Wicked Hungry

She looks back behind her. “But if you don’t let me in, I’m not going to be okay for long.”

Behind her, the zombies shuffle and groan. They seem to have noticed Karen.

“It’s not my decision,” I say. “It’s not my house — not my family.”

She smiles a pained smile. “It’s probably just as well. I’m very... hungry right now.”

“We can give you some tamales, if you like,” I say.

She shakes her head, her smile showing canines. “You don’t understand, Stanley. I don’t need to eat. I need to feed.”

“Oh,” I say. “Right. You want me to come out there, then? That’s what I am for you, right? Food?”

Her eyes flash. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s what you think,” I say. “I talked to Morgaine. She told me how you’d marked me.”

“Right. Wonderful. Did she tell you why we mark people?”

“Yeah, like I said, because we’re food.”

“Was that the only reason?”

No, that’s not possible. Could she like me that much? So much to mark me for all to see? Mark me as hers? Am I that much of an idiot?

“You’re not protecting me, are you?”

She nods. “I’m doing my best, although you aren’t helping much. Look, let’s change the subject. Do you know about sigils?”

“A little bit,” I say.

“What? What do you know about them, Stanley?”

“They give me headaches.”

Karen sighs. “Stanley, someone needs to sit you down and give you a real education.”

Behind her, the zombies seem stuck around thirty feet from the house. Then they take a few steps back.

“What’s going on?” I ask her.

She looks behind her. “The sigils. I drew some in chalk on the street that should help you out for a bit. But it won’t last very long. You’re going to need help. Do you know anyone who knows anything about what’s going on?”

“Jonathan,” I say.

She raises an eyebrow.

“Really,” I say. “He knows a lot. He’s read plenty of books.”

She shakes her head. “I mean someone with real experience.”

“Like who?”

“Like Blaine Whelan, or his wife. Or even Mr. Piper. Though I’d stay away from him.”

“Blaine keeps on pressuring me to join a clan,” I say.

“Stanley, promise me you’ll get their help if anything bad happens. If I’m not there.”