Backstage at the Calamity, Vol. I No. VIII: Immortality is in Editing! Also, the Groundskeeper, Part VIII

Table of Contents

• Showdown at Sunrise is now available!

• What the F*CK did I Work On This Week?

• A Bit of Flash: The Groundskeeper

• What’s Published and Where You Can Find It

  • Odds ‘n’ Endings Stories

• Postscript

• Acknowledgements

Showdown at Sunrise is now available!

What the F*CK did I Work On This Week?

Updates this week are more of the usual. Another chapter was completed for Groundskeeper and Vampire’s Vengeance each. What is unusual is the progress made on Immortality, another story in the Odds ‘n’ Endings universe. After months of ruminating about the direction and theme of the story, I finally sat down and added a prologue to the story. I then reviewed and the revised the story in its entirety to accommodate the prologue. NOW it feels like a bona fide part of the Boutique’s cosmos. I’m so excited to prepare this for release, I’ve already begun working on the cover. Expect to see it released on March 13th.

A Bit of Flash: The Groundskeeper

First time tuning in? Start here.

When we last left our hero, they were determining how best to address the issue of the not-sure-if-it’s-a-zombie. Let’s check in with them and see how they’re faring. If you haven’t already, read Part VII here.

To find a shovel almost directly beside the grave is an odd convenience. A little too odd, I think. If I didn't know any better, I would assume someone had snuck in to dig this body up. The way the dirt falls around the hole poking up in the center is kind of a dead giveaway though; there was most definitely no digging happening here. So where did the shovel come from? I shuffle off to one side as the zombie approaches, and this places me in front of two freshly dug graves, thoroughly carved out and ready to receive a pair of the recently deceased.

Oh, that’s where it came from.

It is obvious the zombie did not arise from either of these. That would be too easy. Part of me wants to just drop this zombie into one of these, but that would present a whole host of other problems when the time came for their intended recipients to be interred. This would also be inconvenient in the long run. If the zombie broke through its coffin, it'll likely rise out of loose dirt with ease.

Well, fine. I circle around a handful of tombstones, careful to lead the zombie away from the freshly dug graves and back into the vicinity of its own, picking up the shovel along the way.

With the zombie moving at its slow pace, I figure I can dig and shuffle and stay just out of its reach just fine. And it works. For a while, it works, until the pit starts to get a little deep. The last thing I want is to jump in and dig and have the damn thing fall in after me. I'm going to have to figure something out here. I slam the shovel into the ground so it remains standing, and turn to double back to the new graves. Maybe whoever dug them up left something else I can use.

After some exploration, I find nothing. What a disappointment. Of course it couldn't be that easy. The shovel, I think, was just a tease. I turn and head back to the zombie's grave, doing my circling and shuffling to keep some space between us. Maybe I can find a rope, make a lasso, catch the zombie and secure it to one of the tombstones.

Who am I kidding? I don't know how to make a lasso. Who the fuck does? Not some average city person, that's for sure. Nope, that idea is out. The rope's still in though. It's the only thing I can think of short of locking the zombie in the employee hall.

Wait.

That would be really easy. No one else is here, and it's unlikely anyone's coming until morning. Fuck it. I got no other ideas.

I turn and head toward the employee hall, the zombie close behind, playing the speed up and slow down game we played on our way to the grave. I approach the hall and speed up to create more space between myself and the zombie. I enter the hall, prop the door open, and wait a moment for the zombie to close the gap. I walk into the hall before it gets too close. I take my time heading to the end, and all is going according to plan, when I begin to question the wisdom of this idea. What if the power goes out again? What if I'm drawn back into that other dimension, except this time, instead of a gurgling shadow, I'm chased around by this shambling zombie? Or worse, wandering that other dimension, I'm placed square in front of the zombie when the lights flicker back on?

As I dream up all the ways I might die in such a situation, I reach the opposite end of the hall without any of them coming true. I walk through the door and lock it behind me. The zombie walks right up to the door, bumping it's gnarled head into the glass. The zombie shuffles back a couple steps then walks forward, once again bumping into the glass. It does this a few more times. The door holds. The glass holds. Satisfied, I sprint around the building to the other end, hoping the zombie stays entertained in tapping the glass with its forehead that it doesn't bother to turn around. I am winded when I arrive at the other door, yet relieved to find the zombie is still walking into the door at the other end of the hall. I close and lock the door on this end and proceed to the grave to finish digging up the zombie's coffin.

Continued in Part IX

What’s Published and Where You Can Find It

These are the top stories currently in circulation.

Odds ‘n’ Endings Stories

These stories share a single connective thread through them all: the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique. The Proprietor—a timeless individual of many faces, few scruples, and a whole lot of character—deals in artifacts, each containing peculiar traits. These are the stories of the Boutique’s patrons.

Postscript

What a story! It certainly appears our hero is getting along just fine on their first night on the job, wouldn’t you agree? They made it out of the employee hall and back through it with a zombie in tow. They’re growing up so fast! I wipe a tear from the corner of my eye as I say this. Anyway, what comes next is anybody’s guess but mine! You’ll have to wait until next week to find out. In the meantime, come chat it up with me on social media! You can find me on Bluesky here. Or hell, you can reply directly to this email. Either works great!

Acknowledgements

• Overall design by L V N A C Y

• “The Groundskeeper” background image by Chris Anderson on Unsplash