“How do you know someone so mean and hard-headed? You’re so nice,” I inquired as Andreas put a book-mark in the magazine I found for her to read. She rested it aside and adjusted her body in her bed.
“You see a mean person; I see Ivy. You and her have a lot in common, Lin. She’d give the clothes off her back to someone that needed it much like you gave me your glasses, even though you needed them. She’s had a hard life. I’m assuming you did, too, correct?”
“I did, I guess. My parents were in to exploiting me for money and died when the virus spread. I lost my sister and my friends, all to early graves. My sister turned me after she lost herself. But, you don’t see me taking things out on others.”
“It’s not that she’s trying to hurt other people for her own pleasure. She just wants me and will do anything to have me. Something she needs to grow out of honestly.”
“So, how did you meet her? Post-virus or pre-virus?” She smiled at me.
“Are you even supposed to be in here?”
“Daniel went to bed, but no.”
“Huh, anyways… Ivy was born in a pretty bad neighborhood with crime, drugs, and gangs. She was just a fair skinned, blue eyed little girl with parents that wanted drugs more than her, so they sold her. Luckily, the police caught her and put her in the system for adoption. That didn’t stop her from being who she is now. She hurt other kids and at a fairly young age, she was trying to hustle with the others children. So, she was put in a juvenile delinquent program to influence her in to another path. That’s when we met. I was her mentor. I had no children or other family, so I spent a lot of time with her. When the virus spread, the orphanage and all kicked the bucket, so we ran away together. She spent a long time trying to be more prepared for this, but it took a lot of effort from her. I wasn’t meant for this life, though; I was never one to fight undead creatures.” She held my hand gently.
“So, how did she turn?”
“We got caught in the middle of some zombies and she got bit. I left with only a few scrapes and bruises, but she was bleeding fast. I cried for her to wake. She did soon after. I even remember carrying her to a safe place for her to lay while I started a fire. She spent the rest of that time taking care of me until I got sick from whatever. We had to go to that hospital Jacob found me at. She was covered up and just dropped me off, telling me she’d be back. I don’t remember anything else after that.” I stood up and kissed her forehead. It was time for bed for her.
“I’ll try to come back tomorrow. Thank you for telling me all that.”
“Anytime, Lin. Maybe you could tell me your story sometime.”
“Oh, it’s not too crazy. And, not as cool as Ivy’s.”
“Goodnight, Lin.”
“Goodnight, Andreas.”
I left the room to bump into Danny. He yawned and adjusted the headband that was keeping his hair out of his face.
“Why are you up?” I laughed.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he concluded after a pause of thinking. “Aren’t you going to see Veronica tomorrow? Shouldn’t you be asleep?”
“I’m not worried about that. Let’s talk about something.”
“Yeah, okay.” We went down to the cafeteria to talk, which was the best place to go in the middle of the night. I got a fruit bowl and sat with him off in the corner. “So, what did Andreas tell you to make you want to talk?”
“Her and Ivy are from the same place!” He took a slice of apple from the bowl, so I slid it closer to him. “What’s the chance of there being two sentient zombies in the same place?” He took a drink of water.
“Well, maybe it’s where they were from.”
“I don’t think so. She said the places there were wiped out. As in, no real survivors. And, I lived in a big city, too, and nothing was weird about the atmosphere there. My sister died of the virus, too, so that isn’t a practical assumption.”
“What about medicines? Ivy and Andreas both had asthma, just like you used to. You can still hear it when Ivy gets worked up; she gets winded.”
“Again, my sister died and we used the same medicine for asthma. I think those are just very weird coincidences, and Andreas’ old prescription is a lot different than mine.”
“What about ethnicity?”
“Andreas and I do share that, and Ivy’s is a completely different strand than ours, but it seems unlikely.”
“Did you have any diseases as a kid?”
“I was homeschooled, so I was never really exposed to any childhood illnesses. My parents were anti-vaxxers, too, so it was odd that I didn’t get sick.”
“I haven’t heard that dumb term in years. Those parents were ignorant.”
“Yeah, but a parent’s decision is their own, even if it risks their child’s life.” He took another apple slice and bit into it. His teeth appeared sharper than normal.
“What about blood types?”
“Nope.”
“Weight to height ratio?”
“No.”
“I don’t know what else then right now. I’m so tired.”
“Why can’t you sleep?”
“I ran out of mood stabilizers and my mind is just racing around the world and back. I’m getting my medicine tomorrow, though, so everything should go back to normal.”
“Well, I have to get to bed; I’m starting to get tired. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Lin.”
“Goodnight.” I went to my room and got in bed, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Comments (0)
See all