The Feeders

13- Abominable Snowmen

Salem steers into the space beside the cop car and shifts into park.

"Stay here," he says, staring at me, then at Carla, "You gotta go. We can't let our parents know we've had someone over while they're away." He lies so fluidly, without even twitching his lip the way he usually does. His brain must be too focused on our new problem.

I'm already sure I'm going to ignore the order to stay put. I know that particular car. It's Captain Woody Wainwright's Crown Royal. I'm not setting idly by while he discovers our secret.

Salem jogs up to the front door. It's still shut tight. He starts around the house. I ignore Carly. She hasn't moved, but I'll let Salem deal with that unstable bag of nuts when he's done helping me get rid of Cap'n.

He stops at the corner and I bump into him. He's looking into our wide back yard. Our patio furniture is only two years old. Mom kept complaining about our old one until dad gave in and surprised her with this new set. Burnt orange cushions sat undisturbed  in their dark chocolate metal frames. A ceramic fall decorative pumpkin in the same orange tone sat untouched on the table. Nearby, a small and empty koi pond. We quit keeping fish in it when I was a kid, because the neighbor's cat kept killing them. Beyond the patio furniture was our shed, where we kept tools, the lawn mower, and such. That's where Cap'n stood, fiddling with the handle on the old forest green door.

"Hey there!" Salem said cheerfully, charging into the back yard.

Cap'n doesn't startle like most people might. A fella in his profession for as long as he's been there has probably seen enough to dull most surprise situations. Getting caught poking around his friend and employee's shed is no big deal.

"Howdy, Salem," he says with a cordial nod. "Good to see you well." His pale blues are waned, with darkness in the puffy pouches below. No doubt from sleepless nights.

"And you, sir." Salem doesn't miss a beat. He strolls on over to Cap'n. "Can I help you with anything."

"After Janie told me Eli was away this morning, I just figured I'd stop by and check that you were all locked up tight. You can never be too careful. Crazy things going on."

My heart is pattering. Salem doesn't know the lie I told Cap'n about papaw Red's. I'm behind Salem, peeking around his broad shoulder. Cap'n is driving his cruiser, but he's wearing street clothes. A plain red tee tucked into blue jeans. He's got a big belt buckle; the picture on it looks like a man riding a bucking bronco. Cap'n's hands rest at his sides. His arm hairs are thick and white and make me think of the abominable snowman.

"Yes, we've been very careful," Salem says catching on. He couldn't know about papaw Red but he knew something, and for whatever reason, he knew that Cap'n didn't expect dad to be home. "It is a dangerous time. Thanks for checking up on us." Salem smiles.

I marvel at how good he is at this. He isn't giving Cap'n any reason to grow suspicious. He's being perfectly inviting, even though we want nothing more than for Cap'n to go away. If we let him know that, he'll start wondering and the whole thing is over. I think of mom and dad being executed, their bodies looking like this virus that's got ahold of them, not how mom and dad really look. I'm nervous. My teeth are nibbling on the inside of my cheek.

"Not that I'm criticizing, but it beats me why Eli would leave you two alone at a time like this," he says. I see the genuine worry on his weary face.

"Well, he didn't plan on it being so long," Salem says.

I jump in, because I don't want Salem to come up with any reasons that would contradict my own. "They were just going to make sure papaw Red is all stocked up and ready to sit it out," I say.

"So there's a hold up? And you're not concerned?"

Crap.

"No way," says Salem. "You know how dad is, thorough if nothing else. And he'll do anything that old man says. Papaw Red has probably got him driving out to town and loading up on enough to last a decade. It'll be a wander if they don't sink the boat with all the precautionary supplies."

Cap'n studied us seriously for a moment, then laughter burst out of him.

"Old Red always was good at taking things seriously," he admitted. "Alright, alright. You just tell Eli as soon as possible to get his tail back this way. I'm up to my ears in this zombie stuff."

"Zombies, sir?" says Salem. "Are they really zombies? Can you tell us anything about them that we haven't seen on the news?"

"They're-they're something. Look, I'd never tell just anybody, but...well, you're not the average Joe. And Janie ain't as smart as you, but she's sure not a dunderhead. We been calling them zombies at the station, because nobody can figure out what's going on with them beyond the old tale of living dead people. On the news they call 'em Sick Ones and Dead Ones, but really they don't know shit. Aren't they one and the same? The Sick Ones really Dead Ones, and the Dead Ones actually Sick Ones?"

I don't care about Cap'n saying I'm not Salem's kind of smart. I get it, not many people are. What I don't get is his rambling. All I'm getting is that the government is still pretty much in the dark. At least in our neck of the woods.

"How many have got it?" Salem asks.

"More'n would fill a football stadium. Not just here either. Each town. Far as I know, they even got 'em in Paris and Tokyo. There's more daily."

"Survival rating?"

"Zero. They get it, they die, they come back, but they don't come back like you or me. They come back like rabid animals. They come back like they're carrying pieces of hell around with them."

"Do-do you think it's spiritual?"

"Could be. Nobody has said it ain't. Could just be a parasite for all I know. They're working on it, but this is different. It's out of their field of knowledge. It acts like a virus, but takes control like a parasite. And it takes hold fast. Lightening fast for some."

"I saw it today," I say.

They both stare at me aghast.

"When?" Salem asks.

"Who?" asks Cap'n.

I tell them about Louden at the school.

"That's terrible," says Cap'n. "Suppose I should go see his family. Inform them."

"Is there hope?" Salem asks.

Cap'n closes his eyes and takes a deep raspy breath. For twenty-some years, he'd been a cigar smoker. Ten years ago, he slowed down to one celebratory cigar after each case he successfully closed. All those years of cigars has had an effect, that's for sure. Even more-so, this situation has worn him ragged.

"Bites my ass if I've see any hope around these parts lately," he says. "But you gotta keep going. You can't give up, can you?"

"No, sir!" Salem says. His hands are shaking, and he clenches them to keep steady.

"Take care, you two," Cap'n says, then he leaves to inform Louden's family of his tragic fate.

He walks off without finding our zombie parents in the basement. He walks off and they're safely living dead another day.

Before I can speak, Salem gives me an urgent look.

"Inside," he says.