too much, and it killed him. Too bad, because he had meaty thighs, and I could have made good use of him. I couldn’t let him dig his teeth into you though, not after I worked so hard to lure you in.”
“You wicked old witch!” Val screamed. “You need help.”
“I’m not wicked.” Rita said. “I’m just...this godforsaken zombie apocalypse has made me this way!” she roared.
Her lousy excuses wouldn’t garner her any sympathy from me, so I just shouted at the monster, “Gimme the keys to this truck, or there’s gonna be another victim of the apocalypse lying on your lawn, lady!”
“I have to go inside,” Rita said in a calm, reassuring voice.
I didn’t trust her for a minute, and neither did Val. I was sure if we let her go in there alone, she’d come out with a machinegun or an Uzi. For all I knew, the crazy old bat had a rocket launcher stashed in her quilt rack.
“Dean,” Val said, “go in with her and get the keys. Shoot her if she tries anything funny.”
“I don’t wanna leave you out here with these guys,” I said.
“Right,” she said, then quickly shot both of them in the chest. “There. Now you have nothing to worry about. Now go.”
Rita screamed and wept over one of the men. “How dare you? Have you no mercy?”
“Us? You’ve got dead people hanging in your barn, ready to be made into casserole! How’s that for mercy, lady?” Val asked sarcastically. “Now, if you don’t go get those keys for my brother, the zombies are gonna be feasting on your dead corpse when I make Swiss cheese of you right here!”
“We’re just trying to survive, like you,” she whined.
“And so are we,” I chimed in.
Val’s voice trembled. “Now you know the pain each and every family member felt when their loved one didn’t come back from your little bed-and-breakfast. I’m officially putting this cattle farm out of business.”
“We don’t eat for pleasure, just for survival,” she said.
“Maybe at first you did,” I said, “but you admitted yourself that you started to enjoy it. You’re twisted and sick. We’re all living in this world, dealing with all this, but we aren’t eating each other! You’re a freak, a monster, and there’s something wrong with you if you’d go to those lengths!”
“No! I’m a good person,” Rita argued.
“Tell that to the families of your victims,” Val screamed, getting angrier by the second, her face redder than I’d ever seen it before.
“Where’s the key, Rita?” I asked, waving my gun at the old woman.
“In the kitchen.”
“I suggest you be a little more specific, hag,” Val spat.
“It’s hanging on the key rack, behind my raincoat.”
I turned to my sister. “Go get it. I’ll watch Rita.”
She nodded and stormed into the house.
“Well? Are you gonna lecture me now about what a sick operation I run here?” Rita asked.
“I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person,” I said. “I read that on a coffee cup once, but it seems to apply here. You’re a freaking psychopath,” I said. “Nothing I could say would make you change your mind or feel any remorse.”
“Do you feel remorse when you eat a burger?” she asked. “Cows are killed the same way.”
“Human beings are not cows.”
Before Rita could utter another ridiculous word, Val came out. “I got the key!”
“Great. Now we can—”
Bang !
The second my attention was diverted, there was a gunshot, and Val collapsed to the grass next to one of the men she’d killed.
“Val!” I shouted.
Chapter 12
M y sister was writhing in pain, shivering, and clutching her chest.
Rita then pointed the gun straight at me.
Just as I was about to lunge at her, the gun clicked empty. I rushed over and picked up Val.
Rita tried to grab another gun from the back of the truck, but she was startled by a series of zombie moans echoing through the air and knew she had a bigger problem to contend with then us. Rita’s own relatives were
“You wicked old witch!” Val screamed. “You need help.”
“I’m not wicked.” Rita said. “I’m just...this godforsaken zombie apocalypse has made me this way!” she roared.
Her lousy excuses wouldn’t garner her any sympathy from me, so I just shouted at the monster, “Gimme the keys to this truck, or there’s gonna be another victim of the apocalypse lying on your lawn, lady!”
“I have to go inside,” Rita said in a calm, reassuring voice.
I didn’t trust her for a minute, and neither did Val. I was sure if we let her go in there alone, she’d come out with a machinegun or an Uzi. For all I knew, the crazy old bat had a rocket launcher stashed in her quilt rack.
“Dean,” Val said, “go in with her and get the keys. Shoot her if she tries anything funny.”
“I don’t wanna leave you out here with these guys,” I said.
“Right,” she said, then quickly shot both of them in the chest. “There. Now you have nothing to worry about. Now go.”
Rita screamed and wept over one of the men. “How dare you? Have you no mercy?”
“Us? You’ve got dead people hanging in your barn, ready to be made into casserole! How’s that for mercy, lady?” Val asked sarcastically. “Now, if you don’t go get those keys for my brother, the zombies are gonna be feasting on your dead corpse when I make Swiss cheese of you right here!”
“We’re just trying to survive, like you,” she whined.
“And so are we,” I chimed in.
Val’s voice trembled. “Now you know the pain each and every family member felt when their loved one didn’t come back from your little bed-and-breakfast. I’m officially putting this cattle farm out of business.”
“We don’t eat for pleasure, just for survival,” she said.
“Maybe at first you did,” I said, “but you admitted yourself that you started to enjoy it. You’re twisted and sick. We’re all living in this world, dealing with all this, but we aren’t eating each other! You’re a freak, a monster, and there’s something wrong with you if you’d go to those lengths!”
“No! I’m a good person,” Rita argued.
“Tell that to the families of your victims,” Val screamed, getting angrier by the second, her face redder than I’d ever seen it before.
“Where’s the key, Rita?” I asked, waving my gun at the old woman.
“In the kitchen.”
“I suggest you be a little more specific, hag,” Val spat.
“It’s hanging on the key rack, behind my raincoat.”
I turned to my sister. “Go get it. I’ll watch Rita.”
She nodded and stormed into the house.
“Well? Are you gonna lecture me now about what a sick operation I run here?” Rita asked.
“I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person,” I said. “I read that on a coffee cup once, but it seems to apply here. You’re a freaking psychopath,” I said. “Nothing I could say would make you change your mind or feel any remorse.”
“Do you feel remorse when you eat a burger?” she asked. “Cows are killed the same way.”
“Human beings are not cows.”
Before Rita could utter another ridiculous word, Val came out. “I got the key!”
“Great. Now we can—”
Bang !
The second my attention was diverted, there was a gunshot, and Val collapsed to the grass next to one of the men she’d killed.
“Val!” I shouted.
Chapter 12
M y sister was writhing in pain, shivering, and clutching her chest.
Rita then pointed the gun straight at me.
Just as I was about to lunge at her, the gun clicked empty. I rushed over and picked up Val.
Rita tried to grab another gun from the back of the truck, but she was startled by a series of zombie moans echoing through the air and knew she had a bigger problem to contend with then us. Rita’s own relatives were
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