by Gayle Katz
“What the hell?”
“It’s a spell to hell,” he explained.
“Oh shit. I wonder if Stewart knows this?”
zzz
Stewart walked over to the group of protestors.
“Save the zombies!”
“Zombies never hurt us!”
“Help zombies!”
He shook his head. Obviously none of these people had ever seen a zombie rip a human apart, or seen a human turn into a zombie after being bitten.
He stopped in front of his acquaintance.
“Why, hello, Stewart. So glad you could join us today,” the man said to him.
“Mr. Warcola. I’m glad that you’re out and feeling better today. What is this about?”
He smiled. “This is about zombie rights,” he explained. “Zombies should have the right to dignity, even after death. No more killing them, unless they’ve committed a crime. No more burying their bodies in the backyard or the city dump. When dead a second time, their bodies should be returned to their families for a dignified burial and funeral.”
Stewart lost it then. He started laughing. “Ha-ha-ha!” This went on for a few minutes while Mr. Warcola patiently looked on.
Finally, he pulled himself together. “In theory, that’s great. But zombies have one plan, which is to consume us or to kill us. There is no denying it. There is no in between.”
It was Mr. Warcola’s turn to laugh. “Why, my dear Stewart, there is an in between. Your very own zlayer proved that when she visited my wife in the ether.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I have one thing to tell you,” said Mr. Warcola. “Did you know that not all zombies are bad?”
Stewart started laughing again. He couldn’t wait to share this with his team. “Seriously, are you smoking too much weed? Every single zombie, and let me reiterate that, every single zombie has been a threat to this city.” He turned and walked away. He wasn’t participating in this nonsense any more.
“Think about it, Stewart. Not every zombie has tried to hurt someone. Take my wife, for example.”
Stewart turned to look at Mr. Warcola. He was about to ask how many restraints Mr. Warcola had placed on his zombie wife, when two zombies reached around his body and bit his neck.
There was nothing Stewart could do to save Mr. Warcola, but he was able to pull his dagger from his belt and kill them both quickly, before they ate too much of his dead body. He then whispered an apology to his colleague, before doing the same to him.
“I shall join my wife,” he whispered before finally dying.
The rest of the protestors scattered, dropping their signs on the ground.
Stewart stood up straight, with blood speckles on his clothing. “Well, that takes care of that.” He started laughing again. Perhaps it was time for a break.
zzz
Charlie and Owen didn’t find Zan in the basement, so they headed back upstairs to the main part of the police station.
“Hey! There’s Zan,” said Owen. “And is that a zombie?”
“Looks like it,” said Charlie, pulling out her dagger.
Zan saw them. “Hey, guys. I’d like you to meet Zob.”
But in seconds, Charlie had pushed Zob to the ground and thrust her dagger into its skull.
“Noooo!” screamed Zan. “Why did you do that?”
“What the hell just happened?” asked Owen, confused.
“I just killed a zombie,” said Charlie.
“Holy effin hell!” exclaimed Zan. “This zombie was trying to help us!”
“Well shit, I didn’t know that,” yelled Charlie. “And since when do they help us?”
“Since now,” she replied. “Oh, never mind. I got all the info I needed anyway.” She knelt down to Zob and covered his head with a small hankie she had in her pocket.
Charlie rolled her eyes at Owen.
“Hey! Wait a minute, Charlie. She’s onto something here.”
“What?” said Charlie. “One minute you’re mad at her, now you agree with her?”
“Well, remember the zombie gang from last year? One of the guys was trying to help you.”
“That was a regular gang guy, not a zombie gang guy.”
“OK, whatever. I’m just saying, I’m feeling some truth here.”
“You’re mad at me?” asked Zan, walking up to Owen.
He nodded. “Hey, we’ll work it out. But there’s something to this ‘zombies are good’ protest.”
“I can’t even wrap my head around that,” said Charlie. “However, I just had a thought.”
The other two teens looked at her.
“However, it’ll have to wait, as the bad zombies are here!”
The other two turned around and saw zombies advancing.
Charlie immediately jumped onto one of the nearby desks.
“Hey, cool,” said Owen, following her lead. He was always ready for zombie fighting tips.
Charlie just shook her head and rushed forward. Her dagger slid nicely into the head of the first zombie. The next two zombies were attracted to the motions and sounds of her first hit and rushed forward. She jumped in the air and kicked the right one in the gut, forcing it to the ground, while her dagger sliced through the air, stabbing the other one through the eye socket. When that one was done, she took down the other one.
Zan and Owen were busy fighting off the stragglers.
“If this is a targeted hit,” said Owen, “I’m not sure how they think they can get us.”
Zan shook her head. “If Doctor Arora is really alive, then I’m not quite sure what she has planned, but we should remain alert. Who knows what new spells she’s concocted.”
They now had the crowd of zombies under control. Owen and Charlie jumped off the desks.
“Let’s check the rest of the station,” said Zan, moving forward.
In the distance were the sounds of sirens.
“I hope that they have things under control outside,” said Charlie, looking at Owen.
He smiled and nodded. Then he looked at her again, concerned about the new information Zan’s dead zombie told her. They seemed to have more worries than ever before. Charlie shook her head that now was not the time to discuss.
“Hey look! Another zombie!” Zan called out.
“Dr. Arora is still alive?” asked Charlie, remembering what she’d heard earlier.
Chapter 11
________________________________________
“Yes, I’m aware that Zan tried to kill Ray,” said Stewart in his living room. “I put two and two together. I’d heard that Zan had been at the hospital. There could only be one reason why she was there.”
Charlie slammed her drink down onto the coaster. “What? You already knew? And you haven’t done anything about it?”
Owen was seated beside her on the couch. He frowned.
“That’s right. What can I do about it? Fire her?”
Charlie laughed.
“Well, yes!” said Owen. “Get rid of her!”
Stewart looked at Owen. “Are you serious? I thought you were friends?”
Owen shook his head. “Those dreams have me freaked out. It’s like I thought I knew her, but now I really, really know her. I know too much.”
Charlie sat up straight. “I’m with Owen. I’m kind of freaked out too.”
“OK, hold on here,” said Stewart. “When you worked with her yesterday, at the police station zombie invasion, did she not do her job? Did she put your lives in jeopardy at all?”
The teens frowned.
“Well, she was mad when Charlie killed a zombie,” said Owen.
“Oh right,” said Charlie, recalling the situation. “She said he was a good zombie.”
Stewart put his cup down. “A good zombie? That’s odd.”
“But other than that, no, she was the same old zombie slaying Zan,” he added.
Charlie took another sip of her diet soda. “Well, I must admit her zlaying is awesome.”
Ste
wart sat and tapped his hands against his glass. “OK, so my suggestion is to just monitor the situation. See how she acts the next time you see her. Or just avoid her for social interactions.”
Owen put his soda down on the table. “Oh. So you mean just work with her, but don’t hang with her?”
“That’s it. Not everyone gets along in life. Sometimes you’re forced to work with people you don’t like. Until we know for certain that she could really be a danger to humans, let’s just wait.”
“OK,” said Charlie. “But remember, she did change her mind when she was with Ray at the hospital.”
Owen laughed. “That’s because someone else did the dirty deed for her already.”
“Yeah, but she felt bad about what she was going to do.”
“I know, but she could have done it. What if part of being a zlayer is truly acting on your impulses, even if you’re not just killing zombies?” asked Owen.
Everyone sat and thought about it.
“Well, one thing’s for certain,” said Stewart. “If any of the zleaders had actually targeted or killed our own families, we’d be in the same situation.”
The room was quiet after that. Stewart went to pick up his borrowed library book. “This reminds me, I think I’ve found something.”
Everyone leaned closer, anxious to change the topic.
“I found this illustration in the book. Look at the people seated around the table.” He held up the book to show them.
“Who are those men?” asked Charlie.
“Oh, I know,” said Owen. “I had to learn this for my citizenship exam. These men are the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.”
“Well, I guess I failed history class,” said Charlie. “For real too. Say, who is going to replace Mr. Warcola, now that he’s dead?”
“Me,” said Stewart. “There seems to be a lack of teachers in this city.”
Charlie smiled.
“Anyway, yes, ten points to Owen for being correct.”
“Hey! Who’s that guy there? That looks like a zombie!” Owen said.
“What?” said Charlie, pulling the book closer. “It is!”
Stewart set the book on the coffee table. “It’s definitely a zombie. The more I look at it, the clearer it becomes.”
“Wow,” said Charlie. “When you said the spell book revealed information at specific times, I thought it just meant you hadn’t read the book until then. But I can definitely see the zombie getting clearer too.”
Stewart sighed. “So far there are no references to zombies in the text, but I’ll keep on checking, probably once an hour. This is why I have no life.”
“Why would a zombie be at a meeting of the Founding Fathers of America?” asked Owen.
Stewart shrugged. “We may never know. But this does prove that zombies go back to at least July 4, 1776.”
“So the United States became independent from the Kingdom of Great Britain on that date. I wonder if the zombie is British?” asked Owen.
“Or, the zombie may already have been here, like the Native Americans,” suggested Charlie.
“Hmm,” said Owen. “Is it possible that they lived in peace and harmony back then?”
Stewart frowned. “That is an interesting theory.”
“Maybe that works with the good zombies,” said Charlie. “That zombie we dumped in the park looked like it wanted to hug me, not eat me.”
“Well, don’t get your hopes up,” said Stewart. “But next time, if a zombie seems passive or friendly, I suggest you bring it to me. This theme seems to keep coming up.”
Owen and Charlie looked at each other and smiled. This was a plan and they were both grateful they could forget about Zan for just a little while.
zzz
“Good job at the police station,” said Dr. Arora to all her minions. “That was a fine distraction. We managed to get the shipment out.”
“We are pleased that you are pleased,” said her number one zinion, Frank. “Unfortunately, we lost twenty more of our brethren at the station.”
She laughed. “Good. It was planned that way.” She looked around at all the humans and the zombies in the room. Not one flinched or objected to what she had said. “We have gotten rid of the doubters. Remember, if you’re not with me, you’re against me.”
“We are with you!” called out everyone in the room.
“Who are you?” she called back.
“We are Dr. Arora!”
She smirked.
“OK, we’re just putting the last of the details into place. Soon, all the zlayers and zentors shall be trapped between worlds. Do you know what this means?”
A small woman in front raised her hand.
“Yes?” Dr. Arora asked her.
“It means that there will be no new zlayers or zentors created!”
“Exactly!” said Dr. Arora.
“Question?” asked Frank.
She smiled expectantly at her top man.
“Where did you learn all these spells?”
She cackled. “That is my secret. Why, if anyone knew, then they would destroy everything I hold dear. It’s far better you don’t know.”
“I trust your judgment.” He sat back down again.
“Frieda,” called out Dr. Arora.
“Yes?” said a red-haired woman, standing up.
“Do you have the subjects in place?”
She nodded.
“Say it!” screamed Dr. Arora.
Frank inwardly cringed, but he sat up straighter instead of showing it.
“Yes! The subjects are in place.”
“Good! Now the meeting is adjourned. Let’s get ready.” Dr. Arora stood down from her podium and left the room.
“Geez,” whispered a man in the back of the room. “If I wanted to be in the military, I would have signed up.” But no one heard him.
zzz
“Hi, Zan! I’m just checking in,” said Stewart over the telephone.
“Oh. Hi, Stewart! How’s it going?”
“Pretty good,” he said. “School is going to keep me busy. I just wanted you to know we are resuming meetings at 4 pm after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays at my place. It’ll be more private that way.”
“Good,” she said. “I’ll be there on Thursday.”
“Say, this is a touchy subject, but I have to ask you, being your acting mother and all.” He paused.
“Mother? That’s great! I could use a mom.” She chuckled.
“Well, you teens are like the kids I never had,” he said. “Anyway, how are you feeling nowadays? Are you still mad at Dr. Arora and Ray Orzola over your mother?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“But hey, it’s totally OK if you don’t want to talk about it.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re like one of my best friends now,” she replied. “I’m still angry, but not as much. It’s hard to explain. It’s no longer a burning fiery rage. It’s now down to normal levels. Like, yes, I’m mad, but I can keep it under control.”
“Hey. That’s great,” said Stewart, pleased.
“Oh, did they tell you? I have a cat now!” she said proudly.
He laughed. “No, I didn’t know that. That’s great. I should add that to my class curriculum. The benefits of cats in the healing of human mental health.”
“Sure, I could bring my cat to class and everything.”
“Hmm, not a bad idea.”
“So, is that why you really called? Not to tell me the date of our next meeting, but to ask how I’m doing?”
“You got me,” he said.
“That’s great. Don’t worry. Please don’t worry. What I did was stupid, but I’m working it out.”
Stewart didn’t comment on her stupidity. She must have assumed that he knew what she had done, or that someone had ratted her out. “Zan, I would have done the same thing if it were my mother. But next time, please come to me first. There are better ways of handling these things.”
�
�OK,” she said. “But if you want me to take a break, I can.”
“No, Zan. We need you. Things are picking up here. I have a strange feeling that there is going to be something happening soon.”
“Oh my god! Did Charlie and Owen tell you what we heard at the police station? That Dr. Arora is still alive?”
“Oh yes, they did. No need to fill me in. I’m not surprised. There is no one else who would be able to create more drugs to make more zombies than her. It all makes sense now.”
“Hey. Is she like Mr. Warcola’s wife? We tried to kill her, but we had to actually burn her body to fully kill her.”
“That was a spell and yes, it’s possible that Dr. Arora has used a spell to extend her life too. The only way to kill her will be to burn her body.”
“That’s crazy, but it’s part of why I love being a zlayer so much.”
“Well, I’m glad to have you onboard, Zan. Please, don’t stress about making mistakes. We all make them. Yes, your friends are concerned about you. And please, reach out to me at any time.”
“Thank you, Stewart. You’re like the best dad I ever had.” She hung up.
He frowned at the telephone. He really wanted to be all the things that the teens needed. At least Owen and Charlie came from reasonably stable families. Well, Owen anyway, since Charlie had lost her parents when she was very young.
Chapter 12
________________________________________
Owen’s phone rang. He groaned and looked at the clock.
“Hey, Stewart. It’s like 5:30 in the morning. What’s up?” Suddenly, he sat upright in bed. “OK, I’ll meet Charlie in front of the building.” He groaned again. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, worrying about Zan. He put his clothes on. No time for a shower. Charlie would have to deal with it if he was stinky.
zzz
“What? Seriously? It’s so early!” whined Charlie over the telephone. “Is Zan joining us? She’s not answering? Great. OK, give her the boot when you stop at her house. We’ll see you in front then.”