Free Zombie Field Day by Nadia Higgins Page A

him—only licked.
    After that came what Roger called the “unspeakable time.” His parents and both his brothers had been fully bitten. Leaving home was the only way Roger could protect his human side. He drifted from town to town for a while. But then Roger got lonely. He started joining Leo’s T-ball games at the Rotfield Rec Center. Back then, Leo didn’t know anything about zombies. But he noticed that Roger seemed even slower than a regular slow kid at T-ball. And a bit greener too.
    Then Roger’s ear got blown off by the wind at third base. Leo was the only one who noticed. But he didn’t freak out. Instead, he brought Roger home and helped glue the ear back on. That day, Leo became a zombie scientist.
    Roger’s experience as a half-zombie was a huge help. “My heart still beats at least once an hour,” he would say while Leo took notes. “That slows the rotting process quite a bit.”
    It was true. With glue, Band-Aids, and a few fake teeth, Roger might have been able to pass as a human. But what if somebody found out? Or what if Roger’s nose got blown off and lost forever? Or a dog bit him and became a half-zombie too? It was too risky.
    For now, the two friends agreed the best place for Roger was working in their hidden zombie lab. Roger barely ever needed to sleep, eat, or go to the bathroom. The small, cluttered room they had built in the back of Leo’s closet served his half-zombie needs well.
    A tower of machines hummed, beeped, and blinked along one wall of the lab. Shelves along another wall held rows of fizzing tubes and bubbling beakers. Above those were tangles of plants and herbs. Rubber gloves, droppers, lab coats, microscope parts, and jars of pills and powders oozed from a cabinet in the corner.
    It was no wonder the lab was so stuffed. The two friends had been adding to it for more than four years now. Leo and his best (100% human) friend, Chad, had recently added a merchandise section to Leo's Zombie Zappers Web site. Chad’s homemade zombie T-shirts were selling so fast Chad could barely keep them in stock. Now they could afford supplies whenever they needed them.
    Roger plopped down on a box labeled “Caution: Hazardous Materials.” “How’s my finger?” he asked. He waved a four-fingered hand toward the jar Leo was holding. “Any luck with the Mucinus maximus?”
    “Nothing so far,” Leo said. He handed the jar to Roger. The bright green slug was curled up on Roger’s middle knuckle. “The skin on the finger might turn purple before it turns pink,” Leo added. “That’s what I read online.”
    “Roger that,” Roger said, grinning.
    Leo groaned. “You seriously are the weirdest zombie ever.” He stepped back into the closet to leave and slipped on the pile of notebooks.
    “Half-zombie!” Roger said. He pulled Leo up by an elbow.
    “Half-zombie,” Leo repeated. Then he took off for school, late as usual.

    Leo slid into his seat right as the morning bell rang. Chad flashed his notebook at Leo from across the aisle. “Will you be mine?” it said. Chad ran a finger across his chubby chest. He was wearing one of his recent T-shirt creations. This one showed a heart (a real one) dripping gore onto the words, “Be My Zalentine.”
    That made Leo snort out loud. Chad added a fake burp. Leo looked over at Mandy Wagner to his left. This was when she’d normally roll her eyes and say, “Nice.” Or she might shove her desk over an inch with a huff.
    But Mandy wasn’t even looking at them. She just stared ahead. Leo waved his hands in front of her face. “Helllooooo?” Mandy didn’t even blink. A pencil slowly rolled between her feet.
    Leo gave Chad a look that said, “What’s up with her?” Chad shrugged, “Who knows?” and pointed at Josiah Sullivan behind him. Josiah had the same look as Mandy, only a line of drool dripped down his chin.
    “Z-alert???” Chad held up his notebook again.
    Leo felt tingly all over. Could it be? Were his classmates turning into