Kill the Dead

She’s not shy. She happily wipes her hands all over my jeans and even kneels down so she can use my cuffs to clean between her fingers. Wish I’d thought of that. “I take it that you don’t know a lot about revenants?” she asks. “I’ve never even seen one until last night.” “Do you know how to kill one?” “I thought I just did.” She shakes her head. “We haven’t killed any of them. Just their brains. The rest of them is still alive and will awaken soon. That’s why it’s pointless to put them in the trash. They will just crawl out. A revenant without a brain can still hold you while others attack and kill. Or bite or scratch you, passing on their disease.” “Okay. How do you kill it?” “The nerves are the key. You must completely destroy its nervous system by ripping out its spine.” I should have stayed home and watched Bedazzled with Kasabian. “I did that to a Hellion once. It peeled all the skin off my fingers and knuckles, and really hurt.” Brigitte makes a “why bother teaching a retard to juggle?” face. “Don’t be stupid. There are tools for it. I don’t have mine with me, but look here.” She takes a broken slat from an orange crate and draws something on the ground. It’s like a spear, but with a kind of claw and long backward-facing barbs on one end, like a hand with the fingers pointing the wrong way. “The Hellion weapon you use. A na’at? Can you shape it into something like that?” “I’ve never tried, but probably. Give me a couple of minutes.” “Don’t take long. Depending on their injuries, revenants will revive in five to ten minutes.” She paces back and forth while I rework the na’at. The clicking of her boots echoes down the alley. She isn’t like the woman I was talking to in the bar. More like a tiger waiting to eat an antelope it took down. “What kind of gun was that?” I ask. “Compressed CO₂, like at an amusement park. Mine is more powerful and fires sharpened silver-coated stainless-steel bolts.” “Why silver?” “It’s not necessary for revenants, but the silver allows you to also use them against verdilacs, beast men, and other undesirables.” “You’ll have to let me try it sometime.” “After you take me to your donut shop.” “Are you really here to get into the movies?” “Of course. I’ve wanted to come to Hollywood for a long time, but I was needed at home. My erotic career was going well. I made money and had ample time to do my family’s real work. Now, though, I’m needed here. It wasn’t hard to get Simon to invite me. I’m going to be in a big-budget Hollywood movie and still have time to do my other work. This is what you call a win-win, yes?” “You think there’s more Drifters out there?” “If there are three here, there are many more. How many is the question. We believe the numbers must be dealt with now before things become intolerable.” “How do you know about all this?”