“What? It helps mask the smell of rotting dead people,” I explained.
She smiled with amusement. “Good thinking. How’d you come up with that?”
“CSI,” I said matter-of-factly.
“I see. Did you know that cigarette smoke can also mask different types of smells? Bryce…do you happen to smoke?”
“Mom!” groaned Paige.
I smiled as I went to the bathroom down the hall. When I closed the door, I noticed Allie’s favorite T-shirt was hanging on the back. It was bright pink with the words “Dare to Dance” scrolled on the front. She’d worn it constantly at home.
I sighed. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, I thought, grabbing the shirt. When I closed my eyes, I could still smell her favorite lotion, some type of strawberry scent. I slid to the ground and closed my eyes, trying not to cry. Before long, someone began knocking softly on the door.
“Cassie? Are you okay?” asked Bryce.
I cleared my throat. “Yes, sorry. I’ll be out in a minute.”
He paused. “Okay.”
I stood up and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was in disarray, streaks of mascara lined my face, and my tank top was covered in something I didn’t even want to consider. Sighing, I washed my face, neck, and hands, then removed my tank top. I slipped on my sister’s shirt, wanting to be closer to her. Then, I combed out my hair, grabbed the jar of Vicks, and went back into the kitchen.
Kylie smiled sadly. “That’s Allie’s shirt.”
I touched it and nodded.
Bryce looked down at his own shirt and frowned. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything I can change into?”
Kristie snorted. “You could definitely use a new shirt. Let me find you something. I have some new T-shirts in the closet down the hall. Throw that nasty thing away and follow me.”
“Thanks,” he replied, removing his shirt, displaying perfectly defined muscles and a hard, flat stomach.
“Work out much, Bryce?” asked Kristie as she led him out of the kitchen.
I couldn’t help staring as he walked away. The word “chiseled” didn’t do him justice.
“Wow,” whispered Paige. “That dude’s got one smokin’ body.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, it’s not bad.”
Paige snorted and pushed me playfully. “You’re such a horrible liar.”
“Fine, okay, it was pretty…spectacular.”
“You know, I think he’s graduated from being your karate instructor. The rules have changed.” She sighed and looked out the window. “The world’s changed.”
I pushed my hair behind my ears. “Well, a relationship isn’t really at the top of my ‘to-do’ list right now.”
“I’m just saying…”
Bryce and Kristie walked back into the kitchen. This time he was covered in a new white T-shirt.
“Sorry, girls, I had to cover him up so he wouldn’t distract the female zombies.”
“Or the gay ones,” replied Kylie.
Kristie’s jaw dropped.
“You know, you ladies are starting to make me feel really uncomfortable,” said Bryce with a straight face.
“Kylie? What do you know about being gay?” asked her mother.
“Mom, I learned about sex in fifth grade. Come on!” she replied.
“Okay, seriously…what do we do now?” asked Paige.
“Well, I want to check around the neighborhood,” I stated. “I need to find out what happened to Allie. Find out if she’s trapped out there, somewhere, and needs help.”
Bryce nodded. “I’m coming with you.”
“I think we should all stick together,” said Kristie. “If there are zombies walking the streets, we need each other.”
“That’s a good idea,” replied Bryce
Kristie grabbed her keys. “Let’s all pack into Dan’s Escalade and go for a drive then.”
We found a large cooler and filled it with water, soda, chips, and granola bars. Bryce and I grabbed our guns while Paige grabbed her metal bat.
“This might come in handy,” said Kristie, holding up a war hammer she’d found in the garage. It had a sharp spike in the back and hammer head. It looked pretty deadly.
“Yeah, that could do some damage,” I agreed. “Where’d you find that thing?”
“From this renaissance convention that Dan visited last year. He collects medieval stuff like that. Or…he did, rather,” said Kristie. Her eyes became moist and she smiled sadly. “Poor Dan. He was a little bit of a dork, but I loved the man. He didn’t deserve to die this way.”
“Nobody deserves this,” I said.