Chapter 4

  First Blood

  Lee turned around fast, but he was too late.

  The thing behind him wasn't a person. It was a monster.

  Sandra, the babysitter, lunged at him from the shadows of the hallway. Her mouth was open wide, and her skin was grey and rotting. She didn't scream. She didn't speak. She just made a hungry, wet snapping sound.

  Lee tried to step back, but his injured leg gave out. His boot hit the puddle of blood he had seen earlier.

  Splat.

  He slipped.

  Lee crashed to the hard tile floor, his head slamming against the ground. Stars burst in his eyes. Before he could recover, Sandra was on top of him.

  She was heavy—dead weight pressing into his chest. She smelled like old garbage and copper.

  "Get off!" Lee shouted.

  He shoved his forearm against her throat, trying to push her away. But she was unnaturally strong. She didn't feel pain. She just wanted to eat.

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  She snapped her teeth inches from Lee’s nose. Snap. Snap. Saliva and black goo dripped from her mouth onto Lee’s shirt.

  Lee pushed harder, but his arms were shaking. He was weak from the car crash and the blood loss. He looked around the kitchen frantically. He needed a weapon. A knife. A heavy bowl. Anything.

  But there was nothing within reach. Just the slippery, blood-covered floor.

  Sandra roared and pushed down with all her weight. Lee’s elbows began to bend. She was getting closer.

  I can't hold her, Lee realized with a jolt of terror. I'm going to die.

  Suddenly, the glass sliding door next to them flew open.

  "Hey!"

  A small voice squeaked out.

  Lee turned his head to the side, straining to see. The little girl from the walkie-talkie stood in the doorway.

  "She looked scared, but she held her ground. Her eyes were wide, watching the struggle with a quiet intensity. She gripped a claw hammer in both hands, hesitating in the doorway, but she didn't run away."

  With trembling hands, she slid the hammer across the bloody tiles.

  It spun across the floor—clack, clack, clack—and stopped right next to Lee’s hand.

  Lee didn't hesitate.

  He grabbed the wooden handle. He screamed, summoning every last ounce of his strength, and swung the hammer.

  CRACK.

  The claw buried itself into the side of Sandra’s head.

  The growling stopped instantly. Sandra went rigid. Then, she collapsed, falling limp on top of him.

  Lee shoved her heavy body off him and scrambled backward until his back hit the kitchen cabinets. He held the hammer up, chest heaving, waiting for her to move again.

  But she didn't move. She was gone.

  The kitchen was silent again. The only sound was the hum of the refrigerator and Lee’s ragged breathing.

  He looked up at the doorway.

  The little girl was still standing there, hugging herself. She was trembling violently now, staring at the dead woman on the floor. She looked small and fragile.

  "You killed it," she whispered, her voice breaking.

  Lee wiped the black blood from his cheek. His hands were shaking just as bad as hers. He looked at the hammer, then at the terrified girl who had just saved his life.

  "Yeah," Lee rasped, trying to catch his breath. "I did."

  He looked at her baseball cap, recognizing her from the photo and the messages.

  "Clementine?"

  The girl nodded slowly, wiping a tear from her eye.

  Q: Clementine was scared, but she didn't run. She passed the hammer.