retrieved my sword and shield, as I put the alpha’s carcass across my shoulders. They followed as I returned to my shelter. But they never attacked that day or any other.”
The girl shifted in her seat. “The cold? You weren’t frozen?”
“The cold held no sway over me. I was clothed in furs and the alpha covered me as though a great blanket.” The zombie stood and held a hand up above his head. “If a man, the wolf would have been that tall. Do you see?”
The girl nodded and said yes, she did.
The zombie walked to the window and look down to the street almost expectantly. “Outside my shelter, I skinned the alpha with a blade while the pack looked on, planning to collect the pelt to use as a winter coat. While I skinned the creature, the pack edged closer and closer. Their movement was subtle but I saw it out of the corners of my eyes as I separated fur from flesh.
“I did not know if they were coming for me or what would happen next, but I held to my undertaking. Though the blade was sharp and exceptional, the mid-morning sun was breaking through the trees by the time I finished and looked up from this careful work. When I did, I found I was nearly encircled by the pack with several large males no more than an arm’s length away.”
“What did you do?” the girl whispered, her voice scarcely audible. “Did the wolves attack?”
The zombie stalked back across the room to the girl. “I bared my teeth and snarled as I’d seen the wolves do many times, my eyes fixed on the wolf who seemed to be claiming the alpha role. Then I donned the bloody pelt and got down on all fours as if I was one of them and indeed I became one of them, losing what remained of myself over the course of the winter.
“When the thaw came, I was a beast, no longer a man, and did not even think of going to watch for the sails of my kin. I stayed with the pack, my new kin. They protected me and I protected them.”
“All this really happened, didn’t it?” the girl asked. “I mean, what you’re telling me is something that’s true.”
The zombie reached across the table and took away the girl’s glass. “It is, and I want to go on telling you.”
The girl’s face was calm but her eyes were revealing more and more of the silent inner struggle taking place. “But why didn’t the wolves attack you and what do you mean you stayed with the pack? And if you stayed with the wolves and lost yourself and became what you are, how did it happen?”
“I never said I became anything at that time. What I said was that I lost what remained of myself.” The zombie smiled, the faintest smile that stretched his lips thin across his cheeks. “I’d like to continue my story as it happened. I’d like to go on. I don’t know why the wolves didn’t attack or why I stayed with them. It is just what happened.”
The zombie watched the girl with his cold blue eyes and waited until she said:
“Yes, please, continue.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Asimov grew up with books. Libraries raised her. When she was ten, she discovered the writings of her grandfather and started dreaming of being a writer one day. She read every fantasy and science fiction book she could find.
Somewhere along the way though she lost the writer’s dream. She never stopped writing, but the very idea of being a writer one day faded away. At least until, she found her voice again and was encouraged by others to share her writing with others.
As a life-long fan of all things science fiction, her goal is to write and publish sci-fi adventures for all ages. The characters in her Star Chasers books explore the vast reaches of the galactic empire controlled by the Order of Eight.
Find Emily’s book at Amazon .
Carnival of Death (v5.0) (mobi)
Saxon Andrew, Derek Chiodo, Frank MacDonald