The Forgotten One

Chapter 14 - Welcome to Zombieland

I see her grip the phone tightly in her hand, the white of her knuckles becoming more prominent.

"Just press call, Willow," I whisper hurriedly as I shiver inside the phone booth. I had on the biggest jacket I could find, and yet amazingly I still couldn't feel my arms. Or face.

The street we were on was completely deserted, a couple of street lamps eerily lit with a sickly orange glow to provide the only source of light. The wind howls against the door of the phone booth, the small gap in the frame causing a blast of the icy gale to hit my already-numb cheeks.

Willow glances tentatively at me before hugging her leather jacket tighter around her body. "Alright, alright."

Gripping the phone with one snowy hand, she squints her eyes shut and smashes the tip of her cherry-coloured thumbnail into the metal call button, hastily shoving those exposed fingers back into her pocket to avoid the bite of cold air.

Holding the device to her ear, she waits in anticipation, nibbling on her full bottom lip. Her lips did look redder tonight than usual, thanks to the chilly weather. Probably the only time I'll ever thank the cold for something, because her mouth was sure looking edible. How on earth did she get them so plump and plush? And the colour. My god...

"Hello? Hello, is this Dr Ankh?"

Willow's sweet Southern accent interrupts my thoughts and I jump slightly at my sudden proximity to her; I had been moving closer. Jamming her finger quickly into another button - speaker - she raises the phone between us.

"Yes it is, Ms Ashford. I'm glad you decided to call. How are you and Mr Marks? Are you both together?" His hurried voice springs out of the clump of plastic, startling the otherwise still night.

"We're both here," I respond, plunging my hands deeper into my soft jacket pockets.

"Good. That's good," he replies, pausing.

We all wait patiently in the dark, the static from the phone crackling in the air awkwardly as no one speaks a word.

"So," I start. "Zombies, huh?"

Willow gapes at me, astonished, and slaps my shoulder, her eyes narrowing. I shrug indifferently all 'what was I supposed to say?'

After a tense moment, Dr Ankh gives a small chuckle and I can almost envision him shaking his head in amusement.

"Yes. Zombies. There's a lot I must tell you and I believe in-person is the best way to do this. You never know who is tracking phones these days..." he trails off, a story clearly evident there, before clearing his throat. "I'll send someone over to pick you both up."

Willow and I exchange a glance in surprise.

"Wait, what?" I exclaim, speaking what we'd both been thinking. "I'm sorry, but you want us to just meet up with you? Without any knowledge of where we're going? Or who this 'someone' is? No offense man, but you could be a serial killer about to kidnap us for all we know," I pause. "And how exactly do you know where we are?"

"Like I said Mr. Marks, you never know who is tracking phones these days. And you don't have anything to worry about, I assure you."

"That's what they all say," I mumble under my breath. Willow slaps me on the shoulder again and I growl. She just rolls her eyes.

"We'll wait here, Dr Ankh. But if this is some kind of set up..." Willow trails off.

"Feel free to attack the person I send over viciously." He sounds like he's smiling, almost like the idea would bring him joy. Definitely serial killer behaviour. "But like I said, that won't be necessary. I don't mean you any harm."