Kid Zombie :

XIV

I woke up in the car. This time Miles and Izzy were there. The night before, Miles had made an attempt to get as close to me as possible during our slumber. He ended up in the same seat as me, arms wrapped around me protectively. I was in his lap with my legs straddled around his waist, face deeply into his lap. Miles continuously took brief looks at Izzy and I before he finally fell into his own sleep.

Miles was back into the drivers seat snoring lightly by the morning. I grabbed the jacket that was on the floor, dragging it up over his shoulders. My little sister already managed to cover herself up through the night. I faintly smelt the aroma of what I thought was jerky. Lightly, making my way out of the car and closing the door gently, I stepped outside. Dew was still on the grass, brushing my bare feet as I made my way through the grass. The early summer breeze blew on my skin. It was almost comforting to me for the moment.

I let my nose lead me to the backyard. I watched silently as the two men of the house conversed silently while Jolene and Tammy cooked on the outdoor grill side by side.

Will spoke in a hushed voice. "We have to tell them, then."

Todd took his words into consideration as he made a pondering facial expression.

"Well how can we do that, Will? It isn't exactly in our place to tell them to just leave." He said finally.

"But he has the right to tell us? How do we even know if he's being truthful in his words? What about out children, Todd?" He said, the anger in his voice showing.

"We killed his grandparents." Todd said in a small voice.

"We were defending ourselves."

"Could you stop trying to argue and actually think for a second here, Will? They have a child with them too." Todd argued back.

"I'm thinking about my family here! Those things out there could take them away from me at any second. People out there are losing minds! We're lucky to get some sort of peace in the spot we're in now!" He yelled.

My hand slipped on the house, banging into the gutter. I silently cursed under my breath.

"Who's there?" Will asked.

I walked forward, making my self into view.

"It's me." I said, voice small.

"Speak of the devil," Will said with a forced smile.

"I- I'm sorry for Miles's behavior ,yesterday. He was very emotional about-about-."

Todd held up his hand. "Say no more. You hungry?"

His question brought on an unexpected growl in my stomach. I quickly brought my palm to my stomach, seeking to muffle the sound. My cheeks flushed at the sound.

"I take that as a yes." Todd said with a chuckle.

He walked over to Jolene, exchanging words with her and sneaking a kiss on her cheek. He then grabbed the small glass plate from her fragile hands and made his way back towards me.

On the plate there was two small biscuits and pieces of the jerky I had smelt beforehand.

"How did you manage to make this?" I said through chews.

"We have goats. Three to be exact, for the milk. So the biscuits were made from scratch, thanks to the supplies his grandparents had. Then for the jerky, we went huntin'. For all deer to be specific. Trying to make due with the same one, haven't seen any deer in a while"

I loved deer jerky. Greedily stuffing it in my mouth, I savored every flavor of it's goodness. Todd's deep chuckle ringed in my ears again as he observed me.