Page 60 of Property of Zombie

25

LUCY

Cold. I’m so damn cold.

I try to see my way to the surface, but the blood has tinted the water so dark that it’s impossible to tell which way is up and which way is down. There’s also the tiny matter of the two-by-four that Evan tied me to.

As soon as we reached the enclosure, Evan secured me to the two-by-four that Frosty likes to play with like a dog plays with a bone. He ranted and raved about fucking me while I couldn’t move, and he was so close to following through when Zombie’s voice reached us.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Evan sneers, shoving his dick back into his boxers.

“H-he’s coming f-for you,” I stutter through the agony.

“Let him come.”

Taking as deep a breath as I can manage, I scream as loud as possible. Evan backhands me, but the hit barely registers. I open my mouth to scream again, and he loses his shit.

“Shut up!” Evan shrieks. “Shut up, shut up, shut up!”

“No.”

He grabs me by the front of my shirt and yanks me forward. The added weight of the two-by-four makes it difficult for him to keep me upright, so he steps out of the way, letting me fall to the ground.

Frosty chuffs from his position on the other side of the dive pool. I watch as he prowls back and forth, back and forth, growling and chuffing with each movement Evan makes.

Evan drops to his stomach so he’s eye-level with me. “Is this enough of an adrenaline rush for you, my love?”

His love?

“As soon as that biker gets here, I’ll feed him to Frosty, and then we can be together,” Evan continues, more delusional than Michael ever was.

“F-fu-fuck you,” I spit.

That’s the moment Evan rolled me into the dive pool. Unfortunately for him, Frosty’s unpredictable, but he likes me. The bear dove into the pool and nudged me with his snout before soaring away. The next thing I knew, Frosty was back and using Evan as a chew toy.

The world around me fades, and my lungs seize. I’m no longer cold… just numb. The red turns to black which turns to bright white. Suddenly, my pain disappears, and I feel like I’m sunning myself on a sandy beach somewhere. Warmth like I’ve never felt envelopes me.

“Lucy.”

Zombie? Why is Zombie in the water?

“C’mon, babydoll, don’t do this to me,” he pleads. “It’s not your time.”

Why does he sound sad? This place is amazing.

“Sit in the sun with me,” I tell him. “It’s warm and peaceful.”

“Lucy, please.” His voice cracks, and despite not being able to see him, I know he’s crying.

“She’s gone,” another voice says sadly. “Z, c’mon.”

Whiz?

“Fuck you, Whiz,” Zombie snaps. “She’s not gone. I refuse to believe she’s gone.”

What does Whiz mean? I’m not gone. I’m right here!

The warmth surrounding me slowly dissipates, and the cold seeps into my bones. The pleasant numbness tingles as if my body is asleep, and with a violent jolt, the pain returns, waking me up. Water flies from my lips, my lungs purging themselves.