Dwight sat in his chair, drinking a beer. The memory of Sammie left a bitter taste in his mouth. There were times he wondered what she was up to, but he knew she was probably dead somewhere. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, and it hurt, but it was probably the truth. He didn’t wish it and he certainly didn’t hate her, but he was angry that she had abandoned them. He was also angry with himself for not doing anything sooner.
During the divorce, Sammie didn’t want money. She didn’t even want to fight for custody or visitation rights. She simply wanted out. Jimmy took it hard at first, but he was a bright kid. He knew that Mommy wasn’t herself and needed help. For a while he would ask Dwight if he thought she would get better and come back. He didn’t lie and tell him she would, nor did he tell him the truth and say she wouldn’t. He simply said he didn’t know.
Those questions came with less and less frequency each passing day.
Even though she was gone, Sammie was never that far from his thoughts. No matter how hard he tried to forget her, there she was. Whenever he thought of her, he’d put the blame on himself. He knew he should’ve tried harder. He should’ve confronted her at the first sign of a problem, but that’s how life goes. Even when the warning signs are there, sometimes people are still afraid to fess up.
A loud banging at the front door startled him. Dwight jumped up from his chair, nearly dropping his beer. “Jesus!” he moaned. It was a violent chain of thuds, and in between each of them he heard a whiney voice call out his name.
“Oh God,” he said. “Not this again.”
He wiped the beer from his lips and set the can down. At the door he found an excited Mrs. Hendrickson.
“Really? I have no time for this,” he groaned.
“I’ve found them!”
“Found what?”
“Zombies! I found the bastards! I said I would, and you told me to come back if I did!”
Another exhausted moan. Dwight brought his hands to his face. “Mrs. Hendrickson, it’s really, really late.” He looked back up at her with pleading eyes. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest, yeah? I’m sure you’ll forget all of this zombie business in the morning.”
“Nonsense!” she said, stomping her foot into the ground. “I have to show you! Everybody in this godforsaken neighborhood thinks I’m losing my mind, but I ain’t losing a damned thing! You have to come and see for yourself!”
Dwight heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Daddy?”
“It’s okay Jimmy,” he said. “Go on back to bed.” He looked at Mrs. Hendrickson and shook his head. “I can’t go anywhere right now. Nobody’s here to keep an eye on Jimmy.”
“Bring him with you!” She smiled at Jimmy. “How would you like to see some zombies, young lad?”
“Daddy says they don’t exist.”
“Hogwash! Even more reason you should come with me right now. You need your eyes opened, the both of you!”
Dwight rubbed his temples and shook his head once more. A sigh of defeat escaped his lips at the realization that Mrs. Hendrickson was adamant about them going with her and wouldn’t leave until they agreed. At least it wasn’t a school night. Maybe it was better they went with her so he could keep a close eye on her. The last thing Dwight needed was the thought of Mrs. Hendrickson attacking some homeless guy while screaming, “Zombie! Zombie!”
“Fine, we’ll go and check it out.” He looked at Jimmy. “You okay with going?
Jimmy nodded, slowly.
“It’ll be okay,” Dwight told him. “Go get your coat and shoes.”
“And baseball bats!” Mrs. Hendrickson suggested.
Dwight shook his head. “No bats.”
“Fine, but don’t’ come cryin’ to me when a zombie is munching on your skull.”
Another sigh, and Dwight told her to wait while they got ready. When he turned he saw Jimmy wearing his red Mighty Power Fighters jacket. The boy shoved his hands into his pockets and looked down at his feet.
“Don’t worry,” Dwight said. “We’re not going to see any zombies, but we’re going with Mrs. Hendrickson so she doesn’t do anything foolish.”
“I’m scared.”
“There’s no need.” He looked at the jacket and smiled. “Be brave, like a Mighty Power Fighter. Zombies wouldn’t scare them, now would they?”
A grin spread across Jimmy’s little face. “Nothing scares the Mighty Power Fighters.”
Dwight laughed and rubbed Jimmy’s hair. “Of course not. They’re fearless, just like you.”
When they were ready, Dwight opened the door and the two of them followed Mrs. Hendrickson as she marched through the neighborhood like a proud general going to war. Dwight walked with his hands in his pockets while randomly mumbling to himself under his breath. Jimmy asked him a few times what he was saying, but he just shook him off.
“You guys better keep up!” Mrs. Hendrickson said.
Dwight grumbled and shook his head.
“Dad, do you really think we’ll see zombies?”
He didn’t answer, patting Jimmy on the shoulder and giving him a smile, saying that everything was going to be okay without words.
They continued to walk for blocks while the sky above grew dark. It seemed like they were the only ones out, which was kind of eerie. It had all of the right ingredients for a classic horror movie—a crazed woman leading a father and son through an abandoned neighborhood to face the terror lurking somewhere in the shadows. Were there really zombies? Could that be possible? Dwight shook his head and silently scolded himself for even considering such a ludicrous thought. They were only humoring Mrs. Hendrickson and keeping an eye on her.
They finally came to a halt when Mrs. Hendrickson pointed to the neighborhood park in front of them. “There! They’re over there!”
It took Dwight a moment to figure out what she was pointing at, and then he saw the two teenagers sitting on swings. They were pale and skinny, but they certainly weren’t zombies… though they did appear to be a bit out of sorts. The one on the right gazed up at the sky while dragging his feet along the gravel. The boy on the left stared down at the ground, wiping his nose every now and then with his sleeve. Their resemblance to Sammie hit him almost instantly, and at that point he wished they really were zombies. The truth of it was worse. He felt something wrap around him, and when he looked down he saw that it was Jimmy hugging him from behind.
Mrs. Hendrickson placed her bony hands around her mouth, forming a cup. “We know what you are! You ain’t fooling us for a second! You go away now, you no good zombies! You won’t be eating my brains tonight, that’s for damn sure!”
The two stoned teenagers slowly looked up and blinked, then began to laugh hysterically. One of the kids even slid out of his swing and fell to the ground, holding his knees, saliva dripping from his mouth with each guffaw. The other covered his eyes, drool clinging to his lips as he snickered.
Dwight tapped Mrs. Hendrickson on the shoulder. “I think it’s time that we go now.”
“Go? I told you they’re zombies! We have to do something!”
“They’re not going to hurt anybody tonight. Really, we need to leave.” He took her by the hand and started to walk away from the park, with Jimmy following. Mrs. Hendrickson protested, but Dwight assured her that it would be okay and that he would call somebody when he got home. She wouldn’t give up on the zombie angle, but Dwight was too drained to explain what they really were.
When they returned, Dwight told Jimmy to go on inside while he took Mrs. Hendrickson back to her house.