marichiko

The baboons were rabid of course, this explained both their peculiar behavior and that of the old women who had been screeching insanely and then abruptly died when Patrick and I tried to restrain her. When Nelson and I went through her pockets, trying to figure out who'd she'd been, I'd noticed several bite wounds on her arms and hands. They looked as though they been recieved while trying to fend off some sort of animal attack. I had to admire the old gal for managing to fight one off - must have been a small one.

Nelson and I carried the woman's body a suitable distance off from the bus and prepared to dig a hasty shallow grave for her. I noticed that Nelson's eyes were blood shot and he was staggering from fatigue. Probably done in from that chase with the kid earlier. "I can manage the digging, Nelson," I told him. I'm just going to scrape a hole and lay her in it - more burial than a lot of people are getting these days." Nelson nodded his head in weary assent and turned back toward the bus.

I had just finished covering the remains when I heard a rustling in the leaves in the bushes behind me. I turned quickly to face the sound and saw that it had been made by a wide-eyed little girl of perhaps 9 or 10, peering out at me from between the greenery. Her face was grimey and she must have been wearing the same outfit that she had on when the comet hit - a matching "Winnie the Pooh" sweatsuit that looked like it had once been pink.

I met her frightened gaze and held out my hand to her. "Its okay, kid," I said. "I won't hurt you. My name's Fred. What's yours?" "Rhonda," she replied shyly. "Would you like something to eat, Rhonda?" I asked her. She nodded her head vigorously in reply to the question, so I pulled out an energy bar that I'd grabbed from the camping store and handed it to her. She darn near took off my hand in her haste to grab the treat! When she finished wolfing it down, I asked, "Where are your parents sweetie?"

Huge tears welled up in her eyes and she pointed in the direction of the demolished town. "They were in the church. I had a stomach ache so I stayed home."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to come with us then," I said. I took her hand and we began to walk toward the bus. We arrived just in time to see the baboons devour poor old Monroe. The child began to shriek. Nelson saw us and swerved the bus in our direction, barely slowing down, but opening the doors wide. I grabbed one of the handles that stood on either side of the doors and lept onto the first step. With my other hand I reached out to grab the hysterical child...