Pathogen, Ch. 7

Julian was right: Marnie did not like his idea at all. In fact, she hated it with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Seeing as she couldn't offer any better suggestions, though, they had no choice but to go with it.

The butcher was showing no signs of coming back, even though it was well past the time the sign on the door indicated. Marnie figured he might've just decided to go home and call it a day, but it was equally possible he'd run into the zombie lady from the hospital and become her lunch. She decided not to think about it too much, locking the door in case an unwitting customer wandered in before Zombie Trevor got hungry again. Hopefully, though, he'd be full for a while, considering he'd scarfed down three and a half ribeye steaks, a half-dozen sausage links and nearly five pounds of meatballs. The only thing Marnie really had to worry about now was how they were going to pay for it all, because her humble allowance wouldn't cover half a bill that hefty.

While Marnie was busy writing an I.O.U. note for the butcher and Julian kept Zombie Trevor occupied with a game on his phone, a set of knuckles rapped sharply on the front window. Marnie was sure the sudden noise knocked a few years off her lifespan, as her heart was still pounding when she looked up at the person peering through the glass. A few more years crumbled away when she recognized the pretty yet deeply confused dark face between their cupped hands.

"Pistol?" Bianca cried, squinting to see into the shop. "Are you in there?! Hello?! Is this some kind of prank, or what?"

Thinking quickly, Marnie peeled off her hoodie and threw it over Zombie Trevor's head. They'd agreed not to tell her about her undead boyfriend over the phone, mostly because she probably wouldn't believe them. Marnie wasn't good with people, but she still wanted to break the news to Bianca as gently as possible. Seeing the reanimated corpse of the boy she'd loved and grieved over so hard was definitely going to be a mega shock. Besides, they needed her help - as much as Marnie hated to admit it - which they wouldn't be able to get if she ran screaming down the block before they could explain what was going on.

Trying to ignore Zombie Trevor's confused grunts, Marnie zipped to the door and unlocked it. "Bianca, over here," she hissed. "Get in, quick!"

Bianca looked at the sign painted on the window with a frown, wrinkling her nose at it in disgust. "Why did we have to meet here?" she asked, which was a good question. "There are so many better places than this... house of death! What's wrong with the library, or the mall?!"

Marnie glanced over her shoulder nervously, as Zombie Trevor's growling was getting louder. Apparently, he didn't like having his head covered one bit. "Bianca, please, trust me," she said. "I'll explain everything in a minute! Just get in here! Please?!"

Bianca looked up and down the street a few times, then pulled up the hood of her coat with a groan. "My Instagram followers better not be watching," she muttered. "If they do, I'll be branded a hypocrite for, like, ever! They might ban me from Vegan Fest for life!"

"I'm sure your reputation will stay in-tact," Marnie sighed, fighting the urge to roll her eyes tooth and claw. Once she had the deadbolt locked tight behind them, she purposefully moved in front of Bianca to block her line of sight to Zombie Trevor.

"Okay," she huffed. "Bianca... this might be... well, a little hard to process. We, um... we found Trevor."

Bianca's dark eyes grew wider than an anime girl's, sparkling with surprise and relief. "Y-You did?! Oh, Pistol, that's amazing!" She threw her arms around Marnie without warning, blindsiding the redhead with another blitz hug attack, but thankfully she let go again a second later. "Wait... why did you bring him here?" Bianca asked.

Marnie massaged her sore ribs, shifting her weight awkwardly. "We didn't. This is where we found him. I should warn you: when you see him-"

"He was already here?!" Bianca squawked, not letting Marnie finish. She looked at the counter then, and at the cuts of meat chilling in the display case, covering her mouth to hide a gag. "Oh my gawd," she groaned. "I knew I never liked Old Man Irving before, but this... this is sick!!"

"What?! No!" Marnie stammered, glancing nervously toward Zombie Trevor and Julian in the corner. Zombie Trevor squirmed and snarled on the floor, trying harder than ever to get the sweatshirt off his head, while Julian was doing his best to keep their undead classmate quiet. The panicked look in his eyes told Marnie it wasn't working, though, which meant she had to rip the Band-Aid off fast.

"Bianca, it's not what you think," she promised. "Look, um... there's no easy way to say this: Trevor is-"

A guttural roar swallowed up the back half of Marnie's sentence, followed by the distinct and gut-wrenching sound of tearing cloth. Before Marnie could muster the courage to turn around and see if there was anything left of her sweatshirt, Bianca leapt into her arms Scooby-Doo style. Marnie grunted and swore under her breath, staggering under her classmate's added weight. For someone so petite and athletic, Bianca sure was heavy.

"Wh-What the hell was that?!" Bianca screeched. "It sounded like a wolf... o-or a bear! Pistol, I swear, if you have a camera hidden in here somewhere-!"

She trailed off at roughly the same time Zombie Trevor's snarls quieted to soft grumbles. Marnie was seconds away from dropping her just because she could, but it turned out she didn't have to. A moment later, Bianca slowly crawled out of Marnie's arms, her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide with shock. She took a step toward Zombie Trevor before seemingly changing her mind, peeking around Marnie like a toddler behind their parent's leg.

"T... T-Trevvie Bear?" she murmured, her expression changing rapidly from overjoyed, to confused, to terrified. "Is that you? I-I don't believe it: you're alive! H-How are you alive?!"

Zombie Trevor blinked up at Bianca, chewing on a scrap of Marnie's sweatshirt. It looked like he didn't recognize her at all, but at least he seemed calm again. Julian collected the other pieces of Marnie's hoodie, but he apparently knew better than to try and take the one from Zombie Trevor's mouth.

"Um... 'alive' is a relative term," he said, "and Trev is relatively... not. In fact, he's pretty dead as far as I can tell, unless he really needs to shower and change his socks."

Bianca tore her gaze off Zombie Trevor, squinting at Julian as if she'd just noticed he was there. "Do I know you?" she asked. "Wait a minute: you're that theater geek, right? The one I sometimes cheat off in Chem? What the heck are you doing here?!"

"He's with me," Marnie said quickly. "Bianca, he... he's right. Trevor isn't alive. We... We're pretty sure he's a zombie."

Bianca slowly backed away from Marnie, her perfectly plucked brow rising in obvious skepticism. "A Zombie?" she repeated, her tone dripping with snark. "Pistol, are you high?! Zombies aren't real! They're made up, like the Easter Bunny, Loch Ness Monster, and diet pills that actually work!" She turned to face Zombie Trevor again, this time moving a little closer to him. "My poor Trevvie Bear," she cooed. "Obviously the doctors at that hospital made a huge mistake. Don't you worry, though: I'll make sure Daddy sues the pants off them on your behalf! They'll never work in this town again!"

"I wouldn't get too close," Julian warned. "He had a big lunch, but he's not exactly trained yet. If he bites you, Man, your goose is cooked!"

"Nobody asked you, Theater Geek!" she snapped. "This is between me and Trevvie Bear. You just don't understand the power of true love!"

Before either of them could stop her, Bianca crouched right in front of Zombie Trevor and put her hands on either side of his face. "Whatever those doctors did to you, we can fix it," she promised. "We can do anything, as long as we're together. Right, Trevvie Bear?"

"Bianca, get back!" Marnie warned. "You don't know what you're doing! That isn't the Trevor you remember, trust me!"

"Pistol, I've been nice to you lately because you're his friend," Bianca shot back. "You've done a lot for us, and I appreciate it, but you're really starting to get on my nerves here!"

Marnie's heart inched toward her throat again when she noticed too late that Zombie Trevor was drooling. She opened her mouth to scream one last warning at Bianca to get away from him, but he lunged before she could even take a breath. Bianca shrieked in terror and shock as Zombie Trevor pinned her to the floor. Marnie knew she had to do something but she just froze, trapped in her own body by Bianca's screams and Zombie Trevor's inhuman snapping and snarling.

It was a good thing for all involved parties that Bianca was so small and fit, with reflexes honed by a lifetime of organized sports. She managed to drive her knee into Zombie Trevor's gut twice, then scooted down out of reach of his teeth. While he was still trying to figure out where she went, Marnie's muscles decided to answer her brain's commands again. As fast as she could, she sprinted over and pulled Bianca through Zombie Trevor's legs, getting her out from under him. Once they were out of harm's way, Julian jumped in to corral Zombie Trevor, distracting him long enough for Marnie to check Bianca for injuries.

"Are you okay?" Marnie panted. "Did he bite you?! Bianca, answer me!"

Bianca was in obvious shock, trembling too much to speak at first. Eventually, she shook her head. "I... I don't think so," she squeaked. "Pistol... h-he attacked me! Why...? Wh-Why would he do that?!"

"Like I said, he's not trained," Julian huffed. "He probably doesn't know who you are. He didn't remember us either, until we jogged his memory."

Marnie knew she should probably have her head examined, but Julian hadn't been wrong about Zombie Trevor yet. After prying Bianca's fingernails out of her flesh, she crawled on all fours over to the zombie, stopping purposefully out of his reach.

"Hey, Trev," she murmured, trying to keep her voice calm and upbeat. "This is Bianca: your girlfriend. Girlfriends aren't snacks either, okay? You remember her, don't you? Bee-ann-kuh?"

Just like before, her undead classmate's head tilted to the side. She wasn't sure how much he could understand - if anything - but after a minute or two he seemed to get the gist. "Bee...?" he growled, turning his glazed eyes to the other girl again. He moved a little closer then, his nose twitching toward Bianca almost curiously.

"Bee," he grumbled again, wobbling his head in another uncanny, crackly nod. "Gurr-frenn... No... snaah..."

Bit by bit, Zombie Trevor scooted closer to Bianca. She still seemed on edge around him - and for good reason - but she didn't recoil when he eventually snuggled up beside her and laid his head in her lap. She must have loved him more than Marnie realized, as she stroked his hair and neck without fear. "How did this happen to him?" she murmured.

Marnie and Julian took turns telling Bianca everything they knew, starting with the other kids at school who'd fallen sick. Bianca stayed quiet while they talked, but her eyebrows shot up again when they told her about the woman they saw in the hospital. Once she was up to speed, Bianca chose to keep silent for a few minutes longer, like she was processing everything. The sunset glowed orange behind her through the butcher shop window, making Marnie realize just how long they'd been taking. When the light of day started to fade, Bianca sat up a little straighter and exhaled deeply.

"Okay: I'm in," she said quietly. "What do you need me to do?"