It felt like an eternity as I slowly watched the sun set in the distance. The ball of light took its sweet time disappearing from the sky. I didn’t want to move from this spot as my ghostly heart raced in excitement. I knew I was on a countdown; already, it had been two days since the scout was killed, and I knew more would follow. As the last bits of light were extinguished, I walked to the edge of the zone. This was really it; I was finally free. Glancing back, my body followed behind.

“Ready, buddy!” and it just stared...

Whatever.

I tapped into my wellspring of energy and made sure it was completely full. My body easily consumed the rest of the scout and converted all that flesh into fuel. Even though freedom was so close, I had to be extra careful. If I didn’t find a dark spot by sunrise, if my body refused to listen, if I ran out of meat, so many ifs could easily lead to my demise. Still, it was a necessary risk as staying in this cave would surely be the end. After doing one final mental check, I stepped past the dead zone.

Once more the area lightened; even in the dead of night, everything was alive. I started my journey, and my body followed close behind. Where should I travel first? Heading directly back to the city was a bad idea. The guards would eliminate the zombie without hesitation. I didn’t know where my original team was either, so I couldn’t track them down. I could maybe stay on the outskirts of a village, try and communicate to get assistance. Various scenarios played through my brain, but nothing seemed to really jump out. After nearly an hour of brainstorming, I settled on finding a wandering merchant or priest. If I could keep my body away from others, I might be able to communicate.

Speaking of the body. It was a bit of a struggle to keep it on track. Thankfully, the life string prevents it from wandering too far. Anytime it sensed food, it would veer off until the leash went taut.

“See, not that fun, is it?” I taunted.

Occasionally, we would have a standoff, and I could feel the agitation growing. But if I didn’t move, neither could it. To my own annoyance, the zombie soon learned it went both ways; after about three hours, it refused to budge unless I let it feed. It was a bit of a delay, but we managed to hunt down a wandering deer. And by “we,” I meant It. The zombie had become adept at its new ambush tactic. It would find a relatively covered space and lie “dead.” I’d just wait until something went to graze or pass. Once the critter was a few feet away, the corpse lunged and bit into the neck. Birds took off from the commotion, and the squeaks of pain quickly subsided as flesh was torn off. With each subsequent bite, I could feel a bit of power return. It wasn’t nearly as much as something sentient, but it was fuel for the road. My body decided to feast two more times in our travel, leaving torn-up carcasses in our wake. I’m sure the scavengers were happy about the kills.

As the night continued, I watched the moon cross the sky. Seeing it reach the horizon, I knew we had to find shelter fast. Making my way back towards the hill, there was bound to be another cavern or cave. As the time passed, more creatures woke from their slumber. Birds singing sweet tunes and squirrels skittering above. While many would enjoy the morning sounds, it signaled a deadly countdown for me.

[[Command Follow]]

I couldn’t delay anymore; ordering my body to follow, I picked up the pace. The zombie must have sensed the urgency and didn’t even attempt to break the command. The black sky took on an orange hue as the ball of death arose once more.

“Shit,” a ray of sunlight pierced the canopy and burned my shoulder.

I paused for a second to map out a path in the shade. More beams of light shot through the trees, forcing me to adjust with each step. I had to side-step, turn, and roll to avoid burning. My head focused on the rock face, trying to find cover. My mind was racing in fear; I was going to die a painful second death. This wasn’t fair; I just escaped and now I fail?

“THERE,” I screamed as a crack appeared in the stone.

I ran towards the opening and collapsed on the floor. This whole being dead thing was awful. Resting against the wall, I felt the rush of adrenaline dwindle, and a sense of calm returned. Glancing back, I watched my body stumble into the darkness. Being more corporeal, it didn’t have to worry about the sunlight. Sure, it was weaker in the light, but at least it wasn’t purified. The corpse shuffled over to me and sat down. We were safe, for now.

To be honest, I never realized how long a day was until I was forced into darkness. It was just so boring; this wasn’t so much a cave but a nook. There were some things left on the ground, withered rope, ashes from a fire, mouse droppings, but nothing really stood out. All I could do was stare out into the forest. At least I got some entertainment from the hunting zombie. It was wrong, but I cheered for the animals to not get caught. Some were quick and avoided the lunging corpse, but it did catch one rabbit for dinner. Watching it was a bit weird. I’d never heard of a zombie with intelligence; most just ran at any living creature when hungry. To “play dead” was new. I guess since we were connected, when I leveled, it did too. With its belly full, my body walked back into the cave and went still. The two of us waited.

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“FINALLY,” I mumbled as the sky turned orange.

But something was strange. In the distance, I saw a person walking towards the cave. As the man approached, I noticed some oddities about him. He wore deep, dark robes with a flickering lantern hanging on the belt. He was hunched over due to an overstuffed traveler's pack – the legs buckled and stumbling from all the excessive weight. This was peculiar; this forest was all but abandoned. He hadn’t even seen a hunter roaming this deep into the canopy. What was a person doing out here?

My body must have sensed my unease and hid further in the shadows. No doubt trying to decide to attack or not. The two of us watched on as the man approached. As he passed the threshold, I could hear his trinkets clanking with every step. It was then I realized his lantern wasn’t a normal flame. Instead, it was more ethereal, draining nearby colors to produce the magical light. As he took shelter, he dropped his bag against the wall and collapsed in exhaustion.

“Dammit Faust. Why did you have to settle this far?” He tore off the hood and was covered in sweat.

The man was…young. His face was gaunt and pale. A bit of scruff outlined his jaw, and the jet-black hair parted to the side. I watched as he pulled out a map and held the lantern over the parchment. The hand-drawn landscape displayed various caverns throughout the region alongside the small townships. At one of the entrances marked a red X. Slowly, he traced his fingers from it to another cave.

“Hmm, another 6-hour walk,” he muttered.

I walked over to get a closer look, and his face snapped towards mine. I nearly jumped back in shock.

“Must have been a rat,” and he pulled out some rations.

Sitting back, he undid the bag and ate his meal. This wasn’t adding up. What did he mean by settle? Why did these caves matter? I felt like I should understand, but it wasn’t connecting. I crouched next to the man to investigate the bag. My fingers slowly worked at the straps when…

“AWWH,” My head jerked at the scream.

My body decided to make an appearance. Immediately, the man dove out of the way and reached into the bag. Well, no point in trying to command it now. If anything, it was another meal for the long journey. Clearly, this merchant was unprepared, and I just let my body do its thing. Already having killed one, this didn’t faze me as much. If I wanted to survive and return to normal, sacrifices would need to be made. As my body lunged at the man, he dodged to the side and shoved the bag towards it. The heavy back sent the zombie tumbling backward, halting the charge. It only bought a few moments of respite as the corpse easily pushed it off.

The merchant patted his pockets as my body stumbled towards him. What was he looking for? His head turned and glanced back at the satchel. Pulling off the robe, he tossed the fabric on top of my corpse and dove past. I could feel the agitation through our bond as my body tore apart the constraints; it really wanted this fresh meal. The merchant quickly fiddled at the straps trying to access one of the locked pockets. Realizing he had a plan, I couldn’t let him get it.

Kneeling down, my hand reached through his and began to fidget with the same lock. I smiled as he began cursing at the knot. If he pulled on one end, I pulled on the other – stalling whatever progress was made. Glancing back, he noticed my body was free and he snatched up the pack and ran. What he didn’t account for was me loosening his laces. One foot slipped out of a boot, and the loss of balance had him tumbling. He barely rolled out of the way as the zombie pounced.

“Dammit,” he was hobbling along on one leg as he put distance between the corpse and him.

I tried to go for the other shoe, anything to give an advantage to the zombie but felt a weakness take hold. Between the sunlight from earlier and me interacting with the material plane, I had drained a significant chunk of energy. This wasn’t good; at this point, only my body could finish the fight. The merchant changed tactics; he baited the zombie to charge and quickly sidestepped out of the way. With an elbow, he knocked the corpse to the ground and rushed towards the backpack once more. This time he ignored the strap and reached into a side pocket pulling out a strange case. Fumbling with the sides, the box opened revealing a variety of scalpels. Why would a merchant carry scalpels? I thought he was going to try and fight back with the tiny blades, but instead, he began to tear into the bag.

The sack let off glowing sparks as various runes were shattered. No wonder he didn’t do this earlier; it must have cost a fortune to enchant. With one last cut, the components spilled out…

Flesh.

And it wasn’t just any flesh, but distinctively humanoid. Everything started to connect as I saw the perfectly preserved meat. I tried to warn my body to run, but it was too late. The necromancer pulled out a bone-carved wand and shouted.

[[Calm Undead]]

My body went still as the magic overwhelmed him. The magician trembled as he held the instrument in the air. Slowly, my body walked past him and began consuming the free meal. I tried to push onto our bond, trying to explain the danger of the necromancer. But the combination of fresh meat and calming magics easily rebuffed my pleas. With my body satiated, the ex-merchant slid against the wall.

“Now how did you get here?” he muttered and went to inspect the animated corpse before him.