Chapter 5: First Interaction

I sat near the little girl without moving a muscle. I close my eyes trying to remember my recent memory. A clue about my existence. It seems like I was a human before. Putting all the information I've acquired, I'm guessing that every zombie out there used to be human. I'm starting to understand more and more as I was able to think for myself a lot better. Before I just accepted everything as it is and went with the flow but now, I feel the need to question everything.

I'm not quite sure why I want to know about everything. Probably ever since I have gotten these new memories, I feel like I woke up from a trance and I'm more aware of my surroundings. I would question more rather than quickly accepting it. Besides, right now, with nothing to do, I'm bored, and questioning everything while making up my assumptions keeps me entertained.

"Ah!" A voice echoes in my ears prompting me to open my eyes. I look to my side and our eyes met. She had blue eyes similar to hers. Now that I think of it, she's more of a miniature version of that girl that made my heartbeat. She looks terrified as she stares right into my eyes. I try to reach out to her but she quickly backs away from me making me retreat my hand. She didn't notice that she was at the edge of the couch and she fell backward and rolled on the ground for a bit.

Is she okay? I wish I can ask her but, the only word I was able to utter before was 'little sister'. I kept saying it till I wasn't able to anymore. At one point it was easy and all of a sudden, I was back to groaning mode.

"B-brother save me!" She shouts as she tries to run to the door only to find out there was a gate holding back a horde of zombies. She screams at the top of her lungs. I'm wondering where is she hiding her loud voice with such a tiny body. She froze in place unable to utter a word as she watches the zombies trying to reach for her. The gate was strong enough to hold them back and the gap from the gate was small enough to prevent them from reaching her.

I stand up and walk past her as I face the zombies with a dull expression. I let out a small groan as I push some of the zombie's arms that have gotten through the gaps. Those that I couldn't move, I severed up until I had enough space to close the glass door. If I was human, my hand would have been dinner for these things. But seeing how they think I'm one of them, which I probably am, I'm able to even put my hand out without any worries. After closing the glass door, I grab the mop I saw earlier and wedge it between the door handles. Even with the doors closed, their groans were able to penetrate the glass.

I turn around looking at the little girl who looks confused and terrified at the same time. A weird combination of emotion. I crouch in front of her and this time, she didn't move. Probably due to fear. I tried my best to utter the word, "Little....sister..."

Her eyes went wide as she tries to say something but couldn't find the words for it. I point towards the couch and she followed my hand. I see her looking at the door and the couch a couple of times and after, she gave me a nod before running back to where she woke up from. I walk back sitting a bit further from her trying not to make her run away again. I'm not going to lie, she's a bit amusing to look at. This is the first time I was close to their kind.

"Little...sister..." I utter the word again and it's starting to feel easy to say. "Little...sister."

She still looks confused and I can't blame her. I can relate, she's probably feeling the same emotion I felt when I woke up for the first time. I can see her squinting and it was confusing me. After a few minutes, she goes into her bag and takes out a stick. I hear her snap it but the stick never broke. What happened next amused me, it started glowing green illuminating the darkness that surrounded us.

"S-sir, are you a zombie?" She asked and I can see her eyes full of curiosity. I nod and rather than being scared, she smiled and shouted loud before saying, "Oh my god! I found an intelligent zombie! He can understand me!"

Intelligent. Her words brought a memory-making me to understand what that term means. I'm smart?

I was questioning it in my mind and I didn't notice the little girl got close to me. "You are now my pet!"

Pet? Another memory came in making me look at her with curiosity. This little girl, with such a tiny body, has so many words I don't know. She's like a piece of walking information.

"So, Mr. Zombie, did you save me?" I can hear a hint of sadness in her voice. I nod and her smile looks bitter. "My brother, he's dead isn't he?"

Her eyes were turning glossy and I nod affirming her question. She suddenly cried but this time, it wasn't a loud cry. It was a muffled sound that expresses her feelings. If I can be honest, it hurt more to see her cry like that than her loud version. I just sat there watching her cry. After a while, she seems to calm down as she wipes the tears off her face.

"Thank you Mr. Zombie for saving me." She mutters and I gave her a nod. "My mom always tells me to be strong. I have to be strong so I can go back to my mother."

Mother. A word I recently got familiar with. After having the last memory of me getting bitten, I had information in my head I never knew. Family.

I suddenly hear her stomach grumble which made me confused. I thought zombies are the only ones that feel hungry. "Mr. Zombie, I'm hungry."

Remembering the food I collected earlier, I grab my bag that's leaning against the couch and give it to her. It was heavy enough to produce a loud thud on the ground. Her eyes were going back and forth between me and my bag. I nod to her pointing at the bag I placed on the ground. She suddenly smiled and she quickly got on her knees. I didn't think she would know how to open a bag, but after watching her, I felt a bit embarrassed she opened it easily. She went through the contents inside and I can see her separating the food.

"Some of these are no good Mr. Zombie. Like this twinkie, it's expired and full of mold." She kept going lecturing me about different types of food and more memories came into my mind about all the new words she's mentioning. "So much food, I have never seen so much. Canned food is good but nobody likes getting them on food since they're heavy."

I nod in return trying to remember every bit of information she's providing me. After a while, she separated what's good and what's bad from the batch I collected. She quickly got a can from the good pile and went to her bag to take out a knife. She quickly stabbed the top of the can and moved the knife back and forth going in a circular motion. She started eating and the way she eats reminds me of the zombies who feast on the last human. They devoured the human-like animal and she devoured the contents of the can in the same fashion.

After eating, she looked at me with an expression that makes me feel fad. "Sir zombie, can I eat one more?"

I nod and I didn't mind if she ate the whole pile. She quickly got another can and soon after, she emptied the contents storing it inside her tiny body. Watching her eat was making me hungry so I decided to try the canned food. She quickly snatched the can from me. I thought she was still hungry but all she did was open the can for me with her tiny knife. She hands it back and the smell of the food is making me remember some memories.

Canned peaches. I quickly eat the peaches and drank the juice up to the last drop. I was still hungry so I got another can and handed it to her. She laughed and opened it for me and soon, I managed to devour five cans before my hunger subsided.

She said there staring at me like I'm her entertainment. I don't mind since this little girl has given me more information that makes me understand this world a bit better.

"Little...sister." My pronunciation was getting better. She nods at me as I keep repeating the word.

"Do you think I'm your little sister?" Her expression was hard to read. I nod remembering the little girl in my memory. Even though I know it's not her, I'm thinking that every girl her age I can call little sister.

"Ok then, I'm your little sister and you are my new zombie big brother." She stretches her arms out towards me. I was confused for a bit until new memory appears in my mind.

Handshake. Shake her hand. I reach out meeting her hand and I gently clamp it. I move both our hands up and down and she was in awe I was able to follow through.

"Wow! You are an intelligent zombie. Your hand, it's not as cold as the dead people." She inches closer to me lifting my hand in all directions twisting and turning it while she inspects every angle. "You're still pale though but your nails look so cool!"

She let go and I can see her expression reverts back to sadness. I wanted to comfort her but I didn't know-how. Maybe my hand made here remember something sad.

"My sister likes to paint her nails black. But a day ago, she got sick and our camp has no medicine for her." She looks on a verge of crying. "My mom begged the camp but, they only prioritize the severe cases. This way they can save on medicine. After that, my mother got sick and I didn't know what to do."

I sat there listening to her talk. She kept talking explaining everything. Why she went outside her camp with the guy that she was calling brother. It wasn't her biological brother. More of, her sister's boyfriend. She calls him big brother since she looked up to him like one. She found out that he was sneaking out of the camp to look for medicine to help her sister and her mother. Feeling useless, she wanted to help so she secretly followed him when he went to sneak out. He only found out when they were far from camp and rather than bringing her back, he had no choice but to take her with him due to having too many zombies blocking their way home.

A choice that later cost him his life. When I saw them in the store, they were looking for food when a zombie caught her off guard. To save her, the guy fought the zombie but wasn't able to deal a killing blow. Being preoccupied with one zombie while protecting her as she hides behind the counter, he was quickly overwhelmed as two more zombies come up behind him. The rest of the story is what I witnessed when I arrived.

"He died because of me." The little girl silent tears appeared again as she sat on the couch hugging her knees. "If I didn't follow him, he would still be alive by now."

I wanted to comfort her but I didn't know how to do it. I reach out my hand towards her head and placed it on top. I remember the word petting and saw a memory of me petting a dog to calm it down so I copy the same motion.

She looks up at me with tears in her eyes and she did something I have never felt. She burst out crying some more and jumps towards me. She wraps her arms around my waist and wails without holding anything back. Her grip on my waist was getting tighter and tighter but I could feel her body slightly shaking.

Hug? She's hugging me. I remember what she was doing. I place a hand on top of her head and kept petting it to help ease the pain she's feeling. But one thing I have been trying to hold back ever since I found her, the hunger in my stomach that is close to breaking my sanity. Even now, her smell was as delicious as ever.