Title: All the People I Love are Dead

Author: Jillian K.

Disclaimer: Southern Vampire Mysteries belongs to Charlaine Harris and her publishers. This fic is intended for entertainment purposes only.

Summary: A very disturbing romantic story in which Eric is a zombie and Sookie is the woman that he never forgot. Some Bill/Sookie but you know he is just there to get eaten. Two parter. BTW this isn't meant to be the George Romero zombie with the rotting flesh etc. but the more traditional vodoo zombie who looks pretty much like their did in life except that they are much clumsier, slower and not very capable of rational thought.

Part One

Tara Thorton pulled the bone colored sheath dress with the empire waist out of its pink box and shook it free of its tissue wrapping.

"It's very nice. I like the trim. Is it Chantilly lace?"

Sookie nodded and glanced at the pretty material. She'd picked it out so long ago that she'd plain forgotten what it looked like. The store in New York had delivered just in time. It was only a week until her wedding.

Tara looked into the other open box. "Now this is what I call a veil. Nothing like that little tulle thing you had on when you married Er—oh girl I'm sorry. Me and my big mouth" she said awkwardly.

The blond girl blinked quickly. "That's okay. I haven't forgotten that this is the second time I do this. It's just that it is so difficult when he is still around."

"No he isn't. Sookie that thing is not your husband anymore. You loved and buried Eric and it wasn't your fault that he rose again. It was those damned selfish witches with their hocus pocus taking perfectly dead folk and making them into those crazy monsters that run around looking for brains and scaring people. I tell you we should really bring back the witch trials."

Sookie shrugged and took off her flowered summer dress. She was wearing her bridal corset and shoes with similar heels to those that she would wear on that day. Tara lifted the dress over her head and allowed the lacy folds to pile around her. The soon-to-be-bride turned and looked at herself in the three-way mirror in the corner of the clothing shop. The dress was perfect and its off-white color brought out her tan. Her friend squealed and placed the delicate organza veil with its sown-in real pearls on the crown of her hair. The entire look was exquisite and leagues away from the simple satin dress her Gran had made for her when she married Eric Northman almost five years ago.

After all this time she wasn't marrying a bartender from Sweden but a renowned computer program designer who had sold his database for millions. Ergo she was different type of bride now.

She should consider herself extremely lucky. Two years after Eric's death she'd been struggling both emotionally and financially. Bill Compton had ridden into town like a knight in a shining white Mercedes and swept her off her feet. He'd even bought the land that bordered her old farmhouse so that he could build the luxurious home complete with pool and tennis grounds that they would live in once they married. He was kind and gentlemanly in his ways. So what if she did not feel the same exhilarating passion that a mere gaze from Eric's eyes had once elicited in her. Companionship and security were worth more than stomach butterflies right?

After a warm hug from Tara, Sookie left the store and headed towards her home. It was later than she liked and the sun had already set making the country road appear especially ominous. Bill had gifted her with a cherry red SUV that let her drive much faster than she'd been used to in her yellow wreck of a car. Tonight she wanted to be home as fast as possible so she pressed on the accelerator with her high heeled sandal. The car lurched forward hitting the figure that had been running on the side of the road throwing him in the air to crash painfully near a tree.

The car came to an immediate stop. "Oh my God!" she shrieked as she opened her safety belt and climbed out of the vehicle. "Please be okay, please be okay."

The man had landed face down on the gravel. Sookie fell to her knees next to him. Thankfully the SUV's headlights were strong enough to illuminate both of them. He wasn't wearing a shirt or shoes and his back was a mottled mess of bruises. Sookie touched them gently and felt the odd, cool, clamminess of his skin. Could he have gone cold already? Was she a murderer? Oh God.

With almost subhuman effort she managed to turn him onto his back. His torso was badly torn from the sharp gravel but he wasn't really bleeding. Sookie raised her hand to his face and pushed the blond mane of hair away from his features.

Eric.

Or rather the zombie that had once been her husband. She pushed herself away from his prone body and ran towards the car. Zombies weren't human and if you hit one you were supposed to let the cops know so that they could pick him up and bring him to a crematory. She located her bag in the passenger seat and pulled out her cell phone. Her fingers dialed nine and one and hovered over the last number. If she made that call she would never have to see him lurking around her property eating the brains of the small animals and reptiles that he managed to scavenge. He would be taken and locked inside a cremation container that would be mounted on a charger and rolled into the furnace. A couple of hours later it would be all over and he would be at peace.

At peace after having been tortured to his final death her conscience added. Eric had never done anything to deserve such a fate.

So she would let him go and carry on his zombie ways.

Sookie got inside her car and watched until he pulled himself to his feet. It was a painfully laborious task and he fell down twice. At last he found his footing and her heart broke at his slow and shambling gait. Apparently he was determined to continue his journey even thought he was badly hurt.

The road that they were on led to her house and nowhere else. He was going to see her.

"Oh Eric" she whispered.

Somehow her words reached him and he turned sluggishly towards her. She froze as she watched him stumble towards her car. His left leg was dragging behind him painfully.

Her door was locked and her windows rolled up. He came to a complete stop before her. His glassy blue eyes roamed over her face through the pane and she heard a soft whimper which surprised her. She'd believed that he was incapable of sound.

Sookie breathed sharply when he pressed his dirt crusted palm on the window. He wasn't pushing or even trying to open the car. He was merely trying to make contact. Eric remembered her.

The tears fell from her eyes. They had told her that the zombies would not recall anything about their former lives except maybe the most rudimentary impressions of familiar places. Andy Bellefleur had claimed they would kill their own children or spouses with nary a second thought. They'd been wrong.

She pushed on the button on the side of her steering wheel and the window rolled down. Eric hesitated for about a second before his hand reached for her face. His touch was cool but not unpleasant.

"Are you going to eat me Eric?" she asked softly. He did not reply but his fingers touched her lips and traced the contours.

She should go and leave him behind. Maybe he would tire himself before he got to her house but she didn't think so. Eric had always been determined.

Without thinking it twice she climbed out of her car and into his arms. His embrace was familiar and she leaned into him. He smelled musky and more than a little unkempt. Eric had been such a well-groomed man that to find himself at such a state would shame him.

"Want to come home with me?"

She did not know if there had been a nod or not but she helped him climb into the backseat of her car. He was docile as she locked the seat belt across his waist and drove them away to what had been their home.

Sookie parked her car on the newly graveled driveway. The automatic floodlights turned themselves on. Bill had insisted on installing the newfangled home security system and she'd agreed. After all a zombie was known to roam the grounds on a regular basis.

Said zombie was now sitting quietly and staring patiently at her. He hadn't even fidgeted a little bit and she was deeply grateful for it. Sookie took a deep breath and climbed out of her car.

"Okay here we are."

TBC.

This came out of nowhere and I blame it on a combination of cold medicine and this really great e-book called "Hungry for Love" which anthologizes several zombie love stories. This is a two parter but if nobody likes it I will discontinue it until the Great Zombie Apocalypse of 2012.