red hill - jamie mcguire

downstairs in the basement. Walter is going to nail the door shut for the night.”
“What if they get in the house” I said quietly.
Walter held his gun at his side. “We’ve got food and water down there. Joy was just bringing
more. They don’t seem to notice the house, though. They’re all attracted to something on the other side
of town.”
“There’s a car with a security system going off on the highway. They’re all crowded around that.”
Walter frowned, deep in thought. “So they’re attracted to sound. We’ll just keep quiet. They won’t
have a reason to mess around here. I’ll lock the doors. I don’t think they’ll try to get in through the
windows unless we draw attention to ourselves.”
It made me nervous to think we wouldn’t have an exit strategy, but it was better than nothing, and
safer than sleeping upstairs.
Zoe and I helped Joy bring food and water downstairs to the basement. It was finished, with a
couch and a couple of recliners facing a flat-screen television.
Walter laughed once. “Joy bought that for me for Christmas last year. All you can see on it now is
snow.”
Zoe and I snuggled up on a yellow and brown plaid couch while Walter nailed the basement door
shut, and then nailed a two-by-four across the middle section. Joy covered us with a blanket, also
straight out of the 1970s, and in record time, Zoe was relaxed and sleeping in my arms. I was afraid
she wouldn’t be able to sleep because we were in a strange place, but she was exhausted. I rested my
cheek against her hair. The light-brown strands were stringy and tangled, making me think of all the
comforts of home we no longer had. Simple things, like a brush.
“You sure have a pretty girl there,” Joy whispered, smiling. “My daughter Darla lives in Midland.
You ever been to Midland”
I shook my head.
“We were actually packing to go see them this weekend. We were going to leave yesterday, but I
wanted to make sure I had someone to water my flowers before we left.” She sighed, and her eyes
filled with tears. “I might never see her again, or my grandbabies. Because of the goddamn flowers.”
“You could see her again.”
“You think so” she said, cautious hope in her voice.
I smiled and kissed Zoe’s temple, and then leaned my head back against the cushion. “Thank you.
For letting us stay here tonight.”
“You can stay as long as you like,” Joy whispered, glancing up at her husband still busy securing
the door. “Who knows when this is all sorted out . . . or if it will ever be.”
Miranda
EVEN WHEN MY EYES OPENED, it was still dark. The scratching and padding by the dead ones outside