Cara tapped on the desk with her pencil in her literature class. The teacher was saying something about the Epic of Gilgamesh and how it's supposedly one of the earliest known works of literature. But Cara didn't care. All she cared about was Kahlan Amnell. Who was this woman who seemed to invade her life so easily and occupy her every thought? Luckily, the bell would be ringing soon and it would be lunch time. She had agreed to meet Blondes and the gang at the playground, but was certain she would forget that now. She needed to find Kahlan, and talk to her. Find out some things. For example, how did the woman know of her virginity? No one knew that. In fact, everyone thought she was a ho... A very smart and attractive ho, but still a ho. And yet Kahlan knew otherwise.
The bell rung, and Cara dashed from her chair, grabbing her books and moving out the door.
In the hall, she spotted Kahlan in the distance at her locker. The brunette was stuffing something in it; she soon walked off.
Cara ran as fast as she could through the crowded hallway. Must see Kahlan. Must talk to Kahlan.
Outside the school, at the front entrance, Cara finally caught up with the woman. The raven-haired beauty was seemingly about to leave campus. "Kahlan! Hey, Kahlan," Cara called.
Several feet away, Kahlan stopped, though not looking back at the blond. Cara approached quickly, panting heavily. "Where are you going?"
"Is this Round 3 or 4?" Kahlan turned to her, big purse over her shoulder.
Cara tried to get her breathing under control; it wasn't just the lack of air that was causing it. The woman seemed even more beautiful in the sunlight, hair showing tints of red and complementing the small splatter of freckles on her face. "I..." ...What could she say? "Please tell me more about yourself?" She was supposed to hate this bitch. But...
Kahlan started to turn, and Cara reached for her, swiftly turning her back around with a hand to her shoulder. "I need to...need to know more about you."
Kahlan, briefly looking down at the hand on her shoulder, finally looked up at the blond. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."
Cara, her breathing now under control, gritted her teeth. Damn it. She didn't want to beg. "Please," she said staring the other woman in the eyes and trying to show as much sincerity as possible. "I thank you for saving me... The mark of life... My Youngster explained."
Kahlan sighed, then waved a hand over Cara's face.
IIII
What in the hell? Cara looked around, like a lost little puppy. She was suddenly... In someone else's home? How had she gotten here? She looked in front of her to see Kahlan throwing her purse to the floor and then moving past the couch toward what looked like a bar in front of the open-view kitchen. Cara looked to the left and saw a pool table. She looked to the right and saw a record player and a shelf of various albums. She turned behind her and saw stairs leading upward, a table full of roses to its side. Cara exhaled deeply. The place was certainly spacious, the walls decorated with classic-like paintings and the ceiling fixed with a sparkling chandelier. It put her goddamn home to shame, and she'd come from money.
Cara looked across at Kahlan behind the bar, who was now drinking something from a glass glaring at her. "How'd we get here?" asked Cara.
Kahlan, still sipping from her glass, eyes still pinned to Cara, raised a hand and shook it as if to answer.
Cara appeared as though a light bulb had just gone on in her head. "That's right. You did something like that last night when..."
Kahlan, without removing her gaze from the blond, put her glass down on the bar in front of her. "Go on...finish what you were going to say."
Cara frowned. "Never mind."
Kahlan rolled her eyes, moving to the couch in front of Cara to plop down on it. "Man, you really are homophobic, aren't you?"
Cara stayed on the subject. "How is it you can do what you do?"
"Well, some say you're suppose to reach all the way in, then curl a bit, but I've found that every woman's a bit different."
Cara watched the other woman cross her legs, her skirt riding up to show more thigh. "What?" she asked the brunette.
"How it is I can do what I do... Find the G-Spot. I seriously get asked that too much these days. As if it really takes talent to -"
"Enough!" Cara was blushing ten shades of red. "That's not what I was asking!" She puffed her red cheeks, and threw her books to the floor.
Kahlan just giggled. "You're too cute."
Cara turned her back to the woman. Somehow, it felt safer to ask questions without that penetrating gaze influencing her. "I meant how were you able to whisk me away twice? How'd you make me forget things? And where are we?"
Kahlan eyed Cara's very firm ass. She wondered what it would take to get this woman in bed. She had tried the innocent, silent approach, and then the "You're my bitch" approach. She would definitely have to try something different. Perhaps talking to her, telling her everything (well, almost everything) would suffice? Kahlan looked at the blond's tank top-clad back. "This is my home. I'd rather you not know exactly where it's located - just yet... But I'm not a monster of any sort, if that's what you're worried about. I'm an immortal."
Cara spun around, eyes flashing with curiosity. "An immortal?"
Kahlan folded her arms to match her crossed legs, then met the other woman's gaze. "Yes... some of us have the power of transportation; some don't. And the transportation ability comes with sort of a selection - the option to make people forget certain details so that the power isn't discovered." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm also an anchor."
Cara's face was one of confusion. Kahlan felt the need to continue on, "Anchors are beings designed to balance a Flamer's power. A Flamer can at some points lose control of the surge of energy engulfing them. Once accustomed with their anchor, holding the power in place, this almost never happens."
Cara pursed her full lips. "By 'accustomed'...you mean..."
"Boom-boom?" Kahlan smiled. "Yes." She then looked to the ceiling. "But anchors can help without such means. It's rather that such means - sexual intimacy - helps the bond in a way that simple friendship never could."
"So does this mean that all anchors are like predestined mates to Flamers?" asked Cara, unable to take her eyes away from Kahlan's fully exposed throat.
"In a sense, yes," answered Kahlan. "But, as you know, arranged partnerships and marriages do not always work out. Some people desire love - romantic love - and when Flamers don't find it with their anchors, the Flamer-anchor relationship stays on friendship terms only."
"So you are my anchor?"
Kahlan finally looked away from the ceiling, back to Cara. "And you are my Flamer," her eyes sparkled with desire.
Cara felt her chest tighten. "Is that why I feel..."
"Feel what?" the brunette arched an eyebrow.
Cara remained silent.
Kahlan laughed. "Oh God. We are going to have to do something about these repressed sexual feelings of yours, and fast."
Cara raked a hand through her long, blond hair, looking to the floor. "I can't even lie to you, can I?"
Kahlan smirked. "You can try... It certainly works sometimes in your case. But my ability to read people apparently comes from my Confessor past – that other life."
Cara looked backed up at her. "Yeah, tell me about that. These Confessors and Mord-Sith." She moved to sit down close beside the brunette...a little too close. "What kind of people were they?... Were we in our past lives? Did we look like we do back then?"
Kahlan was surprised. She stared at this blond who she could have sworn hated her just a few, scant hours ago, but was now looking to her with such warmth. Face full of eagerness, attentiveness... Cara was really quite different once you got her away from that school, where she felt she had to be "Conqueror of dykes everywhere," Kahlan decided... There was also something else. Yes, Kahlan could feel it. The blond had a crush on her. A major one. Kahlan just grinned. It was absolutely the most adorable thing she'd ever seen.
Kahlan uncrossed her legs, readjusting herself so that she was facing Cara on the couch. "Your Youngster didn't tell you any of this?"
"Well, we only just met."
"The one I met told me everything and then some, all in one sitting... Really, Cara, I'm in the same boat as you. I've known for quite some time now that I was immortal, but I only just found out that I was an anchor. But to go over everything that it was to be a Confessor or Mord-Sith is something we'll have to discuss another time."
"But what about Flamers? Are there more like me? More Flamers out there?"
"Others are out there somewhere, ready to be awakened in their own town. This isn't the only place where zombies reside, after all. Not all have to be awakened, though, especially with so few Youngsters."
Cara looked down, but found herself eyeing Kahlan's knee.
"You can touch it, you know."
"Huh?" Cara looked up.
Kahlan leaned in, her face an inch away from Cara's. "My knee... You can touch it." She moved to speak against Cara's right ear. "Or any other part of me. Any time you so desire." She then moved back to view the blond's stunned gaze. "The other benefit of having an anchor, Cara, is our ability to add something else to a Flamer's power once we consummate."
Cara's pulse sped up. She tried not to eye Kahlan's lips, but was failing miserably. "What?" was all she could ask.
"Sleep with me and find out," Kahlan leaned in and kissed her softly against the cheek.
Cara moved swiftly off the couch to stare down at the woman. "I told you -"
"'I'm not gay, I'm not gay,' blah, blah, blah," Kahlan mocked.
Cara frowned.
Kahlan sighed. "Fine. Let's play a game, shall we?" She started to take off her shirt, and Cara gasped, stepping back a bit. Kahlan just chuckled, throwing the shirt to the ground, and now exposing her red lace bra. "Relax, Cara. This will be simple."
Cara did her best to keep her gaze on that devious face. "What do you mean?"
"I mean...," Kahlan discarded her high-heel shoes, kicking them off to the side, "we are going to make a deal." Kahlan sat up straight against the couch, then once again crossed her legs. "We are going to talk some more. And if you can resist eyeing my breasts during the whole conversation, I will stop trying to screw you. But if you look... Oh, Cara, if you look, I am definitely going to screw you... Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon." Kahlan then grinned the most menacing grin Cara had ever seen in her life. "A kiss before you leave here today would most certainly be in order, however."
Cara placed her hands on her hips and watched the brunette's face carefully. This bitch was crazy. But she never could turn down a challenge. Maybe Kahlan knew that much about her too? "Game on, stalker wench," she replied.
IIII
Blondes paced back and forth, hand under his chin, as he rubbed at the few hairs there. "Where is Cara?" he asked Gicko and Hyper, who were sitting on the jungle gym bars watching him pace. "Doesn't she know how important this is? There are still things we must go over - things we must address."
Gicko looked around the playground. "God, this place is empty. Aren't there any teenage mothers or fathers at this school?"
Hyper giggled. Blondes looked over to them both. "This playground's emptiness is the main reason I designed it the way I did - as our meeting point, 'less we start hanging out at your homes."
Hyper pushed the glasses back up on her face. "Uh, no thanks. My family tolerates ugly people, but weird, half-kid, half-adults running around is a whole 'nother matter."
Gicko gripped the bars tightly. "Same here."
Blondes frowned as though emotionally hurt. "But they wouldn't have to know what I am."
Gicko and Hyper echoed, "Forget it."
"And don't you have a home?" Hyper added.
Blondes pouted.
IIII
Kahlan wrapped her legs around Cara, straddling her to the couch. "You lost."
Cara tried to move, but the other woman had her shoulders pinned...and she was hella strong. "I only lost because you went on and on about roses and kittens." She stared up into Kahlan's eyes.
Kahlan smirked. "What's wrong with roses and kittens?" She moved her lips a little closer to Cara's. "I happen to find them quite lovely."
"The point is they're boring!" Cara uttered through clenched teeth, moving back a little, away from Kahlan's dangerously close lips. "I nearly fell asleep, and we were only two minutes into the conversation."
Kahlan ground her hips into Cara's. Cara froze. "Boring to you," she purred. "But I know what's not boring to you." She ground into Cara again, and Cara yelped. "Sex is what you want... Sex with me."
Cara's cheeks turned bright red, but she kept her gaze trained on Kahlan's lustful blue eyes. "You..."
Kahlan removed her hands from the blond's shoulders, feeling she had her right where she wanted her. She encircled the other woman's head with her arms, and then played with the back of her hair, her gaze never leaving Cara's. "We'll take it slow. Just a kiss today. Something else the next... Whatever it takes to warm you up to the idea that you more than need this."
"... I have…have a boyfriend."
"Like I care." Kahlan tentatively touched her lips to Cara's, and Cara visibly shook. "You like this, I know you do... So don't try and fight it." Holding Cara's gaze, she licked at those plump lips and moaned for effect, which made Cara shiver again. "It's just you and me here; no one will ever know."
To Kahlan's surprise, Cara made the first move, slamming her own lips against the brunette's. Kahlan gasped at the unexpected contact. Not very patient, this one, she thought. Unpredictable too. Foreplay with the blond would indeed be challenge, but for now... Kahlan parted her lips against Cara's full ones. She didn't need to coax the other woman's tongue into her mouth, because Cara was already sliding that eager, sexually repressed tongue against her own.
Cara pulled Kahlan closer to her and groaned. Her mind was raging again, just like last time, but the "don't do it" voice couldn't seem to compete for long this round. Her lips, her mouth, had never felt anything like this before, and she needed more of it. She was allowed this. Who would know? Straight women kissed other women all the time. Why shouldn't she? Because of her mother? Whatever. Mother didn't have to know. The kiss deepened, and this time Kahlan groaned.
Kahlan broke the kiss to stare into Cara's hooded eyes. "So sexy," she breathed against Cara's lips, then sucked on them. "I've never been so turned on in my life." She bit at Cara's bottom lip, and Cara groaned louder. "Have you?" Kahlan kissed her feverishly.
This time, Cara broke the kiss, breathing against Kahlan's mouth. "This stays between us." She gripped Kahlan's hips and ground Kahlan into her, which elicited a deep, guttural sound from the brunette. "No one needs to find out about this...this...experiment." She kissed Kahlan again.
Kahlan abruptly pushed Cara back, pinning her shoulders to the couch again. "What experiment?" she arched an eyebrow.
"This... Us... Straight girls experiment all the time, right?"
Kahlan rolled her eyes, and moved swiftly away from the blond, walking over to the pool table, her back to Cara.
Cara sat up. "What's wrong?"
"Your friends are calling for you."
"But, Kahlan..."
Without even looking at the Mord-Sith, Kahlan waved her hand in the other woman's direction.
IIII
Cara stood in the corridor by the playground, one arm full of books, her other hand raking through her hair. Kahlan had done it again - sent her way. But why? Don't tell me she actually has feelings, thought Cara. There was no bigger turn off to Cara than emotional people. Kahlan had looked hurt for a split second, but Cara had seen it. Damn it. Kahlan was the one to say no one would have to know what they did together behind closed doors. To Cara, that meant "sexual experimentation." You know, the stuff all girls would eventually do in college.
Cara bit on her bottom lip. She could still taste Kahlan. "What is wrong with me?" she muttered to herself. What she and Kahlan had just been doing was ugh. Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Cara pushed at the door leading to the playground and exited the corridor.
"There you are!" Blondes turned to the woman. Cara just smacked her teeth, walking over to her newly found gang. Gicko and Hyper looked annoyed sitting on the jungle gym bars.
Cara stepped in front of Blondes. "So...what'd you want?"
Blondes wanted to pop the blond upside the head. "You have a duty, Cara. You shouldn't be off doing God knows what when this town is in grave danger."
"Whatever," came Cara's dry reply.
"Where were you?" asked Blondes.
Cara watched the man-boy, boy-man for a moment. She knew she should tell him and the others what she'd learned about Kahlan. But a part of her took pleasure in the fact that Kahlan was "her secret" and her secret alone. She didn't have to share Kahlan with anyone. Besides...Blondes was the Youngster; it was his job to know these things. "A girl's gotta eat, right?" asked Cara, slowly placing her books to the ground.
Blondes didn't have time for this. Arguing with the woman would only be a waste of time. "You three should get back inside. Lunch hour is almost over, and we'll go over everything later."
"When?" asked Cara.
"Tonight. 7:00. I admit that the best time of attack would be during the day, since the followers will be in their weaker, human form, but I'm not sure you'd be able to stomach harming -"
"Yes, I would," said Cara, rubbing at her arms and not even flinching.
"I have extra research to conduct... Be here at seven tonight."
Cara nodded. Business first, Kahlan second, she figured.
IIII
As told, the gang all met up at the playground at the specified time. They had talked about what needed to be done, and Cara stood before Blondes as Gicko and Hyper stood beside her. An outside light lit a good portion of the playground for them.
"Right. So I'm headed to the zombie graveyard," stated Cara very matter of factly.
"Then you are going to need these," said Blondes. He stepped back several feet and snapped his fingers. A table rose between them, different colored pairs of gloves, their "fingers" half cut off, with small metal-looking suction cups on their "knuckles" lined the table. "Those are flames," Blondes clarified.
Cara, Gicko and Hyper stared at the display. "Look like gloves to me," said Cara.
Blondes moved closer to the table, still opposite Cara. "Yes, they are. Flaming gloves - that, depending on the amount of pressure you put on them, shoot out fire through their brass knuckles. Very much like a flamethrower would."
Hyper became alert. "Flames? Ooh, that's right. Fire took out one of those zombies who came up against Cara. You know, when it hit his face."
Gicko rubbed at the back of his neck. "Yeah, why is that?"
"The brain," confirmed Blondes. "It can produce a number of chemicals. The only problem is that with a zombie, since they lack the normal brain waves and brain design a living person has, those chemicals, because they're always shifting throughout the undead's mind, somewhat leak to the outside of the skull to surround it as a thin layer would. When fire hits the head of a zombie, the chemicals within it boil, speeding up in a manner which the zombie cannot contain, exploding the skull and killing them instantly... Or at least that's what I've been told."
Gicko leaned an arm over Hyper's shoulder. "Okay, more info. And you said that Cara is a Flamer?"
Cara looked from Gicko and Hyper and then back to Blondes.
Blondes nodded. "Exactly. She is descendant from a missing link to humans, from a long line of Flamers created specifically to destroy zombies."
"A long line?" asked Gicko. "Does that mean that zombie flamers are always and have always been - well - female?"
"No," replied Blondes. "In the beginning, the line was male, but the gift eventually spread to females. It is always a mystery as to which sex a Flamer will be born. And Cara is not the only Flamer who exists now."
Cara rolled her eyes. She'd already learned some of this stuff from Kahlan. "Okay, enough of the history lessons." She moved to pick up a red pair of flames from the table and put them on. "I gotta go."
"Of course!" exclaimed Blondes, as if realizing something, and making Cara stop and turn back to him. "Why didn't I see it before?... Gicko, they took your jewels. The jewels of Tantantinta. That's the only reason King Zombie would want them. From the little I know, they can increase a zombie master's power immensely."
"Which is why I have to get those jewels back now," added Cara. She started to walk away again.
"I'm coming with you," stated Hyper, moving away from Gicko. She walked to the table of flames, and Cara stopped to look back at her.
Blondes frowned. "No. Flames were brutally designed for Flamers. Only. They will sense, as if they're alive, when she's ready for attack. And they are very hard to control...after saying 'locked.' You see, applying the pressure with the squeezing and loosening of the fists takes a Flamer's touch. Who knows how they'd react to a normal human?"
Cara pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek. Just great. The last thing she wanted to hear was that she wasn't normal.
Hyper moved away from the table of flames. "Fine." She looked to Cara. "But I'm going with you." She searched Cara's face, pleading. "Cara, this is Hyper. You know if you don't let me help, I'm coming with you anyway."
Gicko looked like he wanted to protest. Blondes just watched Cara's reaction.
Cara sighed. "All right. But I know this town like the back of my hand. I have to get there fast, and you'll only slow me down. Let me get there first, scout out the area, and you meet me there soon after. Get directions from Blondes."
And with that, Cara ran straight ahead, across campus.
There was silence for a long moment, and then -
"Wait a damn second," stated Hyper, the reality of what Cara had just done dawning on her. "Blondes, you don't have any directions to the zombie graveyard, do you? You just moved here too. And I take it that Cara, being a Flamer and all, can sense her way there?"
"You're right." Blondes looked as though he were bored. "She tricked you. But you could go out and get me a scientist coat."
Gicko and Hyper looked ridiculously at Blondes.
Blondes ignored their stares, and raised a finger as he spoke, "I swore to myself that if ever in a head position such as I am now, I would wear a lab coat. Like all the evil geniuses of the world."
"But you're not evil," stated Hyper.
Blondes started jumping up and down like a spoiled little brat, demanding, "I want a scientist coat! I want a scientist coat!"
Gicko nudged Hyper. "He may look thirty five, but he's right. Still the same six-year-old little twirp."
"Mm-hmm," agreed Hyper.
IIII
In the zombie graveyard, King Zombie pointed a finger at Big Bron and finally asked him what he had meant to ask him a night ago. "So this Gicko and the others... You didn't bring them to me, why?"
Bron placed a hand to his half human, half zombiefied brow. "King Zombie, we thought the jewels were your only focus. And we had already refreshed for the night. Hunger wasn't really on our minds."
King Zombie growled and moved swiftly to peer the follower in the face, razor-sharp teeth dripping with saliva. " Well, did you stop to think that maybe hunger was on my mind?" He turned his back to Bron. "Never the matter." He held up the two jewels the other zombies had retrieved for him, and bent down.
King Zombie pushed one red, diamond-shaped jewel into the matching cut-out on the side of his left boot, the jewel glowing for a second; he did the same for his right boot with the other jewel and it reacted in the same vein. In another moment, the boots turned to metal. "No one can stop me now," he proclaimed.
IIII
In a lone street, Cara made a turn.
IIII
Back at D'Hara High, Gicko and Hyper had snuck into the school and were walking down one of its corridors. They felt it would be exciting to break-in, but, with Blondes's rigging of certain parts of the campus, they hadn't really broken in...not in the "pick a lock or a break a window" kind of way. Nevertheless, Gicko felt this would be the perfect time to tell Hyper how he felt about her. They had always responded best to each other when their blood was rushing and they felt the world was at their feet. It had been like that since they were children, back when they would play hide and seek, and Hyper would admit random things to him along the way.
"You know, Hyper," he started, watching her with a flashlight in her hand scoping out every dark aspect of the hall, "now that we're out of the presence of Devil Child back in there...there's something I've been meaning to tell you." He paused. "When two people really care about each other, they -"
"- Cara," sighed Hyper.
"Gicko arched an eyebrow. "What about her?"
"What was she thinking?"
"Oh, you mean when she went to battle the big bad zombies all by herself?"
"Exactly," stated Hyper. She stopped, and Gicko stopped beside her. "What could she have been thinking - taking on those zombies by herself?" Hyper angrily pushed the glasses back up on her face. "Why, I have a piece of mind to find my way to her anyway. Doesn't she know how much I care about her?"
The way Hyper said that, with such longing, determination and passion, struck Gicko as odd, and he felt he needed clarification. "You mean...we. How much we care about her."
Hyper grinned nervously. "Yeah. That's what I meant."
IIII
At the base of the zombie graveyard, Cara arrived and stopped. It was suspiciously foggy, and she couldn't see much beyond that.
Out of nowhere, Kahlan approached, flipping behind her.
Cara spun around to view the brunette. She was wearing a dark cloak again, as she had the night they'd ended up on the turfs of grass together...and later in Cara's room. "You."
Kahlan simply removed her hood and narrowed her eyes. "Going any further will lead to your death."
Cara smirked. "Won't bother me much. Already died." She stepped closer to Kahlan. "Why'd you send me away...earlier today?"
Kahlan just looked up at the stars; the fog hadn't managed to block that view. "Nice night out, isn't it?"
"Kahlan...," Cara started.
"You called me an experiment," said the brunette, still looking off into the night sky. "And I don't like to feel used - like a toy to anyone." She suddenly met Cara's gaze, pinning it like she usually did. "When you said that, I realized we would only be friends... Because 'friends with benefits' with you, Cara, just won't do...not when you regard me as something to be ashamed of."
Cara pursed her full lips together, and clasped her hands behind her back. "Oh? And what about your vow to screw me?"
"That was before you killed the mood and I saw you for what you really are."
Cara was amused. This woman had come on to her twice - no, thrice - and now she herself was the one who had done something wrong once she finally reciprocated? "And what am I, really?"
Kahlan's jaw set firm. "A malfunctioned mate." She backed up one step, eyeing Cara up and down. "I could never be satisfied with you...emotionally or sexually."
Cara laughed, then clapped loudly. "And the Dramatica award goes to...Kahlan Amnell." She spat at the ground. "Like I care what you think of me anyway. 'Partners in battle' works just fine for me, because I would never want to be your friend. And we already scratched mate-slash-lover off the list... So..." Cara spun on her heel and started to walk away.
"No! Don't go any farther."
Cara ignored Kahlan's words, and continued on for the zombie graveyard.
Kahlan put her hood back over her head, watching the retreating form. "I did warn you."
ACT 5
Bones and skulls poked out of the black dirt, and the fog was no longer crowding the area. Cara walked out into the open.
From behind, someone watched her, inching closer and closer. Cara could feel the presence, and spun around as soon as the person was close enough to strike, raising her fist to her stalker's throat. "Jeez, it's only me," stated Hyper, standing in front of Cara with her hands up in the air. "You need a major break."
Cara gave the blonde a cold stare, before eventually relaxing, lowering her hand.
"Don't even ask what I'm doing here." Hyper tapped her foot. "That little trick you played earlier was cute. But I told you I'd do what I wanted anyway, didn't I?"
Cara let out an annoyed breath. "Fine Just stay close." She turned around and walked ahead, Hyper following.
Cara strapped on a holographic watch given to her by Blondes. "These watches can provide us with the information we need. They've already alerted me to the fact that besides fire…consecrated dirt and the symbol of the grave can hurt zombies as well." She pulled out a small, glass bottle of brown grit, handing it to Hyper. "There's your dirt."
IIII
At the playground, Blondes, his white scientist coat on, and a wine cooler in his hand, stood in front of a holographic screen. The screen displayed ancient men holding flaming sticks, battling ancient zombies. Words of some unusual language also ran across the screen. "Now that's just wrong," Blondes retorted to the message. "The end of days? Raising now?... Hell, of course it's now," he said with realization.
IIII
In a classroom, Bobby and his few friends from the other night sat at some desks near each other, laughing.
"I can't believe we broke into school. Most days, I can't wait to break out," said Leon.
Bobby looked to the broken glass window to his right. This was not the type of publicity this school wanted, news of hooligans breaking in and defacing things - stealing things - but oh well. Their security system should have been in place anyway. He didn't care. He was angry with Cara and needed to vent his frustration. Why not vent large? He picked up a can of spray paint at his side and tossed it to Leon. "Let's get to work."
Leon and the other friend immediately grabbed more cans of spray paint and went to the walls. "Hey, Bobby, this isn't all about Cara, is it?" asked Leon. He took off the cap of a can and started spraying some sort of design across the bricks before him.
Bobby, still sitting in his chair, ran his fingers through his hair. Of course it was all about Cara. He was glad she hadn't been seriously hurt, but he was tired of her distant attitude. She was more like a friend than a girlfriend these days… Always when he wanted more. And from what she had told him of her car accident, she could have still called. Bobby was seething inside. He needed to hurt Cara now, as much as she hurt him with every rejection of his kisses or sexual advances. "Yeah, well, it wouldn't be about her if she hadn't stood me up," said Bobby.
Leon looked back over his shoulder. "I thought she got into a car accident."
Bobby stood, grabbing a can of paint. "Excuses. Excuses." He moved to the dry-erase board. "You know, I should thank her, really. She's opened my eyes to what an ungrateful little bitch she really is."
IIII
In the corridor, near the room Bobby and his friends occupied, Gicko heard laughing. He stopped beside the door, listening. "I will probably thank her by dumping her in front of everyone at The Ditch tomorrow night," said a voice. Gicko recognized that voice. It was Bobby Alderson. What was Bobby doing at the school this time of night? And how had he gotten in? It's not like he had a resource like Blondes.
IIII
Bobby bent down and started spray painting parts of the floor. "That's it. I'll ask her there again, comment on her lack of skill at pleasing her men, then dump her ass."
Leon grinned, "You are so bad."
IIII
Gicko backed away from the door, at the sickening laughs. He had heard enough. He quickly walked away.
IIII
At the zombie graveyard, Cara moved in front of Hyper, scoping out the area carefully. Ten feet away, she spotted a stick protruding from the ground, a flat plate attached to it holding two red, diamond-shaped jewels. Cara frowned, and stopped, causing Hyper to bump into her. "Now you know it's predictable when the exact thing you came looking for is literally being offered to you on a silver platter," she spoke over her shoulder to Hyper.
With her hands, Cara cautioned Hyper to stay back, then moved toward the protruding stick. Once there, she hesitantly grabbed the jewels. "I bet as soon as I stuff these into my pocket-"
Suddenly, a dozen or so zombies walked out from the shadowed area, surrounding Cara and Hyper and growling. "-more than a dozen or so zombies will show up," Cara finished. She ran in front of Hyper, shielding her. "Time to try these babies out," she rose her gloved fists. "Locked."
The zombies simultaneously ran at Cara, Cara moving from left to right as she released the power of her flames, long torches of fire extending from her gloves, in and out, and giving her the stronger ground. Flaming enough of them away, so that they spread out with fear, Cara then flipped from one zombie to the next, back and forth, having a field day, maneuvering between and around Hyper in a way of pure brilliance. Hyper had never seen a more impressive fighting style. Cara's use of the flames could only be described as "natural."
Soon, two of the final three zombies got flamed, and then one angry zombie was left standing, rubbing at its own decaying head as though partially confused about what to do next.
Hyper, who had been squatting down for the last half of the fight, slowly stood up. Cara smiled at her. "All yours, Babe."
Without hesitation, Hyper threw her bottle of consecrated dirt at the zombie, it shattering all over him. The dirt burned him like acid and he howled to the moon. "A steady paste," smiled Hyper. She then grabbed Cara's hand, pointing it at the zombie, and then squeezing the other woman's fist to unleash the fire; the zombie burned into oblivion, and the remaining portions swirled into the earth. "And then flambé," added Hyper.
Cara just smiled at her admiringly. Hyper smiled back.
Yes, Cara, thought. Kahlan's warning had been a bunch of smoke after all.
IIII
Further, in the zombie graveyard, in the king's section beneath the ground, Big Bron, with Will at his side, gulped nervously in front of their master.
"So she isn't dead? So much in fact that she just destroyed several of my best warriors?" asked King Zombie.
"Actually," cut in Will, "I only witnessed her killing several of your worse warriors." Big Bron kicked Will in the shin. "Ow," was his response.
"Yes, King Zombie, we just witnessed it from a distance with our own eyes," stated Bron.
"And my jewels?"
"Gone," replied Bron.
"It's just as well," King Zombie bared his razor sharp teeth in a wide, satisfied grin.
IIII
At sunrise, Cara and Hyper still hadn't gotten back to the playground, and Gicko was worried. He exited out a corridor and saw Blondes paying some man in a red suit, handing him the dollars and then shooing him away. "What's going on?" Gicko yelled in his direction.
Blondes took out a comb and slicked back his hair. "Oh, just someone I hired to get me a few things." He made his way to a table of wine coolers, some empty; some fresh. He picked up one and started gulping it down.
"Hey!" screamed Gicko, marching to Blondes and snatching away the wine from the Youngster's hand. "What do you think you're doing? You may look like an adult, but you're still not, remember? No drinking. What, do you wanna stay in this form forever?"
Blondes wiped at his mouth and pouted. "I'll never be an adult by this world's terms anyway. Now give me back my booze."
"No." Gicko frowned. "Besides, Hyper has a drinking problem. She's a recovering alcoholic. Slipped up our first day here, and I don't want her tempted any further."
"Damn. You wankers really do have problems," Blondes sneered.
"Yeah, we do. Before any of this weird crap happened, I always wanted to be a warlock. And now that I know that this crazy stuff actually exists, I want to be one even more now."
Gicko picked up all the wine bottles, crowding them in his arms. "Got anywhere to put these?"
Blondes sighed and snapped, and a garbage can rose in front of Gicko. "Jeez. You have this place pimped out."
"Damn straight," retorted Blondes. He rubbed his hands together eagerly, as Gicko discarded the bottles. "So...what info have you found out?"
Gicko held up the watch around his wrist, and activated it to display a holographic screen before them, the screen showing whatever it was Gicko described. "My research tells me of this ridge - that literally split the town in two somewhere around the year 880. But in the times before it happened, prophets were predicting it would. Something about the long flame to destroy them all. Many men lost their lives by it."
"What else?" asked Blondes, devouring the knowledge and craving more.
"King Zombie was there," confirmed Gicko.
Gicko's holographic screen disappeared, and Blondes turned his back to the boy. "I understand now."
IIII
In King's section of the zombie graveyard, Big Bron and Will, now in their human form, kneeled before him.
From the shadows, an even bigger and uglier type of zombie approached and stopped in front of the king. He was not in human form, and King Zombie grinned. "You are Tinta Zombie. And in this time of the final days, you will provide Raising Ground. With that, we will forever be an army... It is now we will have legions by our side."
IIII
Gicko and Blondes sat on the jungle gym.
Cara and Hyper finally returned, smiling wide at each other as they approached. They had hung out for a bit after defeating the zombies, feeling the need to celebrate but also bond like they used to. And Hyper still couldn't get over the fact that Cara had called her "Babe."
"Got the jewels," Cara smiled Gicko and Blondes's way, stopping in front of them. "Stopped King Zombie from gaining any more power."
Hyper threw an arm around Cara's neck. "And you should have seen Cara - with the whole flaming thing. So like the new way of fighting." She startled to ramble on, "Not that the old way of fighting is bad, but it takes more oxygen, I figure, and oxygen is the last thing Cara needed, twirling back and forth, shooting those flame thingies. She was the master, she was… Just wow. "
Gicko and Blondes simply stared. Gicko was half-tempted to ask them what took so long. "Aw, man, why'd you go and get her all hyped up like that?" he asked instead.
Hyper beamed their way. "Sorry, guys. There' just nothing that's gonna bring me down in this moment."
"Armageddon," stated Blondes, causing Hyper to duck to the ground quickly; she looked from side to side. "Where?.. Where?" she asked.
Blondes got off the jungle gym and stood. "No. Armageddon is what's going to happen. King Zombie already used the jewels."
Hyper stood back up, Cara furrowing her eyebrows together. "You're serious?"
Blondes pulled at the jungle gym bar to display yet another holographic screen as it provided the visuals. "All right, you bastards, listen up… A little more than - Hell, I don't know the exact year... King Zombie was born, conceived by the two most powerful monsters at that time. They resided in D'Hara, before it was simply a town. Maybe even before it was 'D'Hara'... And after centuries upon centuries of their hunters - the kind meant to destroy them - dying here, the thing that helped to evolve this kind - the Flamer - into a stronger adversary - developed. These Flamers quickly named it their power center - a place that, because its ground holds the very essence or strength of the former dead to their race, empowers the recent Flamer with more strength than he or she naturally possesses."
Hyper pushed the glasses back up on her face. "So this town is Cara's power center?"
Blondes nodded.
Cara frowned. "And this King Zombie wants to destroy it, doesn't he?"
Gicko jumped down from the jungle gym bars, and continued explaining. "But he couldn't for many years because these magical prophets cursed the Tinta jewels - ones cut from Morphintinta - the only thing which could help accomplish this. Cursed the jewels forever to act as if they had a mind of their own, switching back and forth between various dimensions...all just avoid to King Zombie."
"Even creating duplicates to hide among," Blondes cut in, "which explains a lot of the fakes found around school."
Gicko took back over. "Then - see - his parents added a magical counter before they died to let their son capture the jewels near the end of days. Humans have worried about this time for ages. And King Zombie's goal is now possible.
Cara looked to the ground, then back up at Blondes. "You said 'End of days.' Does that mean -"
"Armageddon, yes," stated Blondes. "Zombies seem to believe that we are in the Earth's final years. They do not fear this themselves because their prophecy tells of only humans becoming extinct . "
"And this Raising Ground," Hyper inquired, "is to ensure this?"
"Most definitely," nodded Blondes. "The part of the story Gicko left out are the boots. The Tinta boots given to King Zombie when he was born, to be worn once he achieved full adulthood. The Tinta jewels you managed to find were to fit in either side of the diamond-shaped cut-out section of their middle to bring forth Tinta Zombie. And they surely have - "
Blondes's holographic screen is back up again, and it displays an even larger red, diamond-shaped jewel. "-to grasp the Morphintinta jewel," Blondes went on. "The Morphintinta jewel, once touched by the Tinta Zombie, will create Raising Ground. The changed ground of this town which will allow King Zombie the power to raise more zombies than he normally could...to have legions destroy this place - Cara's power center." Blondes narrowed his eyes to Cara. "Understand that once this Morphintinta jewel is touched by the Tinta Zombie, a glaze will spread over the earth, providing an even bigger opportunity for the event taking place here. Then the creature from within the jewel will break free to assist King Zombie in his quest. When this glaze manages to cover the entire town, Raising Ground will begin. And the only thing that can stop it…is the touch of a hero. The jewel being touched by such a person."
IIII
Later, Cara sat at one of "the cool" tables in the huge lunchroom, barely even hearing the chatter going on. Becky was saying something about penis size, and how she never got lucky with men in that department, and the others were talking about some break-in. Apparently, somebody had broken into the school. Stole a few computers to boot. But Cara didn't care. Her eyes were on Kahlan Amnell, sitting some distance away, at her own equally "cool table" across from her, with people who were just as popular. The brunette had made quite the name for herself. And even though rumors still ran rampant that she was gay, all because of what Cara and Becky had spread around about her, it didn't cramp her style in the least.
Every now and then, Kahlan met Cara's gaze, but then looked away. Cara saw sadness in those eyes each and every time and she really didn't need this. She was already stressed out about saving the world. "Be ready immediately after school," Blondes had stated to her. She and the others, however, had insisted they hurry, lest humans actually do become extinct, but Blondes, as usual, said he needed time to prepare. How the man...er...boy could be so calm in a time like this was beyond her. At least she had gotten the chance to change into fresh clothing.
Kahlan was looking at her again, and Cara took a sip of her drink. When Kahlan turned away to smile at some jock beside her, Cara frowned and looked down. The world could be coming to an end, and yet she was sitting here worried about what Kahlan was thinking. She wanted to know why the other woman's eyes, which usually appeared so vibrant and calculating, now seemed so sad and distant…with every look tossed her way. It wasn't the look of Feisty Kahlan, and she desperately wanted to talk to her. Either version. But she'd uttered some "not so good" things to Kahlan just last night. Was that why Kahlan now looked so lost? Cara rolled her eyes. Get over yourself. As if Kahlan could see you as anything more than a sex toy. She called you out for looking at her like one, but she'd treated you like one for two days straight.
"Ooh, check it out," said Becky. Cara looked up to see everyone eyeing Kahlan's table. Big Bertha, the biggest - and most muscular - dyke in town, had approached Kahlan and was kneeling before her. Cara nearly choked on her drink. It was clear to everyone that Big Bertha was on steroids, and she often had a temper. "Looks, like Big Bertha wants some of that," added Becky. The group laughed.
Cara watched with bated breath as Kahlan spoke something to Bertha, and Bertha got up and went back to the other side of the lunchroom.
"Oooh, most likely denied!" Becky barked, and the group laughed again. Cara felt she should laugh as well, and did; Kahlan was no longer making eye contact with her. And what did it matter to her if Big Bertha wanted Kahlan? If Kahlan wanted to bed that wilderbeast, let her, she thought. But, deep down, Cara was beginning to feel that there was definitely something other than obligation between her and Kahlan, and it would seem she had successfully pushed that "something" away.