out of here, though, things were going to change. I was going to take control of this relationship. She was either going to be mine forever or it was going to be over—over in the sense that I would no longer live feeling like I was only half alive.
I was either going to have all of her love or I was going to die—either option seemed equally sweet. It took me forever to convince Dr. Landon to grant my request to see Rachel. But I already knew that would happen from the start. What I didn’t expect was for Rachel to drag her feet on helping me. I was acting perfectly sane and normal—what was her problem?
Her visits were sporadic and far between. And she never smiled once the entire time she was there. She nagged at me worse than even Mom would have. She begged me to stay right where I was until I felt “better”. That’s when I told her the lie that made her change her mind and I finally earned my ticket to freedom.
17. Rain Must Fall
While most of my dreams were prophetic in nature, not all of them were and I was now able to tell them apart. But even knowing that it was unimportant, dreaming of Zach as a zombie was still incredibly disturbing. I didn’t want to think about him shuffling around in search of brains for sustenance. So of course, it was the only thing on my mind all day.
It was just my luck to have a dream like that on the day of the Zombie Walk. Any other day of the year, I could have safely maneuvered through my day without contacting a single member of the walking dead. But not today. Poe’s Corner was packed to capacity with a legion of the undead. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of that unsettling dream I had.
By the end of my shift, I was totally brain dead. And possibly hallucinating. I walked out back to throw the garbage away when I saw something weird. Not just weird—weirdly weird. Weirder than usual which was an accomplishment in every sense of the word with all things considered.
In the glow of the streetlight, I spotted what I thought was one of the people from the zombie walk rooting through the dumpster. A sudden forceful sneeze on my end caught his attention and he looked up at me. And I nearly peed myself.
I would have sworn on my life that the zombie standing in front of me was real. He looked exactly like Kody Kirk who had been dead since graduation night. Rumors flew all over town this summer because someone claimed to have seen him going through the garbage at the Chicken Shack. First time travel—now zombies? No, I wanted no part of this. I dropped the bag of trash right where I stood and walked briskly back inside and locked the door behind me. With my “no unnecessary weirdness” policy in danger of being seriously violated, I repeated my new mantra in my head.
“Not my circus, not my dead monkeys.” Then I ventured home and collapsed into bed.
I worked the rest of the weekend and it was probably a good thing. Staying busy was the only way for me to not sit and obsess about what I could or should be doing to help Zach. I’d already called and texted everyone who I thought might be able to assist me. The only thing left for me to do was wait. And I hated waiting as much as I hated suspense, because in all reality, they were kind of the same thing.
But first thing Monday morning, I sat anxiously waiting for a call, text, or email from anyone and everyone. When I hadn’t heard anything by mid-morning, I called Shelly in a slight panic.
“You have to be patient, Ruby. It’s only been a few days—you need to give people sufficient time to respond. You need to learn how to be still for a little while. I’m starting to think you wouldn’t know how to live without constant drama in your life.”
I took offense to that comment but held my tongue. I
I was either going to have all of her love or I was going to die—either option seemed equally sweet. It took me forever to convince Dr. Landon to grant my request to see Rachel. But I already knew that would happen from the start. What I didn’t expect was for Rachel to drag her feet on helping me. I was acting perfectly sane and normal—what was her problem?
Her visits were sporadic and far between. And she never smiled once the entire time she was there. She nagged at me worse than even Mom would have. She begged me to stay right where I was until I felt “better”. That’s when I told her the lie that made her change her mind and I finally earned my ticket to freedom.
17. Rain Must Fall
While most of my dreams were prophetic in nature, not all of them were and I was now able to tell them apart. But even knowing that it was unimportant, dreaming of Zach as a zombie was still incredibly disturbing. I didn’t want to think about him shuffling around in search of brains for sustenance. So of course, it was the only thing on my mind all day.
It was just my luck to have a dream like that on the day of the Zombie Walk. Any other day of the year, I could have safely maneuvered through my day without contacting a single member of the walking dead. But not today. Poe’s Corner was packed to capacity with a legion of the undead. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of that unsettling dream I had.
By the end of my shift, I was totally brain dead. And possibly hallucinating. I walked out back to throw the garbage away when I saw something weird. Not just weird—weirdly weird. Weirder than usual which was an accomplishment in every sense of the word with all things considered.
In the glow of the streetlight, I spotted what I thought was one of the people from the zombie walk rooting through the dumpster. A sudden forceful sneeze on my end caught his attention and he looked up at me. And I nearly peed myself.
I would have sworn on my life that the zombie standing in front of me was real. He looked exactly like Kody Kirk who had been dead since graduation night. Rumors flew all over town this summer because someone claimed to have seen him going through the garbage at the Chicken Shack. First time travel—now zombies? No, I wanted no part of this. I dropped the bag of trash right where I stood and walked briskly back inside and locked the door behind me. With my “no unnecessary weirdness” policy in danger of being seriously violated, I repeated my new mantra in my head.
“Not my circus, not my dead monkeys.” Then I ventured home and collapsed into bed.
I worked the rest of the weekend and it was probably a good thing. Staying busy was the only way for me to not sit and obsess about what I could or should be doing to help Zach. I’d already called and texted everyone who I thought might be able to assist me. The only thing left for me to do was wait. And I hated waiting as much as I hated suspense, because in all reality, they were kind of the same thing.
But first thing Monday morning, I sat anxiously waiting for a call, text, or email from anyone and everyone. When I hadn’t heard anything by mid-morning, I called Shelly in a slight panic.
“You have to be patient, Ruby. It’s only been a few days—you need to give people sufficient time to respond. You need to learn how to be still for a little while. I’m starting to think you wouldn’t know how to live without constant drama in your life.”
I took offense to that comment but held my tongue. I
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