The new girl in Seabrook || Zed

Zombietown

I was painting my room's ugly pink walls to look like the landscape I'd seen in my dreams, when I heard mom knocking on the doorframe.

"We should go visit your father," mom suggested. "I told him we moved here and he wanted to meet you."

I finally get to meet my dad?! Heck yeah I wanna go!

"Sure! Maybe he knows about the landscape I keep seeing in my dreams!" I answered.

Before we left the house, I realized what mom picked out for us to wear. "Wait why do you have temporary green hair dye and make up for you?"

"You're only half zombie but your hair is already green. Your hair was a beautiful brown the day you were born," mom reminisced.

"Was dad's family brunettes before the apocalypse?" I asked.

"No, mine is," mom answered. "His family all had black hair before that."

"Oh," I spoke, changing my outfit. "I may be half zombie, ma, but I want to make sure I'm not exposed as a halfling, do you think I could do my makeup for school?"

"I will do that, miss," mom spoke up, doing her makeup after changing her outfit. "I used to do your father's when he wanted to visit me after school hours."

"Wait," I asked. "How did you two meet?"

"Well," she answered. "I don't recall how, but I think he was hiding from the Zombie Patrol."

"Oh," I answered. "Can you do my make up now?"

"If you have your Z-band on, it'll mess with the makeup," she answered. "Speaking of, your father made that z-band specifically for you, by the way."

"Really?" I asked, excited.

"Yep," mom smiled. "We're ready."

We made our way through Seabrook and when we made it to the barrier of Zombietown and Seabrook, I gasped.

"It looks so rundown," I mumbled, sadly.

"Oh this is just the entrance," mom spoke.

We walked in and I turned my z-band on, and it gave me a sense of calm that I needed.

We walked a little longer, and I gasped once we made it to Zombietown's suburbs. "Whoa."

"Sheila! You made it!" A man with faded green hair spoke happily.

"Zedrick," mom smiled at him and hugged him.

"Is this Zelda?" He asked her, and she nodded.

"Um, hi," I quietly said.

"Oh, honey!" He hugged me, and I gasped for breath.

"Can't breathe!" I tried to say.

"Zee," mom said, and the man let me go.

"She's the most beautiful girl!" He said. "I'm the luckiest dad ever."

"Wait!" I said. "You're my dad?"

I gave him a quick once-over, and noticed he's wearing something similar to mom and I.

"Want to catch up with the family?" Dad asked mom. "They missed you, Sheila."

"Of course!" Mom smiled. "We just need to be out of here before your curfew."

Wait. "What curfew?"

"Zombies have a curfew," dad spoke up. "We also can't have pets."

Dad led us to a house at the end of the strip. "Sis? I have a surprise!"

A short woman with faded curly green hair walked in and gasped. "Sheila?"

"Hi, Endayza," mom spoke, before gesturing to me. "This is Zelda."

"No way! This is the daughter you and Zedrick had?" She spoke up. "She's so precious!"

"Mom what's going o-" a girl my age asked. "Who are they, uncle Zedrick?"

"This is my daughter," dad gestured to me. "And the human woman that I keep talking about."

"Wait! She's the halfling you keep blabbing about to us?" The girl asked.

"My name is Zelda," I answered. "You are...?"

"Oh," she said. "I'm Eliza, and sorry for leaving as soon as you meet me but Zed wanted me to hang out with him and I have to go."

"Take Zelda with you!" Dad said. "Isn't there a Zombie mash tonight?"

"Yeah," Eliza said. "But they're probably living on the human side."

"Right," dad said.

"Zelda can come back for it?" Mom suggested. "She's good with directions."

"I remember things better than mom," I added. "But I can still go with Eliza right now, right?"

"Oh, of course!" Mom smiled. "Make sure if you-"

"I have it with me, ma," I said. "I know."

Eliza dragged me away. "Because you're my cousin, you have got to meet these two!"

She stopped in front of a house and said, "Bonzo! Come on! We gotta meet up with Zed!"

Out came a tall boy in a cool looking bomber jacket, who spoke in Zombie tongue. "I'm here, geez, woman."

"This is my cousin, Zelda!" Eliza introduced me to him.

"Hello!" I said in Zombie tongue.

"Whoa, wait. You speak Zombie?" Eliza asked me, surprised.

"Yes, my dad taught my mom and then she taught me," I shrugged. "She figured I should know it."

"Oh! We need to get Zed!" Eliza ran two houses down from her own, and yelled. "Zed! Come on, man!"

At that moment, my very human heart skipped a beat. Because the most handsome boy I'd ever met walked out. He was wearing something similar to Eliza and Bonzo, only his jacket had a Z on it.

"I'm coming!" He smiled. "Wait, who's this?"

"I'm Zelda, and you're really cute!" I rambled in Zombie tongue, and he blushed a bit.

"She's my cousin," Eliza giggled.

"I'm bilingual. I speak both Zombie tongue and normal English," I added.

"That's cool!" He smiled. "I'm Zed."

"I'm actually a-"

"Zelda, sweetie, we gotta go!" Mom interrupted me.

"I gotta go! I'll be back for the mash, Eliza!" I smiled, and ran over to mom.

"Zed's cute, isn't he?"

"He is," I answered. "Wait! How did you...?"

"Motherly instincts," mom smiled.

"I'm going to try cheer," I decided. "For you, mom."

It was at that moment, I knew my life would change. And so would Zombietown!