Bite

BITE

Quinn Dimitri was not in the right state of mind this morning. Or any other day of the week, really. She was hopelessly alone in an abandoned city full of zombies - which to her, was fine. But she wasn’t fine two months ago when they first invaded. I mean, I doubt anyone would be fine with a zombie apocalypse in their area. Yes, in their neighbourhood. I know what you're thinking: ‘A zombie apocalypse? How terrible! Poor Quinn!’ However, that was not how it went down. Most of the city had left in a panic, because they didn’t realize how slow and weak the zombies really were. What a bunch of knobheads.

Anyways, this made Quinn a sole survivor of the apocalypse. A title she was very proud of, though she couldn’t show it off to anyone else since she was the sole survivor. She wasn’t even sure if she was deemed a survivor since everyone else had run away. That aside; Quinn considered herself pretty lucky because under any other circumstances she would most likely be dead. A small and unathletic teen girl like her probably wouldn’t last minutes in the outside world.

By now, I’m sure you have noticed that Quinn was the only human inhabitant in the city. ‘So what happened to her family? Are they ok?’ You might ask. Well, Mr and Mrs Dimitri were historians, thoroughly involved with the world of ancient politics and religion, and were doing quite fine in Greece. A landmark famous for its plentiful ancient history. None of which appealed to young Quinn. Hence why she didn’t tag along. 

Quinns’ parents were very curious people, with plenty of things on their bucket lists. Most of which were to do with history and whatnot. Quinn simply did not care. They were probably having the time of their lives learning about what kind of flushing mechanism the ancient Greeks used for their toilets. Quinn knew her parents probably hadn’t heard about the zombie apocalypse as they were too busy with their noses in their books. So she enjoyed the solitude of bingeing reality TV shows and reading about interesting conspiracy theories. (She rathered it this way).

Watching two sisters fighting over the same man and reading survival guides and what kind of drugs the government were using on its citizens really gave Quinn the entertainment she needed in a household full of books, maps and piles of what she thought was junk. Not to mention she didn’t have to attend school anymore, this really gave her the freedom to do anything she wanted. From raiding the nearby mall to releasing all the animals in the zoo to walking butt-naked in the city streets. Not that Quinn would. She prided herself on her decency.

Now, this may all sound very idealistic to many of you; to reign, an abandoned city with all the freedom one needed to reign a city. But Quinn was nothing like her parents, she wasn’t curious and certainly wasn’t adventurous. Quinn found it easier to stay holed up at home than go anywhere else. Being outside in the open just exhausted her. 

Before you ask, yes, Quinn had been outdoors during the two months of the apocalypse and countless times before that. However, it was only to the cornerstone bookshop a small distance away. It wasn’t that Quinn was scared of the zombies; they were slow and harmless (which said something because Quinn was quite weak herself). She just couldn’t be bothered.

The only calamity coming Quinns’ way was her low supply of food. The fridge was bare and the pantry was quickly deteriorating. She knew she was going to have to make a supply trip and it looked like she was going to have to go. Quinn did try to compromise by not eating breakfast but her stomach had grumbled in protest. This was the reality Quinn found herself in. Walking to the nearest mall to get some food, drinks and whatever she fancied. 

Surprisingly, Quinn had managed to make it out of her house without a few more hours of procrastination and she was off. 

She had brought a bag, a kitchen knife, some matches and a first aid kit just in case anything went wrong. (She meant to bring a chainsaw from the garden shed but it was too heavy for her to carry). If conspiracy theories had taught her anything it was to expect the unexpected. For obvious reasons, Quinn found it best to go unnoticed by zombies, just in case a cluster formed and started a trivial pursuit. She was not a fan of huge crowds. Especially ones that wanted to eat her brains.

ch. 2

Quinn and her trusty bag made their way to their chosen destination. She looked back at her house and turned her head back to the street in front of her. Quinn alternated looking between the two as if mentally debating whether or not to turn back. Yes, she was hungry and running low on stocks but she just didn’t feel like going the distance. Our main protagonist was really indecisive. Maybe it was because of this that she didn’t notice the decaying zombie approaching her, or maybe it was because she was just stupid. Quinn really hoped that it wasn’t the latter. 

...It was definitely the latter. 

Either way, Quinn was caught off guard by the zombie and out of pure instinct began a fight. I mean, did she not remember she could just run away or even use the knife in her backpack? Obviously not. This was new for Quinn as she never picked fights with people she didn’t know.

I suppose this was an exception though since zombies aren’t classified as people. (Quinn googled it up and found that they were just reawakened corpses). 

Quinn grunted as she bumped into the zombie, losing balance and clumsily topping over into the concrete road. Elbows grazed and back bruised, Quinn struggled to get back up and throw a few punches. The zombie retaliated with a sharp jab to her chest. Its eyes pale and filled with hunger. In a flash almost too quick to track, the zombie seized her wrist bending it towards its mouth, ‘Rrefpghfgh!’ 

Quinn shrieked in frustration, rather than pain and vaulted over the hissing decomposed body, ‘Let me go!’ she screamed. Quinn, not being accustomed to fighting zombies, started shaking in panic. Her pulse thumped in her ears. And her scream sounded scrambled. Without a second thought, she bit into the already dead skin. It was an awkward bite, but a bite nonetheless. A very pathetic attack in an attempt to not turn zombie. That was the last thing Quinn wanted to happen. I mean, I doubt anyone would want to be turned into a zombie. But did she really not remember she could just run? I mean, I did mention that they were pretty weak.

I don’t know what she thought she was doing, but then the unthinkable happened. After a moment of pregnant silence, the zombie shuddered, and like magic, it grew it’s skin back. Well, not really like magic. It was more like something out of a horror movie. 

Quinn watched the scene unfold with wide eyes. 

So you ask ‘What happened?’ Well, let me tell you. The zombie had become a human.

A pretty good-looking boy if I might add.

ch. 3

Quinn gasped, quickly scuttering away from the monstrosity, ‘What in the -’ She cut herself off by screaming as the now unzombified boy awoke. He groaned softly, clutching the arm that Quinn had bitten. Rocking his body back and forth as if comforting himself. Now, if Quinn wasn’t too busy screaming her head off she might have noticed a horde of zombies making their way towards her. But she didn’t. And that was what she deserved for not being aware of her surroundings. 

The oncoming ravenous bunch made their way to where the pair (Quinn and the previous zombie boy) had their scuffle. And the apparently complete level of Quinn’s ignorance was being made known to the world. Though I suppose she had a legitimate excuse. Quinn was still baffled at the unzombified boy a few metres from her. She had heard of humans turned into zombies but never the reverse. Then again, she wasn’t very up-to-date with the latest news. It was too trivial for her liking. So she really didn’t know if ‘unzombifying’ was a thing. 

When she had finally noticed she was maybe going to be eaten alive; Quinn Dimitri did actually know what to do. In an act of expected athleticism, she did the one thing her survival guide suggested she should do in a dire situation. 

Run. 

And no, she did not leave the good-looking former zombie boy behind. Quinn wasn’t that heartless. The pair bolted down the streets of the city to nowhere in particular, because, at least now they were far away from the zombies. 

‘Hey,’ The boy called while leaping over a decomposed body. ‘My name’s Timothy Cross.’ 

‘Cool. I didn’t ask.’ Quinn replied, emotionlessly. Now usually Quinn wasn’t this impolite to strangers but Timothy Cross was an exception. Because she knew him. And there was really no need for introductions. I did not mention this fact before because Quinn was too busy worrying about various things. For example, the zombies that were going to attack them if they hadn’t run. 

How Quinn knew Timothy was easily explainable. He was the offspring of the mayor of Quinn's neighbourhood. Timothy was the arrogant mayor's arrogant son. So basically everyone knew him. He was always seemingly perfect or showing off. Yes, he had good looks but he didn’t need to rub it into other peoples’ faces. Either way, it was extremely infuriating. And it tended to irritate people but he never really cared because they were apparently ‘below him’. In many ways, his confidence made him worse than he already was. 

Quinn herself was not entirely sure this was true. Yes, there had been countless rumours and whispers in the school halls. But she was not one to judge. Quinn had never met Timothy in person before today. So she kept quiet like she usually did. Observing, while sitting back and relaxing. Though she couldn’t exactly rest now because she was still on the run. 

Timothy stared at her and Quinn became rather disturbed by his lady killing stare. She stared back at him for several long moments before he cleared his throat and asked, ‘How did you know your bite would turn me back into a human?”

“I didn’t’ Quinn replied honestly, weaving through a few more half-dead bodies. ‘I just panicked.’ And she was telling the truth. As you know, Quinn did indeed panic and bite the zombie she was fighting. But now, she was regretting it, cause maybe if she was turned into a zombie she wouldn’t have to deal with the annoyingly pretty boy running beside her. 

ch. 4

Timothy Cross was a pain in the neck. And he knew it. And it was awfully obvious that the girl beside him would probably agree with that statement. (At this point he still didn’t know her name). They had barely been into a few minutes of each other's company and he could sense her annoyance rolling off in waves. She did not like him. Not one bit. But really, who was he to care? The mayor's son that's what. Timothy just wanted to know how she knew her bite would turn him back into a human and if it worked on other zombies. But of course, the girl did not give straight answers. 

Timothy liked straight answers. They were to the point and explained everything he needed to know. And he liked knowing things. Especially knowing more than other people. So the fact that he did not know this girl and she was not giving him straight answers was maddening. (He was also mad that she had bit him). So far, the only thing he had discovered about the mystery girl was that she didn’t know what had happened, why it happened and where she lived. Obviously, he took it upon himself to think she was lying. What a loser.  

He propped his chin atop his non-injured arm while leaning across Quinn’s dining table. ‘What are you going to do about it?’ He questioned, hoping to get answers out of her.

Quinn grimaced, ‘I don’t know. We don’t even know if it works on other zombies.’ She didn’t even want to think of the responsibilities that came with having a bite that could dezombify zombies. The thought of even having to exercise while chasing zombies down perplexed her. She had lived two months without having to do much, so surely she could continue living normally? 

Nope.

‘We aren’t going to know if we don’t try,’ Timothy said and Quinn reluctantly nodded in agreement. 

So it is at this point our story truly begins - the nail-biting adventures of Quinn and Tim.