red hill - jamie mcguire

herd and make it back onto 123 without losing much time. The sun would set soon, and I didn’t want
us to be near those things in the dark. Every road I turned down led me either down another road that
was too close to the herd, or to another group walking toward the herd.
After the third U-turn, a yellow light on the dashboard, accompanied by a chime, nearly sent me
into a panic. We were low on fuel, the sun was going down, and I wasn’t familiar enough with this
town to find a safe place for me and Zoe for the night. For the first time since I’d left the church, I was
afraid that I’d made the wrong decision.
We came up on a dead end, and I pressed on the brakes, seeing a gas can on the front porch of the
only house on that end of the road. The last two blocks had been a gravel road, and I didn’t see much
around. Most of the townspeople were congregated in the middle of the highway.
“Zoe, I’m going to get that gas can over there, and then put some in the car so we can drive the rest
of the way.”
“The rest of the way to where”
“I’ll be right back, honey. Don’t get out of the car, okay”
Zoe nodded, and I took a quick glance around before getting out. I walked to the porch quickly,
hoping with every step there was actual gasoline inside that red plastic container. I climbed the steps
and bent over, but when I placed my hand on the handle, the door opened, and the distinct sound of a
shotgun being cocked made me freeze in place.
I closed my eyes. “Please don’t. My little girl is watching.” After a short pause, and the realization
that I wasn’t dead yet, I looked up. An old man was at the opposite end of the shotgun. Sweaty, dirty,
and in an oversized pair of blue and white striped overalls, he pulled the gun away from my temple.
“You lettin’ your kid watch you steal”
“I wasn’t trying to steal,” I said, standing up slowly, keeping my hands up and away from my body.
The goal was to be as nonthreatening as possible. “The gas light in my car just dinged. It’s getting
dark. We’re just trying to find someplace safe for the night.”
The man squinted his eyes and scratched his white five o’clock shadow, and then lowered his gun.
“Get your girl. Bring her inside. Better hurry. One or two pass by here ever so often.”
A part of me wanted to grab Zoe and bring her into his home without a second thought. The other
part remembered he’d just held a gun to my head. A woman poked her head out from behind the door,
and then stepped out onto the porch. She was a bitty thing, her short gray hair styled a lot like Zoe’s.
“Oh, good Lord, Walter. Let these poor people come in.”
“I asked them in, honey. He’s just standing there.”
She pushed down his gun. “Well put your gun away, silly!” She held out her hand. “I’m Joy.”
“Nathan Oxford. My daughter Zoe is in the car. Nice to meet you.”
Walter frowned. “That’s great, son, but you best get your baby and come inside.”
I nodded and took a long step off the porch, turning off my car and coaxing Zoe outside. She’d seen
Walter pull the gun on me, and wasn’t sure this was a good idea, either. We followed Joy inside, and
Walter locked up behind us.
Joy wiped her hands on her trousers and paused in the center of the living room. The house was
immaculate, but the carpet was at least thirty years old, and it smelled like it. “We’re going to sleep