City of the Dead

by John Whitman

  friends!"

  Kairn spoke slowly. "I'm sorry, Zak." He twitched, and Zak thought he

  felt Kairn's grip loosen.

  "Silence!" Evazan snarled. "I didn't give you permission to speak. Now

  hold him still!"

  Instantly Kairn's grip grew tight again. Evazan mumbled, "Interesting.

  This new version of zombie is less obedient than the earlier ones. I'll have

  to take care of that."

  Evazan poked the needle into Zak's arm.

  Zak kicked and thrashed, trying to free himself, but Kairn was far too

  strong.

  "Seeing as how you should be my greatest success, it's only fair to tell

  you about the process itself. It's quite brilliant. The serum contains most of

  the active ingredients. The only thing missing is the final chemical-oddly

  enough, it's a chemical found in the slime trails of the boneworms that live

  on Necropolis."

  "So that's why you're working here."

  "Exactly. All I have to do is dig up the body, or get to it before it's

  buried, and inject the serum. Once the body is back in the ground, I simply

  let the bone-worms do their work."

  "But the boneworms eat the bodies," Zak said with a shudder.

  "No, no, no," Dr. Evazan corrected. "The bone-worms dig their way into

  the skin and suck the marrow from your bones. Once they've had their fill, my

  serum kicks in, filling the bones with reanimation fluid. It's absolutely

  brilliant." Evazan checked his chronometer. "And it's just a matter of time

  before my latest batch of undead scratch and claw their way to the surface."

  Zak's arm throbbed where Evazan had given him the shot. He was surprised

  when Dr. Death picked up another needle, this one full of clear liquid.

  "Another shot?" Zak moaned. He was already feeling ill.

  "Oh, that first shot wasn't the serum. That was a diluted version of

  cryptberry juice. Instead of killing you like normal cryptberry juice does,

  that shot will put you into a coma. Of course, everyone will think you're

  dead. This is the reanimation serum."

  Evazan jabbed the second needle into Zak's arm.

  The doctor nodded matter-of-factly. "You see, I think the twitching is a

  side effect of the original death, like the blaster shot that killed me or the

  poison that killed Kairn here. So instead of killing you in a conventional

  way, I'm giving you the serum first. Then I'm going to, shall we say,

  extinguish your flame in the way that will do the least damage."

  Zak felt himself growing drowsy. "Wh-what are you going to do."

  "Oh, I'm not going to do anything," Evazan said with the cruelest of

  smiles. "I'm going to let your friends do it for me."

  Zak woke from the first restful sleep he'd had in several nights. He had

  not had a single nightmare, not even a dream. His first waking thought was

  that he felt refreshed.

  He tried to open his eyes but couldn't. He tried to sit up, but he

  couldn't. When he tried to move his arms, his hands, even his fingers, nothing

  happened. He was completely paralyzed.

  He still had his sense of touch. He could tell that he was lying down on

  something soft and warm. Was he in his own bed?

  He heard someone crying nearby. It was Tash. Then he heard Deevee's

  voice.

  "That's right, Tash," the droid was saying awkwardly. "Let it out. It's

  no shame to cry when a loved one passes on."

  Loved one? Who had died? Zak wondered if something terrible had happened

  to Uncle Hoole. But then he heard Uncle Hoole's voice. "They're ready to begin

  now, Tash."

  What's going on? Why can't I move?

  He heard Tash sob. "Oh, Zak, what happened to you? You knew those

  cryptberries were dangerous. How could this have happened?"

  What? Zak wanted to yell. But he couldn't speak.

  Uncle Hoole spoke again. "Step back now, Tash. At least the Necropolitans

  have allowed us to say goodbye to Zak. It goes against their customs to let

  mourners be so close to the grave. Come now. They're ready for the burial."

  Burial?

  Zak heard a heavy lid close right over his head, and he sensed that he

  was now in a small, confined space. A cold feeling settled in his stomach as

  he realized that it was a coffin.

  He was inside a coffin.

  They were going to bury him alive.

  CHAPTER 14

  From inside the coffin, Zak tried to shout "I'm alive! I'm alive!" But

  his mouth wouldn't move. He was still under the influence of the paralyzing

  cryptberry juice.

  He heard someone begin to speak outside. It was Pylum, the Master of

  Cerements. Pylum began to repeat the same funeral rites he had said over

  Kairn's grave.

  I don't need a funeral! I'm not dead! I'm not dead! Zak cried. No one

  heard him. His screams were all in his head.

  Pylum finished the funeral rites and added a speech, which he directed to

  those who had gathered. "It is a tragedy when any young person passes on. It

  is especially sad that an offworlder has gone into the void. But let the

  living learn a lesson from the passing of Zak Arranda. He was a good young

  man, but he disturbed the graves of the dead, and for that he paid the

  ultimate price."

  There is no curse! It was Evazan! He's come back! He did this to me!

  Pylum continued. "We dedicate this ground to the memory of the dearly

  departed Zak Arranda. Let all honor be bestowed upon the dead. Let the dead

  rest with the dead as long as the galaxy spins. Let this ground remain sealed

  over the departed forever and ever."

  No!

  Zak heard a heavy bolt slam into place, just like the one he'd seen on

  Kairn's coffin. He was locked inside. Forever.

  Zak felt himself being lowered into a hole. He heard Tash sob one more

  time. Then there was a loud thump on top of the coffin.

  They were shoveling dirt over him.

  Zak had a terrible thought. Maybe he was dead. Maybe Evazan had given him

  too much cryptberry juice and had killed him. Could this be what death was

  like, to be frozen forever in one place?

  As more clumps of dirt dropped onto the coffin, Zak imagined the hours

  turning into days, the days turning into weeks, the weeks into years. After

  hundreds of years, would he still be here, stuck in this same dark hole for

  all time?

  The sound of shoveling had grown quieter. Dark thoughts crept into Zak's

  brain. There was no use in struggling. Just accept your fate. Your life is

  over.

  Zak imagined his parents. He had wanted to see them again, to say goodbye

  to them. Now he knew that was useless. What little was left of them floated

  among the space debris that had once been Alderaan. Frozen, unreachable,

  untouchable.

  Memories filled Zak's mind: picnics with his parents and Tash, riding a

  hoverboat on the lake, playing two-person touchball. He remembered the day his

  father had taught him to ride a skimboard.

  Eager to remember everything about his parents, Zak tried to recall every

  moment he could, right up to the last one. Six months ago he and Tash had

  packed their things to go on a two-week field trip. It was their first time

  away from home, and they were both a little nervous. Zak reme
mbered telling

  his parents how scared he was.

  "I've never been so far away from you before," he had said.

  His mother had hugged him. "Don't worry, Zak. You could be on the other

  side of the galaxy, but you're always right here in my heart, so you're never

  really far away. And as long as you keep me there, I'll be near to you, too."

  Zak had forgotten those words until that moment. His mother had told him

  to keep her in his heart. He hadn't done that. He'd been too busy feeling

  depressed to think of all the good times he'd had with them, to keep his

  memories of them alive.

  That's where I should have looked for them, Zak decided. Instead of

  searching in old superstitions, I should have looked inside me. That's where

  mom and dad are. That's where they'll always be!

  But he had realized it too late. Zak blinked as he felt a tear sting his

  eye.

  I blinked!

  Zak felt his mouth move. He opened it and closed it experimentally. Then

  he tried to move his hand. His fingers moved. He wiggled his toes. He couldn't

  move his arms or legs yet, but the cryptberry drug was wearing off.

  If the drug is wearing off that means I'm alive. I really am alive!

  Hope surged in Zak. If he was alive, there had to be something he could

  do. He filled his lungs with air and shouted "I'm alive! Somebody help me! I'm

  alive!"

  He wondered if the sound would reach up through the ground. He hoped it

  would. Now that he knew he was alive, he was desperate to get out of the

  coffin. He would soon run out of air.

  "Help! Someone get me out of here!"

  Seconds later Zak heard a small scraping noise against the lid of his

  coffin. At first he thought someone had heard him already, but then he heard a

  similar noise beneath him.

  Then he heard the sound on both sides of his coffin. Zak realized what it

  was.

  The boneworms were gnawing their way in.

  CHAPTER 15

  Tash, Deevee, and Uncle Hoole walked slowly back to the hostel as another

  dark Necropolitan day faded to an even darker night.

  Tash was devastated. Zak's death had been a terrible shock to them all.

  After her encounter with Boba Fett, Tash had turned back to look for Zak.

  She soon realized that it was impossible to find anyone among the winding

  streets of the dark city. She assumed that he'd just gotten bored, or lost,

  and would make his way back to the hostel as soon as he could.

  At the hostel she had waited for an hour, and Zak still hadn't returned.

  She began to get a heavy, sinking feeling, as though a black hole had opened

  in her stomach. It was a feeling she'd had before-the feeling that something

  was terribly wrong. Despite her feeling, she was at first afraid to tell Uncle

  Hoole, because she didn't want to reveal the reason she and Zak had gone out.

  After all, they were spying on Boba Fett and trying to get information about

  Hoole himself.

  But when another hour passed and the feeling of dread grew stronger, Tash

  knew she couldn't wait. She went to Uncle Hoole and told him that Zak was

  missing.

  Hoole reacted in his usual stern Shi'ido way. "What was he doing out?

  That young man is constantly getting into trouble."

  "Um, this time it was my fault, Uncle Hoole," Tash confessed. "I wanted

  to... um... see a few things, and I convinced him to go along. We got

  separated."

  Uncle Hoole frowned. "Then we have you to thank for this disturbance.

  Come on, we had better summon the authorities."

  Uncle Hoole convinced the owner of the hostel to help them, and soon they

  had called the local law enforcement. Zak's description was sent to all the

  local patrols, but because he had only been gone a few hours, the authorities

  wouldn't launch a full-fledged search.

  Uncle Hoole decided that they should search the streets themselves.

  "Tash, you will come with me. Deevee, you will search on your own. Can you

  manage?"

  Deevee was a droid, but he had practiced long and hard to develop a very

  humanlike imitation of disgust. He sarcastically replied, "I have calculated

  the number of colored grains in a Tatooine sand painting. I think I can manage

  to walk and look for Zak at the same time."

  Deevee quickly began searching for Zak. No matter what the droid said, he

  was fond of his two troublesome charges.

  While Hoole and Tash had searched the streets, Deevee headed directly for

  one specific location. His computer brain had already formulated a theory, but

  the conclusion sent a tremor through his servos. Deevee ran his theory through

  his logic circuits for any sign of malfunction, but found none.

  Deevee's analytical program was extremely sophisticated, and he was

  almost never wrong.

  Which is why it was Deevee who had found Zak lying in the cemetery, with

  a few cryptberries still clutched in his hand.

  Deevee had summoned help, and Zak had been rushed to a medical facility

  immediately, but it was too late. The cryptberries had done their work.

  "It just doesn't make sense," Tash had said tearfully as she, her uncle,

  and the droid reached the hostel. "Why would Zak do something like that? He

  knew those berries were poisonous."

  Uncle Hoole put a hand on her shoulder, "Zak has been rather...

  distracted... lately. I can't say I know what he was thinking. We may never

  know."

  Tash couldn't accept that. "That's not good enough for me, Uncle Hoole,

  and it shouldn't be good enough for you. Zak would never have eaten those

  berries on his own. Someone must have forced him, or tricked him. You can't

  really believe that Zak was the victim of some ancient curse of the dead!"

  Uncle Hoole looked skeptical. "Who would have a reason to harm Zak?"

  Tash shrugged. "Maybe Zak wasn't seeing things after all. Maybe this Dr.

  Evazan is still alive."

  Uncle Hoole considered the possibility. "It is extremely unlikely, Tash."

  But Tash's words sounded right to her, and she was learning to trust her

  intuition.

  "You're a scientist," she challenged. "You shouldn't make up your mind

  until you have proof. And there's only one way to find out."

  Hoole looked intrigued. "What do you propose?"

  Tash decided to lay her cards on the table. "I want to dig up Dr.

  Evazan's grave. That's what Zak wanted to do, but I talked him out of it."

  She was afraid that Hoole would refuse immediately. To her surprise, the

  Shi'ido contemplated her request for a long moment. Then he turned to Deevee.

  "Deevee, you have files on Necropolis. Is there any custom or law that permits

  the dead to be exhumed?"

  Deevee scanned his internal files. "I'm afraid not, Master Hoole. On

  Necropolis, once the body is buried, that's where it stays. At least, that's

  where one hopes it stays."

  Tash's heart sank. "Does that mean we can't have Evazan's grave dug up?"

  "No," Uncle Hoole said firmly, "it means we will have to do it ourselves.

  "

  Tash jumped to her feet. "Uncle Hoole, really?"

  "That is an excellent decision, Master Hoole!" Deevee said excitedly.

  Then he calmed his voice down. "Of course, it's my duty to warn
you that

  grave-robbing is a serious offense on Necropolis. We must be careful."

  The Shi'ido nodded. "I agree. That's why we must be ready to leave

  immediately. I want you to go back to the dockyard and see to the final

  arrangements about purchasing our new ship. Tash and I will meet you there."

  A few kilometers away and two meters beneath the ground, Zak heard the

  scraping outside his coffin grow louder. He could move one of his arms now,

  and he fumbled awkwardly in his pocket. He hoped they hadn't removed his

  possessions before burying him...

  There! He still had the small glowrod that Kairn had given him that first

  night. He activated it now, shedding a gloomy light on his tiny prison.

  He wondered how much oxygen he had left. The light of the glowrod

  revealed small holes in the coffin. Who would put holes in a coffin?

  Evazan!

  As Zak watched, slimy, white creatures began to force their long fat

  bodies through the openings. The boneworms were coming in.