WILLA, стр. 6

We were currently living in a world where you had to look out for yourself. One could argue that we were already living in that world before the outbreak. In many ways, we were, but this new life was different...harsher. Even those people like my uncle, who would’ve stopped for both accidents and gone to the hospital to make sure everyone was all right, refused to put their lives in danger to save anyone who wasn’t family.

For a second, I started to ask why Uncle Jamie didn’t stop, but the stern look on his face kept me quiet. I tried to focus my attention on Mom. She didn’t notice cars on the roadside, the traffic speeding by us, or the lack of conversation going on inside the vehicle.

“My God. Who all is here?” I asked as we pulled into Grandma’s drive.

Cars, vans, SUVs, and trucks lined the drive and around to the side of the house. No one moved in the yard. I also couldn’t see anyone through the windows. The sight was eerie.

“Most of the family. Mom’s is the biggest house with the largest cellar. It’ll barely hold us all, but if we’re lucky, we won’t have to hide here for too long,” Uncle Jamie said.

His last statement was for the kids and my mom. We were in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, after all. If the outbreak played out the way it did in shows and movies, we’d be hiding a long time.

Mom merely stared at the line of cars in confusion. I could tell that she wanted to ask questions, but she couldn’t bring herself. Her denial was warring with her reality. If we didn’t do something soon, she would have a mental break down. I didn’t know if seeing a zombie in person would help her or not, but I was close to suggesting someone take her to one.

“Have you seen one of the creatures in person?” I whispered to Chad.

“No, but Uncle Carson did. He tried to go to Little Rock but didn’t get any closer than Jacksonville. There Uncle Carson saw a few at a gas station, eating a patron. He turned around and came home. Some of the others in the house have seen a few too. Who did your mom see?” Chad asked.

“No one,” I said. “We haven’t left the house since this started.”

“Really. But your mom is...”

“Chad, grab a few totes, please,” Uncle Jamie said, escorting Mom passed us.

“Yes, Sir,” my cousin said, turning around and going back to the van.

I went to follow him, but my uncle asked me to help Mom into the cellar and said that he would assist the boys.

“Oh, thank God,” Grandma said as we came down the basement steps.

She threw her arms around Mom and me and hugged us tightly.

“I was afraid that something had happened to you both,” Grandma said when she finally pulled away.

“I tried calling...like a thousand times, but no one answered...none of my calls,” I said, pulling out my phone to prove to her that I’d called.

“Carson said the lines weren’t working. However, once people started showing up yesterday, I haven’t had a chance to make many phone calls,” Grandma said, leading us over to a cot.

Grandma didn’t say anything about Mom’s condition. She merely helped her daughter lie back on the makeshift bed before covering her with a blanket.

Mom fell straight to sleep. Grandma motioned me away from her and over to where she’d made a bed for herself.

“How long has she been that way?” Grandma asked me as we took a seat.

“More or less since the beginning of all of this. When I came downstairs yesterday morning, Mom was sitting in front of the TV, mumbling to herself that, ‘this can’t be happening.’ She’s been saying something along those lines on and off since. I don’t think she went to the bathroom until late into the night.

“Since Uncle Jamie arrived, she’s been acting as if she doesn’t know what’s happened. I don’t know what’s going on in her head,” I said with a sigh.

“She’ll be all right. You’re mom just has a hard time dealing with things sometimes. I’ll give her a valium if she starts freaking out too much. I’m sure in a day, or so, she’ll be fine. She isn’t the only one freaking out,” Grandma said, nodding to one of my mom’s cousins, her wife, and family.

The cousin’s wife was crying hysterically. I looked around the room to see that more than a few people were staring off into space with blank looks. Some were quietly weeping. Others, like my uncles, were working tirelessly to bring Mom’s and my clothes and supplies down to the basement.

“Where should we put our stuff? I asked my grandmother.

“Your things can go under your beds,” she said, pointing to the cot Mom was on and then to the empty one next to it.

“Fun,” I said, not hiding my sarcasm.

“I know it isn’t ideal, but there are too many of us to bring down big beds.”

“No one’s sleeping upstairs?”

“Nope. Your uncles think it’s better if we stay down here. The only ones who’ll be upstairs will be those who are on guard watch. And don’t even think about offering. Your mother will have a duck if I put a gun in your hand.”

“Fine,” I said and went over to our cots to sort our things.

“Once you’ve finished here, if you still want to do something, you can unload the totes you brought from your house. I think the storage shelves are fairly self-explanatory.”

“Okay. I’ll do that,” I said, looking down at my mom’s sleeping form.

“I promise she’ll be all right. She’ll be back to normal soon.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. You know how Mom is in stressful situations—she panics.”

“And she’s stubborn. I know, but she’ll have to get over herself quickly if she hopes to live through this,” Grandma said.

I’d never heard her sound so hard about one of her children. She’d always been more