Thicker Than Water

Fucking carrier that got her couldn’t decide if it wanted to just infect her or eat her. Whatever, all the same to me. Except it means the job isn’t done yet. Means there’s a carrier still out there. I start to stand up. Buƒ€o stand t something else; a smell on her. I kneel next to her and take a whiff. Something moves behind me.

The other NYU kid. Right, forgot about him. He’s trying to dig his way through the wall. I walk over to him. I’m just about to pop him in the jaw when he does the job for me and passes out.

The phone wakes me in the morning. Why the hell someone is calling me in the morning I don’t know, so I let the machine get it.

—This is Joe Pitt. Leave a message.

—Joe, it’s Philip.

I don’t pick up the phone, not for Philip Sax. I close my eyes and try to find my way back to sleep.

—Joe, I think maybe I got something if ya can pick up the phone.

I roll over in bed and pull the covers up to my chin. I try to remember what I was dreaming about so I can get myself back there.

—I don’t wanna bug ya, Joe, but I figure ya gotta be in. It’s ten in the morning, where ya gonna be?

Sleep crawls off into a corner where I can’t find it and I pick up the damn phone.

—What do you want?

—Hey, Joe, busy last night?

—I was on a job, yeah. So what?

—I think ya made the news, is all.

—The papers?

—NY1.

Fucking NY1. Fucking cable. Can’t do shit in this city without them poking a reporter into it.

—What’d they call it?

—Uh, Gruesome quadruple homicide.

—Shit.

—Looks pretty sloppy, Joe.

—Yeah, well, there weren’t a lot of options.

—Uh-huh, sure, sure. What was it?

—This thing I’m working on, brain eaters.

—Zombies?

—Yeah, shamblers. I hate the Goddamn things.

—You get ’em all?

—There’s a carrier.

—Carrier huh? Fucking shamblers, huh, Joe?

—Yeah.

I hang up.

It’s not like I didn’t know leaving the bodies over there could cause trouble, I just thought they’d sit till I could clean things up tonight. Now the neighborhood’s gonna be crawling with cops. But that’s the least of my worries just now, because the phone is ringing again, and I sure as shit know who it’s gonna be this time.

Uptown. They want me to come uptown. Now. In broad daylight. I put on the gear.