“You’re saying they were a bunch of High Plains Drifters?” I ask.
“High Plains?”
“Zombies.”
“Yes.”
“How did you know Church and his friends were going to be here?”
“I didn’t. I came here looking for you.”
“You go everywhere with that gun?”
“Of course.”
“Why?”
“It’s part of why I came to Los Angeles. My real work. I kill the dead.”
Carlos is leaning over Church’s body.
“Your friends are starting to leak on my floor. Should I be worried?”
“Is the back door unlocked?”
Carlos nods.
I grab Church and one of the other Drifters by the ankles while Brigitte grabs the third. We drag them into the alley behind the bar. The Dumpster is about half full, but I can make them fit if I push hard enough.
“Don’t bother,” says Brigitte.
“Why?”
Brigitte walks to the next building. Water is leaking from an outdoor spigot. She turns it on harder and washes her hands. I follow her over and put my hands in when she’s done, letting the frigid flow rinse black gunk from my palms. When we’re done, I wipe my hands on my jeans. Brigitte is wearing a red T-shirt with the name of a Czech band, a black miniskirt, and boots.
She gives me a questioning look.
“Go ahead,” I tell her.
She’s not shy. She happily wipes her hands all over my jeans and even kneels down so she can use my cuffs to clean between her fingers. Wish I’d thought of that.
“I take it that you don’t know a lot about revenants?” she asks.
“I’ve never even seen one until last night.”
“Do you know how to kill one?”
“I thought I just did.”
She shakes her head.
“We haven’t killed any of them. Just their brains. The rest of them is still alive and will awaken soon. That’s why it’s pointless to put them in the trash. They will just crawl out. A revenant without a brain can still hold you while others attack and kill. Or bite or scratch you, passing on their disease.”
“Okay. How do you kill it?”
“The nerves are the key. You must completely destroy its nervous system by ripping out its spine.”
I should have stayed home and watched Bedazzled with Kasabian.