Warm Bodies: Awakening

Just R

The drive back to the city had been awkwardly quiet, which was rare for the two of them, but R couldn't help himself. The loss of the photo had hit him hard, and on a day when he should feel excited about this incredible thing that was happening, he was lost trying to sort through his memories, trying to solidify the people in them, trying to shore up the emotions he'd experienced during those times, trying to make them as real as the photo had been. Losing that physical piece of the past had made him desperate, fearful that if he let them slip by, his memories would go the same way. Sure, it was probably irrational, probably wasn't making anything better. But he couldn't stop.

So he sat, and chewed through his own mind, in an ironic nod to what he used to do as a corpse to feel more alive. But these memories wouldn't play with the same vividness he'd experienced when he'd consumed the living. They were oddly muted, garbled. Broken. It worried him.

Am I ever going to be whole? Is it always going to be like this?

"Dammit," Julie said suddenly, and he snapped back to himself. They were approaching a metal barricade set up a few hundred feet from the gate in the wall that stretched away for miles on either side of them, weaving through the gaps between the buildings of the city. An armed soldier walked up to the side of the car as it stopped.

"Gate's closed. You'll have to wait till we blow it and clear it now," the woman said, waving them back.

R looked down past the barricade to the wall. They were just starting to close the massive gate, and through the gap stood another barricade and some bulldozers, ready to clear the rubble after the thing was blown. He didn't envy those guys. They had a hell of a job in front of them.

Julie grabbed her com and clicked the button. "Hey Dad, come in."

There was a slight burst of static, and the Colonel responded, clearly unhappy. "You're not here Julie."

"Yeah, about that. We missed the gate." She glanced over at R, "We're going to the bridge to watch it from there, okay?"

A static filled sigh came over the radio. "Fine. Just be safe. And enjoy it, this is a once in a lifetime thing."

"Will do. Love you Dad, out."

"The bridge?" R asked, as Julie put the car in reverse and backed away from the barricade.

"Yeah, it's an amazing view," she said, smiling.

They turned off the interstate and took the road that wound up to the hillside just outside of the inner city. There were people gathered along the road, and a few more groups gathered at the top, ready for the big event. Parking the car behind an abandoned house at the top of the hill, they hiked back to a stone bridge overlooking the city. There were a few more people here, but they had most of the railing to themselves, and perched there together.

Julie was right, it was an amazing view. The day was turning golden around them as the sun dipped lower on the horizon, and the city spread out before them, glinting in the light. It felt like everything around them was holding its breath, waiting for this final barrier to fall.

Waiting for this wound to heal.

"R..." Julie asked, stirring him from his thoughts. He turned from the city to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember your name yet?"

The question brought the frustration back, and the loss of the photo. He looked down at his dangling feet. "No."

"Well you know, you could just give yourself one," she said, and he could tell she was trying to make him feel better. "Just pick one, whatever you want."