Zombies! (Episode 5): Sinners and Saints Read Free Page A

that?”
     
     
    “'Cause I didn't do nothin' wrong,” Shawn blurted defensively.
     
     
    “Okay, okay,” Marcus acquiesced. “Then what's the problem?”
     
     
    “Nothing,” Shawn said, going back to his food. “Forget it.”
     
     
    For a few minutes, Marcus did just that. He steepled his hands and rested his chin upon them, just staring at Shawn. When he felt that Shawn was just about at his breaking point, he said, “You've found something, haven't you? You've got something to tell the cop?”
     
     
    Eyes down, Shawn nodded.
     
    “What is it?”
     
     
    “It don't matter.”
     
     
    “It does matter. Are you going to let this cop control you forever?”
     
     
    “I told you, it ain't about that.”
     
     
    “What then? What's it about?”
     
     
    “It's about people getting hurt, you know?” Shawn dropped his fork onto his plate. “A bunch of the guys I know are going out and hunting zombies tonight. They say there's some dude who'll pay good money for them. You know, alive?”
     
     
    Marcus lifted his chin from his hands and wriggled his fingers. He was thinking. Shawn always knew when Marcus was thinking. It wasn't a change in expression or anything physical that could be identified. It was almost as if his aura changed. And the two of them were so in tune that Shawn could just tell.
     
     
    “Stay out of it, Shawn,” Marcus said finally.
     
     
    “I can't really do that, Marcus. If Heron finds out about kids getting involved with zombies and I haven't tipped him off...”
     
     
    “He won't do anything. That's not why he got you out. You said so yourself.”
     
     
    “Yeah, but the guys could...”
     
     
    “Just don't get involved,” Marcus ordered him. It was an actual order and Shawn was inclined to follow it. Though Shawn didn't notice it and might not have admitted it if he did, that was the nature of their relationship. Marcus didn't necessarily abuse his power, but he definitely held it. “I've been keeping track of all of this zombie nonsense on the news. It's dangerous, Shawn, and I don't want you involved in it.”
     
     
    “You my mom, now?”
     
     
    “No,” Marcus said. “It's not like that. Look, Shawn, I love you, okay? I love you and I'm afraid that cop is taking advantage of you because you're a kid and you're afraid of going back to jail. He's going to get you killed or worse.”
     
     
    Though he had no retort, Shawn was no closer to a solution to his own problem. He wanted to help Heron because these zombies scared the hell out of him. It had been bad enough when they hadn't been common. Now there were news stories every day. Even someone like Shawn, who avoided current events as best he could, couldn't steer clear of hearing the latest zombie tale. The kids were talking about it in school. No one had bugged out like before. That episode of mass hysteria had played itself out. Now that the danger was real, people were hunkering down and adjusting to the new environment. Shawn, though, was beside himself. He was in an almost constant state of unease that sometimes bordered on panic. He wondered if hiding his head in the sand was just making his problems worse. Still, though, Marcus was right. If he told Heron about the hunting party, what would the detective do next? Would that be enough to clear his record? And then there was the matter of the guys going out to hunt? They were Shawn's buddies and though they were a bad lot in general, he didn't feel right snitching on them. And if they found out he was a snitch, he'd be better off in a room full of zombies.
     
     
    “Your eggs are getting cold,” Marcus said. There was a tinge of annoyance in his voice, but Shawn was sure it had nothing to do with the eggs.
     
     
    He looked down at the plate of food. He was hardly hungry but he didn't want to upset Marcus any more than he already had so he ate and every mouthful dropped into his stomach like a moldy brick.
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Leron and Toby