Dave sat and watched Josh slowly get to Josh's stretcher bed and sit in it. They hadn't made much sound while walking, but when they sat there was a bit of a rustling noise from their sleeping bags. Dave hoped that nothing had heard them. And for a few moments there was nothing.
"I hear you," said a voice from Charlie's direction.
Dave and Josh stared wide-eyed at each other in near dark. Both were frozen in place with terror.
"Why did you do this to my servant?" asked the voice.
Neither Dave nor Josh dared to answer that question. It was likely that they weren't in any state to answer any questions at that point.
"Come to me," spoke the voice. "I just want to talk."
For a few more minutes the soft voice called out and was then silent. Dave and Josh didn't dare move. There was a crunching noise that sounded like someone walking on top of a car. A loud thump that sounded like someone jumping onto the ground. More silence. Then silence upon silence.
It might have been ten minutes or it might have been a hour. Neither Dave nor Josh spoke. Eventually Dave took off his shoes and slid into his sleeping bags and struggled with falling asleep. He didn't expect a peaceful sleep. He just wanted any sleep. Hopefully a sleep to ease his razor sharp nerves.
Josh also took his shoes off and then seemed to spend a few moments thinking. Then he got into his sleeping bag.
* * *
The next morning Dave woke up and noticed Josh sitting on his stretcher. Dave stood up and walked out of the hut. Josh followed. The sun was peeking above the horizon as the pair walked to the northern end of the roof and looked down at Charlie. Yellow, palm sized marks were forming on the skin of the tied up walker.
"What a night," said Josh.
Dave looked worn out. "It's going to be tough getting anything done today."
"I'll make up some walkways for getting around the walls easier."
"Don't forget about setting up some ladders out the back."
"Is that still a thing?" asked Josh. "I like what we did with our current setup. This roof isn't all that high up - if we need to escape just lower yourself over one edge of the roof and drop down. After last night I don't like the idea of having a way for anything to climb the walls. That why I want to veto a ladder that can reach us up here."
Dave rubbed his face. "Those talkers are something else."
Josh looked thoughtful. "I never really encountered them before. At least not close enough to hear them like that. It was really easy to make out what he was saying."
"I can't say that I've confronted one myself. I've only seen one from a distance, and that was certainly enough to do me in."
"Are you sure that they are dead?"
"What do you mean?"
"We kind of have an understanding of how the walkers and dashers work. A living human is killed by a walker. The now dead human heals up and becomes a walker. At night the walkers become dashers. When the morning comes the dashers become walkers. So where do the talkers come from?"
"I've only heard the talkers at night. So maybe they are a form of the walkers. Most walkers become dashers, but some become talkers."
"And how is that distinction come around? Why do only a few walkers become talkers at night?"
"I have to admit that I'm not a fan of the idea of something happening because of randomness. Maybe it depends on the health of the walker? Only the strongest walkers can become talkers."
"Or the talkers don't come from the walkers."
"Where do they come from? I haven't seen anything to signal that you can make a walker without first killing a person. You have to be dead to be a walker. At least that's the assumption that I'm working with."
"What I'm getting at is that maybe the talkers never died."
Dave stood up straight with shock. "Are you say that the talkers are alive?"
"That would be a way to keep our understanding consistent. The walkers and dashers swap back and forth. The talkers come from people who are alive."
"That's pretty wild."
"I'm surprised that you didn't think of it. You seemed to be trying to keep an open mind."
Dave gestured toward Charlie. "I guess that I'm a bit distracted right now."
"Are you trying to prepare yourself for later?"
"I probably would have been okay if it hadn't been for that talker last night."
"And here's me thinking that I was the most affected."
"I think that we were both a bit done in by it. So I'll keep today's goal simple."
"Nothing wrong with taking it easy."
"I wish that I could, but for some reason I feel so pushed for time."
"Purpose is like that. It's rarely a continuously shining light in the sky leading the lost to the land of plenty. Some days it's strong, other days it almost fades away. Motivation is overrated. Self-discipline is the way to go. Besides, what could you be doing that has you so down?"
"I'm going to cut Charlie's legs off."
"Oh. That would do it."
"No point delaying. Let's get right to it."
"It will take a moment to get a fire going before we can cook breakfast."
"Don't bother - I'll be skipping breakfast. I've never done anything like this before. I won't be surprised if I throw up all over the place."
* * *
Dave sat on top of the bus which made up the wall nearest to Charlie and watched Josh with interest. On the way the pair had stopped in the arts and craft store and picked up some tools. Mostly it was some basic safety equipment - an air filter mask, some protective glasses and a waterproof apron. They had even found a full sized axe, although the pair couldn't understand how such an axe could be used in the arts. Josh
