by Andrea Judy
Windows shattered all around me as they crawled in from all sides, swarming. Was she sending them after me or after Aramis I wondered, glancing toward the basement door, still closed and unscathed. I turned my attention back to the task at hand and raised my pistol.
I fired three quick shots, knocking the closest group down before running into the hallway and slamming the door behind me. The closed door slowed down the hoards enough for me to reload the gun. As the door was ripped open, I fired into the masses. The last three dissolved into nothing but dust.
After the last of the dust and bones hit the floor, the house fell quiet. I headed to the back door and let out a breath when I saw the backyard sitting empty once again. I slid my gun back into my pocket and drew out my knife from the holster around my waist as I stepped out the door and into the rain. "A cake walk," I muttered to myself.
I never saw what hit me. Pain just exploded across the back of my head and I slammed into the ground with a groan. My knives toppled into the soaked clay as I struggled to get my bearings and try to get back to my feet. Cold hands closed around my neck, squeezing tighter and tighter as I wheezed and struggled.
The world started to grow dark as I clawed at the ground, finding enough dirt in the area to fling a handful backwards. It loosened the grip around my neck enough for me to take a gasp of cool air and get my senses back somewhat.
I slammed my head backwards, cracking the already throbbing back of my head against the nose of someone behind me. The figure groaned and let go. I grabbed one of my knives and rolled backwards to jump to my feet.
The dead man staring at me wore what looked like an old Civil War Confederate gray uniform, and he groaned, clawing at his busted nose, cracked and revealing slivers of his skull through his thin skin. Not waiting for him to recover, I slammed my blade into his eye until he dissolved into dust that melted under the rain.
Beside me I heard something crack against bone and turned in time to see Jackson with a baseball bat in her hand, swinging wildly as the dead swarmed around her.
Aramis stood beside her with an old, partially rusted sword in hand, cutting down any that came too close. In a matter of moments the two had knocked down the rest of the dead.
I cleared my throat. "Nice help," I croaked out.
"Are you alright?" Jackson walked to my side, putting her hand to my shoulder. I tilted my chin up to let her look over my throat.
"Just sore," I said.
She nodded, gingerly touching at my throat. "It will be bruised, and your voice is going to be a bit rough."
"I'll live somehow," I said with a roll of my eyes. “Let’s get out of this rain.”
Jackson shook her head and began collecting the bones dropped around the yard.
"You're pretty good with those little daggers of yours," Aramis commented, walking over to me, helping me up and heading inside.
I followed after him. "Practice," I explained with a shrug, rubbing the back of my head, grateful no blood coated the back of my hand. The last thing I needed was some head wound slowing me down. "What did he even hit me with?" I muttered.
"The butt of a musket," Aramis answered, pointing to the pile of dust where a rusted old gun laid on the grass.
"Of course." I sighed. “I guess this means she really is here," I said, glancing at Aramis.
He looked up at the setting sun. "If you had any doubts before I guess this is proof enough?"
I nodded. "Not unless anyone else can summon these things."
"God I hope not." Aramis said.
"Almost all of these bones have rosemary with them," Jackson said, walking back up with a pile of bones and the small green herb in her hands.
"And?"
"Well I think that almost confirms that they came from the cemetery. That's really the only place you can get rosemary in this amount. This is fresh from a bush. It must have stuck to them when they left the cemetery." Jackson mused, "God, these bones are ancient."
"Yeah, I bet they are," I muttered, picking up a bone she'd missed, and running it over in my fingers. The touch of time was all over these bones, picked clean and smooth over the years in the ground.
"Going to the cemetery in the dead of the night in a thunderstorm when we're thinking we're going to run into more of those things is not a good idea." She frowned at me.
"Time's not exactly on our side." I said as I checked my pistol.
"If she finds that gem before us that won't lead to anything good. The more gems she has, the stronger the creatures she revives will be," Aramis said. "She can summon the dead innately, but with two gems... anything that she raises from the dead will be touched by the power of her blasted goddess."
I turned to Aramis. "You know a lot more about this than you let on at the beginning of all of this."
Aramis cleared his throat as thunder roared overhead.
Jackson looked between Aramis and me before jumping when a raindrop hit her. "Let's get back inside. I need your help getting this place put back together. I can't really tell the police that a bunch of zombies attacked me and that's why it's a mess."
I waited until Jackson had stepped inside and Aramis had followed her to go after them. I didn't want Aramis at my back.
*****
I began working on getting the rooms put back together. Jackson swept up the broken pieces of furniture, plates, and lamps while Aramis got the desk flipped back upright and tried to put some of the things back into place.
"What are you going to tell them about all the windows being broken?" I asked as Jackson carefully collected the broken glass and tossed it into the trash.
Jackson shrugged her shoulders. "Storms break all kinds of things."
I grinned. "Smart girl."
"Not a girl. A doctor," Jackson pointed out as she straightened the display case with her diploma in it.
"My bad." I held up my hands.
Jackson turned back toward me. "How do you do it?"
"Do what?" I asked as I shoved a bookcase back into place.
"Everything that you do."
I laughed. "Well that's the vaguest question I've ever heard."
Jackson sighed. "I mean how do you keep at hunting all these things?"
Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest. "She took someone from me, and I'm going to make sure she never takes anyone from anyone else every again."
"I just still don't really understand all of this." Jackson shook her head. "But I want to help."
"You what?" I asked, staring at her.
"I want to help you find her," she said again. "Partially out of professional curiosity you understand. I've done the autopsies of thousands of bodies, and never had a one come back to life on me, but this woman is raising things from the dead. It's incredible."
"Yeah, forgive me if I don't see it as such a marvel," I muttered.
"I don't mean that it's a great thing, but I don't understand how she does this, and I never let anything stump me. Besides, I know the cemetery and I think you could use a local guide."
"Oh yeah? They make coroners take classes there?" I asked.
She rolled her eyes. "First, I'm a medical examiner, no one votes for me, and secondly, no. I was a history major for my undergraduate degree. My main focus was on cemeteries so I went into focus on the cemetery right here. I can tell you where just about every major grave site is and I'll know if something doesn't look right."
I frowned. Having someone who knew the area would be helpful, a lot more helpful than dragging Aramis around alone and hoping that eventually he got a 'feeling' that the gem was close. Sighing, I nodded. "Yeah, help would be nice."
Jackson smiled and offered her hand. "Besides, we women have to help one another because frankly, I don't think Aramis could find his way out of a wet paper bag on his own."
I laughed. "He does seem a little dense."
"I heard that!" Aramis called from the hallway, "You two stop talking about me!"
Jackson smiled. "Look, I may not be a great shot
but I know how to use a gun, and I know enough about how a body works to keep myself safe. Besides,” she swung the bat, “I played second base on the softball team until I was 22. I’ve got a mean swing.”
I sighed and shook my head. I could see enough of myself in Jackson that I knew better than to just say no. "If I don't agree to let you go with me, you're just going to do it on your own, aren't you?"
Jackson shrugged, putting her hands on her hips. "I didn't get into medical school by doing just what I had permission to do."
I smiled. "Alright fine. I've got a pistol I'll let you use, but you don't use it except as a last resort, all right? If we run into trouble then you run, got it?"
Jackson laughed. "Heroics are not my thing, don't worry."
"Are you two done having a moment yet?" Aramis asked, leaning in the doorway.
"Don't get jealous," Jackson walked by Aramis, patting his cheek.
He stammered, and I laughed before going after her.
Chapter 4
"I've got a few maps of the cemetery we can look over tonight while this storm is out there, and tomorrow morning we can start going to the area and hitting up the best spots, but at least looking at the map we won't be going in totally blind." Jackson said.
"And waiting for a 'feeling' about where to go." I glanced at Aramis.
He sighed. "Look, I know it sounds ridiculous but that's about all we have to go on." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, it glows when it gets close to the other gems, but I don't think you'll really be able to see that."
"What? It glows?" Jackson perked up. "How?"
"What do you mean how? It just lights up!" Aramis frowned, taking a step back from the doctor as she approached him.
"Does it heat up?" she asked.
"I guess so." He took another step back. "What are you doing?"
"Where exactly is the gem?" I spoke up.
"It's where my heart used to be," he admitted. "I had to make sure it was somewhere safe."
"The heart," Jackson murmured, tapping her chin before going to a different bedroom.
I could hear her shuffling through something. Occasional bits of plastic or metal hit the floor and rolled across the hallway before she rejoined us with a pair of goggles in her hands.
"One of the deputies left these." She smiled. "Thermal vision goggles."
"Thermal what?" Aramis frowned.
"They let whoever is wearing them see how hot or cold something is," I tried to explain.
She held the goggles up to her eyes and looked over Aramis, stepping slowly closer, and putting a hand to his chest just over his heart. "This is the only part of you that's even close to a regular base human temperature. That’s your gem?"
“Yes.” He said.
"So it's already warm?" I asked. "That means the other gems are close?"
"I suppose?" Jackson looked to Aramis.
He nodded. "Yeah, that's how I know it's here. I can feel it."
"So the closer we get, the hotter that spot is going to get?" I asked.
Aramis leaned against the wall. "Yes," he finally answered.
"So, will destroying these gems destroy her completely?" I asked.
He bit at the side of his mouth. "I don't know for sure. I know it will limit her power, but most importantly it will keep her from being able to summon a plague."
"A plague?" Jackson took the goggles back off.
Aramis nodded. "Your history books called it The Black Death."
"Wait, so she summoned the Black Plague?" I asked. "How is that—"
"No. No." He shook his head and sighed. "What happened doesn't matter now, but she didn't do that. She...stopped it."
"What are you talking about?" I frowned.
"She wasn't always like this. She just wanted to stop what was happening, and got too caught up in it, in the power." Aramis' voice softened. "I don't think she ever wanted things to go like this. And, if there's any part of that girl left then I owe it to her to stop her from bringing this plague back to earth."
"What?" Jackson frowned. "Okay, the plague was not caused by magic, it was-"
"All those the plague killed came back to life and began to raze the world," Aramis cut her off. "She stood to stop that, to keep the dead truly dead. She wanted that more than anything." He clenched his fists, and then let out a deep breath.
"I don't care about how this all happened,” I said. “I just need to know how to stop her from raising anything else from the ground. Is there some special way the gems have to be destroyed?"
"They can only be destroyed by the touch of a living creature,” Aramis said. “They can be damaged and disrupted by a touch like mine, but the only way to rid the world of them is for a living soul to destroy them. I've tried, and seen it tried by others, and it never stops the gems, just delays the inevitable."
Jackson sighed. "Well, I'm going to get some supplies together for this cemetery exploration. You both are welcome to stay here for the night. There are couches upstairs that I think escaped destruction."
I didn't think I'd be able to sleep, but accepted the offer any way. "Trying to sleep wouldn't be a bad idea I suppose."
Jackson led me upstairs to one of the only rooms to escape assault by the attacking chiffoniers. Two small twin beds with paisley sheets sat in the middle of the room.
"Why do you have a bedroom here anyways?" I asked.
Jackson shrugged. "Sometimes I stay the night, work gets busy. Sometimes officers need a place to sleep for an hour or two. I had the extra space in this building, might as well put it to better use than yet another storage closet."
I nodded. "Thanks for your help, and for contacting me."
She smiled. "Thanks for actually coming here and not cussing me out and calling me crazy over the phone. That's what I was expecting to happen to be honest. How many people would believe that a dead man came to life with your information in his hands?"
I laughed. "Well, maybe you got lucky this time." I dug through my bag and found the smallest pistol I had. I put it in her hands, "This is for you. This is the safety, don't turn that off unless you're about to shoot something, and don't point at anything you don't want destroyed. This won't do a lot of damage, but it packs enough of a kick to get those things away from you long enough to let you run." I put some rounds in her hand.
She looked at the gun, pointing it toward the wall and testing the weight and movement. "I haven't been shooting since I was little. My dad use to take me."
"Then you've got some experience," I said, "Good, that'll help. And I hope that you don't have to use it."
"If those things are attacking the house then I can't imagine what the cemetery is going to look like."
I offered, "They tend to attack when it's dark. We're going to be there bright and early. She might be cruel and crazy but she isn't stupid. She's not going to send her entire hoard out in the middle of the day to chase us from the cemetery." I hoped I was right. I wasn't sure what the Bone Queen was capable of anymore.
Jackson nodded. "Keep the door locked just in case something does come in the night."
"Don't worry I will. Where are you going?" I asked.
"I’m going to set up a room for Aramis then I'll be down in the lab for a while getting some things together, and then I'll probably join you up here. I've got a key for the room so don't worry."
"I apologize in advance for probably pointing a gun at you whenever you come in here. Habit," I explained.
She nodded. "Get some sleep Miss Pulptress."
"There's no ‘miss’." I reminded her.
"Honey, in the south, everyone's a miss or a missus," she said with a smile and left the room.
I sighed and put my pistol on the bedside table in easy arm's reach. I closed my eyes and tried counting backwards from 100 to get to sleep, but every number just flashed like bone shapes in front of my eyes. I groaned and pulled the blankets up over my head, but sleep resisted me.
I was still tossing and turning when I hear
d the key turn in the lock, and the door slowly squeak open. I peered out from under the covers and tracked Jackson as she tiptoed into the room and into the other bed. She sighed heavily, taking her hair band out of her hair with a yawn and flopping into the bed. Within a few seconds, I could hear her softly snoring.
I laid in silence, staring at the ceiling, and taking slow deep breaths. Eventually my eyes closed and I drifted off.
*****
I woke to a raven screeching outside of the window.
“Mmm…What is that?” Jackson grumbled, sitting up.
“Raven.” I sighed and slowly got out of bed. “We should get going. Looks like the storm has let up.”
Jackson nodded and yawned, putting her feet on the floor and stretching. “And we need to go before someone from the police department comes looking for those bodies.”
I rubbed my temples. "Go get Aramis, I'll get my things and then we'll get out of here."
Jackson nodded and disappeared off down the hallway. I took a deep breath before quickly changing into jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I pulled my hair up into a tight ponytail to hold it out of my face. Loading up my bag, I double-checked that I had everything I could think of for any kind of adventure with the undead. Guns, bullets, knives, baton, and a few flashlights. The only thing I hadn't brought was a shovel because that was a pain to carry around on. "Jackson?" I called down the hallway, "Do you have a shovel?"
"A shovel?" Aramis answered. "Are you going to bury me?'
"If only," I replied. "I figure a shovel might be helpful if we find anything needing digging up, like a gem."
"I've got one in the closet by the back door," Jackson called, coming back up from the basement with Aramis behind her.
I went down the hallway and grabbed the shovel, an old, rusted one, but it would work well enough. Tossing it to Aramis, I tightened the bag straps over my shoulders and around my waist to hold it securely in place. Aramis gets the shovel secured to his back, strapping it into place.
"You driving?" I asked Jackson.
