Sandra goes up the front steps and then stops when she hears a sound coming from the garage. She takes out her pocket knife from her left boot and slowly walks back towards the faint sound. She is about to open the garage door, when Bill appears out of nowhere.
"What are you doing?" said Bill. Startled, Sandra is at a loss for words.
"I asked you a question."
"I-I..."
"You what?"
Sandra is about to tell him that she heard something. But she knows that Bill won't believe her again. She would be like the boy who cries wolf. So she refrains from saying anything.
"Why do you always disobey me? You always do the opposite of what I tell you to do. Won't you ever learn?"
She doesn't answer and stares at the ground.
"Damn it, Sandra! I always have to come to your rescue because you never listen! I'm tired of looking after you," he yells at her.
"Ever since your mother died, you cause trouble."
"Dad, I didn't mean to disobey—"
"You're the reason your mother died. It's all your fault! It's your fault that I lost the only person I loved in this world!" Bill screams at her face, anger taking over him.
"Dad, please, don't tell me that," Sandra says with tears in her eyes.
"Don't call me that. I've had enough. I'm not even your father! I don't know why I'm taking care of you."
Sandra feels as if the world has stopped spinning. Everything is still. She can't believe what he just said. It can't be true. She walks backwards until she hits the porch fence. She raises her head and screams at Bill, "That's not true! You're just saying that because you're angry!"
"It's not a lie! It's the damned truth! I only stuck with you because your mother made me promise that I would take care of you. But I just can't anymore. Every time I see you, I see Linda lying on the floor, dead."
Sandra can't even speak, she's numb. She rushes into the house, almost tripping over the stairs since she can't see clearly because of her tears.
~
Bill is just left there standing and staring at the place where Sandra was stood. Guilt washes over him. Bill regrets telling her the truth. He really does see Sandra as a daughter, but he can't get over losing the love of his life. He is just about to go into the house after Sandra but then stops himself. He sees the dead rabbit that he hunted earlier lying on the ground next to his rifle. He grabs the rabbit and his knife and starts to shed the skin off of the rabbit. He stops what he's doing when he hears groans coming from inside the garage.
He then opens the garage door and a roamer lunges at him. He doesn't have his knife or gun with him since he left it on the ground next to the rabbit. He tries to get him off of himself but he slips on the rabbit. Now on the ground, Bill can see the knife a few inches away. The roamer is desperately trying to bite him. If Bill lets go of the roamers chest, he will surely be bitten.
"Got damn it! You fucker, get off of me!" he screams.
Sandra hears her father's screams and rushes down the stairs. She sees a rifle by the front door entrance and with hands shaking she grabs it and runs outside. As she sees the scene before her, she stands frozen in shock.
"Sandra! Shoot the roamer!" Bill screams. "Don't just stand there! Sandra!"
Sandra comes to her senses, she raises the rifle and aims. Bill keeps fighting with the roamer and this makes it hard for Sandra to aim at the roamers head. Sandra puts her finger on the trigger, closes her eyes, pulls the trigger and hopes that she hit the roamer. She hears Bill scream. Sandra opens her eyes and stares at the lifeless body lying on the ground.
What has she done?
She just killed a man.
Well, he used to be a man but is now a decayed body.
Sandra slowly puts the rifle on the ground and approaches Bill. "Dad, are you okay?"
The roamer is lying on Bill and she can't see him clearly. He then pushes the roamer off himself and struggles to stand. "Here, let me help you," Sandra says. Bill just shrugs her off and stands up.
"I've been bitten." He stares at her, holding his arm out.
"No..." she whispers.
"You already know what happens from here, kiddo," he smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.
