PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU READ!

This is a sneak peak of my new book ᒪIᐯIᑎG & D⃒Y⃒I⃒N⃒G⃒ that I've been working on for weeks now! I thought today would be the appropriate day for a sneak peak, since you know, it's Halloween AND ITS MY FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR! So enjoy this super spooky sneak peak of my new book coming out soon! (Btw tell me if the title looks weird, I'm not sure if the letters are working right)
~~~~
I don't know how we all died. I don't have a memory of it. Maybe it was a flu, maybe an air-borne virus, or maybe a radioactive outbreak monkey. But I guess that doesn't matter now.

We're all dead.

My name is-...well, I'm not really sure what my name is. I have no memories of it. I don't have memories of anything really. I'd like to know my name, as odd as that sounds. I wanna know what I was before all of this. Before the world died. Before we lost everything we loved. Before we became the monsters we are now. It must have been so beautiful before. Sometimes I see flickers of sunshine and laughing and green meadows. But when it comes, it's over in an instant.
A lot of times I wonder what the others are thinking. Do they feel trapped? Do they want more than this? I know I do.

I don't want to be like this anymore.

The world is so messed up. I thought this as I tore through a mans shoulder with my teeth, savoring the taste of his cold flesh. He didn't scream. Most of them don't. They're just too shocked to believe that I've just bitten them.

A few others came around to help me. As they bit through his skin, I cringed a little. Did I look this scary when I was feeding? Demonic and lifeless? I'd suddenly lost my appetite. I finished what was left of his arm and stood up from the crimson floor. If it were up to me, I wouldn't feed at all. It's so...chaotic and inhumane. I don't like hurting people.
But this is the world now. This is the new hunger that we all crave. It's eat or starve, and I won't turn into a dusty skeleton. It's not my style.

I wiped the blood from my lips and chin. I hate getting blood on my clothes because...well...these are my only clothes. An old suit with a red tie. I'm not really sure where I was going when I died, but it must have been a pretty fancy place. Maybe I was a lawyer or a business man of some sort. I don't know.

All I could do was stare as they ate every last piece of him. The poor guy didn't even get the chance to fight back. He didn't have a gun, or any kind of weapon really. His friend had a small hand gun, but she died right away when one of us bashed her skull in. Her body was already gone. It didn't take us five minutes to devour her. We hadn't found any food in weeks and were starving, so of course we weren't gonna let the food go to waste.

I didn't wait around for them to finish. I walked out of the mini mall doors alone, guilt in the pit of my stomach. I wish there was another way. Anything is better than this.

Getting home is always a struggle. Especially if you're dead and you can only drag your feet, plus my limbs aren't as functional as they used to be. And it was dark too, so I couldn't see very well. It was dangerous to travel back without a group. Most of the time the living carry around huge guns and wear protective gear, making it difficult to feed on them and making it easy for them to kill us. If we travel in packs, we get them a lot faster.

I tried to imagine what the city use to be like. Lights, speeding cars, the living smiling and talking to the other living.

Now...everything is paused. It's like time stopped. The cars still lined the roads, but they stay unmoving with grey rusted paint instead of their original. Newspapers litter the ground. The buildings on the verge of collapse.

The place I call home is a skyscraper. I think it used to be some sort of hotel, because most of the rooms have beds and bathrooms. It's nice. Sometimes the emergency generator powers on and I get to use the elevators instead of the stairs. I live on the top floor. It's a long way up, but it's worth it. My room has big open spaces and a king sized bed with two bathrooms. Not that I need that stuff, it's just nice to know I have it.

I finally reached the 13th floor. I walked pass rooms and rooms of empty space. I stepped over the same towel cart flipped over on its side like I do everyday. No one lives here but me. I claimed it and I usually growl at anyone who tries to follow me in. I don't want to be around them more than I have to. They remind me how much of a monster I am.
I opened the door to my room and hurried in. This was my happy place. It might be a mess to most people, but it's what I like.

I stepped over the clutters of my collection and tried to make my way to the bed. I like to collect things. Things that remind me of what the past was like. So it's pretty much everything. Snow globes, toy cars, stuffed animals, electronics. If I'm lucky enough, I'll find an iPod or an MP3 player. I love when I find those. Its like I get to listen to another persons emotions, thoughts, feelings. It's like a diary.

I sat on my messy bed and laid down. I don't sleep. None of us do. But it's nice to just...pretend. To close my eyes and imagine that I'm dreaming.

It's nice to imagine that I'm not a monster.
~
The next day was a really uneventful one. I shuffled around my room and played with my collections. As much as I hated company, I wish I had some. I wish I was the living and I could do the things they do. I want to eat normally, like a human being should. I wanna be able to walk without dragging my feet. I want to love.

I really really want to love.

The others have tried having relationships...but they're kind of...strange. They blink at eachother for five minutes, hold each others grimy hands, dry hump with clothes on, and then it's over. That's not love, but it's the closest we can get.

I found a camera phone once on a trip to a movie theatre. We heard the living camping inside, so we went in. As usual, I had finished early so I wondered around aimlessly until they were done. Someone had left it on a chair inside the theatre, so I took it with me. It had videos of a man and a woman kissing, hugging, smiling, and being happy. That's love.

But I can't have that. I am dead. My life is over. There is nothing left the world wants with me.
I suddenly felt hungry. Why? I ate yesterday, and that's usually enough to last me a whole month. But this hunger felt strange. More...powerful. I stood up from the floor and began my way out. Usually I can stay up here for weeks without getting hungry. Guess I'll have to go hunting again.

When I finally reached outside, I smelled it. The living. This scent was so powerful though. It couldn't have been just one. It's a group. It has to be.

I shuffled down the street towards the mini mall. They're probably all still there. They don't move a lot after a feeding. I think they like to take their time and savor it. It's disgusting.

I pushed through the double doors of a Sears store and headed towards the cafeteria. That's where we had found the two living, and that's most likely where they are. I passed a Hollister, a JcPennys, a Gamestop. Finally, I found the sign pointing towards the cafeteria. The smell...it just kept getting stronger. There wouldn't be more of the living here, would there? They wouldn't be that stupid to come back to this place.

But then I heard their voices.

"Hurry up! We only have an hour to do this!" I heard one of them whisper. It wasn't really a good whisper. I could hear it a mile away from the actual cafeteria.

"Shut up, I'm going as fast as I can." I heard a bunch of clattering noises follow.

"Dude can you be a little quieter? Fleshy's have good hearing."

"Chill out, we have guns. You guys are way too uptight. And where the hell did Jordan go?"

"He went to go get clothes, like he was supposed to." Another voice snapped back.

"Do you want some real food or not? I'm trying my best here."

There were so many voices. There had to be at least seven of them. No wonder the scent was so strong.
I was right next to the cafeteria now, hunched down behind a trash bin. If they saw me, they wouldn't hesitate to shoot me. I peeked out a little from my hiding place and tried to get a glimpse of them.

I was wrong. There were eight of them. Three girls and five guys. They looked so young too. I've never seen the living this healthy before. They had clean clothes, backpacks, weapons. Two of them sat in the chairs by the tables, four standing near the Thai food place, and one standing guard with his gun raised towards the end of the mall. There was another one, a guy, standing inside the Thai food place. He was looking for something. Probably food.

"Would you put that thing down? You're gonna shoot Jordan." One of the girls sitting at the table rolled her eyes.

"You remember what captain said. Always remain vigilant." The guy remained glued to his spot with his gun aimed.

"Yeah but there's like nobody here. Even the fleshy's know this place is useless." The other girl from the table chimed in.

"I can't find anything! Everything in this place that isn't looted, is rotted!" The boy inside the restaurant kicked the fridge he'd been searching through.

"Dangit. I really wanted Thai." One of the girls sighed.

The guy with the gun sighed. "Whatever. Let's just leave. This place creeps me-"

Snarling interrupted him. I turned my head back to see the group of dead that was here yesterday. All thirteen of them with bared teeth and blood dripping for their lips.

The living is outmatched.

"Oh my god. Oh my god!" One of the girls screamed. All of them froze. Even the guy with the gun.
The dead wasted no time. They sprinted toward the group at lightening speed, while the group stood helplessly waiting for the horror that was about to happen.

Both girls at the table sped off first, then the boy behind the counter, and then two more of the guys. The others weren't too lucky. The dead were already tackling them to the ground and tearing away at their necks and arms. I heard a few screams, and I flinched. I don't want this anymore. I can't do this anymore. These were someone's kids. Someone's family.

I sprinted off in the other direction. I wasn't hungry anymore, I was horrified at myself. Why is the world so messed up? Why are we eating our own kind?

I could still smell the blood. I didn't want to smell it, I wanted to die. I should have let one of them kill me. I didn't want to go home, but I didn't want to be here either. I ran inside a Hollister, the blood smell fading with every step. When I reached a room where there was a couch, I threw myself onto it and hugged my knees up to my chest. I've never acted like this before. Usually I don't really care about the living that die to our actions. This time...it just hurt so much.

The blood smell was replaced with something else. That smell of skin and sweat, the living. It was weak but I could still smell it. I thought all of them left. Is there still one here?

Creak

My eyes snapped open in time to see a guy, probably no younger than 20, standing in front of me. His eyes widened in fear when he saw me open mine. He was helpless. He didn't have a weapon or anything with him that could stop me from slaughtering him. Just a black backpack. He was Jordan, I realized. The guy they'd been talking about. They left him behind. He was definitely one of the more attractive living I've seen before. He had dark black hair and brown eyes, his cheeks and jaw covered in stubble.

He didn't move at all. I didn't either. I didn't want to hurt him. He was a helpless little rabbit. And he couldn't hurt me.

What do I do here?

I heard snarling from outside. Oh no, they can't kill him. I can't take it anymore. I can't let anyone else die because of my actions.

His eyes widened even more at the noises. He backed up a little, but it only made the floor creak even more. He whimpered and his hands began to tremble. God, I have to help this poor guy.

I raised up from the couch and he stepped back. He looked like he was having an internal battle with his mind. His eyes switched between the doors and me every five seconds. It reminded me of a cornered and wounded gazelle.

I kept moving towards him and he kept moving back. And when his back finally hit the wall and he had no where else to go, he started tearing up. Damnit. Now I feel guilty. Focus! Save him!

I raised my hand to his face and he turned his head to move away from it. I wish he'd understand I'm just trying to keep him from getting killed.

I drug my hand down his cheek, making a large nasty red and brown stain on his pale skin. He shuddered against it and tried to back up again, but there was no where to go. I dragged my fingers down his neck and his forehead, and then I sniffed him. He still smelled alive. I covered his other cheek and then the sides of his neck. He must think I'm the weirdest dead person on the planet, coating him in my own dried blood. Oh well. He'll thank me later when he's alive.

I sniffed him one last time, and I finally couldn't smell him anymore. He looked utterly terrified and disgusted. I almost laughed. He saw me smile and his looks softened a bit. I guess it's not often you see the dead smiling. Maybe I should act more human, it might make him less disgusted at me.

I put a finger to my lips and looked him directly in the eyes. "Shh." And then I pointed towards the door. His brown eyes widened in amazement. It must be because I sort of talked. I mean I can talk sometimes, but usually it doesn't sound right. I think my highest syllable score is four.

"What...what are you?" He whispered. Well I'm dead, I wanted to say. But I just shrugged instead.

We stayed like that for a good ten minutes. I was waiting for the snarling to go away, while I think he was just too afraid to move. Every so often he turns his head and breathes in. I must stink to him if he has to turn away every time he breathes. When he turns back, he still remains looking terrified and amazed at the same time. I don't want him to be scared. He's safe. He should know that.

"Y-You...s-safe," I choked out. It's been awhile since I've talked, so I'm not really use to it. The terror finally left his eyes. He was still trembling though.

The snarling was no longer there, so I backed away from him so he could breathe. He still stayed glued to the wall with his entire body shaking.

"You...safe. Prom...ise." I showed him my pinky in hopes that it might lighten up the situation better. The living still make pinky promises right?

He visibly swallowed and tried to ease away from the wall. "I-I don't know what I'm more surprised about. The f-fact that you just saved me or the fact that you can t-talk."

I smiled a little. At least he wasn't stuttering madly like he had been before.

We stood awkwardly staring at eachother for awhile. I wasn't really sure what to do, given that the dead were probably still outside and he couldn't leave without them noticing.

"Um...soo...how come y-you can talk and they c-can't?" He was trying to make conversation. He nervously kicked at the floor with the ends of his Chuck Taylor's. I shrugged again. I don't know why they couldn't talk. I've tried making conversation with them before, but they just look at me like I've grown a second head.

"Well...I-I'm glad I didn't kill you. That would have been unfortunate." He laughed a little, but quietly so he wouldn't alert the dead outside.

I almost snickered. He couldn't have killed me even if he tried. He was a helpless little kitten and he had been too scared to even move when he saw me.

"Yeah...r-right." This is the most I've ever spoken. I'm actually surprised at how well I sound, besides the stuttering.

"What? I-I could have taken you..." He mumbled the last part quietly. Insecure little sausage.
I could no longer smell the dead outside or hear them, so I assumed it was safe. I reached for his hand to show him the way out, but he flinched back. He's still scared of me, I realized.

"S-Safe," I reassured him. I pointed towards the door.

"How do you know?" he asked, still standing a great distance from me.

I wanted to explain my sense of smell and my powerful hearing, but I knew it would take all day for the words to come out. We don't have all day. He needs to go somewhere safe, where none of the dead will bother him.
"G-Good hear." I tapped my ear. "Good...smell." And then I tapped my nose.

"Oh. Okay. Um, l-let's go to where my friends were. Don't worry, I'll tell them you're cool."
He began to walk towards the door. He doesn't know that most of them are dead and the rest left him behind.

"Not...not good i-idea," I said a little louder so he would hear me.

He turned back, looking majorly confused. "Why not? It's fine. They'll be okay with you."

How do I tell him this without breaking his poor little heart?

"They're...gone."

His face fell. Oh god, he must think they're all dead. That's not what I wanted.

"T-Three g-gone. Rest l-left." That's sounds better.

His shoulders slumped and hurt mixed with loss crossed his face. "They said...they said they wouldn't leave me behind. They promised."

I felt bad for him. He obviously didn't think this was gonna happen. "S-Sorry."

Now it was his turn to shrug. "It's okay...I-I don't really know what to do now. You got any ideas...Mr. Zombie?"
I was personally offended he called me such a stupid name. I wanted to yell at him that I had a name, but I didn't really know what it was.

"Have n-name."

"You have a name?!" he asked in bewilderment. "What is it?"
I tried to think really hard about my past, hoping that maybe in this sudden moment I would remember it magically. But it didn't come, so I was left with no answer. I shrugged instead.

He rolled his eyes at my response. "Ugh. Another shrug. Why do you keep shrugging you...shrugger."
I wanted to laugh at his weak attempt to call me a name, but I just shrugged and smiled. Oops. "Seriously?" he laughed. I let my shoulders drop. There was an awkward silence for half a minute. I need get him out of here before they come back.

"C-Come...with m-me." I reached for his hand again, and this time he didn't flinch away. I pulled him out through the doors of the Hollister, out of the mini-mall, and then we were off to my home. But he kept trying to make conversation with me the walk there. I don't think he realizes how good of hearing the dead have, or else he would've shut up by now.

"It's kinda sad you don't have a name. You don't have a wallet on you or a license? The suit sort of makes me think you were important before all this happened. You must have some kind of ID on you." He was walking beside me, trying to lower his pace every few minutes because of my agonizingly slow one.

I shrugged again, making him sigh in frustration. All of the sudden, I felt a hand go into my left pocket. He was digging through my pants.

"It you aren't gonna look, then I will. You gotta have something..." he muttered to himself as he dug through my pockets. I didn't try to stop him. He's finally comfortable with me, so I'm not gonna ruin that by saying get the hell away from my pockets.

"Aha!" he shouted, and pulled something from my suit pocket. I was about to tell him to shut up, when he shoved whatever he found in my face. "I knew it! Look, this is you!"

It was a license. Well, half of a license. One half was covered in grimy filth and dried blood, but the other half showed a picture and my name. I squinted hard and studied the letters, trying to understand the smudged black symbols.

Tom. My name is Tom.

"It says you were twenty-one. I'm like three years older than you. Crazy huh?" He smiled giddily at his discovery.
I looked at my picture next. It was sort of faded out too, but I could just barely see what I looked like. I had a thin face, brown eyes, toned skin, and the weirdest thing of all: blue hair.

"You were really attractive weren't you? I mean...you're still kind of attractive. Besides the grey skin and all." He coughed awkwardly. Aw. He thinks I'm attractive. That's a confidence boost. Especially when it's from a living breathing human being who is kind of attractive as well.

"Y-You...too."

He laughed. "Slow your roll Romeo, or I might faint." He went back to looking through my wallet, a smile lurking on his lips. "You had a lot of credit cards when you died, Tom. My guess is you were someone incredibly important."

I felt a surge of happiness run through me when he used my name. I don't really care about what I was before I died, but I felt some-what happy that Jordan wants to know everything about me and he doesn't think I'm a complete monster.

"Hey! I think I found something!" he exclaimed suddenly. His voice echoed down the empty streets of the city, and I visibly cringed. Why did he have to be so damn loud?

"Be...quite...er," I said in a low voice.

He smiled sheepishly and blushed. "Sorry. But look at this." He shoved a new card in front of my face. It was an ID card in perfect condition, and beside another photo of myself was the name of a company called 'YouTube'.

What the hell is YouTube?

"I remember that website! I use to post videos on it all the time! It was my job!" his big brown eyes were wide with excitement.

"Y-You...liked it?" He obviously missed the past way more than I did. He must have had a wonderful life.

"Yeah! I loved it...god I miss that most of all. Besides hot showers and being able to eat good food." He rolled his eyes.
If he loved hot showers, then he was gonna love the hotel. I've found out recently that the hot water heater still works. And there's also a huge kitchen full of canned food. He was gonna love this place. I hope.

"So...I guess I should ask you more about what you like. What do you like to do for fun?" He was still looking through my wallet for anything else important.

What do I like to do for fun? Collect things I guess. "Collect...things."

"Oh cool. What do you like to collect? Stamps?" I watched him pull out one of the credit cards and study it.
I reached into my back pants pocket and pulled out the iPod I'd been listening to yesterday. Now it was my turn to shove something in his face.

"Oh my god! You have an iPod? How did you even get this?!" he exclaimed. I shushed him, and he blushed again.
"Sorry...it's just...wow!" He stared at it in amazement. I handed it to him and he was more than happy to look at it.

"D-Don't play...sound," I warned him.

"Yeah I know. So do you have a charger for this thing or what? How long have you had this?" He powered it on without even hesitating and immediately went to the photos.

"W-Week." I hadn't used it much, so the battery was still halfway full.

"What?!" he shouted again.

And then I smelled them again. It wasn't even thirty seconds after I did, I heard the growling and snarling.
I immediately pulled Jordan into an alley way and shoved him towards the dumpster sitting inside of it. I could smell him, and that meant they could too. I need to cover up his scent again.

They were close by, so I didn't have a lot of time to do this. Once I got him behind the dumpster, I repeated the process I did at the mini-mall. I dragged both of my hands down his cheeks and tried to cover him with as much blood as I could. He hated this, I could tell. But he let me do it anyway. He shuddered when I began to coat his neck. I felt bad. I should have been more careful. Then I wouldn't have to do this shit to him.

I sniffed him, and he didn't smell like himself anymore. I still stay in front of him though. I knew I smelled terrible and I was disgusting, so it could cover his scent no matter what.

I heard them pass the alleyway, letting out grunts of confusion. Please for the love of all that's holy don't come down this way. Jordan was trembling again and he had his eyes closed. He's not made for this stuff, I could tell.

"T-Tom," he whispered. I put a finger to my lips. If they heard us, we had no chance.

"I can't breathe," he said barely audibly. God I must smell worse than this dumpster if he can't even breathe. I leaned down next to his shoulder and rested my head on it. I heard him breathe in quickly and let out a ton of air. I could hear them smelling the air. I quickly coated his arms and the rest of his face.

And then he gagged.

The snarls grew louder and louder. They heard him and they were coming down the alleyway. I forced him to lay down and I began to tear through his clothes. His eyes widened at what I was doing and he tried to run away from me, but I jerked him back. This is our only chance, I have to make this believable.

I tore through more of his shirt with my teeth, and he started freaking out. "Stop! Stop what are you doing?!"

They came by just in time to witness it. I turned around to face them and snarled the ugliest and scariest snarl I could muster. They backed the hell away. They knew what I was capable of, so they never messed with me. They wouldn't try to eat what I claimed as mine.

They shuffled back to the street, grunting angrily. Once I was sure they were at least a mile away, I let go of the squirming Jordan. He scooted away to the other wall, his eyes showing nothing but utter fear as he stared at me.
Great. Now he thinks I'm a monster again.

"S-Sorry...only way." I reached a hand out, but he scooted further away. Did I just lose him? "You...safe. Prom...ise." I held out my pinky. He studied my pinky and my face for the longest time, before bursting into tears.

"Damnit...I thought you were gonna kill me Tom! Why the hell did you do that?!" He covered his face with his hands and pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Keep...you safe. Keep you safe," I promised. I don't want you to cry.

"Why? Why me? Why are you protecting me? Are you just taking me some where so you can eat me yourself?"

"N-No. Keep you safe. Promise...Jordan."

He looked up from his hands and stared at me. "How do you know my name? I didn't tell you."

"Heard it...from friends."

"So what? Did you kill my friends? Is that why you're trying to protect me? You feel guilty?" He was so angry. I was just trying to keep him safe. Doesn't he understand that?

"Others killed...friends. I run away...I find you." I think I just broke my syllable record.

He didn't say anything after that. He just sighed in frustration and buried his face in his hands. I need to get him to the hotel. It's not safe out here at night. Other hoards walk through here, not just me and my group.

"Need...to go. Not s-safe out here."

"...fine." He wiped away the rest of his tears and stood up. I stood up too, taking the lead and showing him out of the alley.

It took a few minutes to get to the hotel, and when we did arrive, he wouldn't go in. He stood on the pavement staring at the doors. "Come...in. Safe." I held out my hand for him to take.

"How do I know that? How do I know you're not just gonna slaughter me as soon as I go in there?" He crossed his arms stubbornly.

"You...m-my..." God I wish I could talk like him. I sound like a cave man with a speech impediment.

"What?" He snapped at me.

I sucked in a breath and tried again. "You're...my...only f-friend."

His angry glare turned into a soft sincere look of guilt. "Oh god Tom...I'm sorry. It's just...it's weird you know? It's hard to trust you since you're kind of...a flesh eater. I've seen so much and it's difficult not to remember all of that when I'm around you. You tearing through my shirt and pinning me down kind of freaked me out, because I've seen that stuff before and it never ends well."

"I never...hurt you. Prom...ise. Don't like...hurting...living." It was true. I don't like hurting people. But like I said, this is the world now. I can't change who I am.

But I'm not gonna go without trying.

"Trust...me." I held out my hand again. He looked at it for a good while, before finally taking it. I opened the doors and pulled him inside. To my surprise, the lights were on. The generator must have started up again. This is perfect.
I guided him to the elevator and pressed the up button. The doors opened immediately and I pulled him inside.

"How come this place has power?" he asked as I pressed the 13 button.

"Gen...gener..." I hate that I can't talk properly.

"A generator?" he answered for me. I nodded, and then the doors closed. He jumped a little when it started moving, and I resisted the urge to laugh.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked down at his shoes. "I haven't been on one of these in a long time."

"Could...tell." I smiled a little, and he rolled his eyes.

"You're a smart ass for a dead person, you know that?" He punched me playfully in the arm. I fake snarled at him, and he jumped back and slammed himself against the wall with terror in his eyes.

"Too...soon?" I asked with a smirk.

He groaned and melted into a puddle on the floor. "I hate you Tom."

"You...too." I leaned against the wall and rested my head on the back of it. I was actually sort of tired from today's events.

It finally stopped with a ding, and the doors opened to show the floor that I lived on. I took his hand again and pulled him along with me to my room. He almost tripped over the towel cart, but I caught him just in time. He muttered a thank you before going back to following me.

When I got to the door of my apartment, I began to worry about how clean my room was. He was gonna see my massive collection of things and how messy and unorganized I was.

"...you gonna open it?" he asked me.

"Not very...clean."

"It's fine. I don't care. I've probably lived in messier places before." He gave me a reassuring smile.

I nodded and opened the door. I heard him gasp behind me. "Tom! This place is awesome!" He practically ran in and jumped on my bed. I watched him pick up and study all the things I had on my bed. "Is this a Polaroid?! I haven't seen one of these in so long!" He picked up the camera and snapped a picture of me. The film rolled out and he ripped it from the slot. "I think it looks good. What about you?" He held the picture up.

I actually didn't look half bad. I looked like the guy from the license and the ID card, but with grey skin and paler eyes. If I turned to the side, someone would probably mistake me as a living person.

I shrugged. He rolled his eyes. "There you go again. Stop shrugging. I know you like to talk." He tucked the picture away in his jacket pocket, and his eyes lingered on the dried muck covering his arms. "Do you have to coat me in this stuff every time they come around? It's really gross..." He sniffed it and gagged slightly.

I wanted to say you can either get eaten alive or stink, but I didn't. I don't think he realizes how much it hurts when he thinks I'm disgusting. I sat in the floor and played around with a toy mustang. My hands are so dirty...I wish I could clean them. No wonder he thinks I'm disgusting.

"...I didn't hurt your feelings did I?"

I just shrugged. He did, but what he said was true. I'm gross.

"I'm sorry. I know you can't really help it..."

"It's...okay."

I could see him out of the corner of my eye trying to wipe off some of the muck with his shredded shirt, but was having no luck. He needs to shower and he needs some clothes. And food. Jesus the living are needy.

"Need...shower?" I pointed towards the back bathroom.

He raised his eyebrows. "There's actual running water here?"

I nodded. "Hot...water."

"Tom. You are my new favorite person in the whole world." He said this with the most serious look ever, and I smiled.

"You...too."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF IT! AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN MY LOVELIES! HAVE A SPOOPY DAY!

- Lee