e i g h t

By the end of the zombies' performance, the girls had joined in, singing and dancing along. Zed, Bonzo, and Eliza had left the sisters to do their own thing as they all had things to do. The pair had eventually found what Ariel knew was a light garden, seeing Zed's little sister Zoey cheering.


"I'm crazy, I'm cute, Zombie to boot, I'm rocking, I smile, Zombies aren't vile... Yay!" Zoe cheered, making the girls smile, Addison piping up.


"That's some great cheering." She said, causing Zoey to look at the pair, panicked, throwing down her makeshift pompoms.


"I wasn't doing anything. Certainly not cheering. Please don't tell anyone." She said hastily, frowning.


"You're Zed's little sister, right?" Addison asked Zoey, even though she basically knew the answer. She stepped closer to the zombie girl, Ariel just slightly behind.


"I'm Zoey. You're Addison. And you're Ariel. When I cheer, it makes me happy." Zoey came closer to the pair, sitting down on the ledge she was standing on.


"Me, too." Addison smiled, looking down at Zoey.


"You're great at cheerleading, Zoey. Probably even better than me." Ariel added, a cheeky smile on her face as she looked at Zoey.


"Thanks, but I don't think so, and my pet Zander doesn't seem that impressed." Zoey pulled Zander into her arms, looking at the teddy sadly.


"Well, he should be. But I think you're old enough to have a real pet. Wouldn't that be awesome?" Addison smiled obliviously down at Zoey, looking between the girl and her teddy.


"Addison...." Ariel said quietly, but she wasn't able to continue talking before another voice interrupted.


"Stop teasing her. You know they don't allow zombies to have pets." Eliza cut in; her voice sharp as she walked towards the trio of girls.


"I didn't know that. I'm still learning that zombies aren't what I was taught." Addison defended herself, her tone apologetic, "I mean, look at you. You're smart, cool, pretty." Addison continued on, smiling as she looked at Eliza.


"You think I'm pretty?" She said shocked, tucking part of her hair behind her ear.


"Yeah." At Addison's word, Eliza gave them a small smile with a tilt of her head.


"There you are." Zed had walked into the light garden, seeing the three girls standing together. When he saw Zoey, however, he was shocked. "Zoey, whoa! What're you doing here?"


"Please. I'm not gonna miss a zombie mash." Zoey said it as if it were obvious, causing Ariel to roll her eyes from where she stood beside Eliza.


"Zoey..." Zed looked hesitantly at the girl who plainly ignored him.


"Come on. Who's a good boy?" Zoey grinned at Zed, clapping her hands. Zed only crossed his arms, muttering a single word.


"Me." He said, making dog noises as he waddled to where Zoey stood.


"Good boy. Good boy." She grinned at her brother, who stepped back as Eliza popped in, picking Zoey up.


"All right, I'll take you home. Zed's gotta make sure Addison and Ariel get outta here." Eliza said as she held Zoey at her hip, looking at the sisters.


"We should hang out, Eliza. And I really like your boots." Addison smiled at the zombie girl who smiled back, saying,


"Oh, thanks. They're orthotic. I got this draggy foot thing going on, so..." She trailed off, smiling nervously. Addison handed Zoey her makeshift pompoms as Eliza turned to leave, stopping in front of Zed.


"She's cool. Ariel was right." Eliza smiled slightly as she looked up at Zed.


"Yeah, for a human, right?" Zed grinned, but Eliza shook her head with a shrug.


"No. She's just cool. You guys look good together." She said, shocking Zed. It was true though, it was obvious that the pair look good together.


Eliza was nearly at the door before Addison looked to the side, seeing Zander still there. "Hey! Don't forget Zander." She called, moving forward so that Zoey could take the teddy. She took it, and so Eliza continued walking.


"See ya." Zed pat Eliza's arm as they passed, saying goodbye to the pair.


"Bye." Zoey responded, waving at the three from over Eliza's shoulder.


"Wow, what is this place?" Addison asked zed, looking around in awe as the pair connected hands. Ariel stayed behind, leaning up against a wall.


"It's a zombie-light garden." Zed explained, looking around the room.


"It's...... wow." Ariel smiled from where she stood, Addison turning to face her sister and nodding along.


"Where are we going?" Addison asked, curiosity laced into her voice.


"For a walk in the park." Zed smiled, pulling Addison up to the platform he was on.


"I know it might be crazy, but did you hear the story?" Zed sang, both he and Addison smiling widely at each other.


"I think I heard it vaguely." Addison sang back, a teasing tone in her voice.


"A girl and a zombie." Zed grinned at Addison, but by this point Ariel had zoned out, focusing instead on the lights inside of the light garden.


"It's beautiful. You're beautiful." That was jolted Ariel out of her trance, her head snapping up to see Addison and Zed leaning in, ready to kiss. But no, that did not happen.


"Zombies, show yourselves! You're out past curfew!" the lights went out, shocking the trio. Zed raced into the shadows, passing Ariel who raced to Addison.


"Curfew?" Addison whispered to herself, utterly confused.


"Oh yeah, curfew." Ariel whispered back, having totally forgot of the matter.


"Zombies, please turn around." A voice said from behind the girls, so they turned and saw a familiar face. "Addison? Ariel?" He asked, shocked to see the girls in a zombie light garden.


"Gus?" The girls were shocked to see the man standing there, shining a flashlight on them.


"What're you doing here? This is a hot bed for zombie activity. It's not safe for humans. Come on, let's get you home." Gus had helped the girls down; taking them to their home, where they knew for a fact they were in trouble.

Comment