The Dead City Chronicles: The Clash of Queens

"Her eyes were sunken into her skull, her once radiant tan skin was now as white as snow. She was a beautiful walking corpse. I feared her. I know it is silly because there's probably a million explanations why she is standing before me; eyes gaping, dry lips parted as if a glass of water were teasing her tongue. I could barely make out her once beautiful gray-green eyes but I knew she was watching me intently. She could be ill--what happened could've been a misunderstanding. But for the life of me my mind couldn't wrap my head around those presumptions. I knew something wasn't right about her. Her presence was wrong. The girl before me wasn't Valerie Cavanaugh. How could it be if Valerie Cavanaugh died two weeks ago?"