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tired, mentally and physically. “Maybe it's a disease or a fungus or an ethereal punishment, I don't know, but who cares? All that matters is that we get through this.” I turn to Holly and glance sidelong at Martin. “So what do we do?”
    “ In my dream,” Holly says and in my heart, I hear her ominous words ringing like a death knell. “I had a dream. You were in it, only you were dead.” I keep the morbid thought to myself, certain that Holly is already aware of it. “I didn't see Galen's mother, so that's where we're going. I want to break the memories, make them false. If things keep going the way I saw them, then you're all gong to die.” I notice that she doesn't say 'we.' Holly doesn't say we're all going to die. I look down at the ground.
    “ No,” Martin says and I glance up quickly. He's shaking his head and straightening his T-shirt. “What we should be doing is commandeering a vehicle and gathering supplies, especially weapons. Think for just a second about all the zombie movies you've ever seen.”
    “ This isn't a goddamn movie!” Holly shouts at him and I see that her brow is set in that determined line that I'm so used to. Once it gets there, there's no way to smooth it out. Holly will get her way, no matter the consequences. “Galen and I are going to his mother's house. You can stay or follow, I don't care.” She spins around on her heel and starts off through the park, gesturing for me to follow. I don't say a word, just move forward so that I can wrap my hand in hers. Moments later, footsteps join us. When I glance over my shoulder, I see that both Dawson and Martin are there. I can't imagine that they wouldn't follow Holly. The world would follow Holly if they could see her. She has an inner strength that glows like the sun. It attracts everyone around her like moths to a flame.
    “ Maybe after we visit Galen's mother … ” Martin says and I hear a growl from behind me. When I look over my shoulder, I see that it's not a zombie, just Dawson. Martin is annoying, true, but I can see that Dawson is using him like a punching bag, directing all his anger and his frustration at the kid. I ignore them both.
    “ Are they really zombies?” I ask Holly and she shrugs, keeping her eyes scanning back and forth like a laser. She expects more of them at any moment. I can see that, plain as day, and it scares the shit out of me.
    “ My dream was silent,” Holly says and then tries to smile. Again, I can see that it's fake, but I return it, hoping to keep her calm and collected until she gets the chance to cry. Then it can be my turn to take care of her, hold her and brush her hair back, give her something to live for. When my dad died, she did the same for me. I want to return that favor. I want to marry Holly. I choke back tears and bite my lip. “Except for one word,” she says and her brow is pinched and tight like she's thinking really hard about something.
    “ What?” I ask and it takes her the entire walk through the park to tell me. She pauses at the second bridge, the one that spans a small creek and turns to face me, blue eyes wide and fearful.
    “ DeadBorn,” she says and her voice quivers just a bit. “She said DeadBorn.”

CHAPTER 5
    Repudiation

    Five Hours and Fifteen Minutes After …

    A one hour bike ride turns into a three hour march across the city. For the first hour or so, we don't encounter anything out of the ordinary, and I think we all begin to question what we saw. Well, all of us but Holly. She keeps walking, shoulders back, chest high. Her eyes hold this determination that never sways, not even when we walk through crowds of people and cross busy streets.
    I think Dawson especially wants to believe that he's imagined everything, that his mother will be alive when he gets home, that things can just go back to the way they were when he went to sleep last night. I don't blame him, not a bit. I want the same thing for Holly. I want what happened to be a terrible