Lake Yixa (9 page)

     
"Help
yourself to the rest whenever you want it," she said as she set the pot on
the stove.

     
"Thank you so
much," Jeremy said.

     
"Where are
you guys from?" Sarah asked as she took a seat in Liam's chair. It had a
view of the kitchen. She placed the rifle next to her, still within reach.

     
"We are from
Seattle, but we moved to Moosetan just before winter. We live just outside of
town in a lake house," Jeremy said as he got up to get more for each of
them.

     
"Where have
you guys been staying since it all happened?"

     
"First two
days, we stayed home and made sure everything was locked up," he said,
sitting down. "We didn't have a lot of food, but it would work for a
while. But then some guys came to the house. I hadn't seen them before. They
waved a gun around and shouted a lot."

     
"Looters,"
Sarah said softly.

     
"I had the
kids hide out back, and I ended up getting tied up." Jeremy finished his
second helping. "Mind if I sit over there?” he said, pointing to the fire.

     
"Go for
it."

     
Jeremy checked on
the kids and then moved over to sit down by the fire. Even though it was only
 
a few embers at this point,
it was still
putting off a nice amount of heat.

     
"I didn't
want to say this too loud," Jeremy said softly, "but the men argued
about whether or not to kill me."

     
"How did they
get there?" Sarah asked.

     
"By boat. We
have a dock, and they pulled right up."

     
"I see,"
was all Sarah could say; her jaw clenched tight.

     
Jeremy looked at
Sarah for a moment. He could clearly see she wasn't happy. "You
okay?"

     
"I'm
fine," Sarah said. "Where are you guys staying at for the
night?"

     
"We have been
staying in other peoples’ houses
after we made sure they didn't have
any zombies in them.
As we moved east, there seemed to be less and less houses.
Stayed outdoors the last two nights," Jeremy replied as Zoe sat down next
to him and rested her head on his side. Matt moved next to Zoe and played with
his GI Joe.

     
"You guys can
stay here for the night."

     
"Oh no, we
have put you out enough already."

     
"I won't send
two kids to stay in the woods," Sarah said, getting up and taking the
rifle with her. She moved over to the sink and washed out the three bowls and
the pot. She turned to look at Jeremy and saw Tux standing by the bedroom door.

     
"Any one of
you allergic to cats?"

     
"No."

     
Sarah slung the
rifle over her back, and then she walked over and picked up Tux. She headed
over to the kids and squatted down in front of them.

     
"This is Tux.
He can be a bit shy at times, but I think he will let you pet him," Sarah
said. She held Tux, and the two kids had grins on their faces. Zoe’s smile must
have been ear to ear. Tux let the two pet him before he decided he had had
enough. He forced his way out of Sarah’s grasp and spri
n
ted toward the
bedroom.

     
"Don't worry;
he is shy at first," Sarah said, smiling at the two kids. "There is a
rain barrel out back, Jeremy. Fill up one of the big bowls over there, and you
guys can wash up."

     
"Thanks,"
Jeremy said as he got to his feet. The kids stayed by the fireplace. Sarah
watched as Jeremy went out the front door, and she then went into Liam's
bedroom to the closet where she had seen a few towels.

     
When she returned
to the living room with a handful, Jeremy had already started to wash Matt and
Zoe's faces.

     
"Here,"
Sarah said, setting the stack of towels on the table. "We will replace the
blankets over the window with them too."

     
Jeremy nodded and
grabbed one of the towels. He dried the kids’ and his own face and hands with
it and then grabbed another towel. He moved over to the window that Sarah had
removed one of the blankets from.

     
"We're
probably going to have to use two," he said, returning to the table to
grab another one. He then hung it next to the first one
. It works, but it just isn't as good as the blanket
, Sarah
thought.

     
"I will stay
in the bedroom, and you guys can sleep out here tonight." Sarah put the
two blankets on the couch.

     
"Thank you
again for letting us stay here," Jeremy said. "Right, Matt and
Zoe?"

     
"Thank
you," they both said together.

     
Sarah didn't know
what to say, so she went to the kitchen and grabbed the camping backpack and
put it in the bedroom. She then walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a few
cans of food and a canteen. Sarah didn't know if it would bother Jeremy or not,
but she didn't know him or really trust him. He seemed like a nice guy, but she
didn't want him running off with all her food and supplies. Sarah returned to
the kitchen one last time and picked up a chair.

     
"Please don't
build a big fire if you add more wood. I don't want a lot smoke," she said
as she headed toward the bedroom.

     
"Okay,"
Jeremy said and then added, "Good
night."

     
"Night."

     
Sarah shut the
door behind her and turned the lock. She then put the chair in front of the
door.
Sarah
looked around Liam's bedroom, a little uncomfortable
about being here.
She
wondered if she would be able to sleep at all in his
bed.
Sarah
sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around his room.
She hadn't really been in here much.

     
Tux leaped up onto
the bed and curled up on the far side of it.

     
"Sorry again,
Tux. I wish Liam was here, too."

     
Sarah didn't get a
lot of sleep, much like the nights before. It wasn’t just because she had
strangers sleeping in her living room, but her sleep was filled with
nightmares. When she awoke, part of her hoped that the Bakers had stolen the
rest of her supplies and ran off. But when she slowly opened the door, Jeremy
was sitting there, reading to the kids. Sarah let out a sigh and opened the
door the rest of the way, leaving the rifle in the bedroom.

     
"Morning,"
Jeremy said, looking over at Sarah.

     
"Hey."

     
"I hope you
don't mind. We had another can of corn for breakfast."

     
"No, that's
fine," Sarah replied as she walked over to the kitchen. She picked up the
bag of half-eaten crackers she had started the day before and sat down at the
table.

     
"You guys
sleep okay?" she asked. "Wasn't too cold or anything?"

     
"We were
good. Best sleep we’ve probably had in a while," Jeremy replied, handing
the book to Matt. "Why don't you finish reading this to your sister?"

     
"Okay,"
Matt said.

     
"But I want
you to read to me," Zoe cut in.

     
"Now, Zoe,
let your brother read to you, okay?"

     
"Okay,"
Zoe said in a long, drawn-out okay.

     
Jeremy walked over
to the table and sat down across from Sarah. She just looked at him, not saying
a word and making the moment turn awkward. They both just sat there looking at
each other before Jeremy finally spoke.

     
"You sleep
okay?"

     
"Yeah,"
Sarah said before adding, "why?"

     
"You screamed
a few times and kept saying sorry to someone named Liam."

     
Sarah bit the
inside of her cheek and turned away from him. She wasn't sure if she was
embarrassed that he heard her or that he brought up Liam. She didn't say
anything and let the silence go from seconds to minutes.

     
"It's hard to
lose a loved one," Jeremy said. "When I first lost my wife to cancer,
I stopped sleeping, and when I did sleep, it was endless nightmares."

     
Sarah turned to
look at him. She had wondered where the mother was, and she had worried that
the men who had tied Jeremy up had taken or killed her.

     
"I'm sorry
for your loss."

     
"It's all
right. It was almost two years ago. Plus, I wouldn't want her to have to go
through all this," Jeremy said as he played with a napkin on the table.
"It's why we moved up here—to start over."

     
"It's a good
place to pick," Sarah said.

     
"Yeah. I came
here once as a kid."

     
"Me too. I
would come up every summer with my grandmother," Sarah replied and then
added, "This is Liam's house."

     
"Didn't think
it was really yours," Jeremy said. "Looks like an older man's
home."

     
"Yeah, I
saved him on one of the first days of all this."

     
Jeremy sat there,
looking at Sarah. He wanted to ask her where Liam was now but figured it would
be best if he didn't.

     
"You guys
don't have to leave," Sarah said, changing the subject.

     
"You sure? We
don't want to
cause you any trouble
," Jeremy said, letting
the other topic go.

     
"Yeah. All I
ask is you put in your fair share of help."

     
"You can
count on it," Jeremy said with a smile. "If you don't mind watching
the kids for a little while, I can go out and look for food and other
supplies."

     
"Sure,"
Sarah replied before realizing what she just agreed to. She wasn't bad with
kids, but she hadn't really taken care of any. That wasn't even the worst of
it. What if Jeremy skips out on his kids and leaves her to take care of them?
Jeremy had already gotten up and walked over to the kids, leaving Sarah sitting
there. She thought about saying she would go instead, but would that be any
better, leaving him here in Liam's house? That idea she didn't like
either
, but it was too
late.

     
"I will be
back as quickly as I can," Jeremy said, standing in the doorway.

     
"Okay,"
was all Sarah could say. Jeremy closed the door behind him, leaving Sarah
sitting there looking at a closed door. Her eyes moved to look at the two kids
sitting on the couch.

     
"Hi,"
Sarah said. The kids said nothing and just looked at her. She started to feel
uncomfortable by their never-ending staring. "So . . . what book do you
have there?" Sarah asked as she walked over.
Time to make the best out of this
, she thought. At least she knew
books. She had been able to read to herself for as long as she could remember.
Her grandmother was always working, and she didn't remember if her parents ever
read to her
.

     
"
The Cricket in Times Square
," Matt
said.

     
"Oh, I don't
believe I have ever read it," she said and then it struck her. She hadn't
seen any books with them last night. "Where did you get it?"

     
"Over
here," Zoe said, walking to a bookshelf. She bent down and pulled out a
few more books. She read the name of each one:
James and the Giant Peach
,
Gentle
Ben
, and
A Wrinkle in Time
. She
looked at the books. Each of them looked to be well read. She wonder
ed
if it was Liam
or his wife who read to their child.

     
"Have you
guys ever read
James and the Giant Peach
?"
she asked, picking it up.

     
"No,"
Zoe said, pulling her arm down to look at the cover.

     
"No,"
Matt added from the couch.

     
"Would it be
okay if I read it to you?" she said,
trying to
remember last
time she read it.