The apocalypse came. I hid my son, Caleb, after he turned, secretly raising him. But the people from the settlement found out. “No wonder that filthy bitch was acting so secretive every day! She was raising a zombie son!” “Playing with our lives, trying to endanger us all, how utterly selfish!” “Kill that little monster! Drive that woman out!” In their fury, they brutally smashed my son’s head in, completely forgetting that he had ended up this way because of them. I walked out of the settlement, silently clutching Caleb’s lifeless body. In that zombie-infested hellscape, I found my husband, Ryder, already transformed. “Ryder, I want them to pay in blood.” It was rationing day in the apocalypse, and Brenda, the settlement director, deliberately withheld my family’s share of meat. I asked her why. She snapped, her face twisted with impatience, “Resources are scarce. You’re just one mouth to feed, shouldn’t you be more charitable?” Her words stunned me. “Food is distributed per person,” I said. “I’m not asking for extra. Why are you cutting my meat?” “You’re just a woman. Greens are fine for you. Why are you so desperate for meat?” Brenda said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ll distribute your share equally among others. It saves more, helping us all last longer.” Naturally, I couldn’t agree. I lunged forward to grab my portion, but accidentally scratched her hand. She shrieked in pain, then raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. “You unreasonable woman, you hit me? Do you want to be kicked out?” A man in line behind me roughly grabbed me, shoving me aside. He sneered, “You’re just a widow. It’s good enough we let you stay here. Stop being so picky. Why don’t you come with me instead? I’ll give you meat every day, as long as you keep me happy.” His voice was loud, drawing a burst of laughter from the crowd, but no one stepped forward to help me. I stood there, seething with anger, but I knew I couldn’t fight them. I could only swallow the humiliation in silence. It was fine. Just three more days, and I would be reunited with Ryder. Everyone believed my husband had died out there in the world, but I clung to the belief that he would keep his promise, that he would appear at our agreed time and take us away from this dirty, dark place.
Back home, I put the freshly acquired vegetables into the fridge, then took out the meat and vegetable stew I’d made days ago. Caleb, smelling the meat, wobbled out of the bedroom. His eyes were vacant. He pointed at the stew, then at his open mouth. Seeing him, the gloom in my heart vanished. “My little hungry guts, did you forget what Mommy told you?” Caleb stared blankly for a long moment before it clicked. He slowly walked to the calendar on the wall, picked up a pen, and painstakingly drew an X on today’s date. Watching his slow, delayed movements, my heart gave a painful lurch. Before the apocalypse hit, my husband had answered the call to duty, rushing to the front lines to clear out the infected and buy humanity time to establish safe zones. The day he left, he held Caleb and me, kissing us repeatedly: “Hope, wait for me one year. In one year, I’ll be back to take you both to a better sanctuary.” Though my heart ached with reluctance, I knew the country needed every soldier, and my husband felt it was his absolute duty. I secretly vowed to myself that while Ryder was away, I would take good care of our son, and in a year, our family of three would continue to live happily together. However, Caleb was infected and turned into a zombie due to an accident. Now, the one-year mark was almost here, and I still hadn’t figured out how to explain this to Ryder… I took a shaky breath, forcing the memories away, and smiled, calling Caleb over to eat. We hadn’t even finished half the meal when a violent banging erupted on the door. My heart clenched. I quickly motioned for Caleb to hide in the room, then, regaining my composure, went to open the door. “Who…” I’d only managed one word when the man outside lunged in, catching me off guard and tackling me to the floor. A sharp pain shot through my back. Without a word, he raised a hand and started slapping me, back and forth across my face, cursing as he hit me. “You filthy bitch, you think I’m easy? You dared to hit my wife? I’m going to beat you to death today!” My head spun, but I pushed him away with all the strength I had left. “Dave, can you be rational for a second? Your wife stole my food, and *you* think *she’s* the victim?” Dave laughed scornfully. “My wife is the director, she calls the shots around here. If you don’t like it, you won’t even get scraps!” I choked back the bile rising in my throat from the blows, pointing at the door. “Fine, I’ll listen to her from now on. You’ve had your fun. Now get out of my apartment, right now.” I didn’t want to argue with him, because Caleb was in the bedroom. If they found out about him, it would definitely cause trouble. But Dave showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he moved closer. “Hope, I’m here for something else today.” His small, beady eyes raked over my body, a lecherous smirk on his face. “Your husband’s gone, your kid’s gone. You’re all alone, easy prey.” Dave reached out, his hand sneaking around my waist. “You know, my family controls all the rations. Just keep me happy every day, and I’ll make sure you get meat at every meal. Deal?” “Get lost!” My rage flared. I tried to struggle free, but Dave grabbed my hand, forcefully pinning me to the floor. “You ungrateful bitch! I’m telling you, I didn’t plan on leaving empty-handed today! Seeing you, you loose woman, strutting around, I’m going crazy!” As he spoke, his ugly face loomed closer. Agony consumed me. I couldn’t break free, and I was terrified to scream, knowing Caleb was in the bedroom. *Caleb, whatever you do, don’t help Mommy. You have to stay hidden. Don’t come out…* But of course, fate had other plans. In my panic, I heard a slow, agonizing creak from the bedroom door.
Dave’s movements stopped. He lifted his head, glancing toward the bedroom door. He froze. Even without looking, I knew Caleb had come out. My heart plummeted. I didn’t care about anything else. I ripped myself from Dave’s grasp and ran to my son, pulling him into my arms, both desperate and furious. “Mommy told you never to come out if someone was here! Why are you so disobedient?” Caleb’s expression was vacant. He lay in my arms like a soulless doll. The terror on Dave’s face lasted only seconds. Seeing Caleb’s harmless, vacant stare, he relaxed. “Well, well, you filthy bitch. No wonder you’re so secretive every day. So you’re raising a zombie son.” Dave snatched a dinner knife from the table, a sinister grin spreading across his face as he took slow steps towards me. “If the people in the settlement find out about this, what do you think they’ll do?” I stared at him in despair, and as he approached, I dropped to my knees with a thud. “Dave, please, I beg you, have mercy. Don’t tell them.” “Caleb is the only family I have left. I can’t lose him too…” Dave grabbed my hair, throwing me aside. Then he reached out, grabbing my son by the neck, and lifted him into the air. Caleb still didn’t react. His small body hung suspended. Beneath his pulled-up shirt, a stomach covered in old bite marks was visible. “Ugh, so stinky, so disgusting.” Dave’s face twisted in disgust. He then aimed the knife tip directly at Caleb’s eye, a cruel smile on his lips. “You want me to spare your son? Fine. Strip.” I bit back a sob, slowly, deliberately, unbuttoning my top. I didn’t know if Dave would keep his word, but right now, to protect my son, I had no other choice. Soon, my top was completely open, revealing my thin bra. Dave’s eyes widened, glued to me. He hissed, “Keep going, keep going! Ha ha ha ha!” His face was contorted in a crazed expression. “If you’d just submitted, none of this would be happening. But now, you’ll have to please me in front of your son. Is that what you want, you pathetic slut? Does that turn you on?” I fought to keep my emotions in check, but the immense humiliation made my body tremble uncontrollably. Just as I was about to unhook my bra, Caleb’s eyes suddenly shifted. The vacant stare faded, replaced by a flicker of pure rage and hatred. He let out a guttural snarl, his mouth opening wide. And then he lunged, biting deep into Dave’s arm! Dave hadn’t seen it coming! He let out a piercing shriek, instinctively dropping Caleb to the floor. He clutched his bleeding arm, and pure, unadulterated terror flooded his eyes. He knew exactly what a zombie bite meant.
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