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Chapter 1

1 Return of the Tiny Fingers

The tiny fingers under the door werecrack under the front door, waiting for the tiny pink digits to suddenly appear and begin straining toward her

Standing on the front porch of her ho her dark hair and ruffling her pink nightgown and robe

"Benji?" she whispered

The hard, steady knocking against the door was a terrifying reminder that her zombified husband, Lloyd, was just on the other side She could barely lass panes set in the door Blood was s it harder to see into the house

"Benji?"

Jenni waited for the tiny fingers, but they didn’t co the cold cement of the front stoop The crack under the door was far too big She had told Lloyd that ers under itor a tiny little hand, trying to reach itshiainst the door now, and it shook beneath the iers should be pressed under the door right now, reaching for her, straining for her But they weren’t there The crack under the door, oers

"Mom!"

Jenni rose sharply to her feet

"Mikey?"

Her twelve-year-old son ran around the side of the house, barefoot and in his pajahtly in his arms

"Mikey! Benji!" Jenni stuot out the back door, Moainst her body, their sainst hers Benji’s arainst her flesh

"Mommy! Daddy is scary!" Benji wept and thrust one tiny thumb into his mouth

Jenni s, and thanking God for their survival, she pulled theet away! Dad is crazy! Moet away! I promise We just have to wait a minute or two and Katie will be here in a white truck," Jenni answered hi his hand

"Who, Mo to save us," Jenni assured him She looked back toward the house warily and saw Lloyd was now banging on thenext to the front door Katie would be here at any , she stood on her front lawn, trying not to think too hard about as happening, of what had happened before

Shaking her head, she looked toward the house Thesplintered and glass rained down Lloyd began to push his way out

"Mo her hand so tightly, he was crushing her fingers Benji sobbed loudly, his wet face against her neck, his tiny fingers gripping the collar of her nightgown

"She should be here! She should be arriving right now!" Jenni dragged Mikey further fro the cold asphalt of the street The road remained empty The white truck was nowhere to be seen Jenni whirled around, her black eyes scanning her neighborhood for the white truck that should be their salvation

"Mo at Lloyd, who had crashed to the ground outside the house and was struggling to get up

"Katie, where are you?" Jenni screaered to his feet and looked toward her and the boys With an unholy screech, he began to race toward theain and began to run down the street as fast as she could

Benji clung to her as Mikey ran beside her She could already feel her body tiring and her lungs burning Benji felt so heavy in her arms and Mikey held onto her robe as they ran Her bare feet slapping hard against the pavement, Jenni ran for her life and those of her children She could hear Lloyd behind her, gaining on the air

"Mo and she felt his bladder release as war

"Katie! Hurry! Katie!" Jenni kept screa, her body tired and sore

Then the doors of the houses began to fly open Mutilated, bloody figures began to race into the street toward the out before them