I sat, staring at the shotgun in front of me. I could've sworn hearing her say, ”Don't do it, Biggums.” I averted my gaze away from the firearm, to her journal and sketchbook that sat in the corner of the room. I sighed, then picked the sketchbook up. My favorite picture to look at was a little doodle of herself in a large sweater, most of her hands in the sleeves. The caption was ”Let me hug you! With my sweater paws!!” Admittedly, I wanted to feel her hugs again.
”Ariana...” I muttered. Tears started to fall on the page, so I wiped them up and shut the book. It was getting late, so I decided to go to bed.
---
I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. I jolted up, and to my left was a pair of wide, cat-like eyes and a wide grin to match. I scooted back in fear, 'cause this was a human, too big to be a cat.
”Shit!!” I yelped. The figure's grin faded into a concerned frown.
”Pogan, it's Ariana.” Wait, what!?
”A-Ariana?!” I reached up and felt her features: glasses, mid-rise cheek bones, thick, poofy hair. It definitely felt like her, and sounded like her. ”No, wait, didn't you...?”
”That's what those dumbasses wanna believe, but I'll never go down without a fight. Just do me a favor, and don't turn on the light.”
”Why?”
”Uh...” I went against her will and turned on the lamp. I regretted it the minute I laid eyes on her.
Her right leg was missing.
”Oh my Lord.” I wasn't even hit, but it felt like I got the wind knocked out of me. She averted her eyes to the ground.
”It was the only was to stop the infection. An ex surgeon for Memorial Hospital took me in and cut the whole leg off, then gave me some liquid in a vial, said it was an antidote that he risked his life to make.”
”My god... Could this antidote save everyone?!”
”He's ran tests. It only works on those recently bitten and still human. It wouldn't work on a lot of zeds in the city.” Some hope was drained from me, but I was so happy she was alive. Mangled and warped, in a sense, but alive. I pulled her into a hug, so many things running through my mind.
”I shot a zombie that looked like you... I thought I'd killed my little nervous wreck.”
”Oh, Ariana II? She was a decoy. You would've known it was me if I had these gloves on.” She pointed to the black gloves on her hands.
”Then, where'd you get these new clothes?” Now she wore some jeans-one pant leg cut off-and a long-sleeved, burgundy sweater.
”Doc. Benjamin gave them to me. They were his daughter's.”
”Oh. God, I'm so glad I didn't kill you.” I squeezed her tight, feeling two feet high and rising. ”You're gonna sleep, right?”
”Yeah,” she yawned, draping her sweater paws on my shoulders. I rocked her and hummed to her, feeling her breathing slow and her body relax. I slowly laid her down next to me. I petted her head, then kissed her temple and laid next to her.
”Welcome back, Ariana.”
”I was never gone,” she mumbled, a smile spreading across her pale cheeks.
