Adrian's Undead Diary (Book 5): Wrath by Chris Philbrook

Lindsey opened the door for me, and greeted me with a sad hello. Lindsey looked maybe 40, and I bet she’ll clean up nice and look her real age, which is probably closer to mine. She has really long strawberry blonde hair that looks as fine as corn silk. She’s got freckles. Lots of them. She’s really pretty, and she’s just like I imagined she’d be.
    At her hips, attached to her on both sides like human barnacles were little Maddison, and tiny Andrea. I can remember what Doug looked like, and the girls have a lot of resemblance to him in their faces. They’ve got their mother’s hair, long and bright, but they look like their father.
    Judge me if you want, but when I saw those two little girls for the first time, and I knew they were now in my hands to keep safe, I smiled that smile I was talking about earlier, and oh boy, did those tears start running.  
    Ah fuck me Mr. Journal. I lost it. I just started saying how sorry I was, and how much I wanted to do the right thing, and be a good man, and so much angst just let loose and purged and just wow. It was a sight to see I’m sure. Lindsey was sweet. She stepped out onto the concrete stairs, and just put her arms around me, and rested her head on my chest, and told me everything would be okay.
    Of course she was crying too at that point, and the girls had no idea what was happening, and like a lot of kids do, when mom or dad cries, they start in too. Shit Patty was a wreck before long too, and there we were.  
    Three adults and two little girls standing on an empty street, in a dead town, in the middle of nowhere, crying. Mourning the dead, mourning our mistakes, and comforting each other in the hopes that we could do something positive with what was left.
    We stood like that for some time. Minutes, an hour I don’t know. Neither Lindsey or I wanted to be the first to let go. Eventually the Ranger wannabe somewhere inside me kicked in and told me we weren’t safe standing there, and I let go of her and ushered us all inside.
    Lindsey offered us some water, which we politely refused. The water was dirty. Watching the little girls sip a cup filled with water that had debris in the bottom of it curdled my guts. We’ve got so much fresh water on campus.
    I asked her about Doug, and she told me about their marriage, their life together, and the two girls. Maddison is very good at English, and little Andrea colors in the lines better than anyone ever. She produced a stack of tattered coloring books to prove her prowess. They were very good.
    Eventually Lindsey got the two girls to go off with Patty, and as soon as it was the two of us, she asked me about my dream. I’m very uncomfortable talking about these dreams. Stranger or friend, for some reason I feel like a fucking crackpot. But, I told her. I felt honesty was the best policy, and if she didn’t think I was insane after Abby told her everything, then I figured what could the worst outcome be?
    When I finished telling her everything, right down to the specific ways Doug stood, and talked, and how he pronounced certain words, she just nodded slowly for a few seconds. Finally, she said this:
    “Adrian, that was real. I’m certain of it. That had to have been Doug. Only he would’ve said those things, and the only way you would’ve know we were here was if he told you. If Doug trusted you enough to ask you to help us, then I need to trust you and your people.”
    And that was it. She asked what her living options were, and I told her about the campus, and the dorms, and the area, and after ten minutes of debating the various benefits of each place, she decided that she did not want to be right on campus yet. But, she wanted to grow some vegetables in a garden to help with the food. Lindsey was very concerned about being a burden on us. The best choice, and the safest choice was the farm at the end of Jones Road.
    Think about it Mr. Journal, it’s damn near perfect. It’s more or less on the inside of the