I’m alive. How could I still be alive?
My mouth. It’s dry. It’s craving something.
Why do I feel a little dizzy? My hands are numb and so are my toes.
What is that smell?
That good, savory, tempting smell?
His hair. It’s releasing sweat and oil. His brain…
I can see his brain. And yet, my sight is a little blurry.
I can hear the sizzling of the current in the walls, the static in the light bulb, the tiniest quake of the earth.
I can smell rust in his veins. His blood. I can smell his blood. I can hear his every gulp, his every beat of his heart. Every breath that he takes.
His flesh.
It smells like raw pork seasoned with sweet sauce. He’s making me hungry.
I want to eat him.
I’m sitting down on the cover lid of the toilet bowl, where he crouches on the floor in front of me.
“It’s done.” He taps on my wounded leg where he ties a ribbon above it. “I hope this helps stop the venom from spreading.”
He smiles.
I gulp. His sweat is making me thirsty. What is going on? Why do I feel this way?
I don’t answer. I stare into his eyes, following them as they wander off. He puts his soft, warm hand on my cheek. I can feel the blood running in his hand.
The strong sweet scent from it makes my stomach growling.
“Oh, you’re hungry?” He asks.
I want to eat you.
“I might have a chocolate bar in my sling bag. But I don’t think you want it since it’s sweet.” His voice box gives out a chuckle.
Gulp.
“I’ll just get it anyway. Because you don’t have a choice.” He digs into his bag and shows an unopened chocolate bar.
I don’t want that. I want you.
He opens the bar and puts it close to my mouth but the only scent I could smell is the flesh of his hand. His warm, pinkish hand.
Why do I want that? I’m not a cannibal. I don’t want to hurt him.
He puts the bar away and sighs. “Guess you really don’t want it. But what do you want to eat? There’s pizza outside.” He laughs at his own joke.
I give a little smile.
I look at my hands but there are no veins showing. My bloody nose stopped bleeding, and I can’t hear my own heartbeat. Nor can I feel it. My sight becomes clear, I can see Adam up close. And he’s way more handsome this way. I study every part of his face as he continues speaking to me. But his voice is muffled. I’m more focused on his face. His ears are symmetrical, his eyes are shining under the weak light, his nose is perfect and long.
I run my finger on his lips, and that stops him from moving it. Not a long second passes by, my lips press against his. But my teeth want to bite it. I pull away.
Blood floods his cheeks, turning his skin the most delicious color I’ve ever seen, and his lips can’t keep a smile. His eyes sparkle in adulation while his pulse races in the instant.
“I’m sorry if that surprised you.” I lean my forehead on both my hands, looking down at my exposed thighs. “I feel a bit odd.”
“It’s okay. Maybe you were having a shock. And I guess I should be the one to apologize because I made you run earlier.” He rubs my hands with his.
“No, I actually feel better now. It’s surprising.” My eyebrows meet at the thought.
I would be palpitating by now. Or worse, dying. I would be running out of air and then I would faint. But, that’s not exactly what’s happening right now.
Everything feels weird. My mind is about to explode, I can hear things I couldn’t before. I can see things that’s never been seen by the naked eye.
His heart, his blood, his veins, his brain. I can see them. I can see them working.
My focus draws to the zombies outside. I can see them through the walls. I can see their internal organs. But they’re not functioning. Their hearts aren’t beating, neither are their blood flowing through their veins. Their organs are darker than Adam’s.
Their smell. They’re like corpses. Rotting flesh and exposed rancid scent of their blood. How can I sense them if I’m in here in the toilet room hiding?
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Lenore’s name is on my screen. She told me they’re inside the mall. But how? It takes more than a minute to get there, and particularly, in this very situation. It will be a difficult thing to do to run away from these… people-killing people. And the mall must be filled with more of them. I don’t think they’re still safe there.
The next message is what worries me more. Riley is coming to get us. On a motorcycle. How can she even drive a motorcycle? And how is she gonna get through all the zombies outside?
“Riley will be here soon.” I whisper.
Adam’s eyebrows meet each other. “What? How?”
“She’s riding a motorcycle.”
He stands up. “Wait. What? She’d be infected by now.”
“I don’t know. But Lenore said to wait for her.”
“We’d be stuck here for hours if we waited. She may be gone by now.”
“Just keep your hopes up, Adam.”
“How can I? Even at the thought of Riley making it here, it’s unimaginable.”
Wait. I think that’s her. I hear the rumbling of the engine of the vehicle. The sound is getting louder, which means, it’s coming to the place. Riley presses the horn for ten long seconds, and I can see the zombies reacting to the sound. They roar all at once, breaking out through the glass. Adam’s heartbeat races faster at the loud sounds they’re making, sweat beads forming on his forehead. The engine noise vibrates going past the place, and most of the zombies follow it.
“Did she just leave?” Adam says, disappointment in his tone.
I stare at the wall, concentrating on the sound. “No. I don’t think so. she wouldn’t do that.”