The Korean Zombie

I opened the curtains to the beds at the doctor's office, and there he was laying on his back. A towel was draped over him, but I could still see his dark, taut, emaciated stomach. He looked at me with a glazed over but astonished look. His face was caved in and very old. He didn't make any effort to talk, nor was I sure if he could.

I shook off my suspicions and closed the curtain, giving the two of us a little more privacy. I knew the routine by now, since I've been going to the doctor for my shoulder off and on for three months, and have been doing this particular therapy for a week now. My shirt came off for the heating pad, and I heard the faint moaning behind me.

When the doctor came in, I settled into position with my heating pad and tried to relax. I even tried to nod off a little, but I could feel his eyes on me. I looked over and found him looking right back, shocked and intrigued, although perhaps he was seeing an alien or a ghost.

Luckily, the doctor came back in and hooked him up to the machine sitting between us. The machine had small pads on it that sent a mild electric current though your body. He was hooked up now, and I would be hooked up after the heating pad. With the electroshock, he was out: asleep or at least not staring anymore.

I nodded off.

When I woke up, he was trying to stand. He moaned and wheezed, saying nothing in any language that I'm familiar with. The moans were deep and drawn out, not of pain, but of deep, deep exhaustion.

He was much thinner than I had originally realized. I couldn't see how the laws of physics kept him standing. At first I thought that he was going bald, but then I realized that he had dyed his hair black and had then left his white hair to grow out into a 3 inch or so ring on the crown of his head. As I was noticing, he dropped his pants. I looked away, but not in time to miss the image of his bony thighs. When I turned back, he was tucking his sweater into his underwear, which I assume is why he dropped his pants.

He shuffled out, breathing heavily and was gone.

As I was hooked up to the electro-machine, a new man walked in. This one also staring and gawking, but at least he was clearly among the living.

R