Zombie Dreams

So last night, in my dreams, there was a zombie outbreak in... I think it was a research facility, since no hospital would be quite that labyrinthine, cluttered, and generally claustrophobic. This involved quite a bit of running, blocking doors, and looking for alternate ways out; those activities were interspersed with things popping out of unexpected place and reaching for me*.

That wasn't the creepy part, though it was certainly exciting. The creepy part came after we'd barricaded ourselves in an old movie theater**. In a small, cluttered room at the top of the stairs was a friend*** of mine, and another young woman who was trying to help her. My friend shooed the other woman away, saying that there wasn't anything more she could do to help. Then she told me to come back a little while, and she'd... have a surprise ready, or show me something cool, or something along those lines.

When I went back, there were zombies lined up along both sides of the stairs. They were neatly spaced, standing still, and holding candles so I/we could see. They were completely still, except they turned to look at me/us as I/we passed. My friend was, fairly clearly, controlling them somehow. That was the creepy part, because these were the same things that had been trying to kill us. Walking that close to them was like trying to pet a rattlesnake: if anything went wrong, we were way too close to get out of the way.

At the top of the stairs I spoke to my friend again; she sent me - or us, really, since my son was with me now - out to talk to her boyfriend. I think we left through a window.

Boyfriend was in much the same condition that my friend was: dead, but still aware, still thinking and speaking. We met him at a local swimming hole, and he had a little zombie boy with him. While we were swimming****, he explained that we would come with them to go do whatever it was they were going to do. He needed us, he said, because he didn't think he'd be able to drive for much longer.

I said something like, "Damn. I was hoping the two of you would come through this."

He shook his head. "No, we're dead. We're just taking longer to lose ourselves. The others listen to us because we still talk."

I nodded at that, told the little zombie boy that it was good to meet him, and shoved them both back into the creek. Then I grabbed my son and got the hell out of there.

...And then the alarm went off.

I don't think this one will become a story, but that image of having to walk past the Dangerous Things and hope that their discipline will hold... that might make it into a project somewhere.

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* Or maybe "us". I can't remember if I was alone for this first part of the dream or not. Dreams being somewhat inconsistent, I may have been alone at times and in company at others.

** Don't ask me who "we" are, in this context; I'm not sure. I just know there were other people with me at this point.

*** Actually a real person, though I only know her online. I'm pretty sure my mental image was borrowed from her Facebook profile.

**** I have no idea why that seemed like a good idea, except that he suggested it and I didn't want to antagonize him by refusing.