Extermination - PT. 6

"Hey...." He spoke clearly, with a hint of a British accent, "You're like me....!!?"1

Simian's eye widened as she looked at the tall Zombie straight in the eyes. He grinned, his teeth jagged and uneven,2

"My name's Alexander Jarvannen, but you can call me Zander," He said, still holding her 2 feet off the ground, "What's your name?" Simian struggled to get his hand loose, clawing at his arm. He dropped her, and she fell back onto the ground, looking for her axe.3

"Y-you're a zombie!" Simian said, dumbfounded, "How the heck can you talk?" Zander stared down at her, even more confused than before,4

"But...your arm....you're a zombie too, aren't you..?" Simian shook her head quickly, getting up and running over to Rhys. Zander growled to himself, staring at the girl.5

"Rhys!" Simian grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him back and forth, "Rhys are you ok..?!?!"6

"Shyeah..." He said dizzily, "Im alroight Simi.... y'know, yer relly pretty...ugh...."7

"Shut up and snap out of it, boy!" She slapped him across the face,8

"Oi! wot wuz 'dat fer?!"9

"Something's wrong!" She grabbed his hand and helped him stand up, "The Zombie with the white hair..." Zander shook his head and looked around. He saw Simian's new arm laying close to his feet. He picked it up and walked over to the two kids...10

"Here, this is yours, right...? He held the arm out to Simian. Rhys gasped,11

"Yew cahn talk, mate!" Zander glared at him,12

"That point has already been made..." He eyed the odd pair slowly, "Are you two zombie hunters...?" Simian snorted,13

"Yes, i am!" She stood in front of Rhys, as a guard between him at the tall specter, "And you're a zombie." Zander growled at her, baring his teeth. She growled back, and he stopped.14

"You are a zombie." He said. Simian sighed, 15

"Half."16

---17

They were back on the roof top now. Rhys was eating some bread, and Simian was talking to Zander.18

"I don't know why I'm like this," He said wearily, "I woke up in a coffin underground... scared me to death, i didn't know what had happened. I broke out and found out later that I was dead..."19

"How did you find out?" Simian asked,20

"Well," Zander started, "I couldn't feel anything, my skin was dead. I don't think I'd been dead long, but soon my skin was a greenish color, getting worse. I tried to eat anything because I was so hungry, but any normal food I ate didn't fill me up.21

One day I was just wondering around. Confused, I didn't know how I was still alive. It'd been weeks since I'd eaten anything...then I ended up coming across a human. I...." He growled, rubbing his temples like he had a headache, "I ATE him! I did... it was the most horrible thing ever... i couldn't understand what made me even think of it.."22

"You're a zombie," Simian said, "It's sort of like the instinct. I get like that, sometimes, since I'm pretty much half dead. I'm a bit of a cannibal, actually...." Zander sighed,23

"After that... incident, i wasn't as hungr. It had actually filled me up. I started getting more used to it, and soon other Zombies showed up... but they were different from me. They were brutal and seemed like that had no sense left. They couldn't talk, either, i was the only one." He adjusted the headband around his head, "Simian...if i ever try to attack you, tie this around my mouth. Otherwise, you might get infected if i bite you."24

Simian nodded, and smiled, "'Kay Zander.Don't worry, i think you'll be fine." She turned her attention to Rhys, "Oi!" Rhys looked up from his makeshift dinner, 25

"Wot?" Simian walked over, standing beside him,26

"Does this place have any working phones?"27

"Ah yeah," Rhys said, "There's 3 downstairs."28

"Thanks."29

---30

Simian found one of the phones, dialing her boss' number. The phone rang and she waited impatiently. Finally there was a clicking sound and a male voice answered,31

"Hello?"32

"Xavier? This is Simian. We've got a weird case here."33

"Aren't zombies always weird?" Simian paused, ignoring his comment,34

"I found a little kid here, named Rhys Barton." She heard a rustling of papers and she continued, "I have decided to take care of him. He has no remaining relatives, and i plan to keep him with me, no objections. I want him as an addition on my squad"35

"Very well." Xavier said, "Is that all?"36

"No." Simian said quickly, "I've found a zombie here...his name is Alexander Jarvannen."37

"How do you know his name?" Xavier asked,38

"He told me." She continued, "He can talk, and he's aware of the fact that he's dead. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, he just wants to be safe." Xavier was silent, "I plan on making him another new addition to my team."39

"Alright." Xavier sighed, "But you're risking your own throat. It's your own fault if he kills you or that Rhys boy."40

"I know." Simian said quietly, "Can you write up a protection slip for him? I don't want him to be attacked by other hunters. He's 7ft tall, and has white hair. That's how to identify him."41

"Alright." He said, "Simian, hurry and finish your job there. Be safe." He hung up and the phone reverted to the dial tone.42

"Yes sir." Simian said, putting the phone back. She sighed, and leaned her head against the wall. Her arm still needed to be sewed back on.43

"I need a break."44

She walked back up to the roof, just as the sun began to sink behind the city's skyline.