Two

The minutes bled as they stood on that hill, drilling their gaze at the body. It felt as if the stopwatch of time had cracked and eternity had entered into the ether. Amelia anticipated the blonde corpse to jump back at them at any moment, ready for a fresh bite. From what she heard about zombies in the movies, they usually came back for a good jump scare before finally being shot down for good. But the body didn't seem to breathe, twitch, or stir in any way. The bullet had gone straight through the head.

"What now?" Amelia asked, breaking the spell of silence.

Annika was still staring at the body. There was something stirring in her face.

"What?" Amelia skimmed over the body worryingly. "Is she not dead?"

"Help me get her in the house," said Annika. The girls picked up the stiff, pale corpse and stowed it behind the sliding glass door. The lounging room was cold, dusty, and derelict. It showcased small glass tables of gray uneaten spaghetti, scorpions scuttling on the threadbare carpet, and a plasma TV that ominously blinked on and off as if it were cursed. Amelia's heart sank. Sometimes she wondered who lived in this mansion and what had happened to them. Had they also been bitten like Mamma? Were they happy? The body was laid behind the couch, deteriorating in the ghostly shadows.

Annika knelt down, genuflect, as if about to pray, and made the sign of the cross with her hands. "Gud bevare dem alla," she whispered. When she was done, she stood up and grabbed Amelia's shoulder. "For so long, Mamma had refrained from training you not just because you were young, but because she was afraid you would become a killer once you knew how to wield your weapons. But there are no killers in Paradise, not truly. There are only those who have and those who don't."

Amelia's eyebrows drew wrinkles. "You mean those who have the will to survive?"

"Ja. Those who kill, kill to survive. There are no right and wrongs to this. It's very important you understand this because those weighted by emotions are usually the ones that die quickest or are deceived by someone before meeting their end. That's where your training comes in."

Annika could see the look on Amelia's face. "I know what you're thinking. I'm not saying killing is okay or that you should try to do it. You just need to be vigilant and prepared. Don't be naive, Amelia, the goal is to survive. Always remember that."

Amelia chewed this over. "If the goal is to survive, then why kill people?" 

"In times like this, people are crazy. They grow a sense of power in the face of disorder, and their ethics becomes warped. Ethics, Amelia, not morals. You can be an evil person and still follow the rules. Some people out there don't do that."

Amelia felt as if a cold hand tickled her spine. Whoever these people were, she hoped to never meet them. "But you guys have killed them all, right? These bad people?"

"It's something we strive for. I wouldn't bite my fingers over this though, it's a rare occurrence you'll meet them at your age. And for someone like you, you wouldn't be dealing with them anyway. What you need to do is keep an eye out for the Brains because that's what you'll be encountering more of."

"Umm...Brains?"

"It's a name we use for zombies."

A scorpion scurried around the tables until it disappeared behind a cactus.

"We're going to Rennington Court. It's a nice neighborhood, and you'll have most of your basic training done there."

"Did Mamma take you there to get trained?" Amelia asked.

"Yes and no. Sometimes she would train me outside the neighborhood. Kind of like an apprenticeship."

Amelia thought hungrily of what the training entailed. "Annika?"

"Hmm?"

"If zombie hunters kill those who kill, wouldn't that mean that zombie hunters would have to kill each other?"

Annika turned her face away from Amelia. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Annika and Amelia sauntered down the desert hill until they came across a wooden post. Tied to it was a midnight black horse with blood-red eyes, and the most ferocious face Amelia had ever seen. Amelia's gaze lingered on the imposing size of the thing. For a moment, she thought that it would breathe hellfire and scorch them alive.

"This is Balthazar, Mamma's old horse. She bought it off of Goulds several years back...she seemed to be impressed by it's strength. This baby can run as fast as a sports car...shame they don't work anymore. Don't be shy, touch it," Annika goaded Amelia's hand onto the horse's oily black mane. Amelia tentatively stroked but realized it was a mistake when the black creature shook its head angrily and scraped its hooves on the ground with a series of protesting grunts.

"Balthazar, this is Amelia. Vänta! She's not gonna hurt you!" Balthazar blew a dignified snort, cocking its head sideways as Annika vehemently tried to reign him in. "Stay still! He's just a bit shy but he'll get used to you. He was like this when I first met him."

Amelia took two steps back from the pugnacious horse. "Annika, what's a car?"

"It's a four-wheeled thing that you drive in, You'll see 'em," Annika stroked Balthazar's head. The horse's temper had abated and was now bowing its head to the older sister invitingly.

"I've always wanted to be a race car driver," Annika said in a lost, lamented voice. "Ever since... well, the outbreak happened. Mamma always said I wanted to be many things."

Annika fished something thin and silvery out of her pockets and handed it to Amelia. From a tight glance, it appeared to be a bracelet with a silver Swedish flag on it. "It was Mamma's. She carried it around for good luck, I'm sure she'd want you to have it."

Amelia held the bracelet eagerly before putting it on. A small smile colored her face. "Annika, did you love Mamma?"

Annika paused for a moment. Her lips jerked before she said, "I loved Mamma with all my heart, little sis." The elder sister mounted on the horse with flowery ease. "Now come on, we're killing daylight with all this talking."

Amelia tried to get on the horse several times but her grip slipped and Annika eventually had to grab her up. Soon enough, Balthazar neighed aggressively and began to gallop down the hill. The mansion sunk behind the hill as the trail started to pick up. The mountains got blurry and the harsh winds gathered up as they gained incredible speed. They had now been approaching a paved road, and past the road railings, they could see the frames of tall buildings.

"Vad tanker du pa?" said Annika. It was strange seeing her little sister so silent throughout the ride.

"Hmm?" Amelia's eyes widened, feigning confusion.

"What's up? You haven't hammered me with a single question yet. That's kind of your thing..."

Amelia's lips cracked wide open as Annika stole a chuckle. But her smile began to waver as another thought cropped up. "Annika, remember when you told me about the Brains? How exactly did they even get here?"

"That's the mystery. No one can fully agree on their inception. There's one camp that believes it was a virus and the other...well they believe they were resurrected into servitude. They believe that whatever force brought them back brought them back to be a slave under the banner of evil."

Balthazar snorted. Amelia had to agree with him. If it had truly been the latter option, then it had to be a pretty miserable way to be brought back from the dead.

"Whatever it was, there's one thing we both know for sure, it all happened on Black Night," said Amelia.

"Black Night?" Amelia's gray eyes flashed curiously.

"It's what we call the night the zombie outbreak happened. It was appalling, a lot of kids' parents died that night. I'll spare you the details."

Amelia's face shadowed, lips pursed. "Is that why we have zombie hunters? Because of Black Night?"

"Mm-hmm, you're catching on. Zombie hunters are a direct result of Black Night. But also because Black Night had rid Paradise of all its police and military personnel. And without those guys running security, who else are we left to depend on? "

They were well deep into the city. Balthazar had stopped running and was strutting lazily into a stripped lane. Palm trees stretched sky high behind the winding sidewalks and lined up consecutively in front of the blocked buildings. The buildings were designed elegantly and fair as if they were a courthouse. But moss and vines crawled from underneath them like sickly green fingers. The outer walls gave garish colors of white, light brown, sage green, pastel purple, pale yellow, or gray which resulted in a strange eldritch appearance. Almost otherworldly. The longer Amelia looked at them the more they seemed to glow. Amelia shivered. A strong growling wind blew around the city, and even though it was mostly abandoned, Amelia felt as if the spirits of the people were still present in this place.

Lines of damaged, rusted vehicles lined up on the streets. Amelia could only assume these were the cars Annika had talked about. Some of them carried screeches and stirs of movement behind the cracks of their windows.

As they continued to march down the road, Amelia observed buildings that showcased a statue of a robed man with colorful stones around his feet. Each new building presented the same man. Despite the countless spas, resorts, and hotels that they skimmed by, she couldn't help but notice the oddities of these sculpted figures.

"We're in the province of Naaman," said Annika promptly. "It's used to be Paradise's most peaceful province."

A new statue was approaching but Amelia ignored it, she felt weird looking at them, as if she was impeding on some religious rite. "Who is that statue? And why are there stones around him?"

"That's the statue of Naaman, and what you're seeing are worshiping rites. The people in this city used to worship this man. Every day, before breakfast and after dinner."

Amelia recalled her miserable days reading the Bible with Mamma. "But Annika, wasn't Naaman the sick man with leprosy?"

"Yup."

"Why would they want to worship a sick man?"

"It's what he represented that they worshipped. They saw Naaman as the augury of peace, humility, and the healing of sickness."

"Oj! So that's why it's known as the most peaceful province!" Amelia uttered in excitement.

Balthazar's stroll eventually stopped at an enclosed area faced with a black luxurious gate. Its interior was patterned with black panels with bronze knobs jutting out of it. Aside from it was an arched stone sign that read Rennington Court in bronze print. In front of the wide gate were three sentinel figures clad in white travel cloaks. They wielded thin shimmering swords and cast a looming gaze on the two sisters.

The sisters unmounted the horse and approached the three figures.

"Business?" said the sentinel standing center front. He had long fiery red hair and the grubbiest face Amelia had ever seen.

"I'm here to see Vog, Hobbes. Open the gate."

The dirty-faced Hobbes carved a beguiling smile. He drew the sword in between Annika's legs while his swamp-green eyes sized her up. "Hmm...I don't recall Vog ever mentioning you. I suggest coming again next time, on a more auspicious note."

The two cloaked figures flanked behind him chortled approvingly. Amelia couldn't help but feel scandalized by the way Hobbes looked at her sister and the way the sword danced around her legs. If it was her, she would've slapped them or given them a bloody mouth.

A murky gray cloud settled on Annika's face. She spun around like a flower, legs outstretched, and struck Hobbes's knee sending him buckling down to the ground. She grabbed the thin sword and dangled the pointy tip in between Hobbes's chest. Two more swords clanged behind her.

"I'm not in the mood for your pathetic games, you lonely vermin. Now open the damn gate or I'll open up your heart." Annika's grip tightened on the sword as her stone-gray eyes flashed.

To Amelia's surprise, Hobbes started to giggle. It was a high-pitched, false supplicatory kind of laugh. "You're really out of your element here, Bergstrom. Sometimes you just need to stick it in and know your place." Hobbes licked his lips. "I mean with your track record...If you kill me, you're definitely going to be a pariah in this neighborhood."

Balthazar started to whinny excitedly as it jumped up kicking it's legs. Amelia could hear it too, distant footfalls were approaching the gate. There was a jumble of muffled noise behind the black barrier, as one voice raised over the other. But eventually, there was a rumbling of chain sounds and the gate began to spread wide open. A man in a black travel cloak stepped forward. He had just hopped out of a carriage driven by a fleet of black horses. He had a comely, confident semblance with a mane of flaxen blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes. He carried a beaten crossbody bag with a sheath and gun dangling on his jeans beneath the cloak.

"I thought I sensed you Balthazar," he said. The black horse grunted appreciatively. Hobbes and Annika instantly got off the ground but they still held a fierce gaze on each other.

"How have you been Amelia?"

"It's been going," said Annika listlessly.

"What's over yonder with your mother? I haven't seen her in a while...and well, I didn't expect you to be here so soon."

"Yeah, well I didn't expect to have swords pointed behind my back either. What a world huh?"

The black-cloaked figure ordered the sentinels behind Hobbes to lower their swords. Then for the first time, his gaze met Amelia's. His lips curled as he bent down in front of her. "And who are you?"

"Amelia." Amelia couldn't meet his eyes. She tried to reign in her smile.

The black-cloaked man held out his hands. "I'm Goulds. I'm sure your sister has said some wonderful things about things about me?"

Annika slapped him on the shoulders as Amelia stole a giggle.

"Well I assume you're here to pay a visit to Vog then," said Goulds, latching on to Annika's eyes.

"Yeah, we really must be going," Annika stared earnestly at Goulds. "We'll chat later."

"She can't go in there," said Hobbes irritably. His angry pallor stood behind Annika's shoulder. "She'll be breaching a mandate. Civilians who've left Rennington Court for over three months are automatically banished. She's been gone for a year, Goulds."

"And she's come back multiple times. We'll let this one go under the table."

"You think you're above the rules?" Hobbes sneered.

"The rules didn't exist when Blaire brought in a dashing dame last week," Goulds said challengingly. "Or have my eyes deceived me? He seems to have an effect on you, I will give you that."

Goulds escorted the two sisters away from the three guards until they stopped at his carriage.

"Vog's been expecting you, you know," He muttered with furrowed eyebrows. "The man hasn't been sitting well. He's been pacing back and forth, losing hair over what to do. Things haven't been the same over here, Annika."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll leave you to fill in the blanks," Goulds said cheekily as he jumped back into the carriage. "I'll see you around blondie. Try not to miss me too much."

A commanding bellow echoed from the carriage and the horses began to race off. Balthazar gave a farewell snort to the two sisters and strolled off in the same direction.

Annika and Amelia started to walk down the winding cobblestone street in which they found themselves surrounded by Fachwerk-styled houses that rested in neat consecutive blocks. They were adorned by a host of colorful trees, cultivated by strong winds that wrapped around the blocks and gushed all the way down the bumpy cobblestone roads. Black carriages followed by a flurry of colorful leaves trundled past them, and strange people dressed in either shawls or travel cloaks walked by them. To Amelia, walking down Rennington Court felt like an eternal Fall.

"I think Goulds likes you," said Amelia.

Annika snorted and muttered something disparaging in Swedish. "Goulds is a flirt. He likes everyone. Besides there are no real romantic relationships in the world of the undead."

"So you don't like him?" said Amelia.

"I didn't say that."

"I'm confused."

"Let's keep it that way."

"I don't like that Hobbes guy," Amelia said savagely. "He has a weird way of treating girls and he's mean to you."

"Don't fret it, the poor bastard doesn't like anyone. But he has a personal vendetta against me because I rejected his sorry ass."

"You rejected him?"

Annika sighed. "Yes, I rejected him, Amelia. Once upon a time Hobbes and I used to be friends. But through the course of time, he changed. He began to make sexual advances on me and force me to sleep with him. I was something he liked to call his "trophy mama". I felt objectified so I completely cut him off from my life and moved on."

Amelia blinked. "Did you guys talk about it?"

"Plenty of times. But he refused to listen. Hobbes is a type of person driven by pleasure rather than emotions. And if anything gets in the way of that he'll find a way to destroy it, or at the very least depreciate it."

"Annika?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Hobbes one of the bad people you were talking about?"

Annika's words froze in her mouth for a moment. "It's complicated, but the short-winded answer is no."

A colonial-styled home with golden fringed roofs, golden balustrade railings, and twinkling wide windows stood bolstered up ahead. Adorned in front of it was a magnificent golden statue of a corpulent man holding a golden rose in one hand and a bag of money in the other.

"This is Midas's Mansion. It's where the mayor lives. Stay right here..." Annika knocked on the golden door and a few minutes later disappeared behind it.

Amelia realized she couldn't go too far without getting lost so she forced herself to stay and caught the attention of three framed signs next to the statue. The first one read R.C. Mandates.

R.C. Mandates

I. All murders are prohibited. If caught you will be killed or banished from the premises.

II. Outside civilians who are unknown by the premises must check in with the mayor to be registered in the directory.

III. Outside civilians who are known by premises must return within a three-month interval. Failure to comply will result in banishment.

IV. Luring Brains into the premises will automatically result in banishment.

V. Involuntary sexual acts will result in banishment.

VII. Contingent upon residency, all children under the age of nineteen must partake in a basic training course. Failure to comply will result in banishment.

VIII. House intruders will be banished.

IX. Any romantic dalliances must be dealt with outside if it becomes too much of an issue for the public. Failure to comply will result in banishment.

Amelia skimmed over to one that read Jovem's Code.

Jovem's Code

I. Every zombie hunter must remember to create balance. For that is our job, mission, and duty. For every darkness, we must be the light. For every chaos, we must be order. For every death, we must strive to protect. Balance is our very nature.

II. Every zombie hunter must remember to maintain peace. We must never attack, but defend. We must never argue, but reason. We must never avenge, but forgive.

III. Every zombie hunter's duty is to defend. We are the police. We are the military. We are order.

IV. Every zombie hunter must never fall into the temptation of power. It will cloud our judgment and the quality of our work. Complete your mission and move on. Manipulation, bargaining, sexual favors, favoritism, deeds, and conning are prohibited in the work of a zombie hunter.

V. An eye for an eye. A head for a head.

VI. We don't believe in morals. We believe in survival.

VII. Be valiant. A zombie hunter who is a coward will quickly find their path to the grave.

VIII. Be married to death. By adopting this profession, you accept that you can die on any given day. Zombie hunting is a very risky business.

IX. Never kiss and tell. Every zombie hunter must strive to be silent.

Amelia stared dubiously at the sign. She somehow doubted that every zombie hunter followed the rules of this Code. She was still trying to get over number eight.

Then there was the final sign. But this one appeared to be some kind of map. It displayed a lined cartography of the city of Paradise. It stood on the far left corner of Arizona, and as Amelia drew closer, she could see there were four diamond corners attached to the veined square that read Paradise. Those must've been the provinces, Amelia thought. The corner on the bottom right read Naaman. The one on the upper right became Bloodstone. Then it was the bottom-left province that named itself Baalmouth. And finally, the upper left province became Hellheart. All of these provinces surrounded the centerpiece square which had to be the main city of Paradise.

Amelia stared closely at the square, almost nose to nose. She wondered just for a moment what was in there. What if at this moment, she had been living in Paradise? Would she be dead?

"We're not allowed in there."

Amelia spun around. "What?"

The girl eyed Amelia brightly. "You were looking at the square, right? The Belly of the Beast? Yeah, zombie hunters under the age of nineteen can't go into Paradise, at least not without supervision. Don't worry, I used to come here all the time as well just to look at that map."

"Who are you?" said Amelia, feeling slightly affronted at being discovered.

"I'm Audrey Moon." The girl was Middle Eastern with pigtails and she seemed to be around Amelia's age. She wore a gray wrap shawl around her neck and two crescent moon earrings dangled from her ears. "And...you are?"

"I'm Amelia," Amelia smiled. The girl had a bossy kind of look as if she'd seen all there was to see in the world and couldn't wait to tell everyone. Amelia instantly found her intriguing.

Audrey crossed her arms. "I thought so. You're related to Astrid and Annika Bergstrom, aren't you? They're one of the best zombie hunters here you know...Vog enjoys their company."

Amelia gaped, taken aback. She never heard anyone say Mamma's name with such ease.

Audrey carried on. "You're Swedish too, aren't you?" Amelia nodded. "I thought so. It's not just because you're blonde. You guys just naturally have a cold careless presence."

"What did you mean by the Belly of the Beast? Why aren't we allowed in Paradise?"

"Because nobody has ever survived Paradise. Most zombie hunters that waltzed in there never came out to tell the tale. The city is so crowded with Brains, it'd be almost impossible to get out without a bite on you, at least that's what I heard. That's why we coined the city Belly of the Beast. We've stuck to the other provinces for a reason, they're easier to navigate."

Amelia stole another glance at the signs. "And do you guys...erm...follow Jovem's Code?"

"So you've read the other signs," Audrey said impressively. "Hardly. Ninety percent of zombie hunters don't even bother with it, I mean, I dare you to find a zombie hunter to recount at least three of the rules—" Audrey rolled her eyes. "Idiots. No, it's used more as a guide for how we should behave, and it is rather important. It's almost like a Bible, but just like a Bible, you don't always follow what it says do you? The same thing applies to Jovem's Code."

"Why's is it called that? Jovem's Code..."

Audrey's eyes brightened excitedly. "Because the rules were made by Jonathan Jovem, a Swedish zombie hunter like yourself. He's known as the most legendary zombie hunter in Paradise and he helped find Rennington Court."

Amelia's eyes widened. "He did?"

"Yeah! He also managed to kill fifty Brains at once! Don't ask me how, but I get the feeling it had to do with magic." Audrey's lips curled as she played with her earrings.

"Why do they call them that, Brains?" said Amelia. "Wouldn't it just be easier to call them zombies?"

"I don't really know."

"And what about the R.C. Mandates?" Amelia uttered eagerly.

"Oh yeah, you have to follow those. Hobbes is always leering around looking for rule breakers. You are prepared to take the training class, right?"

"Erm..."

"We do go to school, you know. You have to anyway, you're under the age of nineteen. Nineteen is basically the age of adulthood around here...we all graduate from class when we reach that age."

The door from Midas's Mansion creaked open and the stark blonde semblance of Annika creeped out. She stood restively on the steps, feet pattering the concrete. "Come on Amelia, we're ready for you."

"Bye," said Amelia.

"What's your zodiac sign?" Audrey asked eyes brightened, earrings dancing comfortably under her ears. Amelia wondered if they moved voluntarily or if the girl made them move.

"Leo, why?"

"Just curious."

And with that, Amelia disappeared behind the looming door with her sister, wondering trivially why her zodiac sign would matter.