Chapter Six: Who needs a gun? We've got an Ox.

A thudding sound in the room below her had Evangeline moaning with displeasure and snuggling deeper into her feather tick mattress and warm, soft blankets. This bed felt so deliciously, sinfully good that she was loath to leave it.

The sunlight was shining dimly through the window onto Evangeline's face and she knew it was going to be a beautiful day once that sun was able to burn through the early dawn fog. A day full of sunshine, singing birds and... suitors. The good mood Evangeline had been feeling was quickly doused with the frigid cold remembrance of that fact.

Ever since her twenty-second birthday just a few short months ago her father had been pushing her more and more toward marriage. Sometimes being the beautiful daughter of the richest man in the county was quite simply a pain. And it wasn't that Evangeline was trying to be difficult. As a matter of fact she had always done everything she could, (within reason), to please her uptight parents. She was highly educated and knew how to cook, sew, plan a party and had all the manners and grace that a well-bred southern belle was expected to exude.... She simply had not ever met a man she wanted to marry.

And she wasn't opposed to marriage! On the contrary she wanted it. She saw the way her father looked at her mother and the way her mother's face lightened every time her father stepped into a room... Evangeline wanted that, what woman wouldn't? Evangeline simply had not yet met the man that she wanted it with.

None of the men her father wanted for her were what she wanted. Now Evangeline was as innocent as a woman could possibly be when it came to men but she had heard enough about what went on between a man and a woman was hot, passionate, tingle inspiring.... Evangeline had yet to meet a man who made her tingle.

But now her father was tired of waiting and had let her know yesterday that he would be leaving before dawn this morning and returning with a handful of suitors and she was to pick one of them for her wedding that would take place in just three months time whether Evangeline was ready or not. As her mother had so eloquently stated, 'there could be no old maids in the family'.

Evangeline threw her blankets off of her and sat up, sliding her feet into her soft slippers before standing and sliding into her light purple silk robe. She realized that it was awfully quiet outside this morning. As a matter of fact the only sounds she could hear were those thumping sounds from below her. A glance at the gilded clock on her wall told her it was nearly eight in the morning and the plantation should be bustling by now.

Evangeline walked to the French doors that led to her balcony and pushed them open just as that thudding sound occurred again below her. It sounded as if someone kept hitting the wall below her with something and she wondered if perhaps her mother was forcing the poor servants to rearrange her heavy English furniture yet again. Poor servants.

Stepping out onto the balcony, Evangeline frowned as she looked around. Where was everyone? She looked toward the servant's quarters and her frown deepened. It appeared that the door had been broken. She dreaded to see the fit her father would throw over that. The man was not known for his patience when it came to his servants. He missed the days of slavery and most of the servants here were his former slaves and their children, though now they were paid a wage for the work they did.

The thumping was louder out here and Evangeline walked to the edge of the balcony and looked down, her breath lodging in her chest and her eyes widening at the sight she was met with.

A couple of ranch hands were beating on the bright walls of the grand plantation home, running into them and hitting them with bloody fists.

"What are you doing?!" Evangeline demanded and then she realized that hadn't been a very good decision when they stopped what they were doing and, with jerking movements, they moved away from the wall and their necks snapped as they looked up at her.

Evangeline screamed then. She screamed as loudly as she could. Their faces were bloody messes, with bits of flesh hanging off as if something had been chewing on them! Their teeth, visible behind their snarling lips, were bloody as well. The ranch hands eyes were gray and cloudy and they began reaching up as if desperate to grab her.

"Gnaa!" One of them moaned loudly and when they bumped into one another they let out a screech and ran for the balcony.

Evangeline stumbled backward, nearly tripping over her long robe as she quickly went back into her bedroom and slammed the French doors closed, locking them and pulling the curtain. She knew that if they climbed the trellis they would reach her balcony and her bedroom.... What was going on? What was wrong with them?

That thudding continued downstairs and suddenly Evangeline wondered about her mother. Where was she? Was she okay? Knowing she had to check on her, Evangeline glanced around her room for anything that could be used as a weapon.

Her pa had a strict no guns policy at the plantation. As a matter of fact the only gun they had was a rifle her father used for hunting which was underneath he and her mother's bed and the stash that her older brother Ox kept hidden between his mattresses. A derringer, a shotgun and a .38 revolver. Evangeline wondered if she could get to Ox's room and decided she'd need to try.

She wondered about Ox and her father then. Were they okay? Ox was Evangeline's whole world and she prayed like crazy that he was okay. She knew he had gone with their pa that morning to pick up her suitors, though Ox had said he was going because if any of those men didn't meet his expectations he was going to convince them real fast not to come.

Evangeline smiled faintly as she went to her door and laid her hand on the handle. If anyone could be convincing it was her giant of a brother. Most people thought he was dumb or that his brain didn't work good but Evangeline knew that wasn't true. Ox was very smart, he just wasn't book smart. Though with her help he was learning. She swallowed hard and then let out a long breath. Ox was strong so she had to believe that he was fine wherever he was.

Right now she needed to find her mama and get to Ox's guns. She could still hear the thudding coming from downstairs and when she threw open her door she heard the moans and groans.

It was clear that there were more than just a couple people downstairs, thumping and moaning around. Instinct told Evangeline that those downstairs were like those men outside and she started to cry, though she continued out into the hallway, praying that the monsters, (she didn't know what else to call them), wouldn't hear her.

Every thump caused her heart to skip beats and every moan had her head whipping around to ensure that those monsters weren't coming after her. She just kept breathing deeply as she walked down the hall, her slippered feet making no noise on the fancy rugs her mother kept down to protect the polished wood floor.

Evangeline had not been raised to be brave by her parents. She'd been raised to be a proper lady and depend on others to care for her. What kept her legs moving toward her mother's room despite the thuds she could hear behind doors that she walked past, was the lessons her brother had given her. Ox hadn't wanted her to be helpless the way their parents had. While he said he hoped he was always there to protect her so she never had to protect herself, he had still wanted her to know how, just in case.

Evangeline came to the bedroom door to her parent's room and grabbed one of her father's heavy wooden canes from the brass bucket near the door frame. Her father didn't need a cane but instead had one because 'every proper gentleman should carry one'. At least that's what he told everyone. Evangeline knew that inside the cane was a saber sharp enough to split a mouse hair with.

Evangeline chose not to remove the saber just yet, she didn't want to accidently hurt herself with the sharp blade. Instead she just held the cane up and knocked on her mother's closed door gently. A moaning sound followed the knock and then a thump and Evangeline's heart fell to the bottom of her dainty feet.

"Mama...?" she whispered and the moaning grew louder, followed by a scratching sound, akin to fingernails on the wall. Evangeline wanted to run. She wanted to run back to her room, lock her door and curl back up under her covers so she could pretend all of this was a dream.

She didn't know what this was but she knew it was bad. It was the end of life as she had known it. Those ranch hands had been dead, their eyes had been dead, but they had been walking, jerking, twitching, making those horrible groaning noises and coming for her with bared teeth. Evangeline did not want to see her mama like that.

But she had no choice. What if her mama was fine but there was a monster in there with her?

'Then she would have answered you when you said her name.' a voice inside her head replied but Evangeline swallowed and squared her shoulders. Her mama might be hurt and need her help. Evangeline was going to help her.

She threw open the bedroom door and her worst fears were realized. Her mama was one of them. She was like the ranch hands. Her dark hair, the same dark hair she had given to her daughter, was a mess atop her head and chunks of it were missing revealing bleeding sores on her scalp. Her eyes, once dark green just like Evangeline's own, here now gray and lifeless. Her hands were bloody and her nightdress was as well. Her face was covered in peeling skin and she screeched when she saw Evangeline and lunged for her.

Evangeline was sobbing as she jumped out of the way. "Mama, what are you doing?!" she gasped between her tears. "What's wrong with you?"

Instead of speaking her mama simply let a moan and grabbed the sleeve of Evangeline's robe. Evangeline tried to yank away but her mama held fast and then gnashed her teeth together and lowered her mouth toward Evangeline's shoulder.

"Mama stop!" Instinct took over. It was fight or flight and Evangeline chose to do both. She swung the cane and caught her mama in the head. It was enough to give Evangeline the time to yank her arm away and then turn and run for it.

She screamed again when she saw more moaning, jerking, twitching, blood covered servants and ranch hands coming up the grand staircase to get her. She wasn't going to be able to get to those guns of her brothers.

A hand grabbed her hair from behind and Evangeline cried out in pain and pulled the saber from the cane. Turning and swinging at the same time, Evangeline felt her stomach turn when the blade sliced through her mother's arm, removing it from her body.

Blood oozed from the hand and forearm still stuck in Evangeline's hair, soaking her robe as her mother screeched with pain, her face contorting and her teeth gnashing. She came for Evangeline again and this time Evangeline hit her mama in the neck with the saber just before her mamas teeth would have closed on her shoulder.

Evangeline saw her mother's body fall to the ground, unmoving, and headless as her head bounced and rolled across the fancy rugs her mother had always been so strict about keeping clean.

The moans behind Evangeline reminded her that more of those monsters were coming and she ran into her bedroom, closing and locking her door before using every ounce of strength in her tiny body to move her dresser across the polished floor and block the door as the moaning, thumping, clawing and screeching intensified on the other side.

Evangeline threw the bloody saber across the room and then tore at her hair to remove her mother's severed arm from it. It landed on the floor with a plop and Evangeline let out an animalistic sob and fell to the floor, scooting on her backside across the floor as far as she could away from that piece of bloody flesh.... She felt her back hit against the wall and she pulled her knees into her chest, wrapping her arms around them and rocking back and forth as she sobbed.

She had killed her mother!

What was going on?! The fancy schools. The tutors. The hours upon hours of lessons on etiquette and proper manners. All the music lessons, dance lessons, cooking lessons... nothing she'd ever learned could have prepared her for what she had woken up to this morning.

Dead people walking around covered in sores and blood. Moaning, reaching for her, trying to bite her.. to eat her.... Her own mother coming at her with dead eyes and gnashing teeth. Ignoring her tears and her pleas for her to stop.

That saber slicing through her mother's neck, cutting through the bone as if it were nothing.. Her mother's head rolling...... Evangeline quickly leaned to the side and vomited violently on the floor.

The banging was getting louder and the moans more insistent. Evangeline could hear blood filled tearing sounds coming from the hall followed by shrieks and she wondered if the monsters were attacking one another. Fighting over their prey... Fighting over her.

Desperation began to sink in. She was going to die. She saw that bloody blade lying on the floor and thought about crawling to it and ramming it through her own heart. Surely it would be better to die that way than to let those monsters have their way with her.....

"Evie!" A voice came from outside. A familiar voice. A voice that had her heart filling with hope as she sobbed and ran for the balcony door. She ensured that those two ranch hands from earlier hadn't managed to climb the trellis and then threw the doors open and saw Ox leaping off a brown mare and running for the house.

"Ox! Don't go in!" Evangeline screamed. Ox skidded to a stop and Evangeline screamed when she saw the monsters heading toward him. The ranch hands. Ox gave her a reassuring smile and then ran back to the mare, pulling a rifle from the scabbard attached to the saddle.

Evangeline watched him take aim but when he squeezed the trigger nothing happened. The gun wasn't loaded. She saw those monsters getting closer to her brother and she screamed at them to stop! Yesterday they would have listened to her. Yesterday they wouldn't have been trying to eat her brother. Yesterday they wouldn't have been bloodthirsty, flesh eating monsters.........

Evangeline wanted to squeeze her eyes shut. She didn't want to see her brother killed. Not Ox. Ox never pressured her. He understood the side of her that hated being 'the Gilcrest's perfect child'. He understood that she wanted to find love and a life of her own. He knew things about her that no one did. He was her best friend. She couldn't lose him!

And she didn't.

Ox was big. Seven feet of solid muscle; a virtual oak tree of a man. He gripped the barrel of that rifle tight in his hands, let out and animalistic cry of rage and began to swing.

Evangeline watched in a state of horrific shock as the ranch hands were both quickly dispatched, their heads smashed in by the stock of that rifle her brother was wielding like a club. Evangeline couldn't help but smile, just a little. Who needs a gun? We've got an Ox.

Ox jumped away from the dead monsters and ran back toward the balcony.

"You can't come in through the door Ox! The house is full of them!" Evangeline warned. "They're trying to get in here to get me!

"Shit this is a mess, Evie! Climb down that trellis and we'll get out of here."

Evangeline nodded and then ran back in the room to grab the bloody saber, making a point to not look at her mother's arm. She put the saber back into the cane and went back out onto the balcony. Evangeline was scared of heights, frightened very nearly to death of them and as she threw her leg over the railing of the balcony her nightdress became tangled up and she nearly fell.

She clung to the railing, fear paralyzing her as she sobbed.

"I can't do it, Ox...."

"Sure ya can. Just drop yourself down. Old Ox won't let you hit the ground." Her brother insisted gently but Evangeline was beyond reasoning. She was terrified, nauseous and trembling. She just wanted to wake up and find this all a dream!

"I can't Ox. Just leave me.. I am going to die!"

"No you're not and I don't wanna hear you say something like that again. Now just hold on and I"ll come get you."

Evangeline felt the trellis shaking as Ox's weight tested its limits to the max. She felt his big arms wrap around her and she clung to his neck, taking in the safe scent of him. Evangeline closed her eyes as he carried her back down and then he cursed and sat her on her feet.

"Just a minute, Evie." He said and Evangeline saw him turned and swing that rifle, she couldn't see the monster but she heard the crunching of bones.

Miraculously the horse hadn't run off at the scents and smells and Evangeline let Ox lead her to it and then they took off into the woods.

Evangeline knew where he was taking her. She snuggled up closer to her brother, feeling safe now that he was here.

***

Ox saw his cabin come into view and breathed a sigh of relief. He and Evangeline would be safe here. At least for a while. She was shivering in his arms but it wasn't the same kind of shakes that his pa had had. This was different. This was scared shivers.... Ox knew because he was doing the same thing.

He didn't want to leave the horse outside but had no choice, it wouldn't fit in the cabin. He slid from the saddle, keeping Evangeline held tight in his arms. He wrapped the horse's reins to a low hanging branch and carried his sister into the cabin, laying her across the small cot that he had to sleep on here and covering her with a scratchy wool blanket.

"What's going on, Ox?" she whispered, saying the first words since they'd left the plantation. Ox sighed as he looked around the cabin. This place was his safe haven. The place he came when the world got too mean.

"I ain't for sure, Evie... You know I ain't real smart.."

"Stop that. You have some idea I can tell by the look in your eyes. What's going on?"

"I think it was that medicine pa had everybody take." Ox replied, rubbing his hands together and busying himself by getting a fire started. It wasn't that it was real cold but Ox needed something to stay busy doing.

"Pa.....?" Evangeline asked and Ox broke down. Sob's wracking his body and his big shoulders heaving up and down as he kept his back to his sister.

"I killed him, Evie.. .. I had to! He went crazy! He was biting everybody and he tried to bite me. I'm sorry Evie. Don't hate me...."

"Ox, I don't hate you." Evangeline whispered and Ox turned to face her, seeing that tears were on her face as well. "I killed mama, Ox..... "

Ox nodded and his tears fell harder. He hated this but he knew he could be weak in front of Evangeline and she wouldn't make fun of him. She patted the cot and Ox sat down beside her, feeling comforted when she curled up against him.

"Get some rest, Evie. Old Ox won't let nothing happen to you. I'll keep you safe while you sleep."