The mother shrieked when he son was propelled toward her, she dropped the plank and pulled her son's head toward her, cradling his body. Why wasn't he crying, or screaming in terror? He had been half asleep and dazed the entire time the undead held him, but now that he was free, he should have been hysterical. Lucia peered down at him and finally noticed the thin trickle of blood above his ear. "No, no." She sobbed, shaking the boy. "Alexi, wake up please!" she moaned. She slapped his face firmly, trying to get any reaction. His eyes remained closed. Frantically she searched the ground around her. Lying slightly off-side the road, exactly where her son's head had been, was a lost wagon wheel, partially overgrown with weeds and partially buried in the dirt. Sticking from the wagon wheel