Dawn Of The Chemically Dead.

‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ Gerard asked aiming the loaded gun at my head.

‘Eating,’ I replied, wide eyed.

‘You scared the shit out of me!’ he snarled. His hand was shaking.

‘Well, I’m sorry but would you get that thing out of my God damn face?!’ I shouted slightly hysterically, shielding my face with my arms. As I did, my sleeves came up revealing the bandages on each wrist.

Gerard’s eyes darted to them and in an instant, he lowered the gun and grabbed my arm.

‘I thought you said you weren’t bit,’ he growled slowly.

‘I wasn’t, and you’re hurting me,’ I replied through gritted teeth, trying to keep my voice level.

‘I don’t believe you,’

‘I was in hospital now get the fuck off me!’ I said, raising my tone.

‘In hospital for what? I said for what?’ he hissed when I tried to pull away.

‘None of your fucking business,’ I seethed back, ‘Don’t you think if I’d been bitten I would have turned by now?’

He simply stared at me with hateful eyes for a minute and giving me a once over, released my arm. His hand had left a mark and my wrists stung. I turned away from him and rubbed the slightly red area when he spoke again.

‘Sorry,’

‘Whatever. I’m going back to the store,’ I spat, pushing past him.

But just as I reached the door, he slid past me and blocked my way. I gave him a bemused look.

‘Buddy system, remember?’ he said, his voice a hint softer.

‘I didn’t see your buddy when you ran in here about to blow my brains out,’ I said bitterly.

‘And I didn’t see yours when you decided to sneak off in the middle of the night and scare the shit out of me,’

I frowned. Although I thought my reason for going to the diner was justified, I couldn’t think of a reply quick enough. I responded with a glare and Gerard returned it.

As I stared at him, it was in this moment that I realised how close he was to me. He was standing over me, his breath tickling my face slightly. It made me uncomfortable and I had to look away. Satisfied with himself, he turned and marched out. I walked behind him slowly, hoping this would annoy him and as I did, noticed he would turn his head every so often to look at me from the corner of his eye. My wrists throbbed. Eventually, after what seemed like miles, we reached the furniture store.

I returned to my sofa and saw Gerard go round the corner, presumably to his bed. I replayed the moment by the door in my head. Why did he have to stand so close to me like that, tower over me just to tell remind me to keep in a pair? Everything seemed to be a power struggle with this guy. My stinging wrists were definitely telling me that. But maybe it had been pretty stupid to run off on my own in the middle of the night? Annoyingly I had to admit if I’d heard mysterious clanging sounds in the night, I’d be terrified. I considered apologising. I guessed it would make the atmosphere a bit more bearable.

Eventually...‘Gerard?’

I waited a few seconds. I heard him turn over in his bed. He didn’t reply.

A few hours later, I woke up in a cold sweat.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. In a furniture store. In an abandoned mall. An abandoned mall that was the only thing keeping me and the few other living people away from the blood thirsty living-dead that would like nothing better than our brains for breakfast while the rest of the world went to shit. That’s right. That’s where I was.

I shivered as my confusion turned into a plummeting feeling in my stomach. It was daylight now but I had no idea was time it was. I checked my digital watch. The numbers had gone back to zero. The irony was too much, I took the watch off and l put it on the sofa. As I did, I
noticed a couple of dark red, almost brown stains on the white material. Blood.

I froze.

Fuck. I had been bleeding. Why the fuck had I been bleeding??

I searched my body, bewildered as to why I couldn’t find the source of the wound. I frantically ran around the store for a mirror to check my face and neck.

There was no way I got bit, I kept telling myself.

But I still desperately hoped no one would walk in until I knew for certain. I ran my hands over my body for third time. There was definitely no blood on that sofa last night. Fuck, what was going on??

Just as I had found the bathroom section of the store, I heard a voice that sent a current of panic through me.

‘Cookie?’ Gerard’s voice, even though it was coming from the very front of the store, was harsh and cut through the air. ‘Cookie?’ The second call told me he had seen the blood.

Oh God.

I heard him walk through the store in his quick march and when he found me, I was leaning on a basin display, both hands pressed on it. My head was bowed, my eyes clenched shut. I heard his walk slow down until he was right behind me.

‘I thought you said you weren’t bit,’ he said very quietly and dangerously.

I shook my head quickly, too scared to open my mouth.

‘Well?’ he half shouted, making me jump. A small whimper escaped my mouth.
I slowly turned around to face him. His hands were clenched into tight balls and his mouth was a tight line.

‘Gerard,’ I whispered, ‘I’ve checked my entire body, I don’t see where the blood could have come from, I mean I can’t find a wound anywhere, I don’t know what to say, I just...’

I trailed off, not able to look at him. He didn’t reply for a minute.

‘Alright just... shut up a second.’ He kept his voice low, frowning deeply and touched his hand to his forehead trying to think quickly. ‘I want to see this for myself. Take your top off,’
‘Wh-what?’ I whispered in disbelief, covering my body with my arms protectively.

‘And your pants, take them off,’

I couldn’t even speak. I gaped. And he just stood there looking at me as if he’d just asked me about the weather.

‘C’mon, I’m not fucking around Cookie!’ he snapped, ‘If you’ve been bit I don’t want to stand around and wait for you to turn,’

But I couldn’t move. All I could do was stand there with my mouth hanging open and shake my head.

He flinched as if he was going to go for me but then almost immediately pulled himself back. He took a deep breath.

‘Cookie,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘I know you said you’ve checked. But there are certain areas of your body that you just can’t see. Like your back. How could you possibly know if you’re bleeding on your back?’

He made sense and I hated it. And the thought of knowing where my injury was tugged at my mind. Besides, it’s wouldn’t have been like taking my clothes off in front of a complete stranger was the craziest situation I found myself in, in the past two days. As I thought this over, my eyes met Gerard’s who had been trying to read my face. I slowly nodded.

I pulled my pants down first, feeling less bothered about this than taking off my top. They sat in a crumpled heap around my ankles. I wanted to die. After a minute-

‘Turn around,’ Gerard instructed.

I shuffled round and after a few seconds heard him mutter an ‘okay’. Once I’d pulled my pants up, I realised he was waiting for me to reveal the top half. He nodded.

Looking away, I pulled my top over my head and used it to cover up my body. Then I realised that this defeated the whole point and dropped it. I stood there awkwardly, my arms stiffly by my sides. Peeking at Gerard I saw his eyes sweep my stomach, briefly glance at my chest, then my neck and finally my face. He didn’t meet my eyes.

‘Turn around,’ His voice was quiet now, almost soft even.

I did. After a few seconds of silence, I turned back around to find my top.

‘Here,’ Gerard handed it to me.

‘Thanks,’

He faced the other way while I put it back on. When he turned back around neither of us could look at each other.

‘So... where did the blood come from then?’ he asked.

‘Oh God, I don’t know,’ I sighed, raising my arm to rub my head with my head.

‘Cookie,’ Gerard said, touching my wrist. Gently, he pulled it towards him and turned my arm over, exposing the inside it of it. My bandage was covered in a blood stain. I looked at my other wrist and it was the same.

I gave him a look that was a mixture between surprise and relief.

‘Well. At least we know where it came fr-’

‘God damn it,’ Gerard interrupted, pushing me away from him, ‘You’re telling me you checked your entire body and you didn’t even notice that? How could you miss that? Jesus!’
I blinked, taken aback by his sudden anger. Why had he switched suddenly? I hadn’t been bitten. That was a good thing. But I was pissed off now. I threw him a glare for what seemed the hundredth time.

‘If I recall correctly, the only reason why I started bleeding there is because you grabbed me last night with such force that the wounds must have reopened,’

‘You shouldn’t have been wandering around by yourself! Open your eyes Cookie, stop acting like some dumb kid. We have to take precautions. ‘Cause if you don’t, you’re dead. And some of those precautions involved not scaring the shit out of me every time I run into you! I seriously thought I was gonna have to get my gun out on you just now,’

‘Well you know, that sounds a whole lot more appealing than having to be anywhere near you,’ I hissed. I shoved past him and stalked out wishing I hadn’t sounded so immature.

But at the same time I was shaking with rage. He just knew how to push my buttons. He always made me feel vulnerable, stupid and I hated it, I fucking hated it.

I felt like a brat.

Why did he have it in for me so much? From the moment he pulled me from that car into the mall I could tell. I didn’t get it. What had I done?

As I thought this over, I realised I had been storming around the top level of the mall, not having a clue where I was going and into unknown territory. I stopped and sat on the floor, pleased with prospect of having some time to myself. I closed my eyes. I really hadn’t had enough sleep last night. I sat for minute, enjoying the moment of silence.

But then footsteps. Running. God, an entire mall and I couldn’t even get two minutes alone?

‘Cookie?’ I heard in the distance.

‘Fuck off Gerard. God,’ I seethed not even turning to look at him.

‘Coo-’

‘Go. Away.’ I said, hearing the voice was closer now.

‘COOKIE,’

My head snapped towards him. Except it wasn’t Gerard, it was Bob.

And he was covered in blood.