red hill - jamie mcguire

THE NEXT DAY WE WALKED the distance to Jesse’s house. Walter was right: Jesse had more guns than
Skeeter. We took as many as we could carry, along with the appropriate ammunition, and then made
the trek back to Walter’s. We made that trip every day for three days. The basement began to look like
an arsenal. I put several rifles and a few handguns in my car, reminding Walter again that Zoe and I
weren’t staying.
The days were beginning to get longer, and it panicked me when I had to think twice about what
day it was. The only reason time mattered was to avoid getting caught outside at night. Weekends
were irrelevant. Every day was about survival. Living with Walter and Joy, though, even with the
occasional infected stumbling by, the apocalypse wasn’t so bad. Still, I had to take Zoe somewhere
out of the way, and I still hadn’t carved out a quiet moment with Joy to see if she knew of a place we
could settle.
“You don’t believe me, do you” I whispered.
Walter and I were watching an infected walk by. We’d learned over the last few days that if we
stayed still and quiet, they kept walking.
Walter didn’t respond until the infected passed, and then he shook his head. “You need to get more
sleep. You’re not making any damn sense.”
“I’m going to start making trips out of town. Scout the area. See if I can find some acreage with a
house.”
“You have a house right here, you fool,” Walter grumbled.
Joy occupied the space inside the open front door, and looked over to Walter with a knowing
smile. Walter shook his head so slightly that if he hadn’t paired it with a glance in my direction, I
would have questioned whether I’d seen it. They were in disagreement about something.
Joy walked over to stand behind Walter, patted him reassuringly, and then spoke. “You asked
about a place out of the way.”
“Yes,” I said. My posture straightened instinctively, eager to hear what she would say next.
“There is a doctor that comes to the store here sometimes. He buys things in bulk. I’ve only spoken
to him once. He seems like a reasonable man, not what you might expect from a big city doctor. I
know he has two girls, and he lives northeast of here. He’s several miles out, so it might be isolated
enough to be safe for you and Zoe.”
Walter frowned at his wife.
“I would never force my way in, Walter. I hope you know that. I have to find the safest place to
raise Zoe, though.”
Joy smiled. “It’s not that. He likes having you two here. He doesn’t want you to leave.”
Walter crossed his arms over his chest and settled into his chair, unhappy.
“Is this true” Antagonizing Walter was probably not a good idea, but it was also too fun to pass
up.
“Go to hell.” He frowned.
Joy let out a cackle, and she shook her head. “Oh, you stubborn man,” she said, rubbing his
shoulder.
Walter stood up quickly, his rifle in his hand.