One Foot in the Grave: An Almost Zombie story

Chapter Thirty: Could Be Worse

The hissing starts as soon as Lydia shuts the door.

"Are you sure this is safe?" I ask nervously. I'd feel a lot better about the whole thing if Maxx was here, but he opted to go back to the cemetery. He said he found an interesting tomb to investigate, but I'm not sure I believe him.

"No, I'm quite sure this isn't safe," Lydia says. "But Ra'kul is in pain, and I can help her."

I reach out and put my hand on her arm. "Lydia, do you think I'm a horrible person?"

She doesn't answer right away, which makes me feel like crap. And like a horrible person.

"I think you're trying to find your way," she says delicately. "But honestly, Isis, it's time to decide what direction you want your life to take. Everyone in that church would like you if you gave them half a chance." She pauses briefly before continuing, "Well, maybe not Noelle, but everyone else."

I laugh. She's definitely got her daughter pegged.

"Right now most of the church sees you as a troublemaker; first the fight with Noelle, then what happened to Ra'kul. Quite frankly, you're a walking disaster."

That's pretty brutal. But it's also pretty true. "I didn't start the fight with Noelle," I protest.

Lydia starts walking again and I follow, about a heartbeat behind her. "Yeah, you did," she throws over her shoulder. "But you could have ended it, and you didn't. You chose to fight."

"Is that what you would've done? Walked away?" I feel like I'm walking in one of those round seashells, heading toward the center with no real sense of where exactly I am.

The witch shrugs. "I'm a peacemaker by nature."

Which really doesn't answer the question, but before I can say anything else, I hear what I assume is Ra'kul, clicking her way up the hall towards us. Wonderful. I swallow. "Is she going to attack us?"

Lydia shakes her head. "Doubtful. Maxx hurt her very badly. I can hear it in her walk."

I tilt my head but honestly, all I can hear is the same frightening scraping sound I heard the last time I was down here. It's not at all reassuring.

"So what are we supposed to do?" I can't imagine the half sitting still while we slather her in lotions and potions, but what do I know? I'm just the resident brain eater.

"Take a few steps back," Lydia cautioned. "Give me a chance to talk to her first. She might see you as a threat."

Yeah. I definitely don't want that to happen. It's not that I don't trust Lydia to be able to handle whatever Ra'kul does; it's just that...I don't trust Lydia to be able to handle whatever Ra'kul does. Lydia might be a witch, but she's still pretty human looking to me, where the half-Komodo only sort of looks human. If this was a brewing fight, I'd be putting money on the dragon.

"Ra'kul," Lydia's voice is low and hypnotic. "You remember me, right? I've come down here before, with Father Moss."

The hissing slows, as do the clicking sounds on the granite floor.

"That's right," the witch continues. "There's no need to attack. We're not here to hurt you; we're here to help." She steps forward. "Will you let us help you?"

"Uhhhhhsssss?..."

The nearly human sound scares me more than almost anything else. I actually stop breathing for a minute, waiting for her to say more, but it doesn't happen.

Lydia seems to understand her just fine, though. "The half-zombie is here as well."

The hissing becomes a ferocious and sustained growl. I didn't even know lizards could make that sound. I guess I'm not high on her list of acceptable halves. Not that I blame her. After all, what Maxx did to her is totally my fault.

"Uhhh...I'm here to help, Ra'kul." I don't know if what I'm saying makes a difference, but she doesn't growl again, which makes me happy. "I'm really sorry you got burned." Surprisingly enough, I find that I mean it. I am sorry. The half-Komodo's life has got to suck on the best of days, and I certainly haven't helped matters any.

Lydia must see something in my face, because she gestures me forward to walk by her side. "We're going to come down to you, Ra'kul. Is that all right?"

Ra'kul starts hissing again. Good night, it's got to be seriously messed up to not be able to communicate. I can't even imagine.

"So how're we going to heal her, anyway?"

"We can't heal her," Lydia says. "The best I can do is cast a spell to calm her, take an inventory of her burns, and apply a salve."

So...we are going to coat her in lotions and potions. "Then what am I doing here, other than fulfilling Father Moss' edict?"

"You will coat her in the salve, as necessary."

Oh. Gee. Thanks. My sarcasm rises to the surface, ready to blurt something wildly inappropriate. I pause and think better of it as I remember the extent of Ra'kul's burns. She's got to be a world of pain. "All right," I say humbly.

It doesn't take us very long to reach Ra'kul. The half-Komodo is crouched against a wall, staring at us out of those fabulous gold eyes. Lydia stops around five feet away and I come to a halt behind her. I'm not taking any chances on the half-monster's forgiving nature, especially once I see the bits of black skin flaking off her in chunks.

"This is Isis," Lydia introduces me. "She's the one responsible for your wounds."

Seriously? Did she just tell a monster capable of killing me that I was the one who got her massively injured? What on earth... "It was an accident," I start to babble. "I just wanted to see you...to know you really existed..." That I'm not alone in being a freak, but that's not really true. There are a whole group of people upstairs who are just as freaky as I am, if not more so.

Ra'kul tilts her head, as though listening.

"I really didn't mean to scare you..." I finally trail off. "And I really do want to help."

The half-Komodo nods slowly. Now that she's not busily attacking, I can see that she's more...human...than I originally thought.

"Here," Lydia hands me a jar with some absolutely yucky looking greenish purple gunk in it. "Coat every part of her that's black in this."

I squat down, putting the jar between my knees so I can open it. When I do, I'm pleasantly surprised. It doesn't smell to High Heaven, which is exactly what I was expecting. Instead, it smells like eucalyptus and lavender. Not great, but certainly not disgusting. I stick my hand into the jar and draw it out covered in goop. Yay?

Ra'kul's tongue flicks in and out. I glance over at Lydia, unsure what to do next. "Should I approach her?"

The witch shakes her head. "No. Let her approach you."

I swallow, but stand my ground. Sure enough, the half-Komodo slowly climbs to her feet and steps toward me, one hand outstretched as though to touch mine. And suddenly, like a light bulb has gone off in my head, I see her, and myself, and all the other halves, as what they truly are. Not half-monsters at all, but half-human.

Who says I can't learn?