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Elorah Winters Chronicles - World of Twilight (UD 07-01-04)
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<blockquote data-quote="Captain Claymore" data-source="post: 1631285" data-attributes="member: 12634"><p><strong>Chapter Three (part 2.)</strong></p><p></p><p>______________________________</p><p></p><p> I managed to convince Brother Jones to haul the zombie to the Professor's lab. We cleared a space on one the metal tables and bound it with ropes so it didn't wiggle off, just in case. Damyu and I then set to work, or more precisely we stood there and looked at it for awhile, then at each other, then back at it. The good Dr. Frankenstein probably had a moment like this before he made his first incision too. Considering how his story turned out that might have been the wrong thing to think of.</p><p></p><p> We ended up being a tad bit squeamish and not getting much done. It's one thing cutting a bit of dead flesh off a cadaver. It's an entirely other thing to cut that same bit off while the cadaver's watching you with it's dead, gray eyes. We did learn a couple things though. Whatever force was keeping the zombie alive didn't work on a cellular level and couldn't be explained by any science at our disposal. Under the microscope the zombie's dead flesh looked and acted like any non-zombie flesh would. The other thing of note was that the skeletal and muscular structure didn't require any supportive links to function. The zip cuffs that Jones put around the zombie's elbows had sliced through all the rotting flesh and ligaments at the crook of the arms, yet by the grasping motions of the hands when Damyu or I touched the body, it was obvious that they were still completely functional.</p><p></p><p> The smell was not something either Damyu or I were getting used to, so after making sure the ropes were secure we stepped outside the lab to find Jones and Mordakai on their way to see us. It looked like Jones had done a fair job at cleaning up. He had a new set of clothes and had obviously taken a shower. Mordakai had a double shoulder holster over his tee shirt with a Glock peeking out from under his arm. He seemed comfortable with the set up, Like maybe he wore it a lot.</p><p></p><p> Jones said, "So... any clues on our undead friend in there?"</p><p></p><p> "None that we can find." I stepped back when I realized my clothes were still stained with rotten bits, "God, I must smell pretty bad." They looked like they agreed even if they were too polite to say it out loud. "Damyu can fill you in while I go get cleaned up. Suddenly I'm in desperate need of a shower."</p><p></p><p> I made my way to my room, quickly stripped out of my clothes and jumped in the shower. After a good bit of scrubbing I felt much better. I was standing in the middle of my room in my bathrobe, staring at my smelly outfit lying in a little pile by the bed and wondering what I was going to wear when a knock at the door distracted me. It was one of the housekeepers with a shirt and pair of women's shorts courtesy of Ethan. Good old Ethan, his home is attacked by killer zombies and he still has time to think of my clothing needs.</p><p></p><p> Now that I thought about it, what was up with that? Ethan hardly seemed surprised by the whole undead thing, and Anth... ANTHONY! What was up with the superman thing!? Not to mention his offhanded knowledge on how best to kill a zombie! The more I thought about it, the more I hurried dressing. I had questions that needed good answers and all my questionees were elsewhere.</p><p></p><p> I ended up in the borrowed tee shirt and my own skirt and boots (the shorts were a tad large and I didn't have a belt.) If I was lucky I could avoid the fashion police for the evening. I ran into Damyu on my way back to the lab and he was carrying the Kukri. We had briefly discussed the theory that the zombies might have been after the knife earlier, and I had suggested a little test to see if Dead Bob Number Two reacted to it's presence.</p><p></p><p> "So was it just me or did Anthony and Ethan seem less than totally surprised by the course of events this evening?"</p><p></p><p> "Yeah, I noticed that too. And did you see the zombie toss? That was rather neat."</p><p></p><p> We came to the lab and walked in on Mordakai, Kevin and Jones. Mordakai was poking Dead Bob Number Two in the foot with a scalpel.</p><p></p><p> "If you're trying to get him to laugh, a feather might work better."</p><p></p><p> Kevin looked disgusted with Mordakai. Mordakai smiled, "Damn strange sh$%"</p><p></p><p> "With that sentiment do I heartily agree Brother Mordakai." Jones looked pained as Mordakai shoved the blade into the zombie's foot again. "Though I would dearly appreciate it if you could refrain from jabbing this poor dead man for no apparent reason. It's bad enough that this fellow was pulled from his grave for evil purposes without us inflicting unnecessary torture on him." He looked away as the blade was pulled out. "Not to mention that sh#* is just nasty! (sorry Lawd)"</p><p></p><p> Damyu stepped up with the Kukri, "Yeah Mordakai, let's use this instead." Kevin backed away from the blade.</p><p></p><p> Whatever Mordakai was about to say was forgotten as we all watched the zombie's eyes fixate on the Kukri, but there was no covetous look in those gray eyes, there was just fear. A fear that seemed to bring Dead Bob Number Two more to life than anything else we had done. It fought the ropes as Damyu brought the blade closer. Kevin was backing away from all of us with a look very much like the zombie's, and Brother Jones looked about to stop Damyu when he laid the tip against Dead Bob's arm.</p><p></p><p> "AAUUGHHH...AUURRRGHHH, NNNGHHH!" The Zombie's mouth opened wide and it's version of an undead scream echoed in the lab. Damyu quickly pulled the blade away and the screaming immediately stopped, though it's eyes remained wide and never strayed from the Kukri.</p><p></p><p> "Alright that is ENOUGH!" Jones interposed himself between Damyu and the zombie. Everyone looked a bit squeamish after that display. "Unless there is some further purpose to this I say we get rid of this unfortunate, ... dead, ... THING and put this body once more to rest!"</p><p></p><p> Damyu raised his hands and looked defensive, "Ok, Ok! It was Elorah's idea not mine remember!"</p><p></p><p> I looked at Jones. "Agreed. I think we've learned all we need from Dead Bob." Jones looked relieved. "...There's just one more little thing I want to check."</p><p></p><p> "Aww Hellfire! What now Elorah?"</p><p></p><p>__________________________</p><p></p><p> I spent the next half an hour voicing my questions about zombies, magic and certain individuals reactions to it all. Damyu, Jones, Mordakai and myself all seemed to have the same thoughts about the night's events. Weirded out about zombies, with dawning realizations that magic was... let's say... more real than we had maybe thought. Kevin seemed pretty freaked about the zombies part, but more comfortable with the magic being real part. Then again, it seemed to take quite a bit to elicit any strong reaction from Kevin, so he might have been more wowed than I thought.</p><p></p><p> Everyone wondered about Anthony's little display but we were unresolved as to what action to take. My last test with Dead Bob Number Two had to do with the vault. We all agreed that the zombies might have been after something in the house. Since the most valuable things in the house were in the vault, it seemed like a good idea to check out its defenses. We wheeled Dead Bob on his metal table down the hall and headed for the wine cellar.</p><p></p><p> Guess who we found there? If you said the Super Cowboy himself you win a dollar. We were at the top of the stairs when we saw Anthony just coming out of the vault. I was momentarily distracted from my many questions by the hundreds of small runes that were glowing like little blue snakes along the stairway walls.</p><p></p><p> Apparently the others were also surprised into speechlessness because no one said anything until Anthony answered the first of our unasked questions. "They're warding runes."</p><p></p><p> I looked from the runes to him.</p><p></p><p> "Eddie put them here when he built the vault. The zombies in the house must have activated them."</p><p></p><p> Jones asked, "What do they do?"</p><p></p><p> "Not sure exactly." Anthony closed the vault door and walked up the steps to us. "I've never seen them in action."</p><p></p><p> I looked up the cellar stairs at Dead Bob on his little gurney. "Since the zombies are what activated them, maybe we can find out."</p><p></p><p> Anthony shrugged. I looked at Jones and he sighed. "Suuuure, Bocefus'll go lug the heavy dead guy down the stairs." He mumbled as he climbed the steps, "not like I got a clean shirt on or nothin... Lawd witness what I must endure."</p><p></p><p> The CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK of the table wheels preceded Jones' return with Dead Bob (still on the gurney) to the wine cellar. He looked at us and then the zombie. "I ain't soilin my only remaining good shirt on account o yo Damn fool experiment girl. You want him off the table, your gonna have to do it yoself!" He motioned towards Anthony. "Better yet get Superfly here to do it!"</p><p></p><p> I looked up at Anthony as if to say, 'Oh yes, we will get to that whole wod of questions.' but first we would do our little experiment. I looked at the others before getting behind the gurney and preparing to push the whole thing down the vault stairs.</p><p></p><p> Jones interrupted before I pushed. "WAIT!"</p><p></p><p> I looked at him.</p><p></p><p> "I've just thought of one little experiment I wish to make first. If you don't mind."</p><p></p><p> I smiled. "That's the spirit Brother Jones. Nice to see you finally getting into the scientific mindset."</p><p></p><p> He pulled a small bible from his back pocket. "Ain't nothin scientific about my mindset right now sister." He brandished the book towards the zombie and said. "BY THE LORD'S HOLY WORD, I CAST YOU AWAY!"</p><p></p><p> There was no reaction from Dead Bob (who was still staring at the Kukri in Damyu's hands) but Anthony stepped back and bumped into a wine rack while simultaneously shielding his eyes with his arm. If he'd hav' had a cape it would have been right out of a Bella Lugosi flick. It's probably a little unnecessary to say we all stared like the Pope at a Manson concert.</p><p></p><p> I said something like, "Wha..?"</p><p></p><p> Anthony recovered quickly and said, "I have a small problem with true faith."</p><p></p><p> Damyu said, "Whe..?"</p><p></p><p> I must have leaned on the cart in my momentary shock because there was a loud 'CLUNK' as the cart dropped the first step and quickly picked up speed, rattling down the stairs with Dead Bob aboard. He got about five steps down when there was a loud SIZZZZZZLE followed by a burning 'VOOOMF!' The thick smell of Ozone replaced the stink of rotting flesh and Dead Bob was suddenly not there anymore! The table rattled to a stop at the bottom, rope remnants slowly burning, and a large black spot where the zombie had been. The runes seemed to have grown very bright for moment and were now fading to their previous glow.</p><p></p><p> I finally pulled my eyes away from the table to just catch the sight of Anthony's feet disappearing up the cellar stairs.</p><p></p><p> Mordakai sort of pointed up towards the stairs and said, "Whu?"</p><p></p><p> Brother Jones slapped his bible against his thigh. "Well Hellfire, those are three excellent questions."</p><p></p><p>_____________________________________________</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Captain Claymore, post: 1631285, member: 12634"] [b]Chapter Three (part 2.)[/b] ______________________________ I managed to convince Brother Jones to haul the zombie to the Professor's lab. We cleared a space on one the metal tables and bound it with ropes so it didn't wiggle off, just in case. Damyu and I then set to work, or more precisely we stood there and looked at it for awhile, then at each other, then back at it. The good Dr. Frankenstein probably had a moment like this before he made his first incision too. Considering how his story turned out that might have been the wrong thing to think of. We ended up being a tad bit squeamish and not getting much done. It's one thing cutting a bit of dead flesh off a cadaver. It's an entirely other thing to cut that same bit off while the cadaver's watching you with it's dead, gray eyes. We did learn a couple things though. Whatever force was keeping the zombie alive didn't work on a cellular level and couldn't be explained by any science at our disposal. Under the microscope the zombie's dead flesh looked and acted like any non-zombie flesh would. The other thing of note was that the skeletal and muscular structure didn't require any supportive links to function. The zip cuffs that Jones put around the zombie's elbows had sliced through all the rotting flesh and ligaments at the crook of the arms, yet by the grasping motions of the hands when Damyu or I touched the body, it was obvious that they were still completely functional. The smell was not something either Damyu or I were getting used to, so after making sure the ropes were secure we stepped outside the lab to find Jones and Mordakai on their way to see us. It looked like Jones had done a fair job at cleaning up. He had a new set of clothes and had obviously taken a shower. Mordakai had a double shoulder holster over his tee shirt with a Glock peeking out from under his arm. He seemed comfortable with the set up, Like maybe he wore it a lot. Jones said, "So... any clues on our undead friend in there?" "None that we can find." I stepped back when I realized my clothes were still stained with rotten bits, "God, I must smell pretty bad." They looked like they agreed even if they were too polite to say it out loud. "Damyu can fill you in while I go get cleaned up. Suddenly I'm in desperate need of a shower." I made my way to my room, quickly stripped out of my clothes and jumped in the shower. After a good bit of scrubbing I felt much better. I was standing in the middle of my room in my bathrobe, staring at my smelly outfit lying in a little pile by the bed and wondering what I was going to wear when a knock at the door distracted me. It was one of the housekeepers with a shirt and pair of women's shorts courtesy of Ethan. Good old Ethan, his home is attacked by killer zombies and he still has time to think of my clothing needs. Now that I thought about it, what was up with that? Ethan hardly seemed surprised by the whole undead thing, and Anth... ANTHONY! What was up with the superman thing!? Not to mention his offhanded knowledge on how best to kill a zombie! The more I thought about it, the more I hurried dressing. I had questions that needed good answers and all my questionees were elsewhere. I ended up in the borrowed tee shirt and my own skirt and boots (the shorts were a tad large and I didn't have a belt.) If I was lucky I could avoid the fashion police for the evening. I ran into Damyu on my way back to the lab and he was carrying the Kukri. We had briefly discussed the theory that the zombies might have been after the knife earlier, and I had suggested a little test to see if Dead Bob Number Two reacted to it's presence. "So was it just me or did Anthony and Ethan seem less than totally surprised by the course of events this evening?" "Yeah, I noticed that too. And did you see the zombie toss? That was rather neat." We came to the lab and walked in on Mordakai, Kevin and Jones. Mordakai was poking Dead Bob Number Two in the foot with a scalpel. "If you're trying to get him to laugh, a feather might work better." Kevin looked disgusted with Mordakai. Mordakai smiled, "Damn strange sh$%" "With that sentiment do I heartily agree Brother Mordakai." Jones looked pained as Mordakai shoved the blade into the zombie's foot again. "Though I would dearly appreciate it if you could refrain from jabbing this poor dead man for no apparent reason. It's bad enough that this fellow was pulled from his grave for evil purposes without us inflicting unnecessary torture on him." He looked away as the blade was pulled out. "Not to mention that sh#* is just nasty! (sorry Lawd)" Damyu stepped up with the Kukri, "Yeah Mordakai, let's use this instead." Kevin backed away from the blade. Whatever Mordakai was about to say was forgotten as we all watched the zombie's eyes fixate on the Kukri, but there was no covetous look in those gray eyes, there was just fear. A fear that seemed to bring Dead Bob Number Two more to life than anything else we had done. It fought the ropes as Damyu brought the blade closer. Kevin was backing away from all of us with a look very much like the zombie's, and Brother Jones looked about to stop Damyu when he laid the tip against Dead Bob's arm. "AAUUGHHH...AUURRRGHHH, NNNGHHH!" The Zombie's mouth opened wide and it's version of an undead scream echoed in the lab. Damyu quickly pulled the blade away and the screaming immediately stopped, though it's eyes remained wide and never strayed from the Kukri. "Alright that is ENOUGH!" Jones interposed himself between Damyu and the zombie. Everyone looked a bit squeamish after that display. "Unless there is some further purpose to this I say we get rid of this unfortunate, ... dead, ... THING and put this body once more to rest!" Damyu raised his hands and looked defensive, "Ok, Ok! It was Elorah's idea not mine remember!" I looked at Jones. "Agreed. I think we've learned all we need from Dead Bob." Jones looked relieved. "...There's just one more little thing I want to check." "Aww Hellfire! What now Elorah?" __________________________ I spent the next half an hour voicing my questions about zombies, magic and certain individuals reactions to it all. Damyu, Jones, Mordakai and myself all seemed to have the same thoughts about the night's events. Weirded out about zombies, with dawning realizations that magic was... let's say... more real than we had maybe thought. Kevin seemed pretty freaked about the zombies part, but more comfortable with the magic being real part. Then again, it seemed to take quite a bit to elicit any strong reaction from Kevin, so he might have been more wowed than I thought. Everyone wondered about Anthony's little display but we were unresolved as to what action to take. My last test with Dead Bob Number Two had to do with the vault. We all agreed that the zombies might have been after something in the house. Since the most valuable things in the house were in the vault, it seemed like a good idea to check out its defenses. We wheeled Dead Bob on his metal table down the hall and headed for the wine cellar. Guess who we found there? If you said the Super Cowboy himself you win a dollar. We were at the top of the stairs when we saw Anthony just coming out of the vault. I was momentarily distracted from my many questions by the hundreds of small runes that were glowing like little blue snakes along the stairway walls. Apparently the others were also surprised into speechlessness because no one said anything until Anthony answered the first of our unasked questions. "They're warding runes." I looked from the runes to him. "Eddie put them here when he built the vault. The zombies in the house must have activated them." Jones asked, "What do they do?" "Not sure exactly." Anthony closed the vault door and walked up the steps to us. "I've never seen them in action." I looked up the cellar stairs at Dead Bob on his little gurney. "Since the zombies are what activated them, maybe we can find out." Anthony shrugged. I looked at Jones and he sighed. "Suuuure, Bocefus'll go lug the heavy dead guy down the stairs." He mumbled as he climbed the steps, "not like I got a clean shirt on or nothin... Lawd witness what I must endure." The CLUNK, CLUNK, CLUNK of the table wheels preceded Jones' return with Dead Bob (still on the gurney) to the wine cellar. He looked at us and then the zombie. "I ain't soilin my only remaining good shirt on account o yo Damn fool experiment girl. You want him off the table, your gonna have to do it yoself!" He motioned towards Anthony. "Better yet get Superfly here to do it!" I looked up at Anthony as if to say, 'Oh yes, we will get to that whole wod of questions.' but first we would do our little experiment. I looked at the others before getting behind the gurney and preparing to push the whole thing down the vault stairs. Jones interrupted before I pushed. "WAIT!" I looked at him. "I've just thought of one little experiment I wish to make first. If you don't mind." I smiled. "That's the spirit Brother Jones. Nice to see you finally getting into the scientific mindset." He pulled a small bible from his back pocket. "Ain't nothin scientific about my mindset right now sister." He brandished the book towards the zombie and said. "BY THE LORD'S HOLY WORD, I CAST YOU AWAY!" There was no reaction from Dead Bob (who was still staring at the Kukri in Damyu's hands) but Anthony stepped back and bumped into a wine rack while simultaneously shielding his eyes with his arm. If he'd hav' had a cape it would have been right out of a Bella Lugosi flick. It's probably a little unnecessary to say we all stared like the Pope at a Manson concert. I said something like, "Wha..?" Anthony recovered quickly and said, "I have a small problem with true faith." Damyu said, "Whe..?" I must have leaned on the cart in my momentary shock because there was a loud 'CLUNK' as the cart dropped the first step and quickly picked up speed, rattling down the stairs with Dead Bob aboard. He got about five steps down when there was a loud SIZZZZZZLE followed by a burning 'VOOOMF!' The thick smell of Ozone replaced the stink of rotting flesh and Dead Bob was suddenly not there anymore! The table rattled to a stop at the bottom, rope remnants slowly burning, and a large black spot where the zombie had been. The runes seemed to have grown very bright for moment and were now fading to their previous glow. I finally pulled my eyes away from the table to just catch the sight of Anthony's feet disappearing up the cellar stairs. Mordakai sort of pointed up towards the stairs and said, "Whu?" Brother Jones slapped his bible against his thigh. "Well Hellfire, those are three excellent questions." _____________________________________________ [/QUOTE]
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