It was the level of trust that had evolved between Mr. Larry and their new neighbor, Mr. Jerry over the last couple of days that he decided to adhere to his plan and come over. It was late in the night when they resolved to put what had been discussed earlier into action.
Mr. Jerry glanced up reassuringly when he saw Mr. Larry waving at him from behind a car. The living dead lurked around, slogging and making strange noises.
Tactfully spurning her dad's friendly gesticulation with Mr. Jerry, Aguilera drew her son close and held her gun, pointing at the living dead tilting their heads in their direction. She felt as though she was making the biggest mistake. She couldn't alert Mr. Larry; his inexplicable trust in Mr. Jerry frazzled her. He was her father after all and she acknowledged he was never mistaken in his judgment. After her mum passed away, she and Mr. Larry spent most of their time in the mountains. Her endless passion to serve their country grew from watching Mr. Larry train morning and night. Even if the world came to an end, she wouldn't forget the struggle her dad went through to send her and her siblings to school.
The rain had stopped all of a sudden-pulling out the living dead from their hideouts. Jacob gazed at the reflection of the moon on Mr. Larry's car window. He shook his head in disappointment. If the moon was out then it probably wasn't going to rain again that night.
Mr. Jerry pulled the trigger, gesturing to Mr. Larry and Aguilera to come. His firm position and direct aim at one of the living dead had Aguilera questioning if he was just a doctor as earlier informed.
"Now!" Mr. Larry ran past the living dead, pushing and kicking. Aguilera and Jacob ran in the opposite direction, the living dead pursuing and growling after them. Their number increased as they chased after Aguilera. She fired the last bullet at the living dead approaching Mr. Larry then threw the gun away. Pulling out the axe in his school bag, Jacob passed it to his mum.
"Mum! Look out."
Shit. I knew it was a terrible idea. She guillotined three living dead running up to her. "Get in!" She opened the door of their neighbor's car, pushed Jacob inside, and then entered, smashing the heads of the monsters. "Once I tell you to open the door, run into Mr. Jerry's house quickly. Don't look back. I have to help Grandpa. Got it?"
"Sure." His little heart raced faster than a speeding car. "But you'll come right?"
Aguilera stared at the flesh-eating demons grunting and pulling the door aggressively. Her eyes fell on Mr. Larry fighting earnestly to survive, his jumpsuit drenched in blood and sweat. She patted Jacob affectionately. "Yes, dear. Mum's behind you. But, don't stop until you're inside Mr. Larry's house."
"What if,"
His question was halted when one of the bulging eyes monsters opened the door. Aguilera kicked the other door open and pushed him out. "Run." Taking his mum's advice, he ran faster than usual till Mr. Jerry carried him in and shut the door. "Damn it." Aguilera jumped out of the car when unwanted guests flooded the car. Running towards Mr. Larry, she grabbed the signboard outside and fought off some of them. "Let's go. Jacob's in already."
"I told you to save yourself first. I can take care of myself."
"Yeah." Aguilera stabbed and trounced the heads of the ones behind him. "I can see how you're taking care of yourself. I don't want to argue with you right now. Let's just go."
Their number is rising. "AG, we can't go to Mr. Jerry's house now. I think some of these infected people can still do the things they used to before they got infected. Like opening a door and climbing in through windows."
"What do you propose we do then? I can't leave my child with a man I narrowly know." There's no way I'm letting Jacob out of my sight. I can't lose another person. "Mr. Jerry!"
"On it!" He climbed the stairs and to the balcony. Inserting another bullet into his AK 47, he pulled the trigger and fired it up. Some of the infected ran toward the sound of the gun.
"Dad, let's go."
Wow. Sometimes I forget she's my daughter. They ran as quickly as they could, attacking and smashing. One of the infected pounced on Aguilera and pulled her by the leg. She kicked it off and was about to stand when another pounced on her, shrieking and snarling with bulging eyes and rotten flesh; blood dripping from the side of its mouth. Its hands clutched her axe. She moved her head to the side, her eyes shut and moaning. Just then Mr. Jerry fired the gun at it.
"Thanks." She held her father's aging hand as they ran into Mr. Larry's home and shut the door.
"Mum!" Jacob embraced her in tears. "I'm scared."
"Keep your voice down, kid. They'll go away only if you keep quiet."
"Do you have any newspaper around here?" Mr. Larry asked.
Mr. Jerry shook his head and scampered into one of the rooms. He wobbled tiredly out of the room with a pile of papers and passed it to him.
"AG, pass me the water on the table."
"What are you doing, Grandpa?"
"Hold this." He spewed the water on the windows and used the paper to block the infected from seeing the inside of the house. "That's what I'm doing. See. No more banging on the door."
"Wow, Grandpa. You're a real hero. I can't wait to tell Hannah she's not the only smart one. She got it from you." He collapsed on the sofa, arms spread. "Mum, I'm scared. I'm tired of running and hiding. I have to go to school and meet my friends."
I'm tired of lying to you that your sister is still alive. I wish I could tell you the truth right now. While pacing around the room, she stumbled across a family picture of Mr. Jerry. Her index finger traced the elegant lady's elated face down to the two kids by her side. "I didn't know you had a family."
"Yeah." Mr. Jerry placed the kettle of water on the gas cooker and turned it on. "Not many people know that. She used to be a nurse. She was hardly ever at home. I'm Jerry Crimson by the way."
"And the kids?" She asked, in a tremulous tone. "Where are they?"
He opened the fridge and brought out the beverages. "They traveled with their mum to Spain a month ago."
A month ago? He's lying. Jacob said he invited his son and wife to his birthday party on the day everything started. "And your baby? Why isn't she in the picture?"
Taking in a deep breath, he said, "We took that picture before she was born."
"Your wife,"
"I'm sorry, is this an interrogation room or what? I get you're a Cop but some things are confidential."
He's overreacting for just a question. Something is not right. How do I find out what's going on if he's still here? "I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to offend you. I guess, being an Inspector has made me to be overly sensitive to the smallest things. I shouldn't have asked."
"It's okay. I'm sorry for responding that way as well." He stirred the tea, adding more sugar into Jacob's cup. "It's just, I hate to talk about my matters. Put your weapons over there. I've prepared tea for everyone. The infected won't come in."
"Why did you save us?" Regardless of his countless warnings, Aguilera had a lot of questions she needed answers to. Trusting a guy who lied to them didn't seem normal to her. Even if his eyes showed sincerity, she still couldn't let her guard down. "Everyone in this residents got infected. How come you are still fine? It doesn't make sense."
"I could ask y'all the same question. Now I'm more inquisitive about how you made it through with all those walking dead in your house. Aguilera, we just talked about this a few minutes ago." Mr. Jerry's face was sallow.
She studied his face. "I'm curious. If you were in my place, would you just trust a person you don't even know, someone who moved into your district and ghosted everyone? You snubbed everyone for a month and suddenly you tryna help me and my family? It doesn't make sense to me."
He grimaced and then passed the cup of tea to Jacob. Aguilera's hand didn't get to the cup when Jacob took three gulps out of the tea and licked his lips. A gigantic grin spread across his face as he wiggled his legs with joy. "I can understand where you're coming from and I regret having to make you feel insecure. I've never had friends in my life. And when I moved in here, I had no job. Everyone here had successful jobs. I felt embarrassed." He passed the second mug to Mr. Larry. "It's my fault. I was too mortified to approach anyone because I felt I would be adjudicated. But when I saw Mr. Larry fighting in that house, I felt sorry for him. He's weak and old and honestly, in times like this, we need each other to outlive."
He's so good at fibbing. Is he lying or am I just being mean unnecessary? I want to believe him but why did he fib about his family? And if he indeed fibbed about their whereabouts, where exactly are they? Jacob wouldn't lie to us. I trust my son. "You should have approached us first before assuming. We were all worried that you might not like us and we weren't good enough for you. All those people out there," She peeped through the window. "They used to be nice people. Mr. Tom used to visit the orphanage every year on his birthday, and Mrs. Mattie, donated to the poor every last Saturday in a month. Joy, she was the nicest of all. She visited prisons every day to pray and counsel them. They didn't do anything to deserve this agony." Her soul was dousing into the river of her dismay. "Joy had just espoused with her husband before everything ensued. It still feels like yesterday she ran to my house, skipping with euphoria. I just,"
"Have this." He placed the last cup of tea in her hands. "If they were good people then I'm sure they're in a better place. This world is full of drama so I'm sure some of them would be glad to leave if they had been given the option. Don't let it get to you."
"Thanks." She stared into the cup and back at him.
Raising his dark green mug, he said, "It's okay. These days everyone needs to watch their back. I understand why you still feel skeptical."
She took a sip out of the tea and then gulped down the remaining. Mr. Jerry pulled out a tray, collected the empty cups, and walked away.
"Mum, I feel light-headed." I think I'm going to fall asleep like Hannah. "My head hurts, Mum." Jacob yawned.
"Yes, dear. You can sleep on the sofa. I'm..." She yawned. "I'm..." Her eyes snapped shut and then opened in an instant. What's going on? Why do I feel drowsy? "Dear, don't fall asleep. You have to stay awake." Hardly did she get to her dad, she gasped at the sight of a decapitated body. She recognized who it was. One of Mr. Jerry's sons. She opened the large fridge standing idle by the corridor and saw his other son and baby. Their heads had been cut off and there were bite marks on their necks respectively. "Dad, we have to get out here. Now!"
"Calm down, AG. You don't seem alright."
I don't feel too good. Why can't I feel my body? What did he put in the tea? "Dad," Her eyes blinked uncontrollably, trying to defeat the sedative given to her. "The tea. Mr. Jerry isn't what he claims to be. His kids are deceased. The tea, Dad."
The tea? "Did you have it?" The chill daze of his trepidation began to consolidate. "AG. I thought you were smarter than that?" Getting up from the plastic chair, he pointed at the rug where he had supposedly poured the tea given to him. "Your conversation with Jerry made me realize we had made a mistake by coming here. How could you even trust him by drinking the tea?"
She fell on the floor half unconscious. "My son. Please don't let him kill my son."
Mr. Jerry stepped out of the room to the right, walking over to Mr. Larry, he shot his gun at his right arm. "I'm not a nasty person. Everything I said earlier was true. My wife and I just joined after severing for six years. I can't lose her again." He pulled an unconscious Aguilera by her legs until he got to one of the rooms. "Don't resent me too much. You said everyone in this neighborhood was good. Please do this for me and my wife."
AG. My precious AG. Her father cried.