https://youtu.be/9vST6hVRj2A

All of the bodies that had littered Main Street had been removed during the night. The June sun shone bright and hot on the grisly splotches of red that polka-dotted the ground, marking where they'd lain.

"We forgot to tell you about the group we killed on Onion Seed Road, Chief," James said.

The Chief, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, nodded. "We'll get them later."

"Chief, can we check on Mrs Harvey first? She was the first person we saved. Her kids-" Petra throat choked up.

The Chief's brown skin blanched. "Let's head there now. Who else was there last night that had kids? Those are the ones we check first."

Between them, they came up with a list. The Chief told them any whose body he'd moved.

"Alright, that's ten houses we need to check. Katy, Father Lee, are you okay to go on your own?" They nodded. "Kids, you stick together. No one needs to go inside any house, but we just need to know who needs saving. Keep in touch by phone. Kids, here's the extra walkie-talkie from my car. We'll have to get you set up with phones later."

The Chief allocated the ten houses among them and they split up.

Before he went, Father Lee said, "I'll come with you kids to check on Mrs Harvey since we're almost there."

Moments later they rounded the corner and the house came in sight.

"Father Lee! Father Lee, help us!" shrieked Gabriel, Mrs Harvey's oldest son, from a second floor window.

They broke into a run and stood before the two-story house. It was painted white with blue shutters and had a meter high white fence ringing the yard that bloomed with a wide array of flowers that Mrs Harvey grew from seeds in the backyard greenhouse.

Mrs Harvey's second oldest, Mariam, joined her brother. She screamed, "Please, Father Lee. Mom has gone crazy! She attacked Jules, and she tried to attack us!"

"Where is Lily?"

A little blond head popped up over the sill. Bright red spots lit up her cheeks. She choked out, "I'm here, Father Lee! Mommy is making all sorts of funny noises in her room. I'm really scared, Father Lee!"

"It's okay. We're here now. Just wait there, we're coming in!"

"There's a spare key under the petunia planter," Gabriel called down.

With the door unlocked they rushed in. Father Lee took the stairs two at a time. "Kids, where are you?"

The three children raced out to hug him, pressing their faces into his stomach as they cried. He smoothed their hair and murmured reassuring words.

At the far end of the hall, a chair had been braced under the doorknob of what they presumed to be their mother's bedroom. Bangs and moans came from inside.

James saw Father Lee tap Gabriel on the shoulder and mouth, "Jules?"

Fresh tears rolled down the boy's face. He shook his head and pointed at the barricaded door.

Father Lee asked, "Petra and Viktor, will you take Mariam and Lily downstairs? Go wait on the porch for us."

"Sure thing, Padre," Viktor replied.

Gently the two lead their charges down the stairs.

"How about we get some cookies from the kitchen on the way?" said Petra.

"Mommy doesn't let us eat cookies if we haven't had a proper meal first. They're only for treats," Lily replied.

"I think just this once we can make an exception," Petra countered.

When they were at the bottom of the stairs, Father Lee turned to Gabriel. "I'm sorry, son, but I need to know what happened."

Gabriel sniffed loudly and pulled himself together. "Lily's screams woke me up. She'd gone to our mom's room, but when she opened the door, she said Mom was-" Gabriel covered his face, crying.

Father Lee gathered the boy to him and James placed a hand on his shoulder, too. "Take your time, Gabriel. It's okay."

After a minute, Gabriel's muffled voice came, "Lily said Mom looked really sick. She had blood all over her face and pyjamas. She said she saw Jules on the floor, but his stomach was all bloody, and he was making all sorts of funny noises." He pulled back his head and looked up at the man holding him. "I snuck downstairs one night and watched a zombie movie Mom had on through the rails. Is that what she is, Father? Did she turn into a zombie?"

Father Lee hugged the boy tightly to him. "I'm so sorry, Gabriel, but yes, I fear she has. Last night it seems there was an outbreak. I don't know any more than that. A lot of people were affected. Why don't you go join your sisters downstairs? James, can you take him down?"

"Sure thing, Father." James put an arm gently around the boy's shoulder. "Come on, Gabe."

James did his best to rush the boy down so he could get back to help Father Lee. With his military training, Father Lee was probably the only person in town who didn't have to worry about taking down a zombie, but James wanted to be there for him anyway.

When he'd ushered the boy out the front door, James just nodded at Petra and Viktor before rushing back upstairs.

The chair had been removed and the door was wide open.

James raced down the hall and looked inside.

Mrs Harvey lay to the left of the door in her bloody white nightdress. Her cloudy eyes stared at the wall, and a string of drool dripped from the side of her open mouth. A nail stuck out of her forehead.

Father Lee was kneeling with the head of little three-year-old Jules clasped between his knees. He had tucked the child's arms beneath his legs, pinning them down.

Jules was snarling and growling, twisting his shoulders in an attempt to bite the man holding him still. The boy's stomach cavity was empty. Only a gaping hole where his organs should be. The carpet beneath them had a large crimson circle where the blood had soaked in.

James sank to the floor beside him. He stared at Mrs Harvey, finding patterns in the blood trails on her nightgown, because his mind shied away from looking at the tiny body-turned-zombie.

There was nothing natural about zombies, but the little boy was barely more than a baby. Just last week James had called him an 'ankle biter' when he was playing with him after fixing Mrs Harvey's greenhouse roof.

He started humming to drown out the boy's moans, so he asked instead, "Why did Mrs Harvey come out last night? I know the town is safe and all, but why come over to Main Street at all, and in her pyjamas? Same with Mrs Marsten and lots of others."

"The gunfire. It was so strange to hear it in town. They came to see what was going on."

"Viktor says that's the curse of having such a small community. You fart, and the folks across town say it stinks."

The priest's shoulders shook. It took James several moments to realise the priest wasn't laughing, but crying silently.

The man stroked the boy's hair back from his forehead, making the child snap his baby teeth angrily at the living flesh just out of reach.

"Do you know I've baptised every Christian child in this town? I remember each and every one. Jules wore the same white gown his sisters and brother did. It had a green ribbon around the collar. Mr Harvey had just gotten home from taking his ship across Lake Superior.

"Do you know the song 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald', James? It's by Gordon Lightfoot. Remind me to play it for you. Excellent song, but sad. It's about a ship that goes down in a big storm on Superior."

Father Lee swung his head back and forth. "This shouldn't happen to anyone, but especially not children."

James slowly sat down beside the pair. He picked up the nail gun. Cold sweat broke out all over his body. "I-I'll do it, Father."

The man looked at him, suffering of a depth James couldn't begin to fathom in his eyes. "You're only sixteen, James. You shouldn't have to do this either."

James asked quietly, "Is this why you left the army, Father? Did something happen with a kid?"

The little boy got one arm free. Father Lee carefully caught his wrist and tucked it back under. He started to stroke the boy's silky brown hair again and didn't try to hide the fact that he was crying.

"This is one thing I would like to have a long talk with about God when I – if I – get to Heaven. I've thought long and hard, but I'd like to know ALL the reasons from the only one who does."

Seconds ticked by, but the priest didn't seem like he'd make any move to terminate the zombie they couldn't leave behind.

"I'll take care of him, Father." James held the gun to the tiny forehead. The gun wobbled from his shaking. His tears fell onto his jogging pants, making black spots on the navy fabric. He could still see the warm brown of the little boys eyes through the milky film that covered them. "I'm sorry, Jules."

Father Lee touched the back of James' hand. "No, James. Things are going to get hard, really hard. We're going to have to put down people we know and possibly love. But you don't have to start now."

Father Lee took the gun. He muttered a prayer, then pulled the trigger. Jules jerked and was still. "May you rest in peace, Jules Elijah Harvey." He lightly drew his fingers over the boy's eyes to close the lids.

James could see something had broken inside the battle-hardened priest. The light in his eyes that had radiated joy wherever he went had gone out. James didn't know if he should hug this man who had played such an important part in his life, or say something, or just do nothing.

Before he could decide, Father Lee said, "Let's go down, James. We have more houses to check. We'll come back later for their bodies."

Rising slowly along with the priest, James' glance fell on Mrs Harvey. "I'll be right there."

He veered to the woman. His nerves sang with fear that she was going to attack him.

"She's gone, James, just get it done and get out of here," he reassured himself and bent over. With a quick pass of his hand over her face, he closed her eyes. Her skin was still slightly warm.

A shudder worked its way through him.

Carefully avoiding the sight of Jules, he backed to the door, not looking away lest Mrs Harvey jump up and follow him. He pulled the door shut, only breathing when it clicked. For good measure, he tucked the chair back under the knob, then booked it downstairs.

Father Lee stood talking to a few people from surrounding houses that had gathered on the lawn of the Harvey household.

"What's up?" James asked Petra and Viktor. A portly teenage boy he didn't recognize came jogging up a strange man and handed him a phone. "And who are those guys?"

"They're staying at the B&B. In town for the fishing competition this weekend. They heard the kids screaming for help and came to check it out. We gave everyone an edited version of what we know, because we didn't want to scare the kids." Petra nodded at the few young children who clung to their parents legs or were held in arms.

"We need to check on every single townsperson," Father Lee was saying. His head turned back slightly to the house. He swallowed hard. "Keep your kids inside, but any adult who can help, if you can knock on doors – do not go in! Just knock and see if anyone needs help. If they do, call me or the Chief and we'll get over there."

"Father," Petra said shyly. "If there are enough people, we can go get the rest of the nail gun batteries plugged in at the hardware store. Sorry I didn't think of it last night. We're armed, so you don't need to worry about us."

"It's no problem, Petra. That's a great idea. They'll be ready tonight."

A tall man snorted. "What do you mean 'you're armed'? Little girls like you should stay home and let the adults do the work."

Father Lee stepped towards the man, such anger on his face that the taller man backpedalled, then raked everyone there with his eyes. It wasn't the priest who addressed them, but the soldier. "All of you listen up! If it weren't for this so-called 'little girl', a lot more people would be dead right now. This young woman was the person who thought of using nail guns as weapons. She has already single-handedly defended herself and many others in this town. So, if any of you disrespect her, you'll answer to me. Is that clear?"

Frank held up his hands in apology. "Sure thing, Father. I didn't mean anything by it. It's just..."

"Just what?" Father Lee pressed.

"Well, she's Rosie Mitchell's kid," Frank said, as if pointing out Petra's mother was an alcoholic prostitute explained everything.

"And?" the priest waited.

Frank looked at the people around him, but they kept their eyes averted.

"Do not judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes. How much time have you spent with this young woman?"

Frank rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

"Exactly," continued Father Lee. "We can discuss later how a person's environment shapes them, or how the person shapes themselves regardless of the environment they are in. Petra is a prime example, even before I took over her primary care."

Frank's mouth opened in shock. "You did?"

The priest waved away the question. "The point is, Petra had already set herself apart from the life her mother was leading at a very young age. She may be a teenager, but she is not a girl. She is a young woman and deserves the same respect as any other woman. In fact, I expect you all to treat each other with the highest respect. That will be crucial going forward."

Father Lee stared around until everyone nodded and gave assent.

The priest relaxed, and a few people blew out the breath they'd been holding. "Let's discuss what we need to do," Father Lee said.

Within minutes, the little ones had been ushered inside. Mrs Robichaud, the widower who lived across from the Harvey's, had a quiet word with Father Lee and taken them with her.

The few able-bodied and willing people had all returned with whatever weapon they were able to find, ready to move out.

They all jumped when someone yelled, "Maryam! Can you hear me?"

WORD COUNT: 2466

NANO WORD COUNT: 15, 178

TOTAL WORD COUNT: 17, 003

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

This chapter is a bit longer. Did it feel too long?

What surprises await the trio on the way to the hardware store?

We are well into the novel by now. Thank you for reading!