“Oh,” Charity said, too shocked to react.
Tiffany’s last nerve died, and she wept.
Charity hugged her instinctively. “Shh... Tiff. Everything will be ok.”
“I can’t die yet!” Tiffany wailed. “I-I-” She looked angrily at Richard that was staring at the people getting fewer as they ran to the emergency exits and then flowed back in like chased by something. “He made me do it!”
“Do what?” Charity let go of Tiffany that was shaking in a rage.
“He made me poison the salad dressing!”
Gears turned in Charity’s head. Then she patted Tiffany’s head gently. “You were in the ladies' room?”
Tiffany nodded between sobs. “I-I am-I am so sorry!” She leaned to Charity and ruined her new dress. Somehow, Charity did not care. She held her tightly.
“I forgive you,” she whispered into her ear before letting Tiffany go. Then she turned towards Richard who witnessed a mass of rotting corpses flooding slowly into the mall. “And what comes to you...”
Richard slammed the glass door closed and locked it right before a panicked police officer, that still had donut dust on his chest, could get in. He turned to Charity and ignored the cop knocking the door with panic.
“You!” Charity was ready to attack Richard and tear him apart but when she saw a familiar zombie hobble towards the man trying to break the door to get to safety, she froze. “Em?”
It looked like Em, all down to the neon-colored sweatbands and funny sneakers, but this one was drooling with blind eyes. Charity could hear a growl emanating from the zombie’s throat.
“Make way!” Charity yelled and quickly opened the door to let the cop in. She locked it again faster than Em could bash herself against it. Charity placed her hand onto the reinforced glass as her teeth snapped in place and slobber of long-dead blood messed the glass. Her eyes weren’t focusing on anything and she just kept trying to get in until a loud sound got her attention and she ran with the other undead. “Em...what happened to you?”
Richard was whimpering and tried to crawl under a desk.
Charity turned her eyes at him.
Richard pulled his legs to his chest and tried to look small.
“I am not done with you. Once I figure out what is happening to my friends, I will tear you limb from limb,” Charity promised but her threat had no life in it. She knew why everyone had risen from their graves, she just did not know how to stop it nor did she want this Dick running around in the Land of the Dead tormenting the dead as he tormented the living.
“What do we do?” Tiffany asked. Her eyes were wide, and she had armed herself with hair cutting scissors.
The cop cleared his throat and looked at Charity. “Miss, are those people out there-” He tried to refer the dead kindly which gave him points in Charity’s eyes, “your friends?”
“Yes. I died. I met them. I became friends with them and now they seem to be out for-” something wet and rather disturbing slammed the glass behind her and slowly slid down. Somehow she did not need to look to know that they were brains. Her mouth watered thinking about it.
“In that case, miss, I need to take you in,” the officer said and pulled out a gun. He cleared his throat. “For the record, my name is Bobby Privet and I kinda need to say that in case you want to sue me later.”
“Don’t shoot Charity!” Tiffany screamed and shielded Charity with her body. “She didn’t do this.”
“Miss, please move.”
“The hell I won’t! I already lost her once and I won’t lose her again. You need to shoot us both if you want to do that. Besides, there is a hell of a mess out there, why do you think anyone would be alive, anyway??”
Charity looked at her friend and smiled. Somehow her dull brain had came up with something very sweet, and smart. Charity hugged her. “Thank you.”
“You are my friend, Chari. I am sorry I tried to murder you.”
“I already forgave that.”
They smiled at each other. The police officer put his gun away slowly and sat down on a chair. “I just wanted to eat my donut in peace today...”
Tiffany seemed to feel sorry for Bobby the police officer so she handed him a hot towel to wipe off some splattered blood off his face. “I know how you feel.”
Bobby took the towel and smiled at her.
Charity observed the small act of kindness and listened to how the mall slowly became quiet. Most people had either died and moved to the undead side of things, or they had fled.
Tiffany turned to look at her, “So, what do we do, Chari?”
Charity tried to think about it for a moment. She knew nothing about spells, nor did she know how to find someone who did and Jerry was who knows where meeting his family right now. “I don’t know. The person I came here with could be anywhere and the owner of the spell is probably one of the less lively ones.” The truth slipped out of her lips easily.
Bobby looked at her and rose to his feet. “If it is someone you need to find, I might know how to do that.” He looked embarrassed when everyone, even Richard looked at him. Richard could not see much past his average looks, chubby midsection, and the uniform though.
“How?” Tiffany asked. In his eyes, Bobby was next to god with all the answers.
“If we can get to my car, I can search the person in our database and maybe we get lucky.” Bobby straightened his back when he noticed Tiffany’s eyes shining at him. “Hm. It is right outside.”
“That is the plan then,” Charity said and looked around her. “I hate to say this but... arm yourselves. Probably hit to the knees to slow them down or shoot to the head.” She nodded at Bobby. “They probably return to the Land of The Dead if-” She did not want to think of any other option.
Minutes after Charity slowly opened the door. She had thrown away her new heels and walked barefoot with her armed comrades. It was nice to feel all her toes on the cold stone. She herself had a heavy piece torn from one chair, Tiffany had her scissors, and Richard held onto another chair piece Charity had given to him.
They sneaked past many stores that all were eerily empty, dark, and in chaotic conditions. Nothing came to their way as they passed a gigantic Christmas tree that still was lit and shined light all around it. A shape of Santa startled Charity, but she did not whack it.
Richard did. He screamed and attacked the thing, thinking he was the hero everyone had been waiting for. Smack after smack he made it break until he realized that it impressed no one.
The sound called for company though. Slowly a familiar shape dragged itself behind the tree.
“Atenea...” Charity whispered and almost ran to her friend that was barely held together by her toga and remaining flesh. Her skeletal structure was not strong enough to allow her to walk. Charity felt her skin rise on goosebumps from Atenea’s low hungry groan. She noticed how her friend had something in her hand, a long flowing white cloth. “I am so, so sorry.” Charity swallowed tears and led the living out of the mall and to the parking lot.
They hurried quickly into the car and locked the doors. They saw some wondering dead in the distance but none of the noises they made attracted the dead enough.
“Okay, what is his name?” Bob whispered just in case as he opened his laptop propped on the dashboard.
“Jeremy...” Charity hit blank for a moment. “Jeremy Ditton. He told me to call him Jerry if that helps. He is... tall, has sandy brown hair, green eyes, soft jaw, a dimple on the right side of his mouth when he grins... and uh... He died a few months ago. He has a family,” Charity whispered back. “The family is alive. Complicated stuff.”
“That is not much, but let’s hope...” Bobby nodded and started typing. Tiffany leaned in behind the driver’s seat to place her hand on his arm and to see what he was doing. It made Bobby smile a little. He was not used to being so openly liked by such a pretty woman. Tiffany seemed to know that and really liked how Bobby blushed.
“Find anything?” Charity asked next to him, un
able to see the screen.
Richard scoffed. “There is no way in Hell that you will find someone like that.”
Tiffany punched him in the mouth and winced in pain when her knuckles cracked. “Shut up, you vile piece of shit.”
Richard held his bleeding lip and stared at her in shock.
“Bingo!” Bobby whispered bit loudly and immediately looked around if anything noticed it. They didn’t. A small zombie girl hobbled close by but she was more focused on the glistening lights on a close-by pole than anything. “Bingo,” he repeated silently. “I found one Jeremy Ditton, an ex-con, and he even lived nearby a loooong time ago. Decades actually. Here, I have a photo.”
Charity looked at the screen Bobby turned to her and she recognized Jerry from the black-and-white photo right away despite him having a long hippie hair in the picture. “He is a criminal?”
“This says he killed his wife. He also maimed her friend that tried to stop the... Incident.”
Charity covered her mouth with her hand in horror. Had she been helping a murderer?
“I am sorry,” Bobby muttered.
Tiffany patted his arm gently.
Richard swallowed another scoff in fear of being hit again.
Charity took a deep breath. “You know what? It does not matter. He knows how to stop this so... We pay that address a visit.” She looked at the empty parking lot. “Start driving.”
Bobby nodded and clicked on his seatbelt. Everyone else did the same when he would not move before they did so. “Safety regulations,” he explained before turning on the engine and driving off.
The sound of the car attracted the dead but none of them was fast enough to catch them... until a recognizable shape hopped on the top of the car and yelled “UGH” until they slowed down and let it in to sit on Charity’s lap.
“What the hells is that??” Richard asked and was promptly hit to his nose so hard that it cracked. Taka did not like to be called a ‘that’. She liked how Charity hugged her though.
“How are you alert?” Charity asked and held her tighter. “Everyone else is...”
Taka stared at her struggling with words and ignored Bobby that was trying to not shoot her. “Ugh?”
“Deceased,” helped Tiffany. “Hi,” she said to Taka.
“Ugh.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
Charity looked at Taka and Tiffany back and forth. “Wait, you can understand her?”
“What, you can’t? She speaks plain English,” Tiffany said confused.
“She does?”
“Ugh. Ugh, urrrghh, ugh.”
“She says that the amulet is keeping her alive,” Tiffany translated.
“UghUghhh. UGhhh.”
“And we need to find someone called Nefera.”
“Ughrhgh.”
“She is nearby.”
Charity stared at her and then looked at Taka that squeezed her tight. “Lead the way then, Taka.”
“Ugh.”
TEN MINUTES LATER THEY almost hit Nefera with the car. It wasn’t Bobby’s fault, really; he was trying not to, but Nefera was armed with a long shining staff and a bad attitude towards the metal monster roaring at her.
Charity jumped out of the car and ran to her.
Taka was faster though.
“Oh good, you found her,” Nefera said and smiled a little. Her movements were slow and looked somehow painful. “We have a little time.”
Charity was about to answer but Taka shook her head. Nefera was in a terrible mood.
“I know what you did, and I know that the one who spoke the spell is in this dwelling,” Nefera said. “He seems to have shielded himself with fierce warriors made of this cold snow. I did not dare to attack them alone.”
Charity looked at the house they had parked in front of. She saw no warriors of any kind, just abnormally large snowmen. They had the usual coal smiles and carrot noses topped with scarves and stick arms.
Nefera shook her staff at them. “I do not fear you or your motionless posture!” She attacked them. Taka joined her before Charity could tell Nefera what they really were.
“We will stay here,” Tiffany said behind Charity. She was moving from the backseat to the front. “I don’t think we can help.”
Bobby was going to say something about that but Charity stopped him. “Please take Tiffany out of here, ok? Also, Richard tried to murder me twice and I would really appreciate if he went to jail for it.”
Tiffany nodded at her.
Bobby locked the door again when Richard tried to press the door open.
Charity followed Nefera and Taka to the house.
In there, they saw Jerry sitting by a dinner table with an old man, a young woman, and two young children. They were eating food peacefully.
“Charity?” Jerry looked at her surprised. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“She did not find you, I did,” Nefera said and made Jeremy go pale. “Do you know what kind of havoc you have caused?”
Charity crossed her arms and the anger in her face was like an open book.
“Ah...” He pushed back his chair and got up. He looked at the people around the table. “If you excuse me, I believe it is time for me to leave. It was a joy, a pleasure really.”
The kids looked disappointed but Nefera’s fierce look and Taka’s wild appearance made sure they did not dare to say a word.
“Can’t you stay?” The old man said, grabbing onto his sleeve.
“I am afraid he can’t,” Nefera answered for Jeremy.
“It is okay, Matthew,” Jeremy said.
“Jerry...” the man called Matthew said.
Jeremy patted his hand. “I will see you again.” He sniffed a little and then walked to Nefera and Taka. “Let’s go.” He gave a small glimpse at the man and the kids that waved at him in confusion.
Charity closed the door after them. “What was that about? Was that your family?”
Jeremy looked at the destroyed snowmen and strange car tracks without a car in the yard. “No.”
“Who were they?”
“They were the family I wanted to have but my wife, whom I was divorcing, attacked me and resulted in me killing her. She had already wounded Matthew that day, and I got blamed for everything. I just wanted to tell him that-” The words just flowed out of Jeremy. “...that I was sorry.”
Nefera looked at the man who she saw was only alive on the surface. “You raised all the dead while you did that.”
“Nefera! You can’t just be blunt like that!” Charity said.
“What? It is the truth.”
Jerry looked at them with widened eyes. “I did what now? The spells said only two!”
Nefera looked at him like he was an idiot. “It was a theoretical spell. Where do you think all the energy comes from, huh? The Land of The Dead has no such energy! It takes All of Us or Nothing!” She took a deep breath and looked at Jerry and Charity. “But it matters not, we need to go now or we can’t fix everything that broke this evening.” She looked at the setting sun. “We are late for dinner.”
“How do we do that?” Charity asked.
“The same way you left but this time you will tell me you consent to let your lives go for good.”
Jeremy looked at the house and familiar face waving at him. “I consent.”
Charity nodded. “Me too.”
“Good,” Nefera said and chanted the spell with such speed that the smoke had barely time to rise and then fall again. As it fell, it wiped away every single dead person into dust and sucked them back into the Land of The Living. Everyone who had had their brains scooped out woke with a faint memory of a livid migraine, and three certain snowmen lifted themselves up as the two children, their bewildered mother and Jeremy’s former lover watched.
The horrors had been undone.
A KNOCK MADE THE HALL echo. It was so heavy that everyone at the party could hear it. Charity flew to the door to open it. Behind it was two familiar faces.
> “You look great!” Jerry smiled and hugged Charity. “May I present to you-”
“Oh, I remember you! You are... Matthew. How long has it been?”
“Nearly a decade, miss,” he said. “Thank you for inviting us.”
“We are Always happy to have you now that you have joined us here. Please, come in, we are almost ready to toast.” Charity opened the door more for them and noticed how there were more people approaching their door. She looked at them, recognizing the newcomers.
“Tiffany? Bob?”
Tiffany giggled and ran the last steps to hug her. “Chari!”
Bob was more reserved but life had treated him well. He was old and gray, just like Tiffany, and both were wearing high tech winter hiking clothes. “It took us a while to find this place. We died on a trip to the Himalayas.”
“Fancy,” Charity smiled. “May I introduce you to my wife, Prudence?”
Prudence, who had been watching Charity welcome everyone in, walked next to Charity to shake Bob’s hand. “Pleasure.”
Tiffany was a living question mark so Charity just hugged her again and whispered to her, “I will tell you everything later.” Tiffany nodded to that and grabbed her husband's arm when they stepped into the beautiful hall.
“These are the people from your adventure?” Prudence asked when she began closing the door.
“Yes,” Charity said and flashed her a smile that dimmed when she noticed another shape outside. “Wait, I think there is someone new.”
“Who? I think everyone is in already,” Prudence said and looked at the crowd waiting for them to open the Ballroom doors.
“I don’t know. Let me go ask.” Charity grabbed a scarf to hide her bruises and ran outside in her long flowing white dress. “Hey, you! Did you want to come to the party?”
The shape shook its head and turned more into the darkness. “You won’t want me there.”
“Why not?” Charity asked. “Everyone is welcome to this ball.”
The shape turned out to be a man. Charity could see his withered hands hold on to a too thick coat.
“Come on in.”
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