ZOMBIE lost & found

10: A 'Thorn' is My Ride

Yes, Really.

They were climbing over the tangled remains of a wire fence about fifty feet back from the road when Fred heard a voice calling out.

"Hey, doc."

Turning to the road, Fred saw an old car pulled up and next to it stood the slightly swaying form of Thorn-fucking-Watkins.

"He can see us?" Hank whispered.

"Yeah. We're zombies, remember? Not ghosts."

"Oh. Fuck you, man. Now what?"

"Just follow my lead but hang back as much as you can and don't say anything." Fred waded through the overgrown grasses, jumped the ditch awkwardly and walked up to the road.

"Thorn, man, you really opened my eyes!" Fred pumped as much manic enthusiasm as he could into his words, trying to keep Thorn's slightly crossed eyes fixed on him. "I followed up on some of the patients from the hospital and there is totally some kind of government, secret government project going on right in the hospital. Come on, come on, take us back to there and I'll explain..."

He pushed Thorn back into the driver's seat and gestured for Hank to get in the back,

Once in the passenger seat, he leaned over to block the rear-view mirror. "They are taking these zombie patients you see." Fred let his imagination free-wheel to come up with as many ideas as possible that would fully engage whatever intellectual capacity Thorn still possessed. "Ones that have the fades... drive man, they might be right on my tail."

Thorn seemed caught up in the excitement. He slammed his foot on the accelerator and they careened down the road. "Why'd they want fades zoms?"

"Here's the crazy thing, man. I think they are working on a way to turn them back human."

Thorns almost swerved off the road.

Fred had to grab the steering well to keep them out of the ditch.

"Oh Mem Gee. Its makes sense," Thorn slurred. "It totes makes sense."

"It does? I mean, it does!"

Thorn's eyes were wide. "Zombie genocide."