Part 9 (1/2)
The world floated in her vision. In the great distance, she could hear a blaring horn. The headlights flickered across the gap like sunlight filtering through the ocean, dissipating as it grew closer to where Jill rested against the cemetery fence.
Voices carried like whispers across the chasm of reality. Jill tried to call out to them but she felt her lung collapse from the exertion. Each breath became even more labored and her body more oxygen starved.
Flas.h.i.+ng lights joined the distant headlights, spilling over Jill. The noises rose in a crescendo of unintelligible sound.
Ghostly figures approached her, silhouetted by the filtered headlights. As they reached out to her, Jill let out a silent sob and her world grew dark.
Suburban Zombie.
Anthony Lance.
About Anthony.
Anthony lives in Cronulla, a quiet beachside suburb of Sydney. His first published work of fiction; I SPIDER is available on Amazon.com. Any resemblance to characters depicted in this short story, living or living dead is purely coincidental.
Every house in the perfectly manicured street is the same. They differ only in the pastel shades of the paintwork on their perfect, weatherboard facades. It is a beautiful summer's day in the heart of suburbia as Ted Jones walks out his front door, dressed in a suit and carrying his briefcase. Ted is a zombie. He walks with a typical zombie gait. Ted walks to the front yard and picks up the newspaper. He sees his neighbor Dave Thompson over the top of his neatly trimmed hedge. Dave is also a zombie.
”Mornin' Ted.”
”Mornin' Dave.”
”What about those Yankees then?”
”Can't pick it.”
As Dave says this, he picks at a nasty sore on his cheek. Ted gives Dave a wave and they both hop into their respective cars and back out of their driveways at the same time as all of the other cars on the street do.
The front door of the Jones household opens again and Katie Jones comes out, pus.h.i.+ng a pram with a one-year-old baby zombie in it. Beside her is her five-year-old daughter Sh.e.l.ley. Both Katie and Sh.e.l.ley are zombies.
”My front teeth are loose, Mum,” Sh.e.l.ley lisps as she wobbles the entire top row of her unsightly teeth.
”Somebody might be getting a visit from the tooth fairy tonight,” Katie replies.
All of the other zombie mothers walk out onto the sidewalk and form a convoy up the street. Each woman has a pram containing a one year old, with a five year old walking beside it. They all smile and wave at each other.
Jill Thompson's five-year-old son has removed his nose and is looking at it as he walks along beside her.
”Ohhh... That's disgusting, Jamie-stop picking your nose. You're too old to be doing that,” Jill admonishes as she looks around to make sure none of the other women have noticed.
In the school playground, all of the women gather around and chat as the young zombies begin lurching and limping about, playing games. Several of the boys are crowded around a circle drawn in chalk on the playground. They are playing marbles.
”That's not fair.”
”That's cheating.”
The boys are upset because a child's thumb has fallen off, flicking into the center of the circle and knocking a marble out.
”Young Nathan had his swimming carnival last Tuesday. You should have seen the condition of the water in the pool. It was disgusting,” Daphne states.
”Soup?” Katie asks.
”More like porridge.” She laughs at her own joke.
”I hate those public pools-they're dreadful. They must be a health risk,” Jill says.
Two children run by pa.s.sing a head to each other as though it is a football.
”Oh, did I tell you that Ted and I went to that new restaurant called MORT last night?” Katie asks. ”Very posh-they even had chicken on the menu.”
At the word chicken, all of the women collectively scrunch up their faces and say, ”Eeeeeepletely oblivious of what Sh.e.l.ley is doing. He waves to his daughter without even looking at her.
There is a loud knock at the door. As Ted makes his way to open it, there is another loud knock. As soon as Ted opens the door, Dave and his family rush inside. Dave's son Jamie is holding his arm in pain.
”One of them bit him on the arm. There are these creatures outside, Ted. They attacked us,” Dave exclaims.
”What?” Ted asks, looking outside.
He sees two Mormons circling up and down the street menacingly while two Mormons walk slowly towards the door.
”What are they?” Ted cries, panicking.
The front door is still open and, as Ted tries to close it, one of the Mormons sticks his foot in the way to prevent it from closing.
”Have you been blessed, brother?” one of the Mormons asks.