It was extra dry in the peak of summer that year. Jessie and me had been itching to go gigging so we got up earlier than the birds, put on our waders, and popped on down the hill to the swamp. We hiked that trail almost every week, so it was easy going through the pines and the moon was still so fat and high so we didn't even need to use our flashlights. Jessie and me are chatterboxes so we scared all the critters from a ways away, no big scary bears for our hike!
We got down to the edge of the swamp and stopped talkin at the same time so's not to scare the bullfrogs. We waded around for a couple hours, until dawn came and the bucket was pretty full, sure good enough for supper anyways. Then, as we usually did, Jessie and me sat down by the edge of the swamp and watched the sunrise while eatin a couple rolls and a tin of sardines between us. I'd recently discovered hot sauce, so we were enjoying the heck outta that for sure that mornin.
Me and Jessie weren't rich and weren't poor, our moms both had jobs up at the hospital. My mom was a receptionist and hers was a nurse. That's how we met in the first place, at the hospital daycare. We'd been thick as thieves ever since. "The 'Seprables", that's what they called us, our moms and the kids at school. We neither one of us minded — frankly we didn't give a hoot what anyone else thought — we just enjoyed one another's company. Until about half an hour after breakfast when we found the bodies. Spose we should start where it started.
So there we were, after eatin and tidying up our kit. We were chatterin as usual, I was talkin about frogs when Jessie just stood up all of a sudden, her upturned nose pointed directly off the trail along with her gaze. "You see that, Willy?" She pointed off into the swamp. I shook my head, I didn't see nothin but water and grass. "Well come on then, I saw somethin over there, let's go look." She plonked down on her butt and started pulling her waders back on. I grouched a little for fun while pullin mine on too. No matter what it did or didn't turn out to be, I always followed Jessie's nose.
So we slogged out a ways, probably not more'n a couple meters. We took care, poking sticks in the mud at the bottom even though the water was really clear that day, and it took us a good couple minutes til we got to this nice little semi-shaded pool which seemed a lot deeper than the rest of the water judging by the darkness of it. That's when we both saw what Jessie had said she seen from the shore. Two women, just floating beneath the surface, deader'n doornails.
We were both silent for a minute, both of us stunned. "Ain't that... Ms. Moon?" I said, finally, pointing at the lady I recognized. Ms. Moon had been our schoolteacher up til she just up and disappeared a couple years back. Jessie nodded, her brown cheeks almost cream, her eyes wide. "Well who's that then?" I pointed at the lady with her arms all up and weird around her neck. Jessie started sobbing and fell to her knees in the muck, spluttering as the water splashed around her face. "No, seriously Jess, who the hell is that and what the hell is goin on? You know her?" She didn't say anything, just kept sobbing.
I couldn't get anything out of her for hours. Had to pick her up almost, push her back up the trail to the house. It ain't fun hiking in soggy clothes and it's less fun when yer pushin a zombie, but she was my best friend in the whole world and there's no way in hell I'd abandon her, ever.
She had stopped sobbing long ago, almost as soon as I got her out of the water, but she hadn't said nothin since. Then, round noon, I brought her some lemonade and sat down next to her on my favorite chaise lounge next to hers. Then, outta nowhere Jessie piped up with, "Don't say nothin' Willy."
I hadn't said nothin so I kept on not sayin nothin, I knew this trick already, so I thought. "You ever hear about my momma?" Jessie asked. I shook my head, confused, I knew her mom, of course. "Well, you thinkin you know my momma now cuz we grew up knowin each other through our mommas, but my momma aain't my momma. My momma's back in that..." She pointed downhill. "...and I didn't know about it til just now." She paused, waiting. I stared at her, also waiting. "Oh, you can talk now."
I didn't say a word.
