Katherine

For the second night, Ivan could not sleep; he felt uneasy. In the barn, the cow mooed, and the dog softly yapped and growled, but he was afraid and did not dare bark at the top of his voice. The village had fifty houses left, and his home was on the village's far side.

Ivan got out of bed, crossed himself, checked if the gun was loaded, and went outside. The night was frosty and clear. A light snowdrift blew from the direction of the cemetery. Ivan did not notice anything unusual. A scared dog crawled out of the kennel and howled toward the graveyard. Ivan fired just to be safe. Suddenly, he spotted movement on the left. It seemed like no one... The dog hid in its kennel again. Ivan went back inside, reloaded the gun, and listened.

Quiet... You can't even hear these monsters; they seem to float in the air. Last month, a neighbor's sheep was gnawed on, and the dogs had nothing to do with them—just bones were left behind.

Oh, there, on the road to the cemetery, some spot was moving; it must be the damned ones. That's why the sheep started bleating.

Ivan approached the generator and lifted the lid. The engine is twenty years old; it’s time to buy a new one. But where could he find one? They don't bring in new ones. It was said that several had been brought to the town, but the locals immediately bought them all up. Ivan poured diesel fuel into the generator and checked the oil.

Meanwhile, a suspicious spot on the road began to take shape and then split into smaller parts. Last time, about twenty monsters appeared, and now it's too dark to count them. In the fall, Ivan covered each grave with soil and pressed down with rocks to prevent these monsters from crawling out. Yet, they can still emerge to the surface.

Peter Ivan's former neighbor stands ahead of the zombies. He is somewhat of a leader among them. Even after dying, Peter cannot forgive Ivan, as the grass looks greener in Ivan's garden.

And behind Peter, the former village gossip glides through the air as if on skis. The old witch is probably rushing for news—that's what love for the profession means, in her tattered dress in the frost! Yes, they don't care.

As they approached, Ivan recognized a few more faces but couldn't identify the others. They were probably from the neighboring village. He didn't see his wife, Katherine. Habitually, he worried about where she had gone; later, he realized there was nowhere to go from the cemetery and found her in the crowd.

They came very close; everyone's faces were pale green, their hands stretched out in front, fingers crooked. The dog jumped out in despair, straining against its chain. The cow was about to tear the barn apart, and the henhouse was in chaos. Ivan, though he was prepared for anything, felt scared and shot straight at Peter from ten meters away. The bullets passed through his chest without causing harm. Peter approached from the side and grabbed Ivan by the sleeve.

Ivan rushed to the generator and pulled the starter cord with his free hand. Thank God, the generator sputtered to life, and the floodlight in front of the house illuminated the night. The crowd panicked, surged toward the gate, jostling each other, and hurried out into the dark street. Katherine was the last to leave. She glanced at her husband, her expression either regretful or threatening (there was a reason).

Ivan went to the cow, and she calmed down, peacefully chewing hay. The chickens also quieted down, dozing on a perch. The dog squealed shyly, as if apologizing for his fright.

But Peter did not calm down, and the next night he again pulled his zombie friends out of the graves and led them to the village.

.

Before bed, Ivan left the house to check on the generator. His old army habit involves conducting a technical inspection. He served in the Air Force at a radar station, where daily equipment inspections were mandatory; violating this was regarded as unacceptable negligence, and severe punishments followed. Imagine: a plane is in the air, and suddenly the landing radar fails; either the electricity has gone out, or something has malfunctioned in the electronics. Furthermore, each radar station was equipped with a backup radar and generator, ready to activate instantly in case the primary equipment failed.

But Ivan did not have such a backup system. He scolded himself for it every time, but never got around to doing it: either the generators were unavailable, he spent the money he had saved, or he was too lazy. The system worked fine; Ivan went to bed.

He heard a dog bark in his sleep, but it didn’t happen again, and he closed his eyelids. A couple of minutes later, he finally woke up from the mooing in the barn and the panicked clucking of the hens. He ran out onto the porch with an unloaded gun.

A mauled dog lay near the kennel, but the gate was closed. He heard Peter's laughter behind him. Ivan rushed to the generator, but Peter was already waiting there.

The rest of the zombies came out from behind the bushes. Peter grabbed him by the left sleeve: "Nice to see you again, neighbor?" he hissed, baring his fangs in a smile. Ivan crossed himself with his free hand and grabbed the generator's starting cord, but Peter caught his hand.

Ivan shoved Peter aside and yanked the cord. Something inside the generator clicked and creaked, but that was it. The searchlight didn't flash.

Peter did not loosen his grip; his yellow fangs, capable of gnawing through a sheep's throat in a minute, were ready to sink into Ivan's neck.

Ivan froze, unable to move like a mouse in front of a cobra. Suddenly, the monster's fingers weakened, and he let go of Ivan. Peter himself began to squat down on the ground.

It was Katherine who came up from behind, sank her fangs into Peter's leg, saving her husband.

Only she could save him, and who else could do anything with zombies? Only zombies like them can. Katherine turned around and slid through the snowdrifts back to the cemetery.

And Ivan shouted after her,” Kate, forgive me for hitting you. I was jealous of you, Kate. Forgive me for driving the car into a pole. It was so dark, trust me, I didn't drink much”.

She just waved her hand indifferently. Zombies don't care.

On Saturday, Ivan went to town to buy a generator. As expected, no generators were available, but he met the saleswoman, Gail, whom he found intriguing. He started calling her in the evenings; she could talk about many topics that women typically don't, such as fishing, generators, and football.

One day, Gail called to say that three generators had arrived—modern ones with a start button instead of a cord. She mentioned she could leave one for him, but he needed to come and pick it up urgently before the store owner found out.

Ivan arrived the next day and picked up the generator and Gail. Gail started living with him. They soon decided to get married. The wedding was small (you can call it a party) with a few neighbors and relatives from both sides. People left early.

By the middle of the night, guests from the cemetery arrived. Peter limped along at the back of the group, while Katherine led the uninvited visitors. They walked openly, entered through the gate, and headed straight for the generator. They cordoned off the generator, making the button unreachable. Katherine broke away from the group and approached Gail, arms outstretched, and fangs bared. Gail jumped into the car and, crashing through the fence, sped onto the road. Since then, no one has seen her around. Ivan remains in his house.

Katherine visits her husband whenever she misses him. Everyone has grown accustomed to her, and no one fears her.