Rotten blood

Embers

The next day, Addison arrived to school as per usual, still in her outcast clothes.

She was looking for Zed when she saw it. A fence had been installed to divide the main entrance of the school in two.

"Addison !"

She turned her head and saw Zed on the other side. She ran over to him.

"Zed ! What is going on ?"

"I don't know !"

Normals and zombies students were on each side of the fence, the crowd getting louder and louder with mostly shock and incomprehension.

"Students are asked to get in by the corresponding gate and join their classes," a message said in the speakers. "Please stay calm and join your classroom now."

"Zed, what do we do ?"

He looked worried. Very worried.

"Let's go to class and see what they say. We keep in touch."

He put his fingers through the fence and gently rubbed her cheek. He then kissed her forehead. The metal of the fence was cold on her skin, but his lips were hot.

"Stay safe. I love you."

"I love you too," Addison said. She then joined the line to the 'normals' gate.

"Student card," the guard at the entrance said.

And as Addison showed her card, she noticed on the other side, Zed's bracelet was being checked.

"Students, stay calm."

"But what is going on ?"

"Why are we separated again ?"

"This makes no sense !"

"What's gonna happen to the others ?"

"They've done nothing wrong !"

"Silence !"

The principal came into the classroom. The voices got quiet.

"I know this is all very sudden for all of you, but please know those are safety measures taken by the city," he explained. "We did not have a say in this and we don't know when we'll get back to normal."

"But why ?" Bree looked at Addison.

She looked down to her fidgeting fingers.

"Zed !"

He held her close as the both of them met in their usual safe room.

"It's my fault !" She started crying. "If I hadn't told my parents, none of this would've happened and we would still be like normal."

"Addy..." Zed stroked her hair. "It's not your fault."

She sniffled and looked him in the eye.

"How can it be your fault ? They would've known about my attack this way or another..."

"Yeah..."

"And I get it. I feel guilty too, but... I try to remember it was not my fault if I had an attack. And it's not your fault either that your parents reacted the way they did."

"But what if we're the reason... The principal said it was safety measures but..." Addison frowned, "I don't know..."

"Look... When I was at the hospital, they explained to me that sometimes, the disease evolves and the dosage in your bracelet needs to be adapted consequently. In the service I was in, I wasn't the only one with this problem. There were dozens of zombies just like me," Zed said. "Of course, not everyone knows that. But given their status in town, your parents must know. They didn't learn that over the weekend."