Chapter 7: Baby Zomma

The baby zombie jumped at me, and I stumbled back, dropping the bottle. My heart beat fast as its tiny hands grabbed for me.

I swung the flashlight and hit the baby zombie's head. Ugh! Black blood! Disgusting! It fell back but quickly came at me again, screaming. I backed into a table and grabbed a metal rod. I hit the zombie on its side. It cried out but kept coming.

Tears filled my eyes. I'm too weak! I can't stop it! I haven't training this body!

The zombie lunged again. I swung the rod, and it bit down on it. I screamed and pulled the rod away, pushing the zombie hard.

It fell, but got up quickly, crawling towards me. I backed into a wall. There was nowhere to run.

I saw a big cabinet and thought maybe there was something useful inside. I ran to it, with the baby zombie chasing me. My hands shook as I opened the doors and grabbed a hammer, some nails, and a heavy book.

The baby zombie jumped again, and I hit it with the hammer. It screamed loudly.

Then it scratched my leg and grabbed me. I yelled in pain and dropped the hammer and pushing it's head to not bite me. I hit the zombie with my fists, but it wouldn't let go. Desperate, I grabbed the heavy book and hit the zombie's head. It fell back, and I kicked it away. I leaned against the cabinet, breathing hard, my leg hurting a lot.

I looked at the scratch mark, blood coming through my pajamas. I'm too weak. I can't fight these things alone. The baby zombie lay on the floor, still moving a little. I knew I had to finish it, but I was so tired and scared.

I took a deep breath, picked up the metal rod, and walked to the baby zombie. It looked at me with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, raising my hands with metal rod

" M-ma ma "

As I was about to strike, the baby zombie suddenly spoke, causing my eyes to widen. I threw away the rod and immediately kneeled.

"Baby Zomma!" I shouted, realization hitting me like a wave. How could I forget about Baby Zomma? The very same creature that once called me Mama when I was Ajena.

Tears streamed down my face as I saw Baby Zomma bleeding and in pain. I hugged him tightly, overcome with guilt.

"I-I'm sorry, Baby Zomma. I didn't recognize you," I whispered, my voice choked with emotion. "Please don't die. I was so reckless..." A pang of deja vu hit me, memories of Dino flooding back, and I clutched my chest.

"M-Mama," Baby Zomma murmured, his voice soft yet filled with affection. I smiled through tears, returning his embrace with equal warmth.

"Why did you attack me, Baby Zomma? I almost killed you," I asked, confusion and concern etched on my face as I looked into his eyes, searching for answers. He pointed at me and I look at myself

Realizing I was no longer Ajena but now a young boy named Azriel, I apologized softly before questioning Baby Zomma

"Then how did you recognize me?" He pointed to my bleeding leg and then to his mouth who have my blood, I guess he lick his nails that scratched me

" Because of my blood, you recognize me? But how?" I furrowed my brow

Ariela wasn't my real sister, so we weren't blood-related. I watched as Baby Zomma wiped my blood off my leg with his finger and licked it. I'm glad that I did something to Baby Zomma that won't infect others. If it's really because of my blood that Baby Zomma recognize me I might need to test my blood then.

As I stood up, I noticed Baby Zomma sitting, sucking on his fingers that have my blood. Why didn't I recognize Baby Zomma? His hair was longer than before—wait, his hair had grown longer? How was that possible?

Kneeling beside Baby Zomma, I reached out to touch his hair, which seemed strangely alive. I inspected his body closely; black veins still popped under his skin, and his eyes remained an unsettling white. Now that I'm closer Baby zomma stinks!

Standing back up, I scanned the room for something to clean my wounds and rid myself of the stench from hugging Baby Zomma. How long had he been here? He should be in the basement under the warehouse.

"Baby Zomma, why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in your room under the warehouse?" I asked him.

Baby Zomma crawled over and pointed at the wall. Curious, I followed him and touched the wall, and it suddenly opened—a circular door. There was a tunnel here that I should probably lock.

Now, I began exploring this lab, I saw what Baby Zomma eating earlier, a bird. It seemed like he had been eating the animals in the cages here, leaving nothing behind. Poor creatures. I walked further and found a curtain, so I slid it aside and discovered a bathtub. There were buttons—a blue one labeled 'Wash' and a red one labeled 'Dry'. Baby Zomma followed me, crawling along. I smiled, relieved that he was still alive.

I looked at the bathtub again and pressed the blue button—suddenly, it started raining water! Wow! How was this high-tech bathtub still functioning. Pressing the black button with a 'Stop' word on it, the water ceased. I realized I could clean myself here. I undressed and placed my clothes on the floor.

"Stay there, Zomma," I said as he sat down, tilting his head. The bathtub was kind of high for me; it reached my chest. I sighed I'm so little

I climbed in and pressed the blue button; water started flowing, and I began scrubbing myself. My attention was caught by my private parts dangling I'm definitely a boy. Looking around, I spotted a small cabinet and opened it—wow! There were lots of soap, shampoo, and even lotion. I took the soap and used it, then the shampoo when I was done. As I was about to leave the bathtub, I glanced at Baby Zomma.

"I should wash you too," I said. "Come up here, Zomma." He jumped up, splashing water everywhere.

"Hey, stay still, okay? I'm just a little boy like you; I can't handle all this water," I chuckled. The endless flow of water was amazing, though the level in the bathtub remained halfway.

I began scrubbing Zomma with soap. I'm relieved his skin isn't rotting; Zomma's a strange zombie. He seems fresh, but the water turned black, almost making me gag. It's so dirty I'll need to wash myself again after this.

"M-mama?" Zomma murmured.

"Aah! No!" I slapped Zomma's hand when he unexpectedly touched my "tingting" – what I call my private area, which sounded cute.

"You have your own tingting, so don't touch mine again, okay?! You might scratch it," I scolded, and he nodded.

After finishing with him, he stepped out, shaking off excess water like a dog. The dirty water vanished, replaced by clean water. I cleaned myself once more before stepping out of the bathtub.

I shook myself off like Zomma, laughing. This was fun. After drying off a bit, I dressed. I needed to dry my hair before heading back.

As I explored the lab, I discovered many intriguing items, especially the high-tech wardrobe. With a simple press of a labeled button—Kids, Teens—the clothes shifted magically. It was awesome! I decided I should clean up this basement and claim it as my own, since no one else knew about it.

I selected a set of kids' clothes from the wardrobe and dressed Baby Zomma in them. Despite his eight-month-old body, his hair had grown, but his growth otherwise remained a 8 month old baby. This reminded me of the day we first met.

Flashback...