by Mark Clodi
While they were romping through the stream, which was a mix of pebbles and sandy mud, Bobby stopped and looked at Red, then said, "Get inside me."
"What?"
"You can do that to Zombies who are weaker than you. Jimbo says you can't read him because he has his own trust issues, but you're a lot stronger than me and maybe you can get into my mind."
"Oh. Right here?" they were standing in the middle of the stream, playing some sort of soldier game that seemed to involve Red falling down into the mud and water after Bobby shot him with the pellet gun.
"Sure, it won't hurt. Jimbo does it to me all the time." Bobby stared at Red, "Well, go on. Try. What am I thinking?"
Red looked at the boy and then fell over onto the bank of the stream clutching his chest, "Ya shot me, Army Ranger!"
Bobby laughed, "Exactly! What am I thinking now?"
"That I need a pellet gun too, so we can really play this."
"See? Jimbo asks if you can see him in my head too. He's there now."
Red concentrated, but shook his head, "No, not really."
"Well watch, you stay in there. He is going to leave and come back and leave and come back a few times."
Watching Red did start to notice as the other man invaded and left Bobby's mind, it was a subtle thing and he was not always able to tell when the other man was doing it, but he had a break through eventually; he was able to read the thoughts Jimbo put into the boy's head, before Bobby spoke them out loud.
"See? This is what you need to do to me." Jimbo said, "We were so keyed up on trying that it didn't occur to me you should be practicing with Bobby or Veronica instead of me."
"This is strange, I see the kid, he's standing here wearing more mud than clothing and staring at me, but I am reading your thoughts in his head."
"I can hear them too." Bobby projected to Red.
"Sorry, so now what?"
Jimbo spoke once again, a distinct, voice in the boy's head, "Well you into philosophy at all?"
"Like yoga?"
The man's laughter came through in Red's mind, "I was thinking more like meditation or Zen or bushido or something."
"No."
"But you know what a philosophy is?"
"Yeah, sure, like hippies or...or that Zen stuff you were talking about."
"You don't know what a philosophy is?"
"Maybe not. What are you getting at?" Red asked.
"Well I am talking about the bigger philosophies here, like money or optimism."
"Money is a philosophy?"
"It only has value because we give it value. How much value does a hundred dollar bill have to you now? Or a stack of hundreds? Not much anymore, because that philosophy has lost value in your head. This is important and maybe I am not saying it right, but what we are doing is giving this mind reading a name and a value. Sit up."
Red pulled his legs out of the stream and sat up on the grassy bank while Bobby stood looking at him.
"Okay, now close your eyes. Focus on my voice, think about a philosophy we've always lived with, but don't subscribe to anymore."
"Money?"
"As good as anything. Why did it lose value?"
"Because...well it just did, who cares about some paper when zombies are running around eating your family?"
"So protecting your family is more important than money?"
"It always has been."
"Did you stay home from work to protect them all day long?"
"No." Red scoffed, "That'd be stupid."
"But before this all happened you knew someone could come in and rob your family or friends, it's a dangerous world, why did you go to work?"
"A man's gotta make a living."
"And now?"
"Making a living has a different meaning."
"Sure does. So the value of more than one philosophy has changed for you. Except you're dead, Red."
"So?"
"What does 'make a living' mean to you now?"
"Well, not a lot. I'm not hungry anymore, I don't want to kill anyone else. But I'm not tired either, I haven't slept in...a couple of months at least. All this free time leaves me wondering how I am going to fill it."
"True, it's not like you are going to raise any kids or anything now, is it?"
"No." Red said.
"Nor is there a need to discover a cure for cancer or build houses or learn how to fight fires."
"True."
"What about writing a book? You got a story in you?"
"No."
"So what will you do, Red?"
"I'm not sure. I thought I would try and help the people who are still alive."
"That's something then. It makes you more useful than tits on a snake at least."
"Look, Jimbo, this is all well and good, but what are you getting at?"
"Open your eyes."
Red cracked his eyes open. He was alone at the creek, the only evidence that Bobby had been there were the muddy foot prints on the opposite bank of the creek.
"What the hell? Where's Bobby?"
"What time is it Red?"
"A couple hours after dawn, maybe seven thirty."
"Where is the sun?"
Red looked up and to his surprise the sun was high overhead. He experienced a bit of disorientation. "What is going on?"
"I'm in."
"What?"
"I am in, it turns out you are more susceptible to smooth talking than a crowbar."
"How? I don't feel any different."
"Where are we talking Red?"
"What do you mean?"
"I could read you, but you couldn't read me this morning at the table. You think Bobby is hiding behind a bush out there somewhere, ready to spring out and say, 'Surprise!'?"
Red looked around for just such a thing, then he shook his head, "He could be hiding, but I don't sense him."
"Are you sure?"
Across the stream Bobby walked out from behind the tall grasses and ran splashing into the stream. Red watched him closely, something wasn't right. He should have seen the boy in the field before he came to the stream, instead it was as if the boy just appeared in front of him.
"That's not right."
"What's wrong?"
"It doesn't look right, there is something wrong with Bobby."
"What?"
Red thought for a moment, then said, "He's clean. Too clean. He got mud all over his shorts, now there clean, did he change clothes? And his chest isn't coated with mud either, plus his hair is combed. He's not real."
Bobby slowly faded from Red's sight.
"Do you believe me now?" Jimbo asked. "I told you I could do other things."
"Make me see things that aren't there?"
"See, hear, feel. Remember."
"Don't mess with my head!" Red shouted, fear seizing him as he tried to force Jimbo out.
"Hold on partner! It's too late for that anyway, I am in and I leave when I want to. What have you got kicking around in here anyway? Deep secrets you think I shouldn't know about?"
"Get out!"
"Good! See what you're doing? You are trying to build a wall, it won't work for me, I am inside already, but it will help keep other people out. And Red, I could care less about your secrets, I am not peeking, I am only interesting in two things, first do you want to do what you told me you were going to do and second, how can I help you make that happen?"
Red relaxed a little, but in his mind he kept building a wall, trying to wall Jimbo in, instead of keeping him out.
"Now, I've got my answers to both questions and I am going to hit your switch buddy. All that talk about philosophy wasn't just bullshit. This mental crap is insidious, you think about what you want and you make it happen. You don't want to be held by something more powerful than you, well what is hard to hold?"
Light dawned on Red, "A fish!"
"Or water, or air."
"It works both ways though, my new found friend."
Red looked at the walls he had around his
mental image of Jimbo in his mind, to his dismay there were windows in the walls, and he saw the man climb through one to stand on a grassy mental meadow.
"I haven't run into anyone who doesn't fight dirty, but so do I. If you can see what Bobby was doing to keep you from grabbing him when you first met him, you can build a counter against others too." said Jimbo
"Like a net?"
"That might have worked on someone else, not Bobby, do you think we sit around rocking ourselves back and forth all day long after the chores are done? We've been practicing and I can tell you his mind is nimble, as soon as you caught the fish, he'd be a cloud, or superman."
"So what does this mean? Am I ready? Can I make the zombies see things that aren't there?"
"Could I do it to you this morning? No. So you won't be able to do it to others either, you had to let me in, or be seduced into letting me in. The other guy will too, and he won't be standing around letting it happen. There are other tricks you can pull on him though. We've had time to think of a few."
"So will you help me?"
"We already are. Come back to the house. Bobby is at the neighbors, looking for another pellet gun, he seems to think you'll be staying with us."
"I gotta go take care of this little problem first, but I think I might be back, if it's okay with you."
"I think we could use another hand around the farm, if things work out."
Red nodded as he felt Jimbo leave his mind. He didn't raise any defenses to keep the man out either, he was fairly certain he wouldn't know how.
Chapter 3 - Whatever happened in Nebraska?
The rest of the day passed in training. Red wanted to head back to attack Ramey immediately and said as much to Jimbo.
"Go ahead, but what has changed? I've only taught you the basics. It usually doesn't take long to do that, but this guy is tougher than you."
"So?"
"Well you're the toughest person I've run into. You could have bent Nancy around your little finger if you wanted. But I can keep you out. You almost had Bobby in the barn, is the difference in power between you and Bobby the same as between you and this Ramey?"
"No." Red assured Jimbo, "We are pretty close to equal, he has just enough of an edge that he could win. If you show me how to keep you out, that should be enough."
"Is he alone?"
"I don't know."
"Were you?"
Red shook his head, "You know I wasn't."
"Then use your head, he won't be either. If one of his friends has the brains to shoot you in the head while you and Ramey are going at it in the mind's playground, you will be just as dead as if he rips your head off himself."
"Are you offering to come with me?"
Jimbo looked down at the table, "We talked about it. I think we have to be like Germany and stay out of it."
"Switzerland, Jimbo. Not Germany." Veronica corrected.
"Why?"
"We've fought enough. We'll be here when you get back, if you get back."
"Your confidence is underwhelming."
"I don't think you can do it now. I think you might keep him out of your head, but after that initial contact, he will pin you down and let his friends take you out."
"Do you have a better idea."
"Give me another day. Leave in the morning after I show you a few tricks and the way to keep me out of your mind."
"Other tricks?" Red asked interested.
"Oh yeah, he has 'em. Jimbo may look like six feet and two hundred and fifty pounds of redneck, but he has mad skills. The best analogy I can think of is that me and Bobby, well, we are like a high school band. And Jimbo? Jimbo is like the Philharmonic Orchestra. There is a world of difference. I can play a nice tune and entertain my friends and family, but Jimbo, he can entertain the world."
"Aw V, it's like you really care or something! I would blush if I could."
"Okay you got my attention, but can you teach me enough in a day to make a difference?"
"I think so. I think it would be the difference between winning and losing."
So Red had stayed.
The first thing he learned was that mental pictures were only so effective at accomplishing his goals. It was easy to concentrate on not being seen, but repeating 'You can't see me. You can't see me.', had no effect on Jimbo or Veronica at all. Sneaking by one zombie was easier than sneaking by two, every mind had to be masked and Red was not up to multitasking when they started. Similarly, once he had his mind locked inside his mental version of Fort Knox, he could hold Jimbo or Veronica at bay fairly well, but if the two of them concentrated they passed through his defenses like they were made of balsa wood.
After getting the basics of what he had to do down, Red and the others moved to the barn to practice what he had learned. They started with Red versus Veronica, grappling mentally at the same time that she went after him physically. It was a far more even match than Red would have thought, given their perspective abilities outside of the mental arena. Finally an hour away from sunrise, Jimbo called Bobby into the room and showed him what could be done with the minds of those that were weaker than theirs. For this exercise Red rode piggyback in Jimbo's mind as he went inside of Bobby's brain. They practiced changing Bobby's memory, the simplest thing to do was to modify the boy's brain so he thought Red's name was Rainbow.
"You can't be serious, this won't work."
"Watch and learn." Jimbo said, moving through the boys head at a speed that left Red gasping. Every meeting was touched upon, every encounter the boy had with Red had to be changed. Every thought the boy had about Red too. And Jimbo did it in seconds. They left the boy's mind and then Jimbo said, "Hey Bobby, let's take a break for a minute. Why don't you guys go out and watch the sunrise."
The boy shoved his chair away from the table and said, "Okay. C'mon Rainbow, we can sit in the swinging chair, it's the best place."
Red stopped and stared at the boy, who stammered, "What?" then looked accusingly at Jimbo, "You did something! What did you do?"
Jimbo smiled, "Nothing Bobby, don't worry about it. Re-Rainbow, maybe you don't want to take a break yet?"
"No. Jimbo I think we better continue." Red said, aghast that what he has seen worked.
"Okay Bobby sit down and we'll get through this next session then."
"I don't understand why you need me." The boy complained as he dropped back into his seat.
Once they were back in Bobby's mind Red watched as Jimbo went back and changed the boy's memories of his name again.
"We have to change everything back. I don't expect you are following all of this and I have to tell you it is dangerous too."
"What do you mean?"
"What if you miss something? You might not have the control I do, just like I am not big and tough like you are. The thing is that there is no 'restore' button here, Red. I can't go back in and flip Bobby back to how he was before. The memories I take out are gone forever, overwritten by what I put there. I can't put the old ones back, I can only replace them with new ones. If I fuck that up, then Bobby here is fucked up as well. Plus we have to edit his new memories too, the ones that were made after we changed him the first time. See they are located here..." Red followed Jimbo down into a new section of Bobby's mind.
"Wait a second Jimbo, before you do anything." Jimbo paused in his fixing. Tentatively Red examined the memories in front of him, then compared them with the ones that had already been made. "I can tell when something's been changed."
"What?"
"Yeah, look here. This part of his mind has been modified; I can clearly tell that something happened here. But this part, that you haven't touched yet, is smoother. Can you see it?"
"You know, I hadn't looked before, but I can see it now. That will help, if I have some major surgery to do on someone."
Red continued to look around the boy's mind. He spotted some other sections that were changed. "Jimbo. What did you do to him?"
Jimbo went on with the changes he was making to the boy's
most recent memories. "Things were complicated at the beginning of his new life, Red."
"What things? You've changed entire parts of his mind!" Red was aghast at the sheer amount of what he was seeing.
"I know. I had to do my learning on the fly. I didn't realize what I had done until later. I tried to fix things as well as I could but the way this boy was made was one major corn-hole job. I couldn't leave that in there, it would have driven him mad."
"I can't tell what you erased, only where you changed things."
"I told ya, you can't restore memories that have been replaced, they are just gone. Look, if you can see the mess I've made, you can also see that I haven't screwed with him any time before he turned too."
Red looked around, keenly aware that Jimbo was watching him look around. Grudgingly he said, "Yeah."
"I don't have to justify myself to you, but I kind of like you and I don't want you to be pissed off at me."
"So tell me what happened? What great secret did you have to remove to keep the boy sane?"
"He killed his family, ate them and came back to what he was over their bodies." Jimbo didn't elaborate to Red, he didn't say the boy had only done so because Jimbo told him to.
"Aw, shit. Well it wouldn't be the first time though would it. Half the people running around did that."
"And most of the zombies who remember who they used to be are batshit insane now too."
"Some of them. Did you kill your family?"
"No. This bitch Nancy brought me back, I think I ate some of my friend. Then she killed him. The only food I got was spread out and just enough to keep me going so I could do the heavy lifting. Nancy found out that smaller people needed less food to function, so I got the scraps because I wasn't efficient."
"How'd you kill her?"
"I told you yesterday."
"You told me a few things, but you only said you stomped on her head. How'd you get away that first time?"
"She was pinned down in this office by the cop and Max and their friends. This is after I let Max live in the bathroom, though that pretty much took everything I had to keep Nancy out of my head then. We didn't know what we could do yet. I got lucky. When Nancy was held off I got away, then I ran into Fred, her 'father' in the parking lot and we found Bobby when I was trying to make Fred stronger to resist Nancy."