vehicles and try their luck on foot. This made it easier for a zombie to find a meal.
When she looked up into the windows of the tall office buildings that surrounded her Nancy could see bright patches of energy standing there, watching the spectacle unfold below.
Nancy joined them and watched the action for several hours until her burning hunger finally forced her out of hiding. By this time, the number of dead walking the streets had significantly increased and she decided it was time for her to join them.
Every where she looked abandoned cars littered the street. She switched over to her special vision. Two blocks away she could see several black figures surrounding two cars that had crashed head on. As the black figures moved around the cars Nancy could see flashes of bright red and orange energy trapped in one of the cars.
“Yummy” she whispered.
On her way to the fresh meal Nancy caught her reflection in the back window of a sports utility vehicle. She paused, taking in the sight. Her brown hair was still neatly pulled back into a pony tail and her face looked pale but not too unnatural. She had a few blue veins below her eyes but nothing too extreme. Surprisingly the only aspect of her face that sickened her was how Bob’s blood around her mouth and nose contrasted against her pale skin. Nancy knew what she had done to Bob and yet the sight of his blood on her face caused her to feel nauseous. Perhaps there was still something left living inside of her, some small bit of humanity.
Her hunger shook Nancy away from any philosophical thoughts she might have hand and took her back to reality. Hunger was stronger than guilt. Nancy looked past her reflection and inside the SUV she saw a tire iron. She opened the back tailgate and grabbed the weapon. Using the back of her sleeve she wiped as much of the drying blood from her face as she could. Nancy even released a few hairs from the pony tail and let them drape about her face the way she had done when she was one of the living.
With her focus returned Nancy moved toward the two cars. There were three black figures slowly pawing at the windows of the Volkswagen Bug. The zombies, intent on the prize trapped in side, did not notice Nancy’s approach. She strode up behind one of the figures and raised the heavy metal bar. With one quick downward motion she collapsed the zombie’s skull and it fell motionless to the pavement. The other two zombies noticed their fallen comrade and looked at Nancy. They saw her blackness, confused they returned their attention to the person in vehicle. Nancy easily disposed of the other two figures the same way she had the first. Their skulls crumpling under the blows from the tire iron.
“Thank you!” said a voice from inside the Volkswagen.
Nancy could see a young woman. She was wearing jeans and a black tank top. On the seat next to her was a pink purse the shape and size of a small bowling bag and the familiar green apron that employees of a local coffee shop wore. The girl had apparently been on her way to work when her world collapsed around her. Nancy wondered how long the girl had been trapped inside the car.
“Hurry, we’ve got to get out of here before more of those things show up.” Nancy instructed the girl. Her voice sounded sluggish to her as spoke. Would the girl be suspicious?
For a moment the young woman studied Nancy, she didn’t look like the things that had attack her and yet she didn’t look completely normal either. Her instincts yelled at her not to trust Nancy.
Looking over the top of the bug Nancy told the girl, “Come on, I see some more coming, we’ve got to get out of here now!”
Nancy’s words apparently convinced the girl because she opened the door.
“Thanks again, you saved my life.” she said starting to step out of the bug.
“Yeah, I suppose I did…so I guess it belongs to me now.”
Nancy violently pushed the girl back into the vehicle and pinned her face down on the front seat. With her hands on the girl's back and oblivious to the girls screams for mercy, Nancy paused for a second wondering if she would feel the same guilt for what she was about to do to as she had for Bob. But her hunger was stronger than any guilt she would ever have and she sunk her teeth into young woman’s neck and began feeding on her beautiful flesh. As she ate Nancy felt her body fill with energy.
When she had taken all that she could eat Nancy fell backwards out of the car and onto the road next to it. She lay there letting the girl’s energy rip through her body like the most incredible orgasm she had ever felt.
Nancy had taken the black and white photos that decorated her loft. She had been an amateur photographer. She remembered now. It was a loft too, not an apartment or house. Nancy thought it was located in downtown Denver not too far from the Coors Field baseball stadium but she couldn’t be sure.
From her vantage point Nancy could see a few of the living still standing at the office windows surrounding the intersection. Nancy laughed and imagined that they had watched the whole event unfold like some sick reality television show. How long had they watched the trapped girl only to see Nancy devour her? Where they exchanging money right now? The ones who bet she would be rescued paying off those who took the odds that she would die?
Nancy ran her hands up and down her body. It felt good. Her muscles still felt lethargic but they were getting firmer and stronger. Her thoughts were almost normal now, the molasses she had been thinking through before was almost gone. After a few moments of enjoying her new good feelings Nancy’s enjoyment was interrupted. Standing above her was a black figure, the coffee girl she had just consumed.
Nancy studied the girl for awhile. The once bright red and orange energy that flowed through the girl was now completely gone. Nancy didn’t know how but she felt a connection with the young woman.
“Help me up.” she instructed the girl and stretched out her arm. The young woman did as she was told and pulled Nancy to her feet.
“What is your name?” she asked the girl. The young woman just stood there blankly staring back at her.
“Can’t speak, eh, coffee girl? Just as well.” Somehow understanding, the coffee girl slowly nodded exposing the terrible wound Nancy had inflicted.
“Come with me, we’ve got to do something about that.”
Chapter 12
Steve pushed the door open and stepped down the hallway towards Kirkpatrick’s office, with Max, Stewart and Tom trailing him closely. Once everyone was in the hallway Steve stopped and pointed to the floor down near the end of the hall, there was blood on it.
“Stewart, looks like you get to earn your pay now, ma'am.”
Officer Stewart scowled at Steve and stepped in front of him, while her back was turned a high pitched scream came from behind her. To her credit Stewart just turned, dropped into a lower profile and ducked to the right. Max did just the opposite. He jumped six inches into the air, pivoted to the left and almost dropped his trusty bat. It was all he could do not to become a babbling idiot. Steve, started in on the “Wha-wha-what”, but quickly recovered and scowled at Max.
Stewart immediately started a smooth glide towards the screaming, almost jogging, but checking every opening she went by with the coolness of a professional. Max followed as close as he could, but lacked her precision, he only hoped she found and took care of any ‘problems’ before he got there.
'So much for my macho image.' he thought to himself, 'Long live the woman's rights movement!'
The screaming started getting louder and more persistent, Stewart's pace increased to a quick jog. Max was the one who saw the woman dart out of a side passage on an intercept course. Without even thinking Max rushed the older blond haired woman getting ready to pounce on Stewart from behind. He let out a battle cry and threw himself forward swinging the bat as he went. He missed. Completely woofed. STE-rike one! However his momentum carried him into the woman and as he tripped and went down he landed on the back of her legs, which brought her down on top of Stewart's legs.
Time seemed to slow way down for Max then, he dimly recalled hearing a gun go off, and heard Tom and Steve yelling, as if they were three feet under water. His vision was dominated by a half torn face of a woman who could have been his mother, her grimacing visage turned towards him as they fell together to the carpet. For
