“Mija, no te voy a mentir,” La Señora Falcón said gravely. “It’s a dangerous assignment.” The matronly woman settled her plump body into the seat across from me in what once had been a lab supply … [Read more...]
MIND BLOCK 101. It was almost two months after Mr. Nez announced that it would take only a week or so for Filomino and I to train each Mano Poderosa zombie how to block the intrusion of a Zombie … [Read more...]
TOGETHER. In my dream I was running through an open desert, running for my life. Instead of my usual jeans and sweatshirt, I was wearing the dress my mother had sewn for me when I was sixteen. My … [Read more...]
I slowly became aware that I was conscious. That it was dark and that I was screaming. “Hold him down,” someone said. The babble of voices in my head was deafening. It was as if a hundred people … [Read more...]
I was walking behind Lazaro when Mr Neza stopped reached out and grabbed him by the arm. As Lazaro turned to him I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. Lazaro’s face was completely white, like … [Read more...]
CRISIS! The caravan of zombie vans returning from the destroyed training camp in the Joshua Tree desert approached Los Angeles on the San Bernardino freeway; the setting sun silhouetted the … [Read more...]
AFTERMATH. The drone of the helicopters driven by the Oñate zombies was still ringing in my ears when I turned to Pearl. We embraced tightly. Vida, whining persistently, wanted to be part of the … [Read more...]
THE BATTLE OF JUMBO ROCKS. The drive back to the Joshua Tree zombie training compound was somber. Pearl and I didn’t look at one another, each lost in our own thoughts. Filomino was convinced … [Read more...]
THE RAID. We left the secret La Familia zombie training camp at Joshua Tree at two in the morning. Filomino Brancos, our combat trainer, estimated that the drive to the Oñate zombie compound at Big … [Read more...]
WHO IS MY FATHER? It took a moment for me to realize that I had collapsed onto a chair in the main cabin of the secret Joshua Tree zombie training camp. The impact of seeing Juan de Oñate’s photo … [Read more...]
PLAN OF ATTACK! “Oñate is vain,” Mr. Nez intoned, as he adjusted the display of a power point presentation projected on a large posterboard screen behind him. “It’s a weakness we will … [Read more...]
BASIC TRAINING. The last moment of civilized rest any of us zombies got for a while was the Mother’s Day picnic in Joshua Tree. That’s the picnic I didn’t attend because the Oñate zombies had … [Read more...]
MOTHER DAY REDUX. “All aboard!” The van was running and ready to leave for the Mother’s Day picnic. The other zombies quartered at the secret Joshua Tree military training camp who were going to … [Read more...]
CAMP HASCAWALLA “Listen up! Everything you are going to learn in the next few weeks is a matter of life and death. YOUR life and death. We’ll soon be heading for the Oñate compound --pay attention … [Read more...]
THE WORSE DAY OF MY LIFE. At seven on the dot there was a group of about eight of us sitting around a large conference table in room 27 of the secret Mano Poderosa underground laboratory under the … [Read more...]
ATTACK OF THE RED SASH. I was awakened by the blaring of a loud and persistent wailing alarm. I stumbled out of bed and made my way to the door. Alarm? What was going on here? I could hear … [Read more...]
My discussion with Pearl about eating human flesh made me more thoughtful about Vida, the mutated zombie dog, and her vegetarian diet. Vida shadowed me everywhere I went and I had gotten to thinking … [Read more...]
KING OF TEXCOCO. The news that Mr. Nez, leader of the La Familia band of zombies, was indeed the legendary Aztec poet King Nezahualcoyotl was stunning. It made Pearl and I devoted students of “The … [Read more...]
SCHOOL AGAIN? It was first good sleep I’d had in several days. I awoke to the sound of someone jamming a piece of paper, loudly and persistently, under the sill of my bedroom door. For a moment I … [Read more...]
GENETIC RIDDLES. “A zombie dog?” I asked. It was a few minutes after our arrival at the underground chambers of the Mano Poderosa laboratory, secretly situated underneath the Los Angeles County … [Read more...]
VIDA. “Just remember, you’re here to visit a sick relative. If anyone asks, it’s your uncle José on your mother’s side.” Having narrowly escaped the bombarding metal darts of the Oñate zombie … [Read more...]