“Same here, but we’re a rare breed and she’s one of us. We have a duty to raise her right.”
Ahead, he saw the ambulance slow down and he slowed down as well. Ethan stopped and got out of the ambulance and walked over to the truck.
“You need to come see this,” Ethan said, his face filled with a troubling look.
“What’s going on?” Xander said, putting his truck in park. He left the engine running and got out, drawing his weapon. He looked behind as Reggie got out and caught up to them. They saw a group of zombies surrounding an SUV.
“So?” Xander asked, looking back at Ethan.
“Look who it is.” Ethan pointed.
Xander looked but still didn’t get it until one of the zombies turned around and he groaned. Jess. A woman turned around as well and Xander cursed. Beth.
“How in the fuck could he have done this? Fucking idiot.”
“He was already dead when he didn’t take his family away from here when it first started,” Ethan said softly.
“There’s kids in that SUV,” Reggie said, raising his AR-15.
Xander placed his hand on the man’s weapon and lowered it.
“You’ll draw more zombies if you shoot that thing. When we get to Rose’s uncle’s house, we’ll see if we have a suppressor that might fit that,” Xander said.
“We can’t just leave those children,” Reggie said, his voice becoming agitated.
“We won’t,” Ethan’s voice was harsh and he looked at Reggie with dislike.
“You take out the parents, I’ll get the others. I hate that we have to kill them in front of their children, but there’s nothing for it. We can’t get to the kids without dropping those things,” Xander said and brought his weapon up. He began shooting and Ethan walked beside him doing the same. The children in the SUV had been crying but were now screaming. Their small hands beat on the windows and their heads shook with denial. Xander hated it but if they were going to get the children out safely, they needed to kill the creatures that surrounded the vehicle. He felt rage fill him. Jess had been an idiot and an incompetent guardian. He had failed his family miserably and now his children would be traumatized for the rest of their lives.
Reggie reached for the door and the children backed up, their sobs nearly vibrating the windows.
“It’s okay kids, it’s okay,” Reggie said, his hands out in supplication.
“You killed our parents,” Lauren screamed, her face red and she was hysterical.
“Baby girl, your folks were already dead. We just put them out of their misery. I know they wouldn’t want to hurt you, but they would have, trust me,” Reggie said gently. Lauren stopped screaming and seemed to fall to pieces as she fell to the floor, crying. Mike and Luke held onto each other, their eyes wide with shock and tears. Xander again cursed Jess. Reggie helped Lauren up and picked her up in his arms. Xander leaned in and grabbed the boys as Ethan covered them. Around the corner came four zombies. Ethan shot them in quick succession as the group moved toward the vehicles. Reggie led the way, going to his Jeep. He set Lauren in the front passenger seat and Xander put the twins in the back, buckling them in. The twins looked up at him with large eyes and his heart broke. He sighed heavily and patted each head gently and shut the door.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he growled to Ethan, who nodded vehemently.
SIX
It was silent in the Jeep as the miles sped by and Reggie looked over at Lauren who was staring out the window. His glance drifted to the rearview mirror and he tilted to check on the boys. They were clutching each other, sound asleep. Good, sleep was good. He knew that the boys and their sister would grieve for a long time. He understood that and knew that he would care for these children. He would help them. His life was going through a woodchipper and he kept getting thrown out into different situations. Shay was a werewolf, just like that lady. He’d seen the blond man’s eyes and knew that he was one of those creatures as well. The other man, Ethan, didn’t seem to be, but he wasn’t totally sure. He’d seen the hate and resentment in the man’s eyes. He did understand that.
Behind him he saw smoke in the early evening sky. He wondered if it were the fires he’d started? Huntsville was fading quickly in the distance and he couldn’t get away from it fast enough. It had been one hell of a day; with things he’d never thought in a billion years he would witness. His whole concept of the world and himself had done a massive shift. At the gas station, he’d taken his knife and had scraped off the bumper sticker. He wasn’t sure if Ethan might shoot him anyway. From the look of the man and his weapon, he thought Ethan was some kind of military or police. It was the same with Xander and that Zahara, though she seemed on the verge of crazy. They all had expensive weapons and were deadly accurate. The suppressors were illegal, yet all their weapons had them.
No, those three were some sort of military, government or police. He looked again in the mirror and looked into his own eyes. He was not the same man he was a week ago, a day ago. His whole world burned around him and he had to become a new man and make a new life. He was given a gift of these children and though he knew he would miss Shay; he knew she was where she was supposed to be. Werewolf. She had touched
