transform out of inanimate objects to challenge travelers in an impromptu wrestling match to guarantee their safe passage. Bang imagined this would be really scary about now; he did not want to find out what would happen if he failed, though—according to legend—winning such a match would often earn one a magical item. Bang moved in to ride a little closer to Graham, just in case the Dokkaebi appeared. He figured Graham could probably wrestle better than he could.
They quickly reached the neighborhood’s main drive. From there they could see stationary vehicles all along the highway overpass, in both directions, leading up to where Campos’s gas station was. A light could be seen in the distance, but at present no one was within sight. The ever-present fire glow to the west lit up the distant darkness. It seemed to grow a little each day.
Bang missed his mother. He didn’t want to be there at night in the dark. He tried to honor his mother’s wishes though; she had told him to obey Graham and to help him when he could. Bang tried to remember that, but his heart ached for her and he wanted to go home. At first he had hated Graham, but after he saw the man crying in the hallway he knew his heart ached too. Maybe he isn’t such a bad guy , he thought. Graham had already saved Bang from the dogs, and because his mother wanted him to trust Graham, he decided to stay with him.
7 Marcy, Macy, and Sheriff
Events forced Marcy and Macy to learn how to drive. It had been weeks now, and they were tired of waiting for their dad to show up. They’d discovered their mom dead from the virus the night before last after they broke into her bathroom and found her on the floor. Their mom had locked herself away so as not to expose the girls, but even with the virus all around, in their house, in the air, neither one of them became ill. They moved her dead body to her bed. They each took one end, stopping several times; Mom weighed more than they had expected. Of course, they were both slight, though at fifteen the twins told each other they were really quite strong.
Afterward they washed Mom’s face with a cool washcloth and pulled the covers over her. Not certain what else to do, they admitted the time had come to make their way to Dad’s house. They took turns calling him, but he never answered. This was not new to them, so they kept at it.
“He has to answer at some time, right?” Marcy asked her sister.
So many were dead in their neighborhood, and with Mom gone now they were getting really scared. After crying themselves to sleep, they woke to a new reality. Dad lived at the apartments in Issaquah. To get there they would have to drive down the highway, a trip they had done many times before as passengers. So they pulled their mother’s keys out of her purse. “She would want Dad to take care of us now,” Macy said.
The Williamses, who had lived next door, were gone—or at least no one had answered when they knocked the day before. They did not hear anyone anywhere except for the dog packs. Not only that, but late the previous night they had been awakened by loud yelling from the street outside. The girls went downstairs and looked out the front windows, where they witnessed a man running down their road with several dogs chasing him. He screamed and screamed as he ran out of their view. More screaming came after that, and then silence. The girls clung to one another, too afraid to open the door. They were not sure what happened to the man. After the quiet had come finally, they cried themselves to sleep again, this time on the living room sofa.
Too scared even to go to the bathroom alone, the twins made the decision to head over to their dad’s place by themselves. Considering the circumstances, they did not think he’d mind them trying to drive. “This constitutes an emergency,” Marcy said, justifying their plan. And in an emergency, new rules are made.”
They had seen Mom and Dad do this plenty of
They quickly reached the neighborhood’s main drive. From there they could see stationary vehicles all along the highway overpass, in both directions, leading up to where Campos’s gas station was. A light could be seen in the distance, but at present no one was within sight. The ever-present fire glow to the west lit up the distant darkness. It seemed to grow a little each day.
Bang missed his mother. He didn’t want to be there at night in the dark. He tried to honor his mother’s wishes though; she had told him to obey Graham and to help him when he could. Bang tried to remember that, but his heart ached for her and he wanted to go home. At first he had hated Graham, but after he saw the man crying in the hallway he knew his heart ached too. Maybe he isn’t such a bad guy , he thought. Graham had already saved Bang from the dogs, and because his mother wanted him to trust Graham, he decided to stay with him.
7 Marcy, Macy, and Sheriff
Events forced Marcy and Macy to learn how to drive. It had been weeks now, and they were tired of waiting for their dad to show up. They’d discovered their mom dead from the virus the night before last after they broke into her bathroom and found her on the floor. Their mom had locked herself away so as not to expose the girls, but even with the virus all around, in their house, in the air, neither one of them became ill. They moved her dead body to her bed. They each took one end, stopping several times; Mom weighed more than they had expected. Of course, they were both slight, though at fifteen the twins told each other they were really quite strong.
Afterward they washed Mom’s face with a cool washcloth and pulled the covers over her. Not certain what else to do, they admitted the time had come to make their way to Dad’s house. They took turns calling him, but he never answered. This was not new to them, so they kept at it.
“He has to answer at some time, right?” Marcy asked her sister.
So many were dead in their neighborhood, and with Mom gone now they were getting really scared. After crying themselves to sleep, they woke to a new reality. Dad lived at the apartments in Issaquah. To get there they would have to drive down the highway, a trip they had done many times before as passengers. So they pulled their mother’s keys out of her purse. “She would want Dad to take care of us now,” Macy said.
The Williamses, who had lived next door, were gone—or at least no one had answered when they knocked the day before. They did not hear anyone anywhere except for the dog packs. Not only that, but late the previous night they had been awakened by loud yelling from the street outside. The girls went downstairs and looked out the front windows, where they witnessed a man running down their road with several dogs chasing him. He screamed and screamed as he ran out of their view. More screaming came after that, and then silence. The girls clung to one another, too afraid to open the door. They were not sure what happened to the man. After the quiet had come finally, they cried themselves to sleep again, this time on the living room sofa.
Too scared even to go to the bathroom alone, the twins made the decision to head over to their dad’s place by themselves. Considering the circumstances, they did not think he’d mind them trying to drive. “This constitutes an emergency,” Marcy said, justifying their plan. And in an emergency, new rules are made.”
They had seen Mom and Dad do this plenty of
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