Swamp of the Hideous Zombies

by Geoffrey Hayes

  DOZENS OF ZOMBIES WERE MARCHING ALONG THE DOCKS.

  They came from alleyways and houses. Some even came off ships. All were following the sound of the Cobweb Queen’s flute.

  Horrified, Otto, Uncle Tooth, and Olivia made their way past the zombies to the jail. The bars on Doodle’s cell had been bent back. Doodle and Auntie Hick were gone!

  They ran outside. By now, the line of zombies had reached the edge of town. It was disappearing into Mookey Swamp. One especially large zombie was carrying Auntie Hick.

  “We’ve got to stop them!” screamed Otto.

  STEP INTO READING BOOKS™

  BY GEOFFREY HAYES:

  The Curse of the Cobweb Queen

  The Mystery of the Pirate Ghost

  The Secret of Foghorn Island

  The Treasure of the Lost Lagoon

  Copyright © 1996 by Geoffrey Hayes

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

  Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and

  simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Hayes, Geoffrey.

  Swamp of the Hideous Zombies / by Geoffrey Hayes.

  p. cm. “A First Stepping Stone book.”

  SUMMARY: When a creepy fortune-teller moves into Boogle Bay and one by one people begin to disappear, Otto feels sure zombie monsters are at work.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-82847-7

  [1. Monsters—Fiction. 2. Horror stories.] I. Title.

  PZ7.H31455Sw 1996 [E]—dc 20 96-883

  Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland

  http://www.randomhouse.com/

  v3.1

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  1. Zombies in Boogle Bay

  2. The Secret of 1313

  3. Madame Webster

  4. Full Moon and Tea Leaves

  5. Into the Swamp

  6. Copper Bill’s Tale

  7. Lost Luck

  8. Snakes and Bats

  9. Spiders!

  10. The Queen’s Plan

  11. A Little Organ Music

  12. Too Many Zombies

  13. Heroes

  About the Author

  Did I scare you? Folks around here know me as the “Graveyard Creeper.” I’m always creeping around, digging up gory little epics. Like this one, which I call Swamp of the Hideous Zombies.

  Zombies aren’t really so bad. My brother was a zombie—at least during school hours. He got straight “C’s” on his report card. “C” for “corpse,” that is. Heh, heh!

  But these zombies are clearly up to no good. They give our heroes, Otto and Olivia, quite a few scares. In fact, this story is so scary, it would give a ghost goose bumps! So you’d better keep your eyes open, look over your shoulder every so often, and remember … it’s only a story.

  Or is it?

  Otto raced inside the general store, slammed the door, and pulled the shade down.

  He didn’t stop to say hello to Uncle Tooth or to his cousin, Olivia, who were standing at the counter. He went right to the magazine rack and grabbed the latest copy of Monsters and Ghouls.

  Quickly, Otto looked through the pages.

  “What’s his problem?” Olivia asked Uncle Tooth.

  “Here it is! I knew it!” cried Otto.

  He pointed to a drawing of a huge, bug-eyed figure with matted hair. At the bottom, in bold type, was the word ZOMBIE.

  “I just saw one of these by the movie theater.”

  “You saw a zombie?” Uncle Tooth cried.

  “Are you sure it wasn’t just your reflection in a window?” said Olivia.

  “Be serious!” said Otto. “I was looking at the poster for Invasion of the Crawlee Things. Then this huge, bug-eyed creep came marching along.”

  “It was probably late for the movie,” said Olivia.

  Otto closed the magazine. “If you don’t want to hear my story … fine! But you’ll be sorry.”

  “I want to hear it,” said Uncle Tooth.

  Otto continued. “I saw the monster head down an alley and stop in front of an old lady. I thought it was going to eat her! Then I saw she was talking to it. She pointed toward the beach. The monster nodded and marched off.”

  “Well, I’m terrified!” Olivia said.

  Uncle Tooth handed Olivia a roll of film. “I can help you load your camera, if you like.”

  “Thanks, but I know how to do it,” she said.

  “That’s okay! Just ignore me!” cried Otto.

  Uncle Tooth lit his pipe. “What made you think it was a monster?” he asked.

  “It looked like one,” said Otto.

  “Then why wasn’t the old lady afraid?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe she’s controlling it.”

  “Maybe your imagination is running away with you,” said Uncle Tooth. He opened the door. “You were probably spooked by the movie poster and thought you saw—”

  “No! It was a zombie!” cried Otto. He quickly replaced the magazine and followed Uncle Tooth and Olivia out of the store.

  Outside, they saw Auntie Hick coming toward them, looking worried.

  “Have any of you seen Ducky Doodle?” she asked.

  “I saw him about twenty minutes ago. He was digging on the beach,” said Uncle Tooth.

  “Well, he’s not there now,” Auntie Hick went on. “I found his pail and shovel … but no Doodle! I wouldn’t let him go treasure hunting until he cleaned up his room. He was angry and stomped around. Then he got awfully quiet. When I went to check on him, the window was open and Doodle was gone.”

  “Maybe the zombie got him!” said Otto.

  “Zombie?” cried Auntie Hick.

  “Pay no attention, Auntie Hick,” said Olivia. “Otto’s trying to annoy me because I wouldn’t be in his stupid Monster Club.”

  “Excuse me?” said Otto. “I wouldn’t let you join.… Remember?”

  Otto had come up with the idea of a club for studying and learning about monsters. He had decided he wouldn’t allow any girls to join. But he was miffed when Olivia wasn’t at all interested.

  Uncle Tooth told Otto and Olivia to stop bickering. Then he promised Auntie Hick that if he found Ducky Doodle, he’d be sure to send him home. She hurried off.

  “I’ll bet the old lady and the zombie have something to do with this,” said Otto.

  “It’s not the first time Doodle has disappeared,” said Uncle Tooth. “He’ll turn up.”

  “Well, I have more important things to do than to chase dumb monsters,” Olivia told them.

  “Like what?” Otto said.

  “My dad sent me this camera with a built-in flash. I’m going to take some really good photos and sell them to the Boogle Bay Bugle.”

  “Now, that’s dumb! Who’d pay money for your old pictures?” Otto laughed. “What are you going to photograph … little kitties?”

  “I’m not talking to you anymore,” said Olivia. She walked away.

  Otto scowled at her. “I can’t wait until she leaves Boogle Bay!” he muttered.

  Olivia was spoiling Otto’s summer!

  She had arrived right after school ended and wouldn’t be going home until the end of August. She was staying with Ducky Doodle and Auntie Hick.

  Otto didn’t mind Olivia in small doses, but she was too pushy.

  When he found an old boat on the beach, Olivia insisted on helping repair it.

  When he built a fort under the pier, Olivia had to build one, too.

  She even got U
ncle Tooth to help, so her fort would be fancier than Otto’s.

  “I thought you liked your cousin,” said Uncle Tooth. He and Otto were on their way home to Lone Point.

  “She’s okay,” said Otto. “The trouble is, she’s always butting into things. But when she wants to do something, does she invite me? No!”

  Uncle Tooth frowned. “Maybe she’s waiting for you to invite her first.”

  Otto made a face. “Then I’d never get rid of her! You believe me about the zombie, don’t you, Uncle Tooth?”

  “I believe in zombies,” Uncle Tooth said. “I had dealings with them years ago. Nasty things, zombies! But just because the person you saw looked like a zombie, it doesn’t mean that it was a zombie. You need more evidence.”

  “I’ll get some,” said Otto. “This can be the first case for my Monster Club!”

  As soon as he got home, Otto ran to his room and got his telescope. That was for spying on the zombie.

  He found a pad and pencil. They were for writing down important information.

  Finally, he reached under his pillow, grabbed his Good-Luck Pebble, and stuffed it in his pocket. That was for protection.

  Otto wished he had Olivia’s camera, but there was no point in asking to use it. She’d only say no.

  “Wait until I prove my zombie theory,” thought Otto. “That’ll show her!”

  The day was turning overcast, with an eerie light in the sky. Otto went to the end of the boardwalk, where Ducky Doodle liked to hang out. He searched in the sand for clues, but couldn’t find anything.

  He noticed Mr. Sedley Mether sitting on a high rock. Sedley had a sketchbook propped in his lap. He kept glancing across the bay, then bending his head to draw.

  “I’ll ask Sedley if he’s seen anything fishy,” thought Otto.

  As he neared the high rock, Otto saw a tall, thin figure come up behind Sedley.

  It was the old lady he had seen with the zombie!

  Quickly, Otto hid in some tall grass. He peered through his telescope. The old lady was talking to Sedley. Then she handed him something and moved away.

  The old lady passed Otto as she headed back toward the boardwalk. Otto was eager to follow her. But he was just as eager to know what she had said to Sedley Mether.

  The instant she was out of sight, Otto climbed the path up to the big rock.

  “Hello, Sedley,” he called.

  “Hello, Otto. Want to see my sketch?”

  “Very nice … say, Sedley, what did that old lady want?”

  “She said I was an excellent artist,” said Sedley Mether. “She wanted me to paint her portrait. I told her I’m much better at flowers. But she offered me a lot of money. So I’m thinking about it.”

  “What did she give you?”

  Sedley reached in his pocket and handed Otto a business card.

  Otto read the card.

  “It really says ‘Free Reading’?” asked Sedley.

  “Yes,” said Otto. “But I don’t trust that old lady. I’d stay away from her, if I were you.”

  He wrote the address in his notepad before returning the card to Sedley. This was his first clue! Otto scrambled down the rock, full of excitement.

  Otto just knew that 1313 Triangular Square was linked to the zombie, and that the zombie was linked to Ducky Doodle. But he wasn’t sure how. He was going to check out the address and get some evidence.

  Triangular Square was in the bad section of town. Otto didn’t come here very often. The buildings were old. Some were even deserted, with broken windows and boarded-up doors. Otto clutched his Good-Luck Pebble.

  Suddenly, he heard a CLICK!

  A familiar voice said, “Hey, you bozo, you ruined my picture!”

  “Olivia! What are you doing here?” gasped Otto.

  “I thought if the newspaper published photos of these old buildings, people might want to fix them up.”

  “But what are you doing here?” Otto insisted.

  “Oh. After I left you, I met an old lady who gave me this card. It says she’s telling fortunes free,” said Olivia.

  “Are you crazy?” Otto cried. “That’s the old lady with the zombie! She’s probably handing those out to everybody.”

  “So? What’s the big—?”

  Otto shushed her. The door of 1313 was opening!

  Otto and Olivia ducked behind a garbage can.

  Ducky Doodle walked out. There was a blank look in his eyes. The old lady followed. She was saying something to him.

  Doodle nodded, then walked stiffly down the street. The old lady glanced around before going back inside.

  “I knew it!” whispered Otto. “She’s turned him into a zombie!”

  “I don’t know,” Olivia whispered back. “Doodle always looks blank.”

  “We’ve got to follow him,” said Otto.

  “You follow him,” Olivia said. “I want to get pictures of that shop. I can see the headlines now: FAKE FORTUNE-TELLER EXPOSED!”

  “We don’t know she’s a fake. She could be hypnotizing people,” said Otto. “Anyway, this is my investigation.”

  “Oh, do you own it? Look! Ducky Doodle’s getting away!”

  Otto sighed. There was Olivia, trying to run things again. But he was curious about Doodle. So he just said, “Be careful,” and ran off.

  Otto was afraid he’d lost Doodle. Then he saw him crossing the old trolley line. “Doodle,” he said. “Are you all right?”

  Ducky Doodle did not look at Otto. He kept marching along, staring straight ahead. “Must find treasure,” he said.

  “What treasure?” asked Otto.

  “Must find treasure.”

  “Did that old lady put you up to this?”

  “Must find treasure.”

  Otto knew he wasn’t going to get any clear answers from Doodle. He would just have to follow him closely and see where he ended up.

  Meanwhile, Olivia was sneaking up on 1313 Triangular Square. The window shade was drawn. But she found a little space at the bottom to peek through.

  It was dark inside. Where had the old lady gone?

  Suddenly, a voice behind her said, “And just what do you think you’re doing?”

  Olivia spun around and came face to face with Madame Webster!

  “Y-you gave me this card,” she said. She held it up.

  Madame Webster’s sour look changed to a sly smile.

  “So I did. Is that a camera around your neck?” she asked, drawing closer. “I don’t like cameras. They make nosy people even nosier. You aren’t planning on taking any pictures around here, are you?”

  Madame Webster pressed Olivia against the door of the shop.

  “Just one!” cried Olivia. She flashed her camera in Madame Webster’s face.

  Madame Webster blinked her eyes and screamed: “Clegg! Clegg! Come here! I need you!”

  The shop door opened. Standing there was a large, hulking figure with wild, matted hair. Clegg was a zombie, too!

  “Get the brat’s camera!” ordered Madame Webster.

  Clegg lunged for Olivia, but she squirmed out of the way. She gave Clegg a swift kick on the shins before tearing off across the square.

  Once she was at a safe distance, Olivia stopped and snapped a picture of the zombie.

  “The Boogle Bay Bugle will buy this picture for sure!”

  Otto followed Ducky Doodle to the shops along the docks.

  “I hope he isn’t going to march off a pier into the water,” thought Otto.

  Just then, Uncle Tooth came by. “Otto! You found Doodle!”

  “I can’t stop him,” Otto said. “He’s been zombified.”

  Suddenly, Doodle stopped by himself. He stood in front of Jack Whiskers’ Nautical Supplies and Hardware Store.

  “Must get treasure,” he muttered, going inside. Otto and Tooth went in after him.

  Doodle went straight to the shovels, grabbed one, and set it on his shoulder.

  When he started to leave the shop, Jack Whiskers called, “Hey!�
�

  Otto and Uncle Tooth grabbed Ducky Doodle. They pinned him to the ground. It was not easy. Doodle seemed to have developed double strength.

  “The little thief!” Jack Whiskers said.

  “It’s not his fault. He’s under a spell,” said Uncle Tooth. “Still, I think it would be a good idea to place him in jail until we can figure out what’s wrong with him.”

  They were leading Ducky Doodle along the street when Auntie Hick ran over. “Doodle! For mercy’s sake! What’s going on?”

  “We caught him trying to steal a shovel from the hardware store,” said Uncle Tooth.

  Auntie Hick gasped. “This is terrible! I’m sure someone put him up to it!”

  “We agree,” Otto told her. “Ducky Doodle isn’t being punished. We’re putting him in jail for his own good.”

  Auntie Hick came along to the jail. When they arrived, they found Olivia talking to Captain Poopdeck. “Guess what?” Olivia cried. “Madame Webster and a zombie named ‘Clegg’ tried to grab my camera!”

  “Ha! Now do you believe me?” Otto said to Olivia.

  “Yes. But I still don’t want to be in your stupid club. So don’t ask!”

  Uncle Tooth raised his hand for silence. “First, let’s get Ducky Doodle in a cell. Then I want to hear all about what’s going on.”

  Ducky Doodle was safely shut in a cell. Uncle Tooth lit his pipe and sat down to hear Otto’s and Olivia’s stories. Captain Poopdeck had a story of his own. At least four other people had been reported missing!

  “I think it’s time we all went over to Triangular Square,” Uncle Tooth said.

  Captain Poopdeck couldn’t come. He had to go check out another missing person.

  Auntie Hick insisted on keeping Ducky Doodle company. She couldn’t bear to leave him alone in such a state, even if he didn’t know her.

  Otto, Uncle Tooth, and Olivia set forth. The sky had turned steely gray. Patches of black clouds rolled on a steady wind.

  “Uncle Tooth, what exactly is a zombie?” Olivia said.

  “Glad you asked,” answered Uncle Tooth. “A zombie is a person who isn’t a person anymore. Their spirit has been stolen. The person who holds the zombie’s spirit can make the zombie do whatever they want. By the way, it was smart of you to take pictures. We need all the evidence we can get.”