The next morning, Jessie stood over Benny. “Wake up, Benny,” said Jessie.
“It’s time for breakfast,” said Violet
Benny opened his eyes. “Violet,” said Benny. “I used your camera last night.”
“That’s okay,” said Violet. “Grandfather said it was for everyone.”
“I used it to take a video of the zombie,” said Benny.
“The zombie?” said Henry.
“Oh,” said Violet. She looked at the camera but she didn’t pick it up. She wasn’t sure she liked having pictures of a zombie in her camera. It was a bit creepy.
Benny jumped out of bed. He picked up the camera from the nightstand. “It’s right here,” he said.
Benny turned on the camera. He went back to the video of the clock on the nightstand and pressed play. “Here it is.”
Henry, Violet, and Jessie looked at the camera. They watched the light in the woods.
“See that,” said Benny. “It’s the zombie.”
“Well . . .” said Henry.
“I don’t see a zombie,” said Violet.
“It’s just a light,” said Jessie.
“Then why was the owl hooting again?” said Benny.
“Someone was using a flashlight to go back to the cabin,” said Henry.
“We used a flashlight last night, too,” said Jessie.
“But Maude said there wasn’t a trail to the cabins back there. And the owl didn’t hoot at us,” said Benny. “Something scared it.”
“Let’s look at it again,” said Henry. He went back to the clock picture. Then he turned the sound up on the camera. “Okay, here we go . . .”
Henry pressed play. They heard the owl hooting. Then the video moved from the clock to the window.
Shuuursh! Shuuursh! Shuuursh! Shuuursh!
“What is that?” asked Benny.
“It doesn’t sound like an animal,” said Henry.
“What else could it be?” said Violet.
“It must be the zombie!” said Benny.
“But that’s only a story,” said Henry. “It’s not real.”
“Let’s go out and look,” said Jessie.
“We can film the evidence,” said Violet, “even if it is scary . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“Don’t worry, Violet. We’ll be with you,” said Jessie. She put her arm around Violet.
Violet closed her eyes. “Thanks.”
After Benny got dressed, the Aldens walked out of the cabin.
“It went that way,” said Benny. He pointed at the woods behind the cabin.
“Then let’s go that way, too,” said Henry.
“This is the way to the old fishing lodge,” said Jessie.
“We worked on the trail here yesterday,” said Violet.
“Look,” said Benny. He pointed at the trail up ahead. Someone had pushed back the wall of branches they had cleared from the trail.
“Someone was here last night,” said Benny.
“And they made a mess,” said Violet. “That wasn’t very nice. Someone could trip on these branches.” The branches the children had neatly stacked on the side of the trail were scattered everywhere.
“What happened here?” said Jessie. She pointed at the ground. The dirt and grass were flattened. It looked as if something long and heavy had been dragged along the ground.
Benny looked at the flat area. It was as wide as a human body. “The zombie must have captured someone here,” said Benny. “Then he dragged them away.”
“Look at this,” said Violet. There were clumps of uprooted grass and scuffs along the ground. “It looks like someone was kicking the ground. But why? What is going on?”
“Someone was fighting the zombie,” said Benny. “They were trying to get away.”
“There must be another explanation for this,” said Henry.
“I hope so,” said Violet. ‘I don’t want to see any zombies.” She looked around nervously at the woods.
Benny bent down. He picked up a small piece of wood. It fit in the palm of his hand. “Look at this.”
Benny showed the small wooden stake to Henry, Jessie, and Violet. The end was sharp and pointed, but the top was almost flat. It looked like a nail.
Violet filmed the small wooden stake in Benny’s hand. Then she moved the camera to film the area behind Benny.
“I see two more,” said Violet. “They’re right behind you, Benny.”
Benny turned around. He picked them up.
“The zombie must have come out of his coffin,” said Benny.
“Do you think these are coffin nails?” asked Jessie.
Benny nodded his head. What else could they be?
“These look familiar, but I’m not sure what they are,” said Henry. Then he put the three small wooden nails in his pocket. “We have to fix up the trail again,” he said.
“Can we do it after breakfast?” said Benny. “I’m hungry.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Jessie.
Henry patted the wooden nails in his pocket. “But don’t tell anyone about this,” he said. “We don’t want Maude to worry. We’ll come back and make it good as new after breakfast.”
“I’m worried,” said Violet. “What do you think is happening?”
“Someone was out in the woods at night,” said Jessie.
“Maude mentioned that at breakfast yesterday,” said Henry.
“She did?” said Benny.
“Not in so many words,” said Jessie. “After you told her about seeing the light, she said, ‘Not again.’ Then she went into the kitchen for a minute.”
“But what does that mean?” asked Benny.
“Do you think someone is trying to scare the guests away?” asked Jessie.
“Maude did say that business has been slow,” said Henry.
“But what does that have to do with a light in the woods?” said Henry. He tapped his pocket. “And these wooden nails?”
“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Violet.
“Do you think another lodge is trying to shut this one down?” asked Jessie.
“Maybe,” said Henry. “But the Hansen family has lived here for years.”
“And Maude is a nice person,” said Benny.
“Yes, she is,” said Violet. “That can’t be it.”
“Do you think it’s the teens?” asked Jessie.
“Maybe,” said Violet. “Caleb and Abby weren’t by the fire pit when we heard the noise in the woods.”
“And the sound I filmed was different,” said Benny.
“Do you think that Madison is trying to make a big story for her blog?” asked Violet.
“She did say it was a big scoop,” said Henry.
“And she wanted to put it in the paper, too,” said Benny.
“We’ll keep quiet about this until we know more,” said Jessie. “Can you do that, Benny?”
“I won’t tell anyone,” said Benny. “I promise.” He crossed his heart with his hand.
“Good,” said Henry. “Let’s go to breakfast.”
The Aldens walked down the trail and into the main lodge. No one was there but Maude.
“Good morning,” said Maude. “Are you ready for some pancakes?”
“Oh, yes,” said Benny, “I have to eat a big breakfast so I can . . .”
Benny stopped and looked at Henry.
Henry shook his head.
“Can what?” said Maude as she poured the pancake batter on the griddle.
“Uh . . . so I can . . .” Benny stopped again.
Jessie leaned over and whispered in Benny’s ear.
“So I can take a long walk on the trail,” said Benny. He looked nervously at Maude, but Maude didn’t look up.
“It’s a fine day for a walk on the trail,” said Maude. She turned over the pancakes. “I can walk for miles on a day like this.”
Benny leaned over and whispered to Henry. “What if she sees the mess on the trail?”
Henry whispered back. “She has to make breakfast for everyone at the lodge first. We can fix it up while she is busy cooking.”
“We’ll have to work fast,” said Benny.
“We will,” said Henry.
Maude put the pancakes onto four plates. Then she turned and put the plates on the counter. “Come and get it!”
“Thanks!” said Benny. He walked over and picked up his plate.
Two plates of pancakes later, Benny was back in the toolshed behind the lodge. Henry put the tools they needed into the wheelbarrow.
“Henry, why does she have two kinds of rakes?” asked Benny. Henry knew all about tools.
“These rakes with the long tines are for raking leaves,” said Henry. “We’ll use those to move the leaves off the trail.”
Benny followed as Henry pushed the wheelbarrow out of the toolshed. “But what about the other rakes?”
“These are garden rakes,” said Henry. “They have short tines for moving dirt. We’ll use them to smooth out the dirt on the trail.”
Soon the Aldens reached the spot where the trail was torn up.
“Why did the zombie do this last night?” said Benny.
“I don’t think a zombie did this,” said Henry.
“But it happened at night this time,” said Benny. “It must have been a zombie.”
“I hope not,” said Violet. “I don’t want to see a zombie.” She shivered.
“Lots of creatures come out at night in the woods,” said Jessie. She moved a branch back to the edge of the trail.
Benny looked at the woods around him. “If it wasn’t a zombie, then what was it?”
“Jessie’s right,” said Henry. “It could have been a squirrel or a raccoon or even a skunk.”
“A skunk,” said Benny. He held his nose. “I don’t want to find a skunk!”
“Neither do I,” said Violet. She waved her hand in front of her nose.
The Aldens looked at each other and then they started laughing.
“The woods are full of surprises,” said Jessie.
“Let’s get back to work,” said Henry.
Henry, Jessie, and Violet carried more branches to the edge of the trail. Benny smoothed out the dirt.
Click! Click! Click! Violet heard something behind her. What was that? She quickly turned around. Oh. It was only the reporter and her camera. No need to worry.
“Did you think the zombie came out here last night?” said Madison. She snapped pictures of the torn-up ground.
Benny looked at Madison. How did she know he thought it was a zombie?
Benny looked Henry, but Henry shook his head. Benny remembered his promise. He didn’t say a word.
“Look at how the grass and the dirt are flattened here,” said Madison. “The zombie must have dragged a body here last night. I think this looks like the work of the Winding River Zombie,” said Madison. “I was hoping to see it while I was here.”
She walked to the edge of the trail and snapped another picture. “I must put this on my blog,” said Madison. Then she turned and started walking back to the main lodge.
“I knew they would find it first,” Madison said to herself as she walked away.
The Aldens waited until Madison was out of sight.
“Did you hear that?” asked Benny.
“Do you think Madison did this?” asked Violet. “Why would she?”
“So she has something to write on her blog,” said Henry.
“And in the paper,” said Jessie.
“Let’s get to work,” said Henry, “and clean this up before anyone else comes.”
Jessie and Violet carried the rest of the branches to the edges of the trail. Then they raked the leaves and small branches over to the side.
When they were done, Benny put his rake into the wheelbarrow. Then he looked at the trail. “That looks much better.”
“It certainly does,” said Henry. “Now let’s put our tools away.”
Violet and Jessie put their rakes into the wheelbarrow. Henry pushed the wheel-barrow back to the toolshed and put the rakes away.
Dong! Dong!
“It’s time for lunch!” said Benny.
The Aldens walked to the front of the lodge and went inside.
“There’s Madison,” said Jessie.
Madison was sitting at a table talking to some other guests. After the Aldens sat down, Madison stood up and came over. “Any more zombie sightings?” asked Madison.
“We didn’t see any zombies,” said Henry.
“If you see anything strange, be sure to let me know,” said Madison.
“Okay,” said Henry. He touched his pocket. The three small wooden nails were still in there.
“Thanks,” said Madison and she walked back to the other table.
Henry leaned over and whispered, “Do you think Madison planted these little sticks so we would find them?”
“I don’t know,” replied Jessie. “Something strange is going on.”
Violet nodded her head. Yes, it was all very strange and upsetting, too. What if Benny was right? What if there really was a zombie?
|