“Galen,” Carson said, his voice low and soft, “Remy and I willneverlet anyone hurt you or your brothers…I promise.”
“Carson’s right, sweetie,” Remy crooned, gently wiping Galen’s tears away while waiting for his brother’s fear to subside.
Taking big gulps of air, Galen hugged Remy tighter, remembering the dead man’s hand moving. Shaking his head, he said, “If a zombie wanna eat you, nothin’ can stop him.”
“How do you know it’s a zombie?” asked Remy, keeping his voice level.
Galen lifted his head, looking at Remy with big, frightened eyes. “Cuz he was dead but then he spoke and moved.”
Eamon turned his head toward Galen. “I didn’t see him move.”
“He did it after you left,” Galen said, hiccupping as he tried to stop crying.
“I told you he was a zombie,” Eamon said, smugly.
“Whoa, guys,” Carson said. “Can you start from the beginning?”
“We were huntin’ dragons…”
“Eamon tripped…”
“I murdered him with my sword…”
“No, you didn’t…he was already dead!” exclaimed Galen.
“You don’t know that,” Eamon said, pouting.
“Where’s the dead man?” asked Remy, attempting to hear the whole story before his brothers got sidetracked by another one of their disagreements.
Galen pointed. “Over there.”
Carson stared in that direction, but saw nothing. “What did he say to you?”
“‘Help me’,” Eamon whispered, “but Gally said it was the wind talkin’ to us but it wasn’t…it was the zombie.”
Raising an eyebrow, Carson glanced at his mate. Something clearly scared the boys, but it was impossible to make any sense out of their answers. “Babe, do you mind staying here with the boys while I go and see what they found?”
“Noooo,” Eamon whimpered. “Carsso, don’t go.”
“Hey,” Carson said, looking at Galen. “I need you to do something for me.”
Wrinkling his forehead, Galen studied Carson, before asking, “What?”
“Will you take Remy and Eamon into the house and protect them for me?”
“What about Rune?” Galen asked. “Do I protect him, too?”
“Yup…he’s up in his bed, napping right now and I need you to protect him, too,” Carson replied.
“What if the zombie wants to get in?”
“Make sure you lock the door…that way he won’t be able to get in.”
Nodding, Galen squirmed out of Remy’s arms. He waited until Carson transferred Eamon over to Remy before tugging on Remy’s shirt. “C’mon, Remee, Carsso said you got to obey me.”
Holding back a smile, Remy said, “Your wish is my command…lead the way.”
Remaining where he was, Carson watched his family until they were safely inside the cottage. Then he headed in the direction Galen had pointed to. He wasn’t sure what he’d find, but if he had to guess, it would turn out to be nothing, knowing the boys’ fanciful imaginations. Before taking a dozen steps, he paused, hearing the approach of several cars.
