I Was a Teenage Necromancer

Chapter 5- Infiltration

"Scott! Time to get up!" Rebecca Havenbrook yelled, knocking on his door. There was an indistinct groan on the other side, followed by a thump. Something shuffled towards the door, moaning. It creaked open, revealing a zombie.

"Good lord!"

"Uuugh." it moaned. It was pale, disheveled, and clammy, looking like it spent all night on a slab. Or rolling in dirt. She put her hand on its' forehead, her mind already made up.

"You must feel terrible." she said.

"Uunnn."

"That's it, you're staying home today. Turn around right now and get back to bed. I'll call the school and get some soup out for lunch when you wake up. Are you going to be alright while we're at work?" she said, concerned. Scott nodded gratefully, then practically fell back onto bed. "Alright, I'll see you later, sweetie. Feel better!" She closed the door and shook her head. Poor kid. Looks like hell.

Inside the room, Amber smiled at her departure.

"Your mom seems nice." she said, to which Scott could only grumble indistinctly. "You don't have to be such a grump."

"Could you do me a favor and please use your ghostly abilities to obliterate the sun?" he growled, covering his head with a pillow. She pointed at the curtain, grabbing it with her mind and pulling it down.

"Does that satisfy his highness in blotting out the sun?" she asked dryly.

"That will do, servant." he said. She smacked him on the head. "Ow! That's the thanks I get for literally saving your soul?"

"Many thanks, O lord." Amber said, rolling her eyes. "May I be excused to attend my daily maidly duties, or is there anything else he requires?"

"Peace and quiet. I've gotten..." He checked the clock. "Three hours of sleep. I need more for the operation tonight."

"Yeah, I got it." Amber said dejectedly.

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Know you need sleep, it's just I'm going to be stuck alone doing nothing again." She tugged on her ponytail; a mere two weeks of being unable to interact with the world had Left its mark on her. Scott buried his head under the pillow again.

"You idiot, I thought we covered this. You have enough physical presence to push a button now. Wait 'til everyone leaves, then watch TV or something." he said, slightly muffled. She blinked.

"Oh. That's a good idea." she admitted.

"I try."

Ten minutes after his mother had left, Amber concentrated and made the power button move on the TV in the living room.

"Huh. Natural remote control. Speaking of which..." She looked around and spotted the remote between the cushions on the couch. "Aha!" Flexing her mental muscle, she spun it to the TV and managed to press the next channel.

"...now take the batter, and put it in the oven at-" Click.

"Accident or divorce, I'm your lawyer!" Click.

"...several puppies, all at once!" Some morning talk show, people on chairs laughing. Click.

"...happy little trees," Click.

"-hhh, who live is a pineapp-" Click!

"I'd forgotten just how mind-numbing daytime TV was." she muttered. She was about to change the channel again when she saw her own face on the news report.

"...the most recent murder of Amber Harris, alongside Christine Henderson, Yvonne Granger, Jennifer Jefferson, and Brina Taylor." Each victim had their photo flash by, and Amber winced at how many there were. She studied the pictures. No one she knew personally, but she had seen Brina and Christine around school. She remembered their memorials. She had grown up with these people, and now they were gone. A thought struck her, and she shuddered; what if some of the other victims of the Craven Falls killer had become ghosts as well, and had run afoul of Edith Warden?