warm bodies

What am l doing with my life? l'm so pale. l should get out more. l should eat better. My posture is terrible. l should stand up straighter. People would respect me more if l stood up straighter. What's wrong with me? l just want to connect. Why can't l connect with people? Oh, right. It's because I'm dead. l shouldn't be so hard on myself. l mean, we're all dead. This girl is dead. That guy's dead. That guy in the corner is definitely dead. Jesus, these guys look awful. l wish l could introduce myself, but l don't remember my name anymore. l mean, l think it started with an "R," but that's all l have left. l can't remember my name, or my parents, or my job. Although my hoodie would suggest l was unemployed. Sometimes l look at the others and try to imagine what they were. You were a janitor. You were the rich son of a corporate CEO. You were a personal trainer. And now you're a Corpse. l have a hard time piecing together how this whole apocalypse thing happened. Could have been chemical warfare or an airborne virus, or a radioactive outbreak monkey. But it doesn't really matter. This is what we are now. This is a typical day for me. l shuffle around, occasionally bumping into people, unable to apologize or say much of anything. lt must have been so much better before, when everyone could express themselves, and communicate their feelings and just enjoy each other's company. A lot of us have made our home here at this airport. l don't know why. People wait at airports, l guess, but l'm not sure what we're all waiting for. Oh, man. They call these guys Boneys. They don't bother us much. But they'll eat anything with a heartbeat. l mean, l will too, but at least l'm conflicted about it. We all become them some day. At some point you just give up, l guess. You lose all hope. After that, there's no turning back. Oh, man, gross. Stop. Stop, don't pick at it! You're making it worse! Oh, this is what l have to look forward to. lt's kind of a bummer. l don't want to be this way. l'm lonely. l'm lost. l mean, l'm literally lost. l've never been in this part of the airport before. Wonder if these guys are lost, too. Wandering around, but never getting anywhere. Do they feel trapped? Do they want more than this? Am l the only one? This is my best friend. By best friend, l mean we occasionally grunt and stare awkwardly at each other. We even have almost-conversations sometimes. Days pass this way. But sometimes we even find actual words. Words like... Hungry. And... City. Even though we can't communicate, we do share a similar taste in food. Traveling in packs just kind of makes sense, especially when everyone and their grandmother is trying to shoot you in the head all the time. God, we move slow. This could take a while. Hello, and thank you for your service today. ln the eight years since this plague destroyed our world... You think we're getting this stuff for the cure? ...since we erected this wall... No one believes in a cure anymore, Jules. ...we have counted on young volunteers like you to gather resources from beyond the wall. But first, a word of caution. Corpses look human, they are not. They do not think. They do not bleed. Whether they were your mother or your best friend, they are beyond your help. They are uncaring, unfeeling, incapable of remorse. Sound like anyone you know, Dad? Just picture them as this. As sons and daughters of possibly the sole remaining human settlement on Earth, you are a critical part of what stands between us and extinction. Therefore you have an obligation to return to us safely. And if you remember your training, you will. Good luck, Godspeed, and God bless America. USA! USA! Let's go. Sweet. Hey, Berg, you gonna help us out or what? No dice. Almost at level five. Did you hear that? l did. We should bail. Oh, hey, we can't just bail. We have orders. Do you have any idea how much medicine the City goes through a month? We need pharma salvage to survive. -We can't just abandon our. . . -You sound just like my dad. -Thank you. -Yeah, it wasn't a compliment. Oh, here, guys. Take some Prozac. Maybe that will cheer you up. l told you l heard something. Per, let's bail. Perry? We have orders, Jules. lt was nothing anyway. -You're being paranoid, okay? -Perry! Aim for their heads! Smile, mother. . . Nice watch. Now, l'm not proud of this. ln fact, l'd appreciate it if you might look away for a moment here. l don't like hurting people, but this is the world now. The new hunger is a very powerful thing. lf l don't eat all of him, if l spare his brain, he'll rise up and become a Corpse like me. But if l do, l get his memories, his thoughts, his feelings. l'm sorry, l just can't help it. The brain's the best part. The part that makes me feel human again. You like it, Perry? l don't want to hurt you. l just want to feel what you felt. To feel a little better. A little less dead. Perry. . . l think l love you. Say something. Don't just say nothing. No, l. . . l think l love you too, Julie. l miss airplanes. My mom used to say that it looked like an Etch A Sketch up there. l like that you remember that kind of stuff. lf we don't, then it will just all be gone. You know? Yeah. The world is so messed up. Not all of it. Cheeseball. Perry? Perry! Perry, where are you? Answer me! Julie. . . Safe. Come. . . What? l don't know what l'm doing. What's wrong with me? These other guys would never bring a living person home. You know why? Because that's crazy! Right now, they think she's just another one of us. A new addition to the family. But they would think l was insane. lf they could think. Why do l have to be so weird? What am l doing? Home. . . Not eat. Keep you safe. All right. Maybe l could have thought this through a little more. But l can tell when a girl needs her space. There's a lot of ways to get to know a person. Eating her dead boyfriend's brains is one of the more unorthodox methods, but... lt's a special occasion. A special occasion, sir? lt's Mom's birthday. -To Diane. -To Mom. Yeah. -lt's Mom's birthday. -So, Perry, Julie tells me you've been working in Agriculture. But tell me you would never consider going to work construction with your father. You know, on the wall we need good people. Don't mind him, Per. Dad's idea of saving humanity is to build a really big concrete box, put everyone in it, and then wait at the door with guns until we grow old and die. Well, Julie, without the wall, we would be eating brains now -instead of rice. -Dad. . . This is the only way past the wall. Otherwise we get stopped. Okay. . . Come on. lt's not that bad. Come on. l haven't heard from him in two days, Jules. He's on construction detail, Perry. He's working. My dad goes weeks without checking in. Okay. This way. Hey. lt's gonna be okay. Dad. Per. Whoa, whoa, hey, hey, hey! Perry! Come on ! No wonder she's so afraid of me. l need a different approach. Okay, here we go. Don't be creepy. Don't be creepy. Don't be creepy. What are you doing? Please leave me alone. Why me? Why did you save me? Don't cry. Safe. Keep you safe. What are you? l'm hungry. Just let me go! Not safe. Not safe? Not safe. Well, then you're just gonna have to go and get me some food. Because l'm starved. Please? l'd be very grateful for some food. Okay. God ! Shit. Don't run. Come. Safe. Thank you. Be dead. Okay? That's too much. Told you not safe. Yeah, l get that. l really am hungry, though. Yes! My God. Oh, no. Stop staring. You're acting weird again. Thank you. Oh, my God. Oh, man. l can't remember the last time l had a beer. l guess you can't be all that bad, Mr. Zombie. My name. . . You have a name? What is your name? Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr. . . Rrrr? This date is not going well. l want to die all over again. Rrrrrrr. . . Does your name start with "R"? Robert? Richard? Randy? Raphael? Ricardo? Why don't l just call you "R"? l mean, that's a start, right? R. . . l want to go home, R. lt's not safe. l get that. And look. . . l know that you saved my life. And l'm grateful for that. But you walked me into this place. So l know that you can walk me out again. Oh, no. She can't leave. She just got here. Tell her she has to wait. Tell her they'll notice. Have to wait. They. . . They'll notice. Not bad. How long? Few days. They'll forget. You'll be okay. Are there others like you? l mean, l've. . . l've never ever heard a Corpse talk before. l mean, apart from the groaning. Okay. A few days, huh? What am l supposed to do for a few days around here anyway? This is awesome! You wanna try? Oh, God ! You're a leadfoot. Okay. Okay. Pick a foot. You're using two feet. Pick one foot. . . There you go. Okay. . . There you go. All right. Two hands on the wheel, buddy. Jesus, R! This was a beautiful car! Recalculating. What's with all the vinyl? Couldn't figure out how to work an iPod? Better sound. Oh, you're a purist, huh? More alive. Yeah. That's true. Lot more trouble, though. There you go again. Shrugging. Stop shrugging, shrugger. lt's a very non-committal gesture. Really? These are really cool records. How did you get all these? l collect things. Yeah, l can see that. You, my friend, are a hoarder. Man, there's this awesome record store on Main and lvy. You would love it. lt's so cool. Was so cool. Alrighty. Much better. R? Can l ask you something? My boyfriend, he died back there. Will he come back? As one of you? That's good, l guess. Something happened to him. A lot of things happened to him. But l guess there just came a point where he couldn't absorb any more. lt's just, in my world, people die all the time. So. . . You know, it's not like l'm not sad that he's gone. Because l am. But l think l've been preparing for it for a really long time. What are you? Man, it must be nice to sleep. l wish l could. l wish l could dream. But that's not really an option for me. The dead don't dream. This is as close as we get. You sure about this, son? Welcome, then. Sorry for your loss. Me, too. Give him one and show him how to use it. Hey, Berg, you gonna help us out or what? l'm almost at level five. Did you hear that? l did. We should bail. We can't just bail. We have orders. You sound just like my dad. -Thank you. -Yeah, it wasn't a compliment. l told you l heard something. Perry! Aim for their heads. You said a few days. lt's been a few days, R. l have to go home. Stay together. Safe. What? Julie. Living. Eat! Oh, my God ! We go. Eat. R. Look. This way. Come with me. What? No! Want to help her. Who the hell asked you? Like her. lt's okay. l'm sure it is. -Over there, the garage. -Hold on. l'm so happy to see you right now. You okay? R? You drive. Good idea. The white zone is for loading and unloading of passengers only. Jesus, l'm freezing. l have to pull over. This is one of the last neighborhoods my dad evacuated. Maybe these houses have food. Okay, come on. Oh, man. lt's locked. Oh, God. Oh, cool ! Look what they have. l haven't seen one of these in forever. Cheese! lt's all right. See? Yeah. lt's important to preserve memories, you know? Especially now that the world is on its way out. Everything you see, you may be seeing for the last time. Perry used to say that. Here. Take a picture. l'm exhausted. The bed actually isn't too rotten, so l'm gonna go to sleep. Good night. R? Yeah? l was. . . l was thinking. . . You know, you could sleep in there if you want. On the floor. These houses creep me out, so. . . Okay. Do you feel it? Hey, look up this street. Holy shit. That's my dad. Get back! He would have killed you. lf he saw you, he would have just shot you in the head, and you'd just be gone. These clothes are soaking still. l'm gonna lay them out to dry. Oh, relax. Holy shit. Don't look. Okay. Holy shit! Hey. Do you have to eat people? Yeah. Or you'll die? -Yeah. -But you didn't eat me. You rescued me. Like, a bunch. lt must be hard being stuck in there. You know, l can see you trying. Maybe that's what people do. You know, we try to be better. Sometimes we kind of suck at it. But l look at you and you try so much harder than any human in my city. You're a good person, R. Anyway. lt was me. What was you? l mean, l. . . l guess l kind of knew that. You did? Yeah, l. . . l guess l hoped that you didn't. l'm sorry. Julie. . . l'm so sorry. Julie. . . The dead do not sleep. lf you guys could pick any job in the world. . . Pretend that everything was totally different, what would you want to do? -Nursing. -Yeah? Yeah. Healing people and saving lives and. . . l don't know, finding a cure. l like that. l think someday someone's gonna figure out this whole thing and exhume the whole world. Exhume? And what does that mean? Exhume means to, like, revive. lt means to dig up. As in digging up a corpse. Whatever. What the hell are you doing here? Are you actually dreaming right now? l'm not sure. You can't dream, Corpse. Dreaming is for humans. Chill out, Per. He can dream if he wants to. What about you, R? What do you want to be? l don't know. l don't even know what l am. Well, you can be whatever you want. lsn't that what they say? We can, right? You and me? lt's not gonna happen, loverboy. Not after you told her you ate her ex. Shrug. So much for dreaming. You can't be whatever you want. All l'll ever be is a slow, pale, hunched-over, dead-eyed zombie. What did l think was gonna happen? That she'd actually want to stay with me? lt's hopeless. This is what l get for wanting more. l should just be happy with what l had. Things don't change. l need to accept that. lt's easier not to feel. Then l wouldn't have to feel like this. ldentify yourself! lt's just me, Kevin. lt's okay. l'm fine. Just stop right there. lt's okay. l'm not infected. l said stop, Julie! Okay. Fine. Fine. Let me check you out. -ls she okay? -Clear, sir. Hi, Dad. l sent a half a dozen units out looking for you. Nora said you were taken into. . . Yeah, l was. But l escaped. l was holed up in a house in the suburbs and then l found a car, so l came here. Julie, are you sure nothing bit you? Do l look infected to you, Dad? We have to be safe. Yeah, l know. l know. l'm fine, though. l promise. l thought l lost you. Well, you didn't, Dad. l'm here. Welcome home. Yeah. Good to be back. So l'm just gonna go home. l'm gonna blend in. l'm gonna stop thinking so much. l'm gonna forget about her, just like l forgot about everything else. l'm gonna... Oh, shit, am l cold? ls that what this is? Corpses don't get cold. Yo! What are you doing here? Boneys. They chased me out. Came to find you. Where is she? Went home. You okay? No. Bitches, man. Boneys looking for you. And her. You started something. l saw pictures last night. Memories. My mom. . . Summertime. Cream of Wheat. A girl. A dream? A dream. We are changing, l think. We are. l have to tell her. Will you help? Help? Exhume? Exhume. They said "Fuck, yeah !" Wait here. Be careful. Okay? So l'll wait here. lt's not that bad. Come on. Julie and l were giving the others hope. And it was spreading fast. l guess the Boneys didn't like that. That must be why they're looking for us. l have to tell Julie. l have to explain what's happening before it's too late. l have to... Oh, no. Oh, no. Please, go! Go with your friends! Leave me! That's it! Okay. No, l'm serious, Nora. l mean, "Corpse" is just. . . lt's just a stupid name that we came up with for a state of being that we don't understand. Yeah. Oh, my God ! What is wrong with me? Okay. l've got to tell you something. This is kind of weird. -Please do not freak out. -No. But l actually miss him. -You. . . You miss him? -l know, it's so stupid. -Like you're attracted to him? -No, l don't. . . Like he could be your boyfriend? Your zombie boyfriend? l mean, l know it's really hard to meet guys right now with the apocalypse and stuff, trust me. And look, l know that you miss Perry. Okay? But, Julie, this is weird. Like, l wish the lnternet was still working so l could just look up whatever it is that's wrong with you. Shut up. All right. Okay. l'm getting ready for bed. Hey. l'm glad you're back. Yeah. Have sweet dreams about your zombie. All right. Julie. Julie! Oh, my God. R! What are you doing here? Came to see you. R. . . You can't just do that. lt's dangerous. Grigio, shut up! l'm trying to sleep! Sorry! Jesus, R, are you crazy? The people here, they're not like me. lf they see you, you'll get killed. Do you understand that? Yes. -Are you talking to yourself? -No! Okay, seriously, what is going on out here, Julie? Oh, my God ! ls that him? Yeah. 'Sup? l'm sorry. l know. l'm sorry, too. l actually missed you. Me, too. lt's funny. You feel warmer than l remember. That's the patrol. Come on, we better get you inside. Come on. You're lucky my dad got pulled into some emergency thing. You're safe here tonight, R. After that, l don't know what we're gonna do. How did you die? l don't remember. How old are you? Because you could be twenty-something, but you could also be a teenager. -You have one of those faces. -Oh, my God. And l can't even smell. . . You don't smell. . . He doesn't smell rotten. -l don't. . . -Amazing. Nora, he didn't come here for an interview. Stop. Why did you come here, R? To show everyone. . . Show them what? That we can change. R, no one here is ever gonna buy that. Not that we could get you even close enough to tell them. As soon as they saw you, they would blow your head to bits. Wait a minute. Did you say "we"? Lots of us changing. Dreaming. That's kind of a big deal. We have to move fast. What do you mean? Boneys chasing me. They're chasing us. Okay, we have to go to my dad. No, that is a very bad idea. No, Nora, he was a reasonable guy once. Oh, no, l think you're confused. lt was your mom that was the reasonable one. lt was your dad that grounded you for a year for stealing Peach Schnapps. Are you serious? lt's your dad that likes to shoot Corpses in the head. Well, what other choice do we have, Nora? Still, we'd have to get him through the city. Someone would definitely see you. There isn't much time. We could fix him up. What? l have some makeup that l was saving for a special occasion that obviously isn't gonna happen. Yeah. Yeah, we could. We could put on a little bit of foundation, maybe a little blush. Probably a lot of blush. No way. Yeah, way. Would you change the song, please? What? lt's funny. No, it's not. Fine. There we go. Oh, yeah. Hold up. . . You look hot! What? Nothing. lt's just, you look nice. l don't know how my dad's gonna be. He gets kind of crazy. This might not work. Hey. No matter what, we stay together. We're changing everything. l know. Stay together. Promise. l promise. Come on. Hey, it's game time. All right, let's do this. Excuse me. Where are you guys headed? To see my dad, Kevin. Miss Grigio, l can't let you guys in. We're on high alert around here. -Why? What's going on? -lt's classified. All right, well, we have our own classified business, so come on. Hey. Say something human. Say something human. How are you? Nailed it. Over here. He's fine. Okay, you guys wait here. What are you doing here? What is going on? What is all this? l'm not sure, but it's not good. We've been getting reports there are sizable packs of skeletons and Corpses coming toward us. We don't know why, but if they're here to attack, there's nothing we can do about it. Too many of them, too few of us. So l want you to get home, lock down the house. l have the gun there, the Ruger SR. . . This? Yeah, okay. l need to talk to you. -Julie, not now. -Dad, it's important. This is gonna sound really crazy, but l think the dead are coming back to life. That does sound crazy. They're changing, Dad. They're. . . l don't know. They're somehow curing themselves. You think they're curing themselves? How is that? l saw it. lt is really happening. No. You know what is happening, Julie? What's happening is every day there are more of them and less of us. They are not curing themselves. We're their food source. They are not becoming vegan. Okay? They don't eat broccoli. They eat brains, your mother's and your boyfriend's included. Okay? So l want you to wake up! -l'll explain. -Okay? What do you mean, "you'll explain"? Explain what? l got this. Get yourself home. Barricade yourself in the shelter. There is enough stuff there that you can open up. . . Hi. Who are you? This is R. l didn't ask you. l asked him. Who are you? You're a Corpse? He saved my life. He took care of me. l triggered something in him and that must have sparked something in all of them. . . -Now it's triggered something in me. -No. . . Dad ! No! Dad ! We want to help. Please, they don't want to attack us. They want to help. We're. . . We're getting better. No. Things don't get better. Things get worse. People get bit, then they get infected, then l shoot them in the head. -No, Dad. . . -That's what happened to your mother, and that's what's gonna happen to him. l'm really sorry, Mr. Grigio. Go. Get out of here and be safe, no matter what. Okay? Julie. . . l have to go. You're not gonna shoot me. Yes. Yeah, l will. Totally. Okay. That could have gone better. l need to warn my friends. -Where? -The stadium. . . Shit! Come on ! Get on the subway! Whoa. Excuse me. Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through. R. Julie. Hi. Ready for a fight. Yeah, l can see that. Soldiers coming. Boneys closing in. They're here now. -Keep them out. -We will. Run. This way, come on ! Sir, your daughter is with the Corpse. l've got eyes on them. Thank you. Who the hell do we shoot? This asshole. Hi. Hey. Hi. Hi. We see Corpses fighting skeletons, sir. Copy that. We're seeing that over here, too. Sorry, can you repeat that? Copy that. We're seeing Corpses fighting skeletons, sir. Shit! lt's over. No. Keep you safe. lt will be okay. R? R! R, please? You okay? -Yeah. -Yeah? Whoa. Next one's the head. Move away from him, Julie. No! Julie, move now. Dad, you have to listen to me. l know we lost everybody. l know you lost Mom. But you and me, we are still here. We can fix all this. We can start over. They need our help. Please, Dad ! Look at him. He's different. He's. . . Bleeding. He's bleeding, Dad. Corpses don't bleed ! Oh, God. You're alive. He's alive! You're alive. Does it hurt? Yeah. Yeah? Sir? This is Colonel Grigio. The situation has changed. Let's get you two the hell out of here. Are you still bleeding? -Yes. -Good. Sorry. On the one hand, getting shot in the chest hurt. Like, a lot. But on the other, it felt good to bleed, to feel pain. To feel love. l wish l could say we cured the Boneys with love, but really, we just straight up killed them all. lt sounds kind of messed up, but no one felt too bad about it. They were too far gone to change. lt was actually a really good bonding experience for us and the humans. Once we joined forces, they didn't stand a chance. The ones we didn't kill just wasted away. And the rest of us? Well, we kind of learned how to live again. For a while, it seemed like a lot of us forgot what that meant. The humans began to accept us, connect with us, teach us. This was the key to the cure. lt was scary at first, but every great thing starts out a little scary, doesn't it? This is how it happened. This is how the world was exhumed. You need some help? Yeah. l have zombie fingers. Thank you. Here. Oh, it's okay. l don't mind the rain. l insist. l'm. . . Marcus. Emily. You're. . . You're very pretty. Thank you, Marcus. Now you're supposed to say l'm pretty, too. R? Yeah? Do you remember your name yet? No. Well, you know, you could just give yourself one. Just pick one. Whatever you want. l like "R." Really? You don't want to know what it was? You don't want your old life back? No. l want this one. Just "R," huh? Just "R."