Red Handed (A Warm Bodies FanFiction)

Strange Feeling

[Cassie's POV]

I decided to get away for a while.

Autumn locked herself in a room again. Not to be bothered. I need some change of scenery, anyway. Exploring is very fun. Even if you walk slowly like us corpses do. It's weird how slow we walk, but how fast we run. Another one of life's mysteries, I guess.

I'm pretty good at directions, though, so I won't get lost. But it wouldn't really matter if I got lost, I suppose.

After I exit the hospital, I usually go left, but today I decide to go right. I want explore somewhere new, I guess. I don't know why, but it pains me to see wreaked houses, graffiti, garbage and trash on the street. Maybe a hint from my past life? I don't know. I like walking. Perhaps I was athletic? Maybe? It doesn't really matter.

I walk for at least thirty minutes until I smell humans - food, a purely animalistic part of my brain supplies.

I sniff her out. She's up in a house. I bash the door open with my side and go upstairs. "NO!" she screams as I pin her to the ground. 'I'm sorry' I try to say, but I just can't find the words. I bite her neck. A wave of flavor and relaxation enters my mouth. She stabs me in my back just before she bleeds out.

I beat her head against the floor, over and over again. I feast on her brain after I crack her skull. Memories flood my mind. I see her playing with bubbles as little girl, then it fades to her first kiss, than... Darkness. Since she was around twelve she didn't have many memories. I grab another chunk of her brain and eat it. A memory flashes in my mind.

"Mommy, why can't we go outside?"

"Ummm.. So we're safe."

"From what?"

"How about we play horsey?"

"Mommy, when's daddy coming home?"

I see the girl at her current age getting thrown out of her home, getting beat up by a boy, the same boy she was kissing. It then fizzles out again.

I only have one bite left, so I don't dare eat it. I don't want to see me kill her. I chew on her arm for a few minutes before getting up. I leave the house, returning to my journey.

As I walk, I spot a rather large store with a giant red target on it. I wish I knew what it was called. But Autumn never taught me to read. Right next to it is what looks like a pharmacy. A lot of stores surround the red target building, and a distant feeling bubbles in the back of my mind.

It must of been a shopping district of some sort, I deduce. Continuing to walk, I take another right, bringing me to the end of the street. I can't even see the hospital anymore, which sends a shiver down my spine. Autumn would be upset.

Considering how big the hospital is, I figure I must be pretty far into town.

As I am keep walking I smell... humans? More? Out here? I mean, that one girl was close to wall, but these humans are in the middle of the 'dead zone' as they call it. I have to admit though, it's pretty fitting.

Squinting my eyes, I see a human in the distance. Panicking, I quickly crouch behind a rusty red pickup truck. But, my curiosity get the best of me, and I peer around the headlights of the truck.

It's a boy - that much I am sure - sitting on a light green house with a boarded-up bay window. He's wearing a light blue shirt with white stripes, matched with blue pants and a belt. And then, as if I am possessed, I go closer. Admittedly, I get a lot closer than I should of. He's staring, his gaze resting on the horizon. Day dreaming, my mind supplies. Now, hidden behind a trashcan beside a neighboring house, I watch him. The strangest feeling comes over me, and I unable to tear my eyes away from him. My chest feels pressure within it, and palms shake. I swear my heart... beated.... How? What is this feeling? A wave of protectiveness and possessiveness washes over me.

Suddenly, a loud African American voice cuts through the silence of the street. "Doug!" it shouts from an unknown location, "what are you doing on the roof?!" Doug, I swoon, Doug. My knees almost buckle.

"Nothing!" he replies nonchalantly, waving a dismissive hand. Doug, a beautiful name. I only wish I could spell it. D-O... But what's after that? Once again, my thoughts are interrupted by the loud voice, "Get your butt down here, Doug! You're going to get us killed!"

"Fine... But the only one who's going to get us killed is you!" states Doug playfully, a smile splitting his face. A dumb grin formed on mine at the sight of his. "Yeah? How so?" the girl yells back. Doug laughs as he slides off the roof. He answers, "Because of your big mouth!" I watch him enter the house, and decide to wait for him to leave.

After a hour or two nothing happens, and the feel of impending danger slips away. Which leads me to become bored, and I approach the house foolishly. I'm sitting on the hood of a grey convertible that has its cover on when I drift off into the depth of my mind.

-

"CORPSE!" I heard someone scream as I break out of my trance. I gracelessly fall to the ground and duck behind the convertible. Survival instincts kick in, and I run for a yellowish house, almost tripping on my own feet, and hide in the spare bedroom. I peek through the window to see Doug, two other males, the black chick, and another girl bust out of the light green house.

"Where?!" asks Doug, clutching his hand gun so tightly that his knuckles burn white. "I don't know where she..." the loud black girl pauses, taking a breathe, "Okay, Doug take that house, Grace take that one, I'll take that one, Rick that one, and Daniel take that one." Everyone nodded in agreement before dispersing. Oh my god, I think to myself as I see Doug coming towards the house I was in. Oh no oh no... I repeat in my head.

Climbing onto a nearby bookcase, I get into an attack position and wait. After a minute or two, he enters the room, and I jump on his back, pining his abnormally small frame to the ground. "Ahh!" he grunts from the unexpected impact. I put my hand on his mouth.

"Shhhhhhhh!" I manage. He continues to squirm in my grip fearfully, and two tears run down his face. "Not... Hurrrtt," I moan. He looks at me terrified and confused. "Nott... Eatt.." I rephrase, trying to calm him down. He struggles some more. "Plea - assee.. St-st - stooo-p," I request desperately. And for some reason, he does.

"Pleasss--ee beee qui--eett." I lift my hand off his mouth. I stand up and he crouches there, frozen. Terrified. I reach out my hand for him to get up. "Please," I say.

Finally, he grabs my hand reluctantly. "Doug?" yells someone not too far away. I turn to Doug hastily and say, "Don't... Teell..." Then, I jump out the window and run.