CHAPTER 2

Grandma needed to pick up a few things before we left for New Orleans, so we made a quick stop in Summerset. While she was talking with one of her friends and picking up supplies, I wandered around the market area. I always enjoyed visiting the market at Summerset; the air was filled with the scent of fresh pies and pastries as well as roasted meats and the sound of people haggling and visiting with each other as they went about their daily lives.

In the past, people used money, both paper and coins, and something called a credit card to pay for what they needed. But the money from the past is now worthless, today we use goods to pay for what we need, for instance, the black tea that my family grows, and it works very well.

I traded the lady at the drink stall, a small bag of tea for a cold mug of sarsaparilla soda. The sweet cold drink was something I always looked forward to when we came to market a few times a year. Moving on to the jewelry stall, I stopped to admire some seashell bracelets when I noticed that someone was following me.

As towns went, Summerset was average size with a population of approximately 200. Most everyone there was friendly, as many of them knew either my mom or grandma. But this woman had an angry, bitter look. She had long graying brown hair that she wore up in an untidy bun, and I guessed that despite the deep lines on her face, she was probably around ten years younger than my grandma, who at 53 was much more youthful-looking.

Just then, the woman who noticed that I was watching her suddenly took an interest in something on the other side of the market and walked away. I soon forgot all about her as I continued browsing the stalls ending up in the boot and shoe section at the end of the market area. This area of the market was much quieter as most people were gravitating toward the food section at the center of the market. Realizing that it was getting close to lunchtime, I regretfully sat down the cute pair of boots that I was admiring and quickly turned to meet up with Grandma and Lucas when something slammed into the back of my head, and everything went dark.

I couldn't have been out for more than a few minutes; everything was pitch black when I came to; at first, I was pretty disoriented but soon realized that I was inside a bag, possibly a feed sack being awkwardly carried by two people. My head was pounding, and the heat inside the bag made me feel queasy, which made me fear that if I didn't get out of this bag soon, I would start vomiting, which was the absolute worse thing that could happen. Panicked, I started struggling and yelling, doing everything that I could to get away and maybe attract some help.

One of the people carrying me, a woman from the sound of her voice, started cursing, and seconds later, I was dropped roughly on the ground. And the bag was pulled roughly from my head, blinking in the bright light, I looked around and realized that I was now inside of a barn or shed. Half of the room had been made into a large cage, empty except for a wooden chair in the middle of the room and a pile of rags in the corner. It reminded me of an old jail cell with bars going from the floor to the ceiling.

I jumped to my feet and came face to face with my attacker. It was the angry woman from the market and a boy in his late teens.

"Don't touch me, " I yelled and pushed her away, only to recoil when she pulled out a knife and held it to my throat.

"You're not going anywhere, little girl," she said with an eerie smile. "Bubba's hungry, and it's way past his dinner time."

"Momma, I really don't think that this is a good idea." The teenage boy said nervously.

"Shut-up Teddy, when I want your opinion, I'll ask for it." She snapped and drew the blade across my neck, smiling at the thin line of blood that appeared.

"Well, I'll be. you don't recognize me do you, little girl?" She said with surprise. "let me introduce myself, I'm June Miller, and this is my eldest son Teddy. I'm sure that you remember my youngest Oliver, after all, your family did murder him."

My eyes widened in fear, and with a bitter smile, she pushed the knife in just a little harder, drawing more blood. " Your family took away my baby boy, and now I'm going to take you from them."

"What are you talking about," I whispered in shock. "Oliver was a zombie; he attacked us. Nobody wanted to hurt him."

"Lies," she screamed. "There was nothing wrong with Oliver. He was perfectly fine that day until your mother decided to kill him."

She reached behind me and unlocked the cell door before pushing me inside with an evil smile. "Now, your family will know what it's like to lose a child; it's just too bad that they won't be here to see it happen."

"Momma, please don't do this." Teddy pleaded before she reached out and roughly slapped him across the face.

"Teddy, I've just about had it up to here with you. You're starting to act just like that no-good father of yours." With that, she reached out and patted him on the head with an absent-minded smile. "Now, be a good boy and do as I say, and I'll bake you an apple pie for supper tonight. Also, be sure and clean up the mess after Bubba finishes, you know how messy of an eater your pappy can be."

I waited before she left before turning to Teddy; it was evident that June was completely insane, but maybe with his mom gone, I might be able to talk some sense into Teddy. I glanced across the room; my backpack with my gun safely stowed inside was lying on the floor just a few feet away. But, it might as well be miles with me locked inside this cell and unable to reach it.

"Teddy, you have to let me out," I whispered urgently.

"I'm so sorry," he shook his head regretfully. "Momma would kill me."

My heart sank. "Please, Teddy, just unlock the door, she doesn't have to know that you did it."

"She would know," his gaze dropped to the floor, and he started to turn away. "It's too late anyway now that Pappy is awake."

I heard a shuffling noise from the corner of the cell; apparently, what I had taken for a pile of rags lying on the floor was Teddy's dad.

Urgently I gripped the bars of the cell, " Teddy, please throw me my backpack and at least give me a chance."

He paused at the door, " it won't do any good; Momma already took your gun."

I felt all of the strength leave my legs and gripped the bars tighter, fighting to stay on my feet as he left the room without another word.

"Teddy, you know this isn't right. Please go get help." I called after him all the while, knowing that it would be too late even if he did go for help.

Swiftly I turned around scanning the cell for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. Luckily for me, Bubba hadn't eaten for a while, so he was extremely slow, but I knew that it would wear off soon when he caught my scent. Zombies who are without food for a while will go into some type of hibernation and only wake up when food is near.

The cell was empty except for the old wooden chair, it wasn't much, but it would have to do. Quickly I smashed the chair against the bars breaking it apart and picking up two of the chair legs to use as a weapon. I slid one chair leg into my back pocket and clutched the other in my right hand. Each chair leg had a hanger bolt at the end of the leg that was used to screw it into the chair, which could if I used enough force be driven through the eye socket of the zombie right into its brain.

This would be a little harder to do on a human being or a new zombie, but as they grow older, zombies also grow weaker and more fragile as their bodies break down and decompose. Of course, this makes them a lot easier to kill, but make no mistake; an aging zombie can still be very dangerous. And all it takes is one little slip on your part to create a brand new zombie.

Bubba shuffled closer, and I almost laughed out loud, as zombie's go, he was old and in very poor/mushy condition. This was going to be a lot easier than I first thought.

I moved back a couple of feet in order to draw him out into the center of the cell. He stood there, swaying almost drunkenly for a couple of moments before shuffling after me. Moving swiftly, I dropped him to the floor with a leg sweep, and almost in one move plunged the chair leg deep into his left eye socket, killing him almost instantly.

I turned at the sound of clapping and saw Grandma standing there with someone; the Sheriff I could tell by his badge and uniform and an angry-looking June Miller who was now in handcuffs.

Grandma unlocked the cell door and winced at all of the gore, covering me, " that wasn't bad at all for your first kill, sweetie, but we need to get you cleaned up because you reek."

June lunged forward but was brought up short by the Sheriff's grip. "I'll see and your whole family in hell, Erica Black, your daughter murdered my baby."

Grandma shook her head sadly, " the poor woman is completely insane, but you'd better keep her locked up, Sheriff. Because if she comes after anyone else in my family, I will end her right there."

"She won't be getting out anytime soon if ever." The Sheriff replied grimly, "I just don't know what the hell I'm going to do with her."

"She must have kept her husband locked up all these years in this cell, how messed up is that?" Grandma remarked.

"In my line of work, you see a lot of strange things, but I have to admit that this ranks right up there as one of the strangest. Bubba Miller was a drunken old son-of-a-bitch, but I don't think that he did anything to deserve that."

I sighed, drawing Grandma's attention back to my discomfort, " Let this be a lesson to you, Kaley, always keep your gun where you can reach it. A zombie isn't going to wait around for you to get it out of your backpack." She said before handing me my gun and backpack.

I winced a little at that, " lesson learned, Grandma, I won't make that mistake again. Now, if you don't mind, I really need a bath."

I turned to leave but paused for a second, " Sheriff, what's going to happen to Teddy?"

"Teddy will be just fine, he has an aunt who lives nearby, and I know she would love to take him in." He said with a reassuring smile.