30 Days of Undead Summer

#MagicMonday

Tiny flames flickered from the tips of my fingers as I cowered in the alleyway, the magic triggered mostly out of fear than a readiness to fight. If I could avoid it at all, I would walk away without facing a single zombie today.

My luck, however, did not hold. The zombie rounded the corner, its greenish-purple skin cast into shadow by the flickering street light and the dark sky above. I had honestly just been making a run to my old apartment to see if I could scavenge anything but had gotten lost on the way back to home base, which was located in a building I had never before visited prior to the zombie apocalypse. Just as I had found the way back, however, I had locked eyes with a zombie.

I felt my power build within me and with a yell, I aimed my open palms at the approaching creature and let loose. Flames billowed from my skin, and I felt the heat radiating back on my face. It was a comforting feeling in the same way for me that it was terrifying for most.

The zombie shrieked as its filthy rags of clothing burst into flames. It pawed desperately at itself, but without retaining even the simple knowledge of "stop, drop, and roll," it didn't stand a chance. I watched with a sick sort of satisfaction as it burned, breathing through my mouth as the scent of burning flesh became too much.

Then, I scaled the building next to me and used the rooftops to return to home base.

*

Back at base, Polly was working on repairing the car that she and I had used so long ago to crash into the building. "Any progress?" I asked, pausing as I passed her, only her legs and lower torso visible. Her long, blue tail flicked irritably and she pushed herself out from under the vehicle, her feline face in a dissatisfied frown.

"I guess," she muttered, then returned to her work.

"Thank goodness, Roy," Beatrice burbled, dashing up to me and hugging me. She pulled away, her large, beady eyes blinking in suspicious reproach. "You smell like fire."

"And you smell like fish," I retorted, running my hands over her scaly arms.

"Ha, ha," she replied dryly. "I never should have come out of the ocean. Should have just stayed a tadpole." I chuckled and continued onward.

Our base was located in an abandoned supermarket, the shattered glass doors shielded from the outside by stacked-up shelves and crates full of useless goods. The only entrance was through a tiny opening at the top of the barricade. The car was parked just in front of the piles of shelves and crates.

Beyond that, a veritable community thrived. We had about thirty people living in here with us and brought back what survivors we could while out scavenging. Within our group, we had five mages, six shapeshifters, twelve animorphi (Polly included), three wetlanders (such as Beatrice), and four elementals (myself being one of them). There were a handful of teenagers and a smattering of younger kids, the youngest being a toddler shapeshifter who was immensely hard to keep track of.

We had been hiding in the supermarket for months, ever since the first zombie had been created, presumably by a necromancer, although to what ends, we still had no idea.

For now, we were just trying to survive.

I walked further into our community, the smell of burning zombie on my clothes and my palms still hot to the touch from using my power. I glanced around the area, watching with fondness as two animorphi children, a dog and a bear, wrestled playfully on the floor.

One day, these children would hopefully get to grow up in a world without zombies. But until that day, here we would stay, safely locked away in the supermarket.