The Phantom Touch

Osiris

"It isn't much farther now, the colony has set up not far from the outside borders of town. Admittedly they did that because they knew there were likely many zombies in Whisper Valley that would want to take part in this."

It seemed like he'd been telling me how close we were for hours now. Hunger had set in and my legs ached from having to step over the various logs and shrubs strewn across the forest floor. That hadn't been the worst of it though. Every now and then, the ghost pretending to be Bungee got a glint in his eye and a mischievous twist to his lips. He'd dare to wrap an arm around my shoulders and nuzzle his face into my hair. He'd whisper things, telling me how long he's waited to have me in his arms and how we could always take a little rest together if I wanted. It took everything in me to smile with playful eagerness. I struggled to come up with excuses, but, thankfully, my determination to get there and see the colony for myself, was just as pleasing to him as having me laid across the ground beside him. It meant no breaks, but I would take sore legs over whatever else this ghost had planned for me.

"It seems like you have already decided where you stand on this," I said gently, keeping the accusation out of my voice. "I guess this diet really is as good as you say since it won you over so quickly. I know you were trying to be an impartial judge for Raid, but now..."

"Well," said Bungee with an uncomfortable laugh, "you see, I was trying to be unbiased, but now that Raid decided to try to find the colony on his own, he'll see it for himself anyway. So it doesn't really matter anymore, you know what I mean? Raid and the rest have probably found the camp by now, so they might have had a day of witnessing the benefits already."

"Benefits," I muttered as I contemplated how to proceed, "what are all the benefits? I mean, besides being able to eat something other than rotten meat? Like, are you healthier now? Stronger?" I mentally crossed my fingers and hoped becoming more powerful was not one of the side effects of this ghostly possession. It was going to be hard enough for all the mages to exorcise whatever ghosts awaited me, they didn't need these malicious spirits wrapped up in a super strong zombie package to make things worse.

"Well, I certainly think so. We're able to live more fully and embrace the life we used to have."

"Hmm," I hummed to myself, the picture growing ever more clear. "So, what do they call this diet? Do they plan to market it in Zombie Weekly or something?" I was half joking, but the look of pure enthusiasm in Bungee's eyes seemed to indicate that he saw nothing funny in that exaggeration.

"Maybe some day," he said with a wide smile. "We're going to revolutionize the afterlife, starting with zombies. Maybe expanding from there, but first we really need to work past this whole diet thing. It really isn't just some fad diet. It's a life style. A new way of living in a world that has rejected us."

"Oh, I see," I mumbled.

"And we do have a name, you know? I think maybe we need to work on our branding and be more vocal about what we call ourselves. Then people will see it's not just a diet. Heck, it's not even a life style. We are a whole new group of zombies, a brand new community of the immortal undead. We're the Osiris Order."

He spoke with such conviction, such charm, that I almost missed the finer points of his words. Instead I marveled at his proud stance, his confident gait, and his determined gaze. It was easy to see how he might have convinced others to go along with a plan that appeared to promise disaster if Mercedes had anything to show for it. I wondered if perhaps he was the leader of this so-called Osiris Order.

"Osiris?" I muttered, tapping my lip with my finger as my eyes rolled up in thought. "That name sounds familiar. Was he Egyptian? Like a pharaoh or something?"

"That he was," said the ghost with reverence. "He was a great and wise pharaoh that was ruthlessly murdered by his brother. After his death, Isis, his wife, saved him." He paused, looking at me with half-lidded eyes and a hungry gaze. My skin flushed with the color of my varying emotions in that moment. Thankfully, he seemed to take it as a blush of embarrassment because he turned to look ahead with a pleased grin on his face. "We're almost there."

"How did she save him?" I asked, feeling a tension growing along my skin and raising the hairs on my arms.

"She brought him back from the dead," he answered, stopping short of a camp that sat just beyond a rise in the forest. He took both of my hands as I stared in bewilderment. He bowed his head down, trying to capture my gaze. When he found it, I saw resolution behind the beautiful green eyes that once belonged to Bungee. "Osiris wasn't just a great king, he's also the god of the underworld and a symbol of resurrection. Just like him, we will rise again, you will rise again."

"But," I stuttered, trying to pull from his tightening grip, "I don't need to rise again, I guess."

"Not yet," he said with a smile, "but just like him, you'll first have to die before you can rise."

I stopped moving, my whole body growing stiff, my head unable to turn to assess his expression, to see if that moment would come now. If I wouldn't live to see Everett alive and well, to see Bungee returned to himself, to see what my rebirth in Whisper Valley should have been.

With slow, pained motions, I shifted just enough to catch his wicked smile from the corner of my eye. Then, I saw him toss his head back before slamming it down upon my temple. After that, things went black.

***

Del has reached the camp, but not before being knocked unconscious.  What awaits her when she awakes?  Will she still be human when she does?

Has anyone seen CinemaSins?  If not, you should because it's hilarious.  Anyway, this would be the part where he says "Roll Credits!"  Finally we see where the title of the book comes from.  That being said, have you ever read a book where you never really figured out what the title had to do with the story?  I have, though I can't think of any examples off the top of my head.  Still I know they're out there, I'm curious if you can think of any!