How I Stopped The Zombie Revolution (A Short Story in 2 Parts - In Two Days, This Is Part Two, One Is Below.)

I finished comic number four and looked up at Ed. He looked worse. The infection was getting worse, not better. I could see the purplish red infected veins peeking up and out of his t-shirt, up his neck.

I wanted to call his wife, but she would kill him, and probably me too. I thought about getting him into a cold bath and went to the bathroom to run the water. I was sitting on the edge of the tub dangling my hand in the water, making sure it was not too cold, just cool to the touch.

I heard a scraping noise outside in the hall. “Ed, you feeling any better?” I said as I stood up.

Ed was rounding the corner of the bathroom, he had the empty can of Pepsi in his right hand and dropped it onto the floor. That was the noise I had heard, him scraping it along the wall. He leaned heavily against the door frame, looking towards the floor.

“You look like shit dude. I made a bath for you, come on and jump in, cool off.” I suggested.

Ed raised his head and just said “Thirsty”. To say he looked like shit would be an understatement. His hair was matted from sweating and his clothes were soaked, clinging to his body. I walked past him and said I would get him a drink. “Get into the tub and cool off.”

I went and got a plastic cup in the kitchen (no glass for Ed in this condition). I had to fill the water filter pitcher and wait for it to finish its thing. I took the cup back to the bathroom.

Ed had gotten into the tub, but he left his clothes on. He was submerged and looked like he was inhaling the water.

I grabbed his shirt to pull him up and as I lifted him he slouched forward and bit my right arm…hard. I flinched backward, away from the tub and wound up on my back in the doorway. I looked down at the bleeding hole in my arm and stood up, running to the kitchen.

I flung blood along the hallway as I ran/stumbled, even though I tried to cover the gaping hole in the flesh of my forearm. I got to the kitchen and grabbed the towel to cover the wound. I thought for a second and realized that towel was well used and dropped it and pulled a clean one out of the towel drawer.

I heard Ed get out of the tub and come up the hall towards the kitchen, dripping all the way. “You fucking bit me!” I shouted. No answer, he just sloshed forward.

As Ed approached the Kitchen, I took a deep breath, stopped the panic in my head, and walked to the living room. I took the sweat soaked couch and swung it in front of the archway. I saw Ed waddle into the kitchen, beyond the couch. I thought “That’s not Ed anymore”.

I crossed the living room and opened the sliding glass door to the balcony. I went out and turned to see it clambering over the couch, into the living room.

“Ed, say something, anything.” I shouted at him.

It crawled off the couch and part of the way across the carpet, dripping blood from the chunk of my arm it was chewing on. It stood up and weaved towards me.

I backed up to the railing on the balcony and yelled again. It came in silence, except the chewing.

As Ed reached for me, it managed a hiss. I side stepped its advance and easily helped him over the edge of the balcony. It clasped my good arm as it went over and laid in deep cuts with the finger nails.

I looked over the edge, just to watch Ed float down and hit the pavement below. That was done.

Fucking shit, why me? I thought. This is bullshit. I think I screamed something out loud.

I heard sirens. I looked over and he was still there, not moving, eight floors below me.

I looked down at my arms. The bleeding from the right arm was the radial vein, not good.

I have read and seen enough Zombie stories to know what happens to me next. I sat on the balcony for a minute and thought about options. The phone rang, but I ignored it. A minute later, the doorbell rang and I ignored that too.

If he was infected, I’m infected..
There was a bang at the door that was louder than someone knocking. Someone was coming in. As the police crashed the door, I hopped over the balcony railing, pushing off to get distance from the building.

As I cleared the rail I saw the front door fly open and several cops with guns drawn moved into the room.

For a few seconds, I had complete clarity of mind, I was totally calm. I was saving the world from the spread of this filth. I thought about my Mom and Dad, my big sister who lived across town; my last girlfriend who lived in the building next door. She would hear about me at work tomorrow.

Then I thought about Ed, and what other fucking pricks had fucked that Dolp…