Hours passed, and Lin Jing's stomach growled again.
He pressed both hands against it, curling himself tighter on the bed as the painful emptiness twisted inside him. It had been so long since he had eaten anything properly. His mouth felt dry, his head felt heavy, and whenever he tried to stand, everything seemed to wobble.
He sniffled and rubbed his swollen eyes with his sleeve. His tears had already dried on his cheeks, but every now and then a small sob still slipped out of him. He didn't even have enough tears left to cry properly.
His eyes slowly drifted toward the bedroom door.
The door was bent now.
There were cracks all over it, and the hinges had started pulling away from the frame. Every few moments, it gave a tiny creak, as if it were tired too.
Lin Jing stared at it, his fingers tightening around the blanket.
Mom was still outside.
She had been hitting the door for so long.
Would she break it this time?
His lower lip began to tremble.
"Gege..."
He whispered the word so softly that even he could barely hear it.
Why wasn't his brother here yet?
He had said he would come home.
He always came home.
Maybe he was outside the house.
Maybe he was already looking for him.
Lin Jing wiped his nose quickly and climbed down from the bed. His legs felt strange and weak, but he didn't stop. He hurried toward the closet, pulling the clothes out one after another and throwing them onto the floor. Shirts, trousers, jackets—all of them fell into a messy pile around his feet.
He squeezed himself into the little space inside and pulled some of the clothes over his body.
It smelled like fabric and his mother's clothes.
For a moment, that made him want to cry again.
He curled himself into the smallest shape he could, pulled his knees against his chest, and wrapped both arms around them.
Maybe Mom wouldn't find him here.
Maybe she would go away.
Maybe when he opened the closet again, everything would be normal.
Maybe Mom would be standing outside and asking why he had made such a mess.
Lin Jing squeezed his eyes shut.
He wanted that.
He wanted his mommy.
BANG!
The sound exploded through the room.
Lin Jing's whole body jerked.
His hand flew to his mouth before he could scream.
Another loud crack followed.
Then the bedroom door collapsed inward.
Lin Jing stared through the tiny gap between the clothes.
His mother slowly stumbled into the room.
He couldn't move.
Her face was covered in blood.
There were pieces of flesh stuck to her clothes and smeared across her cheeks. Her hair was messy, hanging around her face, and her eyes...
Lin Jing's breath caught.
Those weren't his mother's eyes.
They were cloudy and strange, staring around the room without any of the warmth he knew.
"Mommy..."
His lips moved, but no real sound came out.
He remembered his mother standing in the kitchen, cooking his favorite lamb chops. He remembered how she would secretly buy him sweets and then tell him not to let his father see. He remembered falling asleep on the sofa while she carried him to bed.
That was his mommy.
This…. This wasn't his mommy.
But then why was she looking for him like that?
Why was she covered in blood?
Why did she want to bite him?
Lin Jing's fingers shook so badly that his teeth began to chatter. He clamped both hands over his mouth, squeezing until his cheeks hurt.
Don't make a sound.
Don't make a sound.
If Mommy heard him...
He watched his mother slowly move toward the corner where he had been sitting earlier. She stopped there and lowered her head, sniffing at the torn, empty packet of M&M's he had left behind. Her nose wrinkled as she breathed in the sweet smell that still lingered on the little packet, and then she turned toward the window, staring down at the zombies wandering in the street below. A low, ugly growl rumbled from her throat as she watched them.
Lin Jing remained curled inside the closet, hardly daring to breathe.
He didn't know why his mother had gone over there. He didn't know what she was looking at.
But she wasn't looking at him.
His little heart began beating even faster.
Now.
He had to go now.
The thought wasn't clear or clever. He simply knew that if he didn't run now, he might never get another chance.
Lin Jing pushed the clothes away and scrambled out of the closet. His legs were trembling so badly that he almost fell, but he didn't stop. He ran toward the broken bedroom door, only to catch his foot on a piece of warped wood sticking out from the frame.
He tumbled forward with a small cry, his palms scraping against the floor.
"Ah!"
He quickly pushed himself back up.
Behind him, his mother heard the noise.
Her head snapped around.
Lin Jing froze for half a second.
His mother's mouth hung wide open as she panted heavily, her cloudy eyes fixed directly on him. The sound coming from her throat was nothing like the gentle voice he remembered. It was a rough, hungry growl.
"Ahh... Mommy!"
Lin Jing screamed and ran.
He didn't look back.
His feet carried him toward the front door as fast as they could, his little legs stumbling over themselves in his panic. He grabbed the door handle, but it was too high. His fingers slipped off it once.
He jumped.
Nothing.
He jumped again, stretching as far as he could.
His fingers finally caught the handle, and he pulled down with all his strength.
The door opened.
Lin Jing nearly fell forward.
He didn't wait.
He ran out and down the stairs, his breath coming in short, frightened gasps. He could hear something moving behind him, and every time he heard a sound, he thought his mother was right there.
"Gege..."
He was crying again, but he didn't stop.
"Gege, help me..."
His little feet slapped against the stairs as he hurried down. He didn't know where he was going. He didn't care. He only wanted to get farther away from her.
He ran until his legs hurt.
He ran until his chest felt tight.
He ran until he couldn't hear his mother's footsteps anymore.
Only then did he duck into the small storage room beneath the staircase.
Lin Jing squeezed himself into the corner and pulled his knees tightly against his chest, wrapping both arms around them. His whole body was shaking. He pressed his face against his knees and tried desperately to make himself quiet, but small sobs kept escaping anyway.
He didn't know if she was still looking for him.
His fingers twisted tightly into his clothes as he whispered through his tears,
"Gege..."
His voice was barely audible.
"Please come home..."
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"I'll be good..."
His little shoulders trembled.
"I won't eat all the candy again..."
He sniffled hard, trying to stop himself from crying.
"Just come home, Gege..."