The Strong Will Survive

Chapter Twenty-Eight - KC

Life was normal. And boring. Jared stunk at video games, tell me something I don't know. He was still yelling at his character on the screen about not moving. And Lilith and Benji were looking at the diary like the nerds they are. So I had nothing to prank. Lydia was sleeping again, God bless her. She had a rougher few months than all of us. But still, I needed something to DO.

I decided to visit Lilly's dog. What was its name? Tulip? Dahlia? Oh, that's right. Daisy. Knew it was some kind of flower. So anyway, I went outside and what did I see? Nothing. No dog whatsoever, not even a hair. Hm. I stood there staring for a while, kind of in shock. Then I saw the chain that kept her from running away. It was... I can't really describe it. Chewed through? Clawed through? I don't know. But Daisy could not have done it. Not a dog of normal capacity, which made me wonder. How did the dog get through that?

The realization hit me like a truck. How would I explain that to Lilly? That dog was her best and only friend for a good part of this mess. How could I explain to Lilith that she would never see her dog again? That her dog... Was a zombie?

Something else felt wrong. I mean, the zombified fluffball dog was not right by any means, but there was another thing that felt off. I could feel jn my gut that I should maybe check on Lilith's baby brother. I always trust my gut, so I went to go do it.

I was right. There was something wrong with the zombie that reminded me so much of my own little brother. He was gone, and the place where he was stored was ransacked. So now we knew one more thing about the zombies. The Bedridden were not asleep forever. 

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A/N: Ky Le Van apologizes for the short chapter--she was out of ideas--and is very excited that people outside of our friend group are reading and enjoying the book!!