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[Trigger warning child abuse & child death]
THEN.
Underthe rising sun, a worn-out middle-aged man was sitting on the hood of a red Camry, back pressed against the windscreen. A rifle hung limply by his side, gripped weakly by two fingers, slipping out of his hand every so often.
He was exhausted and covered from head to toe in blood. But he'd done it. When the herd came - he protected her. His wife said he wouldn't be able to. The military at that FEMA camp too, but they were wrong, he'd done it and now Winnie was sleeping soundly inside the car, free of bites and any other ailments.
Hiding behind a patch of overgrown shrubbery watching the man was a dreadlocked woman and a six-year-old boy, both were worryingly thin and filthy - the boy in particular, his cheekbones were perfectly visible beneath the sallow skin covering his face.
The woman, Jocelyn, lowered her mouth to the boy's ear and whispered, "Teescabulles por un lado, ¿recuerdas? Pídele ayuda. Frota un poco tu estómago." (You sneak around the side, remember? Ask him for help. Rub your stomach a little. )
"¿Y si es amable?" (What if he is kind?)
"Él no es. Lorenzo, sabes que sólo hago lo mejor para nosotros." (He is not. Lorenzo, you know that I only do what is best for us.)
Lorenzo nodded slowly. When the monsters got Mama, she told him to go with Jocelyn, she told him to listen to her and eat whatever food she gave him, even if he didn't like it. She told him to grow big and strong and remember that she loved him very much. If Mama liked Jocelyn, she had to be a nice lady. She had to be doing the right thing.
Jocelyn put a hand on his back and lightly shoved him forward. "Ve ahora." (Go now.)
Lorenzo kept himself crouched and scurried behind the car as quietly as he could. He stopped just beneath the trunk, taking a moment to cup his mouth and breathe into his hands - breathing loudly woke people up.
He stood up slowly and walked around the length of the vehicle, hands held up in surrender just like Jocelyn taught him. "Mister?"
The man's hands curled around his rifle instantaneously and he slid off of the hood, whirling around to find Enzo. His shoulders sagged in relief when he saw it was just a kid but his grip on the gun didn't slacken. "Oh, Christ. You. . . You all alone out here, Buddy?"
Lorenzo couldn't understand all of the man's words but they were spoken gently. Bad men didn't speak like that. They smiled strangely and yelled and broke things. This man really did look as though he wanted to help.
