“Okay this is all well and good, a nice update on current events, but what does this have to do with us again?” asked Stewart.
“All of the zombies are being drawn east, toward Chicago, I think. About half of the zombies in the Denver area are heading up along highway seventy six and turning east on highway eighty. There are some zombies coming in from Wyoming too, but not that many.”
“Great, so if we head north of the interstate the zombies will pass us by. Thanks for the warning.”
“No, you don't understand, I was second in power in for this area, I am not being compelled east; I can feel what is happening zombies are being forced west from Chicago too. Which is why I think the problem lies there.”
“So?”
“No, Stewart I see what he means” said Max “Why would they be heading towards each other? To wipe out a threat, there must be people alive between here and there.”
“Again, what does that have to do with us? We can't stop a hundred thousand zombies.”
“We can warn them what is coming.”
“No, you can stop them all.” said Red.
“What do you mean? How?”
“Kill whoever is making it happen, kill the 'Neil' that was sent to Chicago. Then the zombies will become disorganized and stop acting in concert.”
“Ah, mister, do you see who we got with us? A bunch of kids, not a carload of soldiers.”
“I didn't know that. I can see that they are there, but I can't tell how old they are unless I got closer." Red shrugged his shoulders, "It doesn't matter who you are with, you drive east and tell them what is coming and how to deal with it, but you have to make them believe you. The zombies coming this way are just a drop in the bucket for what is going to hit Iowa, and I am pretty sure it is Iowa where they are headed. I looked at a map last night and it makes sense in a way. Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, South Dakota, all low population states that may not have gotten a zombie maker of their own.”
“That is all you want us to do?” asked Stewart, “Well we can pass the word along, they might believe us, why don't you come along and tell them too?”
“No way. I like my life, or whatever it is I have left. I cannot imagine anyone who thinks I might snack on them when I get hungry is going to keep me alive too long. Plus the closer I get to Chicago the stronger the urge to go that direction gets. I, and my two friends are only going to keep slowing the horde down until the call is irresistible. One of us is weaker than the others and when he starts to leave, we are going to grab him and head west out of range. We do not want to become slaves again.”
“How good are you at slowing them down?”
“Not real good, they are still making thirty or forty miles a day, despite our best efforts. According to the mile markers we passed to get here that means it will only take another twelve days to get to the edge of Nebraska.”
“Twelve days? So we have to get to Iowa, convince someone to go to Chicago, find the guy and kill him in twelve days? Chicago is a big place Red, unless you have an address or something I don't think it can be done.” said Stewart.
“Look for the biggest building, that is probably where the super zombie is. Besides I think your friend can find him.”
“What?” said Max and Stewart together.
“You can see zombies Max. Can you tell us apart?”
“Yes, if I concentrate.”
“Is there any difference between me and my two friends?”
“Sure.”
“What is it?”
“Well you are sort of lighter colored than they are, you have a dull, light bluish color, I almost thought you were alive, but no…” Max stopped realizing he telling the zombie things he didn't want it to know.
“So you can see humans too. Let me guess they have a nice, colorful pattern that swirls around and fades and brightens as they move and do things.”
“Yes.”
“Are you a zombie Max?”
“What? No, no I'm not! Why are you asking?”
“Because you can see things the way I can, and I could see people this way from the moment I woke up after dying. It was a rhetorical question, you look alive to me. But to me zombies look like you described them, a dull, single color, the better and faster the zombie the more light their color is. I am light blue, huh? Well Neil he was sky blue, almost white. Go to Chicago, find the glowing white aura and you've found the super zombie. Then just kill it.”
“But…but that means I have to go!” blurted Max.
“Could be. We all have choices.” Red said, repeating back what Stewart had said to him in the beginning.
“What happens if it isn't just him? In Chicago I mean?”
“Then you have to decide what to do. Or what you can do. I don't know what will happen then. Sentry, way down in Florida, he is an abomination, I know that. He bled most of the people from the town dry and I doubt he was going to stop just because he sent us away, I have no idea what he is like now. I just know I plan on steering well away from where he was.”
“Why can't you circle around and meet us on the other side of Iowa, somewhere in Illinois?”
“If I get too close to Chicago the chief zombie there will be able to control me. We come from a limited family of abominations and there is a strict rank based on when we were created. I won't risk my freedom by getting too close to the super zombie in Chicago.”
“Nice, so we have to go do your dirty work for you?”
“For me? No, not for me. I would do it if I could. You need to do it for the living people, to give them a chance. I think if you guys get rid of this zombie in Chicago that will solve the immediate problem of all the zombies heading east. After that I can't say what other problems you will have, I just don't know. Sentry maybe, probably someday I'd guess. You know I saw him before I left. When he was giving me and Neil our marching orders. He was different, there was so much raw power around him. Yeah I would guess you are going to have to deal with Sentry someday.”
“Why?” asked Max.
“The good doctor thinks if he consumes enough of you he can become a god. And after thinking about it the last couple of weeks I am afraid he might be right.”
Chapter 17
The army engineers showed up at Bill's position at five in the morning. He and his men had been running on adrenaline and caffeine as they held the railroad bridge through the night against the zombies. Now the eastern sky was just getting lighter and they had to provide cover fire for the engineers as they set demolition charges on the bridge.
“It is going to be effective?” Ruben asked Bill as the two of them stood on the bridge, shooting slow zombies that were still attempting to cross.
Bill shook his head, “I would guess not. But my opinion matters as much as yours. I don't think zombies breath, all this means is we will have to watch the entire river bank instead of focusing on the bridges.”
The zombies tended to gather at the roads and railway lines and then surge across any bridges that they encountered. They did not, as far as Bill and his men could see, willingly go into the river to try and cross. Bill's fear was that once the bridges were down the zombies would start to cross everywhere.
“Maybe.” said Ruben, the two had been debating the pros and cons of blowing the bridge for the last hour after the engineers had told them what they planned to do. Four of the squad were up on the bridge, the other five were taking a two hour break to try and get a little sleep. Bill didn't think anyone would be able to sleep with the constant rifle fire interspersed with the occasional explosion, but he was wrong, the five laying on the railway bed behind him were out cold.