Chapter 7: Like Being Glad When A Cop Pulls You Over

Sex smells or so I'd heard without quite understanding why it would matter. If sex doesn't stink like rotten eggs or stale piss, who gives a fuck? If it does, take a fucking shower! I didn't smell anything and I'd had a lot of sex that morning and mid-afternoon. A LOT OF SEX!

The girls were taking a shower. I was hoping there would be enough hot water or just plain water for me to take one too. I'd never been the active type so the dried sweat thing got old fast. I could have taken care of it, but I was hoping for an invite to shower with them.

Doctor Brandi walked into the apartment without knocking. Along with six billion or so people, manners died with the Zombie-Apocalypse. The doctor made her way through the rooms, stopping at the foot of my bed. Her nose crinkled as she looked around the room. I realized while sex did not stink, it left a distinct odor. Brandi put her hands on her hips and studied me. Having only recently lost my virginity, I did not understand the flashing expressions on her face--curious, amused, and about six or seven other things I'd only ever seen on a woman's face.

She looked towards the master bathroom, "Are you going to take a shower when those two are done? Both of them, really?"

The second part wasn't connected to the first. Thinking that ignoring the second part might be for the best, I replied, "I was hoping to, since I hear the Professor thinks some amenities are going to go away soon."

"My husband is the glass half-empty type," she warned. "He is correct, but I think we have more time. Enough time hopefully!"

"Enough time for what?"

She waved the question aside. Pulling up a chair to the foot of the bed, she sat down.

I pointed at the bathroom and myself. "Are you waiting for the girls?"

"I need to examine you," she said. "You went toe-to-toe with a werewolf and got shot."

"The bullet only grazed me. It's been some time since..." I bunched the blankets at my groin. I didn't like the way the Doc was staring at me. "You said it all went away."

"You were shot, honey!" she replied.

I think Doctor Larson checking my healed wounds had more to do with her state of mind than any worry about me. Thankfully, the girls came out of the bathroom. Unthankfully, they came out naked and jumped on the bed before they saw Brandi. Retreat being the better part of valor or some such crap, I ran into the bathroom (with the blankets).

Jewel was gone when I came out. Looking pissed, Ashley leaned against a bedpost.

"Drop it, Miguel!" Doctor Brandi said, pointing at the towel I'd wrapped around my waist. I looked at Ashley who shook her head slowly. I didn't like Brandi's attitude, but I guess a doctor's bedside manner can come off bossy.

A shy Latin woman, Lorena, took over all the cooking responsibilities. The food was simple with a distinctive Latin flair. Lorena was a talented cook! I don't know how someone can make rice, beans, and chicken taste fantastic, but this stuff was some tasty shit! Surviving a few close calls might have had something to do with it. I was about to get seconds when I realized the Zombie-Apocalypse cost me some edge. They'd surrounded me!

"Shouldn't someone be on guard duty?" I asked. Everyone was in the room, the largest living room we could find in the building. They had filtered in as I ate.

Jack Valence, the mob enforcer, leaned against the wall to my left. The two soccer teen queens stood on either side of him.

"Are you really a mob enforcer?" I asked him.

The new group of people consisted of: Jack Valence, the two teen soccer girls, Lorena, the guy she always followed around, a little boy, a very tough looking hombre whose eyes tracked the little boy's every movement, the old hag Catwal, and a married couple who seemed mostly focused on staying out of sight.

"I was," Jack replied.

"Was?"

"Reckon Z-day put me on unemployment as there aren't many mob bosses around," he said.

"There's silver to every dark cloud," Bianca grumbled.

"Did he really say reckon?" I asked Marina, one of the soccer girls. Mixed race female, long hair that afro'ed out if she didn't ponytail it, chocolate milk complexion, and boobs she must have needed to strap down when she played.

"Did you really blow out a couple of floors and a wall with your mind?" she asked.

"I think we deserve some answers, Miguel," the Professor said.

I laughed.

"I do not think it's funny," Doctor Brandi said.

"I love ... loved ... the whole inalienable rights thing in Government class," I said. "Life, liberty, and property. Bullshit! What you have is the right to try surviving whatever shit storm God, nature, and the rest of humanity throws at you! Everything else you got because someone fought for it or talked someone else into it. You happen to be the idiot on the will that said 'Congratulations, you've inherited some rights, don't fuck it up!' Ladies and gentleman, the free ride is over! People only have so many good fights in them so I'd save yours for the things that want to eat you: zombies, werewolves, vampires, and the rest of the human race. 'Cause I guarantee, I have the good fights to spare and I'm willing to throw down to prove not a single living, breathing still-human motherfucker on this planet, and especially in this room, deserves shit from me!"

The entire room froze as I pushed the chair back.

"I admit circumstances support the law of the jungle," the Professor said raising his palms in a placating motion. "We are a group, and some social expectations come with it."

Jack Valence laughed, "I think people like me and the boy have had enough expectations disappointed. We're not much for bullshit in the disguise of someone else's expectations of us."

"You people want answers," the man with one eye constantly on the little boy said. "Just ask the fucking questions. If he doesn't answer, you can kick him the fuck out of the group. Can't you?"

"Yes!" the old hag screamed. "The Spawn of Satan should be cast out!"

"Did she really say Spawn of Satan?" I asked Marina. She stared at me like she'd never seen a male of the species.

"They said you can make people better," the little boy said from the other side of the table. "You made the pretty lady better."

He pointed at Joey and looked at me.

"Something like that," I told him.

"Can you make my mommy better?" His big blue eyes got bigger and bluer. "Please, mister!"

"She was my sister," the guy who'd been watching the kid said. He walked up to me and put out a hand. "This is little Matt, he's my nephew. I'm John Johnson. Navy Seal, sir."

I wanted to question about the 'John' and 'Johnson' thing but...

"Yes, he said Navy Seal." Marina put a hand up and replied before I could ask the question. "And he also called you sir."

"Isn't there a thing about working for a living I'm supposed to say?" I asked her.

She shrugged.

I looked at John Johnson before shaking his hand.

"We woke up to Matt's mom screaming," John said. "Her husband turned during the night. She couldn't get away from him, but she made sure we got out. Matt insisted we go back later; she was a zombie."

"If they don't damage enough of the brain, anyone a zombie bites becomes one of them," Doctor Brandi said. "It's like a virus."

"No, it's not," I said.

"Three survivors in the same family," the Professor said. "Immunity must be genetic."

I stood up and walked around the table to kneel in front of Matt.

"It was his stepfather," John said. "To be honest, he didn't like Matt. It's why Matt didn't ask you to help him."

I nodded as Matt met my eyes. "No, Matt. I can't help your Mom get better."

His head dropped. I put a finger on his chin and made him look at me. "Did you love your Mom?"

"Very much." He was being incredibly brave, I knew exactly how much effort it took for him to hold back the tears.

"She's gone, Matt," I said. "Adults are going say she is in a better place. I don't know anything about it, but I know what you saw. The zombie only looked like your mom. She was gone, Matt!"

"It didn't look like her," he whispered to me. "Not really."

"He won't even try!" The old hag yelled. "He won't even try to give the boy back his mother."

Matt hugged his uncle's leg and buried his face against it. I patted the boy on the head before going back to my chair. Pushing the plate aside, I looked around the room to make sure everyone was paying attention.

"Behind my house, it's a park," I said. "The three houses have gated backyards. The second day, most of the zombies left the park. A survivor group must have run through the park or something. This little zombie girl in a blue dress passed close to my gate. I ran out, put a bag over her head, and dragged her in the house. Dragged IT into the house!"

Pushing her thigh against my arm, Ashley sat on the table.

"It's not a virus, Doctor Larson. They're not alive; they're animated," I continued. "Healing them only drains the energy that is animating their bodies."

"So you can fight them with your power?" the Professor said.

"It takes less effort to bash their heads in with a sledgehammer or shoot them," I told him. "And less chance of me being bitten again."

"He was bitten!" the old hag screamed. "He's going to turn! Kill him!"

"Shut the fuck up!" the Doc yelled before whirling on me. "You can fight off the infection?"

"The saliva and blood are more like the chemo you gave Joey." I turned and smiled at the hag. "In case, you're having those type of fantasies, poisoning me would be like slapping Mr. Navy Seal over there."

Doctor Brandi grabbed her lip and twisted. "The deterioration of the body before they die--I can see why you would compare it to chemotherapy."

I reminded myself never to be caught in the same laboratory as her.

"So you can't bring the dead back?" Bianca asked. Considering the Jesus Christ thing, I could understand the relief in her voice.

"The zombies aren't really dead," I said. "For instance, they're not decomposing. Regardless, no--I cannot bring back the dead."

I smiled widely. "Well..."

I laughed at the looks on everyone's faces.

"If you're only mostly dead, I can do some work," I said between outbursts of laughter. "If you're all-dead, it's time to redistribute your ammo."

"What about someone in a persistent vegetative state?" the Doc asked.

"I tried that once," I said. "I won't be doing it again."

"Why not?" Bianca asked.

"If you get shot in the head, it won't be YOU that I bring back," I told her. "I condemned a man's family to raising a thirty-five year old baby. I can heal the body; I cannot heal a mind. Crazy people are out too, unless the crazy is biological. If I were you, I wouldn't risk the 'mostly dead' thing. I'd get to me while you are definitely alive!"

"Have you ever tried to bring back someone from the dead?" Marina asked.

I shrugged, "If you don't trust me, I wouldn't try a test. I haven't recovered from my last bout with stupidity."

Ashley slapped the back of my head. "Don't be an ass! Rescuing me was the smartest thing you ever did."

Jack Valence and Mr. Seal couldn't quite swallow their chuckles.

"It cured your virginity," Jewel said. "I hear boys worry about that a lot."

The blush warmed my entire body! I wasn't the only male who saw the communication flying back and for between the women in the room, even the shy cook got in on the buzz. I turned to look at Ashley.

"The Doc smelled sex," she said. "I had to tell them about your little problem..."

"Big problem," Jewel interrupted. "Very big problem!"

"I had to tell them about your very big problem," Ashley said with a sigh.

"You had an episode when I was in the room," Kellie told me.

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"When Danny, Stephen, and Tara left," she said. "I went in to make sure you were okay because Jewel left you alone. You made a big mess! I told Bianca."

Jewel mouthed 'I told you so!' to me.

"I told the Doc and the Professor," Bianca said.

"Jewel also likes to brag about her conquests," Ashley said to me.

"While quantity passes for stamina in a boy, you're way outside the norm," Doctor Brandi said. "Joey also noticed your gentlemanly reaction during your visits before Zombie-Day. At the time, I let it pass for being young and the nurse uniform."

"You always got a fierce hard-on after you did the tapping thing on my palm, Miguel," Joey said. "Fierce!"

And there's another blush!

"Even if it's not true," Jack Valence said to me. "It's some shit you should let them believe!"

I almost fell out of the chair laughing.

"You know about the healing," I told them a minute later. "The other one is the Push. It wouldn't be a good idea to do it right now because..."

I shrugged and shook my head.

"Of your very big problem?" Jewel asked.

"You're not back to normal yet?" Kellie asked. "But they said..."

"How much effort would it have taken to save Joey from her bullet wounds?" I asked the Doctor, keeping my eyes on Kellie.

"Hours of surgery and several medical miracles," Doctor Brandi replied.

"Hours!" I said, nodding to Kellie. "That's without me knocking down most of the gang's hangout. There is a lot to pay back!"

"Why do you call it the Push?" the Professor asked.

"I can't do the levitation thing. Not really! I can fake it," I said. "I Push things in a direction. Close to my body, I can shape the Push, like with the handcuffs. I drove Push-spike through a link in the chain. The bullet stuff is sort of a shield. I Push against nothing and the Push ... I don't know what it fucking does, but the bullets stop or deflect."

"So it's not telekinesis," the Professor said thoughtfully. "You give things momentum. How big an object can you Push?"

"It's not about size," I said with a sigh. "I put more into the wall than was needed."

The Professor was gone though; I doubted he even heard the last thing. I could almost see the thought bubbles above his head as he replayed everything he had seen me do. Maybe he could explain to everybody else what I did when he was done doing his Thinker impersonation. I wanted to avoid the question of 'how did you get like this?' so I smiled at everyone and walked towards the door. The purpose in my stride got the message across--interview over.

Clearly, no one gave lessons in reading body language to the Professor.

"Wait!" he yelled. "We have to do tests. How can we know what we can handle unless we know more about your powers? Or how to use them to the fullest potential?"

I turned around slowly. "We?"

"Well, you know what I mean!" he said. "You must be curious. I can help with the answers you're looking for."

I knew before Zombie-Day that exposing my powers would lead to this situation. At best, people wanting what they wanted and fuck whatever I wanted. At worst, I'd have been dissected. At least, the Professor was being fairly innocuous.

"You know, the Professor has a valid point." Ashley spun around on the table until she faced me. Leaning back, she crossed her legs. "I'm not going to volunteer to be bitten by a zombie or shoot myself so we're going to have to trust you on the healing thing."

Bianca and Brandi stared aggressively at Ashley. They were trying to back the stripper down. I leaned against the doorframe. I wasn't going to agree to any testing but what little I knew of Ashley made me curious.

"This Push should be tested." Ashley stuck her hand out and studied her nails. "Or rather you need to practice! You seem to know what you're doing, but I get the feeling you're rusty at the Pushing thing. You've already saved my life once! If you'd been a little bit more ready, you probably could have saved Jewel and me from being raped."

Only Lorena and Jewel continued to look at Ashley. The redhead smiled at me over her nails. The women felt they owed the strippers! I gave more credence to Jewel's words about Ashley 'acting' on the roof. She'd been harmed by what happened to her with the gang, but Ashley made sure she landed in the roses.

"I'm willing to do my part," Ashley announced.

"I'm willing to do his part," Jewel said, pointing at me.

"Shut up, cow!" Ashley said with a pleasant smile. "Miguel, you saved me so I'm agreeable to having your needs fill me. I'll also help with your recovery from those practice sessions when they relate to the possibility of you saving my life in the future. I'm counting on a teenage boy being greatly motivated to save his very willing piece of ass. Let's be clear though--I do not fuck for science!"

Ashley turned to look at the Professor, "You're going to have to provide the coin to satisfy that cat."