The Unenthusiastic Zombie

• Campbell Rider, Grade 7, Albert Park College
• Short Story
• 2011

Excellence Award in the 'Step Write Up 2011' competition

While feasting on brains one afternoon, the Unenthusiastic Zombie noticed a group of humans in a building nearby. His vicious comrades quickly turned away from their recent kill to pursue this new source of food, but Unenthusiastic Zombie only looked up, and was soon back to his meal, chewing slowly, barely swallowing it properly.
As night fell, Unenthusiastic Zombie simply stood up and walked—particularly coordinated for a zombie—in the direction the humans had run. Other zombies gathered around him, until they became a horde. They all moved slowly, dragging one foot on the ground and letting out a loud moan every now and then, the way zombies often do. Unenthusiastic Zombie looked at them, and tried to mimic their movements. But after a couple of half-hearted attempts at looking undead, he changed back to his normal state of almost human movements.
Unenthusiastic Zombie was soon outside the building the humans were hiding in, and observed his fellow zombies as they piled up against the large wall surrounding it. This was a prison, and there were high walls and coils of barbed wire everywhere. The zombies outside savagely fought at the layers of defence, with no regard for their own safety. Unenthusiastic Zombie clawed at the wall a couple of times, gave a cry of "Braaaaaains," and let out a sigh. He could not be bothered fighting, so he turned away from the wall, and walked off into the distance, not quite sure about where to go.
As he walked back into the city, he noticed something scrambling around in the distance, with too much agility to be another zombie. Some other zombies saw it, and went towards it exactly the way they always did: slowly dragging one leg, arms outstretched, yelling out to other zombies with that instantly recognisable moan.
Unenthusiastic Zombie walked on.
It was not until a large tank rolled out in front of Unenthusiastic Zombie that he made any effort to fight. This was still just as little effort as possible, but an effort nonetheless. The zombies were showered with bullets from the big gun on top of the tank, but kept walking. Soon they were scrambling around at the bottom of the vehicle, with their arms reaching up at the humans on top. Unenthusiastic Zombie just stood there, making an unexcited moan every time another zombie gave him a strange look.
Unenthusiastic Zombie could see that the other streets nearby were also blocked by military vehicles, with zombies clawing at the thick steel hulls. Unenthusiastic Zombie just stood to the side, leaning against a wall, with his hands in his pockets. Even when soldiers stormed the area, Unenthusiastic Zombie only watched with a bored expression on his face. The undead around him fought back, even if they were missing arms or legs.
Unenthusiastic Zombie nodded off to sleep, without taking note of the helicopters overhead, or even the large nuclear explosion in the distance. 'Meh,' he thought.