Ascension

Max thought about that for a moment and responded, 'You seem to be making a case for leaving Sentry alive.'

'You haven't met him. The man is deranged; something went wrong with him when he turned. He killed, as far as we can tell, all the first zombies he created. But there is a rumor…'

'Alright, I'll bite, a rumor of what?'

'That he wasn't the first zombie.'

'What?' Max shouted, 'You have got to be fucking with me! I'm coming all this way, leaving my family and this tool isn't even the guy I need to be looking for?'

'It's just a rumor. He made me in his clinic and the oldest zombies there weren't that old, but it was whispered that Sentry wasn't the first. One of us who could use the computers in his office, found evidence that there were experiments on prisoners…and others before Sentry came along.'

'How did it start?'

Aubrey shrugged, 'Hell if I know. But the rumor is that Sentry killed the first zombie after being bitten.'

'So that doesn't help us, if the first guy is dead…'

'Wait, let me finish. The first zombie didn't just infect Sentry, he infected someone else too. A cop of some sort.'

'So Sentry has a sibling, how does that work?'

'Well affecting a lessor zombie is easy, no matter who it belongs to. Affecting someone more powerful is dicey, even if you are more stronger than they are. Siblings are altogether different, some are worse than your parent zombie, some are easier. I don't know why. But I did a few experiments on my own in Chicago and I know it is true.'

'So finding this guy, if he can be found, is a crapshoot.'

'I think I know who it is.' said Aubrey.

'Yeah, who? And how did you find that out?'

'I found it out by getting a list of the security detail from the clinic, it was a short list. Everyone thought it was a guy named 'Gabe', one of the first children created by Sentry. But I met Gabe, briefly, before he was sent somewhere in the Far East. I think he is the only one of the first group to survive and I think that is why Sentry sent him halfway across the world. The other guards I ran down one by one, talking to people and putting together a picture of who I could confirm was dead. The only one missing was someone named Dan. Daniel Gears.'

'And where is mister Gears?'

'I don't know.'

'Gosh, I wouldn't have guessed that. So I have to find one guy, who may or may not help me, in the entire fucking world? He could be anywhere!'

Aubrey shrugged, 'No. You got it wrong Max, I'm just throwing you that in case you can find him. It is one of three things I am working on right now. You, finding Dan and one other thing that I am saving as my ace in the hole.'

'Why do you want me?'

'I want to know what your plans are. Maybe I can help. We both want the same thing.'

Max laughed. 'Oh, that's awesome. I'm one of your three methods of attack and you don't even know what I am doing! What the hell, if I don't tell you, you'll just beat it out of me, won't you?'

The look Aubrey gave him was reproachful, but she nodded. 'I have a need to know.'

'We're going old school sister. We brought a bomb to blow the motherfucker up.'

'Not a beacon? You're not going to call down an airstrike?'

'No, it's a bomb. Although it wouldn't surprise me if it doesn't do jack shit. The guy who gave it to me has a history of honesty impairment.'

This earned him a puzzled look from Aubrey.

'The guy is some sort of Special Forces bad ass. He doesn't think much of me and frankly the feeling is mutual. He headed to Washington to see if he could rescue any parts of the old government there.' said Max.

'Then you won't be seeing him again.' said Aubrey shaking her head.

'I hope not. In my nightmares I see him is as a super zombie, and I think I've only ever been lucky dealing with your kind so far.'

With a smile Aubrey said, 'I'll take luck. We're going to need it. So now that I know what you are doing I can help.'

'How?'

'I know the roads are clear, but there are going to be checkpoints as you get into Florida. Sentry may be crazy, but he has some sense. I can clear the checkpoints away for you. I can keep the zombies away from you when you need to sleep.'

'I don't think the people I am travelling with would care to have you with us.'

'Oh Max, you're such a joy! I can't travel with you! I have other things to take care of. You'll never see me at all.'

'Well that will make things easier, but what am I supposed to tell the people I'm with about the roads being clear?'

'Tell them what you want. Just go fast, things are coming to a head more quickly than I would like. I hope your bomb is bigger than a bunch of hand grenades.'

'It is, by a pretty large magnitude, if it works.'

'I tracked you in Chicago, you know. It looked like your group was avoiding the zombies I sent after you. When I spoke to Jimbo he said Red told him stories about you too, that you could see us with your mind.'

Max said nothing.

'I know that humans get something when they kill us. I don't know what it is, but Ella, she was that woman the old guy with you killed in Chicago was human.'

'I know, I could tell.'

'So you do have some sort of sight, I knew it. You can tell who is human and who is dead, can't you? I can do the same thing.'

'That's…not comforting. I don't think I like being able to see things the way you do.'

'I think I have greater range than you, close to four hundred miles.'

Max shook his head, 'I can't go that far, not even close.'

'But you have other abilities don't you?'

'Not that I've noticed.'

'Ella was fast and healed quickly, her eyesight was improved, her other senses were sharper. But she seemed to go rotten after she reached a certain point. She was sex crazed and wanted blood like a zombie.'

'Could you control her like a zombie?' asked Max, thinking about that made his skin crawl.

'No, but she said she was starting to be able to boss around the lessor zombies around us. I'm glad she is dead. She was annoying. So Max, when you look at me, what do you see?'

For the first time since he met her, Max engaged his secondary vision and looked at Aubrey and her companions. He was surprised and Aubrey read the look on his face with satisfaction.

'I think I know what you see.' Aubrey said smugly, 'Or rather, what you are not seeing with your mind's eye.'

'I don't see anything.' Max said, concentrating on getting a mental picture of the woman sitting less than a foot away from him, 'You're off my radar completely!'

'Good. I hope it works against Sentry as well as it does against you. Now we have to get you back to your friends.'

'Just drop me off at the campground. I doubt they've left yet.'

Aubrey tilted her head sideways and looked at Max closely, 'Can you see them?'

'No. They are out of range…'

'So your range is shorter than I thought, we're only a couple miles from where they picked you up.'

'But we walked all morning!' protested Max.

'Didn't you keep an eye on them as you went?'

Shaking his head Max said, 'It doesn't work like that. I have to focus, unless they are really close.'

'So try now. If it helps they are over in that direction.' Aubrey pointed into the woods.