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greenery he walks
through now is not nearly as thick as it had been back atop the
brink of the cliff, and our zombie is able to traverse with
relative ease. A light rain begins to fall as he walks on,
sightless through the maze of trees. It is eerily silent. The only
thing that can be heard is the pitter-patter of the rain on the
leaves, the heavy breathing coming out of his throat and his
ruffling through the trees. The very faint rumble of thunder can be
heard approaching in the distance. He walks, and then comes to a
sudden stop, staring blankly ahead. Or perhaps, not so blankly.
Looking through his perspective, we can see what he sees.
Unfocused, but clearly visible, is a moving light , flickering in
the distance about one hundred yards away. They hold our zombie's
attention for a moment, and then he starts toward them.
    <><><>
    Inside of the cabin, the
pretty young girl with long blond hair and baby blues is still
sobbing. Her head is laid on top of her father's chest, cupped by
her arms. She sniffles as his breathing lifts her head up and down
ever so slightly, and then hears a low murmuring that startles her.
She quickly brings her head up and around to look behind
herself.
    LongBlondeHairedGirl: (harshly whispers) … Mom?!
    The weak murmur continues,
and the young girl realizes that the sound is coming from her
father. Her head shoots back around, and she continues to dab the
wet cloth across his forehead.
    LongBlondeHairedGirl: … Dad?
    He turns his head towards
her, his eyes still closed, and tries to speak.
    The Father: … M-.. Mari-…am?
    The suffering man struggles
to speak, but his daughter can clearly make out that he is calling
out for his wife.
    LongBlondeHairedGirl: No.. Daddy, it's me. Mom when to get you some
water. She'll be right back.
    The Father: (labored breathing) …Oh…
    His head returns to its
original position, his half open glossy eyes now staring directly
in front of him, up to the ceiling.
    LongBlondeHairedGirl: … Dad,.. how are you feeling?
    It hurts to ask him such a
question when he is in such a way. It hurts to say anything at all,
but she feels like she has to say something, even if it is a
pointless empty question like the one she just spouted off. Her
father, being the indestructible man he is, slowly brings his head
to its side to look into his daughter's eyes and answer
it.
    The Father: (breathes in) I'm… (breathes in deeper) I'll.. be fine.
    LongBlondeHairedGirl: Okay, okay… You.. just rest up.
    She continues to gently rub
the washcloth over her father's head as he brings it back to its
centered straight-ahead "staring at the ceiling" position. It was
once cool, the cloth, but the heat from the fever had warmed the
soaked material pretty much as soon as her mother had left the
room. She looks at it with a slight disdain.
    Mariam: … Gary?!
    The teenager looks back to
see her mother's astounded face standing in the doorway. Her hands
are still full with the oil lamp in one, and a fresh bucket of
water in the other. She scurries over to her husband and daughter
as fast as she can without dropping her wares, places them down and
takes her place beside her husband once again. Her daughter
accommodates by moving over and handing the washcloth back to
her.
    Mariam: What happened? Is he okay? Gary, are you
okay?
    The tears begin to well in
her eyes again. Her husband brings his head around to the sound of
her voice, to look at his wife and tries to express himself, but
instead of words, a trembling leaves his body. He shudders and
tries to speak again.
    Gary: I'm…
c-c-c.. c-cold.
    His wife feels his
forehead. It's burning up. Outside, the rain has become heavier,
and the downpour can be heard on the cabin's roof. The thunder's
rumble becomes deeper with every passing moment, and the lightning
begins to make itself known as well, teasing the cabin's occupants
with brief winks of visibility.
    Mariam: (chuckles w/ a bit of hysteria) How can you be so cold when you're