Becoming Them: A Zombie Novel

Twenty-Two

     The two adults that I lived with were a pain to put up with. Billy absolutely hated when he didn't get his way. If we didn't listen to him quick enough, he'd have a fit. He'd give us the silent treatment, then when he's over it, he'd act as if nothing happened. He had a constant change in mood swings and would even take his anger out on us when we didn't do anything. 

     Mel was a little tamer in that she tended to keep to herself when something other than us made her mad. If we persisted, she'd lash out and lock herself away in her room, opting to deal with her problems in solitude. But when it came to us, she was really strict. She was controlling, just like Billy, but when we didn't listen quick enough, she'd start mumbling to herself like she was chanting a curse, complaining that we never helped.

     That's what I learned in the week that I stayed here. I adapted quickly to new backgrounds so taking in all the Do's and Don'ts weren't so difficult to abide by. Especially since I had Eli and Jonah to help me understand the way things worked quicker.

     "We're allowed to switch places with other kids, but no one wants to live with them two," Eli whispered to me over his cereal bowl, nodding to Billy and Mel, who were sharing a laugh while leaning against the countertop with their coffee mugs in hand. They were oblivious to our gossiping. "No one can blame 'em either." Crumbs and spots of milk dotted the area around the mouth of the ten-year-old, which he hastily wiped away with the ends of his sleeve.

     Jonah, only a year older than Eli, sat across from him. "That's gross, E." He scrunched up his nose in disgust and shook his head, making the large tuft of hair on it sway with every movement. Then he turned to me. "If you can find a way out of here, take us with you, please."

     "Take you where?" Mel asked, appearing at the table, hand on her hip with the other hand still gripping her mug.

     Jonah sipped the last of the milk in his bowl and sighed, sending a mischievous smile Mel's way. "Nowhere special, really."

     "I just wanted to know because there are not many areas in this place that we haven't already visited, seeing as it's kinda small, you know?" She looked at me. "Where do you guys plan to go?"

     I was lost for words. I was the worst liar, and it wasn't like I could tell them we wanted to get away from her and Billy. It would make their mood sour throughout the whole day, and who knows? Maybe they'd stop making food for us, telling us we were ungrateful and didn't deserve it, forcing us to scavenge for it ourselves, going door-to-door with little empty bowls between our fingers and tears in our eyes ... well, that wouldn't happen. As much as they'd like to probably starve us if they knew, the other townspeople wouldn't let it happen. That was the good thing about living in a community where everybody knew everybody. Parents and other guardians weren't solely responsible for the children, we were taken care of as a community. Besides, knowing Mel and Billy, they'd rather protect their reputation than be deemed untrustworthy kid-haters. 

     "Um ... well," Jonah began. He seemed lost on what to say, looking to Eli who just shrugged and shovelled more cereal into his mouth. Then his face lit up. "Megan was telling us all about how she'll get to go on trips outside the gate with Joey. Eli and I want to do that someday."

     Mel let out a scoff while Billy stared, his lips slowly twisting into a smirk. "Are you out of your mind?" Mel asked. "Do you know how dangerous it is out there?"

     "But Megan turned out okay!" Jonah whined.

     "That's because Megan was lucky." Mel turned her head to me, her glare was so intense I felt the urge to slide the chair back so I'd have a head-start in escaping if she tried anything. "How could you think telling them about your escapades around the town was smart?"