CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Randy, Melissa, Susie, and Clarissa arrived at what had become the zombie headquarters just in time to see the rest of the Silver Society as well as several others struggling to escape. They were trapped behind a door that was surrounded by zombies who didn't react as strongly to the weapons and flame throwers. The windows did not break no matter how hard they hit them. The zombies were enraged by the escape attempts and growing angrier by the minute.

"Flesh eaters," Randy said in disgust. "I hate the flesh eaters."

"You hate all of them," Melissa pointed out.

"They've eaten recently," Susie said. "They're really strong. The people inside will never get by them on their own."

"We should have come up with a better plan," Clarissa said with a sigh.

"What kills the flesh eaters?" Melissa asked.

"They still burn when set on fire, but they're better at dodging the attacks. I guess they have human reflexes because they eat humans... Okay, I'm grossing myself out," Randy said, trying not to gag.

"We need someone to be bait. We've got to lure them away from the living," Melissa suggested. "I could do it. My shape shifting would probably confuse them."

"No," Randy said. "You're still recovering and you've already done a lot tonight... I'll do it."

Melissa touched his forehead. "Are you feeling okay, Jock Boy? You just volunteered for some hundred-on-one touchy-feely time with a bunch of flesh eating zombies."

"I'm on it," he said. "I can do this. Just trust me."

"I do, but you're terrified of these things. There has to be another way."

"There isn't." He took a deep breath away from the direction of the zombies and said, "When I say go, get that door open and free everyone. You're small. You'll be able to sneak right past them. Susie, gather a ton of energy and use it to protect the living. Clarissa, get their attention on me. They'll notice you because you're a Reaper. Just point them toward me and make sure they want to eat me. Are we all on the same page?"

"I'm in," Melissa said.

"Me too," Susie added.

"Are you sure about this?" Clarissa asked.

"Absolutely not," Randy admitted, "but it's the only plan I've got and we're out of time. Remember, make them focus entirely on me."

"Yeah, just tell them that Randy's crunchy and good with ketchup," Melissa joked, but clearly she was terrified of what they were about to do.

"If you need help, scream for me," Clarissa said. "Of the four of us, I'm the only one who can lay them to rest."

"Okay. Ready? One... Two..." Randy took another deep breath and said, "Three!"

Clarissa immediately raised enough energy to command the attention of the zombies. "Before you stands a boy you must consume. His flesh will give you new life," Clarissa told them.

As the zombies looked at Randy and began heading toward him, Melissa squirmed in and out of the rows they formed and made it to the door with little effort. She pried it open as soon as Susie nodded at her to say that she had raised enough energy.

Arnie threw his arms around Melissa as soon as he saw her. Everyone else surrounded her. "Now what do we do?" Jesse asked. Tommi West stood by his side looking a little bit freaked out but unharmed.

"We fight," Cassandra replied.

"That sounds like a plan," Tommi agreed. She looked at Evan before adding, "Can I play with one of your flamethrowers?"

Evan looked at Aideen questioningly. "Tommi's awesome. You can trust her," she said.

"This flamethrower is practically bigger than she is," Evan protested.

"Just give her a weapon, Evan," Jesse snapped. "There's no time to be picky."

Evan shrugged. He handed a flamethrower to Tommi. He was mildly impressed when she started using it as if she'd wielded one a thousand times before. She took out an entire row of zombies in about sixty seconds.

"Not bad," he admitted.

"Never underestimate us short girls, Evan," Melissa said. "We're crazy and fierce."

Several feet away, Randy was shaking as the zombie army approached him. "Maybe I should have kept this plan to myself," he mumbled. He was seconds away from becoming dinner.

"Leave the boy!" A voice commanded that shocked nearly everyone. Benny and Courtney had arrived on the scene, and Benny was drawing the attention of the zombies now. "Return to your resting places."

The zombies looked at Courtney and recognized her. The flesh eaters headed toward her, hunger showing in their eyes. They were too strong to control now. "I can't lay them to rest," Courtney said in a panicked whisper.

"What happens if they eat the one who raised them?" Melissa asked.

"They can never be laid to rest. They'll take on her power and become their own entities," Aideen replied. "We have to save her!"

"Oy, Blondie!" Ellyn suddenly called. Courtney stared at her in confusion. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Princess. Come here."

Courtney hesitated, but when she spotted Aideen by Ellyn's side she ran toward them. She hugged her sister, then looked questioningly toward Ellyn.

"She's a friend," Aideen said. "Ellyn, Courtney. Court, Ellyn."

"Hi," Courtney replied. The zombies were making their way toward her again.

"Here's what we're going to do," Ellyn said. "You do what the jock did and play bait. When they come, Aideen will set as many as she can on fire, your mom will lay the ones who aren't flesh eaters to rest, your dad will cross any souls that are lingering near the bodies and any people that the zombies killed, and I'll handle the rest."

"What, exactly, is the rest?" Courtney asked.

"Whichever of your zombies we can't lay to rest or torch."

"What will you do to them?"

"Don't worry about that. Just smile pretty, Blondie. This is your moment to shine. Get their attention. I promise not to let them eat you."

"What about my Dad?" Courtney asked. "How will he know what to do? Mom heard this plan because she's right here, but my dad's still over by Randy."

"Aideen already telepathically told him the plan. Now, do what I said and get their attention. It's time to end this."

Courtney was still nervous. "I've been following too many orders lately that I shouldn't," she said.

"This is one that you should," Aideen replied. "Ellyn knows what she's doing. She has a bizarre way of showing it, but trust me on this. She's on our side."

Courtney nodded reluctantly and looked into the faces of the flesh eaters. They circled around her. It was then that Ellyn shouted, "Now!"

Aideen began torching them. The others were out of ammunition, so they stayed by the sidelines watching the battle. Clarissa led the ones who were not flesh eaters away and laid them to rest as quickly as she could manage. Benny began gathering the souls of the dead to cross back over with him. He kept a safe distance from Aideen and Clarissa, hearing their request for him to stay away. Neither of them could let him go again if they got too close to him.

Ellyn began speaking in Latin again and a sword suddenly manifested in her right hand. "Oh hell yeah!" She shouted. She started attacking the flesh eaters. Some were impaled, others were decapitated, but every creature that was touched by the sword fell completely dead at her feet.

Within minutes, all of the zombies had been destroyed or laid to rest. Breathing heavily, Ellyn leaned her head on Aideen's shoulder. "Okay, I'm tired," she said. "Time to go home."

"What is that thing?" Aideen asked, staring at the sword.

"What? Oh, this? It's Michael's sword. Yeah, I've got connections."

Aideen blinked at her. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"Apparently," Ellyn replied casually.

"Are you serious? This is Michael's real sword, like out of the Bible? Like the angel's sword?"

"Yeah. So?" Ellyn asked.

"How did it just materialize in your hands?"

Ellyn shrugged. "I know people in high places."

"This is officially too bizarre."

"Wait a second, Reaper Girl. You raise the dead and can shoot fire out of your hands without a second thought, but my being able to make a biblical weapon materialize out of thin air is too weird?"

"Okay, fine... Touché," Aideen replied.

"Dad's leaving," Courtney said suddenly.

"He has to, Court," Aideen replied sadly. "I hate it as much as you do, but he's the only one who can cross all of these people over at once."

"He has to stay! I can't... I can't just let him die."

"He's already dead," Clarissa gently reminded her.

"He only resurrected himself to save me. This is my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid-"

"You are not stupid, Courtney," Aideen said firmly. "He drained you to the point where you were sick all the time and then he took advantage of you."

Courtney shook her head and ran toward her father. "Daddy, don't leave," she begged. "Please! I'm sorry. None of this should have happened."

Benny put a hand on her shoulder. "I told you, honey, I won't really be gone. My journey requires that I be on the other side, but I'm always watching out for you and your sister and your mom. I love you guys," he said. "Now, I have a lot of people here who want to cross over. I have to go."

Courtney started to cry, but she nodded. "I love you, Daddy."

"I know. I love you, too, sweetheart." He walked away, leading the lost souls to the light. Benny refused to let his body die again in front of his family. He would spare them that much.

Courtney collapsed on the ground in tears. Randy wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. He carried her back to her family.

"Where do we go now?" He asked.

"The Unit," Susie replied. "We have to free everyone who was trapped there and lay the zombies over there to rest."

"What about the lost souls? You said that they killed people," Melissa said.

"Unit employees don't get to stay dead. Death is not an acceptable reason to quit," Shooter joked.

"Skip won't force anyone to come back," Tammy clarified.

"No, he'll just strongly encourage it," Shooter replied.

"Oh my gosh! Where is Skip? I thought he was with you guys!" Susie said.

"I didn't see him. We checked everywhere to try and get everyone out of here alive," Tammy replied.

"Shooter, do you feel him? Is he anywhere nearby?" Susie's usual jovial energy was becoming frantic now.

Shooter tried to sense Skip's energy. "I don't know," he said. "I feel him, but he's masked... By Zombie Jo's energy, and something else."

"Is he... I mean... Did she...?" Susie couldn't bring herself to finish any of her questions.

"He's alive, Susie. For now, at least. He's in trouble, though. He's still at the Unit. I get the distinct impression that the zombies aren't the only ones there now."

"Then let's go," Aideen said. "I'm not done fighting yet."

"Does that mean that I have to come, too?" Ellyn asked. "I miss my bed."

"Don't you want to play with the shiny sword some more?" Aideen teased her.

"You know, for a girl I just met, you know me freakishly well. Bring it on, Zombies!" Ellyn declared.

Everyone headed toward the Unit. They walked in silence. No one was sure what they would find when they arrived, nor did they know how many people were left alive. About a quarter of the Unit's employees had turned up with everyone else. That left a lot of friends, family members, and beloved co-workers unaccounted for.

The remaining zombies consisted of both varieties. The living fought their way through them, shooting, torching, and slicing anyone who got in their way as more weapons were supplied. Courtney was catatonic and still in Randy's arms.

"Take Courtney home," Clarissa instructed Alex.

"I need to be here," Alex argued.

"You're hurt anyway. Go to my house and protect my daughter. Please. She won't be safe until they're all gone, and unfortunately, with how much of her energy was involved in the creation of this mess, she can't function right now. She needs someone to protect her and I don't trust anyone else to do it, Alex."

Alex nodded. "Melissa, come with me," he said.

"What, and miss all the fun?" Melissa asked with a pout.

"You're fresh out of the hospital and just spent way too much time fighting zombies. I'm putting my foot down. You need to rest."

Melissa reluctantly followed Alex. "Cierra, do you want to come with us?" He asked, hoping she'd say yes. He didn't like the idea of her being in battle when she was generally strictly a researcher.

"No way," Cierra replied, her gun. "I know everyone who's trapped in there and care about them too much to leave. Besides, I realized today that I'm really good at shooting disgusting creatures who want to kill me. I'd like to get some more practice."

Alex kissed her. "Be safe," he said. "I expect to see you as soon as you get out of here."

"I'll be there," Cierra promised.

Alex took Courtney from Randy and led Melissa away from the scene. The others entered the Unit building. Inside, it was far too quiet and dark.

"The ones they trapped in safe rooms are up on the second floor," Shooter said. "Let's get them out first."

Everyone followed his lead, stepping over the occasional dead body, with people gasping or sobbing at the realization that someone they loved was gone. They made it upstairs without running into any zombies, but the horror that lay before them was almost too much to stand.

Hundreds of dead bodies lay before them. Some were residents of Salem. Others were from bigger places like Boston. They'd come to help. They'd been too late. They were of every age, color, creed, and gender. Some had died instantly with one quick move from a zombie. Others lay in pieces, scattered around the halls. Several had clearly been eaten. The ones who were eaten would most likely not be able to be resurrected, and most of those bodies were too mutilated to be easily identified.

When Shooter finally made it to the safe rooms, he began prying them open. Others followed suit. At most, eighty people were freed. No one who had stayed in the safe rooms had been killed, but several people had run out when the zombies broke one of the doors, and they'd gotten slaughtered.

"Oh Gods," Beth whispered. "There's so much pain here..." She started shaking violently.

"Beth, ground," Jade warned her. She still wasn't alright in any sense, but saving the survivors and stopping the remainder of the zombies took precedence over her emotions. She could have a nervous breakdown later.

"I can't... There's too much." Beth started bleeding and screaming in agony.

Shooter grabbed Beth and quickly tossed her into a safe room. "No matter what they left in here, you won't feel it, and you'll be safe," he explained.

Beth calmed down almost immediately, and her bleeding slowly began to stop. "We'll come back for you," Shooter promised. "Lock the door." He closed it over.

"Skip wasn't in a safe room," Susie said. "Oh Gods... Where is he?"

"Susie, honey, stay calm. Skip needs us to focus," Tammy said.

"He's downstairs," Johnny said suddenly from behind them.

"Where'd you guys come from?" Shooter asked as Johnny and Danny came into view.

"Do you need a lesson on the birds and the bees, Shooter?" Danny asked.

Ignoring him, Johnny said, "We came to help. And we brought back up."

The majority of the Salem witches and the vampires appeared behind them. "The bloodshed must end," Annabella said firmly. "We cannot punish an entire group for the actions of one member, nor can we continue fighting a battle that neither of our communities can ever win."

"Does that mean that you're going to stop trying to kill me now?" Aideen asked them.

"That was Luigi's doing," Annabella replied. "I'm so sorry, Aideen. I would never harm you or your family, but he had control over my sisters and I didn't know about the order to kill you. In my grief, I didn't see Luigi for what he was. It wasn't until Johnny informed us of his vision of Luigi's betrayal that I realized what had to be done."

"We're sorry as well," Travis said.

"Ay, we didna' mean for any of this to happen. We were blinded by grief," Brynn added. "Can ya e'er forgive us for what we've done to ya?"

"Oh, you know I can't resist an Irish brogue, Brynn... You're forgiven, but don't ever try it again," Aideen replied. "And I can't forgive you for anything except what you did to me. Just remember that."

"Where's Ambrosia?" Arnie asked suddenly.

"She's indisposed," Annabella replied mysteriously.

"Meaning what?" Clarissa asked with an arched eyebrow.

"She's bound to a chair and gagged," Olivia explained with a grin.

"Why do you think we were all so afraid to defy Annabella?" Oliver added with an identical expression on his face.

"I am taking the position of High Priestess until my sister remembers how to think clearly," Annabella said.

"I didn't know you had it in you," Aideen replied. "I'm impressed."

"Being a High Priestess is in my blood."

"Not that. I've always known that you were the strongest of your sisters and should have been the one in charge. What I didn't know is that you had it in you to kidnap your sister when she was being stupid."

"What are sisters for?" Annabella replied lightly.

"Is your sister a blonde, too?" Ellyn asked. "Because in my book, Courtney's blondosity takes the cake, but starting a war and killing kids because you're mad at one person might just tie for first place." She paused. "Sorry. I'm supposed to respect a High Priestess, right? I'm Catholic, so you'll have to bear with my ignorance."

Annabella laughed. "Who is your new friend, Aideen? I like her," she said.

"So do I," Aideen replied.

"Guys, can we focus? We still need to get the survivors out of here and make sure that there aren't any more zombies," Tammy said.

"We also need to find Skip," Shooter added before Susie could.

"What about resurrecting the dead?" Annabella asked, shaking her head sadly as she recognized Alice's face on one of the corpses. She hadn't been eaten, so there was still a chance of bringing her back.

"We can resurrect the willing tomorrow. Our Reapers and necromancers need to rest before they can fix this many people," Tammy replied.

"Rest? Wait, you mean we get to do that?" Aideen asked.

"As soon as we get this done, yes."

"Who's on clean-up crew?" Shooter asked. "Not it!"

"We'll figure that out later, too," Tammy replied.

Jesse whimpered because he knew his name would end up on that list. Skip loved assigning him to the clean-up crew because he knew that Jesse hated the job. Jesse went out of his way to stay out of trouble if it meant avoiding being on the clean-up crew. Randy would probably be chosen as well. He had severe OCD, and when on clean-up crew, he would often refuse to leave a room until it was cleaner than it had been before the mess was made.

Shooter focused his attention suddenly. "There are only a handful of zombies left," he said. "I want almost everyone here to leave. You guys can take them. It won't be hard, and they're not flesh eaters. As far as the Silver Society members go, please stay. Ellyn, Tommi, if you want to play, you can stay, too. Corey, stick around. Tammy, Susie, you guys are with me, as usual. Everyone else can go."

"I would like to remain and help," Annabella said. "I can work spells as needed."

"I wish to remain as well," Jacob added, startling everyone. No one had sensed he was present. The undead were skilled at hiding in plain sight. He knelt before Aideen and took her hand. "My apologies, dear Reaper. We made a severe error in judgment. Your family deserved better treatment. You are royal. I sincerely regret our actions."

Seeing an undead vampire of Jacob's status kneeling humbly before her, Aideen knew that the vampires honestly regretted what had happened. She nodded and motioned for him to get up. Words were unnecessary.

"You can stay," Shooter said, "but if either of you steps out of line, I'll zap you."

Everyone else left, and those who remained gathered around Shooter. "Okay, Annabella, Jacob, Danny, Ellyn, Corey, Randy, Cierra, Jade, Tommi, and Jesse, stay up here and guard Beth and the bodies. If any more zombies show up, handle them," Shooter said. Then he looked to Tammy, Susie, Clarissa, Johnny, Aideen, Arnie, Evan, Cassandra, and Dylan and said, "Let's go find the boss."

Shooter's group headed back downstairs. As it turned out, Skip was in the most obvious location possible. They found him in the center of his office, restrained in his chair by the Jo Zombie. "Clarissa," Susie said, "Can you lay her to rest? Skip won't let you hurt her body."

Clarissa nodded. She took command of the Jo Zombie and said, "Be at peace now. Leave this place and rest. Never rise again."

Jo's body left the room. Skip did not move in the chair. He was beaten and bloody, but he was alive. Susie hugged him. Dylan began healing his wounds.

"Not so fast," Mrs. Foster said. She stood up from behind Skip's desk and held a gun which she aimed at his head. She smiled brightly at everyone present. "It's lovely to see you all! Arnie, welcome back. I didn't know if you'd be returning or not. I'm so pleased to see that you survived."

"You're insane," Arnie said. "You are completely and undeniably insane!"

"Oh, now, be nice," Mrs. Foster said, tsk-tsking.

"Let Skip go," Arnie said. "Take me."

"I can't do that, Arnie, and besides, I already have you. You're my foster son."

"You clearly didn't get the memo. I'm not staying with you."

"No one will take you in. You kill people, remember?" She bounced her head cheerfully, as though telling him something very amusing.

"Yeah, and I'm going to kill you next," he replied firmly.

"He has a home and I'll make it stick legally," Johnny informed Mrs. Foster.

"Arnie will stay with me," Clarissa added, following his lead. If they could get her angry enough, Mrs. Foster might make a critical error and they could take her down without giving her time to shoot Skip. "I'd like to see you stop me from taking him in. Arnie has always been my son. Don't mess with a Reaper's child. You won't survive."

"I do not fear you, Reaper," Mrs. Foster replied. Her tone was icy, but her smile remained.

"None of us do," Mr. Foster added, joining them. Elaine and Edward followed obediently behind him. Edward blocked the doorway so no one could escape from the room. Elaine walked until she stood at her mother's side. Each of them had a gun.

"What do you want from me?" Arnie demanded.

"We want to see you suffer," Elaine replied. "You have betrayed your father, Arnie. That's something we simply do not do."

"You're right, Arn," Aideen said. "They are a freaky bunch."

Evan slowly, almost imperceptibly, inched closer to Edward. Aideen realized what he was doing and knew that he needed help to pull it off.

"I mean, who the hell smiles that much?" Aideen continued. "What's the matter, Mrs. Foster? Bad batch of Botox?"

"How dare you insinuate that my mother would inject such filth into her body!" Elaine shouted. She looked like she wanted to lunge at Aideen, but she remained perfectly in place.

"Where is my mother?" Arnie asked.

"I'm right here," Mrs. Foster replied.

"You're not my mother. Where is Dawn Keller?" He demanded again.

"Oh, that little tramp? She's fine. She's just hanging out with an old friend of hers."

"What are you talking about?" Arnie asked.

"Did we forget to tell you? Your father's not dead, Arnie. He was, of course, but we simply couldn't have that, now could we? It would ruin the game, and I so enjoy a bit of sport every now and again!"

"No... You couldn't have..."

"Oh, but we did. Surprise! Isn't this great fun?" Elaine asked.

"You're crazy. Every last one of you is certifiable!"

"That they may well be," Luigi said as Edward made room for him to enter, "but they are correct. I'm very much alive, thanks to my gifted little friend."

Eliza followed him into the room. She looked weak and frail as she stood beside him. "Leave her alone," Arnie said. "She's just a little girl!"

"She's so much more than you will ever know, Arnie," Luigi replied.

Suddenly, Evan overpowered Edward and grabbed his gun. He promptly shot him in the head, but Edward did not bleed. He simply glared at Evan in response.

"What the hell?" Evan demanded. He fired again and it had the same result.

Mrs. Foster laughed. "That won't work, dear," she said, smiling even wider.

Evan shot at her and found that she didn't bleed either. In fact, she continued to smile at him as though she was having a wonderful time despite the hole in the center of her forehead.

"Well, I know that he bleeds," Evan said as he shot Luigi in the stomach.

Luigi collapsed onto the floor and bled quite a lot, but he didn't die. "You missed," he croaked at Evan.

"No, I just didn't shoot to kill," Evan replied. They still needed to know where Luigi was holding Dawn hostage. "What the hell is going on here?"

"You will never understand," Mr. Foster replied pleasantly.

Evan grabbed Eliza and aimed the gun at her head. "You guys may not bleed, but I'm betting that she does," he said. He was gambling and he knew it, but if there was any sort of connection between the family members, they would not allow him to kill the youngest. It was a bluff, but they had no way of knowing whether or not he'd shoot a child in the head.

"Evan, don't!" Arnie shouted. "She's just a kid!"

Edward lunged at Evan. Dylan got between them and attacked him. Mr. Foster tried to attack, but Cassandra tackled him to the ground. Elaine stared at the scene, seemingly uncertain of what to do. Mrs. Foster watched things unfold for a moment and finally took the gun off of Skip and aimed for Evan.

That was the only opportunity that Arnie needed. He healed Skip instantly with the most powerful magick he knew and used the spell to fling Skip's injuries at Mrs. Foster. Instead of debilitating her, the injuries simply bounced off of her.

"Why isn't anything working?" Arnie asked Aideen. "It's like they're completely immune to whatever we do."

"I don't know," Aideen admitted. "I've never seen anything like this before."

"No, you haven't," Luigi replied, "and you won't ever see it again."

"What is he rambling about?" Evan asked.

"Eliza is a very special young lady. Aren't you, Eliza darling?" Luigi asked.

Eliza stopped chewing on her hair and rocking back and forth. She knelt beside him. Everything stopped. The Fosters froze in place. "Tell them how special you are, Eliza," Luigi coaxed her.

"Leave my family alone," Eliza said, her voice tiny and her tone sing-song.

"Eliza, you spoke!" Arnie cried in shock. "Look, you don't have to listen to him... I won't let him hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I don't need your protection," she said in the same sing-song fashion. "I can protect myself." She stood up and twirled around in her dress, making her look about five years old instead of twelve. "You're such a silly boy, Arnie. You try so hard to play the game, but you don't even understand what the game is."

"What do you mean?" Arnie asked nervously.

Eliza closed her eyes. When she reopened them, her parents and siblings suddenly vanished into thin air.