Read Online The Reanimation of Edward Schuett by Derek J. Goodman - Free Book Online

look just like them and eat them. How can you possibly say that something that destroys something so close to its own kind could ever have a soul?”
    Rae took another long drag and blew a cloud of smoke into the air, thinking about what Ringo said. His words made a certain amount of sense, she supposed, but she wasn’t sure if his logic was infallible. She had two gut instincts warring inside her. One fell in line with the words her parents had always said, all the things about how the only good zed was one with a bullet hole through its brain. The other kept coming back to that pleading look that had been on Edward’s face.
    “Okay, so maybe most zombies don’t have souls,” Rae said. “But this other one is different. Even if it doesn’t have a soul, it’s still a living, thinking creature. And I can’t let you just keep it locked up in…um, where do you even have it right now?”
    “None of your damn business. Now look, are you here on official Merton Security business, or are you here just to satisfy your own fucking curiosity?”
    She supposed she could lie, but there was always the slight possibility that a lie could come back later and lose her the job. “As far as I know Merton doesn’t know anything about this Edward yet. The only people who know anything weird is going on are you, me, and your idiot friend.” She supposed Johnny knew, too, but she didn’t think that would make much difference. He was too interested in himself and his job to care much about some random weird zombie. Or at least she hoped. If he did get it in his head to tell someone at Merton she didn’t think anyone there would stop to consider questions of a zombie’s rights or soul. They would probably just see a smart zombie as a threat that needed to be eliminated immediately. Suddenly Rae wasn’t so sure if involving Johnny had been such a good idea, not if anybody hoped to get to the bottom of this situation without just shooting Edward in the head.
    Ringo looked at his tobacco pouch like he wanted to roll another cigarette, then apparently decided against it. “Yeah, the problem with Charlie, though, is that last I saw him we didn’t part on good terms. Meaning he was threatening to blow that zed’s head off. He could be out drinking right now and blabbing to everybody about what he saw.”
    “And if he does,” Rae said, “we’ll likely have people storming your place with torches and pitchforks looking for a piece of him. Please tell me you didn’t actually just lock Edward up somewhere at your home.”
    Ringo grimaced. “It’s in my shed out back.”
    Rae tossed her butt to the ground and smeared it out with her boot. “Which means we should probably move him.”
    “What do you mean ‘we?’“ Ringo said. “I already fucking told you. My zombie to do whatever I fucking want with it.”
    “And if you want to keep you miracle money-making zombie then you’ll let me help, got it?”
    “Why are you even here? What the hell is it you’re getting out of this?”
    That was a good question, one Rae had been wondering about for most of this conversation. She’d never wanted anything to do with zombies, and a smart, talking zombie shouldn’t have been any different. But it was different somehow.
    Rae shrugged. “Maybe I just feel sorry for him.”
    “It. You mean you feel sorry for it .”
    “That’s what I said. Now come on. Maybe if we talk with it we can even figure out what happened that made it so special. You mind putting my bike in your truck and giving me a ride?”
    “Sure, but would you mind putting your rifle in back, too? It might be a little large to fit in—”
    “Not a chance in hell. Now let’s go.” She was so interested in getting her bike loaded and going to see the mysterious zombie that she forgot she had put her cell on silent, and she didn’t feel it vibrate.

Chapter Eight
     
    Ringo hadn’t bothered to take anything out of the shed before he’d locked Edward in, and Edward