"Fair enough. So what are these types?"
"At first I went with type names based on function. I saw two main types of function. Those that walked and those that talked. So, previously, that gave an initial pair of walkers and talkers."
The DOA man stepped back as if alarmed. "Talkers?"
"They only come out at night. But I don't really know much about them. No matter how brave I like to think of myself, the moment a talker appears I end up hiding away under some blankets like a child. Have you encountered any talkers?"
The DOA man hesitated. "I try to stay off the streets at night."
"I never really understood why, but that's something that I did as well right from the very start. But early on I once dared to watch the night streets from a balcony. The sound of the talkers drove me to hide indoors."
"Yes. I've not seen a talker up close but I still heard it."
"At first I thought I was going crazy. I heard all these odd whisper noises. But they are clearly trying to communicate."
"Communicate? To whom?"
"I have no idea. I'm hoping that I can explore this somehow and find answers. But the more I think about these talkers the more confused I get. Why do the dead need to talk?"
"You said something about 'previously'."
"Ah yes. I used to have a single group called walkers. But just before you arrived I was thinking about breaking it up into two groups - walkers and dashers - with the functional difference of how those that move during the day being compared to those that move at night."
"A walker and a dasher could be the some creature."
"That's an option that I've got no data on. My definition is based on function. Other descriptive systems are possible."
Dave looked up at the sky. There's was still a decent amount of light but night was still coming fast. "I feel like we have a lot to talk about. How would you like to spend the night here."
The DOA man stood still for a moment. "That's tempting. But I was following a strange migration of walkers."
"They were probably attracted to the shooting."
"I thought that I heard something like that."
Dave pointed down the road to the west. "It all happened just down the road a bit. Being on this roof, I probably was able to hear clearer than yourself."
The DOA nodded. "It's quiet now."
"It only lasted about half a hour. Then there were the sounds of trucks rumbling off south."
"I better go check it out."
"Even though it's over?"
"It's probably safest now, but I want to track this group as soon as possible. If there's a group out there with lots of guns then I'd feel better if I could identify them."
"I was thinking of checking out the scene myself, but I was going to visit it tomorrow. I'm worried that there might be a large crowd of walkers over there. And I don't have anything to deal with them."
"Honestly. I'm a bit overwhelmed by what's happened to give advice. But I am impressed that you're trying to understand what's going on. If it isn't presumptuous of me, do you mind if I ask that you continue with your investigations?"
"I'm not sure how helpful I can be. I'm just brain dead office worker. Sure I had the title of 'analyst', but that was only in the field of business. There's so much about this that is unknown that I can't even begin to frame a starting query."
"You're the first person that I've found who has even begun asking anything. Everyone just seems confused. Maybe there are better qualified people out there, however that's irrelevant if those people are not doing anything. I'd prefer a half-wit doing his best then a genius doing nothing."
"Hey. Are you calling me a half-wit?"
The DOA man laughed. "No. Maybe you lack certain skills, but you have an analytical mind. Just having that way of thinking might be ground breaking."
Dave looked around the empty streets. "Well, it's not like I have anything else to do."
The DOA man nodded. "Well. I got to go."
"Good luck. And be safe."
The DOA man nodded again and reached out a hand towards Dave. "You too."
Dave took the DOA man's hand and gave it a good shake.
The DOA man turned, climbed over the half-wall and onto the ladder. He quickly climbed down the ladder and began walking down the road to the west. He stopped for a moment to give Dave a wave. There was a pause and the DOA man continued walking west while Dave slowly raised the ladder.
Dave looked over to his notepad and muttered to himself: "Better dig out a pen. I got a lot to think about."
* * *
The next morning, with the sun barely on the horizon, Dave finished packing up his gear before having a final look about the rooftop where he had spent the night, checking to see if he had forgotten anything. He walked to the ladder and carefully lowered it while trying to make as little noise as possible. He looked about the streets below and saw nothing of note.
Dave shouldered his backpack and secured its straps. He stepped onto the ladder, climbed down and walked to the front of the store where he had left his bike. He looked about but the stillness was only interrupted by his own presence. He pushed the bike away from the store's wall and into the middle of the road.
He took one last look about before mounting the bike and riding along the road to the west. Dave was curious about the events of yesterday and pushed himself to move faster than he would normally ride. Thankfully the road wasn't obstructed too badly with abandoned vehicles. Although he was moving faster than normal he still made a point to stop himself from being fixated on what was in front of him. Danger could
