Still Peckin

 "Now, fellas, I know Miriam ain't lookin' as good as she used to, but callin' her an abomination is just mean." 

"She's dead, Jeb." The man at the front of the mob said. It was the corner store owner, Owen. 

"She ain't never been more alive. I ain't seen her run around the yard like this in years." 

"No, I mean, she died last month. Now she's an undead corpse walkin' the Earth. It ain't right, Jeb. Look at her. She's eating a chicken." Owen pointed behind Jeb. A woman with rotting flesh in a sundress, was eating a live hen. The chicken was furiously pecking at her face.

"Well, who in the Hell don't like themselves some good chicken?!" Jeb declared.

"Not when it's still peckin'!" A voice from the back yelled.

"Well...it's our chickens! What we doin' with them is our business. It ain't like we hurtin' any of y'all."

"She ain't the Henley's dog yesterday." Owen said.

"Now, you can't prove that." Jeb heard Miriam heave. He turned toward her in time to see a red collar fall out of her mouth. "...um." 

Owen eyed him condescendingly. "Look, Jeb, we get it. When Miriam passed you got upset and consulted with evil powers to bring her back. We let you grieve in your own way. Sure, we thought it was weird when all of a sudden you started reading a bunch of books bound in human flesh-"

"I didn't even know you COULD read, Jeb," old woman Annette said, while cradling her ax.

"The point is," Owen continued. "This isn't really your wife. It's just her body with some evil kinda spirit in it. It's terrorizing the town. It's just animals now, but how long until she attacks a person?"

"She done ate Pastor Dave!" Loretta shouted , waving a rolling pin. Owen glared at her.

"Loretta," Owen said in a harsh tone. "Don't you think you should have told someone that? Had I known she'd ate the preacher, I probably could've LED with that?!" 

"I don't have to listen to this! I'm leavin'!" Loretta said and stormed. Just as she had left the crowd the rain opened up on the small town folk. The torches went out, and the crowd's feet started to sink into mud.

"Hey, Owen," the local mailman said. "I...I think I'mma gonna call it quits. I see ya tomorrow."

As he started to walk away the crowd started to murmur and shamble back to their homes. Owen took one last flabbergasted look at Jeb, before walking off.

Jeb turns to look at Miriam.

"All right now honey. Let's get you inside. 'Sides, the wheel is on." Together they walked into their home.