There were black circles under Danny's eyes, and he'd lost a lot of weight. Jim felt his son's ribs sticking through the thin Spider-Man pajama shirt. He ran his hand through the boy's white hair. What had happened to him?
What happened to my son? What the hell happened here?
Danny pulled away. 'Daddy! You're hurt!'
'It's okay. It's not my blood. It's ...'
Danny looked down at his mother's corpse and then buried his face in Jim's chest. He shuddered.
'You-you shot Mommy?'
'S-she wasn't your mother anymore, Danny. You know that, right?'
'Daddy, I was so scared. The monster-people came, and Mommy and I hid in the attic. Mommy got sick and then Rick came and I hurt him-I hurt him bad with his bowling ball so he wouldn't get Mommy, but Mommy never woke up, and when she did, she was one of the monster-people too, so I locked myself in the attic again and I blocked the door just like on TV, and Mommy kept trying to get in and-Daddy, WHERE WERE YOU? You said you'd always protect me, but you lied! You lied to me, Daddy!'
Jim squeezed him tighter. After a moment, he wiped his nose with his sleeve.
'I was on my way, Danny. I left as soon as I got your message. I ran into some very bad people, and I got delayed. But that was a very smart thing you did, calling my cell phone. You were very brave, and I'm proud of you.'
'Mommy said you wouldn't come. She said you didn't love me.'
The familiar old anger surged through him, and for one brief second, he didn't regret shooting her reanimated corpse.
'When, Danny? When did she say that?'
'After she woke up again. When she was trying to get into the attic.'
'Well, she was wrong. That wasn't your mother talking. And now that I'm here, nothing is going to ever hurt you again. I'll die first. Some friends of mine are waiting outside. But we've got to hurry, okay?'
Danny's cheeks were wet and puffy.
'I love you, Daddy. I love you more than 'finity.'
Fresh tears rolled down Jim's face.
'Me too, buddy. I love you more than infinity, too. You don't know how long I've been waiting to tell you that again.'
The door crashed open downstairs. Danny jerked in his arms. Jumping to his feet, Jim pushed his son behind him and reached for the pistol, still lying on the floor where he'd dropped it. Too late, he remembered that he was out of bullets.
'Get behind me, Danny.'
A voice called out from below, 'Jim?'
'Martin?'
'I'm here, Jim! Where are you?'
'Upstairs.'
Then Frankie's voice, 'Move it, old-timer! They're coming.'
The door slammed shut with a bang.
Danny cowered behind him. Jim knelt down and looked him in the eyes.
'It's okay, Danny. These are the friends of mine that I mentioned. They helped me come find you. Let's go downstairs, and I'll introduce you to them. Okay?'
'Okay.' Danny nodded.
They were halfway down the stairs when the zombies' cries reached Jim's ears. Frankie and Martin were dragging the couch toward the front door.
As Jim reached the landing and Danny stepped out from behind him, Martin froze, staring at the boy.
'Come on, Preacher! Help me move-' Frankie paused, then followed Martin's stare.
'Hi,' Danny stared at his toes, his voice trembling. 'I'm Danny.'
Both the preacher and the ex-hooker gaped. Then, Martin's warm laughter filled the room. 'Well, I guess you must be! You really do look just like your father. Hello there, Danny. I'm Mr. Martin. It's very nice to meet you.'
Smiling broadly, he walked over to the stairs and shook Danny's hand.
Danny smiled back at him and then glanced at Frankie.
'Hi, kid. I'm Frankie.'
'Frankie? That's not a girl's name.'
'Well, I'm not a girl,' Frankie countered with a wink. 'I'm a woman.'
'Oh.'
Still beaming, Martin hugged Jim. 'See? I told you this was God's will. He came through for you. He delivered your son.'
