The Living Dead Boy (The Living Dead Boy #1)(3)

“Josh, you did a very hard and brave thing.” His father had often struggled with father/son talks since he’d come back from the war. He’d missed a lot of the early part of Josh’s life, and had a tendency to talk to him like a fellow soldier. Josh could see the struggle in Jamie’s facial expression as he searched for the right thing to say. “I am proud of you.”

“It still hurts though. In my chest. Right here.” Josh pressed his palm over his heart. “I know they were zombies, but...”

“You loved Arturo. You respected Mr. Inmon. You made the right call to save your friends. I also know you did the right thing, burning down the house and giving your mom peace.”

“But it hurts.”

“Josh, sometimes doing the right thing does hurt. That’s one of the hard lessons of life.”

“It’s my fault Roger is a zombie,” Josh blurted out. Guilt ate at Josh when he thought of Roger sneaking out of their treehouse to go find his mother while Josh and the others slept. When Josh had escaped his hometown, he’d seen Roger and his mom shambling with the rest of the undead. “I didn’t hear him leave the treehouse.”

“Troy told me it’s his fault because he fell asleep on watch. But you know what the truth is? It’s no one’s fault. You’re kids, Josh, and you dealt with a truly awful situation on your own. But if we’re lucky, you won’t have to in the future. Hopefully we adults can get this under control.”

Josh seriously doubted that would happen. He’d read the books, watched the television shows and mockumentries, and seen all the films about zombies. Something always went wrong. Usually because those in power didn’t listen to the people who actually knew what was going on. Though he knew the adults were doing their best to protect everyone, Josh wasn’t sure he trusted them to do the right thing. Since the zombies shambled onto his school yard, Josh had mostly been on his own when it came to protecting his little brother and friends. His knowledge of zombie lore had helped most of them survive, but he’d still lost his mother, and two of his best friends.

When Josh didn’t answer him, Jamie leaned forward and tried to look into his eyes. “Josh, look at me.”

It was difficult to obey, and Josh wasn’t sure why. Maybe he was afraid his father would see his doubts and his guilt.

“Josh, I can’t even imagine what this has been like for you. I chose to enlist and serve my country. I went to war because it was my duty. But you–”

“It was my duty, Dad,” Josh said. “I had to take care of Drake, and lead the Zombie Hunters.”

“You always did take the zombie stuff very seriously.” His dad gave him a sad smile.

“Yeah, but it didn’t help save mom. Or Arturo and Roger.”

“Josh,” Jamie said, concern in his words, “you need to forgive yourself for doing the right thing. Understand?”

Josh wasn’t sure he could. “Does it get better?”

Though his father never talked about his time in the war, Josh was pretty certain that his father had killed the enemy. He sometimes heard his father shouting in his sleep late at night.

With a sad sigh, Jamie said, “Eventually.”

Several sharp barks of a weapon sounded in the distance.

“More gunfire,” Josh said, his stomach in knots.

“They’ve got bulldozers clearing the highway of some wrecks up ahead and they’re killing any zombies they find. Soon it’ll be clear, so we won’t just be sitting here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Not sure yet. There’s conflicting information coming in, but we’ll figure it out.”

“Are you going to be a Marine again?”

His dad laughed. “Josh, I don’t think I ever stopped. It’s in my blood.”

“Like Paw Paw.”

Jamie nodded. “Like Paw Paw. I’m one of them and I need to step up. All these people wearing a uniform, whether it’s a police officer, fireman, or Army, are all here to help protect you and all the other survivors.” Jamie jerked his head toward the convoy. “This is the best way to survive. All these people working together increase everyone’s odds of making it through this alive.”

“There are people here that only care about themselves, you know. They don’t care about the kids, or Rachel and Bonnie.”

“I know who you’re talking about, and they’ll learn. Hopefully not the hard way.”

“But what if they do something stupid and the zombies get through the guards?”

“Trust the guards, Josh. That’s their job. To protect everyone. Listen to them. Obey them. Everyone’s got their job.”

“What’s mine?” Josh asked.

“Taking care of Drake, son.”

Josh couldn’t help himself. He rolled his eyes with annoyance. Getting babysitting duty after all he’d done felt like an insult. “I’m not a Marine, but I’m a Zombie Hunter. I know how to fight zombies.”

“Josh, I wasn’t putting you down. I know you’re a Zombie Hunter. I know what you’re capable of. That’s why if anything happens to me, I know you’ll take care of your little brother. I believe and trust in you. Do you believe me?”

Nodding, Josh said, “Yeah, I do.”