The Living Dead 2

Therapeutic Intervention by Rory Harper

Rory Harper’s short fiction has appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Amazing Stories, Far Frontiers, Aboriginal Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Pulphouse, and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. His first novel, Petrogypsies, was published in 1989 and was recently reissued by Dark Star Books.

Harper currently blogs at the zombie-themed site eatourbrains.com, where this story originally appeared. Also of interest to zombie lovers might be his two zombie songs, “Fast Zombie Blues” and “Nothing Else Better to Do,” both of which are also available at eatourbrains.com.

Some of the major schools of psychotherapy are psychodynamic, psychoanalytic (e.g. Sigmund Freud), Adlerian, Cognitive-behavioral, Existential, and Rogerian or Person-Centered Therapy (PCT). In PCT, the therapist repeats key phrases that the client has said, which invites the client to elaborate and gradually reveal a wide swath of their thoughts and feelings. Author Blake Charlton, whose parents are both therapists, recently wrote a humorous piece about the first time he had a girl over for dinner, and how his parents would ask her things like, “Tell us about your relationship with your mother” and “So you’re disappointed that your mother works so hard in the city?” which finally led Charlton to exclaim, “No Rogerian therapy at the dinner table!”

Our next story also deals with a counseling scenario, albeit one that’s a bit more macabre. The author says, “Zombies are on my mind pretty often. I was also an addictions counselor for about seventeen years. A lot of my sessions bore some similarity to what takes place in this story-more so than you might think. There are a fair number of counselor in-jokes in this story, and one reader suggested that it be made into a short film for counselors in training, because of the way it illustrates proper responses to common issues, and illustrates how good counselors offer empathy and unconditional positive regard to their clients.”

Even if your client is a zombie.

Transcript of counseling session with Michael R.-May 12, 2019

Good afternoon, Michael. I see you have a new bucket with you.

Hi, Mr. Harper. You like the Hello Kitty on the side?

Very much. [Pause.] So, what would you like to talk about today, Michael?

Nothing much happening. Same old, same old, you know.

How’s your program going?

Um, work was pretty busy. I did a meeting on Thursday.

I think you told me last time that you might have found a new sponsor.

Yeah, he’s a good guy. Been clean three years now. You gotta respect that.

Yes.

It’s hard, you know. Sometimes I think about the old days. Back when I was all crazy. I’m a lot better now, but-

But what, Michael?

It’s like… I dunno… I just don’t feel… happy hardly ever any more.

That’s the brain changes, Michael. Everybody struggles with it. When you give up your bad habit, and all the intensity that goes with it, it takes time for your brain to adjust. It’s okay to not be happy while you’re working through it. You have to honor your loss, and learn to move onward. It takes time.

Yeah, I know… I just… Is this all there is? Just making it from day to day? Is this any way to live?

You’re still not sure it was worth it.

Yeah.

You’d probably be in the ground, Michael.

Sometimes I don’t remember so good, but I was wild and… and free, you know? Going balls to the wall like nothing else mattered. On a terminal buzz twenty-four seven.

I understand. You’re having euphoric recall. You’re remembering the good parts, but not the bad ones.

It was so great!

What about your family?

That part was great, too! [Pause.] Oh, shit. That’s awful, isn’t it?

You killed and ate them.

[Long pause.] Yeah. I’m ashamed.

The Colonel asked me to talk with you about something. On Saturday, an elderly couple was eaten a block away from your house.

That wasn’t me. No way.

I know. You were at work when it happened. I thought you might be able to help with whoever did it. You know how the Colonel is. It could get ugly.

I’m in the clear, Mr. Harper. I don’t hang out with those people no more.

You don’t want to go back to the bad old days, do you, Michael? That whole shoot-on-sight thing wasn’t good for anybody, was it?

Oh, hell, no. That’s when I lost this ear. Another inch to the left-

How about if we do a pee test? You think any DNA besides yours might show up?

[Long pause.]

I’m on your side, Michael. I want it to work as much as you do.

[Pause.] I had a bite. Just one bite. I swear.

How’d you get it?

Some guy. Over at the slaughterhouse. You know, when I took my bucket in for a refill.

The Colonel will want to talk to you after our session.

I swear, I didn’t know the guy. What the fuck was I supposed to do, man? He just fuckin’ walked up and gave it to me! If I wouldn’t have eaten it, somebody else would have. They were already dead, right?

And that’s called?

[Pause.] Shit… Rationalization…

There isn’t any vague “somebody” out there that you can put this off on. You’re the one that’s responsible for your own behavior. Nobody else.

It smelled so damn good. You can always smell the difference between human brains and cow brains. So damn good.

This is a slip, Michael, not a relapse. The Colonel is going to have somebody keeping a close eye on you. First time you look like you’re even thinking about biting somebody, it’s a bullet in the head.

I gotta tell you, your brains smell great, Mr. Harper.

This isn’t about me, Michael.

I mean, sometimes I wake up dreaming about eating your brains. Like they would taste better than any other brains in the whole world. I would soooo love to eat your brains.

That’s called “transference.” It happens in therapy sometimes. If you spend time obsessing about my brains, you don’t have to face your own issues.

I bet I could just jump over the desk, and-

But you won’t. [Sound of shell being jacked into twelve-gauge pump shotgun.] Michael… you’re a slow zombie. I’d blow your head off before you got completely out of the chair. You know that you wouldn’t be the first.

Fuck. Sometimes I wish I was a fast zombie.

They’re all gone. They were an evolutionary dead end. Every human still alive has killed hundreds of zombies, fast and slow, Michael. Being slow is what saved you.

Crap. Yeah, I know. You need guys like me.

You’re a great plumber, even if you are undead. Please open your bucket. Now.

[Pause.]

How does it smell?

It’s cow brains. How you think it smells?

Please, Michael?

It smells… okay. All right? I could eat them. It would be okay.

Okay is what will keep you out of the ground. You stick with okay and no bullet in the head. You get too far away from okay, and you’re gone, no matter how good a plumber you are. Okay?

[Pause.] Okay… Crap.

I want you to do thirty meetings in thirty days. Here’s the card. I want it signed every day by your sponsor. You need to have some long talks with him.

Aw, man! I haven’t had to do that stuff since when we first started.

You ate some brains this week. If you think that was a good plan, let me know. I’ll shoot you myself.

It wasn’t a good plan.

Pee test every week until you get to the other side of this.

Fine. Just… fine.

I’m on your side, Michael, but you’ve got to be on your side, too. I believe in you. You’re a good man. You can do this.

I know.

I’ll see you next week, Michael.

Not if I see you first.

[Pause.]

Just kidding.

There’s a meeting at Beth Israel at seven tonight. I’d like to see a signature on your card that says you made it.

Yeah. I’ll try.

Just remember: there’s a bullet in the head waiting for you if you don’t.