“How’s it look,” Allison said, running over to them.

I was at the front door, throwing my shoulder into it. Steel. As Jason promised, there was no way to knock it open. At the window, with the shutters open for the day, I used the shovel like a baseball bat and smashed the glass.

“The shot’s to the stomach,” Erway said. She had blood dripping from her lip, and nose. She tore a piece of Crystal’s shirt at the bullet hole, exposing the gut wound. The blood bubbled and pooled on her belly. With a gentle swipe of her hand, Erway cleared most of the blood off.

I used the shovel blade as if I was ringing a triangle, and knocked all the shards of loose and protruding glass from the frame before I climbed in through the bay window headfirst. Jason saw and fired at me.

Heat burned my skin on my right shoulder. I fell back out. “Dave, he’s in the house!”

“Daddy!” Charlene left Allison’s side and ran to mine. She looked at my shoulder. Copying Erway, she dug her fingers into the clothing hole, and pulled the material apart. I tried to look.

“I don’t think it went in. A graze,” I said. Sure felt like it went in. If a graze hurt like this, as if my skin was on fire, I couldn’t imagine what getting shot actually felt like.

Cash had been shot.

“You look okay,” she said.

“All this shooting, it’s going to be like ringing a dinner bell for the zombies. Keep an eye on everything. Don’t let them sneak up on us,” I said.

Charlene stood up, held out her hand and pulled me to my feet.

I was more cautious this time, and looked through the open window. I hoisted myself up and into the log cabin. I removed the machete from the sheath over my back. I stood still, listening, my eyes looking everywhere. Jason knew Dave was upstairs. Would he have gone right up after them? Did he think he’d killed me?

The stairs were right in front of me.

The urge to yell out for Dave and Sues was so strong that I almost had to bite my tongue to keep quiet. I took a few small steps toward the staircase. The silence was maddening.

Through the smashed out window, though, I could hear Erway and Palmeri working on Crystal, each one barking out different things.

They needed supplies to save that woman.

I knew where the medical supplies were. In that room with all the weapons.

We needed to stop Jason first. He was the threat. Then we could concentrate on helping Crystal. It was the only thing I could come up with that sounded remotely rational.

I put a foot on the first step.

It squeaked.

The bedroom door, behind which my son died, flew open.

Jason came out of the room holding a lit, oil filled lantern. He flung it across the room. The beveled glass shattered. The oil splashed out onto everything, and fire quickly followed.

The sofa and carpet caught first, then the curtains next.

In that instant, Jason was on me, knocking me back against the wall.

Flames crackled. I heard Charlene outside screaming for me.

Jason punched me in the solar plexus causing air to rush out of my lungs. Gasping, I tried my hardest to fill them with air. The man didn’t stop, didn’t let up.

His fists were like rocks. It felt like ribs were snapping with each blow delivered.

I knew what the man thought. There was no way he was going to win, kill us all. His plan had failed, and because of it, his brother was dead, so he had nothing to lose at this point. He would destroy the cabin, and go down fighting.

Jeremy would have said, “It’s what our father would have wanted.”

I closed my eyes and ignored the pain in my chest. I used my head like a fist and broke Jason’s nose with my forehead. The crunch of bone was satisfying.

His eyes watered, and he backed a step away from me. It was all the time and room I needed.

I noticed the brass knuckles on his fist, fucking bastard. I stepped into my punch, used all my weight, and drove my elbow into his face. He went down. “Dave!”

I stomped on his back with my foot, then kicked him across his already bloodied face. It knocked him out. “Dave!”

I heard them upstairs.

Dave and Sues were at the top of the stairs. “We were trying to get out the window. We didn’t know you were in here.”

“Come on, get out. We have to get out!”

They came down the stairs.

Sues jumped over Jason’s body. “Dave,” she said, as she unlocked and pulled open the front door.

The flames were everywhere. The heat was more intense than I could ever have imagined. I saw orange and black flames roll up across the ceiling, like spilled fluid, except upside down.

Dave pulled on my arm.

“Let’s hit the weapons room. We need more,” I said.

“Fast,” Dave said. He didn’t call me crazy or stupid, he just ran toward that room.

Inside, he grabbed for guns and ammo.

I took an armful of sheathed machetes and swords. I grabbed a few hunting knives. I knew these were going to be our weapons on the road. Ammo was always bound to run out. “Let’s go. Let’s --”

“You’re not going anywhere,” Jason said. He looked like a monster with his swollen and bruised face. At this point, it was more purple and black than white. He stood right at the door. Smoke began to fill the room. There were no windows in this…closet space. Just weapons and enough ammo to make the entire cabin explode. “None of us are.”

Jason had a gun, and he had his finger inside the trigger.

“Let them out of there!” That was Palmeri’s voice.

I don’t think Jason expected anyone to enter the burning cabin. Bet he thought shooting us would be too lenient, and us burning to death was a far better punishment.

Jason flinched, but didn’t turn around.

“Drop the gun, or I’ll shoot you in the mother-fucking back, Terrigino,” Palmeri said. “You know what? I have no time for this.”

Jason dropped his gun.

Palmeri opened fire. Shots into his back propelled through his body and out his chest and stomach. His body jerked and twisted as he fell forward, hitting the table in the center of the room.

Dave and I finished picking up what we needed. Palmeri grabbed a few things, too. Then we ran back through to the main room. Fire ate at the walls. Smoke darkened the room to almost zero visibility.

We were never going to get out.

“Get low,” Palmeri said.

Dave and I dropped to our knees. Crawling was nearly impossible with all of the weapons in tow. I did my best to move forward without relinquishing the machetes and swords. It was not easy and moving was slow.

Too slow.

The wood creaked above us. The ceiling was weakening. We needed to get out. Fast.

We were in a row. I was behind Palmeri and Dave was behind me. I just kept my eyes on Palmeri’s feet.

At the door, Palmeri escaped, and then I did.

I turned around. My eyes tearing from the smoke and heat. I coughed and coughed, trying to clear my lungs.

“Dave!” I said.

“Right here, brother,” he said.

I think I’ve officially quit smoking. Not just because I didn’t have a single cigarette, but also because my lungs felt black as fucking charcoal right now.

“You guys okay?” Allison said.

“Yeah. Yes,” I said. My shoulder hurt. “How’s Crystal?”

“Ah, dead,” Erway said. “But that’s not our biggest concern right now.”

I pushed up onto an elbow. The fire was consuming the entire cabin. All the food and luxuries. The shampoo and soap. “It’s not? Why?”

“Because they are!”

I looked where Erway pointed.

Charlene had one of the machetes I’d retrieved and was running at a small horde of zombies emerging from the woods.

Sues kissed Dave on the forehead, grabbed another machete and ran after my daughter.

I almost yelled for them to stop.

They couldn’t stop, because it’s what needed to be done. I stood up and broke into a sprint.

Dave and I came upon the zombies a split second after Charlene and Sues engaged them.