J. Knoll - Zoe, Undead

"I'm with the Zombie Response Team!" Zoe said desperately, still backing away.

"Never heard of 'em," the older man countered as he raised the shotgun to his eye and pressed the butt against his shoulder.

"Please don't!" Zoe screamed.

Once again, the younger man grabbed the shotgun and forced the muzzle down. "I'm tellin' you she ain't no zombie. Zombies don't talk."

"Mind your place, boy!" the older man yelled as he pulled his weapon from the young man's grip a second time.

The roar of an engine drew their attention and they turned around.

To Zoe's relief, the Stryker turned hard into view and charged toward them, and she stood where she was as it pulled up and quickly stopped right beside her. The doors opened, the back hatch opened and five soldiers stormed out, three of them with their weapons on the two men.

Zoe holstered her revolver and grasped the barrel of the assault rifle held by the soldier closest to her, and she assured, "It's okay. They're hunting zombies, too. They saved me from that one over there."

Sergeant Morris strode up behind her, took her shoulder and ordered, "Lower your weapons, men." As the soldiers slowly complied, he raised his chin to the older fellow and greeted, "I'm Sergeant William Morris of the Zombie Response Team."

The older fellow rested his shotgun over his shoulder and nodded to Tex. "Alfred Knox. This here is my boy Zachary. We got a few more in the motor home but I ain't bringing them out until I know it's safe for 'em."

Tex nodded and looked to the zombie that lay dead on the sidewalk. "Zoe here got three more inside. I'm sure other's have heard the commotion and are on their way." He turned his eyes back to the two men and offered, "We have a base of operations set up at the Central Hospital. You're welcome to join us if you'd like."

Slowly shaking his head, Alfred informed, "Stayin' in one place is a sure fire way to get overrun by these things. We stay on the move and we stay out of their sights."

"Until you run into a sizeable nest of them," Sergeant Morris countered. "Look, we're not hiding there, we're fighting back. Our objective is to take the whole damn city by the end of the month and we're well on our way to doing so." He glanced at their weapons. "Looks like you're pretty handy with those things. We could use a couple of guys who know what they're doing."

"But," Zoe cut in, "you have to shoot them in the head."

Alfred's eyes turned to her and he raised his chin toward her. "You mind filling me in on that one?"

"Sure," Tex agreed, "but information on her is only available to ZRT members."

"Zombie, isn't she?" the older fellow pressed.

"She's ZRT," Sergeant Morris replied with a harshness to his tone. "That's all you need to know for now."

Alfred motioned to the dead zombie and informed, "Well, that one there was trying to kill her. My boy here got 'im off of her."

"But didn't shoot it in the head," Zoe grumbled, her eyes on the younger man, who sneered back at her.

Elbowing the younger man in the ribs, Alfred ordered, "You mind your manners, boy. Go back to the R.V. and tell everyone we're pulling out." He had a little smile for Sergeant Morris as he said, "Looks like you got yourself some new recruits, Sergeant. So you got plenty of food and ammo?"

Tex smiled back, ever so slightly. "We've got it covered."

Alfred elbowed his son again and barked, "Get goin' boy!"

Zachary nodded, his eyes on Zoe, then he turned and strode back to the motor home.

Motioning to the departing young man with his head, Alfred informed, "The boy may be a retard, but he sure knows how to handle a shotgun."

"That isn't a nice thing to call people," Zoe spat.

"It means he's retarded," Alfred countered. "He's slow in the head. Don't get me wrong, I love my boy, he's just slow in the head and he knows he's slow in the head."

"Okay," Tex conceded. "We're going to finish our sweep of the mall and check for supplies. Do you know where the hospital is?"

"Passed one a couple of miles north of here," Alfred replied. "I think we can find our way back to it."

"Just go in and ask for Colonel Halstead," Sergeant Morris ordered. "He'll get you fixed up with something to eat, maybe some medical attention if any of your people need it."

With a nod, Alfred offered, "Much obliged, Sergeant. We'll see you there."

When he turned to walk back to his motor home, Zoe gave Tex a disapproving look and hissed, "He shouldn't call people that."

Tex patted her shoulder and advised, "Just let it go for now, Princess. Let's finish our sweep of the mall."

They turned and walked side by side toward the entrance, and Zoe looked down at her bare shoulder, her torn shirt. "I just got this," she complained. "I only had it for a half hour and that stupid zombie tore it!"

Raising his brow, he looked down to her and suggested, "I'm sure there's another one in there, Princess."

"Then that's where I want to go first," she insisted.

As they neared the door, she looked over her shoulder at the zombie that lay dead, the zombie that had attacked her. Fear took her eyes, a familiar terror that she had felt when this whole thing had started and she cringed and turned abruptly away, cuddling into Sergeant Morris as best she could as they walked.

Zoe strode to her neatly made bed and laid down the stack of folded shirts. Five in number, three of them were pink, one yellow and one black. On top of them were folded denim shorts, another pair of shoes and a pink cap she had found in the same store. With a glance at her teddy bear, which sat on the pillow and leaned back against the wall at the head of the bed, she unbuckled her vest and slipped out of it, folded it in half and laid it down beside the clothes she had. Next, she pulled out her revolver, looked to the night stand and pulled the drawer open, laying the weapon gently inside on top of the bible there.

When Doctor Caswell walked into the room, she paused and just stared down into the drawer for long seconds before she slowly pushed it shut.

"I heard you had a big day out there," the Doctor said.

Drawing a deep breath, Zoe just nodded.

With a lean of her head, Rachel asked, "Do you need to talk?"

Slowly, the zombie girl shook her head.

"I see," Doctor Caswell said softly, turning her eyes to the floor. "I've always heard that when you kill someone for the first time, that image never really goes away."

"I didn't kill anyone," Zoe corrected as she ran her fingers over the edge of the night stand. "It was a zombie. It was a thing and it wasn't really alive anymore."

"Sounds like you're coping okay," Rachel observed.

"I had my pills this morning if that's what you're getting at," Zoe said through clenched teeth. "And then that other kid didn't know to shoot them in the head. He kept shooting that one in the chest and I told him that won't work. You have to shoot them in the head."

"Is that what's bothering you?" the doctor asked. The girl's long silence spoke volumes. Venting a deep breath through her nose, she observed, "You seem really preoccupied since you came back, and I know that today was the first time you ever shot anything."

"It isn't that," Zoe assured in a slight voice.

With slow steps, Rachel approached the girl and grasped her shoulders, not letting go even as the girl cringed. "Talk to me, Zoe. I want to help you if you'll let me."

"You'll get tired of me," Zoe said softly. "Everybody does. As soon as I'm not needed for anything anymore then you'll get tired of me and you'll want me to go away. You and William and Colonel Halstead and everybody won't want me anymore. Now that I'm a zombie everyone wants to kill me or…"

"I know for a fact that everyone here really likes you," the doctor insisted. "Even if you didn't go out to scout for them, they'd like you all the same. I know Tex really does, and I know I do." She turned the girl gently to her and grasped her face in her hands. "The world is in turmoil right now and, believe it or not, you are the only sense of normal we have."