Title: Tech: Zombie Effect Chapter 11
Characters: Logan/Carter; Robert
POV: Carter
Carter locked the door after Robert and Logan left. He was still pissed they’d left him home. He’d be damned if Logan thought he was always going to be staying home while Logan ran around like a fucking hero! He was just as capable as those two.
Grabbing the bread from the table, Carter gave it a spin and yelped. In his anger, he’d forgotten about his finger. Keeping the injured digit out of the way, he put the twist tie on the bread. Mindful of this finger, Carter finished cleaning off the table.
As he ran a dishcloth over the tabletop, his arm felt heavy. The crash Logan had warned him about was happening, exhaustion set in. He’d lived in this old farmhouse since he was 15 years old, had slept while the house was empty many times, but right now the thought of sleeping while no one else was here was scary. He needed to keep busy.
“Heat!” He thought. They’d need to heat this old house if the electricity went out. They had a generator that they’d a few years back, but that took gas. And gas might get hard to get.
There was a fireplace in the living room. They’d only ever used once it a couple of years ago to create a romantic setting. Although sex in front of a roaring fire on a snowy winter day may seem romantic, having sex on the hard floor was not. Especially when you had a soft, comfy bed in the next room. Carter decided to look it over and see what it needed to be usable.
Stopping only to get a flashlight from the junk drawer in the kitchen, Carter headed into the living room. As he entered the living room, he remembered the backache from their previous amorous adventure, he pulled a couple of throw pillows from the couch.
After dropping the pillows on the floor, Carter kneeled down in front of the fireplace. Intent on checking the chimney, he grabbed the screen and yanked. The pillows slid forward, Carter flew backward, and the screen stayed in place.
“Fuck! What the hell!” He sat up and grabbed the screen again. Pulling at it, yanking it, even banging on it with his non-shot hand, and still, the screen didn’t budge. “Seriously, what the hell,” Carter mumbled as he leaned in to inspect the cover. Screws. The screen was secured by screws.
With a groan, Carter pushed himself to his feet and went to find a screwdriver. In the kitchen, he reached for the junk drawer when something caught his eye. He leaned over the sink and watched out the window. He saw a light bobbing up and down. Then illuminated by the flashlight, he saw their barn door open.
“Shit! Someone’s out there!” Carter whispered to the empty room. He ran into the bedroom and got the gun he’d shot himself with earlier that day. Pushing his fear down, he just knew he had to protect their supplies. He slipped on a jacket, put the gun in one pocket and the flashlight in the other, Carter quietly slipped outside.
He tried to walk as quietly as he could but dried leaves crunched with each step. With the element of surprise gone, Carter pulled the gun out.
He yanked the door open, jumped through, and yelled, “Stop!”
“Don’t shoot! I’m not a tree! Don’t shoot!”
Carter breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t a robber. It was the kid from earlier. The one who wanted to know why he was shooting trees. Jimmy! That was his name.
Now, knowing there was no threat, anger bubbled up in Carter. “What the hell! What are you doing out here? It’s dark! It’s not safe! You should be at home!”
Kicking the ground with the tip of his tennis shoe, Jimmy mumbled, “It’s not safe at home.”
Carter put the gun back in his pocket. “What do you mean it’s not safe at home?”
“Daddy’s a monster.”
Shit! Did the kid’s dad get bit or something? “Wh..what do you mean your daddy’s a monster?”
“He’s mean! Daddy drinks a yucky poison, then his face gets all red. His breath stinks. And he hurts my mom!” Tears started to drip down Jimmy’s cheeks.
The words shouted from the kid combined with the memory of the woman with the fading bruise, Carter knew what was going on. The woman was being abused. Looking closely at the kid, Carter didn’t see any bruises, but that didn’t mean anything. “Does, um, does your dad hurt you?”
“No. Mom makes me go in the backyard. I climb up the tree and wait for her to tell me I can come back in. But it’s dark. And it’s cold. And I kind of got mad. Mom said we were going to leave. She even put some things in a backpack for us. But then she got scared when the TV said to stay home. Something about Married Law,” Jimmy said.
“Martial law,” Carter corrected him.
“No. Married law. Cuz mom said now we couldn’t leave cuz of the married law and to not even whisper about the backpacks. She was afraid daddy would find out and hurt her. But I didn’t! I didn’t say anything about the bags and he still hurt her.”
Carter ran a hand over his face. He couldn’t send the kid back to a dangerous place. He wondered if the kid’s mom really wanted to leave. He’d read a number of articles that sometimes an abused person doesn’t want to leave. And some just don’t have the opportunity.
“Does your mom really want to leave?” He wasn’t sure the kid would know.
“Yeah. It’s a secret so don’t say anything. Each time mom went to the store she got extra money. She’s been saving it all so we wouldn’t starve. That’s what she said. But don’t tell anyone. Ok? Promise?”
Carter didn’t know who he’d tell but he promised. “Yeah. I promise.” He thought for a moment and then made a decision. “Ok, Jimmy, if you’re sure your mom wants to leave your dad, let’s go get her.”
“Really?”
Carter saw hope in Jimmy’s face. “Yeah, really. Get in the car and let’s get her. You two can stay here until things settle down.”
Though he wasn’t sure he could shoot anyone, he was glad he had the gun. Carter bundled Jimmy into his car and sent a silent prayer of help to a God he wasn’t sure existed.
On to chapter 12