Once Bitten: Twice Mad

Chapter Fifty-Two

"That is not a person, Lily, not anymore." Colt assured her. When she still appeared doubtful he sighed. "My wife was bitten and turned." Lily's gaze immediately went to Evangeline and Colt shook his head. "Not Evangeline; my first wife. She turned and I didn't understand what was going on. She was not a person anymore. She tried to attack me and our daughter."

"What happened?" Susette asked quietly.

Colt felt the pain in his chest but it was no longer crippling. It had dulled over the last months and no longer felt as if it would kill him each time it struck. "I shot her."

"You shot your wife?" Lily gasped.

"In the head." Colt nodded. "That's the only way to kill them."

"They ain't people no more." Ox spoke up. "I had to kill my pa and Evangeline had to kill our mama. They turn into these monsters and they don't remember anything about who they used to be or what you meant to them."

Colt tipped his head to Ox and then looked back at Susette and Lily. Susette had moved a bit closer to the rabid and was studying it intently. Lily didn't appear quite so eager to get close.

"Now the only way to kill them is to take out the brain. If you cut its head off, it can still bite you." Colt informed them.

"It can?" Charlotte sounded surprised.

Colt nodded. "Yeah. When I lost my family I went on a rabid hunting rampage. I learned a lot about killing them."

"But if I shoot it in the leg it won't be able to chase me." Susette stated. Colt frowned down at the girl. A six year old shouldn't sound quite so confident about shooting somebody. Then again, maybe a six year old who had spent the last nearly four months of her life living in this hell on earth was a lot different than your average six year old from before.

"That would depend on how well you shot it in the leg." Colt replied. He pulled his knife and used it to point to the rabid's knee. "If you take out its knees then it won't be able to walk or run after you but it can still crawl so you're not completely safe. The only time you aim for the legs is if you're being overrun and just want to get away and for whatever reason you can't get to the head."

"Can I kill this one?" Susette asked and Colt shrugged as he looked at Evangeline. Evangeline just shrugged back, though her green eyes seemed a bit horrified by Susette's eagerness to kill the rabid. Honestly it surprised Colt as well but he knew it had to happen. She had to be ready, willing and able to protect herself if the need arose.

"Later when I'm ready for him to die he'll be all yours." Colt assured the girl. "But for now we're going to use our friend here to learn how to strike them with a shovel to get the best results." Colt patted the rabid on the shoulder, jerking his hand away as the monster turned its head and tried to bite him.

A knife was suddenly thrust into the rabid's face, sinking deeply through its eye and killing the creature. Colt stared in shock at Evangeline as she pulled the knife back out and gave him a guilty smile. "Sorry—" she mumbled. "—I thought he was going to bite you."

Colt found himself chuckling as he took her into his arms and kissed her head. "My hero," he whispered against her ear. He stood straight and addressed the group, most of which seemed amused. "I reckon we can practice blows just as easy on a dead one."

***

Comanche sat in the hot midday sun beside a clear prairie lake. A bee buzzed around his head and aunts scurried over his buckskin clad feet as they rushed about their daily duties. None of that mattered. Nothing mattered. Not anymore.