Swamp of the Hideous Zombies (5 page)

“Tricks again,” said Olivia. She took her camera back. “I would have figured that out myself. You didn’t have to go wasting film.”

“I was just trying to help,” said Otto. “Some thanks I get! From now on, you’re on your own!” He stomped up some stairs.

Olivia stayed behind. She spied a door across the room that she wanted to check out.

Meanwhile, Uncle Tooth had got in easily through the mansion’s front door. He stood in the main hall. There wasn’t even a zombie on guard. “The Queen’s got them all working,” he thought.

He saw someone and jumped!

It was only his reflection in a large mirror.

In the mirror, he saw the front door opening. One-Eyed Eddy came in.

Uncle Tooth ducked behind a pipe organ.

One-Eyed Eddy looked around the room. Then he headed for a swinging door.

Uncle Tooth slipped from his hiding place
and followed. The door led to a long hallway lined with old oil paintings. Uncle Tooth saw Eddy slip behind a curtain.

The moment Uncle Tooth went through the swinging door, Otto came up from the basement.

He also jumped when he saw himself reflected in the large mirror. He jumped again when he saw Clegg peering at him through a window.

Backing up against the mirror, Otto tried to summon his courage. In an instant, the mirror swung around, like a door at the Fun House!

Otto found himself in another room. “Whew—that was close!” he thought.

In front of him, a staircase wound up into the darkness. Taking a breath, Otto mounted the stairs, slingshot at the ready.

Meanwhile, Olivia had opened the door in the basement and discovered Auntie Hick. She was bound to a chair and gagged. Olivia untied her.

“Olivia!” Auntie Hick said. “I knew you’d come. That evil witch tried to make me drink some of her wretched tea. I refused … and you know what a tea lover I am!”

Auntie Hick was trembling.

“Get a grip on yourself, Auntie Hick. Do you know where Ducky Doodle is?”

“No,” said Auntie Hick, getting slowly to her feet. “But we’ll find him.”

Uncle Tooth was hiding behind a curtain, listening to Eddy and the Cobweb Queen.

The Queen lay on a sofa. Sedley Mether stood a few feet away, painting her picture.

“Eddy, tell me. Does it look like me?”

Eddy leaned over to peer at the picture. Sedley Mether hadn’t painted the Queen. He had painted a large sunflower instead.

“It’s you, all right,” said Eddy. “Listen, about the zombies …”

“They haven’t stopped working, have they?”

“No, it’s just that one of ’em was moving so fast I couldn’t catch him.”

“You’re not supposed to catch them,” answered the Queen. “You’re supposed to make them work. Have you been telling them to work faster?”

“Well, yes … but …”

“That’s the beauty of zombies. They always do exactly what you tell them. Paint faster!” she commanded Sedley.

The Queen rose and began pacing. “At this rate, they’ll uncover the Silver Skull in no time. Then all the Zombie Priestess’s power will be mine! With that skull and an army of zombies, I’ll be unstoppable!”

Uncle Tooth burst through the curtain, waving his wooden sword.

“So that’s your game plan!” he shouted.

“Tooth!” shrieked the Queen. “Typical of you to drop by without an invitation. Can I offer you some tea?”

“I don’t want your tea! I want my friends returned to normal!”

“Can’t do that,” said the Queen. “I need them to help me rule the world. Cheap labor is so hard to come by these days.”

Eddy laughed. “I’ve got a whip here,” he told Uncle Tooth, “so lower your sword.”

“Wait a minute!” cried the Queen. “Tooth, surely you didn’t come here alone. Where’s that pesky nephew of yours?”

“They could have a whole army, for all we know,” added Eddy.

“No matter,” the Queen laughed.
“We
have an army. An army of zombies!”

Otto reached the top of the winding staircase. He found himself in a laboratory. A big pot of Zombie Tea was bubbling. On one shelf were bottles of dried leaves in all colors and sizes. On another shelf were some jars with stoppers.

Each jar had a label with the name of a person written on it. What could
that
mean? The first one Otto picked up said
LITTLE EFFIE
.

Otto heard a noise behind him. He spun around.

There stood a freaky-looking girl with dark eyes and blue skin. A zombie!

Otto dropped the jar. It smashed on the tile floor. From the broken bits arose a green mist. It drifted into the zombie’s eyes.

The next instant, the zombie was gone!

Standing in its place was a little girl with a confused expression. “What happened?” she asked. “Who are you?”

“I-I’m Otto. Who are you?”

“My name is Little Effie,” the girl said. “The last thing I remember is some old woman
forcing me to drink some yucky-tasting tea.”

“
You’re
Little Effie?” cried Otto. “This is wonderful! Do you know what this means? When I dropped that jar with your name on it, the zombie spell was broken.”

He led her to the shelf and showed her the other jars. “These jars must contain all the zombies’ spirits. Little Effie, peek out that door and see where it leads.” Otto pointed to a door opposite the stairs.

“It leads to a hallway with a balcony at the end,” Little Effie said.

“Perfect,” said Otto. “If you want to get out of this spooky place, I need your help.”

Olivia and Auntie Hick came up from the basement just in time to see the Cobweb Queen and One-Eyed Eddy leading Uncle Tooth into the main hall.

“Aha!” cried the Queen. “Thought you could escape, huh? I’m way ahead of you.”

“What have you done with Ducky Doodle?” demanded Auntie Hick.

Copper Bill appeared through another door. “What have you done with Little Effie?”

“See for yourselves,” the Queen answered.

With a swish of her cape, she seated herself at the organ and began to play an eerie tune. “Ah, who can resist my zombie music? I found this sheet music in the basement. It’s quite charming, really.”

Auntie Hick rushed forward, snatched the sheet music, and tore it to shreds.

“Now you’ve really irritated me!” hissed the Queen. “But it doesn’t matter … see?”

From all around, doors were opening and zombies were entering the room.

Among the zombies was Ducky Doodle.

“My poor Doodle! This is hideous!” cried Auntie Hick.

“I’m afraid he can’t hear you,” said the Queen. “
I
should be so lucky.”

The zombies moved closer and closer.

Soon, they had Uncle Tooth, Copper Bill, Olivia, and Auntie Hick surrounded. Auntie Hick started trembling again.

Uncle Tooth stepped forward and led them in the zombie chant: