one thing on their mind. Dinner. They's didn't even know we was here as long as they had something close by to eat. The way to take out a pile of zombies is to keep their attention away from you." Wells grinned from ear to ear. "All you gotta do is use the right bait."
Chapter 3
Modern times:
The sky above was the brightest blue that Lisa had ever seen. A wisp of a single cloud rolled through the winds like a tumbling wave. She wished it had a hand she could take and dance alongside.
Birds adorned the branches of towering pine trees, singing a multitude of songs of life's delight. A family of ducks led by the mother waddled past and into the calm waters of the crystal clear lake. She heard the splish-splish-splish of each duckling as its bottom hit the water.
"It's good to be alive, isn't it?" A mellow voice spoke from behind her.
"Yes." Lisa felt the warm breeze against her cheeks, ferrying the spicy-sweet scent of gardenias past her nose. "It is so good to be alive." She turned around. "Oh, Bob, it's you."
Bob wore his best black suit and his signature purple tie. Lisa never understood his obsession with the color purple. He bent over and snapped a single emerald rose from a medium-sized bush, and brought it over to her.
"For you, my dear. It matches your eyes, and the envy that all other men have for me when they see us together," Bob said.
"Aw, that's nice for you to say." Lisa reached out and wrapped her arms around him.
"I am your knight in shining armor," he whispered in her ear.
"I know, I know." Lisa smiled, feeling so happy that she thought she was going to burst.
Something felt wet under her hand on Bob's back. She pulled it away and found it smeared with deep red blood.
"Bob, are you hurt?"
He said nothing. Lisa felt her insides plunge as if riding down on a fast elevator.
Then, she remembered. The convenience store—the parking lot—the attack of the Non-Dead. The blood . . . the blood.
Bob dissolved into empty air. Lisa was left isolated in a world of beauty, alone, with no one left to share.
*
"Miss Goudard, are you awake?" the nurse asked, as Lisa's eyes fluttered open.
Lisa heard the voice of a woman, but couldn't comprehend a word of it. Her mind was a swirl of discordant thoughts. Some still trying to hold on to parts of the dream, others forcing her back to reality.
Draped in a weave of shadows, the ceiling loomed above as a closed lid of a funeral casket. The only glow of light came from a floor lamp shoved in the corner of the windowless room. The air felt cold and stung the back of Lisa's throat as she took a deep breath. A soft electronic beep sounded from behind in slow rhythm, confusing her further.
A warm hand touched Lisa's arm. "Miss Goudard? I'm Jennifer, your nurse. How are you feeling?"
Lisa propped herself on her elbows and gazed around the room. Hopelessness washed over her. Her left shoulder itched, and when she went to scratch, her nails scraped against a large adhesive patch.
"Careful, that's your ATP patch," the nurse said, pushing a red button on the intercom hanging on the wall.
"ATP patch? Did I get cut or something?"
"No, nothing like that. The ATP patch provides the energy source your body needs in order to function. It's a lot less invasive than a feeding tube, like we have to give most patients in a coma."
"I was in a coma?"
"A chemically induced coma," the nurse said.
"Why am I here?" Lisa closed her eyes. "My God! Bob! I remember!" She ripped the sheet away from her legs and sat sideways on the bed. The room started spinning. She jutted both hands to her side to steady herself from keeling over.
The nurse placed her hands on Lisa's shoulders. "Just a minute, hon. It's too soon for you get up."
Lisa lowered her head to keep from passing out. The flimsy hospital gown covered only to her upper thighs, exposing the full length of her legs. A few days of hair growth told her how long it had been since she last shaved.
Chapter 3
Modern times:
The sky above was the brightest blue that Lisa had ever seen. A wisp of a single cloud rolled through the winds like a tumbling wave. She wished it had a hand she could take and dance alongside.
Birds adorned the branches of towering pine trees, singing a multitude of songs of life's delight. A family of ducks led by the mother waddled past and into the calm waters of the crystal clear lake. She heard the splish-splish-splish of each duckling as its bottom hit the water.
"It's good to be alive, isn't it?" A mellow voice spoke from behind her.
"Yes." Lisa felt the warm breeze against her cheeks, ferrying the spicy-sweet scent of gardenias past her nose. "It is so good to be alive." She turned around. "Oh, Bob, it's you."
Bob wore his best black suit and his signature purple tie. Lisa never understood his obsession with the color purple. He bent over and snapped a single emerald rose from a medium-sized bush, and brought it over to her.
"For you, my dear. It matches your eyes, and the envy that all other men have for me when they see us together," Bob said.
"Aw, that's nice for you to say." Lisa reached out and wrapped her arms around him.
"I am your knight in shining armor," he whispered in her ear.
"I know, I know." Lisa smiled, feeling so happy that she thought she was going to burst.
Something felt wet under her hand on Bob's back. She pulled it away and found it smeared with deep red blood.
"Bob, are you hurt?"
He said nothing. Lisa felt her insides plunge as if riding down on a fast elevator.
Then, she remembered. The convenience store—the parking lot—the attack of the Non-Dead. The blood . . . the blood.
Bob dissolved into empty air. Lisa was left isolated in a world of beauty, alone, with no one left to share.
*
"Miss Goudard, are you awake?" the nurse asked, as Lisa's eyes fluttered open.
Lisa heard the voice of a woman, but couldn't comprehend a word of it. Her mind was a swirl of discordant thoughts. Some still trying to hold on to parts of the dream, others forcing her back to reality.
Draped in a weave of shadows, the ceiling loomed above as a closed lid of a funeral casket. The only glow of light came from a floor lamp shoved in the corner of the windowless room. The air felt cold and stung the back of Lisa's throat as she took a deep breath. A soft electronic beep sounded from behind in slow rhythm, confusing her further.
A warm hand touched Lisa's arm. "Miss Goudard? I'm Jennifer, your nurse. How are you feeling?"
Lisa propped herself on her elbows and gazed around the room. Hopelessness washed over her. Her left shoulder itched, and when she went to scratch, her nails scraped against a large adhesive patch.
"Careful, that's your ATP patch," the nurse said, pushing a red button on the intercom hanging on the wall.
"ATP patch? Did I get cut or something?"
"No, nothing like that. The ATP patch provides the energy source your body needs in order to function. It's a lot less invasive than a feeding tube, like we have to give most patients in a coma."
"I was in a coma?"
"A chemically induced coma," the nurse said.
"Why am I here?" Lisa closed her eyes. "My God! Bob! I remember!" She ripped the sheet away from her legs and sat sideways on the bed. The room started spinning. She jutted both hands to her side to steady herself from keeling over.
The nurse placed her hands on Lisa's shoulders. "Just a minute, hon. It's too soon for you get up."
Lisa lowered her head to keep from passing out. The flimsy hospital gown covered only to her upper thighs, exposing the full length of her legs. A few days of hair growth told her how long it had been since she last shaved.
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