[8]

It was Saturday evening again and Ray was once again sitting in one of the lounge areas of Club Horrorland, his feet propped up on one of the foot rests with a book resting on his lap. Against Karen's wishes, he'd snuck a book underneath his denim jacket and, although he was having a bit of difficulty focusing on the text, he was glad he brought it.

Karen and the others were scattered around the club doing whatever they pleased, whether it be chatting it up with other monsters, dancing, or ordering zombie-safe food from the bar. Ray kept an eye on them to make sure no trouble came their way, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves with no potential threats or issues. Karen seemed to be making friends with the group of ghoulish girls that she'd danced with their first night here.

Ray had chosen to sit here and not at the bar so that if those other not-so-friendly zombies were here, he could hopefully remain under the radar. He just wanted to relax and let his friends enjoy themselves; was that really too much to ask for?

He was just beginning to get comfortable and actually focus on the book in his hands when he sensed a presence approaching him. The person had a small amount of power, but Ray knew better than to underestimate low energy. Upon glancing around, he found that one of the male zombies who had been staring at him last time was heading his way. He felt himself tense and mentally readied himself for a fight, already calculating how long it would take to gather up Karen and the others and get out of here before a fight broke out, when the boy offered a nervous smile. Waves of fear were coming off of him and Ray relaxed slightly; someone who wanted to pick a fight wouldn't be approaching him in fear.

"Excuse me," the boy began. "I'm sorry to bother you, but are you a zombie?"

The boy's scruffy black hair was constantly falling in front of his eyes and he definitely resembled the zombies of Hollywood with ashen skin, yellowed eyes, and the occasional gross-looking gash decorating his arms and legs. He wore a simple white T-shirt and khaki shorts, brown sandals adorning his feet. He seemed like he was Karen's age at best, just a kid, and Ray got the impression he wasn't looking for a fight at all.

The word "zombie" felt weird to Ray, but he nodded nonetheless. "In a way, yes. Why do you ask?"

The kid brightened. "Oh good! I thought so, but I wasn't sure. I'm one, too, but sometimes it's hard to recognize a fellow undead; zombies these days don't look as dead as they used to, you know?"

He didn't know, but humored the kid anyway.

"So, uh... Do you come here every week?" he continued, and Ray nodded.

"Cool, cool." An awkward silence fell between them before Ray decided it would be best to put everything out on the table.

"Have I done something wrong?" he asked. "I noticed that you and your friends have been staring at me the past two times I've been here, and I'm just wondering if I've offended you in any way."

The boy's eyes widened, mouth falling open in shock. "What? Oh no, not at all! I'm sorry about the staring, I really am, it's just that.. Well, you know. You're pumped with all that energy."

Ray tilted his head to the side in question.

"What?"

"You have a very powerful presence," the boy supplied. When Ray lifted an eyebrow at his statement, he smiled. "You.. don't even realize the power you have, do you?"

Ray blinked. "Power? What are you talking about?"

The boy grinned. "You're like a king among zombies, dude. You're a Watcher, one of the most powerful forms a zombie can take on. I don't know how you became one, but you're extremely powerful whether you know it or not, and we've got mad respect for you."

It was like someone had dumped cold water on him.

Powerful? Ray was a lot of things, but powerful wasn't exactly a word he would use to describe himself.

"We keep an eye on you because, well, call it natural instinct," the kid continued, rocking back and forth on his feet. "All you gotta do is give us a command and we're your servants. Zombies tend to stick together in hordes, but we always have a leader, and that leader is usually a Watcher who oversees all decisions, feedings, and group members. You're the first Watcher I've ever seen in person and you're kind of awesome. I'm sorry if we make you uncomfortable by staring, we're just in awe, and we keep tabs on you because our instincts tell us you're the leader."

If Ray could have blushed, he would have. He wasn't sure how to respond, but the other zombie seemed to take his silence as a cue to continue.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention that if you're ever hanging out here, you're always welcome to join us. We tend to stick to the darker areas since too much light gives us a headache, so if you ever want some company, you'll always find us there."

"Thank you," Ray managed. "That's kind of you to offer. I… I'll be honest, I don't know too many others that are like me, and it'd be really nice to meet more zombies."

How long had he wondered if there were others out there like the people of Dark Falls? He was finally standing in front of someone who was undead, someone who hadn't been turned by a chemical accident, and it felt unreal.

But he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass by. He was eager to meet more zombies, relieved that they weren't as hostile as he'd initially thought. Karen would probably meet him with an "I told you so" later that evening, but it was totally worth it if he got to meet more of their kind.

"Yeah… Lots of zombies tend to keep to themselves," the boy replied, his tone one of complete understanding. "Most of 'em are lone wolves and just go about their business. A lot of the zombies who work here decided to stick together as a horde, so we became like a family after a while, and it definitely beats being alone."

Ray nodded. "I came here with a few friends myself. They're like family, too, and I couldn't imagine being without them."

"They're lucky to have you, man. Actually, if you're interested, do you want to come meet the others?" A smirk replaced his shy smile. "After all, we've been dying to talk to you."

The blonde grinned at the pun. "Sure. Lead the way."

As he stood up, replacing his book under his arm, the boy held out a hand. He offered Ray a toothy grin, his yellowed eyes sparkling with happiness.

"I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but my name is Joseph."

The Watcher shook his hand. For the first time in years, he felt genuinely excited at the idea of meeting new people.

"I'm Ray. It's nice to meet you, Joseph."


"...So that's when I said, 'not on your un-life, fang-face!'"

Laughter rose up at the female zombie's punchline, and even Ray chuckled.

The group he had been sitting with for the past hour was actually rather friendly. Some of them were initially a little wary of Ray, but they didn't seem to dislike him; if anything, they were just curious about him. After getting to know them, Ray didn't mind the staring so much and brushed it off if he felt any of their gazes boring through him. None of them were trying to be rude or intimidating, they were just, as Joseph had said, in awe, and Ray was kind of honored (and still slightly in shock) that they held him in high reverence.

Two of the girls, Jessica and Allie, were best friends and had been turned their freshman year of college. Ray wasn't sure where they were from or how they'd been turned, but he knew better than to ask; after witnessing a few people become part of Dark Falls' population, turnings were often unpleasant and it was probably a memory that each zombie would rather forget. Nevertheless, both girls seemed to be crushing on him, if their constant giggling and playing with their hair was anything to go by, but they were sweet all the same.

The other girl, Emily—the one who had just finished the story about her run-in with a vampire—and one of the guys, Richard, were siblings; the other two guys were known as Alex and Marcus. Each of the zombies were eager to talk to Ray and bombarded him with questions when Joseph brought him to them. Ray had no qualms answering whatever they wanted to ask him since most of their curiosity revolved around his powers, like, "How'd you become a Watcher?" and "What's it like to have all that power?"

He wasn't even sure about most of his so-called power; all he knew was that he had full say-so over Dark Falls, he was in charge of keeping new families blissfully ignorant, and he was the main protector over the town. Dawes helped him, of course, but ultimately Ray was the be-all end-all authority. Ever since the blood had begun aging him, he would be lying if he said he didn't discover a few new abilities, but he hadn't known what to do with them; what was the use of hypnotizing people when the only humans that stopped by were ones that they were going to feed on anyway? And what good was having the power to manipulate emotions when the other zombies rarely emitted strong emotional spikes? The only good thing about emotional manipulation was when humans started panicking during the feeding rituals; Ray would purposely radiate calmness and peace for their sake to take the edge off their deaths, but that was about the only use he got out of his newfound ability.

Around four in the morning, right before Ray was about to round up his own group and head home, Joseph stopped him.

"Hey, I meant to ask you earlier: are you planning on coming back next week?"

Ray smiled. Now that the other zombies were no longer a potential threat, he saw no reason not to; in fact, he was looking forward to it.

"Yeah. Why, what's up?"

"You guys should come by on Friday nights instead." Joseph's expression grew dreamy. "There's this girl who comes by every Friday night and you've got to hear her when she sings; she's incredible, and she's absolutely beautiful. Trust me, it'll be worth the trip; we'll be here that night as well."

The blonde recalled hearing something about a live singer performing here. Ray had never been to any concerts before or heard anyone sing live, so it sounded like it could be fun. The wonderful thing about Club Horrorland was that although they were no longer human, they could still have human-esque experiences like meet others, dance, have a drink or two, and attend live entertainment.

Ray was really glad that Karen had come across that flyer.

"I'll be here next Friday then," he promised, and Joseph grinned. They shook hands again and Ray watched him and his group shamble off towards the main exit, the girls offering him one last wave before disappearing outside the double doors.

With a confidence he hadn't felt in a long time, Ray began to look for his own group of friends. He made his way through the crowds of monsters all shuffling towards the exits and found all of them gathered near the bar. Karen beamed at him proudly, clearly having witnessed his brief exchange with Joseph.

"New friends?"

Ray nodded. "You were right all along; they're cool."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Told you so."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"I also heard there's this amazing singer who performs on Friday nights, so I was wondering if you guys wanted to check it out next week."

"Only if we get to come here on Friday and Saturday," one of the others piped up. Ray chuckled.

"That's fine by me."

Loud whoops and cheers rose up from the group and he grinned.

Yeah... He was really, really glad Karen had found out about this place.