Candy Pop Corpse

2. Bubblegum Bombshell

Sunlight hit my diluted eyes like a sack of potatoes. Its shine cooked my skin while I mindlessly roamed the empty streets.

"Jack? Where'd you go?" I questioned, twisting my head to wherever I heard voices. Yet not a soul was in sight. I kicked a rock from under my bare foot with a huff. "He's probably long gone by now... I'll never find that asshole."

My stomach growled, and I wondered if I could eat regular food. Was there any point if I was dead?

Finding no luck and no Jack, I occupied myself with pacing in circles. My legs still limped from the attack, yet were so numb I couldn't feel the pain. I rested my hand on my chin when my stomach grumbled again, making me sigh. "Do I have to eat people? That's what..."

I stopped, my monologue interrupted by the scent of strawberries. I followed it until I came to face a candy shop. Its windows and paint still intact, probably because the door was knocked down. Who needs brains when you can have candy?

With that in mind, I headed inside after checking if the coast was clear. The alluring nectar of artificially flavored junk food beckoned me inside.

Chocolates, cakes, tarts... all kinds of sweets were neatly displayed in shelves. If I hadn't died from zombies I was sure diabetes would've killed me instead. I licked my lips, reaching for a smashed slice of cake.

"Bon apétit," I muttered, licking the icing off its side. A squeal escaped from my lips. Vanilla, my love! The cake was a centimeter away from my mouth when a clatter caught my attention.

My eyes darted to the source.

It came from the slightly ajar freezer door. Laughter erupted from its depths. I stood still like a deer caught in headlights. The slice slipped from my trembling fingers as the door creaked open.

Shit! I dove to the floor, backing into a corner. Who's there? The dead or the living?

"Did you hear that? It sounded like something fell..." a man muttered before stepping out.

Another laugh bounced across the walls and rattled in my head. "Probably some pan. Nevermind that. Just look at all this food!" someone else shouted, slamming the door open. "No one's stupid enough to come on our territory, anyways."

I was.

They walked behind the counter, one grumbling, the other stuffing my precious pastries in his mouth.

Play dead, play dead, play dead! This was it. If those people knew I was here, they wouldn't let me leave. Not without a bullet in my head.

I let my body go limp. Arms bent, legs spread, eyes closed. Playing dead wouldn't cut it. Right now I had to be deader than dead.

The footsteps grew closer. A second door snapped shut. While they talked, a question came to mind. Why am I hiding? I'm... I'm human, dead or undead. Right?

I thought back to Jack, who stared at the undead wide-eyed and frightened, just like I did moments before my death. But I wasn't like them. I couldn't be.

Fear kept me in place. The risk of reaching out to them for help and getting killed in return was too great. I still had to find Jack. More importantly, there were plenty of sweets I had to taste.

With a gulp, I slowly rested my head on the checkered floor. Crumbled cement poked my scalp, feeling more like a comb stabbing my skin than anything else.

I cracked my eyes open to spot heads of blonde and black hair behind the counter. They didn't notice when I tilted my gaze in their direction, as they were too busy arguing over something about food. My food.