Ep.152 – New Awakenings - YOU are a BRAIN HUNGRY ZOMBIE!

I open my eyes and sit up sharply. “Shit!”

Oh, my god, it really stinks in here! Then I see all the slabs with many naked, dead bodies on them. I also see the freezer drawers and I realize I’m a little cold myself. 

“What the fuck?!” I shriek when I look down and see I’m just as naked as these other corpses. 

As I turn to get off the table, I see a tag on my big toe and quickly pull it off. I finally hop off the table and find my clothes in a pile with other clothes and get dressed. Then I find my purse and get the hell out of this morgue. Nobody even says a word to me as I walk out the front doors of the Strickfield Police Department. 

I walk across the village and soon return to my house. After I grab the mail, I go inside. 

“Shawni? Is that you?” 

I know who that is. “Bev?”

She gets up from the kitchen table and comes to meet me. “What happened to you? I’ve been waiting here for you for over an hour.”

Then I remember. “Oh, right. We have plans tonight. Just let me take a shower real quick. Then we’ll head out.”

Bev sighs softly. “I’ve already waited for you this long. What’s another half hour?”

Then I have an idea. “Why don’t you see if Pam and Mary want to come with us?”

“I would, but they’re definitely not returning my texts or calls.” She shrugged. “No big deal . . .”

I groan. “Christ, are they still bent out of shape about that shit?”

Bev smirks. “You still aren’t? I know I still get the creeps thinking about it.”

I sigh. “Fine, you and me. I’ll be down shortly.”

I walk upstairs, get naked, and get under the shower nozzle. I’ve never said this to Bev or the other girls, but I’m still spooked about what happened two days ago. I still remember that fucking alarm clock that I bought at that store called Tinkers. All I wanted was a working alarm clock that would get me up in the morning so I could make it on time for work at the mall’s bookstore.  

We were having a slumber party at Bev’s house when we were playing with the clock. Pam and Mary were there with us. Shortly after the alarm went off, every damn corpse in the Strickfield Cemetery across the street came to life – hellbent on shutting off the clock, which wouldn’t shut up. We had to fight for our lives. I mean, it was four of us girls against an entire army of zombies! It’s still hard to believe they’re not just in movies anymore. 

I feel my tummy growling as I finish my shower. I dry off and put on some fresh clothes. After I grab my purse, I head back downstairs to find Bev waiting for me in a recliner. 

“Ready?” Bev asks, getting up. 

“Yeah, let’s go.” I feel my tummy growling again. “Let’s stop at Caffeine Junction. I want to get my latte and a little something to snack on.”

Bev comes to me. She’s got this weird little smile. “Sounds good. I’m very hungry myself.”

We both leave and head to Strickfield Towne Centre Mall. We drop by the bookstore where we work to both pick up and cash in our paychecks. Now that we have money, we can move around a bit more. 

We head back out into the mall and head for Caffeine Junction. Looking around this mall, you would even wonder why anyone would want to shop here. There were tons of stores in here when the mall first opened. A year later, many of them left. Now the mall only fills up and becomes its busiest around the holidays. We still have a few good anchor stores here, such as Best Buy and JC Penney. Then there’s the bookstore, some mom-and-pop places, a few little restaurants, and Caffeine Junction. You’d think that this mall was the worst place to have a coffeehouse, but they’re the only one out of the two in Strickfield that has pumpkin spice latte year-round. And theirs is really delicious!

Bev and I walk in and head straight to the counter. Vickie almost always attends the counter when we come in. She always has her silky blond hair and her toothy smile. But the one thing I always notice is her tattoo on her inner right wrist, a blue ribbon done like a figure eight. 

“Hi, girls, the usual?” Vickie asks us. 

“You got it,” I say. 

But Bev surprises me when she tells Vickie, “Not feeling it today.”

I turn to her. “Seriously? You always get a gingersnap latte with extra ginger.”

Bev shrugs. “I really don’t want one. Besides, we’ll be eating in a little bit.”

So I let it go. Bev’s right about us needing to sit down somewhere and eat, but I’ve been thinking about my extra-pumpkiny pumpkin spice latte. Vickie is one of the few girls who works here that makes it just right. She takes my money and then makes the latte. A few minutes later, she puts it down in front of me. 

I pick up the latte and anticipate that sweet, delicious – “GAK!!” 

Just like that, I fall to my knees and drop my latte. Vickie gasps with surprise and quickly comes around the counter to kneel down in front of me. “Are you okay, Shawni?”

My latte is all over the floor. “What is this?! I’m sorry, but this tastes really awful!”

Vickie looks at me with confusion. “I’m . . . sorry. I’ve always made your lattes the same way. I’ll clean up this mess and make you a new one.”

I nod and let Bev help me to my feet. Vickie cleans up the mess and makes me another latte. I take another drink and quickly put it back down. 

“Are you serious?” Vickie asks in surprise. 

“I’m sorry, but this one really tastes nasty, too,” I tell her. 

“Do . . . you mind if I taste it?” Vickie asks. 

“Go ahead.”

Vickie removes the top and tastes it. “This is really good. I think it’s the best I’ve ever made.” Then she looks at me. “I’ll refund your money.”

“I’m really sorry,” I tell her. 

Bev leans in. “I’m famished. It’s definitely time to eat.”

My tummy practically roars. I mean, it feels like it’s going to burst right out of my body and attack somebody. 

And then . . . Bev and I turn to a nearby couple. Bev grabs the girl’s hair with one hand and holds her body to her with the other. Then she sinks her teeth right into the girl’s throat. The girl screams a scream that might have sent chills down my back . . . if I wasn’t already sinking my own teeth into her boyfriend’s throat. Bev and I both have huge chunks of flesh in our mouths now. 

Oh, my fucking god!! This is so . . . so . . . DELICIOUS!!

The couple falls to the floor. Blood splatters everywhere. Bev and I both look hideous now. Other people scream as they see the two of us ripping open the bodies and pulling out vital organs. We just can’t help ourselves. 

We’re so very hungry!!

Vickie quickly runs to the back door and escapes. We can’t really chase anybody, because we have to keep eating what we’ve just killed. Seriously, what the fuck is happening here?! Bev and I are both a bloody mess, but we keep eating. I watch Bev devour the girl’s heart as I’m savoring the guy’s liver. Then we’re eating arms and legs. The legs have so much meat! So incredibly spicy! And then there’s the brains!

Bev and I finish and look at each other. “Want some more, Shawni?”

“Yeeeeesssssss!” I hiss. 

She nods outside. We both get up and start running through the mall. We return to the bookstore and find Brent, our boss, behind the counter waiting on a customer. Bev shoots right over the counter and tackles Brent. I grab the woman he’s waiting on and bite a big chunk out of her shoulder. Other customers scream and run out. Bev and I are continuing our overly-delicious feast. I can’t believe we’re fucking eating people! But they taste so fucking delicious!

Bev and I are soaked with blood when we finish our meals and stand up. 

I take Bev’s hands. “Why are we doing this?”

Bev squeezes my hands. “I’m so sorry, Shawni. I really am.”

I listen as Bev tells me how that zombie bride bit her on the shoulder two nights ago. Not a chunk, but enough to break the skin and infect her. Pam, Mary, and I never saw it happen. After we stopped the zombies, we still had our sleepover. During the night, Bev got really sick. She died when her fever was too much. Then she returned to life. Pam came downstairs and found Bev. They went outside where Bev attacked and devoured her. When Mary came outside and found them, Bev attacked her and devoured her too. Bev cleaned herself up and came back upstairs. She found me still sleeping.  

“I realized I’d eaten two of my closest friends, but I just couldn’t eat you, Shawni. You’re my one true best friend,” Bev chokes out. “I remembered how I was turned, and I turned you. I took your hand and bit you. You winced a little, but you didn’t wake up. Then I went and ate my parents.”

I start to remember. “I started feeling sick yesterday. This morning I was really sick. I left to go see my doctor.” It finally hit me. “I fell over and died getting out of the car at the doctor’s office. I woke up naked in the morgue a little while ago!”

I’m so pissed at Bev now. “You had no right!!”

I tackle Bev and haul off on her. Bev just lays there and laughs her ass off. I now understand that hitting her isn’t doing shit. Bev’s not feeling any pain – at all. 

She smiles at me. “I’m sorry, Shawni. Again, I didn’t want to eat you. I care about you way too much, so I turned you. You and me, we’re zombies now, honey. We can do whatever we want now.”

I get off Bev. “I’m . . . sorry.”

Bev gets up and hugs me. “I could never be mad at you.” She backs away and looks at me. “How are you feeling?”

I’m ashamed to admit it. “I want to eat some more brains.”

Bev smiles. “Then let’s go eat some more brains.”

Bev and I run throughout the mall again. We find a few more people who are hiding from us and devour them, too. I finish my latest kill by smashing the skull open and taking the brain. I bite into it and moan softly. 

“I know, right?” Bev murmurs, taking a bite of her brain. “Brains are the best part. They’re unlike anything we’ve ever eaten when we were alive. They taste so gooooooood!!”

I take another bite. “Fuck yeah!”

We finish eating the brains and stand up. “Still hungry, Shawni?”

“You know we are.”

Bev and I move and finally leave the mall. We find a couple on the other side who are making out in their car. We both know them. They’re Lizzie Marsh and Darren Keith, who are one of the more popular couples at Strickfield High. Guess they really got serious about each other during summer vacation here. But who gives a fuck?! We smash through the windows and attack! Lizzie screams as I bite into her neck. Her blood sprays everywhere. 

As Bev’s about to sink her teeth into Darren, he cries out and opens his door hard. Bev is knocked on her ass as Darren gets out and runs away. I move to Bev, who quickly sits up – like the Undertaker from WWE wrestling. 

“We need to get Darren!” Bev growls. 

I help Bev to her feet. Then we turn and chase Darren. For two dead girls, we can run amazingly fast. Right away, I understand that we don’t breathe, so we can push ourselves harder and faster than a living person. But for how long? Won’t we start rotting away eventually? I don’t want to think about that right now. I just want some more fucking brains!!

Darren screams loudly as we finally tackle him. Darren struggles as he keeps shoving us away. He keeps trying to get up, but we keep shoving him back down. He’s putting up one hell of a fight as he keeps both of us from biting him. Minutes later we’re joined by . . . 

“Lizzie!” Darren cries. “You’re still alive!”

Now, here’s some humor. It’s dark over here – not much light, so that means Darren can’t see that Lizzie’s throat his been torn out and she has blood all over her clothes. 

Lizzie tenderly puts her hands on the sides of Darren’s face. “So . . . hungry,” she moans.

Suddenly, Lizzie hisses and grabs Darren’s hair. “Lizzie, what are you doing?!”

“BRAINS!!” Lizzie shrieks before she bites right into Darren’s skull with a loud CRUNCH!!

Darren screams loudly and falls over. Lizzie lowers herself and continues to bite and eat his face. I start to kneel down to join her, but Bev stops me. “This is hers. There’ll be plenty more food for us.”

“What do we do with Lizzie?” I whisper. 

Bev shrugs. “It’s obvious. We take her with us.”

I nod in agreement. “We lost touch with her when she started seeing Darren. But you’re right, she’s still our friend.”

Lizzie finally gets Darren’s skull open and is tasting his brains. “Mmmm! So good!!” Then she looks at us and nods down to Darren’s body. “I know you two are hungry. Come on . . . eat.”

“You sure?” Bev asks. 

“I heard you two. There’s plenty more food, right?” Lizzie says happily. 

“Fuck it,” I say. 

Bev and I drop to our knees and rip Darren’s T-shirt open. Then we tear open his stomach. Bev starts munching on some intestines as she hands me the heart. When Lizzie finishes Darren’s brain, she joins us in reducing the rest of his body to scattered bones. 

“Still hungry, Lizzie?” I ask. 

“I want some more brains!” she demands. 

“We all do,” I say. “But where are we going to go where there’s lots of people? And on Sunday night? Right now, if we want more food, we’re going to have to go house to house.”

Then Lizzie raises her finger. “I happen to know exactly where’s there plenty more food! In fact, it’ll be an all-you-can-eat buffet – all for us.”

Oh, you know Bev and I are gluttonous enough to eagerly listen to Lizzie’s idea. Lizzie licks some blood off her lips.

***

The four of us are walking through downtown Pendleton now. Yes, I said the four of us. Lizzie has a twin sister, Libbie. Bev and I both knew the two of them were very close, so we had to turn Libbie. We found Libbie getting out of her family’s swimming pool when we approached her. She gasped when she saw the three of us. 

“It won’t hurt much, Libbie,” Lizzie promised her clone. 

I think Libbie was so scared that she couldn’t run away. We each bit into her, but we didn’t eat. We just drank her blood. She moaned in fright until she dropped over. It was only a matter of minutes before Libbie twitched and did her own Undertaker impression. 

Libbie wasted no time in running into the house and attacking her parents. We had to follow her inside and make sure the twins’ parents didn’t come back to life. We discussed this with Lizzie when she wanted to turn Libbie. We would also have to tell Libbie. We can’t just attack people without care and leave them lying around. Before long, we’ll have way too many zombies – all with our ravenous appetites. Also, we never seem to get full – even after all the meat we’ve been eating. At the rate we’d all be going, it would only be a matter of days before we’d run out of food. It has to be just the four of us – period! 

So now we four are walking in downtown Pendleton, about thirty miles from Strickfield. We explain the plan to Libbie, who’s excited to be in on it. 

“I ate Mom and Dad,” she says in disbelief. “And I loved it!” She quickly takes Lizzie’s hand. “I loved that you helped eat them with me!”

Lizzie squeezes her hand. “It’s always been you and me, and it always will be.”

As it turns out, Lizzie’s plan is the big summer banquet at Pendleton’s Town Hall. You’d think it would be outside, but since it’s hot and humid summer heat . . . We broke into the hardware store and stole some padlocks and chains. We also let Libbie devour the owner’s brains; the owner was staying late to do inventory. 

When we reach Town Hall, we quietly sneak inside. Stealthily, we move to every possible exit door and lock them using the chains and padlocks that we stole. I know we’re all eager to eat, but we resist our monstrous appetites until we’ve done what needs to be done. When we finish, the four of us meet in a corner of the dining hall. 

We’re all feeling quite gleeful. “Wow! You really came up with a great plan, Lizzie,” Bev compliments. 

Lizzie laughs a little. “Well . . . Our parents have been talking about this summer banquet event for the last few months. Sometimes, Libbie and I come here with them. Darren and I were going to go, until you and Shawni came along. Now, the four of us have a damn good reason to be here.” 

Libbie gets all giddy on us now. “I’m so happy we can share this together.”

The four of us share a group hug. Then Bev shouts, “LET’S EAT!!”

The four of us turn to our all-you-can-eat buffet. 

“BRAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!”

Boy, do we ever make a fright-fest. People are screaming and panicking when they see the four of us attacking and eating them. They really scream when they find they can’t leave. There aren’t any windows in the dining hall, so that means these people are staying right here . . . with us. 

It takes time, but we’re making the rounds. We share a couple of people at a time and then move on to two more. Being dead, you’d think that our stomachs would burst from all this delicious food we’ve been eating. But no! I think we actually digest our food rather quickly! The nice thing is that we really don’t have to fight over anything, especially the brains. Lizzie was right about there being plenty to go around. It truly is an all-you-can-eat buffet for us zombies. 

“Holy shit,” Libbie says in disbelief. 

“Yeah, holy shit is right,” Bev agrees. 

Lizzie rubs her tight tummy gently. “We really did it.”

“I can’t believe we ate the whole thing,” I observe. 

But we did. We look over all the carnage we created. Nothing but blood and bones all over the dining hall. We’re drenched and dripping blood ourselves. We actually devoured more than two-hundred-plus people . . . and we still have our girlish figures. 

“Um, what’s for dessert?” Lizzie asks. 

“What indeed?” I reply. 

“It’s definitely late. We’re not going to find another fully-loaded banquet hall like this tonight,” Bev stated. 

First, Lizzie came up with dinner. Now Libbie knows where can also get dessert . . . 

“We hop back in our car and go to North Ridgeway,” she says. “There’s an all-night horrorthon at the State Theatre near the university. It’s going on right now.”

“I’ll look,” I say, pulling out my smartphone. Then: “Libbie’s right!”

Bev takes my phone and looks. “Let’s haul ass, bitches! I know I want dessert, same as Lizzie!”

“Fuck yeah!” I yell. 

***

We enter North Ridgeway forty minutes later. It’s already after midnight when we reach the State Theatre. People are just gawking at us as we enter the theater lobby. Yeah, I suppose it looks like we’re doing cosplay. I mean, we’ve got moist blood all over us. The flesh on Lizzie’s throat is obviously torn off from when I bit her. But the most obvious is Libbie, still in her swimsuit. Of course, we don’t really give a shit about what we look like. We don’t have to – we’re zombies! 

My tummy’s already anticipating dessert. People looking at us are confused as to why we have padlocks and chains hanging over our shoulders.  

“We’re not selling any more tickets,” a guy behind the concessions stand calls out to us. Then he points to Libbie. “And we can’t let you in here. No shirt, no shoes, no service. And no ticket.”

“Oh, really?” Libbie purrs. Then she approaches the counter and sets her chains and padlocks down. “I got our tickets right here.” She pulls down the top of her swimsuit to expose her tits. 

The people behind the counter just stare at Libbie. They don’t even get all high and mighty as the rest of us head into the main auditorium. Libbie soon catches up to us. 

“Do you always have to be so promiscuous?” Lizzie whispers to her twin. 

“Got us in here, didn’t I?” she whispers back. “Unless you feel we should’ve just eaten them.”

“No, great move,” I agree. 

“Right,” Bev further agrees. “Now, let’s get to work on the doors.”

It’s easy for the four of us to move around in the auditorium and chain up the doors, just the same as we did back at Town Hall in Pendleton. Everybody’s too focused on the cheesy horror movie playing on the silver screen and making stupid jokes at everything. We meet back at the main doors, which we secure with two chains and padlocks. 

When we’re finished, Bev murmurs, “Time to enjoy dessert, ladies.” 

Bev and I both walk to two guys sitting in the very back row, grab their hair, and sink our teeth into their heads. They scream like hell, but nobody actually pays attention to them. They think it’s all part of the horrorthon. Then the twins grab two other people and make them scream as they start dessert. Here’s the funny part. We’ve already eaten five people – each – before the marathoners start to realize the four of us are killing and eating them – for real. 

The people who finally get it start panicking and trying to run. But then they find they’re locked in here with us. Soon more and more people are panicking, just like back at Pendleton’s Town Hall. All they’re going to be able to do is watch as the four of us eat the whole fucking thing . . . again. What’s even funnier is that they’ve got us easily outnumbered, but they’re way too scared shitless of four high school zombies. 

The people are all clustering towards the big screen. They’re all screaming and yelling. A few of them even grab other people and shove them right at us. Naturally, we’re going to take their offerings and eat. This same thing happened at Pendleton’s Town Hall, too. And just like there, people are even pissing themselves when they see we’re real zombies. I’m so fucking glad this happened to us. Bev’s right. We don’t have to follow any rules ever again, except for what we decide. All we have to do is eat all this delicious meat and brains. Eat to live and live to eat!!

As we’re finishing dessert, the unexpected happens! The main doors suddenly burst open. The next thing we know, a bunch of fucking bitches walk in. All of them are armed with some mean-ass hardware. I’m not talking shotguns and baseball bats here. I mean, these babes have weapons you’d only see in science fiction movies. 

One of them steps out and points to the four of us. “It’s just these four girls. They haven’t infected any other people.” Then she yells, “Take them!”

The four of us scream like banshees and rush right at them. Boy, do we ever make a serious bad call. One of the girls easily raises her high-tech rifle and shoots Bev. I see her crackling with electricity before she falls to the floor – never to move again. 

“Bev!” I shriek. 

In taking my eyes off those bitches, I don’t see the one who shoots me. All I feel is a sudden surge of electricity. Then I feel nothing ever again. 

Not even my insane hunger . . . 

***

I wake up and feel my stomach practically screaming at me. Then I see I’m naked and underwater in a holding tank – with Bev and Lizzie, who are also naked. I don’t know if we’re in water or some other kind of chemicals, but we can easily see more and more bitches through the glass. We never see a single guy in here. Then one of the girls sees we’re all moving and points our way. The next thing I know, something grabs me – like a giant claw – and plucks me out of the tank. 

I’m being moved to a table. There are more girls waiting there as I’m lowered down onto it. They converge on me and secure me fast. I mean, I literally have no chance in hell of fighting them off. They back away and my table tilts forward, as if letting me see what’s ahead. And then I gasp when I see Libbie, or what’s left of her. She’s secured to a similar table like mine. All of the skin on her chest has been removed completely – including her tits, to expose her internal organs. She’s still moving, though.

Two of the girls break away from their group and approach me. They’re both wearing revealing tops. Then I immediately spot the blue ribbon tattoos that are in a figure eight above their left titties. I remember that Vickie from Caffeine Junction had the same tattoo, but hers was on her wrist. 

“You four did quite a bit of damage around the area,” the first one says. “Don’t you think, Caprice?”

“Definitely, Katie,” the second girl agrees. “I can’t believe they decimated two-hundred-and-eighty-three people in a single banquet hall.”

“And two-hundred-and-forty-eight people in a movie theater,” Katie adds. 

“What the fuck do you want?!” I yell. 

“To study you,” Katie murmurs. “Learn how you tick. More importantly, how you four were able to devour so many people and not burst as a result.”

I glare at them. “I’m going to fucking eat all of you.”

“No . . . you won’t,” Caprice says. “We’ve got all the latest technology here. Trust me, you’re all staying right where you are, unless we say otherwise.”

Katie smirks now. “You got the attention of the Blue Ribbons. We’re a secret society that operates in various parts of the globe. Our specialty is world domination, which we excel at quite nicely. If you’ve ever watched popular media, you’ll see most everything that we’ve influenced. There’s practically nothing that doesn’t go undetected by us. We caught wind of a zombie outbreak that happened in Strickfield two days ago and have been keeping an eye on it. The zombies miraculously disappeared shortly after the outbreak was detected, but we wondered if anybody might have become infected. Let’s just say you four caught us by surprise with all of the carnage you’ve caused. But we have all four of you now.”

The hunger is really driving me insane now. I scream and struggle to break free. But unfortunately . . . zombies are no stronger than humans. All we do is just look for living humans to eat. 

I’m so very hungry . . . !

Caprice smiles devilishly. “We’ve finished with our analysis of your friend across from you. We have our baseline on what makes you work. Once we can control you completely, we’ll have another weapon among our already phenomenal list of bioweapons to use when we finally do decide to claim the world for ourselves – officially.”

“That’s right,” Katie purrs. “You four zombies will remain here with us. We now know how to keep you from rotting away. When we need you, then we’re going to use you. In other words, you’re the property of the Blue Ribbons now. Enjoy looking at all of this high-tech equipment you see here, because you’re never leaving here again . . . unless we need you for a mission or a purpose.”

Katie turns to Caprice. “You did real good in finding these zombies, honey.” Then they share a kiss. “But did you really have to let two-hundred-and-eighty-three people be killed before you called in the troops?”

“All in the name of science, my love,” Caprice replies. “We had to know exactly how much these ghouls could eat.”

“Ah!” Then Katie turns to us. “Now, we’re going to run some more tests on you two. You’d be better off just cooperating with us. If you do, we’ll treat you well. If you fuck with us, then we’ll fuck with you. Remember, you belong to the Blue Ribbons now.” Katie glances over her shoulder. “Okay, Vickie, you can begin.”

Vickie from Caffeine Junction approaches us. She’s wearing a lab coat and special gloves. She gives me a sweet, yet sinister smile. “I’m going to have such a great time with my experiments. I’d ask if you want an extra pumpkiny pumpkin spice latte . . . but I now know you no longer like them. Too bad . . .”