“Dad!”
“Dale. Listen. Tex – he got away from me.”
“Yeah, we saw. I thought I saw him running after you.”
“He did, but a block back I saw him turn around. I think he might be heading back home.”
“Ok. We will keep an eye out for him.”
“Listen. Do not let him in the house.”
“What? What do you mean? Is something wrong wi–”
“Dale. Listen. They are getting close again.” Dale could hear the engine rev as his dad started driving. “I don’t have time to talk. Tex, that dog, he makes too much noise. He’ll attract those things right to our house. I can’t! ... I won’t let anything happen to your mother.”
“Ok. Ok dad. Take it easy. I won’t let him in.”
“Alright. Thank you. Keep your mother safe. I’ll call again soon.” And he hung up.
Dale’s mom stood beside him, her eyes on the phone. Dale quickly relayed what his dad had said. He was surprised to see her accept dad’s decision so easily. Tex was as much part of the family as the kids were.
Dale hoped Tex would find a place to lay low. But he got his answer several minutes later, when he heard barking, followed by a yelp. Dale and his mom looked at each other in terror.
Oh no. Tex...
They heard movement at the back of the house. Dale told his mom to stay where she was and walked around the counter and into the kitchen. Dale got to the back door and looked out the narrow window beside the door.
Tex limped into the back yard. He was dragging one of his back legs. Dale felt a brief moment of hope when Tex looked up the steps of the deck and towards the back door. But the moment faded as Tex looked behind him and limped further into the yard. Within moments the first zombie stepped into view. Dale involuntarily took a step back. A second, and then a third zombie entered the back yard. Their attention was solely focused on Tex, as the dog limped into the far corner of the yard.
Dale stood and watched their sweet Tex get ... destroyed. Tex never bit a single person in his life, alive or dead. Even as the first zombie lunged at him, he didn’t snap at the hand that reached for him. Dale couldn’t’ see it, but he was sure that Tex was looking at his killers with sad eyes. Not understanding, even as fists rained down on him.
The zombies were so aggressive in their attack, that one of them broke its arm. It hammered a fist down and caught its forearm on the stone edging of the garden. Dale could hear the snap from his position and could see the zombie continue to pound down on the dog with its forearm and hand flapping sickeningly back and forth.
Thankfully, it was over quickly for Tex. The zombies lunged in with such fury that there was nothing left of the dog but a glistening red mass of meat, a mere twenty seconds later. Dale felt the bile rise up. He backed away a few steps, turned to the sink and threw up. He heard his mom making concerned sounds from the living room.
He quickly rinsed his mouth with water over the sink, then carefully stepped around the counter and walked up to his mom. She was quietly weeping. Dale held his mom in an embrace. He breathed in his mother’s smell. She smelled like lavender and something else – something sweet, like cookies. It brought him a sense of peace.
DALE AND HIS MOM STAYED at the kitchen counter. They were afraid to move into the kitchen for fear of the zombies spotting them but were too much on edge to go sit down.
The phone ringing nearly had them jumping out of their skin. Mom snatched the phone this time.
“Tom! Oh dear ... Tom, they killed Tex!” Dale watched his mother get control of herself and listen intently. “Ok. Oh, do be careful, Tom! ... Yes, ok dear. ... Yes, we will. ... I love you too. Call back as soon as you get there!”
Claire put the phone down and wiped the freshly formed tears from her eyes.
“Your father says he can’t get on the highway. The ramp was blocked off. He is going to follow the feeder road to the next on-ramp but thinks he might have to take a different route.”
Dale nodded, not entirely surprised. “On a normal day. it takes about forty-five minutes to drive to Darren’s from here. I figure it will take him twice that long at least.”
Dale and his mom hid in their darkened living room for the next two hours. When there was still no call from dad, Dale decided to call him instead. There was no answer, and after four rings he was met with his own voice indicating to leave a message. He didn’t leave one.
For the next several hours, Dale and his mom took turns trying to reach Tom.
“Maybe he is in an area with poor reception, or maybe the cell tower in his area is down.” Dale said, trying to keep his mother from losing all hope.
“Maybe...” Was her reply.
Dale snuck a look at the zombies in the back yard later that afternoon. He spotted two zombies, still congregated around Tex’s corpse. The third one was out of his field of vision. Dale decided that with the deck and the sloping yard, these zombies would not be able to see into the house. He moved back to the living room and turned on the television.
There was no new information available. However, Dale noted that their neighborhood name scrolled along the news ticker, followed by a phone number. Above this information there was the header: ‘Neighborhoods scheduled for evacuation, October 28. Please call in now.’ Dale
