Finally, the ride slowed down to a stop, but we had a bad case of the dizzies. It seemed like the zoo was spinning around us at top speed.
When I was able to focus again, I looked over at the controls box, and the zombie zookeeper was gone!
“We have to find him!” Desmond said.
“Um, ‘we’?” I asked.
Desmond pulled me off the sleigh. “Come on,” he said.
Desmond and I jumped off the merry-go-round . . . right smack into Peggy, the nonzombie zookeeper.
“Your class is having lunch now,” she said. “Follow me to the cafeteria.”
Desmond folded his arms. “But we were getting ready to—”
“Come along,” Peggy said, ignoring him.
Desmond and I followed Peggy to the cafeteria.
Desmond might have been upset that he lost the trail of the zombie zookeeper, but I was happy. After what that creepy zookeeper had just put us through, I needed time to let my stomach settle back down.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Peacock Patrol
In the outdoor cafeteria, the entire class sat at picnic tables in the sunshine. We were even given hamburgers, french fries, and apples for lunch. I picked up my apple and began munching.
Desmond was eating so fast that it looked like he thought someone was going to steal his lunch. That was when I remembered his mom’s cooking and how he had to eat that food every night. Her food even gave ghosts tummy troubles. No wonder Desmond was eating this lunch so fast . . . and with a smile on his face!
All the kids were talking about the animals they had seen, but Desmond was still focused on only one thing. He pulled out his map and whispered to me, “We need to catch that zombie off guard. Someplace where he can’t see us coming.”
My leg started to shake under the picnic table.
Desmond pointed to an exhibit called Nighttime Animals. “Here!” he said. “This is a special show about nocturnal animals. Those are animals that only hunt at night.”
I already knew this, but I had just shoved a couple of french fries in my mouth, so I couldn’t say anything.
Desmond continued, “I’m sure the zombie zookeeper will end up at this exhibit. And that’s when we’ll make our move.”
“Our” move?
Desmond looked so proud of his plan, but I needed answers. “And what exactly is our move?” I asked.
But before Desmond could answer, a large rainbow of wings flapped open onto our table.
Oh no! A peacock! And it grabbed my hamburger!
“Not again!” I screamed as it flew off the table with my lunch.
Okay, I have to admit, chasing after a hamburger-snatching bird probably wasn’t the best idea I’d ever had, but in my defense, I was really hungry.
As that bird took off with my meal, I jumped up and ran after it. No way was I going to let a bird steal my food a second time!
But peacocks can fly! I don’t mean “fly” like they move fast. I mean “fly” like with wings! That bird flew over a wall, and I was so determined to catch it, I scrambled over the wall right after it.
It wasn’t until I landed on the other side that it occurred to me why zoos have walls. I was in the buffalo habitat.
Buffalo!
Suddenly, I was surrounded by a group of curious beasts. And that peacock sat right beside them, eating my hamburger and making a high-pitched noise.
It was laughing at me!
As the beasts came closer, I backed up against the wall.
That’s when I felt a hand reach over the wall and pull me back to safety.
I turned around to say thanks to whoever saved me and came face-to-face with . . . the zombie zookeeper!
I heard a wail—something that sounded more like a siren than a scream. And yes, that sound had come from me!
The zombie zookeeper might have saved my life, but I wasn’t about to stick around to thank him. I ran back to my picnic table as fast as I could, still lunch-less.
No hamburger was worth that much trouble!
CHAPTER EIGHT
Bucket of Slime
As we got closer to the exhibit, I could feel myself start to tremble.
NIGHTTIME ANIMALS: NOCTURNAL ANIMALS OF THE WORLD
Even the sign was scary!
I have to tell you, being in the dark with animals and a zombie was not my idea of a good time. But the Ghost Patrol did what it had to do to get to the bottom of every mystery.
We stepped inside, and it instantly changed from day to night.
It was dark, but not that dark. I breathed a sigh of relief. Secretly, I hoped this plan wouldn’t work, and we could finish our day at the zoo without ever seeing the zombie zookeeper again!
As we walked in the exhibit, we saw all kinds of animals.
Owls hooted from their trees, bats flew overhead, and foxes and lemurs roamed around the fake forest floor.
It was actually kind of neat seeing how animals live at night when most of us are sleeping. I was definitely going to write about this for my zoo report!
Desmond, of course, was still searching the place for zombies. He kept thinking he saw the strange zookeeper. Every few minutes I would hear him scream, “Aha! Got you, zombie!”
But it was never him. It was usually just some teacher or class parent. But that didn’t stop Desmond.
“Aha!” I heard Desmond scream again for the fourth or fifth time. This time, the teacher he scared ran right out of the exhibit! I couldn’t help but laugh.
That was when it happened: A perfectly good time at the zoo took a turn for the weird.
We spotted the zombie zookeeper.
He was walking with a bucket full of something slimy and gross.
Like really gross.
And this is where the story began. I told you I needed to start from the beginning, right? Otherwise, would you have believed that I, Andres Miedoso, would be trying to trap a zombie zookeeper in the dark?
Probably not.
But Desmond and I were there, watching the zombie zookeeper. When he was close enough, Desmond jumped out of the darkness and screamed, “AHA! We’ve got you!”
And just like everybody else had, the zombie zookeeper jumped too. And guess where that bucket of slimy grossness ended up?
Yep.
All over me.
CHAPTER NINE
Sniff
Being covered in goo is not fun. I’ve been slimed before by a ghost, but that was a different story. Being covered in the goo that nocturnal animals like to eat is possibly one of the least fun things ever.
And I couldn’t scream.
Screaming would have meant opening my mouth. And there was no way I was going to do that. So, I just stood there, dripping with icky stuff.
That’s when I heard the noise behind me.
It wasn’t like one animal was sniffing. It sounded like fifty animals were sniffing the air all at once. It didn’t take me long to realize they were sniffing me!
“Oh no!” I whimpered through half-clenched teeth.
All of a sudden, every nocturnal animal was swooping in! Bats licked my hair, foxes tugged at my shoelaces, and a giant owl cried and snatched at my hood. It was trying to lift me off the ground and fly me away!
“Desmond! Help!” I shrieked.
But it wasn’t Desmond who came to my rescue. It was the zombie zookeeper! He stepped in and calmly removed each animal. He picked up the fox and said, “No.”
He waved the bats away with a weird squeaking sound. Then he cried out just like an owl, and that owl flew away and left me alone.
“Come . . . with . . . me,” the zombie said. And normally, I would never listen to a zombie, but something told me that I should listen to this one.
After all, he had saved my life . . . twice in one day!
Desmond and I followed him outside, where the other zookeeper Peggy was standing. The zombie handed me a towel and said, “Sorry.”
Peggy looked at us and frowned. “Well, kids,” she said, “I g
uess I have some explaining to do.”
CHAPTER TEN
Zoombie
It turns out that Peggy already knew about the zombie. He works at the zoo! Everyone calls him “Zoombie.”
Desmond and I didn’t know this before, but zombies make great zookeepers. They can speak to all the animals. (Don’t ask me how.) They can clean windows underwater because they don’t need to breathe. And they don’t mind cleaning up the really stinky number twos!
Also, zombies are never grossed out by the slimy, icky food they have to feed the animals.
The best part is that the animals love Zoombie. And so do the other zookeepers, like Peggy. She told us most people are too busy looking at all the cool animals. No one ever noticed that Zoombie was a zombie, other than Desmond Cole.
Anyway, when it comes to zombie zookeepers . . . well, Zoombie is a keeper!
Now whenever Desmond and I go to the zoo, we have a great time. Zoombie always invites the animals to come out, so we never miss seeing any of them.
Plus, he makes sure those peacocks never bother me. Or steal my lunch.
He’s so cool that I almost wish I had a special zombie buddy in my life all the time. . . .
Almost!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
Andres Miedoso is still afraid of everything as a grown-up, even after all his adventures with Desmond Cole. He lives in New York City with his family, and he remains very close friends with Desmond but returns to Kersville only when he’s needed.
Victor Rivas was born and raised in Vigo, Spain, and he lives outside of Barcelona. He has been a freelance illustrator for thirty years, illustrating children’s and teen books, concept art for multimedia and animation, and comics.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Andres-Miedoso
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Victor-Rivas
Little Simon
Simon & Schuster, New York
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
First Little Simon hardcover edition July 2018
Copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
LITTLE SIMON is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc., and associated colophon is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Steve Scott
Jacket illustrations by Victor Rivas
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2018 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Miedoso, Andres, author. | Rivas, Victor, illustrator.
Title: Night of the zombie zookeeper / by Andres Miedoso ; illustrated by Victor Rivas.
Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2018.
Series: Desmond Cole ghost patrol ; #4 | Summary: Desmond and Andres face a zombie during a school field trip to the zoo. | Identifiers: LCCN 2017061716 | ISBN 9781534418042 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534418059 (hc) | ISBN 9781534418066 (eBook) | Subjects: | CYAC: Zombies—Fiction. | Zoos—Fiction. | School field trips—Fiction. | Zoo keepers—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | African Americans—Fiction. | Hispanic Americans—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Imagination & Play. | JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Books.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M518 Nig 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017061716
Night of the Zombie Zookeeper Page 2
