. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and just up and ran away. I've been traveling around for a year now, and settled in these woods a few weeks ago," Zoe explained.

"Oh, you poor dear... how old are you?" Blair asked.

"Sixteen," Zoe replied.

"A runaway, huh? Sounds like we have that in common," Claude said.

"And you haven't seen Misty around here?" Blair asked.

"No. These woods are deep, though. I set up camp not far from the tree line, but the forest goes in for miles. She could be anywhere inside," Zoe replied.

"We should keep searching," Claude said.

"Yes. Misty and Charlene could still be alive out there," Blair added.

"I'll come with you," Zoe said, standing up before placing her stool near her tent.

"You don't have to do that, Zoe. Misty is our responsibility," Blair said.

"Are you kidding? I'm not hanging around here now that I know there's zombies crawling around," she said, reaching into her tent before grabbing a machete. "Besides, I can help you deal with them."

"Thanks, Zoe," Claude said.

"Just stick close. These woods seem free of zombies, but you never know," Blair said.

As Zoe joined the party, the three trekked deeper into the woods, looking around for Misty and Charlene. As they neared a clearing, Zoe paused, eyes going wide as she screamed in fright.

"Aiieee!" she shrieked. "Get it off! Get it off!" the girl yelled, frantically swiping her hand at a beetle in her hair. Claude smiled, stepping forward before taking it off of her. He then looked down, watching as the insect crawled across his hand.

"Aww. He's a cute little fella, don'tcha think?" he asked lightly.

"Hell no! That's one thing I hate about living in the woods is these damn insects," Zoe said.

"That's nothing compared to some other bugs we've come across recently," Blair said.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.

"We saw a roach in the sewers the size of a bus," Claude replied.

"...Seriously?" Zoe asked.

"Seriously. It was like something out of a nightmare," Blair said.

"...F*ckin' a, man. That's messed up," Zoe said.

As Claude tossed the bug away, a low, eery moan came from a distance. The three froze in place, woods suddenly filling with groaning sounds. Scuffling soon came from the trees as zombies began appearing off in the distance.

"Damn! That scream just now must have alerted them!" Blair said, looking around as the three stood back-to-back, eyeing the zombies as they slowly closed in around them.

"You were right, Blair. Looks like there were zombies in these woods after all," Claude said.

"Zombies!? These are the zombies you two were talking about!?" Zoe asked, worriedly looking around at the approaching mob.

"Yes. Don't get too close to them, Zoe," Claude said.