Docile

The Zombie looked to the left and immediately regretted it. There was Jenny, from Human Resources.

She was after him, he just knew it.

Not after him, like he’d broken the rules . . .  again . . .  but after him, like she dug the skin-peeling, gangrene-smelling, reanimated corpse look.

Bill-Z in Accounting said she had a dominance thing. She liked the fact that Zombies – or Zs – were docile.

Then what was she doing, going after him? He was docile, sure. It was tough to avoid the medical cocktail that made Zs productive members of the workforce, but there was never a company rule he met that he didn’t want to break.

It wasn’t his fault. The man he’d been before the Change had nearly taken down the firm dodging the SEC, the NSA, and the FBI, to name a few. But man, it had been fun, and the money he’d made. . . .

Nah, those days were gone. Joining the ranks of the Z was meant to “forgive” the faults of one’s humanity.

And forgiveness meant he was now fodder for Jenny in Human Resources. Because he was docile. Right?

No. Bill-Z in Accounting was docile.

“She liked to tell me I’d been a bad boy,” Bill-Z told him once while they lingered over the manufactured meat product cooler. “And I just never could. I’m not a bad boy, Zeke.”

So, that was Jenny’s game. The punishment factor. Yeah, he’d been a bad boy, once upon a time. He had been a fast-talking corporate shark with a yen for pretty young things – man or woman, it didn’t matter, just so long as everyone was having a good time.

And everyone had a good time with Zeke. Even now, he could still throw down. Sometimes. Usually it was his left arm, but it always got a laugh out of someone.

Every once in a while, he thought the stiffs up north had a point: to be a Z was to be enslaved. We didn’t start out docile, they said. The docs had to cure the overwhelming hunger for living flesh and the need to feast on brains.

Of course, a new Z rarely got a chance to say no to the cure – it was done within the first three minutes of the Change. Those that weren’t seen to . . . well, they were up north, talkin’ hot but keepin’ chill.

How’s that for a resistance movement slogan?

Huh. Up north.

Maybe.

But maybe he could have one last fling before he ditched this land of endless cubicles.

He looked back at Jenny and winked.

Yeah baby. I’ve been a real bad boy.

***

D: There is a modern phrase your people use, which I think describes your response to Papi Z’s prompt, “The Zombie looked to his left and. . . “ beautifully.

A: Pray tell.

D: You are sick in the head, woman.

A: Since I talk to you on a regular basis, I’m pretty sure everyone already knows.

D: I understand. But sometimes saying it keeps the night-terrors at bay.

A: (Eye-roll) Whatever helps you sleep at night, D. Personally, I kind of like Zeke.

D: I can’t believe you gave him that name. I can’t believe you invited a zombie into your head as a character. He’s stinking up the place, A.

A: Oh, cut him some slack – he hasn’t made it up north yet, and Jenny did give him a run for his money.

D: Words cannot describe how vile that is.

A: Well, while you’re speechless, I’m going to share some tidbits with the good people. You okay with that.

D: (retching noises).

A: Oh, that’s just gross, D. Anyone would think you haven’t seen someone’s arm come off before. Geeze.

Anyway, Charles is organizing a February Giveaway and has a donation request for the published authors out there.

D: And SK Nicholls is giving an autographed paperback copy of her book, Red Clay and Roses away at Goodreads.

A: The Community Storyboard has some amazing news: IT’S BACK!! Ready and raring to go with new guidelines, the Community Storyboard is once again accepting submissions. Check it out!

D: Speaking of wonderful places, with wonderful people, Ionia, at Readful Things, featured A and I as bloggers of the week last week. It was so unexpected, and so delightful, both of us are still smiling about it.

A: He’s not wrong (for once). Thank you Ionia! We love you! We also love The Year Long Story project at Line by Line, which she has put together with Julian.

D: Not to mention her ponderings at Ionia’s Thought Catalogue. which is a window into, as she says, the crap that doesn’t fit into her main blog. Gotta love a woman who’s so honest!

A: Speaking of honest, and delightful – the woman who may or may not be the most reliable narrator (but no one cares because her narration among the most amazing I have ever read) is out with a new Jessica B. Bell story, Eat My Pussy.

D: . . .

A: Stop snickering, D. Seriously, how old are you?

D: Chronologically or bodily?

A: . . .

D: That was rhetorical, wasn’t it?

A: Yeah. Anyway, go read Helena’s story, AND the continuation of the Bayou Bonhomme serial, and when you are done with those (believe me, you’ll gobble them up) check out the fact that Volume 1 of her memoirs are about to debut. Last I checked, she was looking for cover reveal volunteers! I’m so excited for her, D!

D: Me to. And not just because she titles some of her stories—

A: That’s enough, D.

D: Killjoy.

A: Takes one to know one.

D: Point taken.

A: And, case rested. That’s all for tonight, folks! Thank you for reading and have a wonderful evening!