“Maddie…” It was hard to recognize the person that was once my best friend, but there was still a part of her remaining, and it was tugging at my heart. I could never let Madison feel sad, and she was in obvious pain and sorrow, and I couldn’t stand it any longer.
Tears were streaming down her face, dark against her translucent skin. “I’m so cold. I’m so hungry. Please let me in,” she wailed, burying her hands in her hair. The sound made the hair on my arms stand on end. She looked pitiful, like a cowering animal, and I was terrified of her. I wrapped my arms tightly around Ash, reaching into his back pocket for his phone. I slipped it out easily and pulled away.
“What are you doing?” Ash hissed at me.
“Calling my dad,” I said, trying to ignore the wails of Madison sending chills up my spine and the sounds of Bandit barking incessantly. I pressed the phone to my ear.
“Hello?”
“Dad, it’s Zoey.”
“Zoey! I’ve been calling you!”
I winced. “I’m sorry. I don’t have my phone with me.”
“Jesus, champ.” His anger seeped in through the speaker. “It’s not safe. You need to lock everything up, and shut off the lights. You need to hide.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, dread filling me.
“They’re alive, Zoey, the corpses…all of the missing ones.” His anger had evaporated quickly into fear.
“What are you talking about?” I repeated, more firmly, looking over at Madison, who was beating her fists against the glass.
“They’re like zombies. Reanimated corpses. All the dead bodies have somehow awakened. Only they’re nothing like we ever imagined. They’re smart, fast…”
“Dad,” I interrupted, surprised at the steadiness in my voice. “Dad, Madison is here except it’s not really her.”
“Don’t let her in!” he shouted.
“I didn’t!” I assured. I felt tears start to come. “What do I do?”
“Lock the doors, close the windows, and shut off the lights. Get the gun. I’ll be home as soon as I can.” I heard him take a shaky breath. “I hate that you’re alone.”
I had started running around the apartment, locking windows and shutting off lights. “Ash is here, Dad. I’m not alone.”
“Oh, thank god,” he said. “Shit. Zoey. I have to go.” There were sounds of crashing and gunfire in the background. “I love you.”
“Dad? Dad!” I looked at the screen. Call ended. “Shit.” I shoved it in my back pocket and flipped another switch off.
“Zoey!” Ash yelled. “Get over here.”
I ran back to him. He had moved to the window and was staring out of it. “Where is Madison?”
“Out there,” he pointed, sounding disgusted. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
I glanced out the window and was nearly sick myself. Madison had someone pinned on the ground, and was bent over them. “Is she…is she…”
“I think so,” Ash said, looking away.
I didn’t hesitate. I yanked the door open and went bounding down the stairs, intent on stopping Madison at any cost. Her teeth, her newly sharpened teeth, were sunk deep into someone’s neck, someone who was so covered in blood that I couldn’t even tell who it was. I grabbed her arms and pulled hard, away from the body that now lay limp on the ground. I looked away but not before I saw chunk of flesh missing from the person’s neck, and blood gathering in a puddle on the pavement. Madison struggled in my arms, her small hands reaching out for her prey.
“I’m hungry. I’m so hungry,” she wailed. “Let me go.”
“No, Madison,” I said, struggling, as she pulled harder against my grip. “This isn’t you.” I had a brief thought of Madison’s strict vegetarianism and how ironic it all seemed now.
“I just want to eat, please, oh god, I want to eat.” Her limbs started flailing all over the place, making it more difficult for me to keep a grip on her.
The contents of my stomach turned and it was a miracle that I didn’t puke right then and there. She was hungry, for human flesh, just like a zombie. My dad had said zombie over the phone but I couldn’t believe it until now. She looked like Madison and sounded like Madison, but there were the eyes, the sharp teeth, the skin tone and the effort she was making to sink her teeth into someone’s flesh.
Madison’s teeth came sinking down on my hand, like little needles piercing my skin. I yelled out in pain, letting her go, but she stayed firmly attached to me, starting to rip into my flesh. My eyes went blind for a moment as the pain ripped through me. I did the only thing I could think of doing, and I fired the gun.