red hill - jamie mcguire

Nathan
“ZOE, TRY TO SLOW YOUR breathing,” I said. Zoe was nearly panting, struggling to wrap her head
around everything she’d seen, including telling her aunt Jill good-bye for the last time. I reached over
and held her small hand in mine. “We’re going to be okay, honey. We’ll find someplace safe.”
“I thought the church was safe,” she said softly.
“Not safe enough. We need a place to stay for a long time. In the country, away from all the sick
people.”
“Where is that”
I paused, careful not to lie to her. “I’ll find it. Don’t worry.”
Zoe sat up tall and lifted her chin, seeing the green pickup truck idling in the road the same time I
did. I let go of Zoe’s hand and raised mine to shield her eyes just as the man raised his gun to a
woman lying in the road, in a puddle of vomit and blood. A pool of dark red was spilling from her
beneath her soiled dress, too, almost like she was having a miscarriage, but I knew that wasn’t where
the blood was coming from. She was emaciated, her skin a grayish tone except for the lines of red that
drained from her eyes, ears, and nose.
A shot was fired to her head, but the woman didn’t move. As we passed, the man was blank-faced,
scooping her up tenderly into his arms. He carried her into the cab of his truck, shutting the door
behind him.
I lowered my hand, and placed it back on the wheel. Ten and two. “You have your seatbelt on”
“Yes, Daddy.” Zoe was struggling to keep it together.
I wanted to pull over and hold her, to allow her time to transition to our new life of running for our
lives and surviving, but we would never have enough time. If it was anything like the movies, life
would be lived between near-death experiences.
“Good girl.”
Shades of pinks and purples bruised the sky, signaling the beginnings of a sunset. Without any
houses in sight, or even a barn, I wasn’t sure if I should worry about shelter, or be comforted that we
weren’t likely to run into a large group of those things—at least for a while.
Zoe was playing with the hem of her lavender dress, humming so softly I could barely make out
what it was. Something by Justin Bieber, by the sounds of it. The corners of my mouth turned up. The
radio had been silent since we started our journey. I wondered if we would ever hear music again.