Free The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana

But the strangest thing…her skin was a pale but distinct shade of blue.
    “Aren’t you going to let me in, Zoey? I’m so hungry. Please. I’m starving,” she said, sounding like she was in pain.
    I was having a hard time keeping a grip on the gun in my sweaty hands. “You’re dead. You died,” I said, my voice shaking.
    “Who told you that?” she asked, sounding more like herself. There was a distinct tone of surprise in her voice. “They lied.”
    “Madison, you were really sick,” Ash said, slowly, looking like he was going to be sick at any moment.
    “I’m fine. I’m perfect,” she said, happily, a broad smile on her face. I shuddered at the sight of it. Each one of her tiny little teeth had been filed to a point, making her smile look scary as hell. She looked like a vampire, or a monster. I crept closer and noticed that her eyes were black: the pupil, the iris, and even the whites of her eyes were completely blacked. I bit on my wrist to keep from screaming.
    I reached for my phone and remembered I had left it upstairs. I inched closer to Ash, hoping to take his phone out of his pocket.
    Ash misunderstood. His arm came out and wrapped around my waist, pulling me tight against him. I was annoyed that he was constantly trying to protect me, but I couldn’t deny the warmth I felt coursing through the side that was pressed to him. I did feel kind of protected.
    Madison’s creepy smile grew wider, and I had a sudden urge to bury my face in Ash’s chest. He looked down at me, the same shock mirrored in his own expression.
    “You guys are so cute together. I’ve been saying it for years,” she said, clapping her hands together. They were covered in dry blood.
    “You should go home, Madison,” Ash said, loudly. “Everyone thinks you’re dead. You should go see your parents.”
    Madison’s face fell. “Don’t you want to see me, Zoey? Ash? Didn’t you miss me?”
    “Maddie…” It was hard to recognize the person that was once my best friend, but there was still a part of her remaining, and it was tugging at my heart. I could never let Madison feel sad, and she was in obvious pain and sorrow, and I couldn’t stand it any longer.
    Tears were streaming down her face, dark against her translucent skin. “I’m so cold. I’m so hungry. Please let me in,” she wailed, burying her hands in her hair. The sound made the hair on my arms stand on end. She looked pitiful, like a cowering animal, and I was terrified of her. I wrapped my arms tightly around Ash, reaching into his back pocket for his phone. I slipped it out easily and pulled away.
    “What are you doing?” Ash hissed at me.
    “Calling my dad,” I said, trying to ignore the wails of Madison sending chills up my spine and the sounds of Bandit barking incessantly. I pressed the phone to my ear.
    “Hello?”
    “Dad, it’s Zoey.”
    “Zoey! I’ve been calling you!”
    I winced. “I’m sorry. I don’t have my phone with me.”
    “Jesus, champ.” His anger seeped in through the speaker. “It’s not safe. You need to lock everything up, and shut off the lights. You need to hide.”
    “What are you talking about?” I asked, dread filling me.
    “They’re alive, Zoey, the corpses…all of the missing ones.” His anger had evaporated quickly into fear.
    “What are you talking about?” I repeated, more firmly, looking over at Madison, who was beating her fists against the glass.
    “They’re like zombies. Reanimated corpses. All the dead bodies have somehow awakened. Only they’re nothing like we ever imagined. They’re smart, fast…”
    “Dad,” I interrupted, surprised at the steadiness in my voice. “Dad, Madison is here except it’s not really her.”
    “Don’t let her in!” he shouted.
    “I didn’t!” I assured. I felt tears start to come. “What do I do?”
    “Lock the doors, close the windows, and shut off the lights. Get the gun. I’ll be home as soon as I can.” I heard him take a shaky breath. “I hate