by Cathy Gaitan
“Molly, are you in,” asked Pinkerton when he lost patience. I don’t know why I got such satisfaction from the fact that he lost patience first. Molly looked up at him then back at Torin. She reached over and took Torin’s hand in her own. “We’re in.”
When Torin smiled widely and slid her fingers through Molly’s I began to understand. Torin was trapped in Happyville because Molly was. I guess light wasn’t the only thing stifled in Happyville.
“We’re in,” Torin agreed looking only at Molly. Yep, it looks like this revolution was going to hit Happyville like a stick of dynamite.
“I’m pretty sure all of Happyville is in with the exception of maybe a couple of folks and the Sherriff,” commented Wendell.
Pinkerton looked at me and smiled. I guess I won’t be needing my blade after all. That’s good, because just between me and you, I don’t know if I could have carved my initials into anyone. It’s a lot easier to do on an apple.
10
Chapter Ten
Believing in magic is ridiculous.
Thinking that a witch can raise the dead is nonsense.
I’m just doing this to prove it can’t be done.
-from the mouth of Julia Caesar
Pinkerton Floyd
One week after the Happyville reunion
I can’t believe Mercy actually got the whole town of Happyville to join the Zombie revolution. We’ve actually made it our base camp. We also have a ton of new initiates and this town is perfect for training. We’re using one of the farms for the training grounds. It turns out Mercy’s a pretty good trainer. Not as good as me but still not bad.
The great thing is all the residents are familiar with weapons and more than a few are sharpshooters. Torin and Sheriff Dodd are handling the combat training. Once the rest of the town signed on Sheriff Dodd did as well. He says the town is his family and family sticks together. That’s what I thought before Julia made Mercy’s heart her pincushion.
Molly and Torin’s relationship was a non-issue. I guess with all the other changes to the town that was the least troubling. After all, everyone already knew them both. And they were friends long before their relationship turned romantic.
I think Molly was relieved. Sometimes fear makes situations bigger in our minds. The reality was they were loved by the town. Their relationship didn’t affect that one way or the other. It was just a part of who they were.
Mercy and I are really excited that this turned out as well as it did. She’s taking full credit of course and I’m letting her because it was her idea. I think she wishes she could brag to Julia. She gets sad sometimes and I’m pretty sure it’s because she misses her ‘sister’. Mercy’s good at faking happy but I know her too well.
Right now she’s working on her blog. She’d mentioned her intention to continue with the blog but got distracted by all the action in Happyville. I’m a little worried about Julia’s reaction to finding out she didn’t kill Mercy after all. I don’t want to hurt her but if she comes after Mercy again I might just have to. I honestly don’t think Mercy has it in her to do it.
Of course if I went after Julia Titus would come for me. It would turn into a total mess. Hopefully Julia won’t find out about Happyville or at least not before she calms down.
“What the hell is Titus up to now,” growled Mercy from across the table. I see she’s scrolling through Titus’ Twitter feed on my I-phone. She turns the phone so I can see his tweet:
If anyone knows a good witch with mad skills or is it a mad witch with good skills? Whatever, hit me up. My girl’s got business that requires some twisted magic.
“What the hell is right. What do they want with a witch?” Titus said Julia was looking for a witch. Julia doesn’t even believe in that stuff. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know! Julia would never,” Mercy insisted. “She thinks it’s all nonsense and that people who do believe in it are fools.”
I nodded my head because it’s true. Julia is the biggest skeptic I know and that includes myself which says a lot. “They’re definitely up to something.”
Mercy sucked in a breath. “Do you think they know I’m alive?”
That was my worry. I thought about it but I just wasn’t sure. My instinct said ‘no’ but I wasn’t willing to bet her life on it.
“We might need to get you out of town at least for a little while,” I said knowing she would hate it. She was just starting to feel at home here. Mercy loved all the brightly colored houses and sparkling lights in the town center. She liked that everybody knew each other.
She nodded her head forlornly. “I knew things were going too good. That’s always when the bad stuff happens.”
“Hey, this isn’t forever. We’ll be back,” I tried to reassure her but she didn’t look convinced. “I promise.” I could have kicked myself. I hate making promises. What if something happened and I couldn’t keep it? Promises are meant to be kept.
She smiled when I made the promise. She knows how much I hate doing that. Mercy knows me as well as I know her. I kind of like that. Don’t tell Mercy!
“Well, I guess now we have to come back. The promises you make me I can pretty much bank on,” she replied with a laugh. That alone made it worth it.
I stood and held my hand out for her to take hold. I don’t know why. It just felt right. “Let’s go pack.”
We left town that afternoon. Mercy left the cats with Molly and Torin. I think it was her way of promising herself we’d return. No way would she leave her cats forever. They were her family and family were for always.
****************************************************
Julia Caesar
Drowning in Wiccan weirdness
“What the hell am I doing here?” Seriously! This is insane!!
Titus put down the, hopefully, fake skull and grinned at me. We’re sitting in the middle of a witch’s lair and he’s acting like Mercy in a candy store. I ignore the twinge in my chest from saying her name.
“You’re trying to recapture your sisterhood,” he replied. I didn’t need him to answer. I wasn’t even really talking to him.
I look around the room in self-disgust. There’s actually a cauldron sitting in the middle of the room on a portable cooktop. I guess the days of open flames are done. “Sisterhood makes fools of smart Zombies and corpses of nerdy ones.”
It’s the truth. I shouldn’t be doing this. This witch is just going to take my money, babble some silly rhymes over a pot of soup or something and send us on our way promising Mercy will come to us on the next full moon.
It won’t work. I know it won’t but for some stupid reason I can’t seem to make myself leave. There’s this tiny piece of my mind that keeps whispering ‘what if it does work?’. That same irritating section of my brain hasn’t shut up since I killed Mercy. It wakes me up in the middle of the night and interrupts my day at the most inopportune moments.
I’m just doing this so I can let it go once and for all. Really! I need to move forward but I feel like I’m stuck. It’s crazy, I know, but I feel like Mercy’s with me wherever I go.
“Check this out,” Titus chuckles as he juggles what looks like a glass encased eyeball. If he breaks it who knows what kind of voodoo spell will be unleashed on him.
“Okay, so what can I help you with today,” chirped a woman in a pink floral dress and flip-flops. I’ve gotta admit I’m a little disappointed. I was kind of hoping for the all black getup with the pointy black hat and striped socks.
The witch startled Titus and he dropped the eyeball just like I knew he would. Luckily it didn’t break it just rolled quietly under the sofa.
“You almost bought yourself a seeing eyeball,” quipped the witch with a cheerful giggle. What is up with this? Is it too much to ask for a cackle?
She looked at me with a pointed green gaze and said, “Sorry, I don’t do cackles.”
Is she some kind of mind reader? Now I’m really not liking this.
She smiled at me coy
ly. “I’m not a mind reader you just have a very expressive face. Skeptic is written all over it. In my experience all skeptics expect the predictable.”
I didn’t roll my eyes. Not physically at least. In my mind I did that and so much more. This witch ought to be glad I need something from her.
She clucked her tongue and wagged her finger at me. “Don’t be upset with me. I’m here to help. Now tell me how I can do that.”
I’m really not liking this little witch. When I went to raise my own finger, I’ll let you guess which one, Titus grabbed my hand. “We need you bring back a dead friend,” he volunteered. I yanked my hand from his. I hate when he does that. I don’t need him to control my responses.
“Wow, you go for the big guns don’t you?”
“You’re gonna earn your money tonight, witch,” Titus agreed with a wink. I wish he wasn’t so damn friendly all the damn time. Not everything requires a grin or wink or a chuckle. Sometimes business is business and it’s best to get to it.
“Can you do it or not,” I don’t want to waste our time if we don’t have to.
She gave me a serious look then smiled at Titus. “Looks like you came to the right place, Zombie. That happens to be my specialty.”
“Julia’s specialty is putting ‘em in the ground,” Titus joked. I guess he must think his jokes are hilarious because he laughed so hard he had tears leaking from the corners. I mentally imagined doing all kinds of things to him that would also cause him tears. It helped calm me.
I felt a little satisfaction when the witch looked at me warily. I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. “Everybody has something they’re good at. Mine happens to be killing,” I informed her. The truth is Mercy was my first actual kill. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve had plenty of fights just none that resulted in death.
The witch stared at me silently for a moment then smiled slightly. I don’t know what she thinks she saw but I wanted to wipe the smile from her face forever. Does that sound extreme? Don’t bother answering. I don’t care.
“So what are we raising? A dog? A cat?”
“You suck at guessing,” was Titus’ response. “We’re hoping to bring back a Zombie. She’s pretty short so maybe you could do it for half the price.” Again with the stupid laughter. I was grinding my teeth to keep myself from yelling at him. Is it possible to love and hate someone at the same time? The answer is 100% yes.
“That’s a tall order!” As though the thought of raising a Zombie had not occurred to her. But seriously! How could she look at me and think I’d be here to raise Fido or Fluffy. Do I look like Mary Mary?
“Can you do it or not?” I don’t care if I sound rude. I just want to do this and get out of here.
She looked at me in irritation. Good! Now she’s speaking my language. “Yes, I can do this but I’m going to need a few things.”
“Like what,” I ask. She’s moving in the right direction but she needs to speed things up.
“I need some clippings of her hair and nails, a sample of her blood, a picture if you have one, some of her favorite items,” she explained patiently, “and $800 dollars in cash and up front.”
I opened my mouth to say something snarky about the cash but forgot all about it when I saw Titus laying every item she requested on the table. Hair, nails, my blood stained t-shirt from the night I killed her, a picture from her dance competition, a box of Nerds, a bag of Twizzlers and a DVD of Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.”
I’m a little dumbfounded. “How did you know to brink these things,” I ask him. It hadn’t even occurred to me to bring anything besides the money.
Titus shrugged sheepishly and rubbed his hand over his beard. He does that when he’s uncomfortable. I think he might even be blushing. “Just a lucky guess.” He handed the witch her money and waited expectantly.
“Those Boy Scouts have nothing on you,” she praised him. I wanted to tell her to lay off the compliments but opted to keep my mouth closed. No need to make her angry and Titus smug. For some reason he likes it when I get possessive so I try my damnedest not to.
“Let’s do this thing,” sang the witch. She has a name but Bibidee Bea sounds silly. I’ll stick with ‘witch’.
She turned on the cooktop and waited for the water in the little cauldron to boil. In the mean time she chatted Titus up on the weather, the revolution and his marital status. Say what?!
I was getting ready to test the temperature of the cauldron with her face when Titus slid his hand over my shoulder and said, “Julia’s my one and only.” The witch backed way off when she saw my expression. I didn’t make Titus remove his hand this time.
She pulled a candy thermometer from her pocket and checked the water temperature. “Perfect,” she declared with satisfaction. From her other pocket she pulled out a lighter.
Maybe it’s just me but all these modern conveniences really take some of the magic out of the whole experience. Witchy Bea looked at me across the cauldron and smirked. I swear she knows what I’m thinking.
She picked up Mercy’s photograph and used the lighter to set it ablaze. I know it’s just part of the ritual but I wanted to smack her. Holding the burning photo over the cauldron she began to chant:
Let what was be undone
She dropped flame engulfed photo into the boiling water.
Raise this Zombie like the sun
In went the hair and nail clippings. Then she lit my blood soaked shirt and dropped that in as well.
Give her life beyond death’s kiss
The witch scattered some Nerds and Twizzlers in.
Change ‘what I wish’ to ‘as it is’
The Buffy DVD was the last item. She tossed it in with a flourish. Looking directly at me she said:
Let the sisterhood be unbroken
I’m pretty sure this witch is trying to mess with my head. She grabbed a spoon from behind her and tossed that in as well. Now I know she’s messing with me.
I look at Titus in accusation but he shook his head. His eyes were wide in shock. “I didn’t tell her. I swear!”
“What’s your game witch,” I hiss. I don’t like being played with.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she says with an innocent expression as she tosses a small promo ad from City Hunter into the pot. Then she grabs the box of Nerds and drops some of the candy directly into her mouth. “It’s as you wanted. Your Zombie lives,” she proclaims. She lifts her fist up to her face and pulls it down to her side saying, “Fighting.”
What the hell? “How did you know about that stuff,” I demand to know.
She smiles mysteriously. “The sisterhood is older than the moon. It knows everything.”
Titus grabs me by the hand and says, “Thanks witch. We’ll keep in touch. Peace out.” With that he drags me from the house.
We’re halfway home before I can even find the words to speak. “Did that really happen,” I ask him. This has got to be one of the weirdest nights ever.
“Yep,” he pulls out his phone and starts scanning the call log.
“What are you doing?” I’m pretty sure I know but I ask anyway.
“I’m checking to see if Mercy called. That witch was weird enough to make me think she might actually have been able to raise the dead.”
That same stupid part of my brain is in full agreement and I’m doing everything I can to shut it up. Hope is like a blade it can cut you to pieces. I refuse to go down that way!
“She did her research. It doesn’t mean anything,” I tell him but I’m really trying to convince myself. “She was good though. I’ll give her that. She really knows how to put on a show.”
Titus rolls his eyes. “You’re the one who wanted to do this but you refuse to believe.”
“I told you. I just wanted to prove that it’s nonsense. I think I’ve made my point.” I indicate his phone. “No messages from Mercy. Right?”
He shakes his head and opens his mouth to say something when his phone beeps. Titus looks down and gulps. He pulls over and
messes with his phone for a bit then wheezes out, “That crazy damn witch did it!”
He turns the phone to show me Mercy’s blog post from 2 minutes ago. It was titled ‘Dead or Not Dead? That is the question’.
I can feel hope spread its bladelike wings inside my chest. It’s cutting me up for sure but I don’t care because the sisterhood lives!
Titus reaches over and hugs me and its only then I realize I’m crying. I finally admit what I’d been ignoring since that awful night. I missed the hell out of that damn ninja nerd.
Maybe it’s not too late to have my family back. I let hope spread its wings wider inside me embracing the pain of it. Whatever I have to do to make it happen I will do.
Families are forever. That’s not something you can give up on.
11
Chapter Eleven
I’m pretty much the coolest Zombie I know.
I mean, I’ve died twice and I’m still kicking.
-the mad ramblings of Mercy Mayhem
Mercy Mayhem
The day after yesterday
So, I guess everyone knows I’m alive now. I posted my blog just after midnight last night. Not long after that Titus tweeted:
Dead Zombie? No such thing! Good luck with that, world!!
It sounds like Titus is happy I’m alive but what about Julia? Titus wouldn’t have tweeted that if Julia still wanted me dead. Would he? Stupid! Of course he would. He’s Titus which translates to totally twisted in every way. I need to stop overthinking this.
If Julia wants to kill me again she can try but I won’t make it easy. Oh, and she’ll have to get through Pink. That’s not an empty boast. It’s exactly what Pink told me.
I’m pretty sure we made a mistake leaving Happyville. We had a good thing going on there. We shouldn’t have to run. If Julia finds us so what?
“We need to go back,” I tell Pink when he gets back in the car. He stopped to pick up a box of Nerds. I confess. I fell of the wagon 3 hours ago. Don’t judge me! I think I’ve mentioned I’m a stress eater. I chomped through my fingernails trying to fight the call of the sugar. When I ran out of nail I caved. I’m weak I know. I’ll work on that tomorrow.