She got the door shut and trod into the kitchen, holding her sword at a low ready. By the candlelight in the kitchen, she could see the shadow over the kitchen window, two eyes shining orange back there in the dark.
She picked up a candle from the table and moved toward the window until the shadow cast shadows of its own. It was some kind of animal, hanging from the shutter over the sink, looking like a black towel with a little doggy face. It didn't seem dangerous, just, well, a little goofy.
"Well, this is it I am getting back on my meds tomorrow, if I have to borrow the money from Lena»
"Not so fast," said the Narrator. "It'll be so lonely in here when I'm gone. And you'll be back to wearing your normal clothes. Jeans and sweaters, you can't want that."
Ignoring the Narrator, Molly approached the creature on the shutters until she was only two feet away and staring right into its eyes. "Angels are one thing, but I don't even know what in the hell you are, little guy."
"Fruit bat," said Roberto.
"He might be a Spaniard," said the Narrator. "Did you hear the accent?"
* * *
"I'm going out there," Theo Crowe said, finding a grip on the Christmas tree.
"He still has one bullet," said Tucker Case.
"They are going to torch the place. I've got to get out there."
"To do what? You going to take their matches away?"
Lena took Theo by the arm. "Theo, they'll never get a fire started in this rain and wind. Don't go out there. Ben didn't make it two steps."
"If I can get to an SUV, I can start running over people," Theo said. "Val gave me the keys to her Range Rover."
"Well, that's not going to work," said Tuck. "There's a bunch of them. You might get some of the feeble ones, but the rest will just run into the woods where you can't get to them."
"Fine. Suggestions? This place will burn like tinder, rain or no rain. If I don't do something we're going to get roasted."
Lena looked at Tuck. "Maybe Theo's right. If he can drive them into the woods, maybe the rest of us can make a break for the parking lot. They can't get all of us."
"Fine," Theo said. "Divide people up into groups of five and six. Give the strongest member of each group the key to an SUV. Make sure everyone knows where they're going once they get out the door. When you hear the horn on the Range Rover play 'Shave and a Haircut, it will mean I've done what I can do. Everyone make a break for it."
"Wow, you came up with that while stoned," Tuck said. "I'm impressed."
"Just get everyone ready. I'm not going out on that roof until I'm sure no one is waiting for me."
"What if we hear a gunshot? What if they get you before you get to the car?"
Theo pulled a key out of his pocket and handed it to Tuck. "Then it would be your turn, wouldn't it? Val had her spare car key with her, too."
"Wait a minute. I'm not running out there. You have an excuse, you're stoned, you're a cop, your wife threw you out, and your life is in shreds. Things are going good for me."
"When Constable Crowe leaves, then can we cut off his head?" asked Joshua Barker.
"Okay, maybe not," said Tuck.
"I'm going," Theo said. "Get everyone ready at the door."
The lanky constable made his way up the Christmas tree. Tuck watched him climb out on the roof, then turned to the others. "Okay, you guys heard him. Let's break into groups of five and six by the front doors. Nacho, grab the hammer, we're going to have to pull the nails on the reinforcements. Who's driving an SUV?"
Everyone but the children raised their hands.
* * *
"It won't spark, it's wet," said Marty in the Morning. He was trying to coax fire out of a drenched disposable lighter. The undead stood around him, looking at the pile of gasoline-sodden debris they'd piled against the side of the chapel.
"I love barbecue," said Arthur Tannbeau. "Every Sunday out at the ranch, we used to —»
"Only in California could one refer to a citrus farm as a ranch," interrupted Malcolm Cowley. "As if you and the yahoos would all go out on horseback to round up the tangerines."
"Didn't anyone find a dry lighter or matches in any of the cars?" Dale Pearson said.
"No one smokes anymore," said Bess Leander. "Disgusting filthy habit anyway."
"Said the woman who still has brain matter on her chin from that fellow in the sweater," said Malcolm.