Ascension

that struck the thing in the side of the head, crushing its skull and flinging bits of brain and both eyes to the mud when his hand passed through it.

Both of the remaining zombies looked like they wanted to run, but Red couldn't risk having them turned by Ramey and used against him. The zombies saw no mercy in him, even as their eyes pleaded that they had no choice. Both jumped him at the same time, hindering each other more than helping and Red grabbed on by a flailing arm and spun, letting go when the zombie was swinging towards the river. The zombie sailed out over the water and hit the concrete support twenty feet off shore, it dropped like a misshapen, white sack of flesh, no longer resembling a human body. The last zombie had fallen after making the poorly timed jump and swung his legs around to sweep Red's feet out from under him. Red was not quick enough to dodge and fell on his thigh in the slippery mud. Both scrabbled to their feet and stood facing each other. Ramey ran up firing his gun, at the same time he grabbed ahold of Red's mind, trying to pin his opponent in place to make a head shot possible. Red was surprised at the ferocity of the mental attack.

'I shoulda known he would be a fast learner.' Red thought to himself as Ramey slowed down his reactions. Bullets walked up Red's body, the last of which smashed through his adam's apple and blew out his spinal column, dropping him like a rock. Red fell on his back and lay there looking up as Ramey and his remaining zombie approached.

'I guess if you want something done you just gotta do it yourself.' Ramey said, coming into Red's view. 'Look Ed, he's a twitcher!'

Pointing at Red's body with his gun he continued, 'How long until you heal that up? A minute? Less? Probably. More if I do this.' Ramey pointed his gun at Red's neck and let loose with full burst, then another, he fired until his magazine was empty, then reloaded.

Red felt like his head was severed, his body was not even shaking anymore and he had no feeling anywhere.

'I could kill you now. But I am going to make you wish you were dead instead.'

Red's perspective changed, he was being lifted, but both Ramey and the other zombie were standing there unmoving, 'The bastard is using his telekinesis on me. Goddamn it, what is my special power?'

'Red, did you know that your body will grow back? Look at Leslie over there, you did a number on her, but she will be okay. For her though, well she will come back a little less powerful, she loses something, but zombies at our level, we don't lose anything. If I were to walk away right now, you would be right as rain in a day or two. I've seen it. I've experimented with other stubborn assholes like you. Why, I let one guy grow out three times and he seemed pretty much the same to me even after that. I think I will keep you somewhere safe, somewhere I can continue my research. Will you be the same after a hundred times? I mean, think about it, is that even possible? Physically, it makes no sense; you don't need any sustenance, so where does this power come from?'

Red croaked a reply, but his throat was still too mangled to make a response.

'Shhh. Shhh. Don't talk.' Ramey said, putting one finger on Red's lips, 'I know you're grateful now that I haven't killed you-that you think you will figure out a way to overcome me and still win. And you might have, with your ability to block me out mentally. But you won't and in the end I will get inside you and figure out what you did, then I can do it too. Then Aubrey and I are going to set down and have a little chat. Oh that's right you don't know Aubrey do you? She was sent to Chicago along with James and me. Much like you and old what's his name went to Denver. Don't worry about that now, no you just rest. Bring him Ed.'

Feeling was returning to Red, and that feeling was pain. He wanted to scream as his body healed itself, it felt like a million burrowing insects were making tunnels into his brain, involuntarily he grunted and his control slipped, causing Ramey to jerk his head around and stare at him again.

'I felt that. Hurts a bit doesn't it. Don't worry, it gets worse and when it does I will be here to get inside.'

Red felt Ramey pounding on his mental defenses, scouring them for a weakness as the pain built up. Everything stopped for a moment, a moment that expanded into infinity as the battle of wills went on. Finally, irrevocably Red's shields broke, unleashing a torrent of pain and anguish.

Ramey screamed in triumph as he poured into the hole in Red's mind, Ed almost dropped Red's body in surprise. Ramey started ransacking through Red's very being, this was not the smooth, measured hand that Jimbo had, but a heavy, hamfisted bludgeoning that added to Red's pain.

Then abruptly, it all stopped. Red felt the hold in his defenses snap shut and he felt calm and warm, there was no pain…deep in his mind Ramey screamed.

'Let me out! Let me…out!' A massive attack hit the inside of Red's defenses, but rebounded like a bird hitting a plate glass window. Momentarily knocked senseless, Ramey fell into the abyss of Red's mind, not even struggling to find a way out. Red used this time to open his physical eyes and see what was going on. His body was falling. Ramey was laying on the ground twitching as Red fell, a furry blur leaped on the body and started savaging it. Ed was still standing, but his arms were limp at his sides as Red hit the ground. This time Red fell sideways, with his view facing parallel to the river, upstream. Three figures were slowly making their way towards him.

The pain from regenerating was suppressed, and Red knew who was helping him now. Clearing his repaired throat was a struggle, but he managed, spitting out a glob of coagulated blood, he asked, 'What took you so long?'

Jimbo laughed.

Chapter 5 — Whatever happened in Nebraska?

'How is he?' Jimbo asked Red.

'Mad, angry and Insane, that kind of mad. I don't think he realizes what's happened to him yet.'

There were nine zombies, sitting under the bridge. They had moved over to firm ground to get off the mud, but all of them were still a mess. Bobby was the worst, but that was just from playing in the river. Five zombies from Ramey's crew were under the bridge with them. Sue and Chuck had come down after the fight and the two Red had injured severely were also present. The woman, with a half formed body and squeaky voice, was named Nina. The man Red had throat shot was named Leonard. They had Ramey's body too, it would twitch once in a while, but aside from those unpredictable movements it could have been the corpse it looked like.

'The active calling stopped.' Sue said. She was referring to the constant call for them to come east, to keep moving east at all costs. The signal had ceased after one last powerful urge for them to head that direction. Most of the less advanced zombies were still heading that direction, the nine under the bridge were able to resist the call to keep moving.

'I noticed that.' Red said, concentrating on pushing what was left of Ramey down into a little hole in his mind.

'You okay?' Jimbo asked.

'I don't know. You didn't tell me this could happen.'

'I didn't know.'

'I still don't get it. What happened to Ramey?' asked Chuck.

'He tried to push into my mind, you know the feeling, I watched him do it to you. He pushed in and I got this idea that maybe I should let him. Only I imagined it was like he was trying to force a door open and I put a pit behind the door. A pit with a lid. Then I let him in past the door and he fell into the pit and I slammed the lid shut. That's the best analogy I can come up with.'

'So he isn't dead again?' Chuck said.

Red shook his head, 'I don't think so.' Red pointed at Ramey's body, 'I think I could let him back out and he would go back. I just don't know if I should.'

'What if his body was dead? Where would he go?'

'Hell if I know. Jimbo?'