Rose ran back up to the ambulance after securing the gate. There was barbed wire fencing that appeared to run the property. Good, that would keep things out, unless these things crawled in on their bellies. The zombie beings didn’t seem to have a higher reasoning, just animal instinct. They drove slowly around the double S curve drive and soon a large farmhouse came into view. It was a two-story affair, with a wide wraparound porch. It had six white pillars that lined the front porch and windows across. The second story displayed windows across the front. Jutting up on the side was an actual chimney. The front lawn was wide and with live oaks peppered about the property. Spanish moss hung from many of the trees around the yard.
Xander could hear the almost deafening buzz of the cicadas and it seemed very peaceful. It reminded him of his cabin and made him long to be there. There was no stench of decay here and he could hear a cow over in the large barn. He parked the truck and got out. Shay was sitting up and rubbing her sleepy face, her hair sticking up in a crazed mass. Xander thought she was a cute kid and smiled softly at her. She grinned shyly up at him and he reached over and patted her cheek gently. Zahara shifted and opened the door and helped the little girl down out of the truck and they all walked up to the ambulance.
“Your uncle has a nice place here. Peaceful,” Xander said, a soft smile on his face.
“I loved coming here as a child, it is one of my most favorite places to be. I visit as often as I can,” Rose said, looking around.
“Do you think your uncle is in the house?” Ethan said. There were a few lights glowing from windows as the day turned to early evening.
“Not sure, it’s late in the day and if he were in the house, he’d have come out. He might be in the barn, I hear the cow calling, she might need milking. Let’s go take a peek there. The group started toward the barn and Xander saw a large pond about five hundred feet from the house. He wondered if it had fish. The doors to the barn were open but it was gloomy inside, the fading daylight only reached in so far.
“Uncle Dickie? You there?” Rose called into the barn. The cow responded and Xander heard goats bleating at the far end of the barn. He heard them shuffling around in their stall. The scent of cow manure, hay and goats were prevalent within the barn.
“Uncle Dickie? Oh, Lord. What on earth are you doing down there?” Rose said with a laugh as they saw a large man on his belly, he was reaching under the door of a stall, it was the cow’s stall. He wore faded overalls and Xander could make out a yellow bandana hanging out of his back pocket. A straw hat sat beside the prone man. He was wiggling around. Rose was laughing and bent down to pull on the man’s arm. Xander was unprepared for what happened next as the man jerked around and in the dim light that filtered through the doors, he saw a brutal bite mark on the old man’s face.
Rose tried to jerk back as the man’s hands flew out and caught her; his mouth gaped open and it looked as though he’d chewed off his own lips. His eyes were wide but blank and he clawed at Rose and tried to draw her close to his mouth, his teeth clacking and chomping at her. Rose’s shrilled scream filled the barn and the cow slammed itself against the far wall.
Uncle Dickie was raking his fingers down her neck, jerking and pulling her closer and closer. Ethan had stumbled and was trying to pull Rose out of the zombie’s grasp, for Uncle Dickie was no longer. Shay was hiding her face in Zahara’s stomach and Zahara’s eyes were wide with shock. Finally, Xander drew his weapon and shot the man in the head and he fell to the ground, his mouth hanging wide open as blood and saliva dripped down his chin. Time resumed at normal speed and Ethan was scooping Rose up and running out of the barn. Reggie was just running in, his eyes wide and then he saw the old man on the ground. The cow was now kicking and lowing. Xander looked at him and saw the shock and sorrow in Reggie’s eyes.
He saw that the three orphans were clustered behind Reggie, the twins holding onto his waist. Lauren hovered behind, her hands covering her mouth and her eyes filled with tears. Xander went to follow Ethan and see if Rose would live or if they had to kill her. They could bury her uncle later. He came out of the barn when he heard Reggie talking to the twins.
“You boys ever milk a cow? My granddaddy showed me how. Sounds like that old girl needs a milkin’. I don’t suppose you wanna help me?” Reggie asked, his voice soft. Perhaps he wasn’t an asshole after all? Lauren followed Xander and Zahara, Shay was nearly glued to Zahara’s side. There were more lights on in the house now and the group turned when two zombies came around the side of the house. Lauren squeaked and Zahara shot both of the creatures without breaking her stride.
“I’m going to take a look around the property. See if there are any more of these things
