PLANET*ZOMBIA:194/Quest 4 The Amber Rose

              BLACK*HONEY 7
              PLANET ZOMBIA
          QUEST 4 THE AMBER ROSE
        written by Dennis Osondu
       
              DECEMBER 25, 2013
                       
                  CHAPTER ONE
                   
    Sean Blade jumped from the hovering blue vehicle (a 10-80 model, tube-craft with fifty-inch hyper-drive turbo engines) and ran towards the house sitting in the sun on Logan Street.
    He was a handsome, medium-sized lad of ten, with sandy brown hair, that stopped just short of his white t-shirt, and today was the best day of his entire life!
    Behind him, high up in the air, a bright blue track wound its way from across the street, up to his Airbus stop, and then off into the surrounding districts.
    The sleek tube-craft began to rise on a slight puff of wind. As usual, it was  accompanied by a low, almost sinister, humming sound which always made Sean think of mating sun-wasps buzzing in the sun.
    The boy reached the front door of the house, schoolbooks cradled in one arm, and spun around, panting hard and grinning.
    He waved frantically at the crowd of kids lined up along the window-ports facing him. Their screams and squeals were barely audible, but he still heard them. And he could certainly see them (though the curved dome covering the tube-craft was darkly tinted--why this was the case he couldn't say), and most of them were waving back.
    One kid (Lace Podder, he bet; she was a real sand slug) stuck out her tongue at him just as the tube craft bobbed in mid-air once, then sped off.
  The School Airbus, Sean Blade mused, hoping Lace had stumbled; maybe even fallen, and watched it go down its track for a moment, listening as the humming sound eventually faded away.
    Then, he exhaled.
    He threw open his screen door and hurried inside. "Mom!" he screamed, not really expecting her to answer, but wanting to make sure she wasn't lurking around somewhere. The screen door slammed shut behind him after the customary squeal of its rusty hinges.
  But there was no answer.
    Sean threw the textbooks in his arms down upon the kitchen table and continued into the living room.
    He walked to the beige sofa sitting next to the Family Vid-screen, and flopped down on it. Reaching into his right pocket the boy withdrew a bright yellow sheet of paper with dark writing on it.
    Smiling broadly, this is what he read: ATTENTION ALL KIDS! JOIN GENERAL VENOM AND HIS ZOMBIE HUNTERS ON ONE OF HIS FUN-FILLED INTER-DIMENSIONAL MISSIONS! LEARN TO KILL LIKE A PROFESSIONAL SCAVENGER! TRAVEL BY PREMIUM GRADE SAND CRYSTAL! COLLECT ITEMS THAT INSTANTLY TRADE INTO CREDITS! AND GET THIS: SEARCH FOR THE AMBER ROSE! THE FINEST WIZARD'S ROSE IN THE GALAXY!! THE BEST HUNTERS GET TO KILL THE BLACK WIDOW! ONLY FIFTY CREDITS PER CHILD...GET YOUR OFFICIAL GENERAL V ZOMBIE HUNTER BADGES NOW!!!
    Wow, Sean thought, breathing heavily. It took months, often years of training, before a boy got his Zombie Hunter badge and got to hunt the Black Widow! This was incredible! But it was the Amber Rose part that had his heart racing.
    The Amber Rose was the one thing every boy he knew coveted.
    Above those bold words, Sean saw the grinning image of General Venom, himself.  And while he didn't think his own grin was quite as wide as General Venom's, he bet it was pretty darn close.
    No, he knew it was!
    He also knew his mother wouldn't let him go, he wasn't that much of a child that he confused dreams with what was real. He wouldn't call himself a genius, for example, when he could barely read or write the native language.
    Oh, he wasn't illiterate, far from it. But he certainly didn't have the skills of some Royal Historians he'd read about. He was a novice; barely evolved compared to them.
    But who could blame him for dreaming?  For pretending he was on their level? He wanted to be a Zombie Hunter didn't he? Didn't that notion alone smack of his utter insanity? Sean grinned.
    He studied the photo again.
    General Venom wore dark sunglasses, had a huge lit cigar clenched between his huge white teeth, and was grasping a zombie by its hair with one large, gloved hand. The glove was covered in huge silver spikes.
    Sean shuddered as he studied the image. He brought the paper closer, focusing on the zombie head. Humans, he thought to himself. From Alphius Sixteen, in fact. The newly infected ones.
    They'd learned all about the plague outbreak in that dimension. According to Mrs. Copperpot, his Inter-dimensional bio teacher, nearly every human alive had succumb to the disease. She said that as many as ninety-eight percent of the entire population had turned into zombies. That had explained the sudden "free trips" to Alphius Sixteen, Sean thought.
    The zombies had somehow figured out a way to cross over into their world. And into other worlds, as well, apparently; where they were running amok, infecting the citizens at an alarming pace. Though none in the science communuty (which included General V in this case) could explain how any of this was possible.
    And while Sean didn't see any signs of the zombies in their district, not yet, he'd heard enough rumors being spread about the city to know there was something else going on...besides General Venom journeying over there to hunt zombie humans. Something illegal, he'd heard. Maybe, even a dark  conspiracy.
    If true, that meant danger and intrigue; uncommon elements not provided in the average dimensional trip package.
  Other than for scientific study, and the occasional extravagant whim of some wealthy district official (for their obnoxious son or daughter more often than not), cross dimensional travel was forbidden. It was the main reason Sean wanted to become a Zombie Hunter in the first place.
  General Venom's men clearly went back and forth across dimensions on a regular basis. And though Sean bet they rarely had a good reason for it, Zombie Hunters were above even the police and elected city officials. They only answered to General Venom, and he answered to no one.
                                               

            CHAPTER TWO
           
    Sean exhaled, and returned the yellow flier (that he'd actually peeled off the side of a silver Solar Phone Booth) to his back pocket. In his frustration, he did a poor job of it, and a corner of it was sticking out, clearly visible.
    The momentary excitement had worn off as cold reality set back in. ONLY FIFTY CREDITS PER CHILD...
    Yeah right, he thought. It might as well be two credits per child!
    What was the point of seeing that wonderful flier, he wondered, and getting his hopes all built up, when his mother would never let him and Nia go? Never!
    Sean was on the verge of getting up from the sofa to get a cold soda from the kitchen, when he heard a tinkling glass sound that startled him. He flopped back down, bouncing on the cushions a little.
    He watched in wonder as a tall figure materialized from thin air. He saw enough of it to describe her to the ZS had they ordered him to.
    She was five-nine, one hundred sixty pounds. She had dark skin and wore beaded braids down her back. She was only thirteen, but by the time she reached sixteen, she would stand nearly seven feet tall.
  She was called a Brownie, and  her eyes (or at least, the pupils), were neon pink.
    "What did Mom say about leaving your stuff all over the house?" a voice barked before the shape had fully formed.
    It was his sister Nia, and she was clearly using a colorless smoke sand crystal. Which as far as Sean knew, was seriously illegal!
    Sean sat up, his eyes blinking in confusion. "Are you crazy?" he whispered. "Where the heck did you get that Nia?"
    "None of your business," Nia said. She stood there gazing down at him. "I asked you a question, Sean. Did you have to toss your books all over the kitchen?"
    Sean rolled his eyes, and finally stood up. "Stop exaggerating," he said. "I just left them on the table."
    "They don't belong on the table!" she said as he strode past her. Before he could fully pass by, Nia suddenly reached out and grabbed his left shoulder.
    "Wait!" she said. "What's this?"
    "What's what?" he said, turning around. He had to glance way up to clearly see her face. Her bright pink eyes seemed to bore into him.
    He glanced down at her right hand, and the yellow sheet of paper she was now holding with two fingers as if it were nasty.
    "This," she said, unfolding the yellow paper with her fingertips until it was nearly flat again. Sean watched her slightly glowing eyes crawl across the page. When she glanced at him again, still peering down, she was smirking.
    "You asked if I was crazy?" she said. "If you think mom is going to let you go on this dangerous mission to Alf-16, just to find some Amber Rose, I should take you to The Dead Zone right now!"
    Sean did his best to ignore her disparaging remark regarding the Amber Rose. Instead, he considered her comment about the DeeZee.
    The Dead Zone was where General Venom and his Zombie Hunters dwelled. A wasteland located on the outskirts of Zombia City where strange creatures were rumored to lurk...even stranger than General Venom, some claimed. Sean secretly doubted that, but would never say so out loud.
    The point was, whenever someone in his district said, or did, something really crazy, they said: "Take 'em to The Dead Zone!"
    He snatched the crumpled yellow sheet of paper from her fingertips (thrilled that she hadn't pulled it away before he could do so) and stuffed it back into his rear pocket.
    "I didn't say I wanted to go," he said. "I was only looking at it!"
    "Well, look all you want," she said. "But that's all you'll be doing. Keyshia already warned you about that silly Zombie Hunter talk, didn't she? You should listen to her!"
    Keyshia was his thirteen-year old girlfriend, and while Keyshia was gorgeous, a real pretty thing, Keyshia was also a bully.  "I don't care what Keyshia said," he grunted. "I have a right to look at a flier! The real question is, what are you doing with a smokeless crystal Nia? General Venom proclaimed them banned from Planet Zombia!"
    The snide expression vanished from Nia's pretty brown face. "Calm down," she said. "I'll tell you all about it, but not down here."
    Her eyes seemed to dart around the living room.  "Let's go get your books and go upstairs," she whispered.
    Sean looked up at her, puzzled. "Why are you whispering Nia?"
    "I'll tell you upstairs," she said.
    Sean shrugged. "Fine," he said. He went into the kitchen to get his school books. Nia followed him.
    As soon as they stepped into the kitchen area, her eyes went to the small window located over their sink.
    Sean followed her gaze, and only saw sunlight streaming through the flimsy pale green curtain, and could only hear birds (rice birds) chirping somewhere.
    The shiny blue plastic of the Airbus track that went past the window gleamed in the morning sun. And then, Sean heard it; a deep rumbling sound, that seemed far away, but was advancing their way at a rapid pace.
    Soon, within seconds it seemed, the wall beside the sink began to tremble and shake. The wooden rack of spices their mother had collected over the years (magic spices supposedly, that never went bad), began to jump and skitter on the small wooden shelves.
    "Airbus!" Nia yelled; it was a habit she had that Sean despised.  "And it's  coming this way!" she screamed.
   
     
            CHAPTER THREE
           
      As the usual roar of the oncoming Airbus approached them, for no particular reason, Sean thought of all the wannabees residing in Zombia City. That was his name for them (a name picked up from Alphius Sixteen disks as a matter of fact); for all the kids who spoke of being Zombie Hunters, but would never do anything about it.At least, nothing as crazy as joining General Venom on his mission to Alf-16.
    They were much too scared...with everything in life, he bet. The wannabees only had excuses; they were good with excuses, according to Keyshia. Overflowing with them.
    Oh, they ran their mouths, she said. And then, they ran from the battlefield the instant things hit rockbottom; scurrying like sand crabs at the bottom of the barrel, the minute the real warriors arrived.
    It was the way of cowards, Sean knew, not Zombie Hunters, and always had been. Always would be. The cowards would never find the Amber Rose. And if they did find it, they were forever cursed to lose it.
    But he was no coward; he only found it an unfair shame that his mother wouldn't let him go and prove his own courage.
    The Airbus zoomed past, and Sean, shaken from these thoughts,could suddenly hear the driver announcing the next stop through his loud speaker. He could hear a multitude of strident voices arguing or laughing too; but which one it was, he couldn't really tell. He only knew it was extremely loud.
    And then, it was gone.
    Nia, who had run over to the sink to watch its passage, threw open the window and stuck her head out.  "It's headed to GaGa Land!" she said. "I heard that Mayor Quell authorized interaction with that dimension. Because their supposedly so talented."
    She peered out a moment longer, then withdrew her head. "Got your books?" she asked Sean. "Ready?"
    "Yes," he said.
    "Good," she said. "Come here."
    Sean walked over to his sister and grabbed the hand she held out to him. With the other, she showed him the smokeless sand crystal.
    It was totally see-through, Sean noticed ("like your eyes Sean," his mother told him once) and he could clearly see Nia's pale palm as she held it; he thought he could even see the small scar his sister got while they were practising her sword fighting last week.
    "This isn't like a normal sand crystal," she said. "You must close your eyes with these. And don't let go of my hand no matter what!"
    Sean, kinda nervous now, only nodded and grabbed Nia's hand. He shut his eyes.
    The instant he did, he heard the tinkling sound, and they both immediately vanished.
    Neither child saw the little boy peering into the kitchen through the window over the sink. His name was Lamey and his grin was wide, his dark, raccoon-like eyes, filled with bright mischief.
    After a moment, the boy nodded his head, raised his hand up to his face, and also disappeared.
   
   
              CHAPTER FOUR
             
     
      As soon as they reappeared in Sean's room, he released Nia's hand and said: "Where did you get that, Nia? And does Keyshia know you have it?"
    "I found it," she said. "And she knows. She helped me get it."
    Sean frowned. "Found it?" he asked her. "Found it where?" He placed the text books on his desk.
    She shrugged. "Doesn't matter," she said, and glanced over at Sean's single window. She saw the shiny blue Airbus track outside, and the network of tracks that wound its way through their building complex, and continued on into the heart of Zombia City.
    Every dwelling had at least one Airbus stop, but only the very wealthy could afford an Airbus stop right outside their children's windows. It was quite the luxury, too. Nia couldn't even fathom such a thing...to no longer have to worry about storms and frigid weather? 
    That would have put and end to  her constant reprimands at school for tardiness.
    Other than The Dead Zone, where no ordinary citizen went anyway, the Airbus tracks stopped at every building structure in existence in their dimension.
    That meant that any child with their own personal stop, also had their own personal Airbus that could literally take them anywhere on the planet.
    Mrs. Copperpot said it was the equivalent of having a "roller coaster" ride on Alphius Sixteen that spanned the entire Earth. And stopped at all your rich friend's bedroom window's too.
    "Sit down," Nia said. "Listen to what I have to say. Listen carefully."
    Sean sat down, and held out his hand for the sand crystal. "Let me touch it," he whispered. "Please?"
    Nia hesitated a moment, then finally gave in. She exhaled. "Here," she said, placing the crystal in his hand. "Be careful, Sean," she said. "This thing is very sensitive."
    Sean's eyes widened at that. "What does that mean?" he said in a small voice.
    "It means, just hold it. Don't mess with it," she replied.
    The boy only nodded.
    Nia sat beside Sean on his bed and glanced around the room for a moment. "I think we have to go to Alphius-Sixteen," she said, at last. She turned back to him; her face seeming older, somehow.
    "And I think mom is going to force us to go," she finished.
   
   
            CHAPTER FIVE
   
      Sean had clearly heard her wrong. He only gazed at her for a long moment; his mouth was hanging wide open.  He tried to speak, to say something...but could only move his lips soundlessly.
      "What about all that earlier stuff?" he said, finally; staring down at the crystal in his hand. "You darn near tore my head off when you saw the flier!" He glanced up.
    She shrugged and sighed. Her eyes, Sean noticed, had changed colors. They were no longer pink, and the boy still wasn't used to that happening without warning.
    He tried to ignore it. "Well?" he said. "You're always teasing me about my wanting to join the Zombie Hunters. You and Keyshia!"
    "That was then," she said. "And things have changed." She also peered down at the crystal in his hand. "Done with that?" she said.
    Sean jerked a little when he realized what she was referring to. It was strange (silly, actually), but even though Sean had his arm held out before him, and his hand open with the sand crystal resting on his open palm, and was actually watching it, for just a moment, he had completely forgotten all about it! For just a second, he couldn't recall what the object he was holding was, or why he was holding it. "Yeah," he said. "I'm done."
    He suddenly didn't want to touch the weird thing anymore.
    Nia took the crystal back and put it down on the bed between them. "I haven't changed how I feel," she said. She looked into his eyes. "And don't look away!" she said, grabbing his right shoulder. "This is serious Sean!"
    "Okay," he said. "Ow! That hurts, Nia!"
      "I don't care!" she said, releasing him, her eyes running through an entire rainbow of colors, now. "I think something's wrong with mom!"
    "Something like what?" he said.
    "I think she's been..." She stopped suddenly, glancing past him.
    Sean studied her face, no longer bothered by her multi-colored eyes. Too shocked to even care.
    "She's been what?" he said. It was as close to a whisper as he could get without actually whispering.
    Nia, who had been staring out his window again, glanced at him. "Every since we adopted you," she said, "mom made me promise not to tell you where you really came from...not until she felt you were ready to hear it."
    Sean frowned. "Where I really come from," he said.
      "You weren't born here," she told him. "You actually come from Alphius Seventeen."
      Sean carefully searched her face, and was stunned. She was serious. Alphius Seventeen? He'd heard of that dimension...everyone on Planet Zombia knew the legend of Alphius Seventeen.
    "That's an old nightfall tale," he said in a voice which was trying hard not to sound utterly shocked. "Alphius Seventeen was destroyed by the creature that fought Broshaine Bly and Roan Bloodleaker. But that was hundreds of years ago...and that fight supposedly happened on Alphius Sixteen."
    "Yes," she said. "But the hybrid creature escaped Alf-16, and fled to Alphius Seventeen. They made a horrid mistake in their calculations, however. Broshaine assumed it had come here first, so this was where she went..."
    Nia didn't finish, but Sean knew what she was about to say. "So while Broshaine was here searching for the creature, the thing was in Alphius Seventeen," he said.
    "Exactly," she said.
    He looked up at her. "What does that have to do with me?"
    "Once the creature arrived in that dimension, it immediately attacked and ate everyone it came upon. It had a voracious appetite and would eat anything; which would eventually include every living creature in existence on 17."
    "What happened next?" he asked her.
    Nia shrugged. "One of the people the hybrid ate, was your great, great, great, grandmother. The rest of your family went nuts, and immediately scoured the entire dimension in search of it."
    Sean was nodding, he knew some of the story. Even if he hadn't known the story was supposedly about him. According to what he'd heard, the hybrid (which was called a Remlap in his text books) had nearly killed and eaten everything on Alphius Seventeen, just as she'd said. But before it could actually accomplish that, some unknown hero had appeared from nowhere to eventually defeat it.
    Also, according to his books, the hero had been given a monniker. The strangest monniker Sean had ever heard in his entire life:
    Danup.
   

                  CHAPTER SIX
                 
    It was pronounced Duh-noop, though some said Dah-noop. No matter which pronunciation you preferred, Sean thought the stories about him were terrifying.
    He was staring up at his sister's face, thinking of that ancient warrior, seeing her and not seeing her, when he realized a crazy thing. But unfortunately, he realized it entirely too late.
    Even as he began to turn toward the window, understanding on some deeper, subconcious level perhaps, that they hadn't heard an Airbus for a very long time (entirely too long a time, he felt), he saw the sudden change come over Nia's face.
    "Lamey!" she screamed, leaping from the bed.
    Sean spun around, and saw Lamey. He was sitting outside on the bright blue Airbus track! And the boy saw something else; something strange...the skies had suddenly grown dark, and it appeared to be raining!
  Sean immediately tried to hide the sand crystal while Nia hurried over to the window, but stopped just short of opening it. "Get in here Lamey!" she yelled. "I don't want anyone to see you and call the darn Zombie Squad!"
    The Zombie Squad were an army of men from different dimensions who were hand picked by General Venom. He used them to keep the people of Planet Zombia in line. Citizens often contacted their local headquarters to complain about other citizens for the slightest things. Anything that they found even remotely suspicious. And even when the claims were baseless, or the proof of the claims flimsy at best, the Zombie Squad would investigate. And what did they deem suspicious behavior?
    Anything that General Venom felt was suspicious behavior.
    Sean thought of the huge posters he saw hanging throughout the city. The images were of the Zombie Hunters attacking zombies with various weapons. The caption on each one always read: "TELL US WHAT YOU SAW...WE'LL BE THE JUDGE!"
    Sean snatched up the crystal and stuffed it beneath his bedspread. Nia was still staring out the rain-soaked window at Lamey when they both heard the deep rumbling sounds again. The sounds which indicated an approaching Airbus!
    Sean peered out at the blue track twisting away from his building, and he finally saw it. The glint of weak sunlight striking the smooth, bullet shaped exterior.
    He couldn't say what had taken it so long to come by, but the Airbus was clearly coming now!
    Meanwhile, a grinning Lamey, the fool, was actually lying down on the track. And he was waving at them as the rain fell!
   
   
              CHAPTER SEVEN
             
             
    Sean didn't know what to do.  The Airbus was coming, dumb headed Lamey was actually laying down on the darn tracks (as if he wanted to let the Airbus hit him!),  and Nia was just standing there, not doing anything at all.
    "Nia!" he yelled. "What can we do? We have to help him!"
    The girl slowly turned to him, as if she were swimming in invisible quicksand. "I don't know," she stammered. "It's raining! Plus, if I go out to get him, someone may see me and wonder what we're doing!"
    Sean grimaced as the sound of the Airbus fell upon them hard. Because she was right.
      And now, the building began to shake; the bottles and jars lining Sean's cluttered desk, to clink and rattle. Even with the window shut, Sean thought he could smell the gasoline odor that seemed to hover around every Airbus. But that was only his imagination.
    "Nia!" he screamed, unable to hear himself, now. "Nia! Open the window, go get him!"
    Sean looked outside again into the rain, and realized a horrible, horrible thing:
    It was too late to save him.
    Sean's feet felt glued to the ground as the Airbus approached. The room seemed to be swinging side to side now, even the track outside his window was rocking crazily.
    And now, Lamey was sitting up on the tracks as the whining, rumbling sounds increased. And he had even turned to face it, still grinning like a fool! Trying to balance himself before he fell, which Sean found funny in a way.
    "Nia!" he yelled again. "You have to do it! My arms are too short to reach him!"
    But Nia wasn't moving at all. And it didn't really matter, because it was too late to help Lamey, anyway. He didn't know what had brought his classmate to this strange point, but that didn't matter either. In about ten seconds, nothing in the entire dimension would matter to him.
    Sean looked out the window at Lamey, again. And now, the boy looked scared. Whatever game he'd been playing was apparently over, and he must have realized his horrid mistake.
    He was clinging to the track as best he could while the Airbus came around the last bend before it would reach him. The track was swaying oddly, the air was filled with that roaring drone that Sean would hear all through the night.
    It had been difficult to get used to that sound in the beginning (when he first came from the Okeedoke Orphanage in Diretown), and the constant rocking; and especially, that powerful gas station odor. But he eventually did.
  And now, Lamey, comprehending finally it seemed that his end was near, slowly turned to look at him. He had his right arm raised, as he tried to steady himself with his left.
  Then, through the corner of his eyes, Sean saw the flash of the dark blue Airbus as it swept through the rain and past his window. He didn't want to look (he heard Nia's screams; even over the roar of the tube craft), but he just had to look.
   
   
   
              CHAPTER EIGHT
         
    Lamey Lamper hadn't planned on winding up on the Airbus track outside of Sean and Nia's two story house on Logan Street. And he certainly hadn't planned on getting struck and killed by an Airbus!
    How was he to know that his morning would end like that?
    Simple, really. He wasn't supposed to know.
    That morning had started out as they normally did; with his mother yelling at him to wake up, he was late for school again!
    Of course, he wasn't late for school again. He was never late...he only lived a few blocks away. But his mother was what he considered the classic worrier. Everything with her was gloom and doom.
    And she was always nagging him about something. Clean up your room Lamey! Take out the trash Lamey! Did you do your homework Lamey?
    Lamey!
    Lamey had only wanted to escape her constant, annoying, nagging, but he wound up working for Mrs. Gasper, instead.
    How, exactly? He still wasn't entirely sure about that.
    After hurrying to wash and dress, Lamey fled from his house as if he were being chased. His gray shirt flapped above a plain pair of jeans as he ran all the way to Jamone Boulevard, where Mrs. Gasper's shop was located.
  He'd  decided to do a little window shopping before  school.
  Jamone Boulevard was a very popular street where it seemed every merchant living in their dimension came to peddle their goods. Unfortunately, most stores were still closed at that time of morning, and he mainly saw shuttered gates and padlocked doors.
    That hadn't deterred him at all. He continued up the long stretch of road, smelling the delightful mixture of food smells drifting from the stores getting ready for business, and thinking about Sean and Nia Blade. Wondering if there was some way to pay them back for all the pain and humiliation they'd caused him.
    It was because of Nia, of course.
    Lamey couldn't, and wouldn't, lie to himself about that. Nia was actually the source of all his problems in Zombia City.
    She was the one who made him fall hopelessly in love with her, like some wide-eyed human seeing a Brownie for the first time. Nia was the one who made his heart flutter each time he saw her sweet brown face and heavenly smile, each time he was anywhere near her.
    Nia was a Brownie goddess, which made Lamey hate her (and her annoying brother, Sean) even more than he might normally hate them. But that wasn't the entire story. There was much more to it than that. Things the boy could barely bring himself to face.
      And as Lamey neared Mrs. Gasper's shop that morning, half-thinking of what his mother said after hearing the Blades had adopted a Brownie, he noticed that unlike the other establishments, this one was actually open.
   
           
              CHAPTER NINE
   
    Sean stood utterly frozen as the entire room shook beneath him, as if he was caught in an earthquake. His body felt literally encased in a solid block of ice as he watched the Airbus rush at poor Lamey.
    He'd already glanced at Nia, and she was no help. She was a pretty girl (it had taken Sean a very long time to get used to the idea of living with such a beautiful female; and having to think of her as his sister on top of that!), but she was mostly useless when faced with a real problem.
    So, he hadn't wasted any time watching her. Instead, he had focused on Lamey, and as a result, he actually saw everything that happened to him.
    The Airbus flew past the window. Lamey saw it and turned to Sean. He smiled, raising his right hand towards his mouth. Sean was confused, shocked, as he watched Lamey nod his head, and vanish!
    The Airbus in all its roaring, rumbling glory, rushed past where Lamey was standing, or had stood, and countinued on down the clear tube and out of sight. The track outside his window seem to shiver one last time, and then stopped.
    It happened that fast.
    Sean blinked his eyes, and looked at Nia. He was startled to see she was already looking at him.
    "Did you see that?" she hissed.
    Yeah, he had seen it.  And he had the terrible feeling that they were in big trouble because of it. Zombie Squad type trouble.
    "Lamey had a smokeless," Sean said. He gazed up at her. "Where do you think he got it, Nia?"
      "Don't ask me!" she said, her eyes flashing a vibrant purple color. "You saw what I saw!" She shrugged. "Who knows where he got it?" she added. "Just because they're banned, doesn't mean they don't exist!"
      "Then, why haven't I ever seen one in real life until today?" Sean said. "And you still haven't explained where you got yours!"
      Nia sucked her teeth; a habit she'd picked up watching Alf-16 Vid- disks. "Look," she said, turning to the window. "We don't have time for this! We have to think about the possibillity that somebody just saw that!"
    She went to the window and opened it. It was pouring rain now, and fresh, cool air, immediately swept into his room; along with the faint gasoline odors left behind by the Airbus.
    "I know he phased," Nia said, "I"m just making sure. Him being out here fooling around on the tracks would be worse than having that crystal."
    Sean agreed with that, but as he replayed what happened in his mind, he clearly saw the sand crystal. And he knew it was a smokeless, colorless, model. The crystal clear model that the hybrid creature from legend (the Remlap) had supposedly used to evade the Bloodleakers.
    "He's gone," Sean said. "The real question is, what was he doing out there...and do you think he saw yours? Your crystal?" he whispered.
    Nia ducked back in the window after glancing both ways, and then she slammed the window shut. Perhaps, a second after, another Airbus zoomed past, rattling and shaking the room again. They both listened as it whined off into the distance.
    She peered at him, with water dripping down her face. "I think it's safe to assume he did," she said. "I think it's also safe to assume that we have to go and find him."
    Sean glanced outside. "Go and find him?"
    "Yes," she said. "He has a sand crystal. The fact that it's a banned model changes nothing. Any citizen caught in possession of a sand crystal had better be able to explain where they got it."
    "I know the law!" Sean said. "But why do you care about him?"
    "If a Zombie Hunter, or one of General Venom's Zombie Squad catch up to him," she said. "They're going to question him. They're good at questioning citizens already afraid of them."
    She gave Sean a knowing look. "If they ask him the right questions, they're going to show up here."
    "Even though you know nothing about it?" he asked."Like you said?"
    "You don't think he'd lie to save himself?" she asked.
    Sean walked over to the window. "Maybe you're right?" he said, shrugging. "So now what?"
    Nia exhaled, glancing down at the sand crystal Sean had half hidden beneath his covers.
    "I think now, we go about finding out what's happening," she said. She glanced up. "And if it has something to do with mom."
   
   
                    CHAPTER TEN


      Lamey had stopped for a moment, and stood stone-still, gazing at Mrs. Gasper's store. His face was filled with apprehension. A cool wind was blowing through the Shriy trees bordering the cobbled walkway.
    Here and there on the ground before him, Lamey saw where some of the black leaves had fallen off. They were diamond-shaped and fuzzy, and always reminded Lamey of Alf-8 rockapillars.
  The suns had risen long ago, but this area of Jamone Street was still draped in heavy shadow. Lamey thought it leant Mrs. Gasper's shop a very creepy, very unsettling look.  He also thought he was getting a bad feeling about the situation.
  About how seeing this lone shop open when most of the others were closed, made him feel. Maybe, he should leave?
  He glanced back down the way he had come. He saw the row of storefronts sitting quietly in the gloom. All of them were still shut down, the lights still turned off. Everything dark. But Mrs. Gasper's...
  Lamey turned back to view the store. Why was she open? When no other store on that entire side of the boulevard was open? It was weird.
  He swallowed hard, staring at the front window. Lights were on in there, but a heavy curtain blocked most of his view. The welcome mat was out, and the COME IN, HOPE YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE! sign faced the walkway.
  Yeah, she was obviously open.
  Lamey glanced at the window again, feeling the suddenly brisk wind on his face; smelling the delicious aromas of invisible foods, and considering turning around and going right  back home.
  Not even going to school, but back home; where he would go to bed and maybe think about Nia. Maybe, he would even think about Keshyia, and definitely, the Amber Rose. (Sean wasn't the only boy living in Zombia City who coveted the Amber Rose.)
  But this simply wasn't normal. He shouldn't feel this weird; this bad about entering a simple antiques shop on Jamone Street!
  He took a step forward, and the front door suddenly swung open! Lamey stumbled backwards after emitting a small squeak. His heart was thumping in his chest as he gazed up at the woman standing in the doorway.
  She was tall; maybe six-ten, he thought. Maybe, taller. He couldn't say for sure, but she suddenly seemed even taller to the boy than she had on the day they first met.
  "Mr. Lamper?" she said, in a soft,  pleasent voice. The look of comical surprise on her pale face drained some of the anxiety from him. Lamey found it difficult to imagine a non-good person making such an open, friendly expression.
  "Good morning Mrs. Gasper," he said in a trembly voice. He glanced around as if he hadn't come alone. "I was just cutting through here..."
  Lamey stopped, because Mrs. Gasper had held up one hand.
  "No need to explain," she said, in her still pleasent voice. "You have a right to this cobbled walkway same as anyone else in Zombia City."
  Lamey liked the sound of that, and her voice, so Lamey smiled. More of his anxiety departed. "But may I show you something handsome young one? Something I truly believe you will love?"
  Lamey blinked as he realized Mrs. Gasper was still talking to him. "What kind of something?" he said.
  She suddenly glanced around them, and took a dancing step back from the doorway. "Enter," she said, gazing intently at him again; her loose fitting blue gown billowing in the wind. She had spread her arms wide and was smiling now.  "You were only cutting through here, anyway, right?" she said. "On your way to school? What would five minutes change? Enter Lamey," she whispered, "and I'll show you all you wish to see!"
 
 
          CHAPTER ELEVEN
 
        "Something to do with mom?" Sean asked his sister. "What would it possibly have to do with her?"
      Nia exhaled, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She had already moved the crystal from beneath the covers, and was now holding it in both hands.
      "I said earlier, that something was wrong with her. When she left this morning for work, she seemed fine." Nia sneezed into one fist. "Sorry," she said, sniffling. "As I was saying, she was okay this morning. But then she called me..."
    "She called you?" he said in a surprised voice, wondering if his sister was coming down with a cold.
    But his mother despised all forms of technology that didn't involve cooking. Particularly solar phones, which were rumored to cause a number of nasty conditions with prolonged use. Of course, few educated folk took such silly rumors seriously.
  "I was shocked too," she said. "But never mind that. She called me to talk about my father."
    Sean frowned. "I thought your father was dead."
    "My father isn't dead," she told him. "He's been running around with that General Venom. My mother knows, but she's been trying to ignore it." She sighed. "Or hide it," she finished.
    Sean again, thought he must have heard his sister wrong. What she was suggesting was impossible. "Wait!" he said. "If he's still alive and working for General Venom, the Zombie Squad won't need to question Lamey! They'll immediately think of us Nia!"
    "You think I haven't thought of that?" she said. "That's what I meant about mom; she told me he asked to see her last night. And she went. Why?" she asked the boy. "I can't honestly say. But I know something happened over there!"
    "Over there?" he whispered.
    "You know," she said.
    He nodded. "You mean in the Dead Zone?"
    It was her turn to nod. "He did something to her Sean; probably did it in one of those underground labs we heard about in IB class."
    "Why would he hurt her?" he asked her. She was clearly referring to the mind experiments rumored to be taking place at the Zombie Squad headquarters.
    "He may call it helping her," she said. "They're pretty good with the self-brainwashing. Nearly better than humes."
    "So it's possible Lamey got that crystal from your father?" he asked.
    "I doubt it," she said. "He may have heard my father's still alive, but he wouldn't be able to contact him; not without going through General Kakey."
    "Oh sands!" Sean groaned.
    He was thinking of General Kakey. She was the fiercest of all the generals on Planet Zombia, by far, save General Venom. And despite her reputation as a powerful sorceress, her tongue was also a thing of legend. Supposedly, it looked like a pretty pink snake, and was frighteningly flexible.
    Strange rumors of what she had done with it, how she'd used it on people she'd interrogated, had circulated throughout every district in the dimension.
    Sean didn't believe such a thing was physically possible regarding Brownies, but true or not, her tongue wasn't the issue. That wasn't her only weapon, anyway.
    General Kakey was also undeniably beautiful, so defying her wishes was difficult for even the hardest hearted of men to do.
    If brute force was too agressive a response for a given situation, she could also wield her beauty like a soft club whenever she felt the need. "Then it's most likely that he didn't get it from him," Sean said. "But they'll still come here, Nia. You know they will!"
    "Not if we find out what's going on from Lamey before they do," she said. "Maybe, we can put a stop to this before it even gets started?"
    "Then we have to find Lamey!" he said.  "And you have to tell me where you found that sand crystal Nia. No more games!"
   
   
                CHAPTER TWELVE
               
 
      Lamey slowly stepped into the dim shop and immediately felt the comforting warmth coming from the crackling  fireplace. Staring at the nearly hypnotic flames dancing across the blackened pile of logs, he clutched his own arms and exhaled.
      "Cold?" Mrs. Gasper said.
      Lamey jerked his head towards her. He was staring around the woman's store as if seeing it for the first time. And in a way, he supposed he was. Along the right wall she had a collection of masks; some with colorful feathers sticking from them. There were also shields and spears hanging next to them; they matched the masks, it seemed. As if they were meant to be purchased together.
      Her glass display cases, which were normally filled with ancient relics discovered in strange dimensions, now had odd looking animals in them. They were stuffed of course, but looked so real, Lamey nearly expected them to move when he tapped the glass.
      "I was just noticing the new stuff you put up," he said. "Is that a real...?" Lamey stopped speaking; unable to believe what he'd seen.
      He turned to look at it one last time before he finished. It was still there. "Is that an actual Wizard's Rose?" he whispered, grinning.
      Mrs. Gasper laughed. Her shop was always filled with inteteresting things (things that attracted the Zombia City youth in droves), but these items were on a much higher level, value-wise, than anything she'd ever sold before.
      "Yes it is," she said. "A Burgundy Rose. They were used by the ancient Magicians to eavesdrop on their enemies. Very good. I see you weren't sleeping through every IB class, huh?"
      Lamey's face colored brightly. "I never sleep in class," he said shyly.
      "Of course you don't," she said.
"Smart, handsome young men like you never waste time the gods have given us. Life is much too short for that. Do you know what it can do?"
    Lamey hesitated. Alarm bells went off in his head as he carefully considered his reply. Keyshia, who he begrudgingly considered one of the smartest girls in the galaxy, had warned him about mentioning the Wizard Roses around strangers. Particularly, adult strangers.
    Who could say if the person wasn't really a spy for the ZS Patrol?
    "No," he said.
    Mrs. Gasper smiled. "Good," she said. "You're no dummy. It also  means we'll have lots to talk about."
    Lamey didn't have a sensible reply, so he kept quiet.
    "Would you like to find the Amber Rose, Lamey?" she asked him.
    He'd turned back around to view the Wizard's Rose Mrs. Gasper had placed beneath the fancy glass case, and was startled. "What?" he said, looking at her. "Me? But how can..."
      "I know things about them that know other living beings know!" she said. "Have you ever heard the legend of the Wizard's Roses? And why they're so coveted in our dimension?"
      "I've learned some of the tale," he said. He shrugged. "But Keyshia told me that I would never hear the whole story from any adult."
      Mrs. Gasper exhaled.  "I suppose I should feel offended by that," she said. "But I don't at all." She flashed him her pleasent smile again. He didn't recall her looking quite so pretty, and guessed it was probably due to the candle light.
      "In fact," she went on, "I happen to agree wholeheartedly."
    She pointed to a wooden chair sitting beneath a round wooden table. "Sit down," she said. "Let's chat Lamey. I have a proposition for you." She was still standing by the fireplace with one hand resting on the mantlepiece.
    "I believe we have a great deal in common," she said. "Not to mention a mutual enemy."
    Lamey blinked his eyes slowly as  he walked over to the wooden table and placed one hand upon the back of the chair. "A mutual enemy?" he whispered, his eyes moving to the glass cases again. Especially, the one with the Burgundy Rose sitting on a plush little pillow beneath it.
   
        CHAPTER 13
       
  Lamey had already taken a seat near the fireplace, eagerly awaiting the story Mrs. Gasper had promised him. He was doing his very best to take his mind off the Wizard's Rose sitting beneath glass less than ten feet from him. But it wasn't an easy task.
    Mrs. Gasper sat at the wooden table facing him, where she had placed a number of hefty black books, and a large square of folded paper.
    The boy studied her for a moment. She wasn't an old woman; nor was she particularly young. Lamey didn't know her age, but her hair was long and blonde without any signs of gray. It matched her gray eyes, and complimented her chiseled face and perfect, youthful complexion.
    He didn't know who Sharon Stone was, she was an actress who lived on an Alphius world hundreds of years ago, but he certainly knew pure  beauty when he saw it.
    The winds seemed to be picking up outside beyond the woman's single window; Lamey could hear it howling through the trees growing along Jamone Boulevard. And he could feel it blowing beneath Mrs. Gasper's front door too; making the candle flames dance. He wondered if the storm was coming early.
    "The Wizard's Roses," she began, "were long thought by some to have belonged to Merlin, King Arthur's magician. But that isn't the case, and never was." She paused, and gazed across the table at him.
    "You have heard of Merlin, haven't you?" she asked him.
    "Yes," was his immediate reply.
    "Good," she said. "That makes things easier." She peered down at the stack of textbooks. "The wizard to last possess the Roses was named Eastlin. He was an unremarkable wizard in most ways, save one," she said. She glanced up again. "This wizard had acquired the ability to disappear. When he acquired it, has never been told...or at least, I haven't heard it in all my years living in Zombia City."
    "Disappear?" Lamey breathed, wearing a frown. "You mean turn invisible. Can't most wizards do that?"
    She smiled. "You have been watching too many Alf-world Vid-disks," she said. "Only witches can; and even then, it's no easy task!" She waved one hand. "But never mind that," she continued. "All you need to know is that wizards don't normally have that ability. But Eastlin did."
    "Where did he get it?" Lamey asked her.
    "That was exactly what King Ukey II asked him," she said. "King Ukey II had come to reign the year before Eastlin suddenly began spreading the strange rumor of his new found power. King Ukey II was an okay king by most accounts, but he was also supposedly very jealous-hearted, and was overly protective of his wife Ambrosia."
    Lamey knew something about her. There were tons of photos of her in his textbooks. She was very pretty in his opinion, exotic was the word some had used. Especially, when you considered how unattractive he found King Ukey II.
    And Lamey wasn't the only one to share that opinion. Not these days, and certainly not back then, when he actually lived, and ruled an entire dimension.
  Every child in Zombia City over the age of four, had heard at least one of the disparaging poems created just for King Ukey II. A portion of one of the more famous of them suddenly occurred to Lamey:
    "As ugly as the sand hyena, block headed, oddly shaped. As stupid as the titsy beetle, Ambrosia hoped  to change her fate. No woman in her rightful mind would lay in bed with such a swine. No king of mine! the people scream. King Ukey is no king of mine!" 
    That was the most Lamey knew, but that particular poem had over  thirty verses in it. Each one more disparaging than the last.
    "I read that King Ukey didn't trust Ambrosia," Lamey said.
    "He didn't,"  Mrs. Gasper said.
    "Did he have a reason not to?"
    She sighed, looking towards her window. "Few men trust the females they claim to love, Lamey. Particularly, when the love is based on lies. It's a sad fact of life Lamey.Ambrosia was extremely beautiful. But there are plenty of beautiful females in the worlds. Too many, perhaps." She looked at him again. "There was much more to her than just beauty," she said. "Ambrosia was of mixed heritage. Her mother was a Glint; her father, a Brownie."
    Lamey inhaled with shock. He had never heard that before!
    "Are you serious?" he asked the woman in a harsh whisper, actually glancing towards her window from habit.  He was thinking of the ZP, who frowned on such things.
"We were never taught that in school!" he added.
    "Of course, you weren't," she said. "It wouldn't be good to have the people thinking of Brownies and Glints getting together. Uniting. Joining forces." Her grin resurfaced. "I told you earlier that we share a common enemy," she said.  "And you will soon understand what I meant by that. But first, you need to understand why we are enemies."
    Lamey blinked at her words, listening to the rain beginning to smack against Mrs. Gasper's window and roof. He was becoming increasingly more nervous. "You said that King Ukey questioned Eastlin?"
    "Yes," she said. "The minute the rumors reached his royal ears, he immediately had Eastlin sought out, and brought before him."
    She placed one pale, slender hand, atop the largest of the black books stacked beside the candle. Lamey glanced at it and saw the words: HISTORIES OF THE FUTURE printed across the cover in huge gold letters.
  "He didn't believe what he'd heard, of course," she said. "But he wanted to make certain. I'm sure there's no need to tell you what the king was thinking about these rumors. You must remember that there were no Wizard's Roses at the time. And he knew that to possess such a power would solve many of the problems hounding him since he'd met and married Ambrosia."
    Lamey stared into her face. "He only wanted to spy on her?" he asked after a moment. "Truly?"
    He couldn't even imagine a king, virtually a deity in their world, having to spy on his own wife...it spoke of insecurity and paranoia the likes of which he'd never seen.
    "Yes," she said, "he wanted to keep an eye on her, so to speak. You see, King Ukey had heard other dark rumors being whispered in the shadows throughout his kingdom.Rumors about his queen, in fact."
    Lamey gasped again, actually jerking back in his chair. Was the woman saying what he thought she was saying? It simply couldn't be!
    He definitely hadn't heard anything about the queen sneaking around on the king! Lamey could see this was clearly going to be quite the tale.
    Outside the house, the rain and wind was blowing even harder, as if a storm was coming. Or in fact, had already arrived.
    Inside the house, Lamey Lamper could only stare at the beautiful woman sitting across from him. He had forgotten all about going to school.