J. Knoll - Zoe, Undead

Zoe slowly raised her brow and whispered, "I'm a zombie girl with Asperger's Syndrome. How is that even close to normal?"

With a smile, Rachel combed her fingers through the girl's hair and assured, "It just is." She kissed Zoe's forehead and turned to leave, only making it halfway before she turned back. "Would you be okay with staying here tomorrow?"

"More tests?" the girl asked, grimly.

"Some," Doctor Caswell confirmed, "but mostly I think you need a little time away from the guys, and I need some girl time with someone."

A little smile curled Zoe's mouth and she nodded.

CHAPTER 8

Food was taken to the conference room where the next meeting promised to be a long one. With Colonel Halstead sitting in his place and looking over reports one more time, his forehead resting in the fingers of one hand, Sergeant Morris, who had taken time to get showered and changed into fresh black commando trousers and a white tee shirt, dropped his papers on the table a few seats down and settled into his chair. He was clearly near exhaustion and leaned over the table to rub his eyes. Also joining them was Alfred Knox, who had also taken some time to freshen up and changed into fresh camouflage and a clean shirt, and he sat next to Sergeant Morris. The doctors sat on the opposite side with the Captain and Lieutenant.

Silence overtook the room.

Colonel Halstead looked up from his reports, scanning the people at the table, and his attention fixed on Sergeant Morris and Alfred. Folding his hands on the table, he set his jaw and announced, "I've sent for Private Princess and she should be here in a few minutes. I understand you two have some bad news for me, something about a new moaner for us to worry about."

Alfred raised his brow and said, "You must be talkin' about the mad-dogs out there. Yes, Sir, they're bad news. They ain't like the others."

Doctor Kavorski sifted through his papers and pulled one from the middle, looking down on it as he confirmed, "A zombie that is more of an active hunter, something of a wild animal."

"We had one attack Zoe," Tex reported. "I've never even heard of moaners attacking each other."

Looking to him, Alfred growled, "I've seen them things attack anything that moves, including other zombies. They don't eat them, but they sure mess 'em up." His eyes slid to Doctor Kavorski. "You sure don't want to be on the receiving end of one of those. You can outrun one of the others and even fight 'em off, but these mad-dogs come at you like they got rabies. They won't walk at you; they charge like a dog."

Kavorski slouched in his chair slightly, staring at the bearded fellow across from him with blank eyes. With a glance at Colonel Halstead, then Sergeant Morris, he drew a breath and said, "We're going to need one to study."

"Good luck with that," Alfred laughed. "Your best bet is to kill every one you see and leave 'em lay. You don't want to try to make pets out of 'em."

"We need to know more about them," Doctor Caswell informed. "If this is some new threat then we have to know what we're dealing with and how to deal with them."

"I'll tell you how to deal with 'em," Alfred said. "You hit 'em with a shotgun 'till they don't get back up. That's how you deal with 'em."

"How many of these have you seen?" the Captain asked.

"Four," Knox replied. "Last one was yesterday attacking your little zombie girl. My boy put 'im down."

"Four?" Captain Langley asked, leaning toward the hefty man. "Moaners tend to run in packs or large mobs most of the time."

"The mad-dogs sure don't," Alfred corrected. "Only one's we've seen were loners. They keep to themselves and don't have nobody around them, other zombies or nobody. Seen 'em attack dogs, too. They see it move, they're going after it."

Rachel looked to Doctor Kavorski and insisted, "We definitely need a subject to study."

A knock at the door drew everyone's attention and Colonel Halstead barked, "Enter."

The door slowly opened and Zoe peered in around it. She had taken her hair down and it hung loosely down her back and over one shoulder. Her eyes betrayed anxiety and fear.

"Come on in, Private," the Colonel ordered.

Zoe had her shoulders shrugged up as she stepped into the room and gently closed the door.

Rachel pulled out the chair beside her and patted the seat, saying, "Sit down, sweetie."

Hesitantly, the girl complied, sitting gingerly in the chair she was offered and pulled her feet up to sit cross-legged. With her hands folded in her lap, she turned her eyes down to them, cringing as she awaited what she thought was to come.

"Private Princess," the Colonel started. "We need your report on the moaner that attacked you."

She would not look up and just stared down at her hands, unable to answer.

Doctor Caswell gently summoned, "Zoe?"

Breaths entered the girl with some difficulty and she just shook her head.

"Hey, Princess," Sergeant Morris said in a gentle tone. "It's okay. Just tell us what happened."

"I can't," she whimpered.

Colonel Halstead growled a sigh and said, "P.T.S.D. Saw this happen during the last war." He glanced at Doctor Caswell and ordered, "You're staying in the next few days, Princess; give you some time to get yourself squared away. In the meantime I want you to qualify on some other weapons and I'll have some of the men show you some hand to hand moves. You read me, Private?"

She nodded and replied in a meek tone, "Yes, Sir."

"Look at me," the Colonel commanded.

Hesitantly, she complied, barely raising her head to train her gaze on him.

"This happens," he explained. "Sometimes we run into something that rattles us to our core. Your best bet is to dig deep and find the means to beat it. According to Mister Knox here those new zombies keep to themselves and there aren't many of them."

"Yet," Alfred added.

Zoe asked in a little girl's voice, "Can I go, Sir?"

Halstead just stared at her for a long moment, then he nodded and replied, "Dismissed."

As quickly as she could, Zoe hopped down from her chair and fled the room, closing the door as quietly as she could behind her.

Tex watched the girl as she left, and set his jaw as the door closed. He looked down to the table, then grasped it with both hands and pushed his chair back. Standing fully, he looked to the Colonel and raised his chin.

Halstead motioned to the door with his head and said, "Go on, Sergeant, and good luck."

He knew he would find the girl in the place she felt most safe, and in this place, that was her room. The door stood open and he stopped in the doorway, seeing her huddled in the middle of her bed with her legs drawn to her and her teddy bear hugged tightly against her chest. Her wide eyes were on the TV, and she stared blankly at the screen, even though it was not on.

Leaning on the doorway, he folded his arms and asked, "Would you like some company?"

Her eyes flitted to him and she just shrugged.

Morris strode in with slow, heavy footsteps, right up to her bed, and he half turned and sat down beside her. "Scary day out there, huh?"

She nodded, her wide eyes locked on the TV.

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, and when he did she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head to lay her cheek on his chest, and she began to cry.

"Shh," he soothed. "It's okay, Princess. It's okay." He wrapped his other arm around her and she cuddled in as close to him as she could.

A few moments passed and she calmed, but stared ahead at the floor across the room.

"You want to tell me about that new zombie?" Tex finally asked.

"I don't even want to think about it," she whimpered. "It was so strong and it was attacking me like some big dog that wanted to eat me. It just came out of the bushes…" She closed her eyes. "I was so scared."