by C. M. Gray
‘I’m fine,’ I said awkwardly, pretending not to notice that she was sobbing a bit.
‘I’m not crying! It’s just that my eyes are all drippy!’
‘You never cry,’ I agreed, even though we both knew this was a lie. ‘How did you get away?’
‘I kind of . . . well . . . I . . .’ she stammered.
‘You used your zombie powers, didn’t you?’
Sophie shook her head. For some reason, her face had gone bright red. ‘I had some lollies in my pockets.’
‘So?’
‘So I used them to make the zombies obey me.’
‘What did you make them do?’
‘Play with the little kids. It’s amazing how fast they can make that merry-go-round spin and how high the swings go if they’re being pushed by zombies!’
I pictured teenage boys playing with a bunch of little kids and almost laughed. Nobody would take them seriously now.
‘Is that him?’ Sophie asked nervously, nodding toward Mr Bill’s skeleton. ‘Is he really dead?’
‘Yup,’ I said. ‘But we need to get him downstairs and into a casket.’
‘Why?’ asked Sophie. ‘He’s not going to hurt anyone now.’
‘Better safe than sorry, eh?’
I hastily told Sophie what had happened in the crypt as I bent down and scooped up Mr Bill’s skeleton. Without my zombie strength, his bones were heavy. His skull grinned up at me.
‘This way.’ I led Sophie back down the aisle to the trapdoor.
In the crypt, we found the torch and flicked it on. Bright light flooded the chamber.
‘Can you open one of the caskets? Maybe that one on the end. I think it’s empty,’ I said.
Sophie hurried over to it. ‘It looks too heavy,’ she began, gazing down at the stone lid.
‘Just push it to one side,’ I said. ‘Ummm . . . and could you hurry?’
‘Why?’
‘He’s getting a bit twitchy.’ One of Mr Bill’s leg bones gave a little kick.
Sophie spun around. ‘Is he coming back to lif—AAAAGGGHHHH!’
I screamed at the same time as Sophie, but luckily her voice drowned mine out. The skeleton had started jerking around in my arms.
‘He’s undead!’ shouted Sophie.
‘Open the coffin!’ I yelled.
Sophie bent over and pushed against the lid of the casket but the thing wouldn’t budge. ‘I can’t, it’s too heavy!’
Mr Bill suddenly lifted one of his bony arms. His fingers drifted toward me.
‘Hurry, Sophie.You can do it!’
‘I can’t!’ Sophie made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a sob. ‘It’s stuck!’
‘You have to use your zombie power!’ I told her. ‘Just imagine it moving, and then make it happen.’
‘It’s easy for you to say!’ she cried.
‘Do it! Unless you want to hold this guy!’
Sophie gave an extra-big heave and the stone lid slid open.
‘You take that side,’ I panted, grabbing the bony figure by an arm and a leg. ‘One, two, three!’
Together we swung the bones into the open casket. Mr Bill landed with a loud clatter.
‘Quick! The lid!’ Sophie grabbed one end of the lid and swung it back into place.
We sank down beside the casket.
‘I can’t believe that just happened,’ Sophie finally whispered. ‘Do you think he’ll be able to get out?’
‘Nope. Because he’s not undead. I was making him move so you’d use your zombie powers.’ I tried not to grin, but I couldn’t help it.
‘What?! Did you just trick me?’
I nodded. ‘But didn’t it feel great to use your super-strength?’
‘I can’t believe you did that!’ Sophie punched me in the arm.
‘Ouch! You know you can only use your powers for good, right? And I haven’t got powers anymore so you have to be careful.’
‘Have you been un-zombiefied?’
I nodded. ‘It feels weird to be normal.’
‘You mightn’t be a zombie, but who said you were normal?’ She stood up and dragged me to my feet. ‘Let’s get out of here. We’ve still got Michael and the others to deal with.’
Suddenly, I felt worried again. What would we find when we got back to Henderson Park? The Lurker might be gone, but was it too late? Had the zombie apocalypse already begun?
19
We raced to the back of the church and I heaved the doors shut behind us, locking them with the key. ‘We’ll get this sealed. There’s no need to take any chances.’
The cemetery was deserted except for Corvus, who circled overhead as we made our way toward Henderson Park.
‘Ben!’ Mum and Dad rushed over followed by the Knights and Miss Bumble. They all squashed me into a massive hug and I suddenly understood what it was like to be the extra bit of bread in a club sandwich.
‘Where are Michael and the others?’ Were the teenage zombies going to appear at any moment on the hunt for more lollies?
Mr Knight dipped his head toward the merry-go-round. ‘Soph convinced them to play nicely. They’re singing songs to the littlies now!’ he said proudly.
Sure enough, Michael, Tank and Muzza were sitting on the merry-go-round, surrounded by a bunch of little kids.
At that moment, there was a low thud, thud, thud . . .
‘A chopper!’ someone yelled, pointing toward the sky where a light hovered in the distance.
‘HAZMAT! They’re finally on their way!’ cried Mr Knight.
‘If they’re here to help with the zombies, they’re too late!’ said Mr Trotter. He’d been released from the handcuffs and was sitting on the grass to one side of the playground.
‘They can take those guys away!’ someone shouted, shoving their thumb over their shoulder toward Michael, Tank and Muzza. ‘They might look harmless at the moment, but what happens when the lollies run out?’
‘Yeah! Get rid of them!’ shouted a man, picking up a hefty stick and waving it threateningly.
‘Yeah!’ Someone else tore a wooden stake out of the ground while a couple of other men appeared armed with pitchforks and shovels.
The chopper descended onto an open patch of grass beside the play equipment. When it landed, the door was flung open and three armed men wearing infrared goggles and camouflage gear leapt out. Following them was a familiar figure: Dirk Hunt — the Commander of HAZMAT and the guy who had abandoned us to a zombie apocalypse.
‘There and there!’ he snapped, pointing at Sophie and Miss Bumble and then at the teenage boys.
The soldiers fired their weapons.
Beside me, Sophie collapsed to the ground.
‘Sophie!’ I yelled, crouching down beside her. Sticking out of her arm was a familiar vial.
Sophie’s cheeks turned from white to pink and her eyes opened. ‘It’s OK. I’m fine,’ she said.
Miss Bumble sat up, bleary-eyed, beside her.
‘My son!’ cried Mr Trotter, rushing over to Tank. Muzza’s parents also appeared from nowhere to claim their boy.
Michael was already sitting up by the time I reached him.
‘Ben!’ He reached over and for a couple of awful seconds I thought he was going to hug me. Luckily, he punched me on the arm instead. ‘Did you get him?’
I nodded.
‘Nice job. Glad the undead monster didn’t finish you off, little bro.’ He tried to sound cool about it, but I could see he was relieved.
Dirk Hunt pulled off his infrared goggles. He put his hands on his hips and shouted, ‘Put down your weapons! The threat is over!’ In a lower voice, he asked, ‘Is there a Mr or Mrs Knight present?’
Mr Knight was already pushing his way forward.
‘Gerald!’ cried Dirk Hunt, thrusting out his right hand. ‘I’m pleased to see you’re OK—’
But whatever Dirk Hunt had been going to say was cut off when Mr Knight punched him squarely on the nose.
There were a few gasps from the crowd.
‘That was for abandoning us!’ shouted Mr Knight. His hands were shaking and his eyes were wide with rage.
Dirk Hunt turned and gave a brief nod to the nearest soldier, but as the man hurried over, Mrs Knight blocked his way. ‘If you touch my husband, I will tell all of these people everything I know about HAZMAT. And then I will contact the media and do the same with them. You can leave,’ she added coldly. ‘The threat is over, no thanks to you.’
‘You won’t have electrithity or phoneth for a few dayth,’ said Dirk Hunt. ‘Not until we get thome emergenthy generatorth up and running. And I think you’ve broken my tooth.’
‘You’ll survive,’ said Mr Knight.
Dirk Hunt staggered back to the helicopter, still clutching his face. ‘It really hurth!’
20
‘Well, that’s that,’ said Mrs Knight, watching the lights on the chopper disappear into the distance.
Suddenly, the crowd broke apart and everyone started hugging and dancing around.
I headed through the crowd to find my parents again. They spotted me first and before I knew it I was being smothered once more.
‘Help!’ I tried to say, but I had a mouthful of someone’s clothes so I don’t think anyone heard.
‘I’m never letting you go,’ Mum whispered into my hair.
‘Me either,’ said Dad, squashing me in a massive hug.
I felt relieved, ’cause I guessed that meant they weren’t going to kick me out after all. I hugged them back for a couple of seconds then I prised my way loose because lots of other people wanted to pat me on the back or shake my hand, which was weird, but kinda nice. They kept saying things like, ‘Thanks buddy’, or, ‘We’re proud of you’, which was heaps better than, ‘Is that a zombie?! Let’s get him!’
Even Mr Trotter came up to me and started clapping me on the back. It got a bit awkward after the first minute, but eventually the guy stopped leaking tears all over me and wandered off, hugging random people. Finally, he stumbled across Tank and the two of them staggered away together.
‘Let’s go home,’ said Mum beside me. Behind her were Dad and Michael.
I nodded. Suddenly I felt tired. But there was something I needed to do first. ‘I’ll see you there in a few minutes.’
Mum raised her eyebrows, but she didn’t ask any questions. She and Dad and Michael gave a little wave and I watched as they walked out of the park.
‘They really didn’t care that I was a zombie,’ Sophie said, appearing by my side.
‘What?’
‘My parents. I was worried that by being a zombie I’d disappointed them. But they just told me it made no difference to how they felt about me.’ She suddenly seemed to notice my parents as they vanished around a corner. ‘You’re not going with them?’
‘Not yet. There’s something I need to do first.’
They took a bit of convincing, but the Knights also agreed to leave and wait for Sophie at home. They wandered off, chatting to Miss Bumble. If they were looking for insider information about zombies, they’d found the right person.
Meanwhile, Sophie and I headed for the cemetery.
It was still deserted but it looked a lot less spooky now that the first few rays of sunlight were peeping up over the horizon.
‘C’mon!’ I headed back through the graves toward the old chapel.
‘Where are we going?’
‘You’ll see.’
A belltower stood at the entrance to the church. The door was unlocked. I led the way up the steep, narrow steps.
At the top, Seabrook was spread out before us. Houses lined the streets in every direction but I couldn’t see any people. In fact, the place looked deserted. I guessed everyone was finally getting some sleep.
We climbed onto the wide balustrade and sat with our legs stretched out in the weak sunshine.
‘What now?’ asked Sophie.
‘Let’s see,’ I said, holding up my hand and ticking off one finger at a time. ‘We’ve survived undead teenagers, defeated a zombie overlord, prevented an apocalypse and saved the world. I think we deserve a bit of a rest.’
‘I could use a rest,’ said Sophie, leaning back against the belltower.
‘We’re in a cemetery. You can rest in peace here.’ It was a bad joke, I know.
‘Haha,’ said Sophie. ‘Anyway, I’m too hungry to sleep.’
‘Me too.’ I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out the two brain-shaped lollies we’d found at The House. ‘Luckily, I have a snack.’ I dropped one of the lollies into Sophie’s hand. ‘You ready?’ I asked.
She paused for a second. Then she nodded. ‘One, two, three . . .’
We popped the candy into our mouths.
The brain-candy tasted sweet and slightly fruity. It was just like any other lolly, except that the moment I swallowed it, power rippled through my limbs. I suddenly felt invincible. ‘You know what mine tastes like?’ I asked Sophie.
‘What?’ Sophie was still chewing.
‘You’ll never guess,’ I told her.
‘Bananas?’ she asked.
‘Nope.’
‘Peppermint?’
‘Not even close.’
‘What about chocolate?’
‘OK, you can give up now.’
‘Hang on a minute.’ Sophie swallowed her lolly. ‘I think I’ve got it.’
‘Together?’
We took a deep breath and shouted so loudly, the sound echoed around the big bell above us.
‘BRAAAAAIIIINNNS!’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing and illustrating four books in a row requires a certain amount of dogged determination, single-mindedness and the ability to ignore piles of dirty dishes. It also requires a lot of help.
My deepest thanks to . . .
Mark and Ann Svendsen, not only for your friendship and encouragement, but for your unwavering support of all artists; Tegan Morrison for opening the door; Chren Byng – editor extraordinaire; Eve Tonelli and Rachel Dennis, whose eagle eyes miss nothing; Motiata Hooper and Marilyn Williamson – first and best readers; Mary Gray along with Ange and Marty Faulkner for speed-reads and constructive comments; Patrick Connor whose quiet support for many years has made all the difference; Jasper and Lucas who have helped an awful lot with the aforementioned dishes; and to those who have continued to read through the acknowledgements this far and who must therefore looking for a mention too, I’ll say it once again:
Thank you.
BOOKS BY C.M. GRAY
Zombiefied!
Zombiefied!: Infected
Zombiefied!: Outbreak
Zombiefied!: Apocalypse
COPYRIGHT
The ABC ‘Wave’ device is a trademark of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and is used under licence by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia.
First published in Australia in 2017
by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks
a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Limited
ABN 36 009 913 517
harpercollins.com.au
Copyright © C.M. Gray 2017
The right of C.M. Gray to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
HarperCollinsPublishers
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ISBN 978 0 7333 3424 5 (paperback)
ISBN 978 1 4607 0495 0 (ebook)
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
Gray, C.M., author, illustrator.
Zombiefied! Apocalypse / C.M. Gray.
Series: Gray, C.M. Zombiefied!, 4
For primary school age.
Zombies — Juvenile fiction.
Halloween — Juvenile fiction.
Suspense fiction.
A823.4
Cover design by Shirley Tran Thai, based on a design by Hazel Lam,
HarperCollins Design Studio
Cover and internal illustrations by C.M. Gray
