I locked eyes with Jacobi. His were glossed with fear. A moment later I see exactly what he needed help with. My Dad. Stumbling into view lands right on top of Jacobi. His blood smeared face diving straight in towards Jacobi's neck. Teeth Gnashing away. He's trying his best to hold my dad back. His back on the ground. Arms struggling to hold back my dad, pushing him up by his shoulders.

Dad's clawed hands start swinging savagely, blindly searching for a target. They find one in Jacobi's face. Tearing into his skin. Reflectively he moves an arm to cover his face. Teeth come flying down and bite his thumb clear off. Jacobi starts to shake. Violently he begins seizing up. all his muscles stiffening. His arms and legs both raised. My Dad still perched on top, watching. Then, Jacobi just drops. No sign of life left in his body. I watch in horror. Save for the thumb and the scratches on his face he seems relatively unharmed. I can't see any major wounds or gashes.

Dad's attention then turns to me. He lunges in my direction. I scramble backward. My ass still on the ground. Hands and feet flailing to push me further away. I try to stand but can't get my legs under me. Dad continues chasing me on all fours. He catches up to me quickly. He's at my legs and crawling up towards my face, when I feel something firm under my hand. I have no idea what it is. But in a moment of desperation I stab it forward right as he's flying straight towards me, mouth agape. It connects and gets lodged directly into his mouth. I finally catch a glimpse of what it is that saved my life. A corn cob, stuck halfway down his throat. His jaw working wildly trying to chomp down through it.

I crawl out from underneath him. There's no way he can breath the way that's jammed into his throat. for good measure, I lean back onto my arms. Raise a heel, And give the cob a good boot. Smashing it in that much further. Barely coming out past his teeth at this point. blood starts to ooze out around the edges of his mouth. A gurgling sound erupting for under the corn. as his jaw still tries to work around it. Still He crawls towards me. I don't understand how he's doing it. I lean back again and kick his arm out from under him. He lands straight on his face. It doesn't stop him. But it does give me enough time to get my footing and get away.

I run to the barn and close the door behind myself. No one is here, Their beds still line the walls. They had all intended to come back, though I doubt now that they'll ever get the chance. Gathering all the rope I can find, I end up with three bundles. I know there's more in the house. Heading back towards the barn door I stop. Hanging on the wall beside the door is my scythe.

Pausing for a moment, I think. There is no way I could use this on another human being. Even if that someone had gone rabid and was trying to bite me. The very thought of using it as a weapon makes my stomach drop. I could however swing it backwards. The length of it would be perfect for keeping any attacker a few feet away from me. Using a few of the belts we had lying around, I strap the scythe to my back and go home.

Ma is still there, standing beside the blood pot. Still turned from earlier she has not moved at all. Her neck looks nearly healed. Nothing more than a scratch, where not long ago there was a massive wound. Not wanting to risk getting within biting range. I grab a chair from the table and put it right behind her. Standing behind the chair and holding a rope in both hands. I toss the middle over her head and around her chest. Pulling her down onto the chair. I begin tying it without taking a moment to see if shes reacting or not. I wrap the rope around her three times. tying it tight. Her arms and chest now completely restricted. I get started using a second rope on her legs. Its during this time she starts kicking and snarling. She doesn't have much strength yet, so tying her legs was a minimal challenge. Once done I take the opportunity to wash off her dried blood that coats my hand. I then turn and look at Ma.

"I'm sorry Ma, I promise I'll come back once I've found a cure."

I grab the two ropes we keep near the front door and leave.

Next I go to Susanna's house. I go straight to her bedroom door and open it. I see her. Standing, she's looking directly at me. She falls forward, barely catching herself at the last second. It looks like she's learning to walk for the first time. This is going to be much harder than it was with Ma. I close her door and bolt to her parents room. opening the door, both are out of bed. Both coming toward me. I slam the door shut.

I notice a rug on the floor and figure out exactly what I have to do. I run down to the kitchen and grab two knives, then head back upstairs. Grabbing one end of the rug, I hold it up to the wall beside Susanna's door. Stabbing the first knife through, pinning it to the wall. I then toss open her door and quickly do the same on the other side.

Standing beside the now open door, a few minutes pass. I wonder why she hasn't come out the door yet. She was walking toward me when I entered. So why not now? For that matter why haven't her parents come out yet? Or at least tried to. Then the realization started sinking in. If they can't see you, they don't know you're there. Testing a theory I place my hand on the blade of the scythe, Running my palm across in one swift motion. Slicing it open. I hold my bloody palm in front of Susanna's door. I hear her shambling start up again immediately. Her parents door begins to rattle and bang.

Finally the rug falls and Susanna goes with it. She is now laying there on the rug. I've only got a few second. I roll it up with her stuck in the middle. Trying to stand it up and tie around it, proves difficult. So with Susanna in the rug still laying down, I manage to get the rope around the rug twice before her parent's door bursts open. Startled I run down the stairs. Still holding both ends of the rope, I drag Susanna down with me. Tumbling behind me, she crashes into me hard and we both fall. laying flat at the bottom of the stairs. Susanna lands on top of me. The rug now unfurled, pinning me down. I lay under it. Susanna on top, chomping down at me and scratching. The rug as the only thing keeping me safe.

Grabbing one side of the rug, I manage to fold it over her. getting out from underneath it at the same time. I roll it completely over her as she fighting. I get the rope around again and pull it tight. Going for the second loop around, her parents fall down the stairs too. I stand and back away. Both of them manage to get to their feet. Shambling toward me. Cutting my hand worked but I've made myself a magnet for the sick. Grabbing my scythe, I swing. Hitting them with the back they stagger, but it doesn't stop them. Resigned to not securely tying Susanna, I run. They should not be able to track my scent very far. I need to find some gloves to cover this smell.