Trepidation by Chrissy Peebles

sick!”
    “How can you say that, Dean?” she retorted. “Those zombies will rip you apart and eat you alive. I kill my livestock with mercy.”
    “Livestock? Lady, you’re insane!” Kate said as she suddenly lifted her head. “Don’t you even have a conscience?”
    “I used to, but I will do whatever I have to keep me and my sons alive. I kill as humanely as I can and only eat to survive. I’m not a maniac or a cannibal or anything. This is all about staying alive till we get our world back, till the zombies rot into extinction. Then I’ll go back to normal food.”
    My stomach churned at the thought of being murdered and eaten.
    “Just out of curiosity,” Lucas said in an unnervingly rational tone, “what part of me will you eat?”
    I knew then that Lucas was out it; if he had been in his right mind, he would have already knocked the old fiend to the floor, and we would have been out the door.
    “Do you think she has road kill in the fridge?” Kate asked.
    “Why would she?” Lucas said. “She prefers people-burgers. I bet her fridge is filled with jars of eyeballs and fingers in pickle juice.”
    I shook my head in horror.
    “No, I am not grotesque about it,” Rita calmly explained. “I only eat thighs, calves, livers...all the things you would eat from any animal that is slaughtered for food. Of course, I can make a to-die-for stew from tongue. I just converted it from an old slow-cooker beef recipe my great aunt gave me. When supplies are scarce, I do have to throw in some stray cats or dogs now and then.”
    “How many people have you...eaten?” Kate asked, almost throwing up.
    “I’ve lost count,” she said, “but it isn’t hard to lure people in. Everyone needs help out here, and there are no police or firemen to lend a hand. I guess you could say I kill ‘em with kindness. I had to find a way to feed my family. This nice woman from Toledo was running from zombies, so we had to help her. We were so hungry that we were practically going mad, so I guess the first time, it was...instinctual. We just killed her and fed. It felt nice to have a full stomach, and I knew that it was something we’d have to do from then on.”
    “It’s repulsive!” Val said.
    “It’s better than starving,” Rita retorted, “and it’s better for the victims to be killed humanely by us than to be ripped apart by those zombies.”
    “I can’t believe you’re rationalizing this,” Val said, “especially since you already have normal food. Look at this dinner.”
    Rita crossed her arms. “That’s only for luring people in, and there isn’t much.”
    “So let me get this straight,” Lucas said, slurring. “Are you gonna eat me tonight, or am I gonna end up as part of a bunch of little frozen TV dinners?”
    “Actually, we’re stockpiling for winter,” she said.
    “Like squirrels?” he said, obviously unable to keep track of the conversation.
    I wasn’t thinking straight, and I knew Lucas wasn’t. I had enough presence of mind, though, to know we had to find Nick and get out of there. “I-I need to slap water on my face.”
    “There’s no running water, but there is a bathroom upstairs. You won’t escape. There’s no exit up there.”
    I gripped the banister. Each step seemed almost impossible, and my feet felt like lead. When I got to the top of the stairs, I saw the bathroom. I walked in and gasped. The walls were splattered in blood, but I couldn’t even be sure that was real. I opened the shower curtain, and a shudder ran through me when I saw a mutilated, headless corpse in the bathtub. “Nick!” I screamed, fearing the worst.
    He didn’t answer.
    Where’s his room again? I couldn’t remember and turned to the left. I heard death moans echoing faintly through the dimly lit halls. My mind was clouded, but I forced myself to try and focus. I heard footsteps in the room I thought was Nick’s, and I hoped it was only him pacing. “Nick?” I whispered. My fingers gripped the