gathering had come for him as well, many, many times. When it happened, once or twice a day for the last week, he would retreat up to his attic and sit there clutching his stick, wondering about the possibility of suicide and wishing he had a gun. Tucked away as he was, there wasn't much of a chance for the monsters to get at him, yet he knew that if they got in once he would never be safe and that had him also thinking about trying to make a run for the safety of the army.
Surely they would let him through the lines. After all if they weren 't going to protect the American people then what the hell were they doing?
The one problem with the idea was that every day the sound of the guns firing seemed to come from further away and eventually they ceased altogether. This stopped his planning dead in its tracks and he gave up on the idea until two days later.
His guest bedroom afforded him the best view of Grove Street and he liked to take his meals there when the zombies weren't out in full force. That day his lunch consisted of cold New England clam chowder—it wasn't bad if he took tiny spoonfuls, anything more made him want to gag. As he ate he watched the littlest Cattau zombie trying to get at a cat who sat just out of its reach in a tree. Cats seemed to have multiplied since the zombie plague had descended on the world. They were everywhere and unlike dogs, Neil had yet to see one zombiefied.
He had never cared for any animal in a pet sense, but just then he was lonely and he rooted for the cat to live. And this seemed very likely because the derelict zombie girl turned away and stared at something out of Neil 's line of sight. Even standing didn't help. Whatever the zombie was seeing was on Neil's side of the street.
Then he heard a tapping on wood and a little voice whispering, “Hello? Can you let me in? There's zombies out here.”
Neil ran to another room that had a better view , and there outside the Krauthammer's front door was a girl of maybe sixteen, knocking gently.
Neil raised his window and whispered to her, “There's a zombie right over there.”
“ I know! That's why I need in.”
Neil pointed to the back of his house and then ran downstairs to let her in. He expected gratitude, but instead he got a pistol pointed square in his face when the girl stepped across his threshold.
“Thanks,” she said without the least hint of nervousness to her. “Who you got in here with you? Wife? Kids? Gay lover?” This last she said after giving his neat attire a glance.
“ I'm not gay,” he said petulantly. “And there's no one here but me.”
“ Are you sure?”
For some reason the gun wasn 't scaring him as much as he figured it would and he allowed his anger to show. “Don't you think I'd know if I was gay? Trust me, I like women. I like boobies and vaginas and...”
“ I meant are you sure you're here alone? I don't want any surprises. People get killed that way, or worse.”
“ Oh. No it's just me. And sorry about the vagina thing. It's just when you're not the most masculine man around people make so many assumptions. And then...”
She raised the gun to his face and said, “Shut up and show me where your food is.”
“ You're robbing me?”
“ Duh!” she answered. “Now turn around and don't be stupid, because I swear I'll put a hole in you.” She then dug in her pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Did you see which house I went in? It was the one with the green shutters.”
Her radio squawked and a quiet voice said, “Yeah, but we got a few stiffs coming this way. Leave the back door unlocked and I'll be in soon, over.”
The girl , a goth chic in black, with short spikey hair, looked around, though her gun never wavered. She went through his cupboards with one eye on him and didn't seem to care that he still had his sharpened broom handle in his hands. He held it tight as though he thought the girl would take it from him.
A minute later a brutish man came through the
Surely they would let him through the lines. After all if they weren 't going to protect the American people then what the hell were they doing?
The one problem with the idea was that every day the sound of the guns firing seemed to come from further away and eventually they ceased altogether. This stopped his planning dead in its tracks and he gave up on the idea until two days later.
His guest bedroom afforded him the best view of Grove Street and he liked to take his meals there when the zombies weren't out in full force. That day his lunch consisted of cold New England clam chowder—it wasn't bad if he took tiny spoonfuls, anything more made him want to gag. As he ate he watched the littlest Cattau zombie trying to get at a cat who sat just out of its reach in a tree. Cats seemed to have multiplied since the zombie plague had descended on the world. They were everywhere and unlike dogs, Neil had yet to see one zombiefied.
He had never cared for any animal in a pet sense, but just then he was lonely and he rooted for the cat to live. And this seemed very likely because the derelict zombie girl turned away and stared at something out of Neil 's line of sight. Even standing didn't help. Whatever the zombie was seeing was on Neil's side of the street.
Then he heard a tapping on wood and a little voice whispering, “Hello? Can you let me in? There's zombies out here.”
Neil ran to another room that had a better view , and there outside the Krauthammer's front door was a girl of maybe sixteen, knocking gently.
Neil raised his window and whispered to her, “There's a zombie right over there.”
“ I know! That's why I need in.”
Neil pointed to the back of his house and then ran downstairs to let her in. He expected gratitude, but instead he got a pistol pointed square in his face when the girl stepped across his threshold.
“Thanks,” she said without the least hint of nervousness to her. “Who you got in here with you? Wife? Kids? Gay lover?” This last she said after giving his neat attire a glance.
“ I'm not gay,” he said petulantly. “And there's no one here but me.”
“ Are you sure?”
For some reason the gun wasn 't scaring him as much as he figured it would and he allowed his anger to show. “Don't you think I'd know if I was gay? Trust me, I like women. I like boobies and vaginas and...”
“ I meant are you sure you're here alone? I don't want any surprises. People get killed that way, or worse.”
“ Oh. No it's just me. And sorry about the vagina thing. It's just when you're not the most masculine man around people make so many assumptions. And then...”
She raised the gun to his face and said, “Shut up and show me where your food is.”
“ You're robbing me?”
“ Duh!” she answered. “Now turn around and don't be stupid, because I swear I'll put a hole in you.” She then dug in her pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie. “Did you see which house I went in? It was the one with the green shutters.”
Her radio squawked and a quiet voice said, “Yeah, but we got a few stiffs coming this way. Leave the back door unlocked and I'll be in soon, over.”
The girl , a goth chic in black, with short spikey hair, looked around, though her gun never wavered. She went through his cupboards with one eye on him and didn't seem to care that he still had his sharpened broom handle in his hands. He held it tight as though he thought the girl would take it from him.
A minute later a brutish man came through the
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