Zombie

I woke up a few hours later to him thrashing about in bed. I turned on the light and laid my hand on his chest which was sweaty and damp. He moaned and mumbled as he tossed his head about. This was different from yesterday morning. He wasn't experiencing pleasure but pain and fear. His muscles were clenched but he as if he were fighting or straining against something.

"Shhhh." I said and rubbed his chest hoping it would comfort him. "It's o.k. I'm here. You're safe, Chu-chut."

He calmed down and stopped thrashing. He began breathing evenly again and was no longer moaning. I sighed and lowered my head against his shoulder. He turned his head and kissed my forehead. At first I thought I had imagined it but I felt one of his long arms reach around me and pull me to him.

"Chu-chut? Can you hear me?" I asked.

"My name is Ben." He whispered, his voice so deep and rough that it rumbled his chest. He took my mouth with his own. His tongue slipped passed my lips and stroking against my own. He moaned softly but this time it was definitely pleasure he was feeling. I pulled back from him, shocked that he had finally spoken. His eyes were still closed and he frowned.

"Ben, are you sure you want this?" I asked.

"Yes." He whispered and smiled so brightly that his face lit with it.

"Ben, I'm a man." Wondering if in his trance and his being asleep he didn't know who was with him.

"Yes."

"You're asleep." I figured. "You're dreaming."

"No." He said and struggled again as if to open his eyes, but couldn't. His frustration and anxiety came back.

"Shhh. It's ok. Calm down." I said and placed my hand back on his chest. He calmed, took my hand and moved it lower down his belly toward his groin.

"Please." He whispered. "Please. Please."

"Oh my God." I said and felt my dick harden even further.

"Yes." He smiled.

My hand slipped under the waistband of his briefs and curled around his fat, hard cock. I squeezed and stroked and his hips rose to meet my hand. The covers had fallen off us with his thrashing and slipped his underwear down to see him in his naked glory. As I fisted his cock, his hand found my chest and slid over it, through my chest hair, tweaking my nipples and stroking my belly. It was my turn to moan as he grabbed my own dick through my shorts. His hand released my member and grabbed the material.

"Off." He whispered and I shucked my shorts giving him full range of my body as he had given me access to his.

We lay side by side, jacking each other and kissing until I wanted more. I leaned over him and grasped his cock pointing it toward my mouth.

"Ben, I want to taste you."

"Yes." He smiled.

I started taking his long length into my mouth and found I couldn't get as much as I aimed for. He must have been close to ten inches if not that and thick as my wrist. I pulled his foreskin back from his head and sucked on his tip as he moaned and ran his hands through my hair. After many attempts I was able to get just over halfway down his veiny shaft and sucked with all my might. I stroked his balls with my free hand as I felt him take hold of my cock again and begin pulling. I realized after a moment he wasn't trying to jerk me but pull me toward him and I moved my lower body till it was near his head. He took my dick into his mouth and his tongue swirled around me laying my fears that he wasn't gay to rest. He had done this before and was good at it. I went back to sucking his own cock while loving what he was doing with mine.

I decided I loved sucking him and happily pulled on his cock for what seemed like hours. My hand ran up and down the length that I couldn't fit in my mouth. The smell of his crotch was spicy and intoxicating with his natural scent. The amount of precum he was spilling over my tongue was impressive, making me swallow often, and tasted salty and sweet. By his moans I knew he was getting close to coming and I sure as hell knew I was. I came first and spilled my load into his mouth as my body clenched and trembled. He swallowed every drop and continued sucking slowly as I returned to finish him off. Ben's body jerked, his hips thrusted and I gagged a bit on his heavy cock while it unleashed it's spunk down my throat. The load was too much for me to swallow completely and I allowed some of it to spill out of my mouth and down his shaft.

After catching my breath I spun around in bed, laying my head next to his. Ben's arm found its way back underneath me and he pulled me tight against his chest and sighed with contentment. I leaned in and took his mouth in a kiss. He moaned in pleasure and stroked the side of my face with his hand.

"Was it good Ben?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Good."

"You?"

"You have NO idea." I said. His chest shook and I frowned thinking the anxiety from before had come back until a deep rumble of laughter fell out. I smiled back at him though I knew he couldn't see me.

"You're there right now, aren't you? I mean, this is you? It's like in sleep, you don't have to be so much a zombie."

"Yes."

"At least you have that." I sighed. "Do you know what's going on when you're a zombie?"

"Yes." He said with all the suffering he must feel everyday.

"You just can't do anything but what other people tell you to, right?"

"Yes." His agreement sounded sad, trapped and desperate.

"How long have you been a zombie?"

"Think a year."

"Jesus, that long?" I was floored to think that he had been under that spell, so to speak, for a year or longer. "Don't worry. I'm gonna get you free of this." Though in all honesty, I had no idea where even to begin.

"Don't." He said and I was confused.

"Don't? What do you mean don't? You want to stay a zombie?"

"No."

"Then why don't you want me to help you?"

"Dangerous."

"Yeah, that's what the old woman said. Don't worry. We'll be careful."

"Hope so."

I kissed his forehead but the worry in his face didn't abate.

"Don't worry. Go to sleep."

"Name."

"Huh?"

"Your name?" He asked and I was stunned. I had never told him my name. My assignments were generally full of strangers and hostile co-workers who didn't want me any where around much less to know my name.

"I'm Dylan."

"Dylan." He said and smiled. "Cool."

I laughed. "And you're Ben. Hey, at least I don't have to call you Chu-chut anymore."

"FUCK!" He bit out forcefully with what I imagined was distaste at the name and I chuckled.

"Yeah, I bet being called `thing' must have sucked."

"A bit." He said and chuckled himself. "Tired."

"Yeah, me too. Go to sleep. We'll deal with this tomorrow." I turned off the light, settled down into bed and leaned toward him.

"Night Dylan." He said.

"Night Ben."

The next morning I woke up just after nine and turned to see Ben still asleep. I rolled out of bed, took a shower and got dressed. I woke him and was crushed to see the zombie was back even though I had expected it. I smiled up at him, knowing that he was still in there.

"Morning, kiddo. Why don't you jump in the shower?" He didn't move and I realized I hadn't ordered him. "Go get in the shower."

I talked him through the morning routine and finally had him washed, dried and dressed. Once we were, I realized that there was absolutely nothing we had to do that day.

"How about taking a drive?" I asked. "Let's do that and we'll figure out what we want to do as we go."

The first thing we found to do was stroll through a state park. The paths that had been laid out were well maintained but off to the side was rugged swamp and marsh land. It was beautiful with tall cypress trees and their knotted roots shooting up from the water and their branches filled with Spanish Moss. An Ibis stood perched on a cypress knot as only a few yards away a gator swam slowly passed. It truly was a beautiful area.

As we walked down the paths, I spoke about my life, more to keep a conversation going than anything. It was my life and I was bored hearing it. The poor guy couldn't run away if he wanted to so I'm sure it was hell for him.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to keep talking about myself but I thought you might just like to hear someone talk to you as if you were an actual person. You're probably wishing you never let me know that you knew what was going on when you're a zombie."

We left the park and walked through an ante bellum mansion smelling the old, polished wood mixing with the begonia and jasmine growing just outside its windows. We left there and stopped for soft shelled crabs and gumbo at a little out of the way crab shack. I chattered on as Ben ate ravenously, scarfing down everything in front of him. I didn't know if it was because he was hungry or because I had told him to eat, but I kept it to reasonable portions just to be on the safe side. I was paying the bill and tipping the waitress when someone tapped my shoulder.

"Your friend doesn't look well, man." He said and I smiled.

"Yeah, he kinda looks like that. It's his normal."

"That's normal?" He asked, disbelieving and I turned toward Ben expecting to find my zombie but he was standing clutching his throat.

"Oh Fuck!" I yelled and ran out to him.

By the time I got outside he had dropped to his knees and I shouted for someone to call an ambulance.

"Ben! What the fuck is wrong?!" I asked. He gave no response but seemed like he couldn't breathe. Red patches had tinged some of his skin and his lips appeared swollen and blue. I figured he was having an allergic reaction.

"I think he's allergic to something. Is anyone an doctor or an e.m.t?" No one was of course. "Does anyone have one of those pens for allergies?" No one did.

"Oh please God, Ben don't die!" I said and then it hit me. "Ben, don't have an allergic reaction! Do you hear me? I am ordering you to breathe and stop having an allergic reaction."

Ben calmed and stopped clawing at his throat. His eyes met mine and though they were still empty he took a breath for the first time in what had seemed like minutes. I touched his face.

"Are you all right?" I asked and was happy when he took a deep breath in response.

"Well, I'll be damned." Said someone from the crowd. "I thought you had lost your mind when you told him to stop having an allergic reaction."

"It's a bit psychosomatic." I said lamely. "Sort of a mind over matter type thing."

The e.m.t.s arrived quickly and though Ben was still breathing on his own, they took him to the E.R. just to be safe. By the time we arrived at the hospital he looked much better and seemed to be back to his usual self.

"Are you his guardian?" The e.m.t. asked.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you have his epipen or know he was allergic to something?"

"I've only just become his... guardian and I.... I didn't know."

The e.m.t. looked suspicious but didn't say anything else. The doctor, however was a different story. Dr. Rivera was an older man who seemed to be burnt out from his chosen occupation or at least from the misery he saw everyday. I became aware very quickly that he thought I was neglecting or abusing Ben from his line of questioning.

"Exactly what medical condition does Ben have?" He asked.

"I don't know."

"You, his guardian, don't know his medical conditions or allergies?"

"No."

"What medications does he take?"

"None."

"Who's his doctor?"

"He doesn't have one."

"No one is in charge of this man's medical treatment?" He asked, scornfully. "Is he being treated?"

"Not at the moment."

"Can you explain to me how he came to be in your care?"

"He was given to me." I sighed before answering, knowing the truth wasn't helping my case.

"Given to you?"

"He was placed in my care."

"By who?"

"By the person in who's care he had been."

"And who was that?"

"I don't know."

"Can you tell me anything helpful so I can treat this man?!" Dr. Rivera asked angrily.

"He thinks.... he thinks he's a zombie. He was working for an old woman who I met when my car broke down and I asked to use her phone. She.... gave him to me."

"This man is mentally impaired or disabled. He's not a zombie! He's incapable of defending himself or meeting basic life skills! What the fuck-!!" The doctor broke off shaking his head. "I'm calling the cops."

"No please! I can prove it! When he's asleep, he actually talks. I mean, a part of him speaks. It's like when he's asleep he can fight it."

"I've never heard such bullshit in my life." He turned to one of the nurses. "Karen, call security."

The doctor turned back to me. "Don't even think of leaving!"

"I'm not leaving Ben. I won't and you can't make me! Please, I made a mistake! How good a job would you do if you suddenly had to take care of someone who couldn't talk or give you any clue as to what they were thinking or feeling? Who you had to tell to eat, to shower, to take a shit and to go to sleep. I mean that literally. He won't sleep until I tell him too."

"Have you slept with this man?" The doctor asked, quietly.

"Yes." I answered and saw disgust fill his face. "He's gay."

"He's gay? He told you this?" We both looked at Ben's blank face.

"Yes."

"When he was sleeping, no doubt?"

"Yes." I admitted just as security guards came into the room.

"Take him into custody and turn him over to the police. I'm not even sure of all that ya'll be charged with. I'm gonna have to talk it over with the police."

"No, please!! I can't leave him!! I'm the only one he has!!" I yelled but was dragged away from him anyway. I struggled with the guards trying to return to Ben's side when one of them released my arm and sunk his fist into my stomach.

My breath rushed out of my lungs and refused to return until the pain went away and that didn't seem to be anytime soon. I doubled over as the other one punched me in the face and kicked me in the back as I was down on the floor. I lay in pain for a minute while people walked by us in the hall. I heard the guards explain to everyone how I was a rapist, a molester and even a pedophile. Loosing patience with my slow recovery, they dragged me the rest of the way into what appeared to be a staff lounge and stood outside. I crawled up onto the uncomfortable institution style couch and closed my eyes. I lay there for a while as the guards passed custody of me over to the police thinking of Ben and who would take care of him from now on. I had to have been there for a little over two hours when the door finally opened and Dr. Woods came in.

"I didn't think to see you again so soon." He said.

"Yeah, me either." I said and winced as I lifted my head from the couch.

"Jesus! What happened to you?"

"This hospital seems to hold an aggressive stance toward treatment of prisoners."

"What?"

"You know they're charging me with neglect and abuse and basically raping Ben, don't you?" I asked.

"I had heard something about that." He said and turned to open the door. "Can you get me a nurse as soon as possible, please?" He asked one of the cops guarding the door.

"I told them the truth. Everything that happened." I said when he pulled a chair over to sit in front of me.

"Everything?" He asked.

"Yup."

"So they know about the zombie thing?"

"They do."

"Jesus, this is going to be a mess." He said and wiped his hands over his face. "But I think I can help."

"That would be awesome cause, frankly I'm not even sure I can do anything to help myself. By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I'm a doctor. Sometimes I work at the clinic and sometimes I work here. You're damn lucky for it too, cause I came in and recognized... you said his name was Ben?"

"Yeah, we talked the other night when he was... asleep. It was weird."

"My professor said that's been known to happen. He's actually really interested in the case and is willing to consult. This might be better than we think."

"Anything would be better than this." I said and then remembered something that wasn't. "Except being a zombie, I guess."

"I agree. I'm going to take care of your wounds right now and then I'm going to speak to Dr. Rivera the one you had the confrontation with. I think I can talk him into dropping the charges."

"Seriously?" I asked, skeptically.

"It's going to take some fancy footwork and probably a hell of a good lawyer to iron out the legal mess I'm thinking of making but yeah. We might have a chance."

"Let me guess, you're also a lawyer?"

"No but I was a dual major. Pre-med and pre-law. I was undecided for a while."

"Shit, it's better than anything I've got at the moment. Consider yourself retained."

Another hour later I was led by the cops to a large group of very professional people all of whom were scowling at me. We were in Ben's room and I saw that though he was staring straight ahead he was breathing and otherwise fine. Having made sure he was all right I turned back to the group. I got this, I thought. After working in corporate hostility for so long, this was nothing new. My head held high, my shoulders back and a determined look on my face, I stood in front of them awaiting what came next and since it was Dr. Woods show I looked to him.

"Dylan, you said you've been intimate with Ben?"

"Yes."

"But that it was consensual."

"Yes."

"That's not possible." The doctor who had charged me said. "He's unresponsive even to pain. There's no way he could verbally give consent and even if he did he probably didn't know what he was saying or being asked."

"He did, doctor." I spoke up. "As I told you before, when he sleeps the 'zombie'... phenomenon" I used Dr. Woods' word. "seems to allow him to carry on a limited conversation. He told me his name, how long he had been a zombie, he worried about our welfare and he spoke of his dislike at what he had been called before. He had been called Chu-chut which is creole for `thing'."

"He told you all this but not that he was allergic to something?"

"His speech is limited to basically one or two word answers."

"And you determined his mental acuity by these one word answers?" The doctor asked.

"You have to remember that he'd been living with me as a zombie for two days prior. To me this was an improvement."

"Dr. Woods, I'm embarrassed for you. To believe this nonsense is damn near unforgivable. And the patient speaking only when he's asleep? It's bullshit!!"

"No, actually it's goat shit." Said an older small framed man as he pushed passed some of the group to stand next to Ben's bed. "I've never been able to determine what the purpose of putting goat shit into the mixture actually does but it's been in every effective potion I've studied. I think it has something to do with proteins."

"I'm sorry," Doctor Rivera began. "Who the hell are you?"

"Dr. Theo Morran, Professor at Tulane University. Also winner of the W.H.O.'s Niesman award for my work in tropical diseases and author of numerous papers and articles relating to the particular subject of zombification."

"Dr., zombification doesn't exist. There have been numerous papers written against the subject saying that the true cause of the disease is schizophrenic or some other psychological disease."

"Yes, I know the papers you're referring to. Written by people who have never stepped a foot on Haitian or West African soil. It's sad that some commentators accept so little from themselves in regards to their research. I've spent four years in Haiti and documented no less than seven zombies. It was when I tried to interfere in the last one's transformation that I was forced to flee the country in fear for my life."

Dr. Theo waved us over closer.

"You see his pupils? How they're dilated? Watch closely and they'll soon constrict for no apparent reason."

"The reason would be changes in light obviously." Dr. Rivera argued.