red hill - jamie mcguire

“Weird.”
“Why”
“That’s right next to my grandparents’ house.”
“Really”
“Yes. We’re going to go straight down this street about five blocks and then hang a left. I’m going
to drop you off at your sister’s, check on my grandparents, and then I’m going to get my daughters.”
“And then where are you going”
“Red Hill Ranch.”
Nathan
JILL WAS CRUMPLED AGAINST SKEETER , holding her bleeding, mangled arm up against her chest. She
had it bent at the elbow, so I couldn’t tell exactly how bad her injuries were. Glass had broken just
before she screamed, so I hoped over and over that she had just been cut and not bitten. Everything
we knew about the walking dead told us that a bite was fatal.
Zoe had a hard time keeping up with Skeeter’s pace, so I pulled her up into my arms. Her little
legs bounced as I chased Skeeter and Jill across the street and down the block to the First Baptist
church. Its wooden exterior was in need of another coat of white paint. I couldn’t imagine why it
hadn’t been done; the church was the size of Skeeter’s house.
“Heads up!” Skeeter said, raising his rifle.
A woman was walking toward Zoe and me. I wasn’t sure what to do. I was holding Zoe with both
hands, and called out to Skeeter, running as fast as my legs could move. He stood still for a moment
so he could let go of Jill long enough to aim and fire, and then he wrapped his arm around his wife
again. I didn’t wait to see if Skeeter had hit his target. I didn’t have to. I’d never seen the man miss.
After one more glance around, he took off into a sprint for the backside of the church.
Several of those things were following us, and the fear and adrenaline made me feel I could jump
to the roof with Zoe in my arms if I had to.
Skeeter beat on the door with the side of his fist, and it immediately opened. A short man with
white hair and matching complexion stepped to the side so we could file in, and then he shut it tight,
and turned the bolt lock. Another man, bald and wearing a blue leisure suit, helped him pull a solid
wood pulpit in front of the door before they turned to Skeeter.
Skeeter nodded his head to the short man. “Reverend Mathis.” He looked to the other, and his
eyebrows pulled in. “Where’s Esther” The man just looked to the floor, and it was then that I noticed
a boy about eleven or twelve standing behind him.
Reverend Mathis put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Bob and Evan tried to get to her. They had
to leave her behind.”
Evan, the young boy behind Bob, sniffed and wiped his cheek, but kept his eyes on the floor. He