Red Hill

Bryce rested his arms across the tops of his knees, unhappy.

“Uh . . . guys . . . ?” Joey said, walking into the room with his hands up. With only the candles to light the room, I could only make out Joey and the end of the rifle that was against his head.

Cooper, Bryce, and I all stood up quickly, pulling our guns. Joey stood in front of the man holding him hostage.

“Didn’t your mothers teach you not to walk into someone’s house without knocking?”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “We’ll leave.”

“How did you get here?” he asked. “A car?”

“No, we walked,” I said. “We’re sorry. Just please let us leave.” I lowered my weapon. “See? We don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Too late for that,” the man said. Joey closed his eyes tight, but nothing happened. I grabbed my flashlight, and shined it in the man’s eyes. He recoiled from the light. His hair was shaggy, his nails and fingers black with dirt, and his camouflage overalls and coat were stained with blood. He towered over Joey, and I wondered if we had a chance if we all charged him at once.

“Skeeter?” Bryce said.

The man struggled against the beam of my flashlight to see who called his name. “Who’s that?”

“It’s me, Bryce! Coop’s here, too! I can’t believe you made it!”

I lifted the flashlight so the light bounced off the ceiling and cast a dim glow over the entire room. Skeeter pulled his gun away from Joey and shook Bryce’s and then Cooper’s hands.

“Holy hell, boys!” Skeeter said, pulling his hat off his head.

“What are you doing here?” Cooper said, a wide grin on his face.

I was completely confused. Bryce and Cooper seemed to know this man, but Joey didn’t.

“Skeeter McGee, nice to meet ya,” he said, shaking Joey’s hand. “Sorry ’bout that. I’ve had some run-ins with some assholes. You know how it is.”

Joey shook his hand, bewildered.

“I knew the girls’ old man’s place was out this way. I thought I’d try to catch up to y’all, but I got stuck here. This place is crawlin’ with creepers!”

“Creepers,” Cooper said with a chuckle. “I like that.”

“No,” I said. “It’s ted. Zoe wouldn’t like it if we changed it.”

Skeeter’s face fell, and turned white. “What’d you say?”

I glanced around the room. No one else seemed to know why his mood had suddenly changed, either, and I worried the boys didn’t know him as well as they thought. Whether the boys knew this man or not, we needed to protect everyone we left at home. “We just made a group decision on what to call those things. It’s pretty silly, actually . . .”

“No, ma’am. You just said Zoe. Like little Zoe, ’bout yay high. Light brown hair?” he asked, karate chopping his chin to show the length.

“How do you know Zoe?” I said, instantly suspicious.

Skeeter ran over to me. “She’s my niece. You’ve seen her? Where is she? Is she with her dad?”

“Your niece?” I said, wondering why Nathan had never said anything about a brother.

“Aubrey is my sister. Nathan’s wife. Have you seen them?”

Nathan’s wife. The words stung.

“Yes, we’ve seen them,” Bryce said. “They’re at Red Hill Ranch. They’re safe.”

Skeeter laughed once, and then stumbled backward, falling onto the couch. “Oh, thank God,” he said, flattening the palm of his hand against the side of his face. After a moment, he covered his face in his hands, bent at the waist, and then the big, burly man began to cry.

We all traded glances, unsure of what to do. The one thing I was sure of was that as of that moment, there were ten of us.

“Skeeter?” I said. I touched his shoulder. “Skeeter. We’re heading out tomorrow after we clear. You’re welcome to come with us.”

“Clear?”

“Yes. My daughters are meeting me at Red Hill, and we’re making sure they don’t run into trouble.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll help you.”

• • •

THE NEXT DAY WAS HOTTER than the day before. Two hours after sunrise, and it was already muggy. The hairs falling down from my bun were sticking to the back of my neck, and the waves of heat were dancing just above the asphalt. I didn’t think it was possible, but the rising temperature made the pungent smell baked into our clothes waft into the air and blend to form a potpourri of rotten food and bad breath. I could barely stand to smell myself, so I tried to keep my distance from everyone else.

In Shallot, we each took down five teds apiece, and then began our trek back to the ranch. Skeeter told the story of how he made it through a herd of zombies until he got to his wife, who had turned, so that he could put her down so she didn’t hurt anyone. The more Skeeter talked, the more I liked him, and I wondered if Aubrey was anything like her brother. It didn’t feel so senseless now, telling Nathan that it was over between us. Now that Skeeter was moving in, it would have been weird, anyway. Suddenly the thought of being around Nathan without any prospect of fixing what I’d done was very depressing. The closer we got to the ranch, the sicker I felt.

“I can’t believe you know Nate. That’s just bizarre,” Cooper said.

“It’s fu

“He was at the church?” Bryce said, amused.

“Yep. He was. He left with Zoe the first chance he got because he knew it was only a matter of time before they got in.”

“What church?” I asked, stopping in the middle of the road.

Skeeter gri

“Holy shit,” I said, realizing that the people I saw ru

Skeeter nodded. “Holy shit, indeed.”

We alternated jogging and walking. Cooper was anxious to get home to Ashley, concerned she would be sick with worry. When we reached the top of the hill, I glanced back, hoping my babies would be doing the same thing soon.

Ashley burst through the front door and ran down the drive, jumping into Cooper’s arms. She began to cry immediately. Elleny jumped off the porch and hugged me, trying her best to keep her eyes dry. Nathan, Miranda, and Zoe were standing on the porch, confused at the sight of the gruff-looking fellow bringing up the rear.

“Skeeter?” Nathan said. By his words alone it was obvious he couldn’t believe what he was seeing, but he had the most disgusted look on his face.

“Uncle Skeeter!” Zoe yelled, ru

Skeeter laughed. “I know! Yucky, huh?”

Nathan walked down the steps, and wrapped both of his arms around his brother-in-law. “I can’t . . . I don’t believe it.”

The men hugged for a bit, and then we all hugged each other. When Nathan got to me, he held me tight, and then planted his lips on mine. After less than a second of shock, I let myself melt into him. His fingers dug into my back, and I pulled him close.

“I’m so sorry,” I said against his lips.

He shook his head, keeping his eyes closed. “Don’t. Don’t say a word. Just let me hold you.”

I buried my face into his neck, feeling safer than I had in weeks. Nathan loved me more than he should after what I’d said. Hopefully it wasn’t too much to ask that God give me just one more miracle.

Bryce climbed the few steps to Miranda, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Good God almighty,” Skeeter said, his voice grave. “Y’all shoulda warned me.”

“About what?” Bryce said.

“Two redheads in the house.” He sighed. “I had better chances in Shallot.”

Miranda narrowed her eyes at him, and I laughed. “You’re probably right.”

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Nathan said, hugging me again. He kissed my cheek before pulling me into the house by the hand. He left me long enough to show Skeeter the facilities, and get him some clean clothes, and then he returned. “I have some bad news. The electric is off. I’ve tried to flip the breaker, but it’s . . . it’s gone.”