The Undertakers by Ty Drago Page A

they go blind and start bouncing off the walls!”
    I remembered Ms. Yu and Assistant Principal Titlebaum. “Would enough of it kill them?” I asked.
    The Brain Factory went quiet. Finally Sharyn said somberly, “We ain’t got a way to kill a Corpse, Will…at least not yet. Saltwater slows them down, but it don’t do nothing permanent.”
    â€œThey usually recover within a few minutes,” added Steve.
    I looked from one to the other. “But—back on Market Street, Sharyn, you chopped the arms off of one of them with that sword on your back.”
    â€œVader,” she said, reaching up and patting the hilt.
    â€œWhatever—that’s got to do some damage! Don’t tell me the arms just grow back!”
    â€œThey don’t,” said Steve. “But that Corpse will just Transfer.”
    â€œTransfer?”
    â€œYou haven’t been to First Stop,” he said.
    Sharyn and I said “No” together, although I still didn’t get what this First Stop thing was.
    Steve nodded. “Then I’ll give you the short version. Corpses aren’t dead human beings. They’re invaders who take possession of cadavers, the fresher the better, and animate them somehow. The bodies are like vehicles to them—ways to get around in our world. They keep each one for a while, until it starts really falling apart. Then they just Transfer to another one. The body you described—armless—will be pretty useless to that particular Corpse. So he’ll Transfer.”
    â€œProbably already has,” said Sharyn.
    â€œOh,” I said. “But what about the body he’s in? I mean, why don’t people see the arms that Sharyn chopped off?”
    Steve explained, “The Corpses have a way of blocking what people see. But you’ll learn more about that at First Stop.”
    â€œYou mean it’s part of their Masks,” I said. “Helene told me about Masks. She even showed me how to spot a Corpse’s Mask by holding my eyes just right.”
    Steve nodded. “Same technique for seeing an autostereogram. It’s part of the First Stop training.”
    â€œYeah,” Sharyn added. “But it’s good to know you got the knack for it down already. That’ll speed things up for you.”
    Great, I thought bitterly.
    Steve said, “You know, I remember giving your father a Magic Eye poster that I’d designed and printed out. This was a while back, when we were just beginning to understand the Corpses. He was the only adult that we know of to ever have the Sight—but he had some trouble spotting a Mask. I thought practice with it might help. Then of course he…” His words trailed off. When his eyes regained focus, he found Sharyn and me staring at him.
    â€œSorry,” he muttered.
    â€œForget it,” said Sharyn. “Red, don’t you sweat none of that for now. Come on, I’ll show you the dorms.”
    I frowned at them both, my mind spinning with questions. Where had these invaders come from? How had my dad found out about them? Why had he been the only adult who could See them?
    And why hadn’t I known about any of this?
    That was the question that hurt.
    Suddenly I didn’t feel like asking it. I didn’t feel like asking anything.
    I turned to follow Sharyn.
    â€œWait a second,” Steve said. “Before you go, help me test something.”
    Sharyn groaned again. “The last time you conned me into playing lab rat, my skin turned green for a week!”
    â€œThis isn’t like that. I’ve been working on a new saltwater delivery system. Tom’s worried that pistols draw too much attention for Schoolers. He asked me to come up with something less—conspicuous. Besides, I don’t want you anyway. My prototype is for somebody a little—well, smaller. Bill here will do.”
    â€œWill,” I corrected impatiently.
    â€œRight. Sorry. Come