Discovery

“What?”

“Amelia! We were talking about if we even were going out here to meet these guys and she turned it into an argument about her not going into danger, which sidetracked the whole argument, now look where we are. You and her must be pretty pleased with yourselves!” Max could tell she wasn't angry, if anything she seemed to grudgingly respect what Amelia had done. For Max's part he hadn't even noticed what had happened.

“I don't think that is what she did, I mean not on purpose.”

“Yeah, look where we are when the vote to go or not was tied. She subverted the democratic process. I tell you what if I get a clear shot at the zombie and it doesn't say exactly the friendly words I want to hear, I am plugging it.”

“Just let me talk to it first if I can.”

The two started walking down the paved road towards the waiting zombie.

“Waving your arms at each other might not mean anything. Or it could be a new age zombie trick to lure in hapless innocents.”

“We are not 'hapless innocents'.”

“I bet everyone thinks that, then…wham! You come to dead with your head deep inside your former best friend's guts.”

“Always the optimist. Okay you stay here, let me go up another thirty feet or so and call down to it.”

Max proceeded alone down the moon lit county road. He stayed near the dashed lines painted in the middle of the road and kept his shotgun aimed close, but not quite dead on to where the zombie was waiting. Once he reached the zombie's position on the road he turned towards it and called out.

Chapter 16

The human came forward, the delicious swirling colors that made up its body was a joy to behold, but not one that drove Red out of his mind with hunger anymore.

“Hello down there in the corn.” the guy called.

Was he the one? Would he care about what happened? Would he understand what Red wanted to tell him?

“I can see you fine there you know. I know you can hear me.”

Watching the two humans have sex on the porch a mile away had been fascinating. Their bodies had intertwined and glowed brighter during the coupling it had just about driven Hugh, the weakest of the trio, into a feeding frenzy. At first Red hadn't known what they were doing, after a moment's shock he figured it out. Then he laughed with the other two and sat down to watch the show. The three of them were much too far away to seen the details of what was going on, but the glow, it was a steady brightness that only grew larger as they proceeded. Red was caught up in his thoughts about it again when the man on the road called down a third time, “Did you want to talk?”

“Sorry.” Red called out as the man started to turn away. “Don't go. I want to talk.” And so the die is cast, he thought to himself, this is my pawn in the great game of someone else's making.

The man on the road seemed to hesitate, then turned back, “So, talk. Who are you?”

“My friends call me 'Red'. And you?”

“My name is Max.”

“Pleased to meet you Max. Where are you headed?”

“Away from here. East. I hope to run into a place where there aren't any zombies.”

“Right. How far east you plan on going. I can tell you the east coast is gone.”

“Excuse me for asking, but how do you know that?”

“I just do. You have time for a story Max, you and your friend?”

“Maybe. I am supposed to find out what you want, the others are not so keen on talking. Talking…that hasn't worked out well in the past.”

“Not with other zombies maybe, but not all of us are like that anymore.”

The man seemed relieved, “Yeah that is what I thought. We ran into one guy, well, he didn't want to fight with us, but there was another, more powerful zombie making him fight.”

Good, thought Red, he already knows something, this might not be as bad as I thought.

“You still talking?” Max asked after twenty or so seconds went by.

“Yeah. Sorry, I can get distracted at times. I am trying to figure out what to say to you.”

“Well I am not going anywhere, we plan on camping out here as long as we can.”

“That wouldn't be a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“There are a bunch of zombies coming this way from Colorado and Wyoming.”

“How do you know? Or is this another question you don't have any proof for?”

Angry, Red thought, he is so angry. Then again so am I. “Max I didn't do this and I didn't want any of this to happen. It was not my plan and I am fighting against it as best I can. Some things you are going to have to trust me a little about, but in this situation I can provide proof. How did you see me?”

“I…I just spotted you across the field.”

“You didn't and I know you didn't. Not at night while I was three rows deep in the corn and half a mile away. You've killed a lot of zombies haven't you?”

Max was quiet, Red thought he was trying to decide what to say, finally he spoke again, “Okay, yeah, I have and I can kind of see zombies from a long way off now.”

“A useful talent and I took a guess that you had it after you reacted how you did on the porch over there.”

“How long were you there?”

“Long enough.”

“And you just watched us?” Max said with some anger.

“I didn't want to intrude. How as I to know you could see us? Don't worry our vision isn't that great, we knew you were there, but couldn't see much in the way of what you were doing, the corn is too high.”

“So you can see, well, I don't know what to call, life force?”

“I suppose, I see a colorful swirling of blood coursing through living tissue. It is wonderful, the most exciting and beautiful thing I have ever seen and it is in every living person. I, well 'we' really, I have two companions with me, wouldn't have seen anything, except the….what you were doing, seemed to make the colors brighter and more intense. Like a beacon.”

“Shit. It drew the zombies from Colorado here?” Max asked a little confused.

Red laughed, “No. Sorry. No. It wasn't that big or bright. More like anything a mile away could see it. How far out can you detect us?”

“That is about my maximum range too. Your friends are within range and I can sense the edges of town without any effort. If I concentrate I can see into parts of town. I have to concentrate to see you, it isn't like I just do it.”

“Well that might not be far enough to prove my point. Try casting your mind's eye further west. Do you see anything?”

The man concentrated, then seemed to stagger under an invisible blow. Behind him the woman holding the shotgun fired into the corn field a pellet winged Red in the arm, even though he dodged. The woman was fast.

“Fuck you!” she screamed firing repeated into the field where Red was moving around.

“Stewart!” Max called out, “Stop! Stop! It wasn't him!”