“Yeah. I mean, come on, Brittney. You’re a zombie. Let’s face it. I’m not supposed to use that word, but someone who rises from the dead and climbs up out of their grave and walks among us: that’s a zombie.”
“I’m not a zombie,” Brittney said calmly. “I’m an angel.”
“Ah.”
“I called upon the Lord in my tribulation and he heard me. Tanner went to Him and asked Him to save me.”
Brianna considered that for a moment. “Well, I guess it’s better than being a zombie.”
“Give me your hand,” Brittney said.
Brianna hesitated. But she told herself if Brittney tried to bite it, she could snatch it back before she sank her teeth in.
Brianna extended her hand. Brittney took it. She pulled it toward her, but not toward her mouth. Instead, she placed Brianna’s hand against her chest.
“Do you feel it?”
“Feel what?” Brianna asked.
“The quiet. I have no heartbeat.”
Brianna felt cold. But not as cold as Brittney. Brianna kept her hand in place. She felt no vibration.
No heartbeat.
“I don’t breathe, either,” Brittney said.
“No?” Brianna whispered.
“God saved me,” Brittney said earnestly. “He heard my prayers and He saved me to do His will.”
“Brittney, you’re…you were down there in the ground for a long time.”
“Very long,” Brittney said. She frowned. The frown made creases in the mud that smeared her face. The mud that could not be cleaned off.
“So, you must be hungry, right?” Brianna asked, returning to her primary concern.
“I don’t need to eat. Before, I took water. I swallowed it, but I didn’t feel it go down. And I realized…”
“What?”
“That I didn’
t need it.”
“Okay.”
Brittney smiled her metal smile again. “So, I don’t want to eat your brain, Brianna.”
“That’s good,” Brianna said. “So…what do you want to do?”
“The end is coming, Brianna,” Brittney said. “It’s why my prayers were answered. It’s why Tanner and I came back.”
“You and…okay. When you say ‘the end,’ what’s that mean?”
“The prophet is already among us. She will lead us from this place. She will lead us to our Lord, out of bondage.”
“Good,” Brianna said dryly. “I just hope the food’s better there.”