Page 22 of They Were Broom-Mates

“Is that…” Amelie let her hand drop from her nose.

“Yes.” Delia took a deep breath and kept scanning the area. “But it doesn’t look intentional… it looks like… shit.”

Amelie followed Delia’s gaze as she paused at her feet. A slightly darker-than-average patch of cemetery dirt sat right at the base of the tombstone.

“Dammit.” Delia cursed, stomping over to a nearby tree where a bucket and trowel sat. Picking them up, she hurried back to the tombstone, and started digging, carefully placing the blood soaked dirt into the bucket. But as she went, it became more and more apparent that the blood had already seeped deeper and deeper into the earth.

“Fuck.” Delia threw the trowel onto the ground and sat back on her heels, crouched over the hole, hands winding through her hair in stress.

“Delia, what’s…” Amelie started but was cut off by the sound of dirt shifting in a grave across the way.

“Shh.” Delia held up a hand, watching the dirt with wide eyes as it slowly shifted bit by bit until a ghastly hand clawed its way out. “Fuck, we have to get inside, Amelie.”

Nodding in agreement, Amelie did not remove her gaze from the grave until Delia stood, took her by the wrist, and dragged her inside.

“I have to call Roz.” Delia shook her head, her face panic-stricken. “I have to call my mother, gods… one of them has to know what to do.”

As Delia reached into her pocket to grab her phone, the pair jumped as a loud cracking noise filled the sky.

“What was that?” Delia muttered, pausing only momentarily to check out the window before turning her attention back to her phone and beginning to dial.

Amelie rushed over to the window as well, breath pulled from her as she watched a blue canopy of light fall over the cathedral property, coating everything in an ethereal glow.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Delia threw her phone onto the counter, hands moving up into her hair again. “I have no signal!”

Amelie stepped away from the window, making her way back over to Delia.

“It has to be the barrier spell,” Amelie replied, glancing back toward the window. “It’s meant to keep things in and other things out, so it would make sense.”

Delia simply sank to the ground, muttering to herself. However, just as Amelie was about to suggest they move to the table to figure out next steps, the sound of two pairs of footsteps started making their way down the hallway.

“We figured it out.” Regina’s voice called from down the way, getting closer as she approached the entrance to the kitchen.

“It was a bitch and a half to cast.” Hestia followed up, sounding slightly out of breath. “But we got it. Please tell me that no zombies got out before we could finish the spell.”

Amelie looked over at Regina and Hestia, who were now watching Amelie with hopeful eyes, waiting for news.

“No zombies got out,” Amelie confirmed. “But unfortunately… we also can’t reach out to anyone for help.”

Regina pursed her lips as she finally noticed Delia on the floor. “What happened?”

“We figured out what probably caused the resurrections to start happening.” Amelie started, leaning onto the counter. “But unfortunately, before we could get any additional information, the barrier spell shut down communication to the outside world.”

“What do we need communication to the outside world for?” Hestia huffed, sounding a little hysterical. “That’s what we have her for. Right Delia?”

The question hung in the air, and for a moment the only thing Amelie could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat, but then Delia began to laugh. It started off slow and quiet but eventually built into a cacophony of desperate sound.

“Yes.” Delia got out between gasping breaths. “You have me. And I have no idea what to do.”

“Delia…” Regina started, but was cut off by Hestia.

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do?” Hestia stormed over to the side of the kitchen where Delia was crouching. “You are the death witch. Make them dead.”

“They are dead!” Delia replied desperately. “The reanimation didn’t take, not fully. Probably because Roz did it by accident!”

“Roz?” Hestia threw her hands up in the air. “Who the hell is Roz?”

Amelie opened her mouth to respond, but Regina beat her to it.