The Reanimation of Edward Schuett by Derek J. Goodman

to believe,” Rae said. “And fuck no, I don’t want you to sit here. That would be idiotic. When they come back out they would see you, moron. Just…I don’t know. Drive around for a little bit, and then make sure you’re parked near the corner of Merrill and Park in about half an hour. I hope that’ll be enough time. Hopefully I’ll have thought of a new plan by then.”
    “Remind me again why the hell I’m doing what you’re telling me?”
    “Because you know as well as I do that Edward is something really fucking special.” She pointed at Edward, who was still sitting in the cage staring out into space and ignoring their conversation. Both Rae and Ringo had forgotten to close the cage after taking out the bike, yet Edward had made no move to escape. She lowered her voice just in case Edward was listening anyway. “And the thinking and speaking part, that’s nothing. I mean, look at him. He’s still healing. He looks like he might as well be freshly dead now. Nothing is supposed to be able to do that, not human, not zombie. This is beyond anything you or me are comprehending right now. You got it? This is way bigger than either of us.”
    Ringo looked skeptical, but he shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
    “Just keep going with this for a little while longer, okay?” Rae said.
    “Sure. I guess. But there better be a whole shitload of money in it for me at the end of all this, you hear me.”
    “Fine. We’ll do what we can. Just drive him around, okay?” She snapped her fingers at Edward, and he looked at her. “We’ll keep the cage unlocked, if that’s fine with you. I don’t think you have anything to gain by trying to get away.”
    Edward shrugged. He didn’t look so hot, but Rae supposed that was to be expected.
    “Alright, Ringo, get going,” she said. Ringo got back in the front and drove off. Rae watched, not realizing until he was half a block away that she had left Spanky in the back.
    “Oh shit. Ringo, wait, come back!” She dropped the bike and ran after the truck for several feet before realizing it was pointless. She wouldn’t be able to catch up with him, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to see her baby again. The rifle would still be there when she met up with them in half an hour.
    Trying to keep herself calm, Rae entered her apartment building and carried her bike up the three floors to her apartment. It would be best if she acted like nothing special was going on. The people from Merton would probably be waiting for her either outside her apartment or, if Johnny was with them and had his key, inside. They would wonder why she had left her job early, but Rae thought she could come up some story that would suitably cover her tracks. The important thing was that they not think she’d had any more contact with Edward other than the brief interaction at the gate. She was just some random peon who had seen something weird and asked a few questions about it. Nothing special, nothing worth talking about further.
    The skuzzy hall outside her apartment was empty, but as she approached her door she thought she heard voices coming from inside. Taking a deep breath, she tried the handle to find that the door was already unlocked. Putting on an expression that she hoped was suitably confused and disturbed, she went in.
    “Hello?” she asked. “Johnny, is that you?”
    “I’m here,” Johnny said. He sat on the sofa in her front room, and stood as she came through the door. The other three people with him stood as well. Rae pretended to be surprised to see them.
    “Oh,” she said. “Um, hello? Who are all you?”
    “Rae, this is my immediate supervisor, Lauren Aguilar,” Johnny said, gesturing at the stout woman immediately to his left. “I told her everything you told me on the phone.”
    “Oh, well, I’m sure that was nothing anyway.”
    “Nothing?” Aguilar asked. “Johnny said you saw a zed that could talk.”
    “Yeah, it did,” Rae said. “But I’m sure