Rise of the Zombie Rabbit

by Sam Hay

  For Alice and Archie, funny bunnies-SH

  For Freya and Rhiannon-SC

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  Penguin Young Readers Group

  An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

  Text copyright © 2013 by Sam Hay. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Simon Cooper. All rights reserved. First printed in Great Britain in 2013 by Stripes Publishing. First published in the United States in 2015 by Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC. Printed in the USA.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  ISBN 978-0-698-41207-1

  Version_1

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Copyright

  The story so far. . .

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Joe peeked around the stage curtain and gasped. “Wow! It’s packed. Look, Matt!” He nudged his best friend, who was busy digging inside an old top hat.

  “I’m sure I put the flowers in here,” Matt said, turning the hat upside down and giving it a thump.

  It was Friday night, and families and friends were jammed into the school’s auditorium to watch the kids compete in the sixth-grade talent show. Joe could see his mom and dad and his little brother, Toby, in the front row. His sister, Sarah, had gone to a friend’s house for the night instead. Toby was leaning forward, his eyes glued to the stage. He couldn’t wait to see Joe and Matt’s magic act. They’d been practicing for weeks.

  “Joe, where’d the knotted string go?” asked Matt, patting his coat pockets nervously.

  “I’ve got it here,” Joe said, holding it up. “Stop worrying, Matt!”

  Their principal, Mr. Hill, swept past with a clipboard in his hands. “Five minutes to curtain!” he called. “Form a line in the order you’re going onstage, please.”

  As he spoke, the stage lights flickered eerily above their heads.

  “Ooooooooooh!” The children giggled.

  “Oh no!” groaned Mr. Hill. “The last thing we need is a power outage.”

  “Must be the wind,” said Nick the Stick, the tallest boy in Joe’s class. “It’s blowing hard out there—a tree branch nearly hit our car on the way here.”

  As he spoke, Nick was spinning a basketball around and around on one finger.

  Joe and Matt exchanged a look. Nick was amazing at ball tricks. As well as being the basketball king of the school, he could roll a ball down his back and flick it back up over his head.

  “We’ll never beat Nick’s basketball routine,” said Matt. “And look—there’s the twins’ dog! They’ve trained her to do tricks.”

  Smartie the dog was doing a routine with her owners, Ava and Molly—two girls in Joe’s class. A little further back, Joe could see Spiker and Harry practicing their yo-yo moves. In the corner, another group from Joe’s class was warming up for a gymnastics act.

  Mr. Hill looked around. “Where are Leonie and Natalie?” He peered at his clipboard. “They’re supposed to be the first act.”

  Mr. Hill looked over at Joe and Matt. “If they’re not here soon, you two will have to go on first.”

  “What?” squeaked Matt. “I’m not ready yet! Joe, have we got all the props?”

  “Yes! Check your pockets. They’re definitely in there. We already went through everything, remember?”

  Both boys were wearing long, dark overcoats with deep pockets and wide sleeves, perfect for hiding things—and losing them! Joe had borrowed his coat from his granddad. It was a bit big and smelled of pickled onions, but Joe thought it made him look mysterious.

  “Ta-da!” said Matt suddenly. He produced a squashed bunch of paper flowers from up his sleeve.

  “What about the rabbit?” asked Joe. It was one of their best tricks—pulling a cuddly toy bunny out of a seemingly empty top hat. “Is it definitely in there?”

  Matt nodded. “Yeah, it’s hidden at the bottom.”

  “One minute to curtain!” called Mr. Hill. “If Leonie and Natalie don’t appear in the next ten seconds, you boys will have to go on first.”

  “We’re here!” wailed Leonie, clambering up the steps in a pair of bright red shoes. Natalie was right behind her. “We were just having a last-minute practice!”

  Just then, the sound of piano music rang out from the front of the stage.

  “Quick! Places, everyone!” hissed Mr. Hill.

  The children crowded into the wings of the stage and Mr. Hill signaled to Joe’s classmates Ben and Simon, who were in charge of props and scenery, to open the curtains.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” boomed Mr. Hill, squinting in the glare of the spotlight. “Welcome to the sixth-grade talent show!” There was a loud round of applause.

  Joe felt a rush of excitement—he’d never performed in front of people before. He hoped none of their tricks would go wrong.

  “I’d like to introduce you to our two judges,” continued Mr. Hill. “Miss Bruce, sixth-grade teacher, and Mr. Shah, the vice principal.”

  The judges stood up and gave the audience a wave.

  “And now, please welcome our first act, Leonie and Natalie with their recorder duet.”

  “Earplugs at the ready,” Matt said with a giggle.

  Leonie scowled at them and flounced on to the stage with Natalie. They launched into a squeaky performance of “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

  Joe rolled his eyes and Matt snickered. Mr. Hill glared at them from the other side of the stage so they tried to look serious, but it was tough—especially when Smartie the dog started howling along to “Yankee Doodle”!

  As soon as Leonie and Natalie took their bows, Ben ran on and removed the music stand, while Simon dragged Joe and Matt’s magic table (which was really a school desk with a shiny tablecloth draped over the top) onto the stage.

  Mr. Hill stepped forward. “Please put your hands together for Joe and Matt’s mysterious magical mayhem!”

  There was an eruption of clapping and a few loud whistles from Matt’s dad up front.

  Joe and Matt stepped out. There was a whole room full of faces staring back, grinning and clapping.

  Joe took a deep breath. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen . . .” His voice sounded small and tight. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “Tonight we’ll show you how to make things vanish . . .”

  “And reappear!” added Matt, reaching forward and producing a shiny coin from behind Joe’s ear.

  “Wow!” Toby gasped in the front row.

  “Making things appear can be useful,” said Joe.

  “Especially if you’ve forgotten your mom’s birthday present!” said Matt, whipping out the fake flowers from up his sleeve.

  There was another round of applause and more whistles from Matt’s dad.

  Awwhoooooo . . .

  Then Joe pulled th
e string from his pocket and held it up. “As you can see, there is a knot at the end of this string. But it’s easy to make it disappear. All it takes is the magic word . . . Alakazam!” Joe gave the string a tug, and the knot was gone!

  There was a small round of applause and a few grins from the grown-ups who already knew the trick.

  “And now, I will bring the knot back!” Joe gathered up the string in his fist and said the magic word again. This time he pulled the other end of the string down and the knot mysteriously reappeared!

  Toby’s eyes opened wide. “How did they do that?” he called out, looking in admiration at his big brother.

  “For our next trick we need a volunteer,” called Joe. He was starting to feel confident.

  Toby’s hand shot up. “Me!”

  Matt grinned and called him onstage.

  “Take a look inside this top hat,” said Matt, holding it in front of Toby. “Check there’s nothing inside.”

  “It’s empty,” said Toby.

  “Not for long!” Joe waved his hands mysteriously above the hat, then pulled out a bright yellow handkerchief . . . and then two more.

  “Wow!” Toby beamed.

  As the applause died away, Matt continued. “Let’s see if the hat’s magic will work one more time.”

  At that moment, the lights flickered and then went out, plunging the hall into darkness. In a blink they came back on again, and Joe saw a white rabbit shoot out of the top hat and land with a thud on the table. But it wasn’t the cuddly toy he’d been expecting. It looked almost real.

  “Where did you get that rabbit from, Matt?” he whispered.

  But Matt didn’t seem to have noticed it. He was still digging around inside the top hat. “I can’t get the rabbit out. It’s jammed!”

  Joe frowned. “But Matt . . .” His words trailed off as he looked at the rabbit.

  It turned its head and looked directly at Joe. Its eyes were glowing ghoulishly.

  “Hi, Joe, my name’s Fluffy,” the rabbit squeaked. “I’ve got twenty-four hours to save my owner, and I need your help!”

  Joe’s shoulders sagged and he gave a low groan. It was an undead pet! A zombie animal who wanted his help to solve its problems so that it could pass peacefully into the afterlife.

  Ever since his uncle Charlie had given him a mysterious Egyptian amulet, Joe had been hounded by undead pets that only he could see. But this was a first—what was he supposed to do about it while he was onstage in the middle of a magic act?

  Joe glared at the rabbit, willing her to disappear, but she sat there staring back at him.

  “Got it!” said Matt suddenly and he pulled out a small pink bunny from the top hat.

  The audience let out a huge cheer.

  “You can take it if you like,” said Matt, handing it to Toby, who proudly trotted back to his seat.

  Meanwhile, the undead rabbit still sat on the table, her nose twitching and her eyes bulging. Joe shuddered. Now, as he looked more closely, he could see that her white fur was flecked with blood and there were chunks missing from her floppy ears.

  Matt nudged him and Joe realized that it was his turn to speak. “Oh, yes. For our next trick, we need another volunteer.”

  Hands shot up around the hall and Joe pointed to a lady a few rows back. “We are going to read your mind. Please think of a number between one and ten, but don’t tell us what it is . . .”

  The lady nodded.

  “Now you need to double that number, then add ten to it . . .”

  Joe was trying to ignore Fluffy, but she was on the move, hopping across the table toward him.

  “Um . . . Please could you divide that number by two . . .” Joe broke off, staring at the rabbit.

  The lady nodded, waiting for the next step.

  “And then subtract your original number,” said Matt, taking over from Joe.

  Joe’s attention was back on the zombie rabbit. She was sitting up on her back legs now, peering at him with her head cocked to one side. Joe noticed she had a long scar down her belly.

  “Help me, Joe,” Fluffy pleaded. “It’s a race against time!”

  “And now we will read your mind,” said Matt to the lady volunteer. He and Joe closed their eyes, then they both called out, “The answer is five!”

  “That’s right!” said the lady.

  The audience gave a cheer, but Joe was distracted again.

  Fluffy was glaring at him. “Stop this nonsense and help me!” she demanded.

  Joe shook his head and Fluffy’s eyes narrowed.

  “Now we’re going to finish off with some juggling,” said Matt.

  The boys walked to the front of the stage and began juggling with three balls each. Joe had been practicing the routine for weeks, but now he couldn’t concentrate—he kept looking over his shoulder to see what Fluffy was up to. Suddenly there was a loud thud as she knocked the top hat off the table!

  The audience gasped. Joe dropped his juggling balls. As he bent down to pick them up, he saw that the rabbit had hopped off the table, nosed her way under the brim, and was now inside the hat, making it move across the stage.

  Joe made a grab for the hat, but tripped on his long coat and went sprawling.

  The audience roared with laughter.

  “What are you doing?” whispered Matt.

  Joe made another grab for the hat—and reached it!

  He lifted it up and there was the rabbit, peering up at him, her green eyes glowing.

  “Ready to help me now, Joe?” Fluffy said.

  “No!” Joe put the hat on his head and went to take a bow with Matt.

  The audience was going wild, yelling and clapping, and Matt’s dad was whistling like a train. The audience loved them!

  Joe glanced across at Matt. He was worried his friend would be upset that he’d messed up the act, but Matt just gave him a thumbs-up! Joe sighed with relief and turned to walk offstage. He took a step and felt something squishy underfoot. He glanced down and saw a large piece of zombie-rabbit poo stuck to the front of his shoe.

  “How did you do that hat trick?” asked Matt as soon as they reached the dressing room.

  “Well . . . um . . .” Joe pulled open his coat. He felt hot and sweaty. “It was something my . . . grandpa showed me.”

  “I didn’t know your grandpa could do magic tricks! Cool!”

  “Um . . . yeah,” Joe muttered, scraping the zombie poo off his shoe.

  Just then the door banged open and Ben came bounding in. “That was awesome!” he said. “How did you get the hat to move by itself?”

  Joe felt his face turn red. He shrugged. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

  “Was it wires attached to your sleeves?” asked Ben. “Or a remote-control car inside the hat?”

  Joe swallowed hard. “I can’t tell you. If I did, the . . . um . . . Magic Circle would make me disappear—forever!”

  Matt rolled his eyes. “I’ll have to ask your grandpa next time I see him at your house.”

  “Hey,” said Ben. “The twins’ dog is about to go on. You’ve gotta see it!” He dashed out and Joe followed, glad to escape any more questions.

  As they ran back along the corridor, Joe kept an eye out for the zombie rabbit. He wasn’t sure where she had gone, but he knew she would be back to haunt him soon! He just hoped she’d wait until the show was over . . .

  Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!

  By the time the boys got back to the auditorium, Smartie and the twins were already onstage. Joe and Matt crowded into the wings with the others to watch. Ava and Molly had set up an obstacle course with low jumps and a tunnel. Everyone cheered as Smartie leaped over the first fence, then dived over the next. She missed the third one, and went under it on her belly instead. Next Ava produced a Hula Hoop for her to jump through. But just then Joe felt
something cold and furry brush past his ankles.

  “Hello, Joe. I’ve been looking for you!” Fluffy was crouched at his feet, peering up at him.

  Joe ignored her.

  “Are you ready to help me now?” she said stubbornly. “I won’t go away until you do!”

  Joe scowled down at her, but said nothing.

  “The clock is ticking.” She snuffled. “Every second counts!”

  Joe shook his head and pointed to the stage.

  “Huh!” snorted Fluffy. “You don’t want to help until the silly show is finished? Well, maybe that will be sooner than you think.”

  Joe turned to look at Fluffy, but just then the lights flickered and went out. When they came back on, the rabbit had gone.

  Ava and Molly took a bow and went offstage with Smartie.

  “Our next act tonight is the Heathfield Hurricanes!” announced Mr. Hill. The gymnasts cartwheeled onto the stage. They did headstands and handstands, and one girl even did a backflip. Then they started cartwheeling again, moving across the stage, crisscrossing with one another. But suddenly the lights flickered again, and then went out altogether!

  There were bangs, thuds, and yelps from the stage as the gymnasts bumped into one another in the darkness. The audience gasped. At the back of the room, a baby started crying. Smartie began to whine. Then a flashlight beam appeared on the stage . . .

  “Don’t panic!” said Mr. Hill, shining his flashlight around the hall. “Everyone stay in your seats. It looks like the storm has caused a power outage. If the electricity doesn’t come back on in the next five minutes, then I’m afraid we’ll have to cancel the rest of the show.”

  There was a chorus of groans from the children.

  “What about our act?” yowled Spiker, who hadn’t done his yo-yo tricks yet.

  “How can there be a winner?” wailed Leonie.

  Mr. Hill sighed. “I’m going to take a look at the fuse box. Miss Bruce, would you step up here and hold down the fort? Meanwhile, everyone please stay in your seats.”