And then something grabbed my shoulder.I turned and screamed, slamming whatever it was in the head with the skillet.
“Stop, lady!”a man said.“I’m not one of them!”
I held the skillet back, and sanity reset itself.What I had assumed was a zombie grabbing me was—well—I mean, he looked like a zombie…
“Hey,” I said.“You’re not going to eat my brains, are you?”
“That’s offensive,” he said.“You’re stepping on my finger.”
I reached down and picked it up.It was slimy.I handed it back to him.
“You’re, uh.Living Impaired,” I said.
“Yes,” he said.
He was a zombie, then—not that I should say that, but it’s still a useful phrase.He just turned differently.Or revived.Or came back.With his mind in-tact.Look, I have to admit, I was anything but a cultural ambassador for the undead.Apparently, Living Impairment happens in a variety of fashions and means.
“What are you doing here?”I asked.
“I happen to live here,” he said.“Name’s Joey DiMarco.I’m on 7D.”
“Is that the floor we’re on?”
“Yeah,” he said.“Seventh floor.Hey, you’re that newspaper lady, aren’t you?”
“Yup,” I said.
“Oh, sweet nips,” he said.“I’ve heard a lot about you.You’re kinda a celebrity.Can I see it?”
“See what?”My voice felt arctic.
“The Moon Kiss,” he said, his voice glowing.He coughed.
“I’m kinda busy.Do you know a lady named Tamara that lives here?”
“Black lady.Nurse, right?Yeah, she’s cool.We’ve met a few times when she’s grabbing her mail.”
“Is she still here?Is she alive?”
Joey blinked a few times.
“I think,” he said.“I’m patrolling the corridors when I can.There’s not much activity up here.”
“There’s a puker on the fire escape,” I said.
“Oh, gross,” he said.“I heard all this has something to do with tainted food.”
“Tainted food?”
“That’s what some of the other guys at the church were saying.Some kind of food poisoning or something.I don’t know—just some theories we been throwing around.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I said.“Are the next few stairwells clear?”
“Yeah,” he said.“I’ll walk with you, just in case.”
I was a little flattered.I had not had a man offer to escort me in some time.And to his credit, Joey was pretty handsome.There was a grayish sheen to his skin, however, and dark black circles under his eyes that let me know he was off on some fundamental level.It wasn’t enough to make me not consider him handsome, but I wasn’t sure about how any of that worked.Vampires were one thing.Vampires at least breathed and were warm and weren’t, well.Rotting in place.The Living Impaired, however… I just wasn’t sure.
“Where’d your shoes go?”he asked.
