I’m happy to feel Jess’s familiar energy fly into my home once more, "Kirkee, my favourite reanimate, I've missed you," she says, giving me a friendly hair tussle. Mom looks alarmed, "Jess, sweetheart, don't mess his hair, I want it to look nice in case Dr Shaheed decides to visit later. And, please don't call him Kirkee, it's kind of cacky, I don't like it," says Mom, while fixing my hair.

I read a kind of hurt look on Jess's face, "Jeez – and nice to see you too Mrs Russel. I've missed you guys – no need to snipe at me, you know my ways,” she says.

"I'm not sniping Jess, just being an overly fussy and proud parent, that's all," Mom replies.

Jess's tone switches from bright to brooding, "Sure, I get that – but, something’s not right Mrs Russel, I feel talk, talk happening between you guys."

"Jess, things are great! Kirk's doing really well; he's having little flashes of insight. His Father’s gone to meet with Dr Shaheed to discuss these breakthroughs – that’s what’s going on, it’s all going good," gushes Mom.

"OK, that's all whiz. It's just, I spoke with Casey – I sense her being real guarded, like she's hiding something from me. I'm not stupid, I know when I’m being avoided," says Jess, with an open honesty in her face.

"Relax Jess. Casey's probably traumatised after what she's been through; allow her rest and recuperate. Maybe you're feeling a little left out, you know how you like to be in the middle of everything," says Mom, with a dismissive tone in her voice.

Jess shakes her head, “No! Mrs Russel – listen to me,” she hollers, causing Mom to jump.

“Calm down Jess,” says Mom.

“NO! I won’t calm down – I tussled my friend’s hair and called him an affectionate name, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s your problem Mrs Russel – YOU’RE so freaking vain – Dr Shaheed doesn’t give a shit what Kirk looks like!”

Mom takes an in breath, “I care what my son looks like,” she says, with a quiet, defensive tone.

Jess cuts her off, “He’s not your son – he’s dead – he’s our reanimate! Kirk belongs to us  – get real woman!” booms Jess.

“Who’s us?” asks Mom, with a surprised and questioning look on her face.

“Us in the know – we who have the knowledge – we who have the insight – we who can use reanimation to our advantage,” answers Jess, with fervent excitement.

There is a rising animation in Jess; I can see that it is causing Mom to become a little anxious.

Jess turns her attention toward me, “Kirk, I know you can’t lie to me. You must know where Tobes is,” she looks me in the eye and asks, “Kirk, tell me where Tobes is?” 

“I don’t know,” is my honest answer.

“Were you with him when the Doctor went on the reanimate rampage?”

“No.”

“Where were you when it happened?”

Mom jumps in, “Jess, I’d rather you left, I feel uncomfortable with you being here asking all these question – like you’re interrogating us.”

“I feel uncomfortable with the story you guys are withholding from me – and why?” shoots Jess, jabbing her finger toward Mom.

I see the discomfort fall from Mom’s face – it’s replaced with a mix of tension and anger.

Jess fixes back to me, “Bring it Kirk, where were you guys when the Doctor reanimated?”

My mind tries to compute her question, I struggle to formulate an answer, I have the seed of one, and try to answer with the honesty of a full human.

“Come on Kirk, tell me!” jabs Jess.

Mom interjects, “Why are you so interested to know what happened down there?” she asks, with a hint of anger in her voice.

“Because I sense that something happened that you guys are trying to hide from me!”

I see the anger rising in Mom, and I know she’s about to spill words she’s been briefed not to spout in front of Jess. When her words come, they flood forth with an accusatorial force – “That’s because you probably had a big hand in what happened down there Jess!” 

The words hit her hard – Jess jolts.

She recovers and remains silent, her head bowed. 

I read immediate regret spread across Mom’s face, “I’m sorry Jess, I didn’t mean that,” she says, with sadness.

Jess replies with a soft calm, her head still bowed toward the floor, “Yes you did – you meant it!”

“No, I didn’t, you know the way we say hurtful things when we're angry; of course I didn’t mean it Jess,” says Mom, regret rolling off her loose tongue.

Jess continues to talk with her head bowed, “I get it now. You people have lost confidence in me for some reason; I’m feeling your distrust real strong. I knew there was a reason those two members of the Association visited my home.”

Jess lifts her head and looks directly at me, “You know Kirk, I did so much to protect you guys while you were locked up in school. Jenna’s been spilling all kinds a stuff about a woman you met down there and all the weird stuff you were talking about. I worked so hard to divert and deflect the things she was saying… 

Mom interrupts, her words fuelled with fire again, “Well – if Jenna’s being saying things, we need to report her, she knows there’s a complete embargo on any news of this incident – and, she’s also a prime suspect in the murder of Associate Bradbury.”

Jess smiles, shakes her head, and re-focuses on me – “Associate Bradbury? Murder? I don’t know what else happened down there Kirk, but I’m blue that you guys suspect me of something, especially when I’ve invested so much of me in you,” her head shakes with sadness, “and we four were so tight, so together,” she says.

She looks at Mom, “I gotta go, my folks are keeping a hard eye on me while my abduction’s still being investigated,” she says, raising here eyebrow.

Mom responds with a hint of panic in her voice, “Oh, Jess, honey, you won’t say anything about that to the Police – will you?”

“Mrs Russel – don’t call me honey, I don’t like it – I’m not sweet,” says Jess, throwing her bag on her shoulder and heading for the door.

Mom hollers after her, “Jess, come on, let’s talk!” Jess ignores her, looks at me, pulls up her t-shirt and pulls down her jeans a little, “Look Kirk, I even had a tattoo done – I kinda regret it now.” I observe two small words in swirling black script just below Jess’s pelvic bone: REANIMATES RULE.

 ......

Dr Shaheed does her best to reassure Mom, "Don't worry, we're keeping a close eye on Jess, monitoring all her social media accounts. We’ll be ready to act, should we have to," she says.

……

The Officer looks younger after a good nights sleep. He's arrived at my house to meet with Dr Shaheed – "What's your feeling on Jess, do you think she had some involvement in the reanimation of the Doc and Associate Bradbury?" he asks.

Dr Shaheed answers with confidence, "Jess is a supremely intelligent, a highly charged young woman, she has the potential to be a real asset to The Association. That said, it pains me to say that the evidence points to the fact that she may have turned toward The Dark Side, and is actively dabbling in reanimation," says Dr Shaheed, with disappointment in her voice.

"Evidence? We don't have hard evidence Dr Shaheed," says The Officer.

"Look, during reanimation, the carcass often cajoles, torments and takes on characteristics of the person doing the reanimation. We know the carcass referred to Toby, as Tobes, which is a Jess trait. And, the fact she has a tattoo of the phrase: Reanimate’s Rule, which the Doc scrawled on the wall – well, I'd suggest she had a part in his reanimation as well," says Dr Shaheed.

…….

Dr Shaheed’s words make me feel a little sad.

……

Dad is angry with Mom for spilling her words, “I really wish you’d held your tongue; how do we handle Jess now?” he asks no one in particular.

The Officer answers with authority, “By collecting hard evidence. Until we have that, we must assume Jess is innocent, and act accordingly.” He turns to Dr Shaheed, “I appreciate your experience and opinion, but it is only conjecture. I think Casey, Toby and Kirk need to do all they can to get Jess back on board, re-earn her trust. Meanwhile, we need to stake out the reanimate basement at Arlington High – whoever’s behind these horrors is sure to check out the basement – we need to be there when they do – and nail em red handed.”

I see a look of confusion on Mom’s face, “If it is Jess, what can we do? I mean – the Authorities can’t deal with a paranormal issue.”

“Good question Mrs Russel,” says The Officer. I see him thinking hard, “We can’t even deal with whoever murdered the Doc, the media and real world authorities think it was drugs, and Associate Bradbury’s reported as a missing person – whoever’s doing this is literally getting away with murder!” he says, a mix of disbelief and anger flooding his face.

“Yes – that’s why we have to deal with this situation ourselves,” says Dr Shaheed.

“Ourselves?” asks The Officer.

“The Association,” answers Dr Shaheed.

The Officer focuses intently on Dr Shaheed, “So, let’s say we discover it’s Jess, working with a murdering accomplice, how do we, The Association, deal with them?” asks The Officer.

Dr Shaheed answers with assertion, “We remove them.”

The Officer raises an eyebrow, and asks, “Remove them – from where?”

“From life,” answers Dr Shaheed, with a hard, unwavering authority.