Chapter 7: Garrison Oaks

Steve jogs into Garrison Oaks wary of exposure, calls Carolyn, and crosses the threshold without feeling the expected barrier. Inside, he notices dried blood and is soon shadowed by neighborhood dogs led by Thane, a Bernese mountain dog with mismatched eyes. When Steve steps past the first intersection, multiple dogs attack, mauling his arms, leg, and scalp.

At Steve’s screams, Carolyn dispatches “backup”—a male and female lion—that scatter the initial attackers. Disoriented, Steve nearly shoots the lions before Carolyn warns they are allies. He fights through the pack with shaky gunfire, killing several dogs as the lions maul others, but sees dozens more surging down the street, turning the road into a tide of teeth.

Running low on ammo, Steve reloads and limps for the nearest house as the lions hold the line. Urged by Carolyn to get indoors, he reaches a white-brick home, fumbles the door, and slips inside. He then reopens the door to let the injured female and the male lion in, slamming it shut against snapping greyhounds. Outside, a vast pack claws futilely at the door.

Inside, Steve finds curtains drawn, crude cave-like wall paintings, and an oddly staged living room. A cache of water, gauze, antibiotics, and jerky sits ready, suggesting deliberate preparation. An elderly woman with blue lips repeats scripted greetings, and the oblivious mower outside keeps waving, both behaving as if deaf to reality. The lions ignore Steve, the female bleeding but stable, while the pack snarls beyond the door.

Meanwhile at Mrs. McGillicutty’s, Carolyn unplugs the phones and tells David, Jennifer, Margaret, Rachel, and Peter that Steve is disposable and likely doomed for entering a house, whose “dead ones” usually destroy intruders. Privately satisfied, Carolyn departs to “find another American,” concealing that resurrected residents tolerate librarians and that Steve is safer inside as planned.