The Living Dead Boy Read Free Page A

cooking chili. His mother looked flushed, and, though he had denied it to his friends, his mom really was pretty.
    Drake sat in the middle of the kitchen floor slamming his toy trucks together into a violent crash over and over again.  His blond curls and rosy cheeks made him look like one of those baby angels, but Josh knew better.  His brother was annoying and a devil.  As if on cue, Drake looked up at him and gave him a huge smile.
    “We were zombie training, Mom.  I told you that. I’m trying to get everyone ready for when they come.”
    His mom didn’t answer him.  She just stood with her hands on her hips, staring down at him with a tired expression on her face.
    “Seriously, Mom.  On the forum last night, there was this story about a guy in San Antonio that the cops reported as dead.  And they called in the coroner, but by the time he got there, the cops said the guy was alive, but incoherent. Out of control.  And then nothing.  A zombie, Mom.  A zombie.”  Josh tried to make his voice as strong and firm as possible.
    Sighing, his mother motioned toward Drake.  “Take him into the living room and put on a movie.  Not one of your movies, but one of his.  I can’t stand another night of him waking up and telling me that Paw Paw is trying to eat him.”
    Josh did feel bad about that and he felt his anger oozing away.  He hated seeing his Mom look sad.  He thought that would be over once his father had returned from Iraq.  But then Paw Paw had died, and once Mee Maw died, it just seemed to stay bad.
    “Okay, Mom,” he said quietly, then threw his arms around her waist.
    Her body relaxed as she leaned over him, crushing him against her chest, and kissing his forehead.  “I love you, Josh.  I’m sorry to snap at you, but I gotta get this done.”
    “It’s okay, Mom.  I’ll take better care of Drake.  Even if he is annoying.”
    “Thanks, Josh,” his mom said gratefully.  She sat back down at the table and reached for a cleaning rag.
    “C’mon, shorty.  Let’s go watch Shrek .”
    “I want to see Buzz Lightyear.”
    “Okay, whatever.”  Josh pushed the heavy wood door to the dining room open and Drake stomped past him, clutching his trucks to his chest.
    “ Turd head,” Drake whispered, an evil little grin on his cute face.
    Resisting the urge to hit him, Josh followed.
     
     

 
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    Josh shoved Drake onto the couch along with his battered, stuffed dinosaur and turned on the TV.  He ignored Drake as the toddler kept changing his mind as to which movie he wanted to watch and shoved the old videotape of Shrek into the ancient VCR.  Most of Drake’s moves had been bought at a second hand store in Killeen and his parents couldn’t afford to buy new versions on DVD. Considering how rough Drake was with the tapes, it was probably a good idea to have them in the outdated VHS format.  Most of Josh’s zombie movies were second hand, too, but he had managed to get them on DVD.  They were carefully stored in his room far away from his annoying brother.
    “Watch this and shut up,” Josh ordered.
    “I’m gonna tell Mommy you’re mean.”
    “What else is new?”  Josh threw himself onto the loveseat beside the school bag he had discarded earlier when he had come home from school.  Grabbing it up, he pulled out a battered copy of a zombie book he had found at a garage sale.  The cover had lots of zombies. He wished it wasn’t so wrinkled and stained.   With a sigh, he opened it and started to read.  Homework was for after dinner, when his mom and dad could help him.
    Drake squirmed around on the couch, trying to get comfortable, dragging Rex, his stuffed dinosaur, around with him.  Josh sighed and ignored him.  He resented having to babysit his younger brother, but knew his mother and father needed him.  Being the oldest child had its perks, but dealing with Drake was a real pain.  He had wanted a brother so badly for so long. He never dreamed he