Zombie Dog by Clare Hutton Read Free Book Online Page B

in her classes, and her English teacher yelled at her for spacing out during second period. By the time she got to the library for study hall, where she tripped on the carpet coming in, Becky felt like she was going to cry. Worst day ever , she thought. Usually, she would have sat with Charlotte, Lila, and Tonya, but she couldn’t talk to them about the weird things happening at her house. Today she just wanted to talk to Nate. He was smart, and he lived on her street, so the McNally house was his problem, too. And he liked Bear.
    â€œThere’s something weird going on,” she told him bleakly, dropping her books on the table next to him. “I need you to help me.”
    Nate pushed his long bangs out of his eyes and frowned at her with concern. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
    Becky told him everything, feeling a tightness release in her chest just by being able to let it all out: everything from first seeing the animal in the yard next door, to its flashing green eyes, to just how wrong it had felt. About the creature tunneling under the fence, and about the bugs and worms wriggling through the dead grass where it had walked. Worst of all, about her dad’s threat to get rid of Bear.
    â€œThey always blame everything on him,” she said, her eyes filling with hot tears. “It’s not fair. He’s a good dog. He is.”
    â€œI know he is,” Nate said. He stared at her for a minute and then said slowly, “You think Paul’s story about the mad scientist and the zombies is for real?”
    Becky shrugged helplessly. “It sounds crazy, but it’s starting to feel real, you know? I just want to figure out what’s going on.”
    Nate tapped his pencil against his lips thoughtfully. “So, what do we know about zombies?” he asked.
    Relaxing suddenly, Becky let out a breath. These were crazy things she had been saying, she knew, and she realized that if Nate hadn’t believed her, hadn’t accepted that there was something going on, she wouldn’t have known who else to turn to.
    â€œWell,” she said, opening her notebook, “the whole brains thing, right?” She glanced up and held her arms up stiffly in front of her for a second, letting her eyes go wide and vacant. “Braaaains, like in the movies. Only Paul said that wasn’t always true, not in all the stories.”
    â€œRight,” Nate said. “And getting bitten by a zombie turns you into a zombie. That’s in movies, too. Only Paul said that wasn’t always true, too.”
    Becky shivered. “But what if it is?” she said, panicked. “What if the creature bites someone? It might turn the animals around our house into zombies, or Bear. Bear’s always roaming around! Or someone on the street. If getting bitten turns you into one, then no one is safe!”
    Mrs. DaCosta, the librarian, shushed her from her desk, frowning, and Becky realized her voice had risen. Glancing hurriedly around, she saw a couple of kids staring at them from the nearby tables.
    â€œTake a deep breath,” Nate said. “But you’re right — we need to assume that the bite of a zombie can turn you into a zombie, since there’s no way to prove that it doesn’t. That makes this a dangerous situation. So if we figure out how to get rid of the zombie, we can keep everyone safe.” He huffed out aquiet laugh, his hair falling back into his eyes. “This is the craziest conversation.”
    â€œYou believe me about the thing in the yard, though, right?” Becky asked.
    Nate looked straight at her, his blue eyes shining with sincerity through his shaggy bangs. “Of course I do,” he said simply, and Becky felt better. “Let’s make a list of everything we remember from Paul’s report,” he said, and she looked back down at her notebook.
    She started writing.
    1) Some zombies eat brains .
    2) The bite of a zombie could turn