_ I Am a Zombie

My now sharper nails tear through her clothes and skin effortlessly. The scent of exposed muscle and fresh blood floods my senses, making my mouth water.

[WARNING: USER IS EXHIBITING EXTREME CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR.]

The system's voice chimes in, but I can care less. I sink my teeth in again, ripping a mouthful free, savoring the way the flesh melts on my tongue.

[USER'S ENERGY LEVELS STABILIZING.]

Oh, how immaculate it feels that the warmth spreads through my limbs, my strength returning in waves. My fingers twitch, testing the power thrumming my veins. 

My body feels… alive.

No, not alive.

Something better.

Something more.

I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth, smearing blood across my skin. The hunger is satisfied, but only for now.

I glance up at the darkness where Pretty Boy and Captain Authority disappeared.

They ran. Smart choice. But they won't run forever. When I get my hands on them, I'll fucking eat them down to their bones.

 I'll savor every bite and crack their bones like candy.

My hunger is presently sated and my body is no longer trembling with weakness.

This should keep me going for a few days… maybe? Argh. I wish I knew my way around this whole new mess I'm in already!

I am still in my thoughts when I hear a ding.

[DING!]

[TASK COMPLETE. INITIAL CONSUMPTION SUCCESSFUL.]

The system's voice interrupts my euphoria like an automated customer service line. I barely register it at first, still lost in the aftershocks of my meal.

[COMPLETION REWARDS UNLOCKED:

~ Restored skin tone and texture

~ Normalized body temperature

~ Breath simulation (optional)]

Wait. What?

I barely have time to process the words before something transitions inside me. A warmth blossoms across my skin, like sunlight kissing bare flesh after years in the dark.

 My hands tingle and my nerve endings sparkles to life in a way I haven't felt since—since before I died. Or nearly.

The sensation spreads up my arms, across my chest, down my legs, until it feels like every inch of me is disentangling and knitting itself back together all at once.

The best part of this is that no matter how much it is supposed to hurt, I don't feel any pain. 

My eyes begin to twitch, blurring my vision. Panic grips me. Am I dying again?

Np, maybe not, because the moment passes, and then I see it.

My hands.

They are no longer sickly gray, no longer the rotting, discolored mess they were when I first woke up in this nightmare. 

The deep cracks and dead patches are gone, and all I see now is warm-looking skin.

I blink. My mouth pops open—wait. Am I breathing?

I inhale, air rushing into my lungs. Holy shit. My chest expands, then deflates naturally, as if I never lost the ability in the first place.

 I exhale, just to test it again, watching in awe as a small puff of condensation escapes my lips into the cold evening air.

I slap my hands to my cheeks. My face is smooth. I yank at my hair—still there. I pat my chest—boobs intact. 

Holy shit. 

"Oh my god," I whisper.

Then I do the only thing that makes sense. I scream.

A loud, giddy laugh bursts from me as I jump to my feet. My fingers run frantically over my arms, my face, my legs—everything is back. My skin is warm, my limbs are responsive, my breathing is rhythmic.

I'm human again!

A crazed smile stretches across my lips as I spin in place, arms outstretched. "I'M BACK, BABY!"

"Oh my God! Oh my fucking God!" I jump up and down, "Is my nose back?!" 

I twist, looking at my reflection in a shattered car window. It's dark and distorted, but I can see enough to tell that I no longer look like roadkill. My skin is soft. My lips are full and pink again. My nose—oh, my poor, rotting nose… is normal.

 I could pass as a normal human. 

I laugh. Loudly. "Look at me! I'm hot again!" 

The joy surges through me like a drug. I never realized how much I missed feeling human. The warmth, the softness, the ability to move without the immobility of decay. 

This is perfect. This is everything. This is… 

Wait. 

I put a thoughtful finger on my chin. "System?" 

[YES, USER?]

I clear my throat. "Does this mean… I'm human again?" 

It took its sweet time as always before chiming:

[NEGATIVE. USER HAS UNDERGONE DEEP REANIMATION.]

"…What?"

[USER IS NO LONGER HUMAN. HUMANITY WAS LOST UPON INITIAL REANIMATION.]

The words hit me like a bullet to the chest. My arms drop, the excitement I was so bubbly over evaporated like a fart. 

[USER IS NOW CLASSIFIED AS: INTELLIGENT UNDEAD. A NEW VERSION. A NEW SPECIES.]

"No," I whisper. 

My hands tremble as I lift them to my face again, pressing my fingers into my cheeks, my lips, my jaw—searching for something that proves the system wrong. 

But the warmth doesn't lie. My breath doesn't lie.

I feel alive.

But I'm not.

"I'm not human," I say, the epiphany too hard to handle. "I'm—I'm a zombie."

[CORRECTION: USER IS A HIGHER EVOLUTION OF THE UNDEAD. NOT A STANDARD ZOMBIE.]

Like that makes it better.

I stagger backward, nausea rousing in my stomach. No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to wake up. Supposed to get another chance.

And now?

I'm just stuck as a monster forever.