brother.
'What's going on Mr. Talbot?' Jesse asked moving closer and closer to a defensive posture.
'Jesse, we'll never be able to convince those guys out there that these kids are combatants.'
'I'm not a kid!' Blake said, his lip trembling.
'You look like you're about to cry.' Rachael laughed pointing her finger at her brother.
'I'm sorry Blake, but we have to make it look like you and your sister are our prisoners.'
'Dad, it looks like we might be getting some company.' Justin said stepping away from the window.
'Alive or dead?' I asked.
'Both.'
'Shit, drag Bollie further down the hallway get the pendants and hand them out.'
'What are you going to do?'
'Welcome our guests.'
Two zombies were halfway up the steps when I opened the front door. Two men trailed a few steps behind, guns at the ready when they saw me.
'Don’t shoot.' I said holding up my hands.
'What are you doing in there?' The guy on the left asked.
'Getting some food and a little on the side.' I laughed. 'There's a feisty one in here.'
The zombies approached the front door. It was all I could do to not slam the door in their decaying faces and blow large holes through the faux oak paneling. The two paid me no attention as they bumped up against me trying to get through.
'Can you call off your dogs, I'd like to finish up in here and then they can have the scraps.'
The guy on the right licked his lips. 'How old?' He fairly drooled.
God forgive me. 'Ten,' I leered. Inwardly I was repulsed.
'Mind if I watch, maybe get a piece when you're through?' He asked. He was already coming forward. I would spare the lives of these zombies before I would spare his worthless existence.
'We don’t have time for this, Rax. There'll be plenty of that shit when it's over.' The smaller guy on the right said.
'Oh hell Haggart, this shit's over 'cept for the fat lady singing. And I want some now.' Rax said grabbing his crotch.
The zombies were still pushing up against me, fluids of varying viscosity and color where being transferred from them to me but still Rax was making me sicker.
'Seriously Haggart, nobody's getting anything if these two dip shits get in here.' I said pushing one of the zombies back. My hand went nearly four inches into a corroded chest cavity. I did vomit a little in my mouth. Haggart walked up the steps, got to the side of the two zombies, pulled out a colt .45 and took out both zombies with one shot.
I was in shock and doing my best to disguise it, which is nearly useless considering I can't even play poker because I'm so readable.
'What?' Haggart said putting his gun back in its holster. 'It's not like they obey commands. 'Sides, we have thousands more,' he said laughing. 'Anything in there a little older? I mean in a pinch I'll fuck anything.' And I believed him. 'But them kids can be a little unaccommodating when you're carrying something as big as I am.' He leered.
What the fuck is wrong with these people???!! 'Yeah there's a 15 year old too.' I didn't tell him what sex, by his not asking I took that as a sign that he was an equal opportunity rapist. I backed up into the hallway, making myself appear as large as possible to hide any incriminating evidence. Rax nearly bowled Haggart over trying to get in.
Rax was busy fumbling with his pants when I shut the door. Haggart was first to notice the blood trail.
'The dad.' I told him when he looked at me. 'Knife through the ribs.'
'Hardcore man.' Haggart said clapping my shoulder while making himself at home.
Rax was almost finished undoing his belt buckle. I wanted to slice his throat open but Haggart wouldn't put his damn rifle down. I was hoping to avoid a gun battle as the enemy soldiers were entirely too close and would most assuredly investigate.
Haggart was about five feet in front of me, with Rax in between the two of us, when Rachael stepped into the hallway from the far end.
'Please make them stop.' She cried. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
'Oh she's hot!' Rax said as his pants fell to the floor. I thanked all that was holy that he had underwear on even if there was more brown than white to them. All's fair in rape and pillage I suppose, as Rax pushed the smaller man out of his way. Rachael cowered as the man headed down the hallway. My chance had come. I grabbed the K-Bar out of my leg sheath and dragged the honed bladed across Haggart's neck. I barely felt any resistance as his skin parted under the pressure. Blood shot out like a fountain. I sliced across the width of his neck cutting deeper than was necessary. I just wanted to hasten his journey to hell. Rax, who was breathing entirely too heavy to hear the final gurgles of his friend, lurched on.
I let Haggart hit the ground. I was in no mood to make his final moments on the planet any more pleasant than they had to be.
Rax turned when the floor under his feet jumped. 'What the fuck is going on?' He said angrily.
'You want to mess with my sister? You sick fuck!' Jesse said coming out from the kitchen. 'Nobody messes with my sister except for me!' He screamed.
Rax turned from imminent death into the waiting arms of demise as Jesse plunged a butcher knife hilt deep into his stomach. Rax roared from the pain. A back hand sent Jesse skidding across the kitchen linoleum. Rax placed both hands on the hilt and screamed as he pulled it free. I hammered my K-Bar home through the right side of the neck, the point of the blade emerging an inch past the left side of his neck. Blood flowed into his mouth and onto the floor as he fell to his knees, dropping the knife. I pulled my knife free just as he fell face forward. By the sound of the crunching noise his last few moments on this plane of existence were with a broken nose.
'What the hell are you two doing?' I said trying to yell at both kids simultaneously.
'My mom always said I was a good actress. I wanted to see if she was right.' Rachael said. She tried for a smile, but even as good an actress as she was she couldn't pull it off with such a gruesome scene in front of her.
'Piece of shit wanted to rape my sister.' Jesse said standing up, rubbing his rapidly reddening jaw line.
'You alright?' I asked as I pulled his hand down to get a better look. He nodded.
Blake came in behind his sister. 'Don't blame her, Mr. Talbot. It was my idea. I figured you were going to need a distraction.'
'It's okay, nobody's hurt,' I said. 'Just one bruise and 47 accumulated years of therapy and everyone should be fine.'
'Dad, we have to get out of here. We're running out of hallway space.' Justin said.
'That's funny.' I told him. 'Sick but funny.'
'Got it from you.'
'Might have to include you on that therapy time scale.' I was worried about Rachael. Sure, she appeared tough and she probably was, with three older brothers, she had to be. But she was still only ten. As a ten year old if this had all unfolded in front of me I probably would have pulled a 'Tommy,' and not our kindly other-worldly Wal- Mart greeter. I'm talking about The Who's rock opera “Tommy.” I'd be catatonic.
'You alright Rachael?' I asked. My heart bled for her. I'll give her this, she was pretty upset, but extremely resistant to letting her brothers know.
'I would like to see my mom now,' she said, while coming through the rooms to my right to completely avoid the hallway altogether.
'What if Dad tries to come back here?' Blake asked.
My honest answer was that he'd die trying. There was no way he'd be able to get through. I was happy that I was able to give a more politically correct version of that response though. 'We're not going to give him the chance. It'll be easier for us to get to him.' That might not be completely true. If he did try and succeed, what then? He'd find a blood bath in his house and his kids missing. I know that would drive me over the edge. I had to hope that Doc was lying low, looking for a chance to come back. There should still be time to get to him before he did
