Our Undead (50 page)

Margaret:
Sounds like something out of a science fiction
novel.

Billy:
Exactly!

Margaret:
Ha ha, jeez…. Uh, are you gonna just sit there all
night?

She throws him off again,
and he realizes that he is still sitting on the edge of the bed for
no particular reason. Perhaps, it is subconscious… or
ignored?

Billy:
Uh,
yea. Sorry. I'm gonna lie down. I was just…
talking.

Margaret:
You must be so much more tired than I am. You had to carry me
on your back. Plus, you don't have any parasites. I'm pretty sure
you can talk and lie down at the same time.

Billy:
Uh
heh,… yea.

He starts slipping off his
gifted shoes, slowly as not to give away his anxiousness. In an
effort to cover it up even more, and to ignore the bubbling
emotions, he continues on with his train of thought while lifting
his legs up on to the bed and under the covers.

Billy:
It
makes me think though… The General can't be in on this by himself.
He must have a boss, and he must have other doctors working on
perfecting the parasite while Gwen and her associates struggle to
find a cure. Wouldn't it be wild if… uh…

The sudden coolness on his
leg surprises and throws him off once again. He realizes shortly
after that his leg is now making full contact with Margaret's, her
casted one being on the other side, away from him, closer to the
wall.

Billy:
Um…

Margaret:
What? What would be wild?

Billy:
If
uh,… If the doctors… or doctor… the ones working on improving the
parasite, if they end up being here, working on it in this very
compound.

He tries to not let her leg
bother him and eases himself down into the cover of the
sheets.

Billy:
Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day.

Margaret:
Yea, I guess.

Billy:
What's the matter?

Margaret:
(sighs)
Nothing… It's just… I
found something out today, myself, when we were on the helicopter.
Everyone was sleeping… Except that Sharp guy. I don't think he ever
slept.

Billy:
What did you find out?

Margaret:
I found out who Abe is… or who he
was
.

Billy:
What do you mean? How can that be possible?

She reaches underneath the
covers. Billy unnecessarily moves over a bit, as to not get in the
way of her hand. She pulls something out of her pocket and brings
it out from under the covers. Billy sees that it is a wallet-sized
picture of something. It looks quite dingy, muddy and old, like it
has been through a lot. Margaret hands it to him so that he can get
a better look. He takes and studies it.

Billy:
Who
are these people?

Margaret:
The young girl's name is Lynn.

He isn't sure, but Billy
can swear that he has heard that name before.

Margaret:
The woman's name is Karen.

Billy:
Wait a minute. Lynn and Karen. These are the people that you
left the hostel with. But who's this guy? Where did you find
this?

Margaret:
On the helicopter. It was sticking out of Abe's
pocket.

Billy:
Then this is… holy shit.

He looks up at Abe, who is
still sitting in the chair in the corner by the foot of the bed and
back at the picture, trying to match the zombie in front of him
with the man in the photo.

Billy:
He
was so handsome… and happy.

Margaret:
I know,… it's horrible… what these people did to him. What
they did to everyone. It's just hard because I remember him. He was
already sick when he arrived at the hostel with his family. They
had to leave him behind when it got overrun, then the same thing
happened to my father. It's stupid, but I feel like Lynn's dad is
lucky. At least he got the chance to be a zombie. My dad is just…
dead.

Without thinking and in an
effort to comfort Margaret, Billy turns over on to his right side,
facing her, so that he can look into her eyes while he speaks. He
hands the picture back to her at the same time.

Billy:
Don't think like that. Being like Abe might not be that
great.

Margaret:
But if they find a cure, they can heal him. There's no cure
for death.

Billy:
Your dad is resting in peace. He has nothing to worry about
anymore. He's not sick. He's not fighting for his life. He's not
experiencing this hell that we live in. There's only peace for him.
Think about that. Who knows what is going on in Abe's mind, what
kind of torture he might be going through. If there's any piece
left of the consciousness he once had, of the man in that picture,
he must be fighting to hang on to it, and that must not be very fun
at all.

Margaret:
He's definitely still in there… and I swear I'm going to keep
him safe until they find a cure. For him, and for his
family.

Billy thinks to himself how
miserable it would be for this man, who's name is now Abe, to wake
up completely cured and find out that his wife and daughter had not
made it, that they've already been killed. If he is truly currently
living a nightmare in his mind, as he is now, he would certainly
live another one when cured. He can't tell this to Margaret though.
She loves Abe, what he represents. If not before, more than ever
now, like a father. It's like this is her second chance, her chance
to make sure this father-like figure survives, and this time, she
will guard him with her life. She will never run away.

Billy:
That's very admirable of you… and like I said before, I'm
with you guys till the end.

While talking about him,
Margaret's eyes had been focused on Abe's slouching body, sat in
the chair in front of them, but she looks into Billy's eyes when he
reminds her of his pledge to them. She too, had made the pledge, to
stick with him through this whole nightmare, and suddenly she
realizes how lucky she is to have met the brave young man. It was
he who had been the one to invite her along with him, when he
could've easily left her and her pet zombie behind.

He has shared his food with
her in a time where food is as gold, and even carried her on is
back when his only hope for survival was to leave her behind. And
he would've made it too. If he had just left her in that field
beside the highway, he would have been able to escape by himself,
but he didn't. Meeting him might've been the luckiest day of her
life, and the gratitude flows through her entire body, an
exhilarating sensation that makes her feel the happiest she has
felt in a long time. Though younger than her, Billy has been her
hero, and still is, and would continue to be. How lucky she was to
find this kid, but him looking down on her in this bed, in this
dimly lit bedroom, she doesn't see him as a child anymore. She sees
her man, her hero.

The next thing Billy knows,
his eyes are closed, and the soft, slightly wet massaging of lips
is the only thing in the world. Time stops as Billy and Margaret
share a passionate but calm kiss; Billy's first. He has no idea how
long it lasts. It can last forever for all he cares, and then he
feels Margaret's warm hand gently land on his left cheek. He would
reciprocate, but the inexperienced boy doesn't know much about the
socially accepted practices of kissing, at least not from actual
experience. All of the relationship books and articles in the world
couldn't have prepared him for this moment. He'd rather stay still
than do something out of the ordinary and mess everything up, for
right now, everything is perfect.

He is only aware that the
kiss has come to an end when he feels Margaret's lips pull away
from his own and her hand leave his face to be replaced by the cool
air of the room. He has no idea how much time has passed, but the
forever had gone by much too quickly. He opens his eyes and
Margaret is already staring at him. Her face still looks tired, but
it glows with allure, both felt and exuded. Her mouth wears a
tender smile, but her eyes send a stranger message.

Margaret:
Heh, I-I'm.. sorry about that. I didn't mean to-- Can you
close you mouth, please?! Ha ha, oh gosh.

Billy realizes that after
the kiss, he'd opened his eyes, but he had forgotten to close his
mouth. A mistake made surely because of his lack of kissing
practice. He closes it.

Margaret:
Ha ha. Umm, yea. I'm sorry.

Billy:
Why? It's okay.

Margaret:
No. It's not… Sex has this silly habit of making things
weirder than they need to be.

Billy:
It
doesn't have to… We're not even
having
sex.

Margaret:
It's just… I'm… Uhh… Maybe we should just get some sleep now,
okay?

Billy:
Yea. Yea, sure. No problem.

Margaret:
Can you turn the lamp off?.. Whenever you're
ready.

Billy:
Yea, I'll get it.

Billy quickly turns off the
lamp, leaving the whole room in an opaque darkness. Nothing can be
seen.

Margaret:
Thanks… Goodnight, Billy. Sleep well.

Billy:
You
too, Margaret.

Margaret:
Goodnight, Abe.

Abe:
……
Gooood… niiiight.

Margaret:
What the fuck?! Abe?!
…
Billy, did you hear that?!
… Wait.. That was
you
, wasn't
it?

Billy:
…….
Yea.

Margaret bursts out into a
short laughing fit and slaps Billy's arm under the
sheets.

Margaret:
You ass! I actually thought it was him for a
second.

Billy:
Heh
heh, sorry. I couldn't help myself.

Margaret:
Tch, it's okay. Sweet dreams,.. jerk.

Billy:
Sweet dreams.

Silence then becomes the
dominant force in the room. She may have proposed they get some
rest, but Margaret lays in bed with her eyes open, looking up at
the ceiling that would be there if the lights were on. How can she
sleep after what she had just done? Kissing Billy was a mistake. It
feels like a mistake. Was it? She didn't mean to do it. She just
reacted. It could never work, could it? He's only two years younger
than her, fine, but he looks borderline preteen. Although it might
not show five years from now, their age difference shows clearly
today. Hopefully he wouldn't think anything of it. Hopefully he
wouldn't take it seriously. He is, after all, smarter than your
average teenager. He wouldn't
expect
anything from her like all
the other "almost men" would. He would respect her. He would stick
with her. And that's what she loves about him, but now is not the
right time.

From hoping that Billy
understands, Margaret's thoughts gravitate to the events of the
pass two weeks. She thinks about having to pull Lynn away from her
father. He had already become a zombie, and she hadn't known then,
but Margaret soon found out how hard it is too leave someone you
love behind. If anything, what she had done was worse. She left her
father behind before he had even changed, while he was still alive.
At least Lynn had her mother to look to after her father was taken.
Margaret's father was the only family she had left, and she just
abandoned him. It had been burning inside of her everyday since
then, that she could've done something more for him. Even if she
lost her own life in the process, she should've stayed and helped
her dad fight for his.

She should've stayed with
him, like Billy had stayed with her, but she is no hero, not like
the boy lying beside her. He is a true hero; always ready to die
for what he loves. It's a lesson that he has helped teach her, and
she is so very thankful for that. The awkward feeling that still
fills the room, battling the silence for dominance, suddenly begins
fading away. It fades away to be replaced by gratitude once again.
Who cares how old Billy is? At this moment, he is the best thing in
her life, and the last thing she wants him to think is that she
doesn't care, so she acts on her feelings, sliding her left hand
over to his right and taking hold of it under the covers. Although
his eyes are closed, Billy isn't asleep either. The feel of
Margaret's hand taking his is a mild surprise. He inhales and
forgets to exhale for a good while. It doesn't even register for
him to hold Margaret's hand back.