Galaxy of Fear: City of the Dead

Publisher's summary

Enter the city where the deceased reside…

When Hoole, Tash, and Zak make a stop on Necropolis in search of a replacement starship, Zak quickly forms bonds with the local youngsters. To prove his mettle, he's ready to attempt something reckless—like infiltrating the Necropolitan cemetery at the stroke of midnight—just to demonstrate he's as brave as they are.

The cemetery is eerily silent, filled with white boneworms that writhe and squirm. Perhaps Zak should have reconsidered accepting this challenge. Just because the deceased are interred doesn't guarantee they remain lifeless.

Plot summary

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Zak Arranda is jolted awake from a terrifying nightmare. In it, he's in a version of his bedroom from Alderaan floating in the vastness of space, witnessing his mother's corpse outside his window, questioning why he had "left [them] behind". His cries rouse his sister, Tash, and startle Han Solo, Chewbacca, and DV-9 ("Deevee"). This nightmare triggers a wave of survivor's guilt within Zak.

Driven by Hoole's determination to secure a new starship following the destruction of the Lightrunner, the Arrandas and their uncle are dropped off by the Rebels on the planet Necropolis (derived from the Greek term "City of the Dead"). The planet is renowned for its expansive cemetery and its customs surrounding the proper treatment of the dead, including physical burial (a practice Deevee notes has become obsolete on many worlds). Upon arrival, the family is greeted by Necropolitans dressed as mummies, a sight that unsettles Zak, causing him to shove one of the greeters. They are introduced to the Master of Cerements, Pylum, and a Necropolitan named Kairn, who quickly befriends Zak.

The Arrandas are directed to a local hostel but are intercepted by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Fett announces to the residents of Necropolis that he is searching for Dr. Evanzan, wanted in 12 systems for illicit medical practices and the torture of his victims. Fett is particularly suspicious because a previous target he had eliminated on Necropolis had mysteriously revived, leading him to believe Evazan was responsible. Pylum counters by suggesting that the dead are rising due to an ancient curse on the planet's inhabitants, not Evanzan. Kairn recounts the story of Sycorax, a witch who claimed to be a necromancer. When the people of Necropolis killed her son to test her powers, Sycorax died of grief. With her last breath, she cursed the Necropolitans to uphold the rites of the dead or face their vengeful return. He adds that Sycorax's power was so immense that she could resurrect the dead loved ones of anyone who visited her tomb, even from beyond the grave.

Zak becomes captivated by the story, hoping to find a way to bring back his parents and apologize, but Tash dismisses the legends as untrue, asserting that Zak never abandoned their parents. Zak experiences another nightmare, but is awakened by Kairn and a group of local boys who invite him to join them. After sneaking out of his room, Kairn tells Zak that they want him to prove his courage by entering the Necropolis cemetery, a forbidden act due to its "sacred ground" status. They challenge Zak to go to the Crypt of the Ancients in the graveyard's center and mark a grave with a knife to prove he was there. To dispel their doubts about his bravery and test the legends, Zak accepts the dare, taking a glowrod for light and Kairn's cloak for warmth. Upon reaching the Crypt, Zak pleads with Sycorax to bring his parents back to life, but his heartfelt appeals are met with silence.

As Zak proceeds to complete the dare, a corpse rises from its grave and attacks him, to his utter horror. When a second corpse rises, Zak manages to escape but becomes disoriented among the headstones. He cries for help and is answered by Kairn, but his shouts also attract Dr. Evanzan. Evanzan quickly seizes and poisons Kairn with cryptberries, a toxic fruit found in the cemetery. He attempts to do the same to Zak, but Boba Fett intervenes, tricking and eliminating the murderous criminal. Hoole, Tash, Pylum, and several Necropolitans find the bounty hunter and Zak, but Pylum insists that both Evanzan and Kairn be buried on Necropolis, despite Boba Fett's desire to take Evanzan's body to claim his bounty. Fett reluctantly agrees but warns Pylum that he will return if he cannot collect the bounty without a body. Zak tries to explain what he witnessed, but Tash and his uncle dismiss his claims, assuming Kairn ate the cryptberries himself, like the Necropolitans.

The following day, Kairn and Evazan are given funeral rites and buried in the Necropolitan cemetery. Afterward, Hoole and the Arrandas set out to find a new starship. However, as Zak examines a ship that is not yet ready for sale, he sees the same Dr. Evanzan who was killed the previous night rush off the ship and disappear. Once again, his stories are met with disbelief. He begins to question his sanity, wondering if the legends and nightmares are affecting his mind. However, Zak becomes alarmed when he discovers strips of dead flesh on his window from the night before, remnants of a rotting corpse he thought he had dreamed was trying to break into his room. He alerts Pylum, who promises to send someone to discuss the matter. Despite this, Tash intercepts Zak, having overheard part of a conversation between Hoole and Boba Fett regarding a "proposal". She insists they follow Fett to gather more information about the Shi'ido, but the siblings become separated. Boba Fett finds Tash and coerces her into revealing Zak's accounts of Evanzan's return. However, when Tash inquires about her uncle, Fett refuses to disclose their discussion, telling her to mind her own business.

As Zak continues on, he is shocked to encounter Kairn, alive but appearing sickly and sluggish. Kairn recognizes Zak and confirms that he had indeed been dead; he agrees to reveal the secret of his revival to the astonished Zak. Zak follows Kairn back to the cemetery and to Sycorax's tomb, now hopeful that the witch's power was real, but he is horrified to discover the truth is far more sinister: he is brought before the revived Dr. Evanzan, who orders Kairn to restrain Zak. Evanzan explains that he has developed a serum that can reanimate dead tissue, creating powerful zombies with superior strength, pain resistance, and unquestioning obedience. The serum is activated once the corpse is buried and exposed to boneworms, creatures that consume the bone marrow of bodies in the cemetery. The boneworms' slime enables the serum to function, but a notable side effect is an uncontrollable twitch, and clumsiness in older corpses. However, Evanzan proudly proclaims that his improved serum works far better with fresh, minimally damaged corpses, preserving the body's former memories and allowing the zombie to speak, as seen with Kairn and himself. He intends to use Zak as his next subject, but without killing him: he injects Zak with both the serum and a diluted cryptberry juice to paralyze him, mimicking death.

Zak awakens in a coffin at his own funeral; after being missing for several hours, Deevee finds his "body" holding cryptberries, leading everyone to believe he poisoned himself. Despite his frantic efforts, Zak's body remains frozen, and he is buried in the Necropolitan cemetery. He begins to reminisce about his parents, recalling his mother's words that they will never be gone as long as Zak keeps them in his heart. As the boy realizes he should have looked for them within himself, Zak regains the ability to move, but this occurs just as the boneworms begin to gnaw their way into his casket. Zak attempts to stop them but is rescued by Deevee and Boba Fett. Having been sent by Hoole to retrieve their purchased ship, Deevee was instead compelled to take the ship Zak had seen Evanzan on earlier: this turns out to have been Evanzan's own ship, The Shroud. After scanning the vehicle's memory banks, a horrified Deevee realized what the doctor had been doing and that Zak had been buried alive. Surprised by Fett, Deevee convinced the bounty hunter to save Zak, as the boy knew where Evanzan was hiding and how he had returned from the dead.

Meanwhile, Tash remains unconvinced that Zak would have killed himself and insists to Hoole that they investigate whether Evanzan is truly dead. Surprisingly, Hoole agrees to exhume the body, violating the planet's laws. However, they are attacked by a horde of zombies at the cemetery, barely escaping with their lives. At the cemetery gate, they are confronted by an angry mob led by Pylum, who demands that Tash and Hoole be punished for their desecration. They are dragged back into the cemetery, now devoid of zombies, and thrown into the Crypt of Ancients, followed by Pylum. Here, the Master of Cerements is revealed to have been Evanzan's accomplice, disillusioned by the legend of Sycorax after discovering the witch's frail corpse. He and Evanzan unleash the zombies on Hoole and Tash; despite their efforts, they are overwhelmed and captured. Fortunately, Boba Fett, Zak, and Deevee arrive; Fett battles the zombies while Zak and Deevee, using the boneworm slime, quickly concoct an antidote to the reanimation serum from Evanzan's research. Evanzan attempts to stop them by sending Kairn, but Zak manages to break through the doctor's mind control, enlisting Kairn's help to stop the zombies. Zak's friend takes the antidote and splashes it on each corpse, returning it to its original state as Fett holds them back. Kairn is also splashed with the antidote as he takes down the last corpse, but Fett uses the very last of the liquid on Evanzan, who dies for the final time. As they depart, they notice Pylum's dead body at the foot of the stairs leading into the crypt; although Hoole suggests that the Master of Cerements had died trying to open the heavy tomb door and had slipped down the stairs, Deevee points out that the door had been open, leading Hoole to speculate that Sycorax may have possessed some power to punish those who disrespected the dead. Hoole asks Fett whether he will accept the Shi'ido's proposal (the nature of which remains unknown), but Fett declines, stating that "only a fool would take that job".

The Arrandas and Hoole purchase The Shroud and, after reburying the dead and providing the Necropolitans with the antidote in case the reanimation serum was administered to others, Zak finally finds peace with the memories of his parents, gaining closure from his experiences. Hoole insists on taking Zak to a medical facility, as the effects of the serum on his nephew's body are unknown, but Zak dismisses his concerns, claiming he is fine. However, at the end, aboard their new starship, Zak's body exhibits an inexplicable twitch.