For idolatrie.
By Janet.
Matt floored the accelerator, hoping the road would stay deserted. He risked a glance in the rearview mirror, and relaxed slightly, slowing down enough to take the next curve at a non-suicidal speed.
"I think we lost them," he said.
"Is that good?" Carolina asked. "Now we don't know where they are."
Elena, squeezed between Matt and Stefan, twisted around to glare at Bonnie in the backseat. "What went wrong?"
"I don't know!" Bonnie wailed. "I did everything exactly like the spellbook said."
"Maybe we can't trust the spellbook," Meredith suggested.
"It was my grandmother's!"
"Did she raise zombies too?" Meredith asked.
"No!"
"Then you did something wrong."
"We're home," Matt announced, pulling into the parking lot. Everyone scrambled out of the car, stretching cramped muscles and rubbing sore spots from their first fight with the zombies.
"Any ideas on how to kill them?" Matt asked Stefan.
Stefan shrugged. "Until today I didn't know zombies existed. Our best bet is probably to undo the spell."
"But I don't know what we did wrong!" Bonnie wailed.
Meredith sighed and patted her on the back. "Let's look over the spellbook and find out, okay?"
The six headed to Caroline's room, since her roommate was away for the weekend. Caroline claimed one bed, and Elena sat on the other, dragging Stefan with her. Matt smiled at how uncomfortable Stefan looked. He had some old fashioned ideas about gentlemen visiting ladies' bedrooms. Bonnie sat in a computer chair, leaving Matt and Meredith to share the hideous red plaid couch (it was free and comfortable, the only qualifications needed for dorm furniture). Bonnie opened the old book to the green velvet ribbon she used as a bookmark, muttering to herself.
"We did everything right. Right ingredients, right incantation, it should have...oh."
"Oh?"
"Two pages got stuck together. We combined the spirit summoning spell with, um, a demon summoning spell?"
"I guess we were lucky to only get zombies then," Meredith said after a few seconds of shocked silence. "I knew this was a bad idea."
"I just wanted to ask Kevin what attacked him," Bonnie sniffed.
Kevin had been in Bonnie's math class. He'd been attacked a few weeks ago, and died in the hospital four days later. The official report said it had been a stray dog, but after everything that had happened in Fell's Church, none of them wanted to take that on faith.
"Can you undo it?" Caroline asked.
Bonnie flipped through the book. "I don't know. Maybe there's a general 'undo everything' spell in here. Why is there no index? Stefan?"
Stefan sighed and took the book from Bonnie. The spellbook was written in a combination of English, Gaelic, and Latin. Stefan's Gaelic was spotty at best, but it was better than Bonnie's, and he knew Latin, so he was the official translator.
"We can't just sit here and read spells," Meredith said. "There's a horde of zombies coming towards the school. We need to stop them before someone gets hurt."
"I can do a protective spell," Bonnie volunteered. Seeing everyone's wince, she defended herself. "I've done them before. They're simple. Besides, it's not my fault that the pages were stuck."
"We need weapons," Caroline said. "In case the spell doesn't work."
Bonnie grumbled to herself while the rest of the friends planned a course of action. Bonnie, Stefan, and Elena headed to Bonnie's room for spell ingredients, while the others went to collect weapons and encourage other students to stay in their rooms.
Matt scanned the campus as they walked. It was nearly 5 a.m., so there shouldn't be many people out, especially since everyone was still nervous about the dog attack.
He'd thought college would be supernatural-free. He hadn't counted on all his friends deciding to attend the same college. Even Stefan was taking a few computer classes, although he insisted books were the better way to find information.
Matt had met new people, but for the most part he hung around his old friends. He and Bonnie had dated a couple times last summer, but after a few awkward kisses, had decided their feelings were more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend. Meredith and Alaric had broken up in September. She'd shrugged it off, saying the age difference and long distance relationship wasn't working out. Bonnie had said the two had had a shouting match over the phone and Meredith had cried afterwards. It was November now, and Meredith seemed to be over it, although she hadn't shown any interest in dating anyone else.
Matt didn't blame her. Bonnie and Caroline seemed happy enough to date every attractive male on campus, and Elena and Stefan were joined at the hip, but Matt's few attempts at dating had fizzled and died pathetically. Come to think of it, neither Bonnie nor Caroline had had a relationship even approaching serious. It was hard to have a meaningful, honest, and open relationship with someone who hadn't fought vampires and communed with the dead. Matt always felt apart from normal people now. He knew something the rest of them didn't, and he couldn't tell them without getting locked up in a nuthouse or causing people to come after his best friend with wooden stakes.
Although, if they didn't stop the zombies soon, he might be able to talk to someone else about the supernatural after all.
Hearing a rustling noise behind him, Matt spun, holding the branch he'd picked up to use as a weapon. There was nothing there.
"Vampires and werewolves and zombies, oh my," Meredith said quietly.
"Or maybe an owl," Caroline said, pointing to a tree where a small owl was sitting, preening his feathers.
Matt blushed, but kept the branch ready. The zombies didn't feel pain, but broken bones slowed them down. He wished he had something a little more impressive than a piece of wood, but it was better than the purse full of rocks Meredith had and the butter knife Caroline was clutching.
Half an hour later, they were armed with a blowtorch, two crowbars, and a small sledgehammer, all taken from the theater scene shop. They were almost to Bonnie's dorm when they were attacked. The zombies moved much faster than Matt had expected, and were completely silent. The silence creeped Matt out far more than the fact he was being attacked by an undead horde that kept trying to eat him.
Matt clutched a crowbar and risked a glance back at the girls. Caroline was bashing a zombie with the sledgehammer and Meredith was trying to light the blowtorch, the second crowbar tucked under her arm.
"Just use a crowbar," Caroline snarled, whacking another zombie.
"We stand a better chance with fire," Meredith answered, finally getting the torch to light and adjusting the flame. She waved it at one zombie while Matt pummeled another. The tip of the crowbar lodged in its temple, and when Matt wrenched it free, bits of skin and bone flew through the air.
One of the zombies stumbled backwards, staring blankly down at its flaming shirt. Other zombies backed away from it, their attention focused on the fire.
"Come on," Caroline shouted, running through the gap between the fiery zombie and the rest of the undead. Matt and Meredith went to follow, but only made a few steps before a zombie grabbed Matt's arm. Meredith turned at his shout and thrust the torch into the zombie's face. It let go, and the two friends ran.
A few minutes later they stopped, panting for breath and checking to see if they'd been followed.
"Thanks," Matt gasped.
"No problem. It's a miracle we weren't killed."
"Yeah. Who knew zombies could move that fast?"
"I meant running with a lit blowtorch. My mom would have a fit if she knew."
"I won't tell if you won't."
"We ran the wrong way."
Matt looked around. They were halfway across campus. And there was a small army of the undead between them and their friends. Crap.
"In here," Meredith tugged Matt over to the science building. The two stayed in the hallway, away from windows and doors. The building was dark, but Matt didn't want to risk attracting attention by turning on lights. Meredith turned off the blowtorch to conserve fuel, but she kept the lighter ready. It was quiet for a few minutes, and Matt was just about to suggest they make a break for it when he heard glass breaking. He glanced at Meredith, who was relighting the torch, and crept down the hall towards the sound. Poking his head through a doorway, he saw silhouettes climbing through the window. There were a lot of them.
"I think we're in trouble," he whispered. Meredith took his hand and pulled him down the hall and into another classroom, closing and locking the door behind them. It was a lab with long tables instead of desks. Moving as quickly and quietly as they could, they tilted the tables on end and blocked the windows and door. Matt didn't think it would stop the zombies, but it might slow them down.
"Any ideas?" he asked.
"One." Meredith put down the blowtorch, grabbed Matt's collar, and kissed him.
"What was that for?" he gasped when the kiss ended.
"I've wanted to do that for awhile now. This might be my last chance."
"Why didn't you say something sooner?"
Meredith laughed softly. "Bonnie was right. You are incapable of picking up subtle hints." She kissed him on the cheek. "Ready to fight zombies?"
"Almost." Matt pulled her into another kiss. She was warm and soft and he couldn't believe it had never occurred to him to try this before.
The door crashed open, the table they'd leaned against it falling to the floor, and the zombies shuffled in. Meredith picked up the blowtorch while Matt started swinging with the crowbar. He quickly gave up on aiming at the heads, and focused on the legs and torso, trying to make it impossible for the zombies to walk. Smashing the spine worked well, when he could get behind them. Taking out the eyes made them stumble around bumping into each other, but it was difficult to be that precise under the circumstances.
Matt's arms hurt from swinging the crowbar. He was covered with sweat and blood and gore. The sweat and some of the blood was his. The rest was zombie bits that splattered everywhere with every blow. The air stank of burned flesh and rotting meat. The smoke set off the sprinkler system, making the floor slippery and extinguishing the zombies' as fast as Meredith could set them on fire. Between the sprinklers and the darkness, Matt could barely see, but he kept swinging, feeling the crowbar thump against flesh. His arms ached, his hands were blistering, and he was battered, bruised, and singed from zombies that had gotten too close.
He swung the crowbar and nearly overbalanced as it whistled through the air. He tried again, turning, stumbling. Glancing down, he saw dark shadows on the white tile. The zombies were down. All of them.
"Did we win?"
"They just stopped moving and fell down," Meredith said. "Maybe Bonnie found a way to undo the spell."
Matt glanced at the windows. Above the tables, he could see the dark blue sky slowly lightening. "It's dawn. The spirit summoning spell was only supposed to last the night. Maybe this spell has the same time limit."
"Time for all good zombies to go to bed." Meredith walked carefully across the floor, stepping over the bodies, and felt the wall for the light switch. Matt blinked and raised his hand to shield his eyes as the fluorescent lights flickered on. The room was a mess. At least twenty-five bodies lay on the floor, half-decomposed, charred in spots, limbs at unnatural angles, heads caved in, and chunks missing. The chunks were scattered on the floor and walls, gooey bits of flesh and streaks of blood. It made Matt's stomach churn.
Meredith looked as bad as Matt felt. She'd dropped the blowtorch--Matt assumed it had run out of fuel--and was clutching a crowbar in one bloody hand. She was soaked and her shirt was ripped in a way that would have been enticing if she weren't covered in gore.
"The fire trucks will be here soon," she said. "We should get out before we have to explain this."
Matt frowned. "We can't just leave the bodies here."
"How do you suggest we move them all before anyone sees? We're lucky there isn't a crowd outside already."
Matt hated to leave; it was disrespectful to the dead and to anyone living who had to see this. But she was right. There was no way to clean up quickly or explain. They pulled one of the tables away from the window and climbed out, checking for watchers before dashing to Bonnie's dorm, ducking behind trees and bushes to hide from the early risers. There were more people out than usual for a Sunday morning, probably because of the blaring sirens from the fire trucks.
They managed to make it to the dorm without being noticed, and crept inside. The hallway was deserted, but they didn't relax until Bonnie's door opened in response to Meredith's knock.
"What happened to you?" Bonnie gasped. Caroline held her nose, and Stefan backed away. Vampire senses must find their stench even worse than he did.
"We fought zombies," Meredith explained. "And didn't die. Loan me a towel and some clean clothes. I need to scrub."
"Okay if I shower here?" Matt asked. "I don't think I can make it to my dorm." Bonnie nodded, pushing soap and shampoo at them, her face scrunched as she tried not to gag.
The showers were empty, and the two stripped with no concern for modesty. Matt flinched as he toed off his now-red shoes. He'd only bought them a week ago, and now they were ruined. He laughed.
"What?"
"I'm worried about my shoes. I just spent hours fighting the undead, there's a pile of corpses in the science building and open graves in the cemetery, we still don't know what killed Kevin, I've been bitten by zombies and have no idea what that could do to me, and I'm worried about my sneakers." He laughed again. It wasn't until Meredith hugged him that he realized he was shaking. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Faced worse before."
"We had a couple vampires with us then. We weren't the targets, just friends with the wrong people. And we didn't have to fight for our lives for nearly two hours. It's okay now. We survived. You can relax."
"Almost died. Again. I'm getting a little sick of this," he muttered, holding her tightly and resting his cheek on her hair. It was sticky. He wrinkled his nose and pulled away.
"Can I finish this breakdown after we get clean?"
"Want me to scrub your back?"
Matt blushed and stammered a no, before ducking into one of the showers. He heard Meredith laugh softly before he turned on the water, drowning out her voice.
*******
That afternoon, after everyone had slept most of the day, the six friends sat around eating pizza and comparing notes while watching the news coverage on the discovery of numerous dead bodies on campus.
Caroline had made it to the dorm safely, but a group of zombies had followed her, and they'd had their hands full holding them off while experimenting with different spells, none of which had worked. A combination of vampire mind powers, cloaking spells, luck, and students who had learned to sleep through anything had kept the rest of the dorm from noticing. Bonnie has also cast some protective spells, which was probably why Matt and Meredith had survived.
The police didn't know who had dug up the graves. The main theory was that it was a sick joke, or possibly a really twisted art project or some kind of political statement. A few people said it was zombies, but they were largely ignored. The corpses had been moved back to the cemetery, but authorities were still trying to identify the bodies to make sure they were returned to the right grave.
Animal control had shot and killed a dog in a nearby neighborhood. They said it was the same animal that had killed Kevin.
"It could have been a werewolf," Bonnie said when everyone glared at her.
No one had connected them with the zombies. Bonnie was almost certain that the spell lasted one night and they were now safe, and that zombie bites were no more dangerous than any other open wound that had been exposed to rotting flesh. Matt didn't find that comforting, but large amounts of Neosporin and a few cleansing spells made him feel better.
It was dark out now, and the zombies hadn't returned. Relieved, the friends headed back to their own rooms. Matt offered to walk Meredith home.
They didn't talk on the walk, still tired and sore. At the door to her building, they stopped.
Matt fidgeted. "About what happened before..."
She kissed him. "I kissed you the first time because I thought we were about to die. But that doesn't mean I don't want to do it again."
He smiled. "Wanna go steady?"
"Let's start small. Dinner tomorrow?"
"It's a date." He kissed her again. "No monsters this time, okay?"
"And where's the fun in that?"
Another kiss, long and slow, then Meredith said good night and went inside. Matt couldn't help grinning as he walked to his room. It had been a good weekend.
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