280

You unlock and unbar the door and swing it open.

"Hey, come inside. You don't want to be out there for long," you say.

"Thank you so much," the young woman says as she leads the man up the front steps. "I can't believe it, you're the first person who helped us."

The man wipes his feet on the welcome mat and taps the floor with his cane. "I'm Lyle Duncan. This is my granddaughter, Jillian."

Jillian pretends to curtsy, though her skirt's too tight. She tilts her head to the side and smiles, showing slightly angled teeth and a sharp overbite. Above her lip is the dot of a mole, and her blonde hair has dark roots.

"And I'm Victor Zombie."

"You sound very young. Are your parents home?" Lyle asks.