"You." Katie said, not believing what she was seeing.
"Huh?"
"You were at the Art Institute in Chicago. You were with the guy who could see zombies."
"Uh, yeah. How'd you know that?"
"I was on the building across the street, I saved your ass."
The old man cocked his head to one side, still half behind the door frame, and he nodded, as if listening to some inner advice. "That was you? On the building across the street?"
"Me and my partner were there. What in God's name are you doing here?"
"They sent us to kill this guy. My name's Ruben. And you?"
"I'm Katie. I am pleased to meet you, but with things being as they are, I don't think I want to shake your hand or get too close to you." Katie said, thinking Ruben was a zombie.
"That's understandable. How did you get here?"
A whispery voice belonging to Randy said, "That is the question, isn't it?"
Ruben cocked his head sideways and looked at the spot in the room where Katie thought Randy's voice had originated from.
"You heard that?" she asked him.
"I heard something. What was that?" Ruben asked.
"My partner, he's not quite dead, more like a ghost. His name is Randy. He comes and goes."
"I've heard of stranger things." Ruben said with a straight face. "Now I don't think we have a lot of time, but I was supposed to come here and meet you. I….have a message for you."
"What?"
"It's short. I don't know what it means."
"Who is it from?"
"God." The old man shrugged, "Or at least I think it is, do you want the message or not?"
"No." came Randy's whispery voice.
"Yes." Katie said.
"He is right. That's it. Now I have to go, but we are on the same side and if you see me or Bill or Javier or Max, please don't shoot us."
"What do you mean 'He is right'?"
"I don't make the messages; I just deliver 'em." Ruben hefted the backpack he was carrying and pulled a can of beer from the top flap, he set it on the floor and rolled it towards Katie, it stopped against her knee. He pulled another out and cracked it open and took a long pull from it. "It's warm as donkey piss, but still good."
"I don't get it. Why do you have to go? What are you doing?"
Outside thunder followed a flash of lightning and the first sheet of rain came down.
"Lady, if I knew what I was going to do next I would be a happier man myself. But it's time."
With that Ruben stepped back out of sight and left Katie staring at the beer resting against her knee. She was tempted to follow him out, demand the answers he had, but Randy's voice stopped her.
"Katie."
This time when she turned she saw him beside her, standing and looking down, his face a dejected mask that he could not hide.
"About time, what was this all about?"
"I've figured it out, Katie."
"Yeah, what?"
"About me, about you. I think I can help us now."
The lightening flashed again and created a distorted sight for Katie because the light passed through Randy's form.
"Freaky." She said, "Okay hit me with it. Tell me what we know. I haven't got a shot here and this rain is only going to make it worse."
"When is the last time you ate?"
Katie laughed, "What? Worried about me putting on a few pounds? It's not going to happen with all this running around…"
Randy raised his hand and sharply cut her off, "This isn't a joke, when is the last time you had any food? Or water? Or used the goddamned toilet?"
"Why…I…used the toilet this…" She had been going to say, 'this morning', but Katie realized she hadn't. Her brow crinkled in contemplation. 'No, not this morning, but last night before I turned in…' Only she realized she couldn't remember turning in. 'Well operating on low sleep is normal in combat situations. I'll catch up when I can later.' Katie's eyes opened wide, her mouth formed an 'o' shape and she started shaking.
"You're as dead as I am."
"No!" Katie yelled, hearing Ruben's voice echo "He is right."
A torrent of images came back to her, the Farm and Fleet, Samantha. Katie pushing the younger woman to the ground, tearing her throat out before she could scream. Knocking Kent out in the house, and feeding on his two kids, getting stronger as she fed on them and taking refuge in the car before 'discovering' them the next morning. Along the way, the woman she had picked up, along with the man who was eaten by her kids. Only the woman was in the car, not quiet dead before Katie came back to her. She hadn't survived too much longer. Katie remembered the blood, the taste, the delicious feeling as the colors from those she was killing faded to black.
"Follow it back. Remember everything…" Randy whispered, "Don't stop halfway."
"No. Not me. I…didn't." Katie felt an almost overwhelming surge to forget everything she had remembered, an insidious voice repeated over and over in her mind.
'This is not real, you don't eat people. You're alive. You're human.'
The voice, a woman's, repeated a series of statements, like a music player set to repeat the same tune over and over.
Katie clutched the sides of her head and resisted the urge to forget. Randy stepped forward and interlaced his fingers with hers. She looked up at him, bloody tears streaming down her face.
"Randy…help me!"
"I've always been helping you. Don't forget. Don't forget." Outside the storm rose to a crescendo, almost drowning out his words.
Katie screamed as her vision faded, spiraling into darkness, consumed by a storm of madness as she followed the lines of her fragmented memory back to that day in Chicago, when she died.
Chapter 39 — Max
The hood was pulled off his head abruptly. Max couldn't see anything at first, the white lights above him drowned out everything else. As his vision returned he could see he was in a doctor's office. It was unlike any office he had visited before, for one thing it didn't have the battle of chemicals versus sickness that Max associated with such places. It had the metallic tinge that he recognized as blood. His quick glance of the surroundings showed him the source of that odor, the floor was covered in streaks of dark red and black blood. It looked like someone had tried to mop the room up, but gave up in defeat and had left the floor a motley mess of streaked crimson streamers.
"I see you've noticed the mess. I am sorry about that. All I can say is this is the cleanest room I have left."
Max's head turned towards the voice. It belonged to a man that was very difficult to look at. He was of average height, had brown hair and wearing a white doctors coat with green scrubs pants. Black shoes and a stethoscope completed his ensemble, giving him a 'doctor' look, even if Max knew better. The man radiated energy. Max peeked at him with his zombie vision and quickly had to force his mind back to normal vision before his senses were overwhelmed by what he saw. 'Well, we wanted to find the leader. Now where is that bomb?' This thought was followed immediately by fear, 'Fuck, am I screwed.'
"I am Doctor Thomas Sentry." said the man, extending his hand towards Max, who automatically tried to raise his hand as well. "So, sorry." Sentry continued, hastily lowering his hand, "I've forgotten you are bound, but, well better to be safe than sorry. You would not believe the problems I have been having with the living lately."