One Step

Zombie Kid

The sound was loud, the thud nearly unheard with the ringing. The blood it was everywhere. His hands face feet clothes, all were covered in red. The screams ripped throughout the night. Terrible screams. Screams of a lost soul. The world shook around him. Vibrated without reality.
“Wake up!” Someone shook him. He sat up nearly head-butting the other. His screams echoing around the sparse room.
Reality. It was real to him. The night mare was. The nightmare was the last time he felt real. He blinked at the person sitting on the side of his bed. Milk chocolate eyes looked at him with concern. All the eyes held the same look. Pity, concern, with a touch of annoyance. They didn’t understand.
“I’m fine.” He muttered. His throat raw from screaming. The woman smiled at him. It was vacant. One placed on her face because she didn’t know what else to do.
“Well if you don’t hurry you will be late for your first day.” She said with false cheerfulness. He nodded. Tossing the blankets back he got up. He was drenched in sweat again. He prodded to the bathroom. Turning the shower on as hot as he could stand it. He cleaned up. He didn’t turn the fan on. He hated his appearance. That too had changed that day. They said it was from shock. How does your hair go white overnight from shock? He had no clue. Nor did he care.
When he reentered the room he found a neat folded stack of clothing sitting on the bed. He tossed the towel into the corner. He put the clothes on. He didn’t care what they looked like. He picked up the book bag they had given him. It was full of a lot of school supplies. He marched out to the hall again. He wandered down the stairs into the kitchen. The woman smiled at him again. Her husband just nodded over his coffee cup. The boy took the offered granola bar and packed lunch.
“I asked the boy next door to make sure you got to school ok. He is waiting for you.” She pointed out the window. He only saw a shadow. With a listless nod he walked outside.
The boy was taller than him. He wore his blue/ black hair pulled back.  A black hoodie on over green army pants. As he stepped up to him the boy looked him over.
“Did you let your mother dress you?” the boy asked sounding irritated. He looked at his clothing for the first time. He had dress pants on a pale brown color. A white shirt with a blue hoodie over it. He looked up meeting the cobalt blue eyes of the boy in front of him. He shrugged the shoulder that didn’t have the back pack on it.
Without another sound he turned to start walking. The boy snagged his arm. “Schools this way.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder “Are you some kind of special?” he asked frowning. No answer came as he turned to walk in the other direction. He didn’t wait for the boy either. He figured there would be other kids eventually.
“Hey, kid.” The boy shouted. He rushed to his side. They walked in silence for a long time. As he thought more kids appeared around them. None were walking to closely together. They were like zombies walking in the same direction but apart from each other. He didn’t look around just continued on his course.
“Hey Rat, you got a friend finally?” a girl called out. The boy beside him tsked so softly he knew the girl didn’t hear it.
“Oh you look special, all spiffed up for the first day?” Her friend called out.
“Leave him alone.” The boy, Rat, said at his side. The girls giggled as they cut the boys off heading up the steps to the school.
“Ooh is Rat in love with his special little friend?” they continued to taunt them.
“Well at least I know what love is. No one could trully love something as vaped brained as you two.” Rat sounded bored.  The boy snickered at the comment. There was no mirth in it. He just thought it was a good come back. Rat glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
“So you are in there.” The boy said gently. He looked over at him. His eye blank as he stared at the boy named Rat. Rat waited to see if he would respond. When he just stood there staring at him, he gave up. Snagging his sleeve he dragged him inside.
“Come on I will get you to the office so you can get your schedule.” Rat marched him forward. The boy didn’t let go of his sleeve until he was outside of two glass doors. One was propped open.
“There you go.” Rat shoved him toward the doors. He looked at them. There was an over weight middle-aged lady sitting at the desk on the other side of the counter. She was typing on a computer. The boy stared at her. Her hair was a chocolate brown. She began to waver in his sight. He quickly brushed the tears away before anyone noticed.
“Oi, kid you really are special.” Rat grumbled. He dragged him inside. Rat walked them up to the desk. The woman didn’t look up.
“I will be right with you.” She said. After a few more minutes of only the tapping of her keys she finally pushed her chair back to look at the two boys.
“How may I assist you?” she peered at them one at a time over her glasses. She wore them low on her nose.  Rat hit his arm. He looked at him blankly. Rat rolled his eyes.
“New kid.” He told the woman. He let Rat talk to the woman. She had asked him his name. Rat gave it. Good thing because he forgot it at that moment. He sighed.
“Everything alright?” the kindly woman asked. He just blinked up at her.
“Look he is a bit weird.” Rat started. He paused then with a heavy sigh of his own he turned to the lady.
“Put him in all my classes. I’ll show him around.” He frowned down at the desk.
“oh um, well.” The woman stuttered.
“What is this, our little Rat is going to take care of a new student?” A large  male had come out of a side office. Rat glared at him.
“You’re always telling me to get more involved Principle Evens.” He stated narrowing his eyes at the other man. The principle grinned.
“Do it Ellie. Let’s just see how well our little delinquent can be at normal.”
The woman went back to her computer with a thin file. Rat waited leaning one elbow on the counter. He watched the strange boy. The kid was his age but his hair was pure white. It looked like he had some kind of burn scar by his left eye that wrapped around his neck. What had happened to this kid? Rat thought.
“Here you go.” The secretary yanked his gaze away from the boy that just stood there staring at the wood grain on the desk. Rat took the folder he was handed.
“I gave him the locker next to yours.” She called as Rat snagged the boys sleeve again dragging him out into the hall. Rat knew no one had wanted that locker. Not with his reputation. There was something about this kid.
Rat studied him. The kid walked beside him in some sort of daze. Rat thought he looked like a zombie. He took him first to their lockers. The boy just stood there. Rat opened the folder to find the combination to the kids locker. He spun it popping it open.
“Put your shit in there.” He commanded. The boy responded. Rat made sure he kept a notebook and pen out. Rat took the same from his own locker.
“Come on.” He ordered pulling him away after he closed the locker doors. They walked down the hall heading to their first class. English. It was the only class Rat was passing. It was also the only class Rat actually liked and did the homework in.
He pulled the kid inside. Trying to get him to a seat in the back before the teacher noticed him. It didn’t work.
“Nezumi?”  Ms. Bartlet called. With a soft groan Rat stopped. The boy nearly collided with his back. He turned him to face the teacher as Rat turned to look at her as well. Ms. Bartlet was six feet tall. Her hair was so blonde it looked white. It was in  a halo around her wrinkled face. She had to be nearly a hundred pounds over weight. Today she wore a purple dress with pink lotus flowers on it. Her breastes sagged underneath making them all think she didn’t wear a bra.
“Yes?” he asked in his most winning tone. She tsked at him.
“Are you showing a new student around?” she asked folding her flabby arms over her chest. Rat smiled. A quick tweak of his lips.
“Um, if I say no will you leave him alone?” he asked without much hope. Her response was to hold up one long wrinkled finger. She bent it opened it and bent it again in a come here motion. Rat sighed. He pushed the silent boy before him.
“You’re gonna have to talk.” He whispered in the boy’s ear. The boy moved where Rat directed him.
“What is your name?” Ms. Bartlet asked. The kid just stood there. The entire class began to snicker. The boy was starring out at them. Rat nudged him. The boy blinked at him. Rat only then noticed his eyes were actually red. Before he thought it was just the sunlight reflecting on them.
“Your name?” Ms. Bartlet repeated tapping him on the shoulder so he turned those eerie eyes to her.
“Sc.. Shion.” He stammered. His voice was soft with a bit of an accent. Rat couldn’t place it with just that one word. But when the boy spoke, Rat knew he wanted to hear that voice again.
“Oh my god he is so stupid he doesn’t even now his name!” Someone in the class called out. The boy didn’t respond.  The day went like this. Class after class. Rat tried sneaking the boy in but the teacher always noticed. Each teacher tried to get the boy to talk. He would state his name over and over but nothing else passed those thin moist lips.
‘Why do I keep thinking about his fucking lips?’ Rat cried to himself as he lead the boy to a table in the cafeteria. The boy kept licking at them. Maybe that was way. Or maybe it was more than that. This odd defenseless child seemed to need Rat in a way no one ever had.  Rat attempted a few times to get the boy to talk all failed.
Their last class was math. A class that Rat nearly always daydreamed during. He hated it. The teacher spoke in a monotone that nearly had the entire class asleep. The entire class save one white haired boy. Rat’s face spun sideways when that voice was heard. His mouth hung open as so many others did. Shion answered question after question. Rat could only stare at those soft pink lips speaking. The musical lilting voice that came out. The kid was smart. Rat was mesmerized by the kid.  He never heard the final bell ring.
“Rat?” A hand waved in front of his eyes. “I think its time to go.” The kid stated. His pale face had twin spots of color on their cheeks.
“Um right.” Rat snagged up his stuff. He lead the boy back to their lockers. Neither spoke until they were far away from the school.
“So what’s your deal?” Rat finally asked. The boy said nothing. “Shion?” no response. “Hey Shion?” still nothing not recognition of being spoken too. Rat elbowed his arm.
“Shion!” He nearly yelled in the others face. The boy started.
“Shion, that’s me.” The kid said in a strange voice.
“What is your deal?” Rat asked. He didn’t expect the boy to burst into tears. The kid sank to the ground holding his knees to his chest. Crying, hiccupping, swearing as he sat there like a mess. Rat picked up his bag swinging it to his own shoulder. He lifted the boy to his feet.
“Come on let’s get you off the street.” Rat had never taken anyone inside his house before. Never had another person been in his room. He tugged the boy there now. He sat him on the purple comforter that covered a small futon bed in one corner. The boy curled up facing the wall crying. Rat just sat beside him silently rubbing his back.