Theo

You said SAVE. You carried Theo through thirty of them, with his neck right next to your mouth.

You walk into the crowd. They let you through. Theo sees your grey face and screams: "Please! Please don't eat me!"

So you say his name. Theo. Zombies don't know names. "How... how do you know my name?" You mowed his lawn every Saturday. Five dollars. He always paid you in quarters. He holds out his arms.

You carry him through thirty of them. Halfway through, one of them stops, leans in, and sniffs his sneaker. You stare at it. It looks away.

"My mom's a nurse. At Saint Jude's. She said she'd come back for me." His neck is right next to your mouth, and the hunger climbs. Fifty. Sixty. Seventy. You stop. Theo holds his breath. And you keep walking.

"You're still in there... right?" You don't answer. You don't know anymore.

Three streets later, a crashed ambulance. Its radio is still on: "This is Doctor Okafor. If anyone who was bitten can still think, come to Saint Jude's. You are the cure." Then another voice cuts in: "...or just eat the kid. Nobody's counting." The radio goes dead. Theo heard it too. His hand finds yours.