Zombie Rock

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

The next few days were a blur. Mom would go to work at the salon while I was at school. Then I slept until she came home with dinner. I tried to conserve my energy so I could be normal-ish for her. I got pretty good at hiding my food and found that a few bites of raw meat every hour or two kept me functioning. No more steak binges for this Zombie, and no buying brains in Osborne. I still fought the cravings every day, but they were manageable as long as I had some distraction.

Speaking of distractions, Lilly was great. She always did most of the talking, but I found myself responding more and more. Spending time with her was improving my communication skills. I could now carry on a conversation for ten minutes without being distracted or losing track of what was said. And, I actually cared what Lilly thought about me. Even Mom noticed that I seemed more upbeat.

Then, one day, out of the blue, Mom came home early and announced we were going to a town meeting.

So, I found myself sitting on a pew in The Church of the Heavenly Presence, staring at the backs of about a hundred heads. I'd choked down a bit of raw hamburger before we left, but it didn't seem to be working as well as before. In fact, as the meeting dragged on, I got so hungry that the heads poking up above the pews started looking like a brain buffet. I zoned out for a few minutes…

Brains…

Brains…

Brains…

I snapped out of it when Garret came forward. I had a feeling I needed to hear this. I wasn't wrong.

“People of Osborne, over the last twenty years, you have trusted me for your spiritual guidance. Seventeen years ago, you trusted me to help you during the initial outbreak of the Red Plague. Over the years since, you have seen the wisdom of following the safety measures I've established for dealing with these…Zombies.” He spat out the word as if it were poison.

I didn't like where this was going.

“Now, I call on you to trust me again as I ask you to implement stricter laws regarding the monitoring of the Zombies in Osborne, as well as measures to keep more from moving in.”

That did it for me. Lack of nourishment, the stress of keeping my secret—all of it was too much. My stomach churned big time and I bolted. Okay, technically, I moved at a fast walk, but it was still an improvement over last week. I felt Garret's eyes on me as I left the sanctuary, but I didn't care. I barely made it into the restroom. By the way, even throwing up as a Zombie happens in slow motion. Trust me; this is not something you want to try at home.

The meeting was letting out by the time I made my way back to the sanctuary. I stopped outside the doors when I heard Mom talking to Garret. She was taking him up on his job offer. I felt the urge to throw up again.

I still felt sick to my stomach the next day when Mom yelled at me to get ready for school. I told the truth when I said I wasn't feeling well. However, I did tell a little white lie when I said the flu bug was going around. She must have felt guilty about something, because she didn't argue with me about staying home.

As soon as she left, I crawled out of bed. I didn't like the way Garret looked at my mom and I knew if he found out about me, he'd find a way to separate us. I had to protect our family, and the only way I could do that was to get my strength back, and that meant one thing.

I needed brains.

Now, I'd never hunted anything but cockroaches and spiders. Even though I knew where Mom kept her .38 Special, I opted not to take it. Besides, I'd only blow my foot off…or something else. Anyway, I preferred my feet hole-free and my privates intact. So, I opted for a wicked-looking knife that once belonged to my grandfather and took some food to use as bait.