"I haven't gotten to ask you. What's your name?" She put down her canned food and she gazed into his eyes.
He looks down, trying to remember if he even had name, he must've from his original life. He know it started with something like J so he hazed back up at her expectant expression. "Jjjjjjj...." He tried making a single 'J' sound, but it only came out with a longer J sound. Her face evident of confusion she sat back resting her hand on the floor behind her back, her legs crossed.
"Okay, did your name start with a J?" She asked, thinking maybe helping him figure his name our would help. He nodded in response.
"Was you name Josh?" She asked, he shook his side to side indicating as a no. "How bout Jack?" again he shook his head. "Hmm~ how bout Jake?" He shook his head once again. "Maybe, Jason?" He nodded very quickly, you could hear small pops as she nodded. Sounded like his head was rattling, she guessed that being dead your bones tend to become no longer used because for the dead all they do is stand, wander, and lay down.
She extended her hand out to him, indicating for a greeting handshake. "Hi, Jason. My name is Marina." The smile on her face as her hand was extended seemed to enlighten Jason, but confuse him. "It's called a handshake." She grabbed his hand, he let her lead his to where her extended arm was, he liked the way her warmth enveloped him. She grasped his hand and shook it lightly. "See? Handshake, it means a friendly gesture of a greeting." Her smile widens and he gazes at her face. Drinking in her features as she smiled.
For a moment he could've sworn his heart was beating so he laid a hand over his chest, checking if he really did have a working heart. Unfortunately there wasn't anything, his face saddened and rest his arm over his lap while his other was still holding onto Marina's hand.
She let go of his hand and got up from the floor. "Well, it's almost dark out and it's getting a little chilly. I better be getting a fire ready for the upstairs fireplace." She walked past Jason and he got up from the floor following behind her, eager to learn what she was doing.
She went outside, gathered some kinlin then a few large pieces of wood. She went upstairs into one of the bedrooms and laid out the wood in the fireplace. She exited the room leaving Jason standing there by the fireplace trying to figure out what she was doing.
As she was downstairs, she shut all the windows and doors, barricading them with the furniture in the house. When the sky got darker she came back to the room, Jason was sitting on the bed and she walked over to the fireplace continuing to get it started.
He watched her intently from over her shoulder as she laid the kinlin first in the fireplace and she grabbed matches from her pocket and lit the match. Marina extended her arm forward lighting the kinlin and it slowly caught fire.
A strong pride of a smile morphed over her lips and she let the kinlin burn and get hot enough before laying the bigger pieces of wood over it.
After that, she walked over to the bed stretching. She smiled at Jason, "that's how you get a fire going," she mused.
Jason was memorized by the fire he got on all fours and crawled over to the fireplace. His body felt the heat and he slowly and hesitantly extended his hand out to the fire. Marina ran by his side quick and snatched his arm away from the fire. He gazed at her questioning.
"Jason, are you out of your mind? You could've caught on fire!" Marina's expression looked furious, he saw the reflection of the fire in her eyes and he raises his cold hand up to her face.
He caressed her cheek, feeling the warmth and softness of her skin. Marina's expression morphed into confusion. Then she got off the floor and pulled him up with her.
"Don't touch the fire, Jason. You can seriously hurt yourself." She began to realize that she was caring for him. A zombie at that, she shook her head and wondered if she was crazy as she was caring ranjit a zombie. especially the one that ate her boyfriend back the pharmacy. Her heart sank at the sight, how could she care for this monster who ate her beloved? How could she care for a monster that seemed to be more human within each passing second.
She walked away from him and back to the bed. "If you sleep, you can lay on the floor or on the couch over there. I'll take the bed." She grabs the blankets, checking for anything unusual under the covers. She was fortunate to find nothing, so she got under the covers and begun thinking.
Jason wandered over to the couch, he plopped into the seat and he laid his head back onto the headboard of the couch. He closed his eyes and his body began to shut down again. Marina watched him, waiting till she knew he wasn't able to wake and she slows drifted off to sleep herself.
She began to dream about the events that happened. She saw Jason, how happy he looked and everything felt right and safe, until the moment when she saw a horde of zombies coming their way and she turnaround to face Jason, only to find him snarling at her. He grabbed for her shoulders and dug his tweet into her skin of her neck and she screamed as he pulled away with her flesh, her esophagus exposed. She woke up with a start, her heart pounding and her eyes searching the room for Jason. He was nowhere, she got up and looked out the window and she spotted him out there just standing in the tall weeds in front of the house.
She shook her head, trying to distract her from the dream. She didn't want to think much about it as it scared enough.