J. Knoll - Zoe, Undead

"I know you were, Kiddo," he confirmed. "I was, too."

Zoe blinked, then she finally pulled away and looked up at him. "But you aren't scared of anything!"

"We're all scared, Kiddo," he corrected. "Every time I go out I'm scared. But there comes a point when you have to put being scared aside and do your job. Too many people are counting on me for me to be too afraid to do what I'm supposed to. I've just got to concentrate on my job and make sure that I get done what I need to, that way I don't feel so afraid while I'm out there working."

She stared back into his eyes for long seconds, then her mouth tightened and she said, "So, I'm not just a little wimp?"

He smiled and roughed her hair. "No wimp would be that afraid and still go out and do what you do. Being scared just makes you human."

"But I'm a zombie," she said softly.

"You're only part zombie," he corrected, "and that gives you an advantage over them and us. Hell, you can walk right up to most of them and give 'em a slap in the head and they still won't try to get you."

She giggled and nodded.

"Kinda wish I was half zombie," he went on. "I could go out there and do all kinds of damage if I was, just like you can."

Zoe lowered her eyes, bowing her head a little as she mumbled, "I still don't think I can go back out there right now. I don't think I can do it."

"You haven't been trained for this," he pointed out. "Just give it some time, Kiddo. You'll go back out with us when you're ready."

"Okay," she whispered.

"Now," he started in a more authoritative tone, "how about you give us some intel on those new zombies?"

With a nod, she said, "Yes, Sir."

They walked into the conference room with Zoe under the Sergeant's arm and her arm around his waist. She stayed as close to him as she could until he pulled her chair out, then she looked up to him for a sign of reassurance, which she got with a nod. Climbing into her chair, she sat cross legged as she had before and looked right to the Colonel as Sergeant Morris took his seat.

"I think there are some things you need to know about the new mad-dog zombies," she informed. "I'll be as helpful as I can, Sir."

CHAPTER 9

Apparently, half zombie girls could succumb to fatigue, too.

Zoe sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria and rested her elbow on the table, her cheek in her palm as she stared down at the meal before her. As promised, she was looking at a bowl of Spaghetti-O's, a smaller bowl of carrots, some kind of pastry and a glass of fruit punch soda. She drew a breath, then she vented it slowly. The day had taken its toll on her, on her nerves, and it was days like this when the medicine she took to control her explosive emotions just did not seem like enough. She could feel frustration, fear, anger, anxiety… All of them were welling up inside of her. Her mother had done her best to teach her deep breathing exercises, but that would only do so much.

She absently picked her spoon up and scooped out some of her dinner. Tex had told her he would try to join her for ice cream later, but he and the other army people and doctors were involved in that meeting, and that meant he would probably not be able to get away, and this only fed her frustration.

Feeling someone standing over her, she looked up from her lunch, then to her left, and she swallowed what she had in her mouth as she saw Zachary standing beside her with a tray. Clearly half a foot taller than she was when she was standing, he was staring down at her with blank eyes as if he was expecting her to say something to him.

The two just stared at each other for a moment, and finally she barked, "What!"

"Can I sit here?" he finally asked.

Zoe looked down to her Spaghetti-O's and just shrugged.

Zachary sat down across from her and looked down to his own dinner, but he did not start eating right away. There was a quiet awkwardness between them and neither spoke for a few moments, even after he finally started eating his dinner.

He finally shattered the silence with, "Your name's Zoe?"

Not looking at him, she just nodded.

"That's a cute name," he complimented.

"Thanks," she offered. "I like yours, too."

"Thanks," he said.

They ate in silence again for a while, then he finally glanced at her and asked, "So, how long have you been a zombie?"

Zoe shrugged and replied, "A week or so, I guess."

He took a drink, then went on, "Do you like being a zombie?"

She had never really thought about it and just stared down at her bowl for long seconds. With a little shrug, she said, "It's okay, I guess. There isn't any pain when I get hurt and I heal really fast and most other zombies don't bother me anymore."

"That mad-dog sure bothered you," he pointed out.

Turning her eyes away, she snarled, "Yeah." Finally looking to him, she insisted, "You have to shoot them in the head, otherwise they won't die. You have to. That's what the soldiers said to do."

He was staring at his bowl, and just nodded.

She stared at him for long seconds, then turned her attention back to her bowl.

"I've killed like twenty of them," he informed. "They came to our house and we had to fight them off, then we got in the R.V. and went looking for supplies and stuff." He turned his attention to her. "I got that one off of you and you didn't even say thank you."

"You didn't shoot it in the head," she countered, her attention still on her dinner.

"I still got it off of you," he grumbled, picking up his glass.

He was really aggravating her, but in the end he was right. She looked off to the side, her brow low over her eyes as frustration and pride waged battle against what she had been brought up to believe. Manners were manners and she huffed a sigh and grudgingly offered, "Thank you."

"Yer welcome," he replied. He took a bite of his lunch, then vented a breath through his nose, swallowed his mouthful and informed, "I'd do it again. Pretty girls shouldn't ought get eaten by them things."

Unconsciously, Zoe reached up and combed her hair back behind her ear, and she could not stop the little smile that overpowered her lips.

They finished their meals in silence. Zachary finished first and just sat there looking around him at the other people who were eating. Zoe finished hers and leaned back in her chair, keeping her attention on her tray for a moment.

"Do you want me to take your tray?" she asked without realizing.

"I can get it," he assured.

They stood up together and Zachary walked behind her to the big window where they would set their trays onto the conveyer belt. Halfway there they stopped as the lights dimmed, and a breath shrieked into Zoe as they went out completely.

An eerie hush fell over the entire cafeteria as darkness consumed the area for long seconds.

Zoe and Zachary exchanged looks, then they resumed their mission to turn in their trays.

As they left the cafeteria, the hospital speakers, which had been silent since Zoe's arrival, announced in a man's voice, "All strike teams report to the rally area. All strike teams report to the rally area. Any civilians with electrical or electronic or mechanical expertise are to report as well."

The two looked to each other again, then they turned and ran toward the stairs.

The rally point was a beehive of activity when they trotted into it. Zoe looked around frantically for someone she knew, and finally she saw Captain Langley preparing his gear and giving instructions to a few men who stood close by listening to him. She ran to him and patted his shoulder.

When Langley looked to her she raised her brow and asked, "What's going on?"

"Something happened over at the power plant," he answered. "No idea what, so we're sending a few teams in to check it out. Most likely something broke down so it's going to be one of those fix-it jobs more than anything."