An Author's Odyssey

"This is my story- we're in 'Cemetery of the Undead'!"

Even though Bree said it out loud, she still wasn't sure if it was real or not. Normally, she thought that her straightforward logic would help with dealing the situation, but for once, it didn't. It was even more mind boggling than discovering the Land of Stories because those had been classic literature. This was just some story she came up with.

"I got my stories from Mrs. Peters," Conner tried to explain. "She must have mixed your writing with mine when she gave them to me! It's been in the back of my binder the whole time! I didn't have a divider between them, so the Portal Potion must have seeped through my writing and into yours."

Uhh... okay? Bree stared blankly at Conner. She didn't understand a word he said. So basically we weren't supposed to go here, but somehow we're here, so we have to save Emmerich and the others? In the midst of zombies, graves and a creepy cemetery? Ah crap, please don't tell me it's midnight. She looked down at her watch. Damn. Twenty five minutes to midnight. This is just brilliant.

The situation couldn't be worse. Goldilocks was about to give birth, Emmerich and Charlotte were in grave danger, they stumbled upon a cemetery with real zombies, and to top things off, the Masked Man was out there, roaming with a gun.

"You guys stay with Goldie," Conner instructed. "I'm going to find Emmerich and my mom. As soon as I get them away from the Masked Man, I'll send my mom here to help."

"I'm coming with you," Bree said automatically.

"You can't, it's too dangerous." Conner replied.

Bree appreciated the sentimental effort, but which part of her current adventure wasn't dangerous? Besides, she felt responsible for taking care of Emmerich. "Conner, I know you're used to being the hero of your own stories, but this is mine." Uh, Conner said he travelled to his own stories, so I didn't say anything wrong, right? "I know this cemetery like the back of my hand. Besides, we only have twenty minutes until midnight- we have to get everyone out of here before then!"

"What happens at midnight?" Red asked anxiously.

"The characters come out." Bree gulped at the thought of it. Yeah, I like writing about zombies, but I never thought I would meet one. Besides, if my descriptions are accurate, they would creep everyone out!

"What's wrong with you writers?" Red yelled angrily. "If you wrote instruction manuals, we wouldn't have this problem!"

Bree wanted to make a sarcastic comeback, but choked it down her throat. She decided Emmerich and Charlotte would be their top priority now. She and Conner looked at the mausoleums. If memory served her right, there would be 666 of those mausoleums (Bree chose that number because it was a creepy number). They simply looked at the staggering number of mausoleums, wondering where Emmerich and Charlotte were.

Finally, they decided to make a move. They silently but swiftly searched through the mausoleums, heart sinking every time they found an empty mausoleum. Bree marked down the places they visited in her head. Emmerich... Where are you?

The cemetery was deathly silent, the only sound being their footsteps and their heavy breathing.

Suddenly, the clear sound of broken glass pierced through the silence, followed by gunfire then shrill screams. Conner and Bree looked up quickly and peered around, anxiety filling them.

"Mom!" Conner gasped.

"Emmerich!" Bree whispered.

Then in unison, they set off, running towards the same direction. Nothing could distract them from saving Charlotte and Emmerich.

Well, except for one thing.

Bree gasped and skidded back, and Conner nearly crashed into her. "What?" he whispered.

Bree's shaky voice came back to him. "It's nothing. I just thought that the statue was the Masked Man." She stared straight ahead at the statue, clouded by fog. Conner followed her gaze and saw what she meant.

"Yikes, this is creepy." Conner peeped.

"I'm never going to write about cemeteries again," Bree muttered under her breath, but that didn't disguise the fear in her voice.

They crept as fast as they dared through the cemetery. The statues were especially creepy as they looked around frantically, eyes darting to every small detail. They lost track of direction and time.

"I think I just saw something," Conner muttered softly so only Bree could hear. The two were instantly on alert, standing back to back, comforted by the warmth of the other, ears twitching to every small sound. Their hearts were pounding, hands were trembling, and deep down they prayed with all their might it wasn't the Masked Man.

Soft footsteps were heard, and Charlotte emerged. "Conner!" she gasped joyfully and instantly tackled her son into a big hug. Conner, although glad to see his mom, pushed her gently away from him. Time was running short.

"Mom!" Conner whispered, despite being relieved he couldn't speak loudly due to the fear of the Masked Man discovering them. "Thank God you're okay! Where's Emmerich?"

Charlotte, still breathing heavily, looked around them. "He was right beside me a moment ago. We escaped from your uncle but got separated in the fog."

Hearing this, Conner and Bree's heart sank. The relief they felt when they found Charlotte was replaced by their anxiety. Bree wanted nothing more to make a mad dash around the cemetery and find Emmerich, but that would be an immensely rash decision. She was sure midnight was nearing...

Once Charlotte ran off to help Goldilocks give birth, Bree and Conner continued to search for Emmerich, their pace quickening. Bree vaguely remembered some statues and gravestones, but her mind was too in a whirl for her to focus on them.

The cemetery gradually grew foggier and foggier. Bree instantly realized what it meant- midnight was nearing. After all, she wrote the story herself.

"Time is running out!" she hissed to Conner.

"Got it!" he whispered back.

The cold mist drifted past them, sending shivers down their spines, from both the cold and fear. Soon, they could barely see and stumbled around with arms outstretched.

Everything Bree saw was a blurry dark mess. She couldn't even see Conner who should be right beside her. Fear suddenly gripped her heart. "Conner, are you here?" she whispered, trying not to sound scared.

"I'm here," a familiar voice from her right sounded. She walked towards the voice, but apparently Conner was trying to walk to her too, so they bumped into each other. Conner laughed nervously and they both tried to walk away and continue to search for Emmerich, but stopped when they realized they couldn't see a thing.

They stood side by side silently, shoulders gently brushing. "The fog should pass in a few seconds." Bree muttered quietly, and it did. They rubbed their eyes as they could see again, arms accidentally bumping into each other.

Silence.

"It's easy to get lost in here," Bree murmured half to herself. Conner heard. He looked at Bree, who was looking at the cemetery quietly. Fear and guilt flickered across her eyes. Conner couldn't imagine how horrible she felt, how her proud creation became her nightmare.

He chewed his lip, as if he was making up his mind about something, then he reached out and closed his hand around Bree's wrist. She spun around in surprise and he just shrugged. "That way we won't get separated."

"Okay." A small smile appeared on Bree's face. "Let's find Emmerich."

Emmerich tore through the cemetery with Charlotte, hearts pumping from adrenaline and fear. They had just narrowly escaped from the Masked Man. Now they just had to find the others and get out of here. The fog was clouding their vision, which made everything ten times creepier.

The boy suddenly saw a blurry figure in front of him. He yelped and starting running, thinking it was the Masked Man. But when the figure didn't move, Emmerich cautiously stepped closer to the figure. He reached out a shaking arm and his fingers brushed against cool, rough stone. He sighed with relief. It had only been a statue.

The cemetery was suddenly very quiet. Too quiet. Emmerich scanned the area quickly and discovered he was alone. He had somehow lost Charlotte.

A strangled sob escaped from his throat as tears threatened to fall. He was all alone. Again. A cool breeze whooshed past him and he shivered. The wind blew mist towards him and Emmerich was blinded for a couple of seconds.

He decided he would try to analyze the situation as quickly and calmly as he could. He took a few shaky steps backwards until his back hit the statue he thought was the Masked Man earlier. He felt safer now he was touching something solid.

His mom always told him if he got lost, he should stay in one place so someone could find him. That was what Emmerich should do, but he had no idea who would find him first.

He walked around, freezing whenever he thought he saw someone. He hid behind statues, peeping out from them. The fear of someone appearing suddenly haunted him, and Emmerich could feel his pulse beating on his wrist. His eyes glistened with tears. He didn't know whether it was because of the stinging wind, his fear and hopelessness, or both.

He also didn't know where the others were. He hoped that Charlotte, Conner, Bree and the others were safe. He felt really guilty as he thought he was the reason they entered this dangerous zone.

After what seemed like eternity, he found an extremely foggy place which he deemed as the most ideal hiding place, as he couldn't be found easily. If he saw Conner and Bree, he could pop out and if he saw the Masked Man, he would remain silent. Emmerich crept to a particularly big tombstone and crouched behind it, back pressed against the stone and arms wrapped around his knees, foolishly still believing in the childish theory of "If I can't see you, you can't see me." It probably wasn't true, but Emmerich still clung to it desperately.

It was a small glimmer of hope shining in the middle of darkness.

***

Conner and Bree ran through the cemetery hand in hand. Anxiety was growing inside Bree, she was sure it would be reaching its peak soon. The two were getting desperate and hopeless. It was as if the gloom in the cemetery was contagious and they were affected by it.

They reached the foggiest part in the cemetery. Without a beat of hesitation they ran in. They hadn't been to this part before so there was a chance that Emmerich was there. The cool mist engulfed them and they squinted their eyes to try to make out shapes. Their footsteps echoed in the cemetery.

Emmerich heard the footsteps. He tensed and made himself as tiny as possible.

Footsteps meant hope. Conner and Bree might finally find him and bring him out from this cemetery. He could go home to his mother. He could be safe and sound.

But then, footsteps could also mean doom if the Masked Man found him.

He only hoped it was the former.

3 minutes.

There were only three minutes left.

Now, Bree knew that they could only depend on luck. They checked one side of the cemetery and found nothing. It was so foggy Bree couldn't even determine where they were. She hoped they didn't hit the jackpot- the scariest part where rotting zombies held bloodstained weapons and actually kill people. Because in their deranged minds everyone living person equalled to the person who killed them. And they desired revenge.

She had been so preoccupied with the Masked Man she forgot that there were real dangers in her story.

"Emmerich!" Bree whispered softly. "Where are you?"

They say the animal instincts are forced out when you are in extreme situations.

Emmerich was learning this firsthand. Unable to see, his hearing suddenly became very sharp. His head jerked ever so slightly at the tiniest sound. The footsteps sometimes sounded closer to him, sometimes farther like they were wavering.

It was then he discovered there might be more than one pair of footsteps.

He listened intently. Yes, there were two people.

His heart sang out in joy. It must be Bree and Conner! But when he peeped out from behind the tombstone, he couldn't see anything.

The footsteps sounded closer, and they were frantic and hurried. But he didn't see anybody. All he could see was a blurry blob. Suddenly, fear eclipsed his excitement. What if the Masked Man found his friends and used them to find him?

Emmerich decided he would rather be safe than sorry and returned to sitting behind the gravestone, ice cold fingers curling into fists in anticipation and fear. He looked around, hoping to see something.

Emmerich squinted. He saw two shadows making their way towards him. His heart thumped in excitement. It was so foggy he couldn't see their features but he knew it was them.

Slowly, slowly, he made out their pale faces and frenzied eyes. Conner and Bree breathed heavily and stared at the small boy in front of them. Bree was so relieved she thought her heart might burst from her gladness. She quickly checked her watch. 30 seconds. She gulped. Can we make it if we run with all our might? But seeing Emmerich made her worries disappear for a moment.

"There you are!" Bree gasped, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Conner! Bree!" Emmerich cried, eyes watering slightly at the sight of his friends. Then he remembered something. "Where's Charlotte?"

"She went back to help Goldilocks," Conner replied. Like Bree, he was also staring at Emmerich with a half-smile on his face. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"NOT SO FAST!" A horribly familiar voice shouted behind them.

They were all so shocked and scared, they thought their hearts might have stopped beating for a second. Like in a horror movie, Conner and Bree slowly turned around, and what they saw made their blood freeze to ice. The Masked Man was limping towards them, his eyes were unfocused and had a maniacal glint in them. His bloodstained clothes made him look like someone who survived a zombie apocalypse twice. Or worse, a zombie himself.

The creepiest thing is that he reminds me of the zombies I created, but he's REAL! Bree thought nervously. Instinctively, she stood next to Emmerich and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"The boy is coming with me!" the Masked Man hollered, his voice slightly raspy.

Conner knitted his brows in determination and stood between the Masked Man and Emmerich, arms spread out in an effort to protect his friends.

"No one is going anywhere with you!" he retorted angrily.

"Stupid boy!" the Masked Man growled, words slightly slurred due to the sedative. "Get out of my way or I'll shoot!"

Chills ran down Bree and Emmerich's spines. Bree tightened her grip on Emmerich's shoulders. They both knew there was no knowing how far the Masked Man would go. Bree started mentally counting down. 20... 19.... 18...

Conner couldn't think. So he did the thing his heart told him to do- pour out all his hate and anger onto the Masked Man.

"Go ahead!" Conner yelled, ignoring the fact that what he was doing was brave but very stupid. Bree and Emmerich looked at Conner, horrified. They couldn't believe what he just said. Bree wanted to do something, anything, but she was paralyzed with fear. Not only fear of the Masked Man, but also fear of losing Conner forever. 15...14... Bree fought back hopeless tears.

"You'll never be satisfied no matter how many people you kill and no matter how powerful you become!" Conner proclaimed boldly, trying to ignore his pounding heart. "And if I can't stop you, my sister will! Good luck facing her once she finds out you killed me!"

No! He is NOT on a suicide mission! Bree yelled desperately inside her head. Her heart went cold and her hands began to shake. I don't need any of those dramatic self-sacrificing scenes! Bree stared at the commotion through the tears in her eyes. Her heart started to crumble down like a building during an earthquake. 7... 6...

The Masked Man ignored Conner, drew out his gun and aimed it at Conner's forehead. Wait... Bree thought, a spark of hope coming to her suddenly. We might have a chance! 5... 4...

Beads of sweat formed on Conner's face and stood there, frozen. He wasn't sure if he made the right choice, he wasn't sure about sacrificing himself, but he was sure about one thing- he wanted him and Alex to win. He wanted to stop all the fighting and the casualties. He was doing it to protect innocent people. He closed his eyes shakily for what might be the final time, hoping Alex could win without him.

Emmerich hid his face behind his hands. He couldn't bear to watch. He too was on the verge of collapsing. He couldn't believe that Conner was risking himself to save his life.

3... 2...

"Give my regards to your father."

The Masked Man's finger hovered a millimeter above the trigger. Conner held his breath.

1! Zombie time!

Even though Bree had been anticipating it, the scraping sound still shocked her. Most thankfully, the Masked Man was so surprised he lowered his gun. Yes! Thank you! Conner's safe! Bree sighed in gratitude. Then she remembered when that danger was gone, another would emerge.

The corpses stood up suddenly, as stiff as a board. Bree watched with an odd mixture of pride, disgust and fear as the zombies- her zombies came to life. It is "Cemetery of the Undead"! It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!

Even though the corpses were very much decomposed and creepy, Bree instantly recognised them. They were Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn and Marie-Antoinette! They were in "Wronged Women Row", and the place with the murdering zombies was quite far from where they were! Bree wanted to dance and celebrate, but realized that Conner and Emmerich were staring at the corpses, terrified out of their wits.

"What's going on?" Conner whispered to Bree, trying to keep his voice from being a pitch higher than usual.

"It's midnight," she replied, sounding scared but with a hint of pride in her voice. "All the bodies in the cemetery come back to life for a few minutes every night to stretch their legs and visit with each other. It's supposed to be a morbid representation of what break time is like in a public high school!"

Yeah, morbid representation turned wrong. Heart in her throat, from both fear and excitement, Bree watched the corpses.

"Who are they?" Conner asked. "Why do they look so familiar?" He thought hard about it. Maybe he had seen them in a documentary?

"This area of the cemetery is called 'Wronged Women Row'", Bree explained to the boys. "These are the women I thought had unfair deaths in history. That's Joan of Arc, Anne Boleyn and Marie-Antoinette."

"I just adore our nightly stretches," Joan of Arc said. Bree freaked out. She's using the exact same voice as I imagined! "Don't you, Anne?"