Something about the picture wasn't right. There were no boards on the windows for one thing; you'd think with zombies roaming everywhere, sealing up the house would be the first logical step. The front door was wide open, not smashed, just open. I stood in the doorway, the scene surreal. The living room was intact, knick knacks neatly arranged on the mantle. The television in the corner was smashed, so was the mirror on the wall, glass shards littering the floor. The floor was coated with mud, smeared footprints tracking a path throughout the house, fingerprints on the walls, on furniture. I followed the mud, passing a bathroom with another smashed mirror. There were two bedrooms at the end of a short hallway, one closed, one open. The mud led into the open one, but I found myself before the closed one, turning the knob.

It was dark in the master bedroom, light struggling to get through the heavy curtain over the windows, but there was enough to see the two figures lying on the bed. The smell of decay lingered, but the room was stale, rot mixed with mold. No one here was among the living, not for a long time. Closing the door, I entered the opposite room. Ah, here there be monsters.

The bed frame was smashed, shoved into a corner. The mattress had been torn apart, its innards part of the pile of shredded sheets and debris in the center of the room. It was a nest, complete with a little muddy doll and frayed blanket. The picture was confusing. This must be the home of the mystery girl, but what was the deal with the nest? And the doll, she still slept with a doll? Was she autistic or something? I stepped back into the hall, something crinkling under my foot. Looking down, the hallway was littered with smashed picture frames, family pictures caked in filth. I plucked the one from beneath my warped shoe, wiping away the dirt, my gloved fingers slowly unveiling the faces.

I stared at the picture for a while, the cheery smiles growing murkier in the dimming daylight. Grabbing the doll, I headed back outside. Fred sat cross legged in front of the hay stack, poking it with a stick.

"Stop that!" I snapped, smacking him upside the head. I shoved the photo at him. "How old does she look here to you?" It was a little girl and her parents in gaudy Christmas sweaters posed beside an immensely over tinseled pine tree.

    Fred snorted. "No way, that can't be our growlie little friend, this kid looks like she's maybe three tops." His eyes widened, dropping the stick to grip the photo with both hands. He smoothed off more dirt, his face somber. "It's time stamped December 25, 2014. That's just a few months before all the magazines cut off." 

"She still sleeps with her doll," I said softly, showing him the tattered treasure. This situation made me damn uncomfortable. I had come to the conclusion I spent a good number years as a mindless corpse, but waking up to this nightmare world was one thing. I could not imagine living through all of this. I crouched in front of the haystack, holding out my peace offering.

"You want to come out of there? I promise we won't hurt you."

"What'd you promise that for? We don't know if we still have the urge to eat people!" Fred hissed, scuttling backwards. I glared at him.

"You've been out here with her for nearly an hour. Feeling peckish?"

He scrunched up his face, patting his stomach. "Actually, no," He grinned. It was dusk, so the white teeth and black gums gave him a skull like appearance.

"Whatever you do, don't smile if we get her out of there."

Fred's face fell, covering his mouth with one hand. "I keep forgetting how ghastly it is," he muttered through his fingers.

I was so distracted by Fred I didn't realize what was happening until he gasped. I turned just in time to feel the doll ripped from my hand as a scrawny leg kicked up, planting a foot on my chest to send me skidding back on my butt a few yards.

"Vicious little snot!" I shrieked, trying to get to my feet. Fred stared at me, mouth hanging open for a moment before he fell over laughing. Laughing so hard he hugged his sides. "Shut up, you're not helping."

"But that was the coolest thing I've ever seen." His laughter tapered off to a few chuckles. "What now?"

"What now? We leave the little bitch; she's obviously done fine without our help." I brushed my pants, succeeding in smearing more mud on them. Straightening, I balled my fists, counting to ten. All I wanted was a goddamn hot shower.

 Fred lazily scratched his chin. "It's almost dark, Li. Why don't we just camp here for the night? I think I can get a fire going."

I scowled at him. "Why bother, I'm not cold."

He sighed. "Humor me. Besides, we should find your Muppets. Ah, well we should clean up your Muppets."

He nodded behind me as Bert and Ernie toppled out of the bushes, loping up to me. "Where have you two been?" I snapped. There were covered in slime, like they belly crawled through the swamp, which was bad enough until they dropped a dead rabbit at my feet. I was trying to decide if I was amused or disgusted by the offering when Fred slid up behind me.

"That's a fresh kill. Do they---are they going to eat it?" But my minions were already wandering off, heading straight for the haystack, whose occupant emitted a high pitched squeal.

"Whoa, wait!" The two of us ran after them, but they were already reaching in the hay. Oh god! I was going to have to put them down Old Yeller style. I had a machete in one hand when Fred tackled me to the ground.

"Look!" He pointed with his free hand, the other pinning my machete to the ground. Did he want me to watch them tear the girl apart? Except that wasn't what they did at all.

Bert yanked the flailing girl out of the hay, completely unfazed as she beat at him with her fists, one clutching that doll of hers. She froze when the two leaned in, sniffing her. That was when Bert brought his chin to rest on top of her head, like he did to me. Ernie's head rested on her shoulder. The girl tensed, spine straight as a board but when the Muppets just kept leaning on her, she relaxed. And giggled.

She fucking giggled.

"What just happened?" I whispered, afraid to interrupt whatever was happening.

"They accepted her into the pack?"

"They aren't dogs you idiot." I shoved him off me, kneeling on the ground as I stared at the bizarre trio. It was kind of sweet and horrifying at the same time. There was enough light to see what our mystery girl looked like. No wonder I thought she was one of us. Under her coat of dirt, she was pale and covered in scars. Three fingers were missing on her left hand and someone had once taken a chunk out of her shoulder. Clearly malnourished, her ribs stuck out, her limbs painfully thin. She possessed most of her hair, but it was such a tangle mess I wondered how much was still attached to her head.   

 "How did you live out here?" I murmured. Captivated as I was by the sight of my zombies snuggling a live human, I didn't notice what Fred was doing behind me until the flare of a match startled the girl. She snarled, trying to retreat back into the hay. That wasn't nearly as interesting as what the boys did. They charged, lumbering right past me.

"What are you-Hey, stop you savages!" I turned to find my boys jumping on the unsuspecting Fred. He flung them off a moment later. The kid was freakishly strong.

 Fred stomped past me, rabbit in hand. He stopped out of swinging range of the girl, wise considering she dropped into a crouch, and gestured at her with the dead animal while yelling over his shoulder at the Muppets. "I'm going to feed her alright? I need a fire to cook the damn thing- gah!"

The girl snatched it right out of his hands, chomping right into it raw. Fred scrambled back from her, his face twisted in disgust. Bert and Ernie seemed satisfied with the situation, wandering off across the fields. My deadbeat partner squatted next to me, hunched into his sweatshirt.

"I wish I could throw up. It's going to make her sick. This is vile, Li, why am I still looking at her?"

My thoughts exactly, the lights were fading fast, deepening the shadows on that little girl's face as she enthusiastically chewed the dead rabbit. I winced every time I heard her crack through bone.

"Judging from her room, I think she's used to it." I tore my gaze off her, rummaging through my Poppins bag for a flashlight. "You're right, in a way. She's feral." My hands hovered on a pack of sanitary wipes. I wonder if she'll let me at least wipe the blood off her face. The flashlight wasn't that large, but it had one of those blue ultra-watt bulbs that lit up the area like a tiny searchlight. I propped it up on the ground so it cast interesting shadows on our faces.

Fred shook his head, tucking his head against his elbow to keep from looking at her. "What are we going to do? We can't leave her here."

I shrugged. "Honestly don't see how we are going to coax her to follow us unless you can catch some more rabbits."

"Where the hell did they find that thing anyway? I haven't seen any animals." Fred chanced a peek over his shoulder and winced. "Disgusting."

The question brought my thoughts circling back around to the odd encounter between the Muppets and our little wolf girl. Bert and Ernie were not like us, but their were obviously not like regular zombies either, existing in limbo between savage and civilized. Why catch the rabbit at all? What the heck were they thinking. They really did act like dogs.

"Uh, Li," Fred nodded to me just as I felt it, the slightest pressure at my side. Wolf girl had slipped up beside me without a sound, curling against me like a stray cat, with her doll clutched to her chest. She couldn't have been there more than a minute or two at most but she was already quietly snoring, her face peaceful, smeared with dying blood. I had the oddest urge to pet her, one I squashed down. I didn't want to stain my gloves. In the blue glow of the flash light I could see the pits and furrows of scars on her arms. Her face looked younger at rest.

            "What are we going to do with you?" I murmured. Wolf girl sighed, snuggling closer. Honestly, I didn't mind the smell.

***Like the latest addition to Li's group? Don't forget to vote! ***