When I Became a Zombie

By the time I returned, it was already late at night.

The abandoned airport was deserted. I don’t know where the group of companions I was with had wandered off to today. Perhaps they were luckier than me and found something to eat.

In this era, being alone is definitely not a good choice. I’m not very agile, and I’m likely to be eliminated when facing someone alone, unless I can catch them off guard.

Similarly, if that person were alone and faced a large group of my kind, they would probably die as well.

I actually tried to tell him that I would come back during the day.

…I probably shouldn’t have come back.

So I stopped in my tracks. The plane was in the third row.

God knows if he would still be there. He might have gone looking for me and ended up lost.

But why would he look for me?

Why did he say yesterday that he finally found me?

I was holding a plastic bag, and the bag swayed slightly because I stopped suddenly, occasionally making a faint sound when it brushed against my leg.

In the moonlight, I saw a more conspicuous shadow next to the shadow of the plane in front.

Was it him?

I wasn’t sure. This place was very empty during the day, and there might be other people hiding here.

Making a sound wasn’t wise.

But I thought that if my sound were written text, even if it wasn’t him, it would at least prove that I am somewhat different from other companions.

I remembered that person’s eyes last night, earnestly and persistently asking if I remembered many things.

One of the things he asked was, “My name is Xu Lin, do you remember?”

I slightly parted my lips and closed them again, rubbing my lower lip against my upper teeth, awkwardly repeating the more pronounceable character.

“Lin… Lin…”

The next moment, I heard the sound of something metallic hitting the ground. If my reflexes had been a bit more sensitive, I might have jumped, but in reality, the sound only drew me to take a few steps toward it.

But before I could take more than a couple of steps, I was embraced by a black shadow that rushed out.

Believe me, my first reaction was not that he was hugging me, but that he was going to chop off my head.

He seemed very happy, and yet there was something like moisture in his eyes. Grabbing my shoulders, he asked, “Do you remember me? Where did you go?”

Didn’t he tell me his name?

This person is so foolish…

I moved my arm, still holding a plastic bag I had found from the counter.

Besides the troublesome white shirt, it contained some cans and some candy and chocolate hidden behind the counter.

Even though they first seemed like garbage to me, they became something he could eat after my second impression.

He looked down at the bag of food and fell silent.

I was a bit puzzled. As far as I know, you can’t tell whether something is expired just by looking from afar.

Oh, right, he has a cleanliness obsession. He takes off dirty clothes, so maybe he finds the food a bit dirty?

But that’s just the packaging. I haven’t touched the inside.

If he doesn’t want it… he can just throw it away.

Before I could let go of the bag, he reached out to hold my hand. The warm temperature transmitted to me, and he smiled at me, with the moisture in his eyes gathering and sliding down his face.

His voice was a bit choked: “Did you go out to find food for me?”

…No, I just changed my target temporarily.

Although my explanation to him at that time might be understood as that.

See, I told you, body language is too limited.

Did I make him misunderstand?

I’m not that nice.

The tears on his face gave me a headache-like illusion.

Who is this person…?

I can think of many things, but it’s hard for me to express them, which makes me even more frustrated.

I pointed at his face, and he wiped his face, took the bag from my hand, and pulled me to follow him back to the plane.

As we passed another plane, I heard a banging sound on the window. I turned around and saw my kind.

They couldn’t get out and made very little noise, not a threat to the person beside me.

This is such a strange combination.

He probably cannot return to the human group if he is holding onto me.

I probably can’t return to my companions if he follows me.

None of this is right.

I am already dead. Even if my current state is a bit strange, it doesn’t change the fact that I am dead.

And he is alive.

He can sit in front of me, smile, cross his legs, and take out the items from the bag one by one. When he saw the pile of candy, he seemed surprised and even looked at me with some helplessness, then tore one open and put it in his mouth.

I don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like, but he seemed quite happy.

I shouldn’t stay.

I think I should try to say a sentence, telling him to go find his kind.

But as I just opened my mouth, a hard object hit my teeth. The person across from me stuck out his tongue, moved his hand, and shoved a lollipop into my mouth.

He smiled and said, “It’s quite sweet.”

The round, hard thing?

I can’t taste the flavor he described.

It means nothing to me.

But I still held it in my mouth. I thought maybe I’m not completely devoid of warmth, maybe I can melt it, and at least it counts as me eating human food.

He stood up from the ground and took a cloth to wipe the window.

The window outside was also dirty. Wiping it didn’t do much good. He tried but then gave up, and sat back down in his seat, sucking on the lollipop, looking out the window, and speaking to me with some difficulty.

“Persi.”

“We’ve already separated many times.”

“This time, nothing can take you away from me.”

Then he turned back and smiled at me, taking the lollipop out of his mouth, which was now a shiny pink.

His voice trembled but was very stubborn.

“See, even death can’t take you away from me.”

The lollipop in my mouth still showed no signs of melting.

Then I slowly shifted my gaze away from him.

I suddenly wanted to cry like him.

No, death can take me away from you.

No matter what our relationship was before.

Whether we admit it or not, we are no longer the same.

---