Zombie Emancipation

by uselessness

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I grabbed the squeegee by the handle and carefully extracted it from the zombie’s head. It slid out with a squelch and an outpouring of maggoty gray matter on the curb. The creature was dead, again.

“Look,” Nicole said, “he’s turning back to normal.”

We watched as the corpse’s belly deflated to a reasonable size and its beard slowly fell out, hair by hair. Soon enough he looked just like a gas station attendant ought, quaint and jaunty. And also thoroughly rancid.

I swept away the bristling beard bits and noticed he was wearing a nametag. “Patrick,” I read. This man was an individual with a real family and a real past. Not some nameless Marxist zombie. “We can’t leave him here,” I said, picking up the body. “Honey, can you open the trunk for me?”

“We’re taking him with us?” Nicole was incredulous.

“Patrick needs a proper burial. It’s the right thing to do.”

I set the body in the back of the car and grabbed the tire iron before closing the trunk. There were more zombies about.

“Still hungry?” I asked.

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Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. Zombie Emancipation

    John Perkins' Buddy Icon John Perkins

    Posted 4 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Not sure if this is the time for “doing the right thing.” It takes a long time to dig a grave by hand. I don’t envy this guy one bit.
    And if my limited experience with pregnant women has taught me anything, yes, she is still hungry.

  2. Zombie Emancipation

    JMSquire's Buddy Icon JMSquire

    Posted 4 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Ouch, I was a gas station attendant for a few weeks way back when. I must not of lasted long because I only meet one of those three described perimeters. Great story and another great sound effect with the ‘squelch’ at the start.

  3. Zombie Emancipation

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 4 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Decidedly atypical zombie story. Very human characters…I mean, the ones that aren’t zombies.

  4. Zombie Emancipation

    thebetweenspace's Buddy Icon thebetweenspace

    Posted 4 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    I agree on all accounts, the ‘squelch’ was a great description. I’d still feel funny putting a former Zombie Karl Marx in my trunk.

  5. Zombie Emancipation

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 4 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Every story needs a villain! Okay, you have lots of villains in your Marx zombies, but I thought I’d have a bit of fun with a bit of a variation. As always, feel free to sequel around it if it doesn’t fit.

  6. Zombie Emancipation

    Eckhouse's Buddy Icon Eckhouse

    Posted 3 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    You have certainly set the bar high with this series in terms of conveying disgusting sounds through words. Bravo, chap.

  7. Zombie Emancipation

    Ana Cristina's Buddy Icon Ana Cristina

    Posted 3 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    All right, I read the whole series. I was intrigued when you mentioned, uselessness, that you had your own Karl. Although this Karl is nothing like the one in our series (thank goodness!).
    Awesome job. I hope you keep it going!

  8. Zombie Emancipation

    Hunting Beauty's Buddy Icon Hunting Beauty

    Posted 3 months ago

    Ok this one kind of grossed me out a bit. Especially when you described the ‘squelch’ that sounded when they pulled on the squeegee. But I guess that was the goal.

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