The Grims

Chapter 5- Novices

"This shish kabob is to die for!" Isis said as she roasted a bug over a fire.

"This just can't be true. This isn't really happening," Dixie said in frustration. "Listen! Are there other zombies here?"

"There were, but they were all captured by Nebulosa's dark angels," Isis explained, chewing on her dinner.

"You said they couldn't get in." Dixie gasped.

"When food became scarce, the zombies decided to migrate to other cemeteries. Nebulosa discovered their plan and trapped them in an ambush. Only Peroshka and I managed to escape. But she doesn't count. She comes and goes as she pleases. She's reckless. Ever since she started dating a boy from another cemetery, I hardly see her. I'm so excited that you came! We can be friends. I've never really had one, but I'm sure I'd make the best best friend ever. What do you say?" Isis explained, holding out a bug.

Dixie smacked it away accidentally, looking at Isis sheepishly. "You spilled it! Thank goodness it wasn't milk, or you would have seven days of bad luck."

"I don't know what happened, but I'm going home," Dixie decided. "I'm sure Dad knows how to-"

"You can't go there," Isis cut her off.

"Why not?" Dixie snapped.

"Ghost worlds, remember? Look at you. You're a zombie. What is he going to say when he opens the door and sees your rotting flesh?" Isis questioned.

"I don't wanna be a zombie!" Dixie complained.

"There's only one way to go back to your normal life as a mortal," Isis reasoned.

"How?" Dixie said glumly.

"The Azoth!" Peroshka said, startling the two girls.

"Peroshka!" Isis said breathlessly.

"The legend of the Azoth," Peroshka said, leading them toward a shelter. "And just so you know, Isis, the traitor left me for some blue-haired beauty that he fell in love with."

They stopped in the shelter, and Peroshka started explaining. "A novice, or a newly arrived zombie, will use the power of the Azoth to create a passage fast."

"A magical passage will let zombies return to their normal lives," Isis continued.

"Back to the exact moment before their death," Peroshka added. "Like a second chance, so they could fix the mistakes they made when they were alive."

"You're a novice. We just don't know who the other one is." Isis pointed at Dixie.

"Do you have the Azoth?" Peroshka asked.

She saw a glow come from her belt and opened the skull. One-half of the Azoth glowed brightly in front of them. The two girls awed at her. "Do you know its secret? Show us its power?"

"Wait. Where's the other half?" Isis wondered.

"Hang on a sec. There isn't any power locked up in this trinket, nor is there any in the other half, which is long gone," Dixie explained.

"What? Don't you know how it works?" Peroshka questioned in disbelief.

"It's just a pendant someone gave Cima and I for our birthdays," Dixie said, walking out.

"A charm? Gimme that. Let me take it-"

"No!" Dixie exclaimed.

"Do you have a better idea?" Peroshka questioned.

"We'll ask Vitriol," Isis decided.

"Vitriol is a lousy bum, plain and simple." Peroshka rolled her eyes.

"True. But he knows volumes about the dead, the living, and everything in between," Isis reasoned.

"No one knows where he resides," Peroshka argued. "And the forest is infested with dark angels and mortals!" Peroshka walked over to Dixie, holding out her hand. "I'll take it to him. No one gets around the forest better than me."

"I said no. It's one of the only things that keeps me and my dead sister close, and I plan on keeping it that way," Dixie said harshly.

"Look out, Dixie!" Isis said as Peroshka tried to reach for it.

Dixie closed the skull before Peroshka could even reach her. Peroshka gave up. "Fine. Let's see how far you get without my help."

"Oh, she's right. How are we gonna get out of here?" Isis looked at the teenage girl.

"Let me think."