Zombie Boy

Zombie Boy- 4

BEETROOT AND PICKLED ONIONS

Megan participated in an awkward conversation with her mum as she went about getting the drink she’d supposedly ventured down stairs to retrieve. Sipping on it slowly she eyed the pantry door warily as her mother made herself a drink too.

When finished Megan placed the glass down on the draining board and lent against the kitchen sides watching a certain door handle for the slightest hint of movement.

“Megan?”

Megan jolted before glancing to see her mum posed as if to say ‘What are you doing’ gesturing out of the kitchen.

“Are you going up?”

Opening her mouth hesitantly Megan almost gestured to the pantry itself as an excuse to stay in the kitchen which of course would make no sense at all to her mother. After all, how could her mum know there was a zombie lingering amongst the beetroot and pickled onion jars.

“Yeah sure” she murmured huskily shuffling reluctantly past her mum who watched her go with raised eyebrows.

Up the stairs and across the landing they plodded till they came to her room where her mum went to the effort of tucking her in and wishing her good night before closing the door on her with a rather final click.

Megan lay with her covers pulled right up to her chin, eyes like saucers staring up at the ceiling as she listened for a ‘thud, thud’ venturing up the stairs when Miles came after her for locking him in a cupboard. She lay there awake for what felt like hours too stiff and anxious to go back downstairs until she was lying tangled in her sheets with the sun burning down on her face having unexpectedly found sleep at some point in the remainder of the morning.

Her eyes felt sore and puffy, her hair knotty and wild…her limbs achy from running yesterday. YESTERDAY.

Bolting upright Megan tossed herself out of bed with an urgency. Tumbling down the stairs she shoved her head through the kitchen doorway to see her mum already there dressed in high waisted jeans and a halter top.

"Morning honey I was just about to wake you."

Megan stared at her for a moment struggling to regain the use of speech before she coughed out an uncertain, husky reply. "Morning."

Her mum served up a mug of tea placing it on the table for her as Megan cautiously took a seat at the breakfast bar. Her eyes surveyed the kitchen for 'evidence of Zombie' (not that she knew what evidence would suggest a 'dead body' had been lurking around). She observed nothing out of the ordinary which meant only one thing...he was still in the cupboard.

Megan eyed the pantry door with shadowed eyes. She had to get him out of there before her Mum-

"Mum!" Megan's eyes widened as she suddenly clocked on to the fact her mother was heading towards the Pantry. "W-what are you doing" she blurted her eyes wide on her mum's hand which circled around the door handle.

Her mum glanced over her shoulder with furrowed eyebrows. "Getting the cereal." Before Megan could utter another word her mum yanked open the door. Megan scrunched up in her seat awaiting the screams and cries of 'dead boy in my cupboard'.

"Phew...something smells off in here- bet it's those rats again. Best tell your father."

Previously having had her eyes squeezed shut Megan slowly opened one to capture her mum waving a hand in front of her nose to ward off the whiff before walking right on in to the pantry. Untensing, Megan slipped off of the high chair and wondered a few steps closer to the pantry peering in over her mum's bent over bottom to check there definitely was no one else in there.