“I’m glad there’s not a real zombie,” said Benny as they walked back to their cabin after the campfire.
Crack! Something was moving in the woods.
Henry turned the flashlight toward the sound.
A man standing behind a tree raised his arm to cover his face. It was a zombie!
Benny grabbed Jessie’s hand. What was the zombie going to do? The children waited for the zombie to make a move.
The zombie moaned loudly. Then he turned and lurched away. He was pulling a body behind him!
Snap! Snap! Crack! The woods made noise as the zombie dragged the body behind him.
“Now what?” asked Jessie.
“Now we go back to the cabin,” said Henry.
The children ran to the cabin. When they got inside, Henry locked the door.
“Do you believe in zombies now?” asked Benny.
“Well,” said Henry. He wasn’t so sure anymore. After all, he had seen it with his own eyes.
“There must be an explanation for this,” said Henry.
“I hope so,” said Violet.
“Did you get a picture of it?” asked Jessie.
“No,” said Violet. “I was so surprised I forgot I had my camera.”
“That’s what we do next,” said Henry. “We have to capture the zombie—”
Benny gasped.
“—on camera,” finished Henry. “It didn’t attack us. We’ll be okay if we keep our distance.”
“That’s true,” said Jessie. “It didn’t come after us at all. It was like we surprised it . . . or something.”
“Or something is right,” said Violet.
“But we have to have proof before we say anything,” said Henry.
Benny looked at the cabin window. “The owl hoots every night,” said Benny.
“And when it does,” said Henry, “we’ll go out and capture the so-called zombie—on camera.”
Violet held up the camera. “I can zoom the camera in from far away. Then we don’t have to get close to the zombie.” She shivered as she thought about the zombie.
“If we’re going back out,” said Benny, “then I’m not going to put on my pajamas. The zombie could run away while I’m getting dressed.”
“That’s a good idea, Benny,” said Jessie. “We can go to bed with our clothes on.”
Benny took off his shoes and put them right next to his bed. That way he could put them on as soon as he saw the lights in the woods.
After they all washed up, Henry turned out the lights. To anyone outside the cabin, it looked like the Aldens had gone to sleep.
Benny lay on his bed. He tossed and turned as he waited for the lights in the woods. He closed his eyes. Maybe he could sleep just a bit.
Hoot! Benny heard the owl outside his window. He sat up in bed. The light was flashing in the woods behind the cabin.
Henry jumped out of bed. Jessie and Violet sat up. They all put on their shoes. Henry grabbed the flashlight and Violet picked up the camera.
Henry opened the cabin door. “Here we go!”
The Aldens walked out of the cabin and into the night.
“The light is coming from that side,” said Benny.
“I’ll lead the way,” said Henry. He walked into the woods. Benny, Jessie, and Violet followed him.
Up ahead, the light was flashing.
Crick! Crack! Someone was running in the woods.
Henry stopped and raised his hand. Everyone waited a minute.
“Do you hear that?” whispered Henry.
Benny nodded his head. “The light is over there,” whispered Benny.
“We don’t want to get too close,” whispered Henry. “We don’t want them to see us.”
“I can’t see it with my camera yet,” said Violet.
“We’ll have to move a little closer,” said Henry.
Crick! Crack! There it was again. That noise in the woods.
Someone was running.
“Let’s go,” said Henry. They followed the sounds and the light.
When they got closer, Henry stopped again. “Violet, can you see anything?”
Violet lifted up her camera. “I see Jake,” whispered Violet. “He’s filming with a video camera.”
“He’s making a movie,” said Jessie, “just like we thought.”
“What else do you see?” asked Henry.
Violet moved her camera over. “I see Abby. She’s holding a flashlight.”
“That’s the light I saw,” said Benny. Then he thought a moment. “Wait a minute, where is the zombie?”
“Do you see Caleb?” asked Henry.
“He was pretending to be the zombie at the campfire,” said Jessie.
“I don’t see him,” said Violet. She gave the camera to Henry.
Henry lifted up the camera and looked at the teens. He saw Jake and Abby and something else. It was someone dressed up as a zombie.
“Benny, I think we found your zombie,” said Henry. “It is Caleb. Take a look.”
Henry gave the camera to Benny.
“Caleb is the zombie?” said Benny. “Why was he trying to scare me?”
Benny looked into the camera. He saw Jake holding his movie camera. Then he saw Abby. She was crying and running away . . .
Benny moved the camera. She was running away from a zombie! The zombie was moving slowly, with his hands out in front of him. The zombie’s long hair swayed back and forth as he walked.
“Wait a minute,” said Benny. “That zombie has long hair!”
“Caleb has long hair,” said Jessie.
“But the other zombie didn’t have long hair,” said Benny. “He had short hair. Remember?”
Jessie looked at the dark woods all around them. They had found a zombie in the woods, but it wasn’t the right one. Who else was out there?
“Could it be true?” asked Jessie. “Is there really a Winding River Zombie?”
“I hope not,” said Henry.
“Me too,” said Violet. |