Rachel looked to Doctor Kavorski and insisted, "We definitely need a subject to study."
A knock at the door drew everyone's attention and Colonel Halstead barked, "Enter."
The door slowly opened and Zoe peered in around it. She had taken her hair down and it hung loosely down her back and over one shoulder. Her eyes betrayed anxiety and fear.
"Come on in, Private," the Colonel ordered.
Zoe had her shoulders shrugged up as she stepped into the room and gently closed the door.
Rachel pulled out the chair beside her and patted the seat, saying, "Sit down, sweetie."
Hesitantly, the girl complied, sitting gingerly in the chair she was offered and pulled her feet up to sit cross-legged. With her hands folded in her lap, she turned her eyes down to them, cringing as she awaited what she thought was to come.
"Private Princess," the Colonel started. "We need your report on the moaner that attacked you."
She would not look up and just stared down at her hands, unable to answer.
Doctor Caswell gently summoned, "Zoe?"
Breaths entered the girl with some difficulty and she just shook her head.
"Hey, Princess," Sergeant Morris said in a gentle tone. "It's okay. Just tell us what happened."
"I can't," she whimpered.
Colonel Halstead growled a sigh and said, "P.T.S.D. Saw this happen during the last war." He glanced at Doctor Caswell and ordered, "You're staying in the next few days, Princess; give you some time to get yourself squared away. In the meantime I want you to qualify on some other weapons and I'll have some of the men show you some hand to hand moves. You read me, Private?"
She nodded and replied in a meek tone, "Yes, Sir."
"Look at me," the Colonel commanded.
Hesitantly, she complied, barely raising her head to train her gaze on him.
"This happens," he explained. "Sometimes we run into something that rattles us to our core. Your best bet is to dig deep and find the means to beat it. According to Mister Knox here those new zombies keep to themselves and there aren't many of them."
"Yet," Alfred added.
Zoe asked in a little girl's voice, "Can I go, Sir?"
Halstead just stared at her for a long moment, then he nodded and replied, "Dismissed."
As quickly as she could, Zoe hopped down from her chair and fled the room, closing the door as quietly as she could behind her.
Tex watched the girl as she left, and set his jaw as the door closed. He looked down to the table, then grasped it with both hands and pushed his chair back. Standing fully, he looked to the Colonel and raised his chin.
Halstead motioned to the door with his head and said, "Go on, Sergeant, and good luck."
He knew he would find the girl in the place she felt most safe, and in this place, that was her room. The door stood open and he stopped in the doorway, seeing her huddled in the middle of her bed with her legs drawn to her and her teddy bear hugged tightly against her chest. Her wide eyes were on the TV, and she stared blankly at the screen, even though it was not on.
Leaning on the doorway, he folded his arms and asked, "Would you like some company?"
Her eyes flitted to him and she just shrugged.
Morris strode in with slow, heavy footsteps, right up to her bed, and he half turned and sat down beside her. "Scary day out there, huh?"
She nodded, her wide eyes locked on the TV.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him, and when he did she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head to lay her cheek on his chest, and she began to cry.
"Shh," he soothed. "It's okay, Princess. It's okay." He wrapped his other arm around her and she cuddled in as close to him as she could.
A few moments passed and she calmed, but stared ahead at the floor across the room.
"You want to tell me about that new zombie?" Tex finally asked.
"I don't even want to think about it," she whimpered. "It was so strong and it was attacking me like some big dog that wanted to eat me. It just came out of the bushes…" She closed her eyes. "I was so scared."
"I know you were, Kiddo," he confirmed. "I was, too."
Zoe blinked, then she finally pulled away and looked up at him. "But you aren't scared of anything!"
"We're all scared, Kiddo," he corrected. "Every time I go out I'm scared. But there comes a point when you have to put being scared aside and do your job. Too many people are counting on me for me to be too afraid to do what I'm supposed to. I've just got to concentrate on my job and make sure that I get done what I need to, that way I don't feel so afraid while I'm out there working."
She stared back into his eyes for long seconds, then her mouth tightened and she said, "So, I'm not just a little wimp?"
He smiled and roughed her hair. "No wimp would be that afraid and still go out and do what you do. Being scared just makes you human."
"But I'm a zombie," she said softly.
"You're only part zombie," he corrected, "and that gives you an advantage over them and us. Hell, you can walk right up to most of them and give 'em a slap in the head and they still won't try to get you."
She giggled and nodded.
"Kinda wish I was half zombie," he went on. "I could go out there and do all kinds of damage if I was, just like you can."
Zoe lowered her eyes, bowing her head a little as she mumbled, "I still don't think I can go back out there right now. I don't think I can do it."
"You haven't been trained for this," he pointed out. "Just give it some time, Kiddo. You'll go back out with us when you're ready."
"Okay," she whispered.
"Now," he started in a more authoritative tone, "how about you give us some intel on those new zombies?"
With a nod, she said, "Yes, Sir."
They walked into the conference room with Zoe under the Sergeant's arm and her arm around his waist. She stayed as close to him as she could until he pulled her chair out, then she looked up to him for a sign of reassurance, which she got with a nod. Climbing into her chair, she sat cross legged as she had before and looked right to the Colonel as Sergeant Morris took his seat.
"I think there are some things you need to know about the new mad-dog zombies," she informed. "I'll be as helpful as I can, Sir."
CHAPTER 9
Apparently, half zombie girls could succumb to fatigue, too.
Zoe sat down at an empty table in the cafeteria and rested her elbow on the table, her cheek in her palm as she stared down at the meal before her. As promised, she was looking at a bowl of Spaghetti-O's, a smaller bowl of carrots, some kind of pastry and a glass of fruit punch soda. She drew a breath, then she vented it slowly. The day had taken its toll on her, on her nerves, and it was days like this when the medicine she took to control her explosive emotions just did not seem like enough. She could feel frustration, fear, anger, anxiety… All of them were welling up inside of her. Her mother had done her best to teach her deep breathing exercises, but that would only do so much.
She absently picked her spoon up and scooped out some of her dinner. Tex had told her he would try to join her for ice cream later, but he and the other army people and doctors were involved in that meeting, and that meant he would probably not be able to get away, and this only fed her frustration.
Feeling someone standing over her, she looked up from her lunch, then to her left, and she swallowed what she had in her mouth as she saw Zachary standing beside her with a tray. Clearly half a foot taller than she was when she was standing, he was staring down at her with blank eyes as if he was expecting her to say something to him.