Night of the Living Dead by Christopher Andrews Read Free Book Online Page B

weekend in question arrived, they had packed their Sunday best and driven down. The hotel was a little more expensive than expected, as had been the food and other amenities which his company was apparently not picking up this year, but Harry had maintained at least a neutral posture throughout.
     
    The problems had started when Sunday morning rolled around, and it had become clear that having his family along hadn’t made quite the impression that Harry had been hoping for — no mention of bonuses, or promotions, or even new clients. Harry began to drop new hints that it was somehow Helen’s fault, that she had come across as too snooty, too cold ... and she’d had the audacity to look better than his boss’ wife.
     
    Helen just gritted her teeth and took it. At least he wasn’t trying to blame Karen, and she wanted to spare her daughter from witnessing an all-out slugfest between her parents.
     
    They had checked out of the hotel early, and Harry got it in his head that he knew a shortcut that would shave some time off their return trip. Helen had her doubts, but the truth was that Harry had made this trip more often than she, knew these roads better than she, so she kept her mouth shut ... until it was too late.
     
    They’d gotten a little turned around almost immediately, but Harry refused to admit it, so they didn’t backtrack when it would’ve been easier. He wanted to save time, so they kept going. And going. And as they got more and more lost by mid-afternoon, it became clear to Helen that they’d never reach home tonight. Harry’s big plan had not only failed to save time, it was going to cost them another night in some motel.
     
    Helen enjoyed that little victory in private.
     
    "Now what the hell is this?" she heard Harry grumble.
     
    She looked back to the road. Ahead of them, two small cars had had what appeared to be a minor collision, a fender-bender that shouldn’t have resulted in any injuries. What was odd, though, was the sheer number of people surrounding the cars. It had to be at least a dozen, maybe more — too many to have been squeezed into the two little vehicles.
     
    "Lookie-loos, I guess," she commented.
     
    "What’s a ‘lookie-loo’, Mommy?" Karen asked from the back.
     
    "An assho—" Harry answered, but cut himself off in mid-swear. "A jerk with too much time on his hands." He raised his voice, "Come on!" and honked the horn twice as they approached the cluster, which was blocking well over half of the road.
     
    None of them paid any attention. Harry had to come to a full stop, and he honked the horn again, longer this time. And the people still ignored him — they were too fascinated with the interiors of the two cars from the collision.
     
    Maybe Helen had been wrong. Maybe the people inside were hurt after all, and these witnesses were trying to help.
     
    "Oh, for fuck’s sake," Harry snarled, throwing the car into Park .
     
    "Harry!" Helen snapped, appalled by his using such language in front of Karen.
     
    But Harry didn’t pay her any mind. He opened his car door, practically kicked it open, and got out.
     
    "Just go around them, Harry," he heard Helen whine just as he closed the door, but he didn’t pay any attention to that, either. He had been trying to control his temper for a while — not an easy task, what with Helen’s endless nagging, but he had tried for Karen’s sake. So in a way, he was glad for this obstruction. Sure, he could just go around, but then he wouldn’t be able to blow off some steam.
     
    "All right, all right ," he declared, just short of shouting. "There’s been a little accident, what a sight, we’re all impressed. Now could some of you please move your asses out of our way?"
     
    The group of people still ignored him. What in the hell where they doing, anyway? He couldn’t see exactly, there were too many of them, but from the car closer to him, he heard ... what was that? Smacking? What was going on here, a goddamn