Chapter 25: The Hunger
When Kelly introduced Zain to everyone, the latter had found from the scents in the air that one of them was infected. However, what surprised him was that this person was fully functioning and had control over their actions.
They could speak and weren't going after the others to eat their brain. Thinking of this, Zain doubted that he might have encountered someone exactly like him.
"What do you mean?!" Barbara shouted upon hearing his words, "There's nothing wrong with me, I just eat when I'm stressed, and this food will go off!"
While explaining herself, Barbara stepped back with the help of her hands and legs, and eventually, her back bumped into the large wooden table at the back of the room.
"You can trust me, Barbara. I already knew your secret and kept it from the others." Zain explained, trying to calm her down. "Don't you think there has to be a reason for that? Do you have a system, a screen in front of you that you can see?"
The easiest way for Zain to get Barbara to trust him was to show the bite mark on his neck. However, he had yet to reveal it since he wasn't entirely sure that he and Barbara were the same, and if she found out what he was, there was a chance she would alert the others, which would put him in a difficult spot.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Barbara said again and looked to her right, and her eyes found a cleaving knife. She immediately stretched her hand and grabbed it.
"You want to kill me, don't you? Don't you?! But I'm telling you, I'm not one of them! I'm not one of them!" She shrieked and charged forward.
It was clear to Zain she had lost it and was in denial over the whole thing, and since she hadn't reacted to his words, it was most likely that they weren't the same. So Zain lifted his leg and kicked the cow's carcass hard.
It swung where it was hung and hit Barabra. She stumbled face-first on the floor, and the cleaver in her hand got latched into the carcass.
When she regained her composure and raised her head, the first thing she saw was the tip of the shear blade just a few millimetres away from her.
"It was only a scratch…that's all it was...I wasn't bit or anything...so why...why is this happening to me!!" Barbara wailed.
Based of her smell, Barbara was already one of them to Zain, but perhaps whatever the cause behind the outbreak was, it was spreading slower in Barbara. But there were so many variables that he couldn't pinpoint the exact reason.
Maybe it was because it was only a scratch instead of a bite, or there were various reactions, or it could just be that she had a strong will. But, in the end, it was hard to tell without having the clear picture.
"I won't kill you, not while you can think properly," Zain explained. "But you have to be honest with your answers. What changes have you noticed in your body and mind? And most importantly, when? Lastly, I might also need to do a few things with you.
"As long as you agree, I won't tell the others. However, that's on the condition that you're still like you are now and don't start attacking others. The second you go crazy, I will end it. You understand?"
Barbara nodded.
Zain asked many more questions, using his gaming experience and determination to discover why he was different. He interrogated her for any possible clues, but in the end, he wasn't any further than he believed.
Barbara stood up off the ground and continued to stare at the carcass.
"Is it okay if I eat that?" She asked.
"If it stops you from eating people, then be my guest," Zain replied while still thinking about her answers.
Barbara knew next to nothing about Zombies, and from what she had seen, people who just died didn't rise from the dead. Although this was unconfirmed, if it was true, that those that just died didn't turn into a Zombie straightway or at all, this confirmed that Jade must have done something to Tanisha to turn her.
According to Barbara, the scratch started to itch but looked no different to anything else, and it even had scabbed over it just like any scratch would have. After that, however, she started having certain visions in her head, felt a lot more irritated when talking to others, and had a hunger that wouldn't go away.
At first, she could eat just fine, although she ate more than usual. Then slowly, the only thing that would fill her was meat. Now, she had reached a stage where she had an urge to eat raw meat.
She said something was drawing her to the flesh, the colour and the smell. After hearing about this, while Barbara was distracted in her thoughts about describing the urge, Zain secretly took a small bite of the cow meat to see if it affected him, but nothing happened.
After that, Zain asked if there was anything else, other than her hunger. Was there a job or task that she needed to do, maybe a message in her head telling her to go somewhere, but there was nothing. So he got no closer to completing the recent quest he had received.
'Unfortunately, it looks like, with the way Barbra is going, it won't be long before she can get full from eating raw meat, leaving her nothing but one thing to control her hunger.' But Zain didn't tell her his thoughts. She was already too startled, and it would cause her to tip over the edge.
Instead, he wanted to test one more thing.
Looking around, Zain found pieces of raw meat everywhere. Putting the blade back on his belt, he then grabbed the cleaver from the cow's carcass and made a small cut on his hand. His blood started to drip onto the meat, coating it.
'I know I can turn other people, but I don't know what they will turn into if I do turn them. Will they become undead like the ones outside, or more like me? Right now, I can't test that, but I can test something else.'
"Eat this," Zain said, holding the piece of meat with his blood on it. "Let's see if it will help with your hunger problem."
*****
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