a bunch of crazy zombie rumors? And why did somebody feel the need to name an entire network after it?
“Any ideas what NZN means?” Anna said.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“No idea.” Anna picked up a hammer from the workbench, one of my dad’s three tools. She pounded an imaginary nail. “But there’s something else that’s bothering me.” She paused, hammer in the air. “What’s up with you and Luke?”
“Huh?” I feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”
“Last semester you were inseparable. Now it’s like you hardly know one another. You’ve hung out, what, once so far since winter break?”
“I guess so, yeah. I don’t … ” I looked down.
“Jed, what is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Something’s wrong. Please. It’s pretty easy to tell.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Yeah. It’s something. Now if you don’t feel like talking about it, fine. But don’t lie to me.”
“Yeah, OK, stuff is bothering me. Stuff with Luke. But I was pretty sure it was not that big a deal.”
I’d been looking forward to winter break, hanging out with Luke, and having fun like old times (what Luke started calling BA Times—Before Anna). Anna, as it turned out, spent most of the break visiting family in Colorado. So it was just me and Luke.
“I’ll tell you about it,” I said. “But if you could do me one favor, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Jed, you know me. Anything.”
“When you meet Tread, just don’t let anyone know. Yet, anyway.”
“Tread? Who’s Tread?”
“Tread is more of an it. But he’s still my friend.”
There it was. I’d been waiting for the perfect time to tell Anna about my newfound ability to raise the dead (at least one dead body in particular), and I’d just blurted it out in the cold of the moment (zombies don’t have heat in their moments).
The emotional dam inside me burst open, flooding the garage with Tread. I started with Mom and Dad saying no to a dog, then walking with Luke to the park, seeing the stray dog. I left out the details of the accident, the dog’s injuries. I couldn’t bring myself to picture that scene again.
I watched Anna’s eyes closely when I told her about the Ooze, the tears, and tiny flashes of light. I was unsure what I wanted to see, but I knew what I didn’t want to see.
Fear.
Anna remained silent until I was done.
“So it just came alive? Did you ever think it wasn’t all the way dead?”
“That’s all I thought about,” I said. “I kept telling myself that. Tread was never really dead. Just knocked out or something. He just happened to wake up, saw me, and bonded with me instantly because I’m instantly likeable. But since then, with as much duct tape as he’s gone through, it’s pretty clear death took a bite out of him. So to speak.”
I knew I would feel a lot better if I hadn’t turned anything into a zombie. It was ironic in a way. Luke, Anna, and I spent weeks convincing Robbie I could do just that—turn people into zombies. The coordinated Internet attack had worked perfectly. I could tell because Robbie soon practiced safe zombie encounters, making sure I didn’t splash any fluids on him.
“You remember the Woodshop incident, of course,” I said.
“You mean the greatest prank in Pine Hollow history, even better than the one three years ago when seventh graders used grass killer to burn ‘Eighties suck’ on the Eighth Grade lawn?”
“That was good, except everyone wondered why seventh graders hated a decade they never saw.”
“A shame,” Anna agreed. “But ‘Eighties suck’ sounds stupid. The Woodshop incident was historic. It will remain a Pine Hollow legend long after we’re dead. Or un-undead.”
“If there was any chance in hell that I could have actually made another zombie, no way would I have gone to the trouble of severing my finger and spraying Robbie, even with fake blood. The goal was only to make Robbie think he was a zombie.”
“And it
“Any ideas what NZN means?” Anna said.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“No idea.” Anna picked up a hammer from the workbench, one of my dad’s three tools. She pounded an imaginary nail. “But there’s something else that’s bothering me.” She paused, hammer in the air. “What’s up with you and Luke?”
“Huh?” I feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”
“Last semester you were inseparable. Now it’s like you hardly know one another. You’ve hung out, what, once so far since winter break?”
“I guess so, yeah. I don’t … ” I looked down.
“Jed, what is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Something’s wrong. Please. It’s pretty easy to tell.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Yeah. It’s something. Now if you don’t feel like talking about it, fine. But don’t lie to me.”
“Yeah, OK, stuff is bothering me. Stuff with Luke. But I was pretty sure it was not that big a deal.”
I’d been looking forward to winter break, hanging out with Luke, and having fun like old times (what Luke started calling BA Times—Before Anna). Anna, as it turned out, spent most of the break visiting family in Colorado. So it was just me and Luke.
“I’ll tell you about it,” I said. “But if you could do me one favor, I’d really appreciate it.”
“Jed, you know me. Anything.”
“When you meet Tread, just don’t let anyone know. Yet, anyway.”
“Tread? Who’s Tread?”
“Tread is more of an it. But he’s still my friend.”
There it was. I’d been waiting for the perfect time to tell Anna about my newfound ability to raise the dead (at least one dead body in particular), and I’d just blurted it out in the cold of the moment (zombies don’t have heat in their moments).
The emotional dam inside me burst open, flooding the garage with Tread. I started with Mom and Dad saying no to a dog, then walking with Luke to the park, seeing the stray dog. I left out the details of the accident, the dog’s injuries. I couldn’t bring myself to picture that scene again.
I watched Anna’s eyes closely when I told her about the Ooze, the tears, and tiny flashes of light. I was unsure what I wanted to see, but I knew what I didn’t want to see.
Fear.
Anna remained silent until I was done.
“So it just came alive? Did you ever think it wasn’t all the way dead?”
“That’s all I thought about,” I said. “I kept telling myself that. Tread was never really dead. Just knocked out or something. He just happened to wake up, saw me, and bonded with me instantly because I’m instantly likeable. But since then, with as much duct tape as he’s gone through, it’s pretty clear death took a bite out of him. So to speak.”
I knew I would feel a lot better if I hadn’t turned anything into a zombie. It was ironic in a way. Luke, Anna, and I spent weeks convincing Robbie I could do just that—turn people into zombies. The coordinated Internet attack had worked perfectly. I could tell because Robbie soon practiced safe zombie encounters, making sure I didn’t splash any fluids on him.
“You remember the Woodshop incident, of course,” I said.
“You mean the greatest prank in Pine Hollow history, even better than the one three years ago when seventh graders used grass killer to burn ‘Eighties suck’ on the Eighth Grade lawn?”
“That was good, except everyone wondered why seventh graders hated a decade they never saw.”
“A shame,” Anna agreed. “But ‘Eighties suck’ sounds stupid. The Woodshop incident was historic. It will remain a Pine Hollow legend long after we’re dead. Or un-undead.”
“If there was any chance in hell that I could have actually made another zombie, no way would I have gone to the trouble of severing my finger and spraying Robbie, even with fake blood. The goal was only to make Robbie think he was a zombie.”
“And it
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