bathroom and we had drawn the curtains shut when we had first cleared the house. Now Harrigan hung heavy towels over the opening so that we could use the flashlight without fear. I flicked it on. The light was dazzling – a piercing beam that bounced off the white tiles of the walls and floor, and illuminated the whole room.
Walker chose the long-nosed pliers and tested them, snapping at thin air. They looked vile and menacing, and the serrated grip was crusted with dirt. He cleaned them on the tail of his shirt and looked at Harrigan.
“You’ll have to hold him down,” Walker said. “Get behind him and pin his arms.”
Harrigan looked doubtful. He was a big man, but Jed was bigger and more finely muscled. And Jed had a temper. Harrigan hesitated. “Shouldn’t…. shouldn’t we tie him down?”
I shook my head. “No rope,” I said. “And I’m not going back out into the night to find any.”
Still Harrigan hesitated. He edged himself behind the chair and took up a position where he could press down on Jed’s shoulders. Walker snatched another towel from a railing and wrapped it across Jed’s chest, like a hairdresser’s cape.
“For the blood,” he explained to me – not that he needed to.
I leaned close to Jed and looked him in the eye. We were gathered in a tight knot around the chair and Jed was beginning to look alarmed. He knew what was coming – and the imminent fear of pain was starting to seep through the whiskey-fueled haze.
“You can’t make any noise,” I said to Jed, speaking slowly and clearly to make sure he understood. “It’s important,” I explained. “The undead are like sharks, Jed. They hear noi se – it sounds the same as someone splashing in the water does to a shark – so if you start screaming, they are going to hear you. They’ll find us and kill us all. Understand?”
Jed nodded, but it was a jerky, spasmodic gesture that spoke of his fear. He was tense in the chair. I could see the thick corded veins in his neck beginning to swell. His jaw was clenched tightly shut. Walker leaned over him.
“Open up,” he said.
Jed hesitated. His eyes flicked to me, then up to the ceiling. His mouth opened reluctantly.
“Wider.”
Jed made a sharp hissing sound through his nostrils, like a bull about to charge. I turned the flashlight round and shone the bright light into his mouth.
Walker hunched down a little and his voice became perfunctory and practical. I crouched down close beside him. Jed’s breath stank. It smelled like a skunk had crawled between his lips and died. Walker reversed the pliers in his hand. They had a yellow plastic grip. He eased them inside Jed’s mouth and rested the edge of his hand on Jed’s bottom jaw to stop him slamming his mouth shut. Using one handle of the pliers, Walker gently tapped at a lower back tooth that was barely visible, surrounded by infected red swollen gum.
“Is this the one?” He touched the tooth – and Jed’s body went stiff with an electric jolt of pain. His hands clawed at the armrests of the chair and he thumped his foot on the floor. Harrigan jumped in alarm and locked his big beefy hands down on Jed’s shoulders, clamping like a vice.
Jed wailed in low pain and said something that was dist orted by the shape of his mouth.
Walker straightened and turned to me. “It’s nasty,” he said. “Very nasty. The gum is swollen so that it will be hard to get a grip on the tooth.” He looked thoughtful, and then bent back down to look inside Jed’s open mouth again.
“See the tooth? ” he asked. I peered over the rim of the flashlight. “See the cavity in the middle? That’s going to make it tough to get a good grip with the pliers,” Walker explained. “Because if I grab too hard, the tooth might shatter completely.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that bad?”
“Very,” he said. “Then I’d have to dig around , trying to remove the broken fragments. We could be here for hours, and I might not get it
Walker chose the long-nosed pliers and tested them, snapping at thin air. They looked vile and menacing, and the serrated grip was crusted with dirt. He cleaned them on the tail of his shirt and looked at Harrigan.
“You’ll have to hold him down,” Walker said. “Get behind him and pin his arms.”
Harrigan looked doubtful. He was a big man, but Jed was bigger and more finely muscled. And Jed had a temper. Harrigan hesitated. “Shouldn’t…. shouldn’t we tie him down?”
I shook my head. “No rope,” I said. “And I’m not going back out into the night to find any.”
Still Harrigan hesitated. He edged himself behind the chair and took up a position where he could press down on Jed’s shoulders. Walker snatched another towel from a railing and wrapped it across Jed’s chest, like a hairdresser’s cape.
“For the blood,” he explained to me – not that he needed to.
I leaned close to Jed and looked him in the eye. We were gathered in a tight knot around the chair and Jed was beginning to look alarmed. He knew what was coming – and the imminent fear of pain was starting to seep through the whiskey-fueled haze.
“You can’t make any noise,” I said to Jed, speaking slowly and clearly to make sure he understood. “It’s important,” I explained. “The undead are like sharks, Jed. They hear noi se – it sounds the same as someone splashing in the water does to a shark – so if you start screaming, they are going to hear you. They’ll find us and kill us all. Understand?”
Jed nodded, but it was a jerky, spasmodic gesture that spoke of his fear. He was tense in the chair. I could see the thick corded veins in his neck beginning to swell. His jaw was clenched tightly shut. Walker leaned over him.
“Open up,” he said.
Jed hesitated. His eyes flicked to me, then up to the ceiling. His mouth opened reluctantly.
“Wider.”
Jed made a sharp hissing sound through his nostrils, like a bull about to charge. I turned the flashlight round and shone the bright light into his mouth.
Walker hunched down a little and his voice became perfunctory and practical. I crouched down close beside him. Jed’s breath stank. It smelled like a skunk had crawled between his lips and died. Walker reversed the pliers in his hand. They had a yellow plastic grip. He eased them inside Jed’s mouth and rested the edge of his hand on Jed’s bottom jaw to stop him slamming his mouth shut. Using one handle of the pliers, Walker gently tapped at a lower back tooth that was barely visible, surrounded by infected red swollen gum.
“Is this the one?” He touched the tooth – and Jed’s body went stiff with an electric jolt of pain. His hands clawed at the armrests of the chair and he thumped his foot on the floor. Harrigan jumped in alarm and locked his big beefy hands down on Jed’s shoulders, clamping like a vice.
Jed wailed in low pain and said something that was dist orted by the shape of his mouth.
Walker straightened and turned to me. “It’s nasty,” he said. “Very nasty. The gum is swollen so that it will be hard to get a grip on the tooth.” He looked thoughtful, and then bent back down to look inside Jed’s open mouth again.
“See the tooth? ” he asked. I peered over the rim of the flashlight. “See the cavity in the middle? That’s going to make it tough to get a good grip with the pliers,” Walker explained. “Because if I grab too hard, the tooth might shatter completely.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that bad?”
“Very,” he said. “Then I’d have to dig around , trying to remove the broken fragments. We could be here for hours, and I might not get it
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