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By the time Major had been in the institution for a couple of weeks it had become routine—mornings were for chess with Scott E. and another round of discussion of Scott E.'s favorite conspiracy theory: boat party zombies.

"I tell you, Major, it was the freakiest damn thing you ever saw. Their eyes were all red and they were chasing down everyone they could find. People were screaming and diving off the boat and having their throats torn out … I don't even remember how I got away."

"Come on, just make your move, man. You were imagining it. Like you do the devil. Giving the delusion voice only gives it power." But Major couldn't help remembering the red eyes of Julian Dupont—and the fact that the man had gotten up from multiple gunshots to the chest. It wasn't possible that zombies were real … but it sure would explain some things.

"What if it's not a delusion? What if I saw exactly what I think I did, and they're calling me crazy to keep the secret under wraps? You ever think of that?" Scott E.'s eyes were wide and wild. He actually was paranoid and delusional, Major reminded himself. Zombies weren't real.

"And you're sure you never saw the brown-haired girl in the red dress?" He had tried to describe Liv, but found he had a hard time picturing pre-boat party Liv. Maybe she had always looked the way she did now, and his memory was playing tricks on him. In here, anything was possible.

"No, man. Wish I had."

"Yeah. Me, too." Although at least Liv still had her sanity, even if her personality had altered almost completely. For the millionth time, at least, Major wished he had gone to that damn party with her.

When Scott E. turned up dead in his room, Major was shocked and saddened … but not entirely surprised. At least, not as long as he thought it was suicide. Once Ravi had declared it a murder, Major had to start thinking about the crazy conspiracy theories—and about the zombies. What if it was possible? Could he really afford to let it go unmentioned?

He was sitting there studying the chess board, trying to decide if it was crazier to give credence to the idea of zombies or crazier to let a potential lead go unmentioned when Liv came into the room.

"Careful," she said as she approached. "Don't open yourself up to the classic Reverse Sicilian gambit." She looked at him hoping for a joke, but his wit was coming pretty slowly these days. "That's a chess thing, right?"

"Sounds more like something a call girl would make you pay extra for," he said, as the best he could come up with.

Liv took the seat across the chess board from him, giving up the attempt at banter. "Listen, I apologize for Clive going all Joe Friday back there."

Major couldn't blame the man—Clive had already been suspicious of him, and now here his closest companion inside turned up dead and Major was the first to find him. Suspicious circumstances all over the place. Without intending to, Major found himself approaching the topic that had been on his mind ever since Scott E. had talked to him after his first group session. "Scott E. did tell me something else." He leaned forward, putting the chess piece he had been fiddling with back on the board. "It's just … It's so crazy." Too crazy, Major. Abort. Abort! But this was Liv, after all, and if he couldn't tell Liv, who could he tell? "Liv, did you see anything strange at the boat party?"

She looked stricken, and he realized too late that of course she was the last person he should have been bringing this up with. She was still recovering from the trauma of that party, how could he put this on her? "You mean, besides all the bloodshed … and the fire and the corpses?" she asked.

He had come this far. He had to know. If Liv had seen zombies, wouldn't that explain some of her distress? "He said … He said he saw … zombies."

Her eyes widened, and for a moment he thought that was it, that was what she had been keeping to herself all this time, that she'd seen them, too. But then she smiled, like the idea was too weird to be considered. "Zombies? Like … real flesh-eating zombies?"

"Look, I—I know. But he said he didn't just see these zombies, he got 'em on video. On his phone."

"Did he show it to you?" Liv asked, her smile fading.

"No. But he, uh, he said he sent it to a friend. Someone in local TV." Liv was thinking rapidly, he could see it in her face, and he wondered what she really had seen. Maybe she'd actually seen zombies and was trying to wrap her head around the idea that someone else had as well. "Like I say," Major continued, watching her closely, "crazy … right?"

"Yeah. Crazy. Right." Liv got to her feet. "But whatever he did capture on that video may just have something to do with why someone killed him. Thanks, Major."

"Sure."

She looked at him, really studying his face. "You doing okay?"

"As well as can be for someone in here."

"Take care of yourself, Major. I'll—I'll keep you posted on the progress of the investigation, as much as I can."

"Thanks." He watched her walk away, wondering one more time just what the hell had happened that night on Lake Washington.

With Scott E. gone, it seemed more important to Major that he find out what had happened to his friend than that he continue his treatment, so he checked himself out of the hospital. He ended up spending the evening at Liv's, watching a movie with her and Peyton and Ravi, wishing for the days when he and Liv would have ended up in the bedroom, the way Peyton and Ravi did, but glad that at least they could hang out together as friends now.

That night, he checked out Scott E.'s apartment, finding Julian there, and a blond guy with him. Major was sure he was on to something now—and he was definitely a step closer to believing in Scott E.'s zombie theory. He got out of the apartment by a back window as they came in a front one, found their car, popped open the trunk, and climbed inside. When the car had stopped for a while, and he was sure they must have gotten out and gone inside wherever they were, he got out as well, cautiously, finding himself in front of some place called Meat Cute. Inside through the window he could see Julian and the blond guy.

So he staked the place out, watching as it opened up in the morning. When he saw a big Asian guy come out with a bunch of small coolers, just like the one he had taken from Julian Dupont's car, he knew he was on the right track. Would there be brains in those, too?

The Asian guy went back inside, and Major ran for the car, scooping up all the coolers and taking off with them. Now he would know. Now he would have proof that he had never been crazy.

He took them straight to Liv's. She needed to know what he knew, to know she wasn't crazy, either, if she had seen something she'd never told anyone about.

As the door closed behind him, she asked how the job search was going.

Major frowned at her. "Job search?"

"You told me mission one was finding a job—didn't you?"

"No, must've been someone else." He couldn't wait or he'd lose his nerve. "Liv, I, uh … I gotta show you something. Don't freak out, all right? I wasn't crazy." He looked around quickly. "No one else is here, right?"

Liv shook her head. "Just us." She looked upset, and Major felt badly for upsetting her further, but it couldn't be helped.

He ducked out the door and picked up the coolers he had left there, bringing them inside. "It's the world that's crazy. And I've got proof." He put the coolers down. "Zombies are real, Liv. These coolers are full of brains. Now, it's a lot to absorb, I know, but don't worry, because I'm gonna explain everything. And don't worry, because I'm gonna kill 'em. I'm gonna kill 'em all."

"Major …"

"Yeah, we should probably sit down." He carried the coolers over to the table and set them down, only then noticing that she was still standing by the door as if frozen to the spot. "Liv? Tell me—did you see anything the night of the boat party?"

"I … I'm not sure. I—" She was trembling. He went to her and took her hands.

"So, this is what I found out. I went to Scott E.'s place, and while I was there, this guy Julian showed up. You remember him, the one I shot that Clive saw at the gym the next day?" Liv nodded, still looking dazed. "He was with another man, a bleached blond guy. They torched Scott E.'s apartment, but while they were doing that I hid in their trunk."

"Major!" She clung to his hands.

"It's okay, Liv. I can take care of myself, I promise," he assured her. Whatever was going on here, it had to do with that damned boat party, and with whatever she'd been too traumatized to talk about all this time. He had to believe that if he fixed this, if he killed these creatures, it might go part of the way toward healing Liv, too.

"Oh, god," she whispered.

Major led her to the couch, sitting with her, still holding her hands, which were ice-cold in his. "When I got out of the car trunk, I saw Julian and the blond guy inside a restaurant. It's called Meat Cute, which … seems a little precious, don't you think?"

Liv stared at him until she realized he was looking for a response. "A little?"

"Yeah, that's what I thought." He squeezed her hands reassuringly. "So then I waited until the next day, staking out the place. When I saw a guy come out with all these little coolers, just like the one I saw in Julian's car before, I waited until he went back in—and I took them."

"Major, can we—can you let me look into this now? You could get hurt."

"I'll be okay. And I have to do this. For Eddie and Jerome, for Scott E., for everyone these guys have hurt. I'm going to take these guys down." He looked at Liv, deep into her eyes. "I know it's a lot to adjust to, but—I didn't know who else to talk to. I didn't want to talk to anyone else."

"I know. I just … I think I need a little time to … get used to it. Okay?"

"Okay. Can I leave these here with you?"

She looked past him at the pile of coolers. "Why don't I take one and have it tested, make sure what kind of brain it is?"

"Good idea." Major was sure they were human brains, but if she tested them, she would be sure, too. "You'll let me know what you find out?"

Liv gave him a faint, forced smile. "You'll be the first."