Parish by Nicole Murphy

hands upstretched smearing blood on the siding as they attempted to reach the warm bodies high above them. “Where are the rest of the military, the police, someone?”
                  “I don’t know.  I can’t say for sure, but for certain there were deserters.  People got their own families to be worrying about.  They probably wanted to be with them, try to protect them.” Artemis replied with a sigh.   “That’s why I volunteered to help you.  I ain’t got no family, but I did have one.  I know how I’d be feelin’ right about now if they were alive.”
                  “Do you mind if I ask how you lost your family?” She looked to her partner with sympathetic eyes.
                  “I never knew my Mom or Dad, Teely raised me.  Teely is my grandmamma.  I guess when I was ‘bout five my Dad died and then when I was ten my Mom died. I had a sister but she died a few years back.  She was hit by some teenager who was texting and driving.  Her name was Genevieve, she was a nurse.  Teely died last year, a month before I was due to come home from over there.” Artemis swallowed audibly.  “So now it’s just me.”
                  “I’m sorry, Artemis.” Emily furrowed her brow and bit her lip as she thought over the story he had just shared.
                  “It’s okay.  Honestly, I’m glad they ain’t here to be seeing this, especially Teely.  If Teely were here she’d be out in the midst of them corpses wailing about the four horsemen and hitting ‘em with the good book.  My Teely, she was spitfire.” Artemis chuckled deeply pulling Emily into it with his infectious laughter.
                  “That’s quite the picture you paint.” Emily inhaled deeply and exhaled through her nose.  “I’m sure right now my little one is freaking out and the twins are too no doubt.  I love my husband, but Jack isn’t exactly the best when it comes to crises.”
                  “Is that right?” He smiled.
                  “We lived in Los Angeles for the past seventeen years.  You should have seen him the first time we experienced an earthquake.” Emily smiled as the memory came back to her.  “He ran out of the house in nothing more than his tighty whities and socks screaming like a little girl.”
                  “That is funny.” Artemis howled with laughter.
                  “It wasn’t even a four pointer.” Emily added which caused Artemis to laugh harder.  “I never let him live that down.  I was mortified because it happened in the morning and he ran out just as everyone around us was getting in their cars to go to work and to take their kids to school.  Our little old lady neighbor was screeching at him and picked up this tiny little Chihuahua and covered its eyes so the dog wouldn’t have to see him in his underwear.”
                  “Are we getting close?” He looked around.  The zombie hoard was thinning out more and more.
                  “This is the long way.  Go until you see the big gas station and make a right.” Emily looked out of the window at the street signs.  “We should be there in less than five minutes.  We’ll pass a brick elementary school, when you see that I’m about a block away.  Jamie likes to walk to school, that’s why we picked that house when I was transferred.”
                  “Hold on a tick.  You’re that doc from the television awhile back aren’t you?  You’re from LA and you look really familiar.” Artemis looked at her, to the road and then back again.
                  “Yes, I’m Doctor DeLasalle.  I was the one who did the press conference for Nazarene.” Emily nodded slowly.
                  “I thought I recognized you!” Artemis smiled again.  “Why did you get transferred?”
                  “We had