Resurrection (97 page)

Deke moved in with his aunt who lived ten miles away.

Mitch and Chrissy moved in with Tommy out at his cabin on Pullman Lake, which was situated outside of the Black River Valley and suffered no damage. Mitch and Chrissy had a lot of good cries, did a lot of bonding. But they came through it. And Tommy was always there with a smart remark or to say the worst possible thing at the worst possible time.

But they went on.

They lived off of Mitch and Tommy’s savings, neither of them were quite ready to go back into the blue collar world even six weeks later. But that would come. In time.

One afternoon as Mitch laid on Tommy’s couch, he said, “You know, it’s just damn funny that there’s no mention of the walking dead, no mention of the shit that caused it: that goddamn army base and their experiments.”

“Perception management,” Tommy told him, pulling off a cigarette. “They got spin doctors at work out there, Mitch, that could make you believe you’re my maiden aunt.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

Chrissy who had been sitting there with them, threw back her long lustrous dark hair and just laughed. “Oh, there’s been mention of it, guys.”

They both looked at her.

On the coffee table were some of Tommy’s favorite periodicals, the kind that specialized in bigfoot rape stories and UFO abductions. There were three copies of the
Weekly World Examiner
sitting there, well-thumbed. On their covers were photos that might have been taken in Witcham or maybe on a soundstage for that matter. One showed a rain-swept, flooded street and blurry, out-of-focus people rising from the murk. Another showed a shadowy figure standing amongst some graves. And still another showed hands rising from the water. Hands that looked a little familiar for Mitch to simply shrug off. Too white, too bloated, too set with sores.
WISCONSIN CITY OF THE WALKING DEAD,
one headline proclaimed.
THE WITCH-AM HORROR,
said another.
THE RISING DEAD OF WISCONSIN,
said yet another. Inside, were more blurry photos. Some which had actually been taken in Witcham. The stories were lurid to the extreme and that was pretty fitting, because what had happened in Witcham was certainly lurid. And certainly extreme by all standards of normalcy.

Mitch just sighed, forcing memories from his head. “I guess…I guess it makes you wonder how much of that stuff is true, you know?”

Tommy and Chrissy looked at each other, laughed.

“Yeah, here’s one that’s got me thinking,” Tommy said. “’Face of Jesus seen on Mars.’ I mean, that’s food for thought.”

“How about this one,” Chrissy said. “’Rabid Grandmother feeds grandchildren to giant Rats.’ I don’t think I’ll sleep again.”

“All right, all right.” Mitch just shook his head. “And where are you off to?”

Chrissy shrugged. “Deke’s picking me up.”

“Well, tell him he better come in this time,” Tommy said. “No daughter of mine is dating some hoodlum who pulls up in the yard and revs his engine. I won’t have it. Me or your father.”

Chrissy ignored him, came over to Mitch and gave him a kiss. “Love you, dad.”

“Love you, kid. Be careful, will ya?”

“Always.”

Tommy put his hands on his hips. “Where’s mine? Didn’t I raise you better than that?”

Chrissy pecked him on the cheek.

Mitch watched her go to the door and wait. He found that he could spend hours just staring at her. She was her own person, tough and individualistic, but now and again, he could see Lily in her eyes or hear her in Chrissy’s staccato laugh.

“See you, boys,” she said when Deke pulled up.

“What should we do tonight, father?” Tommy said.

Mitch sighed. “Would you knock it off.”

“We could watch TV or play cards…unless you feel like fooling around a little.”

Mitch sighed. “You are an asshole, Tommy Kastle.”

“You know what my mom said. Go with your strengths.”

Mitch shut his eyes. He missed Lily, but they had a life again, Chrissy and he. And in the greater scheme of things, that would have to be enough. The sky was still blue. And the sun still rose. The birds still sang and Tommy was still a dick.

There was peace in that, now wasn’t there?

--The End--