The Zombie Chasers #4 Read Free

vanished to the front of the line gathering outside the screening room.
    A few minutes later, the boys took their reserved seats in front. The theater was a blank white room equipped with a projector and a few rows of seats on each side.
    The lights dimmed and the screen lit up.
    The documentary began with a series of clips from the news footage during the outbreak, followed by a brief history of Thaddeus Duplessis, the creator of BurgerDog. Next there were interviews with their parents, Colonel Briggs, Greg Bansal-Jones, Sergeant Patrick, and Private Michaels. There was also authentic security camera footage from their trek across the country, their pit stop at the Mall of America, and their journey to the BurgerDog cattle ranch way out in Montana.
    All of a sudden the projector cut out and another scene interrupted the documentary.
    Zack watched in disbelief as black-and-white spy-cam footage of his bedroom flashed on the big screen, and a techno dance beat thumped in the background. Zack knew the song immediately. It was his favorite song to geek out to when he was alone in his room. Zack jumped into the frame wearing a white T-shirt and plaid pajama pants before trying out a series of embarrassing dance moves in front of the mirror.
    The audience started to laugh. Zack turned around and looked behind him. The Fearsome Foursome giggled in the back row. Above them, Zack caught a glimpse of two silhouettes up in the projection booth: Madison and Zoe, doubled over with laughter. When they saw Zack watching them, they both smiled at him and gave a little wave.
    Rice looked at Zack. “You want to get them back for this?”
    Zack took a deep breath. “Absolutely.”
    â€œGood,” said Rice. “I’ve got just the thing. We have to wait until the timing is perfect, though.” He patted the contents of his trusty backpack and the documentary came back on.
    The film concluded with a newsreel chronicle of Operation: Scatterbrains where dozens of fire planes dumped loads of brain-flavored, antidote-covered popcorn across the continent. As the lights turned back on, the crowd applauded. Some of his classmates were still snickering, but Zack couldn’t help but smile. They had saved the world—no matter how many times his sister could embarrass him—and that never stopped being the coolest thing ever.

    Shortly after the museum opening, the seventh- and eighth-grade classes of Romero Middle School gathered in Central Park for lunch. They all laid out picnic blankets, waiting for the pizza to arrive.
    Madison and Zoe were lying out on their blanket, catching some rays. They had their sleeves rolled up and their sunglasses on. Next to them Zack, Rice, and Ozzie sat on a blanket of their own, people-watching in the shade. All types of folks populated the park: joggers, cyclists, Frisbee throwers, businesspeople, and tourists basked in the fine spring day.
    â€œLook at all these people . . . ,” said Ozzie as he pointed to a bunch of New Yorkers strolling through the park. “What a freak show!”
    He stared at a man teetering through the park on stilts. Even more bizarre was the stilt walker’s getup—he was dressed like a circus clown, with an orange Afro wig, bright red nose, white face paint, polka-dotted pants, a poofy shirt, and purple suspenders.
    It was strange to see all of these weirdos in broad daylight. Back home in Phoenix, the freaks usually came out only after dark.
    Just then Zack saw Rice’s eyes shift surreptitiously from side to side. “Here we go, boys.” Rice extracted a small black device with a speaker from his backpack. He crawled forward toward Madison and Zoe, reached his hand under their picnic blanket, and planted the gadget there, unnoticed by the sunbathing girls.
    â€œWhat the heck was that thing?” Zack and Ozzie both asked at the same time when Rice returned.
    â€œThat, my friends,” said Rice, “is a