Chapter 5 Family Trip

Standing awkwardly, the adult man and young child found themselves at a loss for words.

 

Jack, feeling a sense of responsibility, believed he was primarily at fault. Consequently, he was the first to break the silence. "Hey Ralphy, I'm sorry I screamed. My body changed dramatically from this morning, and it shocked me. I know you were just trying to help."

 

Ralph, finally able to speak, apologized, "I am sorry too, Dad. I heard your voice and instantly thought you were fighting another zombie. And sorry for breaking the door."

 

Jack, intrigued by the small child's perspective, questioned, "So kiddo, how exactly did you...?"

 

Realizing what he had done, Ralph was equally shocked. "I don't know, Dad. My whole body wanted to save you. Then, I felt the door. I took a step back and kept pushing."

 

Jack, rubbing his chin, confirmed, "Well, since your mom and I are unique, it makes sense that you are too."

 

Confused, Ralph asked, "You and Mom are special too?"

 

Jack inquired, "How much of the fight did you see?" Ralph, feeling nervous, replied, "All of it," while his eyes were glancing around.

 

Jack laughed and grabbed Ralph, rubbing his head. "I thought so. Anyway, at the end of the fight, did you see a white balls near the corpses?"

 

Ralph shook his head. "All I saw was the gray people on the floor after you hit them. You were so cool, but it was still scary. I was worried."

 

Jack smiled and kissed him on his head. "Thank you for being worried for me. And Dad can see these white balls after fighting the gray people. I am pretty sure it makes me stronger every time I eat them."

 

Ralph looked at Jack's bulging muscles and nodded. "I want to be buff, Dad. Can you feed me the white balls too? I want to be buff."

 

This innocent statement by Ralph shocked Jack. "What would happen if I gave the white ball to others? Or what would happen if I break it in half and share it with Lilith."

 

"Ralphy, go down, and I will clean up and get ready," Jack said, planning his future actions.

 

Moments later, Ralph, Lilith, and Jack stood outside their home, all wearing training clothes with backpacks. The corpse walkers were standing next to the house with two forty-packs of water, along with dozens of canned foods.

 

Ralph was the only one who looked peculiar. Making a strange face, he asked, "Dad, do I have to wear all these towels on my arms and legs?"

 

Ralph had many towels wrapped around his arms and legs. He also wore metal-toed boots along with puncture-proof gloves.

 

Jack laughed and said, "Sorry, kiddo. If you want to come, then I need to know you are safe. Or do you prefer staying home? Anyway, we need to start working out; you might as well start now."

 

Ralph quickly shook his head, saying, "No, no, no. I want to come too."

 

Jack nodded and laughed. "Ok, guys, we have a few objectives to accomplish on this family trip. First, we have to find out if there is a limit to how many corpse walkers I can have. After that, we have to see if Lilith is stronger than before or weaker. And finally, we have to see if Ralphy can learn anything about his powers. Any questions?"

 

Ralph saluted and said, "Sir, no sir."

 

Jack smiled at his antics and looked at the two walking corpses. "First, we will go to every house in our street and see if there are any humans left. If not, we will turn all the corpses into..."

 

Ralph noticed that Jack stopped talking and asked, "What’s wrong, Dad?"

 

Jack looked at his son and said, "I was just thinking about what to call the walking corpses that I can control."

 

Ralph looked at the walking corpses, especially at their eyes, and suggested, "How about Hollows?"

 

Jack stopped, walked toward his son, hugged him tightly, and spun around laughing. "Hahaha, you little genius. I love it."

 

He unconsciously looked at Lilith and thought, "Doesn’t that mean you are the queen of Hollows?" What shocked Jack was that Lilith nodded her head.

 

"Huh," Jack exclaimed.

 

"You ok, Dad?" Ralph asked for the second time.

 

Jack nodded and ignored the new discovery.

 

Jack, now with renewed focus, said, "Hollows, go to the house in front and knock on the door."

 

The hollows moved much faster than ordinary walking corpses and appeared more alive. If not for their gray skin and gray eyes, they looked exactly as they did when they were alive.

 

The group of two humans and three hollows approached their front door neighbors. Jack and Lilith’s relationship did not extend beyond their immediate left and right neighbors. And that was only because during the holidays, Jack felt the need to include others in festivities, while Lilith believed it was a waste of food and resources.

 

The two hollows knocked loudly on the door. After a while, a sound of something falling was heard, followed by the signature low growl.

 

"Grrrrrrr."

 

Jack sighed. He did want to test his family’s strength, but the fact that there were not many humans left alive made him slightly uncomfortable.

 

"Take down the door," Jack ordered.

 

This acted as both a test for the hollows and for himself. Subconsciously, he thought of strong men in movies slightly kicking the door and breaking in. But, in real life, that would be impossible. This would prove to him how much of his subconscious affected the hollows as well as how powerful they were.

 

The result…

 

The two hollows started running back and kicking the door. Their sprint was in sync, and so was their kick. But the large and thick door looked unaffected.

 

They kicked and kicked without any success. Jack began to question how they came out of their own homes when Ralph screamed. He turned his head and saw that the doors of their homes had keys in the doorknobs and were unlocked.

 

The long process of hollows slamming their legs into the door soon ended, but not because they were successful. Jack thought if they kicked the window and opened the door from the inside, it would be better.

 

The hollows stopped mid-stride, walked back, and ran straight into the large window right of the door. They both crashed in and soon unlocked the door.

 

Once the door was unlocked, the stench of rot assaulted the two humans. Jack saw the hollows had large pieces of glass stuck in their faces and bodies. Black blood scantily leaked out of them; rather small coagulated chunks were falling out. Indicating that blood was not being pumped and had coagulated within them some time ago. The blood was falling out like small pebbles falling out of a sac.

 

The stench, however, was not emitted from the hollows. The smell was coming from further in the house.

 

As the group of explorers moved forward, there was blood on the floor and low growls coming from the kitchen. Jack said, “Ralph, stay close to me. Lilith, you guard our backs, and hollows, you guard our fronts. Attack anything that moves.”

 

Jack was ready with his, now cleaned metal bat. Ralph imitated him with a smaller metal bat. Lilith had two daggers with her. She held them both in a backward grip, clearly looking much more professional than the two amateurs in front of her. Jack looked at his wife and thought, "Still amazing at everything.”

 

They moved closer and closer to the kitchen.

 

What greeted them was a sight that attacked Jack's heart. Jack quickly covered Ralph’s eyes, walked back to the hallway, then passed him to Lilith. A deep, heartbroken voice was released from his throat, “Everyone outside.”

 

Ralph was shocked by his amicable father’s strict voice. He compiled without question.

 

When Jack was the last one in the house, he returned to the kitchen. What he saw was a child growling, tied to a chair with two adults hugging him with bullet holes on their temples.

 

Jack sighed with tears in his eyes. He couldn't help but think, “This could have been us.”

 

He picked up the gun on the floor and placed the barrel on the child’s small head. A small tear ran down his left eye. The small boy’s rotting face looked up at Jack and became more aggressive, trying to free itself from its confines and devour him. In Jack's eyes, however, he could see a happy family of three sitting at the dinner table eating together. Then the faces changed. The two adults became Lilith and Jack. Finally, the young boy’s face changed into Ralph’s. The boy with Ralph’s face reached out his hands and started to say, “D…”

 

*BANG.*

 

Jack had closed his eyes and pulled the trigger before the boy had finished. He didn’t know what would have happened if he allowed his delusions to continue. Another tear dropped from his right eye.

 

Jack ran out so he couldn’t stay here any longer. His weak heart couldn’t take it. He felt he could fight all the corpses in the world but couldn’t deal with that child again.