‘More web over here! I need gravity, nuclear force, and magnetism!’ the many-armed octopuslike creature thought, sending out a telepathic message. Its’ white tentacles waved in the black void.

‘On it! Come, youngling. Take the basket of forces, I shall show you where to go.’ the pure white bubbles connected by a muscular structure similar to a snake projected. A white-dyed human effortlessly picked up a ball of gravity webs four times her size.

‘Right! Coming!’ Amber called, climbing after her senior partner, scaling a gravity web after him. They scaled several light-years up to the overseer, its’ jowls quivering with impatience.

‘Hurry, hurry! Our Mother comes! Xx’lpng, can you show the new…fee-mal how to lay out the forces for Mother to weave?’

‘Yes, Overseer!’ One of the bubbles touched another in salute. The supervising being shot a web from its tentacle and swung off, trilling worriedly. Xx’lpng turned to Amber. ‘You’ll have to forgive Madukh, Devourer of Eggs. It’s a little high-strung, and in a stressful position. And its’ species has no concept of gender, so it is still getting used to pronouns of other races. Parthogenetic reproduction doesn’t really have siblings, anyway.’

‘It’s no problem. I’ve never had any brothers or sisters on my planet either. It’s a little overwhelming to suddenly have billions of siblings.’ Amber replied, slinging down the web.

‘All we must do is place the forces in an interlocked line, not too tightly. Mother likes to fold them into space-time herself, there’s no point in doing so for us.’ Xx’lpng thought.

‘Like this?’ Amber unraveled one of the balls of magnetism, laying it between existence and the void.

‘Exactly. Although your appendages are inefficient for the task. Still, Mother prefers to do it the old-fashioned way too.’ he thought, telekinetically weaving the nuclear force through the magnetism.

‘Heh heh, not all of us have psychokinesis. But Mother does set a good example. I wish I could be like her someday.’ She sighed, gazing over across the vast distance of the universe. A small blue planet sparkled in her eyes, a teenage boy working without rest in a laboratory bringing a small, sad smile to her face. ‘Tell me Xx’lpng, do you ever miss your old planet? Your old life?’

‘Many times over the millennia.’ he thought, laying down gravity. ‘But it’s just the nature of the game. I know my mate and offspring have long since perished, and not a single timeframe goes by where I do not miss them. However, I know my calling is even more important than my personal feelings. We must expand and preserve the universe, for if we do not entropy will claim us all. I know if I do not, someone else must. Else my family, my planet would be consumed by nonexistence, and everything would be over anyway.’

‘Yeah. Kind of heavy, knowing we’re responsible for expanding existence. Hey, what’s that?’ Amber inquired. Xx’lpng focused on his sensory organ the way she was pointing, and started.

‘A tear! A tear in the fabric of space-time!’ An indescribably-colored hole had opened up in the space between stars, fluttering and shifting through dimensions. Amber covered her ears to no effect as the screeching started, timeflies and hole-venomed, six-legged warpworms pouring through, with gaping maws and slathering probiscii, devouring all their hard work. The creatures composed of antimatter and negative space started to eat the universe and suck up existence.

‘Oh no! This’s bad!’ Amber exclaimed.

‘Relax, kiddo. Hey, everyone! C’mon, get over here! Iiiiiiiiit’s LUNCHTIME!’ Xx’lpng began humming happily, conjuring gravity webs and wrapping up timeflies by the dozen, quickly and efficiently. ‘These buggers might have been trouble a couple dozen aeons ago, but now the universe’s expanded enough to take a bit more before collapsing, and we’ve done some more recruiting in the meantime. Still can’t let them have free reign or existence will be erased though. C’mon, help me web them up and dig in.’ he thought as countless other white creatures descended upon those spilling out from the rift.

‘Avesh.’ Amber began shooting out gravity webs, whipping around to wrap up as many as possible. She held a timefly in her hand, about the size of a small dog struggling against the loose threads of gravity trying to crush it into itself. She had to admit, there was something…enticing about the way it wriggled. Drooling despite herself, she unsheathed her mandibles and chowed down. ‘Mmm!’ Her eyes widened as a rich, thick, softly sweet taste entered her mouth. Ripping off chunks and gulping down as it struggled, disappearing before her eyes. ‘What? I wasn’t done yet!’

‘Ha ha ha! That’s why you gotta get ‘em fresh, kiddo!’ Xx’lpng laughed, ripping a worm in half and absorbing its’ essence through his exterior. ‘Try one of the warpworms, they’re savory!’

‘Their legs are crunchy.’ she admitted, watching the others pull down the swarm of void creatures as she munched on the hapless monster. Those that finished their meals early got to work webbing up the rift, temporarily sealing it with multiple threads being woven into black holes. ‘You know, by my planet’s time cycles I’ve been here about four days, but that’s the first meal I’ve had and I just realized it now. I’ve also been working for four days straight.’ she pondered.

‘That’s because of your new uylata spider DNA. Once the spell is integrated into your body, you no longer need food or rest, just like Mother. Of course, a tasty treat’s never a bad thing now and again.’ Xx’lpng answered, waving his spheres greedily. Amber laughed. ‘C’mon, it’s time to help fix this mess. Chant with me: Szommmnaaa izzzzouuuou naaaaa knowwwwweeeee aaaaahhh veshda colthonlaaaa…’ Amber stood next to her mentor and chanted alongside, the rest of her brethren all doing so at the same time with perfect psychic coordination. Amber could feel the strain on her whole body, like trying to hold up a jackhammer with her bare hands. The black holes began to stabilize and shrink, the distortion in reality folding back into space-time. Several white sticklike figures weaved a gravity web to cement the fold in place while it sealed, like a band-aid.

‘Whew. That was hard work.’ Amber thought, wiping her brow.

‘Yeah, but our job’s never-ending. C’mon kiddo, let’s get back to work.’ Xx’lpng heaved the web ball onto his back, climbing down the web currently holding them.

‘Coming!’

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, this’s it. Are we ready?” Riley said, staring at the warehouse with a determined gaze. She was prepared. Salt, holy water, a cross, stake, and what the internet said were protective amulets in her backpack, just in case. She had rehearsed her arguments over and over, rebuttals for every possible counterargument. She had even been doing pushups for this, wanting to be strong. She capped out at like ten, but that was above and beyond in her eyes. She even had her loyal and stalwart partner by her side.

“As ready as we’ll ever be, I guess.” Connor sighed. He still didn’t know how she’d talked him into this. Then again, looking at the ominous warehouse, odd lights flickering in the window, the wind picking up with an unnatural chill in the heat of summer as the night rolled in, he felt a thrill of anticipation.

“Good. Let’s go.” They marched around the back, where the entrance was. At this time of day, there was no one around. Riley gathered all her courage, raised her fist, and knocked on the door.

A minute passed by. Then five. Riley knocked again, but still nothing.

“Huh?” Every time she imagined this meeting, she never thought she’d be stymied by something as simple as a locked door.

“Maybe no one’s home?” Connor said, peering into the dark hall.

“No, I saw lights. C’mon, open up!” She tried pulling, but there was no way she could pry it open. “C’mon! Hey! Mr. Necrysis, Mr. Necrysis! Open up!” She started banging on the door.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be yelling-” Connor started, glancing around fearfully, but a dark shape shuffled to the door.

“Huh? What? What do you want?” Scott said in a daze. The kids stared taken aback. There was a lanky teen before them, unhealthily thin, unnaturally pale, with bags as large and dark as a raccoon’s under his eyes. He blinked at them blearily, scratching at the dark stubble at his jaw, swaying back and forth. Riley wrinkled her nose; this super-disheveled guy smelled like death, or like he hadn’t showered in a week. Probably both. Whenever she pictured Necrysis, it wasn’t like this. Her preplanned arguments died in her throat. “I don’t care what fundraiser you’re here for, I’m not buying.”

“Uh, no, we’re actually-”

“Girl Scout cookies are out too.” he cut off, trying to slam the door. Riley’s foot slid on the ground, preventing him from closing it.

“I’m sorry, we’re not selling anything. We’re kinda buying, if you look at it right.” she said sweetly, beaming at him. Connor shuddered. He knew the portent of that smile. Scott frowned even deeper.

“I ain’t selling anything either. Scram, I’ve got work to do.”

“Would that work happen to be of a necromantic persuasion, Mr. Necrysis?” she asked. Scott jolted, visibly startled, then narrowed his eyes on the grinning girl in front of him, really seeing her now.

“’Persuasion.’” Connor gulped, not willing to get between them. Hard emerald eyes stared into crystalline blue, each as sharp and unyielding as the other.

“Maybe we should talk inside.” she offered, blinking. Scott snorted.

“If you want. Your funeral.” he said and held the door open. She curtsied and dragged a nervous Connor in, the boy not missing Scott lock the door behind them.

The hall was short, but around the corner they both gasped. Dozens of zombies, rotting yet moving, bustled to and fro monitoring fish tanks, carrying materials and tools, making foul-smelling concoctions with mortar and pestles and carefully placing them into labelled jars. Five of them were mechanically drawing a mystic circle in a corner on the floor, making the chalk marks by rote. They passed a table where zombies were lined up to be stripped down to skeletons, the flesh piled up in a heap. Three were standing by a desk, holding up various books about space. There was a trashcan overflowing with crumpled papers. Riley snagged one as it fell, seeing it covered in strange symbols and diagrams, each crossed out.

“What’s this?”

“One of the hundreds of bad ideas I’ve had, doomed to failure.” Scott said, taking it and kicking it back. “Bones!” He snapped his fingers. A skeleton, whose sole job appeared to be brewing fresh coffee, strode forward, clacking on the concrete. “Take their bags.” The skeleton nodded and held out a boney arm, and they hesitantly put their bags on it. Bones stood up and stayed still. “The wonders of necromancy. A coatrack whenever, wherever you want. He doesn’t get bored, and he doesn’t get tired.” Scott swept more papers and books off a chair and sat down at the desk, motioning to the children in front of him. “So. You know, obviously. Playing dumb serves no purpose, and I hope you weren’t dumb enough to come here without good reason. So what is it?” Connor coughed and pushed Riley forward. She gulped. This was it. This was the man who had saved her, who knew the secrets of raising the dead. All her preplanned responses flew out the window, so she had no choice but to put all her passion into her request.

“I-I wanna be your apprentice!” she said, shaking with both nerves and excitement. Scott raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?”

“L-Last fall, a monster attacked me and my sister, but a buncha zombies came in and killed it! It was the coolest thing I ever saw! Zombies are the coolest! I wanna learn how to do what you do. I wanna be like you when I grow up!”

Of all the things Scott had anticipated when he’d been going over contingency plans if he was discovered, this was not one of them. He stared at her blankly, unable to properly compute. This…child actually admired him? Tracked him down to learn from him, even so dark an art as necromancy? He sighed and hunched over, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Look kid, what’s your name?” he asked.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Riley, sir!” she chirped, saluting.

“Riley, this ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Magic is a long, hard process that won’t pay off for years, if at all. There are tons of traps and pitfalls that are very lethal, and even if you manage to learn necromancy, you’ll still be looked at like a crazy, creepy, freak. Making the dead move isn’t a healthy pastime. It’s reviled, dangerous, and wrong; no one in their right mind should do this.” As he spoke, Riley’s face fell with each word. Her eyes were bright not with enthusiasm, but with tears. Despite her hopes and dreams crumbling in front of her, Connor could only half-heartedly nod in agreement.

“B-But…then w-why do you do it?” she asked, quivering. Scott sighed and took a moment before answering.

“Because…honestly, it’s hard to put into words. Because I was younger and stupid. It was a cool new thing to distract me from my life. Because I didn’t know any better, and somehow had enough brains and managed to connect enough dots that I wasn’t torn to pieces by the first daemon I summoned. I, I suppose…I’d always felt like a freak, an outsider myself. So when I found a way to make my freakishness a source of power and pride…well…” The words fell as heavy as coffin lids at midnight. Scott supposed he should feel something, as he dashed her hopes; fear she might tell someone, anger that this was happening, sorrow that everything felt lost…but no. There was no black storm inside him, no swirl of rage or rain of tears. There was just a grey emptiness, a melancholy haze that made it so tempting to just lie down and not get up. But there had to be something he could do, so he made his body work. He felt like a robot made of meat, as dead as one of the zombies he raised.

In fact, he realized he nearly was; working tirelessly, inscribing runes and sigils as mechanically as the others, mindlessly starign at a book, gaze as blank as theirs. GHe imagined himself working forever, so absorbed in trying to rescue Amber and make everything right he became as grey and dull as his undead creations, joining them in some unknown scheme as just another cog. And for the life or unlife of him, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Yeah, um…” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “You seem like a bright kid. Very passionate and enthusiastic.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Connor muttered, rolling his eyes.

“But you’re what? Ten? Eleven?”

“N-Nine.” she sniffled.

“You’ve got a whole life ahead of you. Necromancy isn’t shouldn’t be for kids. I won’t teach you. Sorry, but even if you had the talent for it, necromancy…ultimately, won’t get you anything.” He had pulled out his phone, staring at a picture of Amber. “All the power, all the skill, in the end, you lose everything and you’re left with nothing but ashes in your mouth.” Riley’s brow furrowed.

“Did…did something happen? What did you lose? Maybe I could help you get it back. Right, Connor?”

“Yeah, right. It’s-it’s not important, not right now. There isn’t anything you could do anyway.” Scott said flatly. Riley scowled.

“Well how do you know? We haven’t even tried yet!” she said indignantly, sitting up straight. Her eyes caught the picture on the phone as she did. “Hey, who’s that?”

“Nobody.” Scott said harshly, pocketing the phone. Riley’s eyes widened and she grinned knowingly.

“Ahh, I see. It’s woman’s intuition, you like her!”

“Intuition.” Connor deadpanned.

“Yeah. I did.” Scott said curtly, trying to keep the rawness out of his voice. “”Don’t you know it’s rude to snoop?”

“Don’t you know it’s not snooping if it’s out in the open like that?” she countered. “Tell you what, if we help you with the lady, will you make us your apprentices?” Scott snorted.

“Yeah right kid. You don’t know what went down, so drop it, okay?” he said, voice rising. Riley continued, oblivious to his twitching.

“Yeah, but I could still help. If she broke up with you I can see if we can identify the problem and fix it, maybe talk her into trying again. Or if you never told her how you feel, we can help set you up! I mean, whatever you want, we can try, and if-”

“Enough!” Scott slammed his fist on the desk, making them jump. He turned a hard green gaze on Riley, eyes flashing, and she shrank in her chair. “Listen. I know you mean well, but she’s gone. Poof. Finito. She’s not even dead, so I can’t bring her back. She’s been spirited away. Kidnapped, kinda. I have been searching for a way to get her, and I have a limited amount of time to do it. I must focus, and I can’t do that with a couple of snot-nosed brats around bugging me for instructions. No, I will not teach you. I don’t know how you found me, so please un-find me. Don’t bother me again. Bones?” The skeleton handed them their bags. “See them to the door.” The skull nodded, then he gently ushered the children to the entrance, Connor shaken but relieved, while Riley was bright red and looked like she was going to cry.

“Look, it’s better this way,” Connor soothed. “Listen, we’ll meet up tomorrow, and I’ll buy you some ice cream. Sound good?” Bones stood there, holding the door open for them. Riley’s fists clenched white as she looked out into the warm night, the clouds bright under the full moon. Was-was this it? Was there really nothing she could do? She stared at the animated skeleton. Seemingly mundane, yet going against all logic. Such a wondrous phenomenon. She knew what her parents, what everyone would say including the man himself, yet she felt a longing to learn that she’d never had for anything. Was she really prepared to turn away from something she knew was her destiny? Even if it wasn’t, would she be willing to defy everything to make it happen? She grit her teeth, but knew that it was wrong to force someone to do something they didn’t, and Scott had made it clear on that front. She grit her teeth in frustration.

“Fine. Okay. But…but one thing first.” She dashed back down the hall, Connor and Bones pursuing but far too slow. Just because she had to accept his decision didn’t mean she couldn’t give him a piece of her mind. She had the wings of anger, darting through the stations until she reached the desk again. Scott looked up irritably from his notes.

“Thought I told you to get out.”

“Thought I told you I was gonna be your student! Guess what, we’re both wrong!” she exploded, pointing an accusing finger at him. “I-I looked up at you!”

“To.”

“To you! I thought you were going to be nice! I thought you were a good guy!”

“Guess you thought wrong, kid. You remember that little show, right?” He looked down at his hands. “I’m the villain, not a hero. Trust me, you don’t want this.”

“And that’s for you to decide, huh?” Riley screamed. “I thought zombies were the best! And I thought you were the best! But no, you’re just a sad mopey sack holed up in his room, just like my sister! You’ve got tons of undead and cool magic powers, and you still think you can’t save that girl! You won’t even let anyone else try to help! Even the bad guy in cartoons goes out and does stuff! He uses his minions! I wanted to be where you are, and I’m gonna, but I’m not gonna be like you! I’m gonna be the very best necromancer there ever was! Way better than you!”

“Riley, c’mon-” Connor said, arriving. Bones put his phalanges on his shoulder.

“You’ve got guts, kid. Pity they’re so misdirected.” Scott snapped his fingers, not allowing himself to feel his insides churn. That-that had hit a bit closer to home than he’d ever admit. “Take her out, Muscles.” A burly zombie came over and picked her up.

“No, I’m not done yet! No no no!” She ended up being turned upside down in her struggles. The zombie tucked her underneath his arm and began walking off. “I’m gonna be better than you! I’m gonna be number one! You’ll see!” She grabbed the desk futilely.

“Can’t try if you don’t know how. And you won’t.” Scott said, turning back to his notes. He couldn’t meet her gaze anymore. Riley flailed as she was pulled away, grabbing book.

“Let go of me, stupidhead!” She wacked the zombie with the book, but even she knew it was useless. “Rrrrrgh!” The book fell open, and a page caught her eye. ‘Control of a mindless undead created by another is a simple matter. Since the incantation to raise is the same, the only difference between spells is the will and determination of the caster.’ “Huh? Hmm…” She squinted at the text, then read aloud. “Asthenis jslatmon et spirituous via’cka duun! Let me go!”

Scott’s eyes widened as he heard a familiar incantation. He looked up to see his zombie drop the girl, holding a book. He glanced down at his desk to see the Necronomicon missing.

“Holy…” He looked up to see her and the boy dash off. “Stop them!” he bellowed to his minions. The entire warehouse stopped what they were doing and swarmed the children, leaping in front of the door, surrounding them, even crawling under each other’s legs to prevent escape that way. Connor and Riley clung to each other, encased by a solid wall of rotting flesh and bone.

“Let me through, let me through!” Scott pushed his way to the front, kneeling before the frightened children.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take your book, I just wanted him to put me down!” Riley wailed.

“I wanna go home! I wanna go home!” Connor cried.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you like that, but this’s very important.” He held out his hand, and Riley tearfully gave him the Necronomicon back. He opened to the page she’d read from. “Here. Can you read this?”

“Um…yeah?” she sniffed “Asthenis jslatmon et spirituous…”

“No no, that’s enough.” Scott turned to Connor. “Can you?”

“Uh, n-no. It’s all weird squiggles.” he said, examining it.

“I see.” Scott turned to a random page. “How about this one?” Both of them looked at it, then shook their heads.

“It’s all the same as before, the only English word is ‘necrotic.’” Connor said, pointing to the bottom of the page. Scott, thoroughly astonished, read the passage and turned the page.

“How ‘bout this one?”

“Uh…’energy can be repurposed from the dead, leading to a psychic impression of the ego, superimposed onto the flesh. While-the rest is all weird again. No, wait-ugh…” the text fluttered and shifted between English and the strange language before his eyes, making them sting. He covered his eyes and looked away, a stabbing headache building in his head.

“Okay, okay.” Scott soothed, putting the book down. “Okay. Uh…okay. So, you can read, or partially read, the Necronomicon. That’s…wow, that’s…I don’t know what that is. I thought I was the only one.” He stared at them, and at the ancient book in his hand, bound in human skin and writ in human blood. A tome holding vile and eldritch secrets known only to the deranged and depraved. And now apparently schoolchildren. He stared at the face on the cover. Slowly, quietly, a chuckle escaped him.

“Heh…eh heh heh heh heh heh…heh heh ha ha ha ha ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!” He laughed uproariously, a hand covering his face. Children! Younger than he was!

“Heh heh heh…can we go now?” Connor asked.

“You, kid…Riley. You said, you said you wanted to be a necromancer…no, the number one, the best necromancer in the world, right?”

“Y-Yeah.” She said, trembling, but with clear and determined brown eyes.

Scott grinned.

“It’s futile!” He clapped his hands, scattering the collected crowd of undead. He commanded them to get chairs and pushed the kids onto them, four zombies each hoisting them up. Bones turned up the stereo, playing some kind of bombastic circus music.

“You’re delusional! It’s impossible!” Scott declared, having two zombies cartwheel and backflip to his supply locker, to the wonderment of the children. They took out protein bars, trail mix, candy, and snack cakes, crowd surfing on a wave of undead to shower them with the reserve of treats. Scott snapped his fingers, and cups were placed in their hands, skeletons kneeling before them to fill their plastic chalices with punch and soda. Connor sipped; it was warm, but the show made up for it, cardboard placed down so bizarre, half-fleshed undead abominations could breakdance, bones tangoing with pale embalmed women, even a disembodied hand jumping up and down on its’ fingers.

“Number one? Never gonna happen!” Scott cried, walking backwards as his zombies kneeled in a path on both sides, collapsing as he passed to form an undead human pyramid. A large, extra-muscular zombie threw him up where he was caught and placed at the top, then grinned at the awestruck children, threw out his arms, and stepped off into the air to their gasps. Zombified hands caught him on the way, passing him gently down to the ground.

“I’m the number one necromancer, the biggest, the baddest in the world, with no rival, and no equal. So, with that…interested in being number two?”

There was silence, as the whole warehouse waited for the answer.

“Hold on. Just ‘cause we were able to read from some book, now you’re offering a chance to be your apprentices?” Connor objected.

“That’s a big part. But…not only that. I’ve seen you demonstrate your drive, guts, passion, and potential. I’ll warn you right now: this is a long, hard, lonely road, and you can absolutely, positively, never tell anyone, not even your parents. The things you do will be both highly illegal and what most consider highly immoral. I don’t know how good of a teacher I can be, nor how much I can actually show you.” He reflected on his imminent death, but put that aside for now. “But, if you’re willing to learn, I’m willing to teach. What say you?”

Riley was silent for a moment, almost hesitant. However, it was not due to fear or worry. It had been a strange journey here, and sure to grow even more bizarre, but there was only one answer. She grinned.

“I’m in.”

“Very well.” Scott said, the grin on his face matching hers. “How ‘bout you? You wanna learn the secrets of life, death, and everything in between?” he asked Connor. The boy was visibly torn, glancing from Scott to Riley. On the one hand, holy crap no! This was wrong! Actual zombies, actual dark magic! His parents would have coronaries, he practically did already! But on the other, Scott didn’t seem that bad, and even if Riley was now under his care, she still needed looking after…and that skull mask and performance were pretty cool…

“Hmm, rrrgh…ahh! Fine! I guess I’m in too.” He said, crossing his arms resignedly.

“Yay! We’re gonna be necromancers, we’re gonna be necromancers!” Riley shouted, dancing in her chair.

“Alright, everyone back to work! Go resume your duties!” Scott said, clapping. He felt a wave of nausea at overusing necrotic energy, but as he looked at his new students that pain became muted. Everything still felt dull inside, but the prospect of tangibly doing something made it softer. He grinned at the children, nearly as skeletal as Bones. But if they could read the Necronomicon, it wouldn’t matter how little he showed them. They were already on the path. With the progress he had already made, they could end up being greater than...well, not greater than he ever was, but they could take necromancy further. After all, they had more time than him, and he would ensure they would not make the same mistakes he did.

“Welcome aboard.”