Okay, so this is another segue, but this one goes somewhere. It also reintroduces a major loose end involving Jack Ketch and family...
Somewhere in the "no-man's land" between Sahara and Freemont Avenue, a baby's cry came feebly through the air. An understrength pack of zombies began wandering in the direction of the sound.
A child's hands, thoroughly gloved, lifted an infant from a crib. "Hush, brother. Hush, hush." An extra blanket was bundled around the infant, and then it was cuddled close enough for comfort, by a girl who was swathed like a conservative Arab. The cries softened, and the girl proffered a bottle. "I know, I know... It's so lonesome without Daddy... Oh, I gotta go, just a second..."
The first zombie to reach the well-boarded door to the house turned back. As one of the Type 3s who had survived the duration of the Pandemic, it had retained enough of the faculties of reason to notice that, where there had been three of its kind following, there were now two, and one was quite short... As the zombie surveyed the streets with vague unease, there was a dull thump, and it looked to see the taller of the remaining zombies fall. Its eyes locked on the short one, who drew closer and closer, with both hands behind her back...
The dull sound of a croquet mallet and the thump of a collapsing body could be heard inside the house. A minute or so later, the baby looked up from his bottle at his returning sister. "There, everything's okay... Say, why don't I tell you a story? It's my favorite... Once upon a time, a brother and sister lived in the woods. Their names were Hansel and Gretel..."
Krista listened in bemusement as ex-leper Jack Ketch finished telling the children of the Planet Hollywood colony a quaintly disturbing version of Hansel and Gretel. As he finished, a boy called Calvin frowned. "But what happened to the witch?" he said.
"She burned to death in the oven, stupid," said his sister Starla.
"Well, of course she died," Calvin said, "but what did they do with her after that?"
Ketch rubbed his chin. "Actually, that's a very good question," he said. "Now that I think about it... I think, probably... Hansel and Gretel ate her."
Starla wrinkled her nose. "Why would they do that?"
"Because... she smelled so damn good."
Krista shook her head and moved on to Sur La Table. She almost started at the sight of her sister with Bell. "Hey, Krista," Abbs said coolly. Bell darted to Krista.
"Ms. Kansas?" she said. "I got you a present." She held out a little blue stuffed rabbit.
Krista gave a perfunctory thank-you, and sat down. After a few minutes, she picked up a guitar and tried a few stylings. Looking for inspiration, her eyes locked on the bunny. "Oh, I... got a blue bunny and he sure looks funny! Wa wa wow wow- ow!" She touched her bulging belly. "Okay, so that wasn't very good, but let's see you do better." Bell giggled.
An hour or so of awkward chat passed, before Chacha appeared at the store entrance. The girl silently went to her mother, who departed without saying a word. When Krista looked Abbie in the eye, she abruptly teared up. "I... I asked to have a little... a little time with her." Krista rose and hugged her sister, and Abbs returned the embrace, but then turned and walked away.
Abilene found Austin cleaning his double. "Hi Austin," she said, then sat down and gazed at him.
After a few minutes of growing awkwardness, Austin said, "Do you need something?"
Abbs shook her head in sudden self-consciousness. "No. I'm okay," she said. But after another minute or so, she said, "Austin... is it- right... to love somebody who hurt you?"
Now her brother-in-law returned her gaze, thoughtfully. "Well... you can't really choose who you love," he said in a measured tone. "And when you love someone... you and him... or her... really can't get around hurting each other sometimes. I guess the only way around it is not to have people to love in the first place." She nodded, and hugged him, then got up and walked away. When she saw Krista approaching, she turned down another way.
"Austin," Krista said. She sat down in a chair and sighed. "Austin, do we need to talk?"
"I don't know," he said. Raising his eyes, he looked at her intently.
"Austin... you gotta know, I'm not leaving. Not unless you come with me."
He nodded. "Do you want me to go?" She sighed and shook her head. "Then I guess there really is nothing to talk about."
"Austin?" Krista said after a long silence. He looked up at her. "I'll always love you."
After another long pause, he said, "I love you, too."
A half hour later, Krista was starting her third circuit of the mall. She had heard Lucy and Dagwood arguing, MJ and Gabriel talking over Mrs. Fidget's fussing, glimpsed Jay and Pearl exchanging sign language, and then heard Lucy and Dagwood again, obviously making up. Now, as she passed a fountain in front of a theater, she heard Maggie crying, and her father softly reassuring her. She started to move on, when she thought she heard movement. She paused, listening, but all she heard was Maggie's voice, saying, "But Daddy... it'll hurt..." She wheeled about and stalked, then ran for the theater entrance.
As she burst in, she pumped her stockless Mossberg, then froze in her tracks. John was on his feet, his face pale and his fly half-done. He stared wide-eyed at Chacha, who stood half in shadow, and reached out for his daughter. Chacha raised into full view a snub-nosed .38 and said, "Get away from her, you sick SOB."
David N. Brown resides in Mesa, Arizona.