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Billie is an intelligent and capable young woman, and you have faith in her ability to defend her home, along with her two linebacker brothers. Caution dictates announcing your presence in case they mistake you for an attacker.

"Billie…Billie!" you call out. "It's Victor Zombie ..…"

Nothing.

You wait a few moments and call again. No one answers, but you hear the pattering noise intensify.

Time passes as you wait for someone to answer. Your hands tighten, and you draw in short breaths as the anxiety builds. Are the Taylors still here? What could be causing that noise?

You wait for several minutes, focused on listening for any sign of what's inside. Billie or her brothers might need help, or they could be locked in a room waiting for someone to come to their aid. You decide to go inside and find out what's become of the Taylor family.

You step into the dark interior and stop just beyond the threshold. Little light shines in the room, with the windows covered by blankets. Only a few rays of sunlight stream through the broken window. As you move for a better view, your feet bump into something solid on the floor. A woman is lying upon her side, and by the pale complexion and distorted features, she seems to be in the final stages of infection. Blood has soaked into the shag rug beneath her head, which draws your attention to the cavernous hole from her ear to her nose.

You walk along the wall and try the light switch, but it only leads to a flicker, then darkness. You can see well enough to spot an overturned couch and gunshots through the cushions. A dining room table is pushed against the wall, and blood stains the surface in a swirl. Bullet holes riddle a wooden divider between the kitchen and living room, and a bookshelf lies at an angle, the remains of shattered Native American pottery visible beneath it.

A sudden movement from the side of the room causes you to duck, and something pauses just overhead. You hear a mad rush of flapping and look up to see a crow fluttering along the ceiling, and it swoops low and flies out of the house in a streak of black.