Lose It All

The last thing Kerry thought was, "Today started so well."

Kerry and Alicia had worked on the same team for about a year, doing a multilingual project with three guys, all white.  As the only women on the team, they'd bonded quickly, especially when it became clear that Kerry was the Japanese expert, and Alicia was the German expert.  That'd teach the men to make assumptions.

Bonding at work by giggling at the white guys had turned into lunch at the sushi counter and soon, dinner at a nice Japanese steakhouse.  Alicia preferred the ones with white servers, because they never assumed she spoke Japanese, which Kerry could appreciate.

Kerry had gotten her letter changed right before the multilingual project, so she had been able to make a fresh start with her new team.  It had thrown off people who'd known her before, but the company had stood by Kerry, and that was more than plenty for Kerry to stand by the company, and when Alicia had reflexively accepted Kerry, it forced their other team members to do the same.

Unfortunately, Kerry's landlord hadn't been so accommodating, and Kerry decided to move out before she got pushed out.  A careless comment from Alicia, and the two women were soon plotting a plan to move in together, one they soon brought to fruition at a spacious, open-plan place with well-maintained ramps and a wonderful non-discrimination policy.

They hired movers, and spent their first night in their new home eating takeout, watching old movies, and making love.

The next day, they decided to go out, explore their new neighborhood, and just have a good time, making faces at each other in the bathroom mirror as they put their makeup on, and laughing when they accidentally grabbed one another's makeup, because the electric blue eyeshadow that would work on Kerry wasn't doing Alicia any favors, while Alicia's bronzing glitter powder would just wash out Kerry.

Since they were exploring, Kerry went with her cute jeans, fro, and tennies, while Alicia opted for a floral sundress and a flower headband, both women determined to look as beautiful as they felt together.  They were cute as hell, and so in love.

And as fantastic as the day began, it only got better.

They found most of the shops downtown were made to accommodate Alicia's chair, in deference to the nearby apartment complex, noone batted an eyelash when Kerry wanted to try on a few things, and when Alicia intimated she wanted to try things on, the workers immediately asked if they needed to let Kerry in to help her.

There was a brief sour spot when some boys made some nasty comments Kerry's way, but a cop drove them off with the reassurance that if he hadn't acted, he couldn't have lived with himself, and he even escorted the pair to the sushi restaurant they'd been heading to for their late lunch.

Eventually, they found themselves happily exhausted near a large, beautiful cemetery, and since it was still light out, they decided that the quiet, serene beauty of the place would be rejuvenating, and it was.  The cemetery was full of beautiful statues and placards, planted with lush, vibrant flowers and bushes that attracted lilting birds and a variety of small animals that scurried out of sight with a rustle at the whir of Alicia's approaching chair.

It was an idyllic place to be, and they explored there for the rest of the afternoon, peering at graves, sheepishly giggling when they were able to mark their progress over damp soil by twinned lines and footsteps left in their wake.  Both women commented to each other that they wished they'd brought a picnic, or at least takeout, so they could share a meal with the dead, to honor them and keep them company.

They only began to head back as the shadows grew long, the light painting the world in reds and oranges as the sun set.  A shadow moved where Kerry hadn't expected anyone to be, and she stopped, putting a hand on Alicia's shoulder to let her girlfriend know what she was doing, the whir of Alicia's chair fading as Alicia came to a halt as well.  Kerry peered into the darkness, and from what she could see, there was a little girl with Mickey Mouse puffs, her back to Kerry and Alicia, surrounded by several men, big ones with white sticks tangled into long ropes of ill-kempt hair and half-flattened afros, their skin oddly pale.

One of them moved just the right way, and to Kerry's shock, she realized that their faces were rotting off.  Not just their faces, but all of their skin, their bodies, to the point Kerry could see bone and gray muscle.  This was, she realized, more than simple disease, especially taking in the shambling gait of the men around the little girl.

In any other situation, Kerry would have fled, left the zombies for someone else to deal with, but the someone else who'd have to deal with them was a kid, and you didn't just leave kids to their fates, no matter what.  Kerry sharply barked for Alicia to call the cops and she pelted across the manicured grass, to Alicia's terrified shouting.  The grass would hinder Alicia's progress, and if one of those men attacked, tipped Alicia over, she'd be able to defend herself or escape, not both, which Kerry didn't want to risk.

Kerry shoved two of the men away, trying her best to ignore the way their bodies squelched as she reached for the little girl's hand.  Dear god, those were bones in their hair.  She didn't allow herself any more time to contemplate them, towing the little girl after her, then just swinging the child, who couldn't have been older than eight, over her shoulder as she ran back to Alicia, who was staring past her in shock.

Kerry turned to see what had caused Alicia's shock, and had to put the little girl down when she realized that the men who'd been surrounding the little girl were gone.  There was no sign of them, which wasn't possible, because Kerry had pushed past them, she'd felt their too-soft bodies and seen their milky dead eyes.  Kerry heard motion and rustling behind her, and assumed the little girl was crawling into Alicia's lap.

Then she heard Alicia making a distressed sound, and looked back to see:

Mickey Mouse puffs held in place by pink balls

A too-wide, too-bright, too-sharp smile

Unnatural pupil-less blue-upon-blue eyes.

The girl was sitting in Alicia's lap, holding Alicia's wrists down, where she couldn't reach the controls, the pair surrounded by the same men Kerry had just 'rescued' the little girl from, bringing Kerry to the terrifying realization that they weren't attackers.

They were minions.

The last thing Kerry thought was, "Today started so well."