A Little Undead (2 page)

The bus driver was the helpful
sort, even if he was still regarding me as a somewhat suspicious
person. I wasn't sure if it was my too-pale skin, the questionable
age on my ID card, or the fact that everyone on the bus with us acted
like I had some sort of plague. The directions he gave me to the
national college of the Republic were clear and concise, but he still
bugged me a little. I couldn't remember it clearly, but I had the
impression that all bus drivers were old men with a hatred of road
songs. To see a young, clean-shaven man in army fatigues and a
pistol at his hip felt like a corruption of a childhood memory, and I
held too few of those already. But in the end... things change.

We still hadn't reached the true
center of the city but already I could feel a hint of the world
Before. While walls and decades-old signposts were stained and
pitted from neglect the windows and sidewalks told a different story.
For all that it was still a husk of its former self, the city showed
a certain cautious vibrancy that in this age was far more precious
than gold. Of course, these days that measurement also went for
bullets and pizza.

Looking closely along the broken
and weed-stricken sidewalk there were signs of renewed habitancy
everywhere. Windows, though still barred, were left open to let in
the noonday sun. Hand-painted signs hung above nearly every doorway,
the shops eager to take in the milling bus crowd. Up above street
level a number of small herb gardens hung elegantly, a hint of life
to come. Looking closer, I spotted a number of small green shoots
poking up from the roofs. Covered in pavement and cement the city
might be, but they were taking full advantage of what space they had.

Holly exited the bus at last,
lugging along her full to bursting backpack and book-bag. “That
was amazing! Can you believe it went that fast?” It seemed
the heavy bags she carried weren't dulling her bubbling enthusiasm.

I hummed at her noncommittally
and wondered how she had contained herself throughout my long nap.
“Buses aren't exactly my idea of luxury travel.” That
said, I had been pleasantly surprised at how empty the bus had been.
Being in a confined space with a number of other people was not my
idea of fun.

Holly sniffed, playfully
slapping at my shoulder. “Well excuse me, not all of us have
ridden in a car before. I guess you'll just have to let me take a
spin in your new police car to make it up to me.”

“
I'll be lucky if they
give me a bicycle. Let's head out, daylight's wasting.”
Shouldering a hiking backpack that probably had the same volume I did
I made it two steps before Holly took my hand and tugged me off
course.

“
One stop first, please?”
The power of her pleading puppy-dog eyes was lessened by the fact
that at sixteen she was already taller than I was.

'
Mustn't
dwell on that,'
I thought to
myself. This city was a chance to reinvent myself. A chance to
finally be recognized as an adult and live a normal life. The family
that had adopted us was great, but it had never felt like home.
Holly had adapted well enough, but maybe I had just been too old to
think of myself as anything other than a guest in their house. The
nagging notion that I should try harder to remember our real mother
certainly hadn't helped me settle in. But I was a grown-up now,
appearances be damned, and I wasn't going to let this opportunity
pass me by. Perhaps I was pinning my hopes a bit high on a city that
still looked half gutted, but hey, maybe that just meant it had
character.

I let loose an exaggerated sigh
and let Holly lead me into a shop titled 'Schaefer's Iced Goods.'
Contrary to it's name the interior was pleasantly warm, a welcome
change after multiple hours on a bus with a broken heater. All along
one wall ran a long freezer, its lightly frosted surface enough of a
deterrent to turn my attention towards the warmer half of the room.
“Coffee!”

The elegantly dressed blonde
woman behind the counter gave me an indulgent smile as I practically
melted onto a stool, backpack dropping to the ground beside me.
“Large with extra sugar, please.” A few sips later and
any qualms I had over the amount of plastic RNE credits I'd had to
hand over had nearly vanished. After all, I was about to start a new
job and I had plenty of stockpiled pasta in my backpack to tide me
over to my first paycheck. I'd survive somehow, I always did.

“
New in town?”
“How
could you tell?” I replied, not particularly curious.
Following her nod I saw Holly turning around, a small waxed package
in her hands.

“
Julie, what's ice cream?”

Spinning back to the barista my
stunned disbelief shifted to excitement at the sight of her nod.
Paying the asking price with no more than a small grimace I tore open
the package with anxious but oh so careful haste. “I can't
believe someone was able to make this again.” It was golden
vanilla, flecked with ice, the scent wafting up from the open
packaging enticingly.

“
For about two years now,
actually,” explained the woman. Ducking under the counter she
found them two plastic spoons likely salvaged from a pre-Infection
factory.

“
Holly, you should try the
first bite.”

Still curious, she lifted a
small dollop with her spoon, tongue questing outwards to test its
surface. With a slight start at its flavor she took the rest in one
bite. “Mmmh. This is good!”

Taking a bite myself I kept it
on my tongue to savor the flavor but I couldn't keep a small frown
from creeping onto my face. “It doesn't taste quite like I
remember.” Spotting the coming question from the blonde I
headed it off before it could fully form. “Yes, I'm older than
I look.”

“
Of course... Well, it's
actually made with goat's milk. Cow's milk is tough to find these
days.”

“
Gotcha.” Mentally
berating myself over the use of teen-speak I soothed my annoyance
over the slip with further consumption of ice cream. It was then
that I saw it. While her right ear was normal, her left curved back
to a delicate point. “Penny the pixie,” I murmured
without thinking. I knew immediately that I had made a mistake.

“
What did you just say?”
she asked slowly, head tilting to the side.

“
Come on Holly, we need to
go.” Despite no doubt being curious herself Holly followed my
lead, carrying out the ice cream with her.

“
Where did you hear that
name?” the barista called after me, voice tinged with
suspicion.

I
sped up my pace, nearly slamming the door behind me as we left. It
was an old name, a sort of playground nickname from a time so long
ago it felt more like a dream than a memory. '
No, it can't
be a memory, it can't be.'
I
felt sick to my stomach, backpack suddenly heavy enough to nearly
drag me to the ground. I slumped against the wall of a bakery the
moment we turned the corner, struggling to regain my composure.

“
Julie, are you okay?”

“
I'm fine,” I said.
“Come on, I still have to find my apartment after we get you
settled in and the sun's falling fast.” Diversion or not it
was a valid concern, and so with shaky legs I resumed the march. I
couldn't be certain about Boston, but in most parts of the world
walking around outside went from potentially dangerous during the day
to “You should really know better” during the night. I
wasn't going to let a little panic attack keep Holly from getting to
the dorms on time.

It was like a whole other world
beyond the gates to the walled off inner city. Haven had only ever
had sporadic electricity up until just a couple years ago. Enough to
run a radio and a TV or two and the phones once they were
reconnected, but not much else. This display of blatant wealth felt
decadent in comparison. As marvelous as it was to see a piece of the
world as bustling as it was before the Infection, I couldn't help but
remember four winters ago when Haven had gone on half rations for
nearly a month. I had woken up once in the middle of the night in
pain, only to realize I had been gnawing on my own hand.

“
Julie, this is amazing!
Can you believe it? I'd heard rumors but I never thought it would be
so bright.”

“
Mmh,” I replied
noncommittally. I wondered if Bostonians were afraid of their own
shadows to put up so very many street lights. Every alley was lit,
even now in the early afternoon, and one casino appeared to use more
power than our entire hometown. Many of the women wore bright
flowing silks that made me feel suddenly under-dressed in my blue
jeans and T-shirt. People everywhere were talking into slim
cellphones and some even carried slim computers... laptops, I
remembered after a moment.

I grabbed Holly's hand as we
moved into the main flow of the crowd, not wanting to get separated.
Every casual bump and brush frayed my nerves further until I was
spending more time avoiding everyone else than actually looking where
I was going. I wasn't sure if we had been walking for five minutes
or thirty when Holly pulled us out of the current. “Well this
is a letdown,” said Holly.

“
Maybe it's better on the
inside?” It wasn't. Either the college was remodeled from an
asylum or it was a precautionary measure for students that grew fed
up with the line at the Registrar's Office. Every door looked like
it could withstand days of battering from the infected and the
stern-faced guards at every corner were more of a stifling presence
than a comforting one.

“
You can go, I can handle
this,” said Holly.
My observation of the dwindling sun
through the six-inch-wide windows must have been more noticeable than
I thought. “I'll be fine. The sun sets late this time of
year.”

Holly gently grabbed my
shoulders and turned me around. “Don't worry, I'm a college
girl now. Just because Mom and Dad aren't around right now doesn't
mean you have to baby me.”

“
Alright,” I said
reluctantly. It was probably safer here with the army than in a
frontier town like Haven anyways. What was there to worry about?
“Just make sure you don't leave the campus alone, and call me
if you need anything. You remember the number for the police station
and my apartment?” I nearly giggled at her sour face. Of
course she remembered the number, sixteen-year-old physics genius
that she was. Sometimes I wondered if there were more numbers than
words floating around in her head. “Okay then, I'll see you on
my first day off from work. Good luck.”

A quick hug later I was out the
door. Without Holly to guide me the streets were even worse. I
could feel them watching me like some sort of carnival show
attraction, the little girl with the giant backpack. The strangeness
of my surroundings and the falling sun had me edgy to begin with, and
I didn't do well with crowds in the best of circumstances. Still, I
was wary of running within sight of the droves of policemen. As I
was starting as a cop myself in a couple days I knew well enough the
attention that trying to run would bring. Instead I settled for a
brisk walk until I exited the inner city gates. There was no time to
waste however, and so with a grim smile I grabbed the straps of my
backpack to keep them from bruising my shoulders and broke into an
easy lope. Catching a second wind as the shadows covered the
sidewalk I sped up my pace, cool spring air brushing my cheeks as I
sped past suddenly sinister alleyways. It hadn't occurred to me
while studying the map, but the apartment I had reserved was far
enough from the main roads that the sense of life that so inspired me
in the rest of the city was all but absent here.

I gave two soft knocks on the
landlady's door. The shadows deepened even as I watched, raising the
heat in my cheeks to a fever pitch as the fear of the dark that had
been drilled into me for years took hold. I beat the door twice
more, shaking the door with the force. Just as I contemplated
seeking refuge at a stranger's house or even taking my chances on a
roof the door opened, but only a crack. A steel chain stretched
across, keeping it from opening further. The woman, Cassandra, stood
well back from the door. Any errant zombie hand grasping at her
throat would be swiftly and mercilessly crushed, I was sure. “State
your business, girl.”

“
Umm, I'm Julie, Julie
Fisher. I reserved an apartment with you.”

“
Ah.” Cassandra
puttered off, red slippers rustling against the carpet. My feet
shifted nervously as I pondered the politeness of encouraging some
haste in whatever it was she was doing. “Found it. Here's
your key for room number nine. If you need another it's thirty
credits to replace.”

“
Thanks.” I moved to
escape the growing darkness but her voice made me pause.

“
You should be more
careful, the city isn't safe after dark anymore.” I gave a
confused nod in response. '
Since when in the past sixteen years
has anywhere been truly safe?'

Giving the batty old woman no
further mind I ran by the rooms, backpack bouncing on my shoulders as
I searched for the correct room. Finding it on the second floor I
caught one last lick of sunlight before locking myself inside. I
flicked on the solitary bulb in the room, watching hopefully as it
flickered and finally steadied, holding clear. The bulb was dim,
casting the room half in shadow, but my eyes had grown adept over the
years at seeing in darkness. As quietly as I could – for even
inside one's own house it was unwise to draw attention to oneself
during the night – I crept through the apartment, making sure
each of its three windows was properly secured.