Georgi was eyeing Neil up and down like she was trying to figure out what to do with him.
“Thanks for bringing him back,” she said finally.
“You’re welcome,” replied Neil.
There was another pause of silence that was, again, broken by drunken noises coming from the cabin.
“Where are my manners?” said Georgi. “Would you like a drink or something to eat? I was about to make some dinner.”
She gave him one more hard look and nodded before continuing. “I look forward to you telling us how you came to find Randy.” She turned and walked toward the treehouse. "Alex, come help me cook dinner!”
Alex climbed down and gave Neil a sideways glance as she trotted over to her mother. They began dinner while Rosemarie looked over her car, trying to salvage what she could.
“Oh God! It is terrible!” she exclaimed as she looked at the interior.
“I tried to pull over before he lost it," Neil said as he walked up beside her. His nose scrunched up as he came into view of the backseat.
“That fucking lunatic,” Rosemarie growled.
“You know, he doesn’t like it when you call him crazy. He complained about that and about you calling him stupid,” Neil added.
“Well that idiot is crazy,” she spun around to face him. “And a thief! He stole my car and vandalized it!”
“It’s just a car,” he shrugged. “Get a new one. There are dozens of them out there with the keys still in them.” He walked to the driver side, reached in, and popped the trunk. “Clean this one out or take an empty one. Either way you’ll only use it until the gas runs out and then it’s just a hunk of metal.”
Rosemarie stared at him with crossed arms.
Neil pulled out his backpack and tossed it on his shoulders. “So you’re in some sort of environmental studies?” He asked as he picked up one of her books.
“Landscape Architecture,” Rosemarie answered.
“You landscapes yards?”
“I don’t landscape yards, I’m a designer. I design outdoor living spaces,” she snapped.
“You design yards,” he smiled.
“More than just yards,” she uncrossed her arms. “Landscape Architects deal with conservation, safety, sustainability, and regenerative environmental design. We don’t just design’s yard, we design parks and natural systems. We try to duplicate nature and amend the damage of poor design. We’re educators and stewards of the earth.”
“Take it easy, Moonflower,” he chuckled. “I was just asking.”
“And I was just answering,” she walked over and took her book from him.
Rosemarie got a glimpse of the state of her trunk. The books were still there, but they were buried under a lot of weird stuff.
“What is all this?” she asked.
She dug through the junk that covered her books. She counted five machetes, several bundles of rope, camouflage outerwear, a slingshot, a few pool noodles, and a jumbo pack of glitter.
“Part of your friend’s scavenger hunt?” Neil said.
She massaged her temples. “I don’t even want to know.”
“Maybe he’s planning on having a party,” he said as he picked up a machete. “His guests of honor might not be into the party favors though”
“You mean the z-,” Rosemarie stopped herself.
“Zombies,” he finished. “You can say it. It’s not going to draw them out of the woods if you do.”
“I don’t think that.” She took the machete, put it back in the trunk, and closed it.
“Then say it,” he said. “Say that there’s a zombie infestation.”
“You know, I don’t think there is.” She put her hand on her hip. “I’ve only seen the one...well...maybe two. That’s hardly an infestation.”
“You haven’t been in the more populated areas. There’s tons of them.”
She shivered at the thought. “Whatever, I think I hear Georgi calling us,” she said, turning on her heels and headed to the makeshift kitchen.
“They’re nothing to be afraid of,” he called after her. “They run out of steam easily and can’t keep up.”
“This is not polite dinner conversation,” Rosemarie hissed as they neared.
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