by Jason Deyo
Realizing she was not going to be able to pull him from her clothing, she bent over and slipped it over her head. As soon as she was free the ghoul fell onto Lauren. “Here!” she screamed and grabbed Lauren by her hair to force her head up. Jimmy immediately attacked the woman, biting into her cheek. Kim stumbled backward and hit the radiator. She watched him long enough to make sure he was content and closed the door firmly behind her.
*****
Kim breathed heavily as she walked down the main hallway to the master bedroom. The sun was on the verge of rising, creating a silhouette of the person sitting at the front window. “I can’t thank you enough.” Amelia sat looking out the window.
Kim opened the dresser drawer that held Amelia’s tank tops and other nighttime wear. She pulled out a loose-fitting black top and slipped it on. “I told you I would take care of it.” She pulled back the covers from the side closest to Amelia and plopped onto the bed.
“How much do you think he’ll eat?” Amelia was concerned. “I don’t want him to get sicker.”
“Honey, how the heck am I supposed to know. I haven’t the slightest.” Kim was annoyed. “I will tell you the first thing you need to do is get that rotting son-of-a-bitch of a husband out of the house. Soon you won’t have to worry about making noise; those ghouls will smell him festering in there.”
“I can’t.” Amelia responded.
“You pulled him into the room.”
Amelia cut her off. “He was my husband. I…I can’t see him like that again.”
“All right,” Kim responded reluctantly. She was exhausted and wanted to sleep. “He can’t eat all that much.” She rolled to the other side of the bed and stretched her arm, tapping on the closet. “This is what he did last time right?”
Amelia nodded. “You will be able to get the pillowcase over his head if you sneak up on him.”
“I’ll take care of everything.”
*****
Kim wiped her hands with a dripping white towel she retrieved from the filled tub. “I dumped the bodies out the back window. I also changed your son’s clothes.” She tossed the towel in the corner. Amelia furrowed her eyebrows.
Annoyed, she picked up the towel and asked, “How did you manage to get clothes on him?” Amelia didn’t want to create an argument with this woman. Kim was a huge asset to have and was proving to be very useful.
Mrs. Kim thought about how to approach this question. The boy was covered in blood and his stomach was very swollen. She didn’t think a small boy’s stomach could swell to the size his was. She wasn’t sure if it was gas building up or if it was that he had eaten so much that it was stretching his skin. She did predict that if he continued to eat at the same rate his stomach might actually burst. “Very carefully.” She smiled.
Jimmy was distracted by the scratching at the closet, so it was easy for Kim to walk behind him and replace the pillowcase. Once his head was covered he was completely calm. He stopped moaning and would halfheartedly respond to physical contact. His clothes were saturated with blood, so she used the same knife she used to kill Lauren to cut his clothes off of his body. Kim replaced the dirty set of pajamas for a larger pair that was covered with footballs, soccer balls, and baseballs. Even being a size too big, the larger PJs were still tight around his distended midsection.
“It wasn’t that difficult once his head was covered, but those other pajamas are trashed. I had to cut them off of him,” Kim said.
“So you dropped the bodies out the back window? Where are they now?” She couldn’t believe what she was asking.
“I dragged them to the back room and pushed them out the window.” Kim smiled at this at first, but then realized she was referring to dropping Amelia’s husband from two stories onto the concrete. She continued, “I then dragged them into the woods. Not far, just past the wood-line.” She lay back onto the bed and squirmed up to put her head on her pillow. She stretched her arms out to her sides, accidentally hitting Amelia’s twelve-gauge shotgun that was resting next to her in Keith’s usual spot on the bed. She looked at Amelia and watched her as she turned to look out the window to face the morning sun.
“Curious?” Kim asked, fluffing her pillow.
“About?” Amelia responded.
“Your son wanted nothing to do with that woman and instead attacked me. I had to pull my shirt off to get away from him. He fell on top of her and still wasn’t interested in her until I made her body move. Didn’t you say you had to do something like that with Keith?”
Amelia turned back around. “He was coming after me right before I got Keith in Jimmy’s room. I put his leg in between us and he was distracted with it long enough for me to get away.”
“And what about when you moved him?”
“He lost interest in me once I got the chain around Keith’s neck and began pulling him. Once his body jerked with the chain, Jimmy turned his attention back to Keith.”
“I think they only go after living people. I think if I were to have dropped that girl and left her, he probably wouldn’t have even touched her.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“The next person we get in here we are going to have to get them in that room without killing them.” Kim looked at her. “I might need your help.”
Amelia looked at her for a few seconds and then turned back to the front window. “I’ll wake you if anything happens,” she said.
Kim didn’t respond, but looked up at the ceiling and began tracing a crack in the ceiling. She was soon fast asleep.
*****
“Kim, someone’s here!” Amelia said in a loud whisper.
Kim opened her eyes. She listened, but didn’t hear anything. Jimmy’s room was quiet and then a thud from the kitchen downstairs vibrated the house. She turned to Keith’s pillow and was comforted by the sight of the black bird barrel of the twelve gauge resting next to her.
Amelia was very comfortable with guns, but never thought about having to use them for protection. Keith had always been there for her as the protector, and now Mrs. Kim was more than willing to fill that role.
Amelia did not feel remorse for her husband’s death, but rather a sense of accomplishment. A strange demon had possessed him and forced his hand to harm her son. If Keith would have shown restraint a little longer he too would have met Mrs. Kim and then he would have understood what needed to be done. She was so willing to do whatever it takes to protect and care for Jimmy. Keith wouldn’t have had to do anything.
Mrs. Kim did not judge Amelia for her actions against her husband; she felt her actions were admirable. Kim helped her to appreciate her own actions and helped her to understand that every mother has to do what they can to defend and provide for their child. Nothing is more dangerous than a mother protecting her young. Mrs. Kim reassured her that everyone would understand the position she was in and feel that she deserved praise.
Kim sat up quickly when she heard one of the boards covering the window of the back door land on the kitchen floor. She could clearly hear the sound of multiple people rummaging through her house. Cabinet doors opened and metal kitchen utensils clinked against each other. She was unable to tell how many people were in her kitchen, but she was able to make out two distinct male voices.
“This place is loaded,” a smooth young voice said.
Kim was very calm and relaxed as she grabbed her bird-barreled sleeping partner. She was getting ready to walk out of the room, when she also grabbed Lauren’s pistol from the dresser and put it down the back of her waist band.
A rough voice that sounded like it endured centuries of cigarette smoke said with enthusiasm, “Yes! Beer!” immediately followed by laughter from both men.
As they continued rummaging through the kitchen, Kim slowly walking down the steps, trying to avoid the spots that creaked. She then heard one of the men enter the living room.
“Someone was getting ready to leave,” the man in the living room said. His voice was younger than the man in the kitchen’s.
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br /> “Yeah?” the older man hollered from the kitchen.
“There’s all this camping stuff stored in a bag and man did this guy have good taste in product.” Kim could hear the sound of someone rummaging through her bug out bag. “Fuck ‘em. If they didn’t take it they obviously don’t need it, right? They’re not here to claim it now anyway.”
“Finders keepers,” the older man said.
Kim wasn’t planning on getting any closer, but when she went to sit on the step, she sat on the one spot she had desperately tried to avoid. The staircase squeaked loudly, warning the intruders that someone was in the house.
“Wait,” the man in the living room said. “There’s one of them upstairs.”
Kim could make out the sound of a gun being unsnapped from its holster, so she stood up and said, “No there isn’t.” She cleared her throat as if she hasn’t spoken in a very long time. While she cleared her throat she pressed the shotgun’s safety switch, revealing a red dot that indicated the gun was ready to fire.
She stood with the shotgun behind her right leg and walked down a few more steps as the man rounded the corner. A very slender man in his very early twenties wearing a very dirty, plain solid gray T-shirt greeted her. His short hair was shaved on the sides and was just a little bit longer on the top. His skin was very smooth and clear, highlighting his fine jaw and cheekbones.
As soon as he made eye contact with Mrs. Kim and realized she was not a zombie, he returned his pistol to its holster on his hip. She began to move toward him. “Sorry ma’am. We didn’t know anyone was here. We have been to a lot of houses and they’ve all been empty. Yours is just another on the list for us to check for food. No offense ma’am.”
As soon as he finished his sentence, Mrs. Kim placed her index finger over her thin lips as an indication to not say anything and then she leveled the twelve gauge with his chest. The young man looked as if he was about to run, but then Kim spoke softly. “Hey, honey. Calm yourself. There is no reason to get all kinds of jumpy.” She began to walk down the steps and indicated with her head that he should walk backwards.
“Is there one upstairs?” the raspy voiced man yelled from the kitchen.
Kim shook her head in response. “No,” she said softly and slowly, nodding to him to repeat what she said.
The intruder complied and continued to walk backwards into the living room, past the large wooden dining room table to his left, her right. “Put your bag and your gun on the table,” she whispered, moving closer to the kitchen. He did as he was told and then his partner rounded the corner.
“Mason!” He was surprised and stumbled over his name. “You got us all wrong. We’re just looking for food,” he said, revealing stained yellow, decaying teeth, through a forest of long peppered facial hair. He was much taller and older than his companion.
Kim held the shotgun at hip level. The gun was almost as big as she was. The shotgun was not made for home defense therefore had a long barrel, but she acknowledged the length of the barrel and distance between her and her captive by pulling the shotgun back, giving her more space as the quarters got smaller.
Her captive put his hands up instinctively after putting his bag on the table. “Ma’am we wish you no harm. Just let us go.” The man pulled his eyebrows together, appearing genuinely concerned. “What’s your name?”
She returned his concerned look and paused for a brief second. “Kimberly, but you can call me Mrs. Kim.” She nodded for them to move back and they did as instructed. They walked backwards into the kitchen. The older man moved toward the back door and the younger one started to move in his direction, but Kim motioned with the shotgun barrel for him to move to the other side of the room.
“Ms. Kimberly please let us go. Like he said, we are just looking for some food and supplies. We didn’t know you were here,” the younger man pleaded.
She smiled. “Finders keepers.” She swung the gun toward the older man. “Fuck em.” The gun found its way back to her captive. As she swung the gun back to the younger man she saw a dark shadow behind the sheer curtains in the dining room window, between both of the intruders. She paused and then saw another dark shadow emerge from the woods. They were coming for the house. The dark figures were responding to the intruders speaking so loudly and the bang of the plywood falling from the window earlier.
The young man began to move toward her. She must have been looking at the curtains longer than she intended. “Ms. Kimberly, please.” He reached out, pleading.
“Get back!” She was no longer concerned about being quiet. “Turn and face the wall!” She lifted the shotgun stock to her shoulder, aiming at his chest. Without hesitation he put his back against the wall. “Turn around!” He did as ordered.
She turned to the older man. He was already stepping backwards toward the door. He slowly opened it and Kim sidestepped past the kitchen island to face the man trying to leave. Kim allowed him to step closer to her to allow the door to swing open. They maintained eye contact until Mrs. Kim looked past him into the woods.
The two figures she saw through the sheer curtains were now in the middle of her yard. What she hadn’t been able to make out through the curtains was the dozen undead that were emerging from the dense woods. As soon as she broke eye contact, the man turned to see what she was watching so intently.
He turned toward her. “Please,” he begged.
“Get out!” she screamed, lunging at him with the shotgun.
He stepped backwards onto the porch and reached into the waistband of his pants. He quickly pulled out a silver revolver. She fired a round of buckshot into his right arm, forcing him to throw his revolver into the yard. He swung around, falling down the steps. He rolled to his stomach and looked up to see the small horde of undead moving toward him. Pushing himself up, Kim fired another shot into the back of his left knee, seeing that he was about to run. His leg was thrown out in front of him and he fell to the ground screaming.
Seeing that he was no longer able to run she looked at the younger man. He was looking out the back window. “Please, Mrs. Kim. Please let me go.” He fell to his knees pleading.
She closed the door and looked through her broken window. She turned to the young man. “You have a door to fix.”
All of the undead coming from the woods converged on the bleeding and screaming man in the middle of the yard. Kim and the young man watched his friend get mauled by the hungry mob.
After several minutes Kim continued to watch while the man turned away and could no longer bring himself to watch the chaos. He looked up at Kim from his knees. “What do you want?” he cried.
She snapped around, facing him with wide eyes and threw her hand to his lips pressing hard. “Do you want them to hear you? Shut up.” The young man recoiled as she grabbed him, pulling him to his feet. “Get up. You need to fix our door.”
*****
The young man knelt at the back door, looking out an opening where the wooden plank used to be. The plank rested next to the door with bent screws sticking through it. A white curtain covered with a rose petal pattern and dried blood was tangled in with the wood. It had been pulled down with the board.
Speaking in a low voice so the creatures outside didn’t hear her she said, “Some of them tried to get in.” Kim fiddled with the shotgun lying on the kitchen island. “They made a mess of things.” She maneuvered the twelve gauge, so the barrel moved back and forth in his direction, making a metallic scratching noise. She did this to demonstrate how easily she could kill him at any time. She played with the ammo, slowly pulling the fore stock back, ejecting the shell and then reloading it. “That’s why my curtains are so filthy, if you were wondering.” He would not speak to her, but instead continued to look through the vacant spot where the plank used to be. “Are they still out there? You’ve been watching for such a long time.”
“Yeah,” the young man finally said. A few of the undead continued to kneel and dig through the man’s loose and ripped clothing, but most of them we
re either standing over the body staring at nothing or beginning to shamble off.
Thirty minutes had passed since she forced him to the back door. He thought about running a couple of times, but every time he would begin to move Mrs. Kim would stop fiddling with the gun and grab it.
“So you know my name, what’s yours?” She took her hands off the shotgun and placed them in her lap, intertwining her fingers.
He looked up toward her, after the gun stopped moving across the island. “Mason.”
“Oh yeah…He did say that didn’t he. Sorry, I was preoccupied earlier. Well Mason, do you know how to start a fire?”
He looked at her without saying anything, thinking about the possible implications of different responses before speaking. What is her game plan? If I answer wrong, will she try to burn me? Or if I were to say no, would she simply kill me for not being useful to her?
Kim noted the delay in his response. “It is a simple question. Do you or do you not know how to start a fire?”
“I know how to start a fire, yes,” he finally answered.
She smiled. “Well that’s a good thing, because I was thinking about boiling up some water and making some coffee in the fireplace while we eat. Are you hungry?”
Once again he thought about how to respond. He wasn’t hungry, but he also did not want to make her upset. “Sure I could eat. Thank you.”
“My husband…” The words shook her for a second, but it flowed easily and seemed right. Pictures of Jimmy, Keith, and Amelia were hung from the walls, so he was bound to notice them eventually. “My husband used to cook over the fire all the time and he bought all this cast iron cookware.” She paused. “I need some things done that I don’t know how to do. They’re small things really, but I need some muscle to do them. Once those things are done and we finish eating, you can leave.” Mason was visibly excited, so she continued, “One of the things I need you to do is fix the door you broke.”