My Sister's a Zombie!

Chris sighed and pushed the bag in, wedging it. A moment later it vanished and the door slammed shut. He heard her teeth bite down loudly, and a long and satisfied moan afterwards. She'd probably been feeling starving.

He wondered if eating and TV was all she'd done. He hadn't been gone that long, just a couple hours. However, that probably felt too long to her. Even annoyed with him, he supposed that she missed having him close at hand.

"Ginger should drop lunch by, soon. Do you want to eat together?"

She thumped on the door.

Chris frowned, "Um... Two bangs for yes, one for no. Do you want to eat together?"

She thumped on the door again, just the once.

He nodded, a little disappointed. "Okay. What about shopping afterwards? Same deal."

A single thump.

Chris winced, "Um... Movies? A night in together?"

Single thump.

"Your annoying brother to go the fuck away?"

Two bangs.

Chris winced, trying not to take it personally, and headed back to the kitchen. Feeling a little down that he'd managed to fuck up his relationship with his sister within a single day of her coming back from the dead, he made himself a stirfry.

No carrots. But plenty of leek, cabbage, zucchini and a little bit of beef. He mixed it together in a wok, tossing it and enjoying the act of cooking for himself, when Ginger arrived.

One of the removalists saw the witch and visibly flinched, dropping the tools he'd been carrying. The redhead blew him a kiss, and then held up a bag, "Ya sister can gorram eat. I brought over twice as much... Where is she?"

"Hiding." Chris shrugged, "She screamed at me, before noticing we had company. And now... I dunno. Think she still hates me from this morning."

The witch cocked her head, "It starting to get easier to read her. I'm not as good at mindreading as Lils, sweet. But I think Raquel is... She's trying to work out how to say sorry for somet'ing."

He nodded and served a bowl, "Want some?"

"Huh? Oh, nah. I'm still workin'." Ginger shook her head, "Smells nice. I'll be 'round after ten. Just to check everyone alive. Call me if it's an emergency."

"Thanks."

The witch waved, and blew another kiss at the terrified removalist, before she was gone. Chris shook his head, not really wanting to know what that was all about. Probably something supernatural... His world really had changed. Just a day ago, he would have assumed that they used to date.

He leaned on the bench, glumly eating his pickmeup food and not feeling even the slightest bit lighter.

"Thanks." The workers eventually left, and Chris sat on the new couch, which was sturdier than the last. An oak frame, and some more comfortable cushions. The TV was still on from what his sister had been watching, which seemed to be the twenty four hour news spiel.

He changed it over to something more appropriate, and then set up a blanket and jug of water for her. Chris was tempted to try and heat up lunch for her, and tempt her out of the bathroom, but she'd made it clear she didn't really want to interact with him.

He pulled out his phone and started doom scrolling.

%6%3%2%9%4%

"Hey." Ginger fell beside him on the couch, yawning and stretching as she did, "You two get up to anything interesting?"

"Haven't seen her." Chris said absent-mindedly, and then looked up from his phone, "Is it really that late? Oh, shit."

The witch's eyebrows were up, "Actually, I'm late. Midnight. Ya best fuckin' check on her."

He half-ran down the hall and opened the bathroom door.

Chris' stomach dropped as he saw the open window. "Ginger! Please, please tell me you know how to find a runaway zombie!"

"Aw, fuckit." The witch said, coming up behind him, "I'm gonna have ta get Lils on this. Which probably means interruptin' her and Ryker. Expect the White Witch ta be a bitch."

Ginger turned and pulled out her phone, as Chris went over and looked out the window. The pavement below was cracked from where two feet had landed, but he couldn't see any other traces of her. No caught hair or clothing suggesting a destination.

"Divination?" The witch behind him said in frustration, "I haven't slept in four days, Lils! What mana left for damn divination do you think I have? Stop fuckin' ya boyfriend and do ya fooking job!"

Chris leaned further out the window, trying to think where she would have gone. She didn't have that many memories. If she didn't want to be around him anymore then... "The graveyard?"

"Yes. The graveyard."

He jumped, hitting his head, and turned to see the woman with weird hair. She crossed her arms and glared at Ginger, "I know it's rough, pulling double-shifts, Ging, but you're not the one who has dealt with four dark gods in two days! Ryker and I aren't screwing around, we were fucking comatose. So don't be a bitch."

Chris pulled his car keys from his pocket, "Go home, Ginger. Probably best if I try and do this on my own."

"You can't hear her thoughts. You don't understand her." The witch shook her head.

"Then I need to learn." He said firmly, "She hates you. Right now, she's hurting and trying to go back to being dead. So just... Leave it. I need to do it on my own."

"I agree with him." Lily said tiredly, "So, overruling. Go home. Get some sleep. Take the rest of the night off, Ginger. That's an order. If he has any major problems, I'll deal with it. I'll keep a... Sort of alarm, on you. A way to remotely see if something is happening."

He nodded, "Thanks."

Chris headed out and got into his car.

A car he hadn't driven when he went into town to look for a couch. He'd taken the bus, like every other time, because he had only driven twice since the accident. His hands shook as he turned the key and started it.

He had thought he was over this.

Chris took several deep breaths. Right now, his sister needed him. She was so upset that she wished that she hadn't come back from the dead. No one even knew why she had, only that she had crawled and dug her way out from two metres under heavy packed soil, because she heard him hurting.

His anxiety evaporated as he begun to put it together. Chris backed the car out, and joined the rest of the traffic. He slid the car into the right lane and headed off towards a place he knew too well.

He'd been treating this whole thing like he needed to watch out for and care for his sister. The witches had been doing the same. Making him her official carer. The three of them couldn't have hurt Raquel much worse, by doing so.

She hadn't come back to be a burden to him. She hadn't come back to have him dump his job and life just to stay by her side. She had forced and fought her way back into the living world so that she could be the one to rescue him.

She decided to dig her way out to try and make him smile.

Raquel must have hated every minute of it, since. She must have felt so lost. Not understanding anything except that she was hurting him. When he had refused to talk to her, because it had hurt too much... That was when she'd made her decision.

The apology she'd wanted to make, but didn't know how, was that she was leaving.

Chris knew that he still didn't have the full story. That both the witches knew exactly what Raquel had been trying to tell him whenever she pushed on his chest, but all three had decided that his sister had to be the one to tell him.

The key to saving the girl who had just gone to climb back into her grave and pretend that she had never woken up, was to understand precisely what she'd been screaming at him.

Something about not being separate.

Something about making him smile.

Something about the shower.

Chris still felt lost.

Even if the Aeon of Zarzi Party came back out of the woodwork with all their pamphlets on zombies, and all the planning in the world for surviving an apocalypse, Chris was fairly certain he had not the faintest clue what Raquel had been trying to tell him.

He'd never been that great at understanding women, in general. Too many implications, and reading between the lines. Sometimes he'd think that the clue was obvious, and go to follow through with it, and immediately and permanently destroy a friendship forever for being a creep. Other times, the girl would get frustrated at him for not daring to pay attention to the subtle signs.

All of that just got freaking worse when the person in question not only didn't talk, but only talked in grunts, growls and glares.

The graveyard wasn't that far from Chris' house. It had taken a while to get a plot there, and had cost a ridiculous amount for the small space. The headstone had also burned a hole in his bank account.

He smiled at that.

All of that had turned out to be a complete waste, it seemed. He drove into the attached carpark, and underneath a gum nut tree that was guaranteed to drop crap all over the car. Because of course mourners wanted to turn mourning into a chore.

Getting out, he saw that the cafe was open. A place to get a coffee, afterwards, to sit and think. That was one thing that Chris thought sort of made sense. Though, knowing what he did now, it wouldn't shock him if the old woman running the place turned out to be a witch making sure that nothing went wrong.

He walked up to the entrance to the graveyard proper, and found it closed and padlocked. A sign on it suggesting that they were dealing with a flooding problem.

He looked around, found no one, but knew he wouldn't be able to jump the fence. Especially not with the lovely points on top of the incredibly high fences. So he headed into the cafe, hoping that they might have a key.

He smiled anxiously as he saw the old woman brewing a cup of tea, "Um... You wouldn't happen to..."

"The graveyard is closed, darling."

He nodded, "I know. I'm pretty sure that's because Raquel is there, not because of flooding."

The woman paused, and then turned to look at him in surprise, "Oh my. Sorry, darling. I just assumed that you were a regular person. Seems you've had a discovery, since last time I saw you."

"Raquel. The zombie." He waved a hand at the graveyard, "She's my sister. So if she's found her way back here... I really need to talk to her."

The old woman sipped at her tea, "Hmm. I don't know if she has. I do know that the old place has had a trap been triggered. It might have been your sister. The White Witch put it in place, after your sister... Woke up."

"Lily didn't say." Chris said in irritation at the oversight.

The witch shook her head, "Oh, that one has been doing a lot for all of us, lately. Easy for small things to escape your notice, darling. And as important as family is to each of us... I'm afraid the White Witch doesn't get to see most of us as important. Her concerns are... Terrifying."

"Heard that a few times. Don't wanna know." He shook his head. "So... The trap?"

The woman put down her tea, picked up her walking cane and stood up very slowly. She shuffled with a hunched back over to pick up some keys, and then painfully slowly turned around and started to head towards the door.

Chris followed her out to the gate, which she unlocked. The woman frowned a few times, and then tapped her walking stick on the ground. There was an instant rumble of thunder.

The old woman frowned and took a shuffle backwards, "I don't know if it's your sister in there. But something dead has walked in, and walked through things that the White Witch made, herself. I'd say I've lived a long enough life, but I really haven't, so I'm going back inside. If you go past the gate, you're risking your life, darling."

He felt a chill run down his spine at that, and then ignored the sensible advice and stepped into the graveyard.

The feeling of something being... Off... Was immediate. It only took him a moment to notice that he couldn't hear any birds singing anymore. No wind in the trees. There was a stillness that was beyond what should really happen.

Chris walked along the path, the temperature dropping as he approached the back of the graveyard. Frost and ice formed on the cracked and aged concrete. The closer he got to her little plot, the colder it got.

When he saw actual fucking snow, something he'd never seen fall in his town, he knew that the witch had been the more intelligent of the two of them. Little white piles of the stuff, resting atop the mounds and stones.

He couldn't think of a reason it was snowing or weird, not from a zombie. His sister was dead, not magic. Well... Not a witch? Not someone who could cast magic at any rate.

"Chrrrrrisssh!" He heard a desperate wail, approaching her grave.

He smiled sadly, and stepped up to the edge. The plot looked disturbed, like someone had started to excavate it and got bored halfway through. Looking down into the deep hole, he saw her.

Raquel was lying on her back, twisted in a position that would have him gritting his teeth in pain. She was kicking her feet pathetically, as a snowman sat on top of her and tried to hit her with wooden tree branch hands, as she blocked it with one extremely battered forearm.

"Magic. Fucking. Snowman." He said in disbelief, "That's what the witch thought should defend this place? That's so nice and reasonable. What the fuck."

The snowman paused, and the head spun around fluidly, glaring up at him with eyes of coal. He felt the distinct need to empty his bowels.

He jumped backwards, looking around quickly and then grabbing a dead branch from underneath one of the trees. He didn't get a chance to threaten it and tell the thing not to attack his sister, because the snowman was already attacking him.

His makeshift weapon disappeared into sawdust before he could do anything, and then he was on his back wondering how the fuck a smile made of gravel could look so terrifying.

"Geeeettt! Ooooofff! Miiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrn! Chrriiiisssh!" He heard a bellow of rage that shook snow out of the tree, before the snowman lifted into the air.

Raquel stood beneath it with an incensed look of rage, raising it up until she was balancing it directly overhead, and then with a white puff, she slammed her hands together and pulverised the entire thing at once.

He burst out into shocked laughter, staring at her.

His sister let out a growl with a curl of one lip, and then crossed her arms. The pink dress didn't really take away from how intimidating she appeared.

Chris shook his head, smiling as he stood up, "Yep. Wow. Just like you thought. You're the cool and tough one, between us. Just like you wanted me to get."

She blinked slowly, and then broke into a huge grin. She slammed into him, knocking him back off his feet, and down onto the icy pavement with a painful crack of his skull. She pushed hard on his chest, and moaned, "Chrriissh."

"First, ow. Ow! Second... Are you really so stupid you were just going to climb back into your grave? Seriously?" He looked up at her, "I'm hurting, because I already lost you once. I'm terrified of it happening again. That would be the worst thing that could possibly happen, Raquel."

She winced, looking down and away from him.

"I know. I fucked up. Bad." Chris stated, "You came here to save me. To stop the idiot who cried beside your grave. To make him smile, again. And you did. Having you back... Having you back... Yes. I'm going to cry. But you're my world, Raquel. That's not a problem, that's... How it should be. You're my sunshine."

She looked at him hesitantly, "Miiiirn."

"Mine." He said slowly, remembering how she'd screamed at the snowman. "That's what you've been trying to say... That I'm your idiot brother."

Raquel's face fell and she thumped him roughly in the chest, making him cough. Her lip curled up with an angry sneer, and she shook her head.

"Mine, is right? But... Not your brother...?"

She nodded.

Chris went white, "The... Shower. Oh god. Raquel, if I say this, and get it wrong, one or the other of us is probably ending up in that grave. Out of sheer embarrassment."

She grinned happily and clapped excitedly, nodding.

"When... When you..." He swallowed, not believing the words that were about to come out of his mouth, "... Grabbed me by..."

"Diiiick." She moaned and nodded quickly, snapping and popping her neck.

Chris gave a confused and nervous laugh, "Holy shit. Uhm... Raquel? Are... Are you... Into me?"

She rolled her eyes and nodded.

He stared up at her, "Wha...? Seriously? But... I'm... You're... We're..."

The blonde gave a shrug, and then gently pressed down on his chest. She nodded towards him, and gave a lopsided grin. The small hint of drool threatening to emerge from one side of her mouth.

Chris remembered the shower, the hug. Picturing putting his dick in her mouth, like the terrible person that he was. He was still fairly certain she'd bite it if he did... But he was less certain that she didn't want him to try, anyway.

"Let's go home, together." He gave up.

She stood up, and then with a creak of her back, reached down and picked him effortlessly off the ground. She planted him on his feet, grinned again at him, and then started stumbling towards the entrance to the graveyard.

As she walked, her feet slid through the snow a little more evenly. Her bare feet, on the hard rock. Chris shook off his shock at being so easily manhandled, and ran after her. Grabbing her hand as an excuse so that he could look at the damage that the snowman had done.

Her arm was scratched and torn a lot deeper than he'd been hoping. If she was still alive, they would have left scars. Except, she wasn't. He swallowed, "I know I'm not meant to ask about... Zombie things... But do you think this can heal? If you eat?"

"Mmm." She gave a jerking nod, as if it were nothing.

He smiled slowly, noting how her mood had dipped at the reference. "You managed more words."

"Miiirn." She snarled, and then crushed his hand in a steel vice. His eyes watered, and he let out the world's smallest whine of agony as he tried and failed to bury it.

Raquel didn't seem to notice.

He opened the car door for her. As she climbed in, he rubbed at his fingers, and looked over towards the cafe. He saw the old woman sipping tea from the window, and waved to her. The witch seemed to give him a judgemental look of disapproval.

Chris rolled his eyes, and went around and climbed into the driver's seat. He belted in, and put his hands on the steering wheel. As he did the memories flooded in again, and his hands shook for a moment as he tried to bury the anxiety.

Raquel reached over and put her green and yellow hand on his.

He smiled sadly and kissed the back of it, "Almost all the bruising is gone. You really do heal a lot, when you eat, don't you?"

She made a disapproving growl.

Chris looked at her innocently, "It's a good thing, isn't it? Because then you and I will be able to talk. We'll be able to sit next to the TV without me worrying that you're about to take a chunk out of my shoulder."

She gave a timid smile, and then slapped him in the crotch. Chris' eyes watered and his head jerked forward to hit the horn in the wheel. He gave a tiny groan of his own, as he felt his right nut start to swell.

"Mmmirrrn?" Raquel asked timidly.

He tried to respond, he really did, but right now all he could do was breathe through his nose as one of his eyes watered from the agony of taking a zombie shot to the groin.

Chris sucked several litres of air in, and slowly sat back up. He looked over at his sister, who had stuck her thumb in her mouth and was staring at him expectantly as she ground her jaw back and forth.

He winced and whispered, "Do you need a carrot?"

"Mmm." She nodded, not releasing her hand and looking on the verge of tears.

He shrugged, repositioned himself delicately, and started the car. He reversed out of the carpark, and turned onto the main roads. "We could go to a supermarket. Get some carrots or something else. But if we do... You need to promise not to bite anyone or... Stick your head in the meat freezer, or anything like that. I know you're not in complete control."