Zombie and the Beast

- 8 -

Lara stepped back quickly and stared at the beast's canine features, not quite sure she could believe her ears. Apart from the Dragons, she'd always believed humans were the only species using this type of language.

Frightened by the beast's appearance, she quickly gathered as much energy as she could. If it came too close, she would start a wall of fire between them. Even though her afterlife had been quite peaceful and comfortable, she wasn't ready to die again.

"What... Who...?" she said.

The beast grimaced. It dropped the hammer it was holding in its clawed hand and turned around, covering its face. Lara raised the branch she was holding a little bit higher and increased the distance between them slowly. She waited for a few seconds and watched the beast. It was standing still, seemingly as tense as she was.

"Who are you?" asked Lara. "What are you doing here?"

The beast whirled around and stared at her, wide-eyed. "You didn't petrify!" it said. It fell to its knees and started laughing.

"Wait, what?" asked Lara, startled.

"You saw me and talked to me and you're still normal!" it said with what seemed to be the scariest grin Lara had ever seen. It smelled the air and tilted its head to the right, standing up. "Why can't I smell you? Usually I can tell when there is a person nearby. What are you?"

Lara recoiled as the beast stepped forward, smelling the air loudly once more, its eyes trailing the mottled, ashen skin of her arms. She wished she'd worn her hoodie again. The beast took another step.

"Don't move," said Lara.

The beast stopped and raised both hands in front of its chest, palms turned towards Lara in a placating way. It smiled again, showing its teeth and sending a shiver down Lara's spine.

"This is amazing," said the beast. "You're not changing. I've never seen anything like it. You have to come with me."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lara. "Where do you want me to go?"

"Home, to Shinseg. I've never seen anyone who could resist the curse before... It's got to be a sign. I think you might be the key to breaking the curse and freeing everyone."

"Shinseg?" Lara shuddered. "No way. No one ever comes back from there. I'm not going."

"The only reason they don't come back is because they turn to stone within seconds of meeting me or if they come to close to the castle. You haven't. You're still alive."

"Do you really expect me to trust you? For all I know, you want me to go with you so you can eat me," said Lara. "That would also explain all the disappearances."

The beast scrunched its nose and stayed quiet for a few seconds. "I'm sorry, I'm going too fast. It's just that I haven't talked to anyone in forever... I can't quite believe my luck. I swear on my parents' heads that I won't do anything to you and I'm definitely not going to eat you."

Lara stared at the beast, unsure what to believe but very aware that she didn't have time to argue with it about its intentions. Did it even have parents whose head it could swear on? Lara's arms were starting to burn from being raised too long and she was starting to feel strangely tired again, which meant she would have to self-heal again soon. She looked down at her hands quickly, the traces of decay reminding her once more of the urgency of her situation. Then, she studied the beast's large brown eyes, which seemed more hopeful than hungry. She would probably taste disgusting anyway if it tried to eat her, she thought. Running away in her condition didn't seem like the best option, since she had nowhere else to go. She wouldn't get very far in her condition anyway, especially not considering the beasts strong-looking legs, unless maybe she conjured sand or pepper into its eyes to slow it down. She shook her head. She wouldn't do something this cruel without knowing the beast's intentions. With a sigh, she decided that listening to it might be the fastest and safest way out. She was about to speak when the beast suddenly sat down on the ground.