too many zombies, too few humans, and not enough time to even things out. We were supposed to be the dominant race. We were supposed to be the ones deserving of life. Why did it seem like we were the ones scraping and clawing to survive? The truth was that without humans, zombies couldn’t exist. We needed them, not the other way around.
“I’m sure Mayor Hillard will be able to give you a more suitable answer,” my mentor said, extending his hand in the Mayor’s direction. “After all, I’m just a human tracker. That’s my contribution. Government and leadership, that’s his.”
My mentor stepped away from me and bounced down the steps of the stage. I exhaled, glaring in the direction of the Mayor. What answers did he have for me? Everything he said was a lie, or at the best, a half-truth. Everything I had been taught in zombie school had been with the intent to manipulate me and to make me believe what he wanted me to believe. Humans are evil, zombies are the new dominant race. The truth was much more complex than that. That was the truth that we wanted to believe, just as the truth the humans wanted to believe was that they would survive. It was the truth that any race, any person, wants to believe. I will survive. The real truth was something else, and Mayor Hillard knew it.
I bounded toward the Mayor, interrupting a conversation with one of his constituents. He looked toward me with a surprised expression. “Zellner! What can I do for you, my boy?”
“I want to know the truth,” I said, picking my words carefully.
“What do you mean?”
“We aren’t going to survive, are we?”
He gazed at me quizzically. “Of course we are! Thanks to you, and your mentor. You’re a real hero!”
He went to pat me on the back and I quickly swerved away, tossing aside his hand with the flick of my arm. He looked at me sternly. “We don’t have enough rations,” I said plainly. “They don’t know that, but I do,” I said in a harsh whisper.
Mayor Hillard laughed lightly and turned from me, asking the civilian Wake to give him a few moments. He obliged, taking his leave. The Mayor turned to look at me once more, his teeth clenched and his face stern. “We have enough to survive,” he said, the geniality suddenly erased from his tone, replaced with a heavy austerity.
“Not long enough,” I replied.
“There are ways of making them last, Zellner. We’ve done it before.”
“How?”
“That is being decided still,” the Mayor replied. “You will know when the other Revenant citizens do, don’t worry.”
“You’re so full of shit,” I seethed.
He glared at me. Then his arm darted out and he grasped me tightly around the side of my neck, clenching his hand firmly around it. “Don’t test me, Zellner,” he said sternly, his smile ever-present as always. “You should be in the Stockade at this moment. You were given a reprieve, and you were fortunate that it worked out. But I will not have any more dissension in my town. Break the laws of this town again, and I will not hesitate to revoke the rights given to you as a citizen of Revenant. Is that understood?”
He slowly released his grip from my neck. I swallowed as imperceptibly as possible. “What happens when the rations run out?” I asked carefully.
“I won’t allow that to happen. I promise you.”
“There’s not enough for everyone,” I said. “You know that.”
“Never mind, Zellner. That’s not your concern. We will survive. It’s my job to see to that. Your contribution is education. Learning your craft. Do you understand? You see to that. I’ll take care of the town. I will do whatever it takes to ensure its survival. Living death has its price.”
He stood erect and turned from me. He paused and glanced back. “Tread carefully, Zellner. You know the perils this town faces better than most. If you want to survive, I suggest very strongly that you tread carefully. Dissension will not be tolerated.”
He stepped lightly away from me. I stared ahead blankly, uncertainly. I didn’t know much about anything then. I didn’t know if it was right to kill and eat humans. I didn’t know if zombies deserved life. I didn’t know if Revenant would even last the year. But I knew I wanted to survive. That’s all I knew.
“Yo, Zell! Come on!” Trevor called to me across the square. I turned to look in his direction. He was standing at a long buffet table, scooping up the various meals the government had provided to its citizens to celebrate the capture of the human safe zone. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the school kids and adults were having a great time, sharing stories and enjoying the flesh food. Trevor waved me over and I approached slowly, sidling up next to him. As I did, he offered me a hum-burger, and I bit ravenously into it, enjoying the taste of blood on my lips and tongue.
“Man, this is the life, huh, Zell?” Trevor asked as he picked up a fried finger from his plate and began to nibble on it around the bone. “This is how zombie life is supposed to be!”
I nodded my unspoken consent dumbly. This was zombie life as it was intended. This is how I had thought things would be once the human safe zone was captured. I think that’s how all the Wakes in town thought it would be. I guess the Mayor thought one day of it was enough to make us forget that he had promised us forever. He was probably right.
“Things are going to be a lot different now, huh, Zell?” Trevor asked as he finished the last finger on his plate.
I stared knowingly at him. I contemplated telling him the truth, but Trevor could never keep a secret, and the last thing I wanted to do was put him in danger of being committed to the Stockade. It was better he didn’t know. Maybe it was better that none of them knew, and at that moment, I wished I didn’t either. Everyone looked so happy and excited, like they didn’t have a care in the world. They were so certain of their future. “Yeah,” I replied finally.
“Come on, man, let’s go play some flag football. Big Jake and them are starting a game,” Trevor said, dropping his plate on the table. He turned to dart away, then he turned back to look at me. He extended his arm for me to connect mine with. “You coming?”
I wasn’t much in the mood for games, to be honest.
“You’d better go ahead, Zellner,” my mentor said, a few paces ahead of us in line at the buffet. “School starts up again next week. You won’t have much time for games with all that studying you’ll be doing.”
I sighed. I didn’t want to think about school right now. I didn’t want to think about anything. I was a teenage zombie. It wasn’t my job to worry about rations and survival. That wasn’t my contribution, and quite frankly, I didn’t want it to be. Zombies, humans, rations, life, death – that was all way over my head. I didn’t want to think of any of that. I connected my arm with Trevor’s. “Thriller!” he cheered, and we ran out toward the park together.
I didn’t want to think about anything at the moment. Not school, the town, the Mayor, or Morgan.
With the radiance of the sun warming my cold, dead skin, and the taste of fresh blood and warm flesh in my mouth, I was just grateful to be living dead.
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