35 Chapter 35: The Autumn People, Part 4

She was strapped to a chair, staring with dead eyes at the television set, along with ten other zombies. I wondered if that was the cruelest punishment of all, having to stare at the idiot box day in and day out. Her hair was silky, like a baby's. Her mouth had a tiny grin frozen on it. It gave her pitted cheeks dimples, as if she were a middle-aged Cabbage Patch doll.

"Hi, Mom," I said. The demented gnome in the chair next to her chirped, "Help me, help me," over and over, her jaw slack, her eyes blank. No one paid any attention to her. I wished she would shut the fuck up.

"Well, Mom, I'll be here with you soon," I said. I pulled an empty chair over, and sat down. I glanced at the television, chewing my tongue absentmindedly. "I guess I'd better catch up on the story, huh?"