CHAPTER 7
ZOMBIE MAYHEM
Chad was in charge of weapons and armor. “We don’t want to hurt the zombies,” Chad stressed. “But we need a way to beat them off if they attack.” He grabbed a checklist and went to the supply closet. Before long, he was standing by a heap of stuff. “Time to suit up,” he said.
Chad, Leo, and Shelly tugged on stiff leather pants and leather jackets in various sizes and colors. “Hard to bite through,” Chad explained. Next came the beekeeper hats. These were long white hoods with mesh covering the faces. Chad showed Shelly how to tighten the tool belt around her waist. It was for holding the weapons—a spray bottle filled with red liquid and a sock filled with marbles.
“Spray the tomato juice in their eyes to confuse them,” Chad explained. “That will buy you a second. And the sock is actually far more powerful than a baseball bat.
“Hold this with your left hand,” Chad continued. He handed Shelly the metal top of a trash can. “It’s your shield.”
“So this is it,” she said, holding the lid out in front of her. “Got the slug, Leo?”
He patted his right jacket pocket. He wanted to say, “All zipped in,” but his mouth could only make a dry, sticky sound. Today’s dread felt like a monkey throwing rocks inside his stomach.
“You look absurd,” Roger said, as the three zombie catchers turned to leave. “I mean that in the very best sense, of course.” Roger smiled slightly. “Good-bye and good luck, my dear brave friends.”
“It looks just like in the movies,” Shelly whispered as Rotfield Middle School came into view. Zombies were everywhere. They drifted over the baseball field. They dragged themselves under the basketball hoops and around the playground. One zombie kept walking into the bottom of the slide over and over again.
“Okay, time for step one,” Shelly whispered.
Chad put his arms out in front of him and made his eyes go blank. “Aaaaaaaaah,” he moaned. Then, “How’s that?”
“Perfect. Can you keep that up all the way to the swimming pool?” Shelly asked.
“Whatever happens, don’t run,” Leo reminded him, “and be as quiet as possible. As long as they believe we’re zombies, they won’t attack us.” Then Leo slumped his shoulders and started dragging his left leg sideways across the ground.
“Nice touch, Leo,” Shelly whispered.
Maybe it was easier to pass as a zombie with a pretend monkey banging inside your gut.
“Good luck.” Shelly squeezed Leo’s hand. “Now on to step two,” she said. With a wave, she took off for the construction site across the street.
Slowly, slowly, Chad and Leo made their way into the zombie swarm. They passed Josiah Sullivan, then Molly Fisher, then Maddie Lee. There was Mrs. Chandler, chewing on home plate. “Guess class is cancelled,” Chad whispered.
Leo and Chad were across the baseball diamond now. Past the dugout, an eighth grader in baggy pants appeared suddenly in front of Leo. She leaned in and sniffed Leo’s neck like it was a steak on the grill. Leo jumped back just as her jaws snapped where his throat had been.
PPPPfffffft. A spray of tomato juice covered her face, and she started spinning slowly in circles.
“Thanks, Chad,” Leo mouthed.
Chad! Leo made a frantic circle with his finger to tell Chad to look behind him. Jeremy Berry was raking his fingernails across the back of Chad’s leather jacket.
“AAAAAahhhhh!” Mouth open, Jeremy leaned in for a bite.
Whhhhaaaack! Without turning around, Chad swung his sock weapon up and back with a quick flick of the wrist. It bounced off the back of Jeremy’s head. Jeremy stumbled just long enough for Chad to turn around.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHA!”
This time Jeremy lunged at Chad full force. But Chad pushed him off with his trash can lid. Jeremy fell on his back like an overturned bug, and Leo quickly sprayed him with tomato juice. Jeremy’s body went limp as he smacked his own face with one hand.
“They’re catching on to us,” Leo whispered, panic rising in his throat. He turned to see a dozen or so zombies slowly coming at them.
“Come on,” Chad said. He pulled Leo inside the P.E. equipment shed and closed the door. “We’ll lie low here, and they’ll forget about us in a minute.”
That was one good thing about zombies. They weren’t very smart. And really not that strong either. A few zombies were no problem, but the whole school? Leo peeked out the window of the shed. Moaning, drooling, oozing zombies everywhere. And, wait a minute—
“Chad!” Leo called his friend over. “Look over there, on the swings!”