Emma: Part Two

I wake up in the morning bleary-eyed and disoriented. I have a hunch that something is not right with Emma. Something is not normal. I had wild nightmares last night. In my nightmare, Emma was being attacked in the park, and she was turned into a Zombie. I have a problem with the nightmare

Zombies do not exist.

I make myself a strong whiskey, then I sit down in order to recollect last night's events. Sarah appeared normal when she stopped to talk to me. However, there was something very weird about her. Her laugh cackled like the sound of cracking ice, she moved faster than any normal human being that I know, and she was paler than any human I have ever met. I could swear that the skin on her face was bleeding, and her eyes couldn't be seen in the dark.

I take a strong swig of my whiskey, feeling a satisfying warm feeling in the back of my throat. Sarah seemed a bit too curious as to whether or not I had found Emma, though there was no real compassion or feeling in her voice. I reflect on her evil cackle at the end of our conversation,

"I'm sure you'll find her one day,"

I get the feeling that she knows what has happened to my girlfriend. I plan to question her though just in case something happens, I pack weapons for my next visit to the park

I am certain that Zombies do not exist; after all, it is Halloween, and people do play pranks on each other at this time of year.

I am still determined to find out where my girlfriend is. I know that she is still alive after seeing her last night.

Why did she ignore me?

It's now the middle of the afternoon, so I decide to head out for a walk. There are a few hours to go before my plans to head back to Coolers Lake are put into action, and I need to clear my racing mind first. I head to Jeremy's bar hoping that there might be someone in there who I can have a normal conversation with; that is if normal still exists in my life. Everything feels strangely abnormal right now. The town is deserted and the bar is emptier than usual which I find weird because Jeremy's is usually full. I drink a fourth Whiskey which goes down faster than a bullet, then I head back to the bar to speak with Jeremy.

"Have you noticed anything strange happening in this town?" I ask Jeremy who looks bored because of the little custom he is receiving tonight.

"What? Do you mean apart from my empty bar? Look! look around you, Jake. I've never in all the 30 years I've worked here, seen this place so empty." Jeremy replies in an agitated tone of voice.

Jeremy's is the most popular bar here in the town of Littledon. It is usually packed with drunks, recklessly drinking and singing loudly. Jeremy spends more time dealing with drunks than serving people, therefore it isn't normal for the bar to be so empty.

"Have you heard any reports of disappearances recently, or people acting strangely?" I ask Jeremy.

"Ha! Strange much, Jake! We rarely hear of anything in this town. Besides, we had Halloween the other night and people are always behaving strangely on Halloween! What's with the weird questions?" Jeremy asks.

I tell him that I am trying to find my girlfriend. I don't tell him about the other night at Coolers Lake in the park. Jeremy is likely not to believe me anyway. He believes that ghosts, Zombies and all things supernatural are just myths.

Yeah! I don't believe in them either, but now, I am convinced that something unnatural, something evil is taking place in this town.

"Emma is probably working. You know what she is like with work, it goes to her head and she forgets to call you!" Jeremy replies.

Jeremy is getting annoyed with the conversation. He just wants to get back to the bar, despite there not being many customers.

The bar still needs cleaning, or no one will come back!

I politely thank Jeremy for the conversation and head home where I can sit and do some more thinking.

I get home at 7 P.M, I am exhausted but I need to know what has happened to my girlfriend. I remember watching her at the Lake yesterday, she didn't notice I was there. She was with another group of girls, laughing and playing. The lake had a stench that I cannot describe, except for the fact I almost vomited. Emma would have seen me if everything was normal, as the mist was starting to lift at the lake. I think about my dreams. I usually have nightmares when I am worried or being warned about something. I have this ability to sense bad things in my sleep. However, until now

I have never had nightmares about Emma, and I never dream about Zombies.

I just know something is wrong.

I hatch a plan for when I revisit the Lake. I decide to wear black so that I don't get noticed. Black is a dark colour so it should hide me, even in the mist, so it should ensure I cannot be seen.

. My plan is to sit on the bench first and observe what is happening around me. Hopefully, Sarah will sit on the same bench and not recognise me. I will act differently and sit with Sarah a little longer in order to observe her reactions.

I have to be cautious; I still don't believe that Sarah is human.

I am not sure what she is. Hopefully, tonight will tell.

My second plan is to head to the lake, still in disguise. I have a feeling that Emma will be there. If I can stay in the shadows, I may be able to get close enough to get a glimpse of what she looks like. I know this is dangerous though my mind won't rest until I know. I want this nightmare to end.

I spend the next 20 minutes debating over whether I should take any weapons. I don't want to.

What if there really is something going on down there?

My conscience tells me I'm just being stupid, but my wise mind kicks in, and I pack the weapons into a satchel just in case something goes wrong. I am sweating anxiously, and I tell myself not to go. It could be dangerous out there, but I know I have to.

If I don't find out what is going on, the entire of Littledon will become a bloodbath or be overrun by things that my mind cannot begin to comprehend.

I enter the park, and to my horror, there are bodies everywhere. I stand at the gates frozen in shock and my eyes are wide open in disbelief.

I have seen bodies before, but not like this.

The scene before me unfolds like a living graveyard. A figure starts limping towards me. He is hunched over on one side and he isn't looking where he is going. He appears to be mindlessly wandering like an empty carcass. I let him get close enough for me to notice him without being seen, and then I step behind a tree so that I can clearly see what is going on. I suddenly hear a terrifying scream in the park, which appears to come from the edge of Coolers lake. Staying in the darkest woody areas of the trees, I walk over, and I feel sick to the stomach at what my eyes perceive.

It looks like humans feeding on other humans.

My mind does not want to take this in.

This is where I see Emma.

"Emma!" I call out.

Emma doesn't seem to hear or see me. It's like I am not there at all. She looks perfectly normal to me, though I am standing a distance away from the Lake. I don't want to get too close in case I get attacked. Emma is watching the bodies fall, and she appears to be delighting in it. The park is full of loud wails and groans. It is so loud that it makes my ears ache, and the noise is so gruesome, that I can almost taste death in the air.

I feel sick to my stomach and extremely dizzy that I almost pass out. I head back into the street where I safely sit somewhere and get a break from the horrific scene in front of me.

.....

I am in need of a strong, swift, drink right now. I can still hear the wails and groans from the bench that I am sitting on, even though I am halfway down the road from the park. My heart is beating a million to the dozen.

Are there Zombies in the park?

Is Emma still alive?

Is Sarah one of them?

The questions are endless. I have no idea how this has happened, though I am certain that those people in the park are no longer human. I have witnessed it with my own eyes, and they seemed to be feeding on other people!

I have enough common sense to know that ordinary humans don't do this.

I still don't think that they are all zombies because I know zombies do not exist.

I need to talk to Jeremy and find out more. The question is will he think I'm crazy? My last conversation didn't go too well with Jeremy.

If I am going to get to the bottom of this, I need Jeremy's help.

I approach Jeremy about the subject.

I ask him how long ago it has been since he saw Emma.

"It has been two days since Emma visited my bar. Is everything alright between you two?" Jeremy asks.

I hesitate before I answer.

I'm not sure that Jeremy will take my story seriously though if I am going to find out what has happened to Emma, I need some backup. Things are seriously weird in Littledon at the moment, and I need to research.

I am thinking about investigating the lake for clues and I definitely need a partner for that. Emma's behaviour in that Lake was strange, as was the behaviour of everybody else there. This could become serious, so I enlist Jeremy for backup, and then I plan to gather a team to join this fight.

This is going to prove difficult, especially as nobody believes in anything supernatural in my town.

"Not really. Emma is acting weird lately. She was at the lake, and she was somewhat different. She barely noticed me there. I also met a girl called Sarah in the park, who is also behaving strangely. She moves fast and asks me about Emma a lot. She knows something is strange. As for the rest, I need you to help me investigate the lake in order to understand what is going on. I know it sounds strange; but people if you could call them that, were eating people in the park earlier. It is almost like they have been turned into Zombies." I explain.

Jeremy looks at me strangely.

"I know something is happening Jake because my bar is not as full as it usually is. but Zombies? that is a little far-fetched." Jeremy replies.

I am serious Jeremy. If we don't deal with this, the town will be a bloodbath. Besides, calling the police is out of the question. They would think we were crazy if we accuse people of eating each other," I tell Jeremy firmly.

To my relief, Jeremy agrees to help. We head to my place together in order to start a new plan of action.

We must find out what has happened to Emma.

The first chapter of this story is linked below. Subscribe to my stories to keep up to date with further chapters and read my other stories.