Undead Much by Stacey Jay

died.”
      Kitty sighed and took off her glasses to rub her eyes. “All Reanimated Corpses will respond to Settler commands if there’s sufficient power behind the spell and a manageable number of Out-of-Grave Phenomenons. Never in the history of our people have we had a documented case of-”
      “But, I swear, there were only seven, four at first, and they didn’t-”
      “ Never have we had a documented case of Reanimated Corpses behaving as you’ve described.” Kitty slid her glasses back into place and nailed me with her clear gray eyes. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you any more at this time, but be assured your training in how to manage the Undead has been thorough.”
      “Then what were those things?”
      She looked sorry for me for a second, but apparently not sorry enough to answer my question. “Megan, could you tell me one more thing?” she asked, suddenly very interested in typing something into her BlackBerry. “Where were you between four o’clock and five o’clock this afternoon?”
      “I was-”
      “She was right here. Eating lasagna with her family, ” Mom interrupted in a supremely pissed voice. She’s a vegetarian and normally way more hippy than militant, but once you make her angry she can be pretty scary. “And this interview is over.”

    CHAPTER 5

      “ J ennifer, please,” Kitty said. “I’m not trying to-”
      “Oh, I know exactly what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to trick an innocent sixteen-year-old with a head injury into being interrogated without the benefit of representation.” Mom grabbed the chips from the table and set them down on the island behind her with loud thunk. Clearly, hospitality time was over. “If Megan is a suspect, you’ll need the proper paperwork, and we’re going to need a mediator.”
      Settlers don’t have lawyers, but mediators are basically the same thing. They step in and made sure people suspected of wrongdoing are treated fairly until their guilt or innocence is determined. After SA had decided to try Beth and Jess in Settler court, a mediator had been responsible for getting Beth’s sentence transmitted to a stay in a mental facility instead of Settler Affairs prison. Tests had shown she was dealing with a bunch of different disorders and was a good candidate for rehabilitation once her memory had been wiped by Enforcement.
      If Mom thought we needed a mediator…
      “Okay, let’s just calm down,” I said, certain the maternal unit was overreacting. Kitty was my friend. She’d never think I had anything to do with those weird zombies. “I didn’t do anything wrong and I’m sure Kitty and-”
      “Don’t say another word,” Mom said, pointing a firm finger at me before turning back to Kitty. “I’d like you and your team out of my house.”
      “Mom! Please, stop it.”
      “Be quiet, Megan, and… and go to your room!”
      “My room is full of Enforcers!” I jumped to my feet so fast my chair clattered to the ground behind me. “And this is crazy! I didn’t make those zombies, if that’s what everyone’s thinking. Use a lie-detector charm on me, I swear it will-”
      “I doubt the charm would work, Megan. You’re too powerful.” The way Kitty said the words made it clear she didn’t think my power was all it was cracked up to be. Great. Neither did I.
      “Then find some other way to test me. I’m telling the truth.”
      “Megan, listen to me,” Mom begged. “You need to be very careful what you say.”
      “But I-”
      “Your mom’s right. You shouldn’t say anything else.” Kitty flipped off her recorder with a soft sigh and pushed back her chair. “I’ll have the paperwork filed by tomorrow morning. You’ll get your copy by early Thursday at the latest. After that, it will be your responsibility to file a petition for representation. In the meantime, it would probably be best if Megan didn’t discuss this with anyone other than