zombie crawl

Sad truth: when I'm focused on writing, I lose track of things. E-mails, the blog, making dinner, my own birthday; if it's not on a post-t beside my computer, it doesn't exist. This is why, for the last two years, I found out about the zombie crawl in San Jose after it actually happened.

The first year, I found out about the crawl a month after it happened. I whined, I moped, and then I moved on. Last year, it was a week (cue whining and moping).

Yesterday... I found out about the crawl the day it was happening.

I was buzzed. I forgave myself never writing down the date on a post-it and promised to do it for next year. I sent Jen an e-mail at work (zombies! There's a zombie crawl in San Jose tonight!) and then climbed the walls. Zombies! There were going to be zombies and I was going to see them!

When Jen got home, we headed out. Here was the deal: Jen had to be at work early so we couldn't stay out all night. I was just fine with driving around, taking pictures of zombies. I had a camera, it had batteries, we were set.

Until we got downtown and the batteries died.

So there we were, driving around downtown San Jose, watching the zombies shuffle down the streets, me cursing at the camera.

me: I checked your @&*$#!ing batteries before we left!

the camera: eh. I lied.

Jen: (fishing her phone out of her purse) here. It has a camera function.

me: you are so awesome.

Now armed with a camera I had no idea how to use, we circled the area. I saw a zombie with a chainsaw through his body, a shaggy haired guy with a string of body parts hanging from a stick, a bloody wedding couple, and tons of people with the classic torn bloody clothes look. I accidentally took pictures of a streetlight, a side street, and some blurry forms that were likely zombies, and a tree. Between pictures, I stumbled through the phone's other functions.

Jen: how's it going?

me: (trying to figure the phone out) I think I just e-mailed an empty e-mail to myself.

The car slowed to a stop. I pressed a random button, trying to get back to the photo option. Then... I looked up.

We were at a corner. Outside the car, a family of zombies stood. There were six or seven, dressed in torn clothing and bloody wounds on their faces, necks, and arms. One kid held a dismembered hand to his mouth.

My window was open so I smiled and said, "hi, zombies."

They all looked at me. Completely focused, like I was the center of their zombie world. It was totally unexpected and awesome.

And then they took a step toward the car. The kid in front lowered his dismembered hand and reached out toward me. The moment shot past awesome to epically awesome. And, at the same time, a little scary. They were wearing make up and were completely in character but I realized that being the center of a zombie's world meant being dinner.

The light turned green. Jen turned at the corner, taking us away from the zombies. I looked back and saw them turning to watch me leave.

me: wow.

Jen: it occurs to me that if they'd been real, you'd be saying the same thing.

me: I would not.

At least, not right then.

After one more circuit around the area, we left. One of my last zombie sightings was of a zombie couple sitting at the base of the Quetzalcoatl statue.

me: that would've been a very iconic picture, if either the phone or the camera would've let me take it.

Jen: next year.

me: yes.

I already have a post-it for it.