It Spells Z-O-M-B-I-E! Read online

  Probably not.

  But Emily knew that she didn’t have a choice. She sucked in her breath sharply as another virtual zombie approached. He was running for her—running right at her—

  Jake’s phone vibrated so hard that Emily’s bones rattled.

  YOU LOSE!

  YOU LOSE!

  YOU LOSE!

  As the words spiraled on the screen, Emily spun around with her arm extended, phone held high. Zyl was there—right there behind her!

  Time stopped.

  Emily, horrified, couldn’t look away.

  There was no golden crown wrapped around Zyl’s head, but a rusty circle of tin that left ugly gashes across his brow. His gray skin had peeled back from them, and it was clear from just a glance that each scrape was festering.

  Zyl’s mouth broke into an ugly smile that revealed yellow teeth and bone-white gums. The gray pallor of his skin—the sinister sneer on his scabbed, rotting face—the way his bony fingers were reaching out—

  His eyes, though, were the most surprising of all. Unlike Zombie Leah, unlike Zombie Jake, unlike Zombie Abby, they were bright, glinting with intelligence. Zyl really is still aware, Emily thought.

  Still, it seemed best not to stare into his eyes. Just in case.

  Emily took a deep breath and thrust her phone at Zyl. He didn’t understand at first what was happening. She recognized the exact moment when it dawned on him before the hypnotic spiral took effect. His eyes, reflecting the red spiral, flashed with panic. Then the light, and the spark, faded from them.

  It was the perfect revenge.

  Emily watched in revulsion as Zyl’s face went slack; a silver thread of drool slipped from the corner of his mouth. Then, as if in slow motion, his legs buckled beneath him and he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

  Is he . . . dead? Emily wondered. Was such a thing even possible—to kill a zombie? Could the undead ever really die?

  Did it matter?

  Because in his current state, Zyl was no threat. He lay on the cold ground, motionless except for a twitching hand, his eyes vacant and unblinking. With the tip of her toe, Emily nudged his foot, then leaped back.

  Nothing.

  Zyl didn’t even notice.

  Emily couldn’t smile—not yet. But for the first time, she let herself believe that maybe, just maybe, it had worked.

  Maybe—just maybe—she had destroyed the zombie king.

  There was always the chance that Zyl would snap out of his stupor. Or rise again, ready to convert even more people to his cursed, undead existence.

  Either way, Emily wasn’t going to wait around to find out. With one last look at Zyl, whose hand had stopped twitching, she started to back away. Then she was running through the deepening gloom, not even noticing as the tree branches sliced across her face, leaving thin, stinging scrapes on her cheeks. Her hopes were inflating like a bunch of balloons; Emily didn’t want to get too excited—not yet, anyway—but for a moment she imagined what it would be like to return home and find that everything was back to normal. It would be a happily-ever-after better than any fairy tale ever told.

  Wait and see, she tried to caution herself. You have to wait and see.

  But a smile broke across her face all the same.

  After Emily climbed over the fence, she realized that the crush of zombie kids had disappeared. Had they left earlier in hopes of finding a different way into the nature preserve?

  Or was it possible that they’d transformed back into their normal selves, and wandered back to town on their own?

  Oh, I hope, Emily thought as she started to run.

  The streetlights were just starting to flicker on as Emily raced down the still-deserted sidewalks. There were so many people she wanted to check on—Max and Leah and Mom—but Emily already knew what she needed to do first. She’d go to Abby’s house, of course; she had to free Abby, who was probably still trapped in the basement. Emily couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what she’d find there. And in a few moments, she wouldn’t have to guess.

  She’d know.

  Abby’s parents hadn’t come home; their house was dark and quiet. The banging on the basement door had ceased. For a brief moment, Emily wondered if Abby was still down there. Or if she’d fallen down the basement stairs—or accidentally hurt herself—

  Emily shoved the unwelcome thoughts from her mind as she crept through the house with silent steps. It just felt wrong to be there, like she’d broken in, or barged in uninvited. She glanced over her shoulder warily, as though she expected someone to jump out and catch her.

  But no one was there.

  Emily approached the basement door and pressed her ear against it.

  The silence was overpowering.

  “Abby?” she called, hoping her voice was loud enough—if she was still down there—to hear it through the door. “Are you there?”

  Emily waited for a response, barely daring to breathe in the stillness.

  At last, it came.

  “Em? Is that you?”

  “Abby!” Emily cried.

  “Can you open the door?” Abby’s voice was muffled. “I’m locked inside!”

  Emily unlocked the door. She flung it open, and there stood Abby, blinking, a little pale, a little confused.

  But unmistakably Abby. Not Zombie Abby. Once more, her eyes had that same bright sparkle that Emily remembered from before.

  Emily threw her arms around Abby and crushed her in a giant hug. “You’re okay! You’re okay!” she babbled in relief.

  “What happened?” Abby asked, still sounding dazed as she returned Emily’s hug.

  “You don’t remember?” Emily replied.

  Abby shook her head. “No . . . not really,” she said. “There was something weird with Veronica at lunch. And you were worried that Leah was absent from school today. After that, it’s just . . . blank.”

  “I don’t know where to begin,” Emily told her. “There’s so much to tell you. The app . . . the Z Curse is—was—real.”

  A look of confusion crossed Abby’s face.

  “I know it’s hard to believe. I know it doesn’t make any sense,” Emily continued quickly. “But—from what I can tell—it used a kind of hypnosis on the screen to shut down the cognitive part of your brain.”

  “My brain?” Abby asked in surprise.

  “Your brain, Leah’s brain, Jake’s brain,” Emily said. “And everyone else who tried to beat the game.”

  “You’re telling me that I was a zombie?” Abby asked, still trying to understand.

  “Practically everybody in Riverdale was,” Emily explained. “The app wasn’t just converting people into zombies. It was also leading them into the woods, where Zyl was waiting for them.”

  “Zyl?” Abby asked.

  “The zombie king,” Emily told her. “He wanted to create an army of zombies. And he was getting close, too.” She shuddered involuntarily at the memory of all those zombie kids pressed against the nature preserve fence.

  “Okay,” Abby said. “So . . . how’d I end up locked in the basement?”

  Emily gulped. “That was me,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Abby. You were trying to beat the game but you lost and . . . you changed. I wanted you to be safe. . . .”

  Emily’s voice trailed off while she searched for the words. “So I lured you into the basement and—and—and trapped you there.”

  For a long moment, no one spoke.

  “Let me get this straight,” Abby said at last. “I turned into a zombie, and you locked me in the basement? For my own protection?”

  “Yeah. That’s pretty much exactly what happened,” replied Emily. “Are you mad?”

  “Mad?” Abby repeated. “Are you kidding? I’m impressed! Wow, Emily—I mean, I never would’ve guessed you could—wait, that sounds wrong. What I mean is . . .”

  “What?” Emily asked.

  “You were so terrified of zombies,” Abby continued. “But look at what you did anyway, despite your fear. That was so b
rave, Em. You, like, saved us all. I don’t even know how to thank you.”

  Emily tried to shrug it off. “Whatever. You don’t have to thank me. I just did what I had to do, you know?”

  Abby shook her head. “No way,” she replied. “You’ve gotta give yourself more credit than that. I’m not sure I could’ve done all that, and I wasn’t even that scared of zombies. Just—wow.”

  The doorbell rang then, and both girls froze.

  “Oh!” Emily exclaimed as she glanced at the window. “It’s okay, Abby. It’s just Jake.”

  “Really?” Abby asked as she started fluffing out her hair. “Ahhh! I’m not ready to see Jake! I bet I look like an undead mess!”

  Emily stifled a giggle. “You look fine,” she replied. “Do you want to get the door, or should I?”

  “I’ll do it,” Abby said as she jumped off the couch and hurried over to the door.

  Emily moved over to sit on the chair. She hadn’t told Abby yet about the way Jake had stayed in the backyard, waiting for her, unwilling to leave without her. There would be plenty of time for that later, after Jake went home.

  “Hey, Abby,” Jake said when she opened the door. A strange look crossed his face when he saw Emily—a brief flash of remembrance that was almost immediately replaced by confusion. “Did—what—” Jake’s voice faltered as he tried to figure out what had happened.

  “Are you okay?” Emily asked, instantly on alert.

  “I have no idea what happened,” Jake said. “My—my head kind of hurts. I think—I mean I can’t remember anything that happened since this morning. It’s like there’s a big gap in my memory.”

  “Come sit down,” Abby told him. “Emily will tell you everything. Trust me. It’s a long story.”

  “I can’t even find my phone,” Jake continued. “Did I lose it? Did someone steal it? It’s just, like, gone.”

  “Oh!” Emily exclaimed. “Don’t worry, Jake. I have it.”

  Emily reached into her pocket and pulled out Jake’s phone. The Z Curse app was still running, she noticed. She tapped at the screen, trying to close it . . .

  And realized that Abby and Jake’s faces were still blank on the screen.

  They were still zombies.

  No, Emily thought numbly. No.

  They were acting normal—normal enough, anyway—but the app revealed the truth. Her friends were forever changed.

  And they didn’t even know it yet.

  “What’s wrong?” Jake asked.

  “Yeah, you got really pale all of a sudden,” Abby added. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “Fine,” Emily managed to say. “I’m fine.” She handed Jake his phone. “I’m just going to—step outside—for a minute—to get some air—”

  All Emily knew for certain in that moment was that she had to get away quickly. It was impossible to guess what could happen next. But Jake and Abby weren’t back to normal—and now Emily knew that they never would be.

  She forced herself to walk slowly, calmly, to the door. She’d get outside—away from Jake and Abby and whatever threat they posed. She’d go home—no, she couldn’t go home—after all, Mom was a zombie now too—

  But maybe the app is wrong, Emily told herself. Maybe it’s stuck on that setting with the blank faces. Maybe Abby and Jake are fine. Maybe I’m overreacting.

  Maybe.

  But Emily still felt like she had to escape. And if she’d learned anything from this horrible waking nightmare, it was that she would always, always, always trust her instincts.

  No matter what.

  “Be right back!” Emily said in a fake-cheerful voice as she inched open the door. She pulled it closed behind her, hard, and heard the comforting click of the lock.

  Then she looked out to the street.

  Dozens—no—hundreds—no—thousands of zombies were approaching, their footsteps shuffling as they dragged their feet across the asphalt. And right in the middle, in front, leading them, was Zyl. He smiled at her with his cracked lips and Emily was sure she saw a glint of happiness in his red eyes. And that’s when she knew that the past few minutes had all been a trick. Zyl was only pretending that Abby and Jake were back to normal. Zyl only pretended to have been destroyed by his own game.

  A heavy weight of dread settled over Emily.

  The zombie invasion hadn’t just begun.

  It was almost complete.

  Zyl would be the king of all.

  WANT MORE CREEPINESS?

  Then you’re in luck, because P. J. Night has some more scares for you and your friends!

  ZYL’S MESSAGE FOR YOU

  What message does Zyl have for you? Unscramble the letters in each of the words below and then write the circled words in order to discover his message.

  PIRSIT _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle last letter)

  ELHP _ _ _ _ (circle first two letters)

  BMOZEI _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle first three letters)

  INABRS _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle first and fourth letters)

  SUOHE _ _ _ _ _ (circle last letter)

  HOOCSL _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle first letter)

  PPA _ _ _ (circle first letter)

  SCUER _ _ _ _ _ (circle third and fifth letters)

  MBNTEASE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle first and fourth letters)

  UAHNT _ _ _ _ _ (circle first letter)

  GNIK _ _ _ _ (circle second and third letters)

  CIDE _ _ _ _ (circle first letter)

  UYO _ _ _ (circle all three letters)

  MESTOCU _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle sixth letter)

  RDOAB _ _ _ _ _ (circle third and fifth letters)

  SERPEREV _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle last letter)

  OUY _ _ _ (circle all three letters)

  EEEEARRHLCD _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle sixth letter)

  OYOPKS _ _ _ _ _ _ (circle third, fourth, and fifth letters)

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. _ _ _ _

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _!

  Turn the page for the answer.

  ANSWER KEY

  SPIRIT

  HELP

  ZOMBIE

  BRAINS

  HOUSE

  SCHOOL

  APP

  CURSE

  BASEMENT

  HAUNT

  KING

  DICE

  YOU

  COSTUME

  BOARD

  PRESERVE

  YOU

  CHEERLEADER

  SPOOKY

  YOU’RE INVITED TO . . . CREATE YOUR OWN SCARY STORY!

  Do you want to turn your sleepover into a creepover? Telling a spooky story is a great way to set the mood. P. J. Night has written a few sentences to get you started. Fill in the rest of the story and have fun scaring your friends.

  You can also collaborate with your friends on this story by taking turns. Have everyone at your sleepover sit in a circle. Pick one person to start. She will add a sentence or two to the story, cover what she wrote with a piece of paper leaving only the last word or phrase visible, and then pass the story to the next girl. Once everyone has taken a turn, read the scary story you created together aloud!

  Last night I had a horrible dream. I dreamed that everyone I know had turned into a zombie. They were all moving really slowly and moaning about brains. I tried to talk to them, but it was like they couldn’t understand me, even my best friend. When I woke up, I was so happy it was only a dream. Until I went to school that day and saw . . .

  * * *

  * * *

  * * *

  Click.

  Ashley blinked in the sudden brightness. The bare lightbulb overhead swung from a rusty chain, casting shadows all over her new bedroom. She squinted in the harsh light, but it was the best she could do until she unpacked the little purple lamp that had sat on her bedside table for as long as she could remember.

  Besides, she told herself, glancing from the boxes scattered over the pocked floor to the four-foot crack running down the wall, it’s not like this room could look any worse.

&n
bsp; Ashley sighed, for the thousandth time, as she remembered her old bedroom back in Atlanta. It was perfect in every way, from the pale-aqua paint on the walls to the window seat that overlooked the alley, a quiet place in a bustling city. But that was all gone now; Ashley knew she’d probably never see her room again. Maybe, right this very minute, somebody else was sitting in her old room, starting to unpack a bunch of boxes.

  Lucky, Ashley thought, flopping back on her bare mattress and staring at the stain-spotted ceiling. She knew she should put the sheets on her bed, but she just didn’t feel like doing anything.

  There was a knock at the door. Ashley could tell from the four strong raps that it was her mother. Maybe if I ignore her, she’ll go away, Ashley thought.

  The knock came again, and then the door creaked open.

  “Hey, Pumpkin!” Mrs. McDowell called out in a cheerful voice. “How’s it going in here? Want some help?”

  The bed creaked as Mrs. McDowell sat behind Ashley and started rubbing her back. Ashley inched away. She knew she was probably hurting her mom’s feelings, but it was hard to care. After all, it wasn’t like her mom and dad had cared about her feelings when they’d decided to sell their apartment and buy this rundown farm out in the middle of nowhere.

  “This is going to be a really great thing, Ashley,” Mrs. McDowell said yet again. “Just try to have faith, okay? I know change is hard and stressful and scary—”

  “Scary? Um, no. I’m not scared. I’m bored. I hate it here.”

  “You hate it here?” Mrs. McDowell said. “Pumpkin, we’ve only been in Heaton Corners for, oh, five hours or so. All I ask is that you give it a chance. You know Dad and I wouldn’t make a decision this big if we didn’t think it was the best thing for everyone.”

  “But you didn’t even ask me,” Ashley replied, blinking back tears. “I don’t want to live on a smelly farm, Mom. I miss Atlanta so much.”

  Mrs. McDowell sighed. “We really regret not leaving the city before Maya went to college,” she said in a quiet voice. “We don’t want to make the same mistake with you. Maya spent her whole childhood cooped up in that apartment—”