Orthodontics in the Zombie Apocalypse

10. Zombie Baseball at the Dinner Table (1/2)

Angel smiles at me when I return to the kitchen. Weird. I didn't think we liked each other.

I take a seat and slide it as far away from Angel as possible without anyone noticing. A quarter of the way around the table isn't too far, anyway--I'm sure the raised eyebrow look Shaniya gave me had more to do with questioning what happened in the bedroom.

"We just talked," I say in reply. I add a wink to the end in hopes that Shaniya may believe there's more to my relationship with Mikah.

She gives me an odd look: eyebrows stressed and eyes wide, head pointing slightly away as if afraid to come near me. It's the type of look you give someone acting unpleasantly crazy, but it makes her look just that type of insane.

My attention flicks back to Mikah, who hovers over Sean's shoulder and makes cooking suggestions.

"--a few chiles. Seriously, it does wonders. And some rosemary."

Sean just shakes his head and keeps stirring the stainless steel pot.

"I'm not kidding. Here, I'll even grab some for you--"

"Kid, seriously. Stop. I am not ruining my homemade potato soup with rosemary and chiles."

Shaniya sings out her goat laugh. "Leave the cooking to Sean, kid. He went to culinary school."

Mikah, looking sheepish now, backs away slowly, face red.

A clamor out under the window turns everyone's attention towards the kitchen sink. We all fall silent and peer curiously through the square of glass, blackened by the darkness outside.

"Shut off the lights," Shaniya hisses, barely opening her mouth.

I reach for the switch on the wall behind me, tipping my chair to do so. My stomach lurches as the scariest feeling in life hits me: I went too far. The chair collapses to the floor with a loud clatter and a yelp tears from my throat. The rustling outside pauses. We all hold our breath. I reach up for the light--

"No! Not now! It'll know we're in here--"

But it was too late. My fingers had already flicked downward on the cream-colored plastic. The room goes dark. The silence outside is darker.

We wait.

Then a faint scratching sound begins. A slow, rhythmic noise, as if the culprit is testing out the action. It picks up, and the gurgling groan of nature's greatest accident breaks the silence.

"It can't get in," Mikah whispers. "It's trying to climb with its nails."

I hear something snap--not the faint click of a nail breaking. It's the sound of an entire bone cracking.

Mikah dares a glance out the window, as he has the best view. "Its finger broke. The tip of it snapped off."

Another snap. And another. Seven of the painful snaps follow the first, and I know the zombie is left only with thumbs.

"Who's got two thumbs and an appetite for brains?" I wait for someone to propel the joke. When nobody does, I decide to finish it with a nod towards the window and a whisper of, "That guy!"

Shaniya shakes her head at me, Angel smacks herself in the forehead, Sean just blinks, but at least Mikah offers a grin. A half-annoyed grin, but it's something.

We sit like that for ten minutes until the howling groans die down and Mikah tells us it broke its arms off and stumbled away.

Sean looks at the pot of soup with distaste. Shaniya glances in as well. "It's burnt."

"I can cook if we need a new meal!" Mikah offers eagerly.

Shaniya casts him a bitter look. "We are in the midst of the zombie apocalypse. We need to ration our food. We will eat this soup." Her words are clipped; irritated.

I finally pull myself off the ground and correct the chair. Sean serves us one by one until we all sit at the table together with a bowl of burnt potato soup; nobody thinks about the zombie that just ran off.

"This reminds me of the Green Hat Lady's house," Angel says suddenly.

Shaniya reaches a hand across the table--not touching the child, but offering the idea of support. "Are you sure you want to talk about that?"

I shoo the woman away with a wave of my hand. "Sure she is. What's the Green Hat Lady's house?"

"I lived there when I was younger. You see..."

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A/N
Alright, I am now prepared to give Angel the spotlight! (I'm absolutely lying. I don't know what to do about that kid.)

And please remember to vote and comment; that's what motivates me to keep writing and updating more regularly. Thank you for your support!

~KnightWatch