Mary Lovecraft's Pov:
"I knew I should have had Zombie Priest bring someone tougher than Quill back from the dead. He was all muscle and no brains. And that's saying something, considering he was the only one who had any brains among the slack jaws given to him by the necromancer. However, the undead human made it easy for me to sneak in disguised as Brittney and take Zed away from everyone when the fighting ended. If I'm being honest, it was so much fun to see how helpless they looked when my left arm sprouted tentacles. One reason I had to appear in the last slasher fight was to see if they would be brave enough to face me once they regrouped with everyone else. While they were preoccupied, I got to have some private time with Seabrook's star zombie, Zed Necrodopolis."
Morning - Seabrook Graveyard
Having been kidnapped and taken away from Addison and his friends, Zed had been taken to the graveyard where Mary Lovecraft and Zombie Priest were currently at as they were working together on a secret project. The zombie was presently tied up in a chair and inside of room with various coffins surrounding him. What took him by surprise when he awoke was him sitting in front of a table with breakfast freshly cooked and a side of brain food all for him to eat.
"Never say that I wasn't hospital to my guests. Despite them being a thorn in my side."
A voice spoke from the shadows leaving Zed to recognize it as Mary Lovecraft who was walking in with a cup of tea and using one of her tentacles to pull a chair for her to sit on. Feeling suspicious about being kidnapped and treated like a guest, Zed wasn't falling for Mary's hospitality.
"Lobster told us that you weren't ladylike. From how I'm tied up and knowing that you're responsible for bringing the dead back to life, I'm still on the fence."
Zed responded to what Mary was doing which left her laughing softly toward the zombie questioning if she was doing this to mess with him. Using another tentacle to free his left hand for him to eat, she keeps the tentacle near Zed in case he tries to use his Z-Band.
"Understandable. But we should get right to the reason why I kidnapped you than Revenant, how are you enjoying my monster ball?"
She asked Zed about what's been happening in the last several days with her bringing in undead killers from the dead and unleashing them in Seabrook. The zombie said nothing but stared at her in silence and decided to eat the food that was placed in from of him.
"I'll take that as no. Sad, from what I've heard from you and the others. You have quite the parties involving the supernatural kind."
Mary replied to Zed about his past runnings with folks who weren't interested in making peace and friends but causing trouble. Deciding to offer her his opinion, Zed kept his cool and would talk to Mary to avoid her strangling him with a tentacle to force him to talk.
"Your ball has involved bringing people who hurt my friends physically and mentally in the past. Including Quill, who damaged Rev the worst. I'm surprised I got taken instead of him."
He gave her a proper response to what he thought of this party she did for him and Revenant along the lines of not understanding the reason why he was kidnapped. Mary smiled at giving him an explanation and questioning why he was taken than Revenant who was more dangerous than him. The embodiment of horror smiled at him attempting to be strong and show no fear as she continued to let Zed eat.
"It was the only way to see what Lady Death saw in you, allowing you and Revenant to leave her domain. It was either that or just go after you two personally, which would you prefer?"
Mary asked Zed if he would have preferred her to come to his house and confront him while he was living with his father and sister. The zombie realized that Lobster Johnson was right when he said Mary wasn't ladylike if she could threaten him and his loved one without showing any regard for lives. Zed nods to Mary about having to fight the slashers than herself if it meant protecting his family.
"So what's next? Have us go through hopes and do stunts to see that we got freed because we want to look after Seabrook?"
He questions Mary again about what her plans for him and Rev since there was nothing else she could do to them. Lovecraft smiled in amusement at him thinking he knew her next move, she looked over at his right wrist and wraps her tentacle around it to get a better look at his Z-Band.
"Why do you keep the zombie locked up? It's bad enough that you and the others pretend to act like humans, but to restrain your nature is an insult."
She responded to Zed's Z-Band and accusing him for not embracing his zombie side. Zed could tell she was trying to get underneath his skin in an attempt to get angry, he continued to keep a cool head and restrain from falling for her words.
"I'm not pretending to be human. I never was, I was born a zombie. And the Z-Band my friend's parents made saved the lives who became zombies, not everyone likes to enjoy hurting people like you do."
The zombie athlete stated that the community who were lucky to obtain a Z-Band have an ordinary life rather than be a mindless monster seeking the urge to satisfy their hunger for brains. Mary rolled her eyes toward him accepting the restraint of being normal and then embracing the real zombie that was locked inside of him. Looking at Zed to see he was finished with his food; Mary snapped her fingers with her right hand to bring in two slack jaws into the room.
"What I like is to spread fear and terror, with the addition of letting everyone in on the fun. There's a difference."
Mary corrected him before ordering the slack jaw creatures to bring Zed and restrain him from not using the Z-Band. Guiding him through the crypt and down the hallway, she took him to another part of her lair where it showed Zombie Priest working on something that required body parts that the small had brought in. Looking over to Lovecraft and Zed, the curious priest rushed over to examine the boy.
"This is the first time I had the chance to look at a zombie from this town. No signs of decay or rotting flesh and well preserved. But I have seen a zombie when it came to turning off that bracelet, black veins and white are common to all zombified humans."
He complimented Zed's condition of being what others would consider a perfect zombie if it didn't rely on the Z-Band. Mary glared at the feeble old man and ordered him to continue working on their project. Zed was able to use this to his advantage as he looked at the table where the parts they were bringing in were from Seabrook.
"You're making another slasher?"
Questioning what Mary's plan was since it looked like she wanted to continue sending another slasher after his friends. The embodiment of horror shakes her head toward the zombie's question since there she wasn't making a new slasher for him and his friends to fight.
"No. I'm giving myself a makeover."
She answered Zed's question which led to her walking over to the table where Mary revealed a new body being constructed from various old statues from Seabrook's past. Stitched together with stone and foreign monster parts that Mary had brought with her into town without anyone noticing.
"You see, this graceful form you see me in is nothing more than a construct. A human brought me into this world when he wanted to change humanity into a nightmare, sadly. He was taken out by a new friend of yours. Cassie Hack."
Explaining her background and the slayer girl for being responsible for stopping her in the past. Zed still looked bewildered to what she was talking about, leaving Mary to show him what her intentions was with the new body she had Zombie Priest create. Presenting Zed with her normal hand, she removes a threat which makes her pinkie finger fall off her hand.
"I feed off the fear of humanity, but this town has left me starved and falling to pieces. If I'm to stay alive and continue terrifying humanity. I need a new look, but I also need the essence of someone from hell to feed from. I can't get Revenant because of how close he is to the slayers. Which left me to get you."
Finishing the explanation about what Mary Lovecraft required to continue her existence. A new body for her to walk around in and take the essence of someone who had traveled to Hell and returned in one piece.
"Then I guess you're going be starving. Because there's no way I'm going help you get an upgrade with that Frankenstein body of yours."
Zed refused in assisting to be what she might have described as using the zombie as a battery to syphon whatever the zombie had on him. Commanding the slack jaws to keep Zed at bay, Mary brought him to another part of her lair where she'd made a pit which looked like a gladiator arena.
"Who said you'd help me willingly?"
Mary replied to the zombie's response to her helping out as she used the strength of her tentacles to remove Zed's Z-Band and push him into the pit. Horrified by her taking his Z-Band, Zed could feel his zombie side slowly coming out as he looked up at Mary Lovecraft who was studying the metal bracelet.
"I need you riled up and embracing your zombie side so the essence of death can reveal itself. But don't worry, I won't leave your side. Because having seen Revenant cleaning up the messes for this town, I want to see if you can do the same."
She spoke with a wicked grin to Zed as she watched the zombie start to change from his ordinary self to his zombie self. Watching him grow black veins and seeing his brown pupils go white, Mary Lovecraft gracefully drops to the pit to face Zed by herself.
"You say you're not afraid to die. But take off the armor 'round your chest, what's left inside?"
Mary started to sing softly toward Zed as the zombie resisted the urge to attack her. The urge was too strong as he wanted to escape from Lovecraft and aiding her to create a new body for herself. His zombie side was taking over leaving Zed to engage the embodiment of horror before him. All the while the woman avoided getting close to him.
"Like a lion, licking your blade. Do you really bleed if it washes away? Take a ride, rough as you can. Tell you a secret, right as the dogs are closing in."
Mary taunted the zombified Zed who swung his arm at her with intent in knocking her out. Only for Zed to miss and hit the wall, looking around to see no sign of Lovecraft. Only for him to not notice Mary standing behind him and smiling at how she was toying with the mindless zombie.
"I like it when the bite marks cut through the skin."
Whispering in his ear about seeing zombies biting their victims. Responding to the whisper, Zed threw his left arm toward Mary to miss again and see her floating in the air in a demented manner as she enjoyed watching the boy slowly lose his humanity.
"I like it when the bite marks cut through the skin!"
She shouted toward Zed which made the zombie agitated as he started throwing rocks at her to try and knock Mary out of the air. Only for Lovecraft to dodge each rock and continue to mock Zed.
"Tell me the walls are closing in! Into the fire and born again, taste the pain and drink it in. I like it when the bite marks cut through the skin!"
Calling out as Mary decided to change the scenery between the two as she looked at the other entrances where she slaps her tentacles to the ground. Zed heard groans coming from the entrances as a variety of slack jaws started to walk toward the pit and fall into it. Despite not acting like his ordinary self, he knew the slack jaws were dangerous and needed to protect himself.
"The louder the bark and the bigger the blade. One seat on a throne, one foot in the grave."
Mary spoke as the living concept looked over to the side and started to assemble a set of bones to create a throne for her to watch the fight between the horde of slack jaws. As well as watch Zed, who had become her unwilling zombie gladiator fight them to the death.
"The louder the moth then the bigger the flame. Do you really bleed if it washes away?"
Asking Zed who was drawing the slack jaws to go after the zombie. The mindless creatures started to swarm around Zed as the zombie did his best to throw them off so they didn't corner him. Watching the fight from her skeletal throne, Mary watched with interest if the zombie would be capable of taking out the slack jaws by himself.
"The louder the bark and the bigger the blade. One seat on a throne, one foot in the grave. Don't tell me you bleed if it washes away?"
Asking again before watching Zombie Priest minions jump Zed and proceeded to hit him repeatedly to rend the zombie unconscious. Only to hear Zed let out a roar as he threw the slack jaws off him which hit the walls and fell to pieces on impact.
"I like it when the bite marks cut through the skin!"
Lovecraft stated with excitement as she watched with excitement at Zed defending himself from the slack jaws who continued to invade the pit. Zed in a blind fit of zombie rage continued to battle the slack jaws witch each punch he threw, the creatures went to pieces.
"Tell me the walls are closing in! Into the fire and born again, taste the pain and drink it in. I like it when the bite marks!"
Announcing with excitement of Zed being reborn as a fighter in the pit with the slack jaws being thrown at him. Looking at the zombie having spared the last slack jaw walked over to the creature and prepared the final blow, struggling as he fought the urge to continue acting like a monster.
"I like it when the bite marks cut through the skin."
Mary finished the song and waited for Zed to end the creature's life. Only for the zombie to pull back his fist and retreat back to the wall where he saw the slack jaws that were scattered across the pit reassembling themselves.
"Such a waste. I free you of your humanity and you still don't embrace your true zombie self. Oh well, at least your Z-Band will help with my new look."
Responding to Zed's defiance toward her and holding the metal wristband which would provide her the extra energy in completing her new body. Realizing the slack jaws started to surround him again, they felt another presence around them which caught Mary Lovecraft's attention. Looking at the same entrance she used to bring Zed through; she saw Lobster Johnson walking out with an angered expression on his face.
"Zoey Necrodopolis gives her regards."
He spoke at Mary as the masked vigilante dropped into the pit and aided Zed in handling the slack jaws. Both Zed and Mary watched the fictional character move swiftly past Zombie Priest's creatures and take them out for good. Each time they tried to attack him, he used his left hand which had his lobster symbol to brand them. The symbol caused the slack jaws to not stand back up due to his unnatural power. Growling toward Johnson thinking he was a human, he attempted to bite him but only went right past him.
"I believe we overstayed our welcome."
The Lobster spoke out as he held Zed tight and focused his power on the zombie as he phased the two of them through the walls to make their escape. Mary groans in annoyance at the daring escape and sees that the lobster was the only one that could make the slack jaws useless.
"The Lobster is here! The Lobster is here!"
Zombie Priest cried out at having seen him past through his lab and making his way toward Mary. Finally arriving to the pit, the old man saw his slack jaws branded with a lobster claw and not getting back up.
"Yes, he was. As well as humiliating your slack jaws after I did a whole number for Zed with the hope of unleashing his real zombie side out."
She informed him about the comic book vigilante making his way her lair and taking out the creatures with ease. Priest sighs at his slack jaws being humiliated again after heard how Zed and his friends had managed to take them out when he acted normal, having hear he did it again as a zombie made him upset.
"Regardless. I have something you can toy with in the meantime."
Mary Lovecraft replied to the sadden necromancer as she presented to him Zed's metal bracelet that kept his zombie side in check. Taking a moment to examine it, the priest shocked himself when he touches it since he never messed with modern technology. Taking a moment to stand from her skeletal throne to look at the fallen slack jaws, Mary uses her tentacles to bring up three bodies and presents them before Zombie Priest.
"Along with having to examine all these bodies that have been blessed with the essence of Lady Death with the addition of being branded by the Lobster. Can you feel it? As if she's here herself."
Asking the priest about feeling the presence of Lady Death across the bodies. He nodded with excitement since the combined essence of her and the branding of Lobster Johnson could help make Mary's body more powerful than ever. Not wasting any more seconds standing around, Zombie Priest dragged the slack jaw bodies back to the lab with Mary smiling at how demented he was acting in bringing a new monster to life. All the while thinking about how Zed's friends would react once they saw him with bruises and without his Z-Band. It only left the stitched-faced woman to smile evilly as she followed Zombie Priest into the lab where he could work on the finishing touches to her new body and would use it to terrorize not just Seabrook but the rest of the world.
"The song used for this chapter is 'Bite Marks' by TEYA. All rights to the song belong to her and the people who helped write it. Comment down below if you are curious about what will happen next. Thank you again for reading, stay tuned to see what happens next."