“Ah, you are mistaken,” the man says, pushing his glasses up the thin bridge of his nose. “It looks as if Carissa’s flashlight has led you to us. Might I say, this was indeed a bright spot in our day,” he smirks waiting for a reaction to his dad humor. Andrew smirks back. I do too. “Won’t you please come in?” He opens the door revealing the dark emptiness of the house. We look at each other. A minute ago, we were all gung-ho to figure out who lives here. Heck, we traveled clear across town to find out. Now, for some reason, we hesitate. Emily’s hand slides up the back of her neck leaving me wondering if she’s feeling the tingles. The three of us have learned to read each other without conversation. The man senses our hesitation, “Was it something I said? I truly apologize if I’ve offended. You already learned Carissa’s name. I’m Harold.” There’s more silence. He continues, “Well, if you choose not to come in, please take some water and a snack as a sign of our gratitude for your quick work of them.” He flicks his long fingers out towards the Feasters and the mess we’ve made.
Carissa interjects, “I hope you decide to come in.” It seems as if her initial attention is purely on Andrew and then glances at us. Emily notices this and burns hot. “I know it's hard to trust anyone these days.” Once again, her attention stays longer onto Andrew than everyone else.
Andrew pans left and right at us, “Guys, what do you say?”
Emily looks at him in disbelief. I shrug my shoulders and turn to Harold and Carissa, “Can you give us a minute?”
Harold nods. We move back from the door a few paces. I begin, “What do you think?”
Emily immediately speaks, “I don’t know. I get a weird vibe about that guy.”
“Totally,” Andrew says.
Emily elbows him in the ribs, “I wasn’t sure if you even noticed him.”
“What are you talking about, Em?” Andrew asks shrugging his shoulders in the air.
“Don’t Em, me,” she says in an exasperated whisper and then sarcastically mimics Carissa, “I know it’s hard to trust anyone these days.”
Andrew rolls his eyes, “Seriously? That’s what you’re hung up on? Get real, Emily.” He purposely says her full name to dig at her.
“Look, you guys,” I jump in. “It’s getting late. We’ve gotta make a decision here. Remember, when we decided to come here, we thought about the resources these people might have.”
“Fine,” Emily says. “Let’s go!” Without consulting us, she moves towards the door to find Harold and Carissa still waiting. “Look, I want you to understand something before we come in. We’ve survived this long because we look out for each other and are not afraid of a fight. So, if you guys try anything, you’re going to find out that we’ll stop at nothing to keep each other safe.” By the time she finishes, we are at her side.
“Fair enough,” Harold says. “I’m not sure what we have done to warrant this, but given the status of the world, I completely understand. We will consider ourselves warned.”
We pause for a moment. Emily makes the first move and walks in. We follow her lead. Once inside, Harold secures the heavy-duty bolt on the door behind us which upsets my stomach instantly. They lead us into a living room where two sofas face each other and sit perpendicular to a brick fireplace. A glass topped table splits the space between the sofas. On the table are dated magazines of Science News and Scientific American. The three of us sit on the same sofa across from Harold and Carissa. An awkward silence lingers in the air. After a moment, Harold clears his throat and says, “Where are my manners? How about the water and snacks we promised?” Without waiting for an answer, he leaves and walks into what I assume to be the kitchen. I take a moment to look over the room, noticing the wooden paneling on the wall behind us. My thoughts take me to when my parents remodeled our home and tore out similar wooden paneling and replaced it with built-in cabinets about a year before the Feasters took over. It’s weird how the littlest thing like wooden paneling jogs my memory.
My attention shifts back to find Carissa looking at the three of us nervously searching for a way to break the ice. “So, how long have the three of you been together?”
A moment passes before I answer, “Emily and I have been together since the beginning. Andrew joined us about a year ago.” I’m careful not to divulge any important information. Not now, anyway.
“Have you always been on your own? Or…are there others? Parents or anything like that?”
“Just us,” I continue. I look at Emily who has her jaw set and her right hand on her knee, close to the buck knife she has strapped under her pant leg. “It was hard in the beginning. I mean, we’re just kids, so everything we do to survive is by trial and error.”
“I get that,” Carissa says. “Looking back, I never thought I’d be spending my birthday like this.”
Andrew says, “Oh today? Today is your birthday?” Carissa nods. There’s another awkward pause before Andrew throws his hands in the air, “Well, happy birthday. I don’t even know what day it is. It seems as if it doesn’t matter anymore. We just keep track of days by notching it on our wall.”
“My father had a calendar. Of course, the days ran out, but he continued creating them by hand each month. He says that it’s important to keep track because one day this will all soon be over.”
“So, what day is it today?” I ask.
“June fifteenth.”
“So, how old are you?” Andrew asks.
“Fifteen,” she responds with a smile.
“The last I remember; I think I’m fifteen too. And, so is Emily. Kieran is fourteen. He’s the baby of the family,” Andrew snickers.
An uncomfortable silence finds the room again. After what seems like countless seconds, I break the tension, “So, how did all those Feasters get into the yard?”
“Oh, well, my dad went out to look for some supplies. That van out there where you trapped all those zombies? Well, that’s ours. He's managed to keep the battery running for short periods and has siphoned enough gas to keep expanding past our normal boundaries. So, when my dad jumped into the car this time, the battery decided to short, which sets the alarm off. No matter how much he tried to turn it off with that little clicker thingy, it kept going. Every – what did you call them again? Feasters? – every Feaster in the vicinity started a mad dash to the car. My dad desperately tried to turn it off, but by the time he did, he was nearly surrounded. He had to run for his life. And of course, in his panic, he forgot to close the gate and there we were, stuck.”
“You do know that the flashlight didn’t help get rid of the problem. It probably made it worse,” Emily points out. She’s not one for letting things go.
“I know, I know. I panicked. Their groans,” she pauses as emotion starts to overcome her. “You never get used to it. Every window I looked out of; they were there. Hearing them scratch on the doors sent me into a panic.” She regains her composure after a second or two. “Besides, like my father said, it led you to us. We really can’t express how much we appreciate you all.” Again, her focus is on Andrew first. He smiles. Emily rolls her eyes, her fists clenching slowly. “I wonder where my dad is,” Carissa says nervously, rubbing both hands on her faded jeans.
As if on cue, he walks in with a tray and three glasses of water on them. “Here we go. I do apologize for the wait. Here are your water and some crackers. Don’t worry about bacteria, it’s been recently boiled.”
“What took you so long?” Carissa asks.
“Your mother, dear. It’s almost time for her medicine. I realized this and took an extra moment to prepare it. You know how she hates the taste of it.”
“Your mother? Where is she?” I ask, noting the strangeness of the word on my lips after being absent for so long.
“I’m afraid she won’t be able to join us. She’s been sick for quite some time,” Harold responds. Carissa nods. Emily, Andrew, and I shoot each other glances. Being sick is one thing. Being sick for a long time is another. There was something about this zombie thing. Many peop
le who we’ve met don’t last very long when they are sick for quite some time. It could be nothing or it could be a very bad thing.
“So,” Andrew asks, “how long has she been sick?”
“I beg your pardon?” Harold asks. There’s a silence that seems to acknowledge his inquiry. “Oh, I see. You are all wondering not necessarily how long she’s been sick, but how sick she is.”
Emily nods, shooting her eyebrows up and deliberately says, “Yes, we can’t be too cautious these days. We didn’t survive this long without exercising a little caution.”
Harold thinks this over and says, “Fair enough. My wife has cancer. Likely very advanced. She probably doesn’t have very long to live. We keep her healthy by giving her blood transfusions. Carissa and I take turns giving her our own blood,” he says.
I, being the more sensitive of the group, adds, “I’m sorry. That must be so hard.” It’s then that I notice the bruising on Carissa’s arms, likely from receiving needles. Inside, I wince for her, never being a fan of it.
Harold sits up straight, “Thank you. You are very kind.” I nod. We all do. Then Harold continues, “Your kind must understand how important blood is for life. The same is for us.” He looks at us with new intensity as if staring into us and not just merely at us.
A second ago Emily was feeling bad for the way she was behaving, and now she doesn’t really care. “What do you mean your kind?” I’m with Emily on this one. I’d like some answers.
Harold delivers. He sees how this has changed our posture and tone. “Oh, I am sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to offend.” Carissa looks on with desperation in her eyes. Harold continues, “It’s just – I mean, we don’t get to encounter your kind very often, we don’t know the rules about addressing you.”
Emily presses, “And, what kind are we?”
Carissa stammers, “You-you know.”
Emily jumps up and pops her fangs down in her mouth, “Do you mean Vamps?”
Harold and Carissa embrace in a hold that only two people captivated in fear can do. I quickly interject and put my arm in front of Emily and say more to her, “Hold on! Hold on! Relax! Everyone just relax!” I shoot her the you’ve got to be kidding me look. She retracts her fangs.
“Is that what you mean?” Emily asks, firmness dominating her voice.
“Well, yes. Vamps,” Harold says.
Andrew finally chimes in, “Well, man, that’s all you have to say. You don’t have to be weird about it.”
“We are who we are,” I say.
“Well, do you consider yourself people?” Harold asks, releasing Carissa.
We pause, never really thinking about it. “Look,” I say, “we are who we are. Our ancestors have done all they can to assimilate into your world. Call us what you want. I know our kind has spent a lot of time fitting in. Being accepted. So, you’ll have to excuse our reaction.”
Harold turns that over in his mind for a moment. “Well, I apologize for offending. I never meant that in a negative context.”
Something is bothering me. “How did you figure us to be Vamps?”
Harold, seeing that any danger that was here moments ago has been diffused, responds, “Well, I really didn’t know. I used deductive reasoning. The first thing is that it is very late at night. What I do know about your kind, um, I’m sorry, about Vamps is you are nocturnal. No doubt you were spanning the landscape looking for signs of hope, like guardians of the night. The second thing is, although you are very proficient with the weapons you wield, there’s a sense of strength and quickness that I observed during your battle with the zombies. That type of physical speed is not possible with humans. So, I figured that if I asked the question, there may be a level of discomfort between the three of you. With that, I was correct.”
Andrew stands looking genuinely astonished, “Man, you’re pretty impressive.” He starts clapping to Carissa’s delight. She laughs a flirty laugh. “Em. Kieran. We gotta watch ourselves around this guy. He’s going to know when we have to go to the bathroom next.” I smirk, but Emily’s face doesn’t change. Andrew continues, “In case you were wondering, it’s me.”
Harold manages a chuckle. Then, he sighs, “Well, I know that it is getting late for you. There are only a few more hours left in the night. You are more than welcome to stay here. I know that you need to sleep during the day. We have two other rooms upstairs that aren’t being used at all.”
Emily speaks up, “Thanks, but no thanks. We’re good. We’ll make it home in plenty of time.”
Carissa backs her father. “What if you meet up with another flock of Feasters,” – the name sounds awkward in her mouth and doesn’t exactly roll off her tongue, – “and you aren’t able to make such quick work of them this time? I mean, it can’t always be that easy.” The last part she says to Andrew touching his arm. “What if this happens and you don’t get home in time? Honestly, we’re just thinking of you.”
Harold adds, “If you don’t trust us, feel free to barricade the door. Both rooms have heavy curtains guaranteed to block out the sun. Please consider. We have heard what the sun can do to you and are just trying to be hospitable.”
“Can you give us a few minutes to talk this over?” Harold nods and cues Carissa to stand. They both leave the room. I lean in to whisper to Emily, “They’ve got a point. We’ll have each other. I’m pretty beat, and it’s getting late.”
“Yeah, Em,” Andrew joins putting his hand on hers. “It might be the right move.”
She picks up his hand and drops it onto his lap, “I know why you want to stay.” And then to me she says, “Do you really trust these people? Something about them is driving me crazy.”
“You getting the tingles?” I ask.
“No, but it’s something. Perhaps it’s just a woman's intuition.”
“I’m not sold on them either,” I say. “But you can’t argue with their reasoning. Maybe we’re just overthinking this and being too protective.”
Emily rolls her eyes. “It’s gotten us this far. We’re doing just fine.”
“Okay,” I relent. “If you think we can make it, then let’s go home.” I throw my hands in the air, giving in to the argument.
Andrew and I stand up to deliver the news. Just then, Emily says, “Wait. Are you guys sure of this?”
I look down at her, “No. I’m not sure. What I do know is that we’ve faced a lot together. We haven’t run into anything we couldn’t handle. That’s what our family is for, right?” Andrew and I simultaneously put our hand on Emily’s shoulders.
Emily chuckles, “Gosh, you guys are such dorks.”
Emily stands with us as I call out, “Harold? Carissa?” They come around the corner surprisingly quick, as if anticipating an answer. “We’ve decided that we’ll take you up on your offer.” Harold smirks. “You present a solid argument.”
“However, we won’t be splitting up into two rooms,” Emily interjects before Harold can speak.
“Oh, I assumed with the whole boy-girl thing that you would feel more comfortable in different rooms.”
“Well, although we appreciate your offer, we are a family first,” I say.
“Fair enough. Shall we show you to your room, then?”
Before we can answer, Harold moves past us and leads us up the stairs. I immediately notice that these stairs are different than most of the stairs we’ve been on during our runs. They usually show signs of distress and struggle; blood stains on the walls, holes in the drywalling, and in the rare occasion, body parts. How has this house been able to avoid such a fate? Things didn’t seem to fit. Just a few hours ago, they were trapped. Helpless. What made this time so different? It didn’t seem this family was any more equipped to survive than anyone else we’ve met. Perhaps they just got lucky. Perhaps they were more resourceful than others. Harold certainly appeared to be smart. Perhaps there was more to them than meets the eye. Regardless of the circumstances, we know one thing for sure. We don’t have enough information to go on.
Harold leads us past some rooms. I’m assuming the first door on the left belongs to Carissa’s parents. The door is closed, but a flickering light shines out from the bottom. Emily notices it too because she tugs on my sleeve and nods. I look at her and shoot my eyebrows up quickly. The room across from the one we assume to be Carissa’s parent’s room isn’t offered to us, so I’m guessing it’s likely Carissa’s. Moving to the next set of bedrooms, Harold stops at the next room on the left, “Here we are. I believe this will satisfy you.”
Emily speaks up, “Um, I thought you said there were two rooms?”
“Well, yes, but you said—”
“I’m well aware of what we agreed on, but we’d like to stay in the other room.”
Harold smiles, “Ah, you are a cautious group. I understand. The other room it is.” He leads us to the bedroom across the hallway. “Well, I believe this room will satisfy you.” He opens the door. Inside is one well-made queen-sized bed. A wooden dresser sits along one wall with matching framed pictures upon it. In the corner is an antique wooden desk and chair with more scientific magazines on top. As we enter and look around, Carissa files in with two more blankets and a battery powered lantern. “I wasn’t sure about your sleeping arrangements. I figure you will take care of the details. I hope these blankets will suffice. Also, as you know, batteries are in short supply. Please use the light sparingly. If you need to use the facilities, there is a bathroom at the end of the hallway.”
“Thank you, Harold,” I respond. Emily and Andrew shake their heads in agreement.
“Will that be all?” We nod. “Alright then. I guess we will see you tomorrow night.”
Carissa chimes in, “Good night.” At first, again only speaking to Andrew. Realizing this, she smiles at Emily and me. Harold and Carissa leave, closing the door behind them.
Emily immediately grabs the chair at the desk and wedges the top rail under the handle. That’s our Emily. I move to the windows and pull the heavy curtains closed, assuring no light can get in.
Emily pulls the lantern over to the dresser and checks out the three pictures in the frames. “This family seems pretty normal.” Andrew joins her. “It looks like there were four of them. I wonder if this could be Carissa’s little brother. I wonder where he is or if anything happened to him.”
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