by Gayle Katz
Charlie hopped out of bed. She quickly had a shower, then toweled off. There was no time for hair or makeup, not that she normally wore makeup, unless she had a bruise or scratch on her face that needed covering. But surprisingly, zlayer wounds did heal up quickly.
zzz
“I don’t see any zombies,” said Owen, looking around the clothing factory.
“Nope. Seriously, they should just burn the whole thing down,” suggested Charlie.
“Well, at least it’s been sold. Look,” said Owen, pointing at the SOLD banner across the FOR SALE sign out front.
“Good.”
“The zombies can hide out somewhere else. What is there anyway? Some underground tunnel between here and the hospital?”
Charlie and Owen looked at each other and smiled.
“Good, Owen. I’m glad you’re on my team.”
He had a proud smirk on his face. “Well, I must contribute my truthsaying abilities to the team, just sayin’.”
They slipped around the factory to the back of the building.
“OK. So if I were a hidden tunnel, where would I be?” asked Charlie, looking at the parking lot at the back of the building, and the concrete and brick building itself.
“Well, underground, of course,” said Owen.
“So, we have to get inside?”
He peered around. “Hmm. Not necessarily. What is that?”
“This? With the WARNING HIGH VOLTAGE sign on it? It’s an electrical box.”
Owen wandered around the lot, and then came back. “Really?” he asked. “Because there is already that box on the other side of the lot.”
“Hmm,” said Charlie. “Is one fake?”
“Nah,” he said. “One is just out of service.”
“Shoot, I wish I had more trades training than locksmithing,” said Charlie. “Just think about how useful it would be.”
He laughed. “Because the law, history, self-defense, fighting, medical, and music skills aren’t enough for our team?”
“OK. So, which box looks older?” she asked, ignoring his comment.
Owen looked at the one they were standing by, then the other one. He pointed in the direction of the building.
“Let’s go,” said Charlie, walking in that direction. “Perhaps you should be a private eye or something.”
zzz
Charlie and Owen were almost at the electrical box when the door flipped open. Out jumped a zombie.
“I’m on it,” said Owen, as he was closer. The zombie shook and quivered as the dagger entered its brain. It dropped down to the ground.
More zombies came running out of the electrical box.
“I guess we won’t get inside today,” called out Charlie.
“Nah, let’s get these guys and worry about that another day,” Owen called back.
Six more zombies came out. But each time the teens ran up to them, the zombies backed off. These guys looked like they had been created more recently. Their skin was barely gray. Each wore the same set of green scrubs. Some of their hair was missing, but their eyes, ears, and noses were all intact.
“They’ve got us surrounded!” called out Owen.
“Whack them when they get closer,” said Charlie. One zombie reached out to her. She swatted its hand away. Just what were these guys doing?
One zombie raced up to Owen, its teeth chomping. Owen quickly stabbed it through its eye socket. It dropped to the ground. Every time he killed a zombie, he felt a mixture of pride and remorse. Then a feeling entered his mind.
He whirled around. “Charlie! It’s a trap!” He leapt to the ground and rolled.
But Charlie wasn’t as lucky. The remaining five zombies surrounded her.
“Where is Zan?” called out Charlie, surrounded by zombies. “She should be here!” She didn’t see Owen at all.
She raised her dagger, and was about to do a circular slice through the air, but then something strange happened.
“Noooo!” she heard Owen scream. Then there was silence.
zzz
“Charlie!” yelled out Owen. Charlie had disappeared. He thought that the zombies had uttered some strange incantation before Charlie had disappeared. “Oh shit,” he yelled, jumping up quickly.
He raced at the zombies, taking the first one down quickly.
“Let’s scram,” the other one squeaked out. “Too late! We need at least five for the spell to work.”
“What the eff?” yelled Owen, as he watched the other four zombies take off. Since when did zombies do that? Perhaps these were intelligent ones?
Owen whipped his phone out of his pocket. “Where the hell are you guys?”
“Owen!” yelled out Sergeant Bourne, running up to him. “Where are the others?”
“Hi, Sergeant Bourne! They’ve taken Charlie!”
“Damn!” He pulled out his radio, while Owen called Stewart.
A minute later, they compared notes.
“Where were you?” yelled Owen.
“What the? You guys should have been able to handle a few zombies!”
“Yeah, but these guys aren’t normal zombies! It was like they were enchanted, or something.”
“Crap,” said Bourne. “Where did they take Charlie?”
“I don’t know,” said Owen, pacing. “It was like one moment she was here, and the next she was gone.”
“This is bad,” said Bourne, “very bad.”
zzz
Stewart was going to get dressed and head to Zan’s house but decided that Owen and Charlie had things under control. So he went back to bed for another hour instead. He didn’t notice the texts coming in from Sergeant Bourne or Owen.
zzz
“What the hell?” yelled Dr. Arora, back at her headquarters. “You failed!”
Frank stood up. “Excuse me, doctor, but we didn’t fail. We trapped one of their zlayers.”
A loud crash was heard in the room. “Not good enough! You’re supposed to trap all three of the zlayers, four, if you include that annoying Stewart!”
“But only two ayers showed up at Ray’s factory.”
Another loud crash was heard. “That is not his factory anymore! Someone bought it! More like stole it from my family!”
“Well, we can hunt down the remainder,” Frank said, offering a solution.
“You’re damn right!” screamed Dr. Arora. “You will hunt down the remaining three, and get that cop too. I don’t care how you do it. I don’t care if they just die. But do your best to trap them in the ether!”
“Yes, Dr. Arora.” Frank saluted, then left the room in a hurry.
Dr. Arora raised a gun and shot the remaining four zombies who had failed in their mission.
zzz
“Stewart! There you are!” called out Owen, watching as he ran up to the factory.
“I came as fast as I could. What happened?”
“We were fighting zombies. I killed mine, but the remainder surrounded Charlie. Then she was gone.” Owen was a bit unsteady on his feet.
“Hey, kid. Over here,” said Sergeant Bourne. “You’re in shock. You need to sit down.” He led Owen to a concrete wall where they all sat down.
“This is bad. Really bad,” said Stewart.
“Any idea what happened?” asked Bourne. “How does a person just disappear?”
“It’s happened before,” said Stewart. “It’s rare. It’s a powerful spell. I think she was sent to the in between.”
“The in between? What’s that?” asked Owen.
“It’s a place between the living and the dead, also called the ether or another plane of existence,” said Stewart.
“What?” said Owen. “Like when she got trapped at Mr. Warcola’s home?”
“That’s crazy,” said Bourne. “Never heard of it.”
“What would be the purpose of that?” asked Owen.
“It’s usually where someone goes when they are trying to decide whether they want to live or to die,” Stewart explained.
Owen jus
t shook his head.
Stewart sighed. “When people are near death, they often have a certain clarity. Sometimes we think they’re unconscious and have no idea what is going on. But often, that’s been proved wrong. Many times, a person has that choice.”
“That’s crazy,” said Bourne. “Why wouldn’t a person choose to live?”
“Well, ask a suicidal person that. Ask a person with cancer, or someone who is paralyzed, or someone who is 90 years old. There are far worse things than death,” explained Stewart.
“Well, if she has a choice, she’ll come back, right?” asked Owen.
Then Stewart smiled. “Yes, you got it. She may just figure it out.” He felt a bit better now. After all, she had come back the first time.
“Is this similar to what happened when she got trapped, due to Mr. Warcola’s spell for his wife?” asked Owen.
“Exactly,” said Stewart. “These zombies must have uttered the spell to send her there.”
“Hold on,” said Sergeant Bourne. “Normally someone who is between planes still has their body on the earth, but hers is gone.”
“Yes, this was some powerful spell,” said Stewart. “But I do think the usual rules would apply. Charlie can and does have a choice.”
“But how did she come back the last time?” asked Owen.
“Well, I think the spell was done, for one,” said Stewart. “But even if it wasn’t, there would have been nothing to tie her to that plane. She could have figured it out on her own, and come back on her own, even if the spell hadn’t ended. It wasn’t her time to go after all.”
“But what if this is a special spell? To keep her there?”
Stewart shook his head. “We’re talking warlocks here. There hasn’t been a warlock on earth since troops stormed the beaches at Normandy. I mean, sure, Dr. Arora could try, but I really believe that Charlie will come back. Owen, you’re the truthsayer. What do you think?”
Owen gulped. “I believe you’re right, but she has to be aware that she has this choice. That is key. That is what is holding her back from coming to us right now. Let’s hope she makes the right choice. Let’s hope she wants to come back.”
“I’m so glad it wasn’t Zan,” said Stewart.
The team looked at each other.
zzz
Charlie peered around her. “Hello? Owen? Are you here? Where am I?” She saw only darkness. She pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. While the light shined bright and she could see her arms, hands, and body, she couldn’t see anything else. She could feel solid ground beneath her. She could still breathe in and out.
“Oh shit! Not again.” She suddenly remembered the time she had been at Mr. Warcola’s apartment. He had lit some candles and uttered an incantation to reanimate his wife into a zombie. Well, that and probably gave her an injection. He hadn’t known she had been watching, and she had gotten trapped into the spell. But when the spell was done, he had blown out the candles and she had returned.
She still hadn’t known what had happened. He had reprimanded her for breaking into his apartment. But she had been royally creeped out that she had been thrown into another plane of existence. What else? She tried to remember.
She might as well try to work through this until she was sent back. Let’s see. Oh right. She had heard his wife. His wife had said something.
Something about look to the book. Yes, that was it. But what book? A spell book? What kind of spell book? The one Stewart had? Or the one that Dr. Arora so obviously had to work her mischief? Or could it be a spell book that they didn’t have yet?
What else had she said? She thought about what had happened before.
“Zombieessss,” said the voice. “Looook to the booook,” she wailed.
“What book?” asked Charlie. “A spell book?”
“Yassss,” said the voice. “A spell twisted. Zombieeesss coming back from the dead. Look out.”
That’s what she had said. Charlie remembered it clearly now. But it was nothing new. She knew zombies were after them, and Dr. Arora too. She knew zombies came back.
Her legs were starting to get tired. She scrunched down on the ground. One thing she knew, it was best to not move from her spot. And who knew what was out here, in the ether? Would she encounter all the souls of the lost? The ones who had gotten trapped between dimensions? What was this place? Wasn’t it where you went right before you died? Would more souls talk to her, like Mr. Warcola’s wife had? Or should she just cover her ears and hope for the best?
Chapter 13
________________________________________
“I’m really worried. Charlie isn’t back yet,” said Gran to Stewart.
“Don’t be. Time in the ether is like seconds when compared to here. She won’t be losing any time.”
“Is there anything we can do?” she asked over the telephone.
“I’ll check my books again,” he replied. “There might be an incantation I can perform. It won’t directly bring her back, but it could send a message her way.”
“Good. Thank you so much!”
“No problem.” Stewart hung up the phone. “OK, folks. Change of plans.” Zan and Owen looked at him. “Let’s try an incantation to get Charlie back. Obviously, she isn’t able to figure out for herself that it’s up to her to return home.”
Zan pushed a strand of hair back. “Maybe she doesn’t want to return. I’ll bet it’s like a vacation to her.”
Owen laughed. “Can we go too?”
Stewart slammed his spell book on the table. It was the older, original version, not the photocopied version. “Absolutely not!”
“I also want to return to the factory and check out those tunnels.”
Stewart sighed. “Jay is doing that for us and he’ll report back.”
“What? That’s not fair!” said Zan.
“OK, Owen, can you please grab those tea lights?”
Owen grabbed the lights and started setting them up on the table. He arranged them in five points, one for each tip of the pentagram.
Zan grabbed the magazines and papers and moved them off the table, while Stewart sifted through his desk drawers trying to find a lighter. “Got it!”
He handed the lighter to Owen to do the duties.
“OK. Let’s see,” said Stewart, sitting down on the couch. He had the spell book in his hand. “We need an incantation to bring her back.”
Zan and Owen got settled on the couch. This could be a long wait.
zzz
Jay shined his flashlight into the electrical box. If there had ever been anything inside, it had long since been removed. The exterior of the box was covered in graffiti. Inside, it appeared to be a hollow box, but when he shined his light into the interior, three small steps led down to the bottom, and beyond the back wall was a dark pit. It was time to explore. He headed inside, ducking down, as the ceiling was low.
He had to carefully navigate past the zombie body parts that must have fallen off as they were waiting for the teens to arrive. He quickly sent a text on his phone to have someone come in and clean up. He was now at the bottom. The wall twisted around to a much longer tunnel. He headed down it. He was now able to walk in an upright position. The tunnel seemed to lead from here to the factory building.
He arrived at a door that must allow entry to the factory. It was unlocked, so he opened it and peered inside. Yep, it was definitely the Orzola clothing factory, or the new owners it belonged to, now that the city had confiscated it from the Orzola family due to criminal activities. The city had sold it at auction to the highest bidder.
Bourne didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He knew the zombie gang usually cleaned up after themselves. If there had been anything here, it would be long gone now.
What he was really curious about was where the other end of the tunnel led. He closed the door and headed back down the passageway. As he walked, he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew where it went.
zzz
Charlie eventually e
nded up sitting on the floor with her legs crossed. Or at least what she believed was the floor. Occasionally, she heard rustling sounds and calls in the distance. She didn’t know if she could be hurt in this realm so she decided to remain quiet. She held her dagger in her hand, just in case.
There was a sound behind her. “Who’s there?” she whispered.
“Help me,” the voice said. “I’m stuck here.”
“You and me both,” said Charlie. “I’m stuck here too.”
“Watch out for the Shredders,” the voice said.
“The Shredders? Great. That’s just great.”
Then the voice went away.
“Well, I can shred the Shredders, if they show up.” She waved her dagger around to show them who was boss. “Yeah, come and get it.”
There were other sounds, but she couldn’t decipher what they said.
She thought she heard one voice call out. “Certiorem facere acc venire hic.”
“Crap! My Latin is so bad.”
The voice kept on calling out to her. “OK. Let’s figure this out. Tell her. Tell her something? Tell her to come here? Hmm. That’s as close as I’m going to get. So? What does that mean? Who are they telling to come here?” She sat on the ground, pondering what was going on. Then she heard her name called and leapt into the air. “That’s me! What are they telling me? They’re telling me to come? Of course, I’m so stupid!”
zzz
Sergeant Jay Bourne kept on walking down the tunnel. Finally, he reached the end. He examined the GPS on his smartphone. Sure enough, he was exactly where he expected to be—right at the basement level of the hospital. But just to be certain, he opened up the door and walked in.