Park nodded and drove to the house Dalton indicated. He pulled alongside the house and stopped.
“This look right?” said Angie.
“Don't know,” said Park. “Never saw the house.”
Angie gave him a look. He didn't need it. He surveyed the house, as if he'd see any element that would indicate to him his daughters and ex-wife lived there. How the hell would he know? What the hell was he doing? He briefly reconsidered his old plan of killing himself.
He dropped that line of thought and returned to investigating the house. The number was right, which he liked. What he didn't like was the large front window, which was smashed. Large plastic decals of fall leaves hung from what chunks of glass remained. The front door stood open. No movement inside.
“Something happened here,” said Maylee from the back seat.
No shit, kid, Park wanted to say. But the kid didn't deserve that. Park was just upset he hadn't seen his girls for so long. Upset at the state of the house he assumed they lived in. Shit, assumed. They were right. They had just been little girls when they gave him that look, but they were right. He was a failure.
“Something happened everywhere,” he said in response to Maylee. He opened the door and stepped out, slinging the rifle strap over his shoulder.
Rain fell, just intermittently enough to be annoying. It hit Park's head and ran down his face. Angie and her kids climbed from the car. Maylee had her bat.
They all looked up and down the street. At the far intersection, a corpse stumbled by, not noticing them. That was fine with Park.
Faint screams came from far off. A siren sounded somewhere far away. Rain pattered on the dry leaves of the huge tree in the front yard.
“Seems quiet,” said Angie.
Park nodded.
A dog barked, so loud and close that all four of them jerked at the sound. Park turned and saw the dog standing on a lawn across the street. The house behind the dog was badly damaged. The dog barked over and over at them but did not leave its yard.
Park snorted at the dog and turned back to the house.
Maylee kept looking at the dog. “What's that dog's problem?”
“It's probably scared,” said Angie.
They all stood quietly for a moment, taking a last look around. Rain pattered down. Faint moans and screams came from far away. The dog barked.
“Alright,” said Park, swallowing. “I guess this is what I came here for.”
Angie stepped up next to him. “I'm sure they're fine, Parker.”
Park looked over at her. “You mean that?”
Angie looked at him, saying nothing. Her expression was blank.
“Yeah,” said Park after a moment. “That's what I think, too.”
The dog barked and rain fell.
“Let's go,” said Park.
Park walked up the street, turning into the driveway. Angie and the kids followed behind. “Stay close to me,” Angie said to them.
“Fine,” said Maylee, sounding annoyed.
Partway up the driveway, Park stopped and stared into the garage. A SUV sat inside. There were no signs of movement. Angie and the kids stopped behind him.
“Someone in there?” said Dalton.
“Shh!” said Angie and Maylee in unison.
“Hello?” said Park toward the open garage. “Anyone there?”
They listened and stared at the garage, at the back of the SUV. No sound and no movement. Slowly, Park slipped the rifle strap from his shoulder. He brought the rifle around to his front.
“You just have the one shot?” said Angie.
“Just the one,” said Park.
“Great,” said Angie. “Everyone keep quiet and be careful.”
Park slowly stepped into the garage, stopping at the back of the SUV. He peered through the tinted glass of the back window. It was empty.
He stepped back and looked around the garage. He turned to Angie and the kids. “I'm gonna look deeper.”
Angie nodded, walking in on the other side of the SUV. She motioned for the kids to stay in the driveway. Maylee frowned but stayed put. She gripped the bat and Dalton clung to her.
Park walked along the driver’s side of the SUV. Angie kept pace with him on the other side. Rain echoed off the roof. No other sound or movement presented itself.
A clatter came from Angie's side. Park jerked around, startled. The butt of the rifle scraped along the driver’s door of the SUV. The SUV's alarm started going off, loud and blaring in the confines of the garage.
“Shit,” said Park, wincing at the noise.
“Sorry,” said Angie. “There was a can on the floor.”
Park grabbed the door handle and pulled, meaning to turn the alarm off. The door was locked. The alarm blared, making his ears ring.
“Fuck,” said Park, stepping out of the garage and back into the rain. “That goddamned thing is gonna bring dozens of those things.” He pulled on the back door to the SUV. It stayed put. He brought up the rifle butt and slammed it into the glass. It cracked but held together. “Fucking safety glass,” he muttered.
Angie looked up and down the street. The siren blared and the dog kept barking. “The front door's open. I'll go see if I can find the keys. Maylee, you and Dalton stay here.”
Angie turned and headed up the sidewalk, toward the house. Park watched her go, then returned to trying to break into the SUV.
Angie disappeared into the house. Park hit the glass again with the rifle. Nothing. The siren kept going. The dog barked. Park turned and saw Maylee clutching the bat. “You wanna have a go?”
Maylee looked at him, then realized what he was saying. She nodded, looking almost happy to use the bat. “Sure.”
She stepped up and was about to swing for the glass of the SUV when Angie called out from the front porch.
“Park,” she called, loud enough to be heard over the alarm and barking. “You need to see this.”
Park frowned at her, then walked toward the door. Maylee lowered the bat and followed, motioning for Dalton to come along.
“Not you guys,” said Angie. “You stay out here with me.” She stepped aside to let Park by.
Park stepped into the living room and looked around. Furniture was overturned. Pictures hung crookedly from the walls or were simply smashed on the floor. Glass from the window crunched under his feet as he stepped farther inside.
Then his breath caught as he looked down.
Jennifer, his ex-wife, lay dead on the floor. She was facedown, but he recognized her hair. He recognized the shape of her body. Even after all these years.
She lay in a pool of thick blood, congealed and still. A hole in the back of her head stained her hair red. The hole was torn outward. Park swallowed. He'd hunted for years, and he knew a gunshot wound when he saw one.
“Oh shit,” said Park, stepping forward and kneeling next to the body. He grabbed her pantleg and flipped her over. Her limp hand fell into the congealed blood, splattering thick globs of it along the carpet.
“Shit, Jenny,” said Park. Her face was smeared with blood, originating from a bullet hole that took up most of her left eye.
Angie stepped in, her arms crossed. She kept her eyes on the kids in the front yard. The alarm was still going off, sounding far away. “I'm so sorry Parker.”
Park nodded.
“I was never a doctor or anything,” said Angie, alternating her gaze between Park and the kids, “but it looks like this happened before we even left Lakewood.”
“Yeah,” said Park, sitting back on his heels and wondering why he was so upset. He hadn't seen Jennifer in years. And for most of those years he hated her. “She must have been bitten.” He looked over her body for bite marks.
“Mom!” yelled Maylee from outside. She ran up onto the porch, pulling Dalton with her. “Those things are coming!”
Park stood and looked out the front window. Corpses stumbled down the street, nearing the house. He turned to Angie. She was looking past him, seeing the same thing
he saw.
“Shit,” said Angie. “Okay, we gotta...”
A groaning corpse stumbled from the bathroom behind Angie. It was a young man with sideburns and a large red hole in his stomach. Wet, slick organs inched out with each step.
“Fuck!” yelled Park. “Look out!”
Angie spun as the corpse reached for her. Angie twisted away from the corpse, falling into the living room.
“Mom!” yelled Dalton, running inside. Maylee ran in after him.
“Where'd he come from?” yelled Angie, struggling to regain her footing.
“Who knows? The door and window’s been wide open,” said Park, stepping over to help her.
The corpse groaned and changed focus, reaching for Dalton. A loop of intestines flopped out the hole in its stomach as it strained for him, turning its back to Angie. Dalton screamed.
Angie yelled and rushed the corpse. She grabbed its shirt from behind and pulled it backward. Dalton slipped free of the corpse's hand. Angie pushed the corpse hard, running it forward into the door frame. It groaned and clawed at the wall.
“Fuck you!” yelled Angie, grabbing the corpse's hair and ramming its forehead into the wood of the frame. A loud “crack” sounded and dark blood splattered across the wall. The corpse went limp.
“And stay the fuck away from my kids,” she said, letting go. The corpse slumped to the floor.
The corpses outside reached the door and window. They groaned and hissed, clawing at the window frame. They staggered through the door, moaning and chewing the air.
Maylee and Dalton stepped backward, toward the hallway and away from Angie and Park. The corpses continued to stumble inside, quickly blocking Maylee and Dalton from reach.
“Dammit!” yelled Angie, moving to reach for them. The corpses groaned and reached for her.
Park grabbed her shoulder and pulled back. “Don't be stupid!” he yelled. Dalton hid behind Maylee as they both inched backward. Maylee held the bat in front of her, jabbing at the corpses to keep them at bay.
“Guys!” Angie yelled over the corpses as Park pulled her back. He could see the anguish on her face. “Run! Get to a room and hide! We'll get you!”
* * *
Maylee took careful steps backward, slowly swinging her bat back and forth. Dalton was behind her. He clutched her shoulder and stepped backward in time with her. Three corpses followed them down the hallway. They bit their teeth and pawed at the walls. The lights were off in the house and the hallway grew darker as they moved farther away from the living room.
Maylee could hear Mom and Park in the living room. Mom was screaming for her and Dalton. Park was grunting and swearing as he knocked corpses aside. Maylee knew he had one shot left, but she knew there were too many corpses for it to do any good.
Maylee darted her eyes from one corpse to another. The frontmost one, a woman with a flap of her cheek pulled away to reveal teeth and wet red muscle, reached for her. Maylee slapped the corpse's hands back with her bat.
“Dalton!” she shouted, keeping her eyes on the corpses. “What's behind us?”
“Um...” said Dalton, trailing off. Maylee heard his voice change volume as he turned to look, then turned back. “Two rooms at the end of the hall. One on each side.”
“Bedrooms?” Maylee swatted at the corpse's hands again.
“How should I know?” Dalton whined.
“Really?” said Maylee, jabbing the bat at the three corpses. Two more were entering the head of the hallway. The darkness grew around them and the groans of the corpses echoed off the walls. “Really, Dalton? You want to have an argument right now?”
Dalton sighed behind her. “Fine, sure. Bedrooms.”
“Pick one. We're going to make a run for it.”
Maylee kept backing up, Dalton behind her. The corpses followed, groaning and clawing. Maylee jabbed at them with her bat. The two new corpses reached the group of three she was already dealing with. Three others appeared at the head of the hall.
“Um,” said Dalton, “left, I guess.”
“Which left?” said Maylee. The three corpses stumbled down the hall. Soon there would be a total of eight for Maylee to hold off.
“What?”
“Left facing this way or left facing that way!” Maylee had seen the hall when they first stumbled down it. She didn't dare take her eyes off the corpses to look, but she knew they had to be running out of room.
“Umm...” Dalton trailed off. Maylee heard panic creeping into his voice.
“Fuck it,” said Maylee. The corpses drew near. “Just run!”
She turned and they both ran. Maylee made it a few steps, then jerked to a stop as a cold hand closed on the back of her jacket. “Dalton!” she yelled, almost involuntarily.
Dalton stopped running and turned around. His eyes grew wide when he saw. “Maylee!” he screamed, turning back to help.
Maylee brought her bat up backward over her shoulder. She slammed down as best she could at the awkward angle. Her wrists jerked as the bat connected with something. A corpse grunted behind her and the hand slipped off.
She stumbled forward, almost colliding with Dalton. Guilt flooded her. She should have let Dalton keep running to safety. He was just a kid.
“Maylee!” repeated Dalton, looking up at her with big scared eyes.
“I'm fine now!” she said. “Get to a room!”
“But Maylee...”
“Just do it!” Maylee yelled. Groans came from behind her. She cursed under her breath and spun, bringing the bat up as she turned. The cheek-flap corpse still headed the group, a thin seeping crack in its forehead indicating where Maylee struck before.
Screaming, Maylee slammed the bat into the corpse's temple. The corpse fell sideways against the wall. The follow-through of the swing cracked the corpse's skull, sending a sheet of dark gore up the wall.
“Maylee!” yelled Dalton from behind her.
“I said run!” yelled Maylee. Another corpse drew close. It was on old man with bony legs and a large open slit down the entire left side of his body. Red strips of skin dangled as he jerked toward her. Maylee brought the bat up over her head and rammed it down on the corpse's head. He jerked and bucked, one of his red bloated eyes jutting from its socket, then he slumped downward.
Maylee watched him fall, making sure he was still. She heard Dalton run away from her, headed for one of the rooms.
“Hurry Maylee! Follow me!” he yelled, his voice receding from her. The corpses grew thicker at the head of the hall. Their groans grew louder, filling the hallway. Maylee lost track of Dalton's voice. She couldn't tell which room he had run for.
Satisfied the old man was still, she jerked her head back up. More corpses pushed toward her. Too many to beat back. They groaned and reached. She looked back to the end of the hall. Two doorways, each open. No sign of Dalton. Which door had he used?
“Dalton?” she yelled. “Where are you?”
The groaning grew louder behind her. She heard Dalton somewhere, but couldn't pinpoint the source. She looked back at the corpses. They were close now, too close.
She picked a doorway at random and bolted for it.
* * *
Angie stepped backward as corpses poured into the living room. They came through the door. They crawled through the window, oblivious to the jagged glass shredding them as they pulled themselves inside.
With each step she took backward her chest grew tighter. Her children were farther and farther away. The corpses grew in number between them. She couldn't do anything. The chaos was swallowing them.
She heard Maylee and Dalton in the hallway, screaming to each other. Or were they just screaming? Or dying?
“Maylee!” she yelled. “Dalton!” She and Park were pushed into the kitchen. Corpses filled the living room.
“Goddammit all anyway!” said Park, stepping over to the stove and grabbing a stainless-steel frying pan.
“How do we get to the bedrooms from here?” yelled Angie, knowing full well what t
he answer was. Knowing full well the only way was through the thick mob of corpses pressing toward them and her children.
“I have no idea!” yelled Park. “I wasn't so much with the regular visits.” He flung the pan at an approaching corpse. A loud “clang” rang out and the corpse's head snapped back. Thick dark fluid spilled from a crack in the corpse's head and it fell forward.
Park snorted, unslung the rifle from his shoulder and leveled it at the nearest corpse.
“Park no!” yelled Angie. “We need that!”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “And what the fuck else would that be for?”
“When we get to Maylee and Dalton,” she yelled, feeling like she was going insane. The noise around her was maddening. The stink of corpses stung her nose. “We may need it to...”
“Be fucking realistic!” yelled Park back at her. “This is it! Jennifer's dead! My kids are probably dead! Your kids are...”
“You can go fuck yourself!” yelled Angie, her cheeks growing hot. Tears were coming. “You go fuck yourself so hard your asshole bleeds for a fucking week! We're getting to them!”
Park stared at her as the corpses grew closer. Finally he shrugged and replaced the rifle strap over his shoulder. He grabbed a large thick stock pot from the stove and tossed it to Angie. She caught it as he opened a cabinet above the stove. He pulled out a cast-iron skillet and nodded to her.
She nodded back. They turned to face the corpses that poured into the kitchen. They put their backs to the sink and waited, clutching their weapons and bracing themselves.
* * *
Dalton ran inside the bedroom and looked around. I'm not running, he told himself. I'm making sure the room is safe. I'm helping.
He whipped his head from side to side, taking in the room as quickly as he could. It was neat and tidy with a mix of hunky-guy posters and stuffed animals. A girl’s room. No corpses to be seen.
“Dalton!” came Maylee's voice from somewhere in the hall. “Which room?”
“Here!” Dalton yelled, turning back to the door. He took a step then fell forward as something caught his foot. His stomach slammed to the floor and the air rushed from his lungs.
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