La Dolce Vita
By Seniya
C is for Conspiracy
Part Two
"Any writer, I suppose, feels that the world into which he was born is nothing less than a conspiracy against the cultivation of his talent."
James Arthur Baldwin
To Will, Heatherfield would never seem real. It was too bright, too clean, too over flowing with friendly neighbours and questionable good intentions. It looked as though it had been plucked out of an Anne of Green Gables book, as though it hadn't been changed since its founding in the last century. It was small town America, simply put. As far as the eye could see there were rows and rows of Victorian styled houses with wrap around porches and ever-green lawns.
She was a big city girl, through and through. She'd grown up in Austin, Texas, in an apartment the size of some of these people's living rooms with four other people. And as far as she was concerned, she was far better off because of it.
You could not hate Hay Lin. It was impossible to even try. Although, Will thought, she had tried. She was so happy, so cheerful. She behaved like a puppy just freed from the pound as she skipped, yes skipped, along the streets of Heatherfield dressed in her trench coat, chattering contentedly all the while.
"So you really don't know anything about zombies?" Hay Lin asked mid-jump.
"Um," Will shrugged and shuffled her feet a bit, "Just what Resident Evil taught me." Being next to Hay Lin was making her feel guilty about being so quiet and down, even if it was her natural behaviour.
"Oh yeah," The other girl twirled, "I love, love, love that game," She paused dramatically in the middle of the sidewalk, "Leon!" She laughed, "I only played it once 'cause my mom says that video games will distract me from my schoolwork but I loved it."
Hay Lin stopped to shift her pink messenger back from one shoulder to the other. "I guess that's everything you really need to know, except that zombies are made from magic in real life and not, you know, biological warfare."
"Why do I need to know about zombies anyways?" Will, thought she was taking this all quite well, given the situation. She was being very calm, asking questions instead of screaming.
"Because you're in Heatherfield. Geez, there's everything here! Zombies, vampires, demons, werewolves, demon-vampires." She shuddered. "My grandma and I fight them off, well, her more than me. I'm just an apprentice."
"Fight them how?" It occurred to Will that Hay Lin was in the same position as she was. She had powers – she could fly! But she didn't even seem to care. This was almost normal to her. She wasn't protesting, she wasn't attempting to run away. "With this sword thing?"
"No," Hay Lin replied, "Spells mostly. Potions and stuff. I guess the sword might help, it's supposed to be magic ... Um, I guess we'll see."
"Right." Weird, weird, weird. "So, where do these zombies come from?"
"Somebody has to make them. It's black magic though. You're not supposed to do that." She reached into her messenger bag and took out a black book which she flipped through quickly to find a page. Then, she passed it to Will. "You use a spell to bring someone's corpse back to life. The magic makes them like a puppet, but it keeps them alive. Last year, this lady in Canada did it when her daughter died."
"So, it only works on dead people." The book Will had taken wasn't written in English, but it was so full of illustrations that it didn't really need to be read. Inside, there were endless drawings of people with detailed lines across their bodies and faces.
"Yep."
"Lydia Boyce," The name was so familiar, even as Will said it out loud, "She's one of the girl's that got kidnapped."
"Yep."
"You think she's a zombie?" Will stopped in her tracks, her stomach dropped to her knees, "You think that she's dead?"
When Hay Lin turned around to face Will, she looked sadder, softer, but her words were simple, "Yeah. All of them actually. When you go missing in Heatherfield – you don't come back."
The Boyce residence was far back the main street. There was a large front lawn scattered with colourful plastic toys but not so many flowers. There were lots of trees though, lots of leaves and lawn trimmings that hadn't been raked since this house's daughter had gone missing.
Behind the house was a pond, as a result, off to the side was a bright blue boat, parked up like how a car would be. It was a small house, well kept and brightly painted in yellow and green. As they walked up there was the sound of children, screaming and running along the wooden floors.
Hay Lin pressed the doorbell. "We're just gonna make sure she's a zombie. You know, ask a few questions and see if she exhibits zombie behaviour."
"What's zombie behaviour?" Will whispered back.
"You know, chewing on stuff, wandering around aimlessly, moaning."
The front door opened in the next instant, revealing a pretty, plump black woman wearing an apron. "Hello, Hay Lin!" her accent was distinctly Caribbean and her face was the essence of motherly warmth, her pretty hazel eyes passed over Hay Lin and lingered on Will suddenly, "Well, hello there little missy," the accent had changed to something strictly country, "you new here?"
"I'm Will. I just moved –" Will tried a small smile, outstretched her hand for a shake but received at big hug instead. She smelt like flour and sweat.
"Well, I'm Jessica. You can call me Jesse if you'd like."
"Miss Jesse is the best!" Hay Lin chirped, "Are you making cookies?"
"Well, I swear you can just smell my baking from a mile away!" She moved from the doorway, "come in, come in!"
They followed wordlessly into the small living room which, although small in size, was crammed with all sorts of decorations, pictures and satin flowers. "You here to see Lydia?"
"Yeah, the newspaper wants to run a story," Hay Lin answered as Will looked around. There were countless pictures of this family, of all the kids, some cousins, older relatives. In some big picture frames were the four children, hung with care on the wallpapered walls. Lydia was the first one she saw. This was the picture they had used in the poster, the one with her big green eyes, freckles and golden skin. She looked so happy, so friendly; so young.
"You have no idea how many people have been here since last night," The friendly voice echoed from in the kitchen, followed by the heavy, sugary smell of baking. "Everybody's been wanting to know just how Lydia's been doing, but I've mostly been letting her sleep."
"Has she been sleeping a lot?" Hay Lin asked.
"She's been in her room since she came back home, resting," Her voice had taken on a tired edge to it. "I just don't know what my poor child has been through ... I-I ... I figure that she'll want to talk, but when she's ready."
"We can come back later," Her mother didn't have this. No pictures of her on the walls, no family scenes on the beach with her grandparents and cousins. This woman cared for her children, to find out her daughter was dead – that a corpse had been walking around in her house, would devastate her.
"Wilhelmina!" Hay Lin hissed, "We haven't found anything out yet!"
"We can't tell this woman that her daughter is dead! It'll kill her!"
There was a shuffling from inside of the house, the sound of hurried footsteps followed by the sight of two curly haired twin boys; their wild giggles were accompanied by a song, "Lydia is stinky! Lydia needs a shower!"
"Leroy! Lawrence! The two of you better go to your room until your father comes home! Can't you see I have guests! Go inside and stop bothering your sister!"
The twins jumped but obeyed instantly, pushing past Will's legs in their hurry to go inside their room. "I'm not staying!" Holding onto her case's strap, Will prepared to walk out the door.
The smell stopped her. It was nasty, God awful, pungent. It sank in through her nose, moved over her tongue and slipped into her stomach. It was disgusting; the perfume of rotting flesh and burning dogs. And then, footsteps.
The footsteps dragged heavily against the wooden floor, the stench dragged along with it. Against her better judgment Will turned around and came face to face with the girl from the picture.
She wasn't smiling. The sparkle in those green eyes was gone. Her skin looked like putty; her limbs seemed heavy and stiff. There were sores on her face, ones that didn't look like they would heal.
She dragged herself into the living room and sat heavily down on the sofa. She didn't move again.
Her head had sort of dropped off to the side, as though it was taking too much energy for her to hold it up. Hay Lin didn't waste a second. She scrambled over and pressed her fingers against Lydia's wrist and then her neck. She shook her head in Will's direction, signalling the negative.
The pity didn't get a chance to enter Will's system as Jessica Boyce hustled into the room. Immune to the smell or the sight of her daughter rotting away, she pushed away Hay Lin's probing hands and cooed over her daughter. "Lydia, I'm so glad you're up! Why didn't you put on that dress I put out for you?" She dusted off her apron and looked at Hay Lin apologetically, "She probably doesn't feel like talking yet. If you could come back a little later ..."
"Yeah," Will put in, "yeah, that's no problem."
"You can get some cookies when you do. "
Hay Lin looked hesitant, but followed Will's lead. Once outside, Will did everything she could to get rid of the smell, but it wasn't possible. It was stuck to her skin like glue. "She knows," Will said finally, once they were on the street again, "she knows there's something wrong with her daughter and she doesn't ..."
"Lydia ..." Hay Lin stared at her feet; slowly she removed her trench coat. "She was really nice. She would always bring cakes and stuff over to the restaurant from her mom. She liked to sing ... she sang at church."
"Hay Lin, how do you get rid of zombies."
"Well," She bit her bottom lip, chewed on it thoughtfully, "There are two ways. You could just destroy the zombie. Cut off the head and mess up the chest. That's the easiest way."
"We're not destroying her."
"Wilhelmina, she's already dead."
"It doesn't matter. Her mother should at least have the chance to bury her daughter." Will was certain of that. She wasn't the nicest person in the world, but she at least knew that good people deserved something more than heartache. "What's the other way?"
"You destroy the person who cast the spell. It's a lot harder because you can't really tell where the person is."
"Always some destruction involved."
"So," Hay Lin looked hesitant, "you're helping us?"
Will didn't know. This wasn't her obligation, this wasn't her fight. Just because she felt sorry for someone wasn't reason enough to give up her own freedom. Besides, who would do the same for her? Still, she couldn't leave and let Hay Lin and her grandmother hack that girl into oblivion.
"She isn't even violent or anything."
"That's because she hasn't been dead for that long. She still has some human characteristics. Once they fade, she'll start to attack and stuff." Hay Lin's eyes shifted as she thought, "Wilhelmina, I know you don't want to hurt Miss Jesse but if we leave her with Lydia, her whole family will be in danger."
"It's ... It's not that," Will shrugged and tried to look unconcerned, "I just don't think you should be going around lacerating everyone."
"Oh," said Hay Lin.
"I'll help this time." With the upmost care, Will removed the guitar case from her back and set it down besides her. "Just because."
Hay Lin nodded, "well, let's get back home then. Grandma will tell us what to do."
"That is not an option," Eyes like liquid coals hidden among sheets of parchment, and hands roughened by the sands of time, Yan Lin didn't even look remotely like a kindly grandmother. "Well, it is a suicide option, but we Chinese don't condone euthanasia." She favoured an old pit bull on the last months of its life. It would bite and snarl at anything that passed, just to prove that it could.
"I don't see what the problem is. Getting one person is definitely easier than getting four. It's math." Will snapped back.
They were back in the little basement, now perfectly clean and smell free, being cooled by the efforts of the standing fan and lectured by the voice of Yan Lin. "Here's some more math for you. What's one times zero?"
Will frowned, "Nothing. What does that have to do with –"
"Exactly. If you fuck this up, you will have no more chances to fuck anything up again. Because you will be dead."
Caleb snickered from the corner where he stood. Will narrowed her eyes, "Why are you still here? Don't you have children to devour? Oh wait, monsters like you probably can't be seen in the daylight."
"I'm waiting for Lucia." He said shortly and then, because he really couldn't resist, "listen to Yan Lin, you need to pick your battles. Choose the ones you will win, not the ones you want to fight."
"I'm not chopping up those girls! And Hay Lin isn't either!"
"Actually, I never said I had a problem with it. I've done it twice before."
So much for unity. "See, it's for the best. The sorcerer who did this is extremely powerful," Yan Lin looked satisfied, "He cannot be defeated as easily as you think. Just do this and then come back here so we can start basic training. Caleb has agreed to help us."
"Joy." Will frowned, "Come on Hay Lin."
Hay Lin jumped up from her seat and followed, but they were both stopped by Yan Lin's protest, "Not at all. We're coming with you. You two could probably destroy the entire town on your own." She pushed past the pair accordingly.
"What's the point of being a guardian if I have watchmen?"
"You don't have any idea of how to control your powers or yourself and you want to go off on your own?"
"Oh please, Mr. Will expert do tell me more about my self-control." Will snapped back.
"What sort of a human name is Will? Isn't it a word?"
"Isn't Caleb another world for rectum blockage?"
"You know," Yan Lin stopped abruptly, forcing the three behind her into a collision, "Hay Lin, cover your ears." She checked to ensure that her granddaughter had obeyed, and then concluded, "I think the two of you should just fuck and get it over with."
Outside in the afternoon sun, the streets of Heatherfield baked. It was just as still as before, with that definite undercurrent of danger lurking behind the daffodils and the marigolds. Clouds floated aimlessly by, pretending as though they weren't watching; looking; waiting.
Hay Lin was excited, more than ever, she jumped and skipped on the sidewalk in front of The Silver Dragon, humming when she felt the place growing too quiet.
"All right Will, transform." Yan Lin snapped at Will, who squinted in reply.
"I don't suspect that you intend to tell me how." The red head said dryly.
"This, from the girl who doesn't want a babysitter."
"You can't withhold information from me and then blame me because I don't know it!" Will snapped back, growing annoyed. Images of Lydia were growing stronger in her mind and the sense of wrong doing wasn't fading.
"Take the sword and concentrate and then transform yourself and Hay Lin." Yan Lin indicated to the guitar case on Will's back. "The sword is an extension of yourself. Its powers are yours to control, all you need to do is concentrate."
"Can't I transform by myself?" Hay Lin asked.
"I'll teach you how. For right now, it is best that you both work as a team."
Will had already slipped the case off her back and flipped it open. The old sword was inside, looking as dreary as ever atop of the black suede interior. She picked it up by its tarnished hilt and did as Yan Lin had said: concentrated. She thought of being taller, with long hair, wearing purple and green – Hay Lin and her wings.
Then, there was that feeling again. The sensation of growing; of liquid warmth spreading through her limbs and dripping over her skin. Goose pimples atop of spine tingling anticipation; fear mixed with wonder. There was the rush of excitement, the pushing of bones against muscle, the brush of her hair against her shoulders – and then, nothing.
Now, Hay Lin was screaming, louder than ever before. Will eyes snapped open, only to snap shut again when a gust of wind lashed at her face. It was becoming more difficult to keep her feet on the ground; difficult to even catch her breath. The winds continued, pushing and tormenting until they stopped, just as easily as they had started, and Hay Lin was on the roof of The Silver Dragon.
"You see what happens when you don't listen!" Yan Lin was screaming, "you need to keep your emotions in check! Keep your mind clear! Come down here!"
She was barking out orders at a mile a minute, while Hay Lin clung for life by hanging onto the satellite dish.
"Hay Lin just fly down!" That was the final order, one that Hay Lin seemed the most reluctant to obey. It was clear why, in this form, Heatherfield had changed. Will's stomach jumped when she realized it. Although the bright, cheerful town remained the same – Will could still see the image of a curly haired blonde girl licking an oversized ice-cream cone – there was something more.
Dead things. They had to be dead, but they were as solid as Will herself, walking around on the sidewalk, watching her with empty, cloudy eyes. There were animals mostly, a grey tabby wandering across the street with its intestines hanging out caught Will's immediate attention. There were horses too, dogs, mice, pigs and cows. Behind them were a few people, scattered like stars among the sunlight, they were dressed in all types of clothing, from bell bottomed jeans and cotton shirts to wide hoop skirts and corset tops.
Dead.
Will's eyes shifted towards the side of the restaurant, where Hay Lin remained screaming. Beside her grandmother, as far as Will could see, was a tall, thin old Chinese man. He observed the scene silently, before shaking his head slowly from side to side and finally, vanishing into thin air.
"Grandpa!" Hay Lin screamed at her grandmother, who seemed unfazed. "Gen? Oh, he's always around! He won't do you anything! Come down!"
She was shivering violently, and her already milk white skin, was seemingly, whiter. Will, eyes wide with surprise, disgust and a thousand other emotions looked to Caleb for some explanation. "What ... Can you see those?"
He looked completely bored. "See what?"
"Those!" She pointed with the hand that held the sword, his eyes followed the blade. "Those ... things!"
"I don't see what ..."
"In your guardian form you become more aware of the other universes that exist around this one." Yan Lin was back, Hay Lin trotting stunned by her side, "The closest world to Earth is the Land of the Dead."
"This is really gross Nana!"
"This," Yan Lin barked, "is taking much, much, too long."
"There's road-kill at the school crossing ..." Will put in.
"It's always been there. You just never noticed it." Yan Lin said, "Ignore it again. Eventually, you'll get used to it."
Hay Lin whimpered in response, although Will remained silent, she shared the sentiment.
Author: I pictured Will looking like Audrey Hepburn or Natalie Portman. Not exactly feature for feature but that same kind of small, pixie like face. You know, eternal innocence, even at ninety.
So sorry that this is gonna have three parts, but I'm feeling like the battle for the zombies won't be that long but still have its own chapter. Yay! After that comes school for the girls, meaning Corny and Irmee, and a little later Taranee.