The Legend of Living Dead Ed

This is the story of Ed. Once he was living, but then he was dead. Because he felt that death was a bore, Ed beat on his coffin like it was a door. And when the lid finally gave way, Ed climbed up through the dirt and the grass to the day. He looked around with a curious stare. He knew where he was, but felt he shouldn’t be there. So into the street he stammered and stalked and people screamed and ran away when to them he walked.

He wasn’t like the others. Oh yes, there were more who, just like Ed, thought death was a bore. “Zombies,” people called them as they trembled in fear. Ed wasn’t like them. No, nothing near.

The others were violent and hungered for flesh. Ed thought to himself, “Boy, what a mess!” He tried, and he tried to think of what to do, but then he said “They are many, and I’m not even two.”

Deep in his thought, Ed didn’t even know he’d stumbled into a cave that was dark, damp and cold.

“Don’t hurt me, Mr. Zombie, a small voice then cried. Ed saw a little girl and looked in her eyes.

“Please don’t call me ‘zombie,’ my name is Ed. I just came back to life because it was boring being dead. I’m not like the others; I won’t hurt you, I swear! Not even on a double, triple, millionple dare!”

The girl looked at Ed and heard what he said. She smiled a smile that went straight to his head.

“Why are you different? The others aren’t nice. That’s why I felt I had to come here and hide.”

“The others are different; it’s true and a shame. I will protect you. What is your name?”

“Emily,” the girl stated with pride, but then Ed saw fear in her eyes. “No one will trust you, only me, I feel. It’s because of the others, because they’ve done a great deal.”

“I think you are right,” Ed said. “I do. And I wish we could stop them, but we’re only two. Sure, some are bad, but there must be others like me. If we can find one, then we’ll be three!”

“But we can’t go out now,” Emily said in protest. “If someone like me sees you, they’ll shoot you, I bet. We should wait for the night when the timing is right. Then we can run with all of our might.”

“It’s a good idea,” Ed said and agreed.

They waited for night, the right time to flee. They walked through the city, straight down the streets. It seemed really quite empty; they wondered what it could mean. Then, suddenly, after a loud banging sound, Ed stumbled and then fell to the ground. A man came out and took Emily by the arm.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “Did he cause any harm?”

Emily’s eyes swelled up with tears.

“You hurt my friend,” she cried, “This is just what I feared.”

“But he was going to hurt you,” the man insisted. “He was going to eat you, just like the rest.”

“He didn’t hurt me when we were alone in the cave. He didn’t hurt me while we waited all day. I didn’t want anyone to see him. Ed is my friend, even if he was living then dead then living again.”

The man stepped back; he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. A girl being friends with a zombie. The thought was absurd.

“He was just waiting,” the man said, knowing he was right.

Then Emily hit him with all of her might.

“How can you know when you only saw him from far away? Sure, he looks just like one of them, but he’s different, I know; I talked to him! We wanted to change things, even though we were two, but now it’s just me, and it’s all thanks to you! We were running and running, trying to find someone like him or like me. Then we would change things, even if we were only three. Now, thanks to you, it’s just me.”

The man was shocked, though his head now was clear. The girl wasn’t struggling, though he was holding her near. He’d misjudged the creature because of what he’d heard, but no other zombie had ever said a word.

“We can still change the world, just me and you. He was your friend; I’ll be your friend too. We can still change the world, even if we’re just two. We’ll march everywhere telling everyone of your friend, the one who was dead, then living again. We’ll tell them it’s wrong to just point and shoot. It’ll be hard, but it must be done. After all, he changed you and he was only one.”

And in the end, that’s what they said. Thus began the legend of Living Dead Ed. Little did they know that the gunshot had missed. Ed sat up and smiled with bliss. He didn’t think it could happen. He was scared it couldn’t be done. But he was one who changed one, who changed one.