“So, what should we do?” Dale asked.
“Take some antacid for now and go to bed. Things might be better in the morning.”
Dale smiled at his mom’s easy optimism. “Thanks mom.” He hugged her. They stood there in the darkness, holding each other for comfort. His mom felt so fragile in his arms. And yet her strength was the rock that got the whole family though many things. Dale suddenly felt an overwhelming desire to tell his mother that he didn’t blame her for the past.
He was about to speak when the sound of gunshots could be heard somewhere off in the distance. Dale reluctantly released his mother and looked down into her face. He could barely make out her features.
“I love you, mom.” He could see his mom’s mouth stretch into a smile. “I love you too, son.”
That night was long. Dale spent many hours lying awake in his bed. The silence was often broken by sounds of violence, and Dale cringed every time he heard something. Especially when, at the edge of his hearing, he could hear people screaming.
Twice that night he heard a bump, as if somebody had walked into one of the outer walls of the house. Dale was convinced that this was exactly what those sounds were.
It was an exhausted and hurting Dale, that finally drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Fifty
Dale slept in.
When he finally awoke, he stayed in bed and looked up at his window. There was a small hole near the top of the curtains. He recalled making that hole as a young teenager. Spy games. A smile pulled the edges of his mouth upwards but faded fast enough as Dale was brought back to reality with the start of yet another cramp. He laid still until the cramp faded, studying that hole.
From his angle, he could see that the morning had dawned clear and cloudless. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. A late taste of summer.
Dale sat up in his bed. He had no desire to push his curtains aside and see the rest of his reality. He knew what was waiting out there for him.
He rubbed his gut. The pain had spread. Upwards. Dale sighed ruefully. Deep down he knew that he was infected. The realization did not scare him though. Today, he was going to make sure that his mother made it out alive.
You will do this for your mom.
He got up and dressed, then snuck into the bathroom and washed up. An unbidden cough rose out of his chest as he was drying his face. A quick ‘Koff-Koff-Koff’. When it passed, he saw the fine spatters of blood on the towel.
Yes, I get it. I’m dying. Just let me last one more day, ok? He pleaded with whatever deity controlled his destiny.
Dale put the towel into the hamper, making sure the blood was not visible. He quietly made his way to the kitchen and tried to see the zombies in the back yard. He could still see two of them. They had barely moved from last night’s location. Dale had a brief moment of panic when one of the zombies seemed to look straight at him. Dale ducked behind the wall.
Fuck! Did it see me? Dale stood there for half a minute, his heart beating rapidly. He dared not look again, so slowly backed away out of the kitchen.
What do I do! Dale felt the rush of fear wash over him.
Wait. Dale stopped himself.
Calm. The fuck. Down. Dale leaned against the hallway wall, trying to slow his breathing. Eventually, he managed. There was no noise outside indicating that he’d been spotted, which helped calm him down some more.
He also came to the realization that he needed a weapon. That helped focus him.
Dale looked around the kitchen and quickly dismissed the assorted knives he saw there. He needed something that would allow him to keep his distance. Something capable of blunt force trauma. He looked down the hall. His mom wasn’t up yet. His eyes passed over the other doors.
Wait!
His eyes settled on Darren’s door. Dale had an idea. He crept quietly down the hall, until he stood in front of his brother’s room.
Were the curtains shut? Dale didn’t think so. He’d have to be very careful.
He cracked the door open, got low, and slowly opened the door wide enough to squeeze his head through for a look. Thankfully, there was no activity outside of Darren’s window. Dale slowly opened the door some more.
Why oh why did I have to be fat? Dale berated himself.
Dale crawled into Darren’s room. He immediately saw his goal. But now he was faced with the next dilemma. How to get it without being spotted.
The curtains. He had to shut them.
Dale crawled to the window on his hands and knees, and with infinite slowness pulled one of the curtains, then the other. It felt like a lifetime had gone by before those curtains were shut.
The moment that the curtains were shut, his mom strode into the room. “What are you doing in here, Dale?” It shocked Dale so badly that it took him several seconds to respond. With his eyes closed, he fought for inner calm.
“Mom! You scared the shit out of me! I was closing the curtains. It’s a good thing I got them closed before you walked in! What if one of those things had seen you?”
She nodded. “Yeah. That’s why I waited until you got the curtains closed before walking in.” She said with a wink.
Dale chuckled. His chuckle turned into a cough and he quickly covered his mouth.
Damn, more blood. He realized as he studied his hand.
“Mom can you grab Darren’s baseball bats. I figure we might need them.”
She grabbed the bats as Dale surreptitiously wiped his hand on his brother’s duvet cover.
Bat in hand, Dale advanced back to the kitchen. He darted a glance into the kitchen and out the window. From his vantage point he could only see the back
