The wire was wrapped around a solid-looking post. He checked his body, amazed that he had not cut himself on the chicken wire. After a moment, he got up from the ground and stood over the little girl.
“You should go inside. It’s dangerous out here,” he told her.
She shook her head solemnly. “No. Mama pushed me out. She said that Papa was sick. She said, ‘Get away from here! Go to Auntie Mikaela’s.’” She mimicked her mom right down to the panic in the tone. Dropping her gaze, she kicked at the dirt with her boot. “Only, I don’t know how to get to Auntie Mikaela’s house. I tried, but just didn’t remember which way to go. And there were strange people on the road. I got scared.” Her bottom lip stuck out and the girl started to tremble.
“Hey. Hey, it’s OK.”
She looked up at Q with her tear-filled eyes. “I don’t want to go to Auntie Mikaela’s house. I want my mama!” She wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. “Can you go ask mama if I can come back in? I promise to be good.”
The poor girl had no idea what was going on. “I will go take a look,” Q promised.
The girl looked unconvinced.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“I’m not supposed to tell you. You’re a stranger.”
“Hmm. Yeah, that’s right. Good thinking,” Q said with a smile. “I’m Quentin. You can call me Q.”
“OK,” the girl said uncertainly.
“Well, now we’re not strangers anymore. So, what’s your name?”
She pondered that for a moment. Then nodded. “My name is Angelica. Mama calls me Angel.”
Again, Q tried to smile reassuringly at the young girl. In the meantime, his mind was going a million miles an hour.
Do I leave her? Should I go check on her parents? Should I take her with me?
All the while, the little girl just looked up at him. He knew that he couldn’t just leave her behind.
Q forced more reassurance into his smile. “I’m going to call you Angel, too. Hey, how about I go see your mama? Make sure everything is OK? Do you think you can stay here and wait for me?”
“No!” The girl’s expression turned angry. “I want to come!” Tears brimmed once more in her eyes.
“All right, Angel. Fine. Let’s go together.” He took the girl’s proffered hand and they stepped back through the garden to the back of the house.
The left the perceived safety that the corn plants provided and stepped out into daylight. The back of the house loomed up ahead. Q had a moment of recognition. This house looked exactly like his own. His eyes automatically drifted to what would be the window to his bedroom. He shook his head, knowing that he shouldn’t be surprised. All houses in Verde Acres were pretty much the same.
It felt surreal, nonetheless.
They crept up to the back door. In the distance, they could hear people screaming and the screech of a car as it sped off.
Q was about to reach for the door handle, then changed his mind. Instead, he knelt to get face to face with the girl. “Listen, Angel. Your mama and papa might be sick. If they are, you need to come with me. They might want to hurt you.” Q struggled to find the right words. The confused look on Angel’s face didn’t help.
“Just be ready to run if there is trouble. Do you understand?” Angel’s eyes were wide with fear, but she nodded.
Q stood back up and reached for the screen door. He pulled it open to the slight squeak of the spring.
Huh. Good spring on this one, too.
“Can you hold this door open for me?” he whispered to Angel. She placed her body to block the screen door from closing. The ease with which she did this made it obvious that she had been asked to do it many times before.
Q reached for the door handle. He knew what he would find inside, yet desperately wished it would be otherwise. Q considered turning back for a second, but one look at Angel’s face was enough to discard that thought.
He turned the handle and pushed the door open. It was dark and quiet inside. The curtains in the front room were drawn, so the only real light streaming into the house was from the door he had just opened.
He let his eyes adjust for a moment, then with a signal to Angel to stay at the door, he took a step inside. Q crept silently down the hall. All the doors were shut, except for the master bedroom. He carefully peeked in. There was a shape on the bed. In the dark, he couldn’t tell who it was, or even this person was alive or dead. The person wasn’t moving, so he guessed the latter. His suspicion was confirmed as he took a step into the room.
It had been a man. His skull was caved in near one of his temples. Angel’s papa was dead. The heavy-looking mallet lying beside the bed told him that Angel’s mama had presumably ended his life.
Zombies don’t use tools. Maybe Angel’s mom is OK. But where is she?
The tiniest of sounds alerted Q. Somebody or something had moved in the living room.
He felt the hair on his neck rise. With infinite slowness, Q took a step back out of the bedroom. He decided to peek around the wall into the living room.
That was a mistake, as he came face to face with Mama. The horrific expression on her face confirmed his fear. He gasped, and she lunged.
To his luck, the corner of the wall was in the way. Mama ricocheted off the wall and away from him. He turned and ran.
Angel looked past him as he ran to her. “Mama?”
“Angel, come!” He tried to tug on her shoulder, but she squirmed away, evading his grasp.
“Mama!” she exclaimed, taking a step inside.
“No!” Q reached out and grabbed one of her arms. He could see Angel’s mom approaching. She was
