by Lee, S. G.
“Mom, I’d really rather handle this on my own.”
“Be that as it may, I intend to make sure that you apologize properly. I don’t want Emma to have even the slightest doubt that she is and always will be welcome in our home.” Kate’s voice rang with authority.
It looked as though Emma had cried herself to sleep so Kate suggested that Evan wait until morning. Evan pulled the guest room door closed, softly, trying not to wake Emma.
“This is your mess, Evan, and I expect you to clean it up first thing in the morning,” Kate ordered as they walked down the hall.
Emma had been pretending to be asleep. She heard what Kate said and assumed it meant Evan was going to kick her out first thing in the morning. Evan’s lie, insisting that Kate hated her, compounded with terror and guilt, distorted her normally clear thoughts. Fear gripped her as she imagined being tossed into the streets filled with the walking undead. Horrifying images of being eaten alive or ripped to shreds raced through her mind until exhaustion won and sleep finally claimed her.
The clock on Evan’s wall ticked closer to midnight. He and Matt were still awake after deciding it was best to stand guard. Matt was rereading the Survivor’s Guide, while Evan silently dealt a hand of Solitaire. Suddenly, an ear-shattering scream cut through the air. In an instant, Matt tore down the hall to the guest room where Emma had been sleeping. Though still asleep, she was screaming and kicking as if she was being attacked.
“Shhh, Emma. It’s okay. It was just a dream,” Matt whispered.
He pulled Emma tightly against his chest and stroked her hair, trying to wake her from the nightmare. In the hazy state between consciousness and dreaming, Emma found comfort in Matt’s words. Sure, it must have been a dream, she decided. Zombies belonged in a Hollywood horror film, not in her safe suburban town. Yeah, Matt must be right. It was a long, very bizarre dream where she was a cheerleader and classmates were ripped to shreds then devoured by their teachers. Emma stopped screaming, convinced that it had all been a terrible nightmare.
“Oh, Matt, it was horrible,” Emma whispered, her voice still trembling.
Matt reached over and clicked on the bedside lamp, bathing the room in soft light. As Emma’s eyes adjusted, she realized she was not in her bedroom. Alarmed, she looked around trying to remember where she was and how she’d gotten there. Seeing Evan and Kate standing in the doorway, their faces etched with concern, jogged her memory.
“Oh my God! It wasn’t a dream.” Looking away, she whispered, “I’m so sorry to have disturbed you, it won’t happen again.”
She choked back her tears and wrapped her arms snugly around her chest to stop herself from trembling. Evan wanted nothing more than to take Emma in his arms and protect her. He was afraid his attention would only upset her more, so he kept his distance. Lucy pushed her way into the room and tugged on Emma’s arm.
“My daddy gave me this to hold when I have bad dreams,” Lucy said as she handed Emma her favorite teddy bear. “You can sleep with him tonight and he’ll protect you.”
Emma looked cautiously from Matt to Evan to Kate, unsure of what she should do. Kate nodded approvingly so Emma reached out, accepting Lucy’s offering. Touched by Lucy’s kindness, Emma could no longer hold back her tears.
“Thank you, Lucy.”
Lucy smiled sleepily at Emma then, with a yawn, shuffled back to bed. For a moment, Matt watched Emma with uneasiness. As he walked out, he tossed Evan’s copy of Journal of the Undead: A Survivor’s Guide onto the bed beside her.
“Here, educate yourself.”
Evan started to enter the room but Kate shook her head and whispered, “Not now.”
Emma assumed she had a reprieve for the night but she was terrified she would be on her own by morning. With no desire to sleep, Emma plunged into the book, absorbing as much information as possible. There was no way she was going out there unprepared.
She was only halfway through the book when the first rays of sunlight broke through the darkness. Dread filled the pit in Emma’s stomach. She wondered how much longer it would be until they tossed her out into the street. Her only hope was to prove that she could be a useful asset. She was a better than average cook and she was more than willing to clean. Maybe if she promised to stay out of sight and worked really hard, they would let her stay. Emma put the book aside, got dressed, and crept out into the hallway.
She remembered that Lucy had an extra rope ladder for her treehouse hidden in her bedroom closet. Emma attached the ladder where the stairs used to be then climbed down to the first floor. The book stated very clearly that all fresh foods should be used before the loss of electricity. Emma started by making breakfast. The refrigerator was well stocked so Emma began frying bacon and scrambling eggs. She filled a sack with plates, cups, a bottle of juice, and utensils. Once everything was cooked, she packaged it into containers and added those to the bag.
Upstairs, Evan had tried to stay awake but he drifted in and out of sleep. The smell of bacon wafted into his dreams. Matt jerked awake, thankful to leave behind the images of his dead parents and classmates lumbering through his dreams.
“Man, what a weird dream,” Evan yawned. “I swear it was so real, I can still smell the bacon.”
“Wait, I smell bacon too and my dreams had nothing to do with breakfast,” Matt said.
Just then, Kate tapped on Evan’s door. She and Lucy entered.
“Good morning. Did you boys sleep okay? Lucy was hungry so we came to see what you were making for breakfast.”
“We weren’t making breakfast, Mom, but there’s granola bars in the crates.”
“But aren’t you making bacon?” Lucy asked.
As they exchanged puzzled looks, a bag slid through the partially opened door. Lucy pulled the door open and Emma froze. Four pairs of eyes were staring at her quizzically.
“The book said to use up fresh foods as soon as possible in case the power goes out,” Emma explained. “I thought you might like some breakfast.”
“Thank you, that was very thoughtful of you,” Kate replied.
“Come eat with me, Emma.” Lucy pleaded.
“I can’t. I still have to clean up the kitchen. I just wanted to bring this up while it was still hot. Cold eggs are gross,” Emma answered, but her eyes never left the floor. “I’ll come back up later to collect the dirty dishes.”
“Emma, you have to eat,” Evan insisted.
“I ate downstairs.”
Evan wanted to go after her but his stomach growled violently. He decided to eat first then go talk with her. While the others ate, Emma hoped breakfast was the first step to proving that she could be an asset. She busied herself by prepping vegetables that she added to a slow-cooker for a hearty beef stew dinner. Once all of the ingredients were bubbling away in the crock-pot, Emma wiped down the counters and swept the floor. She had just plunged her hands into the soapy dishwater when Evan entered the kitchen with a stack of dirty breakfast dishes.
“Thanks for making breakfast, Emma,” Evan said as he carried the dishes to the counter.
“I was going to come up for those; you didn’t have to bring them down.”
“It’s no big deal; besides, I kinda need to talk to you.”
Emma’s heart sank. This is it. She was positive Evan was about to kick her out. Panicked, Emma wondered where she would go.
“Well, you see, the thing is …” Evan started.
Suddenly Emma’s stomach lurched and she ran to the bathroom, leaving Evan mid-sentence.
While Emma vomited in the powder room, he rushed upstairs. Evan sent his mom down to check on Emma while trying to keep his own breakfast from coming back up. Kate climbed down the ladder and patiently waited outside the powder room door for Emma to come out.
When enough time had passed and she didn’t emerge, Kate tapped on the door. Emma was on her knees scrubbing the floor and toilet.
“Emma, what on earth are you doing?” Kate asked.
“I was just cleaning up.”
“Well, I think you’ve done enough. Come on,” Kate urged.
“But I can be useful!”
“Of course you can, dear,” Kate’s tone was bewildered as she escorted Emma to the ladder.
“But I haven’t finished washing the dishes yet.”
“I’ll take care of those later. Now, come with me. I want you to go upstairs and lie down. You’re going to need your rest.”
Emma climbed the ladder slowly, thankful that she wasn’t being sent away immediately. Yet Kate’s words worried her. ‘You’re going to need your rest’ sounded ominous. How long until I’m chucked out into the street?
“I’m really not very tired.” Emma insisted. “I could finish cleaning the bathroom first.”
Kate was not convinced. Cupping Emma’s face, she said, “What you really need is something to take your mind off of everything. Then you’ll be able to rest. Evan has a bunch of books in his room. Go ahead and grab one for yourself. Just try to be quiet though, he’s sleeping.”
She opened Evan’s door and motioned for Emma to go inside.
***
Emma tiptoed to the bookshelf then checked to make sure Evan was asleep. The shelf above his desk was packed with books but it was the leather-bound book lying on Evan’s desk that caught her eye. The rich burgundy leather and gold leaf trim was slightly worn, but there was no title on the cover or the binding. Emma opened the book and then, realizing it was Evan’s journal, she quickly snapped it closed.
Evan was pretended to be sleeping. He heard his mom and Emma talking followed by Emma’s soft footsteps on the floor. He surreptitiously stole glances at her through partially closed eyes while silently willing her to read his journal. Finding the right words to say to her in his apology was difficult, but he desperately wanted to tell Emma how he felt. The journal would kill two birds with one shot. Not only would Emma know that she was welcome and Kate did not harbor ill feelings toward her, but she’d see that Evan was still very much in love with her.
It won’t be as awkward as having to admit it out loud, Evan thought. Continuing his ruse, he faked a soft snore. Curiosity got the best of Emma and she thumbed through the first few pages as she nervously glancing over her shoulder. Unable to resist, Emma turned to the day Evan asked her out.
September 18th
There were three more cases of ‘Swine Flu’ reported in the paper today. I suspect this ‘flu’ is a cover up, but Dad says if I keep it up, he’s going to start monitoring what I read. I loaned my copy of Doc’s book to Matt. If I’m right, we could be looking at an outbreak soon and we need to be prepared. Anyway, I finally asked Emma out. I probably would have chickened out again if it hadn’t been for Tyler and the other Neanderthals pushing me. How could they ever think someone like Emma would fall for their pitiful pickup lines? They’ll probably skip out on the bet but I don’t care, that’s not why I asked her out. I’m just glad she said yes. I wasn’t expecting Matt to approve but he said he’d rather see Emma with me than those other guys. If it wasn’t for Matt, I wouldn’t be able to take her out anyway. I can’t believe he’s giving me the money to fix my car, but I’m definitely going to pay him back. I searched online and found a nice restaurant and maybe if we have enough time we can check out the art exhibit at the University. I can’t wait!
Emma was surprised to see that Evan had actually wanted to ask her out before the bet. She resented how Whitney had twisted the truth about Matt paying Evan to date her. Emma peered over her shoulder to make sure Evan was still sleeping. Pressing on, Emma scanned through a few random dates until she hit the day of cheerleading tryouts. Evan’s disgust could not have been any clearer. In a truly masochistic move, Emma turned to the night Jake and his friends attacked Evan. Any hopes Emma had that Evan didn’t hate her vanished as she read the entry.
October 16th
The entire newspaper is filled with suspicious stories. The flu epidemic is moving closer to our town and the number of missing person reports is growing. I wish Dad hadn’t been deployed. I can’t believe he’s under orders to keep his location a secret. Mom’s trying to keep up a brave front but I can tell she’s worried. And poor Lucy, she’s really upset that Dad won’t be here for her birthday party. To make matters worse, she was terrified when those idiots showed up at the park. I knew Jake was spineless but I never expected three of them to jump me. He knew if it had been a fair fight, I would have kicked his ass! I’m pretty sure I broke someone’s nose though. I’ll bet Emma was in his car watching. Heartless bitch! I hate her!!
The rest of the page was filled with harsh words drenched in hate. Emma couldn’t bear to read any more of it. She closed the book and ran from the room.
Evan’s pretending had lulled him to sleep and he never saw Emma fleeing from his room. When he finally woke, he felt both rested and relieved. He hoped any awkwardness between him and Emma would be a thing of the past.
Meanwhile, Kate took advantage of the rare opportunity to speak with Matt without Evan present.
“Matt, I wanted to speak to you about Emma. I’m really worried about her. She’s not eating, she’s barely slept, and now she seems obsessed with proving she can be useful. When I checked on her earlier she was scrubbing the bathroom floor. I had to force her to lie down.”
“I don’t know if it will help but I’ll talk to her.”
“I’d really appreciate it. She seems to get so nervous when I talk to her. Poor thing.”
Matt made his way down the hall to the guest room and knocked lightly. When Emma did not respond, Matt opened the door and walked in.
“Emma, I need to talk to you. I know you’re not asleep. Quit faking and look at me.”
Emma sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes. She hoped Matt wouldn’t be able to tell that she had been crying.
“You need to quit upsetting, Kate. She’s got enough to worry about.”
Emma was dumbfounded. She had no idea what she was doing to upset Kate.
“Don’t look at me like that! You know what I’m talking about. And don’t you dare start crying. Now listen, they didn’t have to take us in so the least you can do is behave yourself. Quit insulting Kate.”
“But what did I do?”
“I guess Kate doesn’t clean well enough for you? Emma, really, that is so rude.”
“I was just trying to be helpful. I never meant to offend anyone.” Emma choked back her tears and wondered how everything had gone so wrong. Her hopes of proving her usefulness fizzled.
“Well, knock it off, okay? And you can drop the anorexic cheerleader routine too. Lucy actually looks up to you. If you keep starving yourself, she might start doing it. The last thing we need is another generation of emaciated airheads.” Matt realized he’d gone too far when he saw the devastated look on Emma’s face. “Look, what I meant was that you need to stop starving yourself. It’s not healthy.”
Matt wished he had phrased his speech better but the damage was done. He marveled that even when he was furious with Emma, she somehow managed to make him feel guilty. Emma rose and busied herself in the kitchen though she didn’t know why she was bothering. It seemed that everything she did either upset or annoyed everyone in the house. She’d grown weary of waiting for her expulsion. Clearly Matt had intervened and managed to delay the inevitable, but it was only a matter of time before they would all be rid of her.
Just as she had with breakfast, Emma packed up dishes and utensils into a bag.
“You should have called me,” Evan said as he took the heavy bag from her arms. “You didn’t have to drag all this up here by yourself.”
“It was no big deal.”
“Please, sit down and join us, Emma. We always eat together, as a family,” Kate said gently.
“There’s still another bag in the hall,” Emma answered, just barely above a whisper.
“Evan can get it. You’ve done enough.”
“Sit down!” Matt ordered through clenched teeth.
Emma instantly dropped to the floor a
nd cowered behind Matt’s chair, reminding Kate of a frightened puppy. Kate’s words echoed in Emma’s head, reminding her of a time when her father wanted her to eat dinner with the family and she had opted to go to Tiffany’s house instead. Given a second chance, she would have stayed to dine with her father. Remembering her father’s hurt expression, Emma barely noticed when Matt thrust an overflowing bowl into her hands. Her throat tightened and the all too familiar sting of tears welled in her eyes.
“Emma, are you okay?” Kate asked. Concern weighed heavily in her words.
She nodded but never looked up. The others talked and laughed but Emma said nothing. She bided her time until she could hide, alone, in the guest room.
***
“Finally,” she sighed, flopping onto the bed a while later.
Stretching out, Emma flipped through Journal of the Undead: A Survivor’s Guide again. Somewhere between the chapters on weapons and battle strategies, Emma was overcome with exhaustion. Her mind drifted in and out of zombie-plagued nightmares.
She woke to the sound of her own screaming and quickly clamped her hand over her mouth. Hearing footsteps drawing closer, Emma turned onto her side and pretended to be asleep. From the exasperated sigh, Emma could tell Matt had come to check on her.
“Is she okay?” Evan whispered to Matt.
“Yeah, I guess so. She’s still asleep.”
After the boys left, Emma fought to keep her heavy eyelids open. She gazed sleepily out the window at the starry night sky. It felt like hours had passed, but when she checked the clock only ten minutes had lapsed. Time ticked by slowly and Emma kept a vigilant watch on the clock. She vowed not to fall asleep again because she dreaded the nightmare she was sure would follow. Midnight became two, two became three, and three blurred into four. The last time she checked the clock it read 4:15.
It wasn’t until daybreak that Emma woke again. She had been dreaming about her father and that made her miss him even more. Though most of the dream was hazy, Emma distinctly remembered her father working in his office. In the dream, Alan handed Emma a folder with his research and told her it would save them. Deciding it must be a sign, she planned to retrieve the folder. Surely no one would want to kick her out if she had their salvation in her hand. She climbed out of bed and stealthily crept down the hall to the bathroom.