Chapter 2 - Zombie Anatomy

Zoe was amazed when she found a bill for $2,880 in her mailbox.  The bulk of it was a demand for money that came with a note, "Nice place you have. I'd hate to see anything bad happen to it."  She stuffed the bill in her pocket and made a note to speak with her coworkers about it!

 Just then she saw the cutest little penguin.  A penguin!

 "Are you lost little guy?" she asked.  "I wish I had some fish to give you!" 

"Have you heard anything about a wandering penguin?" Zoe asked as she slipped into her carpool.  "Maybe a zoo?"

The driver turned and looked at her incredulously.  "No? Okay, forget I asked," she added sheepishly.

From all reports, it was an Code Red day for Zombie activity in the neighborhood.

 It was a good day at the office!

 "Nikki, you know you shouldn't be out and about on your own!" Zoe cried when she saw her dear friend wandering the streets.

Nikki waved her hand peevishly.  "I'm perfectly fine. No need to fuss," she added crossly.

Zoe smiled fondly.  "Then come inside and sit with me.  I could use some company!" she admitted.   "You would be doing me a favor.  First, we'll call Neil and let him know where you are."

"Sure, sure," Nikki told her.

Neil was glad to hear Nikki was safe at Zoe's trailer.  "She left a note saying she was going to walk the cat," he admitted.  "But we don't even have a cat. Or a dog, for that matter! I'll be by to pick her up this evening, if it's no trouble."

Spending the evening with Nikki was certainly no trouble.  While her day-to-day memory tended to be a little fuzzy, the woman astounded her with the most fascinating stories about her time spent growing up in a big city.

She wished she had something better to serve for dinner than cold oatmeal.  Certainly the lack of a balanced diet couldn't be all that good for the elderly.  She made a mental note to begin to research that.

Finally, she heard a short honk.  "That'll be Neil," Zoe announced.  "Do me a favor and don't take any more field trips," she said, giving her friend a hug.

"I just took a short little constitutional walk!" Nikki groused. "No need for a fuss!"

Before she headed to do a volunteer shift at the First Aid Facility, Zoe jotted down a few notes regarding proper nutrition in elderly noncognizant patients.  If only she had access to the medical books at Library D'Livre on campus, she thought woefully.

Zoe began her shift by processing the sample from an animate Zombie that Christopher had obtained for her.  She ran a small drop of bio sample under the microscope and compared it to a Sim bio sample.

Next, she input the data she'd collected into the TraumaTime training station and began a highly experimental experiment, making sure to take copious notes.

Putting her research to the side, she greeted patients, as well.  

"Zombie!" Zoe gasped, ready to hit the alarm.

Christy crossed her eyes and glared.  "I'm not a Zombie," she snapped.  "I'm suffering from hypothermia.  Could I get a little help here?"

Abashed, Zoe asked her to take a seat as she went to get a heating blanket.

She heard the commotion from the other room and rushed with the other patients to see what was causing it.   When the door was flung open, they saw the Zombie attack.

"Don't move Melissa!" Zoe shouted, frightened when the two zombies turned from a patient to look at her.  "Oh plumbbob! Hide under the bed!" she called.  "I'll get help!"

Shutting & locking the door, she ran next door to the base.

She was slightly out of breath by the time she found someone that could help.  "Zombie.." she wheezed. "Next door..." she gulped a big breath of air.  "Attack!"

Goopy's face turned serious.  "I'll take care of it, ma'am," he assured her.  "I'll go gather the patrol men."

 Zoe watched from the safety of the barracks as Goopy headed to collect reinforcements. 

With a shudder, she remembered the way those Zombies looked at her.  As though her brain would be a tasty treat.  She prayed Melissa found safety hiding under the bed.  Everyone knew a Zombie couldn't play hide and seek!

The Zombies were out in full force tonight, Zoe thought, thankful she'd made it home safe.  She'd hurried inside when she saw one ambling towards her from the edge of her property.  Would they ever be safe again?

Despite her initial fear to return to the place of the Zombie attack, Zoe realized that the town had need of her specialized skill.

More and more people had heard about the work Zoe was doing at the clinic.  They approached her on the street, sometimes asking for free medical advice.  One time, she had an elderly man actually take his shoe off and ask her to look at his bunion.

She tried to give everyone the help they needed in these troubled times and never turned anyone away.

"Zoe, help me," her good friend Brandon said as she was hanging out with Calista.

She hurried him inside.  "You're freezing!" she told him.  "We need to get you warmed up, quick!"

Brandon's eyes lit with interest, as a well known way of elevating Sims' temperature was to make out.

There was limited ways of curing him at her home, rather than the first aid facility.  There she could have grabbed one of the many heating blankets they had begun to collect due to the mini Ice Age they seemed to have entered.  She mentally went through the list: long baths, hot chocolate, exercise...

She watched his temperature start to return to normal.  Ah yes, just being indoors!

"I think you're cured!" she told him happily. 

With a huge sense of relief, she said good night to her two guests and headed to bed.  It would be another long day at the clinic tomorrow.

It was as though lightning struck the moment Zoe saw him.  Three bolts worth!

 They had only made small talk, but the attraction was instaneous. 

Had she not been required to complete her shift at the clinic, she would have called off and used a vacation day.  She hugged him with a sad sense of finality. 

Clarence seemed just as reluctant to let her leave.   Fate would need to put them in each other's path again.

On the upside, Zoe received a well-earned promotion.  On the downside, she may have lost the chance to ever see what could have been the love of her life again.

 Zoe was working on her research when the doorbell rang. 

"Craig! What a pleasant surprise!" she greeted him effusively.  While she had felt a hot, instaneous attraction to Clarence, her feelings for Craig were more like a slow burn.

"I finsihed a shift at the food kitchen and thought I'd stop by to see you," he told her happily.

He'd been thinking about her alot lately and finally decided to act on it.  He was just a fast food shift worker, well before the Blowout, and she was a big, important medical doctor.  What could she possibly see in him?!

"Would you like to come in for awhile and get out of the snow?" she asked shyly after a small kiss hello.

When Zoe pulled him into her arms and kissed him slow and tender, Craig was pretty sure he was in love.

"Oh my, that was nice," she said, touching her lips.  "Like a slow burn!" she added happily.

He didn't know what she was talking about, but Craig pulled her back into his arms and proceeded to kiss her senseless.

Zoe was pretty sure she was in love!

 All night long, as she tried to finish her research paper, her thoughts kept drifting back to that kiss.

Finally, steeling herself to concentrate. She managed to complete her draft and sent it off to the Simnation Journal of Medical Arts.

It didn't take long before she received a reply.  Her paper was being peer-reviewed and was highly lauded.  The medical committee would be meeting soon to discuss her findings.

She proudly put it in a special place on her bookshelf that everyone would be able to see.

She should have been practicing a speech regarding her Zombie Anatomy findings, but instead she made kissy faces at the mirror, wondering when she would see Craig again.

There was no need to wait for him to come over.  She could always invite him over! She was a strong, independent woman!

 She greeted him with a spicy hello kiss that an awe-struck teenager happened to witness. 

Their passion had led to an intense makeout session in her bed.  As a medical doctor, she had no qualms about woohoo.  It was a human function.

However, she couldn't afford a pregnancy right now.  Hesitantly, she pulled away.  "Do you mind if we wait?" she asked him with some trepidation.  

"That's not a problem," he assured her.  "We can just cuddle."

Zoe snuggled against his shoulder and practically purred with delight.  "I love you," she told him happily.

Craig tightened his hand around her waist, kissed her temple and said, "I love you most."

 It was late at night when they said goodbye.  "I'll call you tomorrow," she promised.

"Not if I call first," he countered, kissing the tip of her nose before finally tearing himself out of her arms.