“I say we slide down that hole again!”
Caitlin shook her head. “Get down from there right now.”
Natalie out stretched her arms, reaching for a flagpole on the front of the building and she slid to the ground. A frog abruptly hopped right over Natalie’s feet while letting out a large croak! Then, with a few bounding leaps, the frog vanished into a mass of tall weeds.
“Cute!” Natalie exclaimed.
Caitlin checked her phone again. No bars, no signal, no way to reach Jack or emergency rescue.
Suddenly, a loud clunk. The barn shook. A moment later, long-haired dead girl emerged through the barn’s crumbling double doors, her silky locks trailing behind.
Now, in daylight, Caitlin was able to get a good look at her. Though her attire was tattered and decayed, you could tell it had once been a stunning, purple-blue royal gown, embellished with a gleaming, gold V-shape belt. Her complexion was white as chalk, and the rims of her eyes dark as ink.
That hair!
It still had a fabulous glistening sheen. As if it contained magic.
“You still trying to call Jack?” the zombie asked.
How does she know about Jack?
“Actually, yes. But I lost my signal,” Caitlin said.
“I’m not surprised.”
Caitlin checked her voice mail.
Yes! A message from Jack.
“Caitlin, where are you? There’s something I gotta tell you. Please listen. My ph—”
The message died. Her phone must’ve cut out as she’d slid down that grave hole.
“You’ll get no signal in this place,” the blonde ghoul said.
No signal? No phone? No texting? No communication with the outside world?
A frantic Caitlin suddenly felt like a castaway.
Abandoned. Stranded. Shipwrecked on some god-forsaken island far out in the ocean, cut off from … well, everything!
Her panicked eyes welled up with tears. She turned to the long-haired one. “Please. We have to go back up there. Now.”
“But we need your help, Caitlin.”
Caitlin shook her head. She wanted to get out of there—fast. The strange world felt like it was closing in on her. But she knew she shouldn’t show that she was panicky.
“My dad will have the whole city searching for me if we’re not home by ten. He’s probably already got Scotland Yard out looking for Natalie.”
Natalie elbowed Caitlin. “Technically speaking, Dad doesn’t even know I’m gone.”
Good one, Natalie.
Caitlin’s breathing grew erratic. She started seeing spots. She crouched on the ground and put her head between her knees. The feeling eating her up inside was profoundly awful.
“Ugh. I’m trapped in the middle of nowhere. And I’m the worst sister on earth. I need to get out of here!”
Natalie crouched beside her. “Relax, Caity-pie. I’m guessing this is some kind of alternate reality or parallel universe that’s congruent with the known laws of physics. However … ”
“Will you shut up!” Caitlin yelled as she tried to stay focused on her own misery.
Natalie shrugged. She rose up and marched over to the zombie. “I’m thirsty. And zonked. It’s way past my bedtime.”
The zombie girl unhooked a leather bota bag that hung from her belt and handed it to Natalie.
“Thanks,” said Natalie. “What is it?”
“Drinking pouch. With water. Until we find something more substantial.”
Natalie tipped the spout of the kidney-shape pouch into her mouth and chugged.
“Drink up, little one,” the zombie said. “Then we’d better get a move on. I’ll explain everything when we find the others.”
Natalie stopped drinking. “Others?”
Caitlin and Natalie followed the zombie girl to the outskirts of the village. They stepped over the crumbled remains of a thick stone perimeter wall and other ruins that still surrounded the town. Outside the village, drooping plants leaned into each other for support. An orange, parasitic-looking fungus covered crooked trees, climbing up their trunks and smothering their already-petrified leaves. Giant flowers that had clearly been enchantingly colorful and beautiful once had lost their luster and bloom. Jumbo dried mushrooms of faded purple, lime, and blue littered the landscape. Thick rotting tree stumps sat, lonesome, on abandoned grasslands.
As they crept onward, Caitlin glanced up at the sky and … and … and … she freaked!
“What is that?”
“The sun. Why?”
Caitlin couldn’t believe it. It shone like the sun back home. Even had the same color. What it didn’t seem to have was the same shape.
Caitlin squinted through the veil of fog at the bright, odd thingamabob-shape solar orb in the sky. Though it was oddly shaped, it still somehow seemed familiar to her.
A walnut? No. A closed fist? Not really.
Then it hit her.
That had to be it!
The sun’s glimmering form sort of resembled a translucent brain!
Is my mind playing tricks? Is it a mirage? An optical illusion?
Caitlin was reminded of an amusing game she’d played as a child. She’d stare at puffy clouds in the sky. Soon familiar shapes would appear in them, as if by magic.
Likewise, this sun seemed to project a shimmer in the shape of a brain.
How imaginatively weird!
Suddenly, two dainty, cold, dead hands latched onto her shoulders.
Caitlin was yanked backward.
She felt a frosty nose sniffing the back of her neck.
“Don’t you dare, Cindy!” the long-haired girl called out.
“One taste?” came the voice attached to those dainty hands.
“One taste is never enough,” the long-haired said. “It only makes us want a bigger second bite. I mean it, Cinderella! Let her go!”
Wha—?
Cinderella?
The dainty, dead hands spun Caitlin around. She was now staring directly into the face of the real, live … Cinderella? Only Cinderella wasn’t really alive. She had the silvery-white complexion of death and the slightly sunken cheeks and dark-rimmed eyes of a ghoul risen from the grave. And yet she was elusively beautiful. And even though she was decomposing, her blonde hair and polished nails seemed well-groomed. Caitlin had always adored the tale of Cinderella. She gazed at her with awe.
Natalie’s eyebrows practically popped off her forehead.
“This gets more surreal by the moment,” Girl Wonder said.
Cinderella released Caitlin with a huff. Caitlin stood there, mouth agape, certain now that she was in the middle of some epic lucid dream. Perhaps, when she had fallen asleep in her room after school, she had gotten a high fever that was fueling these curiously symbolic imaginary events.
Long-haired dead girl flashed an apologetic smile.
“Please, forgive me. Where are my manners? I never did introduce myself. My name’s Rapunzel.”
The little girl in Caitlin was now doubly star struck—and surprised.
How could I not have recognized Rapunzel after seeing those exquisite, long, golden locks?
“Where am I?” Caitlin asked.
Rapunzel smiled. “A universe of extraordinary kingdoms and spellbinding worlds … at least they were before this degenerative affliction broke out.”
Natalie elbowed Caitlin. “Aka zombification.”
Cinderella sauntered over to chili-pepper Natalie. She circled her as if perusing a buffet. Then she turned to Rapunzel. “Perhaps a nibble on the hot and spicy one?”
Natalie swung her arms in the air. “Stay back, royal zombie chowhound!”
Rapunzel shot a disapproving look at Cinderella. Just then, another zombie appeared as if out of nowhere. This one was gracefully slender, with midnight-black hair, cherry lips, and a pale, metallic-white complexion.
Like … like … snow? It couldn’t be! Could it?
“I’m Snow White,” she said as she curtsied. “Pleased to m
ake your acquaintance.”
Caitlin blinked.
Natalie just sighed. “The hypnagogic hallucinations keep on coming.”
Caitlin’s vacant stare faded as the corners of her mouth curled into a wide smile. She forgot about being frightened or angry as a warm and pleasant feeling arose inside of her.
“I feel like I’ve known you all my life.”
Rapunzel smiled broadly. “You must meet our other friend; look behind you.” Caitlin whirled around. A captivating, ash-blonde zombie stood a few feet away.
Caitlin’s eyes sparked with wonder. “Sleeping Beauty?”
Beauty held out her pale hand. “An honor to meet you, Caitlin.”
Something must’ve clicked for Natalie, because her eyes grew big as billiard balls. “Are you guys, like, authentic flesh-eating zombies?”
“Indeed we are,” Snow White said, her voice warm and gentle.
Natalie spun around to Rapunzel.
“You mean you’re not wearing special-effects makeup and costumes? For Halloween?”
“Nope,” said Rapunzel. She pinched a stitched scar seared into the pale flesh of her arm. “It’s real.”
“How radically intriguing,” Natalie said.
Cinderella folded her arms across her chest. “Being dead is hardly intriguing.” She eyed Natalie hungrily. “Especially when you’re always famished!”
Sleeping Beauty pulled out a compact mirror and began patting her nose with a small powder puff. “Our complexions are always under the threat of mold. You try living up to the name ‘Beauty’ when your face is susceptible to mildew.”
Natalie smiled at the zombie princesses. “I think you’re hauntingly beautiful.”
Caitlin also found it strange that these dead princesses had managed to remain attractive and regal. She always thought of zombies as slow-moving, drooling corpses—a walking gore-fest of blood, decayed flesh, and rotted, spotty teeth.
Cinderella’s face had the delicate features of a hand-painted porcelain doll. Her shimmering, pale-gray complexion was accentuated by a splashy pink-and-baby-blue dress—the kind that would turn heads in a royal ballroom. She also moved about gracefully on slender, bare feet.
Snow White’s tousled coal-black hair and wide, deep-set, chocolate-brown eyes were absolutely gorgeous. Her skin was pale as fallen snow—and just as cold. The compassion in her eyes, however, would put anyone at ease. Her tattered top was golden yellow, her shredded skirt cobalt blue, and she, too, pranced about barefoot.
Sleeping Beauty was indeed worthy of her name. She was also shoeless, though breathtaking in an elegant pink-and-blue gown, which somehow managed to look stylishly tattered. A frayed sash hung smartly around her waist. Her hypnotic baby-blue gaze penetrated deeply; Caitlin thought she might be able to peer right into her dreams.
And Rapunzel? Rapunzel was clearly the leader of the group. The stunning zombie girl with the flowing, blonde locks was like a walking sunset. Endless ribbons of golden hair shimmered behind her like the sun setting over the horizon.
A look of shock overcame Caitlin’s features as she caught Cinderella once again sniffing the neck of the red-hot chili pepper.
“Back away, Cindy,” said Rapunzel, who shook her head, obviously frustrated by her friend’s insatiable appetite.
Cinderella stepped back sulking.
“You know I crave spicy food.”
Rapunzel turned to Caitlin. “It’s not easy controlling these impulses. They never stop. And we’re slowly losing control. Which is why we need your help.”
“But why me?” Caitlin asked.
Snow White chimed in. “It’s not about just helping us. This concerns all the subjects of this kingdom, including all the living things of the forest.”
Snow bent down. She caressed the drooping stem of a fern with the back of her hand. The plant slowly opened its leaves and wrapped them around her arm, like it was giving her a hug.
“What happened to all of you?” asked Caitlin. “And what happened to this place?”
Rapunzel sighed and slowly shook her head. “That’s what you’re going to help us find out.”
“Once upon a time, our worlds embodied perfection,” Rapunzel said. “Everyone lived happily in Wonderland. Life was genuinely joyful in the Emerald City, truly delightful in the Enchanted Forest, serene and content in Camelot, Neverland, Oz, Munchkin Country, Lilliput, and all the fairy-tale kingdoms. Then it happened.”
“What?” Natalie asked.
Rapunzel’s eyes darted around suspiciously. She placed her hands on Caitlin and Natalie’s backs and nudged them forward.
“We need to keep moving.”
Rapunzel led the way. “Staying in one place too long allows them to pick up our scent.”
Caitlin lengthened her stride. “Who?”
“The Blood-Eyed.”
Blood-Eyed? Blood-Eyed what?
Caitlin didn’t want to know the answer. She tapped the back of Rapunzel’s shoulder.
“So what happened after all the contentment everywhere?”
“Sleeping Beauty fell asleep.”
Natalie and Caitlin exchanged puzzled looks as they scurried along.
Snow interjected while nodding toward Beauty. “She foresees things in her dreams.”
“As I was saying,” Rapunzel went on, “Beauty fell asleep. Upon waking, she told us of a strange dream she had—about the colors of the sun.”
Caitlin’s forehead scrunched. “What colors? Sunlight is white.”
Natalie shook her head. “No. Sunlight includes all the colors of the rainbow. Each color is a different wavelength of light. Red is the longest wavelength. Blue is the shortest. The smaller rays scatter when the sun is low, which is why it sometimes looks only yellow, red, or orange, and violet—”
“Enough. Showoff!” Caitlin said with a scowl. She turned to Rapunzel. “So what happened to your sunlight?”
Rapunzel nodded at Beauty who immediately stopped in her tracks. She reached into the ruffles of her skirt and pulled out a sparkling, triangular-shaped crystal. She handed the crystal to Rapunzel.
Natalie’s eyebrows arched. Rapunzel held the glittering gemstone up just above eye level. Then she delicately angled it toward the sun.
“See for yourself,” Rapunzel said. A shaft of sunlight struck the crystal.
Now it was Caitlin’s eyebrows’ turn to bend up like bows.
From the bottom of the crystal, a rainbow of seven colors fanned out onto the ground: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
A prism!
“Only six colors are shining in full splendor,” Rapunzel noted, pointing at the top and bottom of the rainbow with her long, slender fingers. “One color is dimming.”
She ran a finger through the green light, and Caitlin could see that its radiance was far weaker than the rest.
Natalie appeared fascinated by the phenomenon. Caitlin stared intently at the fading green shimmer.
“What does it mean?” Caitlin asked.
Snow White frowned. “We don’t know yet. But Beauty foresaw it all in a dream, including the arrival of the Blood-Eyed. Isn’t that right, Beauty?”
Silence.
Snow looked around. They all looked around.
“Beauty?”
A soft snoring was coming from the tall weeds to their left.
“She might have more to tell us when she wakes,” Rapunzel said.
“What was that about us standing in one place for too long?” Caitlin asked.
Rapunzel sighed. “Occupational hazard; it’s impossible to rouse her. Be on alert until she wakes. And, actually, it was through one of Beauty’s inconvenient, prescient dreams that we were instructed to come find you.”
Caitlin forced herself to ask two dreadful questions. “But why me? And what are the Blood-Eyed?”
“And where is everybody?” Natalie added. “This place, and that undersized village for people of slight stature are deserted.”
The zombie girls
fidgeted nervously. Caitlin looked over at Snow, who avoided eye contact and rubbed her neck. Rapunzel pretended to fuss with her hair.
“And why are you all so jumpy?” Natalie asked.
Rapunzel swallowed. “The Queen of Hearts.”
“From Wonderland? You mean she’s real?” Caitlin asked in a jittery tone.
Cinderella laughed. “As real as the beings inhabiting your world. Probably more real.”
Snow White cringed. She covered Cinderella’s mouth with her hand. “Don’t go there, Cindy. Not now. You’re liable to frighten her.”
Caitlin glanced back and seriously contemplated grabbing Natalie and making a run for it. Except Natalie was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Nothing would delight that red-haired dork more than a discussion on the nature of reality.
Rapunzel raised her hand to silence Snow and Cindy. She then turned to Caitlin.
“Listen close. One morning, the queen’s herald banged a gong from atop the castle keep, then the queen raised her royal scepter to the sky. She waved it east, west, north, and south.” Rapunzel swallowed. A tinge of sorrow glinted in her eyes. “From that moment on, everything changed. Beauty had seen it happen in her dream.”
“What changed?” Caitlin asked.
Snow’s face became solemn. “It started with the vegetable kingdom. Plants. Trees. Flowers. They started decaying.”
“A few days later,” Cinderella added, “the queen slammed us with a second wave of her scepter.”
“That’s when the decay spread to the animal kingdom,” Snow said.
Cinderella nodded. “Yeah. The three Billy Goats Gruff turned into billy goat ghouls, and the three little pigs grew scars like Franken-ham.”
“It was horrible,” Snow said. “The food supply almost completely dried up.”
Cindy looked back at Rapunzel.
“It was the third wave that affected the highest thinkers. The Munchkins. Dwarfs. Pirates. Fairies. Elves. All forms of people—even Pinocchio, and he’s made of wood.”
Rapunzel exhaled. “After that third wave, the affliction sparked a relentless urge.”
“For what?”
Rapunzel’s commanding eyes hardened. “Anything. At first, people started taking things.” She shook her head. “Thieving. Stealing. Then the bodies soon began decaying. At first, it only affected people’s outward appearance—their clothes and flesh. But then it started to creep inward. Empathy and decency were drained from the heart. The urge to survive grew stronger. Strange, dark cravings arose. Savage cravings. Bright twinkling eyes turned dark, like hot coals.”
The Color of Fear Page 7