“It'll be okay.” Seth winced as he ripped the butcher knife forward and out between his knuckles, cutting most of his hand in half. Blood soaked the sunglasses-wearing duck.
“Oh, my God!” Seth's mom screamed, reaching toward him, but Seth pulled away.
“Have you lost your mind?” his dad asked.
“No, it's fine. Look.” Seth held up his hand and spread his fingers wide, looking at his parents through the wide, bloody “V” in the middle of his hand. He furrowed his brow and concentrated. His parents watched with wide eyes as strings of sinew and muscle bridged the wound and pulled the two halves of his hand together.
Seth wiped the blood from his hand with the towel, then showed them the front and back of his hand again, making it clear there wasn't even a scratch.
“What was that?” Seth's mom grabbed his hand and inspected it more closely.
“Didn't you ever wonder why I never got sick? Why I never got hurt, even when I fell twenty feet from that tree in the front yard?”
“We thought we were just lucky,” Seth's mom said. “What else were we supposed to think?” She looked at Seth's father, who was just staring at Seth with a cold, distant look in his eyes. “Jonathan?”
Seth's father didn't say a thing.
“I can heal other people, too,” Seth said. “Jenny's father was crushed by a tractor last year, and I healed him. There were witnesses. That's when the town started all the talk about witchcraft.”
“Witchcraft? I don't remember any talk about that,” his mom said.
“That's because you two were here,” Seth said. “You would have heard if you were around, and especially if you were still going to Fallen Oak Baptist. The Goodlings really stirred everybody up about it. Ashleigh Goodling had a power, too. Her touch made people feel love. And she used it to be a very effective evil bitch.”
“Don't say that!” Seth's mom said. “Ashleigh's such a nice girl.”
“No, she's not,” Seth said. “She just had everyone under her spell. That's how she raised a mob to kill me and Jenny.”
“What? When did this happen?” his mom asked.
“Easter. Ashleigh got me through the chest with a shotgun. Then they tried to hang Jenny from that old oak tree in front of the courthouse.”
Jenny looked at Seth, not sure if she wanted things to go this far.
“Easter...” his dad said.
“And Jenny's my other half,” Seth said. “Her touch doesn't heal, but...” Seth looked at her.
Jenny looked from Seth to his parents, who were staring at her. Fuck it, she thought. She took off a glove and raised her hand, then she made pulsing blisters and a dark rash appear on her hand. She quickly drew it back in, leaving no sign of disease.
“Ugh,” Seth's mother said, and Jenny felt a little hurt, and a little angry at Seth for revealing her secret.
“Jenny and I belong together,” Seth said. “And we could be together for the rest of my life, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not going to live without her again.”
Jenny felt unexpectedly touched, and lowered her head to hide her eyes behind her hair, until she could swallow back the tears that threatened to form. It felt good to be back with Seth, even with all the vulnerable emotions he stirred in her. She liked feeling human with him more than she'd enjoyed feeling like a goddess with Alexander.
Seth's parents stared at them in shock.
“So, that takes care of that.” Seth downed more of his whiskey. “We have two pretty urgent problems. One, the United States government—I mean CDC, Homeland Security, all the way up to the White House—they wanted to capture Jenny and me, and make us their lab rats for the rest of our lives. They might lie and tell you they're only after Jenny, but they want us both. I think the only reason they haven't come for me yet is because they were waiting for me to find Jenny. So, we have to deal with that.
“And on top of that,” Seth continued, “There are others like us, and they're not the nicest people out there. One of them is...has Great-grandfather's ability, Dad. He can raise the dead and make them into zombies.”
“You told him about that?” Seth's mom snapped at his dad. “I thought we agreed to keep all that away from Seth.”
“We did agree. And it clearly didn't help,” Seth's dad said.
“It turns out Jenny's power enhances the zombies,” Seth said. “It's like a fuel. Or an upgrade. Or both.”
Jenny nodded when Seth's dad looked at her.
“He's not going to leave Jenny alone,” Seth said. “He wants her power, and he'll be back for her. Probably with a big pack of rabid zombies. We need to get ready for that.”