Mark Clodi - Ascension

Feeling was returning to Red, and that feeling was pain. He wanted to scream as his body healed itself, it felt like a million burrowing insects were making tunnels into his brain, involuntarily he grunted and his control slipped, causing Ramey to jerk his head around and stare at him again.

"I felt that. Hurts a bit doesn't it. Don't worry, it gets worse and when it does I will be here to get inside."

Red felt Ramey pounding on his mental defenses, scouring them for a weakness as the pain built up. Everything stopped for a moment, a moment that expanded into infinity as the battle of wills went on. Finally, irrevocably Red's shields broke, unleashing a torrent of pain and anguish.

Ramey screamed in triumph as he poured into the hole in Red's mind, Ed almost dropped Red's body in surprise. Ramey started ransacking through Red's very being, this was not the smooth, measured hand that Jimbo had, but a heavy, hamfisted bludgeoning that added to Red's pain.

Then abruptly, it all stopped. Red felt the hold in his defenses snap shut and he felt calm and warm, there was no pain…deep in his mind Ramey screamed.

"Let me out! Let me…out!" A massive attack hit the inside of Red's defenses, but rebounded like a bird hitting a plate glass window. Momentarily knocked senseless, Ramey fell into the abyss of Red's mind, not even struggling to find a way out. Red used this time to open his physical eyes and see what was going on. His body was falling. Ramey was laying on the ground twitching as Red fell, a furry blur leaped on the body and started savaging it. Ed was still standing, but his arms were limp at his sides as Red hit the ground. This time Red fell sideways, with his view facing parallel to the river, upstream. Three figures were slowly making their way towards him.

The pain from regenerating was suppressed, and Red knew who was helping him now. Clearing his repaired throat was a struggle, but he managed, spitting out a glob of coagulated blood, he asked, "What took you so long?"

Jimbo laughed.

"How is he?" Jimbo asked Red.

"Mad, angry and Insane, that kind of mad. I don't think he realizes what's happened to him yet."

There were nine zombies, sitting under the bridge. They had moved over to firm ground to get off the mud, but all of them were still a mess. Bobby was the worst, but that was just from playing in the river. Five zombies from Ramey's crew were under the bridge with them. Sue and Chuck had come down after the fight and the two Red had injured severely were also present. The woman, with a half formed body and squeaky voice, was named Nina. The man Red had throat shot was named Leonard. They had Ramey's body too, it would twitch once in a while, but aside from those unpredictable movements it could have been the corpse it looked like.

"The active calling stopped." Sue said. She was referring to the constant call for them to come east, to keep moving east at all costs. The signal had ceased after one last powerful urge for them to head that direction. Most of the less advanced zombies were still heading that direction, the nine under the bridge were able to resist the call to keep moving.

"I noticed that." Red said, concentrating on pushing what was left of Ramey down into a little hole in his mind.

"You okay?" Jimbo asked.

"I don't know. You didn't tell me this could happen."

"I didn't know."

"I still don't get it. What happened to Ramey?" asked Chuck.

"He tried to push into my mind, you know the feeling, I watched him do it to you. He pushed in and I got this idea that maybe I should let him. Only I imagined it was like he was trying to force a door open and I put a pit behind the door. A pit with a lid. Then I let him in past the door and he fell into the pit and I slammed the lid shut. That's the best analogy I can come up with."

"So he isn't dead again?" Chuck said.

Red shook his head, "I don't think so." Red pointed at Ramey's body, "I think I could let him back out and he would go back. I just don't know if I should."

"What if his body was dead? Where would he go?"

"Hell if I know. Jimbo?"

Jimbo shook his head, "You were beyond anything I've ever done when you started with the 'door' analogy."

"Well I can't keep him here. He is fighting me and he is strong. I think I got lucky because he was disoriented."

"So that brings us back to the question of what you are going to do." Jimbo said.

The group of zombies suddenly paused, as if listening to some distant, faint sound.

"Something happened." Veronica said, "I think someone important just died. I can't feel the pull anymore!"

"Max came through!" Red said, gritting his teeth as Ramey fought harder to get out.

The zombies let out a whoop of joy as the leaden chains that had been dragging them ever east dissolved and disappeared. It took Jimbo a moment, and then he raised one hand to quiet everyone.

"No. I don't think they are dead. It's weird. Maybe they are badly hurt…but I don't think they are out of the game yet."

"Jimbo….Ramey is getting persistent."

"Want to try and put him back?"

Red nodded.

"We better disable him then." Jimbo stepped over to Ramey's body and leveled his rifle towards its throat. He fired three times and smiled when Ramey's eyes opened, burning hatred at him. Turning back to Red Jimbo said, "That was just in time, wasn't it?"

Red was still straining, he shook his head, "I didn't put him back yet."

Confused Jimbo looked down at the healing body and asked, "Well then, who is this?"

Ramey's eyes roved over the band and fixated on Red. The mouth moved, working up and down like an old water wheel. Only faint sounds escaped as it tried to draw in air to speak with through the damaged throat. Keeping an eye on the thing's hands Jimbo bent over and put his ear to Ramey's lips. His eyes widened in shock and he sat up and said, "It says it's Aubrey. She says you know her Red."

Red was waging an internal war as Ramey sought to escape the prison he was held in. He nodded to Jimbo, "If it's her ask her who I was with and who she was with."

Jimbo leaned over to hear Ramey's answer, "She says, Neil and Harry."

Red nodded. "So she is in his body now?"

Jimbo listened to Aubrey answer and then shook his head, "No. Just listening in. She wanted to find out what happened to him. She came looking and he was….well she said he was empty." Jimbo leaned over and listened more, "She kept pushing and said she could take control, she wants to know how you took out Ramey."

"Like we know." muttered Red. Louder he said, "We don't really want to tell you. We like being free."

Ramey's voice cut through the humid air, "I…do too." It croaked. Jimbo sat back onto the sandy shore, no longer needing to play go between.

"You do too?"

"I want out. You know who sent us. You know most of us don't like him. If this is something you can give me, I will use it against him."

"Sentry?"

"Some people think saying his name draws his attention."

"I didn't hear that."

"It's speculation." Aubrey said.

"But why take the chance?"

Aubry nodded with Ramey's head, beside her Jimbo shifted his rifle until it was inches from the side of her head.

"Where is Ramey?"

Shrugging Red tapped the side of his head, "He stepped out for a moment. He has to go back though soon. So we better keep this short."

Ramey's body sat up and turned towards Red. Jimbo kept his rifle barrel inches away from the back of the zombies head.

"Okay. You took him down. I need to know how. I want out of this shit. I didn't do well following orders before I died, I certainly don't see a reason to do it now that I am dead."

"Where are you?"

"Chicago."